UNITED STATES OF AMEEICA, VOL. III. OLIVER & BO YD, EDINBURGH. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; THEIR HISTORY FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD THEIR INDUSTRY, COMMERCE, BANKING TRANSACTIONS, AND NATIONAL WORKS ; THEIR INSTITUTIONS AND CHARACTER, POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND LITERARY ; A SURVEY OF THE TERRITORY, AND REMARKS ON THE PROSPECTS AND PLANS OF EMIGRANTS. BY HUGH MURRAY, F.R.S.E. M WITH ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE NATURAL HISTORY, BY JAMES NICOL. PORTRAITS AND OTHER ENGRAVINGS BY JACKSON. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. III. EDINBURGH : OLIVER & BO YD, TWEEDDALE COURT; AND SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, & CO., LONDON. MDCCCXLIV. Printed by Oliver & Hoyd, Tweeddale Court, High Street, Edinburgh CONTENTS OF YOL, III, CHAPTER I. MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. Difficulty of the Subject Effects of colonial Settlement- Variations in different States Virginia The West New England Religious Spirit Philanthropy Domestic good Conduct Industry Political Violence Timidity in ex pressing Opinion Eagerness after Wealth Rash Specu lationsLaxity of Principle The Yankee Pedlar Pugnacious Disposition National Vanity Curiosity Good Temper Strong Liquors Temperance Societies Assumption of Equality Attention to Ladies Their Ap pearance and Character Entertainments Minor Defects in Manners and Accommodation Inns Dishes and Cookery Differences throughout the Union The New Englanders Southern Planters Emigrants to the North-west The South-west Society of Washington Probable Improve ment, Page 9 CHAPTER II. SLAVES AND SLAVERY. State and Extent of Slavery in the United States Treatment of the Negroes How supplied with Food Enactments against their Instruction Means of Religious Knowledge Internal Trade Breeding of Slaves Sales by Auction- Mode of Conveyance Treatment in the New States Clan destine Importation Situation of the Free Coloured Race- Early Abolition Measures Unsuccessful Colonization So cietyAnti-Slavery Society Their Measures Proceedings of the Anti- Abolitionists Seconded by the Northern Mer chants By the Legislature Present State of Parties Measures for Colonization Their Tendency Prospects of the Cause, 52 CHAPTER III. RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. Early Religious State Effects of the Revolution Adoption of the Voluntary System Respect for Religion In New M311875 6 CONTENTS. England In the South Deficiency in the West Sects- Methodists Baptists Presbyterians Congregationalists Episcopalians Roman Catholics Quakers Unitarians, &c. Shakers Rappites Mormonites Societies Bible Mis sionary Home Sabbath School Revivals and Camp-Meet ings General Result, Page 78 CHAPTER IV. THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. Obstacles to Literature in America Political Circumstances Want of Remuneration State before the Revolution- Decline Gradual Revival and Progress Branches Ora tory Otis Henry Fisher Ames Everett Webster- Clay Poetry General Taste for it Mode of Production- Bryant Percival Dana Sprague Halleck Braiuard Pierpont Willis Wilcox Longfellow Neal Doane Peabody Prentice Sands Drake Hillhouse Lunt Clason Whittier Hoffman Street Gallagher Pike Pinkney Simms Female Poets Sigourney Brooks Hall Welby Gould Lucretia and Margaret Davidson Various Others Romances and Novels Brown Cooper Sedgwick, &c. Essay -writing Irving Channing His toryBancroft Prescott Historical Biography Collec tions of Documents Travellers Lewis Clarke School- craft Robinson Stephens Catlin, &c. Statistics, 98 CHAPTER V. GEOLOGY BOTANY ZOOLOGY. SECTION i. GEOLOGY. Natural Divisions Alleghany Moun tains Lines of Elevation and Depression Primary Rocks Gold Transition Rocks Cliff Limestone Lead-mines Salt-springs Rock-salt Old Red Sandstone Mountain Limestone Iron- mines Coal Formation Anthracite BituminousCoal Richmond Coal-field New Red Sandstone Ornithichnites Oolite Chalk Formation Tertiary De positsDriftPolished Rocks Alluvium Infusoria Ex tinct Mammalia Review of Changes. SECTION n. BOTANY. BotanicalRegions Natural Families Ranunculacese May Apple Papaveracese Magnolias Aniseed-tree Umbel- liferae Ginseng Vines Pitcher-plants Tree-primrose Witch Hazel Dogwood Cactaceae Cruciferse Violets Passion-flowers Loblolly Bay Maples Buck s Eye Lime-trees Euphorbiacere Roses Leguminous Plants CONTENTS. 7 Locust-tree Sumach Hornbeam Beech Chesnut Oak Birch Mulberry Elm Walnut Hickory Willow- Plane-tree Sweet Gum Laurel Andromeda Azalea Holly Composite Golden Rod Labiatse Solanaceae Ash Pines Cabbage-tree Liliacese Grasses Conclu sion. SECTION in. ZOOLOGY. Birds Vulture Bald Eagle Bird of Washington Osprey Buzzards Hawks Screech- owl Virginian Owl Chuck-Will s-Widow Whip-poor - Will Night Hawk Chimney-swallow Purple Martin Humming-bird Nuthatch Wrens Thrushes Mocking bird Fly-catcher King Bird Blue Jay Crow Raven Grakle Oriole Rice-birds Indigo-bird Nonpareil Carolina Parrot Woodpecker Cuckoo Passenger Pigeon Turtle-dove Turkey Quail Ruffed Grouse Crane- Heron Ibis Snipe Woodcock Rail Canada Goose Widgeon Wood-duck Snake-bird Gulls Petrels Dol- chick. Reptiles Tortoises Cayman Rattlesnakes Frogs Salamander. Fishes Perch Weakfish Drums Sheep s Head Mackerel Mullet Carp Pike Flying- fish Salmon Smelt Herring Sturgeon Amblyop- sis, Page 201 CHAPTER VI. TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. Plan of this Survey General Divisions : I . The New Eng land States Massachusetts Connecticut Rhode Island New Hampshire Vermont Maine Boundaries Extent Seacoast Surface Mountains Rivers Industry Pro ductions, &c. Return of chief Articles of Produce by the Census of 1840 Population of Cities and Towns in 1840 Description of Boston, Lowell, Providence, and other Places. II. Middle States New York Pennsylvania New Jersey Boundaries Extent, &c. Returns by Census of 1840 Description of New York, Philadelphia, &c. III. Virginia Maryland Columbia Delaware Boundaries Extent, &c. Returns by Census of 1840 Description of Washing ton, Baltimore, Richmond, &c. IV. The Carolinas Georgia Alabama Florida Boundaries Extent, &c. Returns by Census of 1840 Description of Charleston, Savannah, Mo bile, &c North-western States Ohio Indiana Illinois Michigan, &c. Boundaries Extent, &c. Returns by Census of 1840 Description of Cincinnati, Detroit, &c. South-western States Kentucky Tennessee Mississippi Louisiana Missouri Arkansas, &c. Boundaries Ex- CONTENTS. tent, &c. Returns by Census of 1840 Description of New Orleans, Louisville, Lexington, St Louis, &c.,........Page 283 CHAPTER VII. EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. General Remarks Early Western Settlements Boone Hen derson Obstacles during the War Acquisition of Ohio Early Sales of Land New Plan in 1804 Embarrassments under it Change in 1820 Amount since sold Purchases on Speculation Impositions practised Squatters Settle ment on improved Farms Comparison of different States Sales in each Advantages of improved Districts British America and the States Timbered Land and Prairie Modes of Conveyance Westward By Waggon By Canals and Railways Employment for Operatives Wages in dif ferent Trades, 330 CHAPTER VIII. CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. Object proposed State of America after the War Transac tions with the Barbary States Election of Monroe State of Parties under him Disputes with Spain Cession of Florida Question of Slavery in Missouri South American Republics acknowledged Tariff of 1824 Presidency of Quincy Adams Tariff of 1828 Presidency of Jackson His Policy Veto on a National Bank North- West Indian War Carolina resists the Tariff Compromise Jackson re-elected Measures against the Bank Plan for Removal of the Indians Seminole War Treaty with France Finances State of Parties Van Buren President Great Financial Embarrassment Civil War in Canada Disturb ances on the Frontier Boundary Dispute Election of Har risonHis Death Tyler President His Measures Offends the Whig Party Arrest of Macleod His Acquittal Dis turbances in Rhode Island State of Parties Repudiation by the States Finances Oregon Question, 346 APPENDIX, 367 HISTORICAL AND DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER I. Manners and Social Life in America. Difficulty of the Subject Effects of colonial Settlement- Variations in different States Virginia The West New England Religious Spirit Philanthropy Domestic good Conduct Industry Political Violence Timidity in ex pressing Opinion Eagerness after Wealth Rash Specu lations Laxity of Principle The Yankee Pedlar Pugnacious Disposition National Vanity Curiosity Good Temper Strong Liquors Temperance Societies Assumption of Equality Attention to Ladies Their Ap pearance and Character Entertainments Minor Defects in Manners and Accommodation Inns Dishes and Cookery Differences throughout the Union The New Englanders Southern Planters Emigrants to the North-west The South-west Society of Washington Probable Improve ment. THE treatment of this subject is perhaps the most deli cate and difficult task which presents itself in the whole circle of the present work. The very objects possess a vagueness which renders them indistinctly perceptible by a common observer, and are easily distorted by the mists of prepossession and passion, through which, in too many instances, they have been viewed. The VOL. III. A. 10 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. Americans consider themselves as heavily aggrieved by the representations generally circulated in Europe upon the matters in question ; and though feverishly sensi tive in this respect, their complaints are probably not without some foundation. We apprehend, however, that there is not much of actual misstatement on either side, and that by making due allowance for the colour ing of prejudice and political feeling, a somewhat near approach may be made to the truth. The colonists to North America were placed under peculiar circumstances, necessarily creating a state of society that materially differed from that of the mother- country. The Greek colonies, which spread civilisa tion so wide around the Mediterranean, had been com posed of large bodies of the nation, led usually by princes, and including some of the most distinguished citizens. Hence they soon rose to greatness and refine ment, and in many cases left the parent-state behind them. The English settlers, on the contrary, were composed mostly of the middle and labouring classes, seeking to escape the pressure of poverty, or to attain religious freedom ; and even those habits of elegance, which a certain number carried with them, could be with difficulty maintained. No easy or ready mode for acquiring wealth was open to them. They had to begin by subduing a vast wilderness, covered with dense forests, and to maintain a severe struggle against wild animals and wilder men. Amid these hard necessities, obliged to live in a great measure apart, they had little opportunity or means of displaying riches or accom plishments. If the original settlers succeeded in pre serving some portion of refinement, their posterity almost inevitably sunk to the level of their position. Still the labouring class, earning ample wages, and having often landed property of their own, attained a degree of com fort, independence, and even intelligence, superior to that enjoyed at home by their countrymen of the same class. A people, however, which has branched off from another in an advanced state of society, is differently MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 1 1 situated from one originally rude. The latter has maxims, institutions, and usages all tending to fix it in its actual position ; while there is not likely to be any foreign intercourse so intimate as to effect more than a very gradual change. But the colonist is connected, and holds regular communication with a more improved society, on the model of which his belief, his opinions, and external habits are formed. He looks to this as the standard upon which, when circumstances admit, he will seek to form himself. These influences had, before the separation, produced a very sensible effect. The merchants of Boston, and the planters of Virginia, equalled probably in intelligence, and even in elegance of manners, any British class out of the immediate circle of the court and universities. But when the revolution severed the connexion be tween them and Britain, and led them to view her with feelings of jealousy and hostility, this progress was interrupted ; and the consequences appear to have been unfavourable to their intellectual and social pro gress. The men of the revolution were not succeeded by others of equal ability ; even their own writers have remarked a decline in the standard of manners. The opulent classes, however, still look to Europe as the source of elegance and refinement, but as it were covertly, and not without exciting jealous feelings among the republican party. They have also taken a wider range than their predecessors, and some have adopted France as the more refined model ; though the imitation is not always successful, and is attended with certain serious disadvantages. Extensive variations are also observable within the now wide circle of the Union. Virginia and the other southern states were originally planted on a more aris tocratic basis, and by the use of slaves their gentry are enabled to hold extensive possessions, and to live nearly in the style of European landed proprietors. From this difference of position arise marked peculiari ties, which we shall afterwards endeavour to delineate. 12 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. Since the beginning of the century, a new circle has been formed in the western states, whose social position is not only different, but in some respects contrasted with that of the older settlements. They are, in fact, colonies from them as they were from Britain, and exhibit results extremely similar. The emigrants, be longing in a still greater proportion to the labouring class, were likely to form, as they have actually done, a still ruder society. Intimately connected, however, as they still are with the more improved districts, they will doubtless make them their model in the career of civilisation, and gradually adopt their spirit. This process indeed is, to a great extent, observable in the older settled states. M. Chevalier considers New Eng land, from being so great a source of emigration, as likely to absorb into herself all the new divisions of the Union. He does not consider that, so far as they extend south of the Ohio, they have been drawn from Virginia and the neighbouring states ; and that, while the cool and methodical Yankee spirit has been greatly diluted by transportation, the bolder temper of the south has been augmented ; so that the prevailing character on the whole range from Kentucky to Alabama may be represented as ultra Virginian. The north-eastern states, however, comprising those of New England, New York, and Pennsylvania, form what is now generally considered the main body of Ame rica. Their inhabitants, by extraordinary industry and activity, and by freedom from the evils of slavery, have gained a great ascendency over the rest. Almost all commercial concerns are in their hands ; and upon their model chiefly the western states, as they rise in civilisation, will seek to form themselves. We shall, therefore, in the delineation now to be attempted, keep them mainly in view, seeking afterwards to trace those differences which distinguish the others.* * The authorities chiefly employed in this delineation are Hamilton s Men and Manners in America, 2 vols ; Stuart s Three Years in America, 2 vols ; Hall s (Basil) Travels, MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 13 In surveying the American character, we may with pleasure recognise, at its very foundation, qualities truly estimable. They are, especially within the boundaries above stated, decidedly a religious people; this pro fession seems to be made in a manner somewhat more marked than among any European nation. They sup port, without any aid from the state, an establishment of teachers adequate to the wants of the population, and attend regularly to devotional ordinances and minis trations. Associations for the diffusion of religious knowledge in foreign countries, and in the destitute parts of their own, are supported with great attention and liberal expenditure. This subject is more fully developed in a chapter treating expressly of the reli gious state of the Union. A kindred virtue, borrowed also from Britain, to which the Americans may advance a just claim, is that of active philanthropy. In no country are more systematic exertions made to relieve the evils under which hu manity suffers. Extensive institutions are supported by liberal donations of money, and by a large portion of that time which is otherwise very fully employed. In com municating relief, and at the same time guarding against abuse, particular discretion and good sense are displayed. Attention has been much directed to mitigating the severity of criminal justice, and at the same time making it contribute to the reformation of the offender. We may add, that the purity of domestic life is better preserved than even in Britain, which is here happily superior to perhaps any of the other great countries of Europe. The seduction either of married or unmarried females very rarely occurs ; nor does the reproach rest only, as elsewhere, upon one and often the injured sex. 3 vols ; Mrs Trollope s Domestic Manners of the Americans, 2 vols ; Buckingham s Travels, 3 vols ; Combe s Travels, 3 vols ; Grund s Americans, 2 vols ; Aristocracy in America, 2 vols ; Sedgwick s Home, &c. ; Mrs Clavers New Home and Forest Life ; Flint (Timothy) on the Western States ; Chan- ning on the Labouring Classes, &e. 14 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. The seducer loses caste almost equally, and in a country where public opinion greatly decides a man s fortune, is severely visited by its consequences. Such a reproach forms a bar to his advancement in all the paths of official or professional life. Even in the great cities, though the usual scenes of vice more or less occur, they are covered at least by a veil of decorum. It is impossible, moreover, to deny to the Americana the full praise of " Rough industry, activity untired, With glowing life informed, and all awake." The mother-country, indeed, had within the last cen tury set an example which the world had hitherto seen nothing to equal. This her offspring, however, has fairly surpassed her, in the rapidity with which she has subdued a vast wilderness, created new nations, and opened intercourse between the most distant regions. Here indeed, as in other pursuits of industry, the pro motion of personal interest must be the prominent motive. We are, however, convinced with Miss Mar- tineau, that some higher impulses are combined ; the improvement of the country, the formation of extensive influence and connexions, the giving employment to numerous individuals. Upon this subject, however, we need not dwell, since its results have been so largely exhibited in a former part of the work. Having viewed the American character in so many favourable lights, we are obliged to notice some others of a rather opposite aspect, partly connected with their good qualities, partly, it should seem, very inconsistent with them. The free constitution of their government, the share which even the humblest citizens enjoy in its administration, are their greatest boast ; and they exult particularly in the vast and indeed unexampled extent of country over which it has been diffused without leading to the anarchy usually predicted in such cases. We have fully admitted, that with some few exceptions this government really has performed its grand object of securing person and property, and at the same time MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 15 leaving full scope for individual exertion and enterprise. Nor are we inclined to doubt that, in a great ma jority of instances, votes are given with a full honesty of purpose. Yet it is certain, and is admitted by their best writers, that the spirit and temper with which political discussion is carried on has no tendency to re fine or elevate the character. We cannot say that it has much even in Europe ; but America is allowed to carry to excess all the faults to which this pursuit is liable ; the furious vituperation and personal attacks upon adversaries ; the gross deceptions circulated and believed ; the servile devotion or blind enmity to a political leader. The newspapers are in an extraordinary degree stamped with these faults ; and as they write for purposes of profit, must find them acceptable to their readers ; indeed, none written in a higher tone are said to succeed. It is, however, so inconsistent with the reigning profession of piety, that many who peculiarly devote themselves to religion withdraw altogether from political concerns. Dr Channing argues that they are to blame, and ought to take a proper share in these, carrying and seeking to introduce into them a more suitable spirit and temper. The two elements appear sometimes mixed, but in a manner which we cannot but feel particularly offensive. Mr Combe quotes the following passage : " The locofocos are triumphant at every point, laughing at every corner of their infernal mouths. The devil knowing what they had been about, began to rejoice, and let out one of the prettiest north-eastern rain-storms ; but what cared the locofocos for getting wet. When they get to their comfortable quarters in another region hereafter, they will have time to dry, &c." (we decline copying more). There is a fault of another and seemingly very op posite nature, which is strongly urged against the people ; this is timidity in the expression of opinion. De Tocqueville represents the minority as not only yielding to the power of the majority, but shrinking from the manifestation of any opposite feelings. Miss ] 6 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. Martineau describes the nation as enjoying less liberty of speech and action than others whom they despise as in a state of servitude. She laments in particular the mental thraldom in which her own sex appeared to be held. Mr Buckingham quotes a New York reviewer, denounc ing public opinion as a greater tyrant in the States than any where else, and the majority of the people as abject slaves. Dr Dewey complains of a general moral cowar dice and pusillanimity. " I think," says he, " I see some thing of this in our very manners, in the hesitation, indirectness, the cautious and circuitous modes of speech, the eye asking assent before the tongue can finish the sentence. I think that in other countries you oftener meet with men who stand manfully up, and deliver their opinion without asking or caring what you or others think about it." Many, he says, will see others suffering reprobation for opinions which they themselves hold, without having the courage or manliness to say : " I think so too." From these testimonies there seems no doubt that the disposition complained of exists to a considerable extent. It appears to arise from the extensive de pendence upon public opinion, the numerous offices and functions in townships, counties, state and general legis latures, the election for all which rests with the people. Yet we cannot help thinking that it has been greatly exaggerated, and opposes no such bar as has been some times represented to the progress and fluctuations of public opinion. It has already been observed, in respect to the general political movement of the country, that the highest ascendency of the majority has never pre vented its being opposed by a minority with even ex cessive violence. The people are divided among a great variety of religious sects, some very small, yet main tained obstinately against general contempt or oppro brium. It is only required that they shall include a belief in Christianity ; but this allows a very wide range. It is observed, indeed, that individuals protect themselves by being aggregated to some respected and MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 17 established body ; yet there is no power keeping even these in a permanent condition. We shall see that in many of these sects extensive schisms have recently arisen. The temperance and anti-slavery movements are altogether new, and beginning on a small scale, have spread widely in the face of the most determined hostility and ridicule. These innovations have originated with individuals, whose names even many of them bear. They do not seem indeed to have rested content with the colloquial or even written expression of their senti ments, but to have studiously sought to diffuse them by means of associations. The various modes of forming these, comprised under the term agitation, seem to have originated in America. This mode of extending opinions is animated and agreeable, developing many social ties and attachments ; yet it is apt to be carried on with excessive and sectarian zeal, and with the same vehe mence of action and language which distinguishes poli tical conflict. The associate is not open to reasoning like the individual thinker ; he has a rooted opinion, and employs his powers of thought only in seeking arguments and motives, which may be vehemently urged in its support. Thus, however, full scope is found for change and progress, and there is no risk of that mental stagna tion which some represent as arising from the dread of singularity, and the awe of public opinion. We suspect even that there is a feverish craving for such movements. The North American Review, in referring to one, de scribes it as " the newest form of agitation/ seeming to intimate that these arise in continued succession. The next class of faults belongs to one of their merits, only carried to excess, and in some cases perverted. They do not, according to Mr Combe, know the art of getting rich leisurely. A restlessness, a striving and driving onward, mark all their movements. The whole of society seems in a state of preternatural activity. Ac cording to their advocate, Mr Grand, " business is their pleasure, their soul, pursued not as means of securing necessaries and comforts, but as the grand fountain of 18 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. human felicity. The merchant is engaged as it were in a crusade after wealth. From the earliest hour in the morning, he is a perpetual mobile ; in the house, on change, wherever he goes, the hum and bustle of busi ness attends him. He never thinks of retiring or seek ing the enjoyment of leisure, and would despise any one that should do so." The writer considers this incessant occupation as preserving the purity of morals, leaving no time nor thought for dissipation. Yet while welcom ing this result, we could wish to see evil driven out by good, rather than one evil by another. To compass these aims, they study to move with an almost preter natural activity, travelling only in the business style among multitudes in the steam-ship or railway, and con sidering even this as too tardy. Their meals are scarcely eaten, but bolted down ; Miss Sedgwick observing with censure, that it is generally considered unbusiness-like to spend above ten minutes at dinner. Their motions are precipitated with the effort not to lose a moment. At church or other assembly, the instant that the speaker s voice ceases, the whole congregation start and rush out, as if vying with each other which should be foremost, and without regard to the risk of mutual col lision. Mr Bryant even assures us, that the fair leaders of fashion at New York, in gaily promenading the Broad way, exert the same preternatural swiftness : " Soft voices and light laughter wake the street, Like notes of wood-birds, and where er the eye Threads the long way, plumes wave, and twinkling feet Fall light, as hastes that crowd of beauty by ; The ostrich hurrying o er the desert space, Scarce bore those tossing plumes with fleeter pace." Another evil of this intense pursuit of wealth, is its tendency to overshoot the mark, and instead of raising to prosperity, to plunge into ruin. The mischiefs of extra vagant speculation are sufficiently felt in this country ; but in America still more extensively. Dr D wight acknowledges that even the sober citizen of Boston is too apt to rush into perilous and daring enterprises. The MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 19 youth, according to Mr Buckingham, instead of await ing the slow results of industry, looks eagerly round for some rapid road to wealth, some mode of dashing into a fortune ; and if the faintest prospect of this appears, nothing short of impossibility will deter him. The people, M. Chevalier says, delight to feel themselves moving on a vast sea of speculation, now on the top of the wave, now sunk deep beneath. Speculation be comes thus a species of gambling, rather shuffling pro perty from hand to hand than producing it. We cannot but think it a happier state to earn by steady industry a moderate income, than to be thus grasping at immense profits, amid perils of ruin. From this cause, too, bank ruptcies are more frequent, and considered less discredit able than in any other country ; in many cases they occur repeatedly in the same individual. Mr Combe quotes a statement, probably overrated, that in New York only one in twelve became rich ; the other eleven insolvent. Of course, the situation of the mercantile world generally is thus rendered precarious ; and the public suffers in the failure of reckless and extravagant undertakings. We have had before occasion to observe, that public improvements, even of the most laudable nature, are undertaken on a scale beyond what present circumstances can justify or remunerate. There is a still deeper reproach, which those who make extreme haste to be rich can with difficulty escape. General charges against a people should be advanced with great caution, and if in a sweep ing form, are usually unjust. Yet there appears a strong concurrence as to the existence of a somewhat lower standard of mercantile integrity than in Europe, or at least in Britain and Germany. Mr Hamilton charges the Yankee not only with the entire prostration of all his powers, bodily and mental, at the shrine of Mammon, but with a promptitude, wherever he can, to overreach and deceive. Success in these arts is said to become a subject of boast ; and the man detected in practising them is rather mortified by the exposure of his 20 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. want of skill, than humbled by conscious misconduct. This writer asserts, that at a public table attended by about a hundred persons who were perpetually shift ing, he habitually heard applause bestowed on conduct which in England would have involved a total loss of character. Mrs Trollope characterizes them as sly, sel fish, and grinding, and also complains that actions which went at least to the extreme verge of morality were mentioned without disapprobation, and even with ap plause. Very decided advocates of America, as Mr Stuart and Mr Grund, have avoided any mention of this charge. Mr Shirreff, who notices it as prevalent, merely replies tauntingly, that the danger of being overreached would be equal in Canada ; but this is not a denial with respect to the other party. Mr Bucking ham seems to view the subject candidly, when he denies the charge as general, even in regard to the great number who become insolvent, yet admits that there are many against whom the accusation would justly apply. Mr Combe mentions a number whose lives were one con tinued course of swindling and bankruptcy. This accords with what has been stated to us by respectable Ameri cans, who, while defending in general the honourable character of their countrymen, owned that there were a certain number who kept afloat in society after they had lost every vestige of character. Mr Buckingham conceives, on the whole, that pecuniary laxity is visited here with greater lenity and indulgence than in England. He quotes the statement of Dr Dcwey, an eminent clergy man in New York, of certain frauds as entering into the regular course of business ; as that of enclosing in the heart of a bunch of quills a portion inferior to the rest. Such practices, it appears, are even defended as matters of course, and expected by the purchaser, an inade quate plea, usually advanced for any trick which be comes general. We are not aware that any tradesman of the slightest respectability in London, or even Paris, would be guilty of them. There is one character which seems given up on all MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 21 hands, that of the Yankee pedlar. This race is repre sented by Mr Hamilton as moving annually through out the Union, with the express determination to lie, cheat, cozen, and hi any way become possessed of the property of others. The charge may be considered as admitted by the nation, since Mr Hill, their favourite comic performer, represents so humorously, and evi dently from the life, the dexterous and enormous frauds habitual to this personage. Their own poet, Halleck, also describes them as, " Apostates who are meddling With merchandise, pounds, shillings, pence, and peddling, Or wandering through the southern countries teaching The A B C from Webster s spelling-book ; Gallant and godly, making love and preaching, And gaining by what they call hook and crook, And what the moralists call overreaching, A decent living. The Virginians look Upon them with as favourable eyes, As Gabriel did the devil in paradise." The genus, which in Britain is now nearly extinct, never bore there a very high reputation ; yet they did not seemingly rank so very low. These form, however, a distinct and quite inferior class to that of the great merchants in the commercial cities. It is indeed ob served, that while there is so much general respecta bility among American citizens, the unprincipled pre sent a more unblushing front than elsewhere. Expe riencing less restraint from law, and almost none from police, they take advantage of the general prevalence of a daring and independent spirit. New York has been described as the paradise of rogues, the general receptacle for all those both of Europe and America ; where the character is developed in all its might and malignity. Those personages, displaying themselves prominently on the surface, attract more notice than the quiet and orderly class of citizens. It is indeed implied in the statement, that Europe furnishes a considerable propor tion ; and we really see numerous instances in which those who have lost their place in society at home, seek 22 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. an asylum in this land of liberty. It may be farther remarked, that this profligate population is mostly con fined to the great maritime cities, and that the agri cultural occupants, who form the great body of the society, preserve in general a dignified and honourable simplicity. We may perhaps assent to the panegyric pronounced by Halleck, in contrast with his character of the peddling order : " View them near At home, where all their worth and pride are placed ; And there their hospitable fires burn clear, And there the lowliest farm-house hearth is graced With manly hearts, in piety sincere, Faithful in love, in honour stern and chaste ; In friendship warm and true, in danger brave, Beloved in life, and sainted in the grave." It has been at the same time observed that, while wealth is pursued thus devotedly, and by almost every means good and bad, there is no disposition to a sordid economy. The people indulge, as their circumstances ad mit, in the conveniences and comforts of life, and practise, as we have seen, a liberal generosity, especially towards public objects. Many even squander their fortunes in an extravagant and ostentatious manner ; and the habits of life among the wealthy inhabitants are generally too expensive. Mr Hamilton indeed represents an inor dinate importance as attached to the possessors of wealth, so that he was offered as a high honour to be introduced to a gentleman who had made 100,000 dollars by tallow, and told that one worth half a-million had desired to meet with him. Indeed, this pride in the possession of wealth is probably a motive for its ostentatious display. Although they never cease to aim at its increase, this is not sought by saving or hoarding, but by em barking their funds in fresh enterprises, even at the hazard of losing the fortune already obtained. Another fault imputed to the Americans, and seem ingly not without reason, is a pugnacious disposition a promptitude to engage in personal conflict. Even an advocate allows that of all people they are the readiest MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 23 to take and resent an insult. Those violent forms of it, as gouging or scooping out the eyes, biting off a member, or otherwise maiming an antagonist, which of old gave so barbarous an aspect to society, seem to be extinct. Neither the actions themselves, nor indivi duals suffering under their consequences, appear to have come under the view of recent travellers. Through a great part of the Union, however, the practice prevails of wearing knives fitted to inflict deadly wounds, which are occasionally drawn forth ; and fierce personal conflicts have disgraced the halls of the state assemblies, and even of congress. These individual outrages are now mostly confined to the western and particularly the south western territory. In the most improved eastern states, however, the same spirit is still displayed in the exercise of lynch-law, and violent mobs are raised even by the more respectable classes. On politics and other contro verted subjects, the war of words is waged with almost matchless fury. Duelling, a practice considered as ap propriate to the feudal system, and unknown in the ancient republics, might have been expected to find little favour. It prevails, however, to a greater extent than in Britain, and has proved fatal to some of the most distinguished citizens ; while it is carried on seem ingly in a spirit more sanguinary, and without the same anxiety on the part of the seconds to save the honour of their principals without the sacrifice of life. Another symptom of this disposition is the taste and passion for war \vhich pervades the nation. The exploits which distinguished the contest with Britain are celebrated with the utmost enthusiasm ; and an inordinate vene ration is attached to eminent military characters. It was mainly upon this ground that Generals Jackson and Harrison were raised to the presidency ; and General Scott was proposed lately by a numerous body for the next vacancy ; so that there seems a strong disposition to confer this highest dignity on the most eminent of their military men. During the late controversies witli Britain, the disposition among a great body, and per- 24 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. haps a majority of the people, to push matters to ex tremity, and even plunge their country into war, was sufficiently manifested, and with difficulty checked by the supreme government. These tendencies are the more remarkable, as appearing particularly inconsistent with feelings of republican jealousy, and also with the general decided profession of religion. Another reproach of a more venial nature is the ex tremely high estimate formed of themselves as a people, and the obtrusive manner in which it is often asserted. This is indeed shared in a great measure by the mother- country ; yet in passing the Atlantic, it has assumed a different phase. The genuine Briton, while he cherishes a profound conviction of the superiority of his country and nation, holds in contempt any con trary opinion entertained by others, and which, if re ported to him, only confirms his persuasion of their inferiority. But the American is by no means satisfied with his own inward consciousness ; he feels an eager and feverish anxiety that it should be shared by fo reigners ; and if disappointed, as he has too often been, gives way to vehement bursts of resentment. Cap tain Hall complains that, being known to intend pub lishing an account of America, he was assailed courte ously, yet earnestly and with little delicacy, on the subject. He was asked, " Don t you think this a won derful country I Don t you allow us great credit for what we are doing I Don t we resemble the old world much more than you expected ! Had you any idea of finding us so advanced ? Is not the great canal the finest work in the world ? Don t you admit we are be coming a great nation * What do you think of us on the whole I " It must be owned that several writers of eminence, from political feelings and habits of aristo cratic refinement, have taken peculiar delight in pre senting American peculiarities under a strong and ex aggerated light. The people have really expressed themselves satisfied with several who, as M. de Tocque- ville, have by no means bestowed unqualified praise. MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 25 It must be owned, too, that between each other, and in the intercourse of different classes, the language used is often far from complimentary. It is chiefly when placed in front of other nations, and particularly of their maternal one, that they become intolerant of critical remark. The American traveller in Europe, according to Mr Hamilton, considers himself an impersonation of the honour of the Union, and feels as if all the dignity of his country were concentrated in himself. Yet it does not appear as if he repelled foreign ideas, being accused by his countrymen of returning too deeply impregnated with them. Another fault, also venial, yet not a little trouble some and annoying, is prying curiosity into the con cerns of strangers. This propensity is indeed very generally observed among persons in remote and se questered situations. To the inhabitants of a great city, a man, considered in himself, is as it were nobody ; attention being almost confined to some leading public characters, or persons with whom they are connected by business or friendship. But in a retired situation, the arrival of a new-comer is an important event, which breaks the monotony of life, and excites a strong interest in every thing connected with him. The situation of the majority of the Americans originally was, and to a great extent still is, more recluse than that of any Eu ropean people ; and the habit thus formed appears to continue even.in situations where the advance of society has diminished the cause, while the spirit of freedom and equality removes any reserve in taking the most straightforward mode of gratifying the inclination. It might be supposed that in a country where every one is so intensely busied in his own affairs, there would be little leisure for searching so curiously into those of others. It appears, however, that time is found for both objects ; and Mr Hamilton satirically says, that every moment which can be spared from the one is devoted to the other. He describes it as impossible to baffle an American, who will track you through every VOL. III. B 26 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. evasion, detect all your doublings, or, if thrown out, hark back so skilfully on scent, that you are at length fairly hedged into a corner. Dr Franklin, to escape this annoyance, was accustomed, when he went into a country district, to have fastened to his breast a paper, on which was written his name, occupation, residence, and the business which brought him thither. Miss Sedgwick mentions as a well-known story that of a Dutchman who was here questioned to death. We in cline, however, to think that, among the higher classes who inhabit the cities, this peculiarity has in a great measure disappeared. Among those whom we have met in Europe, and who of course belonged to this class, it was not displayed in any prominent or offensive degree. It may seem not altogether to accord with some of the above statements to describe the Americans as perhaps the best-tempered people in the world. Yet Captain Hall declares he never saw one of them out of temper. Miss Martineau, confirming this observation, and con trasting it with the waywardness often displayed by the members of the Saxon race, considers it as a general sunshine diffused over the land. Symptoms of heat and irritation indeed occurred as elsewhere ; but they were kept under such control as not to be offensive. She inclines to impute it to that self-command which arises in a republic, where there is a pressure on all sides of the rights and claims of others, in a manner which can not be disregarded. It is strikingly displayed in acci dents and disappointments in travelling, or even more serious occasions, which scarcely excite the irritation else where so usual. This pacific disposition prevails particu larly in families, where the cause above stated is not in operation ; but Miss M. supposes it the result of the habit otherwise formed. Of course it ceases when the person comes to speak and act in public life, or when resent ment of wrong impels him to seek some serious revenge. Strangers complain of a coldness of manner both in society and in the services rendered at shops and hotels, yet own that in action the people are particularly MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 27 friendly and obliging. Even Mr Hamilton describes the union of republican plainness with cordiality as very pleasing. There is another moral quality, in respect to which America has presented varied and striking aspects. Twenty years ago the use of ardent spirits prevailed to a great excess, not indeed in a convivial manner, nor leading to turbulent intoxication, but in a more pernicious habit of frequent solitary indulgence. At the bar of every tavern a supply was provided, to which the guests from time to time resorted ; and a practice prevailed of taking a dram at successive periods of the day, beginning with the earliest. Although the disturbances caused by intoxication were thus avoided, yet the health was more seriously injured, and the mind kept in a state of constant confusion and irrita tion. The observation of these evils gave rise to that great and remarkable movement, which consisted in the formation of temperance societies ; the first of which was established at Boston in 1813, under the title of the " Massachusetts Society for the Suppression of Intem perance." The professed object was merely to check the " too free use" of ardent spirits ; and it made laudable exertions for this object, but on a very limited scale, till 1826, when a national association was formed, entitled the " American Temperance Society," having still its head quarters at Boston. All the usual modes of influencing the public mind were then most actively employed. Lectures were delivered in the principal towns ; reports, tracts, and newspapers were largely and gratuitously distributed. A numerous body of physicians were in duced to declare, that the use of ardent spirits by per sons in health was in every case superfluous, and often the cause of disease and death ; while resolutions condemn ing it in a moral view were issued by various ecclesias tical bodies. Captains of vessels were even prevailed upon to sail without spirits on board, and their insurances were in consequence somewhat lowered. Between 1831 and 28 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 1835, the number of societies rose from 3000 to 8000, the members from 300,000 to 1,500,000. At the latter period, it is stated that above 4000 distilleries had been stopped, and 8000 traders ceased to sell ardent spirits ; 1200 ves sels received none on board, and 12,000 drunkards had been reformed. A most extensive reduction has taken place in the quantity produced and imported. With out entering into any disputed question respecting the system, it seems impossible to deny, that this great self-denying movement could only arise from the purest motives, and is honourable to the national character. The Massachusetts legislature attempted to follow it up by an act that no innkeeper should sell less than fifteen gallons to one individual, unless for medical purposes. This attempt to pass the limits of legislation, and regu late manners by law, was unsound in principle, and particularly unsuited to a community where the feeling is BO strong in favour of liberty. A violent ferment arose in Boston ; the publicans refused to obey, and were supported by the people ; the contest was waged with the usual violence, and divided into cross sections the two leading political parties. The democrats, how ever, were most generally hostile to it, and being seconded by public opinion, procured its abolition, and gained additional strength to themselves. The original system of the temperance advocates was limited to the proscription of spirits, leaving untouched the use of fermented liquors, which had not been the subject of the same abuse. There soon, however, arose a section which, under the well-known slang title of tee-totallers, proscribed the latter also ; and amid their first zeal, it is said the contents of some wine cellars were emptied into the streets. This party, so far as we understand, is now completely in the ascendant. The Marlborough, stated as the second hotel in Boston, and making up from one to two hundred beds, sells no species of intoxicating liquid ; and the same is the case with others in New England. A step still more in MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 29 advance has even been partially made. The Ameri can Health Convention met at New York, and re solved to recommend the entire disuse of animal food, as also of tea, coffee, and every species of stimulating dietetic. Reports were made of the great longevity attained under this regimen, and particular hopes held out to those who would limit their diet to gruel. This doctrine, supported by Dr Graham, a man of some talent, has gained a considerable number of converts. Mr Sturge even celebrates the entertainment which he received from one of them, though admitting, of course, that it consisted exclusively of " the feast of reason. 1 This movement deserves particular notice, as being the first great one which has been communicated from the New to the Old World, Though originating wholly in the former, it has, as our readers must well know, been seconded with ardour by many respectable and virtuous individuals in this country. There, indeed, it does not seem to have made the same impression on the habits of the people ; but in Ireland, seconded by a peculiar religious impulse, it has exercised an influence perhaps as deep as in America. One of the circumstances which most disgusts travel lers of rank in the United States is the complete equality assumed by the lowest classes, and the studious withholding of those forms and even terms of respect to which they have been accustomed at home. This system the Americans strenuously defend as forming the very basis of their social system. It is remarked, however, that the change consists not so much in the abolition of aristocratic terms, as in their transference from one class to another. They are studiously employed in addressing the humblest order, while plebeian forms are applied to those whose circumstances might have seemed to command special respect. Mrs Trollope was mortified to find that, while her servants and ordinary workmen were saluted as ladies and gentlemen, she herself was known only under the appellation of " the old woman." The Duke of Saxe-Weimar having made 30 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. a journey by post, the driver came to him next day and asked, " Pray, are you the man that was driven here yesterday?" "Yes." "Then, I am the gentleman that drove you." The utmost reluctance is shown to enter a menial situation ; and those who do so consider themselves as conferring a favour. The term servant has, by common consent, been expunged from the American vocabulary, and its place supplied by help, boss, and others implying kindness bestowed. Mrs Trollope describes a young girl coming to her, with a patronizing air, and saying, " I be come to help you." Such employment is usually undertaken only for a limited time, with the view of obtaining funds for a particular object. Mrs T. s help exclaimed against the idea of a young lady engaging for so long a period as a year. They are dissatisfied if not treated on a footing of equality, and even, in some cases, if they do not sit at the same table. Mrs T. complains that this discontent and constant change is not only harassing, but mars that agreeable harmony which reigns at home in many domestic establishments. In the eastern cities, indeed, the men-servants consist mostly of free negroes and Irish emigrants. Thus the principle of equality is strenuously asserted by the great body of the American people ; and being recognised by the persons whose interests might seem most adverse to it, appears to pervade the whole of society. Yet close observation soon shows, that aristocratic feel ings are as powerful and deeply seated as in the most exclusive circles of the Old World. Vain man will always seek some distinction, by which he may be raised above his fellows ; and while the present state of society subsists, that derived from wealth, and what is termed style of living, must always have a paramount influence. De Tocqueville describes the great merchant, while he accosts and shakes hands with the shoemaker as an equal, surrounding himself at home with Sybaritic pomp and luxury. We may add, that in the social and visiting circle, he is guided by a more exclusive spirit MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 31 than is usual in Britain, where it is observed to be much stronger than in Germany. The cause may be easily traced, without having recourse to Mr Combe s sup position of a peculiar form of the national crania. Where the distinctions of rank are cheerfully acknowledged by all classes, its possessor may mix familiarly with the others, without danger of being confounded with them and losing his own place. But where the exclusion is formed only by a combination of one class to hold itself separate, it must be maintained with uniform rigour, or lost altogether. Thus are formed sets, which prevail generally in the provincial and commercial towns in Britain ; but in America their influence is much more stringent. They are cemented, too, not by mere wealth, but by certain distinctions, which appear to be still less weighty. The wholesale dealer claims to belong to a different order of beings from him who sells by retail. Dr Dewey ridicules the pre-eminence claimed in conse quence of selling a bale instead of a yard ; of the auc tioneer above the grocer. To decline all intercourse with this last class is described by Miss Martineau as a primary object in the fashionable circle. The factory girls regard themselves as elevated above all association with female domestics. It appears even that there is already a distinction between wealth long possessed and that newly acquired. In all the great cities, particu larly Philadelphia, there are old families, who possess superior consideration, and into whose circle the par venus are with difficulty admitted. We cannot fail to observe, that these exclusions, though, from the free nature of social intercourse, they may not afford any re gular ground for complaint, must be more deeply gall ing than those which are regularly sanctioned by national institutions and usages. The character and treatment of the female sex are points on which the wellbeing of the social system must vitally depend ; and in these respects America, with the necessary allowances for human infirmity, may be con sidered as happy. Republican states have been sup- 32 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. posed peculiarly to fail in this respect ; and the fault, in fact, was strikingly observed in some of the most cele brated of those in antiquity. European society, on the contrary, has since the feudal ages been agreeably distinguished by a gay and chivalric courtesy. In this we might have apprehended that the Americans, professing to be very decided republicans, would be rather deficient. On the contrary, they behave with a deference and attention to the fair sex which unfor tunately have become somewhat obsolete even in polite society among ourselves. Whenever ladies appear in public, every thing gives way to their convenience ; in steam-boats, coaches, and other public conveyances, the best seats are yielded to them by gentlemen who are perfect strangers, and who, though they may scramble somewhat roughly among each other, never think of taking their places till the females are accommodated. Even among the labouring classes females are never employed in out-door drudgery. In the hall of congress, a gallery is reserved for them, that they may witness the proceedings, a privilege denied to them in the British House of Commons ; and Mrs Trollope remarks, that there is no danger of their causing any distraction in the minds of the senators. It appears, indeed, that the pressure of public and private affairs leaves little leisure for conversation, or for the interchange of small talk and little attentions, which enliven mixed society in Europe. The young American ladies are described as possessed of uncommon personal beauty. Even Mrs Trollope, who is by no means their panegyrist, considers it superior to that of almost any other nation. Their forms are peculiarly slender, elegant, and sylph-like ; yet without that fulness, which, when combined with fine propor tions, makes what we term a fine woman. Unfor tunately, from the want of exercise in the open air, and at the same time of precaution against the vicissitudes of the weather, they suffer much ill health, which, with early marriages, causes them sensibly to decay about the age of thirty. The want of original fulness is then MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 33 particularly conspicuous, producing a meagre and scraggy appearance. They receive more liberal instruction than is usual with us, including languages, with natural and moral philosophy, and thus very generally acquire more information and taste for reading than the other sex. Grave writers indeed allege, that their acquisitions and studies are often frivolous, and that novels and books merely amusing have too prominent a place. Dr D wight alleges, that in many instances the young lady of Boston may be described as only " a well-dressed bundle of ac complishments." From circumstances which transpire in Mrs Clavers narrative, we are led to imagine that the fashion of deporting themselves as heroines of romance, which may be said to be obsolete in this country, is there still somewhat prevalent ; as also a taste for fine names drawn from this source, and from Roman history. Dress, in the fashionable circles, is indulged in to an extent often disproportioned to the means of the family. New York has been described as containing more well-dressed females than any other city of equal size ; though of course there cannot be the same display of jewels as in the circles of royalty and nobility. The young ladies enjoy great liberty, and indeed, on coming of age, assume the direction of all the social arrangements of the family. Every thing connected with entertainments and visiting belongs to their province, the mothers only attending to give a sanction by their presence. A traveller expresses his surprise on receiving a note of invitation to a party from a young lady of seventeen. Yet this social freedom is not alleged to be attended with any impropriety either of manners or conduct. On the contrary, they are accused of prudery carried sometimes to a ridiculous extent, and even of repulsive coldness, particularly on being thrown into public among strangers, when they accept the attentions which are shown to them without vouchsafing a word or even a gesture expres sive of obligation. Those moving in the gay and aristocratic circles are accused of favouring and being easily induced to accept the alliance of foreigners, or in 34 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. the second place of their countrymen who have travelled in Europe, and thus, in the opinion of many, lost part of the genuine American character. At an early period of life, however, the lady is usually united in the matrimonial tie. This arrangement, prompted by the facility of subsistence, is alleged to take place often prematurely, before the parties are fully qualified to fulfil the parental duties. From this time, however, she renounces those gayeties which had been thought not unsuitable to her single state ; and to dance in public is, even in a youthful matron, considered no longer becoming. Her conduct as a wife and a mother is, generally speaking, exemplary. There is said to be an unusual proportion of happy marriages ; and the prevailing good temper displays itself in the domestic circle, which appears thus the most advantageous light under which an American can be viewed. His home is described as in many cases resembling an earthly paradise. The world without may be for him a scene of turbulence, and even conflict ; but that within is all harmony and peace. Instances of matrimonial infidelity are extremely rare ; and if it be true that the few cases which do occur are passed over more easily than in this country, the inference is, that the prevailing good con duct is founded on principle rather than fear. These virtues are practised under the influence of a deep sense of religion, which, as already observed, prevails gene rally among the respectable class of society, but more especially females. Even those men who themselves feel little of this spirit, show their sense of its influence on their domestic wellbeing, by encouraging it in their wives. Under this sacred influence, much of their time is spent in works of kindness, and in the management of institutions for the improvement and relief of their fellow-creatures. While the American ladies display so many estimable qualities, as good wives, good mothers, and good members of society, they may allow Mrs Trollope to criticize their want of grace, animation, and attractiveness ; of those qualities which embellish MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 35 the gay leisure of a European drawing-room. Even this censure seems passed on a somewhat superficial view. Individuals qualified to judge, have considered their manners, if somewhat cold, so marked by good sense, information, and genuine courtesy, as to be ex tremely agreeable. Hence, accomplished Europeans have chosen partners out of their number, without having any cause for repentance. We have already observed that meals and other entertainments do not bear the same social character as with us, the victuals being usually consumed with extreme rapidity, after which the party instantly break up. But among the genteeler classes in the large towns, it is now customary to prepare elaborate and splendid entertainments after the European model. The most prevalent mode, however, appears to be that of evening parties, after the manner of conversazioni, with only slight refreshment, which meet frequently, and upon general invitation. The hours are late, from ten to two or three, yet, though too crowded, they are conducted with great decorum ; cards are seldom introduced ; oaths are never heard. Even there the merchant is said often to display an anxious and care-worn countenance, and a mind little at ease for cheerful conversation. Yet it is generally agreed by travellers, that there is a circle com posed of the best-informed among this class, combined with professional and literary men, among whom subjects are discussed with a manly frankness, intelligence, and courtesy, which render the intercourse singularly agreeable. Even Mrs Trollope bears this testimony with warmth ; and Mr Buckingham declares that, after experience of similar parties both in London and Paris, he inclines to give the preference to those of New York and Boston. The present writer, from his obser vation of individuals of this class, whom he has met in this country and on the Continent, does not hesitate to concur. There was exhibited a love of conversing on important subjects, with large and liberal views, which gave to their conversation a superior stamp to 36 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. that prevalent among us, where even that of intelligent men often takes a frivolous turn. A somewhat lengthy and oratorical strain, almost as if they felt themselves on the floor of congress, appeared the only blemish. There are some minor defects in manners and deport ment, which have been criticized perhaps with extreme severity. In countries, where a court and body of nobi lity reside, a large circle is formed, within which it be comes a special study to perform their parts gracefully, and without giving offence ; and a standard is thus esta blished, which the other classes more or less strive to imitate. But where all are busied in serious occupa tions, and can spare only a few hours for social relaxa tion, there cannot be the same attention bestowed upon outward forms. A man will be disposed to adjust them rather as may be commodious and gratifying to him self, than likely to gain the favour of others. The chewing or smoking of tobacco is almost universal, and the consequent spitting indulged in with little regard to the annoyance of the company. Among enumerated offences are, wearing the hat on the most ceremonious occasions; in public places turning the back to the audience or company ; balancing the person on a chair, with the legs thrown up ; lifting the food with the knife, and thrusting it deep into the mouth. The Americans have not borne these charges very patiently, nor even pleaded guilty. Yet it is remarked, that considerable anxiety is shown to remove the grounds of offence, and that they are not slow to ridicule each other, in case of any palpable failure. It is mentioned, that in the theatre at New York, a gentleman in one of the boxes having placed himself in a peculiarly uncouth attitude, the audience saluted him with cries of " Trollope ! Trollope 1" Foreigners complain also of rude provision for the con veniences and comforts of life, and the neglect of little niceties and delicacies, which are felt as necessary by those accustomed to a more refined circle. These deficien cies almost irresistibly arise from the train of colonial life. MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 37 The new settler has indeed the means of plenty before him ; but to make them available, he must engage in a rough struggle with nature, to which his time and powers are scarcely adequate ; while help cannot be ob tained without great difficulty and expense. He must content himself, therefore, with hastily getting through the most essential processes, omitting matters of orna ment and indulgence. Becoming accustomed to live without these, he ceases to feel them needful to his comfort, and even when he reaches abundance or wealth, cares not to take the additional trouble of procuring them. In the maritime cities, indeed, which constantly com municate with Europe, this obvious imperfection has been greatly removed ; but in the interior, and still more in the west, it is still noticed. As a specimen, Mr Stuart mentions, that beyond Albany bells were not used, while the place of egg-cups was inconveniently supplied by glasses. Washington describes a ball at Alexandria, where the tables were covered with pocket- handkerchiefs instead of cloths ; but this, we presume, would not now occur. The steam-vessels are fitted up with studied splendour and every conveniency ; but in the canal-boats the old system still flourishes. Mr Steven son mentions, that the captain of one in which he sailed assumed the entire command over the passengers, and did not exercise it with much civility. The cabin was com pletely filled with hammocks, arranged in three tiers, the heaviest persons being made to occupy the lowest, with the view of ballasting the vessel. At five in the morn ing, they were all summoned to come on deck, till the sleeping apparatus could be removed, and the apartment prepared for breakfast ; and at nine in the evening, all were again called up till the beds could be replaced, which they were then obliged to occupy. One towel, brush, and comb were hung at the cabin-door, for the general use of the party ; and for their common ablu tions, a gigantic tin vessel, filled with water, was fastened to the stern. Mr Combe further relates, that the beds, on being taken down, were piled together in a heap, 38 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. and when replaced, no attention was paid that each should receive his own ; a good fortune for which, from the great number, no one could reasonably hope. The doors and windows of the apartment, forty-two feet long, in which thirty-five men were sleeping, being kept fast closed, the air became infected, and a painful sense of suffocation ensued ; while on the couches being re moved, horrid effluvia were exhaled. The ladies cabin, though only twelve feet, contained nineteen, and ten children. These circumstances severely affected the health of a number of the passengers, though they ap peared insensible of the cause. The inns and hotels, of course, occupy much of the attention of foreigners ; and indeed the constant move ment for political, commercial, and emigrant purposes,re- quires them to be more numerous, and on a greater scale than in any other country. Astor House, in New York, makes up 500 beds. The imperfection of those in the west will be presently noticed ; but in the old states they are provided with every European accommoda tion. Some of the arrangements are, however, peculiar. Every meal is taken by the whole company in public, at a common table ; and it is very difficult to pro cure refreshments at any intermediate period. There is no drinking after dinner, the company beginning even to break up before the meal is concluded ; but liquors can always be had at the bar, around which a social circle is sometimes formed. Complaints are made by some of want of civility in the attendants. It is admitted, that there is an absence of that obsequious courtesy which is shown in this country to persons of high rank ; and that this, when claimed with airs of superiority, will be very decidedly repelled. A stranger, however, who conforms to the ideas of the country, and deals with the servant as man with man, will be coldly, perhaps, but satisfactorily attended to. The females who, in every rank, are accustomed to particular re spect, discharge the duties of waiting with especial cool ness, and hesitate not to sit down in the apartment MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 39 when unemployed. The business of hotels is consider ably extended by the custom of many individuals board ing in them, which by single men is considered both convenient and economical. It is not unfrequent even with married people for some years, till their family increases ; a practice very foreign to British ideas, and of which many doubt the expediency. Mr Hamilton complains of the intricacy of the passages in these great hotels, rendering the discovery of a particular apartment a matter of speculation, and requiring a search like that of Parry for the north-west passage ; but we cannot say, that in large English inns the internal arrange ments in this respect are so superior as to afford much room for triumph. It may be urged, perhaps, in excuse for both, that such houses are usually formed by suc cessive additions, which are not easily made to harmonize with each other. From this subject the transition is natural to the food served up at public and private tables. This is allowed to be abundant, and of good quality. Such is particularly the case as to poultry and game, which are indeed often combined, since the turkey, the duck, and other domestic species are found here wild, and of ex cellent flavour. English palates, however, are not per fectly satisfied with the mode in which it is cooked and served up. The sauces are said to be unskilfully con cocted, too rich and greasy. Mrs Trollope remarks on some singular combinations ; as eggs and oysters ; ham with apple sauce ; steaks stewed with peaches ; yet it might perhaps be difficult to decide on what principle some of our own conjunctions take place. Pies, pud dings, and sweetmeats are favourite dishes, and, with meat, are presented at breakfast and in the evening, as well as at dinner. The favourite wines are madeira and claret, port being seldom used. Some particulars specially relating to the labouring class may conclude this notice. Their means of physical wellbeing are, as already observed, decidedly superior to those in Britain, or any country of Europe. A great 40 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. proportion possess property in land, while those who work for wages obtain a much higher remuneration. Yet Mrs Trollope maintains that their condition is not really superior ; which she imputes to their expenditure on victuals, including animal food three times a-day, to the quantity of liquor consumed, and their more fre quent intervals of ill health. Yet the larger amount of income seems in itself an undoubted advantage, however they may fail in turning it to the best account. Dr Channing indeed also regrets this superfluity in diet, as injurious to health, and diverting their money from better purposes. The practice of boarding among the single and newly married is still more general than among the higher classes. Their residence, however, is not in hotels, but in houses kept for the express pur pose, where they are supplied with three meals a-day, each including fish, meat, pastry, and fruit. Their lodging space, however, is very confined, each sleeping apartment containing almost always several beds, with usually two persons in each. As it is not expected that the boarder shall spend much time in the public room, unless at meals, he has little means of employing his leisure hours at home. This too naturally induces the habit of attending places of public amusement or drinking-houses ; in which last, the entertainment as usual is not social, nor leading to turbulent intoxica tion. When the visiter enters he finds a long bar with a great variety of liquors, an<J a glass being handed to him, he fills it out of the one which he prefers. An ample supply of newspapers is prepared for his perusal ; but games of different kinds are much played, and often at high stakes. We may thus see, in regard to America, the insufficiency of mere moderation, and the importance of entirely discountenancing attendance at these haunts. Yet a certain amount of time and money is be stowed on intellectual improvement, which, though not very large, exceeds considerably that contributed by any similar population in the old world. Dress is another article on which the workman spends more than MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 41 the same clas&else where. This taste may he considered so far laudable, though often carried, it is said, to a foolish excess. Hence, however, the people on the whole make a remarkably respectable appearance, and no symptom of absolute poverty is exhibited ; yet close observers assure us, that the great cities present not a few examples of extreme wretchedness, chiefly occasioned, however, by intemperance or other misconduct. We have had occasion to notice that a considerable proportion of females are employed in the American factories, generally the daughters of farmers or small proprietors, seeking by two or three years labour to realize a littie property ; and we have mention ed the favourable report made upon their conduct. The factory girls at Waltham dress like ladies ; they support a clergyman, and provide lectures for their own instruction. For two dollars a-week they obtain good board ; though the houses are crowded as usual, and Miss Martineau deplores their lot in never being able to enjoy one moment of solitude, an evil, how ever, which does not seem " to make the heart sore in America." On beginning to have a family a man always takes up house ; though this is a privilege which does not seem very highly prized. The mansions are large, and the rents high and increasing : in New York, the lowest wooden tenement costs 30 ; hence it is common to take lodgings, or if a house be rented, to let it par tially. The rearing of children is comparatively easy, since by the age of ten they begin to earn their own subsistence, and can be apprenticed to any trade without a premium. We have now taken a general survey of social life throughout America ; but, as already observed, there are different sections exhibiting remarkable varia tions. These are mainly divisible into four ; the Northern and the Southern Atlantic States ; then the Western, or those newly formed, divided according to the two others whence they respectively spring. The VOL. III. C 42 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. above delineation has been given specially with a view to the first or the Northern Atlantic section, as the most flourishing, most influential, and which has in some degree stamped its character on the Union. Its qualities are concentrated in the New Englanders, called by the other Americans Yankees a name given somewhat in derision, yet which they do not hesitate to appropriate and glory in. The elements of knowledge are more gene rally diffused among them than perhaps in any other community, and their possession is regarded with peculiar pride even by the rural population. They have always manifested a deep sense of religious obligation, which, though sometimes assuming too strictly sectarian forms, prompts to extensive institutions and exertions for the diffusion of knowledge and the relief of distress. The mercantile character of the States was created and is still powerfully supported by the New Englanders, though New York, from favourable circumstances, has gained some steps in advance ; and in maritime affairs they continue unrivalled. With all these high merits, complaints are made of their wanting that warmth, openness, and flow of soul, which give a charm to social life, thus rendering themselves rather the objects of esteem than of love. They are represented as cool, reserved, shrewd, calculating ; cautious, yet enterprising, full of schemes of an original cast, which, though derided elsewhere under the title of Yankee notions, possess a useful and practical bearing. The most respectable class in this or perhaps any part of the Union consists of the small proprietors and farmers, who combine a proud simplicity with considerable intelligence and mental cultivation. The inhabitants of the cities and towns include many highly accomplished indivi duals ; yet the majority are strongly actuated by the love of gain, and many, especially of the peddling order, little scrupulous as to the means of its acquisition. These being the parties through whom the country is best known to Europe and to the other states, its repu tation has thus been considerably damaged. MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 43 The planters of the south, Avhile they agree with their northern countrymen in a general train of man ners and ideas, present many points of character not only different but strikingly contrasted. Instead of small owners or farmers, they are usually proprietors of a considerable extent of land tilled by their slaves. They are consequently relieved from manual toil, and exercise only a superintendence, often delegated to overseers ; being thus nearly in the situation of the English country gentlemen, whose character in many respects they resemble. Chevalier considers them as contrasting with the northerns like the old class of Cavaliers with the Roundheads. Yet it is remarkable that they placed themselves in the foremost front of the contest for independence, and have always made the highest profession of democracy. Primogeniture, which had been fully established among the early set tlers, was abolished soon after the revolution. The tone of society, however, is still aristocratic ; and they record with pride their descent from illustrious English families who early migrated. They are quite gentlemen of the old school ; their manners frank, open, and agree able ; their hospitality most liberal. A perfect stranger, of respectable appearance, receives a hearty welcome ; hence inns are almost useless, and inferior to those in the north. A number employ their leisure in study ing and preparing themselves for public life. Combin ing a knowledge of books and the world with habits of reflection, they become fitted for the highest public situa tions, and have contributed a majority of the orators and statesmen who have held sway in the republic. Washing ton, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, four of the five first pre sidents, were Virginian. This class of men are now produced in nearly equal proportion by Boston. Indeed, the Virgini ans have experienced a prettysevere pressure from the re duced prices of their produce, while its amount has very little increased ; and these causes, joined to their confirmed habits of liberal and even lavish expenditure, have led to a very general embarrassment. Their situation with respect 44 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. to slavery has also proved distressing and disadvanta geous ; but this subject will be fully treated in another chapter. A considerable number have sought relief by removal to the new states formed in the south west. Each of the sections now surveyed has its representa tive in the new and rising states formed west of the Alleghany. We shall first consider those descended from the northern Atlantic region, and which include all on that side of the Ohio. The peculiar social state formed by colonization has already been noticed : this is still perceptible in the Atlantic states ; and the western, being colonies from them, present all its features upon an enlarged scale. The migration, too, besides being more numerous, is made in a looser manner, without any aristocratic direction and control, such as influenced the early settlers from England. It consists of a con tinued stream of the labouring class, and those imme diately above them, mixed with crowds of their brethren from every clirne. There is, indeed, a sprinkling of a higher order ; merchants who have failed in business ; professional men unable to procure employment ; youths who have married without the means of supporting a family ; others seized with a passion for retirement. These calculate that they will here be at least sure of subsistence, and be removed from the view of those who had known them when more prosperous. Their posi tion, however, gives them no means of exercising an influence over their neighbours ; and notwithstanding strenuous efforts, in many instances, to hold themselves aloof, they are soon obliged to merge in the general mass. If they do not, the reproach of pride, " that terrific bugbear of the woods," is speedily incurred, and they seek in vain for that neighbourly aid which is here indispensable. Even when performing services for money, the people consider themselves as confer ring an obligation, and sternly withhold them from any by whom they consider themselves despised. " If," says Mrs Clavers, "I treat Mrs Timson. with neglect MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 45 to-day, can I with any face borrow her broom to morrow ? And what \vould become of me if, in re venge for my declining her invitation to tea this after noon, she should decline coming to do my washing on Monday 1" Even where there is some wealth, it can with difficulty be used for purposes either of accom modation or display. A stock of furniture is regarded as superfluous, and it is very difficult to get workmen who will steadily employ themselves in rearing a house fitted to contain it. From these causes the labouring emigrants give com pletely the tone to the whole society ; and seeing them selves thus without any superiors, and also in posses sion of considerable property, assume an independent character, and give way, without reserve, to their na tural impulses. They thus acquire, according to Mr Flint, rough, sturdy, and simple habits, deep stamina of independent thought and feeling. Their manners, as compared with those of the east, are distinguished by earnestness and abruptness, and the total absence of that cautious and timid reserve complained of in the latter. They readily and frankly accost a stranger, and easily form new acquaintances. They are even ambi tious to enact the part of gentlemen, without exactly knowing how ; and the deference to the female sex, general in America, is carried to a chivalric and some times ridiculous extreme. They have formed a species of dialect of their own, with a pronunciation different from and more rapid than that in the east, using comparisons drawn from different views of things. The estimate of their manners varies, of course, greatly with the tastes and habits of different observers. Mrs Trollope re presents it as a compound of every thing that is coarse and revolting, and severe satirists have described the western man as a compound of the horse and the alli gator ; but this can have no application unless to the rudest pioneers. Miss Martineau, on the contrary, w T ho sets especial value on the frank and fearless declaration of sentiment, considers their society delightful when 46 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. compared with the timid caution of the New Englander. The steamers on the Ohio and Mississippi may be con sidered the centre of western society ; an excursion along the river is the favourite recreation ; and there are few who have not, once in their life, visited New Orleans. The youth, transported from the depth of the woods into this gay and crowded scene, feels him self as in a new world ; but he often meets with dan gerous associates. We may thus, on the whole, remark, that this new people agree with the original stock as to enter prise, activity, and industry ; in some other respects they present a contrast. They want the polish and refinement, the regular habits, and even the fixed prin ciple of the latter ; yet they have some attributes more agreeable and engaging. They even regard the Yankees, known to them, unfortunately, mostly by the peddling generation, with a sentiment of mingled contempt and hatred. Mr Hoffman mentions his party as being saluted by the call : < Are there any gentlemen among the Yankees 5" and a friend of his had repeatedly, on this ground, been refused a draught of water. In other cases, the hospitality, so much wanted in these vast solitudes,, is liberally exercised. Mrs Clavers never knew an instance of its refusal, unless when claimed as a right, on the ground of an intention to pay. The duties of neighbourhood, which in crowded cities have scarcely any existence, are here extensively practised. The expectations founded upon them are indeed some what inconvenient to the better provided residents. This lady found that their horse, their kitchen uten sils, and other moveables, when not in actual use, were confidently asked by their neighbours, and returned without thanks, or even strict attention to their being exactly in the condition received. Mrs Trollope had a servant who, when going to visit, asked the loan of her own and the young Ladies dresses ; and on being refused, declared, " she never seed such gumpy folks." In re turn, when emergencies occur, active services, which MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 47 money could not purchase, will be liberally contri buted. The accommodations of life must, of course, be here very rude ; and we have explained the circumstances which, in a new settlement, obstruct their supply, and gradually extinguish the desire for them. Building being difficult, many do not attain beyond a single apart ment for cooking, sitting, and sleeping ; while the fur niture is usually of the plainest materials, and very im perfect construction. There are odd substitutions of one thing for another, and articles applied to purposes very different from those originally intended ; as a hinge of leather, a latch of wood, a pane of oiled paper, a coffee-mill composed of a thick cloth and a hammer. The sins against Chesterfield are described as almost perpetual. Mrs Clavers had a visiter who uniformly dipped her spoon into the dish and cut off morsels from the joint, carrying them direct to her mouth, and when pressed to allow a slice to be cut for her, positively refused to give so much trouble. From the constant national movement, inns have been formed even in very- sequestered lines ; but the traveller must not be fasti dious as to the accommodation. If there be a separate sleeping room, it is only an upper apartment, reach ed by a ladder, where all the company of both sexes must repose together, producing an atmosphere in which it is not easy to respire. The ladies are accommodated with the best bed, and a curtain or cloth to screen them from view. Those of the other sex often sue in vain for a separate couch, which is considered a ridiculous delicacy. Mr Hoffman records his landlady s reason ing : " A bed to themselves, the hogs ! they have travelled together, and eat together, and yet they can t sleep together." On crossing to the south of the Ohio, an entirely new scene opens. All the states thence to the Gulf of Mexico have, during the last half-century, been derived from the southern Atlantic region, chiefly Virginia. They have retained its spirit, which they display in an ex- 48 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. aggerated degree, both as to good and evil, but espe cially the latter. Having brought with them negro slaves, by whom all the manual labour is performed, they want the personal industry of their northern neighbours, yet are not obliged to submit to the same privations of comfort and accommodation. The Ken- tuckians afford at once the most important and favourable specimen of this class of Americans. Being no longer situated on the border, their incessant and terrible war fare with the Indians has happily ceased ; yet they retain an extraordinary courage and dexterity in the use of the rifle, which has gained for them a great name in the military history of their country. Captain Hall considers them the Irish of America, distinguished by levity, buoyancy of spirit, jocular ferocity, ardour both in attachment and hatred. According to Hoff man, "there is an off-hand edness, if I may use the term, a fearless ardour, a frankness and self-possession about them, which engages your good will at once ; while you are both interested and amused at the ex aggerated tone of sentiment, half-romantic, half-vain glorious, which their ideas and sentiments betray." As an instance of their frank and social disposition, he mentions that, while setting out on a journey, he heard a voice calling from an enclosure : " Halloo, stranger ; I reckon you and I are cutting out for the same place ; so hold on a bit, and you shall have some com pany." A pride in their beautiful territory seems very strong, and was oddly expressed by a boatman on the Ohio, saying, " No, stranger, there is no place on the universal arth like old Kaintuck ; she whips all out west in prettiness ; and you might bile down cration, and not get such another state out of it." The hospi tality even to perfect strangers is still more lavish than in Virginia. In proceeding southward to the states newly formed on the lower Mississippi, this character appears under excessive and somewhat painful forms. This region may be considered the centre of turbulence, lynch-law, MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 49 duelling, and disregard of human life. The practice is general of wearing on the person a dagger or large knife, which in their personal quarrels is often used with fatal effect. A member of the Assembly of Arkansas, in the heat of debate, drew out one of these instruments, and stabbed another to the heart, who instantly died. It was with the utmost difficulty that the assembly were induced to vote his expulsion, and he was ac quitted by a jury. A case is mentioned of a passenger in one of the steamers having murdered another, when the captain merely put him on shore at the nearest landing-place, and no further proceedings were held. In this quarter are numerous depraved characters, who associate together, and almost set law at defiance. The most pernicious are the gamblers, who are con stantly on board the steamers, where they introduce much corruption and misery. It is true, strong mea sures have been taken against them by those who wit nessed or suffered by their misdeeds ; but these have been stamped by the violent and irregular character here too prevalent. Some years ago five of them were seized and hanged at Vicksbury, without form of trial, and without any animadversion on the perpetrators. A village near the Mississippi, where a number had con gregated, was attacked and destroyed by a body of settlers, who were indeed brought to trial, but, we imagine, suffered no serious punishment. There appear even to be scattered through this quarter small towns composed of outlawed and desperate characters, whom the hand of justice can scarcely reach. There are no doubt a number of respectable persons ; yet irreligion, profanity, and profligacy of various kinds extensively prevail. One circumstance unfavourable to the social progress of the Union is, that Washington, which, as the capital, must possess great influence, does not form the best school of manners. The families of the members sent to con gress from the eastern cities, being at no great distance, and enjoying at home all the refinements of life, do not 50 MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. in many instances change their residence. But the planters from the great western wilderness bring their wives and daughters with them to see the world. Hence the entertainments are described as more ostentatious, but with less of hospitality and elegance than in New York ; the men comparatively rough and boisterous, with awkward attempts at dandyism ; even the females less graceful, their talk noisy and almost vociferous. The behaviour at public places is less orderly ; at a concert applause was expressed by beating with canes. Various doubtful characters, speculators in public land and funds, slave-merchants, gamblers, throng this great political resort, and render it by no means a scene of improvement for young legislators. From the particulars now surveyed, a dread might arise that, as the new states are extending and peopling much more rapidly than the old, which, with the ex ception of the great commercial cities, remain nearly stationary, this barbarizing process may extend along with them, and finally gain a decided ascendency. Yet there are circumstances from which we may sanguinely anticipate a happier result. These states, as they be come larger and more populous, will increase also in wealth ; opulent classes will arise, who will study the refinements and improvements of social life. They will find models in the eastern states, with which they must always have a close connexion, and a visit to which is likely to become the favourite recreation. The filling up of the population will facilitate the reign of order and justice ; religious ministrations will become more ample ; a more sober and regular character will be formed. In fact, by looking back to the historical part of this work, successive operations of this salutary process may be observed. We have seen, at the breaking out of the great Indian war, the border of Connecticut occupied by thoroughly fierce and lawless bands ; now there is nowhere a population more peaceable or better con ducted. Even half a century ago, the interior of New England, and afterwards that of Pennsylvania, have been MANNERS AND SOCIAL LIFE IN AMERICA. 51 seen to exhibit the most violent and insubordinate pro ceedings ; now these also rank among the best-ordered states. Cincinnati, the chief city of the west, so recently- sprung up in the wilderness, has already a society little inferior to that of an Atlantic city. Kentucky, thirty years ago, was what Mississippi and Arkansas are now ; at present it is little behind Virginia. Mrs Clavers writes even from the woods of Michigan, that the visit of one or two of her roughest neighbours to New York had excited an emulation of its polish and refinement. 