YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY \nns w mi in- 3S8$r- Stuf^r 11 wi (Q.» isi)s c VISCOUNT MORPETH to J. S. BUCKINGHAM. Castle Howard, Nov. '26. '¦ Dear Sir, " In returning this enclosure, I have to thank you for the obliging lines which accompanied it. I am able to bear a witness's testimony to the three first volumes (The Free States) which accompanied me on my travels ; and I found that their truth, research, and general impartiality, independently of higher results, made them most useful and satisfactory Guides and Text-Books. I shall have much pleasure in making acquaintance with the further volumes. You have so fully occupied the whole ground, that my abstaining from treading in your foot-prints cannot fail to be more generally acquiesced in. " I have the honor to be, Your very faithful Servant, " Morpeth.' " To J. S. Buckingham, Esq." THE EASTERN WESTERN STATES AMERICA. BY J. S. BUCKINGHAM, ESQ. IN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. III. FISHER, SON, & CO. NEWGATE ST. LONDON; RUE ST. HONORE, PARIS. CONTENTS OF VOL. III. CHAP I. Journey to Lexington and Frankfort by railroad — Beautiful country — Description of Frankfort — Legislative capital — Journey from Frankfort to Louisville — Richness and beauty of this region — Approach to Louis- ville^Gardens — Instance of Dutch thrift and economy — Relaxation of prejudice against colour — Relative condition of slaves in Kentucky — : Arrival at the Gait House, Louisville — Races — Bazaar — Baptist Conven tion — Gamblers — Postponement of visit to the Mammoth Cave — Des cription of this cave from a recent visitor — Great extent of the interior — Lateral passages — Haunted Chambers — Indian mummies found here — The Bat-room — The Grotto — The Temple — Interior river — Extensive — lake, with boat on it — Colourless fish without eyes found here — Smaller cave — Beautiful chambers — Fount of Laon — Tempestuous weather at Louisville — Vivid lightnings — Heavy rains — Flooded lands 1 CHAP. II. Origin and foundation of Louisville — Situation and plan of the town — Public buildings — Court House— Churches — Hotels — Dwellings — Stores — Manufactories — The River — The Falls — The Canal — Newspapers — Medical Journal — Literary taste — Population, increase at different periods — Character of the different classes of society — Tornadoes and floods in America and in India — Extremes of temperature — Excuse for drinking— Excessive dissipation and intemperance at Louisville — Contaminating example of the best hotels — Youths and newly married couples visiting these — Lights and shades of American manners — Reasons assigned for the dissipation of Louisville — Men and Women of Kentucky — Appear ance and dress — Street and hotel affrays — Judges and bowie knives — Case of Judge Wilkinson at the Gait House 17 CHAP. III. Departure from Louisville in the steamboat Ambassador — Strata of the Canal — Fossils found there — Minerals and fossils of the neighbourhood — Loss of a passenger by falling overboard — Indifference to death or suffering — Passage down the Ohio — -Towns on the river — Arrival at Hen- dersonville — Freight of tobacco— Excursion into Indiana — Fertility and productions of the State — Contrast between Free and Slave labour — History of the first settlement of Indiana — Progress in population and prosperity — Area, boundaries, and surface of the country — River bottoms Woodland — Prairies — Productions — Legislature, executive and judi ciary — -State engineer — State geologist — Penitentiary — Grants for public Education — State University — Academies — Schools — Religious sects Indian tribes, traditions, and antiquities — Wild forest-scenery 36 CHAP. IV. Voyage from Hendersonville to Smithland — Small towns — Mouth of the Wabash river — Vineennes — Tippecanoe — New Harmony — Cave in the rock in Illinois — Arrival at the mouth of the Cumberland — Detention at Smithland — Recent improvements — The Cumberland river — River Ten nessee — Geological and antiquarian curiosities— Splendid steamboats — Improved management — Recent regulations imposed by the Legislature —Beneficial effects of these on life and property — Female curiosity respect ing Queen Victoria — Singular opinions entertained of the Queen — Incredulity as to the wealth and population of England — Peculiar and CONTENTS. disagreeable customs of American ladies — Use of snuff, to chew as tobacco — Unwholesome substitutes for natural food — Deleterious effects on the health of females 54 CHAP. V. Voyage from the Ohio to the Mississippi — Departure from Smithland in the Monsoon — Passage down the Ohio to Cairo — Origin and progress of this new city — Examples of American speculative projects — Difficulties opposing the progress of Cairo — Junction of the Ohio and the Missis sippi — Contrast between these two rivers — Crowded cabins — Gambling and drunkenness — European emigrants — Excessive heats — Voyage up the Mississippi — Rock of Grand Tower — Karkasia — Early French settle ment — Singular instance of a decaying town — Picturesque rocks and cliffs of Missouri — Impressions of human feet in the bard rock — Exces sive heat — Dishabille of passengers — Singular opinions respecting Queen Victoria — Passengers on pleasure-excursions generally — Arrival, at St. Louis at night 77 CHAP. VI. Early French settlers in Missouri — Cession of the French possessions to England — Purchase of Spanish and French settlements — Sixty millions of francs paid by the United States — Division of Louisiana — Separation of Missouri — Admission into the Union as a State — Area, boundaries, and surface of this State — Minerals — Lead — The great Iron Mountain — Red pipestone — Indian superstitions — Climate — Productions — Wild animals — Legislature, executive and judiciary — State Penitentiary at Jefferson City — Education, ample means to provide for it — Religious sects — Statistics of numbers— Great predominance of Roman Catholics — Progress of population in Missouri — Proportions of slaves and free men — Much greater increase in Illinois — Contrast between Slavery and Freedom — Territory of Missouri — The Oregon — Extent, occupation, and importance of this new region 93 CHAP. VII. St. Louis — Original foundation of the city of St. Louis — Transfer of it, with Louisiana, from France to America— Progressive increase of popu lation from that period — Situation of the city — Environs — Health — Plan and arrangements of the streets — Names of these as at Philadelphia — Public buildings — Court House — New hotel — Theatre — Churches, Catho lic and Protestant — Cathedral — Learning, zeal, and courtesy of the Catholic clergy — Jesuits' College for the education of young men — Nunnery of the Sacred Heart for young ladies — Orphan Asylum — Sisters of Charity — Protestant Benevolent Associations — Literary, musical, medical, and masonic societies — Hotels — Chamber of Commerce — Banks and Insurance Companies — Municipal government and city officers — Assessed value of property and revenue of the city — Vast immigration of foreign settlers — Spread of crime, and growing indifference to it — Specimens of taste — Newspapers of St. Louis, number and character. 114 CHAP. VIII. Visit to the Museum of St. Louis — Head of a new animal recently dis covered — Immense size — Larger than the mammoth or mastodon — Peculiarity of its immense horizontal tusks — Description of the manner and place of its discovery — The entire Skeleton since found, and brought to England — Visit to the Botanical Depot of St. Louis — Plants of the Far West, collected in a journey of 4,000 miles — Excursion to the Indian mounds in the State of Illinois — Description of the ancient Tumuli on the Prairies — Singular discovery of numerous Skeletons — Indifference of Americans to the Antiquities of their own country — Commerce of St. Louis — American Fur Company — Immense profits made by English and CONTENTS. Americans — Land Caravans from St. Louis to Santa F is right or wrong, is not now to be discussed. The relation of slave and free citizen exists, and we cannot help it ; the destinies so ordered it, and the sentiment, which I urge as the Kentucky law, is but a promulgation of the principles of fitness, which result from that relation. It is a sentiment identified with our souls, hearts, and heads, and contributes an essential element of our moral entity.'' What progress the doctrines of Christianity are likely to make in a community where such sentiments as these are not merely uttered by judges, but ap plauded by the people, may be easily conceived. The spirit of the Pilgrim Fathers, and the spirit of Penn, had evidently no share in the formation of this sen timent, which is here called the Kentucky law. It might accord more harmoniously with the spirit of Daniel Boone, and the early hunters of " the dark and bloody ground ;" and so long as such sentiments and such practices prevail, the name will continue to be appropriate to the State to which it was first given. But let us hope, that with the progress of time, the increasing intelligence of the age, and the growing veneration for that sublime and heavenly doctrine, which teaches us to " forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers," and to pray that their "hearts maybe turned ;" in accordance with that religion which was given to establish "peace on earth, and good-will towards man," these scenes will become less frequent ; and that in Kentucky, as elsewhere, the sentiment of the heart may be more FORGIVENESS. 35 in unison with the language of the lips, when men repeat their daily prayer — " Forgive us our tres passes, as we forgive those who trespass against us." When men shall utter this prayer with sincerity of heart, and act up to the principles of Christianity, as well as profess them, bowie knives and other deadly- weapons, will be banished from society, and " for giveness of injuries," be regarded as more dignified and noble than " murder and revenge." D 2 36 CHAP. III. Departure from Louisville in the steamboat Ambassador — Strata of the Canal — Fossils found there — Minerals and fossils of the neighbourhood — Loss of a passenger by falling overboard — Indifference to death or suffering — Passage down the Ohio — Towns on the river — Arrival at Hendersonville — Freight of tobacco — Excursion into Indiana — Fertility and productions of the State — Contrast between Free and Slave labour — History of the first settlement of Indiana — Progress in population and prosperity — Area, boundaries, and surface of the country — River bottoms — Woodland — Prairies — Productions — Legisla ture, executive and judiciary — State engineer — State geologist — Penitentiary — Grants for public Education — State Univer sity — Academies — Schools — Religious sects — Indian tribes, traditions, and antiquities — Wild forest-scenery. A favourable opportunity offering for proceeding down the river in one of the finest steamboats on the Ohio, the Ambassador, we left Louisville on the morning of the 7th of June, and embarked in her at Shipping-port, below the Falls, about 10 o'clock — but as she did not start until past 2, we had an opportunity of examining the canal, the rocks, and the neighbourhood, and extending our inquiries among those most conversant with its features. In the excavation of the canal, to the depth of about 30 feet, seven distinct strata were visible, all of calcareous deposit. In the first of these are found fossil shells, among which the encrinite, the necro- mite, the teribrachilite, the tribolite, the pentacri- FOSSIL REMAINS. 37 nite, and the ammonite predominate. The second stratum is a magnesian limestone, containing only a few fossils, which are found useful, when burnt, for cement. The third stratum is common limestone, not exceeding a foot in thickness. The fourth stratum is a carboniferous limestone, abounding in fossil madrepores, or corallines, such as are found on the rocks and reefs of the Bahamas, Bermuda, and the Red Sea. Other strata exhibit bituminous shale of considerable thickness, sometimes passing into coal ; and on both sides of the river, it is said that zinc and cadmium are found. Antimony and manganese have been procured within a few miles of this, and sulphur and gypsum are common ; indications of iron, lead, and copper are observed, both in this State and in the opposite State of Indiana ; and in the latter, opalized wood is met with in such abundance, that hundreds of cords of it are said to have been collected. In short, the whole region round about this, is evidently rich in mineral and fossil productions, and is hitherto almost unex plored ; nor will it be otherwise, till science is more honoured here than wealth, and till knowledge shall be more eagerly sought after than objects of gain — for now, the taste on all these subjects is so rare, and so low here, that it is thought an idle task even to make inquiries about them, and the devotion of any time or expense to their investiga tion, would be regarded by 999 persons out of every 1,000 as a weakness and folly in any man who could turn his time and talents to better account, by buying and selling, and making monev. On our returning to the Ambassador, which is 3S KENTUCKY. one of the largest and finest vessels on the Western waters, and in which we made our trip from New Orleans to Natchez, on the Mississippi, in May of the last year, we found three other boats at the landing, the Baton Rouge, the Great Western, and the Pocahontas. This last was bound for St. Louis, and we had been on board to see the cabins, and were nearly on the point of taking passage in her, but decided not to do so, in consequence of her crowded state and confined accommodations. While we lay here, we had cause to rejoice at having made this decision, for, in consequence of the number and pressure of the passengers, one gentle man, whose dress and appearance indicated great respectability, fell from the side-rails of the Poca hontas into the river. He struggled for a few moments only, but being greatly alarmed, and unable to swim, he sunk within ten minutes after his fall, and never rose again. Short as the time was, however, it was long enough to have saved him, had the requisite means been taken, as there was one boat at the stern of the steamer, and another at the landing-place on the shore, either of which might have been put off in a minute, with a single hand, and have been in time to rescue him from his fate. But a reckless indifference to the loss of life, is a striking and revolting charac teristic of Western manners. The stabbing of a man in the streets, or the falling of a man into the river, even when attended with instant death, does not excite so much sensation in the witnesses of these events in this country, as the falling of a horse, or the death of a dog, would do in the streets INDIFFERENCE TO LIFE. 39 of any town in England ; and even when the great est outrages, or the most severe calamities, are narrated by one person to another, it is rare to see it accompanied by any expression of countenance, or hear it couched in any terms indicative either of sorrow or indignation in the narrator. My own conviction is, that in all the softer feelings of love, friendship, humanity, and benevolence, the national character is deficient, when compared with the French, the Germans, the Swiss, the Italians, the Spaniards, and the Portuguese ; or that these quali ties, if they originally existed in an equal degree with those of other nations, have become absorbed and overpowered by the intense love of gain, and passion for display', which swallows up every minor feeling, and leaves only a concentration of selfish ness, devoted exclusively to self-enrichment and self-gratification, without a thought or care for others, beyond that of making them in some way or other subservient to their own benefit. To this again, of course, as to all other general delineations of character, there are bright and honourable exceptions, but they constitute an inconsiderable minority, though to them more praise and honour is due, from their having virtue and energy enough to counteract the evil influences and examples by which they are surrounded. Leaving Shippingport at 2 o'clock, we proceeded down the Ohio river, at the rate of about 15 miles per hour, and had from hence the State of Indiana on our right, and the State of Kentucky on our left — this river, which here runs nearly from east 40 KENTUCKY. to west, being the dividing line between them, and the shores being equally fertile, wooded, and beau tiful, on each side. After passing Portland and New Albany, close to Shippingport, and the openings of several small tributary streams farther down, called Mill Creek, Salt River, Mosquito Creek, Otter Creek, and Doe Run, in the space of about 30 miles, we reached the pretty little town of Brandenburgh, in Ken tucky, with its houses scattered over the sides of a rising-ground, and the centre of the hill crowned by a brick church, with open tower or cupola. On the opposite shore of Indiana, we passed, after leaving Brandenburgh, the mouths of Buck Creek, Indian Creek, Blue River, and Oil Creek ; and the towns of Mockport, Leavenworth v with its houses painted a deep-crimson, as if the ordinary brick- colour was not red enough to their taste. Night began to close in upon us as we reached Flint Island. As the moon was very bright, the night calm, and the temperature most agreeable, we remained on deck for some time, enjoying the serene and impressive night-views of the banks of the Ohio, more solemn and more sublime, from association, than those of the day. In the course of the night, we passed by the small settlements of Rome and Troy, both on the Indiana side, about 30 miles distant from each other ; and at daylight we reached Hendersonville, in Kentucky, where the boat was to remain for some hours, to take in a freight of tobacco for New Orleans ; the distance we had run slaves' holiday. 41 was 200 miles, in about 14 hours, including several short stoppages at villages in the way. We remained at Hendersonville the greater part of the day, it being a holiday with the negro-slaves on the estate, so that it was difficult to get the requisite number of hands to complete the lading in a short time. Some of the female slaves were very gaily dressed, and many of them in good taste, with white muslin gowns, blue and pink waist- ribbons, silk handkerchiefs or scarfs, straw bonnets, and a reticule, for the pocket-handkerchief, held on the arm. In talking with them, and inquiring the reason of the holiday, one said she believed it was Easter, another said it was Whitsuntide, and a third thought it was Midsummer. These were chiefly the household slaves, who are always better treated, better dressed, and more indulged than the field- labourers. The men who were employed in loading the cargo, appeared to be more cheerful in their general aspect and behaviour than the field-slaves I had seen at the South ; and there is no doubt that in Kentucky their condition is very much better than in most other States, their work lighter, their food and clothing better, and their treatment more kind and humane ; though still, under this, the most favourable aspect in which it can be presented, the picture of slavery must be always revolting to a just mind. We availed ourselves of the detention of the boat here, to make a little excursion into the opposite State of Indiana, and were conveyed across in the ferryboat for that purpose. The country all the way back for many miles is perfectly level, but of a soil 42 INDIANA. of unparalleled richness, being formed wholly of alluvial deposit, which in many places is from 10 to 20 feet deep, and in the thinnest parts from 5 to 10 feet. The land near the river sells at 30 dollars an acre, but 10 miles inland it may be had for 10 dollars an acre ; and in the interior are large tracts of excellent soil still to be had at the Govern ment-price of 1^ dollar per acre. These lands are found to be too rich for the immediate cultivation of wheat ; but after they have borne crops of maize or Indian corn for eight or ten years, they will then produce wheat of first-rate quality, and in large returns. The produce of these new lands in Indian corn is said to average from 80 to 100 bushels per acre ; and as a single bushel is deemed sufficient to plant 10 acres, this would give a return of from 800 to 1,000 fold ; while wheat, cultivated after this* would yield from 50 to 60 fold. The chief occupation of the farmers here, there fore, is growing grain and feeding cattle. Some portion of their wheat and corn is exported, but by far the largest part is used to feed their oxen and hogs, which, with calves and sheep, are sent down the river, alive, in large numbers, to New Orleans, and some portion salted, for more distant exporta tion. Neither tobacco nor cotton is grown here, and Indiana being a Free State, negroes are very few. One of the farmers with whom we conversed told us that a white man, with a single horse and plough, would plant, superintend, and gather in the produce of 30 acres of corn-land, but that it would require four negroes at least to do the same. I asked hi in whether he meant free negroes or slaves? NEGRO LABOUR. 43 He replied, slaves ; but he thought that all the free negroes he had seen were nearly as bad as slaves, because the indolent habits and aversion to labour contracted by them while in a state of slavery, were hard to be eradicated — though he doubted not but that if negro boys were made free at an early age, and taught the industrious habits of the_ whites, and as well paid for their labour, that they might be made useful and productive to themselves and others, whereas they were now a burden to both. As an illustration of the ready disposition of the negroes to labour, when an adequate reward is presented to them as a motive for exertion, we had before us the fact of the two negro lads by whom we were rowed across the ferry. These were slaves of the adjoining estate, who had their holiday to-day with the rest, but they offered their services to the white man to whom the ferry belonged, to do all his work for the day, for half the money received from the passengers ; and the white man, loving his ease even more than the blacks, purchased a holiday for himself on these terms. Nothing could exceed the vigour with which these boys pulled us across, stemming the current of the Ohio ; and the receipt of the few cents per head which was to fall to their share, operated on them as a talisman, which changed their whole nature. If they had been working for their masters, they would, no doubt, have been as indolent as most persons are when they are labouring for the benefit of others, without any participation in the results themselves ; but working now on their own account, every 44 INDIANA. moment was too precious to be lost, and they exhibited as much zeal and energy as any white person could do in the same situation. The State of Indiana, along whose southern border we had now passed for several hundred miles, was visited by European settlers more than half a century before Boone's first exploring visit to Kentucky. As early as the year 17Q2, the Canadian French hunters visited the banks of the river Wabash, in Indiana, and founded there, soon afterwards, the town of Vincennes. This station was then so remote from all communication with Canada on the one hand, and Louisiana on the other, and was so entirely cut off from all intercourse with the cities of the Atlantic, that the first settlers here lived in an isolated condition for many years, marrying and intermarrying with the native Indians, and adopting many of their manners, cus toms, and feelings. A large prairie of 5,000 acres near their town was cultivated as a common field belonging to the whole community, and its produce divided, after the manner of a co-operative commu nity. They retained all their French vivacity and cheerfulness, mixed with French indifference to wealth ; and therefore, though they lived happily, they made but little progress in improvement. At the period of the American Revolution, however, they sympathized with the British Colonists, and took up arms in their behalf ; and at the close of the War of Independence, the Government of the United States ceded to them a large tract of land near their town. Indiana was at first included with Illinois and STATISTICS. 45 Ohio, under the name of the North -West Territory ; but in 1800, when Ohio was made a separate State, Indiana and Illinois were conjoined, under the name of the Indiana Territory, and so continued till 1809, when they were each made distinct Ter ritories, each having its own separate government. In 1815, the inhabitants of Indiana amounting to 60,000, the Legislature of the Territory petitioned Congress for admission into the Union, and the terms being complied with, Indiana was admitted by Act of Congress as an Independent State, and a member of the Union in 1816, when a Constitu tion was framed for it by the delegates chosen for that purpose by the inhabitants of the State. Its progressive increase in population may be seen by the following table — In 1800, it was 5,641 In 1810, „ 24,250 In 1820, „ 147,178 The State of Indiana is in length, from north to south, about 260 miles, lying between the latitudes of 37° and 41°, and in breadth, from east to west, about 140 miles, making its area about 36,000 square miles, or 23,040,000 acres — without deduc tion for barren mountains, deserts, or lakes. This Territory is bounded on the east by the State of Ohio, on the west by the State of Illinois, on the north by the State and Lake of Michigan, and on the south by the river Ohio, which flows along its southern edge, including its windings, for 350 miles. The surface of Indiana is for the most part level throughout its whole extent, and is everywhere In 1830, it was 341,582 In 1835, „ 452,674 In_1840, „ 600,000 46 INDIANA. extremely fertile. On its southern edge, a small range of hills, called the Knobs, varying from 100 to 300 feet in height, stretch along the banks of the Ohio, sometimes overhanging the stream, but at others receding from it, at distances from 1 mile to 10. Beyond this, to the northward, the surface is almost entirely level, and is divided into river- bottoms, woodland, and prairie. The first of these lie along the water-courses, and are the richest, from their frequent overflow, and new deposits of soil received by them ; the second contains heavy tim ber of various kinds, particularly oaks, beech, wal nut, and sycamore ; the third consists of elevated platforms, from 50 to 100 feet above the river- bottoms, destitute of wood, but producing long grass, and covered in the spring and summer with innumerable flowers, resembling the richest meadows, which caused the French to call them " prairies," a name they have ever since retained. Though destitute of timber, the soil of these plains is quite as rich as that of the woodlands, varying from 5 to 10 feet in depth, and in some places where wells have been dug, having been found to exceed 20 feet of rich dark vegetable mould, capa ble of producing anything for which the climate is suited. Some of their prairies are small enough for a few farms, and might be easily occupied by half a dozen families ; but others extend as far as the eye can reach, and look like a wide-spread sea of verdure. Wherever they have been occupied, they have been found to be healthy and produc tive ; timber can be grown on them by planting, as well as on any other soil ; and the abundance of GOVERNMENT. 47 rivers and smaller streams meandering over the surface of this State, makes it easy for settlers so to choose their locality as to bring wood, water, and fertile land all within their reach. The productions of Indiana embrace almost every description of grain and fruit belonging to the temperate zone ; — corn, wheat, rye, barley, and oats are all abundant; upland rice has been also grown with success; and in some of the warm and sheltered valleys near the Ohio, cotton has been raised for home-use. The coarse grass of the prairies, when once cropped, trodden and manured by animals pasturing there, is generally succeeded by the blue grass of the Western country, which produces the most nutritious and sweetest hay, and is cut down for winter fodder for the cattle, which may be reared in this State as abundantly and as profitably as in any State of the Union. The seat of Government for Indiana was for some years at Corrydon, a small town 23 miles north of Jeffersonville, on the Ohio, opposite to Louisville ; but it was recently transferred to a new town built for the purpose, on the banks of the White river, nearly in the centre of the State, called Indianopolis. It is on the Great National Road from Wheeling to St. Louis, which is designed to pass through the three capitals of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, and it has a very elegant State-House, or Capitol. The Legislature of Indiana consists of a House of Representatives, a Senate, and a Governor. The former are elected by the universal suffrage of all male citizens above twenty-one years 48 INDIANA. of age, for two years; and the members of the Senate by the same constituency for four years ; and the Governor is also elected by the same body for three years. The Executive consists of the Governor, at a salary of 1,500 dollars a "year ; a Lieutenant-Gover nor, at 3 dollars a day during the Session of the Legislature only, which is called the General Assembly ; a Secretary of State, a Treasurer of State, and an Auditor of Public Accounts, each elected by the people for 3 years, and receiving salaries, the first of 600, and the other two of 400 dollars respectively, with their perquisites of office besides. The two public officers who are most highly paid are the Chief Engineer, who has 4,000 dollars per annum, and the State Geologist, who has 1,500 dol lars, and contingent expenses ; and the salaries of these two being such as to justify the entire devo tion of their time and talents to the labours of their separate departments, the State is deriving more than an equivalent benefit in valuable informa tion, continually accumulating, as to the mineral wealth and varied soils of the country, and in the useful works projected and carried to completion for improving the drainage, roads, canals, and internal communications of the State. The Judiciary consists of a Supreme Court, with 3 Judges, at a salary of 1,500 dollars each ; with 9 Circuit Courts, each under a President Judge, at a salary of 1,000 dollars each ; and a Prosecuting Attorne}'-, at a salary of 150 dollars, and perquisites. The Judges of the Supreme Court are appointed EDUCATION. 41) by the Governor, with the approbation of the Senate, for periods of 7 years, and the senior in commission becomes the Chief Judge. It holds its sessions at the capital, fndianopolis, in May and November. It has jurisdiction onlv in appeals from the Circuit Courts, except that the Legislature may give it original jurisdiction in capital cases, and in cases in Chancery, in which the Circuit Judge may be supposed, from interest or prejudice, to be dis qualified from trving the case in his district. The Judges of the Circuit Courts, as well as the Pro secuting Attorneys, are also elected — the former by the Legislature, and the latter by the people — and each for periods of 7 years. There is a State Penitentiary for Indiana, which is placed at Jefferson vi lie, just opposite to Louis ville ; and the same objectionable feature which belongs to the Kentucky State Penitentiary belongs to this, namely, that the keeper is paid from the profits, so that it is his interest to work the crimi nals as hard, and feed and clothe them as lightlv, as is compatible with keeping them alive ; and as all time and all expense devoted to their moral reformation would be so much deducted from his profits, he could hardly be expected to encourage either. Education is fortunately provided for, not merely in the constitution of the State recoo-nizino- it as a public duty, but in the solid provision of lands or funds for that purpose. When Indiana was first admitted into the Union, one section, or 640 acres, of land was granted out of every township belong ing to the General Government in that State, and III. e * 50 INDIANA. appropriated by Congress for the support of schools in Indiana ; and one entire township, of 23,040 acres, of the average value of 10 dollars an acre, was given for the support of a College for education in the higher branches of literature. The constitu tion of the State proclaims " that it shall be the duty of the General Assembly, as soon as circum stances will permit, to provide by law for a general System of Education, ascending in a regular grada tion from township schools, to a State University, wherein tuition shall be gratis, and equally open to all." The first College was established at Vin- cennes, but it was subsequently removed to Bloom- ington, a pretty village, in a fertile and healthy country, where it now enjoys some reputation, and has an able president, with several professors and tutors, and about 100 students. Hanover Academy is a Presbyterian Theological Seminary, at Hanover, on the Ohio, established in 1827, and has about 50 students. There are many good private schools for both sexes, and education is generally patronized and appreciated. Of the religious bodies, the Baptists are deemed the most numerous in this State, having nearly 200 churches, 150 ministers, and about 8,000 commu nicants. The Methodists have fewer churches, not more than 100, but a greater number of members, or rather attendants, these amounting to upwards of 16,000 ; but if to the Baptist communicants were added all who attend their places of worship, their number would swell beyond that of the Methodists. The Presbyterians have about 70 churches, and 1 2,000 members, but the congregations of each are TRADITION. 51 small, compared with the number of the buildings, from the scattered nature of the population, and the long distances which many have to go from their dwellings to places of worship. Indiana is one of the few States east of the Mis sissippi, in which any of the native Indians remain. Not many years since, the greatest portion of the lands were admitted to be theirs by right of occupation, but they have been purchased from them by .the United States' Government, since which, many of the tribes have gone West, beyond the Mississippi, and others into Canada, but some few have remained here, on reservations of land specially made for them ; their numbers, however, gradually diminishing, so that in a few years more they will become extinct. The French had preserved a tradition of the Indians living near Vincennes, which stated that some years before the arrival of the whites in this country, a bloody fight of extermination took place between a thousand warriors of the Mississippi, and a thousand warriors of the Wabash, the number being limited, and the men chosen on each side. The prize of the victors was to be the possession of the rich lands bordering on the river. The con test was fierce and terrible, and did not end till only seven of the warriors of the Wabash, and five of the warriors of the Mississippi were the only persons left alive, when the spoils were declared to be the right of the victors who had the greatest number left. This is said to have occurred near the spot where Fort Harrison now stands, and the Indians used to e2 52 INDIANA. point to the battle-field, and show the mounds — some of which are still remaining — where the few survivors buried as many as they could of their valiant comrades in the fight. Indiana, indeed, abounds with proofs of a very ancient and very dense Indian population, in its mounds, forts, and sites of towns, clearly recognizable by those who have taken the pains to examine them ; though not, perhaps, so numerous as in Kentucky, where, according to Marshall's History, the ancient remains of Indian monuments is stated to be 507 ; and the sites of Indian towns alone, 148 ; some of the latter being 7,500 feet in circumference, as at Canton, on the Cumberland river ; and of the former, a poly gonal figure of 4,675 feet in circuit is mentioned, at Stoner's Creek. None so large as these have yet been discovered or described in Indiana. I had omitted to mention, that in the course of our excursion through that part of Indiana which we visited, the trees struck us as being the largest and finest we had yet seen in any part of the United States. The beech and the sycamore were pecu liarly noble, some of the former rose to a height of 120 feet, and were of 20 feet circumference. One of these, which had been stripped of its bark by the process of girlding — and which had its giant form and huge branches thus exposed perfectly naked, without bark or leaf, the smooth shining surface of its wood being a dead white — stood up amidst the full-foliaged living trees by which it was surrounded, like the ghost of some ancient and venerable hero, appearing to his posterity — silently proclaiming to them, by his own gaunt and naked FOREST SCENE. 53 form, the fate that would sooner or later be their doom. Near it, the tornado had recently passed in a narrow vein or current, which had torn up some of the largest trees by their roots, and wrenched others off near the ground, as though they had been twigs. Huge logs of others, felled by the axe of the woodman, and left to rot on the ground, as requiring too much labour either to burn or remove, lay scattered along the ground. The deep shade of the tangled forest was like the glimmering of a total eclipse, and the most profound silence reigned around, disturbed only for a moment now and then by the heavy flap of the vulture's wing, as it hovered over the dead carcass of some animal that had fallen in the woods, and to which he soon dropped down, in search of his prey. Altogether, I know not when I have seen a more solemn and impressive forest-scene than this, where Nature was seen in her deepest recesses, and in her wildest dress. On our return to Hendersonville, the lading for which the steamboat had been detained, was com pleted, consisting of about 300 hogsheads of tobacco, weighing from 15 to 16 cwt. each, and worth on the average 200 dollars per hogshead ; and about 200 sheep, and 150 hogs, alive, all for New Orleans, to which the Ambassador was bound ; We profited by the opportunity of going by her as far down the Ohio as we could ; taking the chance of some other boat following soon after, to convey us on to St. Louis. 54 CHAP. IV. Voyage from Hendersonville to Smithland — Small towns — Mouth ¦ of the Wabash river — Vincennes — Tippecanoe — New Harmony — Cave in the rock in Illinois — Arrival at the mouth of the Cumberland — Detention at Smithland — Recent improvements — The Cumberland river — River Tennessee — Geological and antiquarian curiosities — Splendid steamboats — Improved ma nagement — Recent regulations imposed by the Legislature — Beneficial effects of these on life and property — Female curio sity respecting Queen Victoria — Singular opinions entertained of the Queen — Incredulity as to the wealth and population of England — Peculiar and disagreeable customs of American ladies — Use of snuff, to chew as tobacco — Unwholesome sub stitutes for natural food — Deleterious effects on the health of females. We left Hendersonville soon after 2 o'clock, and in the course of an hour, at a distance of 14 miles, passed the large and beautiful island called Diamond Island, which stands in the middle of the river, and the approach to which, with the channel on each side in view, is extremely fine. It is about five miles in length, and one in breadth, beautifully wooded, high out of the water, and would make a splendid farm to any settler who would like an insular position. Beyond this about 12 miles, we passed the little town of Mount Vernon, in Indiana, with many large brick dwellings and stores ; 3 miles beyond this, Slim Island, cultivated, and having a few dwellings in it ; WABASH RIVER. 55 and then 12 miles beyond, a small town in Kentucky, called Highland Creek, with neat white houses, con trasting prettily with the rich green foliage in which it was seated. This brought us speedily to the Wa bash Island, 3 miles beyond, the openings on each side of which were even more beautiful than those of Diamond island, and might indeed be called mag nificent. Opposite to this island, we passed the mouth of the Wabash river, the boundary line which divides the States of Indiana and Illinois, and I felt so strong a desire to ascend it, that but for the advanced state of the season, which obliged me to hasten all my movements, I should have yielded to the impulse. This noble stream is navigable for 400 miles above its junction with the Ohio, for the ordinary boats of the river ; and has been navigated by steam, as high up as Terre Haute and Lafayette, upwards of 300 miles, near the battle-ground of Tippecanoe. This was the scene of General Harrison's celebrated vic tory over the Indians, in 1811 ; and within the last week or two, it has been the scene of a great gather ing of his political adherents, the Whigs, who have held a barbecue on the battle-ground, where several thousands, it is said, attended to manifest their deter mination to elect him to the Presidency. Vincennes, next to Karkasia, in Illinois, the oldest settlement of whites in the West, is about 150 miles up this river. It was visited by Volney, the celebrated French tra veller, in 1796, who traversed the whole of the Western States at that early period on foot, carrying with him, according to the testimony of a gentleman who remembered to have seen him in Kentucky and 56 ILLINOIS. Ohio, his whole wardrobe in a small oil- skin bundle under his arm. Vincennes was then inhabited almost wholly by French and Indians, and the mixed race of the intermarriages between these two. It is still said to be characterized by French architecture and French manners ; but by the increase of American settlers, it is of course losing these peculiarities every day. It was on this river, just 54 miles below Vincen nes, and consequently nearly 100 miles up from the mouth of the Ohio, that Mr. George Rapp first founded his settlement of New Harmony, in 1S14. During the ten years of their stay there, they converted the wilderness into a finely cultivated plantation, and built a beautiful little town ; but the autumnal fevers having affected the health of niany of the community, they prepared to remove to the more healthy station of Economy, near Pittsburgh, in Pennsylvania, Mr. Robert Owen, of Lanark, then purchased the lands and buildings as they stood, of Mr. Rapp, for 190,000 dollars ; and with prudent management and some discipline among the 700 persons who joined this community, — considering the great advantage they enjoyed in coming into a place so far advanced as Mr. Rapp had made this, with a hundred substantial buildings, cleared fields, excel lent gardens, spacious public hall, and botanical collection, — it might, no doubt, have been made as flourishing a settlement as any of the co-operative communities of modern times. But the absence of all religion as a bond of union was fatal to their suc cess, and the community being thus like a rope of sand, soon fell to pieces, and has never since been CAVE OF THE ROCK. 57 revived. Along this river are evidences of the fond ness for ancient and distant names, so prevalent in all the States of America, where the towns of Delphi, Palmyra, Carthage, Palestine, Carmel, and Hindoo- stan, figure upon the map, either on or near the banks of the Wabash. Below the mouth of this river, at a distance of 9 miles, we passed the rising village of Shawnee town, in Illinois, where, amidst many good buildings of brick, a Doric edifice of stone, with portico and pediment, was just finished, and stood prominent, intended probably for a bank, as the imitation of the Greek temple is a favourite form for these establish ments, in the smallest as well as in the largest towns. It was after sunset, and by the bright light of the moon, that we passed the celebrated Cave in the Rock, just 24 miles below Shawnee town, and on the Illinois side. Its aspect at that hour of the evening was striking. The entrance to the Cave is just above high-water mark, its aperture is visible, and in its interior it is said to be about 120 feet deep, and from 25 to 30 feet high. Above it rise perpendicular cliffs or bluffs of limestone rock, snrmounted with dark-foliaged cedars, which fringe the edge of the cliff, and give the whole an imposing appearance, but the rapidity with which our boat shot along the calm surface of the stream, made the view necessarily a hasty and transient one. About 9 o'clock, we passed Golconda, and the Sister Islands just below ; and at 11, we reached the mouth of the Cumberland river, when we thought it prudent to disembark, as our boat would reach 58 KENTUCKY. the Mississippi before daylight, and turn down the stream to New Orleans, while our object was to go up the stream to St. Louis, and, therefore, we thought it most prudent to land here, and wait the passage of some other vessel down the Ohio, by which we could prosecute the remainder of our voyage. We accordingly disembarked at the little town of Smith- land, at the mouth of the Cumberland river, and found apartments at Patterson's hotel, near the land ing, while the Ambassador proceeded on her way to New Orleans. We were detained at Smithland for three days, waiting for a boat to proceed onward. It is a small town, containing about 1,500 inhabitants, and though first laid out in 1801, it dates its actual rise into any thing like prosperity from a more recent period, only six years ago. Previous to that time, boats ascend ing or descending the Ohio, passed outside the island that stands opposite this town, and none, therefore, touched at Smithland. But a sandbank having grown up at the southern extremity of the island, which threatened to impede the navigation if not speedily removed, an engineer, employed by the United States Government, judiciously conceived and executed the plan of throwing a dam across the outer channel of the Ohio, so as to force the whole body of the current into the narrower passage inside the island, and this uniting with the waters of the Cum berland at their junction, produced such a powerful stream, that the bar was soon swept away by it, and the navigation rendered free of all difficulty ; while Smithland is greatly benefited by the change, as all boats ascending either the Ohio or the Cumber- CUMBERLAND RIVER. 59 land rivers, must now pass close by the town, and the greater number of them touch here for wood, freight, and passengers. The town stretches along the river's bank, and is elevated sufficiently to save it from the highest floods of the stream. It has nothing peculiar in its con struction, the houses being small, and built either of brick or wood. The slave population form at least a third of the whole number, it being in the Slave State of Kentucky ; and they appeared to us among the most dirty and ragged that we had seen in the country, though evidently well fed and indolent, for the number of fat and lazy negroes that we saw, seemed to exceed all ordinary proportions. The chief cultivation of the neighbourhood is tobacco, for which the land is well adapted ; and in consequence of the profits made on this, the raising of grain, poultry, and garden vegetables is so neglected, that all these articles, as well as butter, milk, and flesh- meat, are much dearer here than at New York or Philadelphia. The Cumberland river, which here joins the Ohio, is a very considerable stream. It takes its rise in the Cumberland mountains, from whence its name, and after flowing for 200 miles through the south east part of the State of Kentucky, it enters Ten nessee, where it flows for 250 miles more, and then re-enters Kentucky in its north-western quarter, continuing onward till it joins the Ohio at this point. It is navigable for large steamboats as high as Nash ville, the capital of Tennessee, a distance of 200 miles from hence, and for smaller boats for nearly 200 miles above that. 60 KENTUCKY. A few miles south of this, the still larger river of Tennessee enters the Ohio, and is thought to dis charge as large a volume of water into this stream, as that contained in the Ohio itself. It rises in the north-west part of the State of Virginia, and enter ing the State of Tennessee, traverses nearly the whole breadth of its eastern division, going south westerly, till it enters the State of Alabama, which it also traverses from east to west, across its whole breadth ; it then takes a sweep, and bends up towards a northerly course, in which direction it re-enters Tennessee, and crosses the western part of the State, flowing onward through Kentucky till it reaches the Ohio. It thus traverses four large States, in its whole course, which measures about 1,200 miles; it is, therefore, longer by 250 miles, than the Ohio itself, from Pittsburgh to the Mississippi. It is navigable by large steamboats for 1,000 miles, and vessels of the largest class ascend as high as Florence, a rising town of 2,000 inhabitants, on its banks, in the State of Alabama ; such is the magnificent scale of even the smaller rivers of this country, for the Tennessee and the Cumberland are but two out of more than twenty large tributaries to the Ohio, and at least fifty smaller ones ; while the Ohio is itself but a tributary to the giant Mississippi, with its 3,000 miles of length, and even that is but an auxiliary of the still greater Missouri, which flows for 3,217 miles before it reaches the Mississippi, and in conjunction with that stream, its whole course from its sources to the Gulf of Mexico, is 4,490 miles — ten times as long as all England ! The country through which the river Tennessee TENNESSEE. 6 1 runs, is so full of interest, that an entire summer might be advantageously and agreeably passed in excursions in and near its banks. The following; passages from Flint's " History and Description of the Mississippi Valley," will be sufficient to show the extent and variety of interesting objects to be examined there — " On some spurs of the Cumberland mountains, called the Enchanted Mountains, are marked, on the solid limestone, foot steps of men, horses, and other animals, as fresh as though recently made, and as distinct as though impressed upon clay- mortar. The tracts often indicate that the feet which made them had slidden, as would be the case in descending declivities in soft clay. They are precisely of the same class with the impress of two human feet found in a block of solid limestone, quarried at St. Louis, on the margin of the Mississippi. The manner in which they were produced is entirely inexplicable. " Tennessee is abundant in petrifactions and organic remains. Near the southern boundary of the State, are three trees entirely petrified. One is a cypress, four feet in diameter ; the other is a sycamore ; and the third is a hickory. They were brought to light by the falling in of the south bank of the Tennessee river. A nest of eggs of the wild turkey were dug up in a state of petrifaction. Prodigious claws, teeth, and other bones of animals, are often found near the salt springs. A tooth was recently in the possession of Jeremiah Brown, Esq., which Judge Haywood affirms measured a number of feet in length, and at the insertion of the jaw was eight inches broad. At a sulphur spring, twelve miles from Reynoldsburgh,' was found a tusk of such enormous dimensions, as that it was supposed to weigh from 100 to 200 pounds. It is shining yellow, and perfectly retains the original conformation. Near it were found other bones, supposed to belong to the same huge animal. It is calculated from the appearance and size of the bones, that the animal, when living, must have been 20 feet high ! Logs and coal, both pit and charcoal, are often dug up in this State, at depths from 60 to 100 62 KENTUCKY. feet below the surface. Jugs, vases, and idols of moulded clay, have been found in so many places, as hardly to be deemed curiosities. Walls of faced stone, and even walled wells, have been found in so many places, and under such circumstances, and at such depths, as to preclude the idea of their having been made by the whites of the present day, or the past generation. In this State, as well as in Missouri, burying-grounds have been found where the skeletons seem all to have been pigmies. The graves in which their bodies were deposited, are seldom more than 2 or 2% feet in length. To obviate the objection, that these are all bodies of children, it is affirmed that their skulls are found to possess the denies sapientim, and must have belonged to per sons of mature age." p. 343. During our stay at Smithland, as the drawing- room of our hotel had its windows in front towards the river, and within a hundred feet of the stream, we had an opportunity of seeing the various steam boats passing up the Ohio and the Cumberland river to Louisville and Nashville, among which the Queen of the West, and the Vicksburgh, were the most remarkable for their size and beauty. The last named is said to be the largest vessel on the Western rivers, and she is certainly a noble specimen of her class, in which strength, capacity of burden, speed, accommodation, and elegance, are all advantageously combined. Her actual burden is not more than 600 tons ; but as she is constructed chiefly for passengers, her height out of the water, with her topmost tier of state-rooms rising above the engine deck, and her whole bulk in length and breadth would give an idea of a ship of 1,200 tons at least ; her speed is gene rally 12 miles an hour against the current upwards, and 16 to 18 miles an hour with the current down wards ; her actual cost was 90,000 dollars ; that of STEAMBOAT LAWS. 63 the Ambassador, which is the next class to her in size, and not so elegantly fitted and finished, was 70,000 dollars. According to the best information we could obtain from the most authentic sources, and corroborated by our own observation, a great change has taken place for the better within the last few years, in the equipment and management of the Western steam boats, on the Mississippi and its tributaries. The accidents are much fewer than they used to be, more skilful and mpre prudent engineers are employed, intemperance among the firemen and deck-hands is much lessened, racing and rivalry between different boats is not so frequent as formerly, and the owners and captains are more intent upon safety than at any former period. It is believed that legislation has had a powerful share in promoting this change, though the legislation itself was the effect of public opinion being strongly roused, and loudly expressed against the recklessness and indifference to the safety of life and property, with which these boats were formerly conducted. A summary, therefore, of the provisions of the new law for the regulation of steam boats in this country may be useful, as showing what legislation can effect, if judiciously directed, towards the abatement of evils, for which, it was contended here, that no legislation could provide. The follow ing are the most important provisions — " 1 . Steam-vessels not allowed the privilege of enrolment or registry without a certificate of inspection, and payment to the collector, if the vessel be under 100 tons burden, 10 dollars ; if between 100 and 200, 15 dollars; if between 200 and 400, 20 dollars ; if over 400, 30 dollars. 6 1 KENTUCKY. "2. A system of compulsory, thorough, and faithful inspection of the hull, boiler, machinery, and all equipments of the vessel and engine, to be made by inspectors appointed by the district judges, and to hold their appointment four years, unless sooner removed. " 3. Inspectors empowered to examine witnesses under oath, on the construction of the hull and engine, and touching any matter of which it is their duty to inquire ; to discriminate be tween vessels adapted to lake and sea, and those adapted only to river navigation ; to inspect the hull annually ; to test the boilers by hydrostatic pressure semi-annually, and oftener if necessary ; may examine, on request of passengers, and to certify positively the results of their inspection ; to determine and certify the minimum pressure to which the steam may be raised, not to exceed one-third of the test pressure ; and also the maximum height of water, below which it may not be exhausted ; to notify when a vessel becomes unsafe to transport passengers ; to examine and license engineers, annually, and to revoke licenses for intem perance, neglect of duty, or misconduct ; to report, annually, to the Secretary of the Treasury, the number of steam-vessels in spected, and the equipments and condition, and particulars of accidents ; to receive from the collector of the district 20 dollars for the annual inspection of each vessel and equipments, and 1 5 dollars for all other inspection of each during the year, and to receive from each engineer examined 5 dollars. " 4. Steam-boilers to be tested at three times the pressure allowed as a maximum ; the boilers to be provided with a mer curial steam-gauge, thermometer, and glass water-gauge, or a water-float, protected by a curb from agitation and foaming, with index showing the height of the water ; gauge-cocks to commu nicate with a tube within the boiler ; boilers to have two safety- valves of approved area — one to be inaccessible to the engineer, except to raise it, to be loaded by the inspectors at the maximum pressure ; the other at halfway between the maximum and the common working pressure. "5. The indications of the steam and water-gauges to be exhibited in view of the passengers, in a conspicuous part of the STEAMBOAT LAWS. C)5 vessel, showing, on a scale, the pressure of steam and height of water the engine is working under. " 6. Hand force-pumps for injecting water into the boiler on failure of engine pump, or obstruction in the injection-pipe. " 7. The boiler rooms to be made fire-proof inside by a lining of sheet-iron, forced half an inch or more from the woodwork ; the decks around the smoke-pipes to be similarly protected. " 8. Steamers to have two or more effective fire-engines, double force-pumps, or rotary pumps, one on the forecastle and another aft, drawing water by suction-pipes through the bottom of the vessel, and hose to each to convey water to any part of the vessel ; also, forty buckets, with bailing ropes attached ; two axes ; and two or more tanks on the promenade-deck, holding not less than 300 gallons, to be kept filled with water. " 9. Lake, sound, and sea-going steamers, to have an equip ment of sails ; and safety boats sufficient to carry all the pas sengers and crew — one-half, at least, in capacity to be life-boats. River steamers under 175 tons, to have boats to carry at least 40 persons ; over 175 tons, boats to carry 70 persons. " 10. Metallic tiller chains or rods to be used instead of ropes, except so much as passes round the tiller-wheel ; the chain to be capable of being disengaged at the stern ; and a spare tiller to connect with the head of the rudder-post. "11. At night, a white light to be elevated forward, and a red light aft ; the former 12 feet above the upper deck, the latter 3 feet lower ; to have a steam safety-pipe, to be sounded every half-minute in the fogs or thick weather. " 12. As ' a rule-of-the-road,' steamers meeting ' stem on,' to starboard their helms, and pass to the left, except that in rapid rivers, the ascending steamers shall have the preference of the inshore slack water and eddies ; the descending steamer the pre ference of the current. Steaming vessels meeting sailing vessels, to pass to the windward, yielding to the course and giving berth to the sailing vessels, whatever may be the direction of the wind. " 13. Engineers to be of two classes — chief engineers and sub- engineers ; to have license from the inspectors, after examination III. F * 66 KENTUCKY. into their competency and skill, sobriety, and good moral cha racter ; and none others to be employed. Every boat to have one chief engineer, and a competent number of sub-engineers. Certificate of inspection, and of examination of engineers, to be posted up on board. " 14. Sea, sound, and lake-going steamers, not to carry gun powder. Steamers on rivers emptying into the Gulf of Mexico and their tributaries, not to carry gunpowder except in iron chests, and notice thereof be posted up on board. " 15. The putting on board of any sailing vessel or steam- vessel gunpowder, secreted in other merchandise, disguised, or falsely marked, or without information to the master, to be punished as a misdemeanour, and powder forfeited. " 16. Inspectors punishable for giving certificate without ex amination, or for certifying knowingly what is not true. " 17. All duties enjoined to be enforced by penalties. " 18. Any person employed on board of steamboats, by whose negligence or misconduct the life of any passenger shall be de stroyed, to be considered guilty of manslaughter, and punished by imprisonment. " 19. For carrying excess of steam, or working the water below the point prescribed, penalty and forfeiture of wages. " 20. Owners and masters to be considered as common carriers, and liable as such ; and all agreements and notices to the con trary made void. "21. The fact of injury to person or property on board by steam, fire, or collision, to be prima facie evidence of negligence ; and owners liable for the wilful misconduct as well as negligence of those in their employment." The good effect of these regulations appears to be felt by all parties. In consequence of the lessened apprehension of danger on the part of the public, more passengers go by steamboats, and fewer bv stage-coaches, than formerly ; while higher fares are willingly paid, to cover the increased expense of these measures to ensure safety. As fewer injuries occur to the boats, the owners are benefited by the greater FEMALE MANNERS. 67 preservation of their property ; and insurance upon both vessels and goods is effected at lower rates of premium ; while captains and owners all pride them selves now much more upon the safety of their boats, than upon their speed, which, four or five years ago, was the only quality they thought it necessary to lay much stress on. During our detention at Smithland, we had some interesting conversation with several of the ladies staying at the hotel, and learnt from them some curious facts with respect to female habits and man ners in this section of the country. With nearly all of them, here as elsewhere, we found an intense desire prevailing to know everything that could be told them, respecting Queen Victoria of England. The idea of a female governing a great nation, seemed to them to lift the whole sex, in every other country, somewhat higher in the scale of importance, and to give to every woman in every land, a right to consider it as a sort of homage paid to the entire sex. One lady told us that she never remembered to have felt so intense an interest in any subject, as that of the accession, coronation, and marriage of Queen Victoria, that she had literally devoured all the newspaper details of the processions, ceremonies, dresses, and paraphernalia of these three occasions, and could read them all again with increased delight. Another said she had dreamt of Queen Victoria, and of being introduced to her, oftener than of any other subject, and that she would "give the world to be able to see her, and speak to her in reality." When they understood that Mrs. Buckingham and my son had each seen the Queen, both before and since her f2 68 KENTUCKY. accession, they literally overwhelmed them with inquiries ; but when told by them that I was present, as a member of the House of Commons, and not far from her Majesty's person when she delivered her first speech, on proroguing the parliament, soon after her ascending the throne, it seemed to give a reality and identity to the subjects of their inquiry, that they had never felt before. We were the only persons they had ever met with who had actually seen the Queen, and the pleasure it appeared to give them to know this fact, furnished a fresh stimulus to their curiosity. Among the inquiries made, the greater number related to the Queen's personal appearance, manners, and education ; though some few were directed to the age, figure, fortune, and relative position of her husband. One of the ladies had been greatly pained at hearing that the Queen had red hair, and was evidently much relieved at being assured that it was a fine rich brown. One inquired whether she was as handsome as the engravings represented her ; an other whether she was graceful and genteel in her manners ; and another whether she was accomplished, and sang and played like other young ladies, for they had heard to the contrary of all this, and were delighted to find their questions answered in confor mity with their wishes. It was evidently a satisfac tion to them also to learn that Prince Albert was young, handsome, amiable, and affectionate ; but they wondered very much that he could not be made king. They all thought the Queen had the power to do this if she chose, and supposed it was from some high-spirited determination on her part to hold the reins in her own hand, that she kept her husband INTEREST RESPECTING THE QUEEN. 69 in* the subordinate condition of Prince. They had heard that no one could be permitted to see the Queen's person, or to enter the castle or grounds of the royal palace, unless they could trace back their ancestry and generation for 200 years ; and they were most anxious to know what would be done with an American lady in that case, if she should go to England, and wish to be introduced through the minister of the United States. Their joy at knowing that no such impediments as these would be opposed to the gratification of their wishes, if they should visit England, and desire to be presented by their mi nister at court, was apparently as great and as sincere as if they had been relieved from an apprehension of the most serious evil ; and they seemed to love and venerate the Queen the more, from the apparent possibility of their one day being permitted to stand even for a moment in her presence. That which seemed the most incredible to them about England, was the large incomes which they had heard spoken of as received by some of the nobi lity, amounting to 5,000 dollars, or 1,000/. sterling a day ; and the vastness of the population of London, comprising with its suburbs and neighbouring vil lages nearly 2,000,000 of people. This incredu lity was heightened rather than allayed, on their being told that within the area of England alone, (exclusive of Ireland and Scotland) though scarcely larger than the single State of Kentucky, there lived 15,000,000 of inhabitants, nearly equal to that of all the whites now spread over the whole of the United States. Some of the facts we learnt from them were to us 70 KENTUCKY. new, and not of the most agreeable kind. They admitted readily that American females were too ignorant of, and too indifferent about, the best means of securing domestic comfort in the management of their houses and servants, and in general very indo lent. We were assured that the use of tobacco, though not so common as among the men, was very extensive among the women of the Western country. Some of the common class chew it openly ; we had never seen, however, more than perhaps twenty instances of it ourselves, but this they assured us was from our not suspecting it, and not looking closely. Others smoke both the pipe and the segar, but chiefly when alone, or in the retirement of their own families only ; a much greater number use snuff for the mouth, by rubbing it at first around the gums and over the teeth, on the pretence of its acting as a preservative, and then contracting a fondness for it, which was only to be gratified by using increased quantities, so that at length they used it in the thickness and con sistency of a paste, and became as fond of it as men of their chewing tobacco ! Some accompany this chewing of snuff with a preliminary operation, by gatheringin the woods, or obtaining from thence small pieces of the black-gum tree, which, being reduced to about the size of a pencil or a quill, is chewed at one end till its fibrous texture is opened and softened like a brush. With these they will sit for hours, idly lounging in a rocking-chair, and scrubbing the teeth, using snuff as a powder, but gradually increas ing the quantity, till, with the soft fibrous mass of the wood and the snuff-powder combined, the mouth is literally filled. Those who are addicted to this prac- SINGULAR CUSTOMS. 71 tice, will continue it for a whole forenoon, wash their mouths out for dinner, and return to the same singu lar and filthy indulgence after dinner, falling asleep sometimes in the operation ! Again, young ladies at school, and sometimes with their parents, will resolve to become extremely pale, from a notion that it looks interesting. For this purpose, they will substitute for their natural food, pickles of all kinds, powdered chalk, vinegar, burnt coffee, pepper and other spices, especially cinnamon and cloves ; others will add to these paper, of which many sheets are sometimes eaten in a day ; and this is persisted in, till the natural appetite for wholesome food is superseded by a depraved and morbid desire for everything but that which is nutritious ; cordials and bitters are then sometimes resorted to, in a vain attempt to restore the healthy tone of the stomach, till at last, the cheeks, originally pale — for fresh and blooming colour is very rare in the complexions even of the healthiest and youngest in America — become death-like in their hue, the whole frame withers, and a premature grave receives the unhappy victim. So indifferent, however, are parents to the welfare of their children, or so unable or unwilling are they to exercise parental authority to check this evil in the bud, that they look on, if not without disappro bation, at least without any vigorous effort to avert the evil; so that a sort of double suicide is perpetrated, the daughter being the actual slayer of herself by a slow process, the result of which is certain death ; and the mother being guilty of a criminal laxity, in seeing, without any effectual steps to prevent it, a child sinking gradually into the grave ! Such prac- 72 KENTUCKY. tices as these, added to the other causes, of a trying and severe climate, in excess of heat and cold, insuf ficient clothing in the winter, little or no exercise for the body, badly prepared food eaten too rapidly to admit of mastication, want of sufficient household or other occupation to give healthy exercise to the mind, and general indolence and lassitude, encouraged rather than resisted or disapproved, sufficiently account for the decayed and decaying state of health among the female population of the United States. If this proceeds as rapidly in the next half century as it has done in the last, it will require a new race of settlers to supply the worn-out constitutions of the old ones ; just as the first planters of Virginia, having exhausted their fine lands, by the influence of tobacco-cultivation and slavery, were obliged to go further west in search of new and virgin soil, leaving some of their largest estates in the Old Dominion, now worn out and unproductive. I have recorded these facts, not from any desire to draw an unfavourable picture of any class of society in this country, not for any gratification that it affords me to dwell on human weakness, rather than on its nobler attributes, but because I believe that the true interests of humanity are faithfully served and materially advanced by "holding up the mirror" now and then to those who, by looking into it, may start back with astonishment and horror at the reflection of their own images in the glass. I have been assured, on all hands, that unpopular and unpa latable as are the strictures of travellers generally, and especially of the English, on the defects of Ame rican manners and character — for what they would THE ENCHANTED MOUNTAIN. 73 overlook in a French or German writer, they would condemn without mercy in an English one — they are among the most efficient means of improving the rising generation at least. I have been told that many customs formerly prevalent in different States of the Union, have been laughed or frowned out of countenance, by the strictures of foreign writers, re iterated by the American press in quotations from their works ; and if it should happen that the repub lication of these disclosures — in which no secrecy was exacted or implied, and in which, therefore, no con fidence is betrayed, for the notoriety of the facts was such as to take them out of the range of confidential communications — should cause but half a dozen daughters to abandon these practices, or half a dozen mothers to inquire into their existence, and prevent their further indulgence, I shall not have committed this account of them to writing in vain ; and it is the sincere and fervent hope that this beneficial effect will be produced, by the wide-spread publicity they will now attain, which justifies me to my own mind, as I hope it will do to the minds of others. In a conversation, at the same hotel, with a gentle man who had travelled much in Tennessee, and was a native of that State, I made many inquiries respect ing the alleged remains of tracks of animals and human footsteps on the Enchanted Mountain. I showed him the passage previously quoted from Mr. Flint's work on the subject, as well as another, of older date, from Priest's American Antiquities ; and his opinion was, that the statements of both were substantially correct. The passage from Priest has several details not included in that of Flint, though 74 KENTUCKY. eminently curious ; and for this reason, as well as for the purpose of strengthening and corroborating the testimony of this latter writer, the passage of the former is here subjoined — " In the State of Tennessee, on a certain mountain called the Enchanted Mountain, situated a few miles south of Braystown, which is at the head-waters of the Tennessee river, are found im pressed in the surface of the solid rock, a great number of tracks, as of turkeys, bears, horses, and human beings, as perfect as they could be made on snow or sand. The human tracks are remark able for having uniformly 6 toes each, like the Anakims of Scrip ture, one only excepted, which appears to be the print of a negro's foot. One, among those tracks, is distinguished from the rest by its monstrousness, being of no less dimensions than 16 inches in length, across the toes 13 inches, behind the toes, where the foot narrows towards the instep, 7 inches, and the heel ball 5 inches. " One also among the tracks of the animals, is distinguished for its great size ; it is the track of a horse, measuring 8 by 10 inches ; perhaps the horse which the great warrior led when pass ing this mountain with his army. That these are the real tracks of the animals they represent, appears from the circumstance of this horse's foot having slipped several inches, and recovered again ; the figures have all the same direction, like the trail of a company on a journey. " Not far from this very spot, are vast heaps of stones, which are the supposed tombs of warriors, slain, perhaps, in the very battle this big-footed warrior was engaged in, at a period when these mountains, which give rise to some branches of the Tugulo, Apalachicola, and Hiwassa rivers, were in a state of soft and clayey texture. On this range, according to Mexican tradition, was the holy mountain, temple, and cave of Olaimi, where was also a cit}', and the seat of their empire, more ancient than that of Mexico. To reduce that city, perhaps, was the object of the great warrior, whose track, with that of his horse and company, still appear." — p. 151. SCENES OF INTEMPERANCE. *J5 During our stay at Smithland, we had abundant opportunities of witnessing scenes of intemperance, such as we had before noticed at Louisville, and which, it is to be feared, are so common in all the towns, large and small, along the margin of these western waters, that they excite little or no attention, from their frequency, among the inhabitants, though they cannot fail to give great pain, and excite extreme pity as well as disgust in visitors and strangers. On one of the mornings, as early as six o'clock, the first individual that caught my eye, as I looked out from the drawing-room window on the street fronting the river, was a reeling drunkard, staggering into every door he passed, demanding rum or whisky, and vociferating the most horrid oaths and imprecations on those who either had not the article in their stores, or would not supply it to him. He said he still had a picayune in his pocket — a small silver coin worth about threepence — and though it was the last he had, he must lay it out in drink, he could not live without it, and whether he had money or not, rum he wanted, and rum he would have. A person was reading the morning newspaper at one of the doors, when the drunkard halted for a moment, though he could not stand upright, and reeling to and fro, he exclaimed — " What are you idling away your time with reading there for, why don't you give me some drink ?" and then, with a dreadful oath, he said — "Yes ! I shall see you reading in hell one of these days !" It was, indeed, an appalling sight to witness, a being created in the image of God, and destined to immortality, thus sunk, by long-continued habits of intoxication, below the level of the brutes 76 KENTUCKY. that perish ! And yet, though scenes like these are occurring every day in almost every town in England and America, the legislators of these two nations, boasting themselves as belonging to the two most civilized countries of the earth, are so deficient, either in perception, or humanity, or courage, as to oppose all propositions for extinguishing this dreadful plague by the only effectual mode, — that of prohibiting the manufacture, importation, or sale of the liquid poison, under penalty of confiscation wherever found, and punishment and degradation to the offender. In this we are guilty of the grossest inconsisten cies, continually realizing the Scriptural saying, of "straining at the gnat and swallowing the camel." For instance — the law authorizes the seizing, and burning, by the hands of the common crier, un wholesome meat exposed by butchers for sale, lest possibly some few persons should be injured by its use : — while the same law encourages, by the licens ing of gin-shops in thousands, the sale of an article, a hundred times more dangerous to the public health, than any meat ever sold, and also destructive of industry, morality^, and every other virtue ; an article, the use of which leads to the constant crea tion of smugglers, debtors, paupers, maniacs, prosti tutes, thieves, and murderers, requiring an army of police, jailers, prisons, hulks, and penal colonies, to punish 1 Well, indeed, might the Swedish Chan cellor Oxenstiern have said to his son — " Go forth, my child, and see for yourself, with how little wisdom the nations of the earth are governed ! " 77 CHAP. V. Voyage from the Ohio to the Mississippi — Departure from Smith- land in the Monsoon — Passage down the Ohio to Cairo — Ori gin and progress of this new city — Examples of American speculative projects — Difficulties opposing the progress of Cairo — Junction of the Ohio and the Mississippi— Contrast between these two rivers — Crowded cabins — Gambling and drunkenness European emigrants — Excessive heats — Voyage up the Missis sippi — Rock of Grand Tower — Kaskasia — Early French settle ment- — Singular instance of a decaying town — Picturesque rocks and cliffs of Missouri — Impressions of human feet in the hard rock — Excessive heat — Dishabille of passengers — Singular opinions respecting Queen Victoria — Passengers on pleasure excursions generally — Arrival at St. Louis at night. On Thursday, the 11th of June, about 2 in the afternoon, we were delighted to find an opportunity presenting itself for the further prosecution of our voyage. We had been now detained three days, in hourly expectation of a steamboat passing here for St. Louis, but though several had passed for New Orleans, and not less than thirty, in these three days, had gone up the Ohio for Louisville, each stopping a few minutes at the town, not a single boat had come down the river for St. Louis till now, and this was a vessel called the Monsoon, bound on an excur sion of pleasure to the Falls of St. Anthony, on the Upper Mississippi. RIVER OHIO. She was very deeply laden with heavy goods for all the small towns on the way, so that her stoppages were sure to be frequent, and she had on board, in passengers for St. Louis, in emigrants for the Wis consin and Iowa Territories, and in persons bound on the pleasure-trip to the Falls of the Mississippi, little short of 200 passengers ; so that every part of her, above and below, was inconveniently crowded. Still, in our anxiety to press onward, and in the uncertainty as to when a better opportunity might offer, we availed ourselves of this, and hurried with all speed on board, as she lay but a few minutes for the purpose of receiving us at the landing. Within an hour after our embarking, we were down abreast the opening of the river Tennessee, a distance of 13 miles. Opposite to the mouth of this stream, and where it forms its junction with the Ohio, there is, as at Smithland, and the mouth of the Cumberland, an island, formed originally, no doubt, by the deposits of the eddy caused by the meeting of the two currents, running at different angles, these islands being almost constantly found in similar positions. Within this island, on the Kentucky side, is the rising town of Paduka, larger and better built than Smithland, but deriving1, like it, all its importance from its position at the mouth of a large navigable stream. From hence downward towards its mouth, the beautiful Ohio expands its surface wider ; the three noble rivers, the Wabash, the Cumberland, and the Tennessee, having within a space of about 80 miles greatly augmented its volume by their tributary waters. The average breadth of the Ohio, from Pitts- EMBRYO CITY OF CAIRO. 79 burgh to Louisville, is from three-quarters of a mile to a mile ; below that it is about a mile throughout, and here it expands in some places to a mile and a half. But it is everywhere fully entitled to its dis tinctive name of The Beautiful River. As you ap proach its mouth, the hills are fewer and more remote from the banks, making the bottom-lands for culti vation more extensive. The islands are larger, the shores more thickly wooded, and if the picturesque is less frequent, the fertile and productive tracts are more numerous. Another run of 10 miles brought us to an old station called Fort Massac, on the Illinois side, and below this, about 17 miles, the small town of Wil- kinsonville, on the same side, appeared. Along this part of the stream are many ledges of rocks and sand beds, stretching for a distance of 10 or 12 miles, under the name of the Great Chain and the Little Chain ; and below this, at distances of about 5 miles apart, still on the Illinois side, are three small vil lages called New America, Trinity, and Cairo, which last is on the tongue of land that divides the waters of the Ohio from those of the Mississippi, at their immediate point of junction. We arrived at this point before sunset, having made good a speed of about 12 miles an hour only, in consequence of our heavy lading, and the crowd of passengers continually altering the boat's trim. We remained here nearly an hour, during which I learnt, from some of the persons of the place, the following particulars respecting it. The idea of founding a town which should soon become a large city, at this junction of the Ohio and Mississippi, 80 RIVER OHIO. first occurred to some gentlemen of Illinois, who fol lowed the usual process in such cases, by first pur chasing the land, in sufficient quantity for the site, and keeping the object of the purchase a profound secret. This they effected at a very cheap rate, as the whole of the surface here, for two or three miles inward from the extreme point, is so liable to annual overflow by the waters of both rivers, that it was thought to,be worth little or nothing either for tillage or building. The land being secured, the next step was to lay out the plan of a city, give it a name (and the inundations of the Nile probably suggested the idea of calling this city — which was sure to be inun dated by the Mississippi and Ohio — Cairo). This being done, the next step was to get legislative inte rest for its incorporation as a city, to plan out rail roads to and from it in various directions, to sell shares of stock in these, to have them incorporated also, and to get a bank chartered in order to furnish the currency for carrying forward their operations. When all this was advanced to a certain point, and well blazoned forth in the newspapers, then to enlist some English capitalists to sell shares in London, and thus draw over from England the real wealth by which the whole operations were to be carried for ward to completion. To assert this merely, without at least corroborative evidence, would subject one to the imputation of misrepresenting an upright and honourable body of men ; and, therefore, it may be well to show, from unquestionable because local and friendly authority, that this statement is substantially correct. The following paragraphs from CAIRO, ILLINOIS. 