52 SLAVES AND SLAVERY, CHAPTER II. Slaves and Slavery. State and Extent of Slavery in the United States Treatment of the Negroes How supplied with Food Enactments against their Instruction Means of Religious Knowledge Internal Trade Breeding of Slaves Sales by Auction Mode of Conveyance Treatment in the New States Clan destine Importation Situation of the Free Coloured Race Early Abolition Measures Unsuccessful Colonization So cietyAnti-Slavery Society Their Measures Proceedings of the Anti- Abolitionists Seconded by the Northern Mer chantsBy the Legislature Present State of Parties Measures for Colonization Their Tendency Prospects of the Cause. THE subject of the present chapter is the darkest and most painful which occurs in the contemplation of the United States ; and it is one respecting which it is dif ficult to avoid the gloomiest forebodings. The Ameri cans, while they boast of free and equal rights surpassing those of any other nation, hold two millions and a half of human beings in a state of abject and degrading bondage. In surveying this momentous topic, it will be our endeavour to avoid those extremes of feeling which it has excited, and calmly to estimate the nature and extent of the evil, the means and the hopes of its remedy. It is a common and obvious reproach, that a people, exulting beyond any other in the full possession of free dom, should hold in slavery this large proportion of their fellow-citizens. The anomaly becomes the more SLAVES AND SLAVERY. 53 striking when it is considered that the party which makes the highest profession of democratic principle, is that which seeks most firmly to rivet the chain, and most fiercely resists every proposal to hreak it. We would, however, remark, that the cause of this incon sistency is to be found rather in the general infirmity of human nature, than in any thing peculiar to the Ame rican nation. Athens, Sparta, Rome, in the utmost height of their boasted liberty, held an equal or greater number of their citizens in the most degrading bonds. It has even been remarked, that the slaves in the Eng lish and Dutch West Indies were more hardly treated than those of the Spaniards and Portuguese, subjects of absolute monarchies. We are far from wishing to with hold from our country the glory of having, by energetic and spontaneous efforts, banished first the slave-trade, and then slavery itself, from her borders, and from the whole range of her influence. Yet, lest she should be exalted over much, we may just notice, that all the part of the society which had, or supposed itself to have, an interest in the prolongation of the system, opposed these changes with determined obstinacy, which was only overpowered by the overwhelming majority of those who could indulge their philanthropy without seriously compromising their outward wellbeing. The American slave-holders unfortunately form so large and imposing a mass, commanding the legislatures of half the states, that there appears little prospect indeed of effecting emancipation by any similar compulsory process. The people of the present day can also urge that they did not introduce the system, but found it established, and that their possessions and means of subsistence are entirely bound up with it. They can quote early acts of the British legislature, by which it was encouraged, and even pressed upon them. These facts must be admitted ; yet there are particulars which render it impossible fully to admit such a plea. Had we seen them anxiously striving to lighten the load of bondage, to improve the condition of the negroes, to raise their 54 SLAVES AND SLAVERY. moral and intellectual nature, and prepare them for perhaps one day becoming free, we might have been inclined to sympathize with their situation. But when we find them using every effort to bind closer the chain, prohibiting them by law from receiving the least elementary instruc tion, preventing even those who desire to emancipate from fulfilling their humane purpose, we can no longer view them as reluctantly connected with slavery. They have hugged it to their bosom, and made it their own. Slavery prevails only in the southern territories, bounded generally by the Potomac and the Ohio. In New England and the other north-eastern states, a con siderable number were at one time in bondage. New York, in 1790, had above 21,000. Before the end of the century, however, a general abolition had taken place, Pennsylvania having set the honourable ex ample. As freedom was granted only to those born after the date of the acts, the extinction was gradual, and a handful in each state still remains. In Delaware there is no prohibition ; but the number is small and decreasing, having fallen since 1790 from 8887 to 2605. Throughout the southern states, the labour of cultivation is almost entirely performed by servile hands. The in crease of this race has been very remarkable, fully equal ling that of the free population in the same states, though short of what obtains in those where slavery is unknown. Since 1790, it has been as follows : 1790, . . . 697,897 1800, . . . 893,041 1810, . . 1,191,364 1820, . . . 1,538,064 1830, . . 2,009,031 1840, . . . 2,487,113 The distribution among the several states at the latest period was as follows : Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, . South Carolina, . Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, 89,493 448,987 245,817 327,038 280,944 253,532 195,211 Louisiana, . Kentucky, Tennessee, . Arkansas, Missouri, . Florida, . Columbia District, 168,452 182,258 183,059 19,935 58,240 25,717 4,694* * American Almanac, 1842, p. 137. SLAVES AND SLAVERY. 55 The treatment of this unfortunate race has been a subject much controverted ; and zealots in the cause of humanity have indulged in exaggerated statements of the cruelties to which they are subjected. We may generally conclude, that it is on the whole tolerable ; that the physical necessaries of life are sufficiently fur nished ; that instances of gross cruelty are not very numerous ; and that in many cases great kindness is exercised. The very fact of their rapid multiplication, while those employed in the West Indies never kept up their numbers, clearly indicates a milder treatment. This progress is not indeed so rapid as in the northern free states ; but it exceeds perhaps any in the old world, and is not, like the other, reinforced by emigration. Dr Channing, even while advocating emancipation, bears a pretty decided testimony to this point. He imputes it, indeed, in a good measure, to the interest in preserving a property, as well as to the influence of public opinion ; but still the fact is admitted to exist. Mr Thornton, doubtless a zealous supporter of the other side, says : " Public opinion denounces the man who treats his slaves ill, as it would the lawless bad husband. Public odium would mark him out. The neighbouring negroes would put him in every corn-husking and picking-match song. From personal observation, we believe there is nothing that affords a planter so much pleasure as to hear that the negroes of his farms give him abroad a good name." Gayety and hilarity are said to prevail among them ; but this was remarked in the West Indies, and is common among a class whom entire dependence upon others exempts from all thought and care. La bouring often in large parties, they make the cradle or the scythe move in accordance with mirthful songs, fre quently composed at the moment. Mr Thornton has given some specimens, certainly not displaying any bril liant talent ; but they scruple not to indulge a satirical vein against bad masters, or other persons whom they dislike. They thus exercise a considerable influence on public opinion, and odious characters have even, it 56 SLAVES AND SLAVERY. is said, been " sung out of the country." The domestic slaves are in many instances exceedingly well treated, and even viewed as favourites, their wishes and even whims attended to, and when sick, nursed with great kindness.* It must be observed, however, that this is the flatter ing side of the picture, and there is another light under which it may be viewed. Though food is allowed suf ficient to preserve the frame in vigour, it is of a very coarse and inferior description. It consists of Indian com, millet, or other secondary grain, with probably a salt herring. The climate does not require much cloth ing, of which advantage seems to be taken to make the allowance very scanty. Considering the ample wages which labour brought regularly into the market com mands in this country, this must be allowed to be grind ing very close. Mr Stuart mentions a proprietor who estimated the annual maintenance of a slave at 35 dol lars, while a free labourer could earn a dollar a-day, or nearly ten times the amount. The instances of extreme cruelty may not be numerous ; yet it is on all hands admitted that they occur, and that the slave has little protection against any thing short of mutilation or mur der. Mr Stuart describes the most savage flogging as carried on in a great city, without check or interference. It is true the proprietor has an interest not seriously and permanently to injure his slave ; but violent tem pers, when roused, will not always be thus restrained. The very situation, as Dr Channing observes, tends to generate laziness, thievishness, lying, and sulkiness, faults peculiarly irritating to a master. Actual mutilation subjects the master to a moderate fine, while if death ensue, the punishment is capital as in the case of a white man. The negro, however, has a very doubtful * An Enquiry into the History of Slavery, &c., by the Rev. C. Thornton, President of the Centenary College, Clinton, Mis sissippi, 8vo, Washington, 1841, pp. 119, 1*20. Remarks on the Slave Trade, by William E. Channing, D.D., p. 20-22. Mar- tineau, vol. ii. pp. 152, 315-316. SLAVES AND SLAVERY. 57 chance of obtaining the benefit of these enactments. The judges are slave-proprietors, animated doubtless with a fellow-feeling for the accused. The only wit nesses admitted are free whites, though it rarely hap pens that any such are present at the infliction, or willing to come forward. The very terms of the law indicate the most tender consideration for the master, who is not to be held guilty if the slave was attempting to escape, or was resisting his master, or even in case of his dying under moderate correction. It is thus scarcely possible that even the life of the negro can derive real security from the nominal laws by which it is protected. " His situation appears to still greater disadvantage when considered in its moral and intellectual aspect. In this respect, the conduct of the American slave holders is unfavourably contrasted with that of any similar class, ancient or modern ; and their enactments under this head would disgrace the codes of the darkest ages. In the depressed circumstances of the slave, some provision might have been expected for communi cating to him at least the first elements of knowledge ; on the contrary, severe penalties are incurred by any one who makes such an attempt. In the preamble to a law of North Carolina, it is laid down, that " teaching slaves to read and write tends to excite dissatisfaction in their minds, and to produce insur rection and rebellion." On this ground, the giving of such instruction, if by a negro, is punished by thirty- nine lashes ; if by a white, with a fine of 200 dollars. The law of Georgia raises it to 500, with the addition of imprisonment. An act of Virginia declares " every meeting of slaves by day or night for instruction either in reading or writing an unlawful assembly." These two last ordinances were passed in 1829, a period of Slavery and the Internal Slave Trade in the United States, &c., 8vo., London, 1841, pp. 91, &c., 176, &c. Stuart, vol. ii. pp. 119, 137-142. Channing, p. 24. VOL. III. D 58 SLAVES AND SLAVERY. boasted intelligence. In Kentucky, no law to this effect has been enacted, but the same motives are said to induce a rigid enforcement of the practical principle. Mr Thornton is silent upon this subject ; but, indignant at the allegation of an attempt to reduce the negroes to the state of the brute, he quotes instances of natural talent displayed by them, and even of great acquisi tions among those who have been emancipated ; but these statements, however true, are manifestly irrele vant. In regard to religious knowledge, the negroes labour under the manifest disadvantage, that they can acquire none by reading, the sacred scriptures are to them a sealed book. The only instruction to which they are allowed access is preaching, and even this is rigorously watched and restricted. By the law of Georgia, any justice of peace may at his discretion break up a religious assembly of slaves, and inflict on each twenty- five lashes ; while in Virginia and Carolina, morning and evening meetings are subject to penalties. In general great discouragement is thrown on their con gregating in churches, and having teachers of their own, though there is usually one in the large cities, and a few in other places. Every church, indeed, has a gallery or other quarter set apart for them, where few if any masters prohibit their attendance, and many encourage it. This place, however, is repre sented as very inadequate to accommodate the black population, yet in general thinly filled ; discourses ad dressed to a well-informed audience being little calcu lated to impress uncultivated minds. Sunday schools, established in some places, have been stopped by the jealousy of the planters. A certain number of well- disposed masters and mistresses give instruction to their domestic slaves, which is perhaps the best they receive ; but this does not reach those employed in the fields. The abolitionists do not deny that there are a considerable number who are well instructed, and ap pear to show in their minds the genuine power of SLAVES AND SLAVERY. 59 religion ; but they assert that, as a body, the slaves form a mass of heathenism in the heart of a Christian country. The whole amount of church members is estimated at about 200,000, and among the bulk of this small number the attendance is said to be merely for mal and nominal. Mr Thornton, on the other side, asserts that the members may be reckoned at 500,000. Neither party seems to have had any solid statistical grounds for these estimates, which we may suppose to have been greatly swayed by their own particular views: the latter is probably much overstated. It is fair to mention, however, and Dr Channing concurs in the statement, that measures are in progress for ex tending religious instruction ; nor are we prepared with him to regard the condition of slavery as precluding all hope of benefit from such provision.* It is the opinion of the writer just mentioned that, through the spirit of the age, and the reproaches of the abolitionists, the treatment of the negroes has of late been decidedly improved. This accords with informa tion given to us by a respectable gentleman (not a slave-owner) from South Carolina, who assured us, that the planters anxiously watch each other, lest any outrage should be committed, of which advantage might be taken by their zealous adversaries. Yet circumstances have arisen materially to darken the lot of this unfortunate race. Their range had long been confined to the territory on the Atlantic ; but of late years a number of new states have sprung up on the Gulf of Mexico and along the Mississippi, containing vast tracts of unoccupied land, on which various productions, and above all cotton, can be raised with ample profit. For this purpose, labourers in great numbers are demanded, who, from the climate, must be negroes ; and of these a full supply is afforded by Vir ginia and other eastern states, where the lands are all occupied and in some degree exhausted. Thus arises * Slavery, &c.,p. 195-203. Thornton,?. 101-110. Channing, p. 21. 60 SLAVES AND SLAVERY. an active internal slave-trade, accompanied by a great portion of the same crimes and sufferings which mark the passage across the ocean. The southern part of the Union has thus been divided into slave-breeding and slave-importing states ; the for mer being chiefly Virginia, Maryland, and to a less extent North Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee ; the latter, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Missouri. The Anti-Slavery Committee publish estimates, in which the number transferred in 1836 is stated to be 360,000 ; but even for that year of ex travagant speculation this is evidently far beyond the mark. The following may afford some sort of approxi mation. In 1830, the whole number of slaves in the six states last named was 539,984; in 1840, it had increased to 976,314, giving an actual addition of 436,330. Even without any allowance for increase by births, this will make the annual transportation 43,633 ; and however remote this may be from the commit tee s estimate, it appears founded on data that must come near to the truth. Of these, two-thirds, it is said, have been conveyed along with their masters, who have removed from the old to these rising states ; and the hardships endured by them would of course be less severe. There will thus remain about 14,000 annually sold for transportation by the slave-merchants ; an amount fully sufficient to constitute a great extent of traffic. This arrangement, by which the high-minded planters of Virginia are converted into slave-breeders and slave- sellers, is certainly most degrading. It is even asserted, but probably with exaggeration, that in the present depressed value of their landed produce, this odious pursuit forms the chief source of their emolument. There is hence no doubt a motive to treat the female slaves tolerably, and secure them against any physical injury ; but fearful disorder must arise from the under stood expectation that from the earliest adult age, they ehall produce children, with little or no inquiry as to their SLAVES AND SLAVERY. 61 legitimacy. Much indulgence is thus shown to illicit connexion with the whites, including even members of the master s family ; for such offspring, sharing the lot of the mother, are by law declared servile. This depravity is even represented by some to be almost universal, so that the best blood of Virginia flows in the veins of the slave. To this extent it is strenuously denied by the opposite party, though admitted to take place far too frequently. It hence follows, that a man s children or grandchildren often rank among his slaves, and in cases of emergency are sold to dis tant bondage. The most afflicting circumstance in this traffic is, that the members of families, husbands and wives, parents and children, are torn asunder, and transported into distant regions, where they pro bably never see or hear of each other. A whole family is considered a Ireavy concern ; the planter wants only one or two suited to his particular purposes. Even, therefore, where all have been sold together, he selects only one or two, and soon finds a merchant ready to relieve him of the others. The demand in the west is for adult slaves, fit for hard work ; hence as soon as a boy is grown to manhood, he is torn from his mother, and sold off. Even in the case of a planter removing his whole establishment, it not unfrequently happens that matrimonial connexions exist between his slaves and those of a neighbouring plantation, and the husband is thus severed from his wife and family. The most heart-rending scenes must ensue in consequence of these separations. We cannot but think, if the planters felt that anxiety which they sometimes profess, to mitigate the evils of slavery, they would have given some token of it by enactments tending to prevent or limit these distressing occurrences. Care however has been taken in no shape to reduce the profits of the planter or the merchant. In case of embarrassment, bankruptcy, or death, it is often necessary to dispose of the slaves by auction ; and the merchant, on reaching the southern markets, 62 SLAVES AND SLAVERY. finds this often the most convenient mode of ob taining their value. The unseemly scenes which then ensue may be easily conceived. The victims are exhibited to the assembled crowd like cattle, amid brutal jests and indecent exposures ; while cracks of the whip are applied to show their agility in leaping. The following report of the address of a slave-auctioneer, given by Consul Arfwedson, is evidently from the life. " Let us proceed, gentlemen, a woman for sale. An excellent woman, .not a fault ! and a little boy into the bargain. How much for the mother and child ? 250 dollars ; very well, sir, 250 to begin. Some one has bid 250. Truly, gentlemen, they sell cattle for a larger price ; 250 ; look at these eyes, examine these limbs shall I say 260 ? Thanks, gentlemen, some one has bid 260. It seems to me that I heard 275 ; go on, gentle men, I have never sold such a bargain. How ! 280 for the best cook, the best washer, and the best dressmaker in Virginia I Must I sell her for the miserable price of 280 ! 300 ; two gentlemen have said 300. Very well, gentlemen, I am happy to see you begin to warm a little ; some one bid 310, going 330335340, 340, going : upon my honour, gentlemen, it is indeed a sacrifice to lose so good a cook a great bargain for 340 dollars. Reflect upon it a little, and do not forget there is a little boy into the bargain." Here, however, one of the leading bidders observed : "As for the negro child, it is good for nothing ; it is not worth a day s nourishment ; and if I have the mother I will give away the child very quick." The auction continued, and the final price was 360 dollars. Another sale is described, where a mother saw successively seven of her children put up, sold off, and carried away she knew not whither. The following picture of such a scene is powerful, though perhaps some what exaggerated : " The coarse cry of the auctioneer, the eager bidding of the emulous purchasers, the loud shout of the rabble at the ribaldry with which the crier intersperses his vociferations, the exulting laugh of the successful bidder, the guillotine fall of the auction- SLAVES AND SLAVERY. 63 hammer, the fiendish clutch of the new owners upon their trembling prey, the groans, shrieks, tears, and last embraces of the slaves, as they are torn violently apart by their several purchasers, form a mixture of wicked ness and wo to be found nowhere else on this side of perdition." There are two descriptions of persons by whom the traffic is carried on. The one consists of petty agents, who go through the state, and pick up slaves wherever they can be found. These bear the lowest character, and are held in general contempt. When they have collected a certain number, they sometimes convey them westward themselves, but more commonly dispose of them to extensive dealers, who reside in the principal cities. These are men of large fortunes, sometimes public characters, and equally respected with other merchants transacting business on the same scale. The abolitionists taunt their countrymen on this distinction, founded merely on the magnitude of the transaction ; but the aphorism of Pope has always held too true : " Let greatness own her, and she s mean no more." Each of these has a large depot,resemblingaprison,gloomy and secure, well provided with chains, handcuffs, and other means of preventing escape. Washington, the great re publican capital, is a principal slave depot, and orna mented with several large structures of this description. Even while the president and his officers were march ing in procession to the hall of freedom, another pro cession has been led in chains into distant bondage. It is in fact asserted that, when those structures have been overcrowded, the necessary accommodation has been afforded in the national prisons. When a sufficient number has been collected, arrange ments are made for conveying them to the south and west. There are three modes in which this is managed. One is by sea in packets going to Charleston or New Orleans ; but this is of course exposed to the danger of the slaves rising and carrying the vessel to another port, 64 SLAVES AND SLAVERY. as happened lately in the case of the Creole. On other occasions, they are sent down the western rivers, often in large floats, rudely constructed, making only one voyage, and broken up on arrival. Several instances, however, occurred of successful rebellion on board, and steamers are now considered more eligible, no objection being made in the most splendid of these vessels to slaves composing part of the cargo. They are either chained or obliged to remain in the humblest quarters of the vessel, perhaps associated with animals. The mode of transport, however, involving the severest hardships, is that by land on foot. Here the party, or cqffle, as it is termed, marches in two files, united by one chain, reaching between them through their whole length, and connected by handcuffs with the slave on each side. The band is thus so well secured, that two or three men, well armed, will drive hundreds in safety. We are dis inclined to believe that in this or any other conveyance the slaves will be exposed to serious injury, since, im mediately on their arrival, they must be exposed to sale, and their price will materially depend on their good condition. It is easy to conceive, however, that much rough usage, suffering, and degradation are likely to be their lot.* It must, moreover, be observed that the improvement in the general treatment is confined to the old and more northerly states. Those newly formed in the west and south are devoted to the culture of cotton and sugar, which is carried on with eager avidity as a great mer cantile speculation. These products require peculiarly hard labour, especially during the period of picking the one substance, and extracting the other. Through the rest of the year, the toil is comparatively light ; but this very circumstance produces a temptation to keep a moderate stock, and strain their tasks to the very ut most during the hard-working interval. Even the pro- * Slavery, &c., pp. 13-18, 45-65. Arfwedson, United States. &c., p. 325-328. American Almanac, 1842, p. 137. SLAVES AND SLAVERY. 65 fessedly humane law of Louisiana, securing to the slave two and a half hours in the twenty-four, proves the extent to which this system is liahle to be carried. The Anti-slavery Committee positively assert, that the ne groes do not keep up their numbers, and that it is systematically considered more profitable to import than to breed ; but those zealous persons have, we imagine, viewed partial cases as extending to the whole commu nity. There does, however, seem ground to suspect, that the same consideration is not shown to the female sex, nor the same attention to the rearing of children as elsewhere. Although there has been a great increase in the number between 1830 and 1840, yet it is not in the like proportion as between 1820 and 1830. The latter is about three-tenths, the other little more than two-tenths. When we consider that, in the old states during this period, extraordinary encouragement was given to the rearing of slaves, we are the more led to suspect, that in the new ones the increase by births was not large. The importation of foreign negroes, though prohibited by law, is still in some measure clandestinely practised. It is well known, and is admitted by President Van Buren in his last address, that the American flag covers a great part of the trade still carried on from Africa ; and multitudes are thus introduced into Cuba, whence the opportunities of contraband transportation into the southern states must be very great. The coast of Florida and the mouth of the Mississippi are mentioned as the places where the landings are chiefly effected ; and the lowest estimates, probably nearest the truth, make the annual number 13,000.* There is yet another evil of no common magnitude to which the negro race is subjected. A certain propor tion of them, both in the southern and northern states, have attained to the condition of freedom. These in * Slavery, &c., p. 18, &c. ; 74, &c. Presidents Messages, p. 701, Ob SLAVES AND SLAVERY. 1842 amounted to 186,457 males and 199,778 females ; in all, 386,235. By law they are admitted to all the privileges of free citizens, but by public opinion and usage are held in a state of degradation almost as severe as that of the slave. No white man will hold any com munication or speak with them on terms of equality ; and they can find employment only as menial servants, or in the most humble capacities. If they set up a trade, no white man employs them ; if they open a shop, he will not enter it ; if they commence a manufacture, he will not work under them. Should they enter a bar ber s shop, he drives them out with contumely, observ ing that were he to serve them, all his white customers would desert him. Even those who attain to wealth are not at all advanced in respect to society. They are not permitted to travel in the same public coach with whites, and in a steamer are confined to the deck. A mulatto, son to a Haytian general, having arrived at New York, was refused admittance into any hotel, and with great difficulty found lodging with a poor old woman. On going to the theatre, his money was flung in his face, and he was desired to seek a seat in the upper gallery. The elective franchise is allowed only in some states ; and even where nominally granted, can seldom, it is said, be safely exercised. The benefits of education are almost entirely withheld, they being scarcely ever admitted to colleges or schools established for the whites ; while they can scarcely form for themselves respectable seminaries, or indeed any at all, unless in the large cities. Even in the house of God they are not admitted on that footing of equality, to which all human beings are entitled. Where they can not support a church for themselves, they must occupy a humble and separate quarter, into which no other class ever enters. After this they are reproached with being generally ignorant, and a large proportion becoming ame nable to public justice ; though it is obvious that their oppressors have at least greatly contributed to produce those evils which they now allege in justification of their SLAVES AND SLAVERY. 67 treatment. Another defence is, that their Creator has placed an antipathy between the two races, in yielding to which they only follow the divine appointment. The abolitionists, however, well observe : " In no coun try in Europe is any man excluded from refined society, or deprived of literary, religious, or political privileges on account of the tincture of his skin. If this prejudice is the fiat of the Almighty, most wonderful is it, that of all the kindreds of the earth none have been found submissive to the heavenly impulse, excepting the white inhabitants of North America ; and of these it is no less strange than true, that this divine principle of repulsion is most energetic in such persons as in other respects are the least observant of their Maker s will." It is an extraordinary circumstance, that this contempt of the negro is carried farthest among the free states of the north, and is less conspicuous towards those in the south who have obtained their liberty.* The early leaders of the revolution by no means showed favour or indulgence towards slavery ; they viewed with grief and humiliation a system so incon sistent with their boasted liberty, and their desire of making their country a general asylum of the oppressed. Societies were formed for its gradual abolition, of one of which Dr Franklin, and of another Mr Jay were presidents. Washington showed a particularly friendly spirit towards the negroes, and at his death liberated those on his own estate. The general spirit of the age ran strongly in this direction. * The south, however, had still a strong contrary interest ; and in the period suc ceeding the peace, a kind of compromise system was arranged. The northern states passed acts of gradual abolition, giving freedom to all who should be born after their date ; and congress ordained that no importation should take place after 1808. It was hoped that the^ source of slavery being thus cut off, it would be gradu ally dried up. * Slavery, &c., p. 256, &c. Men and Manners, vol. i. p. 94- 99. Channing, p. 57-62. 68 SLAVES AND SLAVERY. This expectation has not heen fulfilled. The rapid multiplication of the slaves, the vast extent of new territory over which they were spread, the important cultures of which they became the instruments, created great national and individual interests, closely involved in the system. The feeling of its inconsistent and un suitable character was blunted ; and instead of any plans or preparations for emancipation, nothing was thought of but to check any aspirings in the mind of the negro towards that object. Lest he should be influenced by the view of any of his own race enjoying freedom, the strongest obstacles were opposed to manumission, even when desired by the master. As already mentioned, the slaves were prohibited from receiving any instruc tion, which could enlarge their minds, and make their humiliation felt. The Americans were annoyed by the remarks of foreigners upon the subject ; but they turned a deaf ear, and silently cherished the system. Suddenly, however, within their own bosom, a cry arose, which echoed throughout the Union, and shook it to its very- foundation. The first movement in favour of the negroes was made by the Colonization Society, formed in 1817 un der the auspices of some of the most leading men in the republic. Its object was to convey free and eman cipated negroes across the Atlantic, and settle them on the coast of Africa. After its operation for a number of years, and the transportation of some thousands to the colony of Liberia, several of its members, particularly Gerrit Smith, began to urge, that the society ought to aim at nothing short of the general abolition of slavery. A strong impression had in fact been made by the British act for the gradual emancipation of all the slaves in the West Indies. As the society showed no disposition to concur in such an object, separate associa tions were formed for that purpose. In 1833, an Ameri can Anti-slavery Society was organized at Philadelphia ; and its first anniversary was held at New York in May 1834. From that time began the most fervid and active SLAVES AND SLAVERY. 69 employment of every instrument by which the cause could be promoted. Newspapers and other periodical works were established in this interest ; agents and lecturers were sent to different quarters ; all facts favourable to the object in view were collected and published. It is alleged by their adversaries, that copies of their numerous publications were sent to the negroes with a view to excite insurrection ; though they them selves declare, we imagine truly, that they were trans mitted only to proprietors, clergy, and other influential persons in the south. Certain it is, that the most inde fatigable use was made of all these movements now familiar to us under the name of agitation.* It is painful to observe, in the case of men who have embarked in so noble and even sacred a cause, and have done and suffered so much for it, that there should have been mixed with their efforts so great a portion of human infirmity of that blind fury of partisanship, which forms the chief blot in American politics. " I am peculiarly grieved," says Dr Channing, " by the appear ances of passionate severity in their writings, speeches, and movements. Such men ought to find in the gran deur, purity, and benevolence of their end, irresistible motives to self-control, to a spirit of equity and mildness, to a calm, lofty trust in God. I grieve that in an age when the power of gentleness and goodness is beginning to be understood, they have sought strength in very different weapons." We cannot but here concur witli Mr Thornton, that " instead of persuasion and argument founded upon reason and revelation, there is an entire disregard of all those courtesies and all that civility and kindness, which ought to characterize men seeking to upturn an institution of hundreds of years standing, and one too, the upturning of which must be, without great care, attended with so many frightful consequences." The late communication from the Anti-slavery Com mittee too fully exemplifies this charge, showing that * Slavery, &c., p. 237, &c. Thornton, p. 236. 70 SLAVES AND SLAVERY. Dr Channing s remark has had no influence upon them. Thus we find them saying : " To call such a public opinion (in favour of slavery) inhuman, savage, mur derous, diabolical, would be to use tame words, if the English vocabulary could supply others of more horrible import." Treating of the subjection of the slaves to laws which they cannot read, it is said, " The memory of Caligula will blacken with execration while time lasts, because he hung up his laws so high that people could not read them, and then punished them because they did not keep them. Our slave-holders aspire to blacker infamy. Caligula was content with hanging up his laws where his subjects could see them : and if they could not read them, they knew where they were, and might get at them. Even Caligula, wretch as he was, would have shuddered at cutting their legs off, to pre vent their climbing to them ; or if they had got there, of boring their eyes out, to prevent their reading them. Our slave-holders do both." We observe with still greater pain, that the deceptive character which pervades the political partisanship of the country is not altogether avoided. We do not assert or believe that there is downright misstatement of facts ; but extravagant esti mates are formed, and particular cases are represented as common. Any one reading the answers to the 9th and 22d questions, respecting the starvation, over working, and ill treatment of the negroes, would neces sarily infer that they could not keep up their numbers, but must become extinct in one or two generations, and expressions are even used, as if such were the case ; yet the writers knew well, that they multiply with a rapidity almost unexampled. The usual allowance of grain is stated, we believe correctly, at a peck per week ; and this is mentioned as if it were a complete starvation amount, and will probably be so supposed by the unre flecting reader ; though it may in fact be regarded as very ample. A peck of wheat flour makes four quartern loaves, being more than a half in the day ; and Indian corn, though inferior, is, we believe, as nutritive. The SLAVES AND SLAVERY. 71 aliment allowed, as already observed, is coarse ; but that it should be insufficient for the support of life, and even of the strength necessary for labour, is most im probable. We do not wish to enter deeply into the religious question. The spirit of Christianity is certainly adverse to slavery, and has had a powerful influence in its suppression. Yet that state certainly seems repeatedly alluded to in Scripture, without any peremptory demand of immediate emancipation. We cannot sympathize with the opposite party in talking of " those good old slave-holders, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob ;" yet those patriarchs, we imagine, did hold their retainers under a mild servitude. On the whole, then, to call upon the clergy of the south immediately to exclude from church communion all owners of slaves, seems rash and pre mature.* This violence and in some degree misrepresentation were unfortunately directed against a body possessed of great power, without whose cordial concurrence the ob ject could not be attained, and who were little likely to endure patiently even much meeker rebukes. The re action excited was indeed terrible. The abolitionists were denounced as almost demons in human shape. " An abolitionist," says Thornton, " is not only an enthusiast and a fanatic, but he is also a disorganizer, and virtually an opponent of all law sacred and human. These disorganizes are pledged for upturning the insti tutions of society, by their dogmas advanced and sup ported at the hazard of the Christian system itself. To contradict Abraham, Jacob, Job, Moses and all the prophets, is nothing. To deny New Testament principle and example is nothing. Is there any religion in per verting the precepts of our holy Christianity to purposes of defamation, slander, insubordination, insurrection, rebellion, barbarity, slaughter, and ruin ? Who does not see that if the established precepts and examples of * Charming, p. 63. Thornton, p. 174. Slavery, &c., pp. 71, 188, 190. 72 SLAVES AND SLAVERY. Christianity stand in the way of these fanatics, they throw them aside ; if the laws of the land interfere with their plans, they denounce them as impious ; and if the constitution of the country, as it does, cut them off from the right of interference in the internal concerns of the country, they are ready to give it up, rather than let go or give up their favourite dogmas !" If any abolitionist should set foot upon the soil of the south, all law but that of Lynch would for him be suspended ; instant death would be his portion. From causes to be presently explained, the anti-abolitionists had a strong party in the north, who immediately began a career of violence almost unexampled. During 1834 and 1835, the " mob- demon" was let loose upon their opponents, and even upon the free negroes. The party was particularly powerful in New York, where, after the first anniversary held in May 1834, the cry was raised to "crush the treason in the egg." Another meeting being held two months after, the mob assembled, dispersed them, and for several days kept possession of the city, committing various outrages. The houses of the leading abolitionists were broken into, their furniture brought into the streets and burned, and themselves compelled to flee the place. The same scene was speedily repeated in all the cities, and even smaller towns and villages. For many months, scarcely a day elapsed without intelligence being received of some new outbreak. The reign of order and govern ment seemed entirely broken up. Indignation meetings were held, denouncing the " incendiary abolitionists " thundering anathemas against the " fanatics and traitors." The grossest outrage committed was against the " Hall of Freedom " in Philadelphia, which had been erected with a view to free discussion, especially on this subject. While a numerous meeting was held, composed in a great measure of females, a mob deliberately assembled, broke in, obliged all present to flee, and reduced the edifice to ashes. The abolitionists stood firm and defied this powerful persecution. The opposite party, finding their efforts SLAVES AND SLAVERY. 73 abortive, and themselves covered with disgrace by pro ceedings so unconstitutional, and contrary to all their professions, gradually desisted. The society, aided per haps by this reckless persecution, increased in numbers, and probably continue still to advance. Yet it gradually appeared, that their progress was opposed by barriers not likely to be soon overcome. All the southern planters, of course, directed their fiercest efforts against it ; they were then the ruling party ; and they proclaimed that if the north continued to press this object, they would break up the Union. In the north, again, the commercial aristocracy, which, as already observed, is there most influential, had motives leading them to sympathize with that agricultural body. They carried on all its trade ; they were connected by social, and sometimes by family ties ; cotton, tobacco, and other products of slave labour were the main staples of their commerce ; they held extensive property in the southern states, slaves included. They were extremely sensitive as to the preservation of the Union, and their aristocratic feelings made them revolt from any sudden innovation, and from the violent agitation by which it was sought to be produced. They became thus anti-abolitionists almost as decided as the slave-owners themselves. We have already observed the great influence which they possess over the press and the professional classes. The clergy were called upon with particular earnestness to range themselves on this side. This was not quite what might have been expected from their order ; yet their depend ence on these opulent classes was very entire ; and, with a few exceptions, they yielded to the temptation. Nu merous documents were issued by clerical bodies, justi fying slavery, and condemning the abolition proceedings. The Anti-slavery Committee even denounce " the Ame rican churches the bulwarks of American slavery." The supporters of the cause are thus nearly confined to the rural population in the northern, chiefly the New England states, and to a small number of clergy and professional men in the cities. The female sex, with VOL. in. E 74 SLAVES AND SLAVERY. that generous humanity which characterizes them, have taken a very active share ; yet perhaps have not always aided in tempering the zeal of the party with discretion. From these causes it resulted that both the leading political parties opposed in a determined manner the abolition movement. Its votaries were excluded from every office of power or emolument ; and congress in particular was decidedly against them. The right of petition had been fully sanctioned by the consti tution ; which Story considers as even superfluous, since without it no freedom could be conceived to exist. Yet it was denied to the abolitionists, and resolutions were passed to receive none coming from that quarter. We are sorry to add that they themselves are not at all improving in discretion. Lest they should omit any error by which a good cause could be injured, they have mixed it up with others of a very equivocal and certainly irrelevant character. Some seek the emanci pation of the whole human race to the extent of their being subject to no law or government whatever ; others stand up for the complete equality of the sexes, and will receive no coadjutors who do not admit this principle in its fullest extent. In these circumstances all combined action is for the present suspended, or at least greatly impeded. It is very positively asserted that the cause continues to make progress in the public mind, and to gain converts ; but it must evidently assume a different shape, and get into other hands, before it can have any chance of success. We must here do justice to another branch of the society s exertions, that by which they have sought to elevate the free negroes. They have studiously supplied them with schools and other means of instruction, have sought to form habits of industry and provide suitable employment for them, and have not even hesitated to associate with them both in public and private as fellow- creatures. This last particular has excited the most violent clamour, and was even alleged as one ground for the burning of the Pennsylvania hall. They assert, and SLAVES AND SLAVERY. 75 seemingly with truth, that they have done a good deal to improve this unfortunate race, and mitigate the pro scription against them. Something must here be said of the Colonization So ciety, which, as already observed, transports free or emancipated negroes to Africa, thus relieving the hard ships endured by them in the States, and paving the way for the civilisation of that continent. It originated in good feelings and motives, and when there was no thought of emancipation. So far as relates to Africa, we believe that if cautiously conducted on a small scale it may produce happy effects. We would anxiously remind its supporters, however, that the usual result of colonization has been injurious and even fatal to the na tive race. When Mr Everett and President Tyler boast of it as similar to the landing of the pilgrims in New England, they forget that the issue of that event was not to improve, but to exterminate or expel the whole race of native Indians. Africa, comparatively, is much more densely peopled ; an attempt therefore to find room there for the whole slave or even free coloured popula tion could not be made without bloody and disastrous conflicts. Our present object, however, is to consider the effects produced by the society in America. There it is held by the pro-slavery party as a complete provision for the whole negro race both free and in bondage, and as dis pensing with any other step for the mitigation or ulti mate abolition of slavery. Under this view we cannot hesitate to consider it a perfect delusion. De Tocqueville has clearly proved that any number which could be practicably transported would never even sensibly arrest the rapid increase of the coloured race ; and we must agree with Dr Channing, that an attempt might as well be made to drain the Atlantic. But suppose it were per fectly practicable, let us ask, are those vast and fruitful regions to be reconverted into deserts ? Can any one believe that the planters seriously intend to denude themselves of a labouring population, and to undertake 76 SLAVES AND SLAVERY. with their own hands the culture of sugar and cotton under the burning suns of Louisiana and Alabama \ In fact, though such language is sometimes held before the public, between themselves a very different tone is used. At the great meeting of the Virginian branch of the society, Mr Wise, called up and applauded as an oracle, declared his full understanding of the great original principles of the design having been to secure and fortify the institution of slavery itself; and one of the resolutions unanimously passed considers " the principle of African colonization as best responding to the demands of southern patriotism and benevolence, and offering to the temperate wisdom of all parties and every section a common ground of resistance against the mischievous and reckless enterprises of abolition." Whatever, then, be the tendency of the institution, it is in no degree either designed or calculated to mitigate or abolish in ternal slavery. From what has been said, the future prospects of the abolition cause must appear involved in very considerable obscurity. Generally speaking, it seems impossible that the system of slavery, so contrary to the improved spirit and feelings of the age, can have a very long duration. Yet the mode or the period in which it shall be removed can scarcely be even conjectured. Before that consum mation can be hoped, the undertaking must be assumed by leaders of a more practical and statesmanlike charac ter. The abolitionists now testify against compensa tion as a sin. Yet the present masters did not originate slavery, but received it by inheritance ; all their material interests are bound up with it ; and the change, under the most favourable view, could not take place without temporary loss and embarrassment on their part. We cannot discover any sin in affording them, under such circumstances, aid and relief ; and it would seem grace ful had the north, while calling upon them so loudly to encounter the evil, offered in some degree to share and mitigate its pressure. Again, they denounce gradual abolition as a sin. Yet abrupt and unprepared changes SLAVES AND SLAVERY. 77 in the social system are often found to be pernicious even to those on whose behalf they are made. The ex ample of Britain appears in favour of the gradual system. We should incline with Miss Martineau to recommend, even after emancipation, some temporary restriction on the power of holding land. The object would be to check the tendency to fix on small spots, and draw from them by imperfect culture a rude subsistence ; to shut them in to the position and habits of hired labourers. The tendency alluded to has, if we understand right, been the main cause which has rendered the West Indian emancipation, as respects the masters, not perfectly suc cessful. 78 RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER III. Religion in the United States. Early Religious State Effects of the Revolution Adoption of the Voluntary System Respect for Religion In New England In the South Deficiency in the West Sects- Methodists Baptists Presbyterians Congregationalists Episcopalians Roman Catholics Quakers Unitarians, &c. Shakers Rappites Mormonites Societies Bible Mis sionary Home Sabbath School Revivals and Camp-Meet ings General Result. RELIGION in the United States has presented itself under peculiar and important aspects, which have ex cited the greater interest from their bearing upon questions by which men s minds in the old world have been deeply agitated. It shall be our object rather to exhibit the facts connected with and tending to illustrate the subject, than to assume the advocacy of any par ticular conclusion. This principle was deeply concerned in the first foun dation of the colonies. That of New England, the most flourishing of them, was founded, as already shown, by the Puritans escaping the persecution to which they were exposed under the Stuarts. They came out pre pared to assign to it a prominent place in their institu tions ; erecting, indeed, rather a church than a state, and excluding from every political privilege those who M ere not members of their congregations. They did RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. 79 not, however, unite into any uniform system of church government ; nor, though the ministers were liberally provided for, was any permanent fund appropriated to their maintenance. The other colonies, excepting Vir ginia, were chiefly recruited by dissenters from the established church, of very various creeds. Williams, Baltimore, and Penn, studiously invited settlers of all sects without distinction ; they seem either to have been adverse to an establishment, or unable to propose it in favour of an obnoxious body. Efforts were indeed employed to procure that distinction for the Church of England ; but these, being in favour of a minority, and made by arbitrary governors, were un popular, and could be carried out only to a limited extent. On the whole, though the voluntary principle was not absolutely laid down, religious instruction had little else to depend upon. Even after the revolution, indeed, this system was not at once decided on. A numerous body among the federals were desirous of an establishment, probably on some very liberal basis ; and Jefferson even boasts, that had not he and his party come into power, this object would have been accomplished. During their long sway, every such idea was steadily discouraged : it has since been renounced even by their opponents, and is not now entertained in any quarter. While, however, the American statesmen reject every kind of ecclesiastical establishment, they profess to re gard religion itself with peculiar reverence. They con sider even, and we imagine not without reason, the religious spirit which pervades a great portion of the Union as a main basis of its well-regulated freedom. The weakness of human law must be compensated by the power of the divine. De Tocqueville even assures us, that missionaries setting out for the western states, stated it as one of their leading objects to cement national union and liberty. A man who does not belong to some one Christian communion, and pay a 80 RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. decent respect to its ordinances, loses much of his pros pect of rising in public life.* The influence of religion varies remarkably in different quarters of the Union. It is most conspicuous in New England, and generally in the eastern states north of the Potomac, including now the most improved and intelligent of the population. It is professed there in a manner perhaps more zealous and decided than in any country of Europe. De Tocqueville, coming in deed from one where a very different spirit reigned, was particularly struck with the religious aspect of the nation. Ministers are maintained, at least in all towns of any magnitude, in numbers adequate to the population ; while the provision for their support is usually sufficient, and in many cases liberal. It some times amounts to nearly 1000, and seldom falls much short of 100 a-year ; and they receive also many presents and various marks of kindness from their congrega tions. They are strictly debarred from political life, being allowed neither to sit in the central nor state legislatures, nor to hold any office under government ; but this exclusion implies no want of respect, arising solely from these employments being considered incom patible with their sacred functions. Indeed, their con sideration and influence in society is described as very extensive, exceeding what their order enjoys in Eng land ; it has even been represented as inordinate, and compared to that exercised by priests in the old Roman Catholic countries. Wealthy merchants, according to Miss Martineau, are gratified by having a daughter married to a clergyman. The ministers, on their side, are laborious, active, and attentive to their congregations ; their attainments are generally respectable, and in some cases eminent, though the want of leisure must render it difficult for them to engage very deeply in learned researches. Their people attend diligently on their * De Tocqueville, vol. ii. pp. 234, 235. Grand, vol. i. p. 281-297. RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. 81 ministrations and other spiritual ordinances, and sup port on a great scale, and with much activity, bible, missionary, and similar societies, together with philan thropic institutions, to which they are mainly prompted by Christian motives. The men, it must be owned, have their attention much distracted by politics and gain, which are both pursued with an excess of eager ness not quite consistent in persons professing devotion to higher objects. The ladies, however, with the full sanction of their husbands, allot to these pursuits a very material share of their time and attention. Further details under these heads will be given in the course of the chapter.* The southern Atlantic states present a different as pect. Virginia, the leading one, was founded under the auspices of the high church party, who long maintained the ascendency ; but, though strongly attached to epis copacy, they were averse to that fervid zeal displayed by the Puritans. The progress of the democratic prin ciple broke down the first tendency, while it perhaps strengthened the second. The Virginian statesmen formed the centre of the opposition to a national estab lishment, which was abolished in the state in 1799. Although this form of worship still prevails, it is ad ministered mostly by methodist preachers, who out number the regular episcopal clergy. Generally speaking, the tone in this part of the Union is that of respect for religion, without any of the zealous profession conspi cuous in the northern division. We have been informed on good authority that its influence is extending. The case is otherwise still with the great range of the new states in the west. The vast extent, the thinly scattered population, with the want of all national aid, render it scarcely possible to maintain any regular ministry. In the absence of this benefit, the desire for * Buckingham, vol. i. p. 189-200. Martineau, vol. iii. p. 147- 275. Grund, vol. i. p. 351, &c. 82 RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. it quickly expires. Mr Flint, though disposed to view favourably the western character, admits profanity to he one of its revolting features. The language held on board the steamers on the Mississippi is painful to sober and pious ears, and with gambling and other vicious practices, renders them often scenes of seduction to travellers from the east. Mrs Trollope having reproved a woman whom she saw working in her field on the sabbath, was answered : " I ben t a Christian, ma am ; we have got no opportunity." A district, however, at all populous, is seldom very long without some kind of ministration. Missionaries provided by societies in the eastern cities, with other voluntary teachers, form what Mr Flint calls " a circulating phalanx," who are con stantly moving from place to place. When one arrives at a village, he usually finds a school or other large apartment in which he can officiate. Placards being affixed in conspicuous places, a considerable body usually assembles, though Mrs Clavers laments that a larger number set out to amuse themselves with the rod and the gun. The schoolroom in her village, being by no means air-tight, was warmed by a large fire in the middle, on each side of which sat the hearers ; while the children running about in the interval, attracted too much of the parents notice, and often by their cries half drowned the voice of the speaker. She complains of the preachers as in general well meaning and zealous indeed, but most incompetent. Mr Flint admits, that they are vehement and boisterous in an extreme degree, yet considers such a style suited to the audience, and even marked with a bold poetical eloquence, acquired in solitary wandering through the vast western forests. A collection is made at the close of the service ; for it is said to be rooted in the minds of the people, that work should be first done, and then paid for. They are said to prefer this varied and desultory instruction to a fixed pastor. They are not fastidious as to the creed or pro fession ; but it is a point of etiquette, that when one has RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. 83 announced a sermon, another shall not preach at the same time. It may be observed, meantime, that as the western territory is filled with people, and large cities arise, it becomes assimilated in this, as in other respects, to the more improved state of things in the east. In Cincinnati, by Mrs Trollope s account, the religious spirit is as powerful, and carried, in her opinion, to a more superstitious excess, than in the maritime cities.* The mode of peopling America, with the absence of any national preference, led naturally to a great variety of sects. The clergy, too, were in many cases obliged to make their own way, and form congregations for themselves. Hence those which bore a missionary and itinerant character, and addressed themselves most strongly to popular feeling, have gained the chief ascend ency. The Methodists, t who did not enter into any of the main colonizing expeditions, now greatly outnum bered any other sect. No regular society was formed till 1776 ; it was nearly broken up during the war ; but Dr Hinton, in 1784, went out to constitute a church. According to the minute of the General Conference in 1834, their numbers amounted to 638,784, their travel ling ministers to 2458 ; and this is independent of local preachers, who are supposed to be even superior in number, but of whom no regular account is kept. They are pretty generally diffused, least however in New England, but mostly over the southern and west ern states. Their preachers are entirely under the direction of the conferences, and seldom remain above two years in one station. They are paid out of a general fund formed by subscription or collection, the allowance to each being 100 dollars (22, 10s.) per annum, with board and travelling expenses. If married, the same * Flint (Timothy), Geography, &c. of Mississippi Valley, p. 137-142. Trollope, vol. i. p. 154. f The enumeration here given of sects and institutions is chiefly drawn from the American Almanac for 1836, page 138-171. See also Hinton, vol. i. p. 369, &c. Combe, vol. i. p. 309-312 ; vol. ii. pp. 163-172, 300-306 ; vol. iii. p. 440-447. Buck ingham, vol. iii. p. 343-355. Martineau, vol. ii. p. 55-64. 84 RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. sum is allowed for the wife ; also from 16 to 24 dollars for each child, according to its age. These sums, how ever, form the maximum, which is seldom fully realized. The church is divided into twenty-two conferences, according to geographical limits ; and yearly meetings are held of all the travelling preachers included within each. Delegates, one for every fourteen members, form a general conference, which assembles every four years, to decide on questions common to the whole body ; it is presided over by six bishops. In 1830, a sort of schism took place, by the separation of a minority, tinder the title of Methodist Protestants. They com posed, in 1836, a general and 13 annual conferences, and reckoned about 30,000 members. They seem to approach nearer to the presbyterian model, the con ferences containing a body of lay members equal to the clerical, and no bishop appearing to preside. The Baptists rank next, and nearly equal. They are much more ancient, having formed part of the original emigration ; and as they laboured for some time under a particular odium at home, came over in large bodies. They appear also by their activity to have made numerous converts, and to be still extending their numbers. The main body, who hold tenets de cidedly Calvinistic, were reported in 1833 as containing 5888 churches, 3110 ministers, and 384,859 members. The report of the Baptist Home Missionary Society for 1835 considers these statements too low, and founded on defective returns. They lament the inadequate pro portion of ministers to churches, which is little more than a half; while of the number " it is well known that many are imperfectly fitted for the work, others but partially devoted to it, and not a few of the remainder only ill sustained in it." Being employed mostly in remote and outer districts, the funds for their support are comparatively small ; and even in the old states, the salaries are usually lower than those of other deno minations. Besides these Calvinistic Baptists who may be con- RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. 85 sidered the regular body, there are others ranked as dissentient. The Free-will Baptists, who, from the title, may be supposed to hold Arminian tenets, amounted to 25,276, having 546 churches, and 342 ministers. The Mennonites, a very early German sect, are estimated at 30,000 ; the Tunkers, of similar origin, at 3000. The Seventh-day Baptists are estimated at 4258, the Six Prin ciple at 2137 ; but we cannot pretend to say any thing as to the tenets of these bodies. Another, under the title of Christ-ians, began to separate in 1803, and in 1830 were reckoned to have 300 ministers, 1000 con gregations, and 30,000 communicants. They admit no rule of faith except the scriptures ; and their tenets are said to be anti-trinitarian. The Presbyterian church ranks next as to numbers, and forms a highly respectable body. It does not, how ever include the Puritan emigrants of New England, who, though their views were closely accordant, formed a different " platform" and never subjected themselves to any regular form of church-government. There are only two presbyteries in New England. The great strength of the body lies in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, where it was probably introduced by Dutch and German settlers. These have doubtless been recruited from Scotland and England, and have spread by emigration into the western states. Even in the south, their number is not inconsiderable. By a report of the general assembly in 1834, they were stated at 247,964 communicants, with 2648 churches, 1914 mini sters, and 236 licentiates. These were divided into twenty- three synods, each comprehending from three to eight presbyteries, and uniting in a general assembly, which meets at Philadelphia on the third Thursday of May. In 1837, a great schism took place, and the gene ral assembly exscinded 509 ministers and 60,000 com municants on a charge of heresy, which appears to have consisted in inadequate views respecting the great Cal- vinistic doctrines. These now constitute a separate sect. The Congregational Union forms still the prevailing 86 RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. body in New England ; and, though without any esta blishment, is supported on a respectable footing. The number of churches in 1834 is reported at 1071, with 975 ministers ; being thus better supplied than any of the bodies before mentioned. The communicants amounted to 130,000. They are divided into associa tions, each containing a number of churches seldom exceeding twenty, with a general one for each state, but without any united assembly of the whole. They have been much weakened by the defection of a large body, chiefly in Massachusetts, who have adopted Unitarian principles. There are said to be considerable numbers in other states, besides those of New England, of whom no account has been collected. The Episcopal church is formed after the model of that of England, and during the colonial connexion, was always favoured by the ruling party ; yet it never could strike any deep root, unless in Virginia. In the northern states, its adherents were not even regularly organized into a church till after the war. In 1784, Samuel Leabury came out, consecrated by the Bishop of Aberdeen, succeeded in 1787 by Mr Smith, who had received holy orders from the hands of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The people have the choice of the clergy, and a voice even in the appointment of the bishops. There are tolerably large congregations in the chief towns, consisting mostly of the higher classes ; and the clergy are liberally supported. The number of churches is stated at 701, pretty gene rally diffused through the eastern states ; but they have scarcely at all obtained a footing beyond the Alleghany. New England contains 150 ; the congregations, however, are generally small, and two of them often served by one individual. There are 23 dioceses, comprehending the whole range of the Union, in many of which the number of clergy is exceedingly limited. Roman Catholics were chiefly concerned in the foun dation of Maryland, where they are still very numerous. This religion was also established in Florida and Loui siana, originally Spanish colonies ; and to a certain ex- RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. 87 tent by the French in the north-western districts. Emi grants of this class have also from time to time come over, and of late particularly from Ireland. Its profes sors are said to have exerted particular zeal in propa gating their tenets, and with considerable success, espe cially in the west, where the ground was in a great measure unoccupied. Hence an alarm has spread among zealous Protestants, who displayed it very irregularly, by the demolition of a nunnery which had been erected at Boston. This exercise of lynch-law was not duly punished ; but the nuns are said to inhabit another edifice, where they still teach and make proselytes. The numbers of this persuasion can only be conjectured at from 500,000 to 800,000, though by some they are esti mated even higher. The Friends or Quakers do not hold quite so con spicuous a place as might have been expected, from their having been the founders of one great state, and the prominent movements made by them in others. They appear to have no published official account, either of their numbers or distribution. The general estimate is 150,000 members, divided into 450 or 500 societies ; but this we should think under the truth. Pennsyl vania, of course, is their chief seat, yet even there they are now considerably outnumbered by other sects. A re markable schism has been made in the body by Elias Hicks, who has adopted the Unitarian doctrine, which has greatly spread, his followers being estimated at 56,000. Lutherans came over in great numbers to the back settlements of Philadelphia ; whence they have extended into Ohio. In other quarters, they have found little footing. They are said, in 1842, to have had 750 churches, but served only by 267 ministers. There are nine synods, and a general one, which meets every three years. Although the orthodox Calvinistic doctrines generally prevail throughout the United States, and are inculcated with peculiar zeal, yet there has been lately formed a considerable and influential party, attached to very Otf RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. opposite tenets. About fifty years ago, Unitarianism began to be professed at Boston, where it might least have been expected. It rapidly spread, and was em braced by a large proportion of the most leading men in Massachusetts. The literary talents of several of its professors, particularly of Dr Charming, threw a great lustre round it ; and they obtained the command of Harvard University, the most distinguished seminary in the Union. The most opulent citizens are observed to belong to this body, which Mr Buckingham remarks to be usually joined by those who rise to wealth. Hence he anticipates its extension ; yet admits, that it has con tinued stationary, in a numerical view, for several years, while the population, and consequently other sects, are extending. The congregations in this state are estimated at 130, served by 120 ministers. There are 13 in Maine, and 17 in New Hampshire, but only one in Con necticut. In other states, there is usually a church in each large city, but no general diffusion among the people. The whole number of congregations is supposed to be about 200. We have already seen, however, that small sections of other bodies have adopted the same tenets, which their votaries even assert are held by 2000 societies. The Universalists are a more numerous class, who seem peculiar to America, and of whose tenets we can form a very imperfect idea. The leading one appears to be universal salvation, the seemingly dangerous ten dency of which many of them seek to guard against by supposing a long and severe purgatory. Mr Combe considers them as a species of popular Unitarians. No estimate has appeared of their numbers ; but they are formed into 600 congregations, served only by 300 ministers, whence, in many churches, there is no regular weekly service. They are generally diffused through the eastern states, but are found in none of the western, except Ohio. A general convention meets annually at Oxford, Massachusetts. There are, besides, a number of smaller bodies. The RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. GV Reformed Dutch, established in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, have 197 churches, 192 ministers, under one general synod, and 22,515 communicants. The German Reformed, in Pennsylvania and Ohio, have 180 ministers, 600 congregations, and 30,000 com municants. The Associate Presbyterians, mostly in the middle and north-western states, have 169 congrega tions, 70 ministers, 12,886 communicants. The Asso ciate Reformed have three synods in the north, south, and west ; the latter is stated to contain 214 congrega tions, 116 ministers, and 12,000 communicants. The extent of the others is not known. The Cumberland Presbyterians form a branch, who broke off in 1810 on account of the refusal by the synod of Kentucky to license ministers without their having received a clas sical education. This ruder class have spread through the western states, so as to contain above 500 congrega tions, 475 preachers, and at least 50,000 communicants. The New Jerusalem Church, chiefly in the north-east states and Ohio, is reported to have 27 societies and 58 teachers. The Moravians, or United Brethren, most numerous in Pennsylvania, comprise, it is said, 33 ministers, 24 congregations, and 5,745 members. The Jews are reckoned at 1 5,000. Another very small sect, which, from its extreme peculiarity, has drawn the attention of the world, is that of the Shakers. Their principal religious observance consists in dancing. After a sermon, which is said to contain some good moral instruction, they apply them selves to this exercise, the men being ranged on the one side and the women on the other. The tunes are said to be stirring and merry, such as are usually played at farces and pantomimes ; their motions vehement, with stamping and jerking, and sometimes resembling those of the kangaroo. Another peculiarity is the strict ob servance of celibacy, rendering the institution completely monastic. They denounce the attachment between the sexes as one from which the greatest evils of life have arisen. They appear desirous to convert the whole VOL. III. F 90 RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. world to their system, though they do not explain how, in this event, the human race could he preserved from extinction. The community of property is another principle strictly enforced ; all the members labouring for the public, and the produce being thrown into a common stock, under the management of certain leaders. Amid all this extravagance, their industry is conspic uous, and their conduct is noted as singularly correct and regular. Their grounds are kept under higher cultivation than those of their neighbours, and every article produced is of superior quality. A considerable property is supposed to be usually accumulated by each community. Ann Lee, about 1764, first broached this system in Lancashire ; but finding England not a congenial soil, she went over to America. Like her successors, she is said to have combined a good deal of worldly wisdom with the wildest fanaticism, and made converts of many respectable farmers in New England. This mania soon passed away ; but the body still keep up their number by accessions from various quarters. They adopt children, and are joined by widows and other destitute persons, in the view of a comfortable subsist ence. Their chief settlement is at Lebanon. A smaller establishment, somewhat similar in cha racter, has been formed by M. Rapp, a German, who, with certainly an uncommon measure of abilities and address, perverted them to the purpose of obtaining an absolute dominion over the minds of a number of indi viduals. He persuaded them that Heaven had invested him with a prophetical and spiritual character, which entitled him not only to be their instructor but the director of all their actions. Without inculcating any fantastic forms of worship, he agrees with the Shakers in prohibiting marriage, and making his people labour in common, all the proceeds being placed at his disposal. He has thus accumulated large property ; but about seventy members lately seceded, and raised an action for their share, which he compounded by giving them 5000. He carefully prevents all intercourse with strangers, RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. 91 and is even cautious in admitting new converts, lest they should enlighten, or, in his view, corrupt the fixed votaries. The number at present is about 500, settled at Economy, on the Ohio, 18 miles below Pittsburg. Rapp is very old, and at his death the body are ex pected to break up. Another religious abortion has recently started up in the Mormonites, or Latter-day Saints, respecting whom we are not prepared or disposed to say much. They hold that the angel, in the Revelation, chapter xiv., destined to preach the gospel to all nations, appeared to Joseph Smith arid several other persons, and communi cated to them a large body of religious instruction. The latter received also a book written on brass plates, and containing a species of supplementary gospel, which has been translated and published. This circumstance appears to mark deliberate fraud. The system of labouring in common is not adopted ; but believers are earnestly invited to sell their property, and deliver it into the hands of Smith for the common benefit. In return, they are invested with lofty names, revelators, patriarchs, priests, seers, while he him self is head of the church and president of the high priesthood. He has thus accumulated considerable property, and founded a town in the Missouri state, which the faithful were called upon to assist in building. They became involved, however, in quarrels with the inhabitants, and, after some sharp conflicts, were obliged to quit this station, their chief seat being now at Nauvoo, on the banks of the Mississippi. Their number is reck oned, in the American Almanac, at 12,000. They have sent over missionaries into this country, w r ho are said to have made some converts. We are obliged to state, that these notices are from sources somewhat casual and vague. Mention has already been made of the great extent and active promotion of societies for the diffusion of religious knowledge. In this respect the United States rank second only to Britain. The American Bible 92 RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. Society was instituted in 1816, and is conducted by a board of thirty-six managers, all laymen, and belonging to five or six religious denominations. As the object is to publish the scriptures without note or comment, there is a union of all Christian sects. The main seat of operation is in New York, where they have an edifice for the officers residence, and for the work of printing and binding. Here seventeen presses are moved by steam, and above 1000 bibles can be printed in a day. A subscriber of 30 dollars is a member, and one of 150 a director, both for life. There are about 1000 auxiliary societies, each usually embracing a county, and con nected with from ten to twenty smaller branches. They receive copies at cost price, or even lower in case of necessity. Those situated in wealthy dis tricts make remittances to the parent society ; others are obliged to solicit its bounty. For some years, it lias been an anxious aim of the society that every child, able to read, should be furnished with a copy of the scriptures. They have also, by means of their surplus funds, extended their operations to foreign countries, and have granted large sums to aid in the printing and circulation of the scriptures in various languages. The income in the first year, ending May 181 7, exceeded 35,000 dollars, and gradually increased in 1824 to 52,000, in 1828 to 65,000, and in 1831 even to 170,000. This last amount, however, has not been supported ; in 1834 it fell to 85,000, though it rose in 1836 to above 100,000. The pious zeal for communicating the blessings of Christianity to pagan nations by missionary labours has been fully shared by the United States. At Boston, in 1810, was instituted " The American Board of Commis sioners for Foreign Missions," with which was incorpo rated in 1826 a similar society which had been formed at New York in 1817. This association is chiefly sup ported by the Congregational and Presbyterian Churches, whose sentiments mainly harmonize. The contribu tions, which in the first year were only 1000 dollars, RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. 93 rapidly increased, and in 1817 had risen to 30,000 ; in 1822 to 59,000 ; in 1828 to 102,000 ; and in 1834 as high as 152,000. The laudable object of this society is to diffuse the Christian religion, and with it, as a subor dinate object, all kinds of useful knowledge, and even the mechanical arts. With this view, their preachers are accompanied by teachers, physicians, mechanics, agriculturists, &c. In 1836 they had 25 missions, in cluding 75 stations, in which were engaged 102 preachers, of whom 24 possessed medical knowledge. These, with teachers, farmers, mechanics, and others, including 181 married and unmarried females, made up 311 persons employed. Their schools amounted to 474, attended by about 37,000 pupils ; and two seminaries had been formed for educating native teachers and preachers, which had attracted about 250 students. The New Testament had been translated by them into the Mali- ratta, the Armeno-Turkish, and the Hawaiian languages ; portions of it into twenty others. They had 118 persons employed among the Indian tribes, 65 in the Sandwich Islands, 55 in India, among the Mahratta and Tamul tribes, 7 in Siam, 3 in China, and 5 in the Indian archi pelago ; 31 in Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, and Persia ; 10 in European Turkey, 14 in Africa. They publish a monthly work entitled the Missionary Herald, of which about 18,000 copies are circulated. The Baptists have also a General Convention for the purpose of Foreign Missions, including the Indian tribes. It was formed at Philadelphia in May 1814, and meets triennially at different cities throughout the Union. The board of managers now hold their periodical assem blies in Boston, where the American Baptist Magazine, their official publication, is issued. The funds in 1835 amounted to 58,500 dollars. Among the Indians, they maintain 31 missionaries, with 7 assistants ; in Moulmein, Rangoon, and other parts of Burmah and Siam, 31 missionaries and 23 assistants ; in Siberia, 5 ; in Hayti, 1 ; in France and Germany, 4. The friends of religion, in contemplating the subject 94 RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. of spiritual destitution, could not be long in perceiving that it existed within the precincts of their own Union to an extent nearly as great as among the most remote and savage tribes. Under this impression, in 1826, a Home Missionary Society was formed at New York, by a convention of 130 clergymen and laymen, chiefly of the Presbyterian and Congregational persuasions. Their exertions have prospered ; and the receipts, which in the first year were 18,130 dollars, had risen in 1835 to 88,863 (19,934). They employed 719 missionaries in 1050 congregations or districts. The Baptists have also a home society, with a revenue of 8839 dollars, and employing 93 missionaries ; three of them in Canada. The Methodist Episcopal Church has a society both for home and foreign objects, but chiefly the former. Its receipts in 1835 were 30,492 dollars ; it maintained 144 missionaries, and counted 16,430 members. The Pro testant Episcopal Church has a similar institution, with a revenue of about 26,000 dollars. The system of Sabbath Schools originated in England in 1782, at the suggestion of Robert Raikes of Gloucester. In 1791, a society for this object was formed in Phila delphia, and soon after in other cities ; and in 1824, a union was formed at Philadelphia by the combination of a number of local bodies. Their professed object was to concentrate the national efforts for this object, to cir culate moral and religious publications, and endeavour to plant a sabbath school wherever there is a population. Christians of all denominations united in this pious work ; it was even arranged that the committee of eight should comprise members from at least four different professions, and that no book should be published to which any of them objected. A somewhat singular regulation is, that no clergyman shall be in the management, which must be intrusted exclusively to laymen. The society do not exercise any control over the schools, or the doctrines taught ; they merely undertake to supply them with cheap publications, and to aid their erection in destitute situations. Their funds, in 1834, amounted to 136,855 RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. 95 dollars (30,780). They had connected with them 16,000 schools, 115,000 teachers, and 799,000 pupils. There is also a Tract Society, instituted at Boston in 1814; but a more comprehensive one was formed at New York in 1825, to which the other became in some degree auxiliary. The receipts in 1835 were 92,307 dollars (about 20,800). The people of the United States are accused of certain displays of religious zeal, made too publicly, in indecor ous and irregular modes. These are chiefly revivals and camp-meetings. The revival appears to consist of great united efforts to restore or kindle the religious spirit, especially in places where it is supposed to be faint or decayed. For this purpose a number of zealous minis ters assemble in the place, and by a series of daily ser mons, as well as other means and exertions, endeavour to rouse the people to a deep sense of their spiritual in terests. On these occasions, it is usual to enclose by rails a part of the church, called " the anxious benches," at which are seated persons particularly under the in fluence of this feeling. The majority appear to be young ladies, who do not seem much encouraged in scripture to come forward in so public a manner. As the service proceeds, tears are shed, cries and even screams are raised, and, as Mrs Trollope alleges, caresses are be stowed. Mr Hinton, who undertakes on the whole their apology, admits that in many cases they are en thusiastic to a great degree ; yet he conceives that when soberly conducted, as in very many instances they are, they have a salutary influence in rousing a sense of reli gion in neglected districts, or in others where, amid routine observances, its warmth had decayed. He con siders that in the New England states, the extravagances observed in the ruder and more western territories are scarcely perceptible. The camp-meetings are chiefly held in the wide regions of the west, where the regular means of instruction are deficient ; and the concourse attracted towards them is immense. As soon as one is announced, the roads for a 96 RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. hundred miles round, are seen thronged with persons on foot and horseback, in gigs and wagons, hastening to the spot. It is usually chosen in the centre of a deep, dark, and lonely forest, never reached by the axe of the settler ; and a large space being cleared, the trees which have been cut down are arranged for seats. Preaching and other religious exercises are carried on for several days without interruption, and continued till past midnight. It is allowed by all, that the lights, and the various sounds of worship echoing through these immense forests, espe cially at a distance, are strikingly impressive. In a more important view, it is very generally alleged, that these assemblages not only display wild excesses of fana ticism, but give occasion to vicious and disorderly con duct. It is not denied, that many, who are wholly un concerned on religious subjects, flock thither as to a scene of excitement and social enjoyment, and often afford ground for such animadversions. The same re mark was made on the old Scottish sacraments, accom panied by preaching in the open air. Yet sober Ameri can divines contend, that such characters would always have found somewhere the means of gratification ; that in the peculiar situation of this region, religious impres sions are thus conveyed to many who would otherwise have been entire strangers to them ; and that drunken ness and other prevalent vices have thus been sensibly diminished.* From these details, the reader may have formed a tolerable idea of the state of religion in America, both in itself and as connected with the question of a national establishment. It presents, as we have seen, two contrasted aspects, one in the densely peopled states on the coast, particularly in the north, the other in the wide and thinly inhabited territories of the west. In the former, the re ligious principle seems to possess equal and even some what greater power than generally in European countries. * Trollope, vol. i. p. 239-241 ; vol. ii. p. 110-112. Flint, Geography, &c., p. 144-146. RELIGION IN THE UNITED STATES. 97 The clergy possess extensive influence ; arid they are, perhaps from their position, somewhat more uniformly diligent and laborious. It might be apprehended that in this state of dependence upon their congregations, they might be tempted to relax the obligations of religion and morality ; but there appears in general no room for the charge, which indeed the respectable part of the society, by whom the clergy are supported, would not approve or desire. There may be a danger, however, in cases where the general feelings or supposed interests of the public take a direction with which the clergy can scarcely sympathize, of their being brought under this influence, of which the extensive support given by them to slavery is perhaps an example. The various sentiments entertained by the numerous sects will of course be dif ferently estimated according as they approach to or re cede from those of the reader. It seems admitted by almost all, that certain fanatical excesses are carried farther than in Britain ; while, on the other side, there is a greater prevalence of those doctrines which the great body of Christians repel as heterodox. In the western territory, the aspect of affairs, as al ready observed, is still more unfavourable. The want of the means of instruction has led to an absence of the desire for it, and to an unwillingness to make even such contributions as could be afforded for its support. The American writers of a serious disposition deeply deplore the destitution thus occasioned ; yet so rooted is their attachment to the voluntary principle, that they refuse to recommend any aid from the public, and merely call upon their countrymen in more improved states to sup ply the deficiency. This has been done to a creditable extent by the home missionary and other societies ; yet all their exertions are allowed to be very inadequate. Indeed, it seems rather too much to expect, that, besides supporting a large establishment of their own, the east ern states should also provide one for these distant and extensive countries. 98 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. CHAPTER IV. The Literature of America. Obstacles to Literature in America Political Circumstances Want of Remuneration State before the Revolution Decline Gradual Revival and Progress Branches Ora tory Otis Henry Fisher Ames Everett Webster Clay Poetry General Taste for it Mode of Production- Bryant Percival Dana Sprague Halleck Brainard Pierpont Willis Wilcox Longfellow Neal Doane Peabody Prentice Sands Drake Hillhouse Lunt Clason Whittier Hoffman Street Gallagher Pike Pinkney Simms Female Poets Sigourney Brooks Hall Welby Gould Lucretia and Margaret Davidson Various Others Romances and Novels Brown Cooper Sedgwick, &c. Essay-writingIrving Channiug His tory Bancroft Prescott Historical Biography Collec tions of Documents Travellers Lewis Clarke School- craft Robinson Stephens Catlin, &c. Statistics. IT cannot be necessary to dwell on a topic so familiar as that of the benefits which a nation derives from science and literature. Without some tincture of the knowledge and refinement they confer, the man can be said to rise but little above the brute. Through their influence society is polished and humanized, the grosser vices are banished, morality assumes a higher tone, and even religion itself is purified from error and supersti tion. True it is, that with all these advantages, they become liable to perversions, from which, through the waywardness of man s will, all that is best and highest in his nature cannot be exempted. But the proper remedy is not to neglect or banish, but to purify and give them a sound and genuine direction. Nations can THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 99 scarcely be considered as meriting the epithet of civilized, until not only knowledge and a taste for reading are in some degree diffused, but they have produced some authors capable of taking a high place in the ranks of those who have instructed and delighted mankind. It had passed nearly into a maxim, that such charac ters did not and never could exist in America ; that she neither possessed a national literature, nor had the pros pect of attaining one, at least under her present institu tions. "What geniuses," says Fisher Ames, "have arisen among us, like the sun and stars, to shed light and glory on our hemisphere ? This state of the case is no sooner made, than all the firefly tribe of our authors perceive their little lamps go out of themselves : ex cepting the writers of two able works on our politics, we have no authors." He then goes over the different branches of literary exertion, endeavouring to prove that his country contains neither materials nor im pulses that can lead to their successful cultivation.* De Tocqueville, thirty years later, adopts the same view, holding it as established that America has neither historian nor poet, and arguing from her political and social circumstances the improbability that any great genius should arise in either of these walks. We cannot, however, help thinking, that this last eminent writer is nearly twenty years behind the actual state of things, and is reasoning upon one which no longer exists. We will, on the contrary, endeavour to prove, that no material obstacles exist to the formation of a national literature in America, and that in fact she already holds no contemptible position in this respect. This discus sion will include a review of those circumstances which tend either to favour or impede her progress. One great barrier to her literary advancement is sup posed to exist in the republican form of government, whose restless and turbulent movements are judged in compatible with the tranquil pursuits of the scholar. On * Fisher Ames Works, 8vo, p. 459-470. 100 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. tliis point, however, it seems only necessary to pronounce the name of Athens ; and we concur almost without qualification in the following eloquent remarks of Mr Everett : " Athens was essentially a free state free to licentiousness free to madness. The rich were arbi trarily pillaged to defray the expenses of the state ; the great were hanished to appease the envy of their rivals ; the wise sacrificed to the fury of the populace. It was a state, in short, where liberty existed with most of the imperfections which have led man to love and praise despotism. Still, however, it was for this lawless, merci less people, that the most chaste and accomplished literature which the world has known was produced. The philosophy of Plato was the attraction which drew to a morning walk in the olive- gardens of the Academy the young men of this factious city. Those tumultuous assemblies of Athens the very same which rose in their wrath, and to a man, and clamoured for the blood of Phocion required to be addressed, not in the cheap extemporaneous rant of modern demagogues, but in the elaborate and thrice-repeated orations of Demosthenes."* It must, indeed, be admitted, that this form of gov ernment presents no inconsiderable obstacles to literary pursuits. Public employments possess attractions tend ing to draw towards them the most powerful talents. To sway assembled multitudes, to guide the helm of national affairs, are more animating and agreeable occu pations than to compose or reflect in retirement ; and a popular orator, even with moderate success, occupies a more conspicuous place among his countrymen than the most eminent votary of science. It must also be owned, that in such governments literary patronage is sparingly distributed. It need scarcely be remarked how little of it has been bestowed on the men of genius who have given lustre to Britain. Even in Athens the case was the same, after the expulsion of the Pisistratidae ; nay, the philosophers who formed her chief glory were objects * Orations, p. 21. THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 101 of persecution to the reigning multitude. In this re spect the American government has trodden in the foot steps of its predecessors, congress having always shown the most perfect coolness and indifference on the subject. Washington strongly and repeatedly urged the founding of a national university ; he even bequeathed a spot of ground for the edifice, which however remains still un occupied. His successors have from time to time solicited attention to this object ; but their representations have fallen dead upon the house, nor are we aware of its having ever been felt necessary even to make a speech against the measure. Still, the movement, the agitation, the mighty interests contended for under such a govern ment, elicit powers which remain dormant amid the stagnation of an absolute dominion, and which the patronage even of the greatest monarch is unable to create. We quote from the same author, with a some what qualified concurrence : " No strongly marked or high-toned literature, poetry, eloquence, or ethics, ever appeared but in the pressure, the crowd of great interests, great enterprises, perilous risks, and dazzling rewards. Statesmen, and warriors, and poets, and orators, and artists, start up under one and the same excitement." In such a community, the desire of making a figure before the public is strongly felt, while many able men want the peculiar talents necessary for achieving politi cal eminence, or will not perhaps submit to the humilia tions to be encountered in the pursuit. At all times, too, the division into factions shuts out from public employments a large body of well-informed and talented individuals, to whom the tranquil paths of literature offer the means both of solace and exertion. For twelve years prior to the election of Harrison, the excluded party were allowed to be superior in intellect to their opponents. There is usually in such societies a certain respect commanded by strong and original exertions of mind ; they attract followers and admirers, who, in the absence of patronage, afford a sufficient impulse. In this way, Britain has produced a succession of great 102 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. authors, who have risen and flourished amid national neglect. The philosophers and other great men of Athens were the objects of persecution ; yet they grew up successively beneath the blows by which they were struck. It is true that we often find the great men of Greece in the courts of princes, receiving that patronage which was elsewhere denied ; but it was almost always in the free states that their talents had been awakened and developed. The Americans, however, it is maintained, are too busy and bustling a nation for these tranquil pursuits ; there is no class exempt from the necessity of labour, or enjoying the leisure necessary for their cultivation. We cannot, however, consider this a very serious obstacle. It has been frequently observed, that whenever a very strong inclination is excited for any pursuit, men will be at no loss for time to gratify it. Modern Europe has contained a most numerous class, exempted from, toil by hereditary wealth, and enjoying an ample portion of leisure ; yet how few of her great authors have been drawn from their ranks, and not rather from those of the middling, professional, and even lower orders. The planters of the south, as already observed, possess very considerable leisure, which they even devote to the attainment of some intellectual acquisitions ; yet what ever of literature exists in America has arisen, not with them, but amid the tumultuary throng of the great mercantile emporia of the north. The numerous colleges in the States afford retreats where writers may enjoy ample leisure ; yet we find the majority in preference establishing their residence in the great cities. Complaints are likewise made of the want of any one centre of wealth and intelligence, which might become the common resort of literary aspirants. Instead of a great capital, like London or Paris, forming the nursery of science, literature, and art, their culture is in America divided between Boston, New York, and Philadelphia ; hence a want of any powerful united impulse. In Greece, however, in modern Italy, and THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 103 in Germany, a similar division took place, without op posing any obstacle to the highest intellectual progress. It was even manifestly promoted by the emulation kindled between rival states ; while the author, neglected or persecuted in one, found refuge in another. Mr Flint insists, that the rivalry of the American cities produces no good effects, but excites only mutual jealousy and detraction. Yet we cannot easily believe that a prin ciple elsewhere so beneficial, should in his country yield only these malignant fruits, nor in fact have we seen any striking exhibitions of this nature. We incline to think, that greater disadvantage arises from the separa tion between the social and political centres ; the former existing in the three cities above named, the latter in Washington, the exclusive seat of politics. This is pro bably one cause of the total apathy which still prevails on the subject in the central government, and the want of any patronizing disposition ; and perhaps genius suffers still more from the absence of the impulse derived from great public movements and events. These, however, are pretty generally felt throughout the Union ; and, joined to the operations of the state governments, keep up every where even an excess of political stir and activity. Transatlantic authors, however, complain with bitter ness that, under present circumstances, they do not obtain such remuneration for their works as will enable them to subsist by the produce of their pens, and that they cannot thus devote their lives to literature. Yet long before there was such a thing as copyright, authors arose at least as great as have appeared since ; and it may be questioned if genius was ever elicited by the mere motive of the money which its exertions would produce. When, indeed, the literary character has been formed, this motive may induce to more constant and systematic exertions ; and compilations, elementary works, and periodicals, may be thus drawn forth with advantage. But works of invention, either philosophic or imaginative, are very ill fitted to yield to their author a regular income. His vein is probably limited and 104 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. soon worked out ; and he is then obliged to dig for baser ore, which lowers his reputation, and loses him that public support which is with difficulty preserved by similar works, even of equal merit. Thus the brilliant prospects, with which perhaps his career opened, sus tain a gloomy reverse. Even in America, literary suc cess, though not paid by the bookseller, usually intro duces its possessor to some respectable situation. He procures an office under government, or the appointment to a professorship, or if a clergyman, is recommended to the choice of a respectable congregation. The most usual way, however, in which it is turned to account, is by becoming editor or proprietor of a newspaper, or other periodical, a situation not very agreeable, but which yields often liberal remuneration. American authors, however, bitterly reproach their countrymen with a rooted prejudice against their own native literature. Even political zealots, who profess to hate and despise England, will scarcely open a book which does not come from that country. If they have begun to estimate better a few of their own writers, it is said to be only after hearing that they had been admired on this side of the Atlantic. Now, it must be observed, that the impression from which this tendency arose was, for very many years, perfectly well founded ; and we certainly think, that the Americans acted wisely in reading good books, though from a foreign, and what they might even esteem a hostile country, rather than bad ones of native production. The habit once formed might somewhat outlast the cause, and they might require testimonies of undoubted authority to rouse them to the merits of their first really able writers. The charge is now, we think, without any serious founda tion ; and eminent authors are made quite sufficiently the subject of national boast. It was noticed in 1835, that the reviews, particularly the North American, scarcely ever noticed works written by their own countrymen ;* but this is no longer the case ; they are included in quite * Athenaeum, 3d January 1835. THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 105 a fair proportion, and have their full share of merit assigned to them. It is now time to attempt a survey of the actual achievements of the nation in this great field of human pursuit. The undertaking is by no means easy, since they themselves have only recently begun to pay any attention to their own literary history ; and the most eminent authors being either alive or recently dead, information respecting them can be but imperfectly col lected. The present, therefore, being the first attempt to take a general view of the subject, must claim much indulgence, although some omissions or even errors should be found in it. The colonies, immediately previous to their separation from Britain, stood in the situation of provinces to the mother-country, with which they maintained a constant and active intercourse ; and their progress in population and refinement was such as enabled them to avail them selves of the advantages thence derivable. A large amount of talent was developed, and a certain propor tion turned with energy to intellectual pursuits. Jona than Edwards produced works which, by their acuteness and closeness of reasoning, secured to him an eminent rank among divines and metaphysicians. Franklin, by his electrical discoveries, and the strong practical sense of his essays, became equally distinguished in scientific and literary circles. In a somewhat lower grade, Dr Dwight had already risen into notice, and been recom mended aspresident of Yale College. Benjamin Thompson, afterwards so well known as Count Rumford, produced his works and inventions indeed in Europe ; but his talent had been formed and recognised before he left America. Whatever of merit may be allowed to Joel Barlow, his literary character had been nearly matured, and indeed a sketch of his Columbiad drawn out, pre vious to the contest. Jefferson and others of the re volutionary leaders cultivated letters with ardour ; and though Washington had no talent of this kind, he appreciated it highly when displayed by others. VOL. III. G 106 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. These incipient movements were broken up by the tumult of the revolutionary conflict. During its con tinuance, and for about thirty years after, the intellec tual life of the Union remained in a suspended state. The severance, perhaps premature, had thrown them considerably back in the career of prosperity ; and what was perhaps of more importance, it removed them from English society, which was regarded with an eye of hostile estrangement. The commercial cities, the chief seats of civilisation, had been almost ruined, and worked their way back only gradually to a prosperous condition. About the beginning of the century, some faint signs of revival began to be visible. A taste for reading, especially poetry, sprung up among the body of the people, and increased so rapidly, that it is described now as more generally diffused than in any other nation. It appeared then a flattering prospect to undertake the supply of so extensive a demand. Brockden Brown produced several romances full of those extravagant incidents and violent passions which the German school had rendered fashionable, and which were not unsuited to the infant efforts of a somewhat rude people. He undertook even two periodicals, the Monthly Magazine and North American Review ; but they did not succeed. A Mr Dennie, in 1801, commenced one called the Port folio, which created a pretty strong sensation, but was not long supported. Phineas Adams, in 1803, began a Monthly Anthology, which was carried on till 1811 ; but no great poet seems to have arisen under its auspices. In 1807, the work called Salmagundi, undertaken at New York by Washington Irving, in conjunction with Paulding and Verplank, may be considered the com mencement of American literature. It gained for its author, in his own country, the reputation of a clever man, but did not penetrate to Europe. From this time, however, the literary spirit continued to increase in activity. In May 1815, the North American Review was commenced under the editorship of Mr Tudor ; in 1817 it passed to Mr Sparks, in 1819 to Mr E. T. Chan- THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 107 ning, and in the same year to Mr Everett. It met from the first a favourable reception, and was soon recognised in Europe as a respectable publication.* Irving, mean time, had been rapidly enlarging his ideas and polishing his style. In 1819, he visited England, and sent over to his own country the first volume of " the Sketch Book, by Geoffroy Crayon." At first published there, it soon found its way back, and met with so flattering a reception, as induced him to follow it up by another. The British public became as it were electrified by seeing an American author take his place in the first rank among those of Europe. About the same date Bryant and Percival published poems, of which the former at least drew in England the admiration of readers of taste, though they have never perhaps become so popular as their merits deserved. They were followed by a numerous school, embracing various, but on the whole, as will appear, very consider able degrees of excellence. Not long after Cooper, by his novels, gained a European reputation of the first class in this department. Others have followed him, and displayed talents which rendered them popular at home, though they have not made much impression elsewhere. Ames had predicted, that an historian would not find, in his own country, a sufficiently inte resting subject, and would not be able to procure mate rials for writing the annals of any other. Both these obstacles, however, have been surmounted by Bancroft and Prescott, whose works are admitted, on all hands, to possess a high degree of excellence. Oratory, under Webster and Everett, has assumed a finished and classic character ; while Channing, as a moral writer and essayist, has come into rivalry with the most eminent of those upon this side of the Atlantic. Having thus traced, in some kind of chronological order, the intellectual progress of America, we will now attempt to survey, in some detail, its different branches. * North American Review, No. xli. p. 293-296. 108 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. It may be proper to begin with oratory, as that pecu liarly adapted to, and which has risen to its highest perfection under popular government, and of which America has certainly produced some brilliant examples. There is probably in that country more public speaking than in all the rest of the world put together. The continually recurring elections to the state and national legislatures, and to the numerous offices at the disposal of the people, are accompanied by addresses proposing and recommending the candidate, thanking for the appointment, inaugural on entering, valedictory on quitting. On commencing to erect an edifice, or to take it down, on the death of any eminent character, on the occurrence or commemoration of any public event, an oration must never be wanting. The 4th of July, being the anniversary of the Declaration of Independ ence, is held as a national festival, when all the aspirants to popular favour task their powers of speech to the utmost. The applauses of an assembled multitude afford perhaps the most flattering form in which in tellectual success can be obtained; while an admired speech is printed in the newspapers, read throughout the Union, and perhaps embodied in collections as a model for future orators. From these causes the public speakers in the United States are a most numerous race ; but as high mental culture is not so generally diffused, the performances cannot display a uniform excellence. A command of language and facility of expression are indeed usually obtained, but the more important article of ideas is apt to be very deficient. A crude abundance of words is described by a native author as the main disease of American composition. The greater number move mechanically round a beaten circle ; and the per petually recurring addresses, particularly on the anni versary of the 4th of July, can scarcely fail of falling into utter commonplace. These effusions are accord ingly said to be regularly stuffed with schoolboy allu sions to the ancients, in which Greece and Rome, De- THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 109 mosthenes and Cicero, are absolutely " used up." Mr Flint describes the ordinary result as "a curious mosaic, in which brilliant and party-coloured fragments are selected from the common school collections of reading and speaking, vagrant fine sayings culled from cele brated speeches, phrases consecrated by fashion, turgid epithets, gaudy and excessively exaggerated representa tions of the unparalleled glory, power, and progress (particularly in intellect arid letters) of our country, and fierce declamation about liberty, intended to be sublime ; all this is worked into a mass, without fitness, order, or taste. No modern country is allowed any sort of equality in a general comparison. Especially is every other nation represented to be merged in the most humiliating slavery." In short, an alternation of fustian and bombast is described as forming the general cha racter of these orations.* Still, whatever is practised very much in any society, though it may in most instances be done ill, is likely in some few to be executed in a superior manner. As the nation advanced in taste and refinement, there could not but arise a wish to do something to repair such serious defects. We must, however, begin with the orators who appeared before and during the revolution, and who acquired a higher reputation than any that for a long time succeeded. There prevailed then, as already observed, a higher intellectual taste, and the critical events of that era had a powerful influence in drawing forth displays of eloquence, which, however, bore still a somewhat rude and irregular character. Otis is always mentioned by the Americans with particular enthusiasm. His practice was prior to the revolution, when employed as a lawyer to oppose, by every practicable means, the commercial monopoly. His orations are described as having produced most powerful effects, and having been mainly instrumental in preparing the way for the great change. " Otis," says Pitkin, " was a flame of fire." * Flint in Athenseum, 29th August 1835. 110 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. We have been unable to procure any other remains of this celebrated person than two pamphlets, the prin cipal of which is entitled a " Vindication of the British Colonies," written on occasion of the stamp-act. This subject, we may imagine, would draw forth all his powers ; nor can the style apparently differ from that of his orations, which, even if extemporaneous, could scarcely be more loose and colloquial. We are obliged to say, that we can discover in this work little an swering to so splendid a fame. Not only is there a total absence of elegant and classic composition, but even of thoughts expressed with very commanding energy. The great power must have resided in the manner; and there really is a rapid crowd of ideas, which, when uttered with vehemence and fervour, might produce a striking effect. As few of our readers have probably seen any of his composition, we shall select two or three specimens. He thus characterizes the style of a pamphlet to which his own is an answer : " Inaccuracies in abundance, declamation and false logic without end ; verse is retailed in the shape of prose, solecisms are attempted to be passed off for good grammar, and the most indelicate fustian for fine taste. The whole performance is truly Filmerian. The pic ture is very well charged with shade and thick dark ness, intermixed with here and there a ray of light, now and then a flash, and once in the while is heard a little rumbling thunder from a few distant broken clouds." The other party had thrown out a proposition for a distinct code of laws to be applied to the British colo nies. To this he answers : " If I mistake not, there is in the air of this period (passage) the quintessence of a mere martial legislator, the insolence of a haughty and imperious minister, the indolence and half-thought of a petit maitre, the flutter of a coxcomb, the pedantry of a quack, and the nonsense of a pettifogger. A strange gallimaufry this ; but I am not answerable for it, or for any other of the exhibitions THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. Ill of a monster-monger. We want no foreign codes or canons here. The common law is our birthright." The British writer having said, in reference to the plan of members of parliament being sent from America, that " the beauty and symmetry of that body would be destroyed, and its purity denied by the unnatural mix ture ;" he answers : " Was ever insolence equal to this ? Are the inhabi tants of British America all a parcel of transported thieves, robbers, and rebels, or descended from such I Are the colonists blasted lepers, whose company would infect the whole House of Commons ! There are some in the colonies who value themselves on their descent. We have the names of Tudor and of Stuart, of Howard, Seymour, and of Russell, who boast an unsullied de scent from our ancient princes and nobles, or at least claim the honour of being of the same blood. Can none of these be returned as members without breeding a plague in the house ? If this writer be a European, his insults upon the British colonies are quite unpar donable ; if he be a native, he is an ungrateful parricide. Is he the venal hireling of a party I his employers on either side the Atlantic should discard him as a mere Sir Martyn Marplot. Depend upon it, one such letter as this, if known to breathe the sentiments of the great, would tend more to disgust the colonies against the conduct of their superiors than a hundred thousand such pamphlets as the author scolds at." The following is the most serious passage, and deserves notice as appearing to show that he was wholly unpre pared for that great change which he is supposed to have been so instrumental in producing. In fact, though he lived till 1778, we are not aware that he took any part in the revolutionary struggle. " God forbid these colonies should ever prove unduti- ful to their mother-country. Whenever such a day shall come, it will be the beginning of a terrible scene. Were these colonies left to themselves to-morrow, Ame rica would be a mere shambles of blood and confusion 112 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. before little petty states could be settled. How many- millions must perish in building up great empires ! how many more must be ruined by their fall ! Let any man reflect on the revolutions of government, ancient and modern, and he will think himself happy in being born here in the infancy of these settlements, and from his soul deprecate their once entertaining any sentiments but those of loyalty, patience, meekness, and forbearance under any hardships that in the course of time they may be subjected to. These, as far as may be consistent with the character of men and Christians, must be submitted to." Patrick Henry held nearly the same place and advo cated the same cause in Virginia. Born of humble parents, he obtained only the first elements of education, and though he had gained considerable information by desultory reading, did not in his conversation show any striking intellectual qualities, but had quite a vulgar and clownish appearance. Having failed in successive trades, he and his family were reduced to great distress, when he conceived the hope of earning a scanty subsist ence by practising as a lawyer. After six weeks study he presented himself for examination, and was found very deficient ; yet Randolph, on whom the task devolved, saw such marks of natural energy and sagacity that he allowed him to pass. He remained long without any employment, till a plea arose between the clergy and people about the payment of stipend. The cause of the latter appearing desperate, and being much discounte nanced by the leading gentry, their regular advocates threw it up, and nothing seemed to remain but to pro nounce sentence against them. As a forlorn hope, they put forth Henry. The result is thus related by Mr Wirt : " He rose very awkwardly, and faltered much in his exordium. The people hung their heads at so unpro mising a commencement. But these feelings were of short duration, and soon gave way to others of a very different character. For now were those wonderful THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 113 faculties which he possessed for the first time developed, and now was for the first time witnessed that mysterious and almost supernatural transformation of appearance which the fire of his own eloquence never failed to work in him. For, as his mind rolled along, and began to glow from its own action, all the exuvice of the clown seemed to shed themselves spontaneously. His attitude by degrees became erect and lofty. The spirit of his genius awakened all his features. His countenance shone with a nobleness and grandeur which it had never before exhibited. There was a lightning in his eyes which seemed to rivet the spectator. His action became graceful, bold, and commanding ; and in the tones of his voice, but more especially in his emphasis, there was a peculiar charm." The cause was instantly decided in his favour, and he was triumphantly carried home on the shoulders of the people. From an obscure, ruined, and despised indivi dual, he became the first man in Virginia, was long the leading orator in its assembly, and held for many years the office of governor. His oratory, the effects of which are described as almost magical, depended also in a vast degree upon his delivery, of which Mr Wirt has given an eloquent description. He had nothing, it appears, of that violence in voice and action by which his compatriots often sought to force admiration. It is said : " Every look, every motion, every pause, every start, was completely filled and dilated by the thought which he was uttering, and seemed indeed to form a part of the thought itself." It is elsewhere added : " The very form in which he would address the chairman when he felt the inspiration of his genius rising Mr Chairman fixed upon him at once every eye in the assembly ; and then his own rapt coun tenance ! those eyes which seemed to beam with light from another world, and under whose fiery glance the crest of his proudest adversary fell, his majestic attitudes, and that bold, strong, and varied action, which spoke forth with so much power the energies of his own great 114 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. spirit, rendered his person a spectacle sublime and aw fully interesting." Henry himself never wrote ; and the agitation excited by his speeches is said to have rendered it almost impos sible for any hearer to take down an accurate report. Mr Wirt, however, has collected a few fragments, which, though making no pretensions to the merit of regular composition, appear very superior to those of Otis. We see in them a grandeur and boldness of conception, forcibly though sometimes perhaps rudely expressed. They are such as make it easy to conceive how, with the aid of impassioned tones and gestures, they might produce the powerful impression described. The most finished passage is that from the speech on the proposal made after the war for allowing British refugees to re turn. This was a measure so odious to republican zea lots, that any one venturing to support it was considered in imminent risk of being tarred and feathered. Henry ranked among this class ; yet his mind, liberal and enlarged, saw all the advantages of the measure. He rose above popular prejudices, undertook its defence, and succeeded in crushing the opposition to it. The fol lowing is the principal part of his speech : " People, sir, form the strength and constitute the wealth of a nation. I want to see our vast forests filled up by some process more speedy than the ordinary course of nature. I wish to see these states rapidly ascending to that rank which their natural advantages authorize them to hold among the nations of the earth. Cast your eyes, sir, over this extensive country ; observe the salubrity of your climate, the variety and fertility of your soil, and see that soil intersected in every quarter by bold navigable streams flowing to the east and to the west, as if the finger of Heaven were marking out the course of your settlements, inviting you to enterprise, and pointing the way to wealth. Sir, you are destined at some time or other to become a great agricultural and commercial people ; the only question is, whether you choose to reach this point by slow gradations, and at THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. some distant period, lingering on through a long and sickly minority, subjected meanwhile to the machina tions, insults, and oppressions of enemies foreign and domestic, without sufficient strength to resist and chas tise them, or whether you choose rather to rush at once, as it were, to the full enjoyment of those high destinies, and be able to cope, single-handed, with the proudest oppressor of the Old World. If you prefer the latter course, as I trust you do, encourage emigration encourage the husbandmen, the mechanics, the mer chants of the old world, to come and settle in this land of promise ; make it the home of the skilful, the in dustrious, the fortunate, and the happy, as well as the asylum of the distressed ; fill up the measure of your population as speedily as you can by the means which Heaven hath placed in your power, and I venture to prophecy, there are those now living who will see this favoured land among the most powerful on earth able, sir, to take care of herself, without resorting to that policy which is always so dangerous, though sometimes unavoidable, of calling in foreign aid. Yes, sir ; they will see her great in arts and in arms, her golden har vests waving over fields of immeasurable extent, her commerce penetrating the most distant seas, and her cannon silencing the vain boasts of those who now proudly attempt to rule the waves. But, sir, you must have men ; you cannot get along without them ; those heavy forests of valuable timber under which your lands are groaning must be cleared away ; those vast riches which cover the face of your soil, as well as those which lie hid in its bosom, are to be developed and gathered only by the skill and enterprise of men. Your great want, sir, is the want of men ; and these you must have, and will have speedily, if you are wise. Do you ask how you are to get them ! Open your doors, sir, and they will come in ; the population of the old world is full to overflowing ; that population is ground too by the governments under which they live. Sir, they are already standing on tiptoe upon their native shores, and 116 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. looking to your coasts with a wistful and longing eye. They see here a land blessed with natural and political advantages, which are not equalled by those of any other country upon earth, a land on which a gracious Provi dence hath emptied the horn of abundance, a land over which peace hath now stretched her white wings, and where content and plenty lie down at every door ! Sir, they see something still more attractive than all this : they see a land in which liberty hath taken up her abode that liberty which they had considered as a fabled goddess, existing only in the fancies of poets ; they see her here, a real divinity, her altars rising on every hand throughout these happy states, her glories chanted by three millions of tongues, and the whole region smiling under her blessed influence. Sir, let but this, our celestial goddess, Liberty, stretch forth her fair hand towards the people of the old world tell them to come, and bid them welcome and you will see them pouring in from the north, from the south, from the east, and from the west ; your wildernesses will be cleared and settled, your deserts will smile, your ranks will be filled, and you will soon be in a condition to defy the powers of any adversary. " But gentlemen object to any accession from Great Britain, and particularly to the return of the British refugees. Sir, I feel no objection to the return of those deluded people. They have, to be sure, mistaken their own interests most wofully, and most wofully have they suffered the punishment due to their offences. But the relations which we bear to them and to their native country are now changed. Their king hath acknow ledged our independence ; the quarrel is over ; peace hath returned, and found us a free people. Let us have the magnanimity, sir, to lay aside our antipathies and prejudices, and consider the subject in a political light ; those are an enterprising monied people ; they will be serviceable in taking off the surplus produce of our lands, and supplying us with necessaries during the infant state of our manufactures. Even if they be mi- THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 117 mical to us in point of feeling and principle, I see no objection in a political view in making them tributary to our advantage. And as I have no prejudice to pre vent my making this use of them, so, sir, I have no fear of any mischief they can do us. Afraid of them ! What, sir !" said he, rising to one of his loftiest attitudes, and assuming a look of the most indignant and sovereign contempt, " shall we, who have laid the proud British lion at our feet, now be afraid of his whelps ?" At this last bold image, thus enforced, the whole assembly, it is said, involuntarily started up.* Fisher Ames may perhaps be classed as belonging to the school of the revolution, though he did not appear in public life till immediately after its close. His first great exertions were employed in aiding the formation of the central government, and overcoming the power ful opposition which it encountered. He ranged under the banners of Hamilton, zealously supporting the federal interest, and feeling in his last hours the most gloomy presentiments from the continued advance of democratic influence. He appears to have been the first in America who aimed at the formation of a finished and classical style, making it is said Cicero his model, both as a speaker and politician. He succeeded, and acquired in an eminent degree the power both of convincing the reason and moving the passions ; though perhaps there transpires in his style something too studied and rhetorical. The effect, however, was power fully aided by his appearance and manner, though in a very different style from that of Henry. Mr Flint celebrates " the sweet countenance, the lightning of eye, the music of tone, the grace of gesture, the nobleness of attitude, and beyond all, that indescribable some thing of influence, which seems as an atmosphere of magic power." His most celebrated speech was in support of Mr Jay s English treaty, which, as our readers may recollect, was with great difficulty carried * Wirt s Memoirs of Patrick Henry, 8vo, p. 233. 118 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. through congress. The effect was such, that a member rose and urged that the house should adjourn, and no steps be taken until the impression made on their feelings should have subsided. The following is its most remarkable passage : "The refusal of the posts (inevitable if we reject the treaty) is a measure too decisive in its nature to be neutral in its consequences. From great causes we are to look for great effects. A plain and obvious one will be, the price of the western lands will fall ; settlers will not choose to fix their habitations on a field of battle. Those who talk so much of the interest of the United States, should calculate how deeply it will be affected by rejecting the treaty how vast a tract of wild land will almost cease to be property. This loss, let it be observed, will fall upon a fund expressly devoted to sink the national debt. What, then, are we called upon to do \ However the form of the vote and the protes tations of many may disguise the proceeding, our resolution is in substance, and it deserves to bear the title of a resolution, to prevent the sale of the western lands, and the discharge of the public debt. " Will the tendency to Indian hostilities be contested by any one ? Experience gives the answer. The frontiers were scourged with war, until the negotiation with Britain was far advanced, and then the state of hostility ceased. Perhaps the public agents of both nations are innocent of fomenting the Indian war, and perhaps they are not. We ought not, however, to expect that neighbouring nations, highly irritated against each other, will neglect the friendship of the savages. The traders will gain an influence and will abuse it ; and who is ignorant that their passions are easily raised and hardly restrained from violence ? Their situation will oblige them to choose between this country and Great Britain, in case the treaty should be rejected ; they will not be our friends, and at the same time the friends of our enemies. "If any, against all these proofs, should maintain THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 119 that the peace with the Indians will be stable without the posts, to them I will urge another reply. From arguments calculated to produce conviction, I will appeal directly to the hearts of those who hear me, and ask whether it is not already planted there ? I resort especially to the convictions of the western gentlemen, whether, supposing no posts and no treaty, the settlers will remain in security ? Can they take it upon them to say that an Indian peace, under these circumstances, can remain firm \ No, sir, it will not be peace, but a sword ; it will be no better than a lure to draw victims within the reach of the tomahawk. " On this theme my emotions are unutterable. If I could find words for them, if my powers bore any proportion to my zeal, I would swell my voice to such a note of remonstrance, as would reach every log-house beyond the mountains. I would say to the inhabitants, wake from your false security : your cruel dangers, your more cruel apprehensions, are soon to be renewed ; the wounds, yet unhealed, are to be torn open again ; in the daytime your path through the woods will be ambushed, the darkness of midnight will glitter with the blaze of your dwellings. You are a father, the blood of your sons shall fatten your corn-field ; you are a mother, the war-whoop shall wake the sleep of the cradle. " By rejecting the posts, we light the savage fires, we bind the victims. This day we undertake to render account to the widows and orphans whom our decision will make, to the wretches that will be roasted at the stake, to our country, and I do not deem it too serious to say, to our conscience and to God. We are answerable ; and if duty be any thing more than a word of impos ture, if conscience be not a bugbear, we are preparing to make ourselves as wretched as our country. " There is no mistake in the case there can be none ; experience has already been the prophet of events, and the cries of our future victims have already reached us. The western inhabitants are not a silent and uncom- 120 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. plaining sacrifice. The voice of humanity issues from the shade of the wilderness ; it exclaims, that while one hand is held up to reject this treaty, the other grasps a tomahawk. It summons our imagination to the scenes that will open. It is no great effort of the ima gination to conceive that events so near are already begun. I can fancy that I listen to the yells of savage vengeance and the shrieks of torture : already they seem to sigh in the western wind ; already they mingle with every echo from the mountains."* American oratory, after a species of eclipse, broke forth in a more improved and polished form under Everett and Webster. This school differed in some striking respects from those which preceded. They had arisen under the order of things prior to and at the very commencement of the revolution. The effects of the democratic government afterwards formed had been, as observed, to augment vastly the number of speakers, but at the same time to sink them into a somewhat inferior tone, and give to their effusions a crude and commonplace character. To elevate it from this depression, and place it somewhat on a level with the splendid models of antiquity, has been the successful aim of this school. It has been formed, not in Virginia, the supposed nurse of statesmen and orators, but under the opposite interest, at Boston, and evidently under the influence of that ardent pursuit of letters which had there taken root. A majority of the early speakers had supported the most popular views ; but those who now sprung up belonged to the aris tocratic party after it had assumed the title of Whig. It was addressed thus to a more select class of auditors, and acquired a character which, as compared with the other specimens, might be termed senatorial. Edward Everett was originally destined for the church, and acquired such reputation for pulpit elo quence, that at eighteen he was elected pastor of one Works of Fisher Ames, p. 85-88. THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 121 of the largest congregations in Boston. His health sinking under the charge, he came over and spent some time in Europe, where he must have greatly enlarged his information and ideas. On his return, he preferred a situation in Harvard College ; and two or three years after had his ambition attracted towards public life. He was received with cordiality by the party to whom he was attached, and for a series of years was returned along with Mr Webster to the senate of the United States. He did not, however, speak very frequently in that assembly, though he was always listened to with peculiar attention. His eloquence was chiefly displayed on what may be termed ornamental occasions, anniversaries, public meetings of associations and other bodies, on all of which American taste requires that an oration shall be delivered. When the election of General Harrison as president had established his party in power, he was named ambassador to Britain, considered probably the first diplomatic situation at the disposal of the govern ment. The style of Everett is formed in a good measure on the same model as that of Fisher Ames ; but he has succeeded in removing from it a considerable portion of rudeness which still adhered to the latter. His speeches are always fully polished, as if prepared for the press, and may rank, we imagine, among the most finished models of English composition. They are pervaded by a rich and animated glow of feeling, without ever swell ing into an impetuous torrent. His delivery corresponds in being always marked by a perfect command over himself, and by appropriate but not violent action. The following statement of his impressions with regard to England will afford a fair specimen, and can scarcely fail to be interesting : " Who does not feel what reflecting American does not acknowledge the incalculable advantages derived to this land out of the deep foundations of civil, intellectual, and moral truth from which we have drawn in England ? What American does not feel proud that he is descended VOL. III. H 122 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. from the countrymen of Bacon, of Newton, and of Locke ? For myself, I can truly say, that after my native land, I feel a tenderness and a reverence for that of my fathers. The pride I take in my own country makes me respect that from which we are sprung. In touching the soil of England, I seem to return like a descendant to the old family-seat to come back to the abode of an aged and venerable parent. I acknowledge this great con sanguinity of nations. The sound of my native language beyond the sea is a music to my ear, beyond the richest strains of Tuscan softness or Castilian majesty. I am not yet in a land of strangers, while surrounded by the manners, the habits, the forms, in which I have been brought up. I wander delighted through a thousand scenes w r hich the historians, the poets, have made fami liar to us of which the names are interwoven with our earliest associations. I tread with reverence the spots where I can retrace the footsteps of our suffering fathers ; the pleasant land of their birth has a claim on my heart. It seems to me a classic, nay, a holy land, rich in the memory of the great and good the martyrs of liberty, the exiled heralds of truth ; and richer as the parent of this land of promise in the west. " I am not I need not say I am not the panegyrist of England. I am not dazzled by her riches, nor awed by her power. The sceptre, the mitre, and the coronet stars, garters, and blue ribands seem to me poor things for great men to contend for. Nor is my admir ation awakened by her armies mustered for the battles of Europe ; her navies overshadowing the ocean ; nor her empire grasping the farthest East. It is these, and the price of guilt and blood by which they are maintained, which are the cause why no friend of liberty can salute her with undivided affections. But it is the refuge of free principles, though often persecuted ; the school of religious liberty, the more precious for the struggles to which it has been called ; the tombs of those who have reflected honour on all who speak the English tongue ; it is the birthplace of our fathers, the home of the Pil- THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 123 grims ; it is these which I love and venerate in England. I should feel ashamed of an enthusiasm for Italy and Greece, did I not also feel it for a land like this."* The following, from the address to the Massachusetts Agricultural Society, is on an humble but pleasing sub ject, the condition of that numerous class of American citizens, who subsist by tilling the soil of which they are the owners. " The man who stands upon his own soil who feels that, by the laws of the land in which he lives, by the law of civilized nations, he is the rightful and exclusive owner of the land which he tills is, by the constitution of our nature, under a wholesome influence, not easily imbibed from any other source. He feels, other things being equal, more strongly than another, the character of man, as the lord of the inanimate world. Perhaps his farm has come down to him from his fathers. They have gone to their last home ; but he can trace their footsteps over the daily scene of his labours. The roof which shelters him was reared by those to whom he owes his being. Some interesting domestic tradition is con nected with every enclosure. The favourite fruit-tree was planted by his father s hand. He sported in his boyhood by the side of the brook which still winds through his meadow. Through that field lies the path to the village- school of his earliest days. He still hears from his window the voice of the sabbath-bell, which called his fathers and his forefathers to the house of God ; and near at hand is the spot where he laid his parents down to rest, and where he trusts, when his hour is come, he shall be dutifully laid by his children. These are the feelings of the owner of the soil, words cannot paint them ; gold cannot buy them ; they flow out of the deepest feelings of the heart, they are the life- spring of a fresh, healthy, generous, national character." t * Everett s (Edward) Orations and Speeches. 8yo, Boston, 1836, p. 57. f Ibid. p. 426. 124 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. Mr Webster, his coadjutor and friend, exhibits a dif ferent character, both as a man and an orator. His speaking has nothing of this refined and faultless polish ; busy with his ideas, he seems never to bestow a thought on the language in which they are clothed. He does not therefore escape the prevailing faults of his country, rough expressions, repetitions, and verbal superfluities. Yet he is certainly one of the most persuasive of orators, and who most powerfully sweeps before him the mind of the hearer. He does not generally make his appeal to the passions, though he can do so with extraordinary energy. He seizes with such an iron grasp the solid realities of his subject, and thrusts them so forcibly home, as to make them almost irresistible. In the senate, he maintained none of that reserve which dis tinguished his companion, but threw himself into the front of all the most exciting and fiercely contested questions. He exerted a powerful influence in the overthrow of Van Buren s administration, and the at least temporary triumph secured to the Whig party. Being a man of business, fitted for action as well as speaking, he was immediately appointed to the most important office under the administration, and had Harrison lived, would probably have been its almost uncontrolled director. The following, of an abstract and reflective character, may afford a specimen of his loftiest tone : " It is a noble faculty of our nature which enables us to connect our thoughts, our sympathies, and our happi ness, with what is distant in place or time, and looking before and after, to hold communion at once with our ancestors and with posterity. Human and mortal al though we are, we are nevertheless not mere insulated beings, without relation to the past or the future. Neither the point of time, nor the spot of earth, in which we physically live, bounds our rational and in tellectual enjoyments. We live in the past by a know ledge of its history, and in the future by hope and anticipation. By ascending to an association with our THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 125 ancestors ; by contemplating their example and study ing their character ; by partaking their sentiments and imbibing their spirit ; by accompanying them in their toils, by sympathizing in their sufferings, and rejoicing in their successes and their triumphs, we mingle our own existence with theirs, and seem to belong to their age. We become their cotemporaries, live the lives which they lived, endure what they endured, and par take in the rewards which they enjoyed. And, in like manner, by running along the line of future time, by contemplating the probable fortunes of those who are coming after us, by attempting something which may promote their happiness, and leave some not dishonour able memorial of ourselves for their regard, when we shall sleep with our fathers, we protract our own earthly being, and seem to crowd whatever is future as well as all that is past into the narrow compass of our earthly existence. As it is not a vain and false, but an exalted and religious imagination, which leads us to raise our thoughts from the orb which, amid this universe of worlds, the Creator has given us to inhabit, and to send them, with something of the feeling which nature prompts and teaches to be proper among children of the same eternal Parent, to the contemplation of the myriads of fellow-beings with which his goodness has peopled the infinite of space ; so neither is it false or vain to consider ourselves as connected with our whole race through all time allied to our ancestors, allied to our posterity, closely compacted on all sides with others, ourselves being but links in the great chain of being, which begins with the origin of our race, runs onward through its successive generations, binding together the past, and the present, and the future, and terminating at last, with the consummation of all things earthly, at the throne of God."* The following, on occasion of Jackson s veto upon the * Webster s (Daniel) Speeches and Forensic Arguments. 2 vols 8vo, Boston, 1835. J^O THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. renewal of the bank charter, may give a good idea of his plain, practical, business style : Let us look at known facts. Thirty millions of the capital of the bank are now out on loans and discounts in the states on the Mississippi and its waters ; ten of these millions in the discount of bills of exchange, for eign and domestic, and twenty millions loaned on pro missory-notes. Now, sir, how is it possible that this vast amount can be collected in so short a period (four years), without suffering, by any management what ever I Where are the means to come for paying this debt ? and in what medium is payment to be made ! If all this is to be done, with but slight pressure on the community, what course of conduct is to accomplish it I How is it to be done ? What other thirty millions are to supply the place of these thirty millions now to be called in ? What other circulation or medium of pay ment is to be adopted, in the place of the bills of the bank 2 The message, following a singular chain of argu ment which had been used in this house, has a loud lamentation upon the sufferings of the western states, on account of their being obliged to pay even interest on this debt. This payment of interest is itself repre sented as exhausting their means, and narrowing their prosperity. But if the interest cannot be paid without pressure, can both principal and interest be paid in four years without pressure I The truth is, the interest has been paid, is paid, and may continue to be paid, without any pressure at all ; because the money borrowed is pro fitably employed by those who borrow it, and the rate of interest which they pay is at least two per cent, lower than the actual value of money in that part of the country. But to pay the whole principal in less than four years, losing at the same time the existing and accustomed means and facilities of payment created by the bank itself, and to do this without extreme embar rassment, without absolute distress, is in my judgment impossible. I hesitate not to say, that as this veto tra vels to the west, it will depreciate the value of every THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 127 man s property, from the Atlantic states to the capital of Missouri. The thing cannot be done without distress, bankruptcy, and ruin to many. If the president had seen any practical manner in which the change might be effected without producing these consequences, he would have rendered infinite service to the community by pointing it out. But he has pointed out nothing ; he has suggested nothing ; he contents himself with saying, without giving any reason, that it the pressure be heavy, the fault will be the bank s. I hope this is not merely an attempt to forestall opinion, arid to throw on the bank the responsibility of those evils which threaten the country, for the sake of removing it from himself. The responsibility justly lies with him, and there it ought to remain."* Henry Clay may be considered as completing the triumvirate of living orators. He belonged to a different region, and is formed on somewhat ruder models. Born in 1777, in Hanover county, Virginia, he applied him self to the bar, and soon became the most distinguished pleader in that state. Circumstances having led him into Kentucky, he was warmly adopted by its people, whom he has represented ever since 1803, either in the senate or the lower house. He commenced his career as a demo crat, giving a strong support to the measures of Jefferson and Madison, especially those which issued in the war with Britain. He was one of the commissioners em ployed in negotiating the treaty of Ghent. Afterwards, disgusted by the violence of Jackson, he took a leading part in opposing his measures. He thus became allied to the Whig party, who soon rallied round him as one of their chief leaders, and were even ambitious of raising him to the presidency. In speaking he has neither the weight of Webster, nor the finished elegance of Everett ; his style is easy, even to a degree loose and colloquial ; but it rises occasionally to flashes of extraordinary bril liancy. A favourable specimen may be given from his * Webster s Speeches, &c., vol. ii. 128 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. speech on slavery, though his views on that subject have undergone modification : " We are reproached with doing mischief by the agi tation of this question. The society goes into no house hold to disturb its domestic tranquillity ; it addresses itself to no slaves to weaken their obligations of obe dience. It seeks to affect no man s property. It neither has the power nor the will to affect the property of any one contrary to his consent. The execution of its scheme would augment instead of diminishing the value of the property left behind. The society, composed of free men, concerns itself only with the free. Collateral con sequences we are not responsible for. It is not this society which has produced the great moral revolution which the age exhibits. What would they, who thus reproach us, have done \ If they would repress all tendencies towards liberty and ultimate emancipation, they must do more than put down the benevolent efforts of this society. They must go back to the era of our liberty and independence, and muzzle the cannon which thunders its annual joyous return. They must revive the slave-trade, with all its train of atrocities. They must suppress the workings of British philanthropy, seeking to meliorate the condition of the unfortunate West Indian slaves. They must arrest the career of South American deliverance from thraldom. They must blow out the moral lights around us, and extin guish that greatest torch of all which America presents to a benighted world, pointing the way to their rights, their liberties, and their happiness. And when tbey have achieved all these purposes, their work will be yet incomplete. They must penetrate the human soul, and eradicate the light of reason and the love of liberty. Then, and not till then, when universal darkness and despair prevail, can you perpetuate slavery, and repress all sympathies, and all humane and benevolent efforts among freemen, in behalf of the unhappy portion of our race doomed to bondage. " Animated by the encouragement of the past, let us THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 129 proceed under the cheering prospects which lie before us. Let us continue to appeal to the pious, the liberal, and the wise. Let us bear in mind the condition of our forefathers, when, collected on the beach of England, they embarked, amidst the scoffings and the false pre dictions of the assembled multitude, for this distant land ; and here, in spite of all the perils of forest and ocean which they encountered, successfully laid the foundations of this glorious republic. Undismayed by the prophecies of the presumptuous, let us supplicate the aid of the American representatives of the people, and redoubling our labours, and invoking the blessings of an all- wise Providence, I boldly and confidently an ticipate success." We may add a passage expressive of the dangers to liberty, should congress sanction an irregular step taken by General Jackson : " I trust that I shall be indulged with some few re flections, upon the danger of permitting the conduct on which it has been my painful duty to animadvert, to pass without a solemn expression of the disapprobation of this house. Recall to your recollection, sir, the free nations which have gone before us. Where are they now ? * Gone glimmering through the dream of things that were, A schoolboy s tale, the wonder of an hour. And how have they lost their liberties ! If we could transport ourselves back, sir, to the ages when Greece and Rome flourished in their greatest prosperity, and, mingling in the throng, should ask a Grecian if he did not fear that some daring military chieftain, covered with glory, some Philip or Alexander, would one day overthrow the liberties of his country, the confident and indignant Grecian would exclaim, No ! no ! we have nothing to fear from our heroes ; our liberties will be eternal. If a Roman citizen had been asked, if he did not fear that the conqueror of Gaul might establish a throne upon the ruins of public liberty, he would have 130 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. instantly repelled the unjust insinuation. Yet Greece has fallen ; Caesar has passed the Rubicon ; and the patriotic arm even of Brutus could not preserve the liberties of his devoted country. "Sir, we are fighting a great moral battle for the benefit, not only of our country, but of all mankind. The eyes of the whole world are in fixed attention upon us. One, and the largest portion of it, is gazing with jealousy and with envy ; the other portion with hope, with confidence, and with affection. Every where the black cloud of legitimacy is suspended over the world, save only one bright spot, which breaks out from the political hemisphere of the west, to enlighten, and ani mate, and gladden the human heart. Obscure that, by the downfall of liberty here, and all mankind are en shrouded in a pall of universal darkness. Beware, then, sir, how you give a fatal sanction, in this infant period of our republic, to military insubordination. Remem ber, that Greece had her Alexander, Rome her Caesar, England her Cromwell, France her Bonaparte, and, that if we would escape the rock on which they split, we must avoid their errors. " I hope, sir, that gentlemen will deliberately survey the awful isthmus on which we stand. They may bear down all opposition. They may even vote the general the public thanks. They may carry him triumphantly through this house. But if they do, sir, in my humble judgment, it will be a triumph of the principle of in subordination a triumph of the military over the civil authority a triumph over the powers of this house a triumph over the constitution of the land and I pray, sir, most devoutly, that it may not prove, in its ultimate effects and consequences, a triumph over the liberties of the people." From this brief view of American oratory we shall now pass to her poetical literature, a transition which cannot be regarded as violent, though not perhaps that which would be followed in an abstract system of rhe- THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 131 toric. Thislast claims, however, a particularly prominent place, as having been the earliest form under which the infant literature of the States was developed, as well as that in which its creations have been most copious. This result might little have been expected in a society whose members were so intensely engrossed with rough occu pations and material objects. Poetry, however, is the theme which usually occupies a people in the first dawn of its literature, and precedes those of a graver and more thoughtful description. Its perusal, in fact, amid all their more serious and turbulent pursuits, had become a passion, and almost a mania, with the American people. Mr Grund, while he agrees with Mr Flint in considering them the most reading nation in the world, mentions this as holding the foremost place in their studies.* In these circumstances, the muse could scarcely fail of acquiring votaries, who might hope for that dearest privilege of the bard, " to fly through the mouths of men." The theatre for their display is somewhat peculiar. The newspapers, which with us rarely contain any Parnassian effusions, and those mostly of the lowest class, are here the main vehicle. They are expected to gratify the imaginative as well as the political propensities of their readers ; a jour nal can scarcely appear without at least one effusion, nor is it unusual to include two, three, and even five or six. Hence it cannot be difficult for those capable of pro ducing pieces that possess merit or attraction, to find a medium for publicity ; and a poet who has attained any eminence, commonly finds it easy to obtain an engage ment as editor or contributor to a popular journal. From this source and mode of production, it naturally follows, that the muse of the United States will be very prolific ; and hence we might conjecture, even without positive testimonies, which are not wanting, that many of its efforts will be crude, bald, and commonplace. That, however, as already observed, which is done by * Grund, the Americans, vol. i. p. 187. Athenaeum (p. 9), January 3, 1835. 132 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. many, and procures distinction, is likely by some to be done well. The spirit of poetry, after having long flut tered her wings with little effect, suddenly took a bold flight. About 1820, there sprung forth at once several gifted bards ; and they have had a constant succession of followers, who, unpatronized, have courted the muse. Indeed, we do not recollect any country which, within the same short period, has produced so many who, with out reaching the highest pinnacle of art, have risen de cidedly above mediocrity. This large number, with a general character which pervades the whole, seems clearly to mark it as not a casual occurrence, but the re sult of a great movement in the national mind. It is very commonly said, that the poetry of a nation will be stamped with the character and pursuits of her people, and will serve as a mirror in which these may be viewed. Hence the muse of America might be ex pected to reflect that busy and bustling scene, which every part of her vast territory exhibits. The observa tion, however, has been made much too generally, and is not in the present case at all fulfilled. She has on the contrary aspired to a style elevated, refined, and marked in many cases by peculiar softness and quietude. Her votaries seem to have studiously created for themselves an ideal world, as remote as possible from that turbulent real one in which they were placed. It has been somewhat similarly observed, that the softest of the pastoral lays of Spain were composed as a recreation by the most fero cious of the chiefs who led the bands of Charles and Philip. When this school arose, the poems of Scott and Byron were much the most popular in England, and might have seemed more allied to the temper of the western republicans. They did not, however, choose such models, but so far as they were imitators, pre ferred those less favoured bards, who have been vul garly termed the Lake School, The imitation, however, has been far from servile ; nor has it included those peculiarities which have been particularly objected to by the public. They delight in elements which have been THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 133 only of late introduced into poetry, and appear to give it a grander character, solemn, yet not gloomy musings upon human fate and the great circle of human things. Philosophic reasoning and didactic teaching are not per haps legitimate subjects for the poet ; but the sentiments and emotions which arise in the mind on contemplating their results, must be considered an interesting accession to his themes. The description of natural scenery, every where a standard element, is here diversified by being applied to an immense new region, only imperfectly brought under the dominion of man. Ocean,rivers, plains, forests, cataracts, are all on a scale singularly vast, inspir ing grand emotions, although the absence is felt of those rich and smiling aspects which adorn the rural scenery of England. The western poets seem to go peculiarly deep into nature ; they carry on with her an intimate and even playful communion, which we have scarcely noticed elsewhere, and which is sometimes extremely pleasing. It is remarkable, that the passion of love, which may be considered the main source of inspira tion for the poetry of modern Europe, has only a very limited place in that of America, where, as among the Greeks, the ties of kindred and parentage appear to excite the strongest emotions. An elevated and cheerful piety mostly pervades these compositions, into which it enters naturally, without that stiff and commonplace character which has created a prejudice against religious poetry. Generally, we may say, that these productions embrace much that tends to refine and elevate human nature, nothing that is calculated to debase and degrade it ; and the taste for such poetry is really very creditable to the American people. From the above-described mode of producing these effusions, it has followed that the greater part has con sisted of short and occasional pieces. Those woven into narrative, and reaching to any great length, are few, and not usually the best. They generally advance in too straight a course, and want the variety of shades, and the delicate transitions, which are necessary to give 134 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. relief to such extended compositions. There docs, how ever, seem to be arising a pretty strong ambition to sup ply this deficiency, which may probably erelong pro duce a successful effort. After all, the chief merit of poetry must ever consist in sentiments and images, rather than in narrative. Yet we must forewarn our readers, that though the general tone be refined and polished, the imperfections of an early school show themselves from time to time in a hobbling verse, an expression in troduced only to complete the measure, or one whose rudeness breaks the harmony of the passage. These blemishes, however, when combined with genuine beauties, will not be severely visited by the candid critic. Before noticing the present and better race of poets, we must throw back a glance on Joel Barlow, who first aspired to wake the western muses from their deep slumber. Born in 1755, at Reading in Connecticut, he had nearly completed his education at the breaking out of the war ; and being graduated in 1778, was employed in the army as a chaplain. He endeavoured to animate the troops by patriotic songs, and commenced the "Vision of Columbus," which formed the germ of his future epic. At the close of the war he endeavoured to earn a sub sistence by the law and by his pen ; but in both modes with little success. Having settled, however, in Paris, he engaged in some commercial transactions, which proved extremely successful, and enabled him to realize a handsome fortune. He continued working up and im proving his Vision, till it was matured into the Colum- biad ; and being in 1808 splendidly printed in quarto, was ushered into the world with great pomp. Some friendly critics endeavoured to exalt it to a level with the Iliad and Paradise Lost ; but in the eyes of the public it quickly sunk. The verse is mechanical, the narrative cold and uninteresting. There breaks forth, however, occasionally a certain grandeur of thought and feeling, particularly in taking a wide survey of the aspects of na ture in the new world, the magnificence of which appears THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 135 to have deeply impressed liis mind. We quote the fol lowing description of an ice-island : The loosened ice-isles o er the main advance, Toss on the surge, and through the concave dance ; Whirled high, conjoined, in crystal mountains driven, Alp over alp, they build a midway heaven. Those million mirrors mock the solar ray, And give condensed the tenfold glare of day : As toward the south the mass enormous glides, Aud brineless rivers furrow down its sides, The thirsty sailor steals a glad supply, And sultry trade-winds quaff the boreal sky. We add the following : Now where the lakes, those midland oceans, lie Columbus turns his heaven-illumined eye. Ontario s banks, unable to retain The five great Caspians from the distant main, Burst with the ponderous mass, and forceful whirled His Lawrence forth, to balance thus the world. Above bold Erie s wave sublimely stood, Looked o er the cliff, and heaved his headlong flood, Where dread Niagara bluffs high his brow, And frowns defiance to the world below, While clouds of mist expanding o er him play, That tinge their skirts in all the beams of day. It has been conjectured, not improbably, that had he devoted himself to prose composition, he might have been more successful. He seems to have cherished a certain grandeur of aims and conceptions, hoping to make this the first of a series of efforts by which America might give a new direction to poetry, painting, and the other fine arts. They might, he hoped, be rendered the means of implanting in the minds of men true and useful ideas of glory, instead of the false and destructive ones elsewhere prevalent. Neither himself nor his country, however, were then equal to such a task. He wrote also " The Hasty Pudding," a sort of rural effusion, not altogether devoid of humour. Philip Freneau, whom we have seen the secretary of Jefferson, and the bitter opponent of Washington s go vernment, was a voluminous poet, rising somewhat above mediocrity. The same may be said of Dr Dwight, 136 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. who wrote some pieces to animate his countrymen during the revolutionary war. The two following stanzas are really good : Columbia, Columbia, to glory arise, The queen of the world, and the child of the skies ! Thy genius commands thee ; with rapture behold, While ages on ages thy splendours unfold. Thy reign is the last and the noblest of time ; Most fruitful thy soil, most inviting thy clime : Let the crimes of the East ne er encrimson thy name ; Be freedom, and science, and virtue thy fame. To conquest and slaughter let Europe aspire ; Whelm nations in blood and wrap cities in fire ; Thy heroes the rights of mankind shall defend, And triumph pursue them, and glory attend. A world is thy realm ; for a world be thy laws, Enlarged as thine empire, and just as thy cause ; On freedom s broad basis that empire shall rise, Extend with the main, and dissolve with the skies. In coming to modern poets, Bryant claims the first attention, being in our apprehension decidedly superior, and even raised to a considerable height above his rivals. Indeed, there are very few to whom we can regard him as second. He combines high original beauties with very few faults ; and though the latter merit can in no degree atone for the want of the former, yet when the two are united, the absence of any thing rugged or inharmonious greatly heightens the effect. He was born in 1794, at Cummington in Massachusetts. His ither, a respectable physician, seeing early indi cations of superior genius, studiously promoted his instruction, and guided his taste. He describes his deep early musings, and the devotion with which " he worshipped the visions of verse and of fame ;" and, in fact, the display of his talent was singularly precocious. At the age of thirteen, he produced two political pieces, which possessed vigour, and when published drew some attention. At eighteen, Thanatopsis was written, and displayed his powers fully developed ; but it was not published till 1821, along with several other pieces. THE LITERATURE OP AMERICA. 137 Like most young literary Americans, he applied first to the bar, but had not found the employment, which probably is rougher than in this country, congenial to his temper, complaining of his lot in being obliged to drudge for the dregs of men, And scrawl strange words with the barbarous pen. In 1825, he quitted his practice at Boston, and removed to New York, where he soon obtained an engagement to edit the Evening Post, an established and influential newspaper. He contributed also to some literary perio dicals, in conjunction with his friends, Sands, Verplank, and Leggett. These connexions were so prosperous, that, in 1834, he was enabled to visit Europe, and spent some time in Italy and Germany. Early in 1836, however, he was recalled by the death of Leggett, who had undertaken in his absence to conduct the journal. During all this time he has been adding to his pieces of occasional poetry, but without fulfilling the expecta tion of his admirers that he would produce some work of magnitude. Bryant has several veins, of which the most striking and original consists in high meditations on the universe and on human destiny, which we have already mentioned as characteristic of the American muse. This is the tenor of Thanatopsis, by which his fame was first established, and that of his country redeemed. It is not perhaps the best of his productions ; but being so much noted, an extract of its most striking passage may be agreeable to those who have not met with it. After announcing to every individual his mortal fate, he proceeds : Yet not to thine eternal resting-place Shalt thou retire alone nor couldst thou wish Couch more magnificent. Thou shalt lie down With patriarchs of the infant world Avith kings, The powerful of the earth the wise, the good, Fair forms, and hoary seers, of ages past, All in one mighty sepulchre. The hills Rock-ribb d, and ancient as the sun, the vales Stretching in pensive quietness between ; The venerable woods rivers that move VOL. III. . T 138 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. In majesty, and the complaining brooks That make the meadows green ; and, pour d round all, Old ocean s gray and melancholy waste, Are but the solemn decorations all Of the great tomb of man. The golden sun, The planets, all the infinite host of heaven, Are shining on the sad abodes of death, Through the still lapse of ages. All that tread The globe are but a handful to the tribes That slumber in its bosom. Still we prefer the lines "To the Past," which are at once lofty, tender, and pleasing. Thou unrelenting Past ! Strong are the barriers round thy dark domain, And fetters, sure and fast, Hold all that enter thy unbreathing reign. Far in thy realm withdrawn Old empires sit in sullenness and gloom, And glorious ages gone Lie deep within the shadow of thy womb. Childhood, with all its mirth, Youth, Manhood, Age, that draws us to the ground, And last, Man s Life on earth, Glide to thy dim dominions, and are bound. Thou hast my better years, Thou hast my earlier friends the good the kind, Yielded to thee with tears The venerable form the exalted mind. My spirit yearns to bring The lost ones back yearns with desire intense, And struggles hard to wring Thy bolts apart, and pluck thy captives thence. In vain thy gates deny All passage, save to those who hence depart ; Nor to the streaming eye Thou givest them back nor to the broken heart. In thy abysses hide Beauty and excellence unknown to thee Earth s wonder and her pride Are gather d, as the waters to the sea. Labours of good to man, Unpublish d charity unbroken faith Love, that midst grief began, And grew with years, and falter d not in death. THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 139 Full many a mighty name Lurks in thy depths, unutter d, unrevered ; With thee are silent fame. Forgotten arts, and wisdom disappear d. Thine for a space are they Yet shalt thou yield thy treasures up at last ; Thy gates shall yet give way, Pai Thy bolts shall fall, inexorable Past ! All that of good and fair Has gone into thy womb, from earliest time, Shall then come forth, to wear The glory and the beauty of its prime " The Forest Hymn," in the same strain, contains some very fine thoughts. It closes thus : Oh, God ! when thou Dost scare the world with tempests, set on fire The heavens with falling thunderbolts, or fill, With all the waters of the firmament, The swift, dark whirlwind that uproots the woods And drowns the villages ; when, at thy call, Uprises the great deep and throws himself Upon the continent, and overwhelms Its cities who forgets not, at the sight Of these tremendous tokens of thy power, His pride, and lays his strifes and tollies by ? Oh, from these sterner aspects of thy face Spare me and mine, nor let us need the wrath Of the mad, unchain d elements to teach Who rules them. Be it ours to meditate In these calm shades thy milder majesty, And to the beautiful order of thy works Learn to conform the order of our lives. We shall add just a few lines from a recent poem, probably seen by very few readers : thou great Movement of the universe, Or Change, or Flight of Time for ye are one ! That bearest, silently, this visible scene Into night s shadow, and the streaming rays Of starlight, whither art thou bearing me ? I feel the mighty current sweep me on, Yet know not whither. Man foretells afar The courses of the stars ; the very hour He knows when they shall darken or grow bright : Yet doth the eclipse of sorrow and of death Come unforewarned. We turn now to his descriptive poems, which possess also peculiar beauties, and paint the scenery of a region 140 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. very different from that with which we are familiar. They may hence not come quite so home to our feel ings ; yet as displaying the aspects of a new and mighty world, replete with great and striking objects, they convey information as well as pleasure. The " hurricane " is a phenomenon which, on a great scale, few European poets have witnessed ; the American has shown himself quite equal to the description : Lord of the winds ! I feel thee nigh, I know thy breath in the burning sky 1 And I wait, with a thrill in every vein, For the coming of the Hurricane ! And lo ! on the wing of the heavy gales, Through the boundless arch of heaven he sails ; Silent, and slow, and terribly strong, The mighty shadow is borne along, Like the dark eternity to come ; While the world below, dismay d and dumb, Through the calm of the thick hot atmosphere, Looks up at its gloomy folds with fear. They darken fast and the golden blaze Of the sun is quench d in the lurid haze, And he sends through the shade a funeral ray A glare that is neither night nor day, A beam that touches, with hues of death, The clouds above and the earth beneath. To its covert glides the silent bird, While the Hurricane s distant voice is heard, Uplifted among the mountains round, And the forests hear and answer the sound. He is come ! he is come ! do ye not behold His ample robes on the wind unroll d ? Giant of air ! we bid thee hail ! How his gray skirts toss in the whirling gale ; How his huge and writhing arms are bent, To clasp the zone of the firmament, And fold, at length, in their dark embrace, From mountain to mountain the visible space. Darker still darker ! the whirlwinds bear The dust of the plains to the middle air : And hark to the crashing, long and loud, Of the chariot of God in the thunder-cloud. In a completely opposite yet equally happy strain is the poem on " Autumn." Our readers must know that this season is universally noticed as being throughout the west the most agreeable of all. Spring there is often late, chill, and changeable ; but in the later period of THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 141 the year, there is usually a long train of mild and beau tiful weather. The most varied tints then adorn those almost boundless forests with which the country is covered. It may be noticed also, that the south or south-west wind corresponds to our zephyr, while the direct west brings there cold and damp from a vast ex tent of frozen land over which it has passed. Ere, in the northern gale, The summer tresses of the trees are gone, The woods of autumn, all around our vale, Have put their glory on. The mountains that infold, In their wide sweep, the colour d landscape round, Seem groups of giant kings, in purple and gold, That guard the enchanted ground. I roam the woods that crown The upland, where the mingled splendours glow, Where the gay company of trees look down On the green fields below. My steps are not alone In these bright walks ; the sweet south-west, at play, Flies, rustling, where the painted leaves are strown Along the winding way. And far in heaven, the while, The sun, that sends that gale to wander here, Pours out on the fair earth his quiet smile, The sweetest of the year. Oh, Autumn ! why so soon Depart the hues that make thy forests glad ; Thy gentle wind and thy fair sunny noon, And leave thee wild and sad ? Ah ! twere a lot too bless d For ever in thy colour d shades to stray ; Amid the kisses of the soft south-west To rove and dream for aye ; And leave the vain low strife That makes men mad the tug for wealth and power, The passions and the cares that wither life, And waste its little hour. Pleasing examples occur of that light and sportive in tercourse with nature, already alluded to. Such is the first stanza of the " Address to the Evening Wind :" Spirit that breathest through my lattice, thou That cool st the twilight of the sultry day, 142 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. Gratefully flows thy freshness round my brow ; Thou hast been out upon the deep at play, Riding all day the wild blue waves till now, Roughening their crests, and scattering high their spray, And swelling the white sail. I welcome thee To the scorch d land, thou wanderer of the sea ! Such, too, is the address " To a Cloud :" Beautiful cloud ! with folds so soft and fair, Swimming in the pure quiet air ! Thy fleeces bathed in sunlight, while below Thy shadow o er the vale moves slow ; Where, midst their labour, pause the reaper train As cool it comes along the grain. Beautiful cloud ! I would I were with thee In thy calm way o er land and sea : To rest on thy unrolling skirts, and look On earth as on an open book ; On streams that tie her realms with silver bands, And the long ways that seam her lands ; And hear her humming cities, and the sound Of the great ocean breaking round. Ay I would sail upon thy air-borne car To blooming regions distant far. To where the sun of Andalusia shines On his own olive-groves and vines, Or the soft lights of Italy s bright sky In smiles upon her ruins lie. The passion of love is rarely treated of ; a circumstance not peculiar to Bryant as it has been represented, but characteristic generally of American poetry. Yet he has shown that he could treat the subject with all the tenderness appropriate to it. He has done so in the " Lament of the Indian Girl for the Death of her Lover :" It was a weary, weary road That led thee to the pleasant coast, Where thou, in his serene abode, Hast met thy father s ghost ; Where everlasting autumn lies On yellow woods and sunny skies. Twas I the broider d mocsen made, That shod thee for that distant land ; Twas I thy bow and arrows laid Beside thy still cold hand ; Thy bow in many a battle bent, Thy arrows never vainly sent. Thou rt happy now, for thou hast pass d The long dar lark journey of the grave, THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 143 And in the land of light, at last, Hast join d the good and brave ; Amid the flush d and balmy air, The bravest and the loveliest there. Yet, oft to thine own Indian maid, Even there thy thoughts will earthward stray, To her who sits where thou wert laid, And weeps the hours away, Yet almost can her grief forget, To think that thou dost love her yet. And thou, by one of those still lakes That in a shining cluster lie, On which the south wind scarcely breaks The image of the sky, A bower for thee and me hast made Beneath the many-colour d shade. And thou dost wait and watch to meet My spirit sent to join the bless d, And, wondering what detains my feet From the bright land of rest, Dost seem, in every sound, to hear The rustling of my footsteps near. It has been already observed, that those morbid elements in which the daily life of the American is involved, do not enter largely into his poetical compo sitions. Though politics be so engrossing in the former, and patriotic feeling might even seem a poetical element, it comes only occasionally into action. Bryant is a zealous democrat, and edits a paper devoted to that in terest ; yet he is particularly sparing upon the subject. At the close of a long early poem called " The Ages," are two stanzas which will probably remind the reader of a certain noble poet in our own country : Here the free spirit of mankind, at length, Throws its last fetters off ; and who shall place A limit to the giant s unchain d strength, Or curb his swiftness in the forward race ! Far, like the comet s way through infinite space, Stretches the long untravell d path of light, Into the depths of ages : we may trace, Distant, the bright ning glory of its flight, Till the receding rays are lost to human sight. Europe is given a prey to sterner fates, And writhes in shackles ; strong the arms that chain To earth her struggling multitude of states ; 144 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. She too is strong, and might not chafe in rain Against them, but shake off the vampire train That batten on her blood, and break their net. Yes, she shall look on brighter days, and gain The meed of worthier deeds ; the moment set To rescue and raise up, draws near but is not yet. Wit and humour are rarely attempted by the Ameri can muse, and then generally with slender success. We might have said that a court and a circle of gay nobility were requisite for this light species of composition, did we not recollect the names of Shakspeare and Burns. The American mind seems, however, to have a sort of earnest and determined reality, ill suited to these play ful effusions. Bryant has attempted repeatedly a sort of light irony, which is well conceived, but some what rudely developed. The following, from " Address to a Musquito," may be given as an instance, with the remark, that the insinuation against the fair leaders of fashion in New York, of a taste for artificial adornment, has been made from other quarters : At length thy pinions fiutter d in Broadway ; Ah, there were fairy steps, and white necks kiss d By wanton airs, and eyes whose killing ray Shone through the snowy veils like stars through mist ; And fresh as morn, on many a cheek and chin, Bloom d the bright blood through the transparent skin. Oh, these were sights to touch an anchorite ! What ! do I hear thy slender voice complain ? Thou wailest, when I talk of beauty s light, As if it brought the memory of pain : Thou art a wayward being well come near, And pour thy tale of sorrow in my ear. What say st thou slanderer ! rouge makes thee sick ? And China bloom at best is sorry food ; And Rowland s kalydor, if laid on thick, Poisons the thirsty wretch that bores for blood. Go ! twas a just reward that met thy crime But shun the sacrilege another time. The same train is followed up perhaps more happily in another poem, " Spring in Town." Here are eyes that shame the violet, Or the dark drop that on the pansy lies, And foreheads, white, as when in clusters set, The anemones by forest fountains rise ; THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 145 And the spring-beauty boasts no tenderer streak, Than the soft red on many a youthful cheek. And thick about those lovely temples lie Locks that the lucky Vignardonne has curl d, Thrice happy man, whose trade it is to buy, And bake, and braid those love-knots of the world ; Who curls of every glossy colour keepest, And sellest, it is said, the blackest cheapest. Then, henceforth, let no maid nor matron grieve To see her locks of an unlovely hue, Frouzy or thin, for liberal art shall give Such piles of curls as nature never knew. Eve, with her veil of tresses, at the sight Had blush d, outdone, and own d herself a fright. James G. Percival may be ranked immediately under Bryant, to whom indeed lie is preferred by some, but we think with very little reason. He appears, however, to be a man of more varied attainments, and in this respect superior to almost any other of his countrymen. He was born in 1795, at Berlin, Connecticut ; where his father, an intelligent physician, carefully watched over his mental culture. Having soon mastered all that was to he learned at a village-school, he devoted himself to private study, shunning the society of school fellows, and spending his time in his apartment, or in the depth of the woods. He thus acquired a vast store of knowledge, yet contracted also a recluse and sensitive disposition, which was unfavourable to his progress in life. He is represented as most completely looking the poet, with feeling, melancholy, and enthusiasm traced in his features, a startled timidity in his air, and an eye bright with mysterious fire. After completing his studies at Yale College, he was appointed in 1824 pro fessor of chemistry in the military academy at West Point. From ill health, or, by some accounts, from an incident which wounded his too sensitive pride, he threw up the situation, and has since depended almost wholly on the scanty remuneration obtained in his country for literary employment. He translated Malte-Brun s geo graphy, and laboured hard upon the great etymological dictionary of Dr Webster. He resides at Newhaven, 146 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. and has recently been appointed to make the geological survey of Connecticut. Percival s good poems are bold, lofty, energetic, and full of thought, but little polished, and presenting occasional rudenesses and blemishes which Bryant has carefully avoided. What is more, there is a want of imagery, softness, and variety ; the language is too abstract and speculative ; the merit being rather perhaps that of oratory than of poetry. The picture of his youthful emotions in the contemplation of nature, though we can only extract a part, will be read, we think, with no little interest : Well I remember, in my boyish days, How deep the feeling, when my eye look d forth On nature, in her loveliness and storms ; How my heart gladden d, as the light of spring Came from the sun, with zephyrs, and with showers, Waking the earth to beauty, and the woods To music, and the atmosphere to blow, Sweetly and calmly, with its breath of balm. Oh ! how I gazed upon the dazzling blue Of summer s heaven of glory, and the waves, That roll d, in bending gold, o er hill and plain ; And on the tempest, when it issued forth, In folds of blackness, from the northern sky, And stood above the mountains, silent, dark, Frowning, and terrible ; then sent abroad The lightning, as its herald, and the peal, That roll d in deep, deep volleys, round the hills, The warning of its coming, and the sound, That usher d in its elemental war. And, Oh ! I stood, in breathless longing fix d, Trembling, and yet not fearful, as the clouds Heaved their dark billows on the roaring winds, That sent, from mountain top and bending wood, A long hoarse murmur, like the rush of waves, That burst, in foam and fury, on the shore. Nor less the swelling of my heart, when high Rose the blue arch of autumn, cloudless, pure As nature, at her dawning, when she sprang Fresh from the hand that wrought her ; where the eye Caught not a speck upon the soft serene, To stain its deep cerulean, but the cloud That floated, like a lonely spirit, there, White as the snow of Zemla, or the foam That on the mid-sea tosses, cinctured round, In easy undulations, with a belt THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 147 Woven of bright Apollo s golden hair. Nor, when that arch, in winter s clearest night, Mantled in ebon darkness, strew d with stars Its canopy, that seem d to swell, and swell The higher, as I gazed upon it, till, Sphere after sphere evolving on the height Of heaven, the everlasting throne shone through, In glory s effulgence, and a wave, Intensely bright, roll d, like a fountain, forth Beneath its sapphire pedestal, and stream d Down the long galaxy, a flood of snow, Bathing the heavens in light, the spring that gush d In overflowing richness from the breast Of all-maternal nature. These I saw, And felt to madness ; but my full heart gave No utterance to the ineffable within. The address " To the Eagle " is one of the most fin ished and characteristic of his pieces : Bird of the broad and sweeping wing, Thy home is high in heaven, Where wide the storms their banners fling. And the tempest clouds are driven. Thy throne is on the mountain top ; Thy fields, the boundless air ; And hoary peaks, that proudly prop The skies, thy dwellings are. Thou sittest like a thing of light, Amid the noontide blaze : The midway sun is clear and bright ; It cannot dim thy gaze. Thy pinions, to the rushing blast, O er the bursting billow, spread, Where the vessel plunges, hurry past, Like an angel of the dead. Thou art perch d aloft on the beetling crag, And the waves are white below, And on, with a haste that cannot lag, They rush in an endless flow. Again thou hast plumed thy wing for flight To lands beyond the sea, And away like a spirit wreathed in light, Thou hurriest, wild and free. Lord of the boundless realm of air, In thy imperial name, The hearts of the bold and ardent dare The dangerous path of fame. Beneath the shade of thy golden wings, The Roman legions bore, From the river of Egypt s cloudy springs, Their pride, to the polar shore. 148 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. He has celebrated on several occasions, and with con siderable power, the praises of liberty. The poem entitled " New England " may be given as a good ex ample ; but we prefer quoting several stanzas from that entitled "Liberty to Athens." The flag of Freedom floats once more Around the lofty Parthenon ; It waves, as waved the palm of yore, In days departed long and gone ; As bright a glory, from the skies, Pours down its light around those towers, And once again the Greeks arise, As in their country s noblest hours ; Their swords are girt in Virtue s cause, MINERVA S sacred hill is free Oh ! may she keep her equal laws, While man shall live, and time shall be. The pride of all her shrines went down ; The Goth, the Frank, the Turk, had reft The laurel from her civic crown ; Her helm by many a sword was cleft : She lay among her ruins low Where grew the palm, the cypress rose, And, crush d and bruised by many a blow, She cower d beneath her savage foes ; But now again she springs from earth, Her loud, awakening trumpet speaks ; She rises in a brighter birth, And sounds redemption to the Greeks. It is the classic jubilee Their servile years have roll d away ; The clouds that hover d o er them flee, They hail the dawn of Freedom s day ; From heaven the golden light descends, The times of old are on the wing, And Glory there her pinion bends, And Beauty wakes a fairer spring ; The hills of Greece, her rocks, her waves, Are all in triumph s pomp array d ; A light that points their tyrants graves, Plays round each bold Athenian s blade. Richard H. Dana was born in 1787, of a good family, and son of an eminent lawyer, who became chief-justice of Massachusetts. He himself was bred to the bar, but, like others smitten by the muses, soon relinquished that profession, and even a seat in the legislature, de- THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 149 voting himself entirely to literature. The American critics very generally pronounce him the first of their poets, and bitterly reproach the public with not having appreciated his merits. We confess ourselves rather inclined to take part with the latter, at least to the extent of considering that, though an able and amiable man, he must, as a poet, rank beneath the two already noticed. His serious reflective pieces are the best, yet they want the high imaginative character of those of Bryant, and are rather very good prose turned into verse. The following is generally quoted, and probably with reason, as the most favourable specimen : O, listen, man ! A voice within us speaks the startling word, " Man thou shalt never die !" Celestial voices Hymn it around our souls ; according harps, By angel fingers touch d when the mild stars Of morning sang together, sound forth still The song of our great immortality ! Thick, clustering orbs, and this our fair domain, The tall, dark mountains, and the deep-toned seas, Join in this solemn, universal song. Oh, listen, ye, our spirits ! drink it in From all the air ! Tis in the gentle moonlight ; Tis floating in day s setting glories ; night, Wrapp d in her sable robe, with silent step Comes to our bed and breathes it in our ears ; Night and the dawn, bright day and thoughtful eve, All time, all bounds, the limitless expanse, As one vast, mystic instrument, are touch d By an unseen, living Hand, and conscious chords Quiver with joy in this great jubilee : The dying hear it ; and as sounds of earth Grow dull and distant, wake their passing souls To mingle in this heavenly harmony. " The Buccaneers " is his longest poem, though even his admirers do not regard it as his best. There are doubtless a number of powerful passages, but the subject is unpleasing, the deep shades have too few lights to relieve them. The most striking machinery is that of a spectre-horse, which is represented as periodically visiting the pirate, and wafting him over the sea, to contemplate the scene of his crimes. The representation 150 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. of this man, oppressed at once by remorse and superna tural terrors, is forcibly drawn : The morning air blows fresh on him : The waves dance gladly in his sight ; The sea-birds call, and wheel, and skim Oh, blessed morning light ! He doth not hear their joyous call ; he sees No beauty in the wave ; nor feels the breeze. For he s accursed from all that s good ; He ne er must know its healing power ; The sinner on his sins must brood, And wait, alone, his hour. A stranger to earth s beauty human love ; There s nere no rest for him, no hope above ! The hot sun beats upon his head ; He stands beneath its broad fierce blaze, As stiff and cold as one that s dead : A troubled dreamy maze Of some unearthly horror, all he knows Of some wild horror past, and coming woes. He walks within the day s full glare A darken d man. Where er he comes, All shun him. Children peep and stare ; Then frighten d seek their homes. Through all the crowd a thrilling horror ran. They point, and say, " There goes the wicked man !" He turns and curses in his wrath Both man and child ; then hastes away Shoreward, or takes some gloomy path ; But there he cannot stay : Terror and madness drive him back to men ; His hate of man to solitude again. Charles Sprague is certainly one of the most accom plished American poets. Born at Boston in 1791, after passing through a course of school education he entered into mercantile life, and was soon appointed cashier to the Globe Bank, one of the most extensive in Massa chusetts. He has always retained and steadily dis charged the duties of this responsible situation, while his leisure hours have been employed in study, and in courting the muses. This mode of life has led him to make closer observations on human life than is usual among bards, especially those of his country. The re- THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 151 suit has been displayed in a poem of some length, entitled "Curiosity," in which he traces the influence of that prin ciple among the different classes of society. We can only instance what is douhtless a ruling character in that city, the merchant whose whole mind is devoted to gain : Go, seek him out on yon dear Gotham s walk, Where traffic s venturers meet to trade and talk : Where Mammon s votaries bend, of each degree, The hard-eyed lender, and the pale lendee ; Where rogues, insolvent, strut in white-wash d pride, And shove the dupes, who trusted them, aside. How through the buzzing crowd he threads his way, To catch the flying rumours of the day, To learn of changing stocks, of bargains cross d, Of breaking merchants, and of cargoes lost ; The thousand ills that traffic s walks invade, And give the heart-ache to the sons of trade. How cold he hearkens to some bankrupt s wo, Nods his wise head, and cries, " I told you so : The thriftless fellow lived beyond his means, He must buy brants I make my folks eat beans ;" What cares he for the knave, the knave s sad wife, The blighted prospects of an anxious life ? The kindly throbs, that other men control, Ne er melt the iron of the miser s soul ; Through life s dark road his sordid way he wends, An incarnation of fat dividends ; But, when to death he sinks, ungrieved, unsung, Buoy d by the blessing of no mortal tongue, No worth rewarded, and no want redress d, To scatter fragrance round his place of rest, What shall that hallow d epitaph supply The universal wo when good men die ? Cold Curiosity shall linger there, To guess the wealth he leaves his tearless heir. He is at the same time fully equal to a loftier strain, and has succeeded in producing the ode in a more per fect shape than any other of his countrymen. That to Shakspeare is the most finished and generally admired : the " Centennial Ode," in celebration of the settlement of Boston, is more unequal ; but its three first stanzas may be quoted as a very favourable specimen : Not to the pagan s mount I turn For inspirations now ; Olympus and its gods I spurn Pure One, be with me, Thou ! 152 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. Thou, in whose awful name, From suffering and from shame Our fathers fled, and braved a pathless sea ; Thou, in whose holy fear, They fix d an empire here, And gave it to their children and to Thee. And You ! ye bright-ascended Dead, Who scorn d the bigot s yoke, Come, round this place your influence shed ; Your spirits I invoke. Come, as ye came of yore, When on an unknown shore Your daring hands the flag of faith unfurl d, To float sublime, Through future time The beacon-banner of another world. Behold ! they come those sainted forms, Unshaken through the strife of storms ; Heaven s winter cloud hangs coldly down, And earth puts on its rudest frown ; But colder, ruder was the hand That drove them from their own fair land ; Their own fair land refinement s chosen seat, Art s trophied dwelling, learning s green retreat ; By valour guarded, and by victory crown d, For all, but gentle charity renown d. With streaming eye, yet steadfast heart, Even from that land they dared to part, And burst each tender tie ; Haunts, where their sunny youth was pass d, Homes, where they fondly hoped at last In peaceful age to die. Friends, kindred, comfort, all they spurn d ; Their fathers hallow d graves ; And to a world of darkness turn d, Beyond a world of waves. Fitz-Greene Halleck is also a distinguished poet, and a great favourite in the society of New York. Born in 1795, at Guildford in Connecticut, he removed to that city at the age of eighteen. He then engaged in ex tensive mercantile transactions, and became manager of the affairs of Mr Astor, the celebrated capitalist. Amid these busy occupations, he found means to cul tivate the muses with zeal and success. He too, more than the rest of his brethren, is a man of the THE LITERATURE OP AMERICA. 153 world, and, almost alone among them, has attained a reputation for humour ; and though he cannot in this quality rank with the great masters of the .art in Europe, yet he is by no means devoid of it. His longest poem in this strain, entitled " Fanny," does not appear to have reached this country ; but the reader may be pleased with the following extract from " Alnwick Castle," written on a tour through the northern part of our island : A In wick s but a market town, And this, alas ! its market day, And beasts and borderers throng the way ; Oxen, and bleating lambs in lots, Northumbrian boors, and plaided Scots ; Men in the coal and cattle line, From Teviot s bard and hero land, From royal Berwick s beach of sand, From Wooler, Morpeth, Hexham, and Newcastle-upon-Tyne. These are not the romantic times So beautiful in Spenser s rhymes, So dazzling to the dreaming boy : The Highlander, the bitterest foe To modern laws, has felt their blow, Consented to be tax d, and vote, And put on pantaloons and coat, And leave off cattle-stealing : Lord Stafford mines for coal and salt, The Duke of Norfolk deals in malt, The Douglas in red herrings : And noble name, and cultured land, Palace, and park, and vassal band, Are powerless to the notes of hand Of Rothschild or the Barings. His powers are at the same time fully equal to more elevated flights, particularly those of a heroic and pa triotic character. Even in the midst of the above humorous effusion occur the following lines : The Moslem tramples on the Greek, And on the Cross and altar-stone, And Christendom looks tamely on, And hears the Christian maiden shriek, And sees the Christian father die : And not a sabre blow is given For Greece and fame, for faith and heaven, By Europe s craven chivalry. VOL. III. K 154 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. This theme has also inspired a poem on Marco Boz- zaris, who fell in the Greek contest at Laspi, near the site of Platsea. It concludes thus : Bozzaris ! with the storied brave Greece nurtured in her glory s time, Rest thee there is no prouder grave, Even in her own proud clime. She wore no funeral weeds for thee, Nor bade the dark hearse wave its plume, Like torn branch from death s leafless tree, In sorrow s pomp and pageantry, The heartless luxury of the tomb : But she remembers thee as one Long loved, and for a season gone ; For thee her poet s lyre is wreathed, Her marble wrought, her music breathed ; For thee she rings the birthday bells ; Of thee her babes first lisping tells : For thine her evening prayer is said At palace couch, and cottage bed ; Her soldier, closing with the foe, Gives for thy sake a deadlier blow ; His plighted maiden, when she fears For him, the joy of her young years, Thinks of thy fate, and checks her tears : And she, tne mother of thy boys, Though in her eye and faded cheek Is read the grief she will not speak, The memory of her buried joys, And even she who gave thee birth, Will, by their pilgrim-circled hearth, Talk of thy doom without a sigh : For thou art Freedom s now, and Fame s, One of the few, the immortal names, That were not born to die. A favourite poet in America is J. G. C. Brainard, born at New London in 1796, and son to one of the justices of the Supreme Court of Connecticut. At college he was distinguished rather for reflection and social qualities than for hard study ; hut his amiable and kindly temper gained the warm attachment of his friends. He was admitted to the bar; but a timid and sensitive disposition rendered him, like many other kindred minds, ill fitted for its toils. He then tried the ordinary resource of a journal (the Connecti cut Mirror) ; yet here, too, his success was limited, THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 155 though he made it the vehicle of poetical effusions which gained for him a considerable reputation. As he was meditating a larger work of this class, symptoms of consumption appeared, and, haffling all attempts to pro cure relief by change of air, terminated his life in 1828, at the age of thirty-two A large number of American bards have been observed to fall victims to this insidious malady ; and the same remark has been made as to those of Britain, but not in so striking a degree. The climate of the United States, still more chill and variable than ours, must predispose to a disease which a sensitive frame and studious habits tend to foster. The votary of the muse has there probably a still harder struggle against the realities of life, and is less likely to meet with sympathizing associates. Brainard is a pleasing rather than a powerful poet. His best pieces are expressive of the affections, com bined with a feeling for nature. Thus : The dead leaves strew the forest walk, And wither d are the pale wild flowers ; The frost hangs blackening on the stalk, The dew-drops fall in frozen showers. Gone are the spring s green sprouting bowers, Gone summer s rich and mantling vines, And autumn, with her yellow hours, On hill and plain no longer shines. I learn d a clear and wild-toned note, That rose and swell d from yonder tree A gay bird, with too sweet a throat, There perch d, and raised her song for me. The winter comes, and where is she ? Away where summer wings will rove, Where buds are fresh, and every tree Is vocal with the notes of love. The following lines are on occasion of the death of Mr Woodward at Edinburgh, with whose memory he joins that of two other friends recently lost : The sea has one, and Palestine has one, And Scotland has the last. The snooded maid Shall gaze in wonder on the stranger s stone, And wipe the dust off with her tartan plaid And from the lonely tomb where thou art laid, ]56 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. Turn to some other monument nor know Whose grave she passes, or whose name she read : Whose loved and honour d relics lie below ; Whose is immortal joy, and whose is mortal wo. There is a world of bliss hereafter else Why are the bad above, the good beneath The green grass of the grave ? The mower fells Flowers and briers alike. But man shall breathe (When he his desolating blade shall sheathe And rest him from his work) in a pure sky, Above the smoke of burning worlds ; and Death On scorched pinions with the dead shall lie, When Time, with all his years and centuries, has pass d by. John Pierpont must also rank as a respectable poetic name. He was born in 1785, and son to one of the ministers of Newhaven, who, with his mother, studiously inspired him with deep religious impressions. Like most literary aspirants, however, he studied for the bar, with which, like them too, he soon became disgusted. He then applied to trade, but was unsuccessful. To sooth his disappointment, he composed a poem, entitled the " Airs of Palestine," which was published so early as 1816, and met a favourable reception. Soon after he turned his views to theology, and having distinguished himself as a preacher, was in 1819 admitted pastor of a respectable congregation in Boston. From that time his attention was devoted to his sacred duties, and his poems were only short and occasional, mostly on the foundation and anniversaries of religious and philanthropic institu tions, many of which he zealously promoted. He spent, however, a year in Europe for the recovery of his health. The "Airs of Palestine" are written in the heroic couplet used by Pope, whose versification is copied with wonderful felicity. A certain tameness pervades the sentiments, which rise, however, higher on several occasions, as in the following : A lonelier, lovelier path be mine ; Greece and her charms I leave for Palestine. There purer streams through happier valleys flow, And sweeter flowers on holier mountains blow. I love to breathe where Gilead sheds her balm ; I love to walk on Jordan s banks of palm ; THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 157 I love to wet my foot in Hermon s dews ; I love the promptings of Isaiah s muse ; In Carmel s holy grots I ll court repose, And deck my mossy couch with Sharon s deathless rose. Here arching vines their leafy banner spread, Shake their green shields, and purple odours shed, At once repelling Syria s burning ray, And breathing freshness on the sultry day. Here the wild bee suspends her murmuring wing, Pants on the rock, or sips the silver spring. The occasional poems, written always with the best intention, are more animated, and contain bold but in our apprehension somewhat strained language and ima gery. That on the " Death of Napoleon," though different from the ordinary themes, is what we should consider the best : His falchion flash d along the Nile ; His hosts he led through Alpine snows ; O er Moscow s towers, that shook the while, His eagle flag unroll d and froze. Here sleeps he now alone : not one Of all the kings whose crowns he gave, Nor sire, nor brother, wife, nor son, Hath ever seen or sought his grave. Here sleeps he now alone : the star That led him on from crown to crown Hath sunk ; the nations from afar Gazed as it faded and went down. He sleeps alone : the mountain cloud That night hangs round him, and the breath Of morning scatters, is the shroud That wraps his mortal form in death. N. P. Willis, born in 1807, at Portland in Maine, early devoted himself to literary pursuits. Soon after completing his studies he travelled through Europe, and transmitted home his observations, which were inserted in the New York Mirror, and afterwards re- published in England under the title of "Pencillings by the Way." They were admired for their lively and picturesque narrative, though criticised for the freedom of their personal animadversions. He is now married, and lives retired in the western part of the state of 158 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. New York. He has a pleasing- familiar vein of poetry, peculiarly adapted to domestic scenes and feelings, and lias even attempted higher and more extended themes, not without success ; though this we think is his happiest sphere. We shall give "Thoughts while making a Grave for a first Child, born dead." Room, gentle flowers ! my child would pass to heaven ! Ye look d not for her yet with your soft eyes, Oh, watchful ushers at Death s narrow door ! But, lo ! while you delay to let her forth, Angels, beyond, stay for her ! One long kiss From lips all pale with agony, and tears, Wrung after anguish had dried up with fire The eyes that wept them, were the cup of life Held as a welcome to her. Weep, O mother ! But not that from this cup of bitterness A cherub of the sky has turn d away. One look upon her face ere she depart ! My daughter ! it is soon to let thee go ! My daughter ! with thy birth has gush d a spring I knew not of : filling my heart with tears, And turning with strange tenderness to thee ! A love Oh, GOD, it seems so which must flow Far as thou fleest, and twixt Heaven and me, Henceforward, be a sweet and yearning chain, Drawing me after thee ! And so farewell ! Tis a harsh world in which affection knows No place to treasure up its loved and lost But the lone grave ! Thou, who so late wast sleeping Warm in the close fold of a mother s heart, Scarce from her breast a single pulse receiving, But it was sent thee with some tender thought How can I leave thee here ! Alas, for man ! The herb in its humility may fall, And waste into the bright and genial air, While we, by hands that minister d in life Nothing but love to us, are thrust away. The earth thrown in upon our just cold bosoms, And the warm sunshine trodden out for ever. Carlos Wilcox was the son of a farmer at Newport in New Hampshire, and having met with an accident which disabled him from following his father s employ ment, became destined for a learned profession. He passed creditably through his studies, both in literature and theology, and then acquired eminence as a preacher. Having been obliged, however, by ill health to suspend THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 159 his ministrations for two years, he employed that interval in writing " The Age of Benevolence," " The Religion of Taste," and other poems. He was then appointed to a congregation at Hartford ; but through exertions beyond his strength, his health soon gave way, and he was obliged to resign. He recovered so far as to under take the duties of another church ; but in half a year sunk again, and died in 1827, aged thirty-three. His style is agreeably familiar, somewhat resembling that of Cowper, and is employed chiefly in portraying natural scenery with great fidelity, yet rather by a minute enumeration of objects than by clothing them in bright and imaginative tints. The description of the sudden bursting forth of spring, being a feature charac teristic of the New World, and faithfully described, may be read with interest : Clothed, in one short week, Is naked Nature in her full attire. On the first morn, light as an open plain Is all the woodland, fill d with sunbeams, pour d Through the bare tops, on yellow leaves below, With strong reflection : on the last, tis dark With full-grown foliage, shading all within. In one short week the orchard buds and blooms ; And now, when steep d in dew or gentle showers, It yields the purest sweetness to the breeze. Each day are heard, and almost every hour, New notes to swell the music of the groves. And soon the latest of the feather d train At evening twilight come ; the lonely snipe, O er marshy fields, high in the dusky air, Invisible, but with faint, tremulous tones, Hovering or playing o er the listener s head. Now, animate throughout, from morn to eve All harmony, activity, and joy, Is lovely Nature, as in her bless d prime. The robin to the garden or green yard, Close to the door, repairs to build again Within her wonted tree ; and at her work Seems doubly busy for her past delay. Along the surface of the winding stream, Pursuing every turn, gay swallows skim, Or round the borders of the spacious lawn Fly in repeated circles, rising o er 160 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. Hillock and fence with motion serpentine, Easy, and light. One snatches from the ground A downy feather, and then upward springs, Follow d by others, but oft drops it soon, In playful mood, or from too slight a hold, When all at once dart at the falling prize. With sonorous notes Of every tone, mix d in confusion sweet, All chanted in the fulness of delight, The forest rings : where, far around enclosed With bushy sides, and cover d high above With foliage thick, supported by bare trunks, Like pillars rising to support a roof. It seems a temple vast, the space within Rings loud and clear with thrilling melody. Wilcox has written also what may be termed ethic poetry, which is not so much admired ; yet the follow ing stanza is surely good : Rouse to some work of high and holy love, And thou an angel s happiness shalt know, Shalt bless the earth while in the world above ; The good begun by thee shall onward flow In many a branching stream, and wider grow ; The seed that, in these few and fleeting hours, Thy hands unsparing and unwearied sow, Shall deck thy grave with amaranthine flowers, And yield thee fruits divine in heaven s immortal bowers. H. W. Longfellow was born at Portland in Maine, in 1807. In 1826, he came over to Europe, where he spent several years, and became complete master of its languages, particularly the northern. On returning, he made translations from the Swedish, and wrote Hype rion and other prose works, which are much esteemed. After a second visit to Europe, he was appointed in 1836 professor of the French and Spanish languages in Harvard College, and has been almost the only poet who adhered to that employment, which might seem more desirable than the troublous one of political jour nalism. We have already remarked, as a peculiar charm of transatlantic poetry, its quiet, refined, and delicate tone, wholly abstracted from the turbulence of busy and above all of public life. In none is this character THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 161 more marked and pleasing than in the early poems of Longfellow. We quote the following devout effusion : When first, in ancient time, from Jubal s tongue, The tuneful anthem fill d the morning air, To sacred hymnings and Elysian song His music- breathing shell the minstrel woke. Devotion breathed aloud from every chord ; Men felt the heavenly influence ; and it stole Like balm into their hearts, till all was peace ; And even the air they breathed, the light they saw, Became religion ; for the ethereal spirit, That to soft music wakes the chords of feeling, And mellows every thing to beauty, moved With cheering energy within their breasts, And made all holy there for all was love. The morning stars, that sweetly sang together The moon, that hung at night in the mid-sky Day-spring and eventide and all the fair And beautiful forms of nature, had a voice Of eloquent worship. Ocean, with its tide, Swelling and deep, where low the infant storm Hung on his dun, dark cloud, and heavily beat The pulses of the sea, sent forth a voice Of awful adoration to the Spirit, That, wrapp d in darkness, moved upon its face. And when the bow of evening arch d the east, Or, in the moonlight pale, the gentle wave Kiss d, with a sweet embrace, the sea-worn beach, And the wild song of winds came o er the waters, The mingled melody of wind and wave Touch d like a heavenly anthem on the ear ; For it arose a tuneful hymn of worship. And have our hearts grown cold ? Are there on earth No pure reflections caught from heavenly love ? Have our mute lips no hymn our souls no song \ Let him that in the summer-day of youth, Keeps pure the holy fount of youthful feeling, And him, that in the nightfall of his years, Lies down in his last sleep, and shuts in peace His weary eyes on life s short wayfaring, Praise Him that rules the destiny of man. This is a youthful effusion. Mr Longfellow has since written others in a different style, which are not without admirers, though we cannot think them equally pleasing. He appears in several encouraging himself to act with energy and fortitude, qualities of which per- 162 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. haps in life he had felt the want ; but in his poetry they take away its peculiar attraction. We have now gone over the roll of those whom the Americans boast of as their standard poets, and who really exhibit a high degree of excellence. On con sidering that they have all come before the public in the course of less than twenty years, we may estimate the copious vein which has thus been opened. Yet there remain still a long series whose verses deserve perusal, and some of whom cannot, with any confidence, be placed below those already named. It will be obvious, how ever, that our limits must confine us to a very cursory mention of such as, from merit or some particular cir cumstance, appear to call for special notice. We do not even profess to have weighed the former claim so nicely as to render our arrangement exactly correspondent with it. It was not without hesitation that we could assign any inferior place to Grenville Mellen. A native of Maine, he practised for some time as a lawyer at Bos ton ; but, according to the usual train, left that profes sion and sought literary employment at New York. He soon, however, added another to the examples of premature fate among bards, dying in 1841 at the age of forty-two. His works are somewhat unfinished ; but they breathe a lofty and refined spirit, with a certain mysteri ous and supernatural tone. The poem on "Mount Washington," the highest in the United States, may give a good idea of them : Mount of the clouds, on whose Olympian height The tall rocks brighten in the ether air, And spirits from the skies come down at night, To chant immortal songs to Freedom there ! Thine is the rock of other regions, where The world of life, which blooms so far below, Sweeps a wide waste : no gladdening scenes appear, Save where, with silvery flash, the waters flow Beneath the far-off mountain, distant, calm, and slow. Thine is the summit where the clouds repose, Or, eddying wildly, round thy cliffs are borne ; When Tempest mounts his rushing car, and throws THE LITERATURE OP AMERICA. 163 His billowy mist ainid the thunder s home ! Far down the deep ravine the whirlwinds come, And bow the forests as they sweep along ; While, roaring deeply from their rocky womb, The storms come forth, and, hurrying darkly on, Amid the echoing peaks the revelry prolong ! And when the tumult of the air is fled, And quench d in silence all the tempest flame, There come the dim forms of the mighty dead, Around the steep which bears the hero s name : The stars look down upon them ; and the same Pale orb that glistens o er his distant grave Gleams on the summit that enshrines his fame, And lights the cold tear of the glorious brave, The richest, purest tear that memory ever gave ! Mount of the clouds ! when winter round thee throws The hoary mantle of the dying year, Sublime amid thy canopy of snows, Thy towers in bright magnificence appear ! ; Tis then we view thee with a chilling fear, Till summer robes thee in her tints of blue ; When, lo ! in soften d grandeur, far, yet clear, Thy battlements stand clothed in heaven s own hue, To swell as Freedom s home on man s unbounded view ! John Neal is one of the most prolific of American writers. Born at Portland, in Maine, he applied at first to trade, but proving unsuccessful, devoted himself to literary composition. Having come over to England, he contributed to Blackwood and other magazines, and wrote a novel called Brother Jonathan. Returning to America, he continued producing, till, in 1835, he is said to have written no less than fifty volumes. All of them display genius, but without any order or taste ; form ing a strange medley of the best and the worst, the refined and the coarse, the pure and the doubtful in morality. There are passages, both in his prose and verse, which have seldom been surpassed ; yet the American critics, who value themselves on the enforce ment of rigid correctness, will not admit him on their classic roll, or allow any hope of his reaching posterity. Undoubtedly, however, an author who has displayed decided beauties, is entitled to some indulgence for the admixture of even grievous faults ; and though, prob ably, much that Neal has written will be speedily for- 164 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. gotten, a selection may survive. Where, for instance, can we find finer lines than in the following account of the unexpected meeting of a soldier with his wife and child ? A rude old door Is open d by the wind ; he sees the floor, Strew d with white sand, on which he used to trace His boyhood s battles, and assign a place To charging hosts, and give the Indian yell, And shout to hear his hoary grandsire tell How he had fought with savages, whose breath He felt upon his cheek like mildew till his death. Hark ! that sweet song, how full of tenderness ! Oh ! who would breathe in this voluptuous press Of lulling thoughts ! so soothing, and so low, Like singing fountains in their faintest flow : It is as if some holy, lovely thing, Within our very hearts were murmuring. The soldier listens, and his arms are press d In thankfulness, and trembling on his breast ; Now, on the very window where he stands, Are seen a clambering infant s rosy hands ; And now ah, Heaven ! blessings on that smile T Stay, soldier, stay ! Oh, linger yet a while ! An airy vision now appears, with eyes As tender as the blue of weeping skies, Yet sunny in their radiance, as that blue When sunset glitters on its falling dew : With form all joy and dance as bright and free As youthful nymph of mountain liberty, Or naked angels, dream d by poesy ; A blooming infant to her heart is press d, And, ah ! a mother s song is lulling it to rest. A youthful mother ! God of heaven ! A thing beneath the skies so holy and so fair. We have already noticed a certain quiet, refined, somewhat mystic tone, as very generally characteristic of American poetry. Some fine examples of this style, with an original cast, have been produced by Dr Doane, who, born in New Jersey, devoted himself to the epis copal church, and was appointed in 1832 bishop of that diocese. The following piece is exquisite in its way : THE CHERUB. Beautiful thing, with thine eye of light, And thy brow of cloudless beauty bright, Gazing for aye on the sapphire throne, Of Him who dwelleth in light alone THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 165 Art thou hasting now, on that golden wing, With the burning seraph choir to sing, Or stooping to earth, iii thy gentleness, Our darkling path to cheer and bless ? Beautiful thing ! thou art come in love, With gentle gales from the world above, Breathing of pureness, breathing of bliss, Bearing our spirits away from this, To the better thoughts, to the brighter skies, Where heaven s eternal sunshine lies ; Winning our hearts by a blessed guile, With that infant look and angel smile. Mr Peabody, also a clergyman, writes somewhat similarly in very polished verse, but with a tendency to tameness. The following, however, we think is fine : THE DISEMBODIED SPIRIT. O sacred star of evening, tell In what unseen, celestial sphere, Those spirits of the perfect dwell, Too pure to rest in sadness here. Roam they the crystal fields of light, O er paths by holy angels trod, Their robes with heavenly lustre bright, Their home, the Paradise of God i Soul of the just ! and canst thou soar Amidst those radiant spheres sublime, Where countless hosts of heaven adore, Beyond the bounds of space or time ? And canst thou join the sacred choir, Through heaven s high dome the song to raise, W T here seraphs strike the golden lyre In ever-during notes of praise ? Oh ! who would heed the chilling blast, That blows o er time s eventful sea, If bid to hail, its perils past, The bright wave of eternity ! And who the sorrows would not bear Of such a transient world as this, When hope displays, beyond its care, So bright an entrance into bliss ! In treating of this refined school, we must call atten tion to George D. Prentice, a native of Preston in Con necticut, who, in 1823, graduated at Brown University in Providence. After conducting for some years a 166 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. journal in Hartford, he removed to Louisville in Ken tucky, and established one which is said to have been very successful. In the expression of pure and delicate, yet genuine feeling, we know few finer examples than that now selected : LINES TO A LADY. Lady, I love, at eventide, When stars, as now, are on the wave, To stray in loneliness, and muse Upon the one dear form that gave Its sunlight to my boyhood ; oft That same sweet look sinks, still and soft, Upon my spirit, and appears As lovely as in bygone years. Eve s low, faint wind is breathing now, With deep and soul-like murmuring, Through the dark pines ; and thy sweet words Seem borne on its mysterious wing ; And oft, mid musings sad and lone, At night s deep noon, that thrilling tone Swells in the wind, low, wild, and clear, Like music in the dreaming ear. W T hen sleep s calm wing is on my brow, And dreams of peace my spirit lull, Before me, like a misty star, That form floats dim and beautiful ; And, when the gentle moonbeam smiles On the blue streams and dark-green isles, In every ray pour d down the sky, That same light form seems stealing by. Our hopes are flown yet parted hours Still in the depths of memory lie, Like night-gems in the silent blue Of summer s deep and brilliant sky ; And Love s bright flashes seem again To fall upon the glowing chain Of our existence. Can it be That all is but a mockery ? Lady, adieu ! to other climes I go, from joy, and hope, and thee ; A weed on Time s dark waters thrown, A wreck on life s wild-heaving sea ; I go ; but oh, the past, the past ! Its spell is o er my being cast, And still, to Love s remomber d eves, With all but hope, my spirit cleaves. THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 167 Adieu ! adieu ! My farewell words Are on my lyre, and their wild flow Is faintly dying on the chords, Broken and tuneless. Be it so ! Thy name Oh, may it never swell My strain again yet long twill dwell Shrined in my heart, unbreathed, unspoken A treasured word a cherish d token. We must now advert to Robert C. Sands, who, besides possessing respectable though not first-class talents, be came the nucleus of early literary associations formed at New York. He was born in that city in 1799, distinguished himself in Columbia College, and then entered upon the study of the law. He became ex tremely intimate with Eastburn, a talented young man, destined for the church ; and they engaged in a joint poem, entitled Yamoyden, celebrating the story of Philip, the great Indian sachem. On its completion, Eastburn fell ill, and died on his way to a milder climate ; and Sands had the sorrowful task of pub lishing it alone. He did so in 1820, and from being among the first poems of any merit that had appeared in the country, as well as from the peculiar circum stances, it excited a strong sensation. He now, how ever, resolved to renounce poetry and apply to his profession ; but, becoming disappointed and disgusted, he turned his attention to periodical writing. Em ployment in a commercial paper on liberal terms was opportunely offered, and his active mind combined with it some interesting literary schemes. At a time when light annuals had become popular in Europe, he engaged, with the aid of Verplank and Bryant, in the production of one named the Talisman, which was continued for several years with success. In 1832, he edited a volume, entitled Tales of the Glauber Spa, in which he was as sisted by Bryant, Paulding, Leggett, and Miss Sedgwick. While busied in other schemes, he was suddenly struck by a paralytic shock, and died in a few hours. Yamoy den is unequal, but possesses considerable poetical merit. The most interesting extract will be from the poem 168 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. where Sands refers to the melancholy circumstances under which it was produced, and commemorates his early friendship : Go forth, sad fragments of a broken strain, The last that either bard shall e er essay ! The hand can ne er attempt the chords again, That first awoke them, in a happier day : Where sweeps the ocean-breeze its desert way, His requiem murmurs o er the moaning wave ; And he who feebly now prolongs the lay, Shall ne er the minstrel s hallow d honours crave ; His harp lies buried deep in that untimely grave ! Friend of my youth, with thee began the love Of sacred song ; the wont, in golden dreams, Mid classic realms of splendours past to rove, d by immortal stre Where the blue wave, with sparkling bosom, gleams O er haunted steep, and by immortal streams Round shores, the mind s eternal heritage, For ever lit by memory s twilight beams ; Where the proud dead, that live in storied page, Beckon, with awful port, to glory s earlier age. The Americans regard the " Culprit Fay " of J. Rodman Drake with an admiration which we feel ourselves unahle to share. It is a tale entirely of fairy-land ; but though such machinery may he an elegant appendage to human characters, it is too un substantial to stand alone. To make it succeed requires at all events a particularly light and playful vein ; while the American muse, even when most refined, has something serious and real, ill fitting it for such aerial flights. His other poems rise little above mediocrity. He was an amiable young man, and had formed a very modest though perhaps just opinion of his own pro ductions. He died at an early age. We ought perhaps before this time to have intro duced James A. Hillhouse, a native of Newhaven, and graduate of Yale College. He applied to commerce with diligence, and having acquired a handsome com petence, retired into the country. He had accumulated extensive knowledge, and composed several poems of some magnitude. One of them, entitled the " Last THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 169 Judgment," written before he left the universit}^, enjoys reputation in his own country ; but a subject too daring perhaps even for Milton, could not be successfully treated by a secondary and youthful pen. There are a few fine passages, but on the whole it appears a decided failure. His principal work is a dramatic poem called " Hadad," which name is given to a fallen spirit who appears in human shape, and makes love to Tamar, the daughter of David. The subject is strange, and seemingly not very felicitous ; yet there is much of grand and lofty poetic expression. We cannot, amid the crowd who press on our notice, omit mentioning George Lunt, a native of Newburyport, near Boston, and educated at Cambridge. He embraced the profession of the law, and, almost alone of his tuneful brethren, pursued it successfully, being also named to represent his native place in the state legislature. He may be particularly remarked for a style strikingly contrasted with that prevailing among his countrymen, and more accordant with what might be expected in an American bard. It is bold, stirring, energetic, with a propensity to themes of war and conflict, yet still under the control of religious principle. THE LYRE jfND SWORD. The freeman s glittering sword be blest, For ever blest the freeman s lyre, That rings upon the tyrant s crest ; This stirs the heart like living fire. Well can wield the shining brand, Who battles for his native land ; But when his fingers sweep the chords, That summon heroes to the fray, They gather at the feast of swords, Like mountain-eagles to their prey ! And mid the vales and swelling hills, That sweetly bloom in Freedom s land, A living spirit breathes, and fills The freeman s heart and nerves his hand ; For the bright soil that gave him birth, The home of all he loves on earth, VOL. III. L 170 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. For this, when Freedom s trumpet calls, He waves on high his sword of fire ; For this, amidst his country s halls, For ever strikes the freeman s lyre ! We shall just mention Isaac Clason on account of another contrast, happily rare, between him and his poetic brethren. A native of New York, he contracted dissolute habits, squandered a considerable fortune in herited from his father, and after spending some time in Paris and London, died miserably in the latter city. Byron and Napoleon were his idols, and of all tasks in the world, he chose that of writing two additional cantos to Don Juan. He does not want vigour ; there is even an absurd grandeur in the following panegyric on Napoleon : Napoleon Bonaparte ! thy name shall live Till time s last echo shall have ceased to sound ; And if eternity s confines can give To space reverberation, round and round The spheres of heaven, the long, deep cry of u Vive Napoleon !" in thunders shall rebound ; The lightning s flash shall blaze thy name on high, Monarch of earth, now meteor of the sky ! What though on St Helena s rocky shore Thy head be pillow d, and thy form entomb d ; Perhaps that son, the child thou didst adore, Fired with a father s fame, may yet be doom d To crush the bigot Bourbon, and restore Thy mouldering ashes ere they be consumed, Perhaps may run the course thyself didst run, And light the world, as comets light the sun. Tis better thou art gone : twere sad to see, Beneath an " imbecile s impotent reign," Thine own unvanquish d legions doom d to be Cursed instruments of vengeance on poor Spain, That land, so glorious once in chivalry, Now sunk in slavery and shame again ; To see the imperial guard, thy dauntless band, Made tools for such a wretch as Ferdinand. Farewell, Napoleon ! a long farewell, A stranger s tongue, alas ! must hymn thy worth ; No craven Gaul dares wake his harp to tell, Or sound in song the spot that gave thee birth. THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. No more thy name, that, with its magic spell, Aroused the slumbering nations of the earth, Echoes around thy land ; tis past at length France sinks beneath the sway of Charles the Tenth. John G. Whittier was son to a farmer in Haverhill, Massachusetts, whose family had occupied the spot for four or five generations. He received his education almost entirely in the district schools, but soon displayed literary talents, and spent his life partly in agriculture, partly in contributing to periodical publications. He edited a paper entitled the American Manufacturer, ad vocating commercial restrictions, and thus obtained the favour of a numerous class. He, however, strongly supported the principles of liberty, and embraced with ardour the views of the Anti-slavery Society, to which he was appointed secretary, and devoted to this object much of his time. The Indian nations have been the chief theme of his effusions ; yet, while showing sym pathy for their fate, he has drawn their portrait rather in its stern reality than under any hues of romance. His longest work, entitled " Mogg Megone," represents them as excited by the French Jesuits to a furious war against the Protestants of New England. His verses, too, are distinguished from those of his countrymen generally by action and tumult, and though he can diversify them by softer strains, a certain rudeness al ways adheres to them. Charles Fenno Hoffman was born at New York in 1806. At school he met with an accident which ren dered necessary the amputation of a leg ; but this mis fortune seemed only to impel his active spirit to pursue with greater ardour riding, hunting, and other active exercises. He applied to the bar, but quitted it with the usual disgust, and betook himself to literature. He spent much time in the forest and in field-sports, and made an excursion into the western territory, the result of which he gave in a work, entitled " Winter in the Far West." He wrote also " Wild Scenes in the Forest and the Prairie," and a novel called Greyslaer, which became 1 72 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. popular, and the scene of which lay in the same region. His style, too, varies from the usual repose and quietude, and without sharing the impetuous vehemence of the two last-named bards, is gay, lively, and stirring. The poems on horder themes, though somewhat numerous, want depth and feeling, and are redundant in words ; but such as express movement, especially over his fa vourite region of the west, have a gay animation, some what resembling that of Scott, which is very agreeable. THE HUNTER S MATIN. Up, comrades, up ! the morn s awake Upon the mountain side, The curlew s wing hath swept the lake, And the deer has left the tangled brake, To drink from the limpid tide. Up, comrades, up ! the mead-lark s note And the plover s cry o er the prairie float ; The squirrel, he springs from his covert now, To prank it away on the chestnut bough, Where the oriole s pendant nest, high up, Is rock d on the swaying trees, While the humbird sips from the harebell s cup, As it bends to the morning breeze. Up, comrades, up ! our shallops grate Upon the pebbly strand. And our stalwart hounds impatient wait To spring from the huntsman s hand. THE WESTERN HUNTER TO HIS MISTRESS. Wend, love, with me, to the deep woods, wend, Where far in the forest the wild flowers keep, W T here no watching eye shall over us bend, Save the blossoms that into thy bower peep. Thou shalt gather from buds of the oriole s hue, Whose flaming wings round our pathway flit, From the saffron orchis and lupin blue, And those like the foam on my courser s bit. One steed and one saddle us both shall bear, One hand of each on the bridle meet ; And beneath the wrist that entwines me there, An answering pulse from my heart shall beat. I will sing thee many a joyous lay, As we chase the deer by the blue lake-side, While the winds that over the prairie play Shall fan the cheek of my woodland bride. Our home shall be by the cool, bright streams, Where the beaver chooses her safe retreat, THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 1 73 And our hearth shall smile like the sun s warm gleams Through the branches around our lodge that meet. Then wend with me, to the deep woods wend, Where far in the forest the wild- flowers keep, Where no watching eye shall over us bend, Save the blossoms that into thy bower peep. All the poets now enumerated have sprung up either in New England, or in New York and its immediate vicinity. Others have of late, however, begun to ap pear in different parts of the Union, singly indeed or in very small number, yet marking the tendency of the poetical spirit to diffusion. Under this view they may claim our notice, even though their merit may other wise be secondary. Alfred B. Street was born at Poughkeepsie in the interior of New York, whence at the age of thirteen he was removed to Sullivan county, farther westward, the scenery of which is peculiarly wild and striking. In this rude outer region his genius was unfolded, and his images are completely stamped with its character. He settled at Albany in 1839, but never seems to have come with in the polished and artificial circle. Part of his poem " The Settlers " strikingly paints backwood life : His echoing axe the settler swung Amid the sea-like solitude, And, rushing, thundering, down were flung The Titans of the wood: Loud shriek d the eagle, as he dash d From out his mossy nest, which crash d With its supporting bough, And the first sunlight, leaping, flash d On the wolfs haunt below. Rude was the garb and strong the frame Of him who plied his ceaseless toil ; To form that garb the wild-wood game Contributed their spoil ; The soul that warm d that frame disdain d The tinsel, gaud, and glare, that reign d Where men their crowds collect ; The simple fur, untrimm d, uustain d, This forest-tamer deck d. The paths which wound mid gorgeous trees, The stream whose bright lips kiss d their flowers, 174 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. Tho winds that swell d their harmonies Through those sun-hiding bowers ; The temple vast, the green arcade, The nestling vale, the grassy glade, Dark cave, and swampy lair, These scenes and sounds majestic, made His world, his pleasures, there. Proceeding still farther west, we find in Ohio one respectable bard, having the somewhat inharmonious name of William D. Gallagher. He resides at Cincin nati, where he conducts a daily gazette, and has been engaged in the publication of several literary miscella nies. As might perhaps be expected, there is in his verse a great deal of imperfection ; yet it displays a vivid perception of what is mighty in the aspect and destinies of this western world. TO THE WEST. Land of the West ! green forest-land ! Clime of the fair, and the immense ! Favourite of Nature s liberal hand, And child of her munificence ! Fill d with a rapture warm, intense, High on a cloud-girt hill I stand ; And with clear vision gazing thence, Thy glories round me far expand : Rivers, whose likeness earth has not, And lakes, that elsewhere seas would be, Whose shores the countless wild herds dot, Fleet as the winds, and all as free ; Mountains that pierce the bending sky, And with the storm-cloud warfare wage : Shooting their glittering peaks on high, To mock the fierce red lightning s rage ; Arcadian vales, with vine-hung bowers, And grassy nooks, neath beechen shade, Where dance the never-resting Hours, To music of the bright cascade ; Skies softly beautiful, and blue As Italy s, with stars as bright ; Flowers rich as morning s sunrise hue, And gorgeous as the gemm d midnight. Land of the West ! green forest-land ! Thus hath Creation s bounteous hand Upon thine ample bosom flung Charms such as were her gift when the gray world was young Land of the West ! thine early prime Fades in the flight of hurrying Time ; THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 1 7^ Thy noble forests fall, as sweep Europa s myriads o er the deep ; And thy broad plains, with welcome warm, Receive the onward-pressing swarm : On mountain-height, in lowly vale, By quiet lake, or gliding river, Wherever sweeps the chainless gale, Onward sweep they, and for ever. Oh, may they come with hearts that ne er Can bend a tyrant s chain to wear ; With souls that would indignant turn, And proud oppression s minions spurn ; With nerves of steel, and words of flame, To strike and sear the wretch who d bring our land to shame ! Albert Pike, though not born in the west, has identi fied himself so completely with that region, that we shall mention him here. He was the son of a hard-working shoemaker in Boston, and devoting himself to literature, earned an admission into Harvard College, but was unable to defray the expense of residence. After sev eral years spent in humble teaching, his adventurous spirit impelled him westward. He passed through Niagara, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, travelling much of the way on foot till he reached St Louis, whence he set out for Santa Fe in Mexico. Whatever were his expecta tions there, they were poorly fulfilled ; and having re mained nearly a year, he joined a trapping party, with whom he journeyed along the head waters of the Colorado and Red rivers. After various shifts and immense hard ships, he was reduced to extreme destitution, when the editor of a paper at Little Rock, the capital of Arkansas, invited him to become an assistant. On this outer limit of civilisation his efforts were crowned with success. In a few years he became proprietor of the journal, and aiming still higher, applied to law, was admitted to practice, and finally devoted himself entirely to that profession. He wrote at Boston a series of addresses to the Gods of Greece, which possess merit ; but his best pieces we think are those indited during his wanderings through the wilderness. 1 76 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. LINES WRITTEN ON THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. The deep transparent sky is full Of many thousand glittering lights Unnumber d stars that calmly rule The dark dominions of the night. The mild bright moon has upward risen, Out of the gray and boundless plain, And all around the white snows glisten, Where frost, and ice, and silence reign, While ages roll away, and they unchanged remain. These mountains, piercing the blue sky With their eternal cones of ice ; The torrents dashing from on high, O er rock, and crag, and precipice ; Change not, but still remain as ever, Unwasting, deathless, and sublime, And will remain while lightnings quiver, Or stars the hoary summits climb, Or rolls the thunder-chariot of eternal Time. It is not so with all I change, And waste as with a living death, Like one that hath become a strange Unwelcome guest, and lingereth Among the memories of the past, Where he is a forgotten name ; For Time hath greater power to blast The hopes, the feelings, and the fame, To make the passions fierce, or their first strength to tame. The muses have rarely strayed to the south of the Potomac ; yet Baltimore, the flourishing commercial capital of Maryland, has not been altogether unvisited. Edward C. Pinkney, son to the eminent diplomatist of that name, entered the naval service ; hut being disap pointed in his hopes of promotion, he attempted the bar with no better fortune. A prospect of success appeared in conducting a political gazette, when his constitution gave way, and he died in 1828. His verses have a light and agreeable character, though they cannot rival the power and force of the northern bards. The follow ing were suggested by the marriage of an elegant American female to an Indian chief : Why is that graceful female here With yon red huuter of the doer ? THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 177 Of gentle mien and shape, she seems For civil halls design d, Yet with the stately savage walks, As she were of his kind. Look on her leafy diadem, Enrich d with many a floral gem : Those simple ornaments about Her candid brow, disclose The loitering spring s last violet, And summer s earliest rose ; But not a flower lies breathing there Sweet as herself, or half so fair. Exchanging lustre with the sun, A part of day she strays A glancing, living, human smile On Nature s face she plays. Can none instruct me what are these Companions of the lofty trees ? She left her pallid countrymen, An earthling most divine, And sought in this sequester d wood A solitary shrine. Behold them roaming hand in hand, Like night and sleep, along the land. The world, for all they know of it, Is theirs : for them the stars are lit ; For them the earth beneath is green, The heavens above are bright ; For them the moon doth wax and wane, And decorate the night ; For them the branches of those trees Wave music in the vernal breeze ; For them, upon that dancing spray, The free bird sits and sings, And glitering insects flit about Upon delighted wings ; For them that brook, the brakes among, Murmurs its small and drowsy song ; For them the many-colour d clouds Their shapes diversify, And change at once, like smiles and frowns, The expression of the sky. For them, and by them, all is gay, And fresh and beautiful as they. Charleston, the principal city of the remoter south, can boast, so far as we know, only one poetical name. William G. Simms, born there in 1807, began at ten to write verses, and at fifteen to contribute to the 178 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. poetical department of gazettes. He then went through the usual career of attempting the bar, and abandoning it for a newspaper. Being unsuccessful, he repaired to the north in the hope of earning a subsistence by literary composition. Here he was more prosperous, his contributions being received by respectable journals, while his novels became very popular especially in the southern states, whose scenery and history several of them are designed to illustrate. He afterwards re turned to Charleston. His poetry does not reach any high elevation ; yet there is some force in the follow ing picture of the gloomy scenery which pervades a wide surface in this part of America : THE EDGE OP THE SWAMP. Tis a wild spot, and hath a gloomy look ; The bird sings never merrily in the trees, And the young leaves seem blighted. A rank growth Spreads poispnously round, with power to taint With blistering dews the thoughtless hand that dares To penetrate the covert. Cypresses Crowd on the dank, wet earth ; and, stretch d at length, The cayman a fit dweller in such home Slumbers, half -buried in the sedgy grass. Beside the green ooze where he shelters him, A whooping crane erects his skeleton form, And shrieks in flight. Wild, ragged trees, That look like felon spectres fetid shrubs, That taint the gloomy atmosphere dusk shades, That gather, half a cloud and half a fiend In aspect, lurking on the swamp s wild edge, Gloom with their sternness and forbidding frowns The general prospect. The reader probably thinks by this time that a sufficiently long roll has been laid before him ; yet there still remains a portion of our task, which we feel by no means inclined to overlook. The females of America, as already observed, are admitted to a wider range of study than elsewhere, and from possessing greater leisure, often become more intelligent than the other sex. Several therefore, notwithstanding their retired habits and the early age at which they usually THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 179 enter the matrimonial state, have distinguished them selves by an ardent and successful pursuit of letters. Lydia Huntley, now Mrs Sigourney, is generally regarded as the representative of the female poets of America. Born in 1797, she began very early to write, and even published a volume in 1815 ; since which time she has successively produced a large number of works. Appearing at a time when few tolerable American verses existed, her poetry attracted considerable attention ; and, though subsequently ex celled by others, yet supporting herself always at a cer tain height above mediocrity, and expressing just and laudable sentiments, she has continued a favourite with the American public. The same account may be given of her prose works, written chiefly for the instruction of her own sex. In 1840, she visited and made a tour through Britain, and then wrote " Thoughts at the Grave of Sir Walter Scott," some part of which may gratify our readers, and afford a fair specimen of her style : Rest with the noble dead In Dryburgh s solemn pile, Where sleep the peer and warrior bold, And mitred abbots stern and old, Along the statued aisle ; Where, stain d with dust of buried years, The rude sarcophagus appears In mould embedded deep ; And Scotia s skies of sparkling blue Stream with the oriel windows through Where ivied masses creep ; And touch d with symmetry sublime, The moss-clad towers that mock at time Their mouldering legends keep. It was a painful thing to see Trim Abbotsford so gay, The rose-trees climbing there so bold, The ripening fruits in rind of gold, And thou, their lord, away. I saw the lamp, with oil unspent, O er which thy thoughtful brow was bent, When erst, with magic skill, 180 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. Unearthly beings heard thy call, And flitting spectres tliroug d the hall, Obedient to thy will. Yon fair domain was all thine own, From stately roof to threshold stone, Yet didst thou lavish pay The coin that caused life s wheels to stop ? The heart s blood oozing drop by drop Through the tired brain away ? I said the lamp unspent was there, The books arranged in order fair ; But none of all thy kindred race Found in those lordly halls a place : Thine only son, in foreign lands, Led boldly on his martial bands, And stranger-lips, unmoved and cold, The legends of thy mansion told ; They lauded glittering brand and spear, And costly gifts of prince and peer, And broad claymore, with silver dight, And hunting-horn of border knight What were such gauds to me I More dear had been one single word From those whose veins thy blood had stirr d To Scotia s accents free. Yet one there was, in humble cell, A poor retainer, lone and old, Who of thy youth remember d well, And many a treasured story told ; And pride, upon her wrinkled face, Blent strangely with the trickling tear, As memory, from its choicest place, Brought forth, in deep recorded trace, Thy boyhood s gamDols dear ; Or pointed out, with wither d hand, Where erst thy garden-seat did stand, When thou, return d from travel vain, Wrapp d in thy plaid, and pale with pain, Didst gaze with vacant eye, For stern disease had drank the fount Of mental vision dry. Another lady, who has drawn considerable attention even in England, is Maria Gowan, married at an early age to Mr Brooks, a merchant of Boston, but who in the literary world has been named Maria del Occidente. Becoming a widow in 1821, she was obliged by circum- THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 181 stances to remove to Cuba, where she had obtained some property. She composed a mystic poem of considerable length, entitled " Zophiel," founded on a legend in the apocryphal book of Tobit. It was pub lished while she was the guest of Dr Southey, who revised the proof-sheets, and has recorded his opinion of her as " the most impassioned and most imaginative of all poetesses." This judgment, notwithstanding the high source from which it comes, may have been biassed by friendship ; and the Quarterly Review, with some reason, proposes to change the latter epithet to "fan ciful." Zophiel, the fallen spirit, becomes enamoured of Egla, the apocryphal Sara ; and resolving she shall not fall to the lot of any human spouse, causes the death of seven who were successively about to be united to her. We have already expressed an opinion as to poems of which the leading characters are un earthly ; nor do we see here any ground to change it. The narrative and descriptions do not possess the airy character required by such a subject ; they are heavy, and abound more in words than images. There are, however, a few impassioned passages, in a style unusual with American poets of either sex, which display con siderable powers. Such is that narrating the fate of Altheetor, the fifth lover : Touching his golden harp to prelude sweet, Enter d the youth, so pensive, pale, and fair ; Advanced respectful to the virgin s feet, And, lowly bending down, made tuneful parlance there. Like perfume, soft his gentle accents rose, And sweetly thrill d the gilded roof along ; His warm, devoted soul no terror knows, And truth and love lend fervour to his song. She hides her face upon her couch, that there She may not see him die. No groan, she springs Frantic between a hope-beam and despair, And twines her long hair round him as he sings. Look, look on me, and spare my agony ! Spirit ! in mercy make not me the cause, The hateful cause of this kind being s death ! 182 THE- LITERATURE OF AMERICA. In pity kill me first ! He lives he draws Thou wilt not blast ? he draws his harmless breath !" Still lives ALTHEETOR ; still unguarded strays One hand o er his fallen lyre ; but all his soul Is lost given up. He fain would turn to gaze, But cannot turn, so twined. Now all that stole Through every vein, and thrill d each separate nerve, Himself could not have told, all wound and clasp d In her white arms and hair. Ah ! can they serve To save him ? " What a sea of sweets !" he gasp d, But twas delight : sound, fragrance, all were breathing. Still swell d the transport : " Let me look and thank :" He sigh d (celestial smiles his lip enwreathing) " I die but ask no more," he said, and sank ; Still by her arms supported lower lower As by soft sleep oppress d ; so calm, so fair, He rested on the purple tap stried floor ; It seem d an angel lay reposing there. " He died of love ; or the o erperfect joy Of being pitied pray d for press d by thee. Oh ! for the fate of that devoted boy I d sell my birthright to Eternity. I m not the cause of this thy last distress. Nay ! look upon thy spirit ere he flies ! Look on me once, and learn to hate me less ! He said ; and tears fell fast from his immortal eyes." This lady is said to have completed an epic poem on the subject of Columbus; a theme so different, that we cannot venture any prediction respecting it. Our taste would lead us to prefer a more modern poetess, Elizabeth Park of Boston, married in 1841 to Mr Hall, a clergyman at Providence. She has written a dramatic poem, the whole of which we have not seen, and doubt if the plot be very perfect ; but some speci mens of the dialogue appear lofty, solemn, and energetic in no common degree. To make the following under stood, it must be premised that Piso, a Roman chief, and a fierce persecutor of the Christians, had loved in youth a maiden of that faith, who however preferred to him one united to her by the ties of religion ; an event which embittered him still farther against its professors. She died, but left a daughter Miriam who strikingly resembled herself. This young girl comes to Piso to plead for some of her kindred who are in THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 183 bonds for their religion, and is imagined by him to be the spirit of her mother come to reproach him. He says: Beautiful shadow ! in this hour of wrath, What dost thou here ? In life thou wert too meek, Too gentle for a lover stern as I. And, since I saw thee last, my days have been Deep steep d in sin and blood ! What seekest thou ? I have grown old in strife, and hast thou come, With thy dark eyes and their soul-searching glance, To look me into peace ? It cannot be. Go back, fair spirit, to thine own dim realms ! He whose young love thou didst reject on earth, May tremble at this visitation strange, But never can know peace or virtue more ! Thou wert a Christian, and a Christian dog Did win thy precious love. I have good cause To hate and scorn the whole detested race ; And till I meet that man, whom most of all My soul abhors, will I go on and slay ! Fade, vanish, shadow bright ! In vain that look ! That sweet, sad look ! My lot is cast in blood ! Miriam. Oh, say not so ! Piso. The voice that won me first ! Oh, what a tide of recollections rush Upon my drowning soul ! my own wild love Thy scorn the long, long days of blood and guilt That since have left their footprints on my fate ! The dark, dark nights of fever d agony, When, mid the strife and struggling of my dreams, The gods sent thee at times to hover round, Bringing the memory of those peaceful days When I beheld thee first ! But never yet Before my waking eyes hast thou appear d Distinct and visible as now ! Spirit ! What wouldst thou have ? Miriam. Oh, man of guilt and wo ! Thine own dark phantasies are busy now, Lending unearthly seeming to a thing Of earth, as thou art ! Piso. How ! Art thou not she ? I know that face ! I never yet beheld One like to it among earth s loveliest. Why dost thou wear that semblance, if thou art A thing of mortal mould ? Oh, better meet The wailing ghosts of those whose blood doth clog My midnight dreams, than that half-pitying eye ! Miriam. I must be heard, for God hath sent me here. Piso. Who who hath sent thee here I 184 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. Miriam. The Christian s God The God thou kuowest not. Piso. Thou art of earth ! I see the rose-tint on thy pallid cheek, Which was not there at first ; it kindles fast ! Say on. Although I dare not meet that eye, I hear thee. We are disposed to rank next Amelia B. Welby, daughter of a respectable mechanic at Baltimore, who removed to Louisville on the Ohio, where she was married. Her poems were written between the age of sixteen and twenty, and inserted in the Louisville Journal, edited by George D. Prentice ; so that this somewhat rude western capital contains two of the sweetest American poets. Her verses are animated by a fine tone of fancy and feeling, mixed with some thing natural and even girlish, which appears to us so graceful, as to be rather heightened by imperfections and colloquial terms : TO A SEA-SHELL. Shell of the bright sea-waves ! What is it that we hear in thy sad moan ? Is this unceasing music all thine own, Lute of the ocean-caves ? Or, does some spirit dwell In the deep windings of thy chamber dim, Breathing for ever, in its mournful hymn, Of ocean s anthem swell ? Wert thou a murmurer long In crystal palaces beneath the seas, Ere, on the bright air. thou hadst heard the breeze Pour its full tide of song ? Another thing with thee Are there not gorgeous cities in the deep, Buried with flashing gems that darkly sleep, Hid by the mighty sea ? And say, lone sea-shell, Are there not costly things, and sweet perfumes, Scatter d in waste o er that sea-gulf of tombs 1 Hush thy low moan, and tell. But yet, and more than all Has not each foaming wave in fury toss d O er earth s most beautiful, the brave, the lost, Like a dark funeral pall I THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 185 TO THE MEMORY OF A FRIEND. When shines the star, by thee loved best, Upon these soft delicious eves, Lighting the ringdove to her nest, Where trembling stir the darkling leaves ; When flings the wave its crest of foam Above the shadowy -mantled seas ; A softness o er my heart doth come, Linking thy memory with these : For if, amid those orbs that roll, Thou hast at times a thought of me, For every one that stirs thy soul A thousand stir my own of thee. Even now thy dear remember d eyes, Fill d up with floods of radiant light, Seem bending from the twilight skies, Outshining all the stars of night : And thy young face, divinely fair, Like a bright cloud, seems melting through, While low, sweet whispers fill the air, Making my own lips whisper too ; For never does the soft south wind Steal o er the hush d and lonely sea, But it awakens in my mind A thousand memories of thee. Lost one ! companion of the blest, Thou who in purer air dost dwell, Ere froze the life-drops in thy breast, Or fled thy soul its mystic cell, We pass d on earth such hours of bliss As none but kindred hearts can know, And, happy in a world like this, But dream d of that to which we go, Till thou wert call d in thy young years To wander o er that shoreless sea, Where, like a mist, time disappears, Melting into eternity. Miss Hannah F. Gould, born in 1792, at Lancaster in Vermont, removed in her youth to the vicinity of Bos ton. She has written a number of pieces distinguished by that refined and somewhat mystic tone in which American poetry often delights. The following appears an agreeable specimen of that playful communion with the objects of nature which is almost peculiar to it : VOL. III. M 186 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. THE SNOW-FLAKE. " Now, if I fall, will it be my lot To be cast in some lone and lowly spot, To melt, and to sink unseen, or forgot ? And there will my course be ended ?" Twas this a feathery Snow-flake said, As down through measureless space it stray d, Or as, half by dalliance, half-afraid, It seem d in mid-air suspended. " Oh, no !" said the Earth, " thou shalt not lie Neglected and lone on my lap to die, Thou pure and delicate child of the sky ! For thou wilt be safe in my keeping. But, then, I must give thee a lovelier form Thou wilt not be a part of the wintry storm, But revive, when the sunbeams are yellow and warm, And the flowers from my bosom are peeping ! " And then thou shalt have thy choice, to be Restored in the lily that decks the lea, In the jessamine-bloom, the anemone, Or aught of thy spotless whiteness : To melt, and be cast in a glittering bead, With the pearls that the night scatters over the mead, In the cup where the bee and the fire-fly feed, Regaining thy dazzling brightness. " Or, wouldst thou return to a home in the skies, To shine in the Iris I ll let thee arise, And appear in the many and glorious dyes A pencil of sunbeams is blending ! But true, fair thing, as my name is Earth, I ll give thee a new and vernal birth, When thou shalt recover thy primal worth, And never regret descending !" We must not conclude without mentioning- two other maidens, whose early genius and fate have excited deep sympathy both in Europe and America. Dr Davidson, a respectable physician at Plattsburg in the state of New York, had a daughter Lucretia, to whom his narrow circumstances allowed him to give only the education afforded by a public school on the Lancasterian system. She soon showed an ardent thirst for knowledge, and after being taught rudely to trace the letters, began writing short pieces of poetry. They were carefully THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 187 concealed, and only discovered by the disappearance of the paper employed. Different opinions then pre vailed among her friends as to the propriety of culti vating this intellectual taste. In compliance with some, she for a time renounced it; but her health then sunk ; she became pale and emaciated, and with her mother s concurrence resumed her studies. Mean time she was diligent in her domestic duties, and on being presented by a gentleman with twenty dollars, which she would have ardently desired to spend in books, preferred to take them to her father, whom she knew to be in difficulties. Another individual, possessed of property, and admiring her genius, undertook to place her in the distinguished seminary of Mrs Willard. She there applied to study with an ardour too intense for a constitution which had already shown symptoms of decline. Her health became deeply affected ; and after some time, and several changes of scene, she expired within a month of the age of seventeen. The precocity of her genius appears to us to have been overrated. Her poem on " Washington," written at twelve, though it first strongly drew her parents attention, contains little more than smooth versification ; and even that on the birth of her sister, when she was past fourteen, is rather commonplace. Yet not long after she addressed some verses to her sister Mrs Town- send, in which, amid great imperfections, an original genius is fully developed. When evening spreads her shades around, And darkness fills the arch of heaven ; When not a murmur, not a sound To Fancy s sportive ear is given ; When the broad orb of heaven is bright, And looks around with golden eye ; When Nature, soften d by her light, Seems calmly, solemnly to lie ; Then, when our thoughts are raised above This world, and all this world can give : Oh, sister, sing the song I love, And tears of gratitude receive. 188 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. The song which thrills my bosom s core, And hovering, trembles, half-afraid ; Oh, sister, sing the song once more Which ne er for mortal ear was made. Twere almost sacrilege to sing Those notes amid the glare of day, Notes borne by angels purest wing, And wafted by their breath away. When sleeping in my grass-grown bed, Shouldst thou still linger here above, Wilt thou not kneel beside my head, And, sister, sing the song I love ? The same observation may apply to the following : Thou brightly glittering star of even, Thou gem upon the brow of heaven, Oh ! were this fluttering spirit free, How quick twould spread her wings to thee. How calmly, brightly dost thou shine, Like the pure lamp in virtue s shrine ! Sure the fair world which thou mayst boast Was never ransom d, never lost. There beings pure as heaven s own air, Their hopes, their joys together share ; While hovering angels touch the string, And seraphs spread the sheltering wing. There cloudless days and brilliant nights, Illumed by heaven s refulgent lights ; There, seasons, years, unnoticed roll, And unregarded by the soul. Thou little sparkling star of even, Thou gem upon an azure heaven, How swiftly will I soar to thee, When this imprisoned soul is free ! In her sixteenth year, she wrote three " prophecies," one of which, though somewhat wild, displays such power that we cannot forbear quoting a portion : Let me gaze a while on that marble brow, On that full dark eye, on that cheek s warm glow ; Let me gaze for a moment, that, ere I die, I may read thee, maiden, a prophecy. That brow may beam in glory a while ; That cheek may bloom, and that lip may smile ; That full dark eye may brightly beam In life s gay morn, iu hope s young dream : THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 189 But clouds shall darken that brow of snow, And sorrow blight thy bosom s glow. I know by that spirit so haughty and high, I know by that brightly flashing eye, That, maiden, there s that within thy breast Which hath mark- d thee out for a soul unbless d. At Lucretia s death, her sister Margaret was just two years and a half old. She soon displayed great quick ness of parts, and hearing constantly from her parents of her sister, and their regrets for her loss, conceived an ardent ambition to supply her place to become all she had promised to be. Every facility was afforded, and she made rapid progress in her studies ; but about seven her health began to be affected. It was recruited by visits to Saratoga, and to her sister Mrs Townsend in Canada ; but relapses always occurred, and the disease being aggravated by a series of family distresses, came to a fatal termination, when she had lived only fifteen years and eight months. Her early pieces appear supe rior to those of her sister. The following at the age of six, after viewing a thunder-storm, may be considered re markable, as containingsome beauty, and not put together mechanically, but evidently out of her own thoughts : The lightning plays along the sky, The thunder rolls and bursts on high ; Jehovah s voice amid the storm I heard. Methinks I see his form, As riding o er the clouds of even, He spreads his glory o er the heaven, The following, written at ten, after the family had removed from a residence on the banks of Lake Cham- plain, though it does not reach any high strain, exhibits true poetic feeling joined to childlish simplicity in a manner extremely pleasing : Thy verdant banks, thy lucid stream, Lit by the sun s resplendent beam, Reflect each bending tree so light, Upon thy bounding bosom bright. Could I but see thee once again, My own, my beautiful Champlain ! The little isles that deck thy breast, And calmly on thy bosom rest ; 190 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. How often, in my childish glee, I ve sported round them bright and free. Could I but see thee once again, My own, my beautiful Champlain ! How oft I ve watched the freshening shower, Bending the summer tree and flower, And felt my little heart beat high, As the bright rainbow graced the sky. Could I but see thee once again, My own, my beautiful Champlain ! And shall I never see thee more My native lake, my much-loved shore ? And must I bid a long adieu My dear, my infant home, to you ? Could I but see thee once again, My own, my beautiful Champlain ! We have not, however, seen any pieces displaying great powers till towards the close of her career. One of the best is the " Address to the Spirit of Lucretia :" Oh, thou, so early lost, so long deplored ! Pure spirit of my sister, be thou near ! And while I touch this hallow d harp of thine, Bend from the skies, sweet sister, bend and hear ! For thee I pour this unaffected lay ; To thee these simple numbers all belong : For though thine earthly form has pass d away, Thy memory still inspires my childish song. Take then this feeble tribute : tis thine own Thy fingers sweep my trembling heart-strings o er, Arouse to harmony each buried tone, And bid its waken d music sleep no more ! Long has thy voice been silent, and thy lyre Hung o er thy grave, in death s unbroken rest ; But when its last sweet tones were borne away, One answering echo linger d in my breast. Oh ! thou pure spirit ! if thou hoverest near, Accept these lines, unworthy though they be, Faint echoes from thy fount of song divine, By thee inspired, and dedicate to thee ! It may thus be remarked, that neither of the sisters wrote any poetry of a high class till fifteen, an age not preternaturally precocious. Margaret s pieces are very THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 191 beautiful and pleasing, yet they want a certain ethereal tone which gives a charm to those of her sister. We cannot but lament the premature extinction in both of a genius which promised to be at once rich and delicate ; nor can we concur in predictions made even by respect able critics, that this genius was a mere vapour, which would have disappeared on their reaching maturity. There are many examples of great poets displaying their powers very early, without any such result. A reputation, founded on the exercise of memory or other lower faculties, may not be supported at an age when those of a higher order are demanded ; but we do not recollect an instance in which minds that early showed themselves " pregnant with celestial fire " have sunk down into apathy and stupidity. Our readers may now think that the evidences af forded of the fertility of the American muse are amply sufficient ; yet they must be told that a very consider able number of writers have been passed over, who rise decidedly above mediocrity. These less distin guished votaries of the muse display of course many diversities of style and genius, of which we could gladly have afforded specimens ; but our limits will not permit us to do more than give the following list of their names : Andrews Norton, born at Boston in 1786, for some time professor of sacred literature at Harvard ; R. H. Wilde of Baltimore, a member of congress, and distinguished in several branches of litera ture ; the Rev. Henry Ware, professor in Harvard college ; George Hill, born near Newhaven, attached to the navy as professor of mathematics ; James G. Brooks of New York ; Albert G. Greene of Providence ; William Leggett, the journalist, coadjutor of Bryant, who has paid an eloquent tribute to his character ; Sumner L. Fan-field, author of the Destruction of Pompeii and a number of other poems displaying considerable power; Rufus Dawes of Boston, an ac complished scholar ; the Rev. Walter Colton of Vermont, who, as naval chaplain, visited most of the countries on 192 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. the Mediterranean ; J. 0. Rockwell, a literary man, born at Lebanon in Connecticut, who died prematurely at the age of twenty-four ; John H. Bryant, brother to William, some portion of whose genius he shares ; Oliver W. Holmes, son to the annalist ; Park Benjamin, born in Demerara, editor of a popular literary gazette at New York ; Willis G. Clark, a native of New York state, editor of the Philadelphia Gazette till his death in 1841 ; Isaac McLellan of Portland, Maine ; William J. Pabodie of Providence ; William H. Burleigh of Connecticut ; Louis Legrand Noble of New York. There are also several bards of the other sex who can only be similarly enumerated : Mrs Seba Smith of Portland ; Mrs Emma C. Embury of Brooklyn ; Elizabeth E. Ellett, a lady learned in European litera ture, from which she made some good translations ; Lucy Hooper, who was born near Boston, and died at the age of twenty-four. In closing this portion of our subject, it may be briefly remarked, as a further proof of the wide spread poetical taste existing in America, that the casual votaries of the muse are by no means incon siderable either in numbers or ability. Mr Griswold, in an appendix to his poetical specimens, has given several single pieces, and sometimes two or three, from about seventy writers of this description, some of which might fairly be put in competition with the best pro ductions of the regular bards. In many cases, the author is a man engaged in public or other business, who, from the impulse of feeling, contributes an oc casional poem to a newspaper or some literary miscel lany. We may mention, in particular, Q,uincy Adams, ex-president ; Mr Everett, the orator and statesman ; Mrs Elizabeth Townsend of Boston ; and Governor Morris of New York. An occasional offering to the muses by persons engaged in commerce or public life is an occurrence certainly not peculiar to America, though perhaps more frequent there than elsewhere ; but the refined and elegant taste of a large number of her more THE LITERATURE OP AMERICA. 193 active citizens, which such a circumstance manifests, cannot but be regarded as an auspicious feature in the moral aspect of the republic. The romance and novel may be properly considered here as a branch closely allied to poetry, and to which the strong reading propensities of the American public are very much directed. The refined and ideal charac ter which distinguishes the national poetry, however, could scarcely be expected to be realized in a depart ment coming into such intimate contact with actual life. Accordingly, it deals principally in broad homely real ities, and reflects the bustling activity which pervades the social system. At the same time, we are not aware that any works of this class have been produced which can be considered immoral. William Brockden Brown, who first broke up the soil of American literature, employed himself chiefly in this species of composition. After applying first to the law, he became disgusted with it, like so many others, and, first among his countrymen, sought to earn a pre carious livelihood by periodical works, for which the taste was then only in its infancy, and by novel- writing. In these his aim was to excite interest by the display of the most violent and extreme passions and incidents : for instance, the hero of one, under a hallucination of mind, murders his wife and child. These are not legitimate modes of interesting and gratifying the human mind ; yet both the scenes and emotions are drawn with ex traordinary power, and when there was a prevailing taste for the daring machinery of the German school, these productions drew considerable attention. We are not aware that they have been received into the class of standard works ; but they made a movement upon the waters, which prepared the way for others of a more regular description. Brown died in 1810, when no rival had yet arisen. He was succeeded, after a considerable interval, by Cooper, who soon established a more solid reputation. 194 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. As he has been fully received among standard writers of that class in England, where no adventitious circum stance acted in his favour, it would be vain, as some have done, to deny to him the possession of substantial merit. His admirers have even placed him on a level with Scott, but we imagine without any sufficient reason. His defects are considerable. His wit, especially in the mouth of his heroines, is seldom either happy or well placed ; his dialogues are lengthy, and the efforts to make them natural do not always succeed ; nor do his characters usually excite much interest. Still he de lineates with peculiar force of outline both these and the aspect of nature, communicating to the whole a vivid reality which has seldom been equalled ; and his works possess a value in point of information, by bringing before us states of society that are new and peculiar. His pictures of sea-life are such as others have drawn, and the technical language makes them not very gener ally intelligible. But his representation of the vast unsubdued regions of the west, and the wild and rude beings by whom they are tenanted, is extremely curious. Born in New Jersey, he was early removed by his parents to a property which they possessed on the banks of a beautiful lake in the western part of New York. He there became familiar with forest life, and after wards served for several years with reputation in the navy, where he acquired materials for his marine nar ratives. Having then married and retired to a cot tage on Lake Otsego, he commenced the composition of his works. The reputation which they acquired in Europe induced him to spend some years on that continent. Having resided for a considerable time in Paris, he became the centre of a kind of political party, and took an active interest in the relief of the Polish refugees. His friends are strongly attached to him ; but his demeanour in general society has been a subject of criticism. In Europe he is censured as too sturdy an assertor of republican manners, while his country- THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 195 men heave complained that his residence abroad has given him an attachment to artificial and aristocratic life. Miss Sedgwick stands eminent as a writer of the same class, though in a quite different style. Born in the heart of the agricultural district of New England, she delineates and recommends those quiet, steady, re gular habits, which distinguish that very respectable population. These do not seem quite appropriate ele ments of romance ; yet she has succeeded in giving to them a deep interest, and where strong passion and feeling were called forth by the subject, has shown no want of power in expressing them. Several of her works include a large portion of the ordinary materials of novel-writing, in which she does not excel. The incidents introduced with this view are strained and improbable, and the attempts to describe fashionable manners are not happily executed. Later works, in which she has remained within her proper sphere, seem justly considered the best. The most laudable inten tions are obvious in all her compositions ; perhaps indeed the design to instruct is rather too obvious ; and there may be some prejudice in her strong hostility to the foreign refinements introduced by the wealthy and aris tocratic classes. There are not a few other writers of this class, who have even made their way into this country, but of whose merits we cannot here enter into a critical esti mate. Dr Bird, in his Adventures of Robin Day, Calavar, Nick of the Woods, &c., has displayed a vein of humour and pictures of common life, in a style some what resembling that of Smollett. Mr Ware, in three romances, has sought to exhibit the state of society in Palmyra, Rome, and Jerusalem, under the Roman empire. These works evince classic taste and fine poetic feeling. Merits somewhat similar may be dis covered in Mr Fay s Ida of Athens. We shall now proceed to the class of moral and lite rary essays, which, though less prolific than those now surveyed, includes perhaps the writers of the highest 196 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. rank, and who have most decidedly contributed to that measure of literary reputation which America enjoys. At their head, and at that of the literature of his coun try, stands decidedly the name of Washington Irving. Born and educated at New York, he at first, like so many others, aspired to the bar. He obtained one solitary brief ; but, as the time for pleading approached, his delicate and sensitive mind shrunk from this public appearance, and he handed it over to a friend. He then attempted trade, without finding a greater aptitude for this pursuit, and finally devoted himself entirely to letters. By his contributions to Salmagundi and other periodicals, he acquired the reputation of a man of talent. About 1819, he sailed for Europe, touching first at Sicily, whence he proceeded to England. Soon after his arrival there, he produced the first volume of the Sketch-book ; from which it is evident that though his genius doubtless re ceived an impulse from the number of new objects there presented, it must have been mainly formed in his native country. Since that time, his career has been in the foremost ranks of English literature ; and his works are so universally known, as to leave no occasion for speci mens, or even for any elaborate character. He may perhaps be considered the most finished and polished writer of an age, in which, among ourselves, the taste seems rather to be for rough energy and home-painting, while his is formed on the classic models of the age of Anne. The style, though it does not reach the loftiest heights of oratory and poetry, displays a rich and warm glow of feeling, and the reader is carried down a smooth stream of beautiful sentiments and images. Dr Channing, too, shall be considered under this class, though both his theme and tone are of a more lofty and serious cast. We are little acquainted with his theolo gical works, and do not conceive that we could assent to his views upon that subject ; but the manner in which he brings out religion as a ruling principle, not only over the actions, but the tastes, habits, and general pursuits of life, is peculiarly happy, and such as might with advan- THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. 197 tage be followed under any creed. His style is at once powerfully energetic and highly polished. It has been complained of as monotonous ; yet this seems rather to arise from a uniformly sustained elevation of thought, than from artificial and studied forms of expression, as in Johnson and Gibbon ; and hence it has not the same cloying effect. The North American Review boasts of it as in this department superior to that of any other living writer in the English language. We may, how ever, oppose to it that of Chalmers, which, though not so correct and classical, is superior certainly in rich imagery and varied illustration. As in the case of Mr Irving, his works are too well known to render any speci men necessary. History was a branch in which the United States to a late period remained very deficient. Fisher Ames, indeed, as above quoted, states reasons for thinking that it could not, at least for many ages, obtain successful cultivators ; but these obstacles have recently been overcome. Mr Bancroft, having undertaken the history of the United States, has applied himself with devoted zeal to this great task, and shown that there existed ample though somewhat scattered materials for an interesting narrative. In the collection of these a laudable industry has been employed ; his judgment, when not biassed by certain influences to be presently noticed, is sound ; and the philosophic surveys which he occasionally takes of por tions of history are particularly excellent. That of the English revolution, at the beginning of the second volume, though we do not know exactly why it got there, is one of the most masterly sketches of this kind we ever perused, we know nothing in Montesquieu superior to it. Amid such great merits, there is only one serious fault, which threatens a good deal to nullify them. A sort of amiable enthusiasm from time to time seizes him, and while it lasts, carries him considerably above the regions of fact and reality. Then, even when he has authentic documents before him, he prefers to draw from a beau ideal in his own imagination. The chords 198 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. which, when touched, excite this state of feeling, are pure democracy religious freedom, to the extent of separation between church and state and the indepen dence of America upon Great Britain. Whoever pro fesses any of these objects is at once divested in his eyes of every human imperfection, and becomes a being nearly angelic. The characters of Williams and Bacon, delineated almost entirely under these influences, are little better than specimens of romance. Unfortunately, as the work proceeds, this aerial tone rather gains ground ; and \ve are led to fear, that in later periods, when the principles above mentioned became the ruling impulses to national action, his career will be in a great measure among the clouds. We might otherwise have hoped that his research would have thrown light upon a period which, notwithstanding so much having been written upon it, is yet somewhat imperfectly known. Mr Prescott has presented the world with a history of Ferdinand and Isabella, a subject indeed interesting to America, yet placed in a remote region. The diffi culties arising from that cause were greatly aggravated by the circumstance that the author, during a great part of the time in which his researches were carried on, was completely blind, and obliged to have his materials read to him by a person who did not under stand the language. Under all these obstacles, he has produced a work which has thrown important new light on a great historical era. It may perhaps be remarked of him still more decidedly than of Bancroft, that the reflective part, the discussions, and general views are the best ; while the narrative scarcely pos sesses that degree of animation of which the subject might have been susceptible. Biography of public men expanded into somewhat of the historical form, has been much cultivated in America, and with success. The lives of Washington by Marshall and Sparks form the most conspicuous examples. Without aspiring to any great height either of style or research, they are careful, faithful, and agreeable. THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. ] 99 The same remark may apply to a number of the narra tives included in Mr Sparks series of American biography. M. de Tocqueville reproaches the Americans with a total indifference to the preservation of those state- papers and documents which form the materials of history, stating that he had been allowed, in important instances, to carry off the originals as things of no value. We know not whether this censure from one whom they respect has roused their attention to the subject ; but certainly, within the last twelve years, they have done much to redeem their reputation. There has been published at Washington, under the authority of congress, a collection in twenty-three folio volumes, which have afforded valuable materials for the present work. Mr Sparks has also produced, in twelve volumes, a valuable work containing the diplomatic correspondence carried on during the revolution. His torical societies formed in Massachusetts and other states have collected and published documents of great extent and value. The narration of voyages and travels, giving an ac count of the present state of the world, and of the dis covery of its unknown regions, has in modern times acquired an importance almost rivalling that of history, w r hile it is in some respects more attractive. In this department the Americans have risen to considerable eminence. Even congress has been induced to take a certain concern in its promotion ; though the object was principally to explore the almost unknown regions claimed as part of its territory. Thus, however, the ex peditions of Lewis and Clarke to the Pacific Ocean, of Schoolcraft to the sources of the Mississippi, of Pike, Long, and James to the territory along the Rocky Mountains, have made important additions to our knowledge of the continent and indeed of the world. The gentlemen employed in these expeditions were apparently well selected ; they performed their duty with energy, and have given interesting narratives of their observations. More recently other travellers, led by the desire of 200 THE LITERATURE OF AMERICA. knowledge to visit foreign countries, have acquired just claims to respect. Dr Robinson of New York is generally allowed to have observed the Holy Land and adjacent countries with greater accuracy, and thrown a fuller light on the locality of the memorable events there acted, than any of his numerous predecessors. On this consideration the Geographical Society of London, in 1842, presented him with their medal. Mr Stephens, by his observations on the oriental regions, and still more by his researches in Central America, narrated in an eloquent and pleasing style, has obtained a place among the most esteemed and most popular of modern travellers. Few more striking instances of courage and perseverance are on record than those displayed by Mr Catlin. Quitting the bosom of his family, he resided during several years in the tents of Indian savages, in spired with such hatred against his countrymen, that it seemed almost certain death to fall into their power. He has thus been enabled fully to paint and describe that remarkable race, which he anticipates will erelong disappear from the face of the earth. Under this head, we cannot but mention the long and wide wanderings performed by M. Audubon in collecting materials for his grand work on American ornithology. Now, indeed, that Britain has lost so many of her illustrious explorers, the Americans perhaps, as to those still surviving, may nearly rival her. There appears in what they under take a determined and thorough-going spirit, which, when fairly turned to the laudable objects treated in this chapter, may be expected to lead to very valuable results. The kindred branches of geographical delineation and statistics have also been pursued with industry and success. The works of Darby, Pitkin, Flint, &c., are elaborate and valuable. Government even has not been remiss in collecting such intelligence. The census of 1840 embraces many valuable particulars altogether omitted in that of Britain, which confines itself to a simple enumeration of the people. NATURAL HISTORY. 201 CHAPTER V. Geology Botany Zoology. SECTION i. GEOLOGY. Natural Divisions Alleghany Moun tains Lines of Elevation and Depression Primary Rocks Gold Transition Rocks Cliff Limestone Lead-mines Salt-springs Rock-salt Old Red Sandstone Mountain Limestone Iron-mines Coal Formation Anthracite Bituminous Coal Richmond Coal-field New Red Sandstone Ornithichnites Oolite Chalk Formation Tertiary De positsDriftPolished Rocks Alluvium Infusoria Ex tinct Mammalia Review of Changes. SECTION n. BOTANY. BotanicalRegions Natural Families Ranunculacese May Apple Papaveracese Magnolias Aniseed-tree Umbel- liferse Ginseng Vines Pitcher-plants Tree-primrose Witch Hazel Dogwood Cactaceee Cruciferso Violets Passion-flowers Loblolly Bay Maples Buck s Eye Lime-trees Euphorbiacese Roses Leguminous Plants Locust-tree Sumach Hornbeam Beech Chesnut Oak Birch Mulberry Elm Walnut Hickory Willow Plane-tree Sweet Gum Laurel Andromeda Azalea Holly Compositse Golden Rod Labiatse Solanacese Ash Pines Cabbage-tree Liliacese Grasses Conclu sion. SECTION in. ZOOLOGY. Birds Vulture Bald Eagle Bird of Washington Osprey Buzzards Hawks Screech- owl Virginian Owl Chuck- WilPs-Widow Whip-poor- Will Night Hawk Chimney-swallow Purple Martin Humming-bird Nuthatch Wrens Thrushes Mocking bird Fly-catcher King Bird Blue Jay Crow Raven Grakle Oriole Rice-birds Indigo-bird Nonpareil Carolina Parrot Woodpecker Cuckoo Passenger Pigeon Turtle-dove Turkey Quail Ruffed Grouse Crane Heron Ibis Snipe Woodcock Rail Canada Goose Widgeon Wood-duck Snake-bird Gulls Petrels Dol- chick. Reptiles Tortoises Cayman Rattlesnakes VOL. Ill, N 202 NATURAL HISTORY. Frogs Salamander. Fishes Perch Weakfish Drums- Sheep s Head Mackerel Mullet Carp Pike Flying- fish Salmon Smelt Herring Sturgeon Amblyopsis. SECTION I. GEOLOGY. THE central portion of the North American continent included in the territory of the United States, is divided into three great regions by mountain-chains. The first of these is the Atlantic slope, including the eastern declivity of the Alleghany Mountains, and the basins drained by the rivers that flow from them to that ocean. The second is the basin of the Mississippi, or more pro perly of the Missouri, comprising the vast central valley watered by these rivers and their innumerable tribu taries. The third region, or the Pacific slope, is enclosed between the shores of this ocean and the chain of the Rocky Mountains, which divides it from the former. Each of these divisions, surpassing most of the European kingdoms in size, has its own peculiar features, and is distinguished by soil, climate, and natural productions. The western portion, including the Rocky Mountains, with both their declivities, is little known, and our pre sent notice is limited to the first district, and that eastern part of the second which is already colonized. * The most important feature in this region is the Alleghany Mountains, which, rising up on the southern * A sketch of the various works on American geology, and a list of the different surveys of the separate states (now amount ing to about sixty in number, with teji or twelve thousand pages of letterpress), will be found in Hitchcock s Elem. Geol. p. 299-304, and Address to Ass. of Am. Geol. p. 6-9. A still more interesting account of its progress, by one of its earliest cul tivators, Professor Silliman, is contained in his admirable ad dress to the same association in 1842. In 1805, Dr Silliman visited Edinburgh in pursuit of science, and it is pleasing to observe his recognition of obligation to the distinguished geolo gists who then adorned " that focus of talent and knowledge," Professor Jameson and Dr John Murray, as followers of Werner ; Sir James Hall, Professor Playfair, and Professor T. Hope, in the school of Hutton. See his Journal, vol. xlv. p. 21 7-250. GEOLOGY. 203 shore of the St Lawrence, extend along the Atlantic coast for nearly 1200 miles, retiring farther into the interior as they proceed south. This range is broken up by numerous valleys, those transverse to the ridge forming the main courses of the rivers and the general lines of communication from the coast to the interior, as in the Erie and Chesapeake canals. The general direc tion of these mountains is from north-east to south-west, and the chain consists of several distinct ridges, separated by longitudinal valleys. Of these parallel ranges of mountains, those north of the Hudson have nearly a north and south direction, somewhat transverse to the general chain. Farther south, the partial lines of eleva tion coincide with the general axis ; and American geo logists distinguish four ranges in passing from the coast to the interior. These are named the Eastern system, the Blue Ridge, the Appalachian, and the Alleghany systems, the culminating point being Black Mountain, in North Carolina, 6476 feet high. In the south, the chain bends round towards the Mississippi ; and the Pro fessors Rogers distinguish nine groups, in five of which the axes are straight, whilst in the four that alternate with them they are curved. The full explanation of this remarkable system is however still wanting. To complete this view of the American mountains, we may add, that on the opposite side of the Mississippi, the Ozark and Masscrne Mountains unite with the former chain to shut in the upper valley, whose waters, gathered from a circuit of many thousand miles, here combine on their way to the Mexican Gulf. The Ozark group seems to form part of another anticlinal elevation dividing the western basin of the Mississippi from that of the Ohio, and in Canada pointed out by the water shed between Lake Huron on the one hand, and Erie and Ontario on the other. Between this range and the Al- leghanies is perhaps the longest continued line of depres sion on the earth, commencing in the Gulf of St Law rence, passing up that river, through Lakes Ontario and Erie, and thence down the valleys of the Ohio and Mis- 204 NATURAL HISTORY. sissippi, to the Gulf of Mexico. These lines of elevation and depression have had a powerful influence on the physical structure of the country, and in future ages are probably destined to exercise one equally conspicuous on the distribution of the population, with its civil and social relations. The same causes have determined the geographical distribution of the mineral masses and the grand geolo gical features of the country. The power which elevated the Alleghany range has also raised the whole central basin, with the recent formations it contains, so that the older and metamorphic strata appear only in the moun tains, and on their slope towards the sea. There is thus a band of primary rocks, which, commencing in Maine and the New England States, where it covers almost the whole country, extends south to the Hudson. Beyond this, with a short interruption, it forms another band, eighty to a hundred miles wide, as far south as the Alabama river, where it is lost below the alluvium of the Mississippi. West of this river, the Rocky Moun tains consist of similar primary formations, broken through by volcanic eruptions, which, though unknown in the east, are here said to cover a vast extent of ter ritory. It would appear that primary rocks also connect this range with those in the upper part of New York ; almost enclosing on three sides the central basin, in which is contained an immense deposit of secondary and more recent strata, which are also found in con siderable abundance along the Atlantic coast. The general structure of the country is thus very simple ; and we shall now notice the principal forma tions, beginning with the lowest or primary. As already mentioned, this covers, with few exceptions, all the northern states. In New Jersey, it is interrupted by a band of red sandstone, running south to Virginia and North Carolina ; but the primary rocks appear again at Trenton, and thence form the whole of the eastern system of mountains. Their limit, on the east, is marked by a series of falls or rapids in the rivers, which are GEOLOGY. 205 precipitated over the ledge formed by their outcrop. As the tide cannot ascend higher, many of the large cities are situated near this boundary. The falls mark ing it are seen near Trenton on the Delaware, Phila delphia on the Schuylkill, near Baltimore, at George town on the Potomac, Richmond on James River, Munford Falls on the Roanoke, east of Raleigh, near Camden on the Pedee River, near Milledgeville on the Oconee, whence the boundary curves round to the Mississippi, near Natchez. In the latter part of their course they contract rapidly in breadth, especially in Georgia, where they leave the Atlantic basin. This formation consists of igneous and metamorphic rocks, similar to those in our own country. Of the former, granite sometimes porphyritic or graphic, at others sienitic is the most common, though seldom forming large masses. It has sometimes an irregular, crystalline structure, dividing into large rhomboidal fragments. In South Carolina and Georgia, the whole rock, to a depth of thirty or forty feet, is often decom posed into separate crystals of quartz, felspar, and mica, almost without cohesion. In New England, a sienitic variety, in which the mica is replaced by hornblende, is largely used for architectural purposes. This forms a transition from the true granite to the porphyries and greenstones connected with it, which are also very abundant, the igneous rocks in Massachusetts covering nearly a fourth of the surface. Of these, there seems to have been very many eruptions, Professor Hitchcock finding no less than eleven systems of veins in one place near Salem. Serpentine, usually classed as ig neous, is, according to this observer, often stratified and associated with talcose slate. It is very abundant, and furnishes, in several places, a beautiful ornamental stone, named verd-antique marble. More certainly stratified is gneiss, in many varieties and great extent, forming perhaps near half the formation. Along with it mica- slate is very common, less so hornblende-slate, clay- 206 NATURAL HISTORY. slate, and talc or chlorite slate, the last rare in the gneiss. Primary or granular limestone is also abundant. In Essex county, west of Lake Champlain, Professor , Emmons describes a large formation of a granitic rock, composed of blue or green Labrador felspar and hypers- thene, which takes a beautiful polish, and, like the whole primary formation, contains numerous beds and veins of iron-ore. The granite in this and St Lawrence county, he also states to contain genuine injected veins of limestone ; and hence, witli some European geologists, he proposes to class this rock among the unstratified or igneous.* The whole north-western border of the pri mary rocks, from Alabama to Canada, presents a con tinuous belt of this rock, in general more or less mag- nesian. As this mineral prevails, the marks of strati fication become more indistinct, till they almost dis appear in the pure dolomite, which is most abundant near faults, igneous rocks, and the oldest gneiss. These facts show that the limestones are merely metamorphic deposits, altered by heat and sublimation from below, and not, as Rozet and Emmons suppose, original plutonic formations. The carbon found in the mica and talc slates, near the limestone, is also a result of this high temperature, perhaps produced by the decomposition of the carbonic acid of the calcareous rock. Throughout the whole range of the mountains, from Tennessee to New England, these rocks seem to have been, elevated, folded together, and in some degree in verted. The general dip of the strata is at a high angle to the east, yet the most recent beds are found on the west, apparently covered by the older members of the series. Professor Hitchcock and others suppose that the strata, whilst yet flexible, have been compressed by powerful forces at the extremities, and consequently folded together, but other explanations have been given. Be the cause what it may, it has occasioned considerable * New York Reports for 1837-1838, p. 196. GEOLOGY. 207 difficulty in tracing the relations of this and the next formation.* The principal deposit of gold in the United States occurs in these primary rocks, between the river Rappa- hannock, in Virginia, and the Coosa, in Alabama ; but it has also been found as far north as Somerset in Ver mont, and south to the Gulf of Mexico. Its original locality is in veins of porous quartz traversing the talc- slate, and more rarely the gneiss and mica-slate, but most is procured from the stream mines in the debris of these rocks. The gravel is washed by negroes, who each collect, in general, from one to five dwts. a-day, though in some instances even 120 dwts. have been pro cured. From 1823 to 1836, the gold sent from this district to the mint of the United States amounted to 4,377,500 dollars, and the actual produce was estimated at twice this amount. Remains of arrow-heads and other instruments are found buried in these deposits.t Above this is an immense continuous formation, corresponding to the transition and older secondary rocks of England. These form all the ranges of the Alleghanies, except the eastern primary system, and all the interior of the country, covering, in the United States and British America, an area 2000 miles long by 1200 wide, or two and a half million square miles. The amount of strata is no less enormous, those below the coal having been estimated as five and a half miles thick ; and in Pennsylvania Professor Rogers makes them, in cluding this, two miles more, or 40,000 feet in all. It is thus difficult to give a general view of this immense deposit, especially as much confusion, both in the nomen clature and arrangement, prevails among the American writers. The old classification of Professor EatonJ is now seldom used, and more recent geologists are en- * Hitchcock s Geology (2d Edition, New York, 1841), pp. 36, 37. f Trans, of Penns. Geol. Soc., vol. i. p. 147. J This may be found in Silliman s Journal, vol. xiv. ; or somewhat modified, ib., vol. xxxvi. 208 NATURAL HISTORY. deavouring to establish a parallel with the English for mations described by Mr Murchison. Mr Conrad affirms that this classification applies, in a more clear and satis factory manner, to the rocks of America than to those of Europe, since the series is certainly more complete, and the organic remains more abundant in species. He also affirms, that " the inhabitants of the seas (in which these rocks were deposited) have been destroyed, and new creatures succeeded at five different epochs, and one of these groups is no more to be compared with an other than is the oolite with the green sand formation." * The lowest beds of this formation are a series of graywacke, clay-slate, and limestone rocks, which Mr Conrad names the Silurian System, and classes in four divisions : 1. Hudson s slates ; 2. Calciferous and Pots dam sandstones ; 3. Mohawk limestone ; 4. Sparry lime stone. These are spread over the greater portion of New York, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee, terminating in the hilly region of Northern Alabama, where some of the New York deposits have been recog nised. Mr Lyell, however, considers the Mohawk lime stone and the associated rocks, seen on the shore of Lake Ontario, as older than the lower silurian beds in Eng land. The next beds are the Ontario and Protean groups of Hall, the former consisting of red marls and sandstone, the latter of dark shale with graptolites, and limestone full of the Pentamerus oblonyus and P. Icevis. These groups, according to Conrad, represent the Caradoc sandstones of Murchison ; but Lyell regards them as equivalent to the lower silurian rocks of that author. * Silliman s Jour., vol. xxxv. p. 246. New York Reports for 1839, p. 200. In vol. xxxviii. will be found his arrange ment of the formations, twenty-four in number, below the coal, with the corresponding English rocks. The fossil species common to the Silurian rocks of Wales and the United States are, in the Caradoc sandstone, six shells and two trilobites ; in the Weulock shale, four shells and one trilobite ; in the Wenlock limestone, eight corals, nine shells, and two trilobites ;. and in the Ludlow rocks, four shells ; or, in all, eight corals, twenty-three shells, and five trilobites, that is, thirty-six fossil species. GEOLOGY. 209 Iii the north-east of New York and Canada, they dip at a low angle to the south, and near the Mohawk river and Erie are lost under the newer formations, but again appear at Columbus and Cincinnati, in Ohio, where the rock named the blue limestone, at least a thousand feet thick, forms the base of this and the neighbouring state of Indiana, and terminate on the south, in Tennessee. In Saratoga county, one of the limestone beds produces a fine-grained, durable marble, and marks, " like those produced in soft mud by drops of rain," have been ob served on one of the strata, at Glen s Falls on the Hud son.* On the Mississippi, above Dubuque, the lower limestones of this group are said again to appear, and thin beds of limestone and shale, corresponding to the upper part in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. Above this is the Wenlock shale of Conrad, the most important member of which is the Lockport limestone, composing, with the inferior Rochester shales, the Niagara group of Hall. In the east of New York this system is thin, but increases much, especially the lime stone, towards the west, and at the falls is at least 200 feet thick. Its fossils are partly identical with those of England, partly peculiar to America. Near Niagara the limestone is regularly stratified, and of a blueish or brownish-gray colour, fine granular texture, and vitre ous or resinous lustre. It contains bitumen, and also in cavities an hydrous gypsum and fluor spar. The gypsum forms flattened masses mostly five or ten tons in weight, but varying from a few pounds to even fifty tons. In Western Ohio this, " the cliff limestone," forms the most important rock, and attains a great thickness at Louisville in Kentucky and Madison in Indiana. It increases still more in Northern Illinois, and in Wiscon sin and Iowa, having a thickness of several hundred feet (550 according to Professor Owen) on the Mississippi. It is here nearly horizontal, with a slight dip to the south, and is very deeply cut by ravines. The princi- Mather, New York Reports, p. 97. 210 NATURAL HISTORY. pal lead-mines of the western territory are in this forma tion, the mining district extending 87 miles from east to west, and 54 from north to south, the annual produce being about thirty million pounds of lead. Even in New York, sulphurets of lead and zinc, in veins or de tached masses, occur in this rock, but in this western region are very common, the veins being often twelve inches thick. Copper ore is also met with, but in far less amount.* The Wenlock limestones of Conrad correspond with the " Onondaga salt group " and the " Helderberg lime stones of Hall." The former of these differ essentially from any of the British Silurian deposits, more resembling the new red sandstone of that country. It consists of red and green marls, with beds of gypsum, covered by a limestone stratum, and attains its greatest thickness of 800 to 1000 feet in the central parts of New York, thinning rapidly out on the east. It retains its full dimensions as far west as the Niagara river, but disap pears almost entirely on the Ohio near Louisville. All the important brine-springs of the United States are in this formation ; but rock-salt has only been found in one place in the south-west of Virginia, about 18 miles from Abingdon. The rocks here are sandstone and marly clay, but at 60 feet deep a bed of gypsum, 160 feet thick, was struck, and below it one of salt, 60 to 70 feet thick. The springs contain from 10 to 20 per cent, of salt, the strength of the brine increasing with the depth of the bor ing, which is necessary in all places. Some of them are 1000 feet deep, and on the Muskingum some are 300 feet below the level of the ocean. In 1840, the springs in New York produced 2,867,884 bushels of salt, and those in Virginia, 1,745,618 bushels ; the whole amount manufactured in the States being 6,179,174 bushels. t * Silliman s Jour., vol. xliii. pp. 35-72, 147-149. t Hitchcock s Elem. Geol., p. 190. Hildreth in Silliman s Jour., vol. xxix. p. 1-154. For comparison with the above, it may be mentioned that the Cheshire springs in England contain 25 per cent, of salt ; sea-water about 4 per cent. In Southern GEOLOGY. 211 The Helderberg limestone has its greatest thickness (ahout 500 feet) in the mountains of that name, in Al bany county, and Schoharie ; but before reaching Niagara river becomes very thin, and in Western Kentucky and Indiana can scarcely be distinguished from the Niagara limestone with which it is in contact. The Ludlow rocks of Murchison are represented by a great group of fossiliferous shales and sandstones, well seen near the Cayuga and Seneca lakes. In New York, it is upwards of 1000 feet thick, and contains a greater number of individual fossils than nearly all the other groups ; but westward, at Louisville in Kentucky and in Indiana, is represented by about 100 feet of black shale, nearly or quite destitute of fossils. Above this is the representative of the Devonian or Old Red Sandstone formation of Europe. In New York, the lower part of this is named the Chemung group, and has been recognised by Mr Lyell as bearing a most striking lithological similarity to the lower part of this formation in Forfarshire and other parts of Scotland, both in the thinly laminated gray sandstones and asso ciated green shales. This group here is 1000 to 1500 feet thick, but thins out west, being little more than 100 at the Cuyahoga Falls in Ohio. With the Portage and Gardeau rocks it forms the whole shore of Lake Erie, from Dunkirk to Cleveland in Ohio ; the lower portions in this state being mostly shale, the middle sandstone, and the upper flagstones and shale. It contains very few fossils, but is marked with " casts of mud furrows," which in New York distinguish the Gardeau rocks. Farther west, in Indiana, these groups are about 300 feet thick, the higher portions being sandstone, with cuneiform masses of limestone, composed of crinoidal fragments and broken shells, and sometimes oolitic. A Russia, the Elton Lake has from 25| to 29 per cent, of salt ; but less than a half of this generally common salt (chloride of so dium). Other lakes near it contain from 19 to 24 per cent, of this mineral, with only 2 per cent, of other salts. See Rose, Reise iiach dem Ural, vol. ii. pp. 264, 269. 212 NATURAL HISTORY. red sandstone at Blossburg in Pennsylvania contains scales, which Mr Conrad refers to the Holoptychus nobi- lissimus, and has on this account been identified with the upper Devonian rocks of Britain. It thins out, however, near the Genessee river in New York, so that in the west of this state and in Ohio the coal formation rests directly on the former or Chemung group. In In diana, Illinois, and Kentucky, a limestone rock inter venes, some of whose fossils (Products) have been iden tified with those of the carboniferous or mountain lime stone of Britain, the most characteristic being, however, various species of Pentremites. The lower part of this rock is compact, very fine grained, and in part fit even for lithographic purposes ; the upper is coarser, contain ing chert or hornstone, and on the top oolitic. The mining district of Missouri, lying south of the river, seems to be situated in this limestone, which is here broken through by granite. Copper and lead ores are abundant in the stratified rock, and specular iron ore in a porphyry connected with the igneous formations. Pilot Knob, five hundred feet high, and Iron Mountain, con sist almost entirely of this ore, yielding seventy per cent, of metal. This rock seems to differ altogether both in character and position from any of the New York lime stones, but is of great extent in the west, from Pennsyl vania at least to Fort Leaven worth on the Missouri, and north to St Anthony s Falls on the Mississippi."" * Hall, New York Reports, and Notes on the Geology of the Western States, Sill. Jour., vol. xlii. p. 51 ; Ib., vol. xlv. p. 55- 72. Proc. of Amer. Geol. Assoc. for 1843 ; Ib., vol. xlv. pp. 157, 340. In the last-mentioned limestone rock, on a slab ex posed in the river-bed at St Louis, are figures of two human feet, which have been described by Schoolcraft and Mantell (who calls the rock sandstone) as actual marks, impressed when the rock was still soft. Dr Owen, in whose possession they now are, sees in them " no incredible display of anatomical knowledge or artistic skill ; nothing more than we may fairly attribute to the observant and ingenious Indian," and considers them artificial. The acute remark of Leonhard, that the im pressions are isolated, and the footsteps of the walking man not to be followed farther, leave no doubt that this is the correct GEOLOGY. 213 The next great series of rocks is the Coal Formation. One great basin of these deposits is found in Pennsylvania and Ohio, the fundamental rock being a coarse gray or drab sandstone and conglomerate. In Ohio, the fine sandstone is estimated at 25 to 350 feet thick, the con glomerate at 100 to 600, and the superior coal formation at 2000 feet. This basin covers about 24,000 square miles, and is bounded near the centre of Ohio by a line running north-east and south-west. Beyond this an ticlinal axis the formation re-appears, occupying the south-west of Indiana, a large portion of Illinois, even extending in a narrow belt across the Mississippi, and south of the Ohio, stretching through Kentucky into Tennessee, this immense basin equalling in area almost the entire island of Great Britain. In Missouri another unconnected coal deposit exists. The same conglomerate rock, preserving its essential character and fossils, still forms the base of the formation, which probably was at one time continuous over all these states. As coal is found even on the eastern declivity of the Rocky Mountains, it is no improbable supposition that one vast formation once reached from them to the Alle- ghanies, of which the basins mentioned are the remnants. The coal found in this formation is of two kinds, the bituminous, and the anasphaltic coal or anthracite. In Europe the latter is more commonly associated with transition rocks, and this was formerly supposed to be the case also with that of the new world. But it is now considered identical in age with the coal of the Ohio basin and the similar deposits of Britain. This is proved by itsfibrous structure in some parts, marking its vegetable origin, and by the beds of fire-clay, containing the Stig- maria ficoides and other coal-plants, on which the an thracite rests. Its peculiar character is undoubtedly view. Schpolcraft, Sill. Jour., vol. v. Mantell, Wonders of Geol., vol. i. p. 65. Owen in Sill. Jour., vol. xliii. p. 14-32 and plate. Hitchcock, Elem. Geol., p. 153. Leoiihard, Populaere Geologic. 214 NATURAL HISTORY. owing to the proximity of the igneous formations of the east, the coal always becoming more bituminous as its distance from these increases.* This variety is chiefly found in Pennsylvania, between the Susquehanna and Delaware, forming three fields, two of them about sixty miles long by five broad, and the other somewhat smaller. The beds generally vary from three to twenty-eight feet in thickness, but one extending throughout the whole region is from twenty-two to fifty feet thick, and in one place sixty-five seams have been counted. At Black- spring gap the aggregate amount of the coal is not less than ninety feet. Argillaceous carbonate of iron in beds or masses also occurs ; and the whole region is rising into much importance for its coal and mines, as the fol lowing statement shows. From 1820 to 1824, anthra cite was only dug in one place, and the produce rose from 365 to 9541 tons. The next year new mines were opened, and in 1829 the produce was 111,403 tons ; in 1835, 557,508 tons ; in 1840, 863,489 tons. Its use is also no longer confined to the manufacture of iron or other purposes where a strong heat is required, but from the absence of smoke and dust it is often preferred, for warming rooms, to the bituminous coal.t Bituminous coal prevails in the extensive basins on the opposite side of the Alleghanies. In Ohio, the strata are nearly horizontal, or form long sloping ridges, and have been pierced to a depth of 1000 feet without meeting the inferior beds. Gray, ash-coloured, and brown sandstone, of quartz and mica, in a basis of clay or lime, is the most abundant rock, and often at its out crop forms mural precipices 100 feet high. Near the eastern mountains, \vhere the coal is also less bitumin ous, it becomes red in some cases. The beds seldom exceed six feet in thickness, though a few are eight to * Silliman s Jour., vol. xl. p. 370 Analyses of Coal. ^ Taylor in Sill. Jour., vol. xli. p. 80. Trans, of Pennsylvania Geol. Soc., vol. i. p. 193. Rogers, Report on Pennsyl. for 1838, p. 84. Logan, Proceedings of London Geol. Society, March GEOLOGY. 215 ten, and one on the Monongahela eleven feet thick, the quality improving with the dimensions. Only three or four workable seams are yet known, hut probably others exist. Along with this mineral, slate clay, shale, limestone, and marl abound. The structure and com position of the more western basins, so far as they are known, are nearly similar, and all of them have a strong resemblance to the same formation in Britain. Even the fossil remains, at least the genera, are common in both regions, those of America being Lepidodendra, two feet in diameter, Calamites of great size, Sigillaria with numerous perfectly preserved bristling spines, and many ferns. In the upper part of the Illinois coal-field in. Indiana, several stumps of fossil palms standing erect, and with the roots attached, have very recently been discovered, and appear to have been quietly submerged in the place where they grew."* Near Richmond in Virginia a curious coal-field occurs, resting immediately on granite. It is about fifty miles long by twelve broad, and consists of shales, grits formed from the primary rocks, and two or three beds of coal from eleven to forty feet thick, the aggregate in some pits being fifty-two feet. The coal sometimes rests directly on the granite, or with only a few inches of shale interposed, and fills the inequalities of this igneous rock. It is highly bituminous, though of inferior quality below, where it contains sulphur and much in flammable gas. Taylor described it as a transition forma tion ; but Professor W. B. Rogers refers it nearly to " the bottom of the oolite formation of Europe, as its fossils of the genera Equisetum, Taeniopteris, and Cycadites or Pterophyllum, either agree specifically or correspond nearly with those of the oolite coal of Brora and the equivalent beds at Whitby."t * Hildreth on the Ohio Coal-field. Sill. Jour., vol. xxix. S. 1-154. Mather, Reports on Ohio for 1837 and 1838. Sill, our., vol. xl. p. 126 ; vol. xlv. p. 336. t Taylor, Trans, of Pennsyl. Geol. Soc., vol. i. p. 275-297. Rogers, Ass. of Am. Geol. for 1842. Sill. Jour., vol. xliii. p. 175. Ib., p. 1-14. 216 NATURAL HISTORY. Perhaps a somewhat older period should be ascribed to them, as in the superior beds Mr Redfield has found a fish of the genus Catopterus, three other species of which occur in the red sandstone farther north. Ac cording to Professor Hitchcock, this formation fills ex tensive troughs in the primary rocks, and consists of red or gray sandstones, slates, and shales, associated with beds of limestone and calcareous breccia. It occurs in Maine and the valley of the Connecticut, and a wide belt runs from New Jersey south-west through Pennsyl vania, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. Through out this whole extent from Nova Scotia to Virginia, it is associated with ores of copper, bituminous shale, and protruding masses of greenstone, and the rocks, with a few local exceptions, have a general north- west dip. In the northern part of this formation, the Messrs Redfield have found five species of fossil fish, of the genus Palceo- jiiscus Agass.y and three of the Catopterus Red., to which three new species have recently been added. Hence, and from its lithological characters, it has been considered as the equivalent of the new red sandstone of Europe. Professor Rogers also identifies some of this series in Virginia with the keuper of Europe. In the same rock in Massachusetts and Connecticut, fossil footmarks, sup posed to be those of birds, and hence named Ornithich- nites, were observed by Dr Deane in 1834. Some of these are small, the foot being only half an inch long, and the step three or four inches ; others have a foot fifteen to seventeen inches long, with a step of four to six feet. These marks are very distinct, in some cases showing the lobate form of the joints of the toes, and in one case even " the pitted, ridged, and furrowed skin of the botiom of the foot." Professor Hitchcock has de scribed twenty-seven varieties of these impressions, seven teen of which he has no doubt were, as he originally stated, formed by the feet of birds walking on the soft mud of the yet unconsolidatcd rock ; the remainder he thinks may have been formed by saurian animals. The largest bird is conjectured to have stood from twelve to GEOLOGY. 217 sixteen feet high, thus surpassing even the dinornis of New Zealand, whose height is now reduced to ten feet. Along with the foot-marks, impressions of rain-drops also occur. Professor Hitchcock s view of these fossils is now almost universally received, notwithstanding the unwill ingness, on theoretic grounds, of some geologists to admit the existence of such highly organized animals at so early a period.* The full development of the older fossiliferous rocks, and their parallelism to those, of Europe, is here inter rupted. As mentioned, some strata connected with the last group have been described as more recent, and Mr Conrad announces the discovery of " well-characterized and undoubted oolite in the state of Ohio, where it contains two European species of Trigonia, both of which are restricted to this system."t This, however, does not fill the immense gap down to the cretaceous system, the next well known extensive deposit. In the United States, true chalk is wanting, and the formation more resembles the green sand of Europe. The generic re semblance of the fossils is, however, so strong, that no doubt is entertained of the identity of this with the cretaceous formation, though, of about 200 species from the Atlantic states, only one, the Belcmnites mucronatus, found in NewJersey and Alabama, seems common to Europe. Other identical or closely resembling species have, however, been mentioned ; and it is said that among the fishes are several species of sharks, some of which are found in the English chalk. Besides these, remains of tortoises and saurian reptiles, as the plesio- saurus, ichthyosaurus, mososaurus, and batrachiosaurus, also occur. This formation has been found near New * Hitchcock, Sill. Jour., vol. xxix. p. 307. Report on Geol. Mass., vol. ii. p. 464, - &c. Elem. Geology, p. 151-156. Also, Buckland s Bridgewater Treatise, vol. ii. p. 39. Sill. Jour., vol. xli. pp. 24, 165, and vol. xlv., containing letters of Drs Deane, Mantell, and Owen, p. 177-188. Mr Lyell, ib., p. 394 ; .also p. 314. + New York Report for 1841, p. 44. VOL. III. 218 NATURAL HISTORY. York, and occupies a wide zone, from New Jersey south west to Alabama, with much of Mississippi, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Arkansas. Mr Lyell has shown that the beds* classed as an upper division of this formation, and supposed to form a passage from the secondary to the tertiary systems, truly belong to the latter. This is the case with the Wilmington limestone and con glomerate, and also with the white limestone of the Santee river in South Carolina, which, though resem bling the chalk rocks of New Jersey, contains only tertiary fossils.* This formation, also without chalk or flint, has lately been described by Mr Nicollet as covering a vast tract of country in the west, he having traced it from the mouth of the Sioux river, where it rests immediately on the carboniferous limestone, for four hundred miles west. The rocks are in ascending order, argillaceous limestone, calcareous marl, ferruginous clay containing selenite, and plastic clay with many fossils. In the last, iron pyrites and lignite are abundant, which sometimes take fire, and produce much dense smoke, whence has originated the opinion that true volcanoes exist in that region. In about twenty fossils from this district, four agree with those of the east (Ammonites placenta, A. Conradi, Baculites ovata, Belemnites mucronatus), the last also found in the chalks of Europe. Others are remains of fishes, saurians, and a species of turtle.^ Tertiary formations occupy much extent in the United States. They first appear in the island of Martha s Vineyard, on the coast of Massachusetts. They are again found in New Jersey, whence they extend south, covering most of the low country south-east of the boundary line of the primary formation formerly traced as far south as Louisiana. They are thus of very great extent, and present considerable diversity of mineral * Proceedings of Geol. Soc. for May 1842. Sill. Jour., vol. xli. p. 182. Hitchcock, Elem. Geol., pp. GO, 331. t Ass. of Am. Geol. for 1843. Sill. Jour., vol. xlv. p. 153-156. GEOLOGY. 219 character. Beds of limestone, conglomerate, slaty clays, red loam, siliceous burr-stone or mill-stone, and white or red sand, are very common, the materials in many places being plainly derived from the decomposition of the neighbouring primary rocks. The fossils seem very numerous, and have enabled Mr Lyell to class many of the local formations, in conformity with the division he has proposed for the similar rocks in the Old World. Thus, from the Miocene series, two hundred and thirty- eight shells, of which thirty-eight are recent, are known to Mr Conrad. Details regarding this formation are too local to be generally interesting, even would our limits admit of them. We shall only mention the beds of fossil infusoria, from twelve to thirty feet thick, and extending over large areas, found by Professor W. B. Rogers in the tertiary deposits of Virginia, where, he says, they often separate the Eocene from the Miocene beds, but also occur included among the latter.* The superficial deposits of America have recently attracted much attention in connexion with glacier and aqueous action. Professor Hitchcock gives the follow ing account of the lithological characters and superposi tion of the drift or diluvium : " The principal mass consists of coarse sand, pebbles, and boulders, often several feet in diameter, usually mixed together con fusedly, but sometimes exhibiting, at least for small distances, more or less of a stratified arrangement. This mass of detritus, not unfrequently one hundred feet thick, occupies the lowest position ; that is, rests im mediately on the smoothed and striated rocks in place. Sometimes there is mixed with it fine sand or mud ; and occasionally a limited mass of clay, appearing as if out of its original position. Above this deposit, in most of the larger valleys, as those of the Hudson, Connec ticut, and Penobscot, and in many of the smaller ones, Lyell, Proceedings of Geol. Soc., May 1842, Feb. 1843, &c. Rogers Report on Virginia for 1840, p. 28. Sill. Jour., yol. xliii. p. 329 ; yol. xlv. p. 313. 220 NATURAL HISTORY. we find horizontal layers of fine blue clay, rarely as much as one hundred feet thick. Above the clay, and of less thickness, we have a bed of sand, becoming coarser towards the top, and exhibiting sometimes at its surface marks of a stronger movement in the waters by which it was deposited, than could have taken place while the clay was in a course of formation. Scattered over the whole surface, but confined chiefly to the region abounding in gravel, we find insulated blocks, sometimes rounded and sometimes angular." * We may add, that, as in Europe, the direction of this drift has been in general from the north or north-west to the south and south-east, even where the mountain ridges are placed transverse to this. In the west of New York, its progress has been west of south ; and in other parts of that state it also seems to have varied somewhat from its normal course. The boulders are generally traced to rocks in the north, and the drift seems universal over the whole country. Vast numbers of fragments of primary rocks are strewed over the valley of the Missouri, and are found at Natchez on the Mississippi. Mounds of detritus, described as moraines, are also very common, and the smoothed, striated, and furrowed surfaces of rocks, now so generally ascribed to glacier action, occur in every quarter of the country. In New Hampshire, they have been seen on Mount Monadnock 3250 feet, and on Mount Katahdin 4000 feet high. The cause of these phenomena, whether glaciers, diluvial floods, or oceanic currents, is still too much matter of hypothesis and controversy to be noticed here.t Still more recent or alluvial formations are found on most of the river banks and near their mouths. That at the mouth of the Mississippi is the most extensive, and is rapidly increasing from the sediment brought down Hitchcock s Address to Ass. of Am. Geol. 1841, p. 1.0. t Hitchcock, Address, &c., p. 19-23- Elem.Geol., p. 193-220. Also the State Reports, and many notices in the recent volumes of Silliman s Journal. GEOLOGY. 221 by that immense river, having advanced several leagues even since New Orleans was built. To this class also belong the beds, many feet thick, of infusoria found be low peat in swamps in New York, Massachusetts, and other parts of the country. In these the species are nearly the same, and all of them now living, the most being referable to the brackish fresh-water forms of the seacoast, although some of them are now found at a great distance from it. Ehrenberg mentions one hundred and forty- three species from North and South America as common to Europe, and seventy-one, or a third, as pe culiar to the western continent.* In this, or the drift, are also found many remains of animals of more gigantic bulk, and a higher class of beings. These are extinct mammalia of the following species, Elephas primogenius, Mastodon maximus, Megatherium, Megalonyx, Cervus Americanus or Fossil Elk, and the Walrus. A celebrated locality for these is the Big Bone Lick in Kentucky, in diluvium, from which Mr Cooper estimates that bones be longing to one hundred skeletons of the mastodon, twenty of the elephant, one of the megalonyx, three of the ox, and two of the elk, have already been carried away. The animals are supposed to have been attracted thither by the salt-springs existing even at that early period, when many of the weaker individuals, crushed down, among the immense herds, found a grave in this spot. Descriptions of these animals may be seen in Dr Buck- land s and other treatises on geology. In some parts of the country, as for example near the Falls of Niagara, bones of the mastodon have been found associated with shells of existing species, showing that, geologically, the date of their extinction is very recent, though probably anterior to the introduction of man into the western, continent. The report of one found in Missouri, with fragments of its skin and sinews, which is supposed to have been killed and burnt by the Indians, would require " Silliman s Jour., vol. xliii. pp. 394, 328 ; vol. xxxix. p. 193, 222 NATURAL HISTORY. confirmation.* No bone caverns similar to those of Europe have yet been observed in the States, the remains being all of recent species. In concluding this sketch of American geology, it may not be improper to review the series of changes to which it bears witness. The first great mass of strata extends unbroken from the earliest transition down to the close of the coal formation. The primary rocks are probably mere metamorphic portions of this with the granite and similar igneous formations produced during the convul sions which raised the whole above the ocean. The comparatively very partial deposit of red sandstone seems to have been the last and final member of this series, formed in the deep valleys along the Atlantic coast when the rest of the continent was already above the waters. A long interval leaving no trace of geological change or disturbing agency followed. The cretaceous epoch again saw the land below the ocean, and beds of chalk were deposited both on the east and west, though the chain of the Alleghanies was probably still above the ocean. In the tertiary period the same regions continued submerged, especially those on the Atlantic coast, though the total diversity of fossils would seem to show that this formation was also separated from the former by a longer or shorter interval. During the drift the whole country, except perhaps a few of the very highest moun tains, appear to have been again subjected to aqueous action, much of this singular deposit being probably formed whilst the continent was rising to its present elevation. At this time, also, much denudation of the inferior strata along the anticlinal axes seems to have taken place, a fact of the highest importance in all theo ries regarding the formation of the drift. In each of these revolutions the movements have been on a great scale, and hence has resulted a most surprising simplicity and immensity in the formations that cover this conti- * Sill. Jour., vol. xxxvi. p. 198. BOTANY. 223 nent. The vast richness of its mineral resources is also an important element to the statesman or philanthropist in calculating the future destiny of the country. " The best architectural materials, granites, traps, porphyries, sienites, serpentines, soapstones, limestones, primary slates and slaty rocks of every geological age, sandstones, and conglomerates abound. The most useful minerals are found also in large quantities ; ores of iron, copper, and lead, gold and silver, the latter especially as it exists in argentiferous galenas. Above all, coal-fields of un equalled magnitude, thickness, extent, and richness, with clays, marls, and sands, and soils of every variety, fur nish to our population all the means of national wealth and individual prosperity.* 4 * SECTION II. BOTANY. THE vast territory of the United States forms parts of several distinct botanical regions, characterized by pecu liar plants adapted to the nature of their soil and climate. Two of these are generally recognised, a northern, ex tending south to lat. 36 ; and a southern, from this to lat. 30. In the former, species of the two genera Aster and Solidago greatly abound, and the Coniferae and Amentaceae prevail more than in the corresponding regions of the Old World ; whilst the Crueiferae, the Cichoracese, and Cynaraceae, are less numerous. In the second, the splendid Magnolias, and similar trees and plants, with Palms, Cycadaceae, and Cactacese, show an approach to a tropical vegetation. Besides the Umbelli- ferae, Cruciferae and Cichoraceae of the former region, the Labiatae, Cariophylleae, and Geraniaceae, are also rare ; whilst trees with large shining leaves and showy flowers abound. In the former, pines, larches and firs, oaks, beeches and chesnuts, poplars, plane-trees, elms and ashes, formed the forests ; and the same plants were cultivated as in Europe. In the south, maize begins to * Silliman s Address to Ass. of Am. Geol. iu Journal, vol. xliii. p. 240. 224 NATURAL HISTORY. be the more common grain ; tobacco and cotton plantations abound ; and the woods are full of magnolias, tulip-trees, camelias, laurels, passion-flowers, hollies, and palms. This, however, has reference more especially to the Atlantic coast, as both the climate and vegetation of the Pacific regions differ very much. Even the immense basin of the Mississippi has its peculiar features ; and the emigrant, as he journeys to the far west, finds himself in a milder climate, under the shadow of more noble and luxuriant trees, and surrounded by other and brighter flowers. Many of the species characterizing these various regions will be found in the following review of the principal families of plants in the United States.* We shall begin our survey of the vegetation of the United States with the Ranunculacese, of which North America contains about a seventh of the whole order. They are mostly herbaceous plants, some of them very showy, and possessing more or less acrid properties. The only species with woody stems are some of the Clematis or Virgin s Bower, found among bushes or hedges, gene rally with white, in others (C. crispa and cylindrical with large purple or (C. viorna) blue flowers. Ane mones, among others, the A. nemorosa of the English botany, and the A. uniflora, the most beautiful and de licate species of this fine genus, are common mostly in moist or swampy places in the central states. The He- patica, triloba, possessing astringent properties, adorns * The principal authorities for the Botany of the United States are the Flora Americana of the Elder Michaux, who spent many years in collecting materials ; the Arbres Fores- tiers of his son ; the Flora Boreali-Americana of Pureh ; the Flora of North America,containing all the known Indigenous and Naturalized Plants growing North of Mexico,by Drs Torrey and Gray, now in course of publication ; and the works of Bartram, Barton, and others, with various incidental notices in books of travels. The Flora of British America, by Sir William Hooker, is also very useful. In the following sketch we have followed the natural arrangement of Lindley, the nomenclature of the plants being mostly that of Pursh. Had the valuable work of Torrey and Gray been completed, we should have preferred following it. BOTANY. 225 with its blue or purple flowers the sides of the fertile or rocky hills from Carolina northwards. A characteristic plant of the northern region is the Hydrastis Canadensis, with pale rose-coloured flowers, red berries, and yellow roots, of a strong narcotic smell and bitter taste, furnish ing a fine dye, and also used as a tonic. It grows prin cipally on a fertile soil in the shady woods or among rocks, especially in the Alleghany Mountains. The Ranunculus here, as in Europe, is a large genus ; and many British species, as R. Flammula, auricomus, repcns, acris, &c., display their yellow flowers in the pastures and meadows of the New World, along with the Caltha or Marsh Marygold. In the cedar swamps and moun tain bogs of Virginia and the northern states, grows the Goptis trifolia or Gold Thread, a small delicate plant with white flowers, whose root a pure and powerful bitter is a popular medicine, and also used by the na tives to dye yellow. In the southern states and valley of the Missouri are found three or four species of Delphi nium or Larkspur, with blue flowers, and in the Atlan tic states also the Aconitum or Monk s Hood. The Actea Americana (A. rubra and alba, Bigel.), growing in the deep mould collecting among rocks in the shady woods, is accounted a valuable medicine by the natives, who name it the Red or White Cohosh, from the colour of the berries which succeed its white flowers. The Xan- thorhiza apiifolia, a low shrub, with compound leaves and panicles of dark purple flowers, contains an intensely bitter gum and resin ; and both the wood and bark are used as tonics. Allied to the last order, and forming a transition to the next, from which they are distinguished by their watery juices, are the Podophylleae or May-apple tribe. Besides the P. peltatum, whose green fruit, about the size of a plum, is eaten, whilst the root is one of the safest cathartics known, the Jeffersonia dipliylla, with similar properties, found principally on the limestone hills of Virginia and Tennessee, constitute this truly American order. 226 NATURAL HISTORY. Though the Papaveraceae are principally European plants, yet several have found their way into North America. Only one of the genus which has given its name to the order is indigenous to that continent, but farther north than the region we are now considering. The Bloodwort (Sanguinaria Canadensis\ so named fro in its crimson juice, is a characteristic plant of the northern division. Each stalk terminates in a single white flower ; and the root, according to Barton, is in large doses emetic and cathartic, and in smaller stimulant and expectorant. The Argemone Mexicana grows as far north as Florida ; and in Georgia there is a very beautiful variety, with white flowers. The seeds, said to be narcotic, especially when smoked with tobacco, are sometimes used as a substitute for ipecacuanha, and the Mexicans polish furniture with an oil expressed from them. The Fu- marieae or fumitory tribe, allied to this, present few in teresting plants. The most remarkable are the Diclytra, handsome herbaceous plants, with two curious spurs or prolongations of the corolla, which have given occasion to the inhabitants to name one (Z). Cucullaria] Yellow- breeches. The Corydalis, pretty little plants, with lively red or yellow flowers, are often cultivated in this country as ornaments to rock-work. The Fumaria officinalis, regarded as a mere weed, has probably been introduced from Europe. In the tribe of Water-lilies (NymplKcacecK) few in teresting plants occur in North America. The Nuphar lutea of the English botany is found expanding its yel low flowers in the lakes of the Alleghany Mountains. The Hydropeltidese, another order of water-plants, are peculiar to America, the most interesting being the H. purpurea, so named from the purple colour of the flowers and whole plant, which is covered with a viscid gelatinous matter. The Nelumbiaceae, also natives of the stagnant or slow-running waters of the northern hemisphere, are chiefly remarkable for the beauty of their flowers. The Cyamus flavicomus of Pursh, with large yellow flowers resembling a double tulip, and BOTANY. 227 round leaves, covers the lakes and ponds of Carolina and Virginia. It is also found near Philadelphia, where it is thought to have been introduced by the Indians, who are very fond of its seeds, which are agreeable to the taste, though less celebrated than those of the holy Cyamus or Egyptian bean of Pythagoras. Its tubers, used for food by the Osage and other western Indians, are, when boiled, as farinaceous and agreeable as the potato. The Magnoliaceae are peculiarly a North American order, characterizing the south of the United States, where they abound in the swamps, woods, and on the sides of the hills. The general character of the order is to have a bitter tonic taste and large fragrant flowers, which produce a decided action on the nerves. The most stately is the Large Magnolia or Big Laurel ( M. grandi- fora), which usually attains a height of sixty to seventy feet, though some are ninety feet high, and from two to three feet in diameter. No tree east of the Mississippi at all approaches this in majestic aspect, superb foliage, and magnificent flowers. Its thick, leathery, persistant leaves, six or eight inches long, are green and brilliant in the centre of the forests, but where exposed to the sun on their margins, acquire a rusty hue. Its sweet- smelling white flowers, seven to eight inches broad, sur pass those of almost any other tree in size and number, three to four hundred being often found on one. The fruit is a kind of cone, from which the seeds, when ripe, hang by slender threads. The wood is very white, and of a soft texture. This tree grows in the forests of South Carolina and Georgia, west to the Mississippi, over a district of seven hundred to eight hundred square leagues. A more hardy tree is the Magnolia glauca, which grows wild on Cape Ann in Massachusetts, and flourishes in most exposures in that state, though only as a shrub with deciduous leaves. Its proper abode is the marshes on the shores of Carolina and Georgia, where it is a tall tree with evergreen leaves and upright branches. Its common height is twenty to thirty feet, 228 NATURAL HISTORY. reaching to forty in favourable situations, and its solitary flowers are only two or three inches broad. According to Barton, they are so stimulating as to produce pa roxysms of fever, and even of inflammatory gout, whilst the bark of the root is an important tonic. This tree has many popular names, as the small magnolia, swamp sassafras, sweet bay, white bay, swamp laurel, and beaver wood. The Cucumber-tree (M. aouminata) equals the big laurel in size, and grows in the high country south of the Hudson, at a distance from the sea. The wood is fine-grained, of a yellowish-brown colour, and takes a beautiful polish, but is not durable. In Virginia, its cones, which when green resemble young cucumbers, yield a spirituous tincture, employed for rheumatic affections, or, infused in grain brandy, a whole some bitter, thought a specific against autumnal fevers. The Umbrella-tree (M. tripetala), is named from its large leaves, often about twenty inches long and eight broad, which, growing at the end of the branches, spread out like a parasol. Its white flowers, seven inches broad, and very fragrant, are said to produce headach and nau sea. The M. macrophylla or Michaux Magnolia, about thirty-five feet high, grows in the dense w r oods of Ten nessee, and has leaves about three feet long and ten inches broad, with white flowers above nine inches broad, thus surpassing all the others. The last of this order we shall notice is the Liriodendron tulipifera, the White or Red Poplar of Michaux, but better known as the Whitewood or Tulip-tree. It grows wild as far north as the Con necticut, and even in Canada ; and is naturalized in Massachusetts. In the Atlantic states it attains a height of eighty to a hundred feet, and two or three feet in diameter; but in the woods of Kentucky it is fre quently fourteen to sixteen feet in circumference, and the elder Michaux measured one near Louisville twenty- two feet six inches round, at five feet from the ground, and which he estimated at a hundred to a hundred and forty feet high. It is one of the most highly ornamen tal and useful trees in America, with bright cheerful BOTANY. 229 foliage, and red or yellow flowers mixed with green. Its bark is considered an excellent tonic, even equal, it is said, to the Peruvian, and the wood, of a yellow or citron colour, is close-grained, hard, and much esteemed.* The Illicium or Aniseed-tree, is by Lindley sepa rated from the Magnolias, on account of its aromatic properties and dotted leaves, which, however, seem not peculiar to it. There are two species in North America, the 7. floridanum, found on the Mississippi, with large dark purple flowers, and leaves having a very aromatic scent when bruised ; and the /. parviflorum, with yellow flowers, which Barton makes the same with the I. anisatum, whose seeds are the star-anise of the shops, and the flavouring substance of the anisette de Bordeaux. The Ananacese are also aromatic stimulant plants, but belonging mostly to tropical countries, few are found in the region we have now to notice. Pursh has de scribed them under the genus Porcelia. The P. trildba, or Papaw-tree, grows principally on the overflowed banks of rivers in the southern states. It is a small tree, with dark brown flowers and a large yellow insipid fruit, said to contain a very active acid principle. The P. parmflora has small dark purple flowers, those of the P. grandiflora are large and white. The Schisandra coccinea, a handsome climbing plant of Georgia, with scarlet flowers, is related to this order, but wants the aromatic and bitter properties. The Umbelliferse, though principally inhabitants of the northern parts of the earth, are yet few in North America. The genera are frequently common to it and Europe, but the species seem for the most part peculiar. Some exceptions to this, however, occur, as the very poisonous Cicuta virosa and maculata, the Fool s Parsley (JEthusa Cynapium), and the Loveage (Ligusticum Scoticum), with the parsnip and carrot, which, though frequently found wild, are thought to be of European * Michaux, Arbres Forestiers, tome iii. p. 71-103. 230 NATURAL HISTORY. origin. Few of the American species have any interest ing properties, the leaves being mostly poisonous, like those of Europe, and the seeds innocent, and sometimes warm and aromatic. The Eryngium aquaticum is used by the natives as a medicine ; the genus Sium is cele brated for the dangerous qualities of its herbage, espe cially for cattle, and is carefully destroyed by the far mers ; the root of the Chcerophyllum Claytoni or Osmo- rhiza, has an agreeable scent and sweet taste. Related to these are the Araliacea?, of which the Panax quinquefolium or Ginseng, closely resembling that of Nepaul, was formerly exported from America in con siderable quantities on account of its invigorating and stimulant properties, but is now little esteemed by European physicians. The Aralia nudicaulis is used as a substitute for sarsaparilla, and sold under that name in the shops. The A. racemosa or Spikenard is also esteemed as a medicine ; and the berries of A. spinosa, the Angelica-tree found in Illinois and the fertile woods of Lower Virginia, when infused in wine or spirits, are thought a specific for relieving rheumatic pains ; and the bark of the root is a popular remedy for the bite of the rattlesnake. The common ivy belongs to this order, but is not a native of North America. The Grossulacese, of which our currants and goose berries are good examples, are very common on the mountains and in the woods of North America. Their fruit much resembles that of the species now named ; but in the wild varieties is often either insipid or extremely acid. Most of the species found in the east of the United States extend north into Canada, and are described in a former volume of the Edinburgh Cabinet Library.* The Ribes triflorum, with small pale red berries, grows on the Blue Mountains of Pennsylvania and Virginia, and the R. gracile of Pursh on the rocks and mountain-pastures from New York to Carolina. Its berries are purple or blue, about the size of black currants, and of a delicious taste. British America, vol. iii. p. 309. BOTANY. 231 The Berberry tribe are neither numerous nor inter esting in North America, where, however, two or three species of Berberis occur, with pleasant acid berries. The vines are also of little importance, none approaching in quality to the European species. The berries of the Summer grape ( Vitis aatwoKt), of a dark blue colour, are said by Pursh to be very agreeable to eat, and frequently converted into a good home-made wine. Those of the V. rotundifolia are large, dark blue, and agreeable to the taste, being commonly named the Bull or Bullet-grape. An account of the singular structure of the Sarra- ceniae or Pitcher-plants, has been given in a former volume of this work,""" to which we would now refer. Of the six species, five are confined to the swamps and marshes in the southern states, east of the Alleghanies, and only one extends north to Newfoundland. The largest, with leaves often two feet long, is the Sarracenia flava, growing from Virginia to Florida. Distinguished from this by its spotted leaves, is the S. variolaris, found in Carolina and the south. The S. psittacina, with short leaves beautifully marked with white spots, and purple flowers on long stalks, is also a native of the swamps of Georgia and Florida. The Dionea muscipula or Venus Fly-trap, an analogous species, no less remarkable for its curious properties, is found in the bogs of North Carolina. The Onagraceae are numerous in North America, though not confined to that quarter of the globe. The Oenothera, or Tree- primrose, is a large genus, principally with yellow flowers, which Pursh says in the 0. biennis shine with a phosphorescent light in dark nights. This plant has been cultivated for its eatable roots, and is now naturalized in Europe. The flowers of 0. speciosa are large, and have an agreeable smell ; whilst the O.fruti- cosa is commonly known under the name of sundrops. The 0. macrocarpa, found on dry hills in Missouri, sur passes all others in the size and beauty of its flowers. * British America, vol. iii. 232 NATURAL HISTORY. The calyx, spotted with purple, is covered with a fine white silky down, and the corolla of a bright yellow, with orange veins, is sometimes six inches in diameter, with a tube seven inches long. The ClarTda and the Gaura, with beautiful purple or rose-coloured flowers, also belong to this order, together with Epilobium, containing many British species. The Jussifea, with yellow flowers, frequents the swamps of the southern and western states, where many species of Ludwigia also grow. In subordinate orders, we find the Circcea or En chanter s Nightshade ; and, growing in stagnant waters, the Myriophyllum, Proserpinaca, and Hippuris vulgaris, or Horsetail of the English botany. The genus Rhe.ria, belonging to the order Melasto- mese, contains several very beautiful American plants, mostly natives of bogs or wet woods in the warmer states. The Philadelpus, the Mock-orange or Syringa, in an order named from this genus, are elegant shrubs, cul tivated for their flowers. Allied to it is the Decumaria, climbing plants, one of them the D. sarmentosa, grow ing in the cedar swamps of Virginia and Carolina, espe cially in that named the Dismal Swamp, where it ascends to the top of the tallest trees. The Witch-hazel (Hamamelis virgimca\ found in all the Atlantic states, is a singular shrub. It is from ten to twelve feet high, and usually begins to show its yel low flowers in October, and continues blossoming till February, when it ripens its fruit, thus reversing the order of other plants. Related to it are the Dogwood tribe, the most important of which is the Cornus Florida, a beautiful small tree, usually about twenty feet high, and four inches in diameter, but often ten or fifteen feet more in height. The bunches of small greenish-yellow flowers are surrounded by a large white involucre, tinged with red, which renders this tree when in blossom one of the finest, ornaments of the forests. Its wood, hard, compact, fine-grained, and of a chocolate colour, is much valued. Its bark is bitter and a good tonic, being used in intermittent fevers. The young branches, stripped BOTANY. 233 of their bark, are rubbed against the teeth to whiten them ; and Barton states that the Indians extract a red dye from the bark of the roots. The other species are smaller than this ; and the bark of the C. sericea has similar tonic properties. The Loranthaceae are parasitic plants taking root in others, at whose expense they live. The Mistletoe ( Vis- cum favescens), rooting especially on oaks, is the only representative, in the country east of the Rocky Moun tains, of this order, which belongs especially to tropical regions. The Cactacese or Indian Figs are exclusively an Ame rican family, though now transplanted to most parts of the world. They are, however, chiefly tropical plants, only a few finding their way into the United States. Of these the Opuntia or Prickly Pear is the most com mon, growing on the east of the Mississippi, as far north as New Jersey in lat. 41, but on the Missouri, and along the Rocky Mountains to lat. 45 or 46. It has large yellow flowers, and red berries which are eatable. Other genera and species occur west on the Missouri, but, owing to the difficulty of preserving specimens, not well characterized. The Cruciferffi seem relatively less numerous in Ame rica than in Europe, though the distinction is not so strong ly marked as at one time supposed. This is a very impor tant natural order of plants, embracing many of the most useful vegetables cultivated by man. Arabis is one of the largest genera, but presents no important species, though the leaves of the A. rhomboidea, which grows near rivulets, form a substitute for cresses. The Carda- mine, or Ladies Smock, is also a large genus of interest ing rock and mountain plants ; but the flowers of the most common species in the United States are small and white. Den tana, closely related to this, has larger and more showy flowers, those of the D. ladniata being purple, and of the D. diphylla pale red, tinged with yellow. The roots of the latter possess the acrid vola tile principle so common in this order, and the plant is, VOL. III. P 234 NATURAL HISTORY. on this account, named Pepper- root by the natives, who use it instead of mustard. Draba is more common north of the region we are now considering, only eight out of thirty-two species in the North American flora occur ring in the United States. The Thlapsi arvense and Bursa pastoris, or Shepherd s-purse of our fields, are also found ; and the latter is one of the most common weeds in cultivated ground, hut probably not indigenous. The Sea-kale (Cakile maritima), with its purple flowers, abounds on the shores of the Atlantic as far south as Georgia, and also on the shores of the Great Lakes. From Virginia north to New England the Water- cress {Nasturtium ojficinale) grows abundantly, but is less truly American than some others of the genus. Our common species of Cabbage and Turnip (Brassica) are cultivated, and sometimes found growing wild, but are probably not indigenous. Nearly related to this order is the genus Cleome, many of which also possess acrid stimulating properties. The root of C. dodecandra is used as a vermifuge, and the leaves produce inflammation of the skin. The flowers of this species are purple ; those of the C. penta- phylla are of a pale red and curious structure. The Violets, those well known and favourite plants, are pretty numerous in America, and some of the species are very beautiful. Among them is our w r ell known heartease (D. tricolor), flourishing on the dry rocky hills from New York south to Georgia, and as far west as Missouri and Arkansas. The V. pedata has large blue flowers, sometimes adorned with purple ; the V. sa- gittata has also blue flowers, but with a white spot be low and purple veins ; and those of the V. papilionacea are blue, streaked and bearded with yellow down. The V. clandestine, is so named from hiding its flowers small and of a chocolate brown colour under the rotten wood or leaves amongst which it grows. According to Pursh, it is found in the shady beech woods on the high mountains of Pennsylvania, and is named Heal-all by BOTANY. 235 the inhabitants, who use it in curing all kinds of wounds and sores. Torrey and Gray think it, however, only a late flowering variety of the V. blanda, whose flowers are white with purple veins. The Drosera, delicate herbaceous plants, with acid and slightly acrid properties, are found in moist places in most of the states. The most elegant is the D. fili- formis, with long threadlike leaves, and large purple flowers, discovered by Pursh in the swamps of the pine barrens of New Jersey. A few species of the beautiful passion-flowers, the pride of the southern regions of America, have found their way into the States. The most remarkable is the Passiflora incarnata, with beau tiful blue and variegated flowers, which flourishes on the banks of the rivers in Virginia and Carolina. The Hypericacese are pretty numerous in North America, and most of the species are peculiar to that country. The flowers are generally yellow ; and the juice, of the same colour, possesses cathartic and febri fugal properties. Hypericum amcenum is an elegant plant, above two feet high, with large bright gold flowers. The H. prolificum is the most hardy and common of the cultivated species. H. perforatum, or St. John s Wort, is one of the most troublesome weeds, though Pursh thinks it has been introduced from Europe. The Ascyrum and Elodea are also American genera, but with no remarkable species. One of the most ornamental North American trees is the Gordonia Lasianthus, which grows luxuriantly in the swamps which traverse the pine barrens of Florida and Louisiana, where it often covers fifty to a hundred acres. It is the loblolly bay of the natives, and is valued only for the splendour of its large white flowers, and the beauty of its evergreen foliage, as the wood is soft, light, and not fit even for burning. It attains a height of sixty to eighty feet, with stems eighteen inches in diameter, and continues in flower for two or three months. The G. pubescens, or Franklinia, is a smaller but still elegant tree, with numerous large flowers, also 236 NATURAL HISTORY. white and sweet-smelling.* The Stewartia virginica is a very ornamental shrub, from six to twelve feet high, with white flowers, frequenting the swamps of Virginia and Carolina. 8. pentagyna, from the moun tains of Carolina and Georgia, is likewise a beautiful shrub, with larger cream-coloured flowers. The Aceraceae, or Maples, confer their chief splendour on the American forests in the fall of the year. They bear the cold well, and, mixed with the beech, succeed the forests of pines, larches, and firs in the north, to be followed, in their turn, in the south by the oaks and chesnuts, their headquarters being about lat. 43 to 46. Seven of the North American species are ranked by Michaux as forest-trees, the finest being the Acer dasy- carpum, or white maple, the soft maple of the Atlantic states. The finest are found on the Ohio and the clear gravelly streams that flow into it, where the splendour of its foliage brilliant green above and silvery white below as it is alternately reflected on the waters, strikes all travellers with admiration. The wood is fine grained, soft, and light, but is little esteemed, and the sap does not abound in sugar. The red flowering or swamp maple (A. rubrum\ which prefers marshy situa tions, is often confounded with the former, but the wood is of a better quality, and in old trees, where the fibres are twisted, furnishes the curled maple. Its blos soms are the earliest ensigns of spring, often covering the whole tree with their deep red clusters before a single leaf has appeared. These are followed by the fruit of the same tint and equal beauty ; whilst in the autumn the leaves assume the same brilliant scarlet hue, and appear like flames kindling along the borders of the forests. The noblest of the genus, however, is the sugar maple, A.saccharinum, which attains a height of seventy to eighty feet, and grows principally in the northern states, some of the largest being found on Goat Island, at the Falls of Niagara, but also covers some million * Michaux, Arbres Forestiers, tome iii. p. 131-136. BOTANY. 237 acres in Genessee, and the higher parts of Pennsylvania and even of Georgia. The wood is rose-coloured, of a fine grain, furnishing curled and bird s-eye-maple, and forms good firewood. Michaux states that four-fifths of the American potash are prepared from the ashes of this tree. It also is most productive of sugar, each tree yielding about four pounds annually on an ave rage, but one, it is said, even thirty-three Ibs. The black maple (A. nigrum} closely resembles this, and is probably a mere variety, the darker hue of its foliage being the chief distinction ; the others are smaller and uninteresting trees. The ash-leaved maple or box-elder, now forming a peculiar genus (Negundo\ is rarely found east of the Alleghanies, attaining its full height of fifty feet only in the forests of Tennessee and Georgia.* The Horse Chesnut, or Buck s Eye of America, con tains some fine trees, of which we may mention the JEsculus flava, with yellow flowers, found sometimes eighty feet high in the mountains of Virginia and the woods of Kentucky, but dwindling in the southern states to a shrub of only four or six feet in height. The Ohio Buck s Eye (A. Ohioensis\ growing especially on the river from which it is named, and not found in the Atlantic states, is only remarkable for its pretty groups of white flowers, the wood being soft and worthless. Many species of Polygala, or Milk- wort, occur in the United States. The P. Senega, found in the Alleghany Mountains, and in the dry woods of most of the northern states, is the celebrated Seneca Snake-root, employed as a cure for the bite of the rattlesnake, but now sup planted by more efficacious remedies. The root, accord ing to Barton, is used with much success in croup, and possesses stimulant, emetic, and numerous other pro perties. It also contains a peculiar vegetable principle named Senegin. * Michaux, Arbres Forestiers, tome ii. p. 203-251. For the process followed in preparing sugar, see British America (Edinburgh Cabinet Library), vol. iji. p. 313-315 j and Michaux, tome ii. p. 226, &c. 238 NATURAL HISTORY. A considerable number of Malvaceae are found in the temperate parts of North America, where they form about a 125th of the whole phaenogamous vegetation. The numerous genus Hibiscus contains many showy plants. The unripe pods of the Okro or Gombo (H. esculentus) are very mucilaginous, and are a favourite ingredient in soups, or are pickled like capers. The Cristaria coccinea is a curious plant, covered with dense close hair, found on the dry prairies of the Missouri. The genus Tilia, or Lime-trees, which belongs to an other but allied order, also contains several beautiful ornamental and useful trees, with large broad leaves. The T. Americana grows from Canada to Virginia, and on the mountains, even to Georgia, attaining a height of sixty to seventy feet, with a stem three or four feet in diameter. There are several species of Rhamnus or Buckthorn found in the United States, especially the warmer parts, the berries of which have usually medicinal properties, though those of the R. alnifolius are esteemed as food by the Indians. The genus Ceanothus, or Red-root, is pe culiar to North America. The C. Americanus is also known as the New Jersey tea, having been used during the revolutionary war for that purpose. The Zizyphus volubilis is a very common climbing plant in the Dismal Swamp in Virginia, where it is named Supple Jack. Of the large and important family of the Euphorbiaceae, nearly a half belong to equinoctial America, but only about fifty are found in the north of that continent. They generally abound in an acrid milky secretion, and many of them are of great importance in medicine. Several species of croton, but with no useful properties, occur in the south. The root of the Euphorbia Ipe cacuanha, a small plant found in the pine barrens of New Jersey and Carolina, is said by Barton to be equal or superior to the true ipecacuanha, and is unpleasant neither in taste nor smell. It descends very deep, Pursh having traced it frequently six feet down, with no ap pearance of coming to an end. The Jatropa stimulosa, BOTANY. 239 a very prickly plant, is a common weed in Carolina, where it is very injurious to the feet of the negroes, who name it Tread-softly. It has a tuberous root, which is eatable, and resembles that of the /. manihot, from which the cassava and tapioca are prepared. The Ricinus or Castor-oil Nut, is common in the old plantations of Vir ginia and Carolina, but is thought to have been intro duced by the negroes. Although the Silenaceae and Alsinacese are calculated to compose one 72d part of the flowering plants of North America, yet few of them are deserving of notice. The Dianthus armeria, or common pink, is allowed not to be indigenous, but another species grows in South Carolina. The Silene inflata is also common ; and the root of the S. virginica, a beautiful plant with dark crimson flowers, growing in Illinois and the west of Virginia, has been employed as an anthelmintic. Stellarta, Arenaria, Ce- rastium, with several others of the most common British genera, and even species, are found in the United States, where iheAgrostemma Githago, or common cockle, though not indigenous, is a weed no less noxious to the husband man than in its native regions. Several species of Geranium occur in America, among others the G. robertianum, agreeing in every character with that of Europe. The G. maculatum, with large purple flowers, has a powerful astringent principle, whence it is named Alum- root, and valued as a medicine. Of the allied genus Impatiens two species occur, one of which, the I. pallida, was long regarded as identical with the Nolitangere, but is considered as a distinct species by Hooker. The Oxalis acetosella or Wood-sorrel, with some other species, is also common in the American woods. The Rosaceae, or Rose tribe, are too well known plants to need any long description. The Rosa Icevigata, in the woods of Georgia, is an evergreen species, which climbs to a great height. The B. pendulina, or rose without thorns, is a common species in the gardens. The Rubus Idceus, or common raspberry, is found in many varieties, but probably not natives, though the R. strigosus or red 240 NATURAL HISTORY. raspberry resembles it very much. Many other species with agreeable fruit occur,* and the root of R. villosus is a popular astringent medicine. The common straw berry (Fruyaria vesca), certainly native, is frequently found wild in New England, and also on the north-west coast. Several species of this and of other European genera occur in the States, which we cannot stop to notice. The Purshia tridentata, named after the author of the American flora, is a singular plant, and almost the only shrub found in the barren sandy prairies be tween the Missouri and Colombia. In the sub-order of the Pomaceae are many species of the hawthorn (Cratcegus). The common apple also abounds in the woods, but is not a native. The Sweet- scented Crab-tree (Pyrus coronaria) is valued as an ornamental tree, and especially for the beauty of its sweet-scented flowers, whilst its fruit forms an excellent preserve. The May-bush (Amelanchier Botryapium) is a small tree with very agreeable black berries. Of the Amygdaleae, the sloe (Prunus spinosa) is frequently found in the Pennsylvaniaii hedge-rows, but has been introduced from Europe. Under this genus Pursh describes many species of the cherry (Cerasus\ some of which have eatable fruit, though inferior to that of our gardens.t The Leguminous plants are very numerous in the United States, where 183 species are known, or one species fewer than in northern Europe. Of these, six teen belong to Decandolle s division of Rectembriae, not one of which is found in that part of Europe.^ Our limits will only permit us to notice a few of the more interesting of these plants. The Psoralea esculenta, or Bread-root of the western Indians, was brought by Lewis * Historical and Descriptive Account of British America, vol. iii. pp. 315, 316, (Edinburgh Cabinet Library). t Compare British America, vol. iii. pp. 316, 317. % Lindley s Nat. System, p. 151. But iu Torrey and Gray s Flora about 440 species are enumerated. BOTANY. 241 from the banks of the Missouri. Its roots form the principal winter food of the natives in that region, being carefully dried, and preserved in their huts. They are stringy, dry, and tough, and contain but little farinaceous matter ; yet Lewis states that they are a wholesome and agreeable food. When fresh gathered, they are merely roasted in the ashes, but, when dried, are bruised between two stones, mixed with water, and baked in cakes over the coals. The Trifolium repens, or white clover, seems, on the other hand, a companion of civilized men, making its appearance in the most remote parts of the country, wherever lands are cleared of tim ber ; often, according to Pursh, springing forward sixty or a hundred miles from the places where it was for merly found to new plantations. The common Red Clover (T. pratense) seems too widely diffused from Ca nada to Florida, and Oregon, to have been introduced as Pursh and others suspect. The Indigo plant (Indigofera Caroliniand) is found from Carolina to Florida ; and a considerable amount of an inferior kind of this dye is prepared from the Podalyria tinctoria, which, with the Amorpha fruticosa, a tall shrub with long close spikes of fine blue flowers, is generally named wild indigo. The Gtfycyrhiza lepidota, found on the banks of the Mis souri, on Hudson s Bay, and the shores of the Pacific, is one of the most widely distributed American plants ; and Hooker could find no distinguishing character what ever between it and the G.fcetida of Desfontaines, found in Northern Africa. Apios frutescens is a fine ornamen tal plant, with purplish blue flowers ; whilst the roots of A. tuberosa are eatable, and sometimes grow to an enormously large size. The Locust-tree or False Acacia (Robinia pseudacacia) is one of the most useful and ornamental trees in Ame rica, growing rapidly, and affording a cheerful shade be neath its velvet-green foliage. Its wood is of a light yellow colour, hard, compact, and almost incorruptible, and hence well fitted for gates and fences. In New England, however, the tree has been nearly eradicated 242 NATURAL HISTORY. by the larva of a moth, which pierces the trunk in every direction, leaving it ragged and decaying. Only a few plantations have escaped ; and no remedy being known, it is feared these will also soon be destroyed. This tree prefers light barren soils, and, thriving luxuriantly on sand, soon covers it with its leaves, which are very fer tilizing. It grows to twenty or seventy, and in some cases to even ninety feet in height. The Glutinous Locust, with pale red flowers, is a highly ornamental tree, some times blossoming twice in a season. The Sweet Locust (R. hispida) is an ornamental shrub, with large rose- coloured but inodorous flowers and beautiful foliage. The plants now mentioned belong to those in this large tribe, possessing papilionaceous flowers ; the other divisions are less numerous. The genus Cassia, to which the senna of the shops belongs, is the largest ; and one of the species ($. Marilandica} forms a useful substitute for this drug. The Shrankia uncinata, or Sensitive Briar, has globular spikes of red flowers, a prickly stem, and sensitive leaves. Three species of Acacia are enumerated as natives of the south ; one (^4. lutea) with sensitive leaves. The Cercis Canadensis, or Judas-tree, with crimson flowers, and the Gymnocladus Canadensis, the Kentucky Coffee-tree, the Chicot of the Canadians, a large tree fifty to sixty feet high, with white flowers, are the last we shall mention. Chrysobalanus oblongifolius, found in the warm pine barrens of Georgia and Florida, forms a kind of subter raneous tree. The stem and principal branches run under ground, only the side branches rising like separate shrubs afoot or two above it. The Calycanthus floridus, with lurid purple flowers, much esteemed for their fra grance, is named the Carolina Allspice or Sweet-scented Shrub. The Saxifragaceae, in general elegant herbaceous mountain-plants, with few remarkable properties, are pretty numerous in the United States. Hydrangea, however, contains several handsome ornamental shrubs, with white or rose-coloured flowers, found chiefly in the BOTANY. 243 southern states. The Saxifrages are very numerous in North America, but mostly in higher latitudes than the region we are now considering. The Golden Saxifrage (Chrysoplenium Americanum, Hooker) also occurs, with several species of Mitella and Tiarella ; their favourite localities being, however, farther north. Heuchera Americana is said by Barton to be a powerful astringent, and named Alum-root. In this order Lindley includes the somewhat anomalous genus Parnassia, of which the well known elegant P. palustris, and several other spe cies, are found in North America. Of the Crassulaceae the best-known are several species of Sedum, growing, as in Britain, on the arid rocks. The Sumach (Rhus) represents the Anacardiaceae hi the United States, possessing the milky acrid juice by which this tribe is distinguished. The Poison-oak or vine (/?. Toxicodendron}, common in several varieties from Georgia northwards, is extremely poisonous, though surpassed in virulence by the R. pumila, found in Upper Carolina. It is not above a foot high, and has pinnate leaves woolly below. Pursh mentions that a person, merely by gathering its seed, got poisoned all over his body, and was lamed for a considerable time. The bark of R. glabra, with greenish red or scarlet flowers, is con sidered a febrifuge, and is also used as a mordant in dy ing red colours. The Corylacese, or Nut tribe, embrace some of the most distinguished ornaments both of the European and American forests as the oak, the beech, the chesnut, and the hazel. The species of these are numerous, but we can only mention a few of the more important. The Hornbeam (Carpinus Americana) resembles the European species, both in appearance and quality of the wood. Its usual height is fifteen feet, but sometimes reaches to twice this. The Ostrya virginica is a rather taller tree, with fine-grained wood, so compact and heavy as to be named Iron- wood or Lever- wood, from the use generally made of it.* The American Hazel-nut (Corylus Ameri- * Michaux, Arbres Forestiers, tome iii. p. 53-60. 244 NATURAL HISTORY. cana) is only a shrub from four to eight feet high, and a smaller species is found in the mountains. The Beech, in two species, forms a lofty and majestic tree. The White Beech (Fagus sylvatica] is most common in the middle and western states, and on the Ohio attains an elevation of 80 or 100 feet, the trunk being eight to eleven in circumference. The Red Beech (F.ferruginea) is more common in the rich level lands of the north, and more resembles the English species. It equals the for mer in diameter, but, sending out branches sooner, not in height. The wood in both resembles that of the Eu ropean tree, that of the red variety being closer grained and stronger than the white, but neither is much valued.* The Chesnut (Gastanea vesca) is a stately and noble tree, particularly when its blossoms " burst from their forest-bowers." It grows from New England to Caro lina, failing in the regions both north and south, from the defect or excess of heat. It grows to fifteen feet or upwards in circuit ; and the wood, strong, elastic, and durable, is in much esteem. The nuts are said to be de licious, and sweeter than those of Europe. C. pumila is a smaller species, growing in barren sandy districts. Pursh says that the fruit, named Chinquapin, is sweet and agreeable to eat ; but Michaux seems to prefer the former.^ In North America, as in Europe, the Oaks rank as the noblest trees of the forest. In the former country, from lat. 20 to 48, forty-four species have been described, of which Michaux notices twenty-six as found in the United States, the number of species in the Old Conti nent being thirty. None of those in the New World are however equal to the English oak, which has been introduced, and thrives well, and is thought more orna mental. The one that most resembles it is the White Oak (Quercus alba\ which grows to a height of about eighty feet, and seven or eight in diameter ; but at Lake * Michaux, Arbres Forestiers, tome ii. p. 170. f Ibid., p. 156-168. BOTANY. 245 Winnipeg its northern limit, does not rise above ten to twenty. The wood is reddish, but less heavy and com pact than the European, and not valued for ship-build ing. The best for this purpose is the Live Oak (Q. virens\ less generally diffused than the former, being only found near the sea, from Virginia to Florida and the Mississippi. It is from forty to fifty feet high ; but the wood of a yellow colour, very hard, compact, and durable, is well adapted for ship-building, and renders it one of the most valuable American trees. The Upland White or Iron Oak (Q. obtusiloba} is also esteemed for this purpose. The Spanish Oak (Q. falcata\ eighty feet high by four in diameter, is one of the largest trees, but the wood is not much esteemed. The Black Oak or Quercitron (Q. tinctoria^) is valued both for its wood and bark, the latter surpassing all the others in tanning properties. The Q. heterophylla, is remarkable for only one tree of the spe cies being known, growing in a field near Philadelphia. It was about thirty feet high when seen by Michaux, who considered it a real species about to die out ; but Pursh thinks it a mere hybrid variety. The Willow Oak (Q. phellos} is remarkable for its leaves resembling those of the tree whence it is named. The Q. pumila is, according to Michaux, the smallest of the genus, being only about twenty inches high, and two lines in diame ter. It grows in the south on the coasts of Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.* The Betulacese, comprising the beeches and alders, are very common, especially in the north of the States and Canada. The most important is the Betula lenta, the Mountain Mahogany, Black Cherry, or Sweet Birch, of different parts of the country. It is abundant through out the Alleghany Mountains and north in Canada, and the wood is much esteemed. The B. excelsa, or Yellow Birch, grows to seventy feet or more in height, and the * The other species will be found in Pursh, and in Michaux, Arbres Forest., tome ii. p. 1-128. The elder Michaux has a particular treatise on this tree. 246 NATURAL HISTORY. B. nigra, or Red Birch, equals it in elevation, and is much valued for its wood.* The Alders are less important, the largest, according to Pursh, being the Alnus glutinosa of the English botany ; but Hooker thinks it is rather the A. viridis, also a European species. Our common nettles, Urtica urens and dioica, with six or seven other species, are found in North America, and also the Boehmeria and Parietaria. The com mon lint (Cannabis sativa) is frequently found in the fields ; but Pursh considers it as introduced from Europe. The Hop (Humulus lupulus) is common in deep shady valleys in the mountains, and on the banks of rivers in the low ground, and is thought truly indigenous. In the middle states the Red Mulberry (Morns rubra), a fine tree, with useful and durable wood, is found. Closely related to these are the Ulmacese, or Elm tribe, of which the White Elm (/". Americana} is one of the most majestic and graceful trees of the United States. It flourishes in all the damp alluvial lands from Carolina to New England, having a height of 80 to 100 feet, and four or five in diameter. It grows rapidly ; but the wood is inferior to that of Europe, and not valued for mecha nical or domestic purposes. The Red or Slippery Elm (U.fulva) prefers a dry and mountainous situation, and is also a fine tree, with brighter and less gloomy foliage than the European species, which is now introduced into America. The Planera aquatica, growing near rivers in Carolina, much resembles the elm in its foliage. The Nettle-tree (Celtis ocddentalis\ often growing in dry rocky places where no other tree can live, attains a height of sixty to seventy feet. The Hackberry ((7. crassifolia), in the woods of Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, is still taller, being frequently eighty feet high, and only eighteen or twenty inches in diameter. 1* The genus Myrica comprises several shrubs with aro matic properties. M. gale has, like the others, an agree- * Michaux, Arbres Forest., tome ii. p. 129-155. f Ibid., tome iii. pp. 222, 269. BOTANY. 247 able smell, and its young buds are used by the Indians to dye their porcupine quills. M. cerifera lias a power fully astringent root, and the berries of it and some other species produce in much abundance a white vegetable wax, from which candles are manufactured. The Comp- tonia asplenifolia, or Sweet-fern Bash, has a strong resi nous smell when rubbed, and on account of its tonic astringent properties is much valued as a domestic medi cine in cases of diarrhoea. The Juglandacese are principally a North American tribe, ten species being found there ; whilst none are in digenous to Europe, the common walnut having been, imported from Persia or the Levant. The finest is the Black Walnut (Juglans nigra\ seventy feet high, and four or more in diameter. The wood, of a dark brown colour, with a fine close grain, takes a good polish, and is very durable. The nuts are also eaten. The Butter-nut or White Walnut (/. cinerea or catharticci) is a fine tree, though rather smaller than the former. The branches spread out widely, and then, resting on the ground, afford a spacious shade. The bark is cathartic ; and the fruit, fat and oily, soon becomes rancid, but is eaten either fresh or pickled. The Hickories (Carya^ Nutt.) are valuable for their fruit, but more especially for their timber. This is very heavy, strong, and extremely tenacious and elastic ; but is open in the grain, very liable to be attacked by worms, and soon rots when exposed to changes of heat or moisture. It is conse quently not much used for domestic purposes, but is valuable where strength and elasticity are needed. It is considered the best firewood in the States, giving out much heat, and forming a compact and durable coal. The finest species is the /. squamosa or alba, the Shell or Shag-bark Hickory, which rises to eighty or ninety feet in height, with a diameter of two feet, the trunk being straight and very regular. The /. amara and olivafor- mis are also fine trees, though smaller, only rising to sixty or eighty feet.* * Michaux, Arbres Forest., tome i. p. 151-222. 248 NATURAL HISTORY. Many species of the Willow (Salix) occur in North America, especially in the colder parts of the country. Pursh enumerates thirty-seven species, and Hooker, in the Flora Boreali- Americana, forty-one. Their general character does not differ from those in Britain, and many oven of the species are the same. Michaux thinks them inferior to those of Europe both in size and quality of timber, and little value is put upon them in America. The Poplars are also numerous, Pursh mentioning nine species which occur in more southern latitudes. The finest seems the Tacamachac or Balsam Poplar (Populus balsamifera}, principally found in the British dominions. On the north-west coast it attains a very large size, sixty to a hundred and forty feet high, and nine to twenty feet in diameter ; but Hooker thinks that it is probably a distinct species. P. angulata, the Mississippi Cotton- tree, is also a large tree eighty feet high, being equalled, however, by the P. Icevigata, in Virginia, and near the great lakes.* The Plane-tree, Sycamore, or Button-wood (Platanus occidentalis), is probably the largest tree in the Ameri can forests. Even in the Atlantic states it grows rapidly to a great size, but its true home seems to be on the Ohio and large rivers of the west, where its foliage is more brilliant and its vegetation more vigorous than elsewhere. It there often rises sixty or seventy feet before putting out a branch. The elder Michaux mea sured one growing on an island in the Ohio, which at five feet from the ground was forty feet four inches in circumference, and had nearly the same dimensions when measured by Washington twenty years before. The younger Michaux saw another forty-seven feet in circumference, and branching at twenty feet from the ground. He also mentions, that on the Wabash, in Illinois, a canoe sixty-five feet long, and carrying nine thousand pounds weight, was formed out of a single Michaux, tome iii. pp. 328, 290-309. BOTANY. 249 trunk. The wood is of a dark red colour and fine close grain, but is apt to twist or cast.* The Sweet-gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) also grows to an immense size in the southern states ; Michaux mentioning one in Georgia live feet in diameter. Its foliage assumes a fine dark red tint in autumn, and is one of the greatest ornaments of the forests. The wood is very hard, of a reddish colour, close texture, and, taking a good polish, is much valued for furniture. When the bark and outer wood are broken, a fine fragrant resin flows from the wound, but in small amount, a large tree only yielding half an ounce in five days.t A considerable number of species and varieties of Laurel occur, principally in the southern states. One of the largest and most important for its medicinal pro perties is the L. Sassafras, with yellow flowers and blue berries. From Virginia northwards it is a mere strag gling shrub, but in the southern regions forms trees two feet in diameter. The Spice-wood (L. Benzoin}, accord ing to Barton, has a stimulant, tonic, highly aromatic bark, used in intermittent fevers, and the fruit also produces a stimulant oil. The Red Bay (L. Carolincnsis} grows to a small tree whose wood is considered valuable. Aristolocliia serpentaria is the famous Virginian Snake- root according to Pursh, who conceives that its proper ties as a specific for the bite of serpents is well founded. Its root has an aromatic smell like that of valerian, and a warm bitterish taste ; and Barton praises its power of arresting the worst kinds of typhus fever. The Wild Ginger (Asarum Canadense) has a highly aromatic root with similar medicinal properties. The Phytolacca decandra, or Poke-weed, now natural ized in the south of Europe, is celebrated for its medi cinal effects, some considering it as more valuable than guaiacum. Its root and a spirit distilled from the ber ries are emetic. The leaves also are very acrid ; but the young sprouts lose this quality by boiling, and in spring * Michaux, tome iii. p. 184. -f Ibid., p. 194. VOL. III. Q 250 NATURAL HISTORY. furnish a fine vegetable for the table resembling aspar agus. The Polygonacese, found over the whole world, have many representatives in America. Rumex, the dock, and Polygonum, both with many British species, also BrUnnickia, Calligonum, and Eriogonum, the latter a curious plant covered with a woolly coat, are the more common genera ; but none of the species peculiar to the New World possess any remarkable properties. Although our common heaths (Erica and Calluna) are not found in North America, yet related genera are not uncommon. Many kinds of Andromeda occur, as A. rigida, sometimes forming a small tree twenty feet high ; A. acuminata, in the sandy swamps of Georgia, with numerous white flowers, and a hollow stem used as a stalk for their pipes by the natives ; and A . arborea, a beautiful tree of the Alleghany Mountains, named the Sorrel -tree from the pleasant acid taste of its leaves. Menziesia and Arbutus are also common, the berries of the latter being eatable, and the Indians smoking the leaves of A. Uva ursi, to which they ascribe much medi cinal virtue. The berries of Gualteria procumbens and Shallon are also used as food, and the dried leaves of the former as tea, and an infusion of the berries in brandy as bitters. Rhododendron is well known for the beauty of its flowers, of a white rose or purple colour ; the R. maximum, often t\venty feet high and its stem eighteen inches in diameter, is the largest and finest species. Azalea calendulacca Pursh considers as without excep tion the handsomest shrub in North America ; its flowers being a beautiful flame colour, bright yellow or deep yellow mixed with scarlet. A. arborescens is from ten to twenty feet high, and, with its elegant foliage and numerous large rose-coloured flowers, forms a highly ornamental shrub. The genus Kalmia likewise con tains some fine evergreen shrubs. Species of Vaccinium are very numerous, many with eatable fruit, but most of them well known, and rather characteristic of more northern latitudes than of the regions we are considering. BOTANY. 25 1 The Persimon, the size of a plum, golden yellow, and agreeable when fully ripe, is the fruit of the Diospyros Virginiana, a middle-sized tree with pale yellow flowers. The Sweet-leaf, Hopea tinctorea, is a small tree found in the woods of Virginia, whose leaves dye a very fire yellow. Halesia tctraptera, in Carolina, is named the Snow-drop or Silver-bell tree, from the disposition of its white flowers. Styrax, in Virginia and Carolina, con tains some fine ornamental shrubs with white flowers. Ilex opaca, or Holly, forms a beautiful evergreen tree, eighty feet high and four in diameter, growing in all the states north of Carolina. The other species are merely shrubs ; the black drink used by the Indians, both as a medicine and in their councils, being made from the leaves of /. vomitoria. The bark and crimson ber ries of Prinos verticillatus are celebrated for astringent tonic properties. Among the Honeysuckle tribe (Caprifoliacece} we find several species of the genera Xylosteum and Capri- folium, only remarkable for their pretty flowers. The Linnea borealis is also a native of the western hemi sphere. The Elder (Sarnbucus), and several species, of Viburnum with eatable fruit, are likewise common shrubs. According to the calculations of Humboldt, one-sixth of all the flowering plants of North America are con tained in the large and difficult order of the Compositse. Our limits will only permit us to notice a few of the more important species. The Elecampane (Inula Hele- nium\ now common in the northern states, is supposed to have been brought from Europe, but several other species are indigenous. Eupatorium is a very extensive genus, and E. perfoliatum, a very bitter plant with dia phoretic qualities, has been used for ages by the natives and colonists in intermitting fevers. Pursh states that he had personal experience of its benefits during his residence on Lake Ontario, when the influenza and lake-fever were raging among the inhabitants. It is named Thorough-wort or Bone-set, and used either as a 252 NATURAL HISTORY. decoction, or he thinks more effectually as an infusion in gin or rum. The Wormwood (Artemisia] in many species is common, and Tansy, probably introduced from Europe. Erigeron is also a large genus, E. Phila- ddphicum and heterophyllum being commonly sold as diuretics under the name of Scabious. The roots of several species of Liatris have a similar property, and L. scariosa and squarrosa, known in Virginia, Carolina, and Kentucky as the Rattlesnake s Master, is a remedy for the bite of this reptile, the bruised bulbs being applied to the wound, and a decoction of it in milk taken inwardly. The Prenanthis serpentaria, or Lion s foot of Virginia, is equally efficacious, as the following case seen by Pursh shows. " A man living in the Cove Mountains, near the Sweet Springs, was bit in the foot by a mocassin snake, a species considered the most dangerous. An inflammation and swelling of his whole leg took place immediately ; but by taking the milky juice of this plant boiled in milk inwardly, and apply ing to the wound the steeped leaves, which were very frequently changed, he was cured in a few days."* Many species of Senecio, the Ragwort, so troublesome as a weed, are also found ; one of them ($. vulgaris) said to be introduced from Europe, and another ($. hieracifolius\ named Fire- weed, from the remarkable property it has of springing up in the most distant western countries when the land is cleared of timber, especially where the brushwood is burnt on the ground, though not a plant of it occurs for a great distance round. The Solidago, or Golden-rod, of which Pursh enumerates fifty-one species, is characteristic of North America. One of the best- known is the Solidago odora, found principally in dry sunny situations in the Alleghany Mountains, the expanded flowers of which, carefully dried, form an agreeable substitute for tea, and according to Pursh are exported to China, where they fetch a high price. Aster * Pursh, Flora Amer., vol. ii. p. 499, where a figure of this plant is given. BOTANY. 253 is also a characteristic genus, and still more numerous, no less than seventy-eight species being enumerated in the flora of this botanist. The Labiatae constitute one-fortieth of the flora of North America, agreeing in qualities with those of Europe, the genera, as Ajuga, Teucrium, Mentha, Lam- ium, Galeopsis, Stachys, Prunella, Thymus, and several others, and even many of the species, being the same. We shall not therefore stop to notice such well-known plants. The allied family of the Verbenacese are rarer here as in other northern regions, though Pursh enu merates ten species of the genera whence it is named. The beautiful Bignonia radicans, with large scarlet flowers, which climbs the highest trees and rocks, is the most remarkable of that order. The Scrophula- riacese, containing about one thirty-sixth of North American flowering plants, many of them of well known British genera, as Pedicularis, Antirrhinum, Bartsia, Euphrasia, Rhinanthus, and others, present nothing particularly worthy of notice. The order Solanaceae, so remarkable for the apparently contradictory properties of the plants included under it, seems especially worthy of attention in an account of American botany. The potato and tobacco are both natives of that continent, and most of the latter con sumed in Europe is still produced there. Both of them, however, probably originated in parts of it different from that we are describing, and their history is too well known to require repetition. Many other species of Solanum occur, principally in the southern states, along with several of Physalis. The Henbane (Hyoscya- mus niger) and Datura Stramonium, so well known for their narcotic properties, are also common species. Among the Oleacese we find the Oka Americana, or Devil s Wood, a small tree with white flowers and round purple berries which are eatable. Privet (Ligustrum vulgare] is also common as far south as Virginia. The most important of this order is, however, the Ash, of which eight species are found in America. The White 254 NATURAL HISTORY. Ash (JFnueinut acuminatd), most common nortli of the Hudson, is a beautiful tree often eighty feet high and three in diameter. The heart-wood is red and very strong and elastic. West of the Alleghanies, where the winters are mild and soil fertile, the Blue Ash (F. quadrangulatd] supplies its place. It is a smaller tree, of sixty to seventy feet in height and eighteen inches in diameter. The Black Ash (F. sambucifolia) grows to about the same height in moist soils ; but the wood, though more tough and elastic than that of the White Ash, is less durable, and chiefly employed in the manu facture of potash, for which it is well adapted.* The Pines (Conifer te) are a very important family, and some remarkable trees of this order occur in America. These, however, have been already noticed in the Cabinet Library,f and we shall pass on to some other genera. The American Arbor Vitse (Thuya oc- cidentaHs} is common in the mountains as far south as Carolina, on rare occasions growing to fifty feet in height and eight or nine in circumference. The wood is reddish, fine-grained and light, long resisting the influence of moisture, enclosures formed of it lasting forty or fifty years. The T. gigantea of the Pacific coast is a distinct species, from sixty to one hundred and seventy feet high and twenty to forty in circumference. The common Juniper is found in America, and some other species which Hooker would refer to the Juniperus Sabina of Europe. The Red Cedar (/. Virginiana) is one of these varieties, sometimes forming trees forty to fifty feet high, at others a low creeping shrub. The timber is strong and durable, but as the tree branches very soon, seldom of a large size. The Yew (Taxus Canadensis of Pursh) seems also to be regarded by Hooker merely as a variety of the T. baccata.* The Palms are natives especially of the warmer regions * Michaux, Arbres Forest., tome iii. p. 104-125. + British America, vol. iii. p. 324-329. + Michaux, Arbres Forest., tome iii. pp. 29, 42. BOTANY. 255 of the earth, and only one, the Chamccrops palmetta, or Cabbage-tree, is found within our limits growing as far north as Cape Hatteras in lat. 34. Its trunk, straight and equal, is forty to fifty feet high, and crowned by a tuft of shining green palmated leaves from one to five feet in diameter. The wood is in great request for subma rine structures, riot being liable to be attacked by worms, but is now scarce. The trees grow slowly, and may have been destroyed for the terminal bud of unexpanded leaves, which is eaten with vinegar, oil, and salt, and resembles an artichoke in taste. But, as Michaux well remarks, to cut down a plant that has taken eighty or a hundred years to grow, for three or four ounces of a substance moderately agreeable and little nourishing, is only pardonable in deserts, and resembles the conduct of the first colonists in Kentucky and Tennessee, who would kill a bison weighing twelve or fifteen cwt. for its tongue.* The Zamia integrifolia, found in Florida, strongly resembles the palms, but is referred by Lindley to another order. The Liliaceae are pretty numerous in North America, but more remarkable for the beauty of their flowers than any other properties. Many belong to well known genera, Allium, Narthecium, Ornithogallum, Lilivm, and Asparagus. The Lilium superbum, with stems seven feet high, and thirty to fifty flowers gracefully disposed in the form of a chandelier, is common in moist copses north of Virginia. Uvularia also presents some very beautiful flowers, though perhaps those of the Yucca are the finest of the order. The Gramineae are in many respects one of the most important families of plants. The greater number of the American species belong to well-known genera, but our limits will not permit us to enter into details. The kinds cultivated are the same with those of Europe, only wheat and rye grow more sparingly, maize more abun dantly, and rice forms the predominating species in the * Michaux, Arbres Forest., tome ii. p. 188. 256 NATURAL HISTORY. southern provinces. These differences seem, however, to depend more on the manners and peculiar habits of the people than on physical causes, and we shall not consider them further here. In concluding this view of American phenogamous botany, we would call attention to the remarkable simi larity which it presents to that of Europe, and even of Britain. The more important genera have representa tives in both lands, even the species are frequently the same, and the new genera seldom compose a large por tion of the vegetation. The botanist of Europe finds many links uniting the two floras, and the colonist has no difficulty in recognising in the oaks, the ashes, the elms, and pine-trees of his new home, the representatives of those he has left behind. But it iS the forests of America that most strikingly exhibit the luxuriance and profusion of its vegetation, and fill the mind of the ob server with emotions of surprise. It is not merely the interminable succession of the noblest trees shooting up in unexampled magnificence from the virgin soil the gorgeous splendour of their autumn foliage, dyed with unnumbered various tints, or those fairy blossoms whose variegated hues mingle with the bright green of summer, that alone demand our wonder. The variety of trees which compose these forests is still more remarkable. Michaux calculates that in the United States one hun dred and thirty-seven kinds of trees exceed thirty feet in height, of which ninety-five are used in the arts, whereas in France not more than thirty-seven attain an equal elevation, of which eighteen form the forests, and seven only are employed in civil or marine constructions. Many of these may be destroyed by the progress of cul tivation, but their place will be supplied by more useful species, indigenous or introduced from other lands. SECTION III. ZOOLOGY. THE animals inhabiting the northern parts of America and Europe more closely resemble each other than is the ZOOLOGY. 257 case with those found in the southern portions of the Old and New Worlds. In the arctic regions, many species even of the larger mammalia seem identical, and though this seldomer occurs in the temperate regions we are now describing, still the genera continue the same, and several species have a strong resemblance. The greatest difference prevails among the land mamma lia, which have fewer means of passing from one region of the earth to another. This is very evident from the account given of this department of American zoology in a former volume of the Edinburgh Cabinet Library, to which we would refer the reader.* To the feathered races, with more powerful means of transport, rivers, arms of the sea, and even the broad Atlantic itself, offer fewer obstacles in their migratory journeys, and consequently more of the species are indigenous to both hemispheres. Even where they are specifically distinct, many of them have so much similarity as to have been confounded, not in popular language alone, but even in scientific works, down to a recent period. The tendency at pre sent is rather towards a too great multiplication of genera and species on insufficient characters, and without due regard to the changes produced by climate and other local influences. In the following notices we adopt the distinctions of species and the arrangement of Prince Lucien Bonaparte in his " Geographical and Compara tive List of the Birds of Europe and North America." The first family of the birds of prey with which he begins his list is the Vulturidae, or Vultures, the most filthy and disgusting of the feathered tribes, and well named the scavengers of nature, from their services in removing those putrid animal substances which would otherwise corrupt the atmosphere. So great is their utility in this respect, that notwithstanding their loath some habits, it has secured them not merely toleration, but even a legal protection in some American cities. The first species is the Cathartes Iota, the Black Vulture * British America, vol. iii. p. 221. 258 NATURAL HISTORY. or Carrion Crow of the southern states. Here they oc cur in great numbers in summer, sunning themselves on the house-tops, and in cold weather cowering round the warm chimneys, seldom moving unless pressed by hunger, when they saunter familiarly about the streets. The black vulture is about two feet long, and its wings from four to five in extent. The head and neck, as usual without feathers, are covered with a black wrinkled skin beset with short hairs of the same colour. The plumage is dull black dashed with yellow ochre on the throat, and some of the wing- feathers are whitish on the inside, and dark cream-colour on the edges. They build their nests on trees in the low swamps, to which they re tire at night with a heavy laborious flight. They do not consort with the Turkey Vulture (Cathartesaura), which, though most abundant in the south, is yet more gene rally diffused throughout the States. This bird has been already described, and the remaining American species belong more properly to other parts of that con tinent. The Falcons are a far nobler race of birds, distin guished by their strong and graceful frames, their more active and bolder habits, and by feeding almost exclu sively on newly killed animals. The most remarkable is the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrys(etus\ found both in Europe and America. The Halietos leucocephalus, or Bald Eagle, so named from the white feathers on its head, demands a longer notice as the adopted emblem of the States. It is only found occasionally in Europe, differing from the H. albicilla or Sea Eagle of that region. Both feed principally on fish, which the Ameri can species plunders from the osprey, or seizes in shallow water where it does not require to dive ; sometimes, however, attacking land animals and birds. Its length is about three feet, and the extended wings seven ; whilst its glossy plumage is of a deep chocolate colour with white on the head, neck, and tail. It is found through out the whole continent, but principally near the sea and along the shores of the great lakes and rivers, the ZOOLOGY. 259 Falls of Niagara being a favourite station. The bald eagle is fierce and daring, but, to use the words of Franklin, " He is a bird of bad moral character ; he does not get his living honestly ; you may have seen him perched on some dead tree, where, too lazy to fish himself, he watches the labours of the fishing hawk ; and when that diligent bird has at length taken a fish, and is bearing it to his nest for the support of his mate and young ones, the bald eagle pursues him and takes it from him. With all this injustice, he is never in good case, but, like those among men who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor and often very lousy. . Besides he is a rank coward ; the little king bird, not bigger than a sparrow, attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district." No wonder that the Americans are not proud of the chosen emblem and representative of their country. A larger and, in the opinion of its discoverer Mr Au- dubon, far nobler bird, is the Halietos Washingtonii, or Bird of Washington. It measures upwards of three and a half feet in length, and ten feet from tip to tip of the wings. The general tint of its plumage is a dark brown with a coppery gloss above, passing below into a light brownish yellow. Audubon first saw this bird on the Upper Mississippi, and afterwards on the Green River, a tributary of the Ohio in Kentucky. He subsequently shot one, and had other opportunities of observing them. They are however rare, and their habits consequently little known. They seem to build their nests in rocks, and to catch fish, on which they principally feed, by diving, differing in both these respects from the bald eagle.* The Pandion Carolinensis, the Fish-hawk or Osprey, has already been noticed as suffering from the depreda tions of the bald eagle, which it nearly equals in size, its wings measuring five feet in extent. It much re sembles its congener of Europe, but is considered a dis- * Audubon, plate xi. p. 58. NATURAL HISTORY. tinct species, and is the most common and widely diffused of the American falcons, frequenting not only the seacoast, but all the large rivers that penetrate the interior. The plumage on the upper part of the body is deep brown marked with bars of a lighter or darker hue, whilst the head and body beneath are nearly pure white. Though powerful birds, the ospreys are said to be of a mild and social disposition, living at peace among themselves, and molesting none of the other feathered tribes. They feed almost exclusively on fish, which they catch by diving sometimes pretty deep ; and Audubon states that they can carry off a fish of five pounds weight. Their flight is graceful and majestic, circling upwards to an immense height, or plunging headlong with great rapidity when about to seize their prey. This bird is migratory, arriving in the southern states in February, and in the northern in March. Of the Buzzards, that known as the Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo borealis} is one of the most common, especially in the southern states. It is a large bird, nearly two feet long by four in stretch of wing, and its plumage has the brown hue so general in the tribe. It seems to prey principally on hares, moles, mice, larks, and other birds which frequent the ground, and not even to despise frogs and lizards. In seeking these, it may be seen hovering over the fields and plantations, usually perch ing on a tree before seizing on its victims. The Falco anatum, resembling the peregrine falcon of Europe, is a very powerful bird, and flies with great velocity. It is the terror of the water-fowl, which it strikes down when on the wing, securing them when they reach the ground. It is said seldom if ever to strike them where they would fall into the water, unless when it is frozen, knowing well the difficulty of there securing its prey. It breeds on the tall trees of the impenetrable cedar swamps, where its wild screams, mingled with the hoarse tones of the heron and the hooting of the great horned owl, echo through the dreary solitudes. Several Hawks (Astures), distinguished like those of ZOOLOGY. 261 Europe for cunning and agility, and surpassing in auda cious courage the other birds of this family, as much as they fall short of them in size, are found in America. We cannot, however, notice them particularly, and pass on to the Owls, of which there are thirteen, five of them also inhabiting Europe. The Scops Asio, Mottled or Screech-owl, is a native chiefly of the middle and nor thern districts. Its plumage is soft and downy, pale broAvn above and light gray below. It frequents farm houses, and, sitting on the roof or fences, will continue for hours uttering its tremulous mournful ditty, as if in a state of intense suffering. Like most of the genus, it feeds on mice, moles, rats, and small birds, which it seeks in the twilight, spending the day in some hole or thick evergreen-tree. The Bubo Virginlanus is one of the largest and most rapacious of the tribe, preying espe cially on domestic poultry and the larger gallinaceous birds. It is found throughout the whole of North Ame rica, but its favourite haunt is the dark solitudes of the deep swamps, where "he sends forth such sounds as seem scarcely to belong to this world, startling the soli tary pilgrim as he slumbers by his forest fire. One of his nocturnal solos very strikingly resembles the half- suppressed screams of a person suffocating or throttled, and cannot fail of being exceedingly entertaining to a lonely benighted traveller in the midst of an Indian wilderness." 55 " Another very common species is the Barred Owl (Ulula nebulosa\ which during the day screams like a hawk, but at night, when it used often to visit Mr Audubon s solitary encampments in the woods, utters a strange ludicrous sound, which he compares to affected bursts of laughter.t The Goatsuckers, of which three species are found in the southern parts of North America, form the first family of the next order, or Passeres. Their plumage, of various shades of brown, white, or russet, is often * Wilson s American Ornithology, vol. ii. pp. 260, 261. f Auduboii s Ornith. Biog., vol. i. p. 242. 262 NATURAL HISTORY. more delicately marked and pleasing than that of gau dier tribes. The first of them is the Antrostomus CarolinensiSy or Chuck- Will s- Widow, as it is named from its singular call, which may be heard in the still evenings for nearly a mile. It is only found in the southern states and Lower Mississippi, retiring in winter to Mexico. Their flight is low and noiseless, skimming along the surface of the fields and cotton plantations, pursuing the beetles and other nocturnal insects in the air, and occasionally alighting to pick them up on the ground. When their eggs are disturbed, they imme diately remove them to some other place, carrying them in their large mouths. This bird is nocturnal in all its habits, and is seldom seen through the day, like the whip- poor-will, with which it is often confounded. This, the Antrostomus vociferus, is the most celebrated species, and found in nearly every part of the States, though most common in the more mountainous and barren dis tricts of the south. Its notes are unmusical, and their shrill rapid repetition is far from agreeable ; but early associations make them sound to an American like the voice of an old friend, though the ignorant and super stitious consider them as foreboding evil. Through the day they retire to the most dark and solitary parts of the woods, and only issue forth at night to seek the moths and other insects on which they prey. The Night Hawk (Chordeifas Virginianus\ though forming a distinct genus, so much resembles this that their identity has often been maintained. Besides other differences, they may be distinguished by the bill of the whip-poor-will being twice as long as in this species, and its tail round instead of forked, as in the night-hawk. Eight species of Swallows frequent the United States during summer, of which, notwithstanding their migratory character, only one, the Sand Martin (Chelidon riparia\ is also found in Europe. Cha>tura pelasgia, the Chimney Swal low, is so named from building in the inhabited parts of the country only in chimneys, for which they have forsaken the hollow trees they formerly frequented. ZOOLOGY. 263 Their nests consist of very small twigs, fastened together by a kind of glue, which is secreted from two glands in the back part of the head, and mixes with the saliva. The whole nest, attached by one edge to the wall, and destitute of lining, is thickly smeared with this sub stance, which becomes very hard. When they arrive in the spring, they usually take up their night-quarters in some hollow tree, which they may be seen entering at night and leaving in the morning in thousands, thus giving rise to the opinion that they spend the winter there in a state of torpidity. The Purple Martin (Progne purpurea) is a general favourite in the States, boxes being often set up in which they may build their nests ; and even the Indians and Negroes fix gourds or cala bashes to a long cane or pole, with the same hospitable purpose. This is a courageous bird, and a determined enemy to all beasts of prey, to hawks, and even to the bald eagle himself, their powerful flight enabling them to annoy him with impunity. The Hirundo rufa, or Barn Swallow, differs only in some minute particulars from our common chimney swallow. Of the Humming-birds, the smallest and most beauti ful of the feathered tribes, rivalling the gaudiest insects in their tiny forms and the metallic brilliancy of their plumage, four species are found in America. The most common of these, the TrocMlus colubns, in the summer months extends north, even into the fur countries. The other species seem more rare, and are only found in the southern states. The Black-capped Nuthatch (Sitta Carolinensis) is the most widely dispersed species of this genus, and is frequently seen in the woods, running in a spiral direc tion round the trunks of the trees, and detaching large pieces of the scaly bark in search ctf the insects it con ceals. They, however, also live on nuts, which, as their name implies, they break by repeated hatchings or ham merings with their bills, and are even reported to store them up for the winter. The Sitta Canadensis, a smaller migratory species, is common north of Maryland. In 264 NATURAL HISTORY. Virginia and the southern states, we find the S. pusilla, or Brown-headed Nuthatch, a restless active bird, in constant motion over the stem and branches of the pine- trees, whose seeds it eats, though its usual food is the insects that lodge in the bark. The Mniotilta varia, or Black-and-white Creeper, is another bird of similar habits, migrating from one district to another by short flights from tree to tree. The Thryathorus Ludovicianus and the allied species much resemble our European wrens, frequenting the borders of forests and piles of old timber. " It has all the restless, jerking manners of the wrens, skipping about with great nimbleness, hopping into caves, and disappearing into holes and crevices, like a rat, for several minutes, and then re appearing in another quarter."* The T. Bewicki closely resembles this in shape, colour, and movements, but is less active and lively. The House Wren (Troglodytes JEdon) is a still more familiar bird in the middle states, to which, according to Audubon, it is nearly confined. They build their nests with much confidence in the vicinity of man, in the eaves of houses, or in small boxes fixed for their use on the top of a pole in the gardens. Wilson mentions a still more curious place of abode. " In the month of June, a mower hung up his coat under a shed, near a barn ; two or three days elapsed before he had occasion to put it on again ; thrusting his arm up the sleeve, he found it completely filled with some rubbish, as he expressed it, and, on extracting the whole mass, found it to be the nest of a wren completely finished, and lined with a large quantity of feathers. In his retreat he was followed by the little forlorn pro prietors, who scolded him with great vehemence for ruining the whole economy of their household affairs."t The notes of this bird are loud, sprightly, and pleasing ; and its manners bold. It has an extreme antipathy to Wilson s Amer. Ornith., vol. i. p. 211. Audubon s Ornitli. Biog., vol. i. p. 399. f Wilson s Amer. Ornith., vol. i. p. 132. ZOOLOGY. 265 cats, and is also at constant warfare with the titmice, swallows, and blue-birds. Of the Thrushes, one of the most common is the Turdns migratorius, or Robin of the States.* The Wood- thrush (Turdus mustelinus} is also widely diffused through that continent, where it seems to hold the same place in the affections of the people as the common thrush or nightingale of Europe. Audubon names it his greatest favourite of the feathered tribes of our woods, and says that " its song, although composed but of few notes, is powerful, distinct, clear, and mellow. I do not know to what instrumental sounds I can compare these notes, for I really know none so melodious and harmo- nical." f It is a retired solitary bird, frequenting low, thick-shaded hollows, through which a small brook meanders, overhung with alder bushes, mantled with wild vines. None of the songsters of the American forests can, however, vie with the Mocking-bird (Mimus polyglottus) in beauty or variety of notes ; and even the nightingale of the Eastern Continent must yield, it is said, to this rival of the West. " The mellowness of the song," says an enthusiastic admirer, " the varied modulations and gradations, the extent of its compass, and great brilliancy of execution, are unrivalled. There is probably no bird in the world that possesses all the musical qualifications of this king of song. To compare the essays of the nightingale to the finished talent of the mocking-bird is, in my opinion, quite absurd." Its own notes are bold, full, and greatly varied, but its power of imitation is perhaps still more singular, and, in the opinion of many, injures its song. When domesticated, " he whistles for the dog Caesar starts up, wags his tail, and runs to meet his master. He squeaks out like a hurt chicken, and the hen hurries about with hanging wings and bristled feathers, clucking to protect its injured brood. * See Northern Coasts of America, pp. 74, 75. t Ornitli. Biog., vol. i. p. 373. J Ib.,vol.i. pp. 109, 113. VOL. III. II 265 NATURAL HISTORY. The barking of the dog, the mewing of the cat, the creaking of a passing wheelbarrow, follow with great truth and rapidity. He repeats the tune taught him by his master fully and faithfully. He runs over the quiverings of the canary, and the clear whistlings of the Virginia nightingale." Less melodious are the Brown- thrush (M. rufus), the most numerous species in the States, and the Cat-bird (M. felivox\ only met with in the south. In the family of Muscicapidae, one of the best-known is the Pewit Flycatcher (Tyranula fusca\ so named from its oft repeated call and habit of feeding on insects. It builds its nest in rocks, caves, or the eaves of houses, and is a migratory species. Its notes are simple, but lively and pleasing, especially as the harbingers of spring, its arrival in many parts of the country serving as a sort of almanac. The T. virens closely resembles this, but arrives later, and frequents the thick woods, where it loves to sit on the high dead branches, chanting its feeble plaintive strain, and occasionally darting after in sects, returning by a short circular sweep to its former position. The King-bird (Tyrannus intrepidus) is well known for the instinctive boldness with which it de fends its young, hesitating not to attack the eagle him self when approaching too near its nest.* The T. cri- nitns is also a very common species, more tyrannical and quarrelsome than even the king-bird itself, though seldom attacking the larger birds of prey. " They have also frequent encounters among themselves, when they show an unrelenting fierceness almost amounting to barbarity. The plucking a conquered rival is sometimes witnessed."t Among the Corvidae, one of the most common is the Blue Jay (Cyanacoraoe cristatus\ the beau, as he has been called, among American birds, and, at the same time, the greatest thief and marauder. It attacks the * See Northern Coasts of America, p. 364. f Audubon, Oruith. Biog., vol. ii. p. 178. ZOOLOGY. 267 corn-cribs of the farmers, and robs every nest it can find, sucking the eggs or devouring the young. Au- dubon relates that he " has seen one go its rounds, from one nest to another, every day, and suck the new-laid eggs of the different birds in the neighbourhood with as much regularity and composure as a physician would call on his patients." " x ~ The plumage of this bird is very gaudy, being principally of a beautiful bright purplish blue. Its voice, however, does not correspond, being generally a mere squall or scream. They are, however, good imitators, naturally mimicking the calls of other birds, and easily taught, in captivity, to pro nounce several words. The Corvus Americanus is now thought to be a diffe rent species from the carrion crow (C. corone} of Europe. It feeds not only on caterpillars, grubs, and worms, but also on seeds and grains of maize, of which it pulls up the young shoots, compelling the farmer to replant his fields sometimes two or three times. It is a con stant attendant on agriculture, and rare in the unculti vated parts of the country. Though extremely shy and cunning, all its ingenuity cannot preserve it from man, its most inveterate enemy, 40,000 having been shot in a single season in one state, Avhere a premium was offered for their heads. It is seldom found in those places where the raven (C. catototl) abounds. This also is a distinct species from the Corvus corax of Europe, with which it has been confounded. It is found in most parts of America, but builds its nest only in inaccessible rocks. It is omnivorous, feeding on small animals and carrion of every kind, and also on nuts, berries, and fruit. The Purple Grakle (Quiscalus versicolor) is a well known migratory bird in the northern states, living on worms and grubs in the spring, and in the harvest plun dering the fields of Indian corn. Its plumage is almost black ; but in particular lights a rich glossy steel-blue, * Ornith. Biog., vol. ii. p. 14. 268 NATURAL HISTORY. dark violet, silky green, or reflects a strong coppery gloss. Their flesh is dry and ill-flavoured, but the eggs very delicate. The Baltimore Oriole (Icterus Baltimore) is another well known bird of passage, often named the fire-bird, from the appearance of its bright orange tints when seen among the green leaves. Their pensile nests are very curiously constructed. Strong strings of hemp or flax are fastened round two forked twigs, and inter woven with the same material mixed with tow into a coarse cloth, not unlike a hat in its raw state. This forms a kind of pouch, six or seven inches deep, which is lined with soft substances, finished with a layer of horse-hair, and shaded from the sun and rain by a canopy of leaves. Skeins of silk or thread and pieces of string are often appropriated by the baltimore for its nest. The Rice or Reed bird (Dolychonix oryzivorus} is, accord ing to Wilson, entitled to notice for three good qualities rarely found in the same individual his plumage is beautiful, his song highly musical, and his flesh excel lent. This bird migrates, flying in spring from Mexico eastward, mostly at night, but returning in autumn by day. They commit great havock on the rice-plantations, and are said, though on no good grounds, to have only begun to migrate since this plant was cultivated. In the spring, the male birds are black, mixed with yellow and white ; but in the month of June their plumage becomes brownish yellow, streaked witli black, which is the con stant garb of the females. Their song is a medley of short variable notes, succeeding each other rapidly ; the effect, when many are singing together, and as if in con cert, being, however, good, and extremely pleasant. In the Fringillidae are numerous small birds, some of which, as the Struthus hyemalis, the Linota borealis, and linaria, are common to both continents. The Indigo- bird (Spiza cyanea) is so named from the colour of his plumage, which in certain lights is of a rich sky-blue, and in others of a vivid verdigris-green. It frequents gardens and road-sides, and sings with much vivacity even under the meridian sun. The Painted Bunting (S. ZOOLOGY. 269 ciris} is in more general request as a domesticated bird, especially among the French inhabitants of New Orleans, who name it Le Pape, whilst the Americans call it the Nonpareil. The head and upper part of the neck are of a rich purplish blue passing into vermilion below ; its back is a glossy yellow stained with green or red, and the wings of a dusky red with green or purple. They are very frequent in the southern states, especially Louisiana, in summer building their nests in the orange- trees. They are taken in great numbers in traps, being decoyed by a stuffed bird, and sold in New Orleans for sixpence each, though in London three guineas are some times asked. Their great recommendation is the beauty of their plumage, their song resembling that of the in digo-bird, but shorter and less powerful. Among the Scansorial tribe the family of the Parrots (Psittacida) is chiefly confined to tropical regions, none being found in Europe, and only one, the Carolina parrot (Conurus Carolinensis}, in North America. East of the Alleghanies, it is rarely seen north of Maryland, though some are said to have been found beyond Albany, in New York ; but, in the milder valley of the Mississippi, they frequent the banks of the Ohio, the Illinois, and tributary streams, even to the shores of Lake Michigan in north lat. 42. Their plumage is very beautiful and glossy, its general colour being a bright yellowish silky green, mixed with orange, red, pure yellow, blueish green, and deep dusky purple. They are very sociable, flying in flocks and roosting together in the hollow trunks or branches of the large sycamores. In these they also deposit their eggs without any nest, and, in the opinion of Mr Audubon, many of the females together. They are easily kept in confinement, and less disposed to scream and chatter perpetually than many of the other species. North America contains sixteen species of Wood peckers, all different from the nine found in Europe. One of the best-known is the Red-headed Woodpecker 2/0 NATURAL HISTORY. (Melanerpes erythrocephalus], notorious for its predatory habits in the orchards and corn-fields, and characterized by its tricoloured plumage of red, white, and black, glossed with steel-blue. It shows much discrimination in selecting the best and ripest fruit, and attacks the Indian corn with great eagerness when in its rich succu lent milky state. Their great numbers render their de predations more felt, a hundred having been shot from a single cherry-tree in one day. Insects are, however, their common food, and the benefit they thus effect pro bably more than compensates for the evil they other wise produce. In the summer they may be frequently seen flitting from tree to tree, rattling on the dead branches in search of food, or uttering their shrill lively cry. They build their nests in hollow trees, but these are often robbed by the black snake, which glides up the trunk. Another very beautiful species is the Gold- winged Woodpecker (Colaptes auratus\ named from the bright golden yellow of the expanded wings. This also plunders the corn-fields, and on this account, as well as for the market, is frequently destroyed. They live well in confinement, according to Mr Audubon, never suffer ing their naturally lively spirit to droop ; and by way of amusement will continue to destroy as much furniture in a day as can well be mended by a different kind of workman in a week. The best-known of the American Cuckoos is the Yel low-billed (Eryihrophrys Americanus\ named the cow- bird in many parts of the country, in imitation of its uncouth guttural note. Unlike its namesake in Europe, this bird builds its own nest, hatches its own eggs, and rears its own young. The nest is flat, and constructed, with little art, of twigs arid small sticks, intermixed with green weeds and blossoms of the common maple. They are fond of sucking the eggs of other birds in their owners absence, and also, like others of the genus, feed on fruits and insects. To these the Black-billed Cuckoo (E. erythrophthalmus\ which much resembles the for- ZOOLOGY. 271 mer in appearance, adds molluscous animals, insects, and frogs. A rarer species is the E. seniculus, or Mangrove Cuckoo, found in Florida by Mr Audubon. The Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratoria) is the most remarkable of the American Columbidse. The flocks of these birds mentioned by Wilson and Audubon almost exceed belief. The former calculated one as a mile in breadth and 240 miles long, consisting of 2,230,272,000 pigeons, consuming 17,424,000 bushels of mast daily ; and the latter another as one mile broad and 180 long, containing 1,115,136,000 pigeons, consuming 8,712,000 bushels of mast daily. Their nightly rendezvous in the woods is not less extraordi nary, Audubon having rode for upwards of forty miles through one whose average breadth was three miles. They generally extend a long way in a straight line, with an average breadth of several miles, and have a very surprising appearance. " The ground is covered to the depth of several inches with their dung ; all the tender grass and underwood destroyed ; the surface strewed with large limbs of trees, broken down by the weight of the birds clustering one above another ; and the trees themselves, for thousands of acres, killed as completely as if girdled with an axe." In the breeding places, sometimes a hundred nests are found in one tree, and the natives collect for great distances round to kill the birds, which they preserve by salting. The pigeons live principally on the mast of the beech-trees, to procure which they must fly immense distances. They travel, however, with great velocity, according to Audubon s calculation about a mile in a minute, pigeons having been killed near New York with rice in their crops collected in the fields of Georgia and Carolina,* The Turtle Dove (Ectopistes Carolinensis} resembles its European namesake, and is also common in the woods throughout the whole states in summer, * Wilson s Am. Orn., vol. ii." p. 194r208. Audubon, Ornith. Biog., vol. i. p. 319-326. 272 NATURAL HISTORY. but retires from the north in winter. The Zenaida Dove (Zenaida amabilis\ and some other species found principally in Florida and the south, are much rarer. The Wild Turkey (Mekagris Gallopavo) is the sole representative of the family of the Phasianidse in the northern parts of the New World. It seems formerly to have extended from Canada to the Isthmus of Panama, but is now retiring to the more uncultivated parts of the country, from the aggressions of man. Any description of so well known a bird is unnecessary. In the wild state they roost in trees, but seldom fly unless when compelled. They migrate from one part of the country to another where food is more abundant, and should a river interrupt their progress, will often remain a day or more on the bank as if for the purpose of consultation, the males gabbling obstreperously, before they undertake the hazardous voyage. They generally commence their flight from some high emin ence, all in a body, on a given signal, and the stronger cross a river a mile wide without difficulty. The wild turkeys surpass the tame both in size and beauty of plumage. The male is four feet long and five in extent of wing, weighing from fifteen to twenty pounds in general, though many are thirty and a few even forty pounds weight. The hens are smaller, being about three feet long, and nine pounds in weight. This bird is one of the gifts of the New to the Old World, having been sent from Mexico to Spain early in the sixteenth century, and from thence in 1524 to England, where they soon became very common. The English name has originated in a mistake as to their native country. The Quail or Partridge (Ortyx Virginianus} is a well known bird throughout the States, where it supplies the place of those known by the same name in Europe. They differ from these in the habit of roosting on trees at night or even in the day, when they walk with ease on the branches. Though sometimes they take refuge in the woods, they are more usually found in the open fields, where great numbers are shot or caught in traps ZOOLOGY. 2/3 and nets. The Ruffed Grouse (Bonasia umbellus), also named the partridge in the eastern states, and the phea sant in the south, is most common in the cold, moun tainous, woody parts of the country, where they are found oftener singly or in pairs than in coveys. They are shot or caught in traps for their flesh, which, how ever, is less esteemed than that of the Pinnated Grouse (Tetrao Oupido), chiefly met with in the barrens, where the ground is dry and the trees low. The Wooping Crane (Grus Americana} is the tallest and most stately of the feathered tribes in the United States, measuring nearly five feet in height when stand ing erect. They frequent extensive salt-marshes, deso late swamps, and open morasses near the sea, and in their migrations to or from their breeding-places in the north, fly at an immense height, describing large circles in the air, and uttering loud, distinct, oft repeated cries, heard long after the birds have disappeared in the air. The Great Heron (Ardea Herodias) frequents the Atlantic coast from New York to Florida, feeding on fish, for which he watches with the most unwearied patience. They breed in the tallest trees of the cedar swamps, and ten or fifteen nests are usually placed together. The American heron much resembles that of Europe in form and plumage, but is a larger bird, being about a third longer, and weighing seven pounds, whereas the latter is rarely more than four. It is also eaten, the young being excellent, and even the old, when in good condition, much esteemed for the table. The beautiful Scarlet Ibis (Ibis r libra) is sometimes found on the shores of the southern states, feeding on the small fry and molluscous animals that abound there. Its whole plumage, with some slight exceptions, isof arich glowing scarlet colour. In the same places the White Ibis (7. alba), differing in little except colour, also occurs. The family of the Scolopidae is less abundant in North America than in Europe, and nearly half the species are found in the latter. The others also have such resemblance as to have been frequently confounded. 274 NATURAL HISTORY. The Snipe (Gallinago Wilsoni) very much resembles that of Europe both in appearance and habits, differing principally in its smaller size and the number of feathers in the tail. Another bird of this family, also well known to the sportsman, is the Woodcock (Rus- ticola minor). It differs in colour from that of Europe, is very considerably smaller, and whereas the latter winters in Britain, migrating north in the spring, the former is only a summer inhabitant of the United States. The Rail (Ortygometra Carolina), in an allied family, also furnishes much amusement to sportsmen for a few weeks. It is aquatic in its habits, hiding among the long reeds and grassy marshes near the rivers. They are shot in these places in great numbers at high water, an expert marksman often killing ten or twelve dozen in a tide. In Virginia they are caught in dark nights by sailing through the reeds in a boat with a strong light, which dazzling the birds, they suffer themselves to be knocked on the head, so that twenty to eighty dozen have been killed by three negroes in the short space of three hours.* The Duck family (Anatidce) are most numerous in the regions north of those we are now describing, though many extend throughout the whole continent, and twenty of the thirty-seven American species are also met with in Europe. The Canada Goose (Anser Cana- densis) is common in all parts of the United States, retiring north in summer to breed. They are now generally domesticated, both in their native country and in Europe. The American Widgeon (Mareca Ameri cana) is common on the whole coast in winter, but fly north in spring. The Summer or Wood Duck {Aix sponsa) is distinguished for the rich and varied colours of its plumage, and for its habit of building and perching upon trees. It is oftener found by the solitary retired rivers of the interior than on the seacoast. The plum age is very glossy, and generally of rich green, blue, or * Wilson s Amer. Ornith., vol. ii. p. 239. ZOOLOGY. 275 violet tints, mixed with other colours. It has a pendent crest of feathers, of a rich glossy bronze green ending in violet. The Canvass-back Duck (Anytha valisneria) is less celebrated for its plumage, mostly white, than for " the rich juicy tenderness of its flesh, and its delicacy of flavour," which render it a universal favourite among the epicures of the New World. They migrate from the north in October, and frequent those parts of the coast where a particular plant, on whose root they feed, grows. They are extremely shy, and many stratagems are employed in order to come within shot of them. Among the Pelicanidae, of which America contains eleven species, only one, the Phalacrocorax carbo, or Cor morant, is common to it and Europe. The Sula Bassana, or Solan Goose of Europe, was formerly thought to be also a native of both continents, but those of America ($. Americana and fusca} are now considered distinct. A curious bird belonging to this family is the Snake-bird or Darter (Plotus anhinga), a native of the southern states. They are named from the bent snake-like form of their neck, which, with the head, is usually the only part of the bird seen above the water, in which they swim and dive with great facility. They are also fond of sitting on the stump of a tree or branch projecting over the water, basking in the sun, but dive on the slightest alarm. Twenty-seven species of Laridae are found in North America, and thirty-three in Europe, of which eighteen are common to both continents. The others seem more abundant in the north of the continent than on the shores of the United States. The Xema Bonapartii is most frequent in the north, though not unknown in the district we are now describing. More generally diffused is the Xema atricilla,which also occurs accidentally in Eu rope. The Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) is likewise very common in both continents. Audubon found them breeding in the pine-trees on some islands near the Bay of Fundy, the incessant persecution of men having com pelled them to give up their usual custom of building 276 NATURAL HISTORY. on the ground ; and the same desire of security had led others to transfer their nests to inaccessible rocks and cliffs. The Jagers (Lestris Buffoni and parasitica) are often found in winter on the shores of the United States, the former even as far south as the Gulf of Mexico, but their true abode seems to be in more northern regions. Like others of the genus, their habits are predatory, harassing the gulls, and robbing them of the fish they have caught. Several species of Puffins and Petrels (Procettarida), mostly common to both continents, are found especially in the northern regions of America. The Stormy Pe trels, or Mother Carey s Chickens (Thalassidroma Pela- gica\ and other related species, rather belong to the great ocean than to the regions on its shores, which they only approach to rear their young. Their dark mournful plumage and frequent appearance in the storm, have associated them with many superstitions of the sailors, though the shelter afforded by the wake of the vessel, and the food found there, seem to be the chief reasons of their attachment. Of the Grebes, the only one peculiar to Ame rica is the Pied-billed Dobchick (Sylbeocyclus Carolin- ensis\ which is found in every part of the States, and both in the fresh and salt water. They dive readily, and re main long below, so that they are only secured with difficulty. The most common Awks and Guillemots are also found in Europe ; the more interesting have been noticed in a former volume of the Library, and the regions described with which they are more intimately connected.* The southern parts of the United States, combining a temperature sufficiently elevated with a great extent of marshy ground, is a favourable abode for reptiles. The species are consequently numerous, but only a few pos sess characters generally interesting. In Carolina is found the Gopher Tortoise (Testudo Polyphemus, Bart.), of a pale brown colour. The Terrapins (Emys) are * Northern Coasts of America, p. 382. ZOOLOGY. 277 more common, upwards of a dozen species occurring in North America. One of the best-known is the Painted Tortoise (E. picta) about six inches long, and of a brownish colour, with broad bands of yellow along the edges of the plates. It frequents deep clear streams, in warm weather basking in the sun, but can only live a few days on the dry land. It is considered excellent eating. The Alligator Tortoise of Carolina (E. serpen- tina) is also valued as food, but is much rarer. It lives in similar places, grows to a length of four feet, has a long retractile neck, and its tail also long, armed above with a denticulated crest which has given rise to its common name. The Sea Tortoises or Turtles (Chelonia) are most common in the tropical climates, but are also found on the warmer parts of the coasts of the United States. The most important is the Green Turtle (T. Mydas\ so well known as an article of luxury. Though generally inhabiting the water, they seek the dry sandy shores in April in order to deposit their eggs, sometimes to the number of one hundred in a single night. These are buried in the sand and hatched by the heat of the sun, but being in great request as food, are much sought after. The flesh of the Imbricated Turtle (T. imbricata) is not eaten, but it furnishes the tortoise-shell so much valued in the arts. From eight to fifteen or twenty pounds weight are procured from each animal. The Loggerhead Turtle (T. carretta) is the largest of the genus, but is of little value except for the oil it yields. It sometimes weighs 1600 Ibs., and is seldom found farther north than Florida. The Pike-muzzled Cayman (Crocodilus Lucius) is a native of the southern states as far as north lat. 32^, and ascends the Mississippi to the mouth of the Red River. It lives in marshy places concealed among the woods, and preys on such animals as it can seize and master, destroying not only sheep and pigs, but even oxen. They grow to fourteen or sixteen feet in length, and their skin is so thick and hard as to resist even a musket-ball. In the cold weather they hide in the mud 278 NATURAL HISTORY. and become torpid. The female deposits numerous eggs, which are used as food in Florida and other parts of America. Many species of Serpents are found in the United States, the most celebrated for their poison being the Rattlesnakes (Crotalus). They are named from the bells or rattles attached to their tails, sometimes to the number of thirty, but generally only from five to thirteen. These consist of scaly cornets or substances loosely articulated into each other, and produce when moved a noise resembling that made by rumpled parch ment, which can be heard thirty or forty feet distant. They have a very fetid odour, which warns most ani mals to avoid approaching them. When the first colo nists settled in Georgia, some of these reptiles seven to ten feet long and eight inches in diameter were common ; but now they rarely attain six feet in length, and are nearly extirpated in the most thickly peopled parts of the country. Their bite soon proves fatal even to the largest animals, and to man himself unless a remedy is immediately applied. Even when this is successful, the bad effects of the wound are said to be felt for life. The only animal secured against them appears to be the hog, which feeds upon them. They, however, move slowly, and do not bite unless provoked or to secure their food, which consists principally of birds, squirrels, hares, and other small animals. The largest species is the Crotalus durissus, or Striped Rattlesnake, but the Miliary (C. miliarus\ though much smaller, is considered more dan gerous. Several Batrachian reptiles also occur in North Ame rica ; among others, the Rana pipiens, or Bull- frog of the Virginians. It is one of the largest species of the genus, being six to eight inches long, or with its extended limbs eighteen inches. It makes a loud noise in the summer evenings, which Catesby compares to the bellowing of a bull. This animal is very voracious, swallowing young ducks and goslings whole. The R, gruniens, which makes a noise like the grunting of a pig, is as large as ZOOLOGY. 279 the former, and in the Antilles is domesticated for the table. Other species are mentioned ; and also the Hyla or Tree-frogs (H. lateralis), which conceal themselves among the leaves of trees, and feed on insects. Toads are likewise very common, and Salamanders are more nume rous than in Europe. One of the hest-known is the Hell bender ($. giganteci), or Gigantic Salamander, found in the large rivers and lakes of the interior, and measuring fifteen or eighteen inches long. In a country abounding so much in rivers, lakes, and seacoast,the Fish may well be supposed numerous. Many species have accordingly been enumerated, but the manners and habits of the natives of the waters being almost unknown, they present few points of interest, unless to the scientific student, and we shall not there fore enter into long details concerning them. The Perca flavescens is the common perch of the North American, rivers ; and on the coast there occurs a fine large species of Basse (Labrax). The Pike-perch (Lucio-perca) are likewise found, the common Green Pickering of Canada belonging to this genus (L. Canadensls). The Black- perch (Centropristis nigricans} is a large fish of a black ish-brown colour, and the Pond-perch (Pomotis vulgaris, Cuv.), with other related species, are found in the fresh waters. Some species of Sphyraina, large fish with an elongated body resembling pike, but now united with the perches, are known in America, and one (Spli. bar racuda} is nearly as much dreaded as the shark. The Weak-fish (Otolithus regalis, Cuv.) is one of the most abundant in the markets of New York. It weighs some times six pounds or more, and is caught by the line, but only in salt water. Its English name is given from the ease with which it can be pulled out of the water, or as some say, from its enfeebling effect when used habitually as food. The fishermen attribute to it certain dull sounds heard under the water at the time when it is most abundant. The power of producing a similar hollow noise has given the name of drums to the Pogo- nias, shoals of which frequent the shallow bays on the 280 NATURAL HISTORY. south coast of Long Island, in the summer, and the shores of Carolina and Florida in still greater abundance, through the whole year. The Bodianus triourus, or Triple-tailed Black-perch of Mitchell, is so named from the dorsal and anal fins being so prolonged as with the true tail to make the body appear divided into three lobes. It is about the size of the common perch, though some weigh four or five pounds. -It is thought good eating, but is rarely brought to New York. A species more esteemed in that city is the Sheep s-head (Sargus ovis\ which, when boiled, the natives think cannot be surpassed by any fish in flavour, with the exception of the trout and salmon. It forms an important object of fishery on the coasts of this state, which it approaches during the sum mer and autumn. They swim in troops, and are taken in nets, sometimes many hundreds at a time. They are then packed in ice and sent to the market of New York, or in cold seasons even to Philadelphia. The middle-sized sell for one to one and a half dollars, but the larger ones bring four to seven pounds sterling. The Scomber great, a species of mackerel which externally very much resembles that of Europe, sometimes appears in immense numbers on the coasts of the United States, where some other species are also known, several of which are now classed in distinct genera, as Nomeus and Caranx. The Temnodon saltator, a fine silvery fish, seems very widely dispersed in the ocean, Cuvier having re ceived it with scarcely any variation from the United States, Alexandria, the Cape, and New Holland. The Mugil albula, under which it would appear several dis tinct species are included, is very abundant on the coasts, especially of North Carolina. Its flesh is esteemed equally good with that of the common mullet. The soft- finned fishes (Malacopteryyii) are also numer ous in the New World, where we find either our com mon species, or others related, which supply their place. The Carp family are more abundant in the Old than the New World, where the place of the true carps (Cyprini) ZOOLOGY. 281 seems to be supplied by the genus Catastomus, with thick, fleshy-fringed lips, of which Lesueurhas described seventeen species, all living in the fresh waters. Ptecilia, with some allied genera, are small, viviparous, fresh water fishes, with fleshy lips and broad oval bodies, re sembling the loaches of our rivers in many particulars. The Common Pike (Esox lucius) is said, perhaps on insufficient authority, to be a native of North America, where two other species occur, one of which has its sides marked by a net-work of brownish lines (E. reticularis). On the coast of New England, a species of the Gar-fish (Belone truncata] is also known. The Exoceti, or Flying- fish, accompany the tropical currents far down the coast of North America, and Colonel Hamilton Smith saw one caught not far from the island of Sable, near Halifax, the ship having passed two icebergs on the same day. Many species of Salmon and Trout, some of them pecu liar, are found in the fresh waters of America, though the headquarters of this family seem to be in the Old World. The Smelt (Osmerus^ is common to both hemispheres, together with the genera Thymallus arid Coregonus. The Herring (Clupea elongata\ with some allied species, and others resembling the Shad (Alosa), are found on the American coasts and in the Ohio, five or six species classed by Rafinesque in the genera Pomo- lobus, Dorosoma, and Notemigonus. In this river and Lake Erie are found two species of Hyodon (H. clodalis and tergisus\ which are popularly known under the name of herring. Their colour, scales, large eyes, and compressed form of body, give them a strong general resemblance to these, but their mouths fully armed with teeth, their general habits, and food, principally live insects, unite them to the salmon family. Another inhabitant of the fresh waters is the Lepisosteus, whose cylindrical body is entirely covered with diamond-shaped scales as hard as stone. Both jaws are bristled over with numerous rasp-like teeth, with a row of long pointed ones along the edges. These fish grow to a large size, and are thought good eating. VOL. III. S NATURAL HISTORY. Several species of Sturgeon (Accipenser\ peculiar to North America, are found near the mouths of the large rivers, seldom venturing far from the shore. According to Pennant, they were so numerous in some rivers of Virginia, that 600 have been taken in two days, merely by putting a pole with a strong hook at the end of it into the water, and drawing it up when it touched a fish. The flesh of all the species is said to be delicious. Related to these is a curious fish, the Polyodon reticulatus, found in the Mississippi, distinguished by the extreme prolongation of the snout, which forms nearly half the whole body. In some of the caves in New York state a fish, named Amblyopsis spelceus by Dr Dekay, has been found, and specimens closely resembling it have been procured from the caverns so frequent in Kentucky. Like the Proteus of Illyria, these fish are blind, and appear even to want eyes altogether, these organs being of no use in the dark recesses they inhabit. Their place in the system seems not well determined, but they are arranged by the ob server mentioned above among the Siluridse."* * A full account of the insects peculiar to North America will be found in British America, vol. iii. p. 267-303. (Edin burgh Cabinet Library). TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 283 CHAPTER VI. Topographical Survey. Plan of this Survey General Divisions : I. The New Eng land States Massachusetts Connecticut Rhode Island New Hampshire Vermont Maine Boundaries Extent Seacoast Surface Mountains Rivers Industry Pro ductions, &c. Return of chief Articles of Produce by the Census of 1 840 Population of Cities and Towns in 1840 Description of Boston, Lowell, Providence, and other Places. II. Middle States New York Pennsylvania New Jersey Boundaries Extent, &c. Returns by Census of 1840 Description of New York, Philadelphia, &c. III. Virginia Maryland Columbia Delaware Boundaries Extent, &c. Returns by Census of 1840 Description of Washing ton, Baltimore, Richmond, &c. IV. The Carolinas Georgia Alabama Florida Boundaries Extent, &c. Returns by Census of 1840 Description of Charleston, Savannah, Mo bile, &c. North-western States Ohio Indiana Illinois Michigan, &c. Boundaries Extent, &c. Returns by Census of 1840 Description of Cincinnati, Detroit, &c. South-western States Kentucky Tennessee Mississippi Louisiana Missouri Arkansas, &c. Boundaries Ex tent, &c. Returns by Census of 1840 Description of New Orleans, Louisville, Lexington, St Louis, &c. ALL our preceding views of the United States have applied generally to the whole territory ; but the reader must also desire to know something of its particular states and districts. A minute detail would he incon sistent with our limits, and likely to interest few persons in this country ; but a survey, embracing the leading and most interesting features, may be comprehended within a moderate compass. 284 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. In the introductory chapter three leading divisions have heen distinguished ; that from the ocean to the Alleghany, thence to the Mississippi, and then the ex tensive plains westward of that river. Without at tempting a separate delineation of each state, it may he convenient to form subdivisions of those which resemble each other in their physical and social character. Those in the Atlantic region may be considered as four : 1. The New England States; 2. The Middle, being New York, Pennsylvania, &c. ; 3. Virginia, Maryland, &c. ; 4. The Carolinas, Georgia, and Alabama. The first, or New England division, is still, in many respects, the most remarkable and characteristic. It forms the north-easterly part of the United States terri tory, projecting in that direction beyond the general line of coast. The boundary on the south and east is the Atlantic, broken into various deep bays and sounds. On the north are the British territories of Canada and New Brunswick, according to a line now fixed, and composed, to a great extent, of the river St John. On the west, it is separated from New York by the long expanse of Lake Champlain, and then by a limit parallel to the Hudson, but at a small distance east of that river. The states composing this division, beginning at the southern coast, are Connecticut, east of which is the small one of Rhode Island. On the north is the important and central one of Massachusetts, whence extend northerly and parallel to each other New Hampshire and Ver mont, the first mostly, the latter wholly, inland. From them the extensive territory of Maine stretches almost due east, with a long extent of broken coast. The fol lowing exhibits a view of the extent and population of each of these states, and of the whole :* * This and similar tabular statements, afterwards given, are drawn mostly from the last edition (in 1838) of Bradford s Atlas, and from Bishop Davenport s Geographical Dictionary (New York, 1842). The Gazetteer of the United States by Darby and Dwight (New York, 1842) has also been consulted. Aid has likewise been derived from Mr Bradford s edition of my Encyclopedia of Geography (Philadelphia, 1837). TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 285 Length. Mile . Breadth. Miles. Square Miles. Population in 1840. Massachusetts Connecticut New Hampshire Vermont 130 90 If 10 157 60 70 90 90 7,250 4,764 9,491 10,212 737,699 301,015 284,574 291,948 Maine Rhode Island 225 40 195 29 32,628 1,350 501,796 108,830 802 534 65,695 2,225,862 The coast of this region is of remarkable extent, deeply indented, and containing a number of excellent harbours. South it commences with the spacious sound, named from Long Island, lying between it and the con tinent. Westerly, adjacent to New York, it is some what narrow and tortuous, but gradually spreads into a spacious and noble expanse, from eight to twenty miles wide, and with depth sufficient for the largest ships of war. The northern shore is beautifully variegated by sloping hills, bold promontories, and commodious havens. It receives the large river Connecticut, with the smaller ones of Thames and Houssatonick. Newhaven, New London, and other considerable ports, are situated on its shores. A little east of New London, the island and its sound terminate, and the coast of Rhode Island faces the ocean. On its eastern border, however, the bay of Narraganset reaches about thirty miles inland, sur rounded by shores so strikingly varied and picturesque, that Mr Darby conceives they may bear a comparison with the bay of Naples or the channel of Constanti nople. It does not receive any considerable rivers ; but derives hence the advantage of its harbours not being liable to be filled up with alluvial deposit. That of Newport, well protected also from the sea, and ad mitting the largest vessels, forms one of the finest in the world ; but before reaching Providence, at the head of the bay, the channel ceases to be navigable for any but light vessels. Then follows Buzzard s Bay, between a long peninsula stretching towards Cape Cod and the large islands of Martha s Vineyard and Nantucket. It 286 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. receives no river of any importance, but has various in dentations, on one of which is the important haven of New Bedford. The direction of the coast now changes remarkably. The long peninsula above named, after running about thirty- five miles east, suddenly turns northward, and proceeding for thirty miles with diminished breadth, terminates in Cape Cod, one of the most conspicuous points on the Ame rican continent. The opposite coast, as well as that of the peninsula, follows thenceforth for about 150 miles the direction of north, instead of the prior one of east. The two combine in forming the close bay of Cape Cod, noted as containing Plymouth, the earliest settlement of the pilgrims. It, however, with the whole expanse as far as Cape Ann, is generally termed Massachusetts Bay, containing the excellent harbours of Boston and Salem, the chief seats of New England commerce. This coast has the disadvantage of receiving no rivers from a source more than twelve miles inland, arid the land rises so rapidly that tide- water does not ascend above five or six miles. Its ports labour thus under much disadvan tage for intercourse with the interior, which, however, by canals and railways, is in a great measure remedied. Beyond Cape Ann is a considerable bay, which receives the Merrimac, the second river of New England, having at its mouth Newburyport. The coast holds then nearly a straight course northward, with only a slight bend at the entrance of the Piscataqua, which forms the harbour of Portsmouth, esteemed the very finest on the whole Atlantic coast. That of Maine then commences, completely indented by successive bays penetrating far inland. First occurs that of Casco, a noble sheet of water, about twenty miles across, and land-locked by a chain of islands. Portland, at its south-west extremity, forms a valuable haven, yet not receiving any large stream ; while the land rises so rapidly as to prevent the tide from ascending above a few miles. The coast now turns decidedly east, slightly declining northward, and forms a complete labyrinth of bays, sounds, pro- TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 287 montories, and islands of every size and shape, which render it one of the most intricate on earth. Only the extraordinary force of the tides could render these chan nels in winter at all navigahle. The first opening is the Kennebec, not equal in magnitude to Casco, but im portant as receiving the river of its own name, which rises deep in the interior, and after being swelled by various tributaries, of which the Androscoggin is almost equal to itself, and forming many lakes, enters after a course of about 200 miles. The tide rising about forty, affords a tolerable navigation to Augusta, the capital of the state. Then follows the Penobscot, an expanse larger and still more varied, receiving also a stream of some what longer course, bearing its own name. The tides render it navigable sixty miles up to the great commer cial port of Bangor. A range of ninety miles then follows, having many commodious ports, surrounded by pictur esque scenery, but no great navigable channel com municating with the interior. The chief are French man s Bay, enclosed by a large island named Mount Desert ; and Englishman s Bay. The remotest, on the borders of Nova Scotia, is that of Machias, into which enter two rivers of that name, east and west, that are of some little consequence. The surface of this region is one of the most striking and variegated in the world. Its mountain-ranges rise to nearly an alpine height, and their branches spread in almost every direction. They connect with and form a continuous line with the great Alleghany chain ; yet doubts have been raised, whether the two are really to be considered identical. They are composed almost entirely of granite and other primitive rocks, while the Alleghany contains scarcely any but secondary for mations. They give thus a bolder and more rugged aspect to the country, which nowhere expands into those wide fertile plains that enrich a great extent of the southern states. The chief group is that of the White Mountains, in the interior of New Hampshire, so named from being ten months in the year covered 288 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. with snow. Its conspicuous peaks have been con secrated by the Americans to the memory of the chief leaders of the revolution and most popular pre sidents. Hence the loftiest is named Washington, estimated once at 7300 feet, but according to Bradford only 6428. The sides to a great height are covered with a dense forest of varied trees. These gradually cease, except some evergreens, while beds and ledges of granite, gneiss, and sienite, become conspicuous. At the elevation of 4000 feet, even the first be come low and stunted, yet their branches spreading horizontally form an impenetrable thicket. This Lilli putian forest reaches even to 5000 feet ; but the summit is quite bare and rocky. The prospect is vast and wild in the extreme. Mountains rise behind mountains on every side, and their crowded peaks resemble the broken waves of a tempestuous ocean. This scenery, being considered the grandest within the circuit of the States, attracts numerous visiters, for whose accommodation an inn has been erected at a considerable height up the acclivity. Mount Adams is estimated at 5900 feet, Jefferson at 5860, while others, scarcely inferior, receive the names of Franklin, Madison, and Monroe. The other great ridge is called the Green Mountains, from their general verdant aspect, whence indeed the French gave to the territory the name of Vermont. They traverse its centre from north to south, declining on each side into elevated and well watered valleys. The chief peaks are Mansfield, 4279 feet ; Camel s rump, 4188 ; Killing-ton, 3675. This range is continued into Massachusetts under the name of Hoosac, but the highest point there is Wachuset, 2990 feet : the state contains also the insulated summits of Saddle Mountain, 3600 feet, and Taconic, 3150. A spur from the Green Mountain even enters Connecticut, which however consists mostly of gentle hills interspersed with smiling valleys, and presenting a varied and beautiful, but rarely sublime aspect. The surface of Rhode Island, is nearly similar, diversified with rocky shores. TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 289 Maine consists mostly of rugged heights, separated by valleys, but attaining no great elevation unless on the north-western border, where a ridge connected with the White Mountains contains Katahdin, 5355 feet high. Mars Hill, a leading point in the disputed territory, but now ceded to America, has only 1520 feet. The rivers of New England, holding a confined course through close mountain-valleys, do not reach any first-rate magnitude. The chief is the Connecticut, which traverses all the finest part of the country. Rising on the border of Canada, it holds a long course southwards, dividing the states of New Hampshire and Vermont, and receiving all the waters from the White Mountains on one side and the Green Ridge on the other. These, however, are mere mountain- torrents. The course is then across Massachusetts, amid high but fine pastoral valleys, passing finally through Connecticut, mostly bordered by alluvial plains and fertile meadows. It enters the sea at New Haven after flowing about 450 miles, during which its basin has included a singular variety of aspects as well as climates and productions. The Merrimac, springing in New Hampshire, and fed from the eastern slope of the White Mountains, follows a line of above 140 miles, the lower part of which has rich alluvial borders. In Maine, the Kennebec, and Penobscot, from sources in the vicinity of those of the Chaudiere and the St John, flow each about 200 miles, and have vast quantities of timber floated down their streams. A striking peculiarity observed in the American continent is the total absence of lakes, from the Gulf of Mexico to lat. 43 N., and, north of that line, their immense profusion and almost matchless extent. New England, south of the Merrimac, belongs to the first of these divisions ; but beyond that river lakes are very numerous, though not to be compared with the inland seas of British America. They abound in New Hampshire, and compose, it is believed, one-sixth of the surface of Maine. The principal one in the former, 290 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. known by the lengthy Indian name of Winnipiseogee, is twenty-three miles in length, and from one to ten wide, surrounded by the most picturesque scenery. This is usually visited by travellers on the way to Mount Washington, and for their accommodation a steamer is employed. The largest in Maine are Moosehead, near the source of the Kennebec, fifty miles long, and Chesuncook near that of the Penobscot, twenty-five miles ; the former also navigated by steamers. New England, at its first discovery, was one dense and continuous forest, above which only the naked peaks of the highest mountains appeared conspicuous. A large proportion has now been cleared, and agriculture is practised more diligently than in any other quarter of the Union. There is even some application of science, elsewhere almost unknown. Still the soil, being elevated and rugged, though well watered, is best adapted for pasturage, and for the grains of secondary quality. The states most productive in these respects are Massa chusetts, Connecticut, and the southern part of New Hampshire ; and Vermont for cattle and sheep. The timber trade, once extensive, has been diminished by the progress of cultivation, except in Maine. The mines of iron are considerable, mostly in Massachusetts. Manufactures are more flourishing than any where else in America ; being chiefly cotton, woollen, leather made into boots and shoes, straw bonnets and hats, and paper. These are worked by large establishments in Massachusetts, and by numerous small ones in Con necticut. New England, principally from Massachusetts and Maine, carries on almost all the fisheries of the Union, whether on the coasts, on the Newfoundland bank, or those distant seas in which the whale is captured. Ship-building also is peculiarly active, chiefly in the same two states, especially Maine. The following are the returns under the more important heads accord ing to the census of 1840. Agriculture,, $c. Horses and mules, 269,660 ; neat cattle, 1,545,183 ; sheep, 3,830,207 ; hogs, 748,608 ; TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 291 poultry, value 778,329 dollars ; wheat, 2,013,420 bush els ; barley, 797,400 ; oats, 7,449,266 ; rye, 1,985,041 ; buckwheat, 778,084; Indian corn, 6,924,109; wool, 8,332,909 Ibs. ; hops, 587,983 ; potatoes, 35,120,500 bushels ; hay, 3,083,743 tons ; dairy produce, value 9,117,154 dollars ; timber, 6,125,980 dollars ; iron, cast, 34,138 tons ; bar, 10,407. Manufactures. Cotton, value 31,611,880 dollars ; woollens, 12,869,396 ; leather, 14,871,332 ; hats, caps, and straw bonnets, 3,153,102 ; hardware, 3,341,273. Fisheries, Commerce, S$c. Dried fish, 702,546 quin tals, pickled, 187,046 barrels ; spermaceti oil, 4,302,491 gallons ; other oil, 6,031,673 ; whalebone, &c., value 648,420 dollars; ships, 3,814,396 dollars; commerce, foreign houses, 383 ; commission houses, 213 ; supposed capital, 19,467,787 dollars ; retail houses, 9627 ; capital, 31,742,874 dollars. The following are the principal towns in each state, with their population in 1840 : Massachusetts. Boston, 93,383 ; Lowell, 20,796 ; Sa lem, 15,082 ; New Bedford, 12,087 ; Springfield, 10,985 ; Nantucket, 9012 ; Newburyport, 7161 ; Cambridge, 8409; Taunton, 7645; Worcester, 7497; Plymouth, 5281. Connecticut. New Haven, 14,390 ; Hartford, 12,793 ; Norwich, 7239 ; Middleton, 7210 ; New London, 5528. New Hampshire. Concord, 4897 ; Portsmouth, 7887 ; Dover, 6458 ; Exeter, 2925. Vermont. Montpelier, 3725 ; Burlington, 4271 ; Middlebury, 3162 ; Bennington, 3429 ; Woodstock, 3315. Maine. Portland, 15,218 ; Bangor, 8627 ; Augusta, 5314; Bath, 6141 ; Belfast, 4186. Mode Island. Providence, 23,171 ; Newport, 8333 ; Warwick, 6726. Boston, as our readers must have observed, was the city most distinguished in the early history of America. It was that also first raised by commerce to wealth and TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. prosperity ; and these have continued rapidly to increase, the population between 1800 and 1840 having grown from twenty-five to ninety-three thousand. Though surpassed by the still more extraordinary advance of New York, Philadelphia, and New Orleans, it is still considered the most finished and handsome city in the Union. Mr Hamilton observes it to have less of the rawness and incongruities which disfigure the more overgrown capitals. The city is built on a peninsula connected with the continent by a narrow isthmus called Boston Neck, and at other points by seven bridges. The harbour, enclosed by projecting promontories, is capable of containing 500 vessels of the largest size. It is at once protected and adorned by forty islands, several of which are covered with verdure. The wharfs are nu merous and spacious, one containing a range of stores. The public buildings, mostly of the fine granite found in the territory, are considered superior to those of any other American city. The state-house, indeed, though the most conspicuous, is only of brick ; but it is handsome, in a lofty and commanding situation, with a most extensive prospect. In a niche on the lower floor is Chantrey s statue of Washington, which cost 16,000 dollars. The market-house, about 500 feet long, and built of granite, is boasted of as the handsomest similar building in the world. The upper story contains a spacious hall occupied by the New England Society for the encouragement of do mestic manufactures. The Exchange is a superb structure seven stories high, and containing 202 apartments. Trinity Church is a spacious Gothic edifice, constructed at an ex pense of 160,000 dollars. The city contains many other handsome churches. The Tremont Hotel, the most ele gant and commodious in the States, is of gray sienite, with a Doric portico, costing 100,000 dollars. Faneuil Hall, the County Court-house, and the Alms-house, are also ornamented buildings. The Athenaeum consists of two buildings, one containing a library of 25,000 volumes, another apartments for public lectures and other scien- TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 293 tific purposes. The streets were formerly narrow and crooked, and the houses as elsewhere mostly wooden ; but of late they have been rendered more wide and commodious, while brick and stone have become the prevailing materials. Mr Dickens expresses decided admiration of it as a beautiful city. The charitable in stitutions are extensive, including four hospitals for boys and three for girls, with numerous free schools, among which there is one for negroes. Boston has considerable manufactures, the value of which is estimated at about 11,000,000 dollars. Her capitalists have also large sums invested in those of Lowell, Waltham, and other towns. Her commerce, though now inferior to that of New York, is still very great, the imports being reckoned at about fourteen, and the exports at ten millions of dollars. A peculiarly literary and intellectual spirit prevails. The periodicals amount to about sixty, of which the North American Review takes the lead ; thirty-one are newspapers. On the continent, opposite to Boston, is Charleston, forming in fact a large suburb, containing the state- prison on the plan of solitary confinement, and also the navy- yard within an area of sixty acres. In another direction from the capital is Cambridge, comprising two large villages, and Harvard University, the best-endowed and most distinguished institution of that kind in the States. It has five halls, a library of 40,000 volumes, and good collections in science and natural history. In its vicinity is Auburn Cemetery, whose area of 100 acres is laid out in the style of the Pere la Chaise at Paris. Lowell is now the second town in Massachusetts, and has been esteemed, though on a small scale, the Man chester of America. Its manufactures are chiefly of cotton, carried on by several large companies. The operatives are mostly females, 5000 being employed, with only 1520 males. Salem, a very early settlement, has had its progress impeded by the want of deep water in the harbour ; but its merchants display much enterprise in foreign commerce, and have lately embarked in the 294 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. whale-fishery. Its chief seats, however, are New Bed ford and Nantucket, the former in Buzzard s Bay, hand somely built and agreeably situated on an eminence, with a safe and capacious harbour ; the latter on a sandy island, south of Cape Cod peninsula. Plymouth is revered as the earliest settlement of the pilgrims, to whose memory a hall has been erected ; but the bay has not sufficient depth of water. Newburyport, at the mouth of the Merrimac, loses much of this advantage from a bar at its entrance. Worcester, Springfield, Nor thampton, and generally the towns and large villages in the interior of Massachusetts, are beautifully situated, and well laid out, with broad streets bordered with trees, houses mostly of wood, but adorned with pillars, ve randas, and green doors, and the site surrounded with ornamented villas. The towns in the smaller New England states bear generally a uniform aspect ; open and agreeable, the houses chiefly wooden, but with state and court-houses, churches, prisons, and other public edifices, of an archi tecture more or less elegant. Providence, in Rhode Island, seated on a hill which overlooks the beautiful bay of Narraganset, ranks next to Boston, both in popu lation and commerce. New Haven, in Connecticut, be sides a flourishing trade, is distinguished by Yale College, next in eminence to Harvard, having produced Dwight, Silliman, and other eminent characters. Portsmouth in New Hampshire, Portland and Bangor in Maine, are considerable ports, flourishing by commerce ; Montpelier and Burlington, in Vermont, are small country towns on very picturesque sites. The Middle States form a head under which we may comprehend the larger ones of New York and Pennsyl vania, with the smaller one of New Jersey. They were founded later than those of New England, and were long left considerably behind in enterprise and rapidity of progress. Recently, however, they have be stirred themselves in an extraordinary manner, having the advantage of a milder climate, and a greater extent TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 295 of fertile land. They have been enabled, by vast interior works and communications, to open up their spacious back settlements, and also to become the channel for the great and augmenting produce of the west. New York in particular has thus risen to such importance as to acquire a preponderant influence in the Union, and be called often "the empire- state." The following may be given as the statistical outline of this part of the Union : Length. Miles. Breadth. Miles. Square Miles. Population in 1840. New York. 316 304 46,000 2,428,921 Pennsylvania 307 160 47 000 1 724 033 New Jersey 160 110 8,320 373,306 783 574 101,320 4,526,260 The coast of this territory is not extensive, as the spacious bays of Chesapeake and Delaware, though re ceiving several of its greatest rivers, have, through the peculiar direction of their course, been attached to a more southern division. The oceanic line, belonging almost entirely to New Jersey, presents by no means that bold and broken aspect so remarkable in New England ; still it has considerable openings, forming valuable havens. The territory of Long Island, at its western extremity, encloses the spacious and admirable port of New York, the only point, though one of immense value, at which that great state touches the ocean. The surface is bold and variegated, though not in the same degree as in New England. Mountains, considered as belonging to the great Appalachian or Alleghany range, cross its centre, and in their passage make a general change in the direction of the chain from west- south west to almost due south. The most remarkable branch is that named the Catskill, partly bordering the Hudson, above which its cliffs ascend in forms strikingly pictur esque. Round Top, its highest point, rises to 3800 feet. The most admired spot, however, and the resort of nu- 296 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. merous visiters, is that called the Pine Orchard, on which, at 2274 feet above the river, has been erected a splendid hotel, called the Catskill Mountain House. The road is steep and circuitous, amid dense forests, in which the traveller is almost enveloped, till at an abrupt angle of the road, he suddenly descries this singular mansion, perched on a table-rock like an eagle among the clouds. The view commands a circuit of seventy miles, along the highlands of Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connec ticut. The Kauterskill Falls, 180 feet high, and a ma jestic rocky amphitheatre, also adorn this vicinity. In the northern part of the state, beyond the Mohawk, is another mountain-mass, the Mohegan, proved by recent surveys to be still more elevated. Mr Bradford estimates Marcy at 5300 feet, White-face at 4850. The ridge passing through Pennsylvania is that which bore origi- ginally the name of Alleghany, now transferred tc the whole. It is inferior, yet in forming the portage rail road, no point was found lower than 2500 feet over which it could be carried. These rugged heights are singularly contrasted by a deep valley, or rather chasm, extending from New York along the Hudson and Lake Champlain to the St Law rence, believed by Darby to be nowhere more than 141 feet above the level of the Atlantic. He considers this the most remarkable mountain- valley in the world, with the exception of the great Scottish glen crossed by the Caledonian Canal. The navigator on the above lake, while he sees mountain-peaks rise on each side round him, can scarcely believe that his own level does not exceed eighty feet. This opening, however, has been of singular advantage to the commerce of Ame rica, and especially of New York, being vastly aided by the great transverse valley, reaching from Albany to Lake Erie. It has not only afforded a channel for the Great Canal, but contains wide tracts of alluvial soil, fitted for the richest productions. The rivers of this division are great and important, forming a main source of its prosperity. It is remarked TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 297 that they do not descend from the brow of the moun tains facing- the Atlantic, but rise on the other side, and penetrate through their rude rocky barriers to the plain. This structure has partially favoured the efforts made to form navigable channels across the Alleghany. The Hudson, the most important of all the Atlantic streams, rises among the Mohegan Mountains, west of Lake Champlain. Thirty-five miles below, it receives the Mohawk, which, from the vicinity of Lake Ontario, has watered a great part of the western valley. The tide reaches to the point of junction ; and a navigable channel, the most important in the United States, extends down to New York. This, as already observed, is con tinually traversed by magnificent steamers, and being connected by the Great Canal with Lake Erie, brings down almost all the produce of the west. Its banks are adorned with very bold and varied scenery, consisting, immediately above New York, of enormous walls of primitive rock 1200 or 1500 feet high. Farther up, the banks, without being mountainous, become bold, rocky, and often precipitous ; farm-houses and villages seem to hang upon the cliffs, or to rise by stages from the water s edge. The shores of the Mohawk slope gently up wards, presenting an aspect soft and pleasing rather than grand. The Susquehanna, the greatest river of Pennsylvania, is formed by the union of two branches, the East and West. The first, rising in New York, on the northern spine of the Catskill, not far from the Mohawk, flows in a winding course, swelled by the Tioga, and near Sunbury receives the western branch from beyond the Alleghany. A little above Harrisburg it is increased by the waters of the Juniata from the south-west, considered often as a third branch. Near Havre de Grace, a little beyond the limits of the state, it expands into the great estuary of the Chesapeake, on which Baltimore in Maryland carries on most of the trade both of the bay and river. The Delaware is of inferior magnitude, yet perhaps of equal value. Its fountains are not distant from those of the eastern VOL. III. T 298 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. Susquehanna, and after widely diverging, it finally ap proaches very near, but instead of uniting, spreads into another large bay bearing its own name. This too is beyond the limits of Pennsylvania, yet the commerce is carried on entirely by Philadelphia, situated on the river at the head of its navigable waters. The Passaic and Raritan are small but useful streams that water New Jersey. The lake region commences in the back settlements of New York. On its eastern border extend Lakes George and Champlain, the former of which, so cele brated for its picturesque beauties, has been already described. The latter is in this respect inferior ; yet its scenery too is bold and striking, and stretching north for 140 miles, almost to the St Lawrence, it materially pro motes communication with Canada. Farther west, those of Cayuga and Seneca, fifty-five and thirty-five miles long, have been made greatly to facilitate inland naviga tion. This state borders also on Lakes Ontario and Erie. The region now described is one of the most produc tive in the whole range of the States. The surface is indeed various, and a large proportion very rugged ; but the great plain from the Hudson to Lake Erie, as also the lower borders of the Susquehanna and Delaware, with most part of New Jersey, contain rich flats and bottoms, which yield in perfection the best grains and fruits of the temperate climates. There are copious and largely worked mines of coal, iron, and salt. Manufac tures are considerable and increasing, but still much behind those of New England. The inferiority in re spect to fishery is even more decided, though that of the whale is pursued to a certain extent from New York. Commerce,however,both foreign and domestic, flourishes to a greater degree than in any other quarter of the Union. The former, from Philadelphia, and still more New York, embraces the most distant regions of the globe ; the latter, through the stupendous system of canals and railways already described, renders it the chief medium of communication between the eastern and western TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 299 territory. The following are the returns made under the census of 1840, of the produce of the principal articles : Agriculture, &;c. Horses and mules, 910,174 ; neat cattle, 3,304,111 ; sheep, 7,105,982 ; hogs, 3,065,472 ; poultry, value, 2,176,167 dollars; wheat, 26,273,698 bushels ; barley, 2,742,462 ; oats, 44,401,190 ; rye, 11,259,016 ; buckwheat, 5,257,744 ; Indian corn, 29,574,283 ; wool, 13,291,066 Ibs. ; hops, 501,262 ; potatoes, 41,731,346 bushels ; hay, 4,773,551 tons ; sugar, 12,313,920 Ibs. ; dairy, value, 15,011,345 dollars; lumber,5,313,113; iron, cast, 138,597 tons; bar, 148,1 08; coal, anthracite, 859,686 ; bituminous, 11,620,654 bush els ; salt, 3,617,862. Manufactures. Woollen, value, 6,297,108 dollars ; cotton, 10,739,348 ; hats, caps, &c., 4,916,010 ; leather, 11,298,463 ; soap, 17,520,753 Ibs. ; candles, 6,719,172 ; spirits, 18,548,025 gallons; beer, 19,031,471; glass, value, 2,088,471 dollars ; hardware, 2,437,531 ; ma chinery, 5,648,719. Fisheries, Commerce, $c. Spermaceti, 412,251 gal lons ; other oil, 1,349,541 gallons ; whalebone, &c., value, 433,905 dollars ; houses engaged in foreign com merce, 665 ; commission-houses, 1230 ; estimate of ca pital invested, 53,344,812 dollars ; retail houses, 20,245 ; capital, 82,090,812 dollars. The following are the principal towns in each state, with their population in 1840 : New York. New York, 312,710 ; Brooklyn, 36,233 ; Albany, 33,721 ; Rochester, 20,191 ; Troy, 19,334 ; Buffalo, 18,213 ; Utica, 12,782 ; Salina, 11,013. Pennsylvania. Philadelphia, 228,691 ; Pittsburg, 21,115 ; Allegheny, 10,089 ; Lancaster, 8417 ; Reading, 8410 ; Harrisburg, 5980. New Jersey. Newark, 17,290 ; New Brunswick, 8693 ; Patterson, 7596 ; Trenton, 4035. New York is the undoubted capital of the United States, the greatest and most flourishing city in the new continent, and, next to London, the chief com- 300 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. mercial emporium in the world. It is built on Man hattan Island, about twelve miles long and one and a half broad, dividing the Hudson into two channels, one of which, on the west side, retains the name, the other is called the East River. The former is the main seat of the interior traffic by the river and canal, the latter of the coasting trade, while the spacious bay facing the southern extremity, nine miles long by four broad, accommodates the shipping employed in foreign intercourse, and is crowded with the flags of every nation. The most conspicuous feature in the city is the Broadway, commencing at the southern end, carried in a straight line for between two and three miles, and intended finally to reach the whole length of the island. It is eighty feet wide, partly adorned with trees, contain ing numerous splendid shops, and perpetually traversed by crowds of the busy and the gay. The park is a square of several acres, open to the public, and bordered by several fine buildings. Washington and Hudson squares are also spacious, and others have been projected. The northern or upper quarter, containing the mansions of the opulent, includes some handsome streets ; but the lower part, adjacent to the harbour, is in many places narrow, crowded, and built of timber. Hence it was long infested by the yellow fever, and often the scene of destructive fires, by which the city has been re peatedly desolated. It has, however, been of late very much improved and opened up. At the southern point is a space termed the Battery, open to the public, and commanding a magnificent view over the bay and the adjacent shores of Long Island and New Jersey. There are also two large public gardens ; but, upon the whole, open spaces for healthful recreation are somewhat deficient. The place is neither so well lighted nor cleaned as is usual in English towns. A scanty supply of water once aggravated these evils, but has been com pletely remedied by one of the noblest aqueducts ever constructed. It is led from Croton River, twenty-one miles, through a stone channel, to Murray s Hill, three TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 301 miles north of the city, and seven feet higher than its loftiest houses, to which it is distributed by pipes. The minimum daily quantity is expected to be 30,000,000 gallons, the ordinary one 50,000,000. The finest edifice is the City-hall, in the park, with a front of white marble, 216 feet long, the interior adorned with portraits and busts of presidents and other eminent Americans. It cost 500,000 dollars. There is a spacious edifice for objects of literature, philosophy, and the fine arts, but only of brick. The Exchange^ in Wall Street, burnt down by the great fire in 1835, has been rebuilt of white marble. The Customhouse, 177 feet long, is formed on the model of the Parthenon. There are about 150 churches, of which four are conspicuous ; Trinity and St Paul s in Broadway, having spires, the one 198, the other 234 feet high ; St John s in Hudson Street, reared at an expense of 200,000 dollars, and St Patrick s Romish Cathedral, the largest of all. There are eight spacious buildings for public schools. The Park and Bowery Theatres are large, though not very fully attended. Three hotels, the Astor, City, and Holt s, are among the largest establishments of the kind in the world, and handsomely built. There are two academical institutions, Columbia College, founded in 1754, and the University of New York, raised by sub scription in 1831. The edifices built for both, especially the latter, are very handsome. The students attending in 1842 were respectively 120 and 135, numbers seemingly small compared with the greatness of the place. The commerce, with the wharfage and other accommodations, has been treated under that general head. The progress of the city, even according to the general career of things in the New World, has been almost magical. The population in 1696 was 4302 ; in 1786 still only 23,614 ; in 1840 it had risen to 312,000. Brooklyn, on the opposite coast of Long Island, originally consisting of the country villas of the merchants, has grown into a city, with regular streets and handsome edifices. The United States navy-yard and naval hospital have 302 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. been established there. The two places are connected by steam-ferries, where coaches are received on board, and conveyed across without the passengers requiring to alight. Albany, at the head of the tide- waters of the Hudson, was considerable even while the country was subject to Holland ; and it has still much the aspect of a Dutch town, clean, neat, and substantial. It has attained, however, additional importance since the formation of the Great Canal from the river to Lake Erie. All the goods thus conveyed must be landed and reimbarked at this city, which becomes hence a great scene of inland commerce. Rising in an amphitheatre from the river and canal, it presents a very handsome appearance. Troy, seven miles higher, at the head of the sloop navigation, has acquired consideration from manufactures and establishments for education. Along the canal line, cities have sprung up almost instantaneously, where just before had been a complete wilderness. Buffalo pos sesses vast importance from its site at the junction of the canal with the lake. Rochester and Utica, situated in the richest part of the tract through which the former is carried, are extensive marts of agricultural produce. These cities, so hastily reared, contain handsome houses, and public edifices vying with those in the great capitals ; yet the vicinity is rude, and stumps of trees disfigure the streets and squares. Philadelphia, the chief town of Pennsylvania, and in magnitude the second city of the States, is situated on the peninsula formed by the junction of the Delaware and Schuylkill, the latter accessible to large merchant vessels, the former to those of almost any dimension. This is a more modern city than those hitherto de scribed, being founded as we have seen in 1G83 by William Penn, not in an irregular and fortuitous manner, but upon a preconceived and regular plan, the streets being straight, of equal breadth, crossing at right angles, and opening into spacious squares. The houses are similarly well built and commodious. Yet TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 303 though the faults incident to most cities are thus avoided, complaints are made that the general effect is mono tonous. Mr Dickens declares it distractingly regular, and would have given the world to see a winding and tortuous avenue. The suburbs in fact deviate into partial irregularities. The finest building is that formerly occupied by the United States Bank, con sidered the purest specimen of Greek architecture in the Union. It is of white marble, as are also the Bank of Pennsylvania and Girard s. The Mint of the United States, in the Ionic style, and the Exchange, in the Corinthian, are also conspicuous edifices. There are eighty-five churches, of which one Presbyterian, two Episcopal, and one Roman Catholic, are large and hand some. The works for drawing a supply of water from the Schuylkill, constructed at an expense of nearly 1,500,000 dollars, were considered unmatched on that side of the Atlantic, till the formation of the Croton Aqueduct at New York. Various manufactures are carried on, some expensively, particularly paper and printing. In intellec tual pursuits, this city rivals Boston and New York, the branches chiefly cultivated being abstract science and natural history. The public library is composed of several collections, comprising in all 50,000 volumes, with a museum containing some remarkable remains of extinct animals. The Medical School is reckoned the first in the Union, being attended by about 500 students. Benevolent institutions, liberally supported in all the American cities, exist here on a particularly large scale. The Hospital and Penitentiary deserve special mention. The Prison is remarkable for the attempt to effect the reform of criminals by labour and solitary confinement ; though this last arrangement appears to have been carried somewhat too far. The commerce of the city has been already noticed under that general head. Harrisburg, the seat of state-government, Lancaster, and Reading, are well-built country towns, agreeably situated in the most fertile tracts on the Delaware and 304 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. Susquehanna. They are much surpassed, however, by Pittsburg, which has been termed the Birmingham of America. It is situated on the opposite side of the mountains, at the junction of the two branches form ing the Ohio, being thus placed at the head of all the western waters. Its chief manufactures are iron, cut lery, machinery, with some woollens, cottons, and paper. A large proportion of the vessels which navi gate the Ohio and Mississippi are here constructed. The abundance and close vicinity of coal, as already described, have greatly contributed to its progress, though giving to the mansions a dark and gloomy appearance. The suburb of Alleghany, on the opposite side of the river of that name, incorporated only in 1828, has rapidly grown into a large town. The towns of New Jersey, notwithstanding their maritime situation, have not risen to greatness by foreign trade. They are noted, however, for manufactures, the rivers affording an ample supply of water-power. Trenton, the state -capital, is comparatively small ; but Newark is one of the most industrious towns in America, carrying on a great variety of fabrics. It is well built, with broad streets and large open spaces. Patterson, near the picturesque falls of the Passaic, derives from that stream a copious supply of water- power, and has cotton and other manufactures on a large scale. The territory of the Union south of Pennsylvania and east of the Alleghany is generally known under the appellation of the southern states. It is characterized by a wider extent of level surface, flat and uniform shore*, the productions of a warmer climate, and the general employment of slave-labour. To make a more precise survey, we may form it into two divisions, to be viewed as the middle and the extreme southern. The former is composed of the large states of Virginia and Maryland, the small one of Delaware, and the terri tory of Columbia. It was the portion earliest colonized, and from its fruitfulness and central situation, has acted a TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 305 conspicuous part in the history of the Union. Notwith standing, indeed, superior natural advantages, it is now left behind in industry, wealth, and importance, by the northern states. Still it occupies a position of great and commanding influence. The following may be given as its statistical outline : Virginia Maryland Delaware Columbia Territory Length. Miles. Breadth. Miles. Square i Population Miles. in 1840. 370 180 87 10 290 110 36 10 70,000 13,960 2,120 100 1,231,797 469,232 78,085 43,712 647 446 556,180 1,830,826 The coast here presents very remarkable features. It is broken by two deep and noble bays, stretching far into the interior, not in a direct line, but from north to south, nearly parallel to the ocean, from which and from each other they are separated by a long peninsula. The Chesapeake, the most interior and greatest, is reckoned by Darby to have a length of 180 miles, an average width of 20, and a superficies of 3600 square miles. Its outline presents neither the bold and broken character of the northern range, nor the mono tonous aspect of the more southern, being much varied by bays and the estuaries of great rivers, yet not elevated or rugged. Delaware Bay, to the east, is smaller and more uniform, chiefly important from its connexion with Philadelphia. These two grand inlets approach so close at their head, that a ship-canal of ten miles has been sufficient to connect them, and confer thus important benefits on navigation. This is confined to the two bays ; for the exterior ocean-coast, from Cape Charles to Cape Henlopen, consists of long sandy islands, with shallow sounds, not one of which can serve for a harbour. The mountains of this tract form a continuation of the Alleghany, which, entering from Pennsylvania, runs 308 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. nearly south, with some declination westward ; while the direction of the coast leaves a wide and fertile plain intervening. Several successive ridges with interposed valleys are observed ; the principal being called Blue, Kittatinny, and Alleghany Proper. They were supposed till of late much inferior to those in the north, and not to rise higher than 2000 feet. This statement may even be found in the first chapter of this work, which was printed before recent surveys, carried into the interior, had traced peaks much more elevated. That of Otter, in the Blue range, is stated at 4260 feet ; White Top, among the Iron Mountains, a branch of the Kittatinny, at 6000 ; Powell s, in the most westerly ridge, at 4500. Virginia, like New York and Pennsylvania, has a ter ritory west of these mountains, reaching even to the Ohio. The rivers of this quarter possess also a great import ance. The Susquehanna and Delaware, indeed, which descend from the north into the two great bays, have appeared to belong to a different region. Others of equal magnitude, however, flow eastward from the Alleghany to the Chesapeake. After crossing an ele vated plain that borders the mountains, they encounter a primitive ledge, down which they are precipitated with great violence, and navigation is interrupted, though after a long previous range. The Potomac is the most northerly, and may in a general sense be called a boundary stream, rolling for a certain space almost along the Pennsylvanian frontier. It rises on the western side of the Alleghany, having sources not remote from those of the Ohio and Susquehanna, then penetrates through deep mountain-valleys, till it arrives on the plains of Virginia. In forcing its way through the opposing barriers, it exhibits scenes of peculiar grandeur. At Harper s Ferry, the main stream, and its northern tribu tary the Shenandoah, rush from opposite sides with the violence of torrents, and encounter with a shock, by which a mountain has been rent asunder, and converted into a range of frightful precipices. Farther down oc- TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 307 cur the great falls, where the whole river rushes over a perpendicular ledge of seventy-six feet, and a succession of foaming rapids continues for fifteen miles. At Alex andria, the port of Washington, it is navigable for vessels of any burden, either for war or commerce. This is the most interior point in the States to which the re mark can apply, being about two hundred miles from the mouth of the Chesapeake. The James, its great southern rival, rises amid the interior heights of the chain, and after winding through its deep valleys, pur sues a long course S. E. by E. through the heart of Virginia, passing Richmond the capital, and communi cating with Petersburg by its tributary the Appomat- tox. Mr Darby estimates 320 miles of good naviga tion, till it falls into the Chesapeake near the ocean, where it may be recollected was erected Jamestown, the first English settlement in America, now entirely deserted. The two minor yet still considerable chan nels of York and Rappahannock intervene between the greater ones now mentioned. The Patuxent in Maryland is respectable ; and the Patapsco, though flow ing only thirty miles, expands into a bay on which Baltimore is situated, and capable of receiving vessels of 600 tons. The industry of these states is almost purely agricul tural, consisting mainly in the production of very fine wheat and tobacco, which last was originally, and still is, in a great degree peculiar to them. Baltimore is somewhat allied to the north, by considerable manufactures and some fishery ; but this exception does not break the general remark. The mountains contain inexhaustible stores of coal, iron, and salt, and have a share also of the great gold formation ; treasures which are beginning to be turned to account. The following is the amount of the different branches according to the census of 1840 : Agriculture, c. Horses and mules, 435,224 ; neat cattle, 1,307,019 ; sheep, 1,591,647 ; hogs, 2,487,999 ; poultry, value 1,023,820 dollars; wheat, 13,782,811 bushels ; oats, 17,928,429 ; rye, 2,245,003 ; Indian corn, 208 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 44,949,521 ; wool, 3,091,686 Ibs. ; potatoes, 4,193,840 bushels ; hay, 495,210 tons ; tobacco, 100,218,940 Ibs. ; cotton, 3,500,490 ; sugar, 1,578,099 ; lumber, value 770,631 dollars ; iron, cast, 27,703 tons ; bar, 14,235 ; coal, bituminous, 10,844,345 bushels ; salt, 1,747,978 ; gold, value 51,758 dollars. Manufactures. Woollen, value 488,392 dollars ; leather, l, 253,359 dollars ; soap, 4,988,433 Ibs. ; candles, 1,543,955 Ibs. Fisheries, Commerce. Pickled fish, 153,907 barrels; houses in foreign trade, 108 ; commission houses, 185 ; capital supposed to be invested, 9,023,500 dollars ; re tail houses, 5,910 ; capital, 29,600,223 dollars. Cities and towns, with their population in 1840 : Columbia. Washington, 23,364 ; Alexandria, 8459 ; Georgetown, 7312. Virginia. Richmond, 20,153 ; Petersburg, 11,136 ; Norfolk, 10,920 ; Wheeling, 7885. Maryland. Baltimore, 102,313 ; Hagerstown, 7197 ; Annapolis (seat of government), 2792. Delaware. Wilmington, 8367 ; Dover (seat of govern ment), 3790. Washington, as the official capital and seat of govern ment for the whole Union, must claim our first attention. It is a modern city, founded in 1791, upon a regular plan formed by the great man whose name it bears. It extends about four and a half miles along the Potomac, on the Maryland side, with a breadth of two and a-half. The design was similarly uniform with that of Philadel phia, without being quite so monotonous. Ten streets, each 120 to 160 feet broad, were marked out under the name of avenues, five diverging from the Capitol or house of congress, and five from the residence of the president. They received their names from the different states, while the principal one, called the Pennsylvania, about a mile in length, connected the two great edifices. These were to be crossed by smaller streets, with large open spaces at the intersection. This plan contem plated a great city, which in fact Washington was TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 309 expected to become. The sagacity of its illustrious founder, however, was here deceived. In a country where there is no landed aristocracy, such a capital can only be reared by commerce, which can never here be extensive. The Potomac, though up to this point broad and spacious, rolls above through a mountain- region, where it is very imperfectly navigable, and can never become the channel for any copious produce. That of the Susquehanna and of the Chesapeake shores must always pass through Baltimore. This is not per haps a circumstance to be regretted. The proceedings of congress are likely to be more deliberate and states man-like, when removed from the bustle and excitement of a great city. Of this the States are seemingly con vinced, having fixed their official capitals mostly in secondary, and sometimes in very small towns. In con sequence, however, of the place being laid out on so ex tensive a plan, the inhabitants have located themselves in different quarters, according to taste or accident. Thus the harmony of the original design is completely con cealed, and nothing appears but scattered clusters of houses placed at inconvenient distances. The Capitol, as might be expected, is the finest building in the United States, erected at a cost of upwards of half a million sterling. Its length is 350 feet, depth of wings 121, height to the top of the balustrade 70, of the centre dome 120. The representatives hall and senate chamber are each of a semicircular form, the one 95 and the other 74 feet long. The former is particularly splendid, supported by pillars of variegated marble from the banks of the Potomac. There is a square in front of 22^- acres, neatly laid out in walks, bordered with shrubs and flowers. The president s house, distant a mile and a half, is a handsome edifice of the Ionic order, com manding a fine prospect. There are also large braidings for official purposes, and an extensive Catholic seminary. Georgetown, separated from Washington only by a creek, and forming really a suburb, contains many good houses and elegant country seats, agreeably situated. 310 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. Alexandria, on the Potomac, six miles below, forms the port, capable of receiving the largest vessels ; but, from the circumstances mentioned as checking commercial progress, has scarcely made any advance since 1820. Baltimore is much the largest city in this division, yield ing only throughout the Union to New York and Phila delphia. Its progress has been singularly rapid, having, in 1790, 13,503 inhabitants, in 1840, *102,313. This rise has been produced by the activity of its merchants attracting to it all the commerce of the Chesapeake and tributary rivers. They have even made vigorous efforts to push a canal and railway communication across the mountains to the Ohio ; but through the errors already pointed out, have fallen much short of that ob ject ; and as the state has adopted the reigning policy of paying neither principal nor interest on its loans, no farther advances of that kind can be expected. The place is well built, with many handsome houses ; the Exchange is a vast edifice, 366 feet in length, and four stories high. The finest erection, however, boasted as superior to any similar one in the Union, is the Monu ment to Washington, 163 feet high, with a statue on the summit. The Battle Monument, celebrating the repulse of the British in 1814, is also of marble, 35 feet in height. The Roman Catholic cathedral is considered by many the finest religious edifice in the Union. The citizens of Baltimore of both sexes are noted as handsome and also hospitable ; even English travellers and severe critics on manners consider theirs as polished and agree able. They are by no means without literary taste, though not in this respect making pretensions to rival the northern capitals. Annapolis, though the seat of government, in a pleasant and healthy situation, is small and not increasing. Virginia, being entirely agricultural, cannot contain any city of the first magnitude, which, in America, can be raised up only by manufactures and extensive com merce. Richmond, however, in a beautiful and healthful situation at the head of the tide-waters of James River, TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 311 affords a, channel for conveying the produce of a very rich district. It derives also importance from being the seat of government for this great state. Its Capitol, a fine edifice on the model of the Maison-carree at Nismes, contains a statue of Washington by Houdon, and ranks second among such structures to that at Wash ington. Petersburg, on the Appomattox, which here admits vessels of 100 tons, is also the market of a fertile territory, with some manufactures. Norfolk, at the mouth of the James, enjoys a considerable trade. Fred- ericksburg, on a smaller scale, carries on that of the Rappahannock. Wheeling, on the opposite side of the mountains, and at the head of the Ohio navigation, may be considered a sort of Virginian Pittsburg. It enjoys the same abundance of coal, and carries on similar manufactures. Delaware, a narrow strip of territory, which circum stances raised to a state, contains Wilmington, a port very agreeably situated, having in its vicinity large flour- mills, and a number of manufacturing establishments, well supplied with water-power. Its schools enjoy a great reputation. Dover, the state capital, is a neat town, but of little importance. The next division, which has been termed that of the extreme south, presents a character very distinct from any of those now described. It is bounded on the north by Virginia ; on the east by the Atlantic ; south by the Gulf of Mexico ; and west by the states of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana. It consists of Carolina, North and South, Georgia, Alabama, and the territory of Florida. The following may be stated as their statis tical outline : Length. Miles. Breadth. Miles. Square Miles. Population in 1840. Carolina, North ........ . South Georgia. 450 275 300 180 200 250 50,000 33,000 62,000 753,419 594,398 691,392 Alabama . 280 160 46000 590,756 Florida 600 150 55,000 54,477 1905 940 246,000 2,684,442 312 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. The seacoast of this region embraces a very extensive circuit, but generally flat, level, shallow, and the navi gation in many places dangerous and difficult. Ala bama has a length of only sixty miles, but with the ad vantage of Mobile Bay, reaching thirty miles inland, with an entrance fifteen feet deep ; yet vessels draw ing more than eight or nine cannot ascend to the port. Florida, a long peninsula dividing the gulf from the ocean, possesses a very great range of coast, but most unfavourable to navigation. Sunken shoals, dangerous reefs, baffling currents, and intricate channels, every where associate with it the idea of peril and wreck. On entering Georgia the Atlantic coast takes a direction almost due north-east, which it follows along the whole of this region, except a small part adjoining Virginia, where it turns north with even a slight divergence westward. This line is very flat, yet broken into con siderable bays and sounds, which from their trifling depth of water, or the rivers falling into them being obstructed by bars, are of little use in navigation. At Cape Lookout, off the coast of South Carolina, begins a continuous range of long, narrow, sandy islands, which with the continent enclose still larger sounds ; those of Albemarle and Pamlico penetrating deep inland. The Alleghany ridge continues here to extend from north to south, with a declination westward, leaving between it and the ocean a continually increasing plain. It terminates however before reaching the Gulf of Mexico, thus rendering Alabama a level surface, to which it forms a background. Its general elevation does not exceed 2000 feet ; yet here, too, recent surveys have discovered peaks rising to a much greater height, and rivalling those of New England. The Roan is stated at 6038 feet, Black Mountain at 6476, both in North Carolina. The declivities of these ranges are in many places finely varied and fertile, enjoying a temperate and delightful climate. Beneath are tracts covered with forests, but in other respects so unpro ductive as in many places to be termed pine barrens. Below is a wide plain bordering the ocean, flat and TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 313 s/mdy, interspersed with extensive swamps. The "Dismal Swamp" covers 150,000 acres in North Carolina, and there are reckoned to be in that state 2,500,000 of the same dreary surface. A similar character marks the rest of the maritime region, though intermixed with some rich bottom lands. Florida, while its interior con tains some pine-covered hills, presents on the coast and in its southern quarter "labyrinths of swamps, hum mocks, ponds, and jungles, a chaotic medley of land and water." Some of these swampy spots are called sinks, the depth being almost unfathomable, and rivers frequently rising out of them. The rivers of this region are pretty numerous, and have a long course, almost parallel to each other, from the mountains to the ocean and gulf. They pour even into these receptacles large bodies of water ; yet, like most of those flowing through sandy plains, are not navigable for vessels of any considerable burden. The depth is variable, in many places extremely small, and the entrances into the sea obstructed by formidable bars. In North Carolina, the Roanoke, from beyond the Blue Ridge, forms nearly the boundary with Virginia, and falls into Albemarle Sound. Cape Fear River, also of long course, opens into the sea at Wilmington. In South Carolina, the Pedee and Santee are both very considerable, yet liable to the usual obstructions ; whence the smaller streams Ashley and Cooper are of more importance, forming the fine harbour of Charleston. The Savannah in Georgia has a peculiarly direct course from the Alleghany to the haven .of its own name, which, notwithstanding a bar of seventeen feet, can be entered by large vessels, while those of smaller size ascend to Augusta. The Alatamaha and Ogcechee are both large, but from the usual causes of little value in navigation. In Alabama, the river of that name, the Tombigbee, Coosa, and other tributaries, unite to form the Mobile, and this system is navigable to a considerable height for small vessels and steamers. VOL. III. U 314 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. The productive industry of these states is almost entirely agricultural, but of a quite different description from that of the more northern. The staples are rice, and now in a much greater degree cotton. The very defects in the soil favour the production of these articles. A surface moist and easily inundated is necessary for the first, while a light and sandy texture is hest adapted for the other, now become the main basis of American commerce. The long sandy insular range already mentioned produces that species, of unrivalled fineness, called Sea Island cotton. Even the pine region sup plies the States generally with pitch and tar for ship building. There are iron mines, as yet little explored or worked ; but the gold formation, which extends along the whole mountain-border, is of considerable value. The manufactures are very few ; the commerce consists almost entirely in the export of these agricultural pro ductions, and is chiefly managed by New England merchants. The following are the returns by the census of 1840 of the leading articles : Agriculture, c. Horses and mules, 609,259 ; neat cattle, 2T,860,492 ; sheep, 1,208,808 ; hogs, 5,502,556 ; poultry, value, 1,856,113 dollars ; wheat, 5,559,503 bushels ; oats, 7,710,361 ; Indian corn, 81,367,668 ; rice, 76,426,420 Ibs. ; cotton, 406,278,216 ; dairy pro duce, value, 2,145,625 dollars ; gold, 476,147 ; lumber, 1,347,854 ; tar, pitch, c., 594,536 barrels. Manufactures. Cotton, value, 1,119,789 dollars ; soap, 3,193,591 Ibs. Commerce. Foreign houses, 123 ; on commission, 291 ; supposed capital invested, 9,259,862 dollars ; retail houses, 5175 ; capital, 25,976,674 dollars. The following are the cities and towns of this region, with their population in 1840 : North Carolina. Wilmington, 4744; Raleigh (seat of government), 2244. South Carolina. Charleston, 29,261 ; Columbia (seat of government), 4340. TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 315 Georgia. Savannah, 11,214 ; Augusta, 6403 ; Macon, 3927 ; Milledgcville (seat of government), about 2000. Alabama. Mobile, about 10,000 ; Tuscaloosa (seat of government), about 2000. Charleston may be considered the metropolis, and is in deed the only place deserving the name of a city in all this region. It is described as the handsomest, and what may be termed the most stylish in the Union. A number of the great planters spend here some months of the year, while the interior is sickly and country operations are suspended. Some of the houses have cost 10,000, and are considered by Mr Stuart as de serving the name of palaces. The squares are adorned with beautiful trees, especially that called the Pride of India ; while the houses have in front open piazzas, and are surrounded with parterres containing the multiflora rose and other fragrant flowering shrubs. The ground was originally low and marshy, causing severe visitations of the yellow fever ; but it is now well drained, and much more healthy. The commerce is considerable, consisting in the export of the agricultural produce of all the ad jacent territory. Yet it is remarkable that, alone of all the American cities, it has declined in population during the last ten years from 30,289 to 29,261. The American writers make no attempt to account for a fact so unique. The decline in the value of the planters estates may have made them less able to spend here their time and money. The towns of North Carolina scarcely deserve mention. Wilmington, the chief seat of trade, does not contain 5000 inhabitants ; while Raleigh, the state capital, though in a pleasant and airy spot of the interior, is still smaller. More importance attaches to Savannah, the chief town of Georgia, at the mouth of the river of its own name. It extends two miles, adorned with double rows of the Pride of India, most of the houses standing detached and surrounded by gardens. Augusta, at the head of the river navigation, receives and transmits by railways a great quantity of cotton from the west. It is also built in an open style, with little regularity, but 31 6 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. contains a number of handsome houses. Mill edge ville, the state capital, is a small place, agreeably situated about eighty-seven miles to the south-west. Mobile in Alabama, though ancient, was little more than a military post till the rapid advance of the state through the culture of cotton, which is now brought thither in vast quantities down the river. It stands high, and the surrounding marshes having been drained, has become tolerably healthy. Tuscaloosa, the state capital, is, as in other cases, only a large village, agreeably situated in the interior. We must now pass the mountains, and survey a country entirely new, superior in extent and fertility to all that has been hitherto described. The western terri tory, settled only within the last half century, begins to rival the eastern in population and importance, and is making much more rapid progress. Extending pa rallel to the other, from the Lakes to the Mexican Gulf, it includes the same variety of soil and climate, and might similarly admit of a triple arrangement ; but, not to render the delineation too complicated, we shall view it under two divisions, the northern, in a temperate climate, and cultivated by freemen ; and the southern, partly or wholly tropical in its temperature and produc tions, and where all the labour is performed by slaves. The former, in a general view, is bounded on the east by the Alleghany, though several of the Atlantic states make encroachments beyond that barrier ; on the north, irregularly by the mighty lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior ; on the south, by the course of the Ohio ; on the west, by the Mississippi ; but the newly formed territory of Iowa extends beyond that river, without any well denned boundary. In the rapidity of its growth, this region is perfectly unparalleled. In 1790, it was estimated to contain 3000 white inhabitants ; in 1840, they had risen to almost 3,000,000. The three states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, stretch in a direct line west of each other. North of the two first lies Michigan, con sisting partly of a peninsula formed by lakes Huron and TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 317 Michigan, partly of another between the latter and Lake Superior. The new territory of Wisconsin fills the in terval between that state and the Mississippi ; while Iowa, stretching beyond that river, claims to reach the Missouri ; but only a small part of this space is yet oc cupied. The following may be given as the present statistical outline of this region ; but the dimensions of the two territories, though equalling or surpassing all the rest, cannot yet be estimated with any precision. Length. Miles. Breadth. Miles. Square Miles. Population in 1840. Ohio 210 200 45,000 1,519,467 Indiana.. . 275 140 36,500 685,866 350 200 54 000 476 183 Michigan. 250 140 34,900 212,276 Wisconsin 30,945 Iowa 43,111 2,967,848 This division forms one of the most extensive level tracts in the world. There is no height aspiring to the character of a mountain, except in the portion between Lakes Michigan and Superior, little traversed at present except by the hunter. The surface is generally not a dead level, but slightly undulating ; a great part, includ ing nearly all Ohio, being a table-land in some places 1000 feet high, but declining to the westward. The soil is in general densely timbered ; yet a large propor tion, including two-thirds of Illinois, bears that peculiar aspect called by the French prairie, covered with a strong coarse grass, reaching above the human height. The Indians usually set fire to it in winter, and in the following spring it becomes covered with a profusion of the most beautiful and delicate flowers, and also the resort of large birds and wild animals. These grounds usually rise gently from the streams, whose borders, named bottoms, are covered with lofty forests and thick under wood. They have a luxuriant soil, but are in many places marshy and unhealthy. 318 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. This region is destitute of any seacoast, being dis tant from the nearest above 200 miles. In return, nature has bestowed a range of magnificent rivers, without which her otherwise lavish gifts would have been almost in vain. The grand trunk of the Mississippi rolls along the whole western border, fitted to convey produce of every description down to New Orleans. Into this central receptacle falls the noble stream of the Ohio, after traversing the whole region from east to west. It is formed at Pittsburg by the union of the Alleghany and Monongahela, after each has flowed about 300 miles, mostly navigable for boats. A course of 950 miles then follows till its junction with the Mississippi. The channel is navigable throughout one-half the year for large, and the other for small steam-vessels. An interruption by rapids formerly occurred above Louisville, but is now obviated by a canal. Its appearance is very beautiful ; the waters clear, bordered by variegated hills, and diver sified by about a hundred islands. The Kenawha comes to it across the Alleghany from Virginia. Thenceforth it receives a succession of fine rivers, both from the south and the north ; but the latter only belong to our present subject. The chief, in proceeding westward, are the Muskingum, navigable for boats 1 00 miles ; the Scioto, 130 miles ; the Miami, which, though very rapid, may be ascended for 70. The Wabash, a noble stream, crosses Indiana, then separates it from Illinois, and falls in after a course of 600 miles, of which 400 are navigable. In an opposite direction, the Sandusky and the Maumee enter Lake Erie, much aiding the cross navigation from the Ohio. The river of Illinois has a gentle course of 400 miles into the Mississippi. The same description applies to the Wisconsin, flowing 350 miles through the territory, unbroken by falls ; and though of rapid course, tolerably navigable. The same great receptacle draws from the west the Iowa, after a course of similar length, somewhat obstructed, yet navigable by steamers during part of the year for 100 miles. The produce of this country is almost entirely agricul- TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 3 1 9 tural, consisting of the best grains and other articles proper to the temperate climates, with large stocks of domestic animals, particularly hogs. Tobacco has even been introduced, but to no great extent, in Ohio and Indiana. Cultivation is not indeed carried on with costly implements, much science or skill, but rather in that rude hasty style which characterizes new settle ments. The circumstance deserving admiration is the en ergy with which this lately unbroken wilderness has been tamed, its wastes reclaimed, and a certain rough aspect of culture and civilisation spread over the whole. In the wooded lands, generally considered the best, the process of cutting down the trees before any crop can be raised, is very laborious. Much of the prairie soil, however, is excellent, and requires only to be broken up by a very strong plough, drawn by several yoke of oxen. Bitu minous coal and iron abound on the upper Ohio, while the opposite banks of the Mississippi, in Illinois and Iowa, afford inexhaustible stores of lead. There are some few manufactures, chiefly the usual and bulky ones of leather, soap, candles, and spirits. We cannot, with the Americans, class under this head flour and sawn timber. Commerce, however, finds ample scope in sending the surplus inland produce either down the Mississippi, or by the Erie Canal to New York. In the former case, it is transported in peculiar vehicles, and with dangers as great as are incurred in navigating the most stormy ocean. Lakes form in this region a conspicuous feature, though the principal merely range along its border, and have the greater part of their shores in British America. Michigan, however, lies entirely within the States territory. Con nected at its northern extremity with Lake Huron, it stretches southward about 360 miles, with a breadth of from 80 to 100. Its shores are remarkably uniform, with the exception of Green Bay in the north-west, which re ceives Fox River, connected by a short portage with the Wisconsin. Along with Huron, this lake converts the principal part of the state bearing its name into a peniii- 320 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. sula. The chief importance attaches to the southern shore of Lake Erie, as the channel by which the whole region is connected with the Great Canal and New York. Hence the main object of its canals and railways has been to combine this expanse with the Ohio and Mississippi. The following are the returns of the leading articles of produce, according to the census of 1840 : Agriculture, $c. Horses and mules, 917,471 ; neat cattle, 2,717,636 ; sheep, 3,218,489 ; hogs, 5,670,780 ; poultry, value 1,333,417 dollars; wheat, 26,480,346 bushels; oats, 28,099,746 ; rye, 1,072,016 ; Indian corn, 88,520,881 ; wool, 5,756,432 Ibs. ; potatoes, 12,119,211 bushels ; hay, 1,544,694 tons ; tobacco, 8,336,700 Ibs. ; sugar, 11,997,516 ; dairy produce, value 3,379,651 dol lars; iron, cast, 36,808 tons; bar, 7486; lead, 24,384,350 Ibs. ; coal, 4,189,636 bushels ; lumber, value 1,632,122 dollars ; skins and furs, 510,1 15. Manufactures, $c. Woollens, value 764,698 dollars ; cottons, 274,778 ; machinery, 1,084,975 ; hardware, &c., 438,563 ; leather, 3,172,229 ; soap, 5,410,426 Ibs. ; candles, 2,740,412 ; spirits, 10,018,630 gallons ; beer, 2,024,172. Commerce. Foreign houses, 67 ; commission houses, 365 ; estimated capital, 7,802,200 dollars ; retail houses, 8701 ; capital, 35,179,125 dollars ; ships built, 686,937 dollars. Cities and towns of this region, with their population in 1840 : Ohio. Cincinnati, 46,338 ; Cleveland, 6071 ; Dayton, 6067 ; Columbus (state capital), 6048. Indiana. New Albany, 4226 ; Madison, 3798 ; In dianapolis (state capital), 2692. Illinois. Chicago, 4470 ; Springfield (state capital), 2579 ; Alton, 2340 ; Galena, 1843. Michigan. ^ Detroit (state capital), 9102 ; Ypsilante, 2419 ; Pontiac, 1904. Wisconsin rMilwaukie, 1712 ; Madison (state capi tal), very small. TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 321 Iowa. Iowa (state capital) ; Dubuque, both very small. Cincinnati, the undoubted metropolis of this region, has by its rapid progress excited astonishment even in America. In 1780, the site was an unbroken forest ; but a few years after, with a view to the Indian war, a post called Fort Washington was erected upon it. In 1789, Major Doughty settled there with 140 people, naming it Losantiville. Even in 1800, the population was only 500 ; in 1810, it was 2540 ; since which time it has increased with accelerated rapidity, till it now exceeds 46,000. The streets are on a regular plan, at right angles to each other, with open spaces 396 feet long terminating each, and a large square in the centre. Many of the houses are well built, though only of brick, but painted in different colours ; and of late an orna mented stucco has begun to be employed. The city is divided into an upper and lower part, the latter, when the river rises very high, being exposed to in undation. No proper arrangement is yet made to clear away the masses of rubbish accumulated in the wide open spaces, which give to the city a rough and unfinished appearance. There are twenty-four churches, of which the Second Presbyterian is described as very elegant. The employment consists chiefly in conveying the grain and provisions raised in the territory to and down the Mississippi. The curing of pork is a most extensive trade. There are considerable manufactures of bulky articles, particularly iron, wood, and steam machinery. About 150 large steamers have here been built. There are some other pretty large towns in Ohio. Columbus, which has existed only since 1812, stands almost in the centre of the state, on a very agreeable site near the Scioto. The state-house and the penitentiary recently erected, are handsome. Cleveland, at the junction of the Ohio Canal with Lake Erie, has, through this happy situation, risen rapidly from a small naval 322 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. station to a flourishing port. Dayton, connected with Cincinnati by the Ohio Canal, is also very prosperous. Indiana is still almost entirely a rural territory. New Albany derives some trade from its position on the Ohio ; but it cannot rival Louisville on the Kentucky side, only four miles distant. Indianapolis, the state capital, on the White River, is as yet only a large village ; but from the fertile country round, is expected to flourish. The towns of Illinois deserve notice rather from the great anticipations of their future progress, than from any actually made. Chicago, on Lake Michigan, is the channel by w r hich its produce is conveyed to the great canal. Springfield has an agreeable and central situation in a fine country. Alton, near the junction of the Mis sissippi and Missouri, is expected to become the seat of a great trade, as is also Cairo at the mouth of the Ohio, though only in its infancy. Galena is the capital of the lead district. Michigan has Detroit, on the channel so named, con necting Lakes Huron and Erie. The French founded it in 1670 ; but it continued small, having in 1830 little more than 2000 inhabitants. When, however, the tide of emigration set into the state, Detroit, as a great rendezvous and the seat of the land sales, became the second place in all this region. Flourishing villages are now springing up in the interior. Mackinac, at the junction of Lakes Huron and Michigan, has only about 100 houses, but is the centre of the American Fur Company s operations. Wisconsin and Iowa contain as yet only large villages. Dubuque, in the latter, thrives by its vicinity to the lead- mines. The last division of the United States extends from that now described southward to the Gulf of Mexico. The Southern Atlantic states, separated generally by the barrier of the Alleghany, form its eastern boundary ; while the western is a line drawn nearly through 95 W. long., beyond which is the territory now occupied TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 323 by the Indian emigrant tribes. The climate and pro ductions of this wide tract pass insensibly from those of the south of Europe to others completely tropical. The bold rough enterprising spirit of the west is here de veloped in its fullest extent ; but all the manual labour is performed by slaves. The following may be given as its statistical outline. Length. Miles. Breadth. Miles. Square Miles. Population in 1840. 300 140 40,500 779,828 Tennessee 400 110 45,000 829,210 Missouri 270 220 66,000 383,702 Arkansas 250 240 54,000 97,574 Mississippi 280 160 46,500 375,651 Louisiana 250 200 48,500 352,411 1750 1070 300,500 2,818,376 This region composes, on the whole, one of the most level surfaces on the face of the earth. On the east, in deed, it is bordered by the Alleghany range ; but all the higher peaks are claimed by Virginia and North Carolina, and only some lower spurs and branches stretch into Kentucky and Tennessee. The principal is the range called the Cumberland Mountains. On the opposite side, indeed, of the Mississippi, the Ozark ridge, commencing at the junction of that river with the Missouri, extends across Arkansas into Texas. It is of moderate elevation, not being supposed to contain a summit exceeding 2000 feet. The Mississippi, Missouri, and most of their tribu taries, are bordered by long ranges of those peculiar round heights called bluffs, rising almost perpendicularly to 50 or 100 feet, and bearing much the appearance of natural fortifications. A number have been believed really such, especially as they have evidently been so occupied, and contain numerous bones, as well as arms and other implements of the ancient inhabitants. It has been, however, supposed, that the people, finding these mounds erected by nature, made use of them for purposes of defence and inhabitation. All the territory 324 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. on the inferior course of the Mississippi is extremely low, much of it marshy or liable to inundation. The river, however, in one place, even where above the level of the adjacent country, has formed a singular barrier against itself, called the levee, thrown up by its own alluvium, and protecting the territory beyond from being overflowed. The limestone formation of Kentucky is singularly perforated by subterranean rivers and caverns of extraordinary depth. The mammoth cave has been somewhat variously estimated as to dimensions ; but the visiter is undoubtedly led through several miles of winding passages and spacious apartments, lined with various incrustations. The rivers of this region form one of its most remark able and important features. The great trunk of the Mississippi, and partly that of the Missouri, rolling from north to south through its centre, afford all the advan tages of an inland sea, by which steamers of large dimen sions can ascend to the interior. They receive on each side important tributaries. The principal from the east, however, fall into the Ohio at various distances above its junction with the main stream. These flow from the Alleghany, particularly that branch called the Cumber land Mountains. The Kentucky and Licking are not remarkable for length of course or navigation, but for the singular beauty and fertility of the territory which they water. The Cumberland has a much longer course of 600 miles, whereof 200, up to Nashville, are navigable for steamers. The Tennessee flows mostly through the state of that name, for 1200 miles, above 300 navigable. The waters which from this side fall into the Mississippi itself are much inferior. The Yazoo and the Black rivers have only courses of about 200 miles, with 50 navigable. Those from the west are much larger, and indeed surpassed by few on the globe ; but their streams, leading mostly over sandy and desert tracts, are encumbered by many obstructions, and not navigable for large vessels. The Platte, after flowing at least 1100 miles from the Rocky Mountains, enters the Missouri at the N.W. TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 325 point of the state so named. It even pours in during the wet season a vast body of water ; yet for most of the year is fordable through its whole length, while the channel is so wide, shallow, and impeded by sand-banks and islands, as scarcely to afford a passage even for boats. The Kansas has a shorter line of about 600 miles, somewhat more navigable. The Arkansas is the largest of these rivers, its course from the loftiest snow-covered ridges of the Rocky Mountains exceeding 2000 miles ; but it is liable to the usual obstructions, and can with difficulty be ascended by small steamers to Fort Gibson, on the frontier of the state. The Red River rises in the prolongation of the same range through New Mexico, near Santa Fe, and, after flowing above 1 1 00 miles, enters the Mississippi, about 400 above New Orleans. Nearly 200 miles up, and soon after entering Louisiana, it spreads into a multitude of small branches, which being blocked up with trees brought down by the current, form a compact encumbered mass called the Raft, through which a skilful pilot may guide a keel-boat, but which bars all regular navigation. Near the mouth of the Mississippi are some expanses which bear the name of lakes, Pontchartrain, Borgne, &c., but they are only flat shallow bays, connected with the sea by narrow entrances. The industry of this region is agricultural, consisting in the tillage of the soil by the hands of slaves. It is not so uniformly fertile as the one last described, in cluding sandy and marshy tracts of great extent. Yet there is also a large proportion of fertile land, peculiarly adapted to productions for which there exists the most extensive demand. Kentucky and Tennessee yield in perfection wheat and other valuable grains, and their cattle, especially horses, are considered of the best breeds in the Union. They add tobacco on a scale nearly rivalling Virginia and Maryland. In proceeding south ward, cotton becomes the prevailing crop, covering al most the whole country, and becoming the chief staple of southern trade. Lastly, in approaching the Gulf of 326 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. Mexico, sugar is largely produced. Iron is copiously found in Kentucky and Tennessee, and the mineral wealth of Missouri is considered almost inexhaustible ; but only the lead-mines have been as yet rendered much available. Manufactures can scarcely be said to exist ; yet the most common are found on a small scale in Kentucky and Tennessee. Commerce, carried on down the Mis sissippi and by New Orleans, consists entirely in the export of cotton, tobacco, and some other produce, bring ing in return manufactures and imported luxuries. The foreign part is chiefly carried on by the merchants and shipping of New England and New York. The following are the returns, under the principal heads, in the census of 1 840 : Agriculture, S$c. Horses and mules, 1,193,881 ; neat cattle, 3,237,055 ; sheep, 2,366,441 ; hogs, 8,225,788 ; poultry, value, 2,176,564 dollars ; wheat, 10,712,794 bushels ; oats, 17,392,129 ; Indian corn, 126,126,613 ; wool, 3,698,866 Ibs. ; potatoes, 6,501,272 bushels ; to bacco, 92,406,988 Ibs. ; cotton, 380,499,442 ; sugar, 121,860,100 ; lumber, value, 853,807 dollars ; skins and furs, 435,191 ; lead, 5,295,455 Ibs. ; iron, cast, 46,914 tons ; bar, 14,794. Manufactures, $c. Cotton, value, 675,743 dollars ; hats, caps, &c., 429,002 ; leather, 1,634,108 ; soap, 5,671,774 Ibs. ; candles, 4,461,595 ; spirits, 3,696,239 gallons. Commerce, c. Foreign houses, 62 ; commission- houses, 599 ; capital supposed to be invested, 20,397,200 dollars ; retail houses, 7307 ; capital, 45,812,091 dollars. The following are the principal cities and towns, with their population by the census of 1840 : Louisiana. New Orleans (capital), 102,193. Mississippi. Natchez, 4800 ; Vicksburg, 3104. Tennessee. Nashville, 6929 ; Memphis, 2000. Kentucky. Louisville, 21,210 ; Lexington, 6997 ; Frankfort (state capital), 1917. TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 327 Missouri. St Louis, 15,000; Jefferson (state capital), very small. Arkansas. Little Rock (state capital) ; Arkansas, mere villages. New Orleans, 105 miles above the mouth of the Mississippi, is the only great city in this region, and one of the chief emporia of commerce in America. Under this head its transactions and position have been already described. Founded in 1717, under the regency of the Duke of Orleans, and named from him, it was in 1762 ceded to Spain, from which power we have seen it ex torted by Napoleon and sold to the States. Prior to that time, it remained a very small place, containing in 1800 only between 5000 and 6000 inhabitants. Since, however, it became the emporium of the new states formed in the west, its progress has been such as to appear astonishing even in America ; its population in 1840 having exceeded 102,000. A great proportion, however, is of a floating description, composed of mer chants from New York and other northern cities, who hope to raise a fortune by commercial transactions, and then return home. Hence the style of its old possessors still prevails, and a traveller is struck with the narrow streets, the high houses ornamented with tasteful cornices and iron balconies, with many other circumstances peculiar to towns in France and Spain, pointing out the past history of this city, fated to change its masters so often. Many houses are fancifully ornamented with coloured stucco. The city forms a crescent of about three miles around a great bend of the river, and stretches about half a mile inland. The ground being not only quite flat, but even beneath the level of the water when in flood, is only protected from inundation by a levee or embankment, sometimes broken through, but easily repaired. More than half the population, including all the labouring class, are black or coloured, the latter usually named quadroons. The most respectable and opulent inhabitants, being only temporary residents, have not bestowed much pains in 328 TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. ornamenting or improving the city, which contains no very remarkable edifice. The churches are fewer in number, and the Sabbath less reverently observed, than usual in America ; though benevolent institutions are said to be well supported. Many of the inhabitants are respectable ; yet a large proportion consists of gamblers, adventurers, swindlers, and other disreputable characters. The low site, surrounded with marshes, makes it at some seasons very unhealthy ; but improvements are forming in this respect. Mississippi contains Natchez, the celebrated seat of the temple and chief of the sun, and where the natives had reached a higher civilisation than was general in North America. Standing partly on a bluff, it is tolerably salubrious, and has a nourishing commerce, being reached even by vessels from the sea. Vicksburg, sixty miles higher up, carries on a great river-trade. Tennessee is almost entirely rural ; yet Nashville, its capital, is a handsome and agreeable country town, with an esteemed university. Memphis, from its site on the Mississippi, has some trade, and is the projected termina tion of the great railway lines from Carolina and Georgia. Kentucky, too, is mostly rural ; yet Louisville, on the Ohio, above the great falls, has attained a share of the same commerce which made Cincinnati so prosperous. It has derived great additional advantage from the Port land Canal, by which these obstructions are avoided. There is one fine street of a mile long. The edifice reared for a free public school is as handsome in its struc ture as laudable in its object. Lexington, the chief interior city, is delightfully situated in a fine country. Its university holds the first place among western col legiate institutions, especially the medical school ; the libraries contain 15,000 volumes. The society is con sidered the most polished and agreeable of any in the western cities. Yet, according to prevailing usage, the seat of government has been transferred to a large village named Frankfort, on the Kentucky, where there is a handsome marble state-house. TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY. 329 Missouri, though, recently settled, contains already St Louis, an old French station, now raised to import ance by its situation on the Mississippi, at the highest point to which steamers of the first magnitude can ascend. It is also the station whence the fur- traders set out for the westward. The place is agreeably situated on a hill rising from" the river. The Roman Catholic cathedral is particularly handsome, with a fine set of bells ; and there is a large university under the management of the Jesuits.- Arkansas contains as yet nothing beyond villages. VOL. III. 330 EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. CHAPTER VII. Emigration to the United States. General Remarks Early Western Settlements Boone Hen derson Obstacles during the War Acquisition of Ohio Early Sales of Land New Plan in 1804 Embarrassments under it Change in 1820 Amount since sold Purchases on Speculation Impositions practised Squatters Settle ment on improved Farms Comparison of different States Sales in each Advantages of improved Districts British America and the States Timbered Land and Prairie Modes of Conveyance Westward By Waggon By Canals and Railways Employment for Operatives Wages in dif ferent Trades. Uis 7 DER no aspect does the Western World appear more interesting to the nations of Europe than in that of Emigration. Their dense population, and the long- fixed tenure of property, has produced a numerous class who are exposed to a certain degree of destitu tion. None but the decidedly opulent can hope to enjoy any landed possession ; even the earning of a scanty subsistence by the sweat of the brow is some what precarious ; and in the case of those temporary stagnations to which the different branches of industry are so liable, the distress becomes very severe. In America, on the contrary, large tracts of the finest land can be obtained in full property for a very small price, sometimes even gratuitously ; while the remu neration of manual labour is much more liberal. Those therefore who can make the sacrifices, and overcome the difficulties incident to so great a change, will, by a removal thither, improve their own condition, and at the same time mitigate the pressure produced by competition on the market for labour at home. EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. 331 There are two fields in the west open to emigrants from Europe, particularly from this country. These are British America and the United States. In another work belonging to the present series,* the former sub- ject has been treated carefully and in considerable detail. An attempt is there made to estimate the compar ative prospects of the emigrant to each region ; but there is still room to consider the latter subject in a complete and connected view. The reader who wishes more ample details may find them in the work to which we have just referred. It is only since 1769 that settlements began to be formed in that region west of the Alleghany, to which emigration now is almost exclusively directed. With the exception of a few posts held by the French, and some parties of their coureurs de bois or hunters, who traversed the territory in search of furs, it was one wild waste of forest and prairie, occupied only by some scat tered clusters of Indian wigwams. In that year the ground was broken by Daniel Boone, a choice spirit, who, cultivating a farm on the Yadkin in North Ca rolina, felt himself impelled to a more adventurous life. He and five companions set out, and passing over very rugged tracts, crossed the mountain-steeps, and on the 7th June reached the banks of the Red River of Kentucky. Mounting a height, they saw stretching before them that wide and beautiful forest- plain, traversed by vast droves of buffaloes. The woods exhibited a beautiful variety of foliage, intermingled with fruit-trees in blossom or bearing, and with elegant flowering shrubs. The adventurous band were here completely at home, the gun supplying at once ex quisite sport and a luxurious banquet. The Indians, however, ill brooked this first inroad into their hitherto undisturbed domain, and seemed to have a presentiment that it would prove fatal to their name and nation. ~* Historical and Descriptive Account of British America (Edinburgh Cabinet Library). 332 EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. They formed an ambush, into which Boone fell, and had the prospect of becoming a victim to their wonted cruelties. He contrived, however, to escape, was joined by his brother, and continued to rove delighted through this enchanted region. He determined even to make it his permanent abode, and in September 1773, broke up from the Yadkin with his own and five other families, who were joined by forty others. Notwithstanding some loss from an attack by the Indians, they accom plished their settlement. These proceedings attracted the notice of General Dunmore, governor of Virginia, who appointed a com mission to survey the country, engaging Boone to accompany them. This examination was executed in the course of sixty-two days, and extending over a circuit of 800 miles, conveyed a tolerably complete idea of this fine territory. The revolutionary contest, however, quickly ensuing, drew the attention both of the British and native governments to more urgent objects ; and private enterprise again took the lead. Nathaniel Henderson, who was born of humble parents, and had not received even the elements of education, supplied the deficiency by his own industry, and having applied to the bar, rose to eminence and became a judge. He threw up, however, these advantages to embark in a bolder and more adventurous career. He loaded ten waggons with coarse woollens, spirits, and toys, the articles best suited for Indian traffic. These he conveyed across the Alle- ghany, and met with Boone, who readily agreed to second his views. In March 1775, a general meeting of the Cherokees was obtained at Wataga ; and for the above valuable considerations they made over to him a terri tory of 100 square miles on the Kentucky and Ohio, equal for beauty and fertility to any in the world. Then, by liberal grants of land, he invited emigrants from all countries, composed for them a code of laws, and conducted himself rather as a sovereign than a planter. Such proceedings were deemed scarcely consistent with the duties of a subject ; and the transaction, though EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. 333 held good in respect to the Indians, was disallowed as regarded his tenure ; but in compensation for his exer tions, he received a grant of 200,000 acres. . During the continuance of the revolutionary war, the settlement went on slowly, in the face of a most formidable opposition from the Indian nations, who were seconded by the British power. Even the passage of the Alleghany was formidable, when there existed no road practicable for a waggon of any description. The emigrants were obliged to travel on foot or on horse back, and wait on the other side till a caravan could assemble sufficient to defend itself from attack. On the termination of the contest, however, the great tide be gan, which has ever since continued to flow across the Alleghany, producing a growth of states the most rapid ever known in any community. Before 1790, all Ken tucky had been occupied, and the Indian nations driven north of the Ohio. They, however, easily crossed the river, and made cruel and desolating inroads, which were as fiercely retaliated, rendering it difficult to say which party were the aggressors. The United States government, after fruitless attempts to negotiate a peace, were involved in that long and severe contest, the events of which have been related (vol. ii. p. 137, &c.). After some serious reverses, the victory of Wayne led to the treaty of Greenville, which included an extensive ces sion of land on very moderate terms. Since that time successive conquests and purchases have placed the government in possession of immense tracts, exceeding in extent, and likely soon to exceed also in population, the original domain of the Union. There remained a difficulty connected with the powers of the general government. The whole of this new territory had been considered as belonging to the eastern states, each claim ing the part which extended from its western frontier to the Mississippi. It appeared desirable, however, that the whole should be placed under one management, and made independent of the old divisions. The states were therefore induced to cede their respective shares to the 334 EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. central administration, on which then devolved the task of disposing of this immense mass of landed property, and of establishing new governments in the west. It was some time before any fixed or eligible plan was matured for so great an operation. The first con templated appears to have been the sale of large lots to wealthy individuals or companies ; a course very little suited to the circumstances of the country or the public advantage. In 1787, the Ohio Company, formed at New York, purchased from congress a million and a half of acres ; while in 1789, a Mr Symmes contracted for a million between the Great and Little Miami. These transactions proved very unsatisfactory ; the company s dealings, especially with European pur chasers, were scandalously fraudulent ; while Symmes was able only partially to fulfil his engagement. Yet the first act of the legislature was to prohibit the sale, unless in very special cases, of any portion containing less than 4000 acres. In 1790, Mr Hamilton made a report, proposing to grant spots of 100 acres to actual settlers, for ready money, at thirty cents per acre. Other locations might be of 500 acres each ; but the land generally was to be laid out in sections of ten miles square, and no credit to be given for any less extent. This system gave little satisfaction, and few sales were effected. In 1799, General Harrison started the idea of selling in sections and half- sections of 640 and 320 acres. In the course of the next two or three years, earnest petitions were presented for this and other modifications of the system. On 10th May 1804, an act was passed, placing the arrangement nearly on the footing upon which it has since continued. All lands were subjected to a survey based upon true meridians drawn through each state, which by parallel lines at right angles was por tioned out into districts of six square miles, and sections of one mile, or 640 acres. This last was subdivided into quarters of 160 acres, and these again into smaller divisions of eighty and forty. One section in each district was reserved for schools ; and at the formation of each new EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. 335 state or territory, one township, or 23,040 acres, was appropriated to the support of seminaries of learning of a high class. The lands were to be offered for public sale at a minimum price of two dollars per acre, one- fourth to be paid down, the rest by three annual instal ments ; eight per cent being deducted for immediate payment. Under this law, the settlement of the western country went on with rapidity, and by September 1812, there had been sold 4,280,685 acres, for which had been received 6,572,226 dollars. The expenses of survey had been 402,668 dollars ; sale and collection, 247,737 ; boards and officers, 209,933 ; various, 84,985 ; in all, 945,323 dollars. The levying of the instal ments, however, as they became due, was found to be a task more and more difficult. The periods allowed were in fact too short to enable the purchaser to clear the ground, support himself, and realize the sum of money out of his produce. When it became necessary to grant indulgence to one, it could not easily be refused to others. As grain and cattle became more abundant, their money-price fell, and the expense of conveyance over rough mountain-roads, without any of the facilities recently created, absorbed the greater part of their value. There was abundance of produce ; but it could not be converted into money, the attempt to raise which by means of local banks, themselves unsound, aggravated the evil, adding bank debts to land debts. The result was, that by the year 1819, the greater part of the western lands was in a state of forfeiture for non-payment of arrears. To have ejected a whole nation, however, was scarcely possible, and must at all events have been attended with a fearful extent of calamity. Government had no option but to agree to a compromise. The credit was lengthened to a number of the holders, while others were allowed to resign a portion of their lands in satisfaction of the debt. Thus it is supposed that in the course of eight years, the greater part of the sums due were in one way or other recovered. 336 EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. The conclusion, however, drawn from this course of transactions was, that the sale of land at all on credit by government was altogether inexpedient. The price was therefore reduced to a dollar and a quarter, but the whole was required to be paid up before possession was given. Under this system, an immense and, till lately, always increasing quantity has been sold. From the earliest period down to the 30th September 1838, it amounted to 77,134,821 acres, for which had been paid 108,875,163 dollars (above 23,000,000 sterling). In 1836 alone the sales rose to 20,074,870 acres, price 25,167,833 dollars (about 5,500,000). This was doubtless a year of excessive speculation, and they have never nearly reached the same amount. It was for Acres. Dollars. 1837 5,601,103 7,007,523 1838 3,414,907 4,305,564 1839 4,976,382 6,464,556 1840 2,236,889 2,789,637 1841 1,164,796 1,463,364 2 of 1842 859,031 1,079,366 It does not however follow, from reasons to be pre sently stated, that this great decrease of sale was attended with a corresponding diminution of emigration and settlement. The system of purchase on a large scale had at first been very unsuccessful. The arrangements of 1804 and 1820 were made on the supposition of each emi grant going to the land-office, purchasing the quantity wanted, and settling upon it ; and this accordingly con tinued for many years to be the regular course. But when money had accumulated, and a peculiar spirit of mercantile enterprise been kindled, a tempting range was here opened to them. The capitalist purchases a large block, which he breaks down into lots suited to intending settlers. He forms roads or other communications, by which they maybe in some shape connected with a market. He selects the most convenient and agreeable site for a village, lays out the ground, removes obstructions, erects EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. 337 a mill, a store, and an inn. By these accommodations, the emigrant is placed in a situation so much more eligible that he can well afford to make a very considerable advance on the original price. Thus the arrangement, if carried out regularly and honestly, affords a valuable benefit to the one party, and a legitimate source of profit to the other. Unfortunately, amid the wild spirit of speculation which lately seized the Union, and the laxity of principle that too often accompanied it, both these being carried to excess in the west, the transaction assumed a very sinister character. The grossest decep tions were practised on the inexperienced emigrants from the eastward, who at the principal town of the district found speculators exhibiting in the most flat tering light spots to be disposed of. A cluster of huts is represented as a city with spacious streets and squares and every accommodation of civilized life. According to Mrs Clavers, " when lots were to be sold, the whole fair dream was splendidly emblazoned on a sheet of super-royal size ; things which only floated before the mind s eye of the most sanguine, were portrayed with bewitching minuteness for the delectation of the ordi nary observer. Majestic steamers plied their paddles to and fro upon the river; ladies crowding their decks, and streamers floating on the wind. Sloops dotted the harbours, while noble ships were seen in the offing. Mills, factories, and lighthouses, canals, railroads, and bridges, all took their appropriate positions. Then came the advertisements, choicely worded and carefully vague, never setting forth any thing which might not come true at some time or other ; yet leaving the buyer without excuse if he chose to be taken in. The auc tioneer, on such occasions, must be a man of genius, of ready invention, of fluent speech ; one who had seen something of the world, and above all one who must be so thoroughly acquainted with the property, that he could vouch on his own personal respectability for the truth of every statement. He must be able to exhibit certificates from no matter whom Tom-a-Nokes per- 338 EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. haps but residing on the spot, and he must find men of straw to lead the first bids. And when all this had been attended to, it must have required some nerve to carry the matter through ; to stand by, while the poor artisan, the journeyman mechanic, the stranger who had brought his little all to buy government land to bring up his young family upon, staked their poor means on strips of land which were at that moment a foot under water." From such statements, it sufficiently appears how necessary it is for the emigrant to be most strictly on his guard, and never expend his funds upon any property which he has not personally and carefully inspected. From this mode of settlement, we may perceive why the great reduction on the government sales since 1836 might take place, without emigration having actually diminished. In that extravagant year, when " every one was buying land, and nobody cultivating it," a quantity was accumulated in the hands of speculators, which successive years were required to clear off. Another course, too, always practised, has come into increasing favour. He who, with his single arm and axe, dares to encounter the unbroken forest, does not usually trouble the land-office with any inquiry, but hies on to locate himself on some spot in the depth of the woods. A law was passed prohibiting this species of occupation, but it has never been enforced, and the state now rather favours it as a pioneer to one more regular. Repudiating, there fore, the long-established name of squatters, they claim to be classed as settlers ; and it is viewed as odious in any one to purchase the lands of which they are thus in possession. They are expected, however, on the ap proach of settlement, either to buy the land with the fruits of this furtive culture, for which they are allowed a right of pre-emption, or else to retire, after having sold their improvements and their imperfect claim to a new comer. There is a class of settlers who, on different grounds, decline any connexion with the land-office. Possessing EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. 339 a certain amount of property, they wish to establish themselves at once in some degree of comfort, and not to encounter all the gloom and privations of forest life. On reaching one of the earliest settled new states, Ohio for instance, they find farms, the owner of which, having held them for a number of years, has cleared and cultivated thirty or forty acres, erecting a tolerable mansion and offices. He is now willing to sell his pre sent property at from five to ten dollars an acre, and remove to some region farther west, where the proceeds will purchase a much larger quantity of land, on which his intrepid toil may in time bestow equal value. This is particularly convenient for those who have families newly grown up, and can thus at once provide them with farms as large as that of their father. Meantime, the wealthier emigrant must carefully survey the offered purchase, to ascertain its value, and particularly that the land be not in an exhausted state, to which, from the neglect of manure, it is too often reduced. Under this view, we may discover a gradation of settlements, from the most improved districts to those wild outer tracts, called in Canada the bush. The former are adapted to those who own more or less of capita], the other to such as, with scanty funds, feel gifted with hardihood and the spirit of adventure. Under the first view, Ohio, and next to it Indiana, are the most favourable ; Michigan and Illinois may be considered as bush territories ; Iowa and Wisconsin as extra bush. The following statement of lands sold annually in each, beginning with 1836, will show the estimate made by those on the spot, who were likely to be best informed, though, no doubt, considerable variations are visible. The transactions in the southern slave-states are also shown, though it is not presumed that any British settler will there make his selection : 340 EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. 1836. 1837. 1838. 1839. 1840. 1841. fof 1842. States, &c. Acres. Acres. Acres. Acres. Acres. Acres Acres. Ohio 1,282,992 470,421 243,096 242,445 33,059 43,614 23,160 Indiana... 3,245,344 1,249,818 602,425 618,748 118,869 93,883 41,027 Illinois. .. 3,199,709 1,012,849 778,560 1,132,876 389,275 335.5")3 386,415 Michigan.. 4,189.823 773,522 97,534 134,984 26,106 18,168 16,971 Wisconsin 646,134 178,783 87,256 650,723 127,798 101,731 88,929 Iowa 274,605 298,152 567,882 73,673 37,275 Missouri . . 1,655,688 663,988 510,423 1,038,066 572,498 269,472 109,058 Alabama.. 1,901,409 381,774 159,969 121.936 56,785 50,705 73,924 Mississippi 2,023,710 256,354 271,075 17.787 19,175 21,636 27,150 Louisiana. 879,450 230,953 164,178 509,307 189,229 95,112 33,482 Arkansas . 963,535 281,915 156,972 154,859 110,610 54,861 18,455 Florida . . . 87,072 100,726 68,814 56,500 25,603 6,389 3,187 20,074,872 5,601,103 3,414,907 4,976,383 2,236,889 1,164,797 859,031 The advantages of a settlement in improved districts are not confined to the mere facilities of the first estab lishment. There is a comparative nearness to markets, and consequently higher prices obtained for produce of every description. Assistance is somewhat less difficult to procure, and cultivation can thus be managed on a greater scale ; while the bush settler has scarcely any thing to depend upon but his personal exertions. Again, all the luxuries of life, and the finer manufactures, having a surer vent, and not being burdened with so long a conveyance, can be had of more choice quality and at lower rates. While the bush, therefore, is best adapted to the labouring emigrant, who seeks only an abundance of the necessaries of life ; for the wealthier class, the other situation is not only more agreeable, but more economical and profitable. These remarks may afford the means of comparison between British America, particularly Upper Canada, and the Western United States. The latter, with the ex ception, in some degree, of Ohio, lie much deeper in the interior, and thus more completely in the bush. Their produce hence brings a lower price, that of grain in Illinois being, according to Mr Shirreff, only about half what it is worth in Canada. Manufactured goods are loaded, not only with a longer carriage, but with a heavy tariff on imported articles, which include all the EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. 341 finer fabrics. In Canada, too, emigrants from Britain meet their countrymen, and perhaps personal connexions ; probably they find a tone of society more congenial to their taste. The case may be different with those whose political sentiments are decidedly republican. Another choice to be made by the emigrant is be tween timbered land and prairie. The former has com monly the deepest and richest soil, while the latter wears a somewhat arid aspect ; yet, when broken up, it is usually found abundantly fertile. It has then the ad vantage that, while the cutting down of the forest is a most laborious task, and, when performed by hired labour, costs three or four pounds an acre, the prairie soil requires only to be broken up by a very strong plough with a broad share, drawn by six oxen, which, according to Mr Shirreff, costs only two dollars an acre. The deficiency, however, of timber for fences and build ings is much felt, rendering the interior of the great prairies scarcely fit for settlement. This description of land is found chiefly, and to a great extent, in Illinois ; while Michigan, though not destitute of it, is distin guished by a dense growth of timber. It will be seen by the above table, that the taste of emigrants has been directed almost equally, yet with some fluctuations, to these two quarters. Of the territories recently formed, Wisconsin resembles Michigan, while Iowa has a share of those immense prairies that extend west of the Mississippi. Besides the choice of site, however, the emigrant has also to consider the mode of conveying himself thither in the cheapest and most commodious manner. Having probably no superabundance of ready money, and being likely to meet many claims upon it, while the returns will be slow, there is an obvious prudence in using the most economical conveyance consistent with health and any degree of comfort. He is advised to take with him light and valuable articles, which are found in the west with difficulty and at high prices. Large and heavy pieces of furniture are easily procured there, while their conveyance would be costly. The emigrants from the 342 EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. old states, chiefly younger sons of farmers, have been accustomed to construct a large waggon of light mate rials, sufficient to contain all they wish to transport, which they drive themselves, and thus incur no expense but for food and shelter on the road. M. Roux de Rochelle has drawn, seemingly from personal observa tion, a lively picture of this progress. (See vignette title-page.) " Figure a young cultivator recently married to a maiden of his choice. Both depart for the countries of the west after having received the paternal benediction. A vast car bears all the treasures which are to aid in their establishment ; the axe and the saw, implements for domestic use and for cultivating the soil. Grain is provided for the first sowing, and for subsistence till harvest. Cages full of domestic fowls crown this con fused equipage ; and the young wife, moving on her throne as the queen of the future colony, sings the pleasures of her childhood, her conjugal attachment, or her hopes of the future. Her husband, with the mus ket on his shoulder, guides the march of the triumphal car, which drags, attached to its train like so many slaves, the ram, the bull, the courser, young and power ful animals. Others walk at large ; but the dog, who has them under his charge, like a faithful servant, urges their steps, keeps them together, and seconds by his vigilance the cares and toils of his master." Mr Birk- beck, more than twenty years ago, saw the roads so crowded with such parties, that old America seemed to him to be breaking up, and moving to the westward. The young farmer who, with his own hands, and from materials on his father s ground, can construct such a waggon, still finds this the most economical plan, and fears not to encounter its hardships. For all others, and especially Europeans, the great system of canals and railroads affords means of transport more comfortable and perhaps more economical. The main line is from New York by the Hudson and Great Canal. From that city to Albany, 150 miles, passengers are conveyed in the EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. 343 short period of ten hours, and at a varying hut always moderate rate, sometimes not exceeding a dollar. Those of an humble class may with their baggage be conveyed still cheaper by the tow-boats. Albany can now be reached also by railway from Boston, a still quicker mode, but of course somewhat dearer. From Albany to Buffalo on Lake Erie there is an almost continuous railway, which affords the speediest and most agreeable course ; but a less costly one may be obtained by the Great Canal. There are here two descriptions of vessels, one called packet-boats, which make the voyage in between three and four days, charging three and a half cents per mile, or ten dollars in all, including board. The other, called the line-boats, spend seven days on the passage, charging two cents per mile, or one without provisions. These can be had very cheap, as the passengers may land at various points, and find little stores where they are sold. To those going the whole way, and still more with fami lies, an abatement is usually made. From Buffalo steamers convey the emigrant to vari ous points on Lakes Erie, Huron, or Michigan, according to the state whither he is going. The leading stations are Cleveland, for Ohio, 195 miles ; Sandusky, for In diana, 260 ; Detroit, for Michigan, 330 ; Green Bay, for Wisconsin, 750; Chicago, for Illinois, 900. The fare to Detroit is eight dollars, and four on deck ; for the other quarters nearly in similar proportion to the distance, except to the more remote points, where it is somewhat higher from there being less trade and com petition. Abatement will also be made for a family, and a large quantity of baggage allowed. From Cleve land, the Ohio Canal affords conveyance to every part of the state, and all places on the river. The fares are nearly the same as on the Erie, though they are more variable, and care is required in making a bargain. There is another line from Philadelphia to Pittsburg, 394 miles, by the canal and railroad route already described. The expense by stage is fifteen dollars, the charge on ICO Ibs. of baggage only one dollar. It is not 344 EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. yet, however, much frequented by foreigners. Some advise the emigrant to sail for New Orleans, whence he may easily be transported to any point on the Missis sippi or its tributaries. This route is circuitous, but requires only one change of conveyance at the port above named, where it can be cheaply and expeditiously made. The fares vary much, and the bad practice pre vails of fixing them by special agreement. Mr Thomson states, that in the winter of 1841-2, the rate between New Orleans and Pittsburg, 1977 miles, wasonlyfrom fifteen to twenty-five dollars, and he travelled between the former place and Cincinnati on deck for four dollars without provisions, which were purchased for one dollar and a half. The deck is protected from the weather, but has no other convenience. Labourers and mechanics also in every part of the States obtain employment at a rate of wages consider ably higher than at home. They encounter, however, difficulties and drawbacks. A peculiar mode of work ing prevails, to which they must learn to conform. Con stant activity and energy are required, and a great deal of work must be put through their hands, though the execution need not be very delicate. In consequence of the high wages, the modes both of living and dressing are expensive. The extreme cheapness of spirits affords a temptation to excessive indulgence, which the masters do not excuse, as their own workmen, though addicted to their too frequent use, seldom carry it to intoxication. A late emigrant of this class gives the following state ment of the tradesmen in demand, and the wages to each ; the latter we suspect too high. At the end of 1836, a rise was given after an obstinate strike, but rather perhaps through the speculative excitement then reigning, and probably not supported during the severe depression which followed. Bricklayers, much employment from the general substitution of this material for wood, 6s. 3d. a-day. Masons, stone-cutters, carpenters, good, nearly same wages. EMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES. 345 Painters, much, both inside and outside of houses and ships, 7s. 3d. Cabinet-makers, much, but low wages, about 5s. 4d. Smiths, good, about 8s. ; tinplate, 6s. 3d. Shoemakers, tailors, and hatters, large and good, about 6s. 3d. Curriers and leather-dressers, much in request, but at low wages, about 5s. Saddlers, trunk and coach makers, turners, carvers, gilders, good. Shipwrights, 8s. ; wheelwrights, 7s. 4d. ; machinists, 9s. Superintending engineers, not much esteemed. A more recent emigrant states the employment in cotton and woollen manufactures as good at 4s. 2d., and perhaps this is as high as can now be reasonably ex pected, unless in the most skilled trades. Surer em ploy and higher wages may be had in the southern cities; but hard labour there is trying to the health, unless in an excursion during the winter months. In the west, wages are good and living cheap ; but the occupation is not so steady. Canals and railways, which some years ago afforded extensive employment, mostly to Irish emigrants, are nearly quite suspended. Almost the only field for this class of labourers is now in British America. VOL. III. 346 CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. CHAPTER VIII. Concluding Historical Sketch. Object proposed State of America after the War Transac tions with the Barbary States Election of Monroe State of Parties under him Disputes with Spain Cession of Florida Question of Slavery in Missouri South American Republics acknowledged Tariff of 1824 Presidency of Quincy Adams Tariff of 1828 Presidency of Jackson His Policy Veto on a National Bank North-West Indian War Carolina resists the Tariff Compromise Jackson re-elected Measures against the Bank Plan for Removal of the Indians Seminole War Treaty with Franco Finances State of Parties Van Buren President Great Financial Embarrassment Civil War in Canada Disturb ances on the Frontier Boundary Dispute Election of Har rison His Death Tyler President His Measures Offends the Whig Party Arrest of Macleod His Acquittal Dis turbances in Rhode Island State of Parties Repudiation by the States Finances Oregon Question. IN a former part of the work, the history of the United States has been brought down to the close of the last war with Britain in 1814. The subsequent events have been less prominent, and their narration is subject to all the disadvantages of cotemporary history. It cannot rest either upon official documents or authentic me moirs, but is necessarily drawn from ephemeral sources, tinctured with party spirit and the passions of the mo ment. Yet a connected outline of prominent and ascer tained facts may gratify the reader, who recollects them perhaps only as they occurred, in a detached shape, losing sight of their succession and mutual bearing. The Americans, as above shown, had terminated the CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. 347 war, resigning all their objects in undertaking it, yet preserving their territory and resources undiminished. They had, however, contracted a debt of 81 millions of dollars, in addition to a previous one of 39 millions, making in all 120 (nearly 30,000,000 sterling). This was independent of some farther claims which it would be necessary to liquidate. A reduction of the large war establishment was deemed indispensable, yet with out bringing it so extremely low as formerly under Jefferson ; the fortifications commenced along the At lantic coast were to be completed ; and measures taken to maintain and even strengthen the navy. The miserable state of the currency showed the necessity of a new national bank, which was accordingly chartered on the footing formerly mentioned. The states of Barbary, especially Algiers, taking ad vantage of the British war, had recommenced their piracies, and advanced anew demands of tribute. The American government now determined to chastise this conduct, and sent two successive squadrons, under Decatur and Bainbridge. The former arrived first, scoured the Mediterranean, and captured two Alge- rine ships of war ; then presenting himself before the city, he intimidated the Dey into a treaty, ma king satisfaction for former outrages, and withdrawing all future claim for tribute. A visit to Tunis and Tripoli produced results equally satisfactory. Bain- bridge then arrived, and as the superior officer, took the command ; but all had been already done. He merely appeared again before the cities, and finding every thing in a satisfactory state, withdrew. Yet the Dey next year assumed a hostile attitude, alleging an infraction of the treaty, and resuming the demand of tribute. On a determined answer being returned, he withdrew these pretensions. Mr Madison s second term of office having expired in March 1817, he followed the example of Washington and Jefferson, and declined standing a third time. His party brought forward Monroe, long an eminent diplomatist, 348 CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. and who had acted under him as secretary. The federals put forward Mr Rufus King of New York ; but he had the votes only of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Dela ware, all the other states being unanimous for his op ponent, who was thus elected by 183 to 34 ; Mr Tomp- kins of New York being made vice-president. Monroe, as we have seen, had commenced his career as a fiery republican, even of the French school ; but age and ex perience had cooled his ardour. He made it even a study to abate that violence of political zeal which had agitated the nation, and succeeded so remarkably, that his administration displayed an internal tranquillity and harmony, of which there has been no example either before or since. His party indeed, from causes already noticed, had adopted protection to manufactures, and a national bank, the two favourite objects of the commer cial interest, who having obtained these, willingly ac quiesced in the name of democrat, renouncing even that of federal, which had ceased to have any hold of the popular feeling. The attention of the cabinet was now anxiously di rected towards obtaining possession of Florida. That province was so enclosed within the States territories, and so necessary for completing their outline, that its possession by Spain was an uneasy and inconvenient circumstance. This power, being extremely weak, and involved in a fruitless contest with her own South American colonies, could oppose no serious resistance. Yet it was desirable to obtain a decent pretext, which circumstances in some degree afforded. Some adven turers from the revolted colonies, and pretending the authority of their chiefs, took possession of Amelia Island, on the Floridan coast ; while another band seized Gal- veston, in Texas. From these points they were alleged to carry on privateering operations, and otherwise to annoy American citizens. It being discovered that neither had connexion with any government, expeditions were sent which rooted up their settlements ; yet this was complained of by Spain as an encroachment. Again, on CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. 349 the frontier of Florida, outrages were committed by bodies of Indians, alleged to be fomented by the Spanish authorities. General Jackson being appointed to the command, with his accustomed rough decision entered the country and took possession of St Marks and Pen- sacola. Having captured two Englishmen, Arbuthnot and Ambrister, he brought them to trial before a court- martial for exciting the Indians to insurrection, when they were condemned and executed. He was arraigned in congress for these extraordinary stretches of power, and a committee reported on them with great severity ; yet he was acquitted in the house, being supported by government, who, however, sent orders to restore the captured places. It assumed these movements, however, as grounds for eagerly pressing the desired cession. Com plaints were raised of illegal captures made more than twenty years ago, to the amount of several millions of dollars. This claim would be waved, and a cession made of that upon the territory of Texas, provided Florida were given up. The former indeed was esteemed by Spain as part of Mexico, and could in no shape be made avail able by her. Yet, on the 23d February 1819, Don Onis, the Spanish minister, was prevailed upon to sign a treaty on the above conditions. Ferdinand, however, refused to ratify it, and sent a new ambassador to com plain of hostile proceedings by American citizens. That cabinet strongly remonstrated against this measure, and even threatened to take possession of the territory by main force. Thus, in October 1820, a ratification was at length extorted, and in the following year possession was given of the country. In 1821, on the admission of Missouri into the Union, the enemies of slavery made a noble effort to prohibit its existence in that new state. This measure had passed the representatives, but was most vehemently opposed by the southern deputies, who even threatened, if it were carried, to break up the Union. They at length succeeded, granting only, by way of compromise, that slavery was not to extend north of 36 30 N. latitude. 350 CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. This, however, was the commencement of a great struggle, which has since been carried on without in termission. In 1822, the government determined to acknowledge the new republics formed in South America. They were observed to be now in complete possession of actual independence, Spain not having for three years sent a single corps against them. Ministers were therefore appointed to Mexico, Buenos Ayres, Colombia, and Chili. Measures, too, were at this time taken to sup press a system of piracy which had risen to a great height in the West Indies, especially on the coast of Cuba. Another question, which has deeply agitated the Union, rose at this time into prominent view. The democratic party, from causes already explained, had renounced their original principle of free trade, and be come attached to that of forcing native manufactures by high duties on those imported. They had thus become allied to the powerful and rising body of northern merchants and manufacturers. The agricultural states, however, to whose interest this system was every way adverse, made a strong opposition, and it was not till 1824 that this was overcome, and a heavy tariff estab lished. In 1825, Mr Monroe s second term of office expired, and he followed his predecessors example of not standing for a third. A keen and close contest followed, not however founded upon political, but upon state and sectional partialities. Andrew Jackson of Tennessee had 99 votes, John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts 84, W. H. Crawford of Georgia 41, Henry Clay of Ken tucky 37. The constitution had however regulated, that whenever no single candidate had a majority of the entire number, the election should devolve on the repre sentatives. Their choice fell upon Adams, whose accession did not make any present change in the system of govern ment, since he had acted as secretary of state under the late president, and professed to follow in his steps. Yet CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH, 351 during his rule, the preceding harmony was entirely broken up, and the foundation laid for contests as terrible as had ever shaken the Union. Representing the most commercial of the states, he became the im personation of the mercantile and monied interest, which had risen to unprecedented importance. His entire support was given to their favourite objects the im position of heavy duties on foreign manufactures, the support of the national bank and the banking system in general, and the executing or aiding of public works and improvements out of the funds of the central govern ment. For this last purpose large appropriations were made, and extensive surveys undertaken. But the most momentous act under this administration was the tariff of 1828, by which the duties on imported manufactures were rendered almost prohibitory. The great agricul tural interest, always averse to this system, had hitherto, from feelings of national pride, been induced to acquiesce. Its influence, however, both in raising the price of articles of consumption, and reducing the rentfor produce, became now most severe. This body, too, looked with disgust on the immense wealth acquired and profusely displayed in the mercantile cities, contrasted with the humble mediocrity earned by rural industry. They were thus organized into a regular opposition, at the head of which Jackson placed himself, with all the weight derived from his energetic character and military reputation. The contest was severe ; but his victory proved complete, 178 votes being obtained against 83 for Adams. Jackson immediately applied himself to carry out his views with an impetuosity and determination character istic of himself, but to which the American people had not been accustomed. Following an example, w^hich Jefferson only had set in a small degree, he removed all the officials who had shown any attachment to the late government, substituting his own creatures. On the presentation of a bill for subscribing out of the general funds to a new road over the Alleghany, he applied to 352 CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. it his veto, intimating a resolution to treat similarly every proposal for defraying local improvements out of the public revenue. As the charter of the bank was soon to expire, he expressed a disposition not to renew it, without a great retrenchment of its privileges. The tariff, too, should he thought be modified, though on this point he was by no means so forward in seconding the views of his party. The first collision arose on the subject of the bank, whose charter was to expire in 1836. This body, com prising some individuals of great wealth, and being as it were the centre of the mercantile and monied interest, was an object of peculiar odium to the high democratic party. Yet the former influence, joined to the ex perience of the benefits of the institution, procured con siderable majorities in both houses for a bill renewing its charter, under some slight modifications, for fifteen years. On being presented to Jackson, however, it was met by a decided veto, the institution being represented as at once unnecessary and dangerous, as a contrivance of the wealthier classes to increase their opulence, to render the rich richer, and the potent more powerful, at the expense of the humbler classes of society. As the majority in neither house amounted to two-thirds, this veto decided the fate of the bill and of the bank. Meantime the states were involved on the north western frontier in a somewhat formidable Indian war. The course of events had pushed settlements into this quarter, where the natives had remained hitherto nearly undisturbed ; and the lead -mines of Galena had drawn thither a considerable population, not of the most select description. In these circumstances, the ordinary causes of collision could not be avoided. The natives, com plaining of being wronged, began their usual fierce re taliation ; and after detached outrages on both sides, a general Indian confederacy was formed, under the chief Black Hawk and his brother named the Prophet. A desolating war was suddenly commenced along a line of three hundred miles of frontier. Many settlers were CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. 353 either killed or carried into captivity, among which last were the Misses Hall, two young ladies of remark able beauty. They were treated with courtesy and respect, though a chief eagerly claimed one as his prize, and used the most earnest solicitations to induce her to become his bride ; yet she was allowed to depart, leaving with him only a lock of her hair. Meantime a strong- force of regular troops and of the militia of Illinois as sembled under Generals Scott and Atkinson. On their approach the Indians did not attempt a regular contest, but retreated over a broken tract towards the Missouri. They were pursued and completely dispersed, being severely harassed by the Sioux and Winnebagoes, who had formerly favoured their cause. Black Hawk, the Prophet, and other chiefs were taken and paraded through the principal cities of the Union. The treaty of peace included a large cession of territory, which became the basis of the two new territories of Wisconsin and Iowa, now rapidly filling with people. In the same year, 1832, a contest almost as violent arose within the Union itself. The agricultural, and especially the southern interests, had supported Jack son on the understanding of a material reduction in the exorbitant tariff, which raised the prices of all manufac tured articles, and lowered the value of the produce of the soil. An extraordinary depression had in fact taken place on the price of cotton, the staple of so many states. The president, however, had not displayed much ardour in regard to this object, or a disposition to carry it out to any great extent. In the session of 1832, a bill was passed, somewhat modifying the rates, but not to a degree at all satisfactory. The southern people then became desperate. Those of South Carolina con tended, that congress had no power to impose taxes for any purposes but those of revenue ; that each state had a right to judge whether that body exceeded its powers, and in that case to disobey it. They therefore declared the tariff null and void, making it unlawful for any of the constituted authorities to enforce it, and disallowing 354 CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. all appeal to the supreme court. Any act which might be passed by congress to coerce them into obedience would be considered as absolving them from the obliga tion to maintain the Union, and they would proceed to organize a separate government. These views were supported by their legislature ; and Mr Calhoun of this state resigned his office of vice-president, when he was nominated to the senate, in order to support the cause. Jackson, however, in a proclamation, and afterwards in a message to the house, denounced them as wholly uncon stitutional, and subversive of all the advantages which the states derived from their union. The laws of the United States must be executed ; he had no discretion ary power on the subject. His declarations being strongly seconded by Webster and other leading orators of the commercial party, received the warm concurrence of congress. The Carolinians, on the other hand, took measures for calling out the militia, fortifying the ports, and otherwise preparing to repel force by force. A col lision seemed inevitable, and could not have failed to be very serious, as Virginia and other neighbouring states, without sharing in the movement, were known to view it with favour, and could not be expected to aid cordially in its suppression. A stormy session was spent without the passing of any measure promising to extricate the nation from this dilemma, when Mr Clay brought forward a proposition, that the rates should undergo an annual re duction, till they were brought down to 20 per cent., which was to be fixed as the permanent amount. This motion being assented to by Mr Calhoun, was carried through congress. Peace was thus restored to the Union ; yet zealous politicians on each side complained of its having been obtained by a mere practical compromise, without any settlement of the constitutional principle. In 1833, Jackson s first term of office having expired, Mr Clay of Kentucky, who had gained niuch reputation by the adjustment of the Carolina question, was opposed to him by the bank and commercial party. The former was re-elected, however, by an overwhelming majority, 219 to CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. 355 49 ; while Van Buren, a statesman devoted to his views, was, by numbers nearly equal, appointed vice-president. He was thus encouraged to persevere in the warfare against the bank, his resentment being farther excited by the hostile part which he alleged them not perhaps without some reason to have taken against his elec tion. His next step was to withdraw the deposits of public money placed in their hands, and from which much of their importance as well as emolument had been derived. He had formerly invited congress to consider whether these sums could be safely lodged with them ; but that body made the unwelcome report, that they were thus perfectly secure. He then took the opportunity of an interval when the legislature was not sitting, and ordered the secretary to the treasury to withdraw them. That officer, who was alone privileged by the constitu tion to take this step, considered it unjustifiable, and refused to comply. He was dismissed, and a new one appointed, who obeyed the order. At the next meeting of dongress, the senate, who still adhered to the opposite interest, after warm debates, passed a resolution, that the president, in these proceedings, had " assumed upon himself authority and power not conferred by the constitution and laws, but in derogation of both. * Jack son replied by a long and indignant protest, strenuously defending his own conduct, and insisting that they had no right to advance such charges against him in any other shape but that of impeachment. He afterwards announced, that the government money had been placed in the state banks, where it was found perfectly safe ; and that every purpose was answered which had formerly been served by its deposit in the national institution. The government was soon after involved in serious transactions with the Indian nations. The remains of their tribes, by successive wars, purchases, and treaties, had become scattered throughout the territory in detached sections, completely surrounded and enclosed by their conquerors. In such a situation, frequent collision was almost unavoidable. The Indians murmured, that the 356 CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. remnant of their territory was eagerly coveted and grasped at by every possible means ; that they were exposed to constant outrages, without hope of redress ; to which might be added, that they often sought it themselves not in the mildest manner. The state gov ernments complained, that to have independent states of so turbulent a character enclosed within their domain, was incompatible with any regular system of adminis tration. In these circumstances a plan was devised, which was first developed by Monroe in his message of the 7th December 1824. Beyond the most western frontier of the states, there lay a great extent of terri tory, which, though rude, contained as much productive land as would be sufficient for the support of all these tribes. It was proposed to present such motives as might induce them to quit all the domains now held by them within the Union, and emigrate thither. They were to be paid the full price of the former, to be freely trans ported and established in their new possessions, and re ceive their subsistence for one year. This plan appeared to us at first view both cruel and unwise ; and we know that Mr Catlin and others deeply interested in the people are of the same opinion. On full consideration, how ever, we incline to consider it the best alternative, under the circumstances, left to the general government. They, as must have fully appeared in the course of this work, cannot control their borderers, or even their border- states ; and it is impossible to prevent collisions, the issue of which must always be disastrous to the Indian race. Some such plan, therefore, was perhaps the only one by which they could be protected, or even their existence preserved. It continued to be prosecuted under the administra tion of Adams, yet without, for some time, making much progress. To quit their native seats, the home of their fathers, the tombs of their ancestors, appeared to the Indians an evil not to be compensated by any external advantages, in a distant and unknown region. Jackson, however, applied himself to the object with characteristic CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. 357 energy and determination. "Without employing abso lute compulsion, he intimated that they could only re main on condition of ceasing to be independent, and becoming subject to the laws of the state within which they were located. This alternative, as w r as expected, appeared to them so terrible, that a reluctant consent to removal began to be extorted. In December 1830, the president could announce a treaty to that effect with the Choctaws and Chickasaws. Fruitless negotiations were carried on with the Cherokees ; but, in 1833, agreements were made with the Creeks in Alabama, and the Seminoles in Florida, who, in their difficult country, had been reinforced by fugitives from various states. Concerning the transactions with this last people, no regular or authenticated narrative has yet been published ; and \ve must depend chiefly on an article in the North American Review, not perhaps quite friendly to the president. They stipulated, it appears, for a deputation to proceed and to examine the territory assigned, understanding that the final decision was to depend upon its report. Government, on the contrary, conceived the engagement to be absolute, and in April 1834 obtained a vote of congress for its execu tion. The deputation, it is said, on their return, re ported favourably of the territory, but objected to the vicinity in which they would be placed to some hostile tribes. The year 1835 having nearly elapsed without any movement, Jackson pressed with extreme urgency their immediate departure. The resolution was then taken of resisting to the last extremity. Oceola, the chief, proclaimed it treason for any Indian to leave the country. A general attack was commenced on the American frontier posts, which, being very unprepared, suffered severely. On the 28th December 1835, a de tachment of 102 men was cut off, three only escaping ; and the bodies of the slain were found fifty-three days after lying unburied on the field of battle. On the 31st, a body of between -200 and 300 was defeated, with the loss of sixty-three killed and wounded. The war 358 CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. spread among the adjacent tribe of the Creeks, and be came one of the longest and most obstinate ever waged be tween the two races. When the main force of the States was brought up, the insurgents were unable to face it in the open field ; but to root them out of the swamps, morasses, and dense entangled forests of this most difficult country, proved a task truly arduous. What rendered the American force both inefficient and expensive was its being mostly composed of militia, called out only for a certain time, a great part of which was occupied in the inarch and return. The total expenditure of the war is reckoned at 20,000,000 dollars (above 4,000,000 sterling). At length, in 1839, General Macomb con cluded a treaty, by which they were not obliged to emigrate, but allowed to occupy unmolested a certain range of territory. Thence, however, they made for midable incursions, and it was not till August 1842 that government could announce the final termination of this contest. The Creeks had already been subdued, and about 1840 the object had been nearly completed of transporting the whole of the Indian race to the ter ritory assigned to them along the western frontier. Negotiations had been long carried on with France on account of the seizures made under the decrees of Napo leon. These had even been acknowledged to the extent of twenty-five millions of francs (above 1,000,000), but the government had been exceedingly slow in making the payment. In 1836, however, the energy of Jack son, accompanied even by a threat of war, extorted its liquidation. The finances at this period reached a point of pros perity not attained in any other civilized country. The whole of the national debt had been paid off, and a con siderable surplus was found in the treasury. As it was not considered advisable either to reduce the duties on imports, or the price of public land, it was resolved to dis tribute this sum among the states, to be employed for purposes of internal improvement. This prosperity en couraged the president to continue his warfare against CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. 359 banks, and even to form the design of banishing paper currency, and substituting one entirely of gold. As a preliminary, orders were issued to refuse payment in any other shape for the land sales. This occasioned a drain of specie, which, combined doubtless with other causes, hurried on that violent crisis when all the banks stopt at once, and the whole nation, from the height of pros perity, was plunged into the deepest distress. This result was favourable to the party hostile to Jackson, and which had assumed a new and popular character. His temper and conduct were despotic, and by his vetoes he had dictated a series of leading legis lative measures, in opposition to the decision of congress. They proclaimed liberty to be in danger, and, under the title of Whigs, came forward as its guardians. The people could not but recognise some truth in these charges, and the stagnation of trade affected even the lowest ranks. Mr Clay, and other former partisans of democracy, joined this standard, which gained continu ally new adherents. In the beginning of 1837, the second term of Jackson s rule having expired, he followed the usual course, and declined standing a third time. Van Buren, vice-president, attached to the same principles, was put forward by the party, who had still power sufficient to secure his election, though only by a majority of 43 167 to 124. The latter number, from want of concert, was distributed among four candidates, of whom General Harrison had 73. Mr Van Buren, with less energy, had a more moderate and prudent temper than his predecessor ; but he in herited all the evils of the system, which, at his acces sion, had just reached their utmost height. The finances, from a state of such high prosperity, had sunk into extreme embarrassment. Jackson had boasted of the fidelity with which the state-banks kept the deposits of public money ; but now, when called upon for repay ment, they "found it inconvenient to comply ;" in short, they had embarked the money in speculation, and lost 360 CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. it. The customs had diminished with the decline of trade, and heavy extra expenses had been incurred by the Indian war and removal. The president was obliged, in his inaugural address, to announce that a loan of six or rather ten millions of dollars would be necessary to meet the expenses of the year. Notwithstanding the lamentable failure of the state-banks, he still repelled the idea of a national institution, but substituted a branch of the treasury to be employed in keeping the public money, a measure considered as unduly in creasing the influence of the executive, and at the same time by no means very secure. In the end of 1837, the American cabinet was placed in a delicate situation by the posture of affairs in Canada. A long dispute between the legislature and the British government issued at length in open re bellion, which broke out at once both in the lower and upper province. A large body of American citizens on the frontier caught the infection, and, under the title of sympathizers, eagerly desired to make common cause with the insurgents. The president, seconded in con gress by men of the most opposite parties, determined to enforce the strictest neutrality. He issued two suc cessive orders, prohibiting all interference, and warning the people of the penalties they would incur by vio lating the law. As the border militia could not be trusted, a large body was ordered from the more peace able districts of the interior, and placed under the com mand of General Scott. The rising in both provinces was very quickly sup pressed ; but Mackenzie, the leader in Upper Canada, found at Buffalo a welcome reception. Some of the prin cipal citizens, including even military officers, determined, in defiance of their government, to support the cause. A band of refugees and sympathizers took possession of Navy Island, in the centre of the Niagara channel, which they fortified so strongly, that Sir Allan M Nab, with the loyalist force, was unable to dislodge them. He employed, however, Captain Drew to seize and de- CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH, 361 stroy the Caroline, a vessel employed in conveying to them provisions and stores. This attack, made while the vessel was moored near the American shore, was not only loudly exclaimed against by the sympathizers, but complained of by the government as an invasion of the territory. General Scott having arrived and cut off from the island all supplies, while the British force was constantly augmenting, the invaders were obliged to evacuate the station. They continued, however, to make inroads at different points, both of Lower and Upper Canada, though without any success. These proceedings, being steadily discountenanced by the American cabinet, and arising evidently only out of the lawless character of the border population, did not cause any interruption in the good understanding between the two countries.* From another quarter some threat of collision arose. Owing to the vague terms of the treaty of 1783, there remained in dispute a large extent of country, between Maine on one side, and the British provinces of New Brunswick and Canada on the other. It formed at that time a mere tract of wild forest, scarcely trodden by a European ; but as settlement and culture advanced, the fine timber with which it was clothed became an im portant object to both parties, especially the Americans. In 1829, an agreement was made to refer the question to the award of the King of Holland. He rendered it in 1831, declaring the impossibility of regulating any boundary according to the doubtful tenor of the treaty, but recommending one extending along the St Croix, the St John, and thence to the head of the Connecticut. All parties were disposed to acquiesce in this decision, except the senate, who rejected it as not made according to the terms of the treaty, but proposing a new and arbitrary line. Thus the question continued undecided, while it was assuming every day greater importance. Trespassers from each side entered the territory to cut * These events are more fully narrated in British America (Edinburgh Cabinet Library), vol. i. p. 224-242. VOL. III. Z 362 CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. timber, and expeditions were sent to drive them off, which virtually took possession of the ground. One from New Brunswick made prisoner Mr Macintyre, land-agent for Maine, and conveyed him to Fredericton. An armed body of 200 from that state then entered, and carried off Mr Maclauchlan, the British warder. Border collision seemed inevitable, when an agreement was made between Mr Fox the British ambassador, and Mr Forsyth the American secretary of state, that the government of Maine should voluntarily withdraw its military force, and any future arrangements against trespassers be made by the two powers jointly. A convention to that effect was signed by the respective governors on the 23d and 25th March 1839. Meantime the Whig party gained continually new strength, as the embarrassments imputed to the over throw of the bank, and the attempts to introduce an exclusively gold currency, were more sensibly felt. All their efforts were concentrated as the period ap proached for the election of a new president. In order to prevent that division, which before had at least weak ened the display of their strength, a national Whig convention was assembled at Harrisburg in Pennsyl vania, to agree on some one candidate. Those proposed were General Harrison, Mr Clay, and General Scott. After five successive ballots, the former was fixed upon, while Mr Tyler, a Virginian, with a supposed leaning to the democratic side, was unanimously named for vice-president. Conventions, with assemblies and pro cessions on a great scale, were held at Boston, Baltimore, Wheeling, and other places, to support this canvass. These efforts were crowned with complete success. The election of Harrison was carried by a majority of 234 to 60 ; that of Tyler by a similar one. The for mer was inaugurated on the 4th of March 1841, and presently formed a ministry composed of leading mem bers of the party who had raised him to power. Mr Webster was named secretary for foreign affairs, and was expected to have the chief influence in the admin- CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. 363 istration ; while Mr Everett was sent ambassador to England. The Whigs, who could also command decided though not large majorities in both houses, seemed to be entering on a long and secure tenure of power. These prospects were blasted by a very unexpected and melancholy event. The president, who had reached his sixty-ninth year, proved unequal to the fatigues of his arduous functions, and died on the 4th of April, just a month after commencing their exercise. The constitu tion then conferred the office upon Mr Tyler, vice- president, who, by an arrangement which appears singular, yet is prevalent in America, was attached in a great degree to the opposite or democratic principles. The new president, however, professed veneration for his predecessor, with an intention to tread in his footsteps, and to employ the same ministers. The party there fore lost no time in bringing forward their favourite measure of a new national bank, the absence of which they considered one main cause of the recent distresses. Accordingly a bill for one on a plan nearly similar to the former, to be entitled a " fiscal bank," was passed by both houses. On being presented, however, to the president, he applied to it a decided veto, yet intimating a disposition to sanction an institution of which the nature and objects should be more limited. In the hope of meeting his views, the houses prepared another for \vhat was to be termed a " fiscal corporation ;" but, on the 9th September, it also was negatived. Nothing could then exceed the indignation and dis gust of the Whig party, who saw their immense efforts made with such seeming success entirely frus trated. All the members of the cabinet resigned, with the exception of Mr Webster, who was supposed to remain with a view to conduct the now pending negotiation with Britain. A singular circumstance had occurred to increase its difficulties. Mr Macleod, on his way from Canada to New York, was arrested on the charge of having been concerned in the seizure of the Caroline, and 364 CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. the death of an American who fell in the conflict. The authorities, who were little disposed to engage in such a transaction, admitted him to bail ; but the mob at Lockport furiously rose, compelled the securities to withdraw their bond, and retained him in prison. The general government claimed his release, as being indicted for a political offence, for which the British ambassador undertook to answer ; but the supreme court of New York decided, that the two nations not having been at war, the present must be considered a common charge of murder, to be tried by the criminal court of the state. Thus affairs continued in an agitated and irritating posi tion till the 12th October, when a jury acquitted him as not having been concerned in the outrage. In August 1841, a new ministry was formed in Britain, at the head of which was Sir Robert Peel. One of the first objects to which they turned their at tention was the adjustment of the American boundary dispute. With this view a special mission was sent, composed of Lord Ashburton, head of the commercial house of Baring, one of the most distinguished in the country. His lordship arrived in 1842, and an active correspondence was immediately opened between him and Mr Webster. Though encumbered with some dif ficulties, it was conducted on both sides with an earnest desire for a pacific termination. Accordingly, in August 1842, a treaty was concluded, in w r hich this long-pend ing question was at length adjusted. The line was drawn nearly according to the award of the King of Holland, to which Britain, though not quite satisfied, had formerly given her consent, while America had rejected it ; so that the concession was mainly on her part. The senate, after a debate of four days, ratified it by a majority of thirty-nine to nine. In the course of 1842, considerable agitation was ex cited by an attempt made in Rhode Island to change the state-constitution, and establish it on a more democratic basis. Such an alteration was in fact considered legitimate if introduced by a convention called by the legislature CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. 365 according to certain forms. The popular leaders and their adherents, however, assembled, and, alleging that they formed a majority, organized a new system on the basis of universal suffrage, appointing their chief, Mr Dorr, the new governor. They had even sym pathizers in New York and Boston ; but the president pronounced decidedly against so irregular a movement, intimating even his determination, if necessary, to em ploy force in its suppression. The state-government mustered an armed body, by which it was speedily put down, Dorr and his adherents having either fled or dis persed. Soon after, they assembled anew, 700 strong, and took post on a hill, which they fortified with five pieces of cannon. The militia of the state being then called out, to the number of 3000, again attacked and dispersed them, with scarcely any bloodshed. In the general government, during the two last years, a confused agitation of parties has prevailed, without any striking collision. Mr Webster has resigned, and the Whig party have become entirely alienated from the present administration, while the democratic faction by no means give it their full confidence. The result of the new election, which conies on in spring 1845, is thus very uncertain. About half the states continue either to repudiate their debts, or at least to pay neither principal nor in terest. It is fair to state, that their conduct meets with decided reprobation among the respectable part of their own citizens, as well as among suffering parties in this country. The last North American Review has an ex cellent article, expressing hope that the suspension is merely temporary, but, if otherwise, denouncing it as a complete forfeiture of the national character. It an nounces that their proud system of freedom will thus be dishonoured, and their boasted aim to make it the admira tion and model of other and future nations will be com pletely frustrated. In fact, the consequence has already been a severe aggravation of the embarrassments of the general government, whose most advantageous proposals 366 CONCLUDING HISTORICAL SKETCH. for a loan in Europe have been peremptorily rejected. It has thus been able to carry on its current expenses only by loans at home on onerous terms, or by the issue of treasury notes. Of the latter, there were outstand ing in 1843, 10,093,000 dollars. By strict economy the current expenses were reduced from 26,360,000 dollars in 1842 to 23,078,000 in 1843. The territory beyond the Rocky Mountains, to which the Americans have given the name of Oregon, has be come a source of controversy with Britain. In 1818, when the subject was merely speculative, a temporary convention was formed, that, without prejudicing the claim of either party, the region should be left free to the vessels and subjects of both. In 1827, this agree ment was prolonged for an indefinite period, leaving it, however, open for either party to press its claim, upon giving twelve months notice. The activity and good management of the Hudson s Bay Company have nearly monopolized the fur trade, and driven the Americans out of the region. This exclusion is viewed with jeal ousy ; while adventurous squatters are aspiring to form settlements in some of the fine valleys that lie between the mountains and the ocean. Hence, some of the tur bulent members of congress do not hesitate to call upon the government to annul the convention, and prosecute the claim even at the hazard of war ; but it is not pro bable that any measure so rash will be adopted, especi ally under so severe a pressure of financial difficulty. APPENDIX. ABSTRACT OF THE RETURNS OF THE EXTENT AND VALUE OF THE DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY MADE UNDER THE CENSUS OF 1840. Vorks. Quantities. Value. tmployed. Capital Invested. 286 903 tons Doll.,.. bar 197 233 } 30,497 Lead 31 239 453 Ibs. 1,017 1,346,756 Gold 529 605 1,046 234,325 Other metals 3/0,614 728 238,980 Coal, anthracite.... .. bituminous Salt 863,409 tons 27,603,191 bush. 6 179 174 3,043 3,768 2 365 4,355,602 1,868,862 6,998,045 iranite, marble, &c. lorses and mules . . Veat cattle Sheep.. 4,335,66 9 numb. 14,971, - K 86 .. 19 311 3/4 3,695,884 7,859 2,540,159 Hogs ... 26 301 293 ^oultry Wheat 84,823,272 bush. 9,344,410 Barley * " 4,161,504 .. Oats Rye 123,0/1,341 .. 18,645,567 . . :::: Buckwheat ndian corn Wool .. 7,291,743 .. 377,531,875 .. 35 802 114 Ibs. .... 1,238,502 .. Wax s otatoes Hay. 628,303 . . 108,298,060 bush. 10 248 109 tons . :::: lemp and flax Tobacco 95,252 . . 219,163,319 Ibs. lice 80,841,422 .. Cotton Silk cocoons.. 790,4/9,275 . . 61 552 Sugar 155,110 809 .. Wood 5,088 891 cords Dairy 33,787,008 Orchard 7,256,904 >Vine 124,734 galls. Home-made goods. . jarden produce Nurseries. . .s Commerce, foreign. . . on commission. .. retail Lumberyards [nternal transport. Fish,smoked&dried .. pickled Oil, spermaceti . . . .. other 1 408 2 881 57565 1 793 } :::: 773 ,947 quint 472,359barrels 4,764, 708 galls. 7,536,778 .. 29,023,380 2,601,196 593,534 12 943,507 8J553 35,963 22,402 36,584 2,945,774 119,295,367 250,301,799 9,848. 31 1/ 11,526,950 16,429,620 Tar, pitch, &c Ashes, potand pear Skins and Furs . . . Ginseng, &c, 619,106barrels 15,935 tons l,065,86fl 26,581 >22,042 |3 368 APPENDIX. Machinery Works Quantities. Value. Persons employed. Capital Invested. Numbe 274 numb 88 073 . . 15 745 Ibs. 49,820,497 Ibs. 17,904.507 . . 2,936,951 . . 41, 402,027 galls. 23,207,730 . . 8,977,348 Ibs. Dollar!. 10,980,581 6,451 ,90; 4,734,96( 9,779,445 2,442,95( 9,736,94. 20,696,99< 46,350,45, 119,814 6,545,50C 5,819,56f 8,704,345 1,476,505 33,134,403 } 4,151,899 600,827 2,890,29; 1,104,825 3,250,70( l,223,86o 6,153,092 4,078,306 923,924 0,897,887 6,545,246 7,016,094 7,555,405 1,917,401 4,785,353 13,001 r 5,492 1,744 ) 1,556 H 6,677 ) 3,734 > 22,807 > 21,342 i 72,11 76 15,90 8,38 |26,018 5,641 12,223 496 } 1,848 3,236 1,612 } 1,355 4,726 11,523 4.464 908 21,994 V60,788 18J003 85,501 Dollar.. - 20,620,869 15,765,124 51,102,359 274,374 4,368,991 3,437,191 4,485,300 15,650,929 12,881,262 2,757,273 9,147,368 875,875 4,507,675 2,084,100 551,431 1,769,571 4,745,239 5,873,815 2,465,577 734,370 5,551,632 65,858,470 6,989,971 25,019,726 267.726.579 Hardware, &c Small arms Various ditto Granite, &c. . Bricks and lime Wool.. 4,005 1,240 Cotton Silk Mixed fabrics. . . Tobacco lats and caps straw-bonnets fanned leather Other ditto 8 ,229 17,136 Soap Candles, tallow . . . .. Wax, &c...... Distilleries. 10 ,306 406 137 iis 659 43 426 1,552 447 Breweries. . Gunpowder. . . Drugs, paints, dyes &c urpentine^varnisl Glass etined sugar Confectionery, &c.. Printing. Binding.. ewspapers, &c /ordage Musical instruments Carriages, &c. ... 1,631 388 7,404,502 barrels Mills, flour 4,364 23, W] 31,050 843 . grist. . . saw.. .. oil Ships Furniture Houses, brick &stone . . wooden All other manufact. Total manufactures 8,429 15,684 INDEX. A. ADAMS, John, president, vol. ii. p. 159. Adams, John Quincy, president, iii. 350, 351. Agriculture, ii. 274-284. Method pursued, 275, 276. Grains, 276, 278. Tobacco, 278, 279. Cotton, 279, 280. Sugar, &c., 281. Live stock, 282. Timber, 283. Alabama, topography of, iii. 311-316. Albany, description of, iii. 302. Alleghany Mountains, i. 20-22 ; iii. 202, 203. Alvaro Nunez, takes part in expe dition to Florida under Narvaez, i. 36. His journey thence over land to Mexico, 43-45. Amadis and Barlow, exploratory expedition sent to Virginia by Raleigh under these officers, i. 81, 82. Ames, Fisher, notice of his oratory, iii. 117-120. Anabaptists, their appearance in New England, i. 221. Andre, Major, his melancholy fate, ii. 93-95. Andros, Sir Edward, governor of Virginia, i. 141. Antinomians, rise of in Massachu setts, i. 202-216. Anti-slavery society, its measures, iii. 68-71. Opposition encountered, 71-75. Area, &c. of the United States, i. 18-29. Aristocracy, its character and in fluence, ii. 244-249. Army, ii. 271, 272. Arnold, General, his adventures, ii. 90-92. Treacherous desertion, 93, 94. Augusta, its foundation, i. 313. Augustine, St, founded by Pedro Msnendez, i. 73. Abortive sieges by the English colonists, 305, 314. Ayllon, Lucas Vasquez de, visits South Carolina, i. 34. B. Bacon, Nathaniel, raises a rebellion in Virginia, i. 135-137. Baltimore, George first Lord, ob tains a grant of Maryland from Charles!., i. 145. Baltimore, Cecil Lord, colonization of Maryland by, i. 146-148. Cha racter of his government, 149-161. Loses his authority during the Long Parliament, 162-1/0. Re instated at the Restoration, 172. Revolution transfers it to the crown, 175. Baltimore, Charles Lord, Maryland patent restored to him by George I., i. 175. Baltimore (city), trade of, ii. 379. Description of, iii. 310. Bancroft, Mr, notice of his writings, iii. 197, 198. Bank, National, its establishment, ii. 133. Successive modifications, 338-341. Overturned by Jackson, 342 ; iii. 352, 355. Banking operations, ii. 335-349. Vi cissitudes in America, 337-348. Regulations, 348, 349. Baptists, account of, iii. 84. Kin dred sects, 85. Barbary States, American transac tions with, iii. 347. Barlow, Joel, notice of his poetry, iii. 134, 135. Belcher, governor of Massachusetts, i. 253, 254. Bellamont, Lord, governor of Mas sachusetts, i. 252. Of New York, 292. Berkeley, Sir William, governor of Virginia, i. 125, 133-138. Biography, writers of, iii. 198, 199. Birds, iii. 257-276. Blackwell, governor of Pennsylvania, i. 271. Bladensburg, battle of, ii. 200, 201. Boston, its foundation, i. 195. Tu mults caused there by the Stamp- Act, &c., 242, 243, 348-350. Port closed, 356-359. Evacuated by the 370 INDEX. British, 395. Trade of, ii. 377, 378. Description of, iii. 291,293. Botany, iii. 223-256. Boundaries of the United States, i. 18. Braddock, General, his expedition, i. 324. Defeat, 325, 326. Brainard, J. G. C., notice of his poetry, iii. 154-156. Brandy wine, battle of, ii. 31, 32. Britain, origin and events of the second war with, ii. 174-211. Re strictions on neutrals and right of search, 175, 1/6. Attack on the Chesapeake, 177, 178. Negotia tions, 176-179. Berlin decrees and orders in council, 179, 180. Em bargo law, 180. Madison presi dent, ib. Various negotiations, 181-184. President determines on war, 184, 185. Losses in Canada, 187. Success at sea, 188, 189. Va rious operations in Canada, 191- 194. British fleet in the Chesa peake, 195, 196. War with the Creek Indians, 196-198. General peace in Europe, 198. Landing of General Ross, 199. Battle of Bladensburg, 200, 201. Capture of Washington, 201. Attempt on Baltimore, 202, 203. Further operations in Canada, 204, 205. British expedition against New Orleans, 205-208. Embarrass ments of the American govern ment, 209. Treaty of Ghent, 209- 211. Brooklyn, battle of, ii. 17, 18. De scription of the town, iii. 301, 302. Brooks, Mrs, notice of her poetry, iii. 180-182. Brown, William Brockden, notice of his writings, iii. 197, 198. Brownists, account of this sect, i. 183. Emigration of to New Eng land, 185. Settlement at New Plymouth, 187- Bryant, notice of his poetry, iii. 136-145. Bunker s Hill, battle of, i. 380, 381. Burgoyne, his expedition from Ca nada, ii. 35-40. Surrender to Ge neral Gates, 41. Burke, Mr, his speeches in favour of the colonists, i. 358, 361. His plan of conciliation, 387- Burnet, governor of Massachusetts, i. 253. Of New York, 293, 294. C. Cabot, John, discovery of North America by, i. 29. Cabot, Sebastian, his voyage along the coast, i. 29. Explores Hud son s Bay, 30. Character of this discoverer, ib. Cambridge, description of, iii. 293. Camden, battle of, ii. 82. Canada, cession of to Britain, i. 330. American expeditions against, 390, 391 ; ii. 187, 191-194, 204, 205. Civil war in, iii. 360, 361. Canals, ii. 313-326. Great Erie Ca nal, 314-317. Others in New York, 317, 318. In Ohio and Indiana, 318-320. Pennsylvania, 320, 321. Maryland, 321-324. New Jersey, &c., 324, 325. Virginia, &c., 325, 326. New England, 326. Cancello, a Dominican missionary, attempts by him to convert the Floridans, i. 65. Is put to death by them, ib. Carolinas, the, colonization of,i. 298- 310. Early settlements, 298. Li beral grant by Charles II., 299. Constitution framed by Shaftes- bury and Locke, 300. Progress of the settlements, 302, 303. Con stitution annulled, 304. Spanish invasion repulsed, 305. Indian war, 305-307. Colony reverts to the crown, 309. Separation of the northern and southern portions, ib. Topography, iii. 311-316. Catlin, Mr, notice of his travels, iii. 200. Catskill Mountains, iii. 295, 296. Chalons, Captain, his voyage to New England, i. 177. Channing, Dr, notice of his writings, iii. 196, 197. Charleston (Carolina), its founda tion, i. 303. Siege of, ii. 67, 68. Trade, 379. Description of, iii. 315. Charleston (Massachusetts), descrip tion of, iii. 293. Chatham, Lord, his speech against taxing the colonists, i. 345. Op position to Lord North s measures, 361, 369. Opposes the severance of the colonies, ii. 43, 44. Chrlst-ians, the, account of, iii. 85. Cincinnati, description of, iii. 321. Clarke , governor of New York, i. 294 . Clason, Isaac, notice of his poetry, iii. 170, 171. Clay, Henry, notice of his oratory, iii. 127-130. Cleyborne, Captain, his settlementon Kent Island, i. 150. Contests with Lord Baltimore, 151, 152. Excites an insurrection in Maryland, 157. Named a commissioner to the co lonies, 162. Climate of the United States, i. 17. INDEX. 371 Clinton, governor of New York, i. 294. Clinton, General, conducts an ex pedition against Charleston, i. 396. Its repulse, 397. Attempts to aid Burgoyne, ii. 40. Succeeds Howe, 51. See History. Coligni, Admiral, colonial enter prises of, i. 7(1-73. Colonies, British, not originally con nected, i. 316. Contests with the French, 317-330. Proposals for a general union ineffectual, 322, 323. View of their progress in popula tion and wealth, 330-333. Dis turbances caused by the Stamp- Act, &c., 342-347. Commence ment of the revolutionary war, 374. Declaration of Independence, 398-400. See History. Colonization Society, iii. 68. Its objects, 75, 76. Columbia district, topography of, iii. 304-311. Commerce, domestic, ii. 299-349. Its great extent, 301), 301. Steam- navigation, 302-313. Canals, 313- 326. Railways, 326-335. Bank ing, 335-349. Commerce, foreign, ii. 350-380. Im mense agricultural exports, 350- 356. Timber, fish, manufactures, &C., 356-359. Imports, 359, 360. Trade with Britain, 360. France, 361. Other European countries, 361, 362. West Indies and South America, 362-366. East Indies and China, 366, 367. Shipping, &c., 368-376. Seaports, 376-380. Conant, Roger, settlement formed at Cape Ann by, i. 192. Congregationalists, account of, iii. 85, 86. Congress, the first, meeting of, i. 341, 342. Congress, general, meeting of, i. 367. Resolutions adopted, 367, 368. War resolved on, 376-378. De clares the colonies independent, 398-400. Opens negotiations with France , ii. 44. Alliance with that power, 48. With Spain, 60. See History. Congress, legislative, constitution and functions of, ii. 223-227. Connecticut, settlement of, i. 255-257. Topography, iii. 284-294. Constitution, political, view of, ii. 212-273. Functions of central go vernment, 214-223. Of the states, ib. Legislature, 223-227. Exe cutive, 227-233. Judiciary, 233- 235. Actual working of the con stitution, 235-258. State govern ments, 258-260. Township and county jurisdictions, 26U-262. Po lice, 262-264. Finances, &c., 264- 271. Army and navy, 271-273. Cooper, Mr, notice of his writings, iii. 193-195. Cornbury, Lord, governor of New York, i. 292, 293. Cornwallis, Lord. See History. Cosby, Colonel, governor of New York, i. 294. Cowpens, battle of, ii. 76. Crantteld, Edward, governor of New Hampshire, i. 262. Cromwell, Oliver, ignorance of co lonial affairs displayed by this ruler, i. 164-171. Culpepper, Lord, governor of Vir ginia, i. 139, 140. D. Dana, Richard H., notice of his poetry, iii. 148-150. Davidson, Lucretia and Margaret, notice of their poetry, iii. 186-191. Declaration of Independence, i. 398- 400. Delaware, Lord, governor of Vir ginia, i. 106, 109. Delaware river, iii. 297, 298. Delaware state, topography of, iii. 304-311. Democracy, its character and in fluence, ii. 336-341. Detroit, description of, iii. 322. Doane, Dr, notice of his poetry, iii. 164, 165. Drake, J. Rodman, notice of his poetry, iii. 168. Dudley, governor of Massachusetts, i. 252. Dutch, settlements formed by them in New York, i. 282, 283. Dwight, Dr, notice of his poetry, iii. 135, 136. E. Effingham, Lord, governor of Vir ginia, i. 140, 141. Eliot, Mr, the Indian apostle, i. 245-247. Elizabeth, maritime enterprise under that princess, i. 79, 80. Emigration to the United States, iii. 330-345. Early western settle ments Boone, 331. Henderson, 332. Acquisition of Ohio, 333. Sales of land, 334-336. Imposi tions practised, 337, 338. Settle ment on improved farms, com- 372 INDEX. parison of different states, 338-340. British America and the States, 340. Timbered land and prairie, 341. Modes of conveyance west ward, 341-344. Employment for operatives, 344, 345. Episcopalians, account of, Hi. 86. Erie Canal, account of, ii. 314-317. Essayists, iii. 195-197. Eutaw, battle of, ii. 85. Everett, Edward, notice of his ora tory, iii. J20-123. Executive government, character of, ii. 227-233. Its political influence. 241-244. F. Fayette, Marquis de la, embraces the cause of the Americans, ii. 89. See History. Fendal, Josiah, governor of Mary land, i. 171-174. Finances, &c., ii. 264-271. Fishery, ii. 296-298. Cod, 296, 297. Mackerel, &c., 297- Whale, 298. Fishes, iii. 279-282. Fletcher, Colonel, governor of New York, i. 291, 292. Florida, discovery of by Ponce de Leon, i. 33. Narvaez attempts its conquest, 36. Sufferings and disas trous fate of his expedition, 37-45. Similar attempt by Soto, 48-63. Its unsuccessful result, 65. Settle ment formed by the French Hugue nots under Laudonniere, 71. Cruel massacre- of the settlers by the Spaniards, 75. Dreadful retalia tion by De Ciourgues, 77- Topo graphy of this region, iii. 311-316. Cession of by Spain, 348, 349. Forests, i. 25. Francis I. sends out an expedition to North America under Verazzano, i. 66. Franklin, Benjamin, proposes a scheme for uniting the colonies, i. 322, 323. Mission to London, 340, 353, 354. Draws up a plan of conciliation, 372. Appointed commissioner from congress to France, ii. 47. French, their expeditions to North America, i. 66-78. Francis I., 66. Expedition under Verazzano, 66- 68. His fate, 69. Admiral Coligni, 70. He sends out Ribault, ib. Colonists return, 71- Settlement formed by Laudonniere, 71-73. Massacre of the settlers by the Spaniards, 73-76. Retaliation by De Gourgues, 76-78. French, their claims on the western territory, i. 319. Contests with the British colonies, 317-330. Assist ance granted to the Americans, ii. 45. Treaty of alliance with them, 48. See History. Fulton, Robert, his efforts to pro mote steam navigation, ii. 303-307- Fur trade, ii. 284. G. Gage, General, governor of Massa chusetts, i. 362-365, 373-375, 380, 393. See History. Gallagher, William D., notice of his poetry, iii. 174, 175. Gates, General, his operations against Burgoyne, ii. 38-40. Cap tures the British force, 41. See History. Genet, French ambassador, his violent proceedings, ii. 149-153. Geology, iii. 201-223. George, Lake, i. 22. Georgia, settlement of, i. 310-315. Exertions of General Oglethorpe, 311, 312. Wesley and Whitetield, 313. Spanisli war, 314. Becomes a royal colony, 315. Topography, iii. 311-316. Gomez, Stephen, discovers New York and part of New England, i. 35. Gorges, Sir Ferdinand, settlements in New Hampshire and Maine formed by, i. 260. Gorton, religious disturbances raised by him in New England, i. 218- 220. Gosnold, Bartholomew, his voyago along the coast of New England, i. 88, 89. Gould, Hannah F., notice of her poetry, iii. 185, 186. Gourgues, Dominique de, revenges the massacre of his countrymen by the Spaniards, i. 76-78. Greene, General. See History. Grenville, Sir Richard, conducts Raleigh s second expedition to Virginia, i. 82. Grenville, George, his plan of taxing America, i. 388, 389. His defence of the measure, 344. Guildford, battle of, ii. 79, 80. H. Hall, Mrs, notice of her poetry, iii. 182-184. Halleck, Fitz-Greene, notice of his poetry, iii. 152-154. Hamilton, Colonel, appointed secre tary of the treasury under Wash- INDEX. 373 ington, ii. 128. His financial plans, 130-133. His death, 171 . Harrison, General, president, iii. 362, 363. Harvey, John, governor of Virginia, i. 125. Henry, Patrick, his speech in the Virginian assembly against the Stamp-Act, i. 341. Account of his oratory, iii. 112-117. Hillhouse, James A., notice of his poetry, iii. 168, 169. Historians, iii. 197, 198. History from the commencement of the Revolution to the Declara tion of Independence, i. 334-400. Authorities consulted, 334-336. Secret discontents, 337. Plan of taxing America, Stamp- Act, 339- 341. First Congress, 341, 342. Tumults in the colonies, 342-344. Marquis of Rockingham minister, 344. Concessions, 345. Tran quillity restored, 346. Charles Townshend, 347. New taxes im posed, ib. Fresh troubles, 347- 350. Non-importation agreement, 350. Lord North minister, 351. Repeal of taxes, 352. Movements in America, 353-355. Duty on Tea, 355. Violent proceedings at Boston, 356, 357- Indignation of ministers, 357. Port closed, 357- 359. Alteration of the charters, &c., 359-361. Opposition by Burke, Chatham, and others, 361, 302. Extreme discontent in the colonies, 362-367. Meeting of general con gress 367- Its proceedings, 367, 368. Debates in Parliament, 368- 370. Coercive measures, 370, 371. Arming in Massachusetts, 373. Battle of Lexington, 374, 375. Warlike operations, 3/5, 376. Addresses by Congress, 3/7. Washington commander-in-chief, 378. Battle of Bunker s Hill, 380, 381. Hostile movements in Vir ginia and the other colonies, 381- 383. State of Washington s army, 384. Proceedings in Parliament, 385-388. Treaties with German princes, 389. American expedition into Canada, 390, 391. Difficulties of Washington, 391-393. Gage succeeded by Howe, 393. Boston evacuated, 395. Washington marches to New York, 396. Ex pedition against Charleston, 396- 398. Declaration of Independence, 398-400. History to thealliance with France, ii. 9-48. General causes of the rupture, state of parties, 9-14. Washington s preparations, 14-16. Landing of Howe, 16. Battle of Brooklyn, 17, 18. British enter New York, 19. Retreat of the Americans, 22. Howe occupies New Jersey, 22-24. Advantages gained by Washington, 24, 25. Charges against the British army unfounded, 26-29. Plans of new- campaign, 29, 30. Movements of Howe, 30. His landing in the Chesapeake, 31. Battle of Brandy- wine, 31, 32. British in Phila delphia, 32. Battle of German- town, 33. Washington at Valley- forge, 34. Views and prospects of the British commander, 34, 35. Expedition of Hurgoyne, 35. First success, 36. Difficulties, 37. Battle of Bennington, &c., 38. Clinton s expedition from New York, 40. Burgoyne s surrender, 40, 41. Effects of the intelligence in Eng land, 41-43. Speech of Lord Chatham, 43, 44. Negotiations of America with France, 44. Aid received from her, 45. Treaty of alliance, 47, 48. History to the peace in 1783, ii. 49- 113. War between Britain and France, 49, 50. Distresses of Washington, 50, 51. British com missioners to treat for peace, 51. Their reception, 52, 53. Evacua tion of Philadelphia, 53. Repulse of the Americans, 54. French naval operations, 54, 55. Ad vantages gained by the British, 55. Indian war in the west, 56. Plans of campaign, 57. Distress of the Americans, 58-60. Spain joins their cause, 60. Naval and mili tary operations, 61-64. Defeat of Lincoln-, 65. Siege of Savannah raised, 66, 67. Siege of Charles ton surrender, 67, 68. British, overrun South Carolina, 69. De feat of Gates and death of Fergu son, 70-74. Cornwallis retreats, 74. Greene succeeds Gates, 75. Battle of Cowpens, 76. Retreat of the Americans, 77, 78. They return, 78. Battle of Guildford, 79, 80. Cornwallis retires to Wilmington, 80. Greene invades South Carolina, 81. Cornwallis marches into Virginia, ib. Battle of Camden, 82. Successes of the American parties, 83. Repulsed at Ninety-six, 84. Rawdon falls back, ib. Battle of Eutaw, 85. Causes of British failure, 86, 87. Operations near New York, 87-89. Expedition sent from France, 89, 374 INDEX. 90. Adventures of Arnold, 90-92. Treacherous desertion, 93, 94. Death of Andr6, 94, 95. Financial difficulties of congress, 95, 96. Junction of French and American armies, 97. Successes of Corn- wallis in Virginia, 97, 98. Wash ington marches thither, 1 00. Naval operations in the Chesapeake, ib. Plans of Clinton and Cornwallis, 101, 102. The latter besieged in York, 102, 103. Surrenders, 104. Clinton s attempts to relieve him, 104, 105. War with Holland, &c., 106. Change of the British min istry, 108. Ambassadors meet at Paris, 108-111. Discussions, 111. Treaty with America, 112. With France and Spain, 113. History the new Constitution and proceedings under it, ii. 114-173. Exhaustion of the government, 114, 115. Troubles in the army, 115-117. Its dissolution, 117. Dis turbances throughout the Union, 118, 119. Meeting of deputies at Annapolis, 120. General meeting at Philadelphia, ib. Plan and deliberations on a newconstitution, 121,122. Finally sanctioned, 123. Washington president, 123-127. The cabinet, 128, 129. Financial plans, 130-133. Washington re- elected, 134. Disputes and war with the Indians, 135-142. Dis turbances in Pennsylvania, 142- 144. Negotiations with England, 144-146. With Spain, 146-148. Revolution in France, 148. Pro ceedings of Genet, her ambassador, 149-153. Treaty with Britain, 154, 155. Close of Washington s presidency, 158. Adams succeeds, 159. Mission to France of Monroe, ib. Of Pinkney, 160. Hostile preparations, 161-163. Accom modation, 164. Jefferson presi dent, 166. Purchase of Louisiana, 167-169. Expedition to Tripoli, 169-171. Daring enterprise of Burr, 171-173. See Britain. History Concluding sketch, iii. 346- 366. State after the war, 347. Transactions with the Barbary States, ib. Monroe president, 348. Cession of Florida by Spain, 348, 349. Question of slavery in Mis souri, 349. South American re publics acknowledged, 350. Tariff of 1824, ib. Adams president, ib. Tariff of 1828, 351. Jackson president , ib. Veto on the national bank, 352. North-west Indian war, 352, 353. Carolina resists the tariff, 353, 354. Measures against the bank, 355. Removal of the Indians Seminole war, 355-358. Van Buren president, 359. Great financial embarrass ments, 359, 360. Civil war in Canada disturbances on the fron tier, 360, 361. Boundary question, 361-364. Harrison president, 362. Tyler, 363. Disturbances in Rhode Island, 364, 365. Repudia tion, 365. Oregon question, 366. Hoffman, Charles Fenno, notice of his poetry, iii. 171-173. Howe, General, receives the com mand of the British forces in America, i. 393. See History. Resigns the command, ii. 51. Hudson River, i. 23. Discovered by the navigator of that name, 281. Description of, iii. 297- Hudson, Henry, account of his voyages, i. 279-281. Hunter, Sir Robert, governor of New York, i. 293. Hutchinson, Mrs, her religious views, i. 210. Banishment from Massa chusetts, and death, 216. I. Illinois, topography of, iii. 316-322. Indiana, topography of, iii. 316-322. Indians, their contests with the early Spanish adventurers in Florida, i. 36-65. First intercourse with the English in Virginia, 81-88. Adventures of Captain Smith, 93- 105. Princess Pocahontas, 110-112. Dreadful massacre of the settlers, 119-121. War with the Maryland colonists, 147, 148. Contests with the New Engenders, 239-244. Ef forts for their conversion Eliot, 244-247- Penn s treaty with them, 268. War with the Dutch settlers in New York, 284. With the English in Carolina, 305-307. Treaties with General Oglethorpe in Georgia, 312. Their employ ment by the British murder of Miss Macrea, ii. 37. Contests with the United States, 56, 135- 142 ; iii. 352, 353. Their removal beyond the western frontier Se minole war, 355-358. Iowa, topography of, iii. 316-322. Irving, Washington, notice of hia writings, iii. 196. J. Jackson, General, his defence of New Orleans, ii. 205-208. His presidency, iii. 351-359. INDEX. 375 James River, iii. 307- Jamestown, its foundation, i. 94. Jefferson, Mr, appointed foreign secretary under Washington, ii. 129. Elected president, 166. Re- elected, 171. Retires, 180. Johnson, William, his campaign against the French, i. 326, 327- Judiciary, its character and func tions, ii. 233-235. Kentucky,topographyof,iii.322-329. Kieft, Dutch governor of New Ne therlands, i. 284. Lane, Ralph, first governor of Vir ginia, i. 82. Laudonniere, Rene, founds a French settlement in Florida, i. 71- Mas sacre of the settlers by the Spa niards, 75. Leisler, Jacob, governor of New York, i. 290. His trial and exe cution, 291. Leon, Juan Ponce de, his early ad ventures, i. 32. Discovers Florida, 33. Unsuccessful attempt to plant a colony, ib. Lexington, battle of, i. 374, 375. Description of the town, iii. 328. Literature, iii. 98-200. Obstacles to its progress, 99-105. State before the Revolution, 105. Decline, 106. Gradual revival and progress, 106, 107. Orators, 108-130. Poets, 130-193. Romance and novel- writers, 193-195. Essayists, 195- 197. Historians, 197, 198. Bio graphers, 198, 199. Travellers, 199, 200. Statistics, 200. Locke, constitution for Carolina formed by, i. 300. Longfellow, H. W., notice of his poetry, iii. 160-162. Louisiana, purchase of, ii. 167-169. Topography of, iii. 322-329. Louisville, description of, iii. 328. Lovelace, Lord, governor of New York, i. 293. Lowell, description of, iii. 293. Lunt, George, notice of his poetry, iii. 169, 170. Lutherans, account of, iii. 87. M. Madison, Mr, president, ii. 180, 191. Maine, settlement of, i. 191 , 260-262. Topography, iii. 284-294. Manners and social life, iii. 9-51. Effects of colonial settlement, 10, 11. Religion, philanthropy, &c., 13, 14. National failings, 14-26. Good temper, 26. Strong liquors- temperance societies, 27-29. Equa lity, 29-31. Ladies, 31-35. Enter tainments, accommodations, &c., 35-39. Labouring class, 39-41. Differences throughout the Union, 41. NewEnglanders,42. Southern planters, 43. Emigrants to the west, 44-49. Society of Washing ton, 49, 50. Manufactures, ii. 291-296. Efforts to promote them, 292. Obstacles, .293. Female operatives, 294. Successful branches, 294, 295. Maryland, colonization of, i. 144-175. Patent by Charles I. to Lord Baltimore, 145. Roman Catholic colony founded, 148. Indian war, ib. Internal administration, 149- 157- Popular insurrection, 157. Assembly divided into two houses, 158. Influx of Protestants from Virginia, 159. Parliamentary com mission sent out, 162. Govern ment changed, 163, 164. Arbi trary proceedings of the Protes tants, 166. Civil war, 168-170. Lord Baltimore s government re stored, 172. Revolution transfers it to the crown, 175. Again con ferred on the family by George I. , ib. Topography of the state, iii. 304-311. Mason, John, settlements in New Hampshire and Maine formed bv, i. 260. Massachusetts, its colonization by the Puritans, i. 185-195. Consti tution and laws framed by them, 198-201. Religious dissensions, 202-216, 218-228. Effects of the Restoration, 228-234. Constitu tion subverted, 235. Changes at the English Revolution, 238. In dian wars, 239-243. Delusion re specting witchcraft, 247-252. Suc cessive governors, 252-255. Takes the lead in the Revolution, 373- 376. Topography, iii. 284-294. Mellen, Grenville, notice of his poetry, iii. 162, 163. Menendez, Pedro, employed by Philip II. to extirpate the Hugue- not settlement in Florida, i. 73. Founds St Augustine, ib. Dread ful massacre perpetrated by him, 75. Retaliated by DeGourgues, 77. Methodists, account of, iii. 83, 84. INDEX. Michigan, topography of, iii. 316-322. Mines, ii. 284-291. Gold, 285, 286. Iron, 286, 287. Load, &c., 287, 288. Coal, 288, 290. Salt, &c., 290, 291. Mississippi river, i. 24, 26, 62 ; iii. 324, 325. Mississippi state, topography of, iii. 322-329. Missouri river, i. 26 ; iii. 324, 325. Jlissouri state, topography of, iii. 322-329. Question of slavery in ,349. Monroe, Mr, president, iii. 348-350. Montcalm, his successes against the British, i. 327, 328. Mormonites, account of, iii. 91. N. Narvaez, Pamphilo de, obtains com mand of an expedition to Florida, i. 35. Takes possession of the country, 36. Contests with the natives, 37, 38. Disastrous issue of the expedition, 39-46. Natchez, description of, iii. 328. Natural History, iii. 201-282. Ge ology, 201-223. Botany, 223-256. Zoology, 256-282. Navy, ii. 273. Neal, John, notice of his writings, iii. 163, 164. New England, settlement of, i. 176- 262. Company formed for its co lonization, 91, 176. Various ex peditions sent out, 177-180. Ar rival of the Brownists, 185-190. Other settlers, 191. Immigrations of the Puritans, 193-196. Con federation of the colonies, 216. Wars with the Indians, 239-244. Efforts for their conversion, 244- 247- Topography of this region, iii. 284-294. New Hampshire, settlement of, i. 191, 260-262. Topography, iii. 284-294. New Jersey, settlement of, i. 294-297. Territory granted to Lords Ber keley and Carteret, 295. Consti tution of the colony, ib. Sold to the Quakers, 296, 297. Becomes a royal colony, 297- Topography, iii. 2^4-304. New Orleans, unsuccessful attack on by the British, ii. 205-208. Trade of, 379, 380. Description of, iii. 327. New York, settlement of this state, i. 279-294. Discovery by Hudson, 280, 281. Settlements by the Dutch, 282, 283. By the Swedes, 283-285. Indian war, 284. Pro sperity of the colony, 285. Cap tured by the English, 287. lie- conquered, but again ceded, 288. Government under the Duke of York (James II.), 288, 289. Ef fects of the English revolution, 290. Successive governors, 291- 294. Topography, iii. 294-304. New York city, first called New Amsterdam, foundation of, i. 283. Trade of, ii. 376, 377. Description of, iii. 299-301. Newport, Captain, receives the na val command of Virginia Com pany s first expedition, i. 93. His subsequent career, 96-104. Nichols, Sir Robert, capture of New Amsterdam by, i. 287. Nicholson, Colonel, governor of Vir ginia, i. 142. North, Lord, his character, i. 351. Attempts to conciliate the colo nists, 352. Imposes a duty on tea, 355. Adopts coercive measures, 369-371, 388, 389. Conciliatory proposals, ii. 42, 43. See History. His resignation, 108. Novel and romance writers, iii. 193-195. O. Oglethorpe, General, settlement of Georgia by, i. 311,312. Ohio River, i. 24 ; iii. 318. Ohio state, topography of, iii. 316- 322. Acquisition of, 333. Operatives, employment and wages of, iii. 344, 345. Orators, iii. 108-130. Oregon territory, question regarding the, iii. 366. Osborne, Sir Danvers, governor of New York, i. 294. Otis,noticeof his oratory.iii. 109-112. Ozark Mountains, description of, iii. 203. P. Peabody, Mr. notice of his poetry, iii. 165. Penn, William, his character, i. 263- 265. Procures a charter for Penn sylvania from Charles II., 266. Ef forts for its colonization, 267-277- His death, 277. Pennsylvania, settlement of, i. 263- 278. Liberal constitution framed by Penn, 266, 267- Large immigra tion of Quakers, 267- Treaty with the Indians, 268. Boundary dis putes with Lord Baltimore, 269, INDEX. 377 271. Internal dissensions, 271-273. Consequences of the English Re volution, 273, 274. Quakers lose their influence in the colony, 278. Topography, iii. 294-304. Penobscot, Bay of, visited by Wey- mouth, i. 90. Percival, James G., notice of his poetry, iii. 145-148. Philadelphia, its foundation, i. 269. Trade of, ii. 378. Description of, iii. 302, 303. Pierpont, John, notice of his poetry, iii. 156, 157. Pike, Albert, notice of his poetry, iii. 165-167. Pinkney, Edward C., notice of his poetry, iii. 176, 177- Piracy, its prevalence on the Ame rican coast at the beginning of the eighteenth century, i. 308, 309. Pitt, Mr. See Chatham, Lord. Pittsburg, description of, iii. 304. Plymouth Company, its formation, i. 91, 92. Colonial expeditions to New England, 176-179. Obtain a new patent, 180. Subsequent transactions, 190, 191. Plymouth, New, its foundation, i. 1 87. Pocahontas, an Indian princess, her humane conduct, i. 99, 100. Mar ries Mr Rolfe, and visits England, 111. Her death, 112. Poets, iii. 130-193. Police, ii. 262-264. Popham, Captain, his voyage to New England, i. 177, 178. Port Royal, settlement attempted here by the French, i. 70. Potomac River, iii. 306, 307. Pownall, governor of Massachusetts, i. 254. Prentice, George D., notice of his poetry, iii. 165-167- Presbyterians, account of, iii. 85. Prescot, Mr, notice of his writings, ! iii. 198. President, his functions, &c., ii. | 227-233. His political influence, 241-244. Pring, Martin, account of his voy age, i. 90. Puritans, their rise in England, i. 182. Persecutions, 191, 192. A large number emigrate to New England, 193-196. Their character, 198. Gradual improvement in their character, 263. Settlement in Pennsylvania, 268-278. Present state of the body, iii. 87- Quebec, capture of by Wolfe, i. 329. R. Railways, ii. 326-335. In New Eng- Q. Quakers, their appearance in New England, i. 222. Their extrava gances, 224, 225. Severe pro ceedings against them, 226-228. VOL. III. land, 328, 329. New York, 329, 330. Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland, 331,332. Virginia, Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama, 332-334. Western states, 334, 335. Raleigh, Sir Walter, undertakes to found a colony in North America, i. 80. First expedition under Amadis and Barlow, 81. Second expedition under Sir Richard Grenville, 82. First settlement in Virginia, ib. Its failure, 85. New settlement under White, ib. Its fate, 88. Rappites, account of, iii. 90, 91. Rawdon, Lord. See History. Religion, iii. 78-97. Its influence in the settlement of the colonies, 78, 79. Voluntary system, 79. Re spect for religion in New England, 80, 81. In the south, 81. De ficiency in the west, 81-83. Statis tics of the different sects, 83-91. Bible and missionary societies, &c., 91-95. Revivals and camp- meetings, 95, 96. General result, 96, 97. Representatives, house of, its consti tution, ii. 224, 225. Reptiles, iii. 276-279. Revolution , history of. See History. Rhode Island, settlement of, i. 209, 257-260. General religious tolera tion adopted, 258. Topography, iii. 284-294. Recent disturbances in, 364, 365. Ribault, John, expedition sent put under him by Admiral Coligni, i. 70. Founds a settlement at Port Royal, ib. Its failure, 71- Super sedes Laudonniere in command of settlement in Florida, 73. Settlers massacred by the Spaniards, 75. Rice, introduction of into Carolina, i. 309. Richmond, description of, iii. 310, 311. \ Rivers of the United States, i. 22-29. Robinson, Dr, notice of his travels, iii. 200. Rockingham, Marquis of, his ad ministration, i. 334. Roman Catholics, account of, iii. 86, 87. 2A 378 INDEX. Romance and novel writers, iii. 193- 195. Salem, its foundation, i. 194. De scription of, iii. 293. Sands, Robert C., notice of his poetry, iii. 167, 168. Savannah, siege of, ii. 66, 67. De scription of, iii. 315. Seaports, ii. 376-380. Sedgwick, Miss, notice of her writings iii. 195. Serninole war, the, iii. 355-358. Senate, its constitution, ii. 223-227. Shaftesbury, Earl of, constitution for Carolina formed by, i. 3dO. Shakers, account of, iii. 89, 90. Shirley, governor of Massachusetts, i. 254. Shute, Colonel, governor of Massa chusetts, i. 253. Sigourney, Mrs, notice of her poetry, iii. 179, 180. Simms, William G , notice of his poetry, iii. 177, ]/ Slavery, iii. 52-77- Its condition and extent, 52-54. Treatment of the negroes, 55-59. Inter) al slave- trade, 59-63. Modes of conveyance, 63, 64. Treatment in the new states, 64, 65. Situation of free people of colour, 65-67- Early abolition measures, 67, 68. Anti- slavery society, its efforts, 68-71. Opposition, 71-75. Prospects of the cause, 76, 77. Sloughter, Colonel, governor of New York, i. 291. Smith, Captain John, settles in Vir ginia, i. 93. Obtains the manage ment of the colony, 97- Is captured by the Indians, 98. His preserva tion, 99. Explores the Chesapeake, 101, 102. Returns to England, 107. His character, ib. Efforts to colo nize New England, 160-170. Sothel, Seth, governor of Carolina, i. 301-303. Soto, Fernando de, appointed ade- lantndo of Florida, i. 47. Attempts its conquest, 48. Travels into the interior of the continent, and con tests with the natives, 48-59. Marches westward, and crosses the Mississippi, 61, 62. Returns, 63. His death, ib. Fate of the ex pedition, 65. Spaniards, theirexpeditions to North America, i. 31-65. Discovery of Florida by Ponce tie Leon, 33. Other expeditions, 33-35. Nar- vaez attempts its conquest 35. Contests with the natives, 36-40. His fate, 40. Adventures of Alvaro, and journey overland to Mexico, 40-46. Expedition under Soto, 46-48. Various con flicts, 48-55. Enters Georgia, 55. Reaches the gold country of Caro lina, 56. Returns to the coast, 58. Battle of Mauvila, 59, 60. Travels westward and crosses the Mississippi, 61-63. Return and death , 63. Issue of the expedition , 64, 65. Cancello, 65. Spaniards, invasion of Carolina by the, 303. Of Georgia, 314. Alliance with the Americans and rupture with Britain, ii. 60. See History. Sprague, Charles, notice of his poetry, iii. 150-152. St Louis, description of, iii. 329. Stamp-Act, the, i. 339-341. Re pealed, 345. Statistics, works on, iii. 200. Steam-navigation, ii. 3(12-313. Its rise Fitch, Stevens, Fulton, 302- 304. Extension over the west,. 305, 306. Present extent, 308. Accidents, &c., 3(19-313. Stephens, Mr, notice of his travels, iii. 200. Stone, Captain, governor of Mary land, i. 160-170. Street, Alfred B., notice of his poetry, iii. 173, 174. Stuyvesant, Dutch governor of New Netherlands, i. 284-287- Susquehanna river, iii. 297- Swedes, settlements formed by them in New York, i. 283-285. T. "arleton, Colonel, exploits of, ii. 72-76. See History. Temperance societies, account of, iii. 27-29. Tennessee, topography of, iii. 322-329. Tobacco, first cultivated in Virginia. 114. Tomochichi, chief of the Creek ulians, i. 312. Visits Britain, ib. Topographical survey, iii. 283-329. New England states, 284-2.94. New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, 294-304. Virginia, Mary land, Columbia, Delaware, 304- 311. Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, 311-316. Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, &c., 316-322. Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Missouri, Arkansas, 322-329. INDEX. 379 Townshencl, Charles, his plan of taxing America, i. 347. Travellers, iii. 199, 200. Tripoli, Americanexpeditionagainst, ii. 169-171. Tyler, Mr, president, iii. 363-366. TT. Unitarians, account of, iii. 87, 88. Universalists, account of, iii. 88. Van Buren, Mr, president, iii. 359 362. Vane, Henry, governor of Massa chusetts, i. 211. Verazzano, Giovanni, conducts a French expedition to North Ame rica, i. 66. Sails along the coast, 66-68. Returns to France, 68. His mysterious fate, 69. Vermont, topography of, iii. 284-294. Virginia, colonization of, i. 79-143. Expeditions sent out by Raleigh, 80-88. First permanent settlement at Jamestown, 94. Its early diffi culties and progress, 95-1 12. Cul ture of tob.icco introduced, 114. Representative constitution fram ed, 117. Colony largely reinforced, 119. Dreadful massacre by the Indians, 120. State and progress of the colony, 127-130. Govern ment under the Long Parliament, 130-13-i. After the restoration, 134. Bacon s rebellion, 135-138. Various governors, 139-143. Topo graphy, iii. 304-311. Virginia Company, its formation, i. 91, 92. Founds a settlement at Jamestown, 94. Obtains a new charter, and sends out re^rce- ments, 106-119. Charter forfeited, 123. Washington, George, commands an expedition to the French posts in the west, i. 320. His first cam paign, 321, 32-2. Acts as aide-de camp to Bracldock, 324-326. Ap pointed commander of the conti nental forces, 3/8. See History. Resigns his commission, ii. 118. Is elected first president of the republic, 123-127- Re-elected, 134. His retirement, 158. His death, 164, 165. Washington (city), capture of by the British, ii. 201. Society of, iii. 49, 50. Description of, iii. 308, 309. Washington, Mount, description of, iii. 288. Webster, Mr, notice of his oratory, iii. 124-127- Welby, Amelia B., notice of her poetry, iii. 184, 185. Wesley, John and Charles, accept livings in Georgia, i. 313. Leave the colony, ib. Weymouth, George, account of his voyage, i. 90, 91. Wheeling, description of, iii. 311. White, John, appointed governor of Virginia by Raleigh, i. 85. His culpable conduct, 88. Whitetield, his visit to Georgia, i. 313. Whittier, John G., notice of his poetry, iii. 171. Wilcox, Charles, notice of his poetry, iii. 158-160. Williams, Roger, his religious views. i. 205-208. Founds the colony of Rhode Island, 209, 217, 257-260. Willis, N. P., notice of his poetry, iii. 157, 158. Wilmington (Delaware), description of, iii. 311. Winthrop, Mr, governor of Massa chusetts, i. 212-217. Wisconsin, topography of, iii. 316- 322. Witchcraft, delusions respecting, in Massachusetts, i. 247-252. Y. York, Duke of, territory granted to him by Charles II., i. 287- Ob tains possession of and gives name to New York, 288. Z, Zoology, iii. 256-282. Birds, 257-276. Reptiles, 2/6-279. Fishes, 279- 282. THE END. Printed by Oliver and Boyd, Tweeddale Court, High Street, Edinburgh. 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