81 one of the principal journals of St. Louis, are, there fore, here transcribed — " Cairo in Illinois. — In a letter to a member of the Illinois Legislature, dated at New York, Mr. Darius P. Holbrook, the President of the Cairo Company, states that he has obtained from Messrs. Wright and Co., of Henrietta Street, London, and brought out with him from England, one million and a half of dollars, to be expended on the works at the mouth of the Ohio during the coming year. Mr. Holbrook also states that Messrs. Wright and Co. have offered to advance 4,000,000 dollars to the State of Illinois for the completion of the Central Railroad, which is pro bably the same loan offered to Messrs. Rawlings and Oakley. Messrs. Wright and Co. are the essential Cairo Company, that firm having purchased the lands embraced in the small peninsula between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, at their confluence, and also the charter and privileges of the Bank of Cairo, whose stock they own. " The works already constructed on the site of this future city are considerable, consisting of saw-mills, shops, and a foundry for the construction and repairing of steamboats and machinery. " Should the above sum be intended bona fide for the purposes alleged, and be expended with judgment in enlarging the works already established, a short period will create at the mouth a business-place of great importance to the country on the rivers above. For at this point, which is accessible from New Orleans throughout the year, cargoes may be deposited for St. Louis, and await the opening of the navigation. Cairo is 140 miles south of Carlisle, Illinois, to which point it is proposed to establish a daily mail to intersect that from the East, and thus open a more constant and direct communication with New Orleans." — St. Louis Argus. On looking around, however, for "the works already constructed," which are here said to be " considerable," nothing is seen but a few small dwellings of the humblest class of workmen, not exceeding 20 in number, and the whole population m. G * 82 MISSISSIPPI RIVER. of the spot did not appear to exceed 100. So inju diciously conducted were the first operations on the spot, that the infant settlement had already been completely submerged ; and but a few weeks since, all its inhabitants were obliged to abandon it, to avoid being drowned ! Instead of raising the site of the proposed city to a sufficient height to secure it from the annual overflow of the river, which ought to have been the very first operation, the few dwell ings erected here, are not 10 feet above the level of the present surface of the streams, both of which are much below their maximum height ; and every year, therefore, the same submersion of them may be expected. That the site is an eligible one, as as far as mere position is concerned, there cannot be a doubt, it being precisely similar to that of Pitts burgh, at the junction of the Alleghanny and Mon- ongahela, and of Charleston, at the junction of the Ashley and Cooper rivers ; but then it wants eleva tion to secure it from overflow ; and it requires the advantage of a well-settled back country behind it. If these desiderata should be supplied, no doubt a great city might be made to grow up here ; but under the present aspect of things, there seems to be no well-founded hope of the Cairo of the Missis sippi ever resembling the Cairo of the Nile, in any thing but its name. We left Cairo about 9 o'clock, and rounding its southern point, hauled up our course northerly, to ascend the Mississippi. The breadth of this river here, did not appear to me to be greater than that of the Ohio at its mouth, each varying from a mile to a mile and half across, and averaging throughout MUDDY WATER AND DRIFT-WOOD. 83 perhaps a mile and quarter. There was this great feature of difference, however, that while the Ohio was comparatively a clear stream, and flowed between banks of great beauty, the Mississippi was like a channel of liquid mud, rather than of water, and so filled with drift-wood, from the largest trunks to the smallest branches, that it seemed as if it had washed all the primitive forests of the country, and was carrying off their sweepings to the sea. I had thought the Nile, the Ganges, and the Euphrates, very muddy streams, but the Mississippi greatly sur passed them all in this quality, and seemed to me to have more drift-wood upon its surface than all these streams and half a dozen others of similar size put together. The air was perfectly calm, and the sur face of the water consequently smooth ; but in look ing across the stream from our boat, on either side, it seemed as if these trunks and branches, with the woody and leafy substances, which its current was bearing onward to the Gulf of Mexico, floated higher up out of the water than in other streams, as though prevented, bv the thick and muddy nature of the element, from sinking sufficiently, so that they seemed thrown up by the buoyancy of the waters, as sub stances are that float on the surface of the Dead Sea. This peculiarity detracted very much from the beauty of the river, nor did the nature of its banks present any compensation for this defect, for these were, for some distance at least, as flat, tame, and monotonous, as those of the Ohio were varied, pic turesque, and beautiful. Our first night on board the Monsoon was a very unpleasant one. The number of cabin-passengers g2 84 MISSISSIPPI RIVER. was about 120, and there were not berths for more than about 60, so that at least 60 had to lie on mattresses spread out upon the cabin floor. Until long past midnight, however, a large portion of the men were engaged in gambling ; three card-tables being occupied by parties of 8 or 10 persons, with heaps of bank-notes and silver spread before them, the players sitting mostly without coats or waistcoats, some without cravats, the shirt being thrown open at the neck, and others with their shirt-sleeves rolled up above the elbows, the atmosphere being close and hot, and their own anxieties and passions rendering them more sensitive to its influence. Drinking went on freely, both above and below, and among the coloured as well as the white people, some presents of rum in bottles having been sent from the cabin passengers to some of the negroes on the lower deck, and these getting drunk, became vociferously pious in their potations, and sang, with great fervour, and in full chorus, the Methodist hvmn — " We are bound for the land of Canaan." There were many emigrants on board, English, Irish, and German, for the lands of Iowa and Wis consin Territories, and their fare and accommodation was miserable enough ; while the sultry heat, the thermometer being abovo 90°, appeared to oppress them so much more than they had anticipated, that many were thrown into despair, and declared that if they had known such heats as these were to be endured, they would never have quitted their homes for what they understood to be a cold, or at least a temperate climate. RIVER -ISLANDS. As the moon was bright, being nearly at the full, and the cabin so inconveniently crowded, we re mained on deck the greater part of the night, in the course of which, we passed by several islands, among which were Bird's Island, Elk Island, the Two Sisters, Dog - Tooth Island, Sliding Island, and Power's Island, the last being the largest of the whole, with a navigable channel on each side of it, the river expanding here at the two points of the island, to a breadth of nearly 4 miles, and giving a magnificent prospect through the open ings to the distant view beyond. The only towns we passed, were Cape Girandeau and Bainbridge, on the Missouri side, and Hamburgh, immediately opposite the last named town, on the Illinois side of the river. When the morning broke, we were advanced about 60 miles up the river, from the point of junction between the Ohio and Mississippi, opposite to a small stream coming out from Illinois, called Muddy River : though a more muddy stream than the Mis sissippi itself, in this part of it at least, it would be difficult to find. Beyond this, the banks of the river became more picturesque, especially on the Missouri side, where undulated rocky eminences, well wooded from base to summit, rise in continuous succession along the margin of the stream, and present, in one part, a singular mass of rock, isolated from the shore, and surrounded entirely by water. It is called the Grand Tower, and may perhaps have been more lofty when its name was first given to it ; at this moment it appears to be not more than 50 feet in elevation above the stream, though some books de- 86 MISSISSIPPI RIVER. scribe it as 150 ; its circumference is about 100 feet, and in this it appears to be unchanged. On the opposite shore of the Illinois, about a mile above this isolated rock, is a remarkable cavern in a rocky cliff, elevated about 50 feet above the river, which bears the name of the Devil's Bake-Oven. From hence, onward, we observed nothing remark able in the river, till we passed the large island abreast Cape St. Combs, on the Missouri side, and the outlet of the Kaskasia river on the Illinois side, about 40 miles above Grand Tower. The town of Kaskasia is only six miles up this stream, and is one of the earliest settlements of the Western country, having been planted by the French, at this remote point, by settlers from Canada, before the period at which William Penn began the building of Phila delphia, namely, in 1703. It is one of the very few places in the country which has receded, instead of having made progress onward, for it was once the most important settlement in all the West, contain ing upwards of 7>000 inhabitants, and now it con tains less than 1,000 residents, though its situation is said to be eminently beautiful, on a fine navigable stream, close to the great highway of the Mississippi, and in the heart of a very fertile region. Such cases of decline are so rare, however, in this country, that wherever they occur they form singular exceptions to the general prosperity which characterizes nearly all the settlements in the new States especially. Between noon and evening, we passed the town of St. Genevieve, on the Missouri side. Fort Chartres, on the Illinois bank, Bois Brule and Herculaneum, on the Missouri side, the latter on a high bluff, sur- TRACKS OF HUMAN FEET. 87 mounted by a lofty shot-tower, and the two small towns of Bridgwater and Harrison on the opposite shore. From this point, the banks of the Mississippi again grow more picturesque, on the Missouri side, where the wavy outline of the rising hills approaches close to the river, and where perpendicular cliffs, in many instances, literally overhang the stream. In many of these were appearances of arched recesses and niches, as regular in their forms as if they had been executed by the architect or sculptor, and so numerous as to cover nearly the whole surface of the cliff. It is difficult, indeed, to persuade ourselves that they are not the work of man ; but without a closer examination than we could make from passing them, it would be impossible to give any decisive judgment on this subject. It was in the neighbour hood of these limestone rocks that Mr. Schoolcraft found tracks of human feet deeply and perfectly im pressed in the solid stone, and thus described by him, as quoted by Priest, in his American Antiquities — " The impressions in the stone are, to all appearance, those of a man standing in an erect posture, with the left foot a little advanced, and the heels drawn in. The distance between the heels, by accurate measurement, is six inches and a quarter, and between the extremities of the toes, thirteen and a half. The length of these tracks is ten and a quarter inches, across the toes, four inches and a half, as spread out, and but two and a half at the heel. Directly before the prints of these feet, within a few inches, is a well-impressed and deep mark, having some resem blance to a scroll, or roll of parchment, two feet long, by a foot in width. " To account for these appearances, two theories are advanced ; one is, that they were sculptured there by the ancient nations ; Ntt MISSISSIPPI ItlVKIt. Mm oilier. Unit tlicy wrri' inipn>MHt>il llinrn nl ll lime when llio rock wiin in n pliiHlic nIiiIu: Imlli llioni'ioH luivn llieir ililliotillinN, Iml \vr ini'linn In llio Inllcr, 1 1001111:10 llu< i 1 1 1 1 ti"< i ih urn nl nK iii|'l y nnl.iil'lll, NiiyN Mr. Srlioolri'iil'l , n\liil>iliii(j; rvon I lit- iniiMi'iilar ninrliH of Urn font, with j'rrnl prncisiiiii mill liiillil'iilni'MN In mil urn, mill nn Uiih nrcninil, wonkeiiN, III llIM n|iiiiinii, l.lin ilnrtriim nl' llioll linillf, Neillptili'oil |iy I lie iiiinii'iit niitiniiH." p. I.'i.'t. Wo were still about 10 miles from St. Louis, m wo pnssod l.heso rocky dills nt Htuisol ; anil uh i i i « • I i I. npproacliod, our inconveniences wore renewed, Iho crowded state of tlio cabin, mid llio varied and un interesting characters of our l'ellow> passongerH, pre eluding nil enjoyment. The lion!, of llio atmosphere increased rnllior 1 1 1 till diminiHlied ; iuilood, I know not that I over experienced n morn Hullry night. The IndioH, uh well iih tlio gentlemen, diHrobod Ihom selves jvm much as decency would permit, ami Homo, indeed, n, little more; whilo rocking-chairs and I'iiiih wore in constant motion. ( )n the round table in tlio eenl re of the ladies' cabin, wn.H n largo liu-pail lillod with the muddy water of the M'lHHiHHippi, the most muddy I bad ever hooh in any river Unit I remember, mid onl of this, Honioono or ol.bor was every moment drinking, not by pouring the water lirxt into gluHHOK, for that would have initilo il,H opacity more apparent, but by dipping up tint turbid liquid with a tin ludle, out of which every one drunk, Ho that it was applied to twenty mouths in HiieeoHnion, in the course of as many minutes. In the conversation of some ol those ladies, wo observed the hiuiio infoiiHO interenf, :u< wo had witnessed at Smithland, to know every thing about Queen Victoria. Among the strange opinions ontcrtnined by them of I lor Majesty, one wan, that hIic felt in such continual apprehension of l'l.KAsUUE HXCIIKSIONS. 89 death, from poison, from some of the ladies about her own court, who might bo jealous of the honours and distinctions sho enjoyed, that sho would oat no food, which had not been previously examined by a taster, who had an official appointment for that pur pose ; another, that there could be no true liberty in England, as no ono dared to do anything that would bo displeasing to Queen Victoria, as she had the power to punish them as she pleased. These- Pleasure Excursions to the Falls of St. Anthony, seem very much like the excursions to Sheernessand the Nore, which are made on Sundays from the Tower Stairs in London, where the com pany is more numerous than intelligent, and where no English person would expect to find the best models of taste or manners. Hero, the means of all the labouring classes being more ample, they can ' take longer excursions than the mechanics of Eng land ; — here, too, the humblest shopkeeper feels himself to be on a footing of perfect equality with tho wealthiest merchant — as nearly all spring origin ally from the same class, and the shopkeeper of this year may bo the merchant of tho next. No sort of distinction prevails, therefore, as to the allotment of sleeping-berths, or seats at table ; and ono is thus thrown into strange company, and brought into close juxta-position with persons whom one would never select as companions for a voyage. Still, it is but justice to add, that no rudeness or intentional incivil ity is ever manifested ; and in American steamboats, however numerous tho throng, there appears to be as universal an absence of all desire to intrude on the rinhts and comforts of others, as in any similar 90 MISSOURI. crowds of Europe ; so that one who himself abstains from interfering with the opinions or pleasures of others, will almost always be free from their inter ference with his own. It was past midnight when we reached St. Louis, so that we remained on board till morning, and having then paid our cabin fare of 8 dollars each, for a distance of 250 miles, performed in about 30 hours, we disembarked, and took up our quarters at the National Hotel. We remained at St. Louis about a week ; and having had the good fortune to be thrown at once into a circle of most intelligent and agreeable friends, whose pleasure seemed to be augmented in propor tion to the gratification they were the means of pro curing for us, every day of that week was devoted to visits, excursions, and investigations, either in the town or in the surrounding country. Nowhere in the United States had we found so much readiness to promote our inquiries, or so much disinterested sacrifice of time and convenience by resident inha bitants, to obtain for me information on every point on which I desired it. One day was devoted to a visit to the Indian mounds on the opposite plains of Illinois ; another to the prairies, in the neighbour hood of the city ; a third to the fine collection of prairie grasses and plants made in the late expedi tion to the North-west Territory, by order of the American government ; a fourth to the principal Catholic establishments of the city, the Jesuits' Col lege, the Nunnery of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, the Insane and General Hospital under the Sisters of Charity, the Cathedral and the Orphan Asylum ; ST. LOUIS. 91 and the other days to interesting objects in the city. Among these last, the Museum of St. Louis was rich in animal and fossil remains, and the Cabinet of the Missouri Academy of Natural History, in plants, minerals, birds, reptiles, and fishes. In the exami nation of each and all of these, we received the most cordial assistance from every person to whom our inquiries were addressed. My lectures on Egypt, Palestine, and Mesopota mia, were more largely attended here than at any city west of the Alleghanny mountains, in proportion to then* population ; and in no one of the largest Atlantic cities were they enjoyed with a higher relish than in St. Louis, judging alike from the private and public expressions of approbation with which they were constantly received. This, as usual, brought me acquainted with the most intellectual and most influential individuals in the community ; and I was obliged to keep a carriage in constant use, to repay the many visits we received. The contrast in this respect, between St. Louis and Cincinnati, was very remarkable. In the first they used but little profes sion, but showed their hospitality in acts rather than words ; in the latter, professions were lavished in abundance, but they were not followed by deeds. Warm and unrestrained generosity, frankness, and affability, seemed to us the characteristics of society, in St. Louis. Coldness, distrust, reserve, and inhos pitably, seemed to us the prominent features of society in Cincinnati ; and yet, in St. Louis, there is little or no pretension, while in Cincinnati this is excessive. Our stay at St. Louis was, therefore, rendered 92 MISSOURI. peculiarly agreeable, from this combination of favourable circumstances, and the amiable qualities of those by whom we were surrounded ; and though there were some drawbacks, in the excessive heat of the weather, and the wretched accommodation at the best hotel in the city ; yet, on the whole, we enjoyed more pleasure in St Louis than in any place we had visited since leaving Baltimore, and shall long retain agreeable recollections of our sojourn there. As a description of St. Louis will furnish abun dant materials for a separate chapter, I shall reserve it for that purpose, and in the mean time precede it by a sketch of the history of the State of Missouri, of which it is the chief city, with a description of the State itself, in its geography, climate, position, and productions. 93 CHAP. VI. Early French settlers in Missouri — Cession of the French pos sessions to England — Purchase of Spanish and French settle ments — Sixty millions of francs paid by the United States — Division of Louisiana — Separation of Missouri — Admission into the Union as a State — Area, boundaries, and surface of this State — Minerals — Lead — The great Iron Mountain — Red pipestone — Indian superstitions — Climate — Productions — Wild animals — -Legislature, executive and judiciary — State Penitentiary at Jefferson City — Education, ample means to provide for it — Religious sects — Statistics of numbers — Great predominance of Roman Catholics— Progress of population in Missouri — Proportions of slaves and freemen — Much greater increase in Illinois — Contrast between Slavery and Freedom —Territory of Missouri — The Oregon — Extent, occupation, and importance of this new region. The State of Missouri is one of the largest in the Union, having an area nearly equal to that of Virginia; and, from its agricultural and mineral resources, its extensive water-communication, and its fine climate, as well as its peculiarly advan tageous position, it is likely, at no distant day, to become one of the leading States of the country, in wealth, population, and influence. The French were the earliest settlers here, as it formed part of their great Western empire, under the title of New France, stretching all the way from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, and comprehending 94 MISSOURI. nearly the whole of the country north and west of the Ohio. By the treaty of 1763, Canada was ceded to Great Britain, but this cession did not include the Western or Southern possessions of France in this region ; the latter, comprehending all Louisiana, having in this same year been ceded to Spain. The first towns actually settled in Mis souri — which were St. Genevieve and Bourbon — were by French settlers. This took place soon after the peace of 1763, by persons who had removed from Canada, after its transfer to the British Crown. In the following year, 1764, St. Louis was founded by a French company of traders. In 1780, St. Charles, on the river Missouri, fol lowed ; and, in 1787, New Madrid, on the river Mississippi, was established. These were the ear liest towns, all planted while the territory belonged either to France or Spain, and the country was generally called Upper Louisiana. France having first ceded it to Spain, and then Spain by a secret treaty having re-ceded it back again to France, the whole territory was purchased from the French by the United States, in 1803, for the sum of 60,000,000 of francs, or 15,000,000 of dollars. In the following year, 1804, Louisiana was divided, and its upper section erected into a Terri tory, under the name of Missouri, from the great river which flows through its centre. From this period, its lands acquired an increased value, and settlers from all parts of the Union flowed rapidly into its bosom, so that in 1817 its population was ascertained to be about 60,000. This being the amount which entitles a Territory to be admitted as ADMISSION TO THE UNION. 95 a State, provided all the other requisite conditions be complied with, application was made, in 1819, by the Territorial Legislature, to the General Con gress of the United States, for the admission of Missouri into the Union. This, however, gave rise to fierce and long-protracted debate ; the people of Missouri being to a great extent slave-owners, and desiring to have their right to legalize Slavery, as one of their " domestic institutions," recognized by the Congress, in the act for admitting them into the Union ; and the inhabitants of the Free States and their representatives protesting against the further admission of any slave-holding State into a Union, in which there were already too many. Upon the decision of this question, the two great sections of the North and South considered so much to depend, that each fought the battle as though it was the last struggle to be made between them for victory or defeat ; and the excitement was accord ingly universal throughout the country. The slave- holding interests, however, unhappily prevailed, and in 1820, Missouri was erected into an Inde pendent State, and admitted into the Union, with a constitution that permitted her lawfully to hold men in slavery, without limit as to time ; and which also, in perfect harmony with this anti-christian institution, disqualified all who were ministers of the gospel from holding any office whatever in the State. The area of Missouri extends over a length of 280 miles from north to south, and 225 from east to west, comprehending, therefore, a surface of 63,000 square miles, or more than 40,000,000 of 96 MISSOURI. acres — Virginia having an area of 64,000 square miles, or about 41,000,000 of acres. It is bounded on the east by the river Mississippi, which flows for 550 miles, including its meanderings, along its eastern border, separating it from the States of Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee. On the west, and on the north, it is bounded by the vast tracts of land called the Missouri Territory, chiefly occu pied at present by Indian tribes; and on the south it has for its boundary the State of Arkansas, or, as it is universally pronounced in this country, Arkinsaw. The surface of Missouri is beautifully variegated. In the south, and along the banks of the Mississippi, the soil is mostly alluvial, and the country level, except some fine rocky bluffs of undulating hills below St. Louis ; but a short distance onward from the eastern boundary of the State, the land rises into a more elevated plain, of rich prairie. Beyond the limits of this again, toward the interior, it becomes first gently undulated, then hilly, and last of all, in the mineral region, mountainous. Beyond this again, the country becomes gently wavy or rolling, as it is called, and then stretches away west in extensive level prairies. The mineral region, in which lead is found in great abundance, extends over a surface of about 4,000 square miles, being nearly 100 miles in length, by 40 in breadth. The centre of this district is about 70 miles south-west of St. Louis, and the principal " diggings," as they are called, extend present over an area of 30 miles in one direction, and 15 miles in another. The mountains of this MINES. 97 region lie in a succession of ridges, some of which are sterile, and some are well wooded ; but the valleys between them are uniformly fertile. One of these ridges has its declivities almost covered with crystallized spar, which is called by the people of the country "mineral blossom." Where this is seen above the surface, however, it is thought useless to dig, and accordingly the ore is sought for where these crystallizations are found about two or three feet below the soil. This soil is of a reddish-ycllowr colour, and it is beneath it that the lead ore is generally found imbedded in hard gravel. This ore is not found in continuous veins, but in detached masses, which lie from two to twenty feet below the surface, wholly unconnected with each other. There are, therefore, no deep mines or shafts, for its excavation and collection. The miners usually take such a portion of land as they think promising, from the owner of the soil, on a lease ; they then work it by themselves and are co-sharers in the result. There is, of course, great uncertainty in this, for sometimes a whole week of labour will be exhausted by all, without any ore being found ; while at other times, a more fortunate spot will yield, to the labour of a single man, a ton of ore per day. It is of the kind called Galena, and yields from 70 to 80 per cent of metal, even with the imperfect smelting which it undergoes ; zinc, calamine, and manganese, being among the residue which are thrown by as useless. About 5,000,000 of pounds of lead are now produced annually, and about 2,000 hands are employed in its production and manufacture. Red and white lead are made by the III. h *' 98 MISSOURI. usual processes ; and the barytes which is found among the lead ore, being reduced to a white powder, is added to the white lead, and thought to improve its quality as a paint. Shot-towers have been erected at Herculaneurn, a station on the Mississippi, about 30 miles only from the lead region. But the greater portion of the lead is conveyed to St. Louis in waggons, from whence it is exported up the Ohio or down the Mississippi, in the state of unmanufactured metal, for sale in the great cities on these two streams. Iron is found in large quantities in almost every part of Missouri; and in one place a mountain, called the Iron Mountain, in the County of St. Francois, about 70 miles from St. Louis, is said to furnish a larger proportion of the pure metal than any ore yet discovered, and of a quality so good, as to answer, without smelting, for making agricul tural implements. Masses of pure malleable cop per have also been found, weighing from three to ten pounds each ; the river Cuivre was so called by the French, who worked the soil of Missouri for its metals more than a century ago, from the abundance of pyrites of copper found upon the banks of this stream. Antimony and cobalt, plum bago and cinnabar, or the red ore of mercury, are also found in this State. Coal abounds along the banks of the Missouri. Porcelain-clay of the finest quality is found near Cape Girandeau, on the Mis sissippi ; and salt and nitre may be made in any quantities required, at the different springs and licks. Marble and blue limestone exist in abun dance ; and porphyry, jasper, and chalcedony, are CLIMATE. ()() e among its stones. The Flint Knobs, as they ar called, are regarded as great curiosities. They are found chiefly in the south-western part of the State, and along the banks of the Upper Mississippi. They rise in conical hills of 250 and 300 feet high, from a base of not more than 800 feet in diameter, and are filled with thousands of small masses of flint, adapted for arrow-heads, or gun-flints, for both of which purposes the Indians use them, regarding these hills as vast storehouses provided by the Great Spirit to supply their wants. The Indian pipestone, a soft sort of soapstone, easily cut, of a dark red colour, and susceptible of as high a polish as the finest marble, is also found in this State, and is used by the Indians for their pipes, for which it is well adapted ; they believe that the Great Spirit has also provided this for them, with special reference to their exclusive use. Though the latitude of Missouri is between 36° and 40", north, it is subject to the extremes of heat and cold common to every part of this continent. In the months of July and August, St. Louis is thought to be one of the hottest places in the United States ; yet in the months of January7 and February, even the giant streams of the Mississippi and Missouri are sometimes bound up in frost, so that teams of waggons cross over on the ice ; in the year 1818, this was the case for nine weeks, the thermometer being below zero for the greater portion of the time. The sudden changes of temperature here, are such as that in January the heat will be sometimes so great, from light southerly winds, as to require the windows to be opened, and all fires extinguished h 2 100 MISSOURI. in sitting-rooms at least ; while even in May, a north-west wind will make it cold enough to require the warmest clothing, and fires in every room. The climate is remarkable, however, for its dryness, in which it differs very much from the Atlantic States, and still more from the Southern ones bordering on the Gulf of Mexico. In the years 1816, 1817, and 1818, an average of the cloudy and rainy days in Missouri gave only 50 of the first, and 25 of the last, in the whole year ; and the quantity of rain annually falling in this State has been ascertained to average only 18 inches in the year. The steady rains are generally brought by the south-west winds, and occur chiefly in the spring ; the summer rains are mere thunder-showers of short duration ; and the autumn is held to be the most agreeable season of the year. The agricultural products of Missouri include Indian corn, which produces from 70 to 80 bushels per acre on the average, and 100 bushels in some favoured situations ; wheat, rye, barley, oats, hemp, flax, cotton, and tobacco, red clover, turnips, potatoes, pumpkins, and melons, all thrive well. Wild hops cover many thousands of acres of the prairie land. Fruits are abundant, and among them, apples, pears, peaches, apricots, and necta rines, are all excellent. The vine grows wild and luxuriant ; the pawpaw, the persimon, and the red and yellow prairie-plum, are also in great quan tities ; and the prairies, in spring, summer, and autumn, yield rich carpets of flowers, of white, and pink, and red, and yellow tints, according to the respective seasons in which they appear. ANIMALS. 10 J Many of the wild animals are still found within the limits of this State, from its being so slightly peopled, and bordering-on the unsettled territories of the Far West. The buffalo and the elk herd only on the extreme western frontier; the congou, or panther, the wolf and the bear, come nearer in to the centre of the State ; the prairie wolf, a creature that resembles the jackall of Asia and Africa, is most abundant ; racoons, ground-hogs, opossums, and squirrels are numerous ; and a very large description of the mole, called the gopher, which lives in communities, and throws up thousands of eminences of earth from the holes in which they burrow, are equally so ; while rattlesnakes, copper heads, ground-vipers, and snappers — all of the venomous class of serpents — are occasionally found in the least-frequented parts. The deer appear to have increased in numbers since the settlement of the whites, and the removal of the Indians ; for they are now so abundant, that they may be seen in herds, approaching without fear the most popu lous villages, though they are occasionally shot, and sometimes taken alive, for their venison, which furnishes a cheap supply of agreeable food to the settlers. Wild-fowl abounds also in every part of the State. The aquatic birds are the most numerous, finding adequate supplies of food in the lakes and rivers of the interior ; and these comprise geese and ducks of several varieties, swans, cranes, and peli cans, all of which are killed in great numbers in the autumn, by sportsmen and traders — some for food, and others for their quills and feathers. 102 MISSOURI. Among the land-birds are wild turkeys, partridges, pigeons, doves, and the prairie-hen, which is larger than the domestic or barn-door fowl, and quite as good for the table. The birds of plumage and of song, include the beautiful parroquet, the Virginia redbird, or nightingale, the blackbird, the bluebird, and the robin-redbreast, which last comes here in large flocks in the autumn, but is not seen at any other time of the year. For the rearing of domestic animals, no State presents greater facilities than Missouri, as the pasture of the prairies would feed innumerable herds of cattle ; and horses, sheep, and swine would have almost unlimited range in the same extensive domain. The Legislature of Missouri consists of the usual three branches — a House of Representatives, a Senate, and a Governor ; and its constitution gives the elective franchise to every free citizen of full age, who has resided only one year within the State, and three months of that time in the district in which he claims to have a vote. The Represen tatives are elected for two years ; the Senators are chosen for four years ; and the Governor, who is also elected by the people, holds his office for the same term as the Senators. The pay of the mem bers of both Houses is three dollars per day during the Session, which rarely lasts more than two months. The Houses meet only once in two years at the City of Jefferson, on the Missouri river, which is the legislative capital of the State, on the fourth Monday in November. The Executive consists of the Governor, who receives a salary of 2,000 dollars per annum ; a JUDICIARY. 103 Lieutenant-Governor, who is also President of the Senate, and who receives 4i dollars per day while the House is in session ; and a Secretary of State, at 1,000 dollars a year. There is, besides, an Auditor of Public Accounts, at 1,500 dollars ; a Treasurer, at 1,250 dollars ; a Surveyor-General, at 1,500 dollars; an Attorney-General, and a Super intendent of Common Schools, at 600 dollars each per annum. The Judiciary consists of a Supreme Court, with three Judges, at salaries of 1,100 dollars per annum each. They hold their Courts at four places in the State, twice in the year at each, namely Boonesville, Palmyra, Potosi, and St. Louis. They have original jurisdiction in cases of habeas corpus and manda mus, but sit otherwise as a Court of Appeal from the decision of the Circuit Courts. One excellent feature of this Institution is — and worthy of adoption by other countries — that all its decisions are published officially at the end of each term, under the revi sion and sanction of the Court, in the newspapers of the District in which the decisions occurred ; and these are again collected in a pamphlet-form twice in every year, and published, under the revision and sanction of the Attorney- General, for the infor mation of the whole community. There are also eleven Circuit Courts, with a Presiding Judge in each, at a salary of 1,000 dollars a year, and a State- Attorney, at 250 dollars a year, besides his fees of office. These Courts are held in each County of the State. They have exclusive criminal jurisdic tion in their respective Circuits, and their civil 101- MISSOURI. jurisdiction embraces all cases in which the amount at issue exceeds 90 dollars. They have superin tending control over the County Courts, which take cognizance only of local or County aflairs, subject, however, to the correction of the Superior Courts, to which an appeal lies in all cases of dissatisfaction. The Judges of the Supreme and Circuit Courts are nominated by the Governor, and must be confirmed by the Senate, and they hold their offices during good behaviour — but not beyond the age of 65 years, when they must retire. The Justices of the County Courts, of whom there are three in each, are elected by the people of the County, for periods of four years. There is a State Penitentiary at Jefferson City, which has, however, been but recently finished and opened ; it is intended to be conducted on the Auburn plan, or Silent System ; this being more acceptable, apparently, to all the new States, than the Pennsylvania plan, chiefly, if not entirely, from the profits yielded by the former, which are re garded by most persons having a voice in the ques tion, as of more importance than the reformation of the unhappy criminals. For Education, there is fortunately very ample provision already made in the State of Missouri. When it was first admitted into the Union, the General Government of the United States under took to appropriate the sixteenth or central section of every township or square mile of land, sold after that date, within the limits of Missouri, to the School Fund of that State. The proceeds of these sales — 640 acres of land in each township — have EDUCATION. 105 already created a large fund, amounting, it is said, to more than 1,000,000 dollars, but being divided among many counties, the actual sum for each is not distinctly known. This fund, which is increasing by new sales of government-land every year, is placed under the control of the County Courts, the Justices of which are authorized to lend it out on good security, at 10 per cent interest, which is paid to trustees appointed by the Court, and by these appropriated to the tuition of all the children and youths of the State in common schools, between the ages of 6 and 1 8 years. Another fund of considerable importance is that called the Saline Fund, derived from the sale of 12 salt springs, with 6 sections of land attached to each, which was also granted by the United States, at the time of the admission of Missouri as a State into the Union ; its amount already exceeds 500,000 dollars. To this again is to be added, another amount of 400,000 dollars, being the share which Missouri received of the surplus revenue of the United States, when it was returned to the several States, in pro portion to their population and contribution in taxes. These, therefore, make together a sum of nearly 2,000,000 dollars, the interest of which is applicable to the support of common schools, for the gratuitous "education of all the children of the State, as far as it will go, under the direction of the County Courts and the State Superintendent. Lastly, a separate fund for the support of a University, has been formed by the sale of 72 sections of land, of G40 acres each, granted by the General Government 106 MISSOURI. of the United States, from lands within her territory, to Missouri, for this express purpose. It has already realized about 100,000 dollars, and as the place for its foundation had to be fixed by the State Legislature, it gave the preference to Boone county, because the authorities of that county offered to give a tract of land, amounting to 300 acres, and to erect the neces sary buildings, the value of the whole being about 120,000 dollars, if the Legislature would place the University there. This has accordingly been done, at a town called Columbia, where Columbia College, thus liberally built, and thus liberally endowed, now stands. Of the religious bodies, the Roman Catholics are thought to have still the predominance in numbers, the descendants of its early French settlers, and its more recent German and Irish emigrants, being chiefly of that religion. They have two colleges, one in the vicinity of St. Louis, and another farther south at Bois Brule. There are several convents in the State, at which females are educated ; and the Ca tholic clergy, with the Bishop of St. Louis at their head, are very numerous, intelligent, and zealous in their calling. Of the Protestant sects, the Baptists are thought to be the most numerous, the Methodists to come next in order, after these the Presbyterians, and the Episcopalians last of all. Its religious statistics are, however, very imper fectly known, and the numbers given in the following table, are only approximations, derived from the ver bal information of persons long resident in the State, and best able to furnish information on the subject — SLAVES. 107 Catholics . . 12,000 Baptists . . 5,000 Presbyterians . . 2,000 Episcopalians . . 1,000 Other sects . . 1,000 Methodists . 4,000 Leaving a very large majority who belong to no church, and frequent no place of worship, the vast numbers of this class increasing as you go westward. The population of the State at different periods will be seen by the following returns — In 1810, it was 19,833 1820, „ 66,586 In 1S25, it was 80,677 1830, „ 140,074 In the mean time, the increase in the slave-popu lation has been even in a greater proportion than that of the free, the temptation to buy and import slaves from other States into Missouri being very strong to those to whom pecuniary gain is above all other considerations; for in 1810, when the whole population was about 20,000, the slaves were about 3,000 only, or little more than one-seventh of the whole; in 1830, when the whole population was above 140,000, the slaves were about 25,000, or nearly one-fifth of the whole number ; and at present, the entire population is about 300,000, and the slaves 100,000, or about one- third of the whole. But for this existence and increase of slaves, it is believed that Missouri would have advanced much more rapidly than she has done, in general wealth and importance. To the new settlers from the free States of the North, slavery is so objec tionable, that all other things being nearly equal, the fact of this institution existing in one State, would deter a settler of any capital from going there to buy his land, or select his farm ; while the fact of its not existing in some neighbouring State, would 108 MISSOURI. be an attraction that would determine him to settle himself there in preference. Add to this, the now established and demonstrated problem of the supe riority of free labour over slave labour, especially in all temperate climates, in economy and productive ness, and it may readily be conceived that when the former shall be substituted for the latter in Missouri, as ultimately it must be — in that and every other State — she will make a rapid progress towards attain ing that rank, which her vast area, diversified surface, noble rivers, and inexhaustible resources, agricultural, mineral, and . pastoral, entitle her to claim, as one of the first States of the Union. In the SO years from 1810 to 1830, Missouri has increased her population about seven-fold, beginning at the former period with a nucleus of 20,000, and ending at the latter period with 140,000. But the opposite State of Illinois, neither so large, so healthy, nor so varied in its resources as Missouri, but having the great advantage over it of being a free, instead of a slave State, has, in the same period, increased its population nearly thirteen-fold ; for though it be gan at the former date, with the smaller nucleus of only 12,000, it reached, at the latter date, the amount of 158,000 ; beginning, therefore, at the same time as Missouri with 8,000 less, and beating her in the race, by ending at the same period with 18,000 more, and that without there being any other reason than the difference between freedom and slavery to account for this ! Though the State of Missouri forms at present the extreme western limit of the United States, it will not be very long before the vast territory lying OREGON TERRITORY. 109 west of it, extending to the Platte River, and from thence onward toward the Rocky Mountains, will be sufficiently settled to assume the rank of an organized Territory, with a territorial government ; and soon after it will be sufficiently peopled, to claim admis sion into the Union, as an additional State. At present the Indian tribes are its chief occupants, particularly the Sioux or Dacotahs, the Pawnees, and the Osages, numbering together, it is thought, about 150,000. But the white settlers are every day pressing onward upon their limits, and causing them to recede farther and farther west; while the gradual diminution of their game, in the buffalo, deer, and elk, which, like themselves, disappear before the white race, compels them to seek their subsistence farther and farther off. It is in this great Territory that the most extensive prairies, or grassy and wood less plains are seen, many of them extending upwards of 100 miles each way, and leaving the traveller in a sort of open sea of verdure, where the visible horizon on all sides round is as level as that of the ocean, with an unbroken sheet or surface of grass and flowers, without tree or shrub to break its uni formity. From hence onward to the Rocky Mountains, which are black, precipitous, and generally sterile, rising to a height of 15,000 and 16,000 feet of elevation, the soil grows less and less fertile, till it almost approaches a sandy desert. But beyond these mountains, over which the fur-traders and travellers now easily pass, through gorges and depressions recently discovered, a new and far more beautiful 110 MISSOURI. region extends to the shores of the Pacific, under the name of the Oregon Territory ; and even to this distant region, emigrant settlers are continually directing their steps, and forming settlements, though there is no organized government, no established law there, and even the question of national juris diction is still unsettled. Like the question of the Maine Boundary Line, this right or title to the Territory of Oregon, may become one day very difficult to settle. The United States claim it on three grounds ; 1st, by its being included in the ancient possessions of France and Spain, as part of Louisiana, which was ceded to America by treaty ; 2ndly, by the discovery of its principal river, the Columbia ; and 3rdly, by interior explorations and discoveries, conducted by the citizens and officers of the United States, and at their ex pense. On the other hand, the Territory is claimed by Great Britain, on the ground of actual occupation of some points, at a period when it was wholly un appropriated, and open to the first comer. In 1828, however, a convention was agreed to between the two nations, to last for 12 years, by which each party bound themselves not to take for mal or exclusive possession of this Territory during the period named, unless formal renunciation should be made by either party in favour of the other, and of this 12 months' notice was to be given. The period fixed by this convention is now on the point of ex piring, and yet no steps have been taken by either party to settle the question of right. In the mean while, however, American settlers, in great numbers, OREGON TERRITORY. Ill are going there every month ; and actual possession will give them a claim which it will be every year more and more difficult to set aside. The first discoverers of this Territory were un doubtedly the Spaniards, who contented themselves, however, with establishing their settlements on the coast of California, and did not penetrate much into the interior. When the British Admiral, Vancouver, was at Nootka Sound, in 1791, he received intelli gence of an American ship, the Columbia of Boston, commanded by Captain Gray, having been the first to enter the great river of this Territory, which dis charges itself into the Pacific, the Indian name of which is the Oregon, but Captain Gray called it the Columbia, after the ship that first floated on its stream. Vancouver sent some of his officers to ex amine its channel, and report upon it ; but the first entry and first navigation was undoubtedly made by Americans. In 1805, the United States government sent out the celebrated land-expedition under Lewis and Clark, for the express purpose of exploring this region ; and their interesting and valuable work gives ample record of their proceedings. They went from the Mississippi up the river Missouri, which they ascended to its source ; and from thence passed over the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia river, which has its source on the other side, and by it they de scended to the Pacific coast. It was on this river that the celebrated John Jacob Astor, the rich fur- trader of New York, established a settlement in 1810, which he called Astoria, the history of which has been written with so much ability and interest by Washington Irving, under the title of "Astoria." 112 MISSOURI. The boundaries of this Oregon Territory are on the north, the parallel of 54° 40' of north latitude, which separates it from the Russian possessions in America; on the south, the parallel of 42° north latitude, which separates it from the Republic of Mexico ; on the east, its boundary is the Territory of Missouri; and on the west, the Pacific Ocean. The surface of the country is described as much more broken and undulated than that of the States and Territories east of the Rocky Mountains, but it is everywhere fertile, and well watered and wooded ; and the climate is more mild and equable than on the same parallels of latitude on the Atlantic coast. The waters of the Oregon or Columbia abound with salmon, which forms the chief article of food to the natives there ; while the skins of wild animals, which are taken in abundance, furnish materials of trade with ships touching on the coast for China and the Eastern Islands. The Indian tribes living west of the Rocky Mountains, and in the Oregon Territory, are thought to exceed 100,000 in number, and of these the Snake Indians, or Shoshones, alone muster 15,000 men. The names of many of the others are remarkable, as the Pierced Noses, Les Nez Perces, so called originally by the French, the Pointed Hearts, the Flat Heads, and the Flat Brows. These are all more warlike than the Eastern tribes, and some of them have scarcely been approached by the whites ; though it is as certain as any human event can be, that they are all destined to be displaced by the Anglo-Saxon race, as the Eastern tribes have already been. In these vast and fertile regions now thinly peopled by these hunter tribes, there will, THE OREGON TERRITORY. 113 no doubt, in future years, arise independent States, or powerful nations, carrying with them the English language, the Christian religion, and all the usual results of these two causes, in the advancement of the arts and sciences of civilized life ; and the sooner this disputed question of national jurisdiction over the vast region, is definitively settled, the sooner will the tide of emigration and settlement, by which these objects are to be advanced, set in, and go on with constantly accelerated force. in. 114 CHAP. VII. St. Louis — Original foundation of the city of St. Louis — Transfer of it, with Louisiana, from France to America — Progressive in crease of population from that period — Situation of the city — Environs — Health — Plan and arrangements of the streets — Names of these as at Philadelphia — Public buildings — Court House — New hotel — Theatre — Churches, Catholic and Protes tant — Cathedral — Learning, zeal, and courtesy of the Catholic clergy — Jesuits' College for the education of young men — Nunnery of the Sacred Heart for young ladies — Orphan Asylum — Sisters of Charity — Protestant Benevolent Asso ciations — Literary, musical, medical, and masonic societies — Hotels — Chamber of Commerce — Banks and Insurance Com panies — Municipal government and city officers — Assessed value of property and revenue of the city — Vast immigration of foreign settlers — Spread of crime, and growing indifference to it — Specimens of taste — Newspapers of St. Louis, numbers and character. Our stay at St. Louis, having been rendered so agreeable by the hospitable and friendly attentions received there, was attended by one disadvantage only, which was this, that it left me scarcely a moment of leisure, so that all my notes taken there, were mere records of isolated and unconnected facts, in great number, it is true, but without connection or order. It required considerable labour, and an encroachment upon the hours which should have been given to sleep, to arrange them in such a form FOUNDATION' OF ST. LOUIS. 115 as should make them intelligible to others. This, however, was at length accomplished in our voyage from thence up the Mississippi, and the following sketch will be found to contain a faithful description of the origin, progress, and past and present con dition, of this remarkable and promising city. St. Louis owes its origin to the enterprize of a French Trading Company, to whom the Governor of Louisiana had granted, about the year 1763, the exclusive privilege of trading with the Indians of the Upper Mississippi and the Missouri, from the mouth of the latter river, up to that of St. Peter's, near the Falls of St. Anthony. The head and director of this company was Mons. Pierre Laclede ; this gentle man, ascending the river from New Orleans to the junction of the Missouri with the Mississippi, and finding no suitable place existing there, as a depot for his commodities of trade, selected the spot where St. Louis now stands, as combining the greatest number of advantages for his new settlement — good soil, fine timber, rising grounds, and sufficient proxi mity to the point of union between the two great rivers along whose borders his future commercial operations were to be conducted. To effect, in this spot, the foundation of a town, and at the same time to protect those who were to be engaged in the erection of the necessary buildings, he employed his young friend, who had accompanied him in most of his trading expeditions, Colonel Cho- teau, with a competent number of armed men, to guard the position, as well as to assist in the labour ; and on the 15th of February, 1764, the first house was erected near the river's bank. i 2 116 MISSOURI. Encouragement being given, by Mons. Laclede, to settlers to come from other parts, his little colony was soon augmented by persons from the older settlements of Kaskaskia, Vincennes, Cahokia, and Fort Char- tres, and in the course of a single year, the number of inhabitants amounted to upwards of 500. These were all desirous of having the town called after its founder and proprietor, Laclede ; but he insisted upon its being called St. Louis, in honour of the French sovereign, of whom they were then all sub jects. Mr. Laclede himself died in 1778, two years after the Declaration of American Indepen dence, and 14 years after the founding of St. Louis ; but Col. Choteau continued to live in the city for the long period of 64 years after the period at which he assisted at the erection of the first house in it. His death occurred in February, 1829, when St. Louis, which he had seen a forest, inhabited only by savage tribes of Indians, had become an incorporated city, with upwards of 7,000 inhabitants ; the increase having been scarcely at all assisted by immigration, but being almost exclusively the natural results of marriage and offspring from the original band of settlers. It was in the year 1817, that Louisiana was trans ferred from the French to the United States ; and St. Louis then for the first time became an American city. In the same year also, the first steam-vessel ascended the Mississippi as high as Saint Louis ; and from that period, its progress went on, at first slowly, and then with greater rapidity, especially within the last ten years, by the immigration of Americans, Germans, and Irish, and the intermarriages of all SITUATION OF THE CITY. 117 these with the French ; so that, at present, St. Louis is understood to contain at least S0.000 inhabitants, an increase of more than fourfold in the short space of 1 0 years ! The situation of the city is admirably chosen. It stands about 20 miles below the junction of the Mis souri with the Mississippi, on the western bank of the latter stream. The bank gradually ascends from the river, at a gentle angle of about 3 degrees, for a distance of 600 yards from the margin of the water, where it terminates at the edge of a beautiful plain, which stretches away as far as the eye can reach, in a perfect level behind the town. The substratum, both of the ascending slope and of the level plain, is a fine bed of limestone, which furnishes excellent material for buildino- and the greatest number of the houses and stores of the city are constructed of this material. Fine marble, sand-stone, and coal, all abound in the neighbourhood of the town ; while iron and lead are not very remote; and though there are extensive prairies stretching away west on the plain behind the city, there is yet an abundance of wood land, within a mile of the town, to furnish either fuel or ornamental timber for parks and gardens ; while excellent water is plentiful, in the rock- springs that everywhere abound, in the beautifully picturesque lake near the town, called Choteau's Pond, and in the inexhaustible river before the city ; so that it is difficult to imagine a greater combina tion of advantages than those which St. Louis pos sesses. Its latitude of 3S° 40' X., makes it as healthy as, and more temperate thaD, the great Atlantic cities on the coast. IIS MISSOURI. The plan of the town has more of regularity than might have been expected, considering its origin and recent transfer to the Americans. What is still called the French quarter, which forms the southern portion of the town, was badly built, with narrow streets, and small and mean houses ; though these are all fast disappearing, to make way for better edifices. But the American portion of the city is as regularly laid out, and as well executed, as any town of similar size in the Union. Like New Orleans, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh, it has a fine slope from the front street, which faces the river, down to the water, which now extends for about two miles along the river's bank, and at which about 100 steamboats were lying at the time of our visit, each having its bow close into the beach, with a few planks for separate communication with the shore, and their hulls hanging diagonally to the stream, all being kept in their relative positions by the force of the current pressing downward on their quarters or sterns. From Front Street, which has only one side to it — the levee or walk in front of it being open to the river — there are several other parallel streets receding back from the stream, and ascending gra dually up to the level plain ; these are named First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, &c, as in most Ame rican towns ; First Street, however, being as often here called Main Street. Those nearest the river are almost exclusively occupied by stores and places of business ; while the private residences are in the streets more remote from the river and on the hill. The streets parallel to the river, are crossed by PUBLIC BUILDINGS. Il9 others at right angles, running up from the stream ; and these are called, as .at Philadelphia and Cin cinnati, by the names of Chesnut, Poplar, Olive, Vine, Myrtle, Oak, Green, Pine, Almond, Elm, Plum, Lombard, Locust, Spruce, Prune, Cedar, Cherry, Laurel, Mulberry, Hazel, Walnut, and other names of trees and fruits. Of the public buildings in St. Louis, the principal is the Court House, which is nearly in the centre of the town. Though at present a large and beau tiful building, it is now undergoing enlargement and decoration, and, judging from the drawings and plans, which were readily shown to me, it pro mises to be a great ornament to the town. The cost of the additions and improvements I understood would be at least 80,000 dollars. A very spacious Hotel is also building, in the immediate vicinity of the Court House, which has a longer frontage, and covers more ground, than the Astor House at New York, and will cost, when completed, about 150,000 dollars. There is also an immense Theatre, the ex terior of which appeared to me to be as large as the Opera House in London, and which, when finished, will be an imposing structure. All these are so advantageously placed, that they will be highly orna mental to the city. Of religious edifices there are altogether 15, of which the Roman Catholics have 6, the Presbyterians 2, the Episcopalians 1, the Methodists 2, the Baptists 1, the Unitarians 1, and the Africans 2. The prin cipal Catholic Church is the Cathedral, a fine large building, nearly in the centre of the city, capable of accommodating 3,000 worshippers without incon- 120 MISSOURI. venience, and fitted up with all the combined attrac tions of architecture, sculpture, and painting, to render its interior as attractive, as its exterior is commanding. Like the Cathedral at Baltimore, it has pews along the whole body of the church, as well as in the galleries ; and the altar is splendidly fitted up with ornaments and painting. The other Catholic places of worship are at the Jesuits' Col lege, the Nunnery, the Hospital, the Asylum, and various other chapels under the direction of the Catholic clergy. The number of Catholic worshippers here, amounting to upwards of 12,000, or more than half the church-going population of the city ; and these are continually augmenting by fresh arrivals of German and Irish emigrants belonging to the Catho lic church, no less than 340 Germans having arrived in one boat, the Vandalia, from New Orleans, during our stay at St. Louis. To meet the increasing wants of such a population, two splendid Catholic churches are now building, one attached to the Jesuits' Col lege, on the north of the town, which will hold 1,500 persons ; another at the south extremity of the town, the Cathedral being near the centre. To raise funds for these, the Catholic Bishop, Rosate, has gone to Rome, from whence the most liberal aid is readily secured for the erection of churches and the pro pagation of the Catholic faith in distant lands. Of the Protestant places of worship, the Episco palian appeared to me the most chastely elegant in its interior, and the new Presbyterian Church the most imposing in its exterior, with its lofty spire and Doric portico. These, and all the other Protestant Churches, are built of brick ; the Catholic edifices jesuits' college. 121 are of stone. All, however, are of good appearance, and in a state of perfect repair, as well as provided with everything requisite for the comfortable accom modation of their congregations, though there are no compulsory church-rates levied for the purpose. In learning, zeal, courtesy and affability, I could not but think that the Jesuits and Catholic clergy with whom I became acquainted, were superior to their Pro testant brethren ; and that in zeal, and condescending attention to the poorest classes of their community, they equally surpassed them, few ventured to dispute. Nearly all the best Educational and Benevolent Establishments of St. Louis are in the hands of the Catholics ; and they manage them with so much skill and attention, that this alone entitles them to the highest praise, and gives them great influence in society. The Jesuits' College is called the University of St. Louis. It is pleasantly situated on a high level plain, at a distance of about a mile from the outer edge of the town, embosomed in trees, and having all the retirement so useful and agreeable to students. The president and professors, of which there are 10, are all members of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, of the order of Loyola ; and under these are eight masters or tutors. They are all Catholics, and the greater number are Belgians ; though among them are also Italians, Spanish, and Irish. The buildings are substantial, spacious, and well classified and arranged ; the class-rooms, halls, studies, and dormi tories are all in the highest order. There is a spacious play -ground in front of the principal edifice, in which the students were all happily employed during my 122 MISSOURI. visit there, which happened to be a holiday. There is a large chapel for public worship, and a beautiful and interesting museum of natural history and curiosities, for the instruction and gratification of the students, admirably arranged, and containing some articles of rare interest and value. The library also is ample and well selected ; in short, nothing seems wanting that is essential to such an estab lishment. The number of the students is at present about 200, and these include youths from almost every State in the Union, as well as from Mexico, Cuba, and Porto Rico, in the West Indies, and some parts of South America. The youngest age at which students are admitted is 10, and the oldest 16 ; though students, once entered above 10 and belowT 16, may remain there as long as they wish, and some continue till past 21. The course of education may be either classical or commercial, or both united ; the time usually required is four years for each separately, or six years for the two combined. The modern languages are taught as well as the classics, and all the ornaments of education in music, drawing, and dancing, as well as the more solid parts. The whole annual expense of the most elaborate course is 180 dollars to each pupil, including board, washing, and medicine, as well as tuition, or about 361. per annum ; and a class of " demi-pensionnaires," or half-boarders, who receive all the benefits of the education given at the institution, are received at 100 dollars, or 20/. a year. The students are not permitted to have the possession or control of any money beyond the allowance, at ST. LOUIS. 123 the utmost, of a dollar per month, paid to them in weekly sums of a quarter of a dollar at a time, by a treasurer appointed by the president. The greatest pains appear to be taken to preserve their morals, as well as to perfect their understandings. The University of St. Louis, having been incorpo rated by charter, or act of Congress, passed in 18S2, is entitled to confer degrees. Accordingly, on the 1st of August, in each year, there is a public exami nation, at which degrees are conferred, of Bachelor of Arts, and Master of Arts, as well as of Doctor in Medicine, on those who have attained the requisite degree of perfection in their respective studies. On the first Tuesday in every month, the students are examined, and placed according to their relative degrees of proficiency in their classes, when medals and ribbons of honour are conferred on the most distinguished. The day following is a holiday, as well as Thursday in every week, during which the stu dents are permitted to enjoy the sports of the field, and to ride, to walk, to fish, or bathe, but always under the personal superintendence of the masters or tutors, who accompany each party for that purpose. On the first Thursday in each month only, those who desire it, and whose parents live within a mode rate distance, may devote the day to visiting them, but they must always return before sunset. No corporal punishments are used, and firmness and mildness seem to be admirably blended in the system of discipline pursued, so that expulsion is compara tively rare. The day that I passed at this establish ment was one of great pleasure to me, as I had not certainly met, in any part of this country, so many 1 2 1 MISSOURI. intelligent and affable men as here ; the union of learning and politeness exhibited in their conversa tion, formed a striking and agreeable contrast to the general absence of both these charms in the unlettered and uncourteous society of American men, with whom the daily intercourse of a traveller brings him into contact, in every part of this busy and trading country of the West, where both learning and politeness, to use their own phraseology, are " at a large discount," and too little valued to be thought worthy of any great effort to attain. The Convent of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic establishment, for the education of females, and this, though conducted by nuns, I was permitted freely to visit. The ladies of the sisterhood whom we saw, were some of them handsome, and all pecu liarly graceful and elegant in their manners. They were chiefly French and Irish, wore an interesting dress, with peculiar white cap, a black veil, rosary, and cross, and, indeed, were altogether the most agreeable ladies I had ever yet seen as nuns. We were shown over the whole establishment, in every part of which, neatness, order, and snowy purity seemed to reign. The dormitories were pictures of simplicity, and so clean that one would think they were never slept in ; every part, indeed, even to the kitchen, had the same high recommendation. A pretty little chapel was attached to the establishment, and some of the nuns, with their pupils, were at their private devotions when we entered. The course of education pursued here, differs in nothing from that of the most fashionable boarding-schools for young ladies in England or France, except in the CATHOLIC ESTABLISHMENTS. 125' matter of religion ; history, geography, polite lite rature, drawing, music, languages, dancing — all have their share, and each under the best masters that the country can supply ; the whole expense not exceeding, however, 250 dollars, or 50/. sterling per annum, for each pupil. Attached to this convent, is an Orphan Asylum for girls ; and in another part of the city is an Orphan Asylum for boys, both under the direction of those indefatigable messengers of peace and mercy, the Sisters^of Charity ; in both of these, many interesting children are rescued from vice and misery, and pre pared to enter the world as intelligent and useful members of society. There is also a General Hos pital, with a marine department for boatmen, and a Lunatic Asylum, all under the direction of the Sis ters of Charity, who devote themselves most disinte restedly, without fee or reward, and without even the stimulus of public approbation and honours, to the care of the sick and afflicted, in a manner worthy of the apostolic ages. Nothing can be more elevating or purifying to the mind and heart, than to converse with these devoted ladies, to accompany them to the wards of the sick and the insane, to witness the tenderness and. compassion with which they discharge their daily duties, and the respect and affectionate gratitude manifested towards them by those whose sufferings are daily alleviated through their care and attention to their minutest wants. The Protestants are not wholly without their benevolent institutions, but they are not so numerous as those of the Catholics. There is a Protestant 1 26 MISSOURI. Orphan Asylum, well conducted, under the superin tendence of Protestant ladies ; a Colonization Society for promoting the emigration of free negroes to Liberia, in Africa; and a Total Abstinence Society, for discouraging the use of all intoxicating drinks. There is also a Medical Society of Missouri, at St. Louis ; a Missouri Musical Fund Society ; besides the Western Academy of Natural Sciences ; the St. Louis Library Association ; and the St. Louis Ly ceum. The Union Club, the Hibernian Society, and the German Benevolent Society, and German School Corporation, are all useful bodies. Free Masonry, which is almost extinct in the Eastern States, flourishes so vigorously here, that there are no less than three regular lodges of that ancient fraternity, the Grand Lodge of Missouri, the St. Louis Lodge, and the Naphtali Lodge of St. Louis. In addition to these, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a sort of modern masonry, has four separate bodies, namely, the Grand Lodge of the State of Missouri, the Traveller's Rest Lodge, the Wildey Encamp ment of Patriarchs, and the Wildey Lodge. There are 9 hotels in St Louis, but they are among the worst we had seen in the West ; even the best of them, the National Hotel, being greatly infe rior to the second and third-rate hotels of the Eastern cities. But this evil will speedily be remedied, by the completion of the large hotel now erecting near the centre of the city, which will soon be completed. There are 2 large iron founderies, several boat- builders' yards, 2 floating docks for steamers, 2 good markets, a Chamber of Commerce, a State Bank, 9 Insurance Companies, and a Gas Light Company ; PROPERTY AND REVENUE. 127 so that St. Louis possesses all the elements of a rising and flourishing city. The Municipal Government consists of a Mayor, and Court of Aldermen, 12 in number, 3 for each of the 4 wards into which the city is divided. There are 1 8 executive officers of the city under the Mayor, as Registrar, Treasurer, Attorney, Collector, Sur veyor, Assessor, Auditor, Inspectors, and Weighers. There is also a Board of Health, a Board of Super intendents of Public Schools, and a Judicial estab lishment for the city and county, embracing Judges, Recorder, Sheriff, Coroner, Justices of the Peace, and Constables, the organization of which appears to be perfect and effective. According to a statement published in the Even ing Gazette, of St. Louis, of June 13th, during our stay there, the property and revenue of the city is gradually increasing in value. The following is an abstract of the statistics published in that paper — Assessed value of real Estate in St. Louis proper. In Ward 1. 1,504,395 dollars 2. 2,095,205 3. 2,386,510 4. 2,214,880 Total 8,200,990 Revenue receivedfrom the Land ing at the River, in St. Louis. In 1836 9,485 dollars 1837 11,225 1838 10,442 1839 12,897 Total 44,050 Both the value of real estate, and the increase of city revenue, are continually augmenting, by the arrival of emigrant settlers from Europe, a great number of whom find their way as far as St. Louis Indeed, those who bring with them the largest j" 128 MISSOURI. amount of money, usually go farthest into the inte rior from the coast to settle, so that the most valuable description of emigrants are found here, especially Germans, who bring with them from 100 to 500 dollars in gold for each family, with sober and in dustrious habits, and great economy. Many of these now enter the Mississippi at New Orleans, and ascend the river at once, without touching at the Atlantic coast, though the largest number still land at New York. How these are increasing every year, may be judged of from the following paragraph, taken from a New York paper of June, 1840, received in St. Louis — " Sixteen thousand and sixty-eight emigrants arrived at Staten Island quarantine, from Europe, in the months of April and May, 1840, an increase of 4,932 upon the same months last year. — 12,143 from England, 2,885 from France, 462 from Germany, 354 from Ireland, and 125 from Scotland." To facilitate the communication between the At lantic coast, and the river Mississippi, there are several railroads in progress, one from Baltimore to Wheeling, and another from Charleston to Louisville on the Ohio. Opposite to this last, is the town of New Albany in Indiana, from whence it is proposed to continue the line of railroad on through Indiana and Illinois, as far as Alton, just above St. Louis. In a statement recently published, respecting the in ternal improvements of Indiana, for which 21 ,000,000 dollars have been voted by that State, this route is thus adverted to — " One measure recently adopted by the State of Indiana is justly considered of vast importance, as connected with one of EMIGRANTS. 1 29 the routes of Illinois. It is an act providing for a railroad from New Albany in that State, to unite with the Mount Carmel and Alton route in this State. " New Albany being nearly opposite Louisville, on the Ohio, the completion of this route will form a direct communication between Louisville and Alton, or St. Louis on the Mississippi river, by a road of only 260 miles, while the distance by river between these places is 700 miles. When the Charlston and Louisville road, which is now making active progress, is com pleted, there will thus be opened a continuous line of railroad from Alton to the Atlantic, at Charleston. " That this route will be one of immense advantage and profit, can scarcely admit of doubt. It was lately estimated by a Com mittee of Congress, that upwards of 80,000 emigrants pass west from Louisville during the five months that navigation of the river is interrupted. In four months upwards of 10,000 emi grants have crossed a single ferry at New Albany for the West, and 200 have arrived at St. Louis, by this route, in a single day. " During the past year upwards of 1,000 passengers arrived in that city from Louisville, by one line of stages. These facts serve to show what a thoroughfare this has already become ; and we may reasonably infer, when the railroad is completed, the travel and transportation will be immense." Unfortunately, this great influx of population, while it adds to the means of developing the agricul tural and mineral resources of the country, does not improve the morals of the people ; for on all hands it seems to be admitted that crime is on the increase, and that the feeling with which crime is viewed and spoken otj by all classes, is less condemnatory than formerly. In this, I do but repeat the sentiments entertained and expressed by Americans themselves, of which the following is an example, from the St. Louis Daily Pennant of June 17 : — m. K * 1 30 MISSOURI. " The Spread of Crime. — Every day brings us, close packed upon each other, accounts of crime and villany, committed by men heretofore considered respectable. Why is this ? Are the laws more lax than formerly ? No ; but the fact is this — and a lamentable one it is — that public opinion has become depraved, and the standard of private and official honesty is gradually falling. The complaisance with which a bank or a government ' defalca tion,' as it is politely termed, is now regarded, will soon extend to all species of fraud, swindling, and robbery — so that, a man who is arraigned for an unsuccessful attempt to defraud his neigh bour, will become an object of public sympathy and pity, rather than disgust and execration. The onward march of crime must be checked — and speedily ; otherwise the world will revert back to its primitive state of barbarism, and spurn all law but one — that < might is right.' " The same writer denounces, in just terms of repro bation', the levity and recklessness of those who should be the first to hold up criminals to opprobrium, but who too often screen the guilty from the odium which ought to be attached to their names. He says — " We are sorry to see editors joking at the frequent instances of rascality which leak out from the corrupt sink of wealth and power. It is no joke — it is but a specimen of the entire rotten ness within ; for we believe we may safely say that there is scarcely a man of high standing, or holding an important public trust, whose affairs have been strictly investigated, who has not turned out to be a ' defaulter,' or some such sugared name for inherent rascal. It is by playing familiarly with crimes that its features cease to shock us ; and, by becoming intimate with the high- coloured histories of our Swartwouts, and Prices, and Levises, and Suretees, and Dabneys, and Newcombes, and a host of others, the disgust which deliberate robbery ought to create gradually wears off, and we learn to look lightly upon that which is sapping the foundations of moral and political freedom, and laying the corner-stone of a despotism founded upon the crimes of the people." POETIC ADVERTISEMENTS. 131 The taste for the frivolous is greatly encouraged by the style of newspaper writing, and the paper which most abounds in this quality, is generally pre ferred. Advertisers too, addressing themselves to this taste, produce the most singular lucubrations, of which a hundred examples might be given, but two must suffice — Tippecanoe House. " You may talk of your elegant lunches, And say they are all the go, But if you want something substantial, Just call on Old Tippecanoe." " The string of the latch never pulled in !" " Maurice Husset respectfully informs his Whig friends, (including penitent and anxious Democrats,) that if they will call at the Tippecanoe House, No. 26, Second Street, a little north of the Post Office, they can be accommodated with as good as the best, in the way of providing for the comfort of the inner man. Music Saloon. " If to music, fair ladies, your hearts do incline, Just drop in at Sheppard's Emporium divine ; In the musical way, at least t'other day, I heard a professional gentleman say, That that was the place where you always may find Songs, Roudos, and Waltzes, of every kind, He has songs for the husband, the wife, and the lover, Songs serious, Songs comic, and Songs for the Robber ; Of love in the heart, love sour and sweet, Songs convivial for topers to sing in the street ; Of ' Tea in the Arbour,' ' Zip Coon,' and - Jim Crow,' ' John Strauss,' the ¦' Cork Leg,' and ' Old Rosin the Bow,' ' Fanny Gray,' and 'Miss Myrtle,' ' O come to the West,' ' A health to thee, Mary,' but 1 vow and protest, To name all he has, will take too much time, Besides, 'tis a difficult job to find rhyme, K2 1 32 MISSOURI. For fiddles and cat-gut, big bass drums and fifes, Which cheer up the soldier to war and to strife ; He has cornets, trombones, and shrill piccaloes, Which would make a man dance if he'd the gout in his toes; Some splendid guitars, and fine violins, Kent bugles, French horns, and excellent strings For the harp, guitar, violin, violincello, Which produceth a tone, full, rich, round, and mellow. Stodart, Worcester, and Dunham's grand action pianos, Which excel all others, either Boston or — Philadelphia ! ! A harp with the French double action, so fine, From which floweth tones, pure, soft, and sublime ; Then go, ladies, go, for he's now in a fix To receive all his friends at his store — 46, Market Street." There are 8 newspapers in St. Louis ; the Re publican, the Argus, the Bulletin, the New Era, and the Pennant, all daily papers published in the morning ; and one, the Daily Gazette, published in the evening, besides two weekly papers, one of which is in German. The Whig papers are the most numerous and most influential ; they are all con ducted with ability, and are honourably distinguished by a freedom from the bitter vituperation which is so characteristic of a large portion of the political press of America. 133 CHAP. VIII. Visit to the Museum of St. Louis — Head of a new animal recently discovered — Immense size — Larger than the mammoth or mastodon — Peculiarity of its immense horizontal tusks — Description of the manner and place of its discovery — The entire Skeleton since found, and brought to England — Visit to the Botanical Depot of St. Louis — Plants of the Far West, collected in a journey of 4,000 miles — Excursion to the Indian mounds in the State of Illinois — Description of the ancient Tumuli on the Prairies — Singular discovery of numerous Skeletons — Indifference of Americans to the Antiquities of their own country— Commerce of St. Louis — American Fur Company — Immense profits made by English and Americans — Land Caravans from St. Louis to Santa Fe in Mexico — Eligible situation of St. Louis — Rapid voyages of steamers — Probable increase of this rising city — General character of its present inhabitants. In visiting the Museum of St. Louis, which, like most of those in America, is the private property of an individual, and shown to visitors for an admission fee, we were highly gratified, by the inspection of several exceedingly curious fragments of some ex tinct species of animals of a colossal size, much larger than any specimens of the mammoth or masto don yet discovered. The proprietor of this Museum is Mr. Albert Koch, a Prussian by birth, but long since naturalized as a citizen of the United States. In May, 1839, he made an excursion to the Sulphur Springs, about 22 miles south of St. Louis ; and 1 34 MISSOURI. there, in a romantic valley, hemmed in by rocks, and at the junction of two small streams, where animals would be likely to congregate for water, he found a great number of fossil bones, and among these the head of an immense animal, at least six times as large as that of the elephant of modern days. Mr. Koch at first thought it was the head of one of the extinct animals known by the name of the Mastodon giganticum; but subsequent examination convinced him of its being an entirely different crea ture ; and the reasons on which he came to this conclusion, shall be given in his own language — ¦ " I will now endeavour to point out the principal parts in which the formerly found large Mastodon (Mastodon giganticum) differs from the large animal found by me. The first and most remark able difference between the two animals is the formation of the extremity of the forehead ; as the one discovered by me has a nose projecting 15 inches over the lower jaw, formed of a bony substance, interwoven with cells, and which is fiat, so that it bears much resemblance to the upper jaw of a large alligator ; it ends in two nostrils, which are somewhat raised on the face ; the lower part of the said projection is connected with the upper lip, which is somewhat arched on both sides, forming a ridge in the centre. There is no indication of any canine, or front teeth, whereas the skull of the previously found Mastodon shows a hole, in place of the beforementioned projection, which evidently was occupied by its proboscis, or trunk, with its powerful muscles. " The second difference of great importance, is the situation in which the tusks are placed in the head, as well as the forma tion and position of their roots ; these roots are perfectly firm and solid, and only leave space for the nerve, in which peculiarity they differ from any animal known, as the tusks of all other animals are more or less hollow at their roots, and also always bend either up or down ; whereas, the animal here described, carries its tusks almost horizontally, bending a little down, and coming with GIGANTIC FOSSIL. 135 the points up again ; they are ten feet in length, exclusive of one foot three inches which forms the root, and are hidden from the eye by the skull. " If we give the least attention to this circumstance, we shall find the great wisdom and calculation of the Creator here dis played ; as those immense tusks were to be carried by the animal in an almost horizontal position, it became necessary to strengthen them, and secure their roots with the greatest power, whereas, if they had been only secured like those of other animals of similar kinds, the animal would have been in continual danger of break ing them off by the least pressure, but as they are secured, the head of the animal must first break before they could be removed. "As soon as the tusks leave the interior of the head, which takes place opposite the ending of the lower jaw, they run parallel on each side of the nose, sinking down to the edge of the upper lip, until they reach the end of it, where they make a sudden bend, and run from both sides in a horizontal position, forming somewhat of a semicircle each. "Of several other differences between these two animals, I will only refer to the very much more elongated and raised formation of the head now described, as of those previously found. It is probable, from the appearance, that the animal inhabited more standing waters and marshes than dry land, and that his food consisted of canes, roots, and water herbage. To procure this food, these tusks, as they are situated, could be used with the greatest facility, likewise these powerful tusks served to defend the remarkably thin skull from external injury ; to this conviction the close observer will be brought, by a minute examination of these remains. " The head of the animal measures, from the tip of the nose to the spine of the neck, six feet ; from one zygomatic arc to the other zygomatic arc, four feet ; from the lower edge of the upper lip to the first edge of the front tooth, twenty inches ; from the front point of the lower jaw, to the first edge of the front tooth, seven and a half inches ; from the edge of the upper lip, measur ing along the roof of the mouth to the eye, three feet ; from thence to where the spine enters the head, sixteen inches and a 1S6 MISSOURI. half. The whole number of teeth is eight, four upper and four lower ; the two upper front teeth are four inches broad, and four and a half inches in length, and are so situated in the head, that they slant towards the roof of the mouth, insomuch that their outside edge is one and a fourth inches higher than the inside edge ; the back teeth in the upper jaw are seven inches in length, and where they unite with the front teeth, they are, like those, four inches broad, but run back almost to a point." In the head of this huge monster we observed particularly, that while the tusks of the elephant go downward, and those of the mastodon upward, these of the new animal go out horizontally in curves, bending backward towards the ear, like the horns of some kinds of oxen, or of the buffalo ; and that they are solid ivory tusks, proceeding from the upper parts of the mouth, instead of hollow horns proceeding from the temples or sides of the head. The carcase of another unknown and undescribed creature was found near the same place, by Mr. Koch, about the size of the elephant, but of the form of the tiger, and bearing evidence that the animal was killed by human hands ; a circumstance which is thought to be quite unique in cases of the discovery of extinct creatures like this. This is Mr. Koch's own statement on the subject — " The principal part of the animal had been consumed by fire, that had not been created by a volcanic eruption, but had been made of wood, as I found, 9 feet beneath the surface, a layer of ashes from 6 to 12 inches in thickness, mingled with charcoal, large pieces of wood partly burned, together with Indian imple ments of war, as stone arrow-heads, tomahawks, &c. I also found more than 1 50 pieces of rocks, varying from 3 to 25 pounds in weight, which must have been carried here from the rocky shores of the Burboise river, a distance of 300 yards ; as there was no FOSSIL TIGER. 137 rock, stones, or even gravel near to be found, and those pieces of rocks taken out of the ashes were precisely the same as that found on the river, which is a species of limestone ; these had been thrown evidently with the intention of striking the animal. I am more of the belief that the animal got mired, than that it died a natural death, as I found the fore and hind foot standing in a perpendicular position ; and likewise the full length of the leg below the layer of ashes, so deep in the mud and water that the fire had no effect on them. Whereas, if the animal had died in any other way, those feet and legs could not have remained in their standing position, but would have fallen into a recumbent or reclining posture. As it is indisputable that the animal could not have died and remained standing after its death, excepting that it was so deeply mired that it could not fall, in which case the fire would have had no perceivable effect on the carcase. " The fore foot of the animal consists of 4 toes and a thumb ; each toe has 5 joints, each last joint was armed with a claw, or long nail. The thumb has 2 joints ; the crown of the foot is composed of 4 bones, joined together, and each connected to a toe. On the top of this is a thin round bone, connecting them with the shin-bone. The construction of this foot shows that it possessed much power in grasping and holding objects. The hind foot is smaller, and has also 4 toes, with 5 joints, but has no thumb. The crown is entirely different in construction from that of the fore foot. " A few of the teeth appear to have been broken out by the force of the rocks thrown at the head of the animal, and were carried some little distance ; so that they escaped in a measure the violence of the fire. They have all the appearance of those of a carnivorous animal." Mr. Koch having a strong love of his native country, had a wish that these singular relics of a former world should find a place in some public museum there, and had concluded an arrangement with the King of Prussia, as I learnt, for their being sent to his capital at Berlin. Mr. Koch was himself 1 38 MISSOURL now engaged in the same valley in which these dis coveries were made, and his efforts had been recently crowned with great success, as he was said to have disinterred nearly the whole of the skeleton to which this gigantic head belonged, and would soon be able to bring it to St. Louis.* After our visit to the Museum, we made an excur sion to the botanical depot of Mr. Thorburn, bro ther of the celebrated botanist of Long Island, near New York ; and met there an intelligent German, Mr. Geyer, who had been employed during the last year on the north-west expedition of Mr. Nico- lett, a French professor employed by the general Government of the United States to make a survey of the North-west Territory. This gentleman is said to be an excellent astronomer, geologist, and mine ralogist ; and Mr. Geyer accompanied him as pro fessor of botany and natural history. An officer of the United States army joined the party, as treasurer and commissary, and they had about 20 attendants, with a due proportion of horses, tents, and all other necessaries. They were absent about six months, from April to September, and traversed a distance of 4000 miles, on the Upper Mississippi, the Missouri, and the Platte rivers, among the Indian tribes, living wholly on the buffalo, and other game procured by the chase, having no bread, salt, or vegetables, but subsisting wholly on flesh- meat during all their jonrney. We were shown the contents of the hortus siccus of the botanist, * The entire skeleton has been since brought to England, and exhibited by Mr. Koch at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly, where it has been seen by many thousands of visitors. PRAIRIE GRASSES. 139 which was just packing up in quires of loose grey paper, in chests, to be sent to Washington city. The collection of prairie grasses and prairie flowers was most extensive, comprising several hundred varieties, some of which were very singular, and a few very beautiful. Among them was a bulbous root, called the Indian turnip, the only vegetable substance eaten by the Indians of the Far West. It was about the size of a plover's egg, and contained, within its outer ring, a hard white farinaceous sub stance, which was not disagreeable to the taste, and resembled arrowroot more than anything else to which we could compare it. The ride out to this spot took us through a beau tiful part of the prairie lands west of St. Louis, where the richest grassy and flowery plains were here and there ornamented with clusters of trees, and bushes and shrubs growing in the wildest luxu riance ; as well as by the borders of Choteau's Lake, near the town, in the vicinity of which, land now sells at 500 dollars an acre, though but a few years have elapsed since portions of it were sold at the Government price of li dollar; and in the city itself, building lots have realized a higher price per square foot, than is ever paid for building ground in the most densely peopled part of London. Another excursion which interested us, was into the prairies of Illinois, on the opposite side of the Mississippi, to visit the Indian mounds there. We crossed the river, which is here about a mile wide, by the steam ferry, and had to pass round a flat island in the centre of the stream, nearly opposite the town. Landing on the Illinois bank, we pro- 140 MISSOURI. ceeded on horseback and in carriages over an extremely beautiful prairie, for about 6 miles, when we reached the principal mounds of the plain. We ascended to the summit of one of the group, which was a matter of some difficulty, as the angle of ascent was very steep, and required the aid of others to mount it ; but we were amply rewarded for our trouble. Around us, in every direction, the green and level prairie stretched away like a great lake or sea of verdure, spangled with the brightest flowers, and oyer its surface were scattered at least twenty mounds of different dimensions, but all having the same character, and all no doubt intended for the same purpose, namely, as tumuli, or sepul chres for their dead ; some probably devoted to one distinguished chief, as the reputed tombs of Ajax, Hector, and Achilles, on the plains of Troy ; and others probably serving as catacombs for the general reception of the undistinguished mass. The most prominent of all these mounds is one, now called the Trappist mound, from the fact that a monastery of the order of La Trappe was established here in the early days of the French settlements, and portions of the building, and trees by which it was surrounded, still remain. All the others, are entirely without wood, are of a rounded and oval shape, extremely steep of ascent, and varying between 20 and 80 feet in elevation, and between 200 and 2,000 feet in circumference. The tract of land on which these mounds are placed, is of the most fertile descrip tion ; and the general appearance of the mounds themselves, is as much as possible like those seen INDIAN TUMULI. 141 near Calne in Wiltshire, attributed to the Druids. Mr. Breckenridge, an American traveller, who de voted much of his attention to the remains of Indian works in the valley of the Mississippi, and who passed a large portion of his time among the Indians, has the following remarks on these mounds, and the conclusions which he drew from them — " These tumuli, (says Mr. Breckenridge,) as well as the fortifi cations, are to be found at the junction of all the rivers along the Mississippi, in the most eligible positions for towns, and in the most extensive bodies of fertile land. Their number exceeds, perhaps, three thousand ; the smallest, not less than twenty feet in height, and three hundred in circumference at the base. Their great number, and their amazing size, may be regarded as furnishing, with other circumstances, evidences of their great antiquity. " I have been sometimes induced to think, that at the period when these were constructed, there was a population as numerous as that which once animated the borders of the Nile, or of the Euphrates. The most numerous, as well as the most considerable of these remains, are found precisely in those parts of the country where the traces of a numerous population might be looked for, namely, from the mouth of the Ohio, on the east side of the river, to the Illinois, and on the west side, from the St. Francis to the Missouri. I am perfectly satisfied that cities, similar to those of ancient Mexico, of several hundred thousand souls, have existed in this Western country." To the north of the city of St. Louis, just on its edge, and nearly in a line with these mounds of Illinois, is one which is characterized by the pecu liarity of its rising in two distinct stages; and higher up on the same side, near the mouth of the Mis souri, is another with three stages ; bearing thus a striking resemblance to one of the pyramids of 142 Missouri. Egypt, at Saccarah, on the western bank of the Nile, as well as to the form of the great Mexican pyramid, at the city of Palanque, and these again being but imitations of the great Temple of Belus at Babylon, and the Tower of Babel on the plain of Shinar, which rose in a succession of stages in the pyramidal form. One of the most remarkable circumstances, how ever, connected with these Indian mounds and their contents, is narrated by Mr. Josiah Priest, in his " Discoveries in the West," p. 188, in the fol lowing passages — • " Fifteen miles in a south-westerly direction from the town of St. Louis, on the Merrimack river, was discovered, by a Mr. Long, on lands which he had purchased there, several mounds of the ordinary size, as found in the valley of the Mississippi, all of which go to establish that this country, lying between the Missouri and the Mississippi rivers, below St. Louis, and between the junction of the Illinois and the Mississippi above, with the whole region about the union of those rivers with each other — which are all not far from St. Louis — was once the seat of empire, equal, if not surpassing, the population and the arts as once they flourished on the plains of Shinar, the seat of Chaldean power, and on the banks of the Euphrates. " It was on the lands of this gentleman, Mr. Long, that the discovery of a burying-ground, containing a vast number of small tumuli, or graves, took place. On opening the graves, there were found deposited in stone coffins, composed of stone slabs, six in number, forming the bottom, sides, and top, with end pieces, the skeletons of a race of human beings, apparently of but from three to four feet in height. This discovery excited much surprise, and called forth, from several pens, the conjectures of able men, who published a variety of opinions respecting them. Some imagined them to be the relics of a race of pigmy inhabit ants who had become extinct. Others, on account of the size of the teeth, which denoted full-grown and adult persons, conjee- INDIFFERENCE TO ANTIQUITIES. 143 tured them to be the skeletons of a race of baboons or monkeys, from the shortness of their stature. From this opinion arose another conjecture, that they had been the objects of worship to the ancient nations, as they had been sometimes among the earlier Egyptians. " The bones of these subjects were entirely destroyed, and reduced to ashes of a white chalky consistency, except the teeth, which were perfect, being made imperishable from their enamel. Many of these graves were opened, and the inmates found not to exceed three and four feet. At length, one was opened, and the skeleton it contained appeared to be of the full size of a large man, except in length ; however, this, on close inspection, was found to have had its legs disjointed at the knees, and placed alongside the thigh-bones, which at once, in the eyes of some, accounted for the statures of the whole. " Such a custom is, indeed, singular ; and among all the dis coveries of those ancient traits, nothing to compare with this has come to light. Respecting this instance of short skeletons, it has been also urged, that as certain tribes of the common Indians, now inhabiting the upper shores of the Missouri, place their dead on scaffolds and in baskets, fastened to the limbs of trees, till their flesh becomes separated from the bones, that the authors of these short graves did the same. And that when by this process, they had become fair and white, they deposited them in small coffins, as discovered on the farm of Mr. Long. But although this is doubtless true respecting the Missouri Indians, yet we have no account of short graves having been found among others. But as we are unable to cast light on this discovery, we shall leave it as we found it — a great curiosity." The indifference manifested by almost all classes of Americans towards these antiquities of their own country, render it almost certain that in a few years the greater number of them will disappear. When ever they stand in the way of any " improvement," as it is called, of either tillage or building, they are demolished without scruple, and without regret ; 144 MISSOURI. and the very expression of a- wish that they might be preserved from destruction, is regarded by most persons with a smile at its folly. On our return to St. Louis, we had a fine view of the city from the Illinois side of the river, with its sweeping line of shore crowded with steamboats, without a single masted-vessel of any kind among their number ; and the long rows of white stone buildings rising above these, in gradual ascent towards the upper part of the town, produced altogether an imposing and beautiful picture. The commerce of St. Louis is already very con siderable ; and from the position which it occupies, must every year increase. The earliest branch of its trade was in furs, and for this it is still a con siderable depot ; the American Fur Company hav ing a large establishment here, in which they store the goods intended for the Indian traders, and the peltries brought down from the interior in exchange. The profits made in this trade were originally enor mous, though competition and other causes have reduced them to a more moderate standard. It was in this trade that the celebrated John Jacob Astor of New York made his great wealth ; and even now, in the remote parts of the Missouri and Oregon Territories, where the Hudson's Bay Company chiefly carry on their operations, immense profits are realized. The Americans are somewhat jealous of the English in this respect ; and every now and then, occasion is taken to excite the disapprobation of the community towards a body of rival traders, who do not oppress the Indians more than the Americans did, and who only act as every American FUR TRADE. 145 trader would himself act under similar circum stances. The following paragraph from a St. Louis paper, is an example in point — "Original Cost of Furs. — By comparing the value given to the Indians for their furs, and the price they are sold for by the Hudson's Bay Company in London, we may draw our conclusions as to the oppression of those people. Three marten skins are obtained for a coarse knife, the utmost value of which, including the expense of conveying it to those distant regions, cannot be estimated at more than sixpence ; and three of these skins were sold, last January, in London, for five guineas. With the more expensive furs, such as the black fox or sea-otter, the profit is more than tripled ; and, but a few years ago, a single skin of the former species sold for fifty guineas, while the native obtained in exchange the value of two shillings." There is nothing which the Americans would like better than to carry on a trade of the same kind ; and no fear of " oppressing " the Indians would prevent their doing it if they could. This sympathy for the poor Indians is, therefore, rather misplaced. The American Fur Company and the American private traders do all they can to get the skins from the Indians at the least possible cost ; and many do not scruple to go beyond that, and take the result of the Indian's labour from him, without giving him any equivalent at all, except in the poisonous whisky, which destroys both body and soul. Another interesting branch of the trade of St. Louis, is that conducted from hence by a land route of about 2,000 miles, to the ancient Spanish city of Santa Fe, in Upper Mexico. To this remote spot, there set out from St. Louis large caravans, once or twice in the year. These caravans comprise m. l * 146 MISSOURI. from 100 to 200 traders and adventurers, who mount their own horses to ride, and take their goods either on the backs of mules or in light waggons, and set out in the spring and summer, under an appointed guide and leader. They travel from 15 to 20 miles a day, and encamp at night, usually finding water and wood in every day's march. The more wealthy use tents for shelter, but the greater number lie in any soft and protected spot on the ground. They take with them, as merchandise, all kinds of European manufactured goods, and especially English, as well as some American. Some of these they sell on the way, but the greater portion they take on to Santa Fe, where they receive only silver and gold in payment, and return with handsome profits. Such a journey often re-establishes the health of invalids, and is generally so full of plea sure, that few who make one expedition fail to con tinue the trade, and seem to account themselves happiest when they are out upon the road; there being a charm in this independent, unrestrained, and roving kind of life, on horseback for several hours in the day, encamping in the woods, or on the plains at night, and breathing the free and open air at all times, which few who have felt can ever forget. Besides these two peculiar branches of trade, each of which is thought to employ a capital of 1,000,000 dollars annually, the general trade of St. Louis is very considerable, and must become more and more extensive. Though the distance by the river from New Orleans to St. Louis is 1,240 miles, boats make the voyage up in seven, and down in FAST BOATS. 1 47 five days, an undertaking which, before the appli cation of steam to navigation, cost from two to three months to achieve. The very fast boats accom plish the voyage in much less time, as will be seen by the following paragraph from the St. Louis Evening Gazette of June lo — " The Meteor.- — We stated a few days since that the late trip of the Meteor was one of the quickest ever made between this place and New Orleans. In this, we understand, we did not award full justice to the speed of the boat. The trip is ' unpar alleled ' on these waters, and seldom equalled, in time and dis tance, in any part of the world. The St. Louis once made the trip in five days and nineteen hours. The Meteor's time was five days and five hours. Supposing the distance to be 1,240 miles, the speed was ten miles an hour, against the current. Admitting the current to be four miles an hour, and making allowance for delays at the diflerent landings, the speed of the boat may be set down at fifteen miles an hour. At this rate, the Atlantic steam ships would reach New York from England in eight days.'' Being seated at a distance of only 180 miles above the junction of the Ohio, it is less distant from Pittsburgh than from New Orleans, and still nearer, of course, to Cincinnati and Louisville ; so that it is within a few days of all the large Western cities lying south or east of it. On the other hand, its position is the most favourable that could be conceived for the trade of all the upper-waters. Everything destined to go or come from the Upper Mississippi, and all that passes to or from the great Missouri, with its immense tributary streams, must float by St. Louis ; it requires no gift of pro phecy, therefore, to predict that it will ultimately become the largest city in the Western World, surpassing even New Orleans, because the heat and l2 1 18 MISSOURI. insalubrity of the climate of the latter will always deter a great many from permanently settling there ; while at St. Louis, eight degrees of latitude farther north gives it shorter summers, temperate springs and autumns, and fine bracing winters, with a vast range of healthy and fertile country all around. There is much indeed to attract, and little to repel settlers ; and for an interior city, a more agreeable residence could hardly be found. The character of the inhabitants who have been born at St. Louis, or been settled here for any length of time, appeared to me to unite the excellencies of the Baltimorians, Virginians, and Kentuckians, with an additional portion of enterprize beyond them all. They are intelli gent, though not literary ; frank and open, with out being rude ; hospitable, yet not ostenta tious ; and kind and affable, without undue famili arity. There was less of reserve and suspicion than is manifested in the Eastern cities — more of action than profession in their attentions — an absence of the merely sordid spirit of amassing wealth as the only end and aim of existence — and an enthusiastic delight in anticipating the future, and drawing glowing pictures of what this country, and espe cially their own particular City, is to become. The enterprizes entered on here are connected too with personal adventure as well as with gain. A voyage to the Falls of St. Anthony, a hunting-excursion to the Rocky Mountains, or a caravan trip to Santa Fe, are spoken of with the zest which indicates the pleasure derived by those who enter on them. '' 149 CHAP. IX. Departure from St. Louis for the Falls of St. Anthony — Pass the mouth of the Missouri river — Description of that magnificent river — Character of its tributaries, and the countries through which they flow — Site for a City — Junction of the Missouri and Mississippi — Town of Alton, in Illinois — Murder of an Abolitionist — Improving scenery of the Mississippi above this — Fine bluff cliffs, and beautiful lawn-like slopes — Richly- wooded islands diversifying the stream — Enjoyment of music — Contrast of American and European society — Breaking away of large tracts of land — Trees of large size precipitated into the river — Formation of snags, dangerous to navigation — Scenery still beautiful — Towns on the river — Fine specimen of an extensive prairie — Arrival at the Indian village of Keokuck — Tract of land given by Government to Indian half- breeds — Scenes of drunkenness and dissipation witnessed — Recent assassination of an Indian Chief. Proposing to ascend the Upper Mississippi from hence, and to visit the Falls of St. Anthony, we embarked on board a fine new steamer called the Flying Dutchman, advertised for this trip, and now on her first voyage from Cincinnati, where she was built. Her accommodations were more spacious and comfortable, for a boat of her size, about 250 tons burden, than any we had seen, the sleeping berths and state-rooms especially ; and our fellow- travellers were more than usually agreeable, con- 150 THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI. sisting of a French lady of Bordeaux, who was married and settled in New Orleans, and two Ger man gentlemen from the same City, all of whom we met at the hotel, and had formed an intimate acquaintance with them before we embarked. It was on Friday, the 19th of June, that we left St. Louis, at 11 a.m., and proceeded on our way up the Upper Mississippi, having a fine view of the City, and of the ancient Indian mounds to the north of it, as we passed. The shores of Missouri and Illinois continue to be generally flat, but well wooded and fertile, all the way up. The first object of interest, after leaving St. Louis, was the mouth of the Missouri river, which pours its waters into those of the Mississippi, at a distance of about 18 miles above the last-named City. We passed across its stream from point to point, and were struck with the marked difference between its waters and those of the Mississippi, with which it mingles. The Missouri, flowing generally over a flat country and rich soil, brings down, like the Nile, a vast accumulation of floating soil and drift-wood, and its waters are as muddy as those of any stream, perhaps, in the world. The Mississippi, on the other hand, flowing, in its upper section, through a hilly country, and over a rocky bed, brings with it no such accumulations, and its waters are conse quently clear. The mingling of the streams produced some very striking appearances. In some places the two streams ran side by side for several yards, preserving their distinctive characteristics as inde pendently as though they were determined never to unite. In other places, the waters of the one had JUNCTION OF THE MISSOURI. 151 made an inroad upon the waters of the other, and there the streams wore a mottled hue, the white muddy water of the Missouri clouding the brown clear water of the Mississippi, and presenting just the appearance which is seen in a cup of strong clear tea, when clouded with milk just poured into it, before both are mixed by stirring them. But the Missouri sending down by far the largest body of water, soon obtains the mastery, and gives its predominant character to the whole volume of the Mississippi, from this point of their junction to the point of their outlet into the Gulf of Mexico below New Orleans. The extent of this noble river, and the number of its tributaries, as well as other cha racteristics of the giant stream, are well portrayed in the following sketch of it, accompanying The Western Pilot, a work said to be the result of the joint labours of three individuals, Captain Ross, of Kentucky, Mr. Conchin, of Ohio, and Mr. Cum- mings, of Missouri : — " This is by far the greatest tributary of the Mississippi, bringing down more water than the Upper Mississippi itself. In fact, it is a longer river than the Mississippi, from its farthest source to the Mexican Gulf. There are many circumstances which render it one of the most interesting rivers ; and it is clearly the longest tributary stream on the globe. Many have thought that, from its length, the amount of its waters, and the circumstance of its communicating its own character in every respect to the Mississippi below the junction, it ought to have been considered the main river, and to have continued to bear its own name to the sea. In opposition to this claim, we remark, that the valley of the Missouri seems, in the grand scale of con formation, to be secondary to that of the Mississippi. The Mis souri has not the general direction of that river, which it joins nearly at right angles. The valley of the Mississippi is wider 152 THE UPP£R MISSISSIPPI. than that of the Missouri, as is also the river broader than the other. The course of the river, and the direction of the valley, are the same, above and below the junction of the Missouri. From these, and many other considerations, the "Father of Waters " seems fairly entitled to the name which he has so long borne. " Its prodigious length of course, its uncommon turbidness, its impetuous and wild character, and the singular country through which it runs, impart to this river a natural grandeur, belonging to the sublime. We have never crossed it without experiencing a feeling of that sort ; nor without a stretch, almost laborious in the attempt to trace it in thought, along its immense distances, and through its distant region and countries, to the lonely and stupendous mountains from which it springs. " It rises in the Rocky Mountains, nearly in the same parallel with the Mississippi. The most authentic information we have yet had of the sources of this mighty river, is from its first intrepid American discoverers, Lewis and Clark. What may properly be called the Missouri, seems to be formed by three considerable branches, which unite not far from the basis of the principal ranges of the mountains. To the northern they gave the name of Jefferson ; to the middle, Gallatin ; to the southern, Madison. Each of these branches fork again into a number of small mountain streams. It is but a short distance from some of these to the head-waters of the Columbia, on the other side of the mountains. A person may drink from the spring sources of each, without travelling more than a mile. After this junction, the river continues a considerable distance to be still a foaming torrent. It then spreads into a broad and comparatively gentle stream, full of islands. Precipitous peaks of blackish rock frown above the river in perpendicular elevations of 1,000 feet. The mountains, whose bases it sweeps, are covered with terebinthines, such as pines, cedars, and firs ; and mountain-sheep are seen bounding on their summits, where they are apparently inaccessible. In this distance, the mountains have an aspect of inexpressible loneliness and grandeur. " The river then becomes almost a continued cataract, for a distance of about seventeen miles. In this distance, its perpendi- TRIBUTARY RIVERS. 153 cular descent is 362 feet. The first fall is 98 feet ; the second 19 ; the third, 47 ; the fourth, 26. It continues rapid for a long distance beyond. Not far below these falls, enters Maria's river from the north. This is a very considerable stream. Still farther down, on the opposite side, enter Dearborn and Fancy, each about 150 yards wide; Mauoles. 100; Big Horn, 100; Muscle- shell, 100; Big Dry, 400; Dry, 100; Porcupine, 112— all these enter from the south side. Below these, enter the Roche Jaune, or Yellow Stone, probably the largest tributary of the Missouri. It rises in the same range of mouutains with the main river, and has many points of resemblance to it. In enters from the south, by a mouth S50 yards wide. It is a broad, deep, and sweeping river; and at its junction, appears the largest of the two. Its course is commonly calculated at 1,600 miles. But the sizes and lengths of all these tributaries are probably over-rated. Its shores, for a long distance above its entrance, are heavilv timbered, and its bottoms wide, and of the finest soil. Its entrance is deemed to be 1SS0 miles above the mouth of the Missouri ; and it was selected by government as an eligible situation for a military post, and an exteusive settlement. White bears, elk, and moun tain sheep, are the principal animals seen along this part of the river. " At the point of junction with the Yellow Stone, the Missouri has wide and fine bottoms. Unfortunately, its banks are, for the most part, destitute of timber : and this, for a long series of years, will prevent its capacity for habitancy. White-earth river, from the north, is a small stream. Goose river, 300 yards wide, comes in from the south side. Little Missouri is shallow aud rapid, and is about 130 yards wide. Knife river comes in from the south, just above the Mandan villages. Cannon-ball river enters from the south side, and is 140 yards wide. Winni- penhu, south side. Serwarsena, south side. Chienne is repre sented to be beatable nearly 800 miles, and enters from the south side, by a mouth 400 yards wide. Tyber's river. White river, boatable 600 miles, south side, is a very beautiful stream, and has a mouth 300 yards wide. Poncas, south side, Qui-Courre, a fine stream, with a short course, south side. Riviere a Jaque, a noted resort for traders and trappers. White Stone, Big 154 Tllli UlTKII MINSISttll'I'l. Sioux, Floyd's rivur. Ln l'lutlo cnIcih from the south, mid Iiuh u longer eoui-He than any other river of Mm MixHouri. 1 1, nhcn in the huijio ranges of inouiituiiiH with 1.1m parent. Hlxcain, mnl, incnHiirod by its meanders, is Ntippohed to have a count ol iJOOO miles before it joiiiH Mint river. II. in neiirly ll mile in width lit Hh entrance ; but in, UN il.N inline iniporf.H, very mIiiiIIow, mnl in not beatable except ut il,n highest floods. Nodowa, north Hide. I.iltlu Platte, north Hide. Kiiiihiih \h ii very large tributary from tho south, and him a course of about 1,200 miles, and in bnatiiblii for most of the distance. Blue Wnler, and two or three small streams below, come in on the Mouth wide. Cinnd river iN a largo, long, and deep Hlreain, boatable for a great distance, and onlcrH on tho north Hide, 'l'lm two CharaloiiH eome in on Hie name Hide. The l.a Mine enters on the Mouth Hide. Uonim Fcmmc and Manitou (inter on tlie north Hide, and Halt river on tho Mouth. " The Osage, which enterH on Mm Mouth Hide, in a large and very important Htream of the MiMNOiiri, boatable f>00 miles, and interlocking with Mm waterN of the ArkiinwiN. Three or four incoiiHiderable HfrenuiH enter on the opposite Male, an Miry, Otter, and Cedar riverH. On the noiiI.Ii Hide, enterH the (JiiNconaile, boatable for (>(> uiileH, and is imporlaiit from having on i I.h lnuiku extensive pine forests, from which the great Hiipply of (dank and timber of that kind in brought, to 8t. Charles and Ht. Louis. Oil the hoiiI.Ii Hide, below the Oaseonnde, are a number of incon- Niderable. riverH ; as KulHilo, .St. John'*, Wood river, Doiiliomme, &c. ; and on the other Hide, the Charetle, I'Virime Owigc, and one or two small branches, before it precipitates itMdlf into tlio MiHuiwsippi. " Prairies are seldom Keen on the banks of the river, within the first 400 milen of its e.onrHe, it being there heavily timbered ; but below thiH, level and woodlewi lands appear. The prairieM then come quite to Mm bunks of tho river, and stretch froiri it. indefi nitely, in naked grans plaiiiH, where the traveller may wander for duys, without weeing either wood or water. It, In in thin region, above the junction of the J'latto river, that the military Htation, called 'Council Muff*,' \h situated, uliout GOO mileH up from the mouth of the Missouri. lieyond tliisjioint cwiiiiiciic.ch TOWN Of ALTON. 165 11 counlry of great grandeur and interest in many respects, and denominated, by way of eminence, tho Upper Missouri. The country is composed of vast nnd almost boundless grassy plains, through which stretch the Platte, the Yellow Stone, and the other rivers of this ocean of grass. The savages of this region have a peculiar physiognomy nnd mode of life. It is a country where commences new tribes of plants. It is the home of buffa loes, elk, white bears, antelopes, and mountain sheep. Some times tho river washes the bases of the dark hills of a friable and crumbling soil. Here are found, as Lewis and Clark, and other respectable travellers relate, large and singular petrifactions, both animal and vegetable. On tho top of ono of these hills, they found the petrified skeleton of a huge fish, 45 feet in length. The herds of gregarious animals, particularly the buffaloes, are innu merable." If the projectors who have selected the peninsula jit the junction of the Ohio and tlie Mississippi, for the site of their City of Cairo had chosen the point at which the waters of the Missouri and Mississippi unite, they would have done much hetter ; though St. Louis possesses so many advantages, from its present possession of the depot-trade of the upper regions on both these streams, that any rival City, even if planted here at their point of junction, would have to struggle hard to surpass her in the race. Leaving the mouth of the Missouri, and proceed ing upwards for about 0 miles, we came to the rising town of Alton, in the State of Illinois. This stands near a fine bluff, or projecting clifF, and has almost all its houses built of white stone, as at St. Louis. The site appears to be a favourable one, and within four years after its first settlement it 156 THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI. had more than 100 buildings. At present there are perhaps 300, with a population of about 3,000 persons. There are several pretty little churches, and a Penitentiary building for the State. Most of the original settlers were from the State of New York ; yet here, but about two years and half since, just after our arrival in the country, a Chris tian minister, the Rev. Mr. Lovejoy, was murdered, his printing-press destroyed, and his house pillaged and razed to the ground, because he dared to print and publish here, in the Free State of Illinois, a Journal advocating the Abolition of Slavery ! and no sort of punishment, private or public, was inflicted on his murderers — no sort of redress had by his family for their wrongs — beyond the expres sion of sympathy and condolence from those who thought with the unhappy victim. How many foul blots are imprinted on the escutcheon of this coun try by deeds of death like this ! and how monstrous and hypocritical seems the boast of Liberty among a people who will not permit Slavery even to be condemned ! Beyond Alton the scenery of the Mississippi begins to improve, and grows, indeed, quite pic turesque, with fine bold cliffs on the one side, and richly wooded bottoms on the opposite shore — un dulated hills on the one hand, and extensive prairies on the other, with the mouths of two noble streams, the Missouri and the Illinois, discharging their volume into the Mississippi — the openings of the valleys of both being visible for some distance as you pass them. This combination of objects is CLIFFS IN ILLINOIS. 157 thus beautifully and faithfully described by Mr. Flint, in his excellent Work on the Mississippi Valley— "Opposite the -mouth of the Missouri, the American bottom terminates, and the bluffs come into the river. The bluffs bound the eastern bank of the river thence to the mouth of the Illinois. From these bluffs we contemplate one of the most impressive and beautiful landscapes in the world. On the opposite side, the mighty Missouri is seen, bringing its turbid and sweeping mass of waters at right angles to the Mississippi. The eye traces a long distance of the outline of the Missouri valley, bounded on either side by an indistinct and blue line of hills. Above, it is the vast and beautiful Mammelle Prairie, dotted with green islands of wood, and skirted at the farthest ken of the eye with hills and forests. Above you, on the same shore, is the valley of the Illinois, itself bounded by hoary and magnificent bluffs, of a peculiar character. The river brings in its creeping waters by a deep bed, that seems almost as straight as a canal. You have in view the valleys and bluffs of two noble streams that join their waters to the Mississippi. You see the Mississippi changed to a turbid and sweeping stream, with jagged and indented banks below you. You see its calm and placid waters above the Mis souri. On the opposite prairie there are level meadows, wheat- fields, corn-fields, smoke ascending from houses and cabins, vast flocks of domestic cattle — distinct indications of agriculture and improvement — blended with the grand features of nature. There are clumps of trees, lakes, ponds, and flocks of sea-fowl wheeling their flight over them ; in short, whatever of beauty or grandeur nature can supply, to soothe and to enrapture the beholder." p. 100. The cliffs on the Illinois side of the river appeared to be from 150 to 200 feet in perpendicular eleva tion, and to have their fronts marked with a regular series of projections and indentations, succeeding each other in perpendicular lines of ridges and hollows, as if scooped out by the hand of man. The 1 58 THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI. day was perfectly calm, the water clear, tranquil, and with a surface as smooth as glass ; and the reflection of these singular rocks, as well as of the passing fleecy clouds that floated over them, as distinctly as in the finest mirror, added much to the beauty of the scene. About 15 miles above Alton, we passed the town of Hamburgh, in the State of Illinois, and con tinuing to ascend the stream, we were at sunset about 70 miles above St. Louis ; the strength of the current, which was at least 3 miles an hour, pre vented our going more than about 8 miles an hour by the lead. Here the cliff scenery became even more beautiful than below. The perpendicular rocks rose immediately from the water, which was suffi ciently deep quite close to their sides, to admit of our boat going along within a few feet of them. From the top of the cliff, which reached about two-thirds of the way only to the summit, there rose in steep slopes and rounded bosoms of grass, some of the most exquisite bits of verdant lawn that could possibly be conceived. It equalled in smoothness, evenness, and softness, as well as in uniformity and depth of colour, the finest park- lawns I had ever seen in England ; and being clustered with natural clumps of trees, in separate groups, as well as separate trees, it presented some thing between the most perfect park and the beautiful woodland pastures of Kentucky. To add to the loveliness of the picture, there were many islands of varied sizes and diversified forms, breaking the current of the clear Mississippi, all of them richly wooded, and the foliage decked MUSICAL PARTY. 15(J in the brightness and fulness of the glorious June. We already began to think the Upper Mississippi more beautiful than the Ohio, especially in the rich variety of objects which it presents ; and above all, in the majesty of its size, which is here much greater than below, for in places where islands inter cept the stream, it is from three to four miles wide. We added to our enjoyment of this enchanting scenery by music. Our German friends having two guitars on board, and both themselves and the French lady singing remarkably well, we made the rocks of the Father of Waters reverberate the echoes of English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian songs, duets, and glees, first on the upper deck, by twilight, and afterwards under the covering of the quarters till near midnight. We considered ourselves peculiarly fortunate in having made the acquisition to our party, which the addition of these agreeable companions formed. It broke, most pleasingly, the dulness and monotony of American steamboat society generally, where the great bulk of the passengers possess no disposition or talent for amusing or entertaining each other ; and where the few who may possess either, seem always indisposed to employ it towards strangers ; so that steamboat society in the Western waters is too frequently divided into the two extremes of dul ness and listlessness of the coldest and most apa thetic kind, or boisterous and thoughtless noise and laughter with the female portion — and gambling and drinking, with frequent blasphemies and pro fane oaths, in the males. The novelty of our music had a salutary influence in suspending both these If J() TIIM lll'I'I'.K MINSIHSII'I'l. evils for the time, and it is deeply to he regretted that it is not more frequently available for that purpose. On the morning of the 20th we found ourselves abreast of ClarkeHville, a. small town in Missouri, from which wo learnt thai, wo had only gone .'JO miles since midnight, the fog obliging the engineer to lessen his speed, and the helmsman to creep his way more cautiously through the winding channels of the river, the depth in many places not exceed ing A feet, and bars of sand just even with the water's edge being very frequent. Another danger requiring to be particularly guarded against, is the snags, as they are called, which at this season of the year are more than usually abundant. In the spring, when the freshets from above cause the river to overflow its banks, the lands near the edge become so loosened, that in the summer months great chasms appear, by the drying up of the moisture, when the heavy weight of timber on tin; outer mass, often weighs it down, and occasions the whole, trees, soil, and all, to break away with a crash, when it falls into the river. Several acres at a time are sometimes carried away in this manner; indeed, tin: river, in its windings, is continually gaining on one side by new deposits, and losing on the other by the break ing away of old masses, and this process goes on on both sides the river equally. On tho new deposits a first growth of trees springs up, most generally willows and cotton-wood ; beyond this are seen other thick beds of trees of other kinds, taller and of anterior growth, while the matured RIVER NXAOS. lOl forest forms a still more remote belt of many gears' growth, from an earlier alluvial deposit. The large trees hurled into the river by the fall ing of the disjointed acres of soil on which they stand, are most of them floated down the stream as drift-wood, and either thrown on shore in their pro gress, or find their way out to the Gulf of Mexico; but some of them, from the weight of "their roots, go to the bottom in the middle of the river ; and these, sinking gradually into the soft mud, stand nearly upright in the stream. The current, of course, bends the upper end of such trees forward, by which the greater number of them are kept under the surface, with the upper part of the branch pointing down the stream, and it is only by the agita tion of the current, and its constant alternation of rising and falling as the stream flows over it, that it is perceived at all. If a steamboat ascend ing the river, runs with any velocity upon this ' pointed tree, she gets " snagged," as the phrase is, the tree sticking through her bottom, and a danger ous leak being the consequence. But sometimes the plank of the vessel is stove in, and then she fills and sinks very speedily. They are beginning to build the new steamboats in three compartments, with caulked bulk-heads be tween them, after the fashion of the Chinese junks ; so that if the fore-hold should be filled with water, the central and the after-hold will be tight and dry, and ship and cargo be both saved. This, and the many other improvements making every year in the construction, and for the preservation of boats against danger of various kinds, will make steam- m. m * 1 62 THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI. boat travelling on the Mississippi, as safe as it is in the Eastern waters. Our morning scenery was quite as beautiful as that of the preceding evening — bold cliffs, grassy and lawn-like plains, finely wooded islands, and a clear and broad expanse of water, were the principal objects composing the picture. At 12 miles above Clarkesville we passed the small town of Louisiana ; at 23 miles above that, we came to Laventon ; and at 7 miles above that, to Hannibal ; all new settle ments in the State of Missouri. Near the latter, we had hills of wavy outline and moderate elevation, and some "bluffs," as they are called, of great beauty. Rafts of wood descending the river, and occasional groups of figures on the shore, helped to give life and animation to the scene.* About 10 miles beyond this, we passed a new town, called Marion Citv, though it contained not more than 50 houses and 2 churches. The position of this town, on a large level plain, with an outlet or back-bay behind it, strikes the observer at first as peculiarly eligible ; but when he learns that the whole of this level site is liable to be overflown, from year to year, and that within the last year only, it was 15 feet under water, he will wonder that so inappropriate a spot was ever chosen, and still more so, that having been once so inundated, persons should ever again return to it to build and settle. Beyond this, about 10 miles, we passed a more promising town, named Quincy, in Illinois, seated on a high plain, from 80 to 100 feet above the river, with a good landing, and steep roads of ascent, hav- * See the accompanying Engraving. "¦m. IB, A WW e »«3K wTMii '¦ K> VMM UK 1C\VM US BEAUTIFUL PRAIRIE. 1G3 ing at present a population of 3,000 inhabitants. Three miles beyond this, on the Missouri side, we passed one of the largest and most beautiful prairies that I had yet seen. It came close to the river's bank, and extended back for 10 miles at least, in a perfect level, and appeared to be about 10 miles in length along the stream. Throughout all this space there was neither tree nor shrub: but one rich carpet of grass and flowers, on which 100,000 head of cattle might find abundant pasture, but where not a habitation or a human being was yet to be seen, though no plain of the same extent in the world, perhaps, would admit of finer farms being planted on it than this. Grain, cattle, fruits, and vege tables enough to subsist all the present population of the whole State, (200,000,) might be furnished from this prairie alone ; and if peopled according to the density of the little Island of Malta, 60,000 cul tivators might occupy this plain of 10 miles square, or 100 square miles ; judging by the statements made of the population of that island, which give it 600 to the square mile, or including the small island of Gozo near to it, 638 to the square mile ; though both Malta and Gozo are rocky, and in many parts sterile, while this prairie is one unbroken sheet of exuberant fertility throughout. Twelve miles above this prairie, we came to a small town called Lagrange, from the country-seat of the venerated Lafayette in France ; 8 miles beyond this, to Tully, and 20 miles beyond this to Warsaw, both in Illinois. The latter, like Quincy, is built on a high plain, with a steep ascent to the town, and has every appearance of being in a thriving m 2 164 THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI. condition. A mile above this, on the opposite side, we came to the mouth of the Des Moines river, which forms the boundary line between the State of Missouri and the Territory of Iowa, and at whose head-waters is one of the frontier military posts of the United States, to keep the native Indian tribes in check.Above this, about 2 miles, we came to the Indian village of Keokuck, so called from the celebrated Indian Chief of that name, the meaning of the word in English being" The River Fox; and as this brought us to the commencement or lower edge of the rapids, which here impede the navigation of the Upper Mississippi, and oblige boats to unload, we anchored here for the night. After a very broken sleep, disturbed by the noise and revelry from the shore, the morning opened to display to us a most revolting scene. Out of about 20 small huts stretched along the beach, opposite to which we lay, almost every alternate one appeared to be the scene of drunkenness and dissipation of the most disgusting kind ; and out of a population of about 200 persons, there did not appear to be 20 sober. This village of Keokuck was on the edge of a small district called the Half-breed Reservation, which originated thus : When the United States' Government desired to remove the Indian tribes residing on this territory, beyond the boundaries of the present Union, for they were already west of the Mississippi, the Indians were anxious to have some provision made for the very large num ber of half-breeds, the offspring of white fathers and red mothers, almost wholly born without marriage HALF-BRED UN! HANS. 165 between their parents, and partaking more of the Indian than of the white character, though preserv ing more of the vices than the virtues of either. In the treaty for ceding their lands, therefore, to the General Government, a clause was inserted, reserv ing for the exclusive use and support of these half- breeds, as they are called, the space lying between the river Des Moines and the river Mississippi, and bounded by a line drawn from the lower rapids of the one river to the lower rapids of the other. This gave them a frontage of about 20 miles on the Mis sissippi, and 50 miles on the Des Moines, with a triangular space between, which may be equal, per haps, to about 20 miles square. The number to whom this tract originally belonged in common is said to have exceeded 1,000 ; but in the course of a very few years, not more than five, they have dwindled down to 200 — drunkenness, and the diseases and accidents to which it gives rise, hav ing been the chief cause of this diminution, and from present appearances, another year or two will be sufficient to effect their entire extinction ! Strange to say, neither the General Government, the State Government, nor private individuals, with few excep tions, either lament this, or wish to retard it. On the contrary, all seemed to desire their annihilation, and appeared to be ready to accelerate it, by supply ing them freely with drink whenever they desired it. Much, therefore, as we may be disposed to blame the Indians and their half-breed progeny for their drunken excesses, we ought never to forget that it was the white race, the English and the Americans, who first introduced this deadly poison among them, 1 66 THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI. and that for the purpose of better effecting their fraudulent ends, in swindling them out of their lands, and cheating them in trade ; and that they ought to be, therefore, more the subjects of our pity and com passion, than the objects of our contempt or vitupe ration. The shame should be on the heads of their white superiors, who ought to have taught them better habits and better morals, but who, seeking to make their intercourse with them subservient only to their own personal gain, have not scrupled to destroy both body and soul, in order to accomplish their unholy purpose. It is melancholy to reflect that from the first contact between the two races in the days of Columbus, who himself carried some of the aborigines of the West India Islands to Spain as slaves, down to the present hour, the treatment of the Indians by the whites has been everywhere tvrannical, cruel, and demoralizing ; and that South America furnishes as many examples as North America of this truth, one of the most striking of which that has fallen recently under my eye, is described in the interesting work of Mr. Robertson, on Paraguay, in which he describes the following scene — " The Payaguas, a tribe of Indians, earned yearly by their various branches of industry, about 5,000 dollars, four-fifths of which they expended in ardent spirits. They had, from time immemorial, held a great annual feast on St. John's day, whence many superstitious Paraguayans believed, that St. John himself had visited their country. On this great occasion, and on several minor ones throughout the year, a deputation waited on the Governor, to beg permission to hold their feast, and it was always given with a useless admonition to keep their fighting and drink ing within due bounds. DRUNKEN INDIANS. 1 6?' " They assembled accordingly in some shady place, outside of the town, and the men squatting down in a ring, the cacique took the chair — that is, his position was a little elevated above that of his surrounding company. The women stood or squatted behind, and served the guests when necessary. A huge jar filled with aguardiente, was placed at the cacique's side, and he held a cocoa-nut formed into a goblet in his hand. Having filled this with spirits, he made an oration in the Payagua language, which was listened to with great interest and occasional demonstrations of pleasure and applause ; and then bowing to all round, he quaffed off the contents of the cup. Each man in his turn went through the same ceremony, till the deep potations in which they indulged, gradually introduced confusion and discord. Fierce gesticulations followed ; and at last, maddened with drink, one and all rose up, and a general battle pugilistic commenced. Even in drink they were adepts in this enviable science, and the blows which were dealt around soon caused blood to flow in copious streams. The women, who had kept tolerably sober, now rushed in among their husbands, lovers, and relatives, endeavouring to put an end to the fight, and regardless of the blows which they themselves received. After a given time, their efforts were successful ; the Payaguas shook hands with each other, and again became affectionate friends. The women were regaled with more brandy, and then, by twos, and threes, and fours, linked arm-in arm, they all came staggering and reeling, and talking through the town, in perfect harmony, and every outward demonstration of good-will. Thus they retired to their wigwams, saturated at once with pugilism and brandy. " The whole of this Payagua ceremony, including the walking arm-in-arm, a custom limited in that country to the tribe itself, was considered by the Paraguayans to be so completely of a John- Bull character, that the Payaguas were often jocosely called ' Los Indios Ingleses,' the English Indians." p. 191. Thus it will be seen that the reputation of the English for habits of drunkenness has spread far and wide, and their descendants, the Americans of the United States, have followed the example of their 168 THE UPPER .MISSISSIPPI, ancestors too closely in this particular ; while the aborigines of this continent have been the sufferers from both. It should be now the duty of both nations, as civilized men and Christians, to rival each other in their efforts to retrace their steps, to counteract as far as possible the evils which their example has engendered, and promote temperance, industry, honesty, and intelligence in their stead. The recent death of the Indian Chief, Keokuck, whom we saw at New York soon after our landing there, in 1837, and after whom this village is called, is a striking illustration, of the endless train of evils flowing from the use of ardent spirits. From a late number of the Chicago Democrat, the following account of the murder of Keokuck by young Black Hawk, is taken : — " From several of the Pottawatomie Indians now in this city, who recently passed the Sac country, we learn the following par ticulars. During the absence of a nephew of young Black Hawk, Keokuck got his wife drunk, and passed the night with her. Being thus detected, it fell to Black Hawk, as the nearest relative, to avenge his nephew's injury ; which he took the earliest occasion to do, and stabbed Keokuck at the entrance of his nephew's wig wam. Keokuck, it will be remembered, was always the friend of the whites, and opposed the celebrated Black Hawk or Sac war, arid was promoted Chief through the instrumentality of the United States Government. lie was about .'0 years of age, and at the time of his death was this side of the Des Moines river, about 12o miles — four days' journey, the Indians have it — west of the Mississippi. Young Black Hawk is now Chief of the Sacs, and at last news was at the head of 2,000 warriors, marching for the Sioux country. He has lost none of his inveterate hostility to the whites ; but the terror with which his late travel through the United States, v. ith his father and prophet, inspired him, may keep him from any overt demonstrations of it. although he sneers 1U WK. HAW K. 1()- 178 THE RIVER MISSISSIPPI. everywhere beautiful ; though its upper part, above the Missouri is equal, even in this respect, to the finest rivers on the globe ; but it is everywhere sublime, even in the parts which are deemed most flat and monotonous. The feeling with which one is wafted along the current of a stream that rises amidst the snows of the northern regions, and traverses so many hundred miles through such a diversity of soil and climate, till it empties itself almost into the torrid zone, gives an elevation of sentiment far superior to any landscape beauty ; and where the banks are the most solitary, with primitive forests on the one side, and impenetrable cane-brakes on the other, with no inhabitant on either shore, save the alligator or the rattlesnake, the very feeling of loneliness and the aspect of wildness add to the sublimity, and make one as it were coeval with the first creation. If to all this be added the reflections springing out of its former condition, where the only mode of navigating it was by rafts and flat boats which took months to descend, and to which ascent was impos sible — with all the dark, though romantic history of its wild and unlicensed boatmen and banditti com bined — and the contrast of that state with its present, where hundreds of magnificent steam-ships, some of them like floating palaces, ascend from New Orleans to St. Louis, 1,250 miles, in five days and a half — which, allowing four miles an hour for the current, and the many stoppages to take in and put out freight and passengers by the way, is equal to a rate of 15 miles an hour throughout — the mind is lost in anticipations of the future, when CONTRAST OF STREAMS. 1 79 the banks of all the rivers that now send their 20,000 miles of tributary waters into this single channel, shall be as thickly peopled as the older countries of Asia, and the Valley of the Mississippi alone contain its 100,000,000 of inhabitants. That such will one day be its condition, no one who has seen the inexhaustible resources of its agricultural and mineral wealth, cau for a moment doubt. It has been my lot to voyage on the Nile of Egypt, the Tigris and Euphrates of Mesopotamia, and the Gauges of Hindoostan ; and I can bear mv testi mony to the fact, that the Mississippi is equal to either in extent, in grandeur, and in natural wealth, and as capable of sustaining a Memphis and a Thebes, a Nineveh and a Babylon, a Benares and a Palibothra, as either of the rivers named. One contrast, iu sailing on these diflerent streams, it is impossible not to be struck v\ ith. It is this. On the Nile, the Euphrates, the Tigris, and the Ganges, it is the wreck of former grandeur that most engages the attention and affects the feelings. On this great river of America, it is the anticipa tions of the future, that fill the mind and expand the heart. Both are pleasurable in their kind ; but, inasmuch as hope is more agreeable than despon dency, and a pregnant future more cheering and exhilarating than a destroyed and desolated past, so I think the Christian and the philanthropist will like to turn from the wreck of a grandeur that is no more, to the germs and buds of a greatness vet to come ; but with this earnest prayer, that the people who are to build up this anticipated glorv here, and to whom the future destinies of this great 180 OKEATNICSS OI' COUNTIUKN. country are to be committed, may rise superior to the grovelling views, the sordid passions, the selfish pursuits, the degrading vices, and the mean and miserable party strifes, which now rTigross so many minds and hearts. When the contemplation of the greatness of their country shall elevate their thoughts, and inspire them with the lofty ambition of attaining to an eminence, far above all wealth, in the only true dignity of character, wisdom, virtue, and universal benevolence ; then, indeed, may the dawn of their glory be said to be opening upon them. But, without this change in the general elevation of the national sentiment and character, the Mississippi may roll its waters to the sea in vain ; cities and people may multiply without end ; and yet the country he no more " a great nation " than was Mexico under Montezuma, with its ex- haustless treasures of silver and gold ; or China, under its Tartar emperors, with half the population of the globe. It is neither extent of territory, nor size of cities, nor amount of productions, nor abundance of the precious metals, nor density of po pulation, nor democracy of institutions, which will make a country (peat, without elevation of senti ment, strict integrity, and spotless honour, lofty ambition, pure morals, and that genuine religion, which reveres and loves the I) the most transparent of them all, in low water : but during its floods, it brings down no inconsiderable portion of dark slimy mud, suspended in us waters. The mud of the Missouri is as copious as the water can hold in suspension, and is whitish in colour. The Ohio brings in a flood, compared with the others, of a greenish colour. The Arkansas, when high, is as turbid as the Missouri, and its waters have a bright reddish colour, almost that of flame. The Red River brings in a turbid mixture of the same thickness, but of a darker red. •• The Mississippi, then, may be considered as constantly bearing beneath its waters a tribute of the finest and most fertile \ egeuble soil, collected from a hundred shores, hills, and moun- 18S MISSISSIPPI RIVER. tains, and transported from distances of a thousand leagues ! The marl of the Rocky Mountains, the clay of the Black Moun tains, the earth of the AUeghannies, and the red loam from the sources of the Arkansas and Red Rivers, are every year deposited in layers along the alluvion of the Mississippi, or washed into the Gulf of Mexico. The banks of the river are, by this means, evidently gaining in height above the inundation. The deposits of earth, sand, and slime, are not as equal in their layers as we might suppose ; but they may be estimated as depositing about the twelfth of an inch in thickness at each annual inundation. " With one remark more, we shall close this outline of the Mississippi, which, minute as it may have seemed, is but a brief sketch of the character and circumstances of a river, which, described in detail, would occupy a volume. It is the most turbid river, and has the widest alluvial bottom, of any with which we are acquainted. We may add, that it is, beyond all comparison, the narrowest river that we know of, which carries so much water. In width and show of surface it will hardly compare with the St. Lawrence ; but we have no doubt that it carries the greatest mass of water, according to its width, of any river on the globe. " From the quantity of earth, which it holds in suspension in its descending waters, and which it is continually depositing along its banks, it will always be confined within a narrow and deep channel. Were it a clear stream, it would soon scoop itself out a channel from bluff to bluff. But, in common with most of its great tributaries, it broadens as it ascends, being much wider above the Missouri, with one-tenth of its volume of water, than it is at New Orleans. In the same manner, the Arkansas and Red River are wider a thousand miles from their mouth than they are at the point of their junction with the Mississippi ; and all the other western rivers, as they approach their termination, and increase their volume of water, narrow their spread of surface) but increase the depth of their channel."* Such are some of the most prominent features of the great " Father of Waters," as the Mississippi is emphatically and appropriately called ; and it * Flint's Valley of the Mississippi, p. 107. MR. FLINT. IS!) eannot be denied but that thev have been sketched witb that graphic power, and strict fidelity, which could only be attained bv a long and familiar acquaintance with the region? through which it traverses, and where the accurate writer passed some of the best years of his life. It mav add a melancholy interest to this sketch, to state that Mr. Flint, the first comprehensive historian of the \ alley of the Mississippi, was nigh meeting the fate of its first i'reat explorer. Ferdinand de Soto. in finding a grave in its waters. Himself and his son were at Xatehez. during the recent dreadful tornado, with which that town was visited, when tempest and rlood. witb their united forces, com mitted such terrible devastations, that Mr. Flint was overwhelmed bv the rums of the house in which he was staving, and was sometime after wards, witb great difficulty, taken out scarcely more than alive, from its ruins. May he live to a good old age. to enjov hi? agreeable Recollections of the W esrern World, and his well-earned reputation ! 190 CHAP. XI. Village of the Mormons, near the Rapids — History of their pretended prophet, Joe Smith — Fraud and delusion practised on his followers — They claim Missouri as their "Promised Land" — Ejected from thence by force of arms — General cha racter of the sect — Frontier settlements — " Going beyond law" ¦ — Murder in Wisconsin — Trial at Galena— Murderer shot by a female in broad day — Roasting of a negro alive in St. Louis — Murderous attack on an Editor in that City — Horrible massacre of Indians in Texas — Irrational honours shown to warriors and heroes — Departure from Keokuck for St. Louis — Visit to the rising town of Quincy — Glowing sunset — Beauty of the Upper Mississippi — Remarkable fishes in the river — Squirrels — Floating rafts on which they cross streams — Vicis situdes of temperature — Severity of winter — Snag-boats — Arrival at St. Louis. We learnt, during our stay at the Des Moines Rapids, that just at the head of the shallows, about 12 miles from the spot where we lay, at the village of Keokuck, was the present head-quarters of the sect of the Mormons, and the residence of their pro phet, Joe Smith, as he is here called. We met with several persons who had often been among them, and one gentleman especially, in whose house Smith had been a guest for several days, and communicated with him frankly in answer to all his inquiries. As the history of this man and his followers offers a curious illustration of the facility with which reli- THE MORMON PROPHET. 191 gious frauds can be perpetrated in this country, and as several of the facts were new to me, I have thought them worthy of record. Joe Smith, the Mormon Prophet, as he is styled by his followers, was an educated mechanic, living in the interior of the State of New York, and earn ing his living by his daily labour. Some few years ago, being then about 30 years of age, he pretended to have discovered, in a mound in that State, a book, composed of a series of leaves or thin plates of gold, clasped together, and on opening which, he found it inscribed with unknown characters. Being unable to decipher them himself, he showed them to others — whom, however, he does not name — and these being equally unable with himself to read them, the book was put by. Shortly after this, he alleges that an angel appeared to him by night, and communicated to him the power of deciphering and interpreting the contents of the whole volume, which he therefore did, with as much expedition as his time would allow. It proved to be, as he says, the lost Book of Mormon, referred to in the Scrip tures. The English version of it being thus complete, the angel took away with him to heaven the golden plates, as no longer necessary to be left on earth ! I could not learn that this self-constituted pro phet preached any peculiar doctrines beyond those of representing himself as one of God's Anointed, specially commissioned to lead such as would follow him to a Promised Land, there to build a New Jerusalem ; and the necessity of implicit obedience to his commands and interpretations. A number of persons having joined him, professing a full belief 192 THE PROMISED LAND. in the truth of his story, he came with them west ward, and they took up their abode in the State of Missouri, where they purchased some lands at the Government price of 1|; dollar an acre, and began to form a settlement. Not content, however, with occupying what they could buy, and living on the produce of what they could till, they began to preach that Missouri was the Promised Land, cove nanted by God to be given to the believers in the Book of Mormon ; and that it was their duty,*if they could not obtain it peaceably, to take it by force of arms, and to drive out the unbelievers there, as Moses had driven out and extirpated with the edge of the sword the Moabites and Ammonites that opposed his passage through their territories; and as Joshua after him had driven out the Jebus- ites, the Canaanites, and others, to possess their lands, which the Lord their God had given them. With this example, and the professed direct inspiration of their Prophet, these deluded people thought there was no sin, but much virtue, in seizing the Promised Land of Missouri as their own, as soon as their force would admit of the attempt. The previous settlers in Missouri, however, who had bought land and improved it before Joe Smith or the Book of Mormon was known to them, did not recognize the heavenly covenant by which they were thus to be robbed of their legal possessions, and therefore they anticipated the Mormonites, by taking up arms and expelling them from the State. This was not done without many a hard struggle, for being all armed, they fought desperately, and many were killed and wounded on either side. TOWN OF MORMONTTES. 193 The Sheriff of the County in which the first affray occurred, took part with the people of Missouri, and the result was that they were ultimately driven across the river into Illinois, where they now occupy the small town of Commerce, just 12 miles above Keokuck, on the opposite side of the Missis sippi, and their number is said to exceed 5,000 persons. They are described as being averse to labour, which is hardly to be wondered at, if they believe — as they are said to do — that a Promised Land, and one which will yield fruit without much toil, is still in reserve for them. They wear no peculiar dress, use no peculiar phraseology^ and do not appear to have any peculiar doctrines, beyond that of believing Joe Smith to be infallible, and there fore worthy of implicit obedience. The Prophet himself, who is now about 40, is described as very ignorant and unprepossessing ; but he maintains a grave demeanour, and generally impresses those with whom he converses with a belief that he is sincere in his errors, and deludes himself as well as others. He had lately been on a journey to Washington City, to see the President, and endea vour to prevail on him to redress the grievances of his followers, and obtain for them a restoration to their Promised Land, in the State of Missouri. He represents Mr. Van Buren as being unwilling to take an}- steps for that purpose ; and he attributes this to his fear of offending the people of Missouri, and thus losing the allegiance of that State in his approaching Presidential election. The Prophet therefore assembled his followers on his return, and m. o * 194 FRONTIER SETTLEMENTS. preached to them a sermon, enjoining the right and duty of resistance to evil-doers, and at the close of it he said that he would give them an account of his visit to Washington, and the failure of his efforts to move the President in their behalf. This he narrated in detail, and then wound up by saying, that for himself, he did not desire to dictate to his followers in temporal things, and that they were therefore at liberty to vote for whomsoever he pleased, but that for himself he should vote for General Harrison, and oppose Mr. Van Buren's re-election with all his might, and they who thought with him might follow his example. No one can approach the frontier settlements of this country without being struck with the lawless spirit that is everywhere manifested by the inha bitants ; and this state of savage independence of all restraint is so agreeable to a certain class, that the moment the section in which they are settled comes under the dominion of law, they make haste to remove from it, farther on, so as to be always beyond its reach. An anecdote was mentioned to me which illus trates the prevalence of this disposition very strik ingly. A young lawyer, joining a party in the bar room of a country tavern, where lawless spirits are sure to be most abundantly found, began to talk of the oppressions of the law, and the glorious liberty of living beyond the limits of its power. This was meant by him as an experiment, to see whether many or few would respond to the sentiment. His observations were applauded to the echo ; and after keeping up this strain for some time, he at length GOING BEYOND LAW. 1 95 made a formal proposition to head a party that should emigrate " beyond law," and fixed a certain day for its departure, about two months from the date of their meeting. The proposition being thus widely circulated in the town and neighbourhood, a large number of bankrupt debtors, fierce bullies, unprincipled traders, and others of a similar stamp, assembled at the given spot on the day named, some with, and some without the means of perform ing their journey; and the leader felt himself bound in honour, and for his own safety, to meet them. He still professed to adhere to his proposals, but expressed his deep regret that he had not been enabled so to arrange his affairs as to allow of his setting out on that particular day, and he begged only the favour of a postponement till he should call them together again. This was reluctantly granted ; and by various ingenious devices and pretensions, the thing was suffered to die away, but not without risk of the proposer being lynched, or dealt with as though he were " beyond law," and those whom he had disappointed equally so. Even here, however, within the boundaries of States and Territories, without going beyond the frontier, the most fearful outrages take place ; and though there is nominally law to redress all acts of injustice, practically this law is a dead letter. Here, at the foot of the Des Moines Rapids, in the terri tory of the Half-breed Reservation, was lying a fine steamboat, the John Shaw, placed here, as we were told, to keep her out of the reach of the Sheriff, who had an execution issued on her, but which he dared not levy, as the people here, for the o2 196 TRIAL AT GALENA. bribe of a good supply of whisky, would lay violent hands on the Sheriff, and all his posse, and drown them without scruple or remorse. A trial took place at Galena, very recently, in which the following facts were elicited. A man belonging to the State of Illinois, had committed a most wanton and unprovoked murder on a fellow- citizen of the same State, just upon the line that divides it from the Wisconsin Territory. The fact of the murder was proved beyond all doubt ; but it came out upon the trial, that the actual spot on which it was committed, was in Wisconsin, though but a few yards from the border-line between it and the State of Illinois. The murderer was, there fore, acquitted, simply because the Illinois judges had no jurisdiction, and the Wisconsin authorities taking no notice of the matter, the murderer went at large in the streets of Galena. The sister, how ever, of the murdered man, determined on aveng ing her brother's death, waited her opportunity, and taking a rifle for the purpose, shot the man dead in open day in the street. Public opinion sympathized with this ; and instead of being apprehended and punished, she became a heroine. Nay, more, not satisfied with her own blood-revenge, she dispatched a younger brother, a distance of full 500 miles, to shoot a relative of the murderer, who had no share whatever in the guilt of the transaction, but was merely related to him by blood ! One of the most appalling acts of private ven geance, if that can be so called, which was perpe trated by a large body of men, but private at least in the sense of its being above and beyond the law, MURDER AT ST. LOUIS. 197 was related to us as occurring not long since in the civilized and polished city of St. Louis, one of the oldest and most populous of the West, with its Universities, Colleges, Cathedrals, Literary Socie ties, and all the organization of the most permanent settlements. It appears that a negro had committed some murder, for which he was apprehended by the Sheriff, and was in the act of being conveyed to the jail. Seeing an opportunity of escape, he broke from the hold of the individual in whose custody he was, and ran with all his speed, pur sued by his keeper and the sheriff, when the latter coming up, a struggle ensued, and the negro stabbed the sheriff, by which he was killed. Instead of respecting the dignity of the law, and waiting for it to take its course on this double murderer, — and there needed to have been no apprehension of his not receiving a deservedly severe sentence, — the gentlemen of St. Louis took the matter into their own hands. They first seized the negro, and had him bound, when he was taken through the principal streets of the city. After this, they con ducted him to the southern border of the town, where they tied his body to a tree, on a small mound, and there literally roasted him alive at a slow fire ! no one daring to utter the least disappro bation of this^ act ; and no notice whatever being taken of it by the public authorities. His body was wholly consumed, bones and all ; and the charred stump of the tree still remains, to tell other negroes this dreadful tale. These deeds of violence stimulate and justify, or at least palliate and ex cuse, similar acts of violence by others ; and it was 198 MASSACRE OF INDIANS. but within a few days past, that a Mr. Davis, the editor of the St. Louis Argus, was attacked in the street, and so bruised and beaten with a club, that he soon after died of his wounds ; yet the perpetra tor of this atrocity will most probably never be legally punished ! While these transactions are going on among the black and the white races, the red men are constantly engaged in scenes of strife and bloodshed, and the papers teem with reports of massacres in various parts of the country, especially in Florida and Texas. The following is one of the latest of these, taken from a St. Louis paper — ¦ " Horrible Massacre of Indians in Texas. — By a recent treaty with the Comanche Indians, it was stipulated that if they would bring in thirteen white prisoners which they held in bondage, terms of peace would be granted to them. This they promised to do; and on the 15th ult., Colonel W. Cook, Adjutant- General McLeod, and several other gentlemen, repaired to San Antonio at the time agreed on. On the 1 9th, 65 of the Comanches arrived, and with them they brought only one prisoner, a daughter of Mr. Lockhart. For neglecting to perform the other part of the treaty, they refused to give any reason. " In the mean time the terms were explained to the chiefs, which would have been offered in case ^they had complied with their engagements ; and as the troops under Captain Howard had become stationed, the twelve chiefs were informed that they were prisoners, and would be detained until they should send word to the rest of their company to restore the white captives in posses sion of their tribes. As the commissioners were retiring from the room, one chief sprang forward to pass the sentinel at the back door, who, in attempting to prevent him, was stabbed with the Indian's knife. Captain Howard received a severe wound in the same way. " The rest of the chiefs, in the mean while, drew their knives or their bows and arrows, and made a general attack. The sol- UNIVERSALITY OF WAR. 199 diers fired, and killed the whole twelve. The warriors in the yard fought with desperation. The company under Captain Reed soon repulsed them, and forced them to take shelter in the stone building near. A party after a while escaped, and gained the opposite side of the river, but they were pursued by a number of mounted men, under Col. Wells, and all killed except a rene gade Mexican, who was suffered to escape. The Indian women fought like tigers. " A single warrior took refuge in a stone house, refusing every offer of life sent him through the squaws, and after killing and wounding several of our men, the building was fired at night, and he was shot as he passed the door." What an inscrutable mystery it seems, that for 4,000 years and more, there should have been three or four distinct races of human beings occupying the four quarters of the globe, and resembling each other in nothing so much as in their propensity to oppress and slaughter each other. Still greater seems the wonder, that no system of religion yet promulgated among mankind, has had the effect of lessening this propensity to rob and murder, or to bring it even into disrepute ! It is often a subject of reproach with Christians, that the idolaters of Hin- doostan, and the worshippers of the sun in Mexico and Peru, sought to appease the wrath of their deities by human sacrifices ; and that the followers of Mohammed deemed it lawful and honourable to propagate their religion by the sword. But it can not be denied that the Jews fought their way to Palestine, and extirpated whole nations, to take possession of their lands ; and that the Christian nations have all, without exception, at one time or other, being guilty of plunder and murder on other nations weaker than themselves. This has been 200 RIVER MISSISSIPPI. the course of things from the conquest of Mexico by the Spaniards, to the subjugation of India by the English, and the occupation of Algiers by the French.* And the marvel still is, that those who are the leaders in this trade of robbery and slaugh ter, namely, warrior - chiefs, from Alexander to Napoleon, and even later still, are among the most honoured of the earth — on whom titles and distinc tions are showered with the most lavish hand, and who receive more of the homage of princes and peasants, and even of women and children, than any class of their fellow-beings, however useful, bene volent, and holy may be their labours or their lives ! This is, indeed, " a mystery of mysteries," which another and a higher state of existence will perhaps alone enable us to penetrate and understand. We left the village of Keokuck at 4 p. m., on the 21st of June, and were glad to remove from a spot so full of drunkenness, debauchery, and wretched ness, as this seemed, and get again into the broad stream of the Mississippi, and breathe the free air of heaven. Having the current in our favour, instead of against us, and being lightened of a large portion of our upward ?cargo, our boat, the Flying Dutchman, skimmed along the surface at the rate of full 18 miles an hour by the land. We stopped on our way to take in wood at the edge of the beau tiful prairie on the Missouri side, and again at the town of Quincy, on the Illinois side of the river. As we remained long enough at this last to visit * To which may now be added—the invasions of AfFghanistan and China, each as disgraceful to the Christian English, as any wars ever waged by the most heathen nations of the world. TOWN OF QUINCY. 201 the settlement, and make an excursion round it, we ascended the hill from the landing, and were agree ably surprised to find a large and pretty town occu pying the level plain above. In the centre is a square as large as Russell or Grosvenor Squares in London, with a hotel, occupying more ground than the Clarendon, presenting four points of about 200 feet each, and having cost 130,000 dollars in its erection. What led to the rapid rise and extensive scale designed for this place, was the fixing on the spot on which it stands, as the terminus of a rail road from the Illinois to the Mississippi river ; but the general stagnation with respect to funds has caused this to be suspended for the present, though when it shall be completed, Quincy can hardly fail to become a town of considerable size and importance. .- The view from this plain over the lower country of the opposite bank in Missouri is very extensive and interesting, and we enjoyed here one of the finest sunsets that |we had seen for a long time, frequent and beautiful as these are in these western regions. The richest minglings of crimson and gold near the horizon, the softest shades of blush ing rose-colour above, and the bright azure blue of the zenith, were each exquisite in their kind ; while the surface of the Mississippi, which was like a glass mirror, gave back a second firmament in the clear ness and accuracy of its reflection. After we em barked, and as we shot down the river with increased speed, the fire-flies became so numerous as literally to spangle the trees and bushes as we passed, and 202 RIVER MISSISSIPPI. add greatlv to the charm and beautv of this delicious e* On the followino- morninp-, June 22nd, we were down among the bluffs or cliffs that add so much grandeur to the banks of the TTpper Mississippi ; and we thought then, as we had before thought in ascending the stream, that it was quite as beautiful as, and much more grand than the Ohio. The clearness of its waters is a striking- feature of its beauty, and its entire freedom from all drift-wood and extraneous matter gives it an aspect of purity which contrasts strikingly with the turbid and muddy aspect of the lower stream, while it; sweep ing breadth, and large and thickly-wooded islands, give it an air of magnificence which neither the Ohio nor the Hudson, beautiful as both of these undoubtedly are, can ever possess. There are a great number of fishes in the Mis sissippi, some of which are unsuited for food, but are curious in other respects. One of these is called the alligator-gar, or lepiosteus ferox ; it is found sometimes exceeding eight feet in length, and is described as strong, fierce, voracious, and formidable, not only to fish, which it devours by tribes, but even to men who go into the water near it. Its leaps or darts equal the flight of a bird in rapidity. It has a long, round, and pointed mouth, thick set with sharp teeth ; its body is covered with scales of such a texture as to be im penetrable by a rifle bullet, and, when dry, to elicit sparks of fire when struck against a steel. It often weighs 200 lbs., and is considered as a far more FISHES AND SQUIRRELS. 203 formidable creature than the alligator, being, in short, the shark of the river, and is as voracious as the shark of the ocean. We saw the body of one of these creatures in the Museum of the National Academy of Sciences at St. Louis ; and it corresponded in most particulars with the previous description which is given by Hinton ; but we could not succeed in seeing one alive. The Devil-jack- diamond fish, or Utholepis adamantinus, is another of these river monsters, which is as voracious as the alligator-gar. and, like it, has scales which, when dry. will strike fire with steel. It is found from 4 to 10 feet in length ; and one has been caught weighing upwards of 400 lbs. The cat-fish of the Mississippi, silurus MUsis-sippiensis, is a large fish, often weighing above 1000 lbs., but this is eaten and considered perfectly wholesome and good. The Buffalo-fish, or bubalus Mississippiensit, is another large fish, which is abundant in the river, and deservedly prized for the table. There are also sturgeon in great variety, — perch, pike, black-fish, and salmon, all excellent of their kind, as well as a saw-fish, and a great variety of eels. Squirrels abound on the banks of the Mississippi, but chiefly in the autumn, when they prey upon the corn-fields, nuts, and fruits. They sometimes cross the river, either by swimming or embarking on a piece of bark or wood, serving them for a canoe, and spreading their fine bushv tails to the wind like a sail, they get wafted across the current by its force. It often happens, says Mr. Flint, to these, as to other inexperienced navigators, that thev spread too much canvass, and are overset and 204 RIVER MISSISSIPPI. drowned. He adds that in 1 SI 1, they emigrated from the north to the south in thousands, and with a front of great regularity like an army on a march, and that vast numbers of them perished. It is in the autumn and winter months that the river most abounds with wild fowls and aquatic birds. They are then seen here in innumerable flocks, and in great variety ; indeed, those who have navigated this stream at that period, say that the whole of the valley, near the river, seems full of life. The transitions of temperature are at that period sud den in the extreme. The captain of our boat stated that he had gone up to the rapids in the month of December, with the river open and entirely clear of ice, and that on a sudden shift of wind in a single night, the stream had become so frozen up that it was only by having a party of men before the boat, and cutting a channel through the ice, they could effect their descent. At the rapids the thermometer has been known to descend to 40° be low zero in the winter ; though in the summer, the heat has, on some occasions, ascended to 98° and 100° of Fahrenheit. In our passage down the river, we saw the Snag- boat of the United States, employed at the expense of the general government, to remove these im pediments from the stream ; and by its aid, this par ticular danger to navigation is said to have greatly diminished of late. The general government hav ing the charge of superintending and regulating everything connected with commerce, it has been deemed its duty to erect light-houses, clear har bours and rivers, and effect such general improve- RETURN TO ST. LOUIS. 205 ments as may be conducive to the security of life and property everywhere on its coasts and inland- waters, leaving to the separate States the duty of making such internal improvements as may be thought useful and beneficial to their respective inhabitants. At noon, we repassed the mouth of the Missouri river, and quitted the clear waters of the Upper Mississippi, for the turbid current of the united streams, which seemed to us now even more muddy than before. At 2 p.m., we reached St. Louis, and began imme diately to search among the hundred steamboats lying at the wharf, for one bound up the Illinois river, as this was now the only route open to us to go to Chicago and the Lakes. Fortunately there was one on the point of departure, the Troubadour, and though her general appearance and the state of her cabins was far from inviting, we deemed it best not to incur further delay by waiting for another and a better, and accordingly transferred ourselves to her at once, to await the hour of her departure. 206 CHAP. XII. Voyage up the Illinois river — Unskilful pilotage — " Passage des Sioux" — Enter the mouth of the Illinois — Wretched assemblage of passengers — Anecdote of a cunning negro barber — Negotia tions for the purchase of a lady's cap — Sketches of frontier life in Missouri — Wonder of a lady that we did not settle in America — Thought England too thickly peopled to breathe in — Arrival at Peoria — Towns on the banks of the river — Large and beautiful prairie — Description of the river — Unhealthiness — Death of its fishes in autumn — Prevalence of drinking and smoking with all classes — Moving a house across the river — Arrival at Peru — Head of navigation — Probable value of this route to the Lakes. It was nearly dark before the Troubadour was ready to start, though she had been for two days on the point of "immediate departure," such are the pro crastinations and delays of the smaller classes of boats, of which this was one. About half-past 7, on the afternoon of Monday, June the 22nd, we left the landing at St. Louis, with a lumbering heavy flat boat on each side, to be towed a considerable dis tance up the Illinois river ; so that our actual rate against the current was not more than about 4 miles an hour ; and while we had passed from one of the nicest and most commodious of boats, the Flying Dutchman, to one of the dirtiest and most inconve- WRETCHED STEAMBOAT 507 nient, the Troubadour, we were made to feel the chancre more sensiblv, from having at the same time changed one of the fastest for one of the slowest of these river-craft. The owner of the Troubadour was, as we learnt after starting, a free negro, living in St. Louis, who had been a Methodist preacher among his coloured brethren ; and had obtained, in contributions from his flock, a sufficient capital to become the owner of this boat, since which, by profits and economy, he had accumulated funds enough to purchase several others, and was now accounted very wealthy. Of his economy, we had some rather disagreeable proofs at the very outset of the voyage ; for instance, there was but one bedroom-candlestick on board, and this was made, with one candle, to serve the four ladies' staterooms in turn, one being obliged to go to bed first, and when she was in bed, the candle was handed to another, and so on till all were supplied. Of towels also, there was but one, which had to go the round, from cabin to cabin, in the same way ; and the whole equipment, in furniture, fare, and attend ance, was upon the same starved, stinted, and miser able footing. I asked how white captains and pilots could be brought to serve under a negro owner, considering the strong prejudices against colour in this State ? and I was told that it was only the refuse of both, who could not get employment elsewhere, that con sented to serve him ; and even these had to be tempted bv so extravagant a pay, that this was the old manrs excuse for economizing in everything else. We thotioht this extremely probable, for a more 20S RIVER ILLINOIS. incompetent captain we bad never before encountered, and of the skill of the pilots we had a most unfavour able specimen, in their running us aground off the mouth of the Missouri, so that we did not make more than 20 miles of distance during all the night. Here, with closed windows to keep out the damp fog of the river — intolerably close heat — and with legions of mosquitoes, we passed on the whole the most unpleasant night that we had yet experienced in the countrv, always excepting that on which we were burnt out of the Planters' Hotel, at Augusta, in Georgia.At daylight on the following morning, Tuesday, June 23, by great exertion, the boat was floated off, and we proceeded to Alton, in Illinois, where we remained till G a.m. Eight miles above this, we passed opposite to the old French settlement of " Passage des Sioux," which is said to be much older than St. Louis, but like many other of the old French settlements, such as Kaskasia, Vincennes, and others in the west, this has declined ; and from a population of 5,000, which it once possessed, it has now less than 500, among whom there are only two American families. The rest are said to be French and German, and we landed here from our boat a German family of four persons, the whole of them remarkably well dressed, but of such economi cal habits, that they lived among the deck-passengers as common emigrants, and took their bread and onions at each meal by themselves. A few miles above this, we passed the smaller towns of Grafton and Camden, in Illinois, and then entered the river which gives name to the State, the THE RIVER ILLINOIS. '209 meaning of the word Illinois, which is borne by both, being " The River of Man," but why so called is now unknown. The entrance is very narrow, scarcely a quarter of a mile across, but it expands gradually as you proceed upwards, and some beautiful small prairies are seen in the way. These are bordered by pic turesque hills, at distances of from one mile to five from the river-banks, which gives the whole scenery the appearance of that observed on the Upper Ohio ; but this soon passes away, and is succeeded by low, flat, and wooded laud, which becomes very monoto nous and uninteresting. The water is very shallow, and the current slow, whilee many parts of the banks on either side are so overflown, that the trees appear to be growing out of the water, the flood extending sometimes for a mile or two inland. It is this which makes the river Illinois a very un healthy stream in the autumnal months, the vast quantity of decayed vegetation, and the miasma of the plains occasioning bilious fevers and ague to be almost universal. These do not begin generally, however, till the 1st of August, and they attain their greatest violence in the month of September, when the heat is great, and the water low. In the course of the forenoon, we got aground twice, from the ignorance or carelessness of the pilots, and were detained each time about a couple of hours before we got off again ; while our utmost speed, even after we had cast off the heavy flatboats we had been towing, did not exceed 5 miles in the hour, and made our progress tedious in the extreme. As a specimen of the kind of company into which we in. p * 210 THE RIVER ILLINOIS. were thrown, I may state that more than half of the passengers slept on the deck, without mattrass or covering, and got up without washing or dressing, presenting themselves at the breakfast-table at 6 o'clock, in a condition of filth and disorder suffi cient to repel from it all who had the least delicacy of feeling. The fare, however, was so coarse and unattractive, that nothing but extreme hunger could reconcile any one to sit down to it, even if not repulsed by the dirty and disagreeable company. Altogether, the Troubadour and her equipments, her commander, and her passengers, were the very worst of their class that we had ever yet encountered in the United States. About noon, and just as the table was laid for dinner, one of the male passengers, in a state of intoxication, began to undress himself in the open cabin. Stripping off all his garments, including even his shirt, he declared that he had had no sleep in the night, from the bugs and mosquitoes — both of which were indeed abundant — so that he was therefore determined to get a "snooze" by day, and as it was too hot to wear clothing, he should take it in his " buff." So acting, and so saying, he rolled himself into one of the upper-berths in the open cabin, where all the passengers were momentarily expected to sit down to dinner ! He had the decency, it is true, when he was fairly in his berth, to draw the curtains close, but the first turn he made within his frail and narrow bed-place, caused the slender boards that supported the mattrass on which he rested to give way, and down he came, naked and heavy, on a stout gentleman who was also taking NEGRO BARBER. 211 his noonday nap in the berth below him. The shouts of the falling man, and the screams of the one on whom he had fallen, were strangely mingled ; and some dreadful accident being thought to have hap pened, the cabin was soon filled with passengers from the upper-deck, who inflicted summary justice upon the naked intruder, and hurried him down among the deck-passengers, to whom he in truth belonged. On inquiry, it was found that this man had not paid his passage, nor had he the means of doing so ; the captain therefore determined to put him on shore at the first landing-place. A companion who had come from St. Louis with him received a practical joke from the negro-barber on board, which he did not relish at all, as it made him the laughing-stock of the crew. He had applied in the morning to be shaved, and the barber performed his duty, but when he asked for payment of his fee, he was told he should have it to-morrow. In the afternoon, the same man applied to have his hair cut, to which the barber readily assented, and placed him in his chair for that purpose. Having heard in the interval, that he had not paid his passage, and had no money to do so, the barber proceeded to cut his hair, which was very bushy, on one side only, reducing it to a short crop ; and when he had got thus far, he applied to his customer for the payment of his shaving fee, and of that for cutting his hair also, before he could proceed any farther. The man gave him the same answer as before— that he would pay him to-morrow ; on which the barber re joined, that if this were to be the case, he must defer finishing his task till then also ; so that the p 2 212 THE RIVER ILLINOIS. man was turned out of his chair with one side of his head closely cropped, and the other full and bushy, to be laughed at by all who saw him. In the course of the day and night we passed the small towns of Guildford, Columbiana, Bridgeport, New Bedford, Montezuma, Augusta, Portland, and Naples, at distances of from 5 to 10 miles apart, all except the last consisting of little more than a dozen houses each ; and the last having only about fifty dwellings, which on this river is considered a large town. We remained at this last place from midnight till daylight on the 24th, putting on shore goods brought on freight ; and in the course of the day we passed the small towns of Meredosia, Lagrange, Beards- town — the largest place we had yet seen, with 500 inhabitants — Erie, Havannah, Liverpool, Pekin, and Wesley City, all small places, the largest of them, Pekin, having only about 350 inhabitants, and placed at distances of from 5 to 20 miles apart, but all on the river's bank. During the day we had to suffer all the united inconveniences of heat, dirt, noise, insects, fetid odours, bad food, and worse company ; but there was no escape, and this very feeling made every hour seem a day. Among the passengers was a widow, returning from the Missouri Territory, who spoke of the recent death of her husband, but who wore no mourning garments, and seemed in as good spirits as if she had just gained a good husband, instead of having lost one. She professed to be enraptured with some articles of my wife's dress, especially a morning cap and worked collar ; and first wished to MANNERS OP THE WEST. 213 have patterns of them, as nothing so fashionable, according to her expression, had ever been seen in the West ; but when this was said to be inconvenient, from the difficulty of getting at trunks to procure substitutes for wearing while the pattern should be taken, the lady would not receive this as final, but offered to buy them, and began about negotiating for a price. She was told it was not tho custom with English ladies to sell their garments to their fellow-travellers, which she professed to think was being " mighty particular," and could hardly be deterred from her purpose. The widow had returned from the western terri tory beyond the State of Missouri, on the Indian frontier, and the description which she gave of the state of society there was appalling. The women, according to her account, are kept by the white settlers in a degree of subjection and bondage resem bling that in which the Indians hold their squaws. The labour of the fields, and the hewing of wood and drawing of water, devolves chiefly on them, as well as all the household drudgery ; while the hus bands idle their time away at the bar-room or gro cery, drinking, smoking, chewing, and indulging in obscene conversation and blasphemous oaths, which are almost universal. The men dress chiefly in skins, the women in a mixture of male and female apparel, as circumstances or the weather may require, and the children go almost naked. When one of the neighbours kills a pig, all the families living within 20 miles, and few are nearer than from 5 to 10 miles off, come to regale on it, and as rum is copiously supplied, the party rarely disperses under three or 214 THE RIVER ILLINOIS. four davs, bv which time the animal will be all eaten. If another has a large grinding of corn returned from the mill, it is also usual to invite the neighbours to partake, and as rum is there also as abundant, hot corn cakes and drams are sufficiently palatable to detain them a few days at least, till this is nearly exhausted. Like the Indian hunters, therefore, these back-woodsmen seem to live in a constant alternation of craving want and indolent repletion, and their dispositions thus become as savage as their lives. Another old lady whom we had on board, afforded us some amusement by her conversation. She was upwards of 70 years of age, and had been brought up as a Quaker, the dress and phraseology of which she still retained, though her children, as is very common in this country, had left the Society of Friends, and joined themselves to "the world's people." This old lady was accompanying her son, a young man of 25, who had bought a piece of land here in Illinois, and was going to settle on it, at a distance of about 15 miles back from the river. She asked U3 whether we had not now seen enough of America, to make us prefer it greatly to England ? and when we replied, that, on the contrary, we pre ferred England the more for having seen America, she was astonished. " But how," said she, " can you think of going back to so thickly peopled a country, where there is hardly room to breathe freely ; when you can have plenty of land so cheap, and plenty of room in these western woods and roll ing prairies ?" We answered, that there was no difficulty in finding breathing room in England, by TOWN OF PEORIA. 215 any one of tolerably competent means ; and that, independently of the ties of kindred, patriotism, and association, there were more pleasures, corporeal and intellectual, to be enjoyed in England, than in any country under the sun. " Ah !" said the old lady, " everyone to their own taste ; but for me, I could never endure to live in a country where the people are so thick, that to prevent their being choked by the dust, they are obliged to be constantly watering the roads 1" After this, there was of course no hope of agreement between us, and at this point of our dialogue, the boat stopped at the landing, and the old lady and her son were called away. They bade us a friendly " farewell," and proceeded to their new home in the woods. At midnight we reached Peoria, so called from an Indian tribe of that name, which once inhabited this quarter. It is the largest town on the Illinois river, containing about 2,500 inhabitants. It is very ad vantageously and agreeably situated on a gentle slope, that rises up from the western bank of the river, ascending at a slight angle for two or three miles from the stream, and displaying the appearance of the town to the greatest advantage, as well as pre serving it dry and clean. The town is planned with great symmetry, the streets are broad, the houses well built, and the whole aspect of the town is bright and promising. . Pursuing our way upward from Peoria, in the vicinity of which the river expands to a breadth of two or three miles, and is there called a lake, though it afterwards contracts to its former narrow dimensions, we passed in the course of the forenoon the small 216 THE RIVER ILLINOIS. towns of Detroit, Rome, Allen town, Chillicothe, Lacon, Henry, Webster, Hennepin, and Enterpize, at distances of from 4 to 12 miles from each other, but few of them having more than 300 inhabitants, except Hennepin, which numbers 700, while others have not more than 50. At 12 o'clock at noon, we reached the ultimate point of practicable navigation on the river Illinois at the present season, namely, the town of Peru, at which there were at least 1,000 inhabitants, on both sides of the river. In our way up the stream, when abreast of the little town of Henry, about 45 miles above Peoria, where we reached soon after sunrise, we saw one of the largest and most beautiful prairies that can be imagined. For at least 2Q miles back from the river was one rich grassy plain, with here and there ridges like waves on the general surface of the ocean, giving it the character of what is called " a rolling prairie" in this country. Not a tree or a shrub was visible in all this vast extent, but myriads of bright and variegated flowers were seen mingling with the green grass, as far as the powers of vision could reach. Not a being appeared to dwell on it— -not a solitary hut was seen — nor a single head of cattle, although it would be difficult to imagine a tract more inviting to the cultivator than this, where there would be no trees to fell, no land to drain, where the first crop of corn might be raised by merely drilling holes into the earth and dropping in the seed, without ploughing, where a hundred-fold would be the least return in this first crop, and where for several years in succession crops of wheat returning from 30 to 40 fold would continue to reward the toil of the RUF.R SUTTLRMEM'S. 217 cultivator. And vet, notwithstanding these manifest advantages, the settlors on the banks of rivers alwavs prefer planting themselves in the woods, whore they can immediately begin to turn their tim ber to account bv bowing trees, and splitting them into logs, to supply tho steamboats with fuel, as they pass up and down the stream. Both the prairie land, and the forest land, can still be had hero, at the Government price of a dollar and quarter an aero ; yet, while tho woods are fast filling up, the prairies are all neglected. One reason assigned for this is, the want of wood for fences ; but hedges and ditches, which can be made without wood, would be neater and more dur able than rails, and give a more picturesque aspect to the country. Another reason assigned is, the want of wood to build barns for grain, and out houses and sheds for cattle ; but tho soil, mixed with gravel and straw, would make excellent barns without wood, except for beams and door-posts ; and thateh- iug with straw, is as good for roofs as wooden shingles ; besides which, a few days in the year with a good team of oxen, would bring tho prairie farmer all tho wood ho could possibly require ; and thus every diffi culty would be removed. In winter the river is closed by ice, and the cold is severe for throe mouths at least — December, January, and February ; but little snow falls, and that does not remain long on the ground ; so that, level as tho country is, there is little or no sleighing. There are a groat many cat-fish in the river, of large size, which, during the spring and summer months, are deemed wholesome food, and are generally eaten ; 218 THE RIVER ILLINOIS. but in the autumn, they partake of the general sickliness of the country, pine away and die, and hundreds of the dead bodies may be then seen float ing on the surface of the river, as we were assured by those who professed to have seen them. This is attributed to some change that takes place in their food, and in the condition of the bottom of the river. From the waters being shallow, and the river's bed prolific in the production of long rank grass and weeds, these, when the waters get low, undergo decay like the land plants, and the decomposi tion of their vegetable matter imparts to the water of the river a quality which it is believed kills the fishes in it, and assists, perhaps, in producing the autumnal fevers among the human inhabitants of its banks, as all persons drink of it. This, added to the miasma of the marshes, and decayed vegeta tion of the woods, may account for the almost uni versal prevalence of disease here at that period ; when, as we were assured by one of the residents, the sick in the villages were sometimes so numerous, that there were often not a sufficient number of per sons in health to pay the requisite attention to those who were helpless from suffering. The ignorance of the early settlers caused them to believe that rum and tobacco were the best specifics to keep off the ague and fever, and accordingly, drinking and smoking are almost universal here. At many of the places where we stopped to take in wood, we saw the women smoking as frequently as the men, and both with short white clay pipes, and not segars. As these solitary huts are almost always dram-shops, where the deck-hands resort at each REMOVING HOUSES. 219 time of stopping to take in fuel, rum is always at hand. Ardent spirits and tobacco may be said, indeed, to be tho only two articles of which you may be sure there will be no scarcity by the way, though milk, eggs, and poultry may frequently be sought for in vain. We had often seen houses, brick and stone as well as wooden ones, moved from one spot to another in the same town, by logs, blocks, and rollers, in the Eastern cities, but here we saw a novelty, which was — a well-built wooden house, of two stories, trans porting across the river on a raft, the dwellers changing their domicile from the western to the eastern bank, and carrying their house along with them ! From the recent pressure in the times, there had been a great decline in the quantity of goods and number of passengers' transported on this river. Formerly, about two years since, there were fifteen steamboats in full employment from St. Louis to Peru on this stream. Now there is not freight enough to yield profit to more than three, and six is the greatest number now running, all the rest being laid up, and gone off into other trades. Though we were so stinted in the most material necessaries in the Troubadour, where candles and towels were served in the ratio of one of each to about a dozen persons, there was a show of generous living kept up, bad as the meals where, for between breakfast at 6 o'clock, and dinner at 12, a tray of sangaree and cold punch was handed round to the Laches' Cabin about 10 o'clock in the forenoon; and such was the tastes and habits of those among whom 220 THE RIVER ILLINOIS. we were thrown on this occasion, that we did not observe a single instance of this " refreshment" being rejected. It is not more than ten years since the banks of this river were occupied almost exclusively by In dians of the Peoria and Pottawattamie tribes, who dwelt in tents or wigwams, on the prairies and in the woods, and lived by hunting in the plains and fishing in the river. But these are now all removed west of the Mississippi, there to dwindle away, like the rest of their red brethren, till their whole race shall become utterly extinct. Landing at Peru, we began to make arrangements for the performance of the remainder of our journey to Chicago, which would have to be made by land. We engaged an extra stage-coach to take us on to Ottawa, a distance of 16 miles, at the mouth of the Fox river, where we should find the regular mail- coach to take us the rest of the way. In looking around the town of Peru, while our coach was pre paring, we learnt that the whole township in which it is seated, a square mile, or 640 acres, was pur chased by a company of shareholders at the Govern ment price, on the speculation of building a town here, and then obtaining a charter for the construc tion of a canal between this point and Chicago, on the Lake Michigan. By this canal the route from New Orleans, and all other places on the Mississippi, might be diverted from the Ohio river and drawn here, to pass through the Great Lakes, and so on to Buffalo or Canada, and thus become the principal highwav for northern and southern travellers. Among the original shareholders, of whom we were told there LAND SPECULATORS. 221 were only eight, Mr. Daniel Webster, the Senator from Massachusetts, was named to us as one ; and his son is now residing here, practising as a lawyer, and cultivating a farm at the same time. Settlers were soon induced to come, and the State of Illinois was soon prevailed upon to undertake the construc tion of the projected canal. This again brought other settlers, till the number of the residents now here is said to exceed 1,000; and but for the sudden check of the pecuniary pressure, they would no doubt have been five times that number before this ; but even now S00 dollars an acre are paid for land, which but a few years since cost only 1^ dollar ! CHAP. XIII. Journey across the Prairies of Illinois — Leave Peru for Ottawa — Irish labourers — Line of the canal — Promontory of Starved Rock — Buffalo Rock — Destruction of Buffaloes — Prairie lands — Reach Ottawa — Description of the place — Result of the canal — Early Indian games performed at Ottawa — Inauspicious commencement of our journey — Armies of flies — Passage of an extensive prairie — Graphic description of these by Judge Hale — Solitude of the prairie by night — Adventures of sticking fast in a slough — Remedies applied — Difficulties overcome — Break fast at Lisbon — Settlers' cabins — Great productiveness of prairie lands — Burning the long grass in autumn — Prairie on fire — Comparison with the Plain of Esdraelon — Indian mound of Mount Juliet — Regular form and immense size — Probably a warrior's tomb and altar of sacrifice — Resemblance to the Teoealli of the Mexicans — Awful thunder-storm on the prairie — Towns of Juliet and Lockport — Beautiful woodland or park- like prairie — Second night-journey, dark and disagreeable — Large and fierce mosquitoes — Howling concert of prairie wolves — Comparison with earlier journeys in this country — Arrival at Chicago — Friends and good quarters. We left Peru about 1 o'clock, p.m., and proceeded on our way to Ottawa, having to pass Rockwell, a town of six houses, at a distance of 3 miles, and Utica, a town of three houses, at a farther distance of 5 miles on the way. We had scarcely got beyond the edge of the town, before we came to the colony of Irish labourers employed on the Illinois canal, and a more repulsive IRISH EMIGRANTS. 223 scene we had not for a long time beheld. The num ber of persons congregated here were about 200, including men, women, and children, and these were crowded together in 14 or 15 log-huts, temporarily erected for their shelter. I had never been in the south of Ireland, and cannot say how far the appear ance of this colony differed from that of the villages there, but certainly in the north of Ireland, over which I had travelled, from Dublin to Londonderry, I never saw anything approaching to the scene before us, in dirtiness and disorder. For this, here at least, poverty could be no excuse, as the men were all paid at the rate of a dollar per day for their labour, had houses rent-free, and provisions of every kind abundantly cheap. But whisky and tobacco seemed the chief delights of the men ; and of the women and children, no language could give an adequate idea of their filthy condition, in garments and person ; though it required only a little industry to preserve both in a state of cleanliness, for water was abundant in the river close at hand, and soap of the country cheaper than in England. It is not to be wondered at, that the Americans conceive a very low estimate of the Irish people generally, when they have such unfavourable specimens of the nation as these almost constantly before their eyes ; for unhap pily, of the emigrants who land at New York, whether they remain in that city, or come on into the interior, the large majority are not merely ignorant and poor — which might be their misfortune rather than their fault — but they are drunken, dirty, indolent, and riotous, so as to be objects of dislike and fear to all in whose neighbourhood they congregate in large 224 THE ILLINOIS CANAL. numbers. And yet, the remedy is within their own reach — to be clean, sober, and industrious, is surely within the power of every man — and with these three qualities, all their present sufferings and privations might be speedily overcome ; and themselves, their wives, and their children, be soon elevated, in pros perity, intelligence, and manners, to the labouring classes of the Americans, below which they now fall immeasurably in all these particulars. The canal — which is intended to unite Lake Mi chigan with Peru, as the head of navigation for large boats in the Illinois river, and thus complete the water-communication unbroken from New York to New Orleans — will be about 100 miles in length, and is estimated to cost ten millions of dollars. It is undertaken bv the State of Illinois, and is at present about half executed ; but the recent shock given to American credit has made it difficult for the State to obtain the loans necessary to carry it forward to completion. Colonel Thornton was said to be now in London, to which he had been sent, in order to obtain new loans, on the credit of the State, and until this is effected, the work will make but slow pro gress ; though if the funds were forthcoming, it might be finished in two years. Whenever that may take place, the State of Illinois cannot fail to derive the greatest benefit from it, as it will at once be made the country of transit between the Northern and Southern States of Western America for goods and passengers. Then, a person leaving New York may come by the Erie Canal to Buffalo — by the Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan to Chicago — by the canal from thence to Peru — by the river Illinois to THE .STARVED ROCK. 225 St. Louis — and by the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico, without a single league of land-travel all the way ! From Quebec or Montreal, in Canada, it would be nearly the same ; and as New York is so easily approachable by sea from Bangor and Portland in Maine, as well as from Boston, Providence, and all the New England ports, there is little doubt but that this route of the Lakes would soon become the favourite one, for travellers especially, as economy of time and money, united to the greatest number of interesting objects in the way, would give it an advantage over every other route, and maintain its ascendancy through all time. Not long after leaving Peru, we passed, on our right, a singular promontory, called by some Rock Fort, and by others Starved Rock. It has an eleva tion of about 200 feet above the stream of the Illinois river, on the eastern bank of which it stands ; and the current making a sharp bend, it here washes its base on three sides, leaving it to be connected with the land behind by a low and narrow isthmus, just as the Rock of Gibraltar is connected with the terri tory of Spain. On the summit is a platform, of about an acre in extent, with fine soil and wood, but the only access to this is by a steep winding and almost precipitous path on one side of the rock the other three being perpendicular cliffs. A band of Illinois Indians being attacked by a superior force of the Pottovvattamies, sought refuge here, and were enabled, from the impregnability of their position alone, to keep their assailants at bay, and prevent their ascent to their retreat. But they had no water, save that which they could draw up from the river III. Q * 226 THE BUFFALO ROCK. by vessels let down with cords from the edge of the cliffs into the stream at their base. The besiegers perceiving this, stationed themselves at all points around in their canoes, and cut the ropes of their vessels whenever they were let down, so that the Indians were literally starved out of their retreat, and hence the name given to the rock. Beyond this, but a little distance, on the west of the river, we passed underneath a lofty promontory, the road going close to its base, and its towering perpendicular cliff overhanging our path. This is called The Buffalo Rock, from the fact of its having been the cliff, over which the Indians used, in their hunting excursions, to pursue whole herds of buffaloes, to their certain destruction. It is now some time since the buffalo has been driven from all the States east of the Mississippi river ; but when the Indians were sole possessors of these rich prairies of Illinois, the herds here must have been immense, as thev were in Kentucky in Daniel Boone's time ; for these luxurious pastures might be deemed the bison's paradise. The same mode of hunting them, and driving them over precipices, which gave name to this Buffalo Rock, is still pursued in the regions of the Far West, where the tribes subsist solely by the chase, and is thus graphically described by Hinton — " To the Indians and the visitors of the Western regions, the bison is almost invaluable ; they supply a large part of the food used by the natives, and covering to their tents and persons ; while, in many parts of the country (on the woodless prairies) there is no fuel to be obtained but the dried dung of this animal. The herds of bison wander over the country in search of food, IU'NTINC, OF BTFFALOFS. 22 - - / usually led by a bull, most remarkable for strength and fierceness. While feeding, they are often scattered over a great extent of country, but when they move in a mass, they form a dense and almost impenetrable column, which, once in motion, is scarcely to be impeded. Their Hue of march is seldom interrupted, even by considerable rivers, across which thev swim without fear or hesitation, nearly in the order in which they traverse the plains. When flyiug before their pursuers, it woidd be in vain for the foremost to halt, or to attempt to obstruct the progress of the main body. As the throng in the rear still rush onward, the leaders must advance, although destruction awaits the movement. The Indians take advantage of this circumstance, to destroy great quantities of this favourite game : and certainly no mode could be resorted to more effectually destructive, nor could a more ter rible de\a*tation be produced, than by forcing a numerous herd of tliese large animals to leap together, from the brink of a dreadful precipice, upon a rocky and broken surface, a hiuidred feet below. " When the Indians determine to destroy bison in this wav, one of their swiftest-footed and most active young men is selected, who is disguised in a bison skin, having the head, ears, and horns adjusted on his own head, so as to make the deception verv com plete ; and, thus accoutred, he stations himself between the bison herd, and some of the precipices which often extend for several miles along the rivers. The Indians surround the herd as neariv as possible, when, at a given signal, they show themselves, and rush forward with loud yells. The animals being alarmed, and seeing no way open but in the direction of the disguised Indian ran towards him ; and he, taking to flight, dashes on to the pre cipice, where he suddenly secures himself in some previouslv ascertained crevice. The foremost of the herd arrives at the brink — there is no possibility of retreat — no chance of escape. The foremost may, for an instant, shrink with terror; but the crowd, behind, who are terrified by the approaching hunters, rush forward with increasing impetuosity, and the aggregated force hurls them successively from the cliff, where certain death awaits them all!" p. 146. It was impossible to pass such a spot as this Buffalo Rock, with the recollection of the uses to Q2 228 THE PRAIRIES. which it had been put, without remembering this passage, and indulging the imagination in the con ception of the many scenes of struggling death and destruction of which this had been the fatal spot. Our journey bevond this was almost entirely over a level prairie covered with grass and flowers, and having a rich bed of soil of several feet in depth. Occasionallv, however, the bed of limestone rock, on which nearly the whole of these prairies repose, would approach the surface, and for many yards would be entirely denuded of soil. These patches are, indeed, but few and small, and are quite insig nificant compared to the vast area of fertile land, on which they are mere specks. One great advantage of this substratum of rock is, that stone is every where close at hand for the construction of the greatest, as well as the smallest works of architecture. All the stone required for the embankments of the canal, as well as the basins and locks, which are formed of the most substantial masonry, is procured from within a few yards of the spot on which it is used, all along the line ; and all the towns that may ever cover this road, may also have every building in them constructed of excellent stone, close at hand. It was about 4> o'clock when we reached Ottoway, having been 3 hours in coming 16 miles ; and here we halted to wait for the setting out of the mail- stage at 6. The town is much larger than Peru, and has all the aspect of being a busy and flourish ing place. The superintendant of the labourers on the canal had his head-quarters here, and being a native of Scotland, and hearing of my arrival, he came to pay me a visit. He had attended my lec tures in Edinburgh, and it gave him great pleasure DISAPPOINTED EMIGRANTS. 229 to run over the names of places, persons, and events, connected with Scotland, and Edinburgh in particu lar, about the period of my visit there. He lamented to us, the disorderly and ungovernable character of the emigrant workmen on the canal, and told us, that though he was himself a devoted advocate and practiser of Temperance, as were many of the Board of Superintendants for conducting this great work, all their efforts to prevail on the workmen to forego the use of ardent spirits, had been in vain. At first the Board made it a stipulation that no person employed by them should use spirits ; but they could get no men on this condition. Thev next allowed them liberty to use it, if purchased by themselves, but abstained from supplying any from the general provision-store. Even this, however, they were at length obliged to abandon, in order to keep their men, the majority of whom stipulated that they should have a certain number of gills of whisky or rum per day, served at the expense of the canal fund, in addition to their dollar a day, and log-huts rent-free ! He wished it were possible to get Father Mathew over from Ireland, to make the tour of the United States, and administer the total abstinence pledge to the thousands of his deluded countrymen, who are every day enslaving themselves to the yoke of poverty, disease, and misery, by their depraved appetite for strong drink ; and that, too, in spite of every effort made to reclaim them.* * It may be stated that the class of Irish emigrants who now go to America, having received the benefit of Father Mathew's labours before leaving Ireland, are very superior to those here described. 230 THE PRAIRIES. The town of Otto way is of very modern date, as an American settlement ; indeed, it owes almost all its present white population to the attraction of the canal, which has already caused a number of small settlements to spring up at different points along its line, in the anticipation of the benefits which can hardly fail to be enjoyed by them when the canal is completed, and the traffic on it is in actual opera tion. One certain advantage enjoyed by the early settlers is this, that they purchase the lands on which their township is seated at a very small price, and before 20 houses are finished, their lands are quadrupled in value. Every additional 50 dwell ings will more than double its value, and when the town becomes incorporated, and assumes the dignity of a city, which may happen to many of them within the lives of the first residents, their land will sell for a thousand times its original cost; there having been instances where 5,000 dollars have been given for an acre of land for building, within five years only after its first purchase at the Government price of l-£ dollar per acre. When Ottoway was purely an Indian village, it was sometimes the scene of great hospitality towards the whites who passed through it, a pleasant instance of which is recorded in Judge Burnet's Letters, pub lished in the Transactions of the Historical Society of Ohio, in these terms — " On one of our trips to Detroit, the Judges of the General Court being in company, we halted half a day at the Ottoway town. Blue Jacket, the war-chief, was absent. But we were received with kindness by the village chief, Buckingelas. When we went to his lodge, he was giving audience to a deputation of INDIAN GAMES. 231 chiefs from some Western tribes. We took seats at his request, till the conference was finished, and the strings of wampum dis posed of — he gave us no intimation of the subject-matter of the conference, and of course, we could not ask for it. In a little time he called in some of his young men, and requested them to get up a game of football, for our amusement. A purse of trin kets was soon made up, and the whole village, male and female, were on the lawn. At these games, the men played against the women, and it was a rule, that the former were not to touch the ball with their hands, on penalty of forfeiting the purse ; while the latter had the privilege of picking it up, running with, and throwing it as far as they could. When a squaw had the ball, the men were allowed to catch and shake her, and even throw her on the ground, if necessary, to extricate the ball from her hand, but they were not allowed to touch or move it, except by their feet. At the opposite extremes of the lawn, which was a beautiful plain, thickly set with blue-grass, stakes were erected, about six feet apart — the contending parties arrayed themselves in front of these stakes, the men on the one side, and the women on the other- The party which succeeded in driving the ball through the stakes, at the goal of their opponents, were proclaimed victors, and received the purse. "All things being ready, the old chief went to the centre of the lawn, and threw up the ball, making an exclamation, in the Shawanee language, which we did not understand. He imme diately retired, and the contest began. The parties seemed to be fairly matched, as to numbers, having about a hundred on a side. The game lasted more than an hour, with great animation, but was finally decided in favour of the ladies, by the power of an herculean squaw, who got the ball, and in spite of the men who seized her, to shake it from her uplifted hand, held it firmly, dragging them along, till she was sufficiently near the goal, to throw it through the stakes. The young squaws were the most active of their party, and of course, most frequently caught the ball. When they did so, it was amusing to see the strife between them and the 'young Indians, who immediately seized them, and always succeeded in rescuing the ball, though sometimes they could not effect their object, till their female competitors were 23.2 DRUNKEN INDIANS. thrown on the grass. When the contending parties had retired from the field of strife, it was pleasant to see the feelings of exult ation depicted in the faces of the victors, whose joy was mani festly enhanced by the fact, that their victory was won in the presence of white men, whom they supposed to be highly distin guished, and of great power in their nation. This was a natural conclusion for them to draw, as they knew we were journeying to Detroit, for the purpose of holding the general court, which they supposed controlled and governed the nation. " We spent the night very pleasantly among them, and in the morning resumed our journey. On our outward trip, we followed the Auglaize to Defiance, but on our return we crossed the Maumee, at the head of the rapids, and travelled an Indian path, which led us over some very miry prairies, to the same village at which we had been so much pleased, a few weeks before. On our arrival, we learnt that Blue Jacket had returned from Cincinnati, a day or two before, with some kegs of whisky. This information was soon confirmed by the fact, that the whole village were drunk, male and female. Still they received us with great kindness ; but it was a familiar, disgusting kindness, which we were not disposed to endure. An old wrinkle-faced squaw was extremely officious. Her attentions, however, were principally confined to Mr. St. Clair. She kissed him once or twice, exclaiming, ' you big man — governor son.' Then turning to us, with some disdain, she said, "you milish.' I must confess, that I never felt the advantage of being placed at a low grade, on the scale of dignity, more sensibly than on that occasion. The only alternative left us, was to proceed on our journey. " It was then late in the afternoon, and we had a wet and swampy path to pass over to the St. Mary's, filled with musqui. toes and gnats. It was a choice of evils, but we did not hesitate — we saddled our horses and put off. Night overtook us in the midst of the swamp. There being no moon, the shade of the forest rendered it impossible to keep the path, much less to see and avoid the quagmires, which seemed to be without number. We had no alternative but to stop till morning. To lie down was impossible, as we were in a low wet swamp ; and to sleep was more difficult, being enveloped in clouds of gnats and musquitoes. PLAGUE OF FLIES. 233 After contending with these tormentors through the night, daylight came to our relief, and we resumed our journey. We reached the old block-house, at the crossings, then occupied by Charles Murry and his squaw, where we got breakfast, and then proceeded on our homeward course.'' This was no favourable picture of journeying to contemplate, as we were about to proceed over nearly the same ground ; though we hoped that as Blue Jacket and Buckingelas, with all their red brethren, were now removed, and a race more competent to make good roads and provide travelling comforts, now filled their places, we should escape the greater part of the evils inseparable from travelling in these regions in early days, and go smoothly and pleasantly over the plains that lay between us and the Lake Michi gan. It is true, our beginning was not auspicious ; for when the supper was announced at five o'clock, and we sat down to the dirty and ill-furnished table of the principal inn here, we could not perceive the contents of any single dish on it, from the myriads of flies, which presented only one confused and tre mulous mass of black moving matter on the surface ; and when these were disturbed by the flyflaps and fans set in motion, the noise of their buzzing, and the stings they inflicted on the face and hands where they alighted, was sufficient to destroy all appetite, even had there being anything on the table that would tempt it, which, in this case, there certainly was not. The driver, too, when we were about to enter the coach, exhibited such surliness and inso lence combined, that we began to augur ill for our journey, as far, at least, as he was to proceed with us, and that, we understood, would be till midnight. 23 i THE PRAIRIES. Still, we hoped for the best; and in this feeling left Ottoway at six o'clock. Our way beyond this, was over an extensive prairie, the largest, indeed, that we had yet seen in the country, and, as we had three hours of daylight to travel on it, we had an opportunity of enjoying the novelty to the full. It was certainly very striking ; and created sensations in my own mind of pleasure and awe ; the former from the beauty of the verdant lawn, stretching over an immeasurable space, and adorned with the most brilliant and variegated flowers ; the latter, from the entire isolation and solitude in which every object seen, and every living creature moving upon its surface, seemed to live. As far as the eye could reach, in every direction, there was neither tree, nor shrub, nor house, nor shed visible ; so that we were rolling on as it were on the bosom of a new Atlantic, but that the sea was of rich green grass and flowers, instead of the briny and bottom less deep ; and a pleasurable excitement was produced by the feeling that there was more of danger here than in wooded and peopled tracts, as, if attacked by man or beast, there was no shelter, and no safety in pursuit. Even if an accident should happen, such as the disabling of the horses, the breaking down of the coach, or the missing the track and going in the wrong direction, which might readily happen in the slightest fog, or the clearest night, there was no assistance or advice, no aid or information to be had in any quarter, but we should be left to our own resources entirely. I had often travelled in the Deserts of Arabia and Mesopotamia ; but then, one is surrounded by companions in a caravan, and THE PRAIRIES. 235 mutual succour can always be had and rendered in time of need, so that I never felt before so strongly the sense of loneliness as here, where, though our party consisted of men, yet, as we all occupied one vehicle, and were all equally helpless in case we should break down in the middle of the boundless plain, we might be regarded as so many solitary in dividuals in this respect, without the power to aid one another. Among the many descriptions of the prairies that I had read, by others, — and nearly all since we had been within their region, at St. Louis, on the Mis sissippi, and on the Illinois, — there is none that so entirely corresponded with my own conceptions and feelings respecting them, as that of Judge Hall, who had passed many years among them, in his interest ing and valuable " Statistics of the West." After an interesting dissertation, in which he shows that forests, requiring a longer time to bring them to per fection than the formation of prairies, ought to be regarded as the ancient monuments of the vegetable world requiring centuries to complete their construc tion, he says — " The scenery of the prairie excites a different feeling. The novelty is striking, and never fails to cause an exclamation of surprise. The extend of the prospect is exhilarating. The out line of the landscape is sloping and graceful. The verdure and the flowers are beautiful ; and the absence of shade, and conse quent appearance of a profusion of light, produces a gaiety which animates the beholder. Though preserving a general level, they are not flat, but have a gracefully waving undulation, and a full rounded outline, equally avoiding the unmeaning horizontal sur face, and the interruption of abrupt or angular elevations. It is that surface which, in the expressive language of the country, is 236 THE PRAIRIES. called rolling, and which has been said to resemble the long heavy swell of the ocean, when its waves are subsiding to rest after the agitation of a storm. It is to be remarked also, that the prairie is almost always elevated in the centre, so that in advancing into it from either side, you see before you only the plain, with its curved outline marked upon the sky, and forming the horizon, but on reaching the highest point, you look around upon the whole of the vast scene. " The attraction of the prairie consists in its extent, its carpet of verdure and flowers, its undulating surface, its groves, and the fringe of timber by which it is surrounded. Of all these, the lat ter is the most expressive feature — it is that which gives character to the landscape, which imparts the shape, and marks the bound ary of the plain. If the prairie be small, its greatest beauty con sists in the vicinity of the surrounding margin of woodland, which resembles the shore of a lake, indented with deep vistas like bays and inlets, and throwing out long points like capes and headlands ; while occasionally these points approach so close on either hand, that the traveller passes through a narrow avenue or strait, where the shadows of the woodland fall upon his path — and then again emerges into another prairie. Where the plain is large, the forest-outline is seen in the far perspective, like the dim shore when beheld at a distance from the ocean. The eye sometimes roams over the green meadow, without discovering a tree, a shrub, or any object in the immense expanse, but the wilderness of grass and flowers ; while at another time, the pros pect is enlivened by the groves, which are seen interspersed like islands, or the solitary tree, which stands alone in the blooming desert. " The gaiety of the prairie, its embellishments, and the absence of the gloom and savage wildness of the forest, all contribute to dispel the feeling of lonesomeness which usually creeps over the rnind of the solitary traveller in the wilderness. Though he may not see a house, nor a human being, and is conscious that he is far from the habitations of men, he can scarcely divest himself of the idea that he is travelling through scenes embellished by the hand of art. The flowers, so fragile, so delicate, and so orna mental, seem to have been tastefully disposed 'to adorn the scene. THE PRAIRIES. 237 The groves and clumps of trees appear to have been scattered over the lawn to beautify the landscape, and it is not easy to avoid that illusion of the fancy, which persuades the beholder that such scenery has been created to gratify the refined taste of civilized man. Europeans are often reminded of the resemblance of this scenery to that of the extensive parks of noblemen, which they have been accustomed to admire, in the Old World ; the lawn, the avenue, the grove, the copse, which are there produced by art, are here prepared by nature ; a splendid specimen of massy architecture, and the distant view of villages, are alone wanting to render the similitude complete. " The first coat of grass is mingled with small flowers ; the violet, the bloom of the strawberry, and others of the most minute and delicate texture. As the grass increases in size, these disap pear, and others, taller and more gaudy, display their brilliant colours upon the green surface, and still later a larger and coarser succession rises with the rising tide of verdure. A fanciful writer asserts that the prevalent colour of the prairie flowers is, in the spring a bluish purple, in midsummer red, and in the autumn yellow. This is one of the notions that people get, who study nature by the fireside. The truth is, that the whole of the sur face of these beautiful plains is clad throughout the season of verdure with every imaginable variety of colour, 'from grave to gay ' It is impossible to conceive a more infinite diversity, or a richer profusion of hues, or to detect any predominating tint, except the green which forms the beautiful ground, and relieves the exquisite brilliancy of all the others. The only changes of colour observed at the different seasons, arise from the circum stance, that in the spring the flowers are small and the colours delicate ; as the heat becomes more ardent, a hardier race appears, the flowers attain a greater size, and the hue deepens ; and still later a succession of coarser plants rise above the tall grass, throwing out larger and gaudier flowers. As the season advances from spring to midsummer, the individual flower becomes less beautiful when closely inspected, but the landscape is far more variegated, rich, and glowing." p. 71. We could bear full testimony to the accuracy of 23S THE PRARIES. this description, having in the course of our drive across this prairie seen the greatest variety of flowers in the same spot that had ever met our eyes, not even excepting the beautiful ride from Cape Town to Constantia, at the Cape of Good Hope, where Mrs. Buckingham had accompanied me on our homeward voyage from India, and enriched her Herbarium with a number of exquisite specimens, but neither so numerous nor so beautiful as here, where a tolerably thick volume was nearly filled in the space of three hours, and many more might have been obtained, if there had been more time for col lecting them. As night approached, the aspect of the prairie became more remarkable, — the stars burning, rather than beaming, with the most brilliant light, the heavens of the darkest blue, and the wide expanse of grassy lawn offerincr no object to break the even line of the horizon in any direction — the scene was truly sublime, and the stillness and soli tude deeply impressive. At midnight, however, our troubles began. It has been already stated, that over the generally level plain of the prairies there are occasional undulations, like great waves upon a broad scale in the Atlantic or Pacific oceans. In the depressions between these swells, there are often found small rills of water, which so soften the soil as to form slouohs of con siderable depth. Of these we had crossed several in the course of the night, but after a heavy plunge we had surmounted them all, till at midnight, we sunk into one so deeply, as almost to bury the wheels entirely, and to defy the utmost power of the horses MIRING IN A SLOUGH. 230 to move them an inch. Our first step was to emptv the coach of all its passengers, and then repeat the effort, but it was still immoveable. After this, all the baggage was taken off, and the heads of the horses held by the passengers, while the driver urged, and whipped, and strained to the utmost, but all would not do. We were literally "in a bad fix," as the Western people say, and there seemed little or no hope of extrication. Our trunks and carpet-baes were all lyino- in the slough, and absorbing water pretty freely : the labour of carrying them to drier land was such as could not easily be performed, as their weight occasioned the person bearing rhem to sink so deep in the mire, as to make it difficult to lift the feet up again. So there was nothing to be done with our present force, and it therefore became necessary to send for aid. We asked the driver how he could think of bringing us into this slough, when right and left of it were places over which we could have passed in safety ? and were not a little surprised to hear him say, that it was hard to expect him to know the right track, as he had never driven across the prairie before — this was his first journey — and he was onlv now "learning to find out the proper road !" .which, after a few trips more, he hoped to understand. We were therefore in the condition of patients in public hospitals, on whom young surgeons first try their hands by way of experiment ; and upon the whole, we began to be thankful that things were no worse. We now despatched the driver on one of the leaders, unharnessed for the purpose, to the nearest place- for assistance, ordering him to bring a team of 210 THE PRAIRIES. oxen if horses could not be had, or a force of men if these could not be procured ; several of the passengers went on with him upon this errand, leav ing four of us only behind, seated in the coach to await their return. It was past daylight before the driver came back, bringing with him, however, no further help than a new cross-bar to repair one that had been broken by the strain, and a few poles to serve as levers for prizing the wheels out of the mud. Neither oxen, nor horses, nor men, were to be had, while the passengers who accompanied him on •foot, were so knocked up with their walk, that they were unable to return with him. Search had now to be made over the prairie for something in the shape of logs, or rails, or stones, to build up a ful crum, on which our levers could be made to rest, and without which, of course, they could not be applied to the wheels. This cost us much time and labour ; but at length, after more fatigue and discomfort than any one had anticipated, we succeeded in extricating the wheels, and drawing the coach out of the slough, after which we had to~ assist in loading our own lug gage, the driver's attention being necessarily confined to the horses ; and by sunrise we were once more fairly under way, but so jaded and dirtied by this tedious and disagreeable labour, as to be fitter for the bath or the bed than for proceeding on our journey. In about an hour's drive, we reached a small cluster of houses, dignified with the name of Lisbon — for nothing short of the names of the metropolitan cities of the Old World, will satisfy the ambition of the settlers in the New — where we found our fellow-passengers in bed, and, rousing them up, we PRODUCTIVE SOU. 24-1 partook here of a wretched breakfast at the early hour of 5 o'clock ; after such imperfect washing and brushing, as the rude and ill-provided cabin of these settlers would admit. The proprietor of this farm house had 600 acres of his own under tillage, in Indian corn, rye, and wheat, and all wearing a most flourishing aspect, yet everything about the dwelling was as destitute of comfort as if he were a poor labourer at a dollar a day, instead of a wealthy far mer, adding to his purchases of land every year. On inquiry of the landlord, I learnt that he had bought his prairie land four years since, at the Government price of a dollar and a quarter an acre, and that he had begun with only 100 acres ; he had made profit enough in the first year to buy an additional 100 acres in the second ; and had now, by progressive additions from year to year, augmented his possessions to S00 acres of good land, though only 600 were actually under tillage. He had begun with Indian corn, which yielded in the first year about 80, and in the second more than 100 bushels per acre. Wheat followed, yielding from 30 to 35 bushels per acre. Buckwheat, rye, barley, hemp, flax, oats, turnips, and potatoes, all grow well, and yield abundantly, profitably varying the produce of the farm ; while for cattle, there are no pastures richer than those of the prairies ; and cows and oxen turned out upon the plains, become as thoroughly fattened in a few months as if they were stall-fed on the best grains. Not only is the wheat abundant in quantity, but everywhere it is admitted that the wheat of the prairie lands in Illinois and Missouri is of superior quality, that it is more III. r * 242 INEXHAUSTIBLE SUPPLIES OF FOOD. highly esteemed, and brings a higher price in the Eastern States than the wheat of other quarters. It is said that 60 lbs. is about the standard weight of a bushel of wheat, in the Atlantic States ; and 63 lbs. is the highest weight of any yet produced there. In Ohio it has been known to attain to 64 lbs. ; and in Kentucky to 66 lbs. ; but in the prairie lands of Illinois, it often weighs 68 lbs., and is at the same time of the finest whiteness in colour, and highly nutritious in quality. With all these advantages of healthfulness, economy, and productiveness, I should consider the prairie lands, and especially those within reach of timber and water, of which there are many millions of acres yet unappropriated, to be by far the most advantageous for the settlement of farmers emigrating from Europe ; and I cannot doubt but that before many years are over, these magnificent plains will be the abode of a greatly increased popu lation. If the legislators of England could but be prevailed upon to remove all restrictions on the importation of food for the half-nourished population of the labouring classes of England, these prairies of the West might be made to yield, in a year or two at the utmost, food for millions ; and as the growers of grain and feeders of cattle, which might here be raised, would be as much in want of British manufactures of almost every kind, as our hungry artisans are of the necessary supply of food, the interchange of their respective productions would not fail to be mutually beneficial ; while such inter change, which it is entirely in the power of the British Legislature at once to admit, would do more than anything that could be devised or practised to BURNING THE PRAIRIES. 243 relieve the distresses of the working classes in Eng land, to revive the activity of commerce, give fair profit to capital, and even enrich the agriculturalists themselves, by their share in the general welfare and prosperity. It was customary, with the Indians, when they were the occupants of these plains, for them to set fire to the long dry prairie grass in the autumn of every year. The object of this was two-fold ; first, to take away the shelter of the game, and prevent the deer and other animals of the chase from being concealed beneath the tall stalks and flowers ; and secondly, to enrich the soil by the destruction of this mass of vegetable matter, and coating the earth with its deposit, as experience had taught them that a new crop of sweet green grass usually sprung up in the spring following such burnings, and this attracted new game to the spot. This practice is still con tinued by some of the settlers on the borders of the prairies ; and sometimes it occurs by accidental igni tion, as the smallest portion of fire, from a travelling party, or from the sparks of a pipe, are sufficient to light up the dry grass, which is then like tinder, and the blaze once kindled, is arrested only by its extinction. Judge Hall, who had often witnessed these conflagrations during his residence in the Western States, thus describes them — " The flames often extend across a wide prairie, and advance in a long line. No sight can be more sublime, than to behold at night, a stream of fire several miles in breadth, advancing across these plains, leaving behind it a black cloud of smoke, and throwing before it a vivid glare which lights up the whole land scape with the brilliancy of noonday. A roaring and cracking r2 244 BIRDS OF THE PRAIRIES. sound is heard like the rushing of a hurricane. The flame, which in general rises to the height of about twenty feet, is seen sinking, and darting upward in spires, precisely as the waves dash against each other, and as the spray flies up into the air ; and the whole appearance is often that of a boiling and flaming sea, violently agitated. The progress of the fire is so slow, and the heat so great, that every combustible material in its course is consumed. The root of the prairie-grass alone, by some peculiar adaptation of nature, is spared ; for of most other vegetables, not only is the stem destroyed, but the vital principle extinguished. Woe to the farmer, whose ripe corn-fields extend into the prairie, and who has carelessly suffered the tall grass to grow in contact with his fences ! The whole labour of the year is swept away in a few hours.'' We were too early in the season to witness such a scene, as these burnings occur only in August and September, but we saw many persons to whom they were familiar, and all described them as striking and sublime. We left Lisbon at half past six, a. m., and were soon out again on a boundless prairie, being at one time so completely in " the open sea," that no single tree, or any other object, save the verdant grass and beautiful flowers, could anywhere be seen. Birds were here more abundant than we had noticed before. Large flocks of black birds, about the size of the English starling, were most numerous. Besides these were a larger-sized bird, with beautiful patches of crimson, contrasting with its jetty black, on the pinions and near the tail, so that when on the wing, it looked brilliant ; but of prairie hens, a large kind of grouse that abounds here in the autumn, we saw none. The soil was everywhere fertile, and the undulations which broke the level of the surface, LARGE OLD INDIAN MOUND. 245 gentle and graceful. I had always thought the great plain of Esdraelon, in Palestine, one of the most extensive and fertile to be anywhere seen, but it is surpassed in both these qualities by the prairies of Illinois. About 10 o'clock, a. m., we came in sight of Mount Joliet, one of the largest of the Indian mounds in the country, bearing its present name from that of the French traveller, Sieur Joliet, by whom it was first visited in 1673. As we approached it, its size became more and more imposing, and the very soli tude amidst which it stands, with a level plain stretching away from it for many miles in every direction, makes its bulk the more imposing. It is oblong in form, and its dimensions have been ascertained to be about 1,300 feet in length, by 225 in width, and about 60 feet in perpendicular height. It covers, therefore, more than half the area of the base of the great pyramid of Egypt, which may be stated in round numbers to be 500,000 square feet, while this includes a space of nearly 300,000 square feet, and it is computed to contain no less than 18,000,000 of cubic feet of earth. The sides slope at so steep an angle, that they are very diffi cult of ascent ; but on the summit is a fine level plain, from which a most extensive view of the surrounding prairie may be commanded. No possible doubt can exist of its being wholly artificial, the labour of some race of Indians of earlier date and higher civilization than Jhe red men found here by the first white visitors to this continent, and allied, most probably, to those of Mexico. That this vast tumulus might have been the tomb of some great warrior-chief, is 246 INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. quite as probable as that a separate pyramid should have been erected in Egypt to be the tomb of Cheops, and another to be the sepulchre of Ceph- renes ; or that the tumuli of Ajax and Achilles on the Plains of Troy, should have been each the burial-place of the Grecian chiefs to whom they are re spectively assigned. But this Indian mound may have answered other purposes besides. Like the teocalli among the Mexicans, it may have been the elevated altar of sacrifice to their gods, or the place of immo lation for victims taken in war ; and that this was the practice of the Indians of these northern regions, is the opinion of one who has paid more attention to their history and antiquities, and lived more among their descendants, than almost any man now living, I mean General Harrison, the present candi date* for the Presidency of the United States, whose Discourse on the Aborigines of the Valley of the Ohio, as published in the Transactions of the Histo rical Society of that State, is one of the most valu able contributions that has yet been rendered to Indian history. In the Appendix to this, he says — " The temples of Circleville, Grave Creek, and Newark, no doubt, annually streamed with the blood (if not of thousands, like those of Cholula and Mexico,) of hundreds of human beings. At the period of the arrival of the Spaniards in Mexico, the profusion of victims demanded for sacrifice, was supplied by pri soners taken in war. Dr. Robertson objects to the account given by all the early Spanish historians, as to the number of these vic tims, upon the ground of the effect it would have upon population. lie adopts the opinion of Las Casas, that if there had been such a waste of the human species, the country never could have * This Diary having been written on the spot in June, 1840, the phraseology then used is suffered to remain. HUMAN SACRIFICES. 247 attained that degree of populousness for which it was remarkable. This reasoning is not, however, sufficient to overthrow the positive assertion of so many contemporary historians. For many years before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Mexicans had been engaged in successful wars ; and as it was the inviolable practice to sacrifice every prisoner, the number might have reached, for several years preceding the arrival of Cortes, even the highest number which the historians referred to have mentioned, without conflicting with their assertions as to the populousness of the country. For, in relation to the latter, these writers must have referred not to the conquered nations, but to the conquerors, or those, the Tlascalans for instance, who had not submitted to the Mexican power. It is asserted by Captain Cook, in his third voyage, that the practice of sacrificing human victims pervaded all the islands of the Pacific ocean, and that it produced a very ' decided effect upon the population. The want of prisoners of war was supplied from their own people. When this distinguished navigator was last at Otaheite, a civil war was raging. The party attached to the head chief or king had been unsuccessful. After each disaster, sacrifices of this kind were offered to their god, to obtain more favourable results. One of the chiefs, upon being questioned upon the subject, defended the propriety of the prac tice, because, as he said, it propitiated the deity, who ' fed upon the souls of the sacrificed,' and repelled the charge of inhumanity, ' because the victim was selected from the poorest of the people,' the very class which forms the strength of every nation, which fights its battles, and protects its independence. But for the indisputable evidence which we have upon this subject, it could scarcely be believed, that the rulers of any people could ever adopt a practice, at once so cruel and so destructive in its conse quences — producing the necessity of a double draft upon their population, to supply the losses of the battle-field, and the demands of their own priesthood. Such, no doubt, was the practice with the Mexicans, and the nation of whose history I have attempted to 'present some gleanings, and it will serve to strengthen my conjecture, that the fate of the latter was hastened by their labouring under the double curse of an arbitrary govern ment, and a cruel, bigoted, and bloody religion."— p. 265. 248 TREMENDOUS STORM. While we were opposite to this mound of Mount Joliet, and within a few yards of its base, we were ex posed to the fury of one of the most violent thunder storms that we had experienced in the country. Those we had witnessed when ascending the moun tain of Catskill, on the Hudson river, were grand ; and several off Cape Hatteras, on the voyage from New York to Charleston by sea, were fearful. The latest and loudest we had encountered was at Louis ville, on the Ohio. But neither of these equalled, in the loud crashes of the thunder, the intense vivid ness of the forked lightning, or the heavy deluge of 'descending rain, this storm on the prairie. The absence of all shelter occasioned us to be of course the more exposed to its merciless fury, and it literally raged with the force and violence of a typhoon or a hurricane. The horses were terrified into perfect stillness ; the driver resigned his reins and quitted his seat, to hide beneath the lee of the coach ; and the passengers were all mute and grave, from a feeling approaching very near to horror. The resistless blast swept by like a tornado, and there was no facing the tempest and keeping the eyes open. Ten thousand pieces of the largest artillery all discharged at the same moment, could not have shaken the atmosphere so violently, or have been more deafening, than the crashes and rattlings of the thunder, peal succeeding peal, in almost continuous succession ; while the intervals between the flashes of lightning wore the darkness of a total eclipse ; and the rain, when the lightning glared forth again, seemed like a white smoking mist or foam, chafed into collision, and scattered into spray, by the rapidity JULIET AND LOCKPORT. 249 of its almost horizontal motion. We all rejoiced most heartily when it began to abate, and we enjoyed the bright sunshine that succeeded, with a new zest ; but unfortunately, the prairie, already too moist in all its hollows or depressions, now presented the aspect of so many small lakes, through which it was necessary to wade with great caution to prevent a repetition of the detention which had before be fallen us. About noon, we reached the small town of Joliet, so named from the mound, but already transformed into Juliet, both in orthography and pronunciation, by those who are evidently ignorant of the etymology, and think the Juliet of Shakspeare must be the origin or source from whence the name of their town was derived ; and as they have in several States the names of Homer, Virgil, and Milton, for their towns, the Juliet of poetical and amorous celebrity, may be deemed quite as becoming and appropriate. We had here a second thunder-storm, not so violent as the first, but we were now protected by shelter, and did not regard it much, except, indeed, that the increased fall of rain would only serve to increase the already wide-spread flood, which literally deluged the prairie, and which we feared might render the slough literally impassable. At 2, p. m., we reached Lockport, crossing the Fox river, by fording it at a spot where the canal is to be carried across by a bridge aqueduct. This was one of the prettiest towns we had seen on the way. The works for the canal were here prosecuting with more vigour than elsewhere, and the whole place had a very thriving aspect. A basin and locks 250 DARKNESS IN THE PRAIRIES. were here constructing for the canal, which gave the name to the town. About 200 houses were already built, and the greater number of these were large and commodious, in good taste, and ornamented with surrounding gardens. The situation was remarkably beautiful ; for here the open prairie changed to the wooded, where sloping lands were slightly clothed with occasional clumps of trees and small groves, beautifully variegating the surface, and giving the whole the appearance of an artificial park. We had a most agreeable ride from Lockport through this charming scenery for the whole of the afternoon, when at sunset a third violent thunder storm pealed over our heads, and soon descended in torrents of rain. It was scarcely inferior in violence to the storm of the morning, and was succeeded by a night of pitchy darkness, in which not a single star could be seen. We entered, therefore, upon this second night's journey across the prairie with most uncomfortable forebodings. The calm that succeeded the thunder-storm left the air close and sultry in the extreme ; and the driver had picked up occasioaal passengers by the way till our number was increased to twelve inside. Partly, therefore, to relieve our limbs from the fatigue and pressure, partly to ease the horses, and sometimes, in sloughs, to prevent our sticking fast in the mire, we had occasion fre quently to get out and walk, though in doing this we had often to wade through marshy and miry ground, that often rendered it doubtful whether we could pass over it without sinking. It was midnight when we reached the last stage ACCUMULATION OF EVILS. 251 for our changing horses before we should arrive at Chicago, the distance being 1 2 miles ; but here it was thought necessary to change coaches also, and accordingly all the discomfort of re-loading had to be repeated. The object of changing the coach was to give us a much heavier vehicle, with broad wheels like a waggon, as the road was said to be so much worse between this and Chicago, than on any part of the route, that a narrow wheel would sink up beyond the axle, and only very broad ones could sus tain us. While this change of coaches was making, we had to wait in the bar-room of one of the most filthy and wretched houses we had yet seen, in which the smell of rum and tobacco, mingled with other powerfully disagreeable odours, was most offensive ; the hideous-looking bar-keeper appeared like a man who never washed or combed, and none of whose garments had ever been changed since he had first put them on ; — altogether nothing could be more revolting. To add to our discomforts, the place at which we halted, seemed to be the head-quarters of the mos quito tribe ; they kept our hands and handkerchiefs in constant motion ; and yet they evaded both, so as to cover the faces of most of the parties with large pustules from their bites. They were the largest and most venomous I had ever seen ; and the sultriness of the night, the closeness of the place, and the filth of the room in which we were staying, seemed to give them new vigour. I went into the open air, hoping for some relief, but met as large a legion of them without as within, and found there was no escape from their tormenting attacks. One 2.)2 PRAIRIE WOLVES. of our Western passengers declared that in a part of the prairie from which he had come, they were so thick that if you held out your naked arm straight for a few minutes, so as to allow them to settle on it, they would be followed by such a cloud of others hovering round them, that if you suddenly drew in your arm, you would perceive a clear hole left in the cloud, by the space which the arm had occupied! But the Western people delight in these exaggerated figures ; for in the course of the night, one of them remarked, on the comparative speed of two boats on the Illinois river, that one of them would go faster while she was standing still, than the other with all her steam on ; and the driver, who was dissatisfied with the dulness of the lamps prepared for our last stage of the journey, exclaimed, "Well, if we can only rig out two more such lamps as these, we shall be pretty near to total darkness." That nothing might be wanting to add to the effect of this midnight scene, we had a howling con cert of prairie wolves, who seemed to surround the house in droves or packs, and re-echo each other's cries in a spirit of ferocious rivalry. I caught a sight of several, and thought them so exactly like the jackall of Asia, that I feel persuaded they must be the same creature. Like these, they prowl about by night, and avoid the day ; like these they prey on the poultry and smaller game, and are too timid to attack men ; and since I had left Calcutta, where the jackalls come into the gardens and house-grounds in great numbers, and set up a most discordant yell, I had never heard sounds so much like these, as in this midnight cry of the prairie wolves. The animals COMFORTLESS TRAVELLING. 253 themselves seem a compound of the wolf, the fox, and the dog, in character, appearance, and habits. At length, the broad-wheeled and lumbering coach being ready, we all seated ourselves, and, at a creep ing pace, left this last stage, the horses walking slowly all the way, at the rate of about two miles an hour, with haltings at every pit and slough, to sur vey the road before crossing it, and with the wheels scarcely ever less than six inches, and oftener a foot deep in mud and water. Altogether, this last night was by far the most disagreeable that we had ever passed in journeying through the United States. We had all the combined evils of bad roads, thick dark ness, suffocating heat, a crowded stage, disagreeable companions, filthy stage-houses, venomous mosqui toes, and continual apprehension of being upset in the mire, and there left to grope our way to the nearest house for shelter. I thought it was impossible that any journeying could be worse than this ; and yet, I remembered at the time, and the recollection somewhat softened my feelings of dissatisfaction, the striking picture which Judge Burnet gives, in his " Letters to the Historical Society of Ohio," of his early journeys as a barrister, in tracts very similar to this, which almost reconciled me to our present in conveniences, as less, by comparison, than his. Here is his interesting narrative, which is worthy of being transcribed, for the sake of the striking picture it gives of early professional life in America — " If you look at the map of the territory, and ascertain the situation of the seats of justice, in the several counties, as they existed at that time, and consider that the country was then an unbroken wilderness, without roads, and destitute of a white 254 BARRISTERS ON CIRCUIT. population, except in the immediate vicinity of the county towns, you will be ready to conjecture, that the legal business of each county was transacted by such professional men as resided in it. Such, however, was not the fact. From the year 1796, till the formation of the State Government in 1803, I attended the gene ral court at Cincinnati, Marietta, and Detroit regularly, and never missed a term during that period. The jaunts between those remote places, through a wilderness country, in its primitive state, were attended with exposure, fatigue, and hazard. We generally travelled in parties of two or three, or more, and took a pack- horse to transport such necessaries, as our own horses could not conveniently carry ; for no dependence could be placed for sup plies on the route. Though we frequently passed through Indian villages, they were too poor to afford assistance. Sometimes we could purchase from them small quantities of corn for the use of our horses, but even this relief was not to be depended on. " In performing these journeys, either in summer or winter, the traveller was compelled to swim every water-course in his route, which could not be forded ! The country being destitute of bridges and ferries, as well as roads, we had to rely on our horses, as the only substitute ; and it sometimes happened, that after swimming a stream covered with floating ice, we had to encamp on the ground for the night. This consideration made it common for a person, when purchasing a horse, to ask the ques tion, whether he was a good swimmer ; which was considered one of the most valuable qualities of a saddle-horse. I recollect, in the fall of 1801, on my return, without company, from the gene ral court at Marietta, it rained almost incessantly, during the whole journey, which subjected me to the necessity of swimming four or five times on my horse, once at White-oak, with evident peril of life. That stream was higher than I have ever seen it before, or since. The bottom, on the east side, was entirely covered with water. When I came to the edge of it, I paused for some time, to ascertain whether the water was rising or fall ing ; on being satisfied of the former, I determined to proceed. For the purpose of keeping my papers dry, they were taken from my saddle-bags, and tied behind me on the top of my cloak. The opposite bank was a bluff, having a narrow way cut down to -the ARRIVAL AT CHICAGO. 2^0 creek, where the path crossed it, for the use of travellers. After estimating the velocity of the current as well as I could, by the motion of the drift-wood, for the purpose of deciding how far I should enter above the landing-place, in order to strike it, I dashed in, with the head of my horse a little up-stream ; he however chose to steer for himself, and made directly for the landing. Being a fine swimmer, he struck it at the lower point, so as to enable me to grasp a bush, by which I was able to assist him, in extricating us both from the threatening danger. I rose to the bank with a light heart, and proceeded on my way to Williamsburg, where I swani the East-fork, rather than wait for a canoe from the opposite side. The next morning I swam it again, near where Batavia now stands, and the same day arrived safely at home.'* When daylight opened upon us, we obtained a distant sight of the white houses of Chicago a long way off, on the plain ; but, distant as they still seemed, never did weary mariner hail the first opening of the harbour, into which he was running to escape ship wreck or storm, with more joy than did we welcome these first tokens of our approach to a place of rest. It was past sunrise before we reached the town, having been 6 hours coming the last 12 miles, and 40 hours performing the whole journey of 96 miles. But we found delightful quarters in the excellent hotel of the Lake House, and what was still better, the cordial greetings and welcome of former friends, whom we had known at Baltimore and Washington, and we felt ourselves, therefore, by the contrast, in Elysium. * Our English barristers, in their luxurious mode of " going the Circuit," could hardly be able to conceive such " professional life" as this. 25b CHAP. XIV. Stay at Chicago — History, site, and plan of the town — Hotels — Stores and private residences — Churches and sects — Catholic excommunication — Population of Chicago — Extravagant land- speculators — Climate — Advantages of the projected canal to connect Lake Michigan with the Mississippi— Servants of the East India Company at Chicago — Disappointment of English emigrants here — Steamboats of the Lakes, finest of their kind — History of the first discovery and settlement of Illinois — French name of The Prairies — Indian tribes there — Cession of Illinois with Louisiana to the United States — Extent, area, and boundaries of Illinois State — Face of the country — Military bounty lands — Mineral and agricultural resources — Wild animals — Modes of hunting wolves and deer — Domestic cattle — Merino and Saxony sheep — Legislative education — Religious sects — Future prosperity — Forest scene. We remained at Chicago about a week, and passed it most agreeably ; the comforts of the Hotel being equal to that of any house we had met with since leaving Baltimore, and superior to most of those in the West ; and the society being the most hospitable and polished that we had for a long time mixed with. As a town, Chicago — (pronounced always Chickaw-go) — is of very recent date, being hardly five years old. But as a fort it was occupied by the HISTORY OF CHICAGO. 257 Americans some time previous to the last war with the British, under the name of Fort Dearborn, and was the scene of a bloody massacre of the whites by the Indians, in 1812. It appears that before the actual declaration of that war by the United States, the Canadians and their Indian allies were well prepared for it ; and before any intelligence of the declaration had reached Mackinaw, a body of 500 Indians appeared before it, and compelled the commander, an American lieutenant, with 58 men only, to surrender the fort to them. About the same time, the celebrated Chief of the Pottowatta- mie Indians, named Blackbird, appeared at the head of a host of warriors, opposite to Fort Dear born, now Chicago. The officer in command, who had only 54 soldiers and 12 militia-men, having had previous advice of their approach, evacuated the fort ; but while marching from it, on the shore of the lake, they were attacked by the Indians, and 26 of the soldiers, the whole of the militia, 2 women, and 12 children were killed, and the rest taken prisoners. Two years after this, in 18 14, the American Government sent commissioners to open a negotia tion with the Indians at Chicago, for the purchase of their lands, then held by the Pottowattamies, in various parts of Illinois ; but it was not until 1821, that a treaty could be framed which there was any probability of their accepting, and even this they at first strenuously rejected. The speech made by the Chief, with whom Governor Cass — the present Minister to France for the United States — opened the negotiation, and which was delivered by this in. s * 258 CHICAGO. Chief, Metea, in that year, at Chicago, is preserved, and well worthy of record here, as strikingly illus trative of the manner in which the Indians con sidered themselves to be treated by the whites. It is as follows — " My Father, — We have listened to what you have said. We shall now retire to our camps and consult upon it. You will hear nothing more from us at present. [This is a uniform custom of all the Indians. When the council was again convened, Metea continued.] We meet you here to-day, because we had promised it, to tell you our minds, and what we have agreed upon among ourselves. You will listen to us with a good mind, and believe what we say. You know that we first came to this country, a long time ago, and when we sat ourselves down upon it, we met with a great many hardships and difficulties. Our country was then very large ; but it has dwindled away to a small spot, and you wish to purchase that ! This has caused us to reflect much upon what you have told us ; and we have, therefore, brought all the chiefs and warriors, and the young men and women and chil dren of our tribe, that one part may not do what the others object to, and that all may be witnesses of what is going forward. You know your children. Since you first came among them, they have listened to your words with an attentive ear, and have always hearkened to your counsels. Whenever you have had a proposal to make to us, whenever you have had a favour to ask of us, we have always lent a favourable ear, and our invariable answer has been ' yes.' This you know ! A long time has passed since we first came upon our lands, and our old people have all sunk into their graves. They had sense. We are all young and foolish, and do not wish to do anything that they would not approve, were they living. We are fearful we shall offend their spirits, if we sell our lands ; and we are fearful we shall offend you, if we do not sell them. This has caused us great perplexity of thought, because we have counselled among ourselves, and do not know how we can part with the land. Our country was given to us by the Great Spirit, who gave it to us to hunt upon, to make SPEECH OF AN INDIAN CHIEF. 259 our cornfields upon, to live upon, and to make down our beds upon when we die. And he would never forgive us, should we bargain it away. When you first spoke to us for lands at St. Mary's, we said we had a little, and agreed to sell you a piece of it ; but we told you we could spare no more. Now you ask us again. You are never satisfied I We have sold you a great tract of land already ; but it is not enough 1 We sold it to you for the benefit of your children, to farm and to live upon. We have now but little left. We shall want it all for ourselves. We know not how long we may live, and we wish to have some lands for our children to hunt upon. You are gradually taking away our hunting-grounds. Your children are driving us before them. We are growing uneasy. What lands you have, you may retain for ever ; but we shall sell no more. You think, perhaps, that I speak in passion ; but my heart is good towards you. I speak like one of your own children. I am an Indian, a red-skin, and live by hunting and fishing, but my country is already too small ; and I do not know how to bring up my children, if I give it all away. We sold you a fine tract of land at St. Mary's. We said to you then, it was enough to satisfy your children, and the last we should sell : and we thought it would be the last you would ask for. We have now told you what we had to say. It is what was determined on, in a council among ourselves ; and what I have spoken, is the voice of my nation. On this account, all our people have come here to listen to me ; but do not think we have a bad opinion of you. Where should we get a bad opinion of you ? We speak to you with a good heart, and the feelings of a friend. You are acquainted with this piece of land — the country we live in. Shall we give it up ? Take notice, it is a small piece of land, and if we give it away, what will become of us ? The Great Spirit, who has provided it for our use, allows us to keep it, to bring up our young men and support our families. We should incur his anger, if we bartered it away. If we had more land, you should get more ; but our land has been wasting away ever since the white people became our neighbours, and we have now hardly enough left to cover the bones of our tribe. You are in the midst of your red children. What is due to us in money, S 2 260 CHICAGO. we wish, and will receive at this place ; and we want nothing more. We all shake hands with you. Behold our warriors, our women, and children. Take pity on us and on our words." Time, however, and the exercise of those arts of bribery, seduction, and corruption, which have been so constantly practised by the white negotiators, whenever they have found their red brethren diffi cult to be persuaded into acquiescence with their views, ultimately overcame all obstacles, and the whole of Illinois became the property of the Govern ment ; while the Pottowattamies had to seek a new home beyond the Mississippi. The original enclosure of the old Fort Dearborn still remains on the shore of the lake, and just opposite to the hotel in which we resided, with its high and pointed stockades for defence, its interior lawn or square, and the barracks opening inwards towards it, forming a venerable relic of the com paratively olden time, in this otherwise entirely new town of Chicago. It was about five years since that the attention of speculators was first directed to this spot as an eligible situation for a town and fort, and probably with a view to its becoming a place of some import ance in the new line of communication between the Lakes and the Mississippi. In the mania for planting cities, and buying and selling house-lots, which then prevailed all over the United States, Chicago held a distinguished place ; and perhaps in no spot throughout the Union were more absurd or more extravagant bargains made for land than here. We were assured, by persons now residing here, and then present, that building-lots in streets LAND SPECULATORS. 261 not yet marked out, except on paper, were sold from hand to hand at least ten times in the course of a single day, and at every new sale with a large advance of capital, so as to cost the evening pur chaser, at the very least, ten times as much as the price paid by the morning buyer for the same spot ! The usual custom was to pay 10 per cent, deposit in cash, upon the transaction, and leave the balance on credit ; the seller holding a lien or mortgage on the property itself for his security. The conse quence of such a system was, that many bought for ten times the amount of their actual capital, and beggared themselves to pay the deposits ; and it almost invariably happened that the last purchaser being unable either to sell at an advance, or to provide funds for his payment, the land reverted back again to his predecessor ; while he, being in the same situation, was obliged to follow the same process with the one who went before him ; and thus it continually occurred, that lands and build ing-lots reverted back to their original owners, who had received more than the actual value of them in forfeited deposits, and got their own property back again for nothing ! Some dozen wealthy families now residing here have been thus enriched by this pro cess, and the speculators who were ruined by it are scattered and gone. All the scenes recorded to have taken place in London and Paris, at the time of Law's famous Mississippi scheme, seem to have been enacted here, on a smaller scale, but with less disastrous results, because here, some at least have been benefited ; and here, the nucleus of a large and flourishing city has been established. 202 CHICAGO. The site of Chicago is perfectly level, being the continuation of the green prairie, which extends westward of the town much farther than the eye can reach. On the east, it has the Lake Michigan, close to the beach of which it begins, and the inlet called the river Chicago, which gives name to the town, divides it into about two equal parts. It is not a river, as it has no source or spring, and no current or flow ; but it extends for some miles into the level plain, and is not more than 50 yards broad, but sufficiently deep for large vessels, so that it forms an excellent and safe harbour for all ships and boats frequenting it. A small lighthouse affords a beacon-light to approaching navigators ; and a double pier, in parallel lines, jutting out a consider able distance from the beach, forms a safe and easy channel of entrance and exit to and from the creek, so that it is accessible at all hours of the day or night. The town is planned with the usual symmetry, and the streets are of ample width, being mostly lined with rows of trees separating the side-walks from the main centre. None of the streets are* yet paved ; indeed, many of them have still the green turf of the prairie grass in their centre, while the only side-walks yet made are of planks of wood, except a small piece of flag-stone 'pavement round the Lake House hotel, which, from the scarcity of stone and high price of labour, cost 900 dollars to lay down. Most of the stores are capacious and substantial, many of them being built of brick ; and the main-street of business presents as bustling an aspect as any street in Cincinnati or St. Louis. BUILDING*. 263 There are four hotels, all good, and the Lake House is very superior, being the property of a gentleman who resides in it with his numerous family, and kept by au English landlord, Mr. Shelley ; and as both of these like comforts themselves, they provide them amply for their guests and visitors. The private residences are mostly pretty villas, some of them large and elegant, built with great taste, and surrounded with well-planted gardens. These are mostly on the north side of the river, where the more opulent families reside, and on this side the Lake House is situated. This is called the fashionable quarter, as the business streets and business transactions are chiefly on the other side. The communication is by a horse and a foot ferry-boat, drawn across the river by a rope. and passing and repassing every five minutes, maintained by subscription among the inhabitants. and therefore charging no fee for crossing. There is said to be a strong feeling of rivalry between the dwellers on the opposite sides of the river, as at Providence, in Rhode Island : the people on the one side not patroniiing anything originating- or carrying on upon the other, with as much real as if it began and was conducted in tlieir own quarter. Of churches, there are but three Protestant — the Episcopal, Baptist, and Methodist ; and two Catholic. The Unitarians have a congregation, but these wor ship in a large saloon, built for a lecture-room, or place of public meeting, capable originally of hold ing 1000 persons, but now divided off into two rooms, each furnishing comfortable space for 500. 264 CHICAGO. Considerable excitement was occasioned during out stay here, by an expected riot among the Irish Catholics, on behalf of a priest who was a great favourite with them. It appears that this reverend father had in some manner caused the church of which he was pastor, and certain lands, house, and furniture attached to it, to be made, by legal instru ment, his own individual and exclusive property ; and deeming himself thus in secure and immoveable possession, he defied all his ecclesiastical superiors. He had been for some time habitually intemperate, and it was alleged that he had also committed extensive frauds. This is certain, that the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese, and the Vicar- General from St. Louis, had come on to Chicago from the south, for the purpose of forcing the priest to surrender the property which he unlawfully held, and then publicly excommunicating him. The expectation of this ceremony drew crowds of Protestants toge ther on the Sunday morning it was appointed to take place ; and the sympathy felt by the Irish labourers on the canal, here pretty numerous, for one of their own priests, who freely drank whisky with them, was such, that they had declared they would clear the church, if any attempt were made to excommunicate tlieir favourite. The Bishop and Vicar-General hearing this, went among these men, and addressed them on the subject, reminding them of their allegiance to the church, and their duty of obedience to its decrees; told them they knew no distinction of nation or habit among Ca tholics, but that the only distinction which must be maintained, was between the worthy and the unwor- POPULATION. 265 thy, the faithful and unfaithful sons of the church ; and concluding by warning them that if they offered the slightest resistance to any public cere mony enjoined by the church, they would them selves incu'r the guilt of sacrilege, and be accordingly subjected to the very pains and penalties of excom munication which they wished to avert from another. This had the effect of calming them into submission, and the priest learning this, consented to assign over to his superiors the property of the church which he had unlawfully withheld from it, and to leave the town on the following day, so that all further proceedings were stayed against him. The population of Chicago is estimated at about 6,000 persons, the greater number of whom are actively engaged in trade ; but there is a larger proportion of retired families, army officers, and persons living on incomes derived from land and funds, and therefore not engaged in commerce, than is generally found in towns of so small a size. These constitute a circle of most agreeable society; and with them we enjoyed several pleasant walks, morning visits, and evening parties. So extravagant were the expectations or preten sions of the speculators who founded this town here, that they mapped it out on paper to extend more than four miles inland from the Lake, along which its broadest front would of course be ; and a gentleman stated to us that he had purchased some land adjoining the outer edge of the thus extended town on paper, for 1,000 dollars an acre, for which he could not realize 100 dollars now, and might possibly never be able to get 50 dollars. 266 CHICAGO. The climate of Chicago is very agreeable in summer. From the bright blue Lake of Michigan, which forms so prominent an object in the picture from every part of the town, and which contrasts so strikingly with the boundless green prairie in the opposite quarter of the horizon, there blows, during almost every hour of the da)-, a cool and refreshing breeze, which greatly tempers the solar heat, and makes the climate delicious. But this fine weather is confined to the months of June, July, and August; for in May it is chillv, and in September stormy ; and all the rest of the year it is bitterly cold, the thermometer being as often below zero as above it during the three coldest months of winter. It is, however, extremely healthy during all the year. When the canal is completed to unite the waters of Lake Michigan with those of the Illinois and Mississippi, Chicago cannot fail to become a large city ; but the difficulty of obtaining the 5,000,000 dollars still necessary for that purpose, is verv great, in the present low condition of the American State credit. A railroad might have been constructed at one-tenth of the expense, as the whole way is per fectly level. Indeed, there are certain periods of the vear, when the waters are high, in which boats have been known to pass from the Illinois into the Fox river, and thence into the Chicago creek, and so perform their transit by water all the way ; but this is only at distant intervals of time, though it shows the perfectly level nature of the tract be tween. While at Chicago, I was waited upon by some Englishmen, who were anxious to know whether SUFFERING EMIGRANTS. '^67 I was the same Mr. Buckingham who had taken so much pains to rouse the people of England against the further continuance of the East India Monopoly; and this question being answered in the affirmative, the parties said they had not come to reproach me for what I had done, as they had no doubt I was actuated by good motives, and that the granting of an equally free trade to all the nation, was for the public benefit. But they added, that they were persons who were in the Company's service in London, attached to their warehouses and other commercial establishments, and that being thrown out of employment by this breaking up of their monopoly, they had been induced to come out to America to better their condition. They had heard of the rising prospects of Chicago, and had been tempted in an evil hour to come thus far; but having been among the unfortunate buyers of land-lots, who could not realize their purchases, they had lost everything they had saved in their former service and brought out with them, and were now struggling up in the world as well as they could. They possessed at present the means of earning their subsistence, but little more ; yet seeing that others were in a similar condition, having lost all their capital, and being obliged, like themselves, to begin the world again, they endeavoured to be content. They intended to remain here, as they felt assured that the chances of getting forward in this country, for persons in their situation, was much greater than in England, to which, therefore, strongly as they desired to see it again, they had no thought of returning, until they had earned sufficient to enable them to do so in com fort and independence. 268 CHICAGO. During our stay at Chicago, we saw some of the largest and finest steamboats that exist in the United States. These are employed in the navigation of the Lakes from hence to Buffalo, a distance of nearly 1,000 miles, and a great portion of the way out of sight of land. They are accordingly built of large size, from 600 to 800 tons, of great solidity, equal to that of ships navigating the ocean, with their engines, some few of high, but the greater number of low pressure, of the best construction, and all their interior arrangement of sleeping-berths, state rooms, cabins, and saloons, excellent. The Illinois takes the first rank, perhaps, in her united attrac tions, being large, strong, safe, fast, and peculiarly elegant. She is built after the fashion of the Eastern boats, such as go between New York and Providence or Boston, but much more elegant than any of these. The Illinois, indeed, may be called a floating palace, the most costly decorations being everywhere lavished on her, as may be judged of from the fact of her costing 130,000 dollars from the builder's hands. The Great Western is another splendid boat, still larger than the Illinois, and almost as richly orna mented, but built on the plan of the Mississippi boats, with a double deck of cabins, so as to accom modate about 500 passengers, with high-pressure engines, but combining also speed, safety, and com fort, in an unusual degree. The Buffalo, the Erie, and the Cleveland, are all fine boats, in the same line, and all have their equipments in officers, ser vants, and table, on the most liberal scale. As we had now coasted along the shores of Illi nois from the Ohio to the Upper Mississippi, a EARLY DISCOVERERS. 269 distance of about 400 miles — and had come up through the centre of the country, a distance of nearly 400 miles more — I had compiled sufficient materials for a description of the State, and to these were cheerfully added the contribution of many interesting facts by friends at Chicago, long resident in the country. The result of the whole will be found embodied in the ensuing sketch. The history of Illinois goes back to a much earlier date than that of many of the States incorpo rated long before it into the General Union. As early as the year I67O, this region was first visited by the French, who were then in possession of Canada. According to some authorities, the cele brated La Salle was the first Frenchman who pro jected a visit from Canada to the river Mississippi, by crossing this section of country ; and it is alleged that he set out with Father Hennepin and a few followers for that purpose, when, reaching the bottom of Lake Michigan, they traversed the prairies from thence, and went down the river Illinois to the Mis sissippi. General Harrison, however, in his Histo rical Discourse on the Aborigines of America, has another, and probably a more authentic, version of the first discovery of the Illinois, which may be given in his own words — " Mr. Butler, in the introduction to his history, gives an ac count of the early voyages of discovery, to the west of Lake Michigan, made under the governor of Canada. The first of these was made by Father Marquette. His principal object was to find the great river of the west, of which they had often heard, but by accounts so uncertain, that it was a matter of dispute, whether it poured its mighty mass of water into the Gulf of California, that of Mexico, or into the Atlantic ocean, on the 270 STATE OF ILLINOIS. coast of Virginia. This Father proceeded with a party, in two canoes, in the year 1673, to the west side of Lake Michigan, and coasting it southwardly to the Bay des Puans, (Green Bay,) ascended to the Fox river, the portage, communicating with the Wisconsin, and down the latter to the Mississippi. Pursuing their voyage on that river as low down as the Arkansas, whence they returned up the river, and, by a fortunate circumstance, under the guidance of some of the natives, entered the Illinois river, (of the existence of which they had no previous knowledge) and ascending it, reached the southerly bend of Lake Michigan, and returned to Green Bay by a better and shorter route. It was on this voyage that the French of Canada appear to have first heard of the Illinois river or the Illinois Indians." — p. 233. There is no doubt, however, that soon after this period, La Salle, accompanied with a number of volunteers from Canada, founded the settlements of Kaskasia, and Cahokia, in the present State of Illinois, and then descended the Mississippi to its mouth, leaving behind him these infant colonies, which soon grew to be considerable towns. They sent also supplies of various kinds to New Orleans, and other places within the then French colony of Louisi ana, of which, high up as these were from the mouth of the stream, they were also considered as a part. It was by the French writers of this period, that the name of prairies or meadows was first given to the extensive grassy and flowery plains seen by them along the banks of the Illinois ; and the glowing pic ture given by them of the fertility and abundance of the country, soon led to the settlement of numerous emigrants and adventurers in what is now Indiana, as well as Illinois, at Vincennes, Passage des Sioux, and many other places. Excepting New Orleans and St. Louis, however, all these French settlements in the West have declined, and the families appear INDIAN TRIBES. orj\ to have dwindled away, some intermarrying with the Indians, and adopting their modes of life, and others leaving no descendants behind them. When the French held possession of Illinois, there was a fort of their's opposite to the mouth of the Tennessee river, at which the following incident is said to have occurred. The Indians, then at war with the French, laid this curious stratagem to take the fort. A number of them appeared in the day time, on the opposite side of the river, each of whom was covered with a bear-skin, and walked on all fours. The French officers, supposing these to be really bears, left the garrison, and crossed over the river to pursue them, and were soon followed by large numbers of their soldiers, who were anxious to see the sport. At this moment, a large body of Indian warriors, who were concealed in the woods near by, for the purpose of watching the favourable moment, rushed towards the fort, and entered it without opposition, massacreing the few French that remained there, and astonishing those who on their return found it in possession of their enemies. About the year 1770, it was ascertained that there were twelve separate Indian tribes occupying this region, the number of whose warriors alone amounted to 6,000 men, and their whole number, including women and children, being probably 30,000 persons; of whom the Sacs, Foxes, Pottowattamies, Shawanees, Delawares, Chippeways, Mascontins, Ottoways, Peories, Kahokias, Kaskasias, and Piankashaws, were the principal, none of whom at present remain, some of the larger tribes having gone beyond the Mississippi, and the smaller ones being extinct. 272 STATE OF ILLINOIS. By the treaty between the United States and Great Britain, at the peace of 1783, when the Independence of America was acknowledged by the crown, this region of Illinois was claimed under the charter of Virginia, as belonging to that State, and held by her until 1787. when it was ceded to the United States, and made part of the great North western Territory. In 1800, a division of this vast tract took place, when Michigan and Ohio were made one Territory, and Illinois and Indiana an other, under the name of the latter. This continued till 1809, when Indiana was separated and admitted as a State, Illinois still remaining a Territory ; till 1818, when Illinois was also admitted into the Union, and from that period it has gone on rapidly filling up with population. The boundaries of this State are — on the north, the Territory of Wisconsin ; on the south, the State of Kentucky and the Ohio river ; on the east, the State of Indiana and a portion of Lake Michigan ; and on the west, the great river of the Mississippi, which separates it from the State of Missouri and the Iowa Territory. It embraces, therefore, an area of about 380 miles in length, and 180 in average breadth, comprehending about 60,000 square miles, or upwards of 38,000,000 of acres. It is the fourth State in the Union, in point of size ; Virginia, Georgia, and Missouri being the only three larger ; and it extends over a greater range of latitude than either, reaching from 37" to 42° 30' north, or over a length of 5\ degrees, by which its two extremes present greater differences in climate than those of any other State in the Union. MIXERAL WEALTH. y/l5 The face of the country is more level than that of any other State, except Delaware and Louisiana, in which there are few elevations. In Illinois, how ever, there are several picturesque hills along the banks of its own river, and many fine bluffs or cliffs on the banks of the Mississippi ; in the mineral region about Galena there are also several consider able elevations. Still, so large a portion of the surface is level, that it may be computed to amount to eight-tenths of the whole. From the Mississippi to Lake Michigan, as has been seen by our journey, it is nearly all a level plain ; and it is said that from Chicago to Springfield, near the centre of the State, a distance of more than 150 miles, the whole way is a perfectly level prairie ; but other parts have beau tifully waving surfaces, and occasional groves and clumps of trees, that greatly diversify the scenery, and afford wood, shade, and shelter, to settlers and travellers. About 5,000,000 of acres have been appropriated by Congress, from the lands in Illinois, to be given in certain portions as military bounties — but little of this is yet occupied. Of the mineral productions of the State, lead is found in the greatest abundance, over a tract of 50 miles in extent each way, of which Galena is the centre, where there are numerous mines now in active operation, and yielding abundant profit to those engaged in them — 75 per cent of pure lead being obtained from the ore. Native malleable copper has also been found, in lumps of three and four pounds each, and iron ore in small quantities ; • mineral coal and gypsum also abound, as well as III. t * 274 STATE OF ILLINOIS. many saline springs ; and indications of silver ore have lately been met with in the southern part of the State. The most prevalent tree in Illinois is the oak, of which there are thirteen or fourteen kinds. The locust, the walnut, the elm, beech, buck-eye, syca more, and sugar-maple trees are also found in various parts ; and the white-pine, on the head-branches of the Illinois river. In fertility, this State is second to none in the Union, and for the production of grain and raising of cattle, it may be doubted whether there is another tract on the surface of the globe, of the same unbroken extent, which could feed and sustain a larger population than this. Wheat, barley, oats, rye, maize, and potatoes, are all grown in the greatest perfection here ; cotton for domestic use is produced in the south ; hemp, from 600 lbs. to 1,000 lbs. the acre, flax, and silk, are raised in the centre ; and among the fruits, there are nowhere finer apples, pears, peaches, grapes — from which the early French settlers made good claret wine — cherries, plums, gooseberries, and currants, than are found in the orchards and gardens here. In a notice on the gar den vegetables of the West, Judge Hall endeavours to combat the idea of their supposed inferiority to those of the Eastern States, and gives the following facts as the result of his own personal experience on that head, after frankly admitting that good gardens are not general, because these are the accompani ments of large cities, and settled districts, and require wealth, taste, and leisure, and exclusive skill and attention, to bring them to perfection — all GARDEN VEGETABLES. 275 which can hardly be expected in a newly-settled country. But notwithstanding this, he says — " Almost every farmer here raises cabbages, and we are sure that we have never seen larger or better. A hundred heads are sold in Illinois for a dollar and fifty cents. The parsnips and carrots of this country are remarkable for their size, sweetness, and flavour ; the former, especially, have a richness which we have never noticed elsewhere. Our beets are as delicate and sweet as possible ; and we only forbear stating a fact, with regard to their size, which has come to our knowledge, from the fear of startling the credulity of our readers. Pease are excellent, and very prolific. We have seen radishes three inches in thickness, and perfectly solid, mild, and crisp. Our lettuce, if well dressed — there is a great deal in that — is capital. The tomatus is common all through this country. It is only necessary to plant it once, after which it comes up every year spontaneously, and bears abundantly, from the middle of summer until nipped by the frost. Thousands of bushels of onions have been raised with no other labour than sowing the seed broadcast, in new ground ; and as to their quality, it would do the heart of a Wethersfield lady good to look at them. That goodly town of Connecticut would be depopulated, if its worthy inhabitants could see the onion-fields of Morgan counfy, and the military tract in Illinois. We might enumerate other articles, but it is enough to say that in general the vegetables suited to our climate are produced in their greatest perfection. It would, indeed, be an anomaly in the economy of nature, if garden-plants did not flourish vigorously in a soil of unrivalled depth, fertility, and freshness." p. 137. Of wild animals, the buffalo and the elk have dis appeared ; a few solitary bears are occasionally seen j wolves are more abundant ; and deer may be shot within a mile or two of almost any of the new settle ments. The wolves do not usually attack men, unless they are extremely hungry, in large numbers, and the men few and defenceless. One remarkable t2 276 STATE OF ILLINOIS. fact is currently believed here, as to the extraordinary effect produced on wolves by burning assafcetida near them. This is sometimes done by hunters, in the woods where wolves are known to be ; and when the odour of the burning drug has spread itself far and wide through the atmosphere, such wolves as are within its scent, come howling towards the fire, as if under the influence of some charm which they cannot resist. They appear to be so unnerved by it, and so fixed to the spot, that they may be shot with the greatest ease, and without danger, from their helpless condition. An entertaining story is told by Judge Hall, in confirmation of the fact that wolves do sometimes, though rarely, attack men ; but this was an encounter, the perusal of which will produce more entertainment than horror, and may be therefore an agreeable relief to statistical details, as it is well told, and no doubt perfectly authentic. He says — " On another occasion, many years ago, a negro man was going through the woods, with no companion but his fiddle, when he discovered that a pack of wolves were on his track. They pur sued very cautiously, but a few of them would sometimes dash up, and growl, as if impatient for their prey, and then fall back again. As he had several miles to go, he became much alarmed. He - sometimes stopped, shouted, drove back his pursuers, and theu proceeded. The animals became more and more audacious, and would probably have attacked him, had he not arrived at a deserted cabin, which stood by the wayside. Into this he rushed for shelter, and without waiting to shut the door, climbed up and seated himself on the rafters. The wolves dashed in after him, and becoming quite furious, howled, and leaped, and endeavoured with every expression of rage, to get to him. The moon was now shining brightly, and Cuff being able to see his enemies, and satisfied of his own safety, began to act on the offensive. Finding DEER-HUNTING. 277 the cabin full of them, he crawled down to the top of the door, which he shut and fastened. Then removing some of the loose boards from the roof, scattered them with a tremendous clatter upon such of his foes as remained outside, who soon scampered off, while those in the house began to crouch with fear. He had now a large number of prisoners to stand guard over, until morn ing ; and drawing forth his fiddle, he very good-naturedly played for them all night, very much, as he supposed, to their edification and amusement, for, like all genuine lovers of music, he imagined that it had power to soften the heart, even of a wolf. On the ensuing day, some of the neighbours assembled, and destroyed the captives, with great rejoicings." p. 116. To those who feel a pleasure in the sports of the field, and who envy the hunters when a stag is turned out at Windsor, for the royal chase, it may be agree able to know that deer are more abundant now in Illinois, than when the country was first settled by the whites, the increase being occasioned by the diminu tion of the wolves, their chief enemies. Protected from these by remaining near the haunts of man, they increase and multiply beyond all the power of the hunter to keep them down, although immense num bers of them are killed every year, the skins being preserved for use and export, and the hams only put by for drying, while all the rest of the carcass is left on the field. A pair of good hams may be bought from the hunters at 25 cents, or a quarter of a dol lar each ; and in the villages of Illinois, a fine saddle of venison may be bought for the same sum, or the two hind quarters for 37 s- cents, about Is. 6d. of English money. The following are graphic pictures of the modes of taking these animals — " There are several ways of hunting deer, all of which are equally simple. Most generally the hunter proceeds to the woods 278 STATE OF ILLINOIS. on horseback, in the day-time, selecting carefully certain hours, which are thought to be most favourable. It is said that during the seasons when the pastures are green, this animal rises from his lair, precisely at the rising of the moon, whether in the day or night ; and I suppose the fact to be so, because such is the testimony of experienced hunters. If it be true, it is certainly a curious display of animal instinct. This hour, therefore, is always kept in view by the hunter, as he rides slowly through the forest, with his rifle on his shoulder, while his keen eye penetrates the surrounding shades. On beholding a deer, the hunter slides from his horse, and while the deer is observing the latter, creeps upon him, keeping the largest trees between himself and the object of pursuit, until he gets near enough to fire. An expert woods man seldom fails to hit his game. It is extremely dangerous to approach a wounded deer. Timid and harmless as this animal is at other times, he no sooner finds himself deprived of the power of flight than be becomes furious, and rushes upon his enemy, making desperate lunges with his sharp horns, and striking and tramping violently with his forelegs, which being extremely mus cular and armed with sharp hoofs, are capable of inflicting very severe wounds. Aware of this circumstance, the hunter approaches him with caution, and either secures his prey by a second shot, where the first has been but partially successful, or, as is more frequently the case, causes his dog to seize the wounded animal, while he watches his own opportunity to stab him with his hunting knife. Sometimes, where a noble buck is the victim, and the hunter is impatient or inexperienced, terrible conflicts ensue on such occasions. " Another mode, is to watch at night, in the neighbourhood of the salt licks. These are spots where the earth is impregnated with saline particles, or where the salt water oozes through the soil. Deer and other wild animals frequent such places, and remain for hours licking the earth. The hunter secretes himself here, either in the thick top of a tree, or most generally in a screen erected for the purpose, and artfully concealed like a masked battery, with logs or green boughs. This practice is pursued only in the summer, or early in the autumn, in cloudless nights, when the moon shines brilliantly, and objects may be mSX MIGHT MtBHTEH© '. ,¦ ¦¦ » ' • ¦ ' ¦ . ' ' t IP to ; J^S* life?'- "S^fe/'^S iw'^lK ^^tf^" iK ... "^^-Li*} ^.uc-i^^^ft^^J^MB^" «*** jjjrc _^ :^5li*?' ! it :'.} }: % h %:;'¦.¦¦ ' V'». / -52 4£- " ¦ - '¦:"¦" SO IP IE Sir 3 OS Hj? NIGHT HUNTING-SCENES. 279 readily discovered. At the rising of the moon, or shortly after, the deer, having risen from their beds, approach the lick. Such places are generally denuded of timber, but surrounded by it, and as the animal is about to emerge from the shade into the clear moonlight, he stops, looks cautiously around, and snuff's the air. Then he advances a few steps, and stops again, smells the ground, or raises his expanded nostrils, as if he ' snuffed the approach of danger in every tainted breeze.' The hunter sits motionless, and almost breathless, waiting until the animal shall get within rifle shot, and until his position, in relation to the hunter and the light, shall be favourable, when he fires with an unerring aim, and brings him to the ground." p. 112.* Of cattle, there is abundance, and of the best kind, oxen that would be thought fine in Durham or Leicestershire in England, horses not inferior to those of Kentucky, hogs as numerous and fine as those of Ohio, sheep excellent for their mutton, and a breed of the merino raised for their wool, from the original stock of Mr. George Elower, who pro cured his from the royal flocks in Spain, and a breed of the Saxony sheep, also raised for their wool, from Saxony rams imported by the same individual ; so that, as far as the means of accumulating wealth in herds and flocks, in grain, and agricultural produce, is concerned, Illinois seems the Bashan and the Goshen of the United States. The legislative capital of Illinois was Vandalia, placed nearly in the centre of the State, on the banks of the Kaskasia river. Here the Legis lative body held their sittings, till the 4th of July in last year, when the capital was removed to Springfield, a much larger town. The Legislative body consists of a House of Representatives, of mem- * See the accompanying Engraving. 280 STATE OF ILLINOIS. bers chosen every two years ; a Senate, of members elected every four years, and a Governor elected every four years ; the suffrage extending to all free white males who have resided six months in the State. The Executive consists of the Governor, at a salary of 1,500 dollars a year; a Lieutenant-Gove- nor, at 7 dollars a day during the session of the Legislature only; a Secretary of State, at 1,100 dollars a year ; an Auditor and Treasurer, at 800 dollars a year each ; and an Attorney-General, at 350 dollars a year and his fees. The Judiciary con sists of 4 Judges of the Supreme Court, at salaries of 1,000 dollars a year each, and 9 Circuit Judges at 1,000 dollars a year each. These are all elected by the Legislature, and hold their offices during good behaviour. There is a State Penitentiary at Alton, on a small scale, conducted on the Auburn plan. For the support of Education, there has been granted by the State, about a million of acres of land, but no great advance has yet been made in organiz ing a good school system. Yet, places of education are provided in most of the settled counties, after the manner of common schools ; and there are col leges at Jacksonville and Springfield, for the higher branches of study. Of the religious bodies the Baptists are considered to be the most numerous in the State, having about 80 ministers, and 5,000 communicants ; the Metho dists rank next, with 60 ministers, and 10,000 members ; the Baptist congregations being more numerous, but these reckon many as belonging to their body who are not in strict fellowship and com munion. The Presbyterians have about 50 minis- INCREASE OF POPULATION. 281 ters, and 1,000 communicants ; the Episcopalians about 20 ministers, and 500 communicants ; and the Catholics 30 churches, and at least 5,000 members. The increase of population, from German and Irish settlers, will, no doubt, continue to increase the Catholic adherents still more rapidly than those of any other church, though the whole population, native as well as foreign, is growing rapidly every year. A writer in a late Illinois paper, " The Back- Woodsman," says — "In this State we have little short of half a million of inhabitants, and in pro gress more than 1,300 miles of railroad, and over 100 miles of canals ; and yet, there are men living among us, who can recollect the time when there was not a single Anglo-American in Illinois." The future prospects of this State are, therefore, very promising, even if the progressive developement of its own rich agricultural resources be the only hope relied on ; but if, in addition to this, it becomes, by means of its canal, the highway of intercourse between New York and New Orleans, its population and its wealth will be greatly accelerated thereby, and that in a very few years from the present. 282 CHAP. XV. Departure from Chicago for a voyage on Lake Michigan — Friendly and affectionate adieus — Political conversation — Hard Cider Press — Strong north-east wind — Cold weather — Touch at Southport, in Wisconsin Territory — Beautiful prairie-land — Description of squatters — Port of Racine — French settlers — Root river — Singular disposal of a dead Indian Chief, Big Thunder — Sacrilegious decapitation of the dead by a phrenolo gist — Custom at Naples, described by Lady Blessington — Land at Milwaukie, chief town in Wisconsin — History and descrip tion of this new Territory — Agricultural and mineral wealth of the tract — Sources of the Mississippi — Falls of St. Anthony — Region of hunters and trappers — Carver's Tract — Legisla ture, judiciary, and population of Wisconsin. We left Chicago on the morning of Thursday, the 2nd of July, in one of the largest and finest of the Lake steamboats, the Erie. Though we had been there only five days, our parting was as if from friends of much longer standing ; we were accompa nied to the boat by several friends, and the parting adieus on the deck were of the most affectionate kind ; while the terraced-roof of the Lake House was crowded by the younger members of the families living there, who greeted us, as we stood out into the Lake, with waving of hats and handkerchiefs, hoist ing the American flag, and then lowering it half-mast as if in mourning — giving, in short, evidences and FRIENDLY ADIEUS. 283 tokens of stronger feelings than we had witnessed for some time, and reminding us more vividly of home and its endearments, and those from whom we received similar adieus when we parted from them. It should be added, that these families were from Baltimore, Florida, and Virginia, where warmth, cordiality, and generosity are more frequently met with than among the people of the Northern States, whose sense of decorum would perhaps have repressed the exhibition even of the little feeling they might have experienced in similar circum stances. It was 10 o'clock before we got completely clear of the pier, and there being a strong head-wind from the north-east, and a pitching motion from the short chop of a sea in the Lake, many of the passengers were more than usually taciturn. Those who were not affected by the motion, soon formed into groups, and political topics of conversation engaged their attention. The advocates of Temperance had begun to discover that the rallying cry of the friends of General Harrison, the Whig candidate for the Pre sidency, which was " Log-Cabins and Hard Cider," had already led to a great increase of drunkenness. No political meeting of the Whigs ever took place, without the praises of hard cider being said or sung ; and many of the more ignorant and dissipated of the community affected to test the patriotism of them selves and others, by the quantity of hard cider which they could drink at a sitting. Some of the Temperance Societies indeed, had passed resolutions condemnatory of the use of what they termed " the drunkard's motto," as a watchword of a great political 284 LAKE MICHIGAN. party ; and it was thought that if this course was persisted in, it would lose the General many votes. As a proof, however, of there being no relaxation in this course, the following was read from a Chicago paper of to-day : — " Psospectus of The Hard Cider Press, a weekly Harrison paper, to be issued from the office of the Chicago American, until November next. Price 50 cents for the whole term, or 5 dollars per dozen. " The lovers of sterling old Hard Cider are respectfully informed that a patent North Bend Cider Press Manufactory is intended to be in full operation in the city of Chicago, on the 30th day of May, instant, and that the proprietor intends to turn out several thousand new Presses, made in a workmanlike manner, on Satur day of each and every week, until November next, and perhaps longer. The Cider Mills in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Connecticut have been doing such a wholesale business, that we think it will require a great number of good Presses to squeeze out the pomace, when Illinois gathers in her fruit. So abundant has been the crop at the East, that the presses have been clogged up, and are filled to overflowing. It is confidently anticipated that a harvest equally abundant will be yielded in this State ; and as the supply of good Presses bears no proportion to the number of Cider Mills — there being one in each precinct — we wish to furnish to farmers the means of using their pomace as soon as ground. " These Presses will be warranted to squeeze out the juice in the most thorough manner. The Cider Mills will be in full operation throughout the land, from this time until November next — and it is desirable that a great number of the Presses should be sent into the country before August, when their won derful qualities will be tested. The great excellence of these Presses will be found in their cheapness. For the sum of fifty cents, the lover of Hard Cider may have a new Press, once a week, from this time until November. A full account of the doings of the North Bend Hard Cider Association, throughout the United PARTY WATCH-WORDS. 285 States, will accompany each Press, and the cost of transportation is warranted not to exceed one cent on each. Let the hard cider suckers then, come forward and give us their custom. Let them club together and raise small sums, and remit to our office in Chicago, without delay. Every precinct ought to have at least a dozen Presses, and we trust they will not be backward in ordering their supplies. " As the price will only cover expenses, advance payments must be insisted on. " William Stuart." This was thought to be in bad taste by several of the Whigs present, who seemed to be a little ashamed of the arts to which their own party had had recourse, in order to enlist the labouring classes in their ranks ; for this " log-cabin and hard-cider" cry had no other object in view than this ; while others held that in politics all things were defensible, and that, as in General Jackson's election, the "hickory pole" had been the emblem, as the old warrior was called " Old Hickory," for his hardness and tough ness ; and as "sour-crout" had been the rallying cry of the friends of Van Buren, from his being of Dutch origin, there was no reason why "log-cabins and hard cider" should not be used as a motto for Gene ral Harrison, who was accused by his enemies of living in the one, and drinking too freely of the other : so that one piece of vulgarity and bad taste was justified by another, and neither party had dignity or independence enough to rise superior to such absurdities, and to put the pretensions of their respective candidates on the only legitimate ground of their superior fitness for the station. As we advanced into the Lake, we passed from the white water of the shallower part near the beach, 286 LAKE MICHIGAN. to the green water of the belt beyond, and ultimately into the blue water of the deeper centre. The wind continued fresh, and the atmosphere was so cold, as to require cloaks and shawls, and indeed, to drive many to their cabins to keep themselves warm. We felt exceedingly delighted, however, with all the accompaniments of our voyage. The boat was large and commodious, handsomely furnished, and amply supplied with every requisite. The captain was intelligent, respectful, and attentive. The table was good, and the passengers entirely free from such characters as we met with on the Illinois river ; indeed, the contrast between the Erie and the Troubadour was as strong as could be between any two things of the same class. Here, everything was full of comfort ; there, the lowest stage of vulgarity, discomfort, and inconvenience had been attained. Our course lay along the Illinois shore, or west ern side of the Lake, at a distance of 4 or 5 miles only from the land, which was everywhere low and woody. After passing the boundary between the State of Illinois and the Territory of Wisconsin, we arrived about 3, p.m., opposite to the small town of Southport, distant 55 miles from Chicago, making our rate, therefore, upwards of 10 miles an hour, against a strong head-wind, and a slight set or cur rent in the same direction. As it blew too strong to admit of the boat ap proaching the beach, a large lighter was sent off to take on shore some passengers and goods for this place. The town is small, having not more than 50 buildings. There is, however, a lighthouse, and TERRITORY OF WISCONSIN. 287 a large hotel, with several stores ; and the popula tion receives an augmentation from new settlers almost every month. Near it, a little to the south, is a tract of 4 or 5 miles in length, approaching close to the edge of the Lake, of the most beautiful land that can be imagined. From the very brink of an elevation about 50 feet from the margin of the water, there slopes back, by a gentle ascent, what, if seen in England, would be considered one of the finest parks, with a lawn as even and as green as the richest velvet, studded with trees at distant inter vals, as if planted there by art, and under the direc tion of some one skilled in producing the highest degree of landscape beauty, without the least brush wood, long grass, or other excrescence on the bright and smooth surface of the plain. We were told, by one of the residents, that this was recently the exclusive property of one man, who had come here about five years ago, before Wisconsin was created an independent Territory, and sitting himself down on this land, he called it his own, by right of first occupancy only. He was one of the class called " squatters," who are numerous in all the unappro priated lands, and whose practice is this. — They make journeys into such parts as seem to promise the most favourable spots for settlement, and form a sort of confederacy among themselves, to uphold each other's claims, and defend each other's rights, by such means as circumstances may demand, even to the organization of an armed force. The leader of such a party will, therefore, select for himself his 800 or 1000 acres, where he sees fit ; the others fol- 288 PRACTICES OF SQUATTERS. low in succession, and take their 600, or 400, or 200, or any intermediate quantity, without other admeasurement than the rude boundary which streams or woods may enable them to define. They then settle on their respective lots, build a log-hut, fell a few trees, plant a field of corn, raise a few hogs, and add to their means of subsistence by hunting. Thus they live, in a sort of confederacy beyond law, and ready to resist any attempt made to eject or remove them. By a recent act of Con gress, all such " squatters," or first settlers, have a pre-emption right to the purchase of the land so settled on, and may at any time buy it of the Gene ral Government at -a dollar and quarter an acre; but they prefer waiting till some other persons are desirous of buying the spot, and to these they usually dispose of their pre-emption right alone, leaving the buyer to pay the Government price of the land himself afterwards. They then move fur ther on to some less settled land, and there repeat the same operation, till they acquire enough to buy a large estate of their own, and often become men of extensive fortune. The individual to whom this tract of beautiful park-land near Southport belonged, and who had modestly contented himself with marking out 800 acres only for his domain, had sold his pre-emption right alone, in the last year, to an individual for 5,000 dollars, and that without having spent 500 dollars upon the land, or in houses, or in any other manner. He had since gone away west, in search of some new spot to settle on, and afterwards dispose of in the same manner. SOUTHPORT AND RAC1NF. 289 Beyond Southport, a distance of 10 miles only, we came to another small town, called Racine, so named, it is said, by a French settler, after the cele brated dramatist ; but the American settlers, who followed, persisted in having a literal translation of the name for the stream which flows by their town, and which they accordingly call Root river ! The town has at present about 300 inhabitants. It is better situated than Southport, has a higher level , with a landing-place within the river, and a stiff clay base along in front of the town, on which wharves and piers can be easily constructed. There is here, as at Southport, a lighthouse, a large hotel, a court-house, and from 50 to 60 buildings. In the rear of the town, and to the south of it, the land is a level prairie ; and it is said, that from hence all the way to Galena, on the Mississippi river, there is scarcely an elevation of 20 feet; while the roads are much better than from Peru to Chicago, because the General Government making every year appropriations to improve the roads of Territo ries, Wisconsin has its full share. The first expendi ture of this was judiciously applied to the construc tion of small stone bridges over the sloughs in the hollows and wet "parts of the prairie, so that carriages are in no danger of sticking fast in them ; while, in the State of Illinois, no such appropriations being made for this purpose, the roads are left to take care of themselves, and are consequently in a very wretched condition. A curious fact was -mentioned to me, as having occurred in this prairie between Galena and Racine, but over in the region of the Rock river, about 12 m. u * 290 BIG-THUNDER, AN INDIAN CHIEF. miles distant from that stream, and it was corrobo rated by so many persons who had passed by the spot on which it occurred, that I have no doubt of its truth. It appears that an Indian Chief of the Chippeways, named Big -Thunder, being in the region of the Rock river, and aware of his approach ing death, from old age, as well as disease, selected a small swelling eminence in the prairie, on which he desired to be placed after his death, according to the custom of the tribe of which he was the head. This request was soon after complied with, the war rior being dressed, after his death, in his best robes and skins, his face painted, and his hair done up as if going forth on a war-expedition ; his eagle's feathers in his head, his collar of the claws of the grisly bear around his neck, the scalps he had taken in battle hanging from his girdle, his quiver of arrows at his back, and his bow in one hand, and tomahawk in the other. Thus attired, the old Chief was seated in a chair, and placed on the eminence selected by himself, looking over the prairie. To protect his dead body, however, from being carried off and devoured by the wolves, the tribe erected around him a stockade, sufficiently high to keep them off, without preventing the body from being seen, or interrupting the view from the eminence. The extreme dryness of the atmosphere prevented putrefaction ; and the body therefore remained, shrivelled and dried up by the sun and wind, but the form and features were distinctly preserved. Some months after the body of this Chief was placed in the position described, some of the tribe INDIAN WARRIORS. 291 passing by were horror-stricken at finding that the headless trunk of their venerated Chief alone re mained, the head having been cut off at the neck by some sharp instrument, and removed. The whole tribe were inflamed with indignation at this outrage, and thought it must have been some of their Indian enemies who had done the deed. But it was subsequently ascertained that it was the work of a white man, a surgeon, whose passion for phrenology overcame his scruples at mangling the dead and insulting the living, and who had gone, like a robber, in the dead of the night, to commit this sacrilegeous violation of rights which even the savage respects. Fortunately for himself, the fact became known first to his friends, who were enabled to conceal it long enough to allow of his removal, or probably summary vengeance would have been executed by the Indians on his own person. Mr. Schoolcraft, in his Travels among the Indians, in 1821, mentions it as a custom of the Chip peways, that a warrior killed in battle defeating his enemies, is never buried; on the contrary, he is dressed, and all. his property deposited beside him, for his use in his journey to the land of spirits. He is then placed in a sitting posture, with his back against a tree, and his face towards the place where his enemies fled. It is probable that this was con sidered the most honourable kind of appropriation for the dead, by the tribe ; and that Big-Thunder, as a Chief who had conquered in many battles with out being slain, was considered by himself and his people to be fully entitled by his prowess and vic tories to this distinction ; but in the same degree u2 292 LAKE MICHIGAN. in which they accounted this an eminently honour able funeral, must they have been indignant at the desecration of it by the midnight decapitator. If this mode of exposing the dead be thought a barbarous trait of savage manners, it may be pro nounced as greatly superior to the horrible custom which prevails at Naples, where there is an annual exhibition of the bodies of the dead, in all their gaudy finery, in the Church of Santa Chiara, so graphically described by Lady Blessington, in her interesting volumes, entitled " The Idler in Italy," and of which, after witnessing it, she says — " I turned from this ghastly masquerade, nearly overcome by the horror of an exhibition in which the most solemn objects were exposed to the profane gaze of crowds to be made a mockery and a jest, instead of being left to the repose of the tomb." Vol. ii. p. 266. After leaving Racine, the prairie-land terminates near the coast, though it continues in the interior, and the shore is lined with heavy timber. After a distance of 20 miles further, we reached the port of Milwaukie about sunset. It being necessary to take in a supply of wood here, we went on shore to walk over the town, for which the evening was very favourable, as we had a most glowing and beautiful sunset, and a bright young moon immedi ately succeeding it. A small steamboat came off to take us into the inner harbour, the entrance to which is very narrow, but it afterwards expands into a large marshy lake, and thus gives a water-communication close up to the town. On passing through this, we observed a solitary Indian, standing in his canoe, and fishing TOWN OF MILWAUKIE. 293 with a rod and line ; and we learnt from the captain of the boat, that a small band of Winnebago Indians and a remnant of the Menominies, were still remain ing here, and were as unwilling, as all the other tribes had been, to quit the spots of their nativity. This, indeed, had been one of the most favourite hunting and fishing grounds of these tribes, and they still cling to it with great tenacity. The town of Milwaukie, over which we walked sufficiently to see every part of it, is very agreeably situated, standing on an elevated promontory which overlooks- the bay, to the south of it, and unites, therefore, good air, a fine prospect, and a dry site. It is not more than five years since the first dwelling was erected here, and now it has nearly 200 houses, including a very large hotel, as large as the Lake House at Chicago, with its domed turret capped with plates of zinc, and seen as a shining spot at a distance of several miles on the Lake — besides stores, offices, and dwelling-houses, chiefly of wood, and painted white, but many of them substantially built of brick. The streets are of ample width, from 80 to 100 feet at least, and the nucleus of a large town is evidently formed here, though its population does not at present exceed "2,000 persons. It is, however, the largest town in Wisconsin, though the legislative capital is at Madison, nearer the centre of the Terri tory ; but every part of this tract is fast filling up, no less than 3,000 emigrants having arrived here from Buffalo, for the interior, in one week, besides the vast numbers that are continually ascending the Mississippi, some coming by way of the Ohio, and some up from New Orleans, for the same region. 294 WISCONSIN TERRITORY. Wisconsin has been but recently organized as a Territory, the Act of Congress necessary for that purpose having been passed in 1836. Previous to this period, it was considered to be part of Michigan, though few whites resided in it, the whole tract being in possession of several large Indian tribes. The General Government, by negotiation, treaty, and presents, having prevailed on several of these to cede their lands for certain sums agreed on, part to be paid in money and goods at the time, and part in yearly stipends or annuities, for general division among the tribes, white settlers were soon in posses sion of these lands, some as squatters, subsequently selling their pre-emption rights, and some as original purchasers ; and the number having reached 5,000, the amount required by law for the formation of a Territory, it was organized as such in 1836. This Territory is called after its chief river, spelt Ouisconsin by the first French explorers in these regions, but now more generally written with the English orthography, Wisconsin, expressing exactly the same sound. It is considerably larger than the largest State in the Union, Virginia, which has an area of 64,000 miles ; while Wisconsin extends ov6r an area of 100,000 square miles, or 64,000,000 of acres — nearly twice as large as all England — being 550 miles in its greatest length, and 400 in its greatest breadth ; and the greater part of it is rich in agricultural or mineral resources. It is bounded on the north by Lake Superior and the British posses sions in Canada beyond this ; on the south, by the State of Illinois ; on the east, by the Lake Michigan ; and on the west, by the Mississippi river, and by a RIVERS. 295 line continued from the source of the Mississippi directly north, to the northernmost boundary of the United States, by which it is separated from the Western Territory of Iowa. The northern section of Wisconsin is hilly, approaching to mountainous. The rivers rising in the southern and western sides of these hills run into the Mississippi, especially the Ouisconsin, the Chippeway, and the St. Croix, the former of which has a course of nearly 400 miles. The rivers rising on the east of these hills, among which are the Menominie, the Wolf, and the Fox rivers, flow into Green Bay, a large indentation of Lake Michigan ; and the rivers rising on the north of these hills, including the St. Louis, the Montreal, the Ontano- gon, and the Huron, all flow into Lake Superior, but these are very short in their course. With the exception of these hills, the Territory is chiefly level, or gently undulating, abounding in beautiful prairies, and well adapted to agriculture and pas ture. It is said that from the river Chippeway, which empties into the Mississippi, boats can pass up 100 miles, and thence, by a short portage of 6 miles only, the river Montreal is entered, by which boats de scend to Lake Superior. A short canal for these 6 miles only would, therefore, connect the Mississippi with Lake Superior ; and as a canal is projected to pass from Lake Superior into Lake Huron, going round the Falls of St. Mary, and as the Welland Canal passes from Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, round the Falls of Niagara, this would make a com plete inland water-route from the Gulf of Mexico 296 HISTORY OF WISCONSIN. to the Atlantic, with the short cut of 6 miles only ; whereas the canal to unite Lake Michigan with the Illinois river, will require about 100 miles of cutting. Wisconsin has great mineral riches; iron and lead abound in the district which runs north from Galena, towards Prairie du Chien ; and Mr. Flint states, that on the river Ontanogon, a large mass of pure copper was found, weighing 3,000 lbs. The sources of the Mississippi are in Wisconsin; they are estimated to be 1,330 feet above the level of the sea, and rise in a region abounding with small lakes and marshes. These are covered with wild rice, which constitutes a large portion of the food of the Indian inhabitants here. In this north ern region too, extending to the latitude of 49° N., the white birch, and the wliite and yellow pine, are found among the forest-trees. The Falls of St. Anthony are also in the Terri tory of Wisconsin. These were visited as early as 1680, by Father Hennepin, a Jesuit missionary, who named them after his patron saint, St. Anthony of Padua. The height of the cataract here, is not more than 20 feet, and the breadth of the stream less than a quarter of a mile, but the surrounding scenery is interesting. In summer, the climate is delicious at the Falls ; but in winter the cold is intense. In 1820, the average state of the thermo meter through the winter was at zero — a degree of cold felt in no other part of the United States ; and often, in the month of January, the mercury has been known to descend to 45° below zero, as cold as in the coldest parts of Maine. 297 This is the favourite region of the hunters and trappers ; as here are still found buffaloes, elks, bears, and deer, besides beavers, otters, and musk rats, all of which are taken for their skins ; and these are sold to the agents of the American Fur Company, who forward them to St. Louis. It is within this Territory of Wisconsin, that " Carver's Tract " is situated, lying between lat. 44° 46' N. and 46° N., and between long. 13° W., and 16° W. from Washington, its history is thus given in Mitchell's View of the United States — " Between the years 1766 and 1768, Captain Jonathan Carver, an officer in the Massachusetts provincial line, who had served with reputation under General Wolfe in the conquest of Canada, visited and explored a considerable part of this region. He re mained some time among the natives, and succeeded in an eminent degree in gaining their confidence and friendship. He afterwards visited England, for the purpose of publishing his Travels, and obtaining remuneration from the British Government for his services in the prosecution of what was certainly an object of great national advantage, the country he had explored being at that time almost entirely unknown in England. He was, how ever, treated with marked ingratitude, and not only failed in obtaining remuneration for his services, but his charts and papers, which he had previously submitted to Government, were withheld from him, so that he was prevented from publishing his work for nearly ten years afterwards. There can be little doubt, that the principal, if not the sole reason, why Captain Carver was disap pointed in the support he expected from the British Government, was owing to the peculiar condition of the American Colonies and Great Britain at that time. The work of Carver presented a favourable view of the country and its future resources, and it did not accord with the designs of the ministry of that day to give it sanction or currency." — p. 322. The American Government, more just and more liberal than the British, have confirmed to the heirs 298 TERRITORY OF WISCONSIN. of Captain Carver, though an Englishman, and though the grant was made before the Revolution, what the British Government refused to its own subject, and one of its own officers, the enterprising explorer ! The tract contains nearly 9,000,000 of acres of land ; and the deed of grant by which it was conveyed to Captain Carver, by the Indians, for services rendered to the tribe while he lived among them, was dated May the 1st, 1767. The tract is there described as " beginning at the Falls of St. Anthony, on the east bank of the Mississippi river, running south-east from thence as far as the south end of Lake Pepin, where the Chippeway joins the Mississippi, and from thence eastward five days' travel, accounting 20 English miles per day ; from thence north, 6 days' travel, accounting 20 English miles per day ; and from thence to the Falls of St. Anthony, in a direct straight line." Copies of this grant will be found in the second edition of Carver's Travels, published in London in 1781, as well as in the archives of Congress and of the War Department of the United States. The whole tract is now owned by an association of indi viduals under the title of " The Mississippi Land Company of New York." They claim it as grantees of the heirs of the late Captain Jonathan Carver, and their title was recognized by the Chiefs of the Sioux nation in 1821, and again formally recognized and confirmed by the Chief of the same tribe in 1824, before the Judge of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of the State of New York ; so that the title is now placed beyond all risk of dispute, and having read Cap- POPULATION. 299 tain Carver's Travels, I must confess that I think there have been few cessions of territory, or few grants by the Indians to the whites, whether to governments or to individuals, more free from the influence of authority, fraud, or deception, than this. The Legislative body of Wisconsin consists of a House of Representatives of 26 members, elected for 2 years, and a Council of 13 members elected for 4 years, each paid 3 dollars a day during the session, and 3 dollars for every 20 miles' travel. The seat of government is at Madison, on the Fann Lakes ; and 20,000 dollars have been appropriated by Congress for building there the necessary public offices, and 5,000 dollars for a public library. The Governor is appointed by the President, and ap proved by the Senate, for 4 years, at a salary of 2,500 dollars a year, and is assisted by a Secretary at 1,200 dollars a year. The Judiciary consists of 3 Judges at salaries of 1,800 dollars a year each. The present population of the Territory is sup posed to be upwards of 50,000, but the general feeling of the inhabitants seems to be that it is better for Wisconsin still to remain a Territory than to be admitted as a State, as by this means they avoid all taxation, and have the entire expenses of their government defrayed by the general treasury ; and as the agriculturists do not suffer so much from the pecuniary pressure as the mercantile classes, their prosperity has not been checked. 300 CHAP. XVI. More native Indians here than in any State — Can the Indians be civilized ? — Question considered — Opinions of Judge Burnet, Mr. At water, and General Harrison — Indians not so much Stoics as Epicureans — Instance of fidelity and magnanimity in an Indian — Eloquence of the Indians — Council at Prairie du Chien — Speeches of Little Elk and Black Hawk — Indian cruelties — Running the Gauntlet — Practice of scalping known to the ancients — Burning white prisoners alive — Probable fate of all the Indian races — Conduct of the American Govern ment to them — Comparison with the Spaniards, English, and French — Defence of the Indian policy of the United States — Speech of a Virginian Chief on Education — Reply of a Sus- quehannah Indian to a Missionary — Speech of Red Jacket, a Seneca Chief, on religion — Speech of a Seminole Chief against Education — Indian tradition as to difference of colour in Man — Bishop Heber on the dark complexion of our first parents — Indian War-Song. There are more Indians in Wisconsin, than in any part of the United States, including branches of several tribes of Sacs and Foxes, of which Black Hawk and Keok uckwere the respective Chiefs — but the latter having been conquered by the former, the two tribes were blended into one — the Menomi- nies, the Chippeways, the Winnebagoes, and the Dacotas or Sioux, the number of the whole being probably quite equal to that of the present white population of the State. Some of these tribes have REMOVAL OF INDIANS. 301 large reservations, out of the tracts they have ceded to the United States, and on these they still reside ; but negotiations are now pending, by which the whole of the Indians will be transferred to the west of the Mississippi. We heard of a body of 2,000 warriors assembled at Prairie du Chien, on their way to the West, a few weeks ago ; and several parties of Winnebagoes were expected to rendezvous at Chicago in the autumn, for the same purpose. Some friends of ours had met with a large number of Chippeways at Burlington in Iowa, for the same destination ; and at Green Bay, another large assemblage is forming to follow after them. At the first aspect of such a state of things as this, in which large bodies of men, women, and children are abandoning their homes, and going off into other and distant regions, it is impossible not to feel sympathy for them, and to wish, if possible, to avert their fate. But without at all excusing the frauds and impositions practised on the Indians by the whites, which indeed deserve the severest condemnation, it is impossible not to see that their gradual disappearance before a superior force is inevitable. If the conduct of the white race towards the Indians had been always what it ought to have been, we should have seen no territory taken from them, but under such fair and upright dealings as those of William Penn, and others of similar integ rity ; and if adequate pains and proper methods had been taken to reclaim them from their savage habits of life, I have no doubt but that long before this, the Indians would have been as much im- 302 CIVILIZATION OF INDIANS. proved by the influence and example of their Euro pean visitors, as the ancient Britons, who were but a few degrees superior to the Indians, were by the civilization and arts of their Roman conquerors. The persons most competent to form an opinion on this subject, from long and intimate knowledge of tlieir character and habits, hold that the proper means have not in general been taken to reclaim them ; but that in the very few instances in which the circumstances have been favourable to that end, their improvement has been remarkable. On that subject, no authority perhaps is higher than that of Judge Burnet, whose letters to the His torical Society of Ohio contain the following pas sages — •' It has been suggested, by some writers of intelligence, that the red men of this continent are not capable of being reduced to a state of civilization — that they cannot be induced to settle in communities, and engage in the pursuits of agriculture and the arts, and that this is probably owing to some radical distinc tion between them and us. My observation has not enabled me to form such an opinion. Judging from all I have seen of that once numerous people, my mind can come to no other conclu sion, than that, when placed in the same situation, and acted on by the same causes, they will resort to the same expedients, and pursue the same policy. In confirmation of this, I refer to the many instances of white persons, who have been taken in child hood, and brought up among them. In every such case, the child of civilization has become the ferocious adult of the forest, manifesting all the peculiarities of the native Indian. His habits, manners, propensities, and pursuits have been the sam&— his fondness for the chase, and his reluctance to labour, the same ; so that the most astute, philosophic observer, has not been able to discover any difference, but in the colour of the skin ; and, in many instances, even this has been so much changed, by exposure, CIVILIZATION OF INDIANS. 303 and the use of oil and paints, as, in a great measure, to remove that distinction also. In some cases, these persons have been taken home to their friends, but have refused to live with them ; and have returned to the tribe, whose habits, feelings, and mode of life they preferred. One case of this kind, was of a female, who was reclaimed, and taken home by her relatives, in Kentucky ; but in spite of all their efforts, she left them, returned to her former associates, and was again happy. " The fact is, the task of civilizing the natives of this conti nent, is neither greater nor less than that which retarded the improvement of the barbarous nations of Europe two thousand years ago. Human nature is, and has been, the same, in all ages, and countries. Men have always had a natural propensity to roam, and have delighted in the chase, rather than agriculture ; and both history and experience prove, that nothing but neces sity, arising from such an increase of population as destroys the game, has induced men to settle in communities, and rely on the cultivation of the earth for subsistence. In the progress of civilization, the chase has given way to the pastoral state, and that has yielded to agriculture, as the increase of numbers ren dered it necessary. " The difficulty of reclaiming the Indians from savage life, is ascribable, principally, to two causes ; the almost boundless extent of forest and prairie, filled with game, to which they have access ; and the facility with which they learn and practise the vices of white men, particularly those of intemperance and idle ness. The first invites them to the chase, and supersedes the necessity of the labour and drudgery which agriculture demands ; and the last unfits them for deciding on the policy best calcur lated to advance their own happiness. If they could be protected from these vices, till the forest should cease to supply them with food, they would devote themselves to agriculture, and the arts, in the same manner as the barbarians of other countries have done. The stimulus of necessity has always been required, to induce the idle to become laborious. Without labour, no dense population can exist ; and in proportion as the inhabitants of any district of country have increased, their industry has, also, increased. As soon as the Cherokees and Wyandots were sur- 304 CIVILIZATION OF INDIANS. rounded by a white population, and their territory was so con tracted as to cut off their dependence on hunting and fishing, they became farmers, and manifested a strong disposition to cul tivate the arts — and this would have been the course of the whole race, if the policy of government had permitted it.'' — page 93. Mr. Atwater, another good judge of Indian habits, manners, and capacities for improvement, who lived among them, and assisted at several negotiations of treaties, entertained the same opinion of the possi bility of reclaiming the Indians from their barbar ous habits, if the policy of the government had been seriously directed to that end. But unfortu nately this has not been the case ; and while the government of the United States has been, to say the least, wholly indifferent to the civilization of the Indians, they have taken no pains to prevent their demoralization by private individuals, who, as traders, have introduced among them, a love of drinking to excess, and all its evil consequences ; and then defrauded as well as demoralized them. The following are some of his judicious remarks on this subject — ¦ " How can we prevent the final extinction of the red man of America ? By making him in all respects a civilized man. In the first place, the Indian must be taught to build him a house, and to dwell in it, with his family — to give up the chase as a means of subsistence, and to cultivate the earth. To bring about this great revolution in his habits, we must begin with the children and youth ; the habits of the full-grown man are of too fixed a character to be changed. A school in which the art of farming lands, and the mechanic arts, should be taught, might be extremely useful to the males. The younger females ought to be placed in families where they would learn all their appropriate business for life. A small village, settle4 by persons thus educated, would CIVILIZATION OF INDIANS. 305 form a nucleus around which others would collect. Other similar towns would grow up, if placed in the heart of the Indian coun ty, and civilization would extend, if properly fostered by the government, until the whole mass of aborigines became civilized, prosperous, and happy. Such schools and such villages must not be located on the verge of the Indian country, but far in the interior, otherwise they would prove a curse. The reason is found in the fact, that outcasts from us, who have lost their character by their vices, and by the commission of high crimes against our laws, locate themselves in the edge of the country, among the Indians, where they continue their vices and their crimes, and so render themselves a curse to the human race. They are the most imbittered enemies we have, and stir up all the strife they can between us and the Indians. They contrive, too, many times, by intermarriages with females belonging to distinguished Indian families, to acquire great influence over the natives, which is always turned against the country that gave them birth, but which has repudiated them, on account of their bad conduct. " In order to civilize our Indians, some of their customs must be changed — their love of war must be eradicated ; and to effect that object, polygamy must cease to exist among them. Intro duce this custom among us, or among any European nation, and we or they would soon become as savage in our manners as any Indians in the north-west. Take away from us, or from a large majority of us, the relations of husband and wife, brother and sister, lover and friend, and we should become at once the veriest savages on the globe. We are indebted for our humanity, kind ness, friendship, and benevolence, ("now such prominent traits in our national character,) to the influence of our females upon us. The female sex are the true tamers of our natural ferocity, other wise the Europeans and their descendants would be as fierce, as savage, as wild and ferocious, as the inhabitants of the other quarters of the world. Christianity has raised up woman to the level where God intended she should stand in society, and she has civilized the world, as far around her as she has had her due share of influence. Until polygamy is abolished among our Indians, they will remain savages. III. X * 306 INDIANS NOT STOICS. " So long as no man is considered anything among our Indians, until he has murdered at least one human being, so long civiliza tion will achieve little indeed among them ; and, until polygamy is abolished, savage ferocity will inevitable prevail among them.' p. 327. General Harrison, whose knowledge of the Indian character was obtained by as long a residence, and as many campaigns among them, as that of any man living perhaps, corrects an important misconception respecting their most popularly eulogized feature — contempt for pleasure and indifference to pain. The Indian has been described by poets as — ¦ " The stoic of the woods, the man without a tear." But General Harrison, in his Discourse on the Indians of America, delivered before the Historical Society of Ohio, has this passage on that subject — " An erroneous opinion has prevailed in relation to the cha racter of the Indians of North America. By many, they are supposed to be stoics, who willingly encounter deprivation. The very reverse is the fact ; if they belong to either of the classes of philosophers which prevailed in the declining ages of Greece and Rome, it is to that of Epicureans. For no Indian will forego an enjoyment or suffer an inconvenience, if he can avoid it, except under peculiar circumstances, when, for instance, he is stimulated by some strong passion — but even the gratifica tion of this he is ever ready to postpone, whenever its accom plishment is attended with unlooked-for danger, or unexpected hardships. Hence their military operations were always feeble — their expeditions few and far between — and much the greater number abandoned without an efficient stroke, from whim, caprice, or an aversion to encounter difficulties. " But if the Indian will not, like Cato, throw from him ' the pomps and pleasures,' with which his good fortune furnishes him ^— when evils come which he cannot avoid, when ' the stings and INDIAN REVENGE. 307 arrows of outrageous fortune ' fall thick upon him, then will he call up all the spirit of the man into his bosom, and meet his fate, however hard, like ' the best Roman of them all." p. 251. It is right, however, that some of the better traits of their character, especially among the chiefs, should be presented ; because though there is much to lament and condemn in the treacheries, cruelties, and vices of the great mass, some redeeming traits shine out brightly, in many of their great men. Of these, General Harrison, in the same Discourse, gives the following example, which is worthy of the best days of Greece or Rome : — " Many instances might be adduced, to show the possession, on the part of these men, of an uncommon degree of disinterested ness and magnanimity, and strict performance of their engage ments, under circumstances which would be considered by many as justifying evasion. But one of the brightest parts of the character of those Indians, is their sound regard to the obligations of friendship. A pledge of this kind, once given by an Indian of any character, becomes the ruling passion of his soul, to which every other is made to yield. He regards it as superior to every other obligation. And the life of his friend would be required at the hands of him (or his tribe) who had taken it, even if it had occurred in a fair field of battle, and in the per formance of his duty as a warrior. An event might have occurred in the late war with Great Britain and their allies, in which a most striking exemplification of this principle would have been exhibited. lb the autumn of 1793, the Chief, Stiff Knee, of the Seneca tribe, who had been the friend of General Richard Butler who had fallen on the fatal 4th of November, 1791, joined the army of General Wayne, for the purpose of avenging his death. The advance upon the enemy having been arrested, from the late ness of the season, and the troops placed in cantonments for the winter, impatient of delay, the Chief earnestly solicited the General to be permitted to go with a detachment to attack one of the positions of the enemy. This request was, of course, refused. x 2 308 INDIiN COUNCIL. To satisfy him, and to prevent his going alone, the General informed him, that an ample opportunity of vengeance would be offered in the spring. But the soul of the warrior could not brook this delay. To the officer with whom he lodged, he expatiated upon the insupportable weight by which his mind was oppressed, at the postponement of the day of retribution for the death of his brother, whose spirit was constantly calling on him for vengeance. Upon one of these occasions, he said, that, denied an opportunity of performing this sacred obligation, nothing remained but to convince his friend how readily he would have died for him ; and before his arm could be caught, he plunged a poniard in his bosom !" p. 257. Some of their speeches are very striking, as showing what a keen sense they possess of the motives of the white men who are sent among them as negotiators. A speech, delivered by a Chief of the Winnebagoes, called Little Elk, at Prairie du Chien, in Wisconsin, on the occasion of a negotia tion for the transfer of their lands to the United States' Government, in July, 1829, is preserved by Mr. Atwater, as taken down on the spot. In his description of the council and its accompaniments, one is almost transferred to the scene. He says — " At Prairie du Chien, in the summer of 1829, while listening to several Indian speeches, I was forcibly struck with the evident marks the Chiefs exhibited of the deep sense impressed upon their minds, of the awful responsibility they felt. I have seen a Chief, when he approached the subject of a sale of his country, in his speech, turn pale, tremble with fear, and sit down perfectly exhausted in body, from the operations of his mind. His audience is never less dignified, than his whole nation — frequently several other nations ; and when the object of the council is the sale of his country, with the officers and men of the United States army drawn up in military array, with all its pomp and splendour, the Indian orator, according to all his ideas of things, is placed in a situation speech of little-elk. 30J the most favourable I can conceive of, to be in the highest degree eloquent. Before him sit the United States' Commissioners, attended by a great number of military officers, in full dresses, the Indian agents, sub-agents, interpreters, and an army of soldiers under arms. The cannons with lighted matches, and indeed all the proud array of military life, so fascinating to men in all ages of the world, are presented to his near and full view. On each side of him sit all the Chiefs and warriors of his nation ; while behind him sit, in the full hearing of his voice, all the women and children of his people. His subject is one, then, of the highest conceivable importance to himself, and his whole nation. His country, which he is called on to sell and quit for ever, contains the bones of his ancestors, the remains of numbers who were endeared to him by a thousand tender recollections. The heart, perhaps, that loved him most dearly, lies buried in that soil. His wives and his children listen in breathless silence to every word he utters ; every eye among the assemblage, vast and imposing, to his mind, watches every gesture he makes." It was at this council, and under such circum stances as these, that Little Elk delivered the fol lowing speech, and drew the picture of the French, the English, and the Americans, with whom they became successively acquainted : — " Fathers ! The first white man we knew, was a Frenchman. He lived among us, and did as we did. He painted himself; he smoked his pipe with us ; sung and danced with us ; and married our squaws ; but he wanted to buy no land of us ! The 'red-coat ' [the English] came next ; he gave us fine coats, knives, and guns, .traps, blankets, and jewels ; he seated our Chiefs and warriors at his table, with himself ; fixed epaulets on their shoulders, put commissions in their pockets, and suspended medals on their breasts, but never asked us to sell our country to him ! Next came the 'blue-coat' [the American] and no sooner had he seen a small portion of our country, than he wished to see a map of the whole of it ; and, having seen it, he wished us to sell it all to him. Governor Cass, last year, at Green Bay, urged us to sell all our country to him ; and now you, Fathers, repeat the request. 310 speech of black-hawk. Why do you wish to add our small country to yours, already so large ? When I went to Washington, to see our great Father, I saw large houses all along the road, and Washington and Balti more, Philadelphia and New York, are great and splendid cities. So large and beautiful was the President's house, the carpets, the tables, the mirrors, the chairs, and every article in it, were so beautiful, that when I entered it, I thought I was in heaven, and the old man there, I thought was the Great Spirit ; until he had shaken us by the hand, and kissed our squaws, I found him to be like yourselves, nothing but a man ! You ask us to sell our country, and wander off into the boundless regions of the West. We do not own that country ; the deer, the elk, the beaver, the buffalo, and the otter, now there, belong not to us, and we have no right to kill them. Our wives and our children, now seated behind us, are dear to us, and so is our country, where rest in peace the bones of our ancestors. Fathers ! pity a people, few in number, who are poor and helpless. Do you want our country ? yours is larger than ours. Do you want our wigwams ? you live in palaces. Do you want our horses ? yours are larger and better than ours. Do you want our women ? yours, now sitting behind you — pointing to Mrs. Rolette and her beautiful daughters, and the ladies belonging to the officers of the garrison — are hand somer and dressed better than ours. Look at them yonder ! Why, Fathers, what can be your motive ?" A speech of still more recent date, delivered in August, 1831, at the same place, Prairie du Chien, by the celebrated Chief, Black-Hawk, on his sur render, is still more remarkable, and is thus recorded in Drake's " Book of the Indians." — " You have taken me prisoner with all my warriors. I am much grieved, for I expected, if I did not defeat you, to hold out much longer, and give you more trouble before I surrendered. I tried hard to bring you into ambush, but your last General understands Indian fighting. The first one was not so wise. When I saw that I could not beat you by Indian fighting, I deter mined to rush on you, and fight you face to face. I fought hard. SPEECH OF RLACK-HAWK. 311 But your guns were well aimed. The bullets flew like birds in the air, and whizzed by our ears like the wind through the trees in the winter. My warriors fell around me ; it began to look dismal. I saw my evil day at hand. The sun rose dim on us in the morning, and at night it sunk in a dark cloud, and looked like a ball of fire. That was the last sun- that shone on Black- Hawk. His heart is dead, and no longer beats quick in his bosom. He is now a prisoner to the white men ; they will do with him as they wish. But he can stand torture, and is not afraid of death. He is no coward. Black-Hawk is an Indian. " He has done nothing for which an Indian ought to be ashamed. He has fought for his countrymen, the squaws and papooses, against white men, who came, year after year, to cheat them, and take away their lands. You know the cause of our making war. It is known to all white men. They ought to be ashamed of it. The white men despise the Indians, and drive them from their homes. But the Indians are not deceitful. The white men speak bad of the Indian, and look at him spite fully. But the Indian does not tell lies ; Indians do not steal. " An Indian, who is as bad as the white men, could not live in our nation ; he would be put to death, and eat up by the wolves. The white men are bad schoolmasters ; they carry false looks, and deal in false actions ; they smile in the face of the poor Indian, to cheat him ; they shake them by the hand to gain their confidence, to make them drunk, to deceive them, and ruin our wives. We told them to let us alone, and keep away from us ; but they followed on, and beset our paths, and they coiled them selves among us, like the snake. They poisoned us by their touch. We were not safe. We lived in danger. We were becoming like them, hypocrites and liars, adulterers, lazy drones, all talkers, and no workers. " We looked up to the Great Spirit. We went to our great Father. We were encouraged. His great council gave us fair words and big promises ; but we got no satisfaction. Things were growing worse. There were no deer in the forest. The opossum and beaver were fled ; the springs were drying up, and our squaws and papooses without victuals to keep them from starving ; we called a great council, and built a large fire. The 312 INDIAN CRUELTIES. spirit of our fathers arose, and spoke to us to avenge our wrongs or die. We all spoke before the council fire. It was warm and pleasant. We set up the war-whoop, and dug up the tomahawk ; our knives were ready, and the heart of Black-Hawk swelled high in his bosom, when he led his warriors to battle. He is satisfied. He will go to the world of spirits contented. He has done his duty. His father will meet him there, and commend him. " Black-Hawk is a true Indian, and disdains to cry like a woman. He feels for his wife, his children, and friends. But he does not care for himself. He cares for his nation and the Indians. They will suffer. He laments their fate. The white men do not scalp the head ; but they do worse — they poison the heart ; it is not pure with them. His countrymen will not be scalped, but they will, in a few years, become like the white men, so that you can't trust them, and there must be, as in the white settlements, nearly as many officers as men, to take care of them and keep them in order. " Farewell, my. nation ! Black- Hawk tried to save you, and avenge your wrongs. He drank the blood of some of the whites. He has been taken prisoner, and his plans are stopped. He can do no more. He is near his end. His sun is setting, and he will rise no more. Farewell to Black-Hawk." Book v. p. 161. There is no doubt much truth in the picture which Black-Hawk here draws, of the depraved and debased character of the whites who came among the Indians and corrupted them. But, on the other hand, it should not be forgotten, that in the very earliest periods of contact between the two races, the cruelties practised by the Indians towards the few whites who fell within their power, were more hor rible than could have been imagined by any one who had not witnessed them ; for in this case, certainly truth was more strange than fiction. It will be sufficient to give an instance or two, though a large volume might be filled with well-authenticated cases. ROMANTIC NARRATIVE. 313 Here is one, from M'Clung's Sketches of the most interesting Incidents connected with the Settlement of the West, from 1755 to 1794. It is the account of the usual treatment inflicted on white prisoners taken in war. The individual here named was James Smith, a youth of 18, who in the spring of 1755, fell into their hands, and was thus treated — " On the following morning, Smith's captors continued their march, and on the evening of the next day arrived at Fort Du Quesne, now Pittsburgh. When within half a mile of the fort, they again raised the scalp-halloo, and fired their guns as before. Instantly the whole garrison was in commotion. The cannon were fired, the drums were beaten, and French and Indians ran out in great numbers to meet the party, and partake of their triumph. Smith was again surrounded by a multitude of savages, painted in various colours, and shouting with delight ; but their demeanour was by no means as pacific as that of the last party he had encountered. They rapidly formed in two long lines, and brandishing their hatchets, ramrods, switches, &c, called aloud upon him to run the gauntlet. " Never having heard of this Indian ceremony before, he stood amazed for some time, not knowing what to do ; but one of his captors explained to him, that he was to run between the two lines, and receive a blow from each Indian as he passed, con cluding his explanation by exhorting him to 'run his best,' as the faster he ran the sooner the affair would be over. This truth was very plain ; and young Smith entered upon his race with great spirit. He was switched very handsomely along the lines, for about three-fourths of the distance, the stripes only acting as a spur to greater exertions, and he had almost reached the opposite extremity of the line, when a tall Chief struck him a furious blow with a club upon the back of the head, and instantly felled him to the ground. Recovering himself in a moment, he sprung to his feet and started forward again, when a handful of sand was thrown in his eyes, which, in addition to the great pain, completely blinded him. He still attempted to grope his way 314 CUSTOM OF SCALPING. through ; but Mas again knocked down and beaten with merciless severity. He soon became insensible under such barbarous treat ment, and recollected nothing more, until he found himself in the hospital of the fort, under the hands of a French surgeon, beaten to a jelly, and unable to move a limb. " When he recovered sufficiently to arise, however, it was only to witness fresh horrors. A party of Indians had been sent on in advance, having heard of the English pioneers who were before the main body of troops advancing, not against the Indians, but against the French, at Fort Du Quesne. About dusk, the party returned to the fort, driving before them twelve British regulars, stripped naked, and with their faces painted black ! an evidence that the unhappy wretches were devoted to death. Next came the Indians displaying their bloody scalps,* of which they had immense numbers, and dressed in the scarlet coats, sashes, and military hats of the officers and soldiers. Behind all came a train of baggage-horses, laden with piles of scalps, canteens, and all the accoutrements of British soldiers. The savages appeared frantic with joy, and when Smith beheld them entering the fort, dancing, yelling, brandishing their red toma hawks, and waving their scalps in the air, while the great guns of the fort replied to the incessant discharge of rifles without, he says, that it looked as if hell had given a holiday, and turned loose its inhabitants upon the upper world. " The most melancholy spectacle was the band of prisoners. They appeared dejected and anxious. Poor fellows ! they had * This savage custom is represented as prevailing, with some difference, among the Scythians in the time of Herodotus. " They carried about them at all times this savage mark of triumph : they cut a circle round the neck, and stripped off the skin, as they would that of an ox. A little image found among the Calmucs, of a Tartarian deity, mounted on a horse, and sitting on a human skin, with scalps pendent from the breast, fully illustrates the custom of the Scythian progenitors, as described by the Greek historian !" Pennant, as quoted by Dr. Godman, vol. i. pi 29, of his Natural History. INDIAN TORTURES. 315 but a few months before left London, at the command of their superiors, and we may easily imagine their feelings, at the strange and dreadful spectacle around them. The yells of delight and congratulation were scarcely over, when those of vengeance began. The devoted prisoners — British regulars — were led out from the fort to the banks of the Alleghanny, and, to the eternal disgrace of the French commandant, were there burnt to death, one after another, with the most awful tortures. " Smith stood upon the battlements, and witnessed the shocking spectacle. The prisoner was tied to a stake with his hands raised above his head, stripped naked, and surrounded by Indians. They would touch him with red-hot irons, and stick his body full of pine splinters, and set them on fire, drowning the shrieks of the victim in the yells of delight with which they danced around him. His companions in the mean time stood in a group near the stake, and had a foretaste of what was in reserve for each of them. As fast as one prisoner died under his tortures, another filled his place, until the whole perished !" p. 14. Another case of cruelty, and a most romantic escape, are given in the history of an American, - named Slover, who was taken by the Indians in one of the contests on the frontier, and having been previously known to some of those into whose hands he had fallen, this circumstance increased the hostility of his captors. The following extracts from the narra tive of his tortures and escape, will give a vivid idea of Indian cruelty — " One of the Indians instantly recognized Slover, having been present at his capture many years before, and having afterwards lived with him at Sandusky. He called him by his Indian name, (Mannuchcothe,) and reproached him indignantly for bearing arms against his brothers. Slover was somewhat confused at the charge, fearing that his recognition would be fatal to him when he should reach the Indian towns. They were taken back to the prairie, where the Indians had left their horses, and each mount ing a horse, they moved rapidly towards the nearest town, which 316 INDIAN TORTURES. proved to be Waughcotomoco, the theatre of Kenton's adven ture, four years before. Upon approaching the town, the Indians, who had heretofore been very kind to them, suddenly began to look sour, and put themselves into a passion by dwelling upon their injuries. Presently, as usual, the squaws, boys, &c, came out, and the usual scene commenced. They soon became tired of abusing and switching them, and having selected the oldest of the three, they blacked his face with coal and water. The poor fellow was much agitated, and cried bitterly, frequently asking Slover if they were not going to burn him. The Indians, in their own language, hastily forbid Slover to answer him, and coming up to their intended victim, patted him upon the back, and with many honeyed epithets, assured him that they would not hurt him. They then marched on to the large town, about two miles beyond the small one, (both bearing the same name,) having as usual, sent a runner in advance to inform the inhabit ants of their approach. " The whole village presently flocked out, and a row was formed for the gauntlet. The man who had been blacked, attracted so much attention, that Slover and his companion scarcely received a blow. The former preceded them by twenty yards, and was furiously attacked by every individual. Loads of powder were shot into his body, deep wounds were inflicted with knives and tomahawks, sand was thrown into his eyes, and he was several times knocked down by cudgels. Having heard that he would be safe on reaching the council-house, he forced his way with gigantic strength, through all opposition, and grasped the "post with both hands, his body burnt with powder and covered with blood. " He was furiously torn from his place of refuge, however, and thrust back among his enemies, when finding that they would give him no quarter, he returned their blows with a fury equal to their own, crying piteously the whole time, and frequently endeavouring to wrest a tomahawk from his enemies. This sin gular scene continued for nearly half an hour, when the prisoner was at length beaten to death. Slover and his companion reached the post in safety, and were silent spectators of the fate of their friend. As soon as he was dead, the Indians cut up his body, INDIAN TORTURES. 317 and stuck the head and quarters upon poles in the centre of the town. " On the same evening, he beheld the dead bodies of young Crawford and Colonel Harrison, and a third whom he supposed to be Colonel McCleland, the second in command. Their bodies were black and mangled, like that of their unfortunate companion, having been beaten to death a few bouts before their arrival. As he passed by the bodies, the Indians smiled maliciously, and asked if he knew them ? He mentioned their names, upon which they nodded with much satisfaction.- In the evening, all the dead bodies were dragged beyond the limits of the town, and abandoned to the dogs and wolves. In twenty-four hours, their bones only were to be seen. " Two days afterwards, a very large cou/icil was held, being composed of warriors from the Shawnee, Delaware, Wyandott, Chippewa, and Mingo tribes. Two Indians came to the wigwam, in order to conduct Slover once more before his judges, but the old squaw concealed him beneath a large bear-skin, and fell upon the two messengers so fiercely with her tongue, that they were compelled to retreat with some precipitation. This zeal in his service, on the part of the old squaw, was rather alarming than gratifying to Slover, for he rightly conjectured that something evil was brewing, which he knew that she would be unable to avert. He was not long in suspense. Within two hours, Girty came into the hut, followed by more than forty warriors, and seizing Slover, stripped him naked, bound his hands behind him, painted his body black, and bore him off with great violence. Girty exulted greatly in the success of his efforts, and loaded him with curses and reproaches, assuring him that he would now get what he had long deserved. " The prisoner was borne off to a town at the distance of five miles from Waughcotomoco, where he was met as usual, by all the inhabitants, and beaten in the ordinary manner for one hour. They then carried him to another little village about two miles distant, where a stake and hickory poles had been prepared, in order to burn him that evening. The scene of his intended exe cution was the council-house, part of which was covered with shingles, and the remainder entirely open at top, and very slightly 318 INDIAN TORTURES. boarded at the sides. In the open space, a pole had been sunk in the ground, and the faggots collected. Slover was dragged to the stake, his hands bound behind him, and then fastened to the pole, as in Crawford's case. " Fire was quickly applied to the faggots, which began to blaze briskly. An orator then, as usual, addressed the assembly, in order to inflame their passions to the proper height. Slover seeing his fate inevitable, rallied his courage, and prepared to endure it with firmness. For the last half hour, the wind had been high, but the clouds were light, and appeared drifting rapidly away. While the orator was speaking, however, the wind suddenly lulled and a heavy shower of rain fell, which instantly extinguished the fire, and drenched the prisoner and his enemies to the skin. Poor Slover, who had been making preparations to battle with fire, was astonished at finding himself deluged all at once with so different an element, and the enemy seemed no less so. They instantly ran under the covered part of the house, and left the prisoner to take the rain freely, assuring him from time to time, that he should be burned on the following morning. " As soon as the rain ceased, they again surrounded him, dancing around the stake, kicking him severely, and striking him with sticks, until eleven o'clock at night. A tall young chief, named ' Half Moon,' then stooped down, and asked the prisoner if ' he was not sleepy ?' Slover, somewhat astonished at such a question, and at such a time, replied in the affirmative. Half Moon then untied him, conducted him into a strong block-house, pinioned his arms until the buffalo-tug was buried in the flesh, and then passing another thong around his neck, and tying the other end to one of the beams of the house, left him under a strong guard, exhorting him to sleep soundly, for that he must ' eat fire in the morning.' " The prisoner, on the contrary, never closed his eyes, awaiting anxiously until his guard should fall asleep. They showed, how ever, no inclination to indulge him. Two of them lay down a little after midnight, but the third sat up talking and smoking until nearly daylight. He endeavoured to entertain Slover, by speculations upon his (Slover s) ability to bear pain, handling the WONDERFUL ESCAPE. 319 painful subject with the zest of an amateur, and recounting to the prisoner, the particulars of many exhibitions of the same kind which he had witnessed. He dwelt upon the entertainment which he had no doubt Slover would afford, exhorting him to bear it like a man, and not forget that he had once been an Indian himself. Upon this torturing subject, he talked, and smoked, and talked again, until the prisoner's nerves tingled, as if the hot irons were actually hissing against his flesh. " At length the tedious old man's head sunk gradually upon his breast, and Slover heard him snoring loudly. He paused a few moments, listening intently. His heart beat so strongly, that he was fearful lest the Indians should hear it, and arrest him in his last effort to escape. They did not stir, however, and with trembling hands he endeavoured to slip the cords from his arms over his wrists. In this he succeeded without much difficulty, but the thong around his neck was more obstinate. He attempted to gnaw it in two, but it was as thick as his thumb, and as hard as iron, being made of a seasoned buffalo's hide. Daylight was faintly breaking in the east, and he expected every moment that his tormentors would summon him to the stake. In the agony and earnestness of his feelings, the sweat rolled in big drops down his forehead, and the quickness of his breathing awakened the old man. " Slover lay still, fearful of being detected, and kept his arms under his back. The old Indian yawned, stretched himself, stirred the fire, and then lay down again, and began to snore as loudly as ever. Now was the time, or never ! He seized the rope with both hands, and giving it several quick jerks, could scarcely be lieve his senses, when he saw the knot come untied, and felt himself at liberty. He arose lightly, stepped silently over the bodies of the sleeping Indians, and in a moment stood in the open air. Day was just breaking, and the inhabitants of the village had not yet arisen. He looked around for a moment to see whether he was observed, and then ran hastily into a corn-field, in order to conceal himself. On the road he had nearly stumbled upon a squaw and several children, who were asleep under a tree. " Hastily avoiding them, he ran through the cornfield, and 320 WONDERFUL ESCAPE. observing a number of horses on the other side, he paused a moment, untied the cord, which still confined his right arm, and hastily fitting it into a halter, approached a fine strong colt, about four years old, that fortunately proved as gentle as he could wish. Fancying that he heard a door open behind him, he sprung upon his back as lightly as a squirrel, although every limb was bruised and swollen, by the severe beating of the preceding night, and as the woods were open, and the ground level, he put his horse to his utmost speed, and was soon out of sight. Confident that pursuit would not be delayed more than fifteen minutes, he never slackened his speed until about ten o'clock in the day, when he reached the Scioto, at a point full fifty miles distant from the village which he had left at daylight. " He here paused a moment, and allowed the noble animal, who had borne him so gallantly, to breathe for a few minutes. Fearing, however, that the enemy had pursued him with the same mad violence, he quickly mounted his horse again, and plunged into the Scioto, which was now swollen by the recent rains. His horse stemmed the current handsomely, but began to fail in ascending the opposite bank. He still, however, urged him to full speed, and by three o'clock had left the Scioto more than twenty miles behind, when his horse sunk under him, having galloped upwards of seventy miles. Slover instantly sprung from his back, and ran on foot until sunset. Halting for a moment, he heard a halloo, far behind him, and seeing the keenness of the pursuit, he continued to run until ten o'clock at night, when he sunk upon the ground, and vomited violently. In two hours the moon arose, which he knew would enable the enemy to follow his trail through the night ; and again starting up, he ran forward until day. " During the night he had followed a path, but in the morning he abandoned it, and changing his course, followed a high ridgei covered with rank grass and weeds, which he carefully put back with a stick as he passed through it, in order to leave as indis tinct a trail as possible. On that evening he reached some of the tributaries of the Muskingum, where his naked and blistered skin attracted millions of musquifoes, that. followed him day and night, effectually prevented his sleeping, and carefully removed INDIAN CRUELTIES. 321 such particles of skin as the nettles had left, so that if his own account is to be credited, upon reaching the Muskingum, which he did on the third day, he had been completely peeled from head to foot. Here he found a few wild raspberries, which was the first food he had tasted for four days. He had never felt hunger, but suffered much from faintness and exhaustion. He swam the Muskingum at Old Comer's town, and looking back, thought that he put a great deal of .ground between himself and the stake, at which he had been found near Waughcotomoco ; and that it would be very strange if, having been brought thus far, he should again fall into the power of the enemy. " On the next day he reached Stillwater, where he caught two crawfish, and devoured them raw. Two days afterwards, he struck the Ohio river immediately opposite Wheeling, and per ceiving a man standing upon the Island, he called to him, told him his name, and asked him to bring over a canoe for him. The fellow at first was very shy, but Slover having told the names of many officers and privates, who had accompanied the expedition, he was at length persuaded to venture across, and the fugitive was safely transported to the Virginia shore, after an escape which has few parallels in real life, and which seems even to exceed the bounds of probable fiction." pp. 139 — 147. Another instance, and it shall be the last, is one in which the whole force of Indian ingenuity and cruelty seems to have been exercised on the person of Colonel Crawford of Pennsylvania, in 1 782, who had gone out against a marauding party of Indians, from the banks of the Sandusky in Ohio. Himself and a small party were taken prisoners, and carried off to Chillicothe, Colonel Crawford and Dr. Knight being kept together. The following is the narrative of their treatment, while on the march — " Presently they came to a spot where there was a large five around which about thirty warriors, and more than double that number of boys and squaws, were collected. III. Y * 322 INDIAN CRUELTIES. " As soon as the colonel arrived, they surrounded him, stripped him naked, and compelled him to sit on the ground near the fire. They then fell upon him, and beat him severely with sticks and their fists. In a few minutes a large stake was fixed in the ground, and piles of hickory poles, rather thicker than a man's thumb, and about twelve feet in length, were spread around it. Colonel Crawford's hands were then tied behind his back ; a strong rope was produced, one end of which was fastened to the ligature be tween his wrists, and the other tied to the bottom of the stake. The rope was long enough to permit him to walk around the stake several times and then return. Fire was then applied to the hickory poles, which lay in piles at the distance of six or seven yards from the stake. " The colonel, observing these terrible preparations, called to Girty, who sat on horseback, at the distance of a few yards from the fire, and asked if the Indians were going to burn him ? Girty very coolly replied in the affirmative. The colonel heard the intelligence with firmness, merely observing, that he would bear it with fortitude. When the hickory poles had been burnt asun der in the middle, Captain Pipe arose and addressed the crowd, in a tone of great energ}', and with animated gestures, pointing frequently to the colonel, who regarded him with an appearance of unruffled composure. As soon as he had ended, a loud whoop burst from the assembled throng, and they all rushed at once upon the unfortunate Crawford. For several seconds, the crowd was so great around him, that Knight could not see what they were doing ; but in a short time, they had dispersed sufficiently to give him a view of the colonel. " His ears had been cut off, and the blood was streaming down each side of his face. A terrible scene of torture now com menced. The warriors shot charges of powder into his naked body, commencing with the calves of his legs, and continuing to his neck. The boys snatched the burning hickory poles, and applied them to his flesh. As fast as he ran around the stake, to avoid one party of tormentors, he was promptly met at every turn by others, with burning poles, red-hot irons, and rifles loaded with powder only ; so that in a few minutes nearly one hundred charges of powder had been shot into his body, which had become black RECLAIMING THE INDIANS. 3.23 and blistered in a dreadful manner. The squaws would take up a quantity of coals and hot ashes and throw them upon his body, so that in a few minutes he had nothing but fire to walk upon. " The terrible scene had now lasted nearly two hours, and Crawford had become much exhausted. He walked slowly around the stake, spoke in a low tone, and earnestly besought God to look with compassion upon him, and pardon his sins. His nerves had lost much of their sensibility, and he no longer shrunk from the firebrands with which they incessantly touched him. At length he sunk in a fainting fit upon his face, and lay motionless. Instantly an Indian sprung upon his back, knelt lightly upon one knee, made a circular incision with his knife upon the crown of his head, and clapping the knife between his teeth, tore the scalp off with both hands. Scarcely had this been done, when a withered hag approached with a board full of burning embers, and poured them upon the crown of his head, now laid bare to the bone. The colonel groaned deeply, arose, and again walked slowly around the stake ! But why continue a description so horrible ? Nature at length could endure no more, and at a late hour in the night he was released by death from the hands of his tormentors.' p. 127. It would have been a task of some difficulty, no doubt, to reclaim such savages as these from the brutal passions and ferocious dispositions by which they were characterized ; and several generations would perhaps have been required, to wipe out entirely this love of blood, and delight in witness ing the torture of their enemies. But no such aim or design seems ever to have been entertained by the English or American Governments. And if they have not the philanthropy and magnanimity to do this, it is better that such blood-thirsty races should become extinct, than that they should con tinue with all their primitive love of cruelty, and the super-addition of the vices of civilization. y2 324 HONOUR OF WAR AND WARRIORS. At the same time candour compels us to admit, that in the passion for war, and the homage paid to warriors, the civilized races are but little behind the savage ; so that we, who by our navies and armies, sink, burn, and destroy, who deluge ocean and earth with blood, and raise monuments and trophies, give titles and honours, and bestow princely estates on our chief warriors, are hardly yet pure enough from the same bloody stain, to be qualified to read the Indians a lesson on the horrors of slaughter. We use the cannon by which men are sometimes shot into fragments, or the mine and the mortar, by which men are blown into the air, instead of the tomahawk and the scalp ing knife ; but there is torture enough in the man gled and dying left to perish in the field of battle, or cooped up among the wounded after a naval fight, to make us wish that the white race could be cured of their infatuated love of war, and admira tion of warriors, as well as that their red brethren could be reclaimed from the same besetting sin. This admiration of war and warriors, and the mixture of bloody rites and ceremonies with the preparations for combat, which is so remarkable a feature of savage life among the Indians, has its parallel, however, among the people of antiquity, whom we are most disposed to admire. The Iliad of Homer is full of scenes of havoc and destruction, which show the delight felt in inflicting pain on enemies, degrading and mangling »the bodies of conquered foes, as the dragging the body of Hector round the walls of Troy, and a hundred other cruel ties. And in the drama of the Greeks, passages GREEK WARRIORS. 325 abound in which blood, carnage, and terror, form the prominent topics. A single example from Eschylus will suffice — " Seven valiant chiefs Slew on the black-orbed shield the victim bull, And dipping in the gore their furious hands, In solemn oath attest the God of War Bellona, and the carnage-loving power Of Terror ; sworn from their firm base to raze These walls, and lay their ramparts in the dust ; Or dying, with their warm blood steep this earth."* If a body of Indians preparing for the war, paint themselves, make a sacrifice, and swear a solemn oath, by striking the post together with their war- clubs, which is their common practice, we call it " the conduct of savages ;" and if they honour their " braves," in proportion to the number of scalps they have taken, this also is matter of reproach ; though in the chorus of Eschylus, the Greek chiefs are made to sing, just as the Indian chiefs would do, when addressing the Great Spirit, to give them success against their enemies — "If e'er thy soul had pleasure in the Brave, God of the Golden Helm ! hear us, and save !"t Well and truly has Lord Byron portrayed the folly and wickedness of this waste of human life, in contests between masses of human beings, all equally appealing to the same Deity to give to each the " victory over all their enemies," and each declaring, in the several services of their church, * Seven Chiefs against Thebes, lib. 44. f Chorus, lib. 48. 326 MODERN WARRIORS. that " there is none other that fighteth for us, but only Thou ! O God !" each army attended by chaplains for religious services, and each fighting under the banner of the cross — the special emblem of the Prince of Peace. It is thus he describes the meeting of the hostile armies on the plains of Tala- vera, in Spain— " Three hosts combine to offer sacrifice, Three tongues prefer strange orisons on high, Three gaudy standards flaunt the pale-blue sky, The shouts are France, Spain, Albion — Victory ! The foe, the victim, and the fond ally That fights for all, but ever fights in vain, Are met — as if at home they could not die — To feed the crow on Talavera's plain, And fertilize the field that each pretends to gain. " There shall they rot — Ambition's honoured fools ! Yes ! — Honour decks the turf that wraps their clay ! Vain sophistry — in these behold the tools — The broken tools that tyrants cast away By myriads, when they dare to pave their way With human hearts — to what ? a dream alone. Can despots compass aught that hails their swaj', Or call with truth one span of earth their own, Save that wherein at last they crumble bone by bone. " Enough of Battle's minions ! let them play Their game of lives, and barter breath for fame, Fame that will scarce re-animate their cla}', Though thousands fall to deck some single name. Blasted beneath the dim hot breath of War, The peasant sees his vineyard desolate ! Ah ! mouarchs, could ye taste the joys ye mar, Not in the toils of Glory would ye fret, The hoarse dull drum would sleep, and Man be happy yet."* - Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, canto i., 41 et seq. REMOVAL OF THE INDIANS. 327 On the subject of the Americans possessing them selves of the country of the Indians, there is cer tainly, after all, nothing more unjust in it, supposing it to have been done wholly by fraud or force, than the conduct of the British in possessing themselves of the whole country of Hindoostan, peopled by a highly civilized race, living in splendid cities, and having some of the arts in greater perfection than their conquerors, in lawful and peaceable possession of fields they had planted, and towns they had built, with laws, literature, and commerce, not inferior to most nations of the earth ; or than the conduct of the French, who have so recently taken possession of Algiers, from wdiich they have driven the lawful possessors, and slaughtered already whole heca tombs of those who dared to resist the invader of their homes. The Americans, indeed, had a much better plea than either the English or the French could possess, for a war of conquest against the whole Indian race, had they chosen to undertake it. But they have not done so ; they have pur chased, by a full equivalent, most of the lands of the Indians, and provided against their wasting the substance of the purchase money by paying them in annuities of money and goods. They have established frontier forts to interpose their authority, and prevent hostilities between rival tribes ; and as far as the conduct of the several Presidents and Senates may be regarded as the conduct of the United States in this respect, they have manifested a sincere desire to prevent, as much as possible, any unnecessary suffering or inconvenience to the Indians, in their removal beyond the boundaries of 328 LANDS OF THE INDIANS. the States. But the agents and sub-agents to whom the details of all these payments and supplies are entrusted, no doubt commit many abuses, which, considering the distance of the scene, and the diffi culty of detection, it is almost impossible to prevent, or to make them responsible for ; and this seems an almost irremediable evil, without the creation of a much better race of men to fill these offices than now occupy them. Mr. Flint, in his Section on the Aborigines, places the question of the supplanting the Indians in the possession of their lands by the whites, in a clear point of view, by showing that from the earliest ages, this continent has been peopled by races who seem to have supplanted each other in turn ; and the countless mounds and sepulchres, with the innumer able traditionary battle-grounds in almost every State, give great colour to this supposition. He then adds, to show how slight their claim, beyond that of mere occupancy, without improvement, was to the lands over which they roamed, the following just observations — " Who of them owned the land that we now inhabit ? The races that lie buried and forgotten on these plains ; or the tribes that advanced to-day to dispossess the present occupants, to be dispossessed in their turn by another race ? We firmly believe that all idea of property in the lands over which they roamed for game, or skulked in ambush to kill one another — all notions of a local property in these possessions, have been derived from seeing the value which lands acquire from the occupancy of the whites. It is out of all question that ages before they had seen white men, they were divided, as now, into a hundred petty tribes, engaged as, but for the interference of our government, they would now be engaged, in endless and exterminating wars, in which they dashed UNWILLINGNESS TO RECEIVE INSTRUCTION. 329 infants into the flames, drank the warm blood of their victim, or danced and yelled round the stake, where he was consuming in the fire. If they found a tract of country that pleased them, full of game and unoccupied, they fixed themselves there peacefully. If occupied, they made upon the occupants a war of extermina tion. When their desires or their caprices prompted them to wander to another region, they left nothing but bark-hovels and a country where game had become scarce, for one where they would make new hovels and find game plenty. War was their amuse ment, prompted by instinct. " It is no crime of the present civilized races that inhabit these regions, that their forefathers came over the sea, and enclosed lands, and cut down trees, where the Indians had hunted and fought. If they will not and xannot labour and cultivate the land, and lead a municipal life, they are in the same predicament with a much greater number of drunkards, idlers, and disturbers of society, who are a charge and a burden upon it in all civilized communities. Like them, they ought to be treated with tender ness ; to be enlightened and reclaimed, if possible ; and, as far as may be, to be restrained from hurting us, and each other. But it is surely as unjust as it is preposterous, to speak of the prevalence of our race over their's, as an evil, and from a mis judging tenderness to them, do injustice to our own country and the cause of human nature.' p. 112. The unwillingness of the Indians to receive in struction from the white race, is almost universal. All the efforts made hitherto, whether by the agents of the Government or private individuals, to teach them the useful arts of agriculture, building, and the working of metals, have been unavailing with by far the greatest number of the tribes, whose love of the idle, wandering, hunting, and plundering life, is too strong to be relinquished for the steady and indus trious labour which agricultural and mechanical operations require. This aversion is nearly universal 330 EDUCATION OF INDIANS. among all the ordinary members of the tribes ; and when the Chiefs have been offered the benefits of a higher education for their children, they have usually rejected it with disdain. Such an offer was made by the English to the Indians at the Congress of Lancaster, in 1744, held between the Virginians and the Five Nations, when one of the Indian Chiefs thus acknowledged the good intention of the proffered benefit, but at the same time declined it, and made an offer on their own parts in return. He said — " We know that you highly esteem the kind of learning taught in those colleges, and that the maintenance of our young men, while with you, would be very expensive to you. We are con vinced, therefore, that you mean to do us good by your proposal, and we thank you heartily. But you who are wise must know, that different nations have different conceptions of things ; and you will, therefore, not take it amiss, if our ideas of this kind of education happen not to be the same with yours. We have had some experience of it ; several of our young people were formerly brought up at the colleges of the northern provinces ; they were instructed in all your sciences ; but when they came back to us, they were bad runners ; ignorant of every means of living in the woods ; unable to bear either cold or hunger ; knew neither how to build a cabin, take a deer, or kill an enemy ; spoke our language imperfectly ; were therefore neither fit for hunters, warriors, or counsellors ; they were totally good for nothing. We are, how ever, not the less obliged by your kind offer, though we decline accepting it ; and to show our grateful sense of it, if the gentle men of Virginia will send us a dozen of their sons, we will take great care of their education, instruct them in all we know, and make men of them."* They are equally unwilling to receive the doc trines of Christianity, though they are in general ** Drake's Book of the Indians, book i. p. 28. SPEECH OF RED-JACKET. 331 polite and courteous towards those who endeavour to persuade them to adopt it for their religion. Among a number of anecdotes of this kind, that are on record, the following is the shortest that I have seen. It is from Drake's Book of the Indians — " A Swedish minister, having assembled the Chiefs of the Sus- quehannah Indians, made a sermon to them, acquainting them with the principal historical facts on which our religion is founded ; such as the fall of our first parents by eating an apple ; the coming of Christ to repair the mischief ; his miracles and sufferings, &c. — When he had finished, an Indian orator stood up to thank him. 'What you have told us,' said he, 'is all very good. It is indeed bad to eat apples. It is better to make them all into cider. We are much obliged by your kindness in coming so far to tell us those things, which you have heard from your mothers.' " When the Indian had told the missionary one of the legends of his nation, how they had been supplied with maize or corn, beans, and tobacco, he treated it with contempt, and said, ' What I delivered to you were sacred truths ; but what you tell me is mere fable, fiction, and falsehood.' The Indian felt indignant, and replied, ' My brother, it seems your friends have not done you justice in your education ; they have not well instructed you in the rules of common civility. You see that we, who understand and practise those rules, believe all your stories : why do you refuse to believe ours ?' " Book i. p. 96. The most remarkable instance of this, however, was in the case of the Seneca Indians, whom we visited at their Council in the Woods, during our stay at Buffalo, the year before last, and which is thus recorded by the same authority — " In the year 1805, a council was held at Buffalo, in the State of New York, at which were present many of the Seneca Chiefs and warriors, assembled at the request of a missionary, Mr. Cram, 332 SPEECH OF RED-JACKET. from Massachusetts. It was at this time that Red-Jacket*" delivered his famous speech, about which so much has been said and written, and which we propose to give here at length, and correctly, as some omissions and errors were contained in it as published at the time. It may be taken as genuine, at least as nearly so as the Indian language can be translated, in which it was delivered, for Red-Jacket would not speak in English, although he understood it. The missionary first made a speech to the Indians, in which he explained the object for which he had called them together, namely, to inform them that he was sent by the Missionary Society of Boston to instruct them 'how to wor ship the Great Spirit,' and not to get away their lands and money ; that there was but one religion, and unless they embraced it they could not be happy ; that they had lived in darkness and great errors all their lives ; he wished that, if they had any objections to his religion, they would state them ; that he had visited some smaller tribes, who waited their decision before they would con sent to receive him, as they were their 'older brothers.' " After the missionary had done speaking, the Indians conferred together about two hours, by themselves, when they gave aii answer by Red-Jacket, which follows — " ' Friend and Brother, It was the will of the Great Spirit that we should meet together this day. He orders all things, and he has given us a fine day for our council. He has taken his garment from before the sun, and caused it to shine with brightness upon us ; our eyes are opened, that we see clearly ; our ears are un stopped, that we have been able to hear distinctly the words that you have spoken ; for all these favours we thank the Great Spirit, and him only. " ' Brother, This council fire was kindled by you ; it was at your request that we came together at this time ; we have listened with * The Indian name of this distinguished orator of the Senecas was Sagoyewatha, which means 'One who keeps awake,' or simply, 'The Keeper-awake.' His English appellation had its origin from the circumstance of his wearing a red-jacket when a child. SPEECH OF RED-JACKET. 333 attention to what you have said ; you requested us to speak our minds freely ; this gives us great joy, for we now consider that we stand upright before you, and can speak what we think ; all have heard your voice, and all speak to you as one man ; our minds are agreed. " ' Brother, You say you want an answer to your talk before you leave this place. It is right you should have one, as you are a great distance from home, and we do not wish to detain you ; but we will first look back a little, and tell you what our fathers have told us, and what we have heard from the white people. " ' Brother, Listen to what we say. There was a time when our forefathers owned this great island.* Their seats extended from the rising to the setting sun. The Great Spirit had made it for the use of Indians. He had created the buffalo, the deer, and other animals for food. He made the bear and the beaver, and their skins served us for clothing. He had scattered them over the country, and taught us how to take them. He had caused the earth to produce corn for bread. All this he had done for his red children, because he loved them. If we had any disputes about hunting-grounds, they were generally settled without the shedding of much blood : but an evil day came upon us ; your forefathers crossed the great waters, and landed on this island. Their numbers were small ; they found friends, and not enemies ; they told us they had fled from their own country for fear of wicked men, and come here to enjoy their religion. They asked for a small seat ; we took pity on them, granted their request, and they sat down amongst us ; we gave them corn and meat ; they gave us poison in return. The white people had now found our country, tidings were carried back, and more came amongst us ; yet we did not fear them, we took them to be friends ; they called us brothers ; we believed them, and gave them a larger seat. At length their numbers had greatly increased ; they wanted more land ; they wanted our country. Our eyes were opened, and our minds became uneasy. Wars took place ; Indians were hired to fight against Indians, and many of our people were destroyed. * The opinion that America was a great island, surrounded entirely by the sea, is almost universal among the Indians. 334 SPEECH OF RED-JACKET. They also brought strong liquors among us : it was strong and powerful, and has slain thousands. " ' Brother, Our seats were once large, and yours were very small ; you have now become a great people, and we have scarcely a place left to spread our blankets ; you have got our country, but are not satisfied ; you want to force your religion upon us. " ' Brother, Continue to listen. You say that you are sent to instruct us how to worship the Great Spirit agreeably to his mind, and if we do not take hold of the religion which you white people teach, we shall be unhappy hereafter ; you say that you are right, and we are lost ; how do we know this to be true ? We under stand that your religion is written in a book ; if it was intended for us as well as you, why has not the Great Spirit given it to us, and not only to us, but why did he not give to our forefathers the knowledge of that book, with the means of understanding it rightly ? We only know what you tell us about it ; how shall we know when to believe, being so often deceived by the white people ? " ' Brother, You say there is but one way to worship and serve the Great Spirit ; if there is but one religion, why do you white people differ so much about it ? why do you not all agree, as you can all read the book ? " 'Brother, We do not understand these things ; we are told that your religion was given to your forefathers, and has been handed down from father to son. We also have a religion which was given to our forefathers, and has been handed down to us their children. We worship that way. It teacheth us to be thankful for all the favours we receive ; to love each other, and to be united ; we never quarrel about religion. " ' Brother, The Great Spirit has made us all ; but he has made a great difference between his white and red children ; he has given us a different complexion, and different customs ; to you he has given the arts ; to these he has not opened our eyes ; we know these things to be true. Since he has made so great a difference between us in other things, why may we not conclude that he has given us a different religion according to our understanding ; the Great Spirit does right ; he knows what is best for his children ; we are satisfied. INDIANS AND MISSIONARIES. obi) " ' Brother, We do not wish to destroy your religion, or take it from you ; we only want to enjoy our own. " ' Brother, You say you have not come to get our land or our money, but to enlighten our minds. I will now tell you that I have been at your meetings, and saw you collecting money from the meeting. I cannot tell what this money was intended for, but suppose it was for your minister, and if we should conform to your way of thinking, perhaps you may want some from us. " ' Brother, We are told that you have been preaching to white people in this place ; these people are our neighbours, we are acquainted with them ; we will wait a little while, and see what effect your preaching has upon them. If we find it does them good, makes them honest, and less disposed to cheat the Indians, we will then consider again what you have said. " ' Brother, You have now heard our answer to your talk, and this is all we have to say at present. As we are going to part, we will come and take you by the hand, and hope the Great Spirit will protect, you on your journey, and return you safe to your friends.' " Book i. p. 98. Thus ended the discourse of Bed-Jacket, at the close of which the Chiefs and other Indians drew near the missionary, to take him by the hand ; but he would not receive them, and rising hastily from his seat, he said that " there was no fellowship between the religion of God and the works of the Devil ; and therefore he could not join hands with them." Upon this being interpreted to the Indians, they are said to have "smiled, and retired in a peaceable manner." It is added, at the close of this narrative, that the Indians cannot be made to conceive how they have any participation in the guilt of the crucifixion, inasmuch as they do not believe themselves of the same origin as the whites, who alone committed this act ; and on one occasion, when a clergyman was 336 SPEECH OF A SEMINOLE. speaking to Red-Jacket on this subject, the Chief is said to have replied in these words — " Brother, if you, white men, murdered the Son of the Great Spirit, we Indians had nothing to do with it, and it is none of our affair. If he had come among us, we would not have killed him, we would have treated him well. You must make amends for that crime yourselves.'' The latest speech of this description, which I remember to have seen, is one delivered by a Semi nole Chief, named Nea Math Sa, so late as 1823, in answer to a proposal made through the Com missioner by the United States Government, to educate the children of the tribe ; and this speech, delivered by a warrior of one of the southernmost tribes of Indians, expresses the same unwillingness to receive what they consider the doubtful benefits of civilization, as that evinced by the orator of the Senecas, one of the northernmost tribes of the red race, occupying, indeed, nearly the opposite extremi ties of the North American continent. The speech of the Seminole warrior is thus recorded in the great work on the Indians now in course of publication, by Mr. Biddle of Philadelphia— " My Father, we have listened to the message of our Great Father at Washington, who has taken pity on his red children, and would teach us to speak on paper like the children of the white men. It is very good to know all those things which the white people know ; and it is right for them to teach them to their children. We also instruct ours in our own way ; we teach them to procure food by hunting, and to kill their enemies. But we want no schools such as you offer us. We wish our children to remain as the Great Spirit made them, and as their fathers are — Indians. .-»o— ? SPEECH OF A SEMINOLE. OCV '•The Great Spirit has made different kinds of men, and given to them separate countries to live in ; mid he has given to each, the arts that are suited to their condition. It is not for us to change the designs of the Great Master of Life. If you establish a school, and teach our children the knowledge of the white people, they will cease to be Indians. The Great Spirit wishes no change in his red children. They are very good as he has made them ; and if the white man attempts to improve, he will spoil them. " Father, we thank you for your offer ; but we do not wish our children to be taught the ways of your people. " Listen, Father, aud I will tell you how the Great Spirit made man, and how he gave to men of different colours the different employments that we find them engaged in. *'¦' After the world was made, it was solitary. It was very beautiful ; the forests abounded in game and fruit ; the great plains were covered with deer, and elk. and buffalo ; and the rivers were full of fish. There were many bears, and beavers, and fat animals; but there was no being to enjoy these good things Then the Great Master of Life said — ' We will make man.' Man was made; but when he stood up before his Maker, he was white ! " The Great Spirit was sorry ; he saw that the being he had made was pale and weak ; he took pity on him. and therefore did not unmake him, but let him live. He tried again, for he was determined to make a perfect man ; but in his endeavour to avoid making another white man, he went into the opposite ex treme ; and when the second being rose up and stood before him, he was black ! " The Great Spirit liked the black man less than the white, and he pushed him aside, to make room for another trial. Then it was that he made the red man, and the red man pleased him. •• Mv Father, listen; I have not told you all. In this way the Great Spirit made the white, the black, and the red man, when he put them upon the earth. Here they were ; but they were very poor. They had no lodges nor horses ; no tools to work with ; no traps, nor anything with which to kill game. All at once the three men looking up, saw three large boxes coming down from the skv. They descended very slowly, but at last III. Z * 338 bishop heber's OPINION. reached the ground, while these three poor men stood and looked up at them, not knowing what to do. " Then the Great Spirit spoke and said — 'White man! you are pale and weak ; but I made you first, and will give you the first choice. Go to the boxes, open them, and look in, and choose what you -will take for your portion.' The white man opened the boxes, looked in, and said — ' I will take this.' It was filled with pens, and ink, and paper, and compasses, and such things as your people now use. " The Great Spirit spoke again, and said — 'Black man ! I made you next ; but I do not like you, you may stand aside ; the red man is my favourite, he shall come forward, and make the next choice. Red man ! choose your portion of the things of this world.' The red man stepped boldly up, and chose a box, which was filled with tomahawks, knives, war-clubs, traps, and such things as are useful in war and hunting. '• The Great Spirit laughed, when he saw how well his red son knew how to choose. Then he said to the negro — ' You may have what is left ; the third box is for you.' That was filled with axes, and hoes, with buckets to carry water in, and long whips for driving oxen ; which meant that the negro must work for both red and white man ; and it has been so ever since. " Father, we want no change ; we desire no school, and none of the teaching of the white people. The Master of Life knew what was best for all his children. We are satisfied. Let us alone!" It will be remembered that Bishop Heber, after seeing the colour and complexion of the Hindoos, in his journey through India, entertained the opinion that our first parents, Adam and Eve, were of the reddish -brown complexion, by which the higher classes of the Hindoos are characterized ; and the colour of the skin of the Indians of the American continent is so strikingly like that of the natives of Hindoostan, in the interior of the country, that it cannot fail to strike those who have ever seen both ORIGIN OF COLOURS. 339 these races. Mr. Priest, in his Indian Antiquities, has a theory of his own on this subject, which is sufficiently curious to be transcribed. It is in his chapter " On the Supposed Origin of Human Com plexions, with the Ancient Signification of the Names of the Three Sons of Noah," and is as follows — " But, as it respects the complexions of these heads of the nations of the earth, we remark as follows — Shem was undoubt edly a red or copper-coloured man, which was the complexion of all the antediluvians. " This conclusion is drawn from the fact, that the nations inha biting the countries named as being settled or peopled by the de scendants of Shem have always been, and now are, of that cast. We deem this fact as conclusive, that such was also their proge nitor, Shem, as that the great and distinguishing features and complexion of nations change not, so as to disappear. Shem was the father of the Jewish race, who are of the same hue, varying, it is true, some being of a darker, and some of a lighter shade, arising from secret and undefinable principles, placed beyond the research of man ; and also, from amalgamation by marriage with white, and with the darker nations, as the African. But to corro borate our opinion that the antediluvians were of a red, or copper complexion, we bring the well-known statement of Josephus, that Adam, the first of men, was a red man, made of red earth, called virgin-earth, because of its beauty and pureness. The word Adam, he also says, signifies that colour which is red. To this account the tradition of the Jews corresponds, who, as they are the people most concerned, should be allowed to know most about it. " Shem, therefore, must have been a red man, derived from the complexion of the first man, Adam. And his posterity, as above described, are accordingly of the same complexion ; this is well known of all the Jews, unmixed with those nations that are fairer, asT attested by history, and the traveller of every age, in the countries they inhabit. " The word Ham, which was the name of the second son of Noah, is the word which was descriptive of the colour, which is z 2 340 COLOURED RACES. black, or burnt This we show from the testimony of Dr. Hales, of England, who was a celebrated natural philosopher and ma thematician of the 17th century, who is quoted by Adam Clarke, to show that the word Ham, in the language of Noah, which was that of the antediluvians, was the term for that which was black. "It is not possible, from authority so high and respectable^ that doubts can exist respecting the legitimacy of this word, and of its ancient application. Accordingly, as best suited to the complexion of the descendants of Ham, the hot regions of the equator were allotted to those nations. " To the Cushites, the southern climes of Asia, along the coast of the Persian Gulf, Susiane, or Cushistan, Arabia, Canaan, Pa lestine, Syria, and Egypt, and Libya, in Africa. These countries were settled by the posterity of Ham, who were, and now are, of a glossy black. " But the vast variety of shades and hues of the human face, are derived from amalgamations of the three original complex ions, red, black, and white. This was the act of God, giving to the three persons, upon whom the earth's population depended, by way of perpetuity, such complexions, and animal constitu tions, as should be best suited to the several climates which he intended, in the progress of his providence, they should inhabit. " The people of these countries, inhabited respectively by these heads of nations, the immediate descendants of Shem, Ham, and Japhet, still retain, in full force, the ancient pristine red, white, and black complexions, except where each have intruded upon the other, and become scattered, and mingled, in some degree, over the earth. Accordingly, among the African nations, in their own proper countries, now and then a colony of whites have fixed their dwellings. Among the red nations are found, here and there, as in some of the islands of the Pacific, the pure African ; and both the black and the red are found among the white nations ; but now, much more than in the earliest ages, a general amalgamation of the three original colours exists." In a learned treatise on the varieties of the human AFRICAN TRADITION. 341 race, by Professor Rafinesque, of Philadelphia, we have this tradition of the Marabouts of Africa, pre served in Anquetil's Universal History, vol. vi., p. 117, which bears some resemblance, in its struc ture and arrangement, as far as difference of colours is concerned, to the Indian tradition of the Seminole chief. The passage from Anquetil is this — " In support of the doctrine that the three sons of Noah were red, black, and white, we bring the tradition of the Marabouts, the priests of the most ancient race of Africans, which says, that after the death of Noah, his three sons, one of whom was white, the second tawny or red, the third black, agreed to divide his property fairly ; which consisted of gold and silver, vestments of silk, linen, and wool, horses, cattle, camels, and dromedaries, sheep, and goats, arms, furniture, corn, and other provisions, besides tobacco and pipes. " Having spent the greater part of the day in assorting these different things, the three sons were obliged to defer the par tition of the goods till the next morning. They therefore smoked a friendly pipe together, and then retired to rest, each in his own tent. " After some hours' sleep, the white brother awoke before the other two, and being moved by avarice, he arose and seized the gold and silver, together with the precious stones, and most beau tiful vestments, and having loaded the best camels with them, pursued his way to that country which his white posterity have ever since inhabited. " The Moor, or tawny brother, awaking soon afterwards, with the same intentions, and being surprised that he had been anti cipated by his white brother, secured in great haste the remain der of the horses, oxen, and camels, and retired to another part of the world, leaving only some coarse vestments of cotton, pipes, and tobacco, millet, rice, and a few other things of but small value. " The last lot of stuff fell to the share of the black sou, the laziest of the three brothers, who took up his pipe with a melan- 342 NEGRO LEGEND. choly air, and while he sat smoking in a pensive mood, swore to be revenged." Capt. Alexander, in his recent Travels into the interior of Africa, from the Cape of Good Hope, gives another version of the difference of colours and its cause, where he says, that in a discussion among the Namaquas on this subject, some of them main tained — " That the Deity having created white men, the devil became envious, seeing what a wonderful and handsome creature had been formed ; and he also tried his hand at making a man, but he could not make him otherwise than black like himself; so, in a rage, he struck his man a blow on the face, which flattened his nose, and hence the negro colour and feature!" — vol. ii. chap. 5. The Indian legend has the merit of great superi ority to this ; and being, in all probability, as sin cerely believed by the Indians themselves, as the Hebrew version of the creation of man is by Jews and Christians, one can readily comprehend the firmness of their belief in their own superiority — a vanity from which no nation is entirely free, but which shines out more conspicuously in the present white occupants of the red man's hunting-grounds, than in any other people upon earth, as if the mantle of the Indians had descended upon their shoulders. How greatly the Indians thought of their own prowess, and of the terror inspired by their very name, may be seen by the following song of Wanapasha, a chief of the Osage tribe, sung by him to his companions, in the Osage tongue, at Wash ington city, where he was on a deputation, at the house of Dr. Mitchell, January 7th, 1 806, which was translated into French by Mr. Choteau, the INDIAN WAR-SONG. 343 Osage interpreter, as sung, and rendered into English immediately afterwards. It is given among the Specimens of Indian Poetry, in Mr. Atwater's Col lection, p. 314 — " Say, warriors ! why, when arms are sung, And dwell on every native tongue, Do thoughts of Death intrude ? Why weep the common lot of all ? Why think that you yourselves may fall, Pursuing or pursued ? " Doubt not your Wanapasha's care, To lead you forth, and show you where The enemy's conceal'd ; His single arm shall make th' attack, And drive the sly invaders back, Or stretch them on the field. " Proceeding with embodied force, No nations can withstand our course, Or check our bold career ; Tho' if they knew my warlike fame, The terrors of my form and name, They'd quake, and die with fear." It will be long before another Indian war-song, is sung at Washington — perhaps never, as the Indians are now nearly all removed to the Far West, beyond the Mississippi, where the last remnants of the tribes still lingering here are now speedily following them ; and the policy and practice of having depu tations of their chiefs to visit the Capitol, or any other of the great cities of the Union, is fast decaying. The Osage chief, Wanapasha, is said to have died suddenly at Washington, a few nights after having sung the song given above ; thus, like the note of the dying swan, being but the presage to his own 341 INDIAN NAMES. dissolution, and a type or emblem of the fate that now inevitably and speedily awaits his whole race. But even when they shall be numbered among the things that have been, and pass away from the earth for ever, they will be remembered in the names they have left behind them, as so eloquently and feelingly expressed in the beautiful lines of Mrs. Sigourney — " Ye say they all have passed away, That noble race and brave, That their light canoes have vanished From off the crested wave ; That 'mid the forests where they roamed, There rings no hunter-shout, But their name is on your waters, Ye may not wash it out. " 'Tis where Ontario's billow Like ocean's surge is curled, Where strong Niagara's thunders wake The echo of the world. Where red Missouri bringeth Rich tribute from the west, And Rappahannock sweetly sleeps On green Virginia's breast. " Ye say their cone-like cabins, That clustered o'er the vale, Have fled away like withered leaves, Before the autumn gale : But their memory liveth on your hills, Their baptism on your shore, Your everlasting rivers speak Their dialect of yore. " Old Massachusetts wears it Within her lordly crown, And broad Ohio bears it Amid his young renown ; INDIAN NAMES. 34.5 Connecticut hath wreathed it, Where her quiet foliage waves, And bold Kentucky breathes it hoarse Through all her ancient caves. " Wachuset hides its lingering voice Within his rocky heart, And Alleghanny growls its tone Throughout his lofty chart ; Monadnock, on his forehead hoar Doth seal the sacred trust, Your mountains build their monument, Though ye destroy their dust. " Ye call these red-browed brethren The 'insects of an hour,' Crushed, like the noteless worm, among The region of their power ; Ye drive them from their fathers' lands, Ye break of faith the seal, But can ye from the court of heaven, Exclude their last appeal ? " Ye see their unresisting tribes, With toilsome step, and slow, On through the trackless desert pass, A caravan of woe ; Think ye the Eternal ear is deaf? His sleepless vision dim ? Think ye the souls' blood may not cry From that far land to Him ?" This Chapter on the Indians has extended beyond the ordinary limits : but if the reader's sympathies are as strong as the author's on this subject, he will not deem this the least interesting portion of the work. 316 CHAP. XVIL Departure from Milwaukie for Mackinaw — Shores of Michigan — Manitou Islands — Peninsula of the Sleeping Bear — Promon tory — Land at the Manitou Island — Residents^here — The Fox Islands — The Beaver Islands — Indians — Beautiful sunset — Splendid lake-scene — Arrival at the island of Mackinaw — First occupation of this island by the whites — Capture of it by a cunning stratagem of the Indians — Description of the island — Indians — Half-breeds — American Fur Company — Enormous profits — Methods of trading — Seduction by whisky — Anecdote of an Indian trader attending church in Albany — Instances of sagacious retaliation by Indians — Arch of the Rock — Sugar- Loaf — Indian wigwams — Statistics of the Upper Lakes — Lake Superior — Pictured rocks, and objects of natural interest — Sault Saint Marie — Rapids and Falls — Lake Michigan, size, depth, islands, rivers — Lake Huron — Manitou Isles, abode of evil spirits — Remarkable clearness of the Lake-waters — Straits of St. Clair — Arrival at Detroit. Leaving Milwaukie by a bright moonlight about 10 p.m., we stretched across the Lake Michigan, here about 60 miles in breadth, and leaving the Territory of Wisconsin behind us, we found ourselves at daylight close over on the shores of the State of Michigan. The morning was beautifully clear, and the sur face of the Lake as smooth and bright as a mirror, without a perceptible ripple, save that created by our own track. The air was pure, the temperature MANITOU ISLANDS. 347 delicious, and we enjoyed the change from the cold north-east winds of the preceding day. The shores of Michigan are low on the eastern side of the Lake, with a few occasional elevations, not exceeding 100 feet above the water, with patches of sand so white as to present the appearance of chalk cliffs, like those on the coast of Dover and Sussex, in England. At noon, we came up abreast of the Manitou Islands, as they are called by the Indians, this name being applied by them to any spot, but especially to islands or caves, which they believe to be the abode of good or evil spirits. The present group is com posed of two small islands only ; they are not more than three or four miles each in circuit, and are said to have been so called from the following circumstance, as related by Dr. Blois, in his History of Michigan — " It is a well-known fact, that, in savage warfare, the malignity of revenge prompts the Indian to satiate his passion only with the complete extermination of his adversary ; and innumerable have been the tribes, it is supposed, who by this means have sunk into oblivion. Tradition says, that many years ago, two powerful tribes were engaged in war, the one inhabiting the Upper, and the other the Lower Peninsula, north of the Grand River. In one of these savage campaigns, a large party of the former made a sudden descent upon the southern tribe, and, as they thought, destroyed the whole tribe. They then retired, on their return, to one of the islands here mentioned, where they encamped for the night. But their work of death had not been complete. Seven of the brave survivors emerged from their hiding-places, followed their conquerors, silently attacked them in ther sleep, in the hour of midnight, and such was the havoc, that few were left to tell the tale of disaster. Few awoke from their sleep, but fell by the bloody tomahawk, and those who escaped, surprised, and unable 348 MANITOU ISLANDS. ¦ to account for this mysterious and invisible enemy, concluded that it must have been the work of the evil spirit, or Moneto — and henceforth, these two islands passed by the name of Moneto, or what in English would be termed the Devil Islands. " The term seems to be used not by any one tribe exclusively, but to be commonly understood and generally applied in the mythology of the various Western Indian tribes. There are several Monetoes in Blinois, Missouri, and other Western States. One is at the precipices of the Mississippi, adjoining Lower Alton. Two more, that give names to streams, in Boon and Coles coun ties, Missouri. The Indians relate some extravagant legends of the freaks of these imaginary beings at their 'residences,' and they usually propitiate the favour of Moneto by liberal offerings and the firing of guns as they pass his habitation." p. 318. Opposite to these islands the coast of Michigan becomes more elevated, though it is still very sandy, with a good supply of forest- trees. One promontory iust beyond these islands is an entire mass of yellowish sand, though elevated 200 feet at least above the sea. Near the centre of its length, is a remarkable cluster of dark-green trees, forming an isolated grove at the highest point of the ridge, about 350 feet above the level of the Lake, and so formed as to look like a huge animal coiled up and lying down to sleep. It is visible to mariners at a distance of from 40 to 50 miles in clear weather. It was called by the Indians " The Sleeping Bear," a name it still retains. At 3 p.m. we went into the anchorage of the South Manitou Island, to procure a supply of wood for the boat. This lies in a pretty little bay, with pebbly beach, and water as clear as crystal, with a neat white lighthouse at the point of entry, and a good wharf to lay the boats alongside. The passengers ISLAND OF A SQUATTER. 349 all landed, to take a ramble through the woods, which constitute the only wealth of this spot, as the soil was extremely sandy, and not likely to be worth cultivation. The whole island was occupied by a squatter, who was realizing large profits by the monopoly he here enjoyed, of supplying fuel to the steamers passing up and down the Lake. He employs about twenty men as woodcutters ; and as the great distance from hence to Chicago on the one hand, and to Mackinaw on the other — 200 and 100 miles respectively — renders it indispensable that wood should be taken in here, he has his own price, and charges 3 dollars a cord for the same fuel as can be had at either of the places named for 2 dollars, because its bulk will not allow of boats taking suffi cient to run the whole 300 miles without so lumber ing their decks as to lose the requisite room for passengers and cargo. The boats must have it here, therefore, and hence the high price demanded. The Erie, in which we were, a boat of about 500 tons, consumed a cord and half per hour ; and the wood she required for her whole trip from Chicago to Buffalo and back, cost, at the varying prices at different points, about 500 dollars, for a distance of 1,000 miles. We obtained some few plants and flowers for our Herbarium, and a few minerals for our collection. The Indians formerly fished here, but they are now all gone. There were only two females on the island, both about 20 years of age ; and the whole establishment of the woodcutters was as rude as could be well imagined. At five p.m. we passed the Fox Islands, two in number ; and at sunset we were opposite, or rather 350 LAKE MICHIGAN. between the Great and Little Beaver, to the north of these, there being altogether six in the group, the largest having an area of about 40 square miles. There is still an Indian settlement on this, the people living principally by fishing and occasional traffic in peltries. The sunset was unusally beautiful, and as the bosom of the Lake still continued as smooth as glass, while the heavens were decked in the most glowing tints towards the west, and these reflected as in the clearest mirror, the whole scene was grand and im pressive. The continent of Michigan, with the opening of Grand Traverse Bay, was still in sight. The islands breaking the even line of the horizon in different quarters, the boundless expanse of water spread out in the direction in which neither con tinent nor islands were visible, the serenity and repose of everything around, contrasted with the untiring energy and unabated speed of our vessel, cutting the smooth Lake with the rapidity of an arrow, and passing from time to time some solitary sloop or schooner, with her loose sails idly flapping to the mast ; the reflection that this comparatively new world of wood and waters was in the state of transition from barbarism to civilization, and that in a few short years, the red man of the forest, who had occupied it for centuries, would be seen here no more — all combined to give a sublimity to the picture, and a gravity and sadness, mingled however with a deep feeling of the mystery in which the course of events is shrouded, that I shall long remember. The moonlight, bright almost as the day, tempt ing me to remain late on deck, I enjoyed the pro- ISLAND OF MACKINAW. 351 longed and pleasurable melancholy with which the stillness of the night so appropriately harmonized. At midnight we entered the harbour of Mackinaw, and though our stay there was not intended to be more than an hour or two, we went on shore, under the guidance of a gentleman familiar with the island, to take a walk round the town, to see such Indians as might be there, and to procure some of the articles of native manufacture, made chiefly by their women, as presents and reminiscences of our tour. This Island is sometimes called Michillimacki- nack, which is its proper Indian name, though Mackinaw is its more common appellation. The name is derived by some from two Indian words, " Missi," great, and " Mackinack," turtle, from the supposed resemblance of the Island to a great turtle lying asleep on the water. Others derive it from the true Indian name " Mishenimokinong," which means " The Place of Giant Fairies." The Island is about 9 miles in circumference, and covers an area of nearly 8,000 acres. The centre is elevated about 300 feet above the level of the Lake, which is itself 600 feet above the sea. On this elevation, nearly in the centre of the island, is Fort Holmes, formerly Fort George, which commands every part of the island, and the approaches to it, as well as Fort Mackinack near the town, in which there are always some American troops. This island was not occupied by the whites till 1764. Previous to that time, it had been exclusively inhabited by Indians, with whom it was a great place of resort in summer and winter, for the fur- trade and the fisheries, both sources of profitable occupa- 352 INDIAN STRATAGEM. tions to them. In 1763, there was a small British garrison, on the opposite peninsula of Michigan, and not on the Island, though the fort on the peninsula was called Michillimackinack also ; indeed, the name seems to have been extended to the whole of the narrow strait in which the Island lies. This garrison was massacred by a band of Sacs and Chippeways, in a manner which exhibits the skill and ingenuity of the Indians in the strategy of war in a very strik ing light. It is thus described by Mr. Henry, who was an eye-witness of the whole, and is recorded, on his authority, in Me Clung's Sketches of Western Adventure, p. 315 : — " The Indians were in the habit of playing at a game called Bag-gat-iway, which is played with a ball and a bat, on the prin ciples of our foot-ball, and decided by one of the party's heaving the ball beyond the goal of their adversaries. The king's birth day, the 4th of June, having arrived, the Sacs and Chippeways who were encamped in great numbers around the fort, turned out upon the green, to play at this game for a high wager, and attracted a number of the garrison and traders to witness the sport. The game of bag-gat-iway is necessarily attended with much violence and noise. In the ardour of contest, the ball, if it cannot be thrown to the goal desired, is struck in any direction by which it can be diverted from that designed by the adversary. At such a moment, therefore, nothing could be less liable to excite prema ture alarm, than that the ball should be tossed over the pickets of the fort, nor, having fallen there, that it should be followed on the instant by all engaged in the game, as well the one party as the other, all eager, all struggling, all shouting, in the unrestrained pursuit of a rude athletic exercise ; nothing, therefore, could be more happily devised, under the circumstances, than a stratagem like this ; and it was, in fact, the stratagem which the Indians employed to obtain possession of the fort, and by which they were enabled to slaughter and subdue its garrison, and such of the other ISLAND OF MACKINAW. 353 inhabitants as they pleased. To be still more certain of success, they had prevailed on as many as they could, by a pretext the least liable to suspicion, to come voluntarily without the pickets ; and particularly the commandant and garrison themselves. The Indians, after butchering the garrison, burnt down the fort." In 1764, the Island was obtained from the British, to whom it then belonged, by the negotiation of General St. Clair, who built a Government House on it. In 1796, the fort on the peninsula was sur rendered by the British to the Americans. In 1812, the Island was taken by the British, with a force of 500 Indians and as many Canadians ; it resisted a powerful attack made on it during the war of 1814, by a detachment of the American navy and army ; and was ultimately restored to the Americans, to whom it now belongs, by the Treaty of Ghent. The island is in 45° 58', of N. latitude, at its northern extremity, and was, therefore, the north ernmost point to which our journeys in the United States had extended. Bangor, in Maine, which we visited in the last year, being the most northern point in the Eastern States, and this is in lat. 44° 45' N. At Mackinaw, therefore, the summers are delightful ; but though it is nearly 5° farther south than London, the winter here is of eight months' duration, and the cold intense, the thermometer being much more frequently below zero than above it, in the three severest months. No spot in the country, however, is thought to be more healthy than this ; and, therefore, in the summer it is much visited, in search of health and pleasure com bined. The town is built along the beach of a slightly III. 2 a * 354 LAKE MICHIGAN. curved bay, on the south-east side of the island. It is very small, and the houses are almost wholly of wood, and of very mean appearance. Fort Mackinaw stands on a rocky eminence above the town, at a height of about 150 feet, and commands the whole bay ; while Fort Holmes, in the centre of the island, 150 feet higher, commands this. In the town are a court-house, jail, and two churches — a Roman Catholic and a Presbyterian. Both these sects have a missionary school here ; and a branch of the Uni versity of Michigan, to which State the island belongs, has also been established here, but the stu dents and pupils are few. The harbour is sufficiently capacious to receive about 200 vessels ; it has a good anchorage and safe shelter, with sufficient depth of water for vessels of 300 tons, and is easily accessible during all the sum mer months, but in the winter its shores are rendered unapproachable by ice. The population varies between 800 and 1,000, and has not much increased of late years. The pure- blooded whites are the fewest in number ; there being many Indians of full-blood, and a great number of half-breeds and quarter-breeds, as they are termed, the offspring, first of white fathers and red mothers, and then again of white fathers and half-breed mothers ; the progeny of each retaining, however, more of the Indian complexion and disposition than of the European, and assimilating in their tastes and feelings more to the former than to the latter race. The whites, who go into the interior of the continent to trade with the Indians, almost invariably marry one, two, or three of their women, for polygamy is AMERICAN FUR TRADERS. 355 not only permitted, but deemed honourable among the Indians, as an indication of rank and wealth, and it is no more disliked by the women themselves, than it is by Asiatic females. The offspring of these marriages are claimed by the tribe as belonging to their body, and the mothers never fail to bring up their children as Indians, so that all their earliest and strongest impressions are in favour of their peculiar mode of life. The women will nei ther adopt the dress nor speak the language of the whites, and are as proud of their blood and descent as any German princesses. An Indian lady, who is called " a great squaw " here, the wife of an opu lent white trader, Mr. Biddle, is a person of consi derable influence, and greatly respected. She is thought to understand English, but will not speak it ; she wears the Indian costume of her tribe, using, however, only the finest materials ; she does not eat with her husband, but after him ; and sits on the floor in her own apartment, though her house is well furnished with tables and chairs. Her daughters, who are reputed to be handsome, though dark, have been educated at first-rate and fashionable boarding- schools, and are considered highly accomplished ; yet even they are proud of their Indian origin, and consider themselves of richer and purer blood than their "pale-faced" sisters. The American Fur Company have an establish ment here, as a depot for collecting their peltries on the one hand, and for keeping in store the European articles which they pay away and barter on the other There is also an Indian Agency, as it is called, estab- 2 a2 356 LAKE MICHIGAN. lished here, and the house of the Superintendent of Indian affairs is one of the largest and best in the island, having a fine lawn in front, and garden in the rear, and being stockaded around for defence, like a military post. To this individual is deputed the duty of making the payments of annuities to the different Indian tribes that resort here to receive them every year, in the month of September. On such occasions, there are often 1,000 Indians here, from the surrounding shores, coming over in their birch canoes, and remaining for some weeks. The ordinary amount of annuities paid to them is about 20,000 dollars ; but during the last year some arrears of the principal sum had to be paid, as well as the interest, and the whole amount disbursed here was upwards of 150,000 dollars. The greater part of this was spent ; first, in whisky, of which the American Fur Company, and all the private traders, drawn to the spot by the spirit of speculation and avarice at such seasons, are sure to provide a large stock ; and secondly, in such goods as the Indians use, of which knives, fish-hooks, muskets, traps or snares, gunpowder, paint for their bodies, glass beads, small mirrors, and blankets for their robes, form the prin cipal part. The greatest portion of these goods are imported by the American Fur Company from Eng land ; and the blankets, it is said, cannot be manu factured to suit the Indian taste so well anywhere else. They must be of a peculiar size, wool, and texture ; they are often dyed throughout, either of a bright scarlet, or blue, or green, though white ones are frequently used, and these have deep coloured INDIAN TRADERS. 357 borders. The other articles of their dress, in furs, deer skins, and feathers, the Indians provide for themselves. We obtained access to one of the stores of the Indian traders, which was opened for us at midnight, in order that we might select some articles of their own manufacture, to take home with us ; and having chosen some baskets made of birch bark, and coloured porcupine's quills, arranged with great taste and simplicity in groups of native flowers, such as are seen in their own wild prairies, the price was asked, and named. One of the gentlemen of our party, however, thinking it very extravagant, said so to the trader ; on which, he replied, that he was selling them at the exact price which he gave for them in trade. Yes ! replied the complainant, but you made 100 per cent, at least on the articles given in barter. To which the other rejoined, that this was a very small profit ; one per cent, (which in their vocabu lary means doubling the capital once only,) being a very moderate gain, considering that the traders often made 5 per cent, (that is, five-fold the original cost,) and 10 per cent., or 1,000 dollars for 100 dollars being no uncommon return ! The profit made out of the Indians in every way, but especially in the fur-trade, are no doubt immense. Mr. John Jacob Astor, the millionaire of New York, began life as an Indian trader, rose into a great fur merchant, was at one time the head of the American Fur Com pany, and is now deemed one of the richest men in the United States. The Indians are aware of these exorbitant profits, but they have neither the intelli gence nor the organization to prevent it ; they are '358 INDIAN TRADERS. completely in the hands of the whites, and even when scruples and difficulties arise, all these are removed by the poisonous draft of whisky, which is sure to be liberally administered ; and when under the influence of this, almost anything may be ob tained of them, and there is nothing that they will not do, suffer, or undertake. An Ottoway chief, known to the French by the name of " White John," was a great drunkard. Count Frontenac asked him what he thought brandy to be made of; to which he replied, " It must be made of hearts and tongues, for when I have drunken plentifully of it, my heart is a thousand strong, and I can talk too with astonishing freedom and rapidity ! " In their sober moments, however, the Indians evince considerable sagacity in discovering the over reaching disposition of the white traders, and some times make a ludicrous and mistaken application of their suspicions, of which the following is an amus ing example, preserved by Doctor Franklin, who, in describing the manners and character of the Indians, says — " The same hospitality, esteemed among them as a principal virtue, is practised by private persons, of which, Conrad Weiser, our interpreter, gave me the following instances. He had been naturalized among the Six Nations, and spoke well the Mohawk language. In going through the Indian country, to carry a mes sage from our governor to the council at Onondago, he called at the habitation of Canassatego, an old acquaintance, who embraced him, spread furs for him to sit on, placed before him some boiled beans, and venison, and mixed some rum and water for his drink. When he was well refreshed, and had lit his pipe, Canassatego began to converse with him ; asked how he had fared the many INDIAN TRADERS. 359 years since they had seen each other ; whence he then came ; what occasioned the journey, &c. Conrad answered all his questions ; and when the discourse began to flag, the Indian, to continue it, said, ' Conrad, you have lived long among the white people, and know something of their customs ; I have been sometimes at Albany, and have observed, that once in seven days they shut up their shops, and assemble in the great house ; tell me what that is for ; what do they do there ?' * They meet there,' says Conrad, ' to hear and learn good things.' ' I do not doubt,' says the Indian, ' that they tell you so ; they have told me the same ; but I doubt the truth of what they say, and I will tell you my reasons. I went lately to Albany, to sell my skins, and buy blankets, knives, powder, rum, &c. You know I used generally to deal with Hans Hanson ; but I was a little inclined this time to try some other merchants. However, I called first upon Hans, and asked him what he would give for beaver. He said he could not give more than four shillings a pound ; but, says he, 1 cannot talk on busi ness now ; this is the day when we meet together to learn good things, and I am going to the meeting. So I thought to myself, since I cannot do any business to-day, I may as well go to the meeting too, and I went with him. There stood up a man in black, and began to talk to the people very angrily ; I did not understand what he said, but perceiving that he looked much at me, and at Hanson, I imagined that he was angry at seeing me there ; so I went out, sat down near the house, struck fire, and lit my pipe, waiting till the meeting should break up. I thought, too, that the man had mentioned something of beaver, and sus pected it might be the subject of their meeting. So when they came out, I accosted my merchant. ' Well, Hans,' says I, ' I hope you have agreed to give more than four shillings a pound.' 'No,' says he, 'I cannot give so much, I cannot give more than three shillings and sixpence.' I then spoke to several other dealers, but they all sung the same song — three and sixpence, three and sixpence. This made it clear to me that my suspicion was right ; and that whatever they pretended of meeting to learn good things, the purpose was to consult how to cheat Indians in the price of beaver. Consider but a little, Conrad, and you must be of my opinion. If they met so often to learn good things, they would 360 INDIAN RETALIATION. certainly have learned some before this time. But they are still ignorant. You know our practice. If a white man, in travelling through our country, enters one of our cabins, we all treat him as I do you; we dry him if he is wet; we warm him if he is cold, and give him meat and drink, that he may allay his thirst and hunger ; and we spread soft furs for him to rest and sleep on ; we demand nothing in return. But if I go into a white man's house at Albany, and ask for victuals and drink, they say, Get out, you Indian dog. You see they have not yet learned those little good things that we need no meetings to be instructed in, because our mothers taught them to us when we were children ; and therefore it is impossible their meetings should be, as they say, for any such purpose, or have any such effect ; they are only to contrive the cheating of Indians in the price of beaver.' " Sometimes the Indian seeks some method of retaliation, by paying off the traders in their own coin ; and many amusing instances of this are told, of which the following is a good specimen, from Drake's Book of the Indians — " A white trader sold a quantity of powder to an Indian, and imposed upon him by making him believe it was a grain which grew like wheat, by sowing it upon the ground, ne was greatly elated by the prospect, not only of raising his own powder, but of being able to supply others, and thereby becoming immensely rich. Having prepared his ground with great care, he sowed his powder with the utmost exactness in the spring. Month after month passed away, but his powder did not even sprout, and winter came before he was satisfied that he had been deceived. He said nothing ; but after some time, when the trader had for gotten the trick, the same Indian succeeded in getting credit of him to a large amount. The time set for payment having expired, he sought out the Indian at his residence, and demanded payment for his goods. The Indian heard his demand with great com plaisance ; then, looking him shrewdly in the eye, said, ' Me pay you when my powder grow.' This was enough. The guilty white man quickly retraced his steps, satisfied to balance his account with the chagrin he had received." book i. p. 19. ISLAND OF MACKINAW. 361 The principal source of gain to the resident in habitants of Mackinaw at present, is the fishery that is carried on here. The Mackinaw trout is a fish resembling the salmon in appearance and flavour, but much larger in size, weighing sometimes 30 lbs., their excellence for the table being in no way diminished by their weight. Of these, and another valuable fish called the white fish, not less than 3,000 barrels have been exported in a year, in the salted form, at 12 dollars a barrel for the white fish, and from 15 to 20 dollars for the trout ; while large quantities of each are sent off, in the fresh state, to Chicago, Detroit, and Buffalo, where they bring large prices. On the north-east side of the island, and not more than a mile from the town, is a curious rock, some times called the Natural Bridge, but more frequently the Giant's Arch, it being a large mass of rock, about 100 feet in elevation, with an arch or open ing of 50 feet in breadth, like the Hole in the Rock, in one of the West India Islands. Another rock, called The Sugar Loaf, rising in a conical form about 130 feet above its base, is found at the same distance from the town ; but from the shortness of our stay, and the lateness of the hour, we were unfortunately unable to visit either of them. Along the beach of the bay, were scattered several Indian wigwams, or conical tents made of poles surrounded by skins and mats, in which were several Indian families. The few men that were up and awake, for the women and children were mostly sleeping, were importunate in their demands for 362 LAKE SUPERIOR. whisky, the craving appetite for which appears with them to be insatiable ; and unhappily the means of gratifying this appetite so surround them, that they are always thus kept at the lowest point of degra dation. The island of Mackinaw lies in the straits that divide Lake Michigan from Lake Huron, its dis tance being about 9 miles only from the Peninsula of Michigan, and 8 miles from the northern conti nent, which stretches away up to the shore of Lake Superior. From this island, therefore, frequent pleasure excursions are made to the Falls of St. Mary, called by the French " Sault Ste. Marie," and thence into the great Upper Lake itself. This chain of lakes, extending from the Lake of the Woods, all the way to the Atlantic, forms the largest collection of inland seas to be found anywhere on the surface of the globe, and serve as a striking and convenient line of division between the British and the American possessions, being open to the navigation of both, and extending over a length of nearly 2,000 miles ! Lake Superior is the largest of these, and is ascer tained to be 480 miles in length, 190 in its greatest breadth, and about 1,700 miles in circumference. It is considered to be the largest body of fresh water existing on the earth, being 900 feet in depth in the centre, and continuing to shelve but very gra dually to the shores, while it is 641 feet above the level of the ocean. There are many islands scat tered over its surface, among which LTsle Royal, Phillipeau, and Michippicotton, are the largest, and those of the Twelve Apostles the most remarkable LAKE SUPERIOR. S63 group. It has also several rivers discharging their waters into it, though the courses of these are generally short. The northern shores of this lake are said to be walled with lofty and frowning cliffs of granite rock ; and the southern shores have in one portion of them a spot called The Pictured Rocks, from the great variety of picturesque combi nations presented by them to the eye of the voyager. They are situated at a distance of 50 miles west of the straits of St. Mary, by which the lake is entered from the south and east. They extend for 12 miles along the coast, forming a perpendicular wall of rocks, like the Palisadoes of the Hudson, rising 300 feet above the surface of the lake. It is said, by those who have seen them, that it requires very little aid from the imagination to perceive, in the broken masses of these rocks, the most picturesque combi nations of architecture, in castle and tower, in dome and turret, Saracenic, Greek, and Gothic, all com bined. The effect of this is greatly heightened by the varieties of colour, with which the projecting and receding masses are tinted : there are several caverns that receive the waters of the lake, and give back the echo of a deep and sullen roar. To one of these masses, the name of The Doric Arch is applied, it being an isolated mass of sand stone, which appears like a work of art, presenting four pillars sustaining an entablature, on which soil exists in a sufficient degree to maintain a number of spruce and pine trees, growing to a height of from 50 to 60 feet. Another of the curious objects here, is that called Cascade la Potaille, where a clear stream of considerable size starts out from the rocky 364 LAKE MICHIGAN. cliff at a height of 70 feet from the surface of the lake, and is projected at such a distance from the base of the rock, by the force with which it flows, that boats pass perfectly dry between it and the shore. The southern shore of Lake Superior belongs to the Americans ; the northern to Great Britain ; but at present there are no towns established by either nation on the lake. The Indians are the chief inhabitants of the surrounding tracts, except at Fond du Lac, at the inner extremity, where the Hudson's Bay Company have a station for their traders, and at Sault Ste- Marie, where the American Fur Com pany have a station, at which they conduct both the fur and the fishing trade. The strait is about 30 miles in length, from Lake Superior to Lake Huron, and the fall is 23 feet in that distance, so that they are merely rapids, over which small boats may ascend, and in the summer many pass over. The large vessels remain at the foot of the rapids when they come up from Lake Huron, and those from Lake Superior stay at the head of the rapids ; the cargoes of each being transported in flat boats, or by a portage over land. There is at present, how ever, a plan on foot for cutting a ship-canal to avoid these falls, like the Welland Canal between Lakes Erie and Ontario, to avoid the Falls of Niagara ; and as appropriations having been already made by Congress for that purpose, the work will no doubt soon be begun. Lake Michigan is next in size to Lake Superior, being about 330 miles in length, and 60 in breadth, and covering an area of 16,500 square miles ; or, according to Hutchins, 16,981 square miles, or LAKE HURON. 365 10,868,000 acres. Into this also, several rivers empty their waters ; and there are many small bays on the Michigan, and one large one, on the Wisconsin side. This is Green Bay, an inlet of 100 miles in length, and from 20 to 30 in breadth,bearing its present name from the rich green colour of its waters. Lake Michigan is deeper than Lake Supe rior, there being no soundings at a distance of 15 miles from the shore, with a line of 2,000 feet ; and the depth of 1,800 feet being obtained within this line. Lake Huron, into which both Lake Superior and Lake Michigan empty their waters, is the third in size, sweeping down the east side of the State of Michigan. This Lake is about 265 miles in length, by from 60 to 70 in breadth, and covers an area of about 20,000 square miles, or 12,800,000 acres — so that its whole surface is larger than that of Lake Michigan. The northern part of it contains a great many islands, dividing it almost into two Lakes, the inner one of which is sometimes called Manitou Lake, but more frequently Manitou Bay, occupying at least one-fourth of the whole. One of these islands is very large, covering an area of about 700 square miles ; and the others, which are much smaller, are very numerous. They derive their name from the same cause as that of the Manitou Islands in Lake Michigan, being supposed, by the Indians, to be the abode of supernatural beings. They are at present but little visited. An island, like this of Mackinaw, situated in the centre of three such great inland seas as these, and almost equidistant from the farthest extremities of 366 LAKE HURON. either — being, moreover, itself a beautiful spot, and sufficiently large for many villas and summer-resi dences — is likely at some future day to become the favourite summer resort of the opulent families of the surrounding States ; the facilities of communica tion rendering it as easily approachable from New York, as Madeira is from England ; and its summer climate and numerous objects of interest and natural beauty within reach, giving it powerful attractions. We left Mackinaw about 2 a. m., on the morning of Saturday, the 4th of July, the great National Holiday of America, as the Anniversary of their Declaration of Independence. I had passed the first 4th of July at Albany, in the State of New York ; the second at Athens, in the State of Georgia ; and the third was now to be passed on the bosom of Lake Huron — points far and wide apart. It had been agreed, however, by the passengers on board, that there was no need of a Celebration at sea, for so this might be considered, and most of them deemed it a happy escape from the noise and bustle of such a day on shore. That the day will ever cease to be observed by the great mass of the nation, is not likely ; nor is it, indeed, desirable, that the birth of a nation's independence should be omitted to be observed with all due festivities. But the manner of its observance is now so full of noise and parade, that it has become disagreeable to the genteel por tion of the community — the greater part of whom, unless they occupy public offices, and cannot there fore be absent, are glad to escape from the towns into the country, and do not return till the Celebra tion is over. TRANSPARENT WATERS. 367 During the whole of the day we were pursuing our way down Lake Huron, at the rate of full 13 miles an hour, it being a perfect calm, and the cur rent of the Lake about 2 miles an hour in our favour. The weather was most delicious, the temperature at 78°, and the air possessing the freshness of an English May. We had often heard of the clearness and trans parency of the waters of Lake Huron, and it quite equalled our expectations. The colour is a beauti ful light green, and as the bottom is rocky, there is nothing to render it turbid. It resembled the waters of the Red Sea, and of the Bahama Islands, both of which are remarkable for their transparency ; but the waters of Lake Huron are of a lighter green than either of these. It is said that near the shore, in a calm, any large white substance, as a plate, or a sheet of paper, may be seen distinctly at the depth of 100 feet. This we had no opportunity of testing, being for the greater part of the day out of sight of land ; but several gentlemen who had remained some time at Mackinaw, assured us that objects could be seen in the bay or harbour most distinctly at the depth of from 30 to 50 feet. This peculiarity of the waters of Lake Huron, which resemble those of Abana and Pharpar, de scribed by Milton as " lucid streams," is beautifully alluded to byMoore, in his Epistle to Lady Charlotte Rawdon, from the banks of the St. Lawrence, where he introduces the Song of an Indian Spirit hovering over the Sacred Isles of the Manitoulin, in these words — 368 LAKE HURON. " From the clime of sacred doves, Where the blessed Indian roves Through the air, on wing as white As the spirit-stones of light Which the eye of morning counts, On the Apalachian mounts. Hither oft my flight I take, Over Huron's lucid Lake Where the wave, as clear as dew, Sleeps beneath the light canoe, Which, reflected, floating there, Looks as if it hung in air !"* The temperature of the water, both here and in Lake Michigan, we found to be remarkably cool ; and it is said that if a bottle be sunk 100 feet below the surface, and brought up in the hottest weather, the water will be found as cold as if it were iced. The water we drank on board was all pumped up from alongside the boat, and it was as pure and cool as could be desired. Towards evening we approached the Michigan shore, which was everywhere low as far as we could * In a note appended to this passage the poet says — "I was thinking here of what Carver says so beautifully in his descrip tion of one of those Lakes, ' When it was calm and the sun shone bright, I could sit in my canoe, where the depth was upwards of six fathoms, and plainly see huge piles of stones at the bottom, of different shapes, some of which appeared as if they had been hewn ; the water was at this time as pure and transparent as air, and my canoe seemed as if it hung suspended in that element. It was impossible to look attentively through this limpid medium, at the rocks below, without finding, before many minutes were elapsed, your head swim, and your eyes no longer able to behold the dazzling scene.' " STRAIT OF ST. CLAIR. 369 see it. We entered the narrow passage or strait bv which Lake Huron discharges itself into Lake St. Clair, about 9 o'clock p.m., there being light enough to enable us to see the Light-house and Fort Gratiot on the American side, and the low lauds of Canada on the British side. This strait is less than a mile wide, and 40 miles in length, with a descent of about 4 inches per mile, and a depth of 50 feet in the deepest parts of the channel. As this strait receives the whole pressure of the waters of the Upper Lakes, it is not to be wondered at that it should be so powerfully felt, the current here running sometimes from 6 to S miles in the hour. There are several small islands dividing- the stream into no less than 6 different channels, all navigable for the largest class of steamboats. Our rate of speed was here greatly increased, as we went 15 miles in 40 minutes, being equal to 22 miles an hour, the force of the current included. The rapidity of our flight was rendered the more visible by our having on each side, at short intervals, cottages and clusters of houses with lights in them ; and on the American side, large glaring fires lit up at the several wooding stations, past which we were hurried with great velocity. At the largest of these we anchored to take in a supply of fuel, all our previous stock being entirely exhausted, though when we left Mackinaw, the decks were lumbered up with high piles fore and aft, to the exclusion of light and air from most of the state-room cabins, compelling us to go on the upper or hurricane deck, for the enjoyment of both, till the incumbrance was gradually cleared away by consumption. At 2 a.m. we weighed from our anchorage, and HI. 2 B 370 ARRIVAL AT DETROIT. proceeded down the strait into the Lake St. Clair, which we entered by daylight. This is a very small expanse of water after the Great Lakes we had been traversing, the length of this being about 24 miles and its breadth 30, giving a circumference of 90 miles. Its greatest depth is said to be only 20 feet, notwithstanding which, its waters are clear, though not so transparent as those of Lake Huron. At sunrise, the scenery began to grow very inte resting, as the shores on both sides were dotted with villages and dwellings, orchards and gardens, and population was evidently thickly settled here, but especially on the American side. This was a pleas ing relief, after the hundreds of miles of coast we had passed, with fewer dwellings and people than were here concentrated within this limited space. The American houses looked largest, and their fields most extensive. The lands on the Canada side were divided into narrow water-fronts, with a great extent behind, to give a more equal division of the privilege of access to the Lake ; but all looked in dustrious and thriving. At 6 a.m. we obtained the first sight of Detroit, right ahead, and just beyond it a second strait, like that of St. Clair, by which its waters pass into Lake Erie. The first aspect of Detroit was very pleasing, its houses large, white, and prettily intermingled with gardens, the site level, but rising gradually from the water ; the spires of its numerous churches, and the domes and turrets of its Court House and Hotels, standing prominently out in the picture. We reached the wharf at 7 o'clock, having made the dis tance of 600 miles from Chicago in 60 hours. 371 CHAP. XVIII. Early history of Detroit — French voyagers — First discovery of the Mississippi by this route — Foundation of Detroit — Early Indian wars — Capture by the British — Grand scheme of Pontiac — Stratagem devised for taking Detroit — Plan revealed by an Indian woman, and defeated — Subsequent sally from the town on the Indians — Defeat of the British, with great carnage — Attack of an English vessel by Indians on the Lake — Remark able death of the Chief, Pontiac — Changes in Detroit — British and Americans — Position, plan, and aspect of the town — Streets and avenues — Public buildings — Churches — Charitable Institutions — Education — Iron-founderies — Fur-trade — Large profits — Fisheries of the Lake — Steam-vessels — Newspapers — Log-cabin — Caricatures — Public meeting — Excursion on the Canada side — Windsor and Sandwich — Unfavourable speci mens of Canadian life — Society of Detroit — Influence of early founders — Sketches of early social parties at Detroit — Detroit servants, ancient and modern contrasted — Fire at Detroit — Lovely Indian boy. We remained at Detroit for a week, which was passed most agreeably, in excursions around the City and its neighbourhood, including the Canadian as well as the American side ; in visiting the public institutions of the town, examining its records, and interchanging visits with its agreeable and hospitable inhabitants, from whom I received all the informa tion I sought, which was given with great cheerful ness, and without reserve. Detroit is one of the oldest settlements in this part of America, it being nearly a century and half since its site was first selected for a town ; and more 2b2 372 DETROIT. than two centuries since it was first visited by the French. The fur-trade with the Indians having early attracted their attention as a lucrative branch of commerce, and the borders of the great Lakes being the places of resort among the various tribes then inhabiting these shores for that purpose, the present site of Detroit was visited as a trading-fort as early as 1610, ten years before the Pilgrim Fathers of New England landed on the Rock of Plymouth. Quebec was founded by the French in 1625; in 1632, Father Sagard reached the Lake Huron, by one of the rivers of Upper Canada ; and in 1650, trading-forts, were established by the French at Sault de Saint Marie, at Michilimakinak, on the Peninsula of Michigan, and at Green Bay. At this period, the existence of the Mississippi river was unknown, but the French having often heard the Indians speak of a great river in the west, which ran continually towards the meridian sun, they supposed it was some stream which emptied itself into the Pacific Ocean. Their curiosity and enterprise being awakened by this intelligence, the Governor or Intendant of Canada, Mons. Talon, employed a French citizen of Quebec, Mons. Joliet, and a French Jesuit, Father Marquette, to explore this river, and bring him a report of its nature and extent. They went by Lake Huron into Lake Michigan, from thence into Green Bay, and there ascended the Fox river to its source, where, by a short portage, they passed to the head- waters of the Ouisconsin river, which they descended till it reached the Mississippi. They reached this on the 17th of June, 1763, and floated down its stream till they FRENCH EXPEDITIONS. 373 came to the river Arkansas, up which they went, supposing, most probably, from its coming from the west, that by following this direction, they would reach the Pacific, of which they were in search. Being foiled in this attempt, they descended again to the Mississippi, into which the Arkansas empties itself, retraced their steps back to Canada, and made a report of their discoveries. It was not until five years after this, that the attempt was renewed, when the celebrated La Salle, a gentleman of Normandy, who had resided for some time in Canada, under permission of the French King, accompanied by his Lieutenant, the Chevalier Fonti, a Jesuit Missionary, Father Hennepin, and about 40 men, set out for the purpose of following up the discoveries previously made. When they reached the fort of Erie, which gave name to the Lake, they built there the first vessel that was ever launched on these waters, and in the year 1679, they sailed in her up the Strait going from Lake Erie into Lake St. Clair — thence, by the second Strait of St. Clair, into Lake Huron, so called from the great tribe of Indians inhabiting its shores — and reached the Straits of Michilimakinak. Here they left their vessel, and, coasting along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, arrived at what was then called the River of the Miamis, near the bottom of that Lake — sup posed to be the little stream on which Chicago at present stands. They built a fort here, and proceeded across the prairies to the river Illinois, descended it for some way, but were unable to proceed farther for want of supplies — erected a fort here also, leaving a small band of a few followers in each — retraced their 374 DETROIT. steps all the way back to Canada for the supplies needed — and returning again by the same route, followed the great Mississippi to its entrance into the Gulf of Mexico, and having thus completed the first exploration of this vast territory by any Euro pean, La Salle took possession of the whole region, in the name of his sovereign, Louis, the King of France — and in honour of that monarch, and his own country, named it Louisiana. The experience acquired in so long, difficult, and enterprising an expedition as this, was not likely to be thrown away ; for that which we acquire through fatigue, privation, and peril, is never under rated. Accordingly, it was determined to follow up this great acquisition, by prosecuting, without delay, new measures for a more extended and intimate intercourse with the Indian tribes, in traffic. The establishment of various forts and stations followed in succession ; but it was not until 1701, that a small expedition, under Mons. de la Motte Condillac, accompanied by a Jesuit Father, and by 100 men, with all the necessary equipments for a military for tress, was sent to take possession of the narrow Strait leading from Lake Erie into Lake St. Clair. Here they first founded, in that year, the present town of D'Etroit, or " The Strait," the spot having then an Indian village called Waweatonong, or "the place with a winding approach." Such an infant settlement as this would not be likely to escape the usual difficulties by which all similar establishments are surrounded during the first few years of their existence. Accordingly, great pains were taken by the English, as rival traders, INDIAN PLOT. 375 through their emissaries and agents, to excite the Indians against the French, and not without success. The spot they had fixed themselves on was one that must command the passage through the Strait, and it was an object of desire with their rivals to dislodge them. There were three Indian villages within a short distance of it, belonging to the three tribes of the Hurons, the Ottaways, and the Pottowattamies. By these the fort of the French was first set on fire, but it was soon extinguished ; and it was next attacked by arms, but the assailants were speedily and effectually repulsed. There was one tribe that appeared to be inflamed with peculiar animosity towards the French ; these were the Fox Indians, who availed themselves of an opportunity, when the other tribes were absent, and engaged in hunting, to concert a secret plan of attack on the fort at Detroit. Their plan, however, was betrayed to the French by one of their own body, in time to enable their intended victims to prepare for the assault, which they resisted with great valour, and after a bloody fight, extending to several days, the Foxes were entirely defeated, with the slaughter of more than a thousand of their warriors on the battle-field, and the division of their women and children as slaves among their captors. This was in May, 1712, and from this time onward, there were many occasional interruptions of the peace of Detroit, but none that affected it deeply until 1 76O, when, at the conquest of Canada by the British, and the surrender of Montreal, all the western forts of the French— Detroit being the principal one of these 376 DETROIT". — were included in the capitulation, and taken pos session of by the British. It was only three years after its passing into the hands of its new occupants, that Detroit was the scene of one of the most remarkable attempts at sur prise and treacherous capture, which even the his tory of Indian warfare contains ; and this was the more remarkable, inasmuch as it was but one link in a great chain of operations, that was to include no less than 12 forts, spread over 1,000 miles of dis tance, to be simultaneously attacked and destroyed. The preparations for this attempt are thus described, from the historians of that period, whose testimonies have been examined and compared by Mr. Blois, in his History of Michigan — " Pontiac, the great Ottawa chief, was destined to be the hero of his country, the Napoleon of his age — whose deeds of bravery and greatness of mind richly entitle him to a niche in the gallery of the renowned warriors, whose fame is stamped with immorta lity. In this respect, he may rank with Philip, of Mount Hope, with Tecumseh, or with Osceola. " His influence over the neighbouring tribes had no limits, and hence the success of his deep-laid plans. He had the bitterest hatred and enmity to the English, which prompted a revenge that no sacrifice was too great to satiate or retard. " After the surrender, the first detachment sent by the English to relieve the French garrison at Detroit, was stopped in the way, by Pontiac, who demanded the object of the mission. This was satisfactorily explained to him by Major Rogers, who com manded the detachment. Pontiac professed friendship, and proper belts were mutually exchanged, and permission and protection given him to accomplish his object, and even assistance to forward his supplies. But this formal friendship was undoubtedly delusive, and very probably affected, merely for the purpose of executing a INDIAN PLOT. 377 deeper design, which might have been conceived on their first interview. This design was to extirpate the English, and drive them from his country beyond the AUeghannies. " His scheme was to unite all the Indian tribes on the western frontier into a confederacy, and, with treacherous secrecy, fall simultaneously upon the garrisons, and massacre them. But Pontiac was equal in power and ingenuity to the magnitude of his project. He issued bills of credit, which were inscriptions drawn on bark, representing the article delivered to him, and the figure of an otter, the arms, or totem of his family under it. This currency was received by the French settlers, and faithfully redeemed by him. " Every inflammatory topic was used to exasperate the feelings of his subjects against the English. He exhibited to the Indians a belt, which he pretended to have received from the king of France, with commission to expel the English. He convened a great council at the River aux Ecorces, and related a dream of a Delaware Indian, who professed direct inspiration from the Great Spirit. This professed prophet dispensed express directions how to conduct themselves in the expulsion of their adversaries, by the mortification of their persons, and abstinence from the use of all articles of civilization. These, and many other directions, were related by Pontiac, accompanied with the most exasperating philippics against the English. The natural aversion, the deadly enmity of the renowned warrior, Pontiac, breathing insidious elo quence, together with the command of the Great Spirit, inspiring success, soon united the frontier bands to hostility. " Whether in savage or in civilized warfare, it is rare to find a plot of such magnitude, however secret it might be, that termi nated with such extraordinary success. The posts to be taken were Niagara, Presque Isle, Le Bceuf, Venango, Du Quesne (now Pittsburgh), Detroit, Michilimakinak, Sault St0. Marie, Green Bay, Chicago, St. Joseph, beside one other, making twelve in number, and extending on a frontier of more than 1,000 miles. In the month of May, 1763, a simultaneous attack was made upon all tliese posts, and so completely were they surprised, from the secrecy of the plot, that nine of the unsuspecting garrisons were captured, and shared the fate which savages usually mete to their 378 DETROIT. victims. Niagara, Pittsburgh, and Detroit, narrowly escaped." —p. 182. The stratagem by which the garrison of Michi limakinak was taken, and its occupants massacred, has been already described in the account given of that place ; but the plan laid for the capture of De troit, though framed with equal pains, happily did not succeed. The details of this are too remarkable to be passed over. " The garrison at Detroit was closely besieged by Pontiac, in person, before the news of the massacre of Fort Michilimakinak arrived there. It was garrisoned by about 300 men, and when Pontiac came with his warriors, although in great numbers, they were so intermixed with women and children, and brought so many commodities for trade, that no suspicion was excited, either in the mind of Major Gladwin or the inhabitants. He encamped a little distance from the fort, and sent to the major to inform him that he was come to trade, and, preparatory thereto, wished to hold a talk with him for the purpose of " brightening the chain of peace" between the English and his people. No suspicion was yet entertained, and the major readily consented, and the next morning was fixed upon for the council. " The same evening, a circumstance transpired which saved the garrison from a dreadful massacre. An Indian woman, who had made a pair of mocassins* for Major Gladwin, out of a curious elk skin, brought them to him, and returned the remainder of the skin. Being much pleased with them, the major wished her to take the skin, and make another pair, as he had concluded to give the others to a friend, and what was left to make into shoes for herself. She was then paid for her work, and dismissed. But when those whose duty it was to see that the fort was clear of strangers, and to close the gates for the night, went upon their * At Belmont, near Chesterfield, in Derbyshire, the residence of C. D. Gladwin, Esq., a descendant of Major, afterwards General Gladwin, the mocassins, or Indian shoes, above referred to, are still preserved as a great curiosity, and highly prized. INDIAN STRATAGEM. 379 duty, this woman was found loitering in the area, and, being asked what she wanted, made no reply The major, being informed of her singular demeanor, directed her to be conducted into his pre sence, which being done, he asked her why she did not depart before the gates were shut. She replied, with some hesitation, that she did not wish to take away the skin, as he set so great a value upon it. This answer was delivered in such a manner, that the major was rather dissatisfied with it, and asked her why she had not made the same objection on taking it in the first place. This rather confused her, and she said that if she took it away now, she never should be able to return it. " It was now evident that she withheld something which she wished to communicate, but was restrained through fear. But on being assured by Major Gladwin that she should not be betrayed, but should be protected and rewarded, if the information was valuable, she said that the chiefs who were to meet him in council the next day, had contrived to murder him, and take the garrison, and put all the inhabitants to death. Each chief, she said, would come to the council, with so much cut off his gun, that he could conceal it under his blanket ; that Pontiac was to give the signal while delivering his speech, which was, when he should draw his peace-belt of wampum, and present it to the major in a certain manner ; and that, while the council was sitting, as many of the warriors as could, should assemble within the fort, armed in the same manner, under the pretence of trading with the garrison. " Having got all the information necessary, the woman was discharged, and Major Gladwin had every precaution taken to put the garrison into the best possible state for defence. He im parted the discovery to his men, and instructed them how to act at the approaching council ; at the same time sending to all the traders in different directions to be upon their guard. " The next morning having arrived, every countenance wore a different aspect ; the hour of the council was fast approaching, and the quick step and nervous exercise in every evolution of the soldiers were expressive of an approaching event, big with their destiny. It was heightened in the past night, when a cry was heard in the Indian encampment, different from what was usual on peace occasions. The garrison fires were extinguished, and 380 DETROIT. every man repaired to his post. But the cry being heard no more, the remainder of the night was passed in silence. " About ten o'clock, Pontiac and his chiefs arrived, and were conducted to the council-chamber, where the governor and his principal officers, each with pistols in his belt, awaited bis arrival. As the Indians passed on, they could not help observing that a greater number of troops than usual were drawn up on the parade, or marching about. No sooner were they entered and seated on the skins prepared for them, than Pontiac asked the governor, on what occasion his young men, meaning the soldiers, were thus drawn up and parading the streets? He received for answer, that it was only intended to keep them perfect in their exercise. " The Indian chief-warrior now began his speech, which con tained the strongest professions of friendship and goodwill towards the English ; and when he came to the delivery of the belt of wampum, the particular mode of which, according to the woman's information, was to be the signal for the chiefs to fire, the gover nor and all his attendants drew their swords half way out of their scabbards ; and the soldiers at the same instant made a clattering with their arms before the doors, which had been purposely left open. Pontiac, though one of the bravest of men, immediately turned pale and trembled ; and instead of giving the belt in the manner proposed, delivered it according to the usual way. His chiefs, who had impatiently expected the signal, looked at each other with astonishment, but continued quiet, waiting the result. " The governor, in his turn, made a speech, but instead of thanking the great warrior for the professions of friendship he had just uttered, he accused him of being a traitor. He told him that the English, who knew everything, were convinced of his treachery and villanous designs ; and as a proof that they were acquainted with his most secret thoughts and intentions, he stepped towards an Indian chief that sat nearest to him, and drawing aside the blanket, discovered the shortened firelock. This entirely disconcerted the Indians, and frustrated their design. " He then continued to tell them, that as he had given his word at the time they desired an audience, that their persons INDIAN STRATAGEM. 3S1 should be safe, he would hold his promise inviolable, though they so little deserved it. However, he desired them to make the best of their way out of the fort, lest his young men, on being ac quainted with their treacherous purposes, should cut every one of them to pieces. " Pontiac endeavoured to contradict the accusation, and to make excuses for his suspicious conduct ; but the governor, satis fied of the falsity of his protestations, would not listen to him. The Indians immediately left the fort, but instead of being sensible of the governor's generous behaviour, they threw off the mask, and the next day made a regular attack upon it. " In the execution of this attack, every stratagem was resorted to. At one time, the Indians filled a cart with combustibles, and ran it in against the pickets, to set them on fire. At another* they were about to set the church in a blaze, by discharging arrows, charged with fire into it, but religious scruples prevented the execution of this, a French priest having told Pontiac that it would call down the anger of God upon him. They had fre quently during the siege endeavoured to cut down the pickets, so as to make a breach. Major Gladwin ordered his men at last to cut in the inside at the same time and assist them. This was done, and when a breach was made, there was a rush by the Indians from the outside towards the breach, when, at the same instant, a brass four-pounder, which had been brought to the spot, and loaded for the purpose, was discharged amidst the Indians, and created a dreadful slaughter among them. " After this, they continued to blockade the fort, and prevent the entrance of supplies, which they succeeded in doing for a long time, to such a degree, that the garrison were reduced to the utmost distress for the want of food. About this period, a relief party was sent by the English under Captain Dalyell, who, with 247 men, arrived at Detroit, on the 29th of July, 1763; and after joining the reduced band there, he obtained permission from the commander of the fort to make a sally with his men on the Indian camp, and left the fort for that purpose before. daybreak. But Pontiac, having received intelligence of this movement from some of his swift-footed warriors, who were employed as watch men and sentinels near the fort, he speedily collected some . of 382 DETROIT. the bravest of his men, and met the detachment at a bridge where the contest began. Tne Indians being greatly superior in number, soon surrounded this little band, and cut them to pieces, leaving a few only to retreat to the fort, to tell the fate of their compa nions. The head of the brave Captain Dalyell, who fell in the fight, was cut off, by order of Pontiac, and set up on a post, while upwards of a hundred dead bodies of the English officers and soldiers blocked up the passage of the bridge, which was thenceforth called ' Bloody Bridge,' a name which it retains to this day. " About this time, several small vessels fell into the hands of Pontiac, which were destined to supply the garrison, and the men were cruelly treated. The garrison was in great straits, both from the heavy loss of men, as well as from want of provisions and continual watching. In this time of despondency, there arrived near the fort a schooner, which brought them supplies of provisions, but nothing of this kind could be landed without Pontiac's knowledge, and he determined, if possible, to seize the schooner ; a detachment made the attempt, and, to save herself, the vessel was obliged to tack short about, and proceed in an opposite direction. The Indians followed her in canoes, and, by continually firing into her, killed almost every man, and at length boarded her. As they were climbing up the sides and shrouds in every quarter, the captain, having determined not to fall into their hands alive, ordered the gunner to set fire to the magazine, and blow all up together. This was heard by a Huron chief, who understood enough English to know what was going forward, and instantly communicated it to his followers. They disengaged themselves from the vessel as fast as possible, and fled from her in a great fright, at considerable distance. Meantime the crew took the advantage of a wind, and arrived safe at the fort. In the pursuit of the vessel, the Indians discovered extreme temerity often coming so close to the schooner as to be severely burned by the discharge of her guns. " This vessel had been sent from Niagara, and was manned with 18 men, 12 of whom were Mohawk Indians. They arrived at Detroit on the 3rd of September ; and thus was the garrison saved from certain destruction. So sensible was Major Gladwin CESSION OF TERRITORV. 383 and his officers of their escape from a dreadful fate by the bravery of the crew of this vessel, that they caused silver medals to be struck, and presented to each, descriptive of the event. " Pontiac having mvested Detroit now for about twelve months, and the news of his operations having been earned to various parts of the British empire, extensive preparations were made to put down the Indian power. Aware of the movements of General Bradstreet, who was proceeding for Detroit with an army of 3,000 men, he gave up, and sued for peace, which was granted him, and his warriors retired to their hunting-grounds. "When the revolution commenced, the Americans sent mes sages to Pontiac to meet them in council. He was inclined to do so, but was prevented from time to time by Governor Hamil ton of Detroit. He seems now to have laid aside all resentment against the English, and became their friend ; and to reward his attachment, the government granted him a liberal pension. It has also been reported that he became suspected in the time of the war, and as he was going to hold a council among the Indians in Illinois, as an agent for the English, a spy attended him to observe his conduct ; and that, in a speech, he betrayed the Eng lish, and discovered his former enmity against them. When he had finished, the Indian who had accompanied him, plunged a knife into his breast, and thus ended the days of a chief who has been renowned for singular sagacity, daring courage, great spirit of command, and indeed numerous other qualities, found only in those born with such elementary organizations as produce them by their peculiar school of circumstances." Such was the remarkable and eventful history of Detroit, under its French and English possessors. After the revolution of the American Colonies, and the establishment of their Independence, Detroit and all the peninsula of Michigan was ceded to the United States, as within their acknowledged boun dary ; but it was not until 1796, owing to various unsettled points on the boundary, that Detroit was formallv given up to the Americans, and entered by 384 DETROIT. Captain Porter, of the United States Army, as its commander. In 1805, Detroit was nearly consumed by fire, on the 11th of June. On the 1st of July, in the same year, and while the town still lay in ashes, the organization of the new North West Ter ritory was made at Detroit by General Hull, who was appointed its first Governor, and the new town of Detroit was then laid out by him according to its present plan. In 1812, the American Congress havinp; declared war against Great Britain, Detroit was soon after attacked by the British, and taken. The war was declared on the 18th of June, and on the 15th of August following, General Brock ad vancing from Canada, appeared at Sandwich, a small town opposite to the town of Detroit, and summoned General Hull to surrender. This was refused, when a cannonade was opened on Detroit by the British, and returned with effect by the Americans. On the 16th, General Brock crossed the strait with his troops at Spring Wells, 3 miles only below Detroit, without opposition, and marched up towards the fort without resistance. Here a negotiation was opened with General Hull, the commander, who, to the surprise of his own army, and the indignation of his countrymen throughout the whole Union, made an immediate surrender, not only of Detroit, but the whole of Michigan, to the British General, though the force under him was only 1,400 men, while General Hull had 1,800, with all the advantages of being intrenched in a fort, from which it would have been difficult, even for a superior number to have dislodged him, if he had offered skilful and vigorous resistance. AMERICAN VICTORY. 385 The British held Detroit, however, but for a short time ; for such are the vicissitudes of war, that on the 10th of September, in the following year, 1813, Commodore Perry, of the American navy, with a force inferior to the British fleet then assembled on these waters, met them among the islands of Lake Erie, and obtained a signal and decisive victory. At the same time, General Harrison and Governor Shelby, uniting their land-forces, sailed for Fort Maiden, belonging to the British, about 20 miles below Detroit, which they took and entered on the 28th of September. Under these circumstances, to avoid a certain capture, General Brock thought it most prudent to evacuate Detroit, which was accord ingly done on the 29th ; soon after which it was re-occupied by the Americans, in whose possession it has remained ever since. In 1815, it was incorporated as a city. In 1832, it was visited by the cholera, which committed dread ful ravages ; and in 1834, a second affliction of the same disease, produced a still greater mortality. In 1737, a second destructive fire swept away most of the existing buildings. Yet now, in 1840, the space they occupied is again covered with new ones ; and to walk through Detroit, or survey it from either of the lofty towers that afford so fine a view of the city and surrounding country, the spectator would never imagine that it had been so often swept by the scourges of war, famine, pestilence, and fire, but that it was a new city, just emerging from the plain, and had been blessed with one unbroken career of pros perity, from the first hour of its birth. Detroit is most agreeably, as well as most advan- in. 2 c * 386 DETROIT. tageously situated, on the western bank of the Strait which gives it its name, about 78 miles above the western extremity of Lake Erie, and 7 miles below the entrance into Lake St. Clair. This strait is about 28 miles long, nearly a mile wide in the nar rowest parts, and in others expanding to a breadth of four or five miles, with a good depth of water for the largest ships throughout, six fathoms being the average depth, and the water flowing in a beautifully transparent stream of a light-green colour, at the rate of little more than two miles per hour. From this bank of the Strait, the land ascends at a gentle angle for about half a mile, when it terminates in a plain, elevated from 30 to 50 feet above the water. Along the front of the Strait lie the wharfs, stores, slips, and all the establishments connected with ship ping ; behind and above these are streets running parallel to the water-line, crossed by others at right angles, ascending gradually from the stream to the upper plain. For about 1,000 feet inland from the wharfs, the plan of the town is rectangular. Beyond this, on the upper level, the streets run diagonally, but on the whole there is sufficient of symmetry for public convenience, as well as of beauty in their arrangemeut. In imitation of the plan of Washing ton city, which many parts of Detroit resembles, there are eight principal avenues, which are each 200 feet in breadth. Some of these are called after their great men and popular individuals, as Wash ington, Jefferson, Munroe, Madison, Macomb, Woodward ; and some, after places. With the exception of three, they are all made to terminate in a grand circus, while there is a " Campus Martius " PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 387 in the centre of the city, with other indications of an ambitious taste, and an anticipation of future gran deur. The business -streets contain many substantial blocks, as they are here called, of brick-buildings, from 70 to 80 feet in height, and from 4 to 6 stories. The vista of Jefferson Avenue, one of the principal streets of business, is as fine as anything in the West, not even excepting St. Louis and Cincinnati. The private dwellings are more in the villa style, several of the upper streets having a succession of separate houses, each surrounded by their gardens, like Chowrighee at Calcutta, or Grove End Road, near London ; and most of them are large, commodious, and in good taste. Among the prettiest houses of this description, are those of the old French and English merchants and traders, built before the Revolution, and spared by the destructive fires. These are situated in the suburbs of the town, running along the bank of the Strait, to the south of the present city, with much larger gardens, orchards, and even fields adjoining them, and the beautiful narrow stream of the Lake running tranquilly along in front. These are neither so large, nor so architecturally correct, as many of the more modern villas ; but their very antiquity, and the beautiful gardens around them, give them an indescribable charm, and they are chiefly occupied by the very few old Anti- Revolutionary families, or their descendants, that remain here. Among the public buildings of Detroit, there is a State-House, of the Ionic order, 90 feet by 60 in area, with a tower and dome, 140 feet high, 2 c 2 388 DETROIT. from which the view is extensive and beautiful ; a City Hall, not very agreeably seated, over a public market, but commodious when entered, having a large room, 100 by 50, well seated, and used for public meetings generally. There are half-a-dozen hotels, but the two that are considered the principal are the Michigan Exchange, and the National Hotel, the former regarded as the Whig, and the latter as the Democratic House ; but each is frequented by equally genteel company, without reference to poli tics, and each have equally good rooms, and good tables. There are 8 Churches in Detroit — 2 Roman Catholic, 1 a large Cathedral, for the French popu lation, and another, a smaller Church, for the English, Irish, and Germans. The other Churches are — the Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Baptist, Metho dist, German Lutheran, and 1 for the coloured population. They are mostly large, handsome, well furnished, and well supported, and their several lofty steeples add much to the beauty of the City. Of Charitable Institutions, there are 2 Orphan Asylums, a Catholic and a Protestant ; a Ladies' Free-School Society, for indigent children ; an En glish and German Free-School ; and a French Female Charity School — the first for Protestant, and the other two for Catholics ; — in these, from 300 to 400 children are taught gratuitously. For general education, there are now 7 primary schools in the town, maintained at the expense of the City ; and for the higher branches of education, there is abundant provision, in 3 or 4 Latin and English Schools, for boys ; 3 Seminaries, for young EUR-TRADERS. 389 ladies ; and a branch of the University of Michigan, for young gentlemen. There are, besides, several improving Institutions, as the Historical Society, the Literary Institute, the Young Men's Society for moral and intellectual improvement — the united Libraries of which, added to the State Library at the Capitol, would make about 10,000 volumes. There is also a Mechanics' Hall, a Museum, and a Public Garden, for pleasurable recreation. Some large iron - founderies have lately been erected and set in motion here ; but commerce, rather than manufactures, is likely to be for a long time the distinguishing occupation of the inhabitants of Detroit. The fur-trade was for many years the principal, if not the only trade of this outport, when the French occupied it : and some clue is preserved to its lucrative nature, by the following extract from an old work on the subject, quoted by Mr. Schoolcraft — "The standard of value and computation in this trade, is an abiminikwa, or prime beaver, called plus by the French. A plus, tradition states, was given for as much vermillion as would cover the point of a case knife, and the same price was paid, respectively, for four charges of powder, or four charges of shot, or fifteen balls, or two branches of wampum. It is related, that an outfit of six bales of goods, worth, say 2,000 dollars, bought from Atha- baska, ninety-six packs of beaver, each of which would weigh ninety pounds, at a time when prime beaver was worth 4 dollars a pound, [that is, the value of 2,000 dollars in goods, in ex change for 34,000 dollars' worth of furs.] In 1784, at the post of the Pic, a bear was estimated at one plus, an otter, three mar tins, a lynx, fifteen muskrats, respectively, one plus. A buffalo robe, two plus. A keg of mixed rum, thirty plus." The fur-trade is considered to be on the decline in this quarter, though the American Fur Company 390 DETROIT. still have a depot and an agency here ; but as the Indian tribes have receded westward, their peltries find their way to the Hudson's Bay Company's trad ing posts in the north, or to the Columbia river and its tributaries to the south ; where it will, no doubt, ultimately be concentrated, as the tribes draw nearer and nearer to the Rocky Mountains. As the fur-trade has declined, the fisheries have received more attention, and are now prosecuted with increased and increasing vigour, and promise a rich harvest of reward to those who are among the early adventurers. On this subject, the following details are given, on the authority of Mr. Blois — " The numbers, varieties, and excellent quality of the lake-fish are worthy of notice. It is believed that no fresh waters known, can bear comparison with these. They are, with some excep tions, of the same kinds in all the lakes. The fish found in Lake Superior, and in the strait of St. Mary, are of the best quality, owing to the cooler temperature of the water. Their quantities are surprising, and apparently so inexhaustible, as to warrant the belief, that were a population of millions to inhabit the lake shores, they would furnish an ample supply of this article of food, without any sensible diminution. There are several kinds found in Lake Superior, and some of the. most delicious quality, that are not found in the lakes below ; as the sisquoelle and muckwaw which grow to the weight of eight or ten pounds. The salmon and some others are found in Ontario, but not above the Falls of Niagara. The following is a very partial list of a few of the pro minent varieties. The sturgeon, white fish, mackinac, and salmon- trout, muskalunjeh, pickerel, pike, perch, herring, white, black and rock bass, cat, pout, eel-pout, bull-head, roach, sun-fish dace, sucker, carp, mullet, bill-fish, sword-fish, bull-fish, stone- carrier, sheep's head, gar, &c. The lamprey eel is found in all, but the common eel is found in neither of the lakes, nor in anv of their tributaries, except one.'' The size of these fish is remarkable ; sturgeon LAKE FISH STEA-MLC ATS. S'^l are caught weighing from 70 to 120 lbs. each; trout from -20 to 60 lbs. ; muskelunjeh from 10 to 40 lbs. ; pickerel from 5 to 15 lbs. ; mullet from 5 to 10 lbs. The number of barrels of all descriptions taken in 1S39, was 15,570 ; and the amount in value about 150,000 dollars — one-fourth being consumed in the State, one-half shipped to Ohio from the southern and western markets, and one-fourth to New York, for the Eastern States. The trout are caught with hooks, the others with seins and nets ; and the fishermen employed are chiefly French, Indians, and half-breeds. The introduction of steam-navigation has done as much for the cities of the lakes, as it has for those of the rivers ; and as it will by and by do for those of the ocean. The first steamboat built for the lakes was of 338 tons burden ; she was launched at Erie, in 181 S, and called " The Walk-in-the-vra:er." In that year, the tonnage of all the lakes did not exceed 2,000 tons ; at present, it exceeds 50,000 tons, and employs upwards of 6,000 men ; the largest of the vessels are from 700 to 800 tons, and the smallest about 300 tons. All of these touch at Detroit in passing from Buffalo to Chicago, from New York to Illinois : and not less than 10,000 tons are owned here, which makes this their port of refit and supply, so that every day in the season there are three or four arrivals and departures up and down the lakes, with numerous passengers, which tares great bustle and animation to the town. There are three daily newspapers at Detroit — the Advertiser, Whig : the Free Press, Democrat ; and the Spirit of '7% neutral, or, as a Michigan farmer, 392 DETROIT. whom I saw reading it, and whom I asked what were its politics, when he put it down, said — " I'm a thinking as how you can't fix it, no how, 'cause you see, it's just astraddle the fence ;" by which he meant it was neither side, or both sides, neither in the field nor out of it, like a boy astride the fence. The political excitement here was as great as we had found it anywhere else ; and a large log-cabin had been erected by the advocates of General Har rison, in which meetings were held almost every evening. In the daytime it was used as a reading- room, and furnished with Whig papers, Whig speeches, and caricatures against the Van Buren Administration. These were framed with pieces of wood, with the bark on, to be in harmony with the log-cabin ; the rude benches for seats, the sus pended roots of trees for small lamps to hang from them as chandeliers, and everything else in the building, was purposely of the rudest kind. On one of the beams was the stuffed skin of a cougar, or Indian leopard ; and several wild cats in other parts of the building, to match. As a specimen of the taste of the Whig party, now for the first time professing to be in love with "log-cabins and hard cider," to despise those who live in splendid mansions and drink champagne ; and who, anti-democratic as they are, in their politics and practices, find it necessary to court the lowest of the multitude, to get themselves and their party seated in power, — I subjoin the copy of a large placard, with which the walls of Detroit were thickly posted during the last day of our stay there. Under a large bold woodcut of a log-cabin in the woods on a winter's day, with barrels of hard POLITICAL MEETING. 393 cider in a cart, marked •' Harrison and Tyler," and one lodged at the door, were these lines — " Log-Cabin Meeting this Evening. BOYS!— DO YOU HEAR THAT? Glorious news will be communicated. The vocalist, Mr. J. Brown, recently arrived from a Southern Tour, will sing several celebrated, bang-up Tippecanoe Songs ! — Two or three speakers — First appearance on the Stump ! — ' Tip ' expects now, as he did in 1813, every man to do his duty. RALLY ! FREEMEN !— YOUR COUNTRY CALLS ! ! Exercises will close with a Loco-foco Speech." During our stay at Detroit, we made an excursion on the opposite side of the strait into Canada, espe cially to the town of Windsor, immediately opposite Detroit, and Sandwich, a little below it. The pas sage is made by a steam ferryboat, which goes across every quarter of an hour. The situation of Windsor being more elevated than that of the lower part of Detroit, as the bank here is at least 50 feet above the water, offers a fine situation for a town ; but Windsor, with its royal name, presents a miserable, and, to an Englishman, a mortifying contrast to its opposite American neighbour. As we landed, there was a slovenly and dirty soldier in undress, with side arms only, near a sentry box, as sentinel at the land ing ; and among the boys we saw a lank overgrown youth of 12 or 13, wearing an old cast-off scarlet infantry coat, which made the uniform look supremely ridiculous. On reaching the upper bank from the landing, the first sight that caught our eyes was the swinging sign of " The Windsor Hotel," with one of the most wretched daubs of a red-cheeked vulgar- looking damsel, in the gaudiest dress, personating Her Majesty Queen Victoria. 394 WINDSOR AND SANDWICH. We entered one of the shops, as they are called here, but stores on the other side, and found a party of Detroit ladies, who had come over with us in the steam ferry, bargaining for English goods of various kinds, to smuggle across. The high tariff upon British manufactures imported directly into the United States, affords a premium of from 20 to 40 per cent, on smuggling ; and the ease with which this can be done here, and the little odium attached to smuggling, form great temptations to the practice. Accordingly, the ladies and gentlemen of Detroit come across the water, buy their broad cloths, vel vets, silks, satins, muslins, calicoes, hats, bonnets, and many smaller wares here, free of duty. There are plenty of tailors and mantua-makers to make up these materials into dresses, and then they can be worn across with impunity, at a great saving of expense. Judging from what we saw and heard here at Windsor, the smuggling carried on in this way must be immense, notwithstanding the suspended portrait of Her Majesty the Queen, whose presence neither overawes her Canadian subjects from selling, nor her American neighbours from buying "contrary to law." When the intercourse shall become, as in the course of time it must do, more extensive between the people of the two nations, along the whole line, no tariff can be maintained that they will not violate • and on so extensive a frontier, no coast-guard could be stationed that would be able to prevent it. Sandwich, though somewhat larger and prettier than Windsor, is still a very insignificant place com pared with Detroit. There is a small fort there, and a garrison of about 50 regulars, with as many SOCIETY OK DElTvOlT. 3<)5 militia-inon ; but their parados presented nothing of tho neatness, precision, order, and discipline, for which tho British military service is so remarkable ; Although wo thought, when at Detroit, that the appearance of the officers and men of the American army, stationed there, was loose and unsoldier-like, they would certainly not suffer bv a comparison with those at Windsor and Sandwich ; though it must bo admitted that thoy wore greatly inferior, in all that characterises smart and soldierly bearing, to any English troops that I had ever soon in any of our colonics, however remote from home. Tho society of Detroit, though now no longer cither French, or English, or American, but a mix ture of all those, with tho addition of Dutch, Gor man, Swiss, Hungarians, Poles, and manv others, retains some of tho early hospitality of its former inhabitants ; and parties arc still given here on a more liberal scale than in most towns, of the same size, in America ; so long does the influence of man ners exorcise its sway over the descendants of the first settlors of almost every place. Tho traits of tho Pilgrim Fathers arc as visible in the manners and feeling's of tho New Engianders of the present day, as arc tho traits of the cavaliers in the manners and toolings of Carolina and Virginia, or those of the elegant and high-bred companions of Lord Baltimore in Maryland, or of William Penn and his associates in Philadelphia. It is not, therefore, surprising that Detroit should still retain sonic lingering relics of tho manners and toolings of her first settlers. Ono of the earliest and most authentic pictures of the state of soeietv hero, when the British continued 396 DETROIT. to reside in the city, in considerable numbers, though it had passed under the jurisdiction of the United States, is in Judge Burnet's interesting Letters addressed to the Historical Society of Ohio, in whose records they are preserved ; and as these are not likely to be accessible in England, even if known there at all, the following striking extract from them, describing his intercourse with Detroit at the period referred to, about 1796, may be given. " At that time, Detroit was the principal depot of the fur-trade of the north-wrest, in which many English and Scotch merchants were engaged. It was of course a place of great business. These merchants, who were embarked in an enterprise requiring exten sive capital, and attended with great hazard, realized, in some seasons, very large profits, and in others, sustained proportionate losses. Feeling themselves rich, at the close of a successful year, and apprehending a reverse at the termination of the next, their minds and feelings seemed to be formed by the uncertainty of their pursuits. Like men disposed to enjoy life, when it might be in their power to do so, they provided in great abundance the delicacies and luxuries of every climate ; and as often as they returned from their dreary excursions, into the cold regions of the north and west, to their families, and their comfortable homes, they did not spare them. Scarcely a day passed, withont a dinner party given by one of them, at which every variety of the finest wine, and beverage, and the choicest viands the country afforded, were served up in great profusion. No genteel stranger visited the place without an invitation to their houses, and their sump tuous tables ; and what is remarkable, they competed with each other for the honour of drinking the most, as well as the best wine, without being intoxicated themselves ; and of having at their parties the greatest number of intoxicated guests. This kind of revel was kept up during the season they remained with their families, as an offset to the privations of the wilderness, which they endured the greater part of the year. "After the fort at Detroit was surrendered, I attended the CONVIVIAL PARTIES. 397 general court at that place, every year, and was a guest at many of their feasts. Of course, I repeat only what I have seen, and describe what I have participated in. At one of those sump tuous dinners, given by Angus M'Kintosh, the bottom of every wine-glass on the table had been broken off, to prevent what are called heel-taps, and during the evening many toasts were given, which the company were required to drink in bumpers. Being myself at that time in very delicate health, I was relieved from the obligation of the rides of the table, and allowed to eat and drink i\s it suited my taste and judgment. That privilege was accorded to me most cheerfully, as it was known that without it I could not have participated in their hospitality- " Among the advantages of which the inhabitants of Detroit boasted, was the excellence of their domestic servants. No visitor from the States — using the expression then in vogue — could spend a dav either at a public or private house, without seeing and feeling that they did possess that advantage, to a greater degree than any other portion of the United States. The Cana dian French, though naturally obstinate and headstrong, were illiterate, and ignorant of the principles of equality, taught and practised in Republican Governments, and had grown up from infancy under the impression that they were inferior to the more wealthy and polished part of the community ; and that much deference and respect was therefore due from them to that class of people. This feeling was carried out in practice, and hence vou will perceive at once why it was that they possessed that advantage." Iu the matter of "drinking off bumpers," and having broken glasses "to prevent heel-taps," as well as in the practice of testing the goodness of the partv " by the number of the intoxicated guests," Detroit, and many other places, have happily im proved. But in the matter of excellent servants, " behaving to their superiors with deference and respect," Detroit has unhappily changed for the worse. Those that we had at the hotel were among 398 DETROIT. the most noisy, disrespectful, dirty, and inattentive set of boys and girls — for there were few among them old enough to be called men or women — that we had anywhere seen. The Canadian French have entirely disappeared from the scene, and their place is occupied by Western Americans, Irish, and Ger man, who seem to teach each other all their bad qualities, and omit to learn of each other any of their good ones. Yet, with all their inattention to the inmates and guests of the house, we had frequent opportunities of seeing that they took excellent care of themselves, — putting aside, at the breakfast and dinner, some of the best dishes for their own use, and often sitting down at the side-table to take their own meal, before the guests at the table had begun to retire. A small knot of the boys at the upper-table acted in concert with these, pretending to carry ice creams, in glasses, from thence to the persons seated at the other end of the room, secreting them on the way behind a window-curtain, or a shutter, for their own use, and then coming back for more. All this was easily performed, amidst the noise and bustle of an American dinner, at which, the person who sits the most unconcerned at his ease, and takes the least notice of what is going on, is the landlord or master of the house, whose only duty it seems to be, to live well himself, receive the pay ments of his visitors, and for the rest, not to trouble them or others, about anything else. During our stay at Detroit, we had a fire in the night, which had now become a novelty ; and when the bells rang for the engines, we began to feel something of our original state of apprehension and FEW FIRES. 399 alarm, such as we were accustomed to feel before the nightly fires of New York had hardened us to their recurrence as a matter of course. It was a small wooden building, and the engines being promptly on the spot, the flames were soon extinguished. This was the first and only fire we remembered to have seen or heard of, in any town in which we had remained for a single day, since our crossing the mountains to come to the West. Neither in Pittsburgh, Wheeling, Zanesville, Columbus, Cin cinnati, Lexington, Louisville, St. Louis, or Chicago, had we witnessed a fire — through six months of travel — although wooden houses are more frequent in the West than in the East, servants quite as careless, and every other circumstance that could be likely to lead to accidental fires, just as abundant here as there. This fact, added to the many other considerations already expressed elsewhere, on the same subject, tended to strengthen my conviction, that a very large proportion of the fires in the Eastern cities, but in New York especially, are not so much the work of accident, as of design, and that the incen diaries are persons directly interested in the destruc tion of that which their own ingenuity and avarice contrive means to consume. At Detroit, I met, as usual, many persons whom I had seen before, and some whom I had known in England; so widely does emigration scatter new settlers over the remotest parts of this country, and so migratory are its native inhabitants. One of the most beautiful children that we had seen in all the Union, was here — a boy of about 7 years of age — 400 DETROIT. the offspring of a half-breed father and full-blooded Indian mother ; in features, form, complexion, hair, and eyes, he was perfectly lovely, and had a most noble and princely air, though his parents were poor, and he derived no advantage from his dress. He reminded me forcibly of some of the very hand some boys of the same age, seen in the families of the wealthy Parsee merchants, at Bombay, and Hindoo merchants, in Calcutta ; and his intelligence and manners were as striking as his beauty. I met here, also, the son of Governor Cass, now the American Minister at Paris, who had travelled with his father in Palestine. Our conversation carried us both back again to many well-remembered scenes in that interesting region. I had enjoyed the opportunity of consulting the best authorities preserved in the Records of the Historical Society of Michigan, with other docu ments illustrative of the statistics and present condi tion of the State, as well as conversing with many of the best informed among the oldest residents, and the result of this will be seen in the following sketch. 401 CHAP. XIX. Early history of the settlement of Michigan — Separate organiza tion as a Territory and a State — Extent and resources of the Upper and Lower Peninsula — Forest- trees — Agriculture — Shrubs — Grasses — Flowers — State geologist, botanist, zoolo gist, and topographer — Geology and minerals — Wild animals — Water-fowl — Bones of the mammoth, tusks and teeth — Birds in Michigan — Land and water — Birds of passage — Agri culture and horticulture — Gardens and fruits — Antiquities of Michigan — Indian mounds — New suggestion as to connection with Mexicans — Theory of Baron Humboldt, as to the Aztekas — Probability of their country being Michigan — Ancient remains of garden-beds, well-preserved — Legislative, executive, and judiciary bodies — Education — Slavery — Divorce — Lot teries — Character of modern settlers — Indian tribes — Recent practice of cannibalism in Michigan. The State of Michigan, though numbered among those that have been most recently incorporated into the Union of this great Republic, has a history that goes back as far as that of many of the " old thirteen," as those States are called which existed as separate Colonies at the time of the Declaration of American Independence. Much of this history has been anticipated hi the preceding description of its capital, Detroit, such as the visit of Father Sagand to Lake Huron, in 1632 ; of Mons. Joliet and Father Man- in. 2d * 402 MICHIGAN. quette to Lake Michigan, in 1673 ; and of Fronte- nac, the Chevalier Fonti, and Father Hennepin, by these Lakes, to the rivers Illinois and Mississippi, in 1679. From this period to I763, nearly the whole country around the Lakes belonged to the French. By the treaty of that year, they were ceded, with Canada, to the English ; and in 1783, when peace was declared between Britain and her revolted Colonies, and when the Independence of the United States was acknowledged, the whole of Michigan was included within the borders of the Union, and therefore relinquished by England to America. Michigan was at first included in the North- West Territory, and during that period it was the scene of many battles between the Indians and the Ameri cans, in which the latter sustained some severe defeats, under General Harmer, in 1791, and Gene ral St. Clair, soon after ; but these were recovered by the brilliant victory of General Wayne, in 1793. In 1795, a plan was formed by two American citizens, Robert Randall, of Philadelphia, and Charles Whiting, of Vermont, which had for its object the securing a grant of no less than about 20 millions of acres of land lying between Lakes Huron, Erie, and Michigan. They had, for this purpose, entered into an agreement with some fur-traders at Detroit, and had endeavoured to enlist several mem bers of Congress in their views. This tract of country was to be divided into forty-one shares, twenty-four of which were to be given to those members of Congress who should lend their aid in obtaining the requisite law. The sum proposed to GOVERNOR CASS. 403 be paid for this pre-emption right, was from half a million to a million of dollars. The two persons men tioned were taken into the custody of the House, for "an unwarrantable attempt to corrupt the integrity of its members." They were examined, and the latter was discharged ; but Randall received a repri mand from the Speaker, besides being obliged to pay the fees that had accrued in the case. Thus terminated what would have been, if executed, of the most serious consequence to the prosperitv of Michigan. It continued as part of the North- West Territory till 1S05, when it became a separate Territory, under its present name, and had, of course, a Legis lature, Judiciary, and Governor of its own. In 1 S07, Governor Hull held a treaty with the Pottowat- taniies, Otto was, Wyandots, and Chippewas, who ceded nearly all their lands in Michigan to the United States. In 1S12, occurred the war with Great Britain, in which Detroit was surrendered to General Brock, but in the peace which soon fol lowed, it reverted back to the Americans. The administration of Governor Cass was the first in which any surveys of the public lands were made ; and this enabling the settlers to purchase lots for farms, emigration began to be directed this wav, to the great benefit of the Territory. In 1S19, it was allowed to send a Delegate to the General Con gress at Washington, to be elected annually by the universal suffrage of all taxable citizens. In 1S21, large cessions of lands were made by the Indians living near Thunder Bay and Grand River. In 1S23, an essential change was made in the form of 2d 2 40 1< MICHIGAN. the Territorial Government. This alteration was made by an Act of Congress, which abolished the Legislative power of the Governor and Judges, and transferred the same, with enlarged powers, to a Council, consisting of nine persons, selected by the President of the United States, from eighteen chosen by the electors of the Territory. The Judicial office was limited to a term of four years. By an Act of Congress, passed February 5th, 1825, the Legislative Council was increased to thirteen mem bers, selected by the President, from twenty-six elected by the qualified electors of the Territory, and by his nomination, appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. By an Act, approved January, 1827, the electors were authorized to choose, directly, thirteen Representatives, who were to constitute the Legislative Council, without the farther sanction of either the President or Congress. In 1835, the population of Michigan being found by a census to have reached 87,273, the proper steps were taken to secure the admission of the Territory, as a new State, into the Union — 60,000 being the maximum required. The necessary formalities enjoined in such cases having been complied with, she rose to the rank of an independent State accord ingly, with a separate constitution, approved by a convention of her people. This was not without some difficulty, in the settlement of the boundary line be tween Ohio and Michigan, the former claiming, and the latter resisting the claim, to a line which would give to Ohio, and take from Michigan, a tract of 470 square miles. The influence of Ohio being AREA OF THE STATE. 105 strongest in Congress, the claim was granted ; and in January, 1837, Michigan was admitted to a full participation of all the benefits of the Union. The extent and resources of Michigan will in time give it a distinguished rank among the States. Its extreme length is about 540 miles from north west to south-east ; its greatest breadth about 170 miles. What is called the peninsula of Michigan, which lies south of the Straits of Michillimakinak, and between Lakes Huron on the east, and Michigan on the west, is 282 miles long, and its average breadth is 140 miles. The Upper Peninsula of Michi gan, lying north of the Straits, and south of Lake Superior, is 324 miles from east to west, and of the average breadth of 60 miles. The whole area in cluded within the two, is estimated at 96,844 square miles, if the waters of the Lakes within the American boundary line be included; but as these cover a space equal to 36,324 square miles, the area of actual land that remains is 60,520 square miles, or 38,732,800 acres. About one-half of this has now been surveyed, and one-sixth of the whole still remains in the nominal possession of those Indian tribes who have not yet surrendered their claim or title to it by treaty. The Upper Peninsula is much less occupied and less frequented than the Lower ; but by the few who have visited its interior, its scenery is described as wild and grand. The eastern portion, from the head of the peninsula to the Pictured Rocks, is represented as undulating, rising gradually from Lakes Michigan and Superior to the interior, where 406 MICHIGAN. it terminates in more elevated table-land, with a sandy shore on the north, and, on the south, calcareous rock. Proceeding westward, the country becomes broken into hills, with intervening plains, until it is interrupted by the Porcupine Mountains, which form the dividing ridge, separating the tributary waters of Lake Superior from those of Lake Michigan. The highest peaks, toward the western boundary, have been estimated at from 1,800 to 2,000 feet high. The greater portion of this peninsula, the sand plains excepted, is covered with immense forests, principally of white and yellow pine ; a proportion of spruce, hemlock, birch, oak, and aspen, with a mixture of maple, ash, and elm, especially upon the rivers. Of the pine-lands, there are millions of acres, and much of a superior quality, unscathed by fire, stretching between the Strait of St. Mary, the Ontonagon, and Montreal rivers. To convert this into lumber, there are discharging into the Lakes, 40 large and 60 smaller streams. The Lower Peninsula is now travelled in every direction, and filling up fast. Surrounded as it is on three sides by the waters of the Lakes, and having an undulating and fertile country in the interior, with innumerable small lakes, abundant streams, and gentle hills varying from 100 to 700 feet in elevation, it affords as many agreeable spots for farms and homesteads, as perhaps any State in the Union. The climate, it must be admitted, is severe in winter, and the summers, though delightful, are very short ; but there are many, to whom this would be far more agreeable than the oppressive heats of the long-protracted summers of the south ; FOREST TREES. 407 and the freedom from many of the southern diseases, would be accounted also by many as a full equivalent for the shorter reign of the sun. The forest trees that are most abundant here are the oak of almost every species known in the coun try, black and white walnut, hickory, sugar-maple, elm, ash in great variety, sycamore, linden, cotton wood, locust, aspen, butternut, box, poplar, beech, cherry, sassafras, hemlock, spruce, tamarack, chest nut, cedar, cypress, and white, yellow, and Norway pine, with smaller shrubs, and plants, and vines in numerable. It has been observed, that owing to the great depth and lightness of the soil, all the trees growing in this State take an unusually deep root, so that though there are as high winds here as elsewhere, it is unusual to see trees thrown down and torn up by the roots through the violence of the storms. The soil of the most thickly timbered lands is usually black, and of great fertility, being composed of decayed vegetable matter rotting for ages in the primitive forests. There is a description of country called timbered openings, where there is an admixture of wood in small quantities, compared with the open or prairie lands. Of this it is said that the trees are in appear ance unthrifty ; the cause of which may be traced to the annual fires which have been suffered to pass through them. But after these fires have been kept out for a few years, an undergrowth of timber springs up, with a profusion that proves the congeniality of the soil to the forest tree. A thick grass sward covers the soil, and, although it needs no labour to prepare the way for the plough, it requires the 408 MICHIGAN. strength of three or four yoke of oxen to break it up the first time ; though afterwards it is cultivated with the same ease as the older lands. The soil is a loam, with a mixture of clay and sand, generally of a dark colour, dry and stiff in its structure. There seems to be very little or no covering of decomposed vege table matter on this soil ; but there is another more durable principle, universal in the table-lands, attri butable to the mixture of lime, which not only makes the soil fertile, but causes it to increase in fertility the more it is improved. This is superior for wheat- growing. There is another characteristic which is rather unaccountable. In some of the uplands there are found tracts of land, with a scarcity of timber, and a yellow or reddish soil, which, to the casual observer, is apparently sterile, or, at least, second or third rate soils. But these are often the best of lands. On being ploughed and exposed to the action of the atmosphere, the soil undergoes a chemical change, its colour very soon turns black, and it is found to be in the highest degree productive. The timbered lands, openings, and plains yield, ac cording to circumstances — of Indian corn, from 40 to 80 bushels ; of oats, from 40 to 50 bushels to the acre. It is not unusual for the plains and openings to pro duce 30 bushels of wheat to the acre, sometimes more, the average may perhaps be placed at 25 bushels. Many of the prairies near the Kalamazoo and St. Joseph rivers, have a black, deep, rich, con sistent soil, inferior to none in the western country. Vegetation is so luxuriant, that after the seed is deposited, they require little or no farther cultivation. From 30 to 50 bushels of Indian corn per acre, have STATE GEOLOGIST. 409 been raised upon them the first season, without being ploughed or hoed after planting ; and after the soil has been subdued, from 30 to 80 bushels of Indian corn, and 40 of wheat, are usually raised to the acre. Other vegetation flourishes in the same proportionate luxuriance. Of the grasses, there is a great variety ; the blue grass, or timothy, as well as wire grass and red top, grow on the openings and prairies in abundance, the latter kind is excellent for cattle. The wild rye, which grows to the height of six and eight feet, is an excellent substitute for the other grasses. All these grasses are very nutritious ; and cattle, turned out upon the plains in the heat of summer, will fatten upon them. It is said, that herds of cattle driven across the southern part of the peninsula during the summer season, and left to range at night only, have been found much improved at the end of the journey. The Legislature of the State, with great wisdom and liberality, have taken the most efficient step towards promoting an accurate knowledge of the natural resources of the country, by the appointment of a State Geologist, and the appropriation in 1837, of 30,000 dollars ; and in 1838, an appropriation of 12,000 dollars a year, for three years, to defray the expense of a geological survey of the State. Attached to the corps of the geologist, is also a mineralogist, a zoologist, a botanist, and a topographer, so that their united labours will be of the greatest benefit to the State. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is of primitive formation, and the Lower Peninsula of secondary. 410 MICHIGAN. Primitive boulders of granite are found in every part of the State, but especially on the northern coasts and in the beds of rivers ; and some of these, north of Saginau Bay, exceed 100 tons in weight. In the Lower Peninsula, the substratum is of limestone, sandstone, and shale, in horizontal layers ; and the alluvial soil covering these, varies from 5 to 100 feet in depth. Calcareous spar, sulphate of strontian, tremolite, sulphate of barytes, brown spar, and gyp sum, are found in different localities ; and beds of bituminous coal, from 18 to 30 inches thick, have been recently discovered. In the Upper Peninsula, bog iron and iron ore are both found, as well as large quantities of iron sand on the shores of Lake Superior, and lead ore on the banks of several of the streams running into it ; but no mines are yet opened of either ; nor will there be, till population becomes more numerous. Of the wild animals, they had once the mammoth as an inhabitant of the plains, several portions of a huge skeleton of this giant of the wilds having been dug up in August, 1837, near the Pawpaw river. 13 miles to the north of St. Joseph, at the south eastern corner of the Lake Michigan. The skeleton was imbedded 12 feet below the surface, and parts of the back-bone were extracted, which when put together, measured 27 feet. There were teeth also weighing about 4 lbs. each ; and tusks, one of which was 7 feet in length and 1 8 inches in circumference ; but what was deemed very remarkable is, that much of the skeleton, on being exposed to the atmosphere, crumbled to the dust, and parts only were capable of being preserved. The buffaloes, which once ANIMALS AND BIRDS. 1 1 1 ranged here in herds, are now only found west of the Mississippi. But they have still the bear, in several varieties, the wolf, the elk, the moose, the deer, the lynx, the wild cat, the panther or cougar, with all the smaller creatures, such as the opossum, racoon, squirrel, &c, and the martin, which is still valuable for its skin. The birds of the State are very numerous. In a report on the ornithology of Michigan, made to the legislature, it is estimated that there are from 350 to 400 species of birds in it ; and it is added that, making allowance for those that moult twice a year, it is supposed that a full collection of Michigan birds, embracing one of each sex, in all the varieties, would contain at least 1000 individual specimens. The greater number of the birds of song are birds of passage, coming here in the spring, and departing south in the autumn. The thrush, the lark, the blackbird, the robin and the wren, the woodpecker and the cuckoo, are all found here. Pheasant, par tridge, woodcock, quail, grouse, pigeon, wild turkey, and snipe, are all abundant ; and of aquatic birds it is thought there is no State in the Union contain ing so many as this. The beautiful white swan, so rare elsewhere, is here often seen, sailing with stately pride on the bosom of the waters ; and wild geese and ducks, in every variety, are in such abundance, that it has been supposed, by observers at Detroit, that not less than 100,000 have passed over that city, winging their way to the north, in the course of a single hour ! Of agricultural products, maize, or Indian corn, is here, as everywhere else in the new States, the 412 MICHIGAN. first crop raised, and the most abundant in its return; but wheat, barley, oats, rye, and other grains, roots, and esculents, all flourish in luxuriance in this virgin soil. Fruits and garden vegetables have not been yet much cultivated ; but wild fruits abound in the prairies and woods, and grow to a sufficient degree of excellence in their natural state, to show that with cultivation all might be much improved. The pear-tree here grows to a height of from 50 to 60 feet, with a girth of from 6 to 8 feet in circum ference. Though Michigan has only been adopted as one of the States of the American Union within the short period of about three years, and is therefore one of the newest and least settled of the number, yet it has its antiquities, and these of a highly interesting character. The Indian mounds are as numerous and as large in Michigan, as in Indiana and Illinois, and of nearly the same character. In treating of them, however, Mr. Blois, the intelligent historian of the State, throws some new light, and offers some new suggestions, as to the probable con nection of the aboriginal race of Indians occupying these regions, before the present modern tribes drove them out, which are worth transcribing here, espe cially as they are sustained by the opinions of the Baron Humboldt, as to the course pursued by the Aztekas, or Mexican Indians, according to their traditionary history before they settled in the plains of Mexico — " According to the manuscripts of the Aztekas, they, as a nation, lived far to the north, in the country of Aztelan, which, Humboldt is of opinion, from what is related of their journeyings, MEXICAN INDIANS. 413 must have been as far north, at least, as the forty-second degree of north latitude. In these symbolical manuscripts are found the history of their migration from Aztelan to Mexico, with an account of each separate journey, (there were fifteen journeys in all,) the length of time they halted and were building towers, tumuli, &c. He is of opinion that the whole time employed in this migra tion was ' four hundred and sixteen years.' This opinion was strengthened by the fact that they were themselves usurpers in Mexico, as is affirmed in Spanish history. The traditions of the Wyandott Indians declare the authors of the western tumuli to have been expelled from this country, and driven to the south, by savage invaders from the north-east. This they affirm hap pened many hundred years ago. "In the Azteka language, A T L, signifies water, and the derivative Aztelan, signifies the country of water or of lakes, ('lake country,') and Aztekas, the 'people of the lake country,' or ' people of the lakes.' As stated before, the opinion of Hum boldt was, that this country lay as far north as the forty-second degree of latitude, which would place it above the southern boundary of Michigan, making it embrace, not only a greater or less extent in the peninsula, but perhaps a considerable portion of the present Territory of Wisconsin." Now, the word Michigan has precisely the same meaning as the word Aztelan, namely, " Lake Country," being compounded of two words in the Chippeway language, Mitchaw, or great, and Sagie- gan, a lake, or The Region of the Lake ; and the coincidence is certainly remarkable. Besides the mounds or tumuli found in every part of the State, there are also forts, and what are called gardens, which are thought to be peculiar to Michi gan, at least no description has been given of them as existing in any other quarter. Of the mounds, Mr. Blois was present at the opening of several ; and in one excavated in 1837, within three miles of 414 MICHIGAN. Detroit, were found six skeletons, a quantity of rouge or red paint, below this a stratum of charcoal, and then six other skeletons beneath these, appearing to have been buried in a sitting posture, while those above were horizontally disposed ; it was thought that the stature of these could not exceed 5 feet 3 inches when alive. Near to one was found a very large white marine shell ; near another, the oxide of iron, in the shape of a vessel capable of holding about three gallons, the iron all turned to rust ; and around the bodies of two of the skeletons were found from 30 to 40 rosaries of beads, made out of a marine shell, like the large one found entire ; six of the beads were found in the mouth of one of the skeletons, and it was thought that they were amulets or charms. The garden-beds, as they are called, are much more singular, as affording evidences of a careful and systematic cultivation, either of grain or flowers, in a manner wholly unlike that of the pre sent day. Mr. Blois thus describes these curious remains — " The ancient garden-beds, as they are called, are found near the St. Joseph and Kalamazoo rivers, in Cass, St. Joseph, Kala mazoo, and Calhoun counties ; but the most numerous in the three former. They exist in some of the prairies and burr-oak plains, in some of the richest soil, and, without exaggeration, it may be said, a soil as fertile as any in the United States. It is a very fine loam, of a colour perfectly black, and possessing a cohesive quality, even when dry, which is unknown to any other soil. The cause of this tenacious property is not to be satisfactorily accounted for, as the amount of argile, if any, entering into its composition, is so trifling, as not to be easily discerned. Whatever the cause may be, neither time nor the inclemencies of weather have effaced the traces of antiquity — the impression of ages, which it possesses ANCIENT GARDENS. 415 the quality of retaining as legible, almost, as rock itself. These beds are occasionally found in soils of so little consistency, as to be less easily discerned, while in other places their delineations are as perfect as the work of yesterday. "One of the most singular circumstances is, their wonderful extent. They cover from 20 to 100 acres, and it is said, upon credible authority, that some extend over a superficies of 300 acres in one field or garden. Were there anything which they resemble, with which they might be compared, it might be sup posed that they were used for other purposes than cultivation. " They appear in various fanciful shapes, but order and sym metry of proportion seem to govern. Some are laid off in recti lineal and curvilineal figures, either distinct or combined in a fantastic manner, in parterres and scolloped work, with alleys between, and apparently ample walks or avenues leading in dif ferent directions, displaying a taste that would not discredit a modern pleasure-garden. " One of these is found in the county of St. Joseph, on the west bank of the St. Joseph river, a short distance from the vil lage of Three Rivers, on one side of an oval prairie, surrounded by burr-oak plains. The prairie contains about 300 acres, of the black soil before mentioned. The garden is judged to be half a mile in length, by one-third in breadth, containing about 100 acres, regularly laid out into beds, running north and south, in the form of parallelograms, 5 feet in width and 100 in length, and 18 inches deep, with alleys between them of 18 inches in breadth, and of the same depth. At the extremity of each, is a semi-lunar bed, or a semicircle, of the same depth, and diameter corresponding to the width of the beds. The whole was covered with a tough sward of prairie grass. The beds have the appear ance of being raised above the adjacent country, and their regu larity and outline are as perfect as if recently made. " These gardens evidently bear the stamp of antiquity and civilization. Of antiquity, as they are often found overgrown with burr oaks of an age precluding their construction within the last two centuries, at least ; besides, the Indians belonging to the ancient Peninsular tribes, to all interrogatories on the subject, betray the same ignorance of their origin and history, as they do 416 MICHIGAN. of the mounds and forts. When they were constructed, and by whom — whether by the builders of the mounds and forts, or not, we know nothing ; but of this we do know, they are the certain evidence of the former existence of a great agricultural popula tion, possessing industry and cultivated taste, subsisting not upon the precarious success of the chase, but upon the fruits of the earth. " One reflection : If the ancient Indians built these mounds, forts, gardens, &c, would not their descendants possess, at least, some traditionary knowledge respecting them ? Is it possible these monuments could have stood in the eyes of any people whose forefathers were the constructors, and their history suffered to pass into oblivion ? There is a curiosity natural in man, to inquire into the origin of things, especially those of artificial con structions. Is it not, then, to be presumed, the history of these would have been traditionally transmitted from father to son, through all succeeding generations, so that at the present day, some vestige of it, at least, might be found in the tribe ? The contrary supposition seems to violate the laws of the human mind. The plain inference is, that they were made by some people, other than the present race of Indians." p. 174. The Legislature of Michigan consists of two Houses — the House of Representatives, elected by the people annually, one member for each organized county, the number never to be less than 48, nor more than 100 ; and the Senate, elected for two years, by the same constituencies, to be equal in number to one-third of the Representatives, as nearly as can be. No property-qualification is required in either electors or members, and the suffrage is universal for all free white male citizens above the age of 21, who have resided six months in the State, and the voting is by ballot. Bills pass through these two Houses, and, if approved by the Governor, become law ; if he disapproves, he must return the bill with GOVERNMENT. 417 his objections to it in writing. It is then recon sidered by both Houses, and if subsequently passed by a majority of two-thirds of each chamber, it be comes a law without the assent of the Governor ; as it does also if the latter retains it for ten days in his possession, without expressing his dissent. This is an excellent protection against delay, and against the collision of opposing authorities, well worthy of consideration. The Executive Government of Michigan consists of a Governor and Lieutenant-Governor, each elected by the people, and holding their office for two years. The Lieutenant-Governor is President of the Senate, and in the event of the death of the Governor, fills his place until the time for re-election returns. The Governor has a salary of 1,500 dollars a year, and the Lieutenant-Governor 3 dollars a day during the session only — a rate of pay realized by the wages of many mechanics in the State. There are besides these a Secretary, Treasurer, and Audi tor, Adjutant-General, and Quarter-Master-General; the highest salary of the first of these being only 600 dollars, and the two last 100 dollars and 50 dollars. The chief Engineer, however, has a salary of 4,000 dollars a year ; and the State Geologist, 1,500, and contingent expenses. The President of the State Bank, a Government officer, has also 1,500 dollars a year. The two keepers of the State Peni tentiary are rewarded by the profits made out of the labour of the convicts, a most vicious system, as already shown ; while the visitor, whose office ought to be one of check or control, is paid the paltry sum of 50 dollars a year only. III. 2 E * 418 MICHIGAN. The Judicial power is vested in one supreme court and such other courts as the Legislature may establish. The judges of the supreme court hold their offices for the term of seven years. They are nominated — and by and with the advice and consent of the senate, appointed — by the Governor. The supreme court appoint their own clerk or clerks. Each organized county is to have a court of probate established in it ; and each organized township is entitled to four justices of the peace, who hold their offices for four years, and are elected by the qualified electors of the township. Judges of probate, judges of all county courts, associate judges of circuit courts, hold their offices four years respectively, and are elected in the same manner as the clerk of the county court — by the qualified electors of the county in which thev reside. The judges of the supreme court receive salaries of 1,500 dollars each ; and the judges of the circuit court 1,000 dollars each per annum. A Superintendent of Public Education is autho rized by the constitution of Michigan to be appointed by the Governor, triennially ; but the approval of a majority of the two Houses of the Legislature in joint ballot, is necessary for his confirmation. The State is yet too young, however, to have the means of carrying out a system of public schools ; though it is pleasing to see the principle recognized, and, to a limited extent, it has at least begun to be acted upon. Among other provisions of the constitution, slavery is for ever forbidden to be introduced into Michigan. The Legislature are prohibited from passing bills of EDUCATION. 4 1 -J divorcement, but may authorize the courts of law to do so; and lotteries, still so abundant in manv of the older States, are also forbidden to be held in Michigan. By an act of the Legislature, passed in 1536, a Superintendent of Public Instruction was appointed, and a large grant of the public lands was made, to furnish funds for the purposes of education. It is estimated that these lands, at the minimum price. will realize, when sold, at leas: the sum of 6.6O0.OO0 dollars ; which, funded at an interest of 6 per cent., will yield an income of 396,00'? dollars annually for the support of public schools ; the amount of land granted by Congress being the 35th part of the whole State ; that is, section 16 in even- township, the whole making an abnegate of 1,14S,160 acres of land. The University of Michigan has been alreadv established at the to^a of Ann Arbour, a distance of 40 miles from Detroit. It has Professors of Lite rature, Science, and the Arts, a department of Law. and one of Medicine ; it is is expected to be soon in active operation, with branches at several other towns of the State; and in most of the organized counties, primary schools have been introduced. Of religious denominations, the Methodist Epis copal is deemed the most numerous among1 the Pro testant sects, numbering about 10,000 ; the Presbv- terians have about 4,000 ; the Baptists about the same; the Episcopalians about 1.000. But the Roman Catholics exceed the whole of the Protes tants united, numbering about 20.000, of whom about 10.000 are of French descent, S.000 English, Ce2 420 MICHIGAN. Irish, and German, and the remainder converted Indians and half-breeds. The aggregate population of Michigan is at pre sent thought to be only 200,000 for the whole State — a number equalled by many single cities in America and in England ; to which may be added, about 5,000 Indians, more than half of whom live on the Upper Peninsula, in the neighbourhood of Lake Superior. But these are continually diminish ing every year, while the white population is as con tinually "increasing, by immigration from all parts of Europe. Although this white population is far from being of the best or most refined class, yet it is infinitely superior to that of the aboriginal race, which it is destined to supplant ; more especially since their contest with and corruption by the whites, have made them worse than they were in their origi nal condition. Yet even in that condition, there were practices among them which most people are accus tomed to regard with horror; as may be judged of from the following statement of some of their early cus toms, given by Mr. Priest, in his American Antiqui ties, and quoted by him from the Medical Repository, a work of established reputation, and generally relied on for the accuracy of its information — " The Ottawas having taken an Iroquois prisoner, made a soup of his flesh. The like has been repeatedly done since, on select occasions, by other tribes. Governor Cass, of Michigan, informed me, that among the Miamis, there was a standing committee, consisting of seven warriors, whose business it was to perform the man-eating required by public authority. The last of their cannibal-feasts was on the body of a white man, of Kentucky, about forty years ago. The appointment of the committee to eat human flesh has, since that time, gradually become obsolete ; but CANNIBALS. 421 the oldest and last member of this cannibal society is well remem bered, and died only a few years ago. — A very circumstantial description of a cannibal-feast, where a soup was made of the body of an Englishman, at Michilimakinak, about the year 1760, is given by Alexander Henry, Esq., in his book of travels through Canada and the Indian territories. In that work it is stated, that man-eating was then, and always had been, practised among the Indian nations, on returning from war, or on over coming their enemies, for the purpose of giving them courage to attack, and resolution to die." p. 304. The habits and manners of the white settlers in Michigan, though rude in the extreme, have none of this barbarity and cruelty attached to them ; and rude as they are, they are every day ameliorating, by the influence of improved means, of competency, augmentation of numbers, and closer neighbourhood — and when it has passed through this state of transition, incidental to all infant communities^ -it will become as polished and refined as any other in the Union. 422 CHAP. XX. Voyage from Detroit to Cleveland — Pass Windsor and Sandwich, in Canada — British town and fort of Amherstburgh — Perry's Islands — Victory of the Americans over the English — Arrival at Sandusky — Description of the town — Anecdote of the Wyandots, or Sandusky Indians — Touch at Huron — Pass Sheffield and Dover — Arrival at Cleveland, and stay there — First settlement — Site or position — View of the town — Plan — Streets — Blocks — Dwellings — Public buildings — Churches — Sermon at the Episcopal Church — Apparently slight influ ence of preaching in America — Steamboats — Canal leading to the Ohio river — Newspapers — Political parties — Log-cabin — - Whig denunciation of Mr. Van Buren's splendour — Debate in Congress on his alleged luxurious habits — Country around Cleveland — Elevation of Lake Chatauque — Cuyahoga river — Great fertility of the soil — Encroachment of the Lake on the town — General summary of the fisheries of the Lake. On Saturday, the 11th of July, we left Detroit, in the steamer Constitution, for Cleveland. Having been detained at the wharf, to take in a large ship ment of deer-skins, for Sandusky, it was nearly 10 o'clock before we got away. The weather was beau tiful, and the town presented a fine appearance, as we glided down the Strait — in which we passed, LAKE ERIE. 423 between Windsor and Sandwich, on the Canada side, the first steamer we had seen with the British flag — she was a small packet or ferryboat, running between Sandwich and Detroit. Our boat exchanged salutes with her, both vessels ringing their bells as they passed each other. All the way down the Strait were pretty villas and gardens on each side of the beautiful clear stream, presenting a most agreeable picture. About 20 miles below Detroit, we passed Am herstburgh, on the Canada side, a larger and better town than either Windsor or Sandwich, having a fort, several French-Canadian churches built of wood, and some good dwellings. At noon, we were fairly out into Lake Erie, which was very placid, but not so clear as Lake Huron. We soon passed through the cluster of islands called The Three Sisters ; and about 2 o'clock, arrived among the group of The Hen and Chickens, near which, Commodore Perry, of the United States' navy, obtained his signal victory, with an inferior force, over the English. Snake Island, Put -in -Bay, and Cunningham Island, were others that we passed in the course of the afternoon, all of them low, thickly wooded, and varying from 5 to 10 miles in circumference ; and at 4 p.m. we entered Sandusky Bay, a deep inlet of about 7 miles, running westward into the land, at the bottom of which the town of Sandusky is seated. The entrance is extremely narrow, the channel being marked off, with large stakes or poles driven in along the edge of the sands, their tops painted white. There is a small whitewashed lighthouse at the 424 LAKE ERIE. southern point of entrance, on the edge of the forest. In the channel, we met a revenue-schooner of the Americans, beating out with a light breeze, and although her draught of water could not have exceeded six feet, she was scarcely filled away on one tack, before she was obliged to heave in stays, and go about on the other tack ; the channel appear ing to be not more than 200 yards across. There is said to be much smuggling of British goods from Canada, carried on here in small boats, but they are rarely taken. The cruisers are employed as surveying vessels, as well as for the protection of the revenue, and therefore always have something to do. The town of Sandusky, at which we remained about an hour, landing our deer-skins, and replen ishing our fuel, has a very pretty appearance from the sea, with all that freshness and brightness so characteristic of the new towns and cities of this country. It derives its name from the river of Sandusky, emptying itself into this bay, the meaning of the Indian word being " Cold Stream." The town rises with a gentle slope from the edge of the Lake, inward, and upward, so as to present every part of it to view from the bay ; and as fine building- stone is near and abundant, the houses are chiefly of this material. The streets are spacious and regular, the stores large, and the wharves commo dious. There are 4 large Churches, and 4 Hotels. The population is estimated at about 3,000, and its condition is considered to be very prosperous. Being in the State of Ohio, it is the point of termination for several railroads from the interior to the Lake ; and it is visited by most of the large steamboats SAMU>K.V. 425 passing between Buffalo and Detroit ; so that it can hardlv fail to increase in wealth and population. The Indians who formerly resided here, were the tribe of Wyandots, remarkable even among the most warlike tribes for their invincible bravery. They held it so disgraceful to be vanquished, that they never yielded to an enemy but in death ; and Gene ral Harrison, in his Discourse ou the Aborigines, has this anecdote respecting them (p. 279) — ••" When General Wayne assumed the position of Greenville, in 1793. he sent for Captain Wells, who commanded a company of scouts, and told him that he wished him to go to Sandusky, and take a prisoner, for the purpose of obtaining information. Wells — who having been taken from Kentucky when a boy, and brought up amongst the Indians, was perfectly acquainted with their character — answered, that ' he could take a prisoner, but not from Sandusky." • And why not from Sandusky ?' said the General. •Because." answered the captain, 'there are only Wyandots there.' ' Well, why will not Wyandots dor" • For the best of reasons.' said Wells, 'because Wyandots will not be taken alive." " As we left the wharf at Sandusky, about 5 p.m., we saw a political procession of cars and banners, with branches of trees, wending their way to the Log-Cabin erected near the centre of the town, as the Council-House for the Harrisonian Whigs, as thev are called here, the political fever running as high apparently in Sandusky, as everywhere else along the coast. Passing out of the bay, a run of about 10 miles to the eastward brought us to a smaller town, named Huron, containing a population of about 1,500. The entrance to its artificial harbour is through two loner and narrow piers of wood, built on piles, forming 426 LAKE ERIE. a channel of sufficient depth for the largest boats, but so narrow, that they cannot swing or turn, when in, but must back out stern foremost. There is a small lighthouse at the outer end of one of the piers, and boats enter by night as easily as by day, but sailing- vessels require a fair wind and fine weather to make the harbour ; the hull of one of these recently wrecked in the attempt, still lay on the beach, having been driven on shore here a few weeks ago. The facilities for ship-building are so great here, in the abundance of excellent timber cheap and close at hand, the ease of launching, and cheapness of living for workmen, that it is said more vessels for the navigation of these waters are built here, than at any other port in the west of the Lake. From Huron we proceeded on our course, passing by Sheffield and Dover on our way, to Cleveland, a distance of 50 miles from hence, which we reached about midnight. Even at that hour we found a car riage ready to take us to our hotel, with cars and porters for the baggage ; and in half an hour, or less, we were safely lodged at the American Hotel, where we continued to remain for about a week. Cleveland, like all the towns we had seen in Ohio, in our journey through the Eastern and Southern parts of this beautiful State, is admirably situated, and remarkably pretty. It is but of comparatively recent origin, being little more than 30 years old. The first settlers here were Lorenzo Carter and Ezekiel Hawley, who built the first dwelling in Cleveland, in I8O7. It was incorporated as a village, in 1816; and as a City, in 1836 ; so that its municipal constitution is but 4 years old. CLEVELAND. 427 It stands on an elevated plain, on the southern shore of Lake Erie, in the deepest part of the curve or bay made by the conformation of the coast there. This plain is about 80 feet above the level of the Lake's surface, and affords ample space for an extended City. Behind the town, to the southward, is seen the valley of the Cuyahoga, with that small but beautifully winding river, corresponding, in its wavy folds, to the meaning of its Indian name, " The Serpentine Stream," and emptying its waters at the foot of the town into the Lake. On the other side of the Cuyahoga, to the westward, are the scat tered buildings of what was once the village of Brooklyn, a suburb of Cleveland, but what was attempted by its ambitious inhabitants to be made a rival to its neighbour, under a separate charter, which they obtained for their village, by the imposing name of Ohio City. They built a large hotel, and several stores, and expended all their resources in providing houses ; but dwellers and occupants not increasing in the same proportion, many of the builders and speculators broke, and the further growth of the embryo city was suspended, realizing the fable of the frog, who aspired to rival the ox in size, but burst in the process of swelling. The view of the whole scene from the terrace of the American Hotel, is at once extensive and beau tiful ; the broad blue Lake, with its limitless horizon like the open sea, to the north ; the winding valley and river of Cuyahoga, and the richly-wooded hills beyond it, to the south ; the scattered buildings of Ohio City, to the west ; and the forest-plains of the Lake shore, to the east ; with the whole town of 428 CLEVELAND. Cleveland spread out beneath you, like a map, in the centre ; forming a combination of great interest and variety. The plan of the town is sufficiently regular, the streets are of ample breadth, from 80 to 120 feet ; the business-streets are filled with large brick stores, in separate blocks or masses of ten or twelve build ings in each, which it is the fashion here to designate by separate names, as The Franklin Block, The Washington Block, The Central Block, The Com mercial Block, and so on. The streets of private residences are like those at Detroit, continued lines of pretty detached villas, with gardens in front, and all around ; the buildings are generally of brick, sometimes stuccoed, and occasionally of wood, but all remarkably clean and neat, many of them in excellent architectural style, and, like the dwell ings we saw at Cincinnati and other towns of Ohio, all evincing more taste, love of flowers, and atten tion to order and adornment, than in most of the other States of the Union. In the centre of the town is a large piece of ground, laid out as a public square. In this is the Court House, a white building with domed tur ret, on an elevated site, surrounded with lawn. Of the churches, the Baptist is the largest and handsomest, built of brick, with a lofty and grace ful steeple ; the Presbyterian is next in size, built of stone, with a low tower ; the Methodist is a plain building of brick, without steeple ; and the Episco palian, which is small and built of wood, has an attempt at the square Gothic for its tower, which is a deformity rather than a beauty, and could not be SERMON. 429 too speedily removed. My lectures were delivered on alternate evenings in the Baptist and Presby terian churches, and were well attended, notwith standing the unfavourable weather, constant suc cession of thunder-storms of violent rain, with intervals of suffocating heat between, and the universal complaint of the prostration of all busi ness, and the unparalleled hardness of the times. We attended service in the Esiscopal church during the Sunday we passed here, and heard one of the most powerful and splendid female voices in the choir, that we had ever listened to before in the country, though everywhere the choral music of the churches of every denomination is more uni formly well executed, in sweetness of tone and perfection of harmony, than in England, the best singers being usually paid a liberal salary for their services. The sermon we heard was from the text, " Godli ness, with contentment, is great gain ;" and the preacher founded on it such a philippic against public discontent, and attempts to change the course of public affairs, as well as such severe denuncia tions against those who attempted to resist " the powers that be, since all power that is, is ordained of God," that I expected to have seen some of the republican auditors rise up and leave the church, as it was certainly the severest condemnation that could be passed on their own great Revolution. The preacher adverted to the Abolitionists, against whom the sermon seemed to be chiefly directed, and insisted upon it that every effort of their's hav ing a tendency to disturb that " contentment " of 430 CLEVELAND the slaves with their existing condition, which, with " godliness," the apostle had declared to be " great gain," their conduct was sinful, as robbing their brother of his happiness and peace. Indeed he went the length of stating, in distinct and unequivocal terms, that not even the acquisition of freedom, much as men might prize it, was a sufficient justi fication of attempts to disturb the established rela tions of society, which time had hallowed, custom sanctioned, and the law allowed ! Yet this doctrine, which, if preached during the Revolution, would have been deemed treason to the majesty of the people, was listened to with the most profound indifference by all present ; at least, I could not discover, from the countenances of any, that they thought or felt anything out of the ordinary cur rent of their usual and habitual impressions. I could only account for this by supposing that the sermons are listened to by the mass of the congregation just as the prayers of the service are read, without the thoughts being at all occupied about their mean ing ; and experience having shown the hearers that what is said from the pulpit passes for very little with those who hear it, and makes no change in their opinions or mode of life, it might be just as harmless to preach these doctrines of non-resistance, as to preach any other ; so that provided the clergyman did not keep them longer than their accustomed time, or reprove them for any of their peculiar propensities, he might fill up his half hour with any kind of sermon that he had most readily at hand, and if it were well delivered, with becom ing piety of look, and gravity of tone, jn a decorous NEWSPAPERS. 431 and appropriate manner, it would answer the pur pose of the day as well as any other. Cleveland being the point at which the canal commences, that unites Lake Erie with the river Ohio at Portsmouth, traversing in the interval nearly the whole length of the State, it is a place of considerable trade ; steam-vessels from the Lake, and packet-boats from the canal, are arriving and departing at almost every hour of the day. On the roofs of the two principal hotels, the Ame rican and the Franklin, there are towers, at the top of which a sentinel is kept night and day, relieved every four hours, as a watch to look out for vessels. As soon as notice is given of one approaching, from any direction, a carriage is sent down to the landing-place for the passengers, and a car for their luggage, from each hotel, to the great comfort and convenience of travellers, who, at whatever hour they arrive, find this accommodation furnished to them without expense. The entrance to the har bour, as well as to the basin of the canal, is by an enlargement of the mouth of the Cuyahoga river, and the running out a long pier, with a light-house at the end, a work that extends 1,200 feet out into the Lake. It was made at the cost of the General Government, who defray the expenses, in all the States, of whatever public works may be requisite for the safety of navigation. There were not long since, three daily and five weekly newspapers here ; but the " hard times," of which one hears at every corner, had reduced these to one daily and two weekly. The daily is the Herald, a Whig paper ; the principal weekly, 432 CLEVELAND. the Advertizer, a Democratic paper; and the Whigs have a small cheap paper, published from this to the close of the presidential election, at 25 cents only for the whole period, under the title of " The Axe," with a log-cabin for its vignette head ing. It is filled exclusively with matter bearing upon the merits or demerits of the opposing candi dates for the Presidency, Mr. Van Buren, and General Harrison, the latter of whose claims it advocates. There is a large log-cabin, or Harrisonian Council House, erected here, also, in the middle of the town, in which frequent jneetings are held, and all other concerns are absorbed by politics. As the Whigs have found it necessary to pay court to the multitude, in order to carry their election — and this is the only reason of their extra ordinary professions of respect for the hard-working mechanic and hard-handed farmer, because their votes are essential to success — so, in keeping with the same line of policy, they have recently directed all their force to raise a clamour against Mr. Van Buren's personal extravagance, luxurious style of living, and " reckless squandering of the people's hard-earned cash." A Mr. Ogle, of Philadelphia, has taken the lead in Congress, in a speech on the Appropriation Bill, against this extravagance ; and has gone through a catalogue of the furniture of all the rooms in the " White House," as the President's official residence is termed, intending to show that Mr. Van Buren is introducing into America the luxury of foreign courts, with a design to corrupt the people, and obtain over them the ascendancy of an Eastern monarch, and thus to rouse the feel- PARTY SPIRIT. V33 ings of the Democracy against his re-election. This speech is thus heralded into notice by the Whig Herald, and the Harrisonian Axe, of Cleveland — ¦ " If there be anything which can arouse and alarm the people of this country — if there be anything that can give a practical illustration that we are following in the footsteps of all former Republics, which have been undermined and overthrown by luxury — it is in the speech of Mr. Ogle, of Pennsylvania, an original Jackson-man, now being published in this paper. It exposes a scene of waste and prodigality, which must convince the most obstinately blind, that the President is Republican in name only. Luxury has indeed made fearful inroads upon the frugal habits of our fathers. The principles and practices of Washington and Jefferson have departed. Who will now wonder, after reading this exposition of the princely style and royal habits of his Ame rican Majesty, that his followers sneer at Log-Cabins ? The man who walks upon Royal Wilton carpets — sits upon Ottomans — lays his head upon satin-covered pillows — elevates his feet upon silk-covered footstools — and enjoys the fragrance of ever-blossom ing roses — must necessarily hold the occupants of log-cabins in supreme contempt." A portion of the speech of Mr. Ogle may be worth presenting, as a specimen of the manner in wdiich much is made of little things, when odium is intended to be excited against a political rival or opponent ; though such a flourish of trumpets dwindles down at last to the small note of extrava gant expenditure, in the sum of 270 dollars. Here is the extract — " In the ninth century, the immortal Alfred sat on a three- legged stool, and ' swayed his sceptre o'er the English realm ;' but Mr. Van Buren, ' in this our day,' is not content with a seat of such homely and rude construction. He must have ' Turkish divans* and 'French comfortables.' Thousands of the people's dollars have been lavishly expended for the following luxuries — III. 2 F * 434 CLEVELAND. Gilt and damask satin-covered Settees, Gilt and damask satin-covered Sofas, Gilt and damask satin-covered Bergeres, Gilt and damask satin-covered Fauteuils, Gilt and damask satin-covered Chairs, Gilt and damask satin-covered Ottomans, Gilt and damask satin-covered Tabourets, Gilt and damask satin-covered Music-stools, Gilt and damask satin-covered Foot-stools, Gilt and damask satin-covered Pillows. " Still Mr. Van Buren was not content ; he longed for the ' Turkish divan ' and the ' French comfortable.' A good locofoco democrat, methinks, might have been pretty well satisfied with a crimson damask sofa, and a pillow of soft down, encased in a silk cover. And a bulky alderman, it is said, after enjoying his turtle soup, can snore away his six hours, at perfect peace with all mankind, by placing his corporation within the generous dimensions of a bergere. But neither the crimson damask sofa and soft down, silk-covered pillow, nor the capacious bergere, would content Mr. Van Buren. What was to be done ? The ottoman has no back whereon a hard-handed democrat, wearied with the cares of State, can lean, and the tabouret is part and parcel of the Court regalia, and may be soiled by too frequent use ; the music-stool, and the foot-stool, albeit covered with damask satin, are too low for a favourable disposal of the extremities. What could be done, Sir, in this dire emergency, but to pay down 270 dollars of the people's cash, that Mr. Van Buren might enjoy the luxuries of the Turkish ' divan,' and the ' French comfortable made of extra materials ! ' " The sum total of all the extravagance that could be made out, however, in the long period of ten years, during which the Democratic party of Gene ral Jackson and Mr. Van Buren have been in power, amounts to no more than 160,000 dollars, or £32,000, being just £3,200 sterling per annum Here is the summing-up from the Whig Herald, of the same date, July 16, 1840 ; EXPENDITI'RE. 1 3 J " From starch, 18l':\ to March, 1.S3S', this plain Republican party have expended in and about the palace grounds alone, the enormous sum of 88,72:2 dollars ; and during the same time, for furniture and ornaments for the palace, the further sum of 70.680 dollars! Total expenditure by this Reforming Party, l.iil.-KVj dollars ! ! What was done with the 88,7--'2 ? Stables were enlarged for the royal stud — dwarf vails and fountains built— plautiug houeysuekles, hulvslippers, dandelions, sweet-scented grass — and preparing beautiful bouquets for the President's saloons." But oven in the expenditure of this £3,200 a year, for the building, furnishing, repair, and keep ing up of the residence, stables, and grounds of the President's official palace — a sum which will strike the financiers of Europe as moderate beyond all example — it appears that the whole has been under the direction of a Committee of Public Buildings. like that of the Commissioners of Woods and Forests in England, but with this difference, that instead of being appointed by the Crown, these are elected by the joint ballot of both Houses of Con gress, and when these agree in recommending any appropriation for public buildings of any kiud, such recommendation is communicated to the Committee of Ways and Means, who, if thev approve, furnish the funds required for its purchase. One of the members of the Committee, a Whig too. and there fore a political opponent of Mr. Van Buren, had the magnanimity to reply to this speech of Mr. Ogle, and alter triumphantly showing that if there was anything anti-democratic in having a laro-e mansion for the official residence of the President, built on a scale that required expensive furniture to be in keeping with the edifice, which itself cost a inilliou of dollars, thev ouaht to blame their 2f2 436 CLEVELAND. republican ancestors, who had caused the building to be erected, for it was not done in their day ; he went on to show, that the Committee, considering the honour and dignity of the country to require a suitable building and appropriate furniture for the reception of foreign ministers, public officers, and strangers of all nations, as well as the citizens from every part of the Union, who from time to time visited Washington, they had thought fit to have the official mansion of their President placed in a fit condition for this purpose, which heretofore it had not been. He then proceeds — " Would gentlemen ask what part of the house they intended to furnish ? He would tell them. What was the state of the receiving-room ? There was not a mirror, even a common seven- by-nine mirror, in it ; there was not a single table, except an old pine table in one corner, which, under the hammer of the auctioneer, would not fetch 75 cents, and an old worn-out sofa. The whole lot would not fetch 5 dollars ; and yet, this was the anteroom into which foreign ministers, and visitors of every description, were introduced to see the President. Now, what did the Committee intend to do with the 700 dollars ? They did not intend to furnish the House like a palace, but to supply it with good substantial furniture of home-manufacture. " The Committee thought that an anteroom for the reception of foreign visitors, with its common chair and old cast-away sofa, was hardly the proper thing, or consistent with the American people. It might be said, however, that what the Committee proposed doing was not democratic, nor in accordance with the principles of our republic. Such was not his opinion. On the contrary, he held that it was democratic to supply the President with necessary furniture, and convenience for the house in which they had appointed him to live. " He (Mr. L.) was no friend of Mr. Van Buren, but he would do him the justice to say, if there was anything wrong in relation PARTY SPIRIT. 437 to the furniture of the White House, the President was not to blame for it. On the contrary, he (Mr. L.) knew his great delicacy on the subject, and would assure the gentleman that, whenever the Committee had consulted the President in relation to any additional furniture, he had invariably expressed his reluc tance to have anything expended for that object. He would state from his own knowledge, that not a single article of furniture supplied during the last three years, had been supplied at. the request of the President himself. The Committee alone were answerable, and they would assume the responsibility. But so far was the President from desiring any additions made to the furniture, that about two years ago, it actually became necessary for himself and the other members of the Committee to do what he had never done before, nor would he ever do it again. Did gentlemen wish to know what that was ? He would tell them. It was to go through every room in another man's house, to see how much furniture he wanted, and what conveniences were re quired. He hoped that gentlemen would take notice of this fact, and remember it whenever they attempted to cast censure on the President in relation to his furniture." Such was the statement of a Whig member of the Committee ; and yet, no Whig paper that I saw gave this speech publicity : so one-sided and per fectly party-spirited is the press of this country generally, and equally so on both sides ; and so impossible, therefore, is it for a stranger to obtain accurate information from either, on any point in which the interests of party are involved. When we saw the President at Washington in 1838, and visited the White House at the public levee, we were struck with the moderation and simplicity of everything connected with the House, its furniture, attendants, and accompaniments. We have since seen the private dwellings of many merchants in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, the fitting up of which must have cost a much' 43S CLEVELAND. larger sum ; and nothing but the blindest and most unjust party-spirit, could ever have thought of raising a clamour on this subject against the Pre sident, of which the more respectable Whigs, though they see it practised by and for the interests of their party, must feel inwardly ashamed. The country behind Cleveland, and to the south of it, rises as you pass into the interior ; and at a distance from hence of about 30 miles, are the Falls of the Cuyahoga river, which, though the body of water is small, have a descent of 240 feet. Within 9 miles also from the shores of Lake Erie further east, is an elevated tract, on which there is a small lake called Chautauque, in the county of that name. This is elevated 720 feet above the level of Lake Erie, though the waters of this lake are 560 feet above the level of the ocean ; and on this smaller Lake Chautauque, which is within the State of New York, a steam-vessel of 100 tons is at present employed. The county of Cuyahoga, in which Cleveland is seated, has a soil called in this country, beech clay, which has hitherto not been thought so favourable as many other kinds for the production of wheat ; and yet, in the last year, Mr. Edmund Richmond, of Euclid township, quite close to Cleveland, on the south-east, has raised from 2 acres of land 107 bushels of wheat of the best quality, the largest return yet produced in any of the States, except one, where 54 bushels were raised on an acre of the Carrolton manor in Maryland, between Frederick- ton and Harper's Ferry. Though Cleveland is built on an elevated plain, LAKE FISHERIES. 439 which overlooks the Lake, it is fortunate that its dwellings were not erected very near the edge of the plain, for the ground has given way there by repeated underminings or cavings-in, as they are called, of the soil, which first loosens the under stratum, and soon after there is a slide or fall of considerable breadth into the Lake, leaving at each time, a large mass of the accumulated wreck along the beach. Various modes have been suggested of preventing this evil, by an extended line of piles or break-water of some kind ; but the lowest estimate yet made of any work of this kind, to be effective, is 500,000 dollars, and this is more than the finances of this yet infant city is able to raise for this purpose. At some future time, however, it will be no doubt accomplished. This account of Cleveland may be appropriately closed by a short statement wdiich has recently been drawn up respecting the Fisheries of the Lake ports, in which Cleveland largely participates. It appeared in the Herald of that Cit}-, and is as follows — " Lake fish form a staple article of provisions at all the Lake ports. The principal kinds are White fish and Mackinaw trout. The latter, a delicious fish, resembles the salmon-trout, and are possibly the same. They vary in size, from five pounds or under, to fifty or sixty pounds weight. Besides these, there are pike, pickerel, and different kinds of bass ; the cisquet or cisquevet of Lake Superior, a fine fish, like the mackerel in appearance and flavour, but larger ; and the muscalonge, also a delicious fish, weighing sometimes fifty or sixty pounds. The cisquet is scarcely known in market, as they are caught only in Lake Superior, and few have been put up. The muscalonge is not, in Lake Erie at least, caught in very large quantities, and is generally sold fresh. 4-10 LAKE FISHERIES. There may be other kinds of fish, but those named are the chief, and the most valuable. " Very few white fish are taken in Lake Erie, and, we believe, no trout. Pike, pickerel, and bass are caught in abundance about the islands in the upper part of the Lake, and in the Maumee bay and river. These are salted in considerable quantities. In Detroit river, the same kinds are found as in Lake Erie, and white fish are caught to some extent, " In Lakes Huron and Michigan, and the Straits of Mackinaw, trout, white fish, and other kinds, are caught in abundance. The Thunder Bay Islands, a group near Thunder Bay, in Lake Huron ; the Beaver, Fox, and Manitou Islands, near the foot of Lake Michigan, and Twin Rivers, on the western shore, are the principal fisheries of those two Lakes. Fish are caught, however, at other places in the Lakes. They are also caught in the vicinity of Mackinaw, in abundance ; about the small islands in the Straits, and at Point St. Ignaee. " It is supposed that these fish might be taken at Green Bay. A year or two since, some persons caught a very large quantity of trout at Sturgeon Bay, in winter, fishing with a hook through the ice. They piled up their fish, intending to carry them, frozen, to Navarino, to be salted. But a sudden thaw spoiled the specu lation. " In St. Mary's river, at and below the Sault, the same kinds of fish are caught in plenty. But Lake Superior furnishes not only the largest and finest-flavoured, but the greatest abundance of fish. Until within two or three years, the fisheries of that Lake have been unimproved, if not unknown ; and it is supposed that they are now not half explored. Immense quantities have been taken upon Lake Superior for two or three years past ; it is said that these are mostly caught about the group of islands known as the ' Twelve Apostles,' near the head of the Lake. But little is known about this, however, as the trade of Superior is, in fact, monopolized by the American Fur Company and the Hudson Bay Company. There is no mode of going up this Lake except in the vessels of one of these Companies, and the Ameri can Fur Company does not permit adventurers a passage in its vessels. 441 CHAP. XXI. Voyage from Cleveland to Buffalo — Embark in the steamer Illinois — Superb vessel — Passage down Lake Erie — Towns on the coast — Arrival at Buffalo — American Hotel — Violent political meeting on the bankrupt law — Origin, intention, and fate of that measure — American troops at Buffalo — Desertions — Curious analysis of motives for enlisting — Germans, Irish, and Scotch in the service — General Scott — Personal appear ance and character — Republican manners towards great men — Equalizing tendency of American life at hotels — Parallel cases in Europe — Masonic Societies. We left Cleveland about 11 o'clock at night, on Friday, the 17th of July, in the steamer Illinois, which had touched here on her way from Chicago to Buffalo. This is one of the most splendid boats on the American waters, and is not surpassed, per haps, in beauty of model, or internal decorations, by any steamboat in the world. Her machinery and the strength of her hull are both as perfect as her beauty ; and good taste seems to have presided over every department of her outfit. She cost, it is said, 120,000 dollars, though only 750 tons bur den. Being the favourite vessel of the Lakes, she is always sure to be crowded ; and we accordingly 442 LAKE ERIE. found about 200 passengers on board. This was now considered as a very moderate number, as she has often had 400 and 500 in a trip ; the pecuniary difficulties of the times having so lessened the number of travellers, both for business and plea sure, that not more than a third of the usual num ber have passed the Lakes this year ; and several of the large boats have been accordingly laid up. Our passage down Lake Erie, on the 18th, was as delightful as could be desired. The weather was delicious — bright sunshine — yet full of fresh ness, from a gentle north-east wind ; the atmos phere soft and bland, yet pure and healthy ; the water clear ; and the coast in sight along the shores of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. The land of each was much higher than any part of Wiscon sin or Michigan that we had seen on the two Upper Lakes. It was also much more extensively cleared and cultivated, and more thickly studded with villages, hamlets, and single dwellings, so that it had a much more animated appearance. These signs of increased population were accom panied by proofs of increased traffic and inter course, in the great number of sailing-vessels, ships, brigs, sloops, and schooners. The latter were the most numerous of all that we passed in our track ; and we saw around us in every quarter of the horizon, the number of at least 100 in our whole way, 22 of these being in sight at one time, soon after sunrise. On the coast of Ohio, we passed the towns of Euclid, Painsville, Newmarket, Ashtabula, and Salem. In Pennsylvania, we passed Fairview, iiuffalo. 443 Erie — lying in a bay behind a peninsula called Presque Isle — and Gurgetstown. In New York, we passed Portland, Genoa, Dunkirk, Van Buren, Cattarangus, and Hamburgh ; all small towns, but all increasing rapidly in size and population. At 3 p.m., wc saw the city of Buffalo, which looked large and imposing as we approached it, and in half an hour afterwards, we rounded the lighthouse and pier, and were soon alongside the wharf, in the inner harbour — going a distance of 190 miles in 16 hours, or about 12 miles an hour all the way, the fare being only 6 dollars each. The clamour of a hundred voices was now heard at once, vociferating the names of the different hotels, to which each of the criers on the wharf were anxious to take the passengers, so that the din and noise was sufficient to drown for a while every other sound. By the regulations of the steamboats, these men are prevented from coming on board, and thus they range themselves along the wharf, in one closely-pressed mass, each endeavouring to clamour down the other, till in the end, all are brought down to the same level, as no one name can be made to predominate over another. The competition and vociferation are great enough at all the landing-places in the country, but it seemed to us that Buffalo bore away the palm from all others in this respect. We found excellent accommodation at the Ame rican Hotel, which, after an absence of two years, for we were here in August, 1838, we still continued to think the most commodious, best furnished, and most agreeably conducted hotel, in all the United 444 buffalo. States, without excepting any even of those in the larger and older cities of the Atlantic coast. Some few hotels are larger, as the St. Charles's, at New Orleans, and the Astor House, at New York ; but neither of these have such spacious and well-fur nished bed-rooms. Some have a more varied table, as the American, at New York, and the Mansion- house, at Philadelphia ; but these are neither so airy, so clean, or so well supplied with good ser vants ; so that, on the whole, we considered this large and admirable establishment to combine a greater number of excellencies and attractions, especially for the comfortable residence of a family, than any other single hotel in all the country. We remained at Buffalo for three days only, and nothing remarkable occurred there during our stay, except a violent political meeting, and a review of troops by General Scott. The meet ing was held in the Court-house of the city, not far from our hotel, so that the speaking could be indistinctly heard from our window. The object of the meeting was to pass certain resolutions, con demnatory of the conduct of the Administration, in opposing and successfully defeating a bill proposed by the Whigs, for introducing a general Bankrupt Law. At present, the law of debtor and creditor is different in different States ; and there is no legal process by which a man who is in debt can obtain a release from all his obligations in every State, except by payment of them in full, or by compro mise and settlement with each individual creditor. As this is often impossible, there exist at present BANKRUPT LAW. 44-5 many thousand persons whose embarrassed condi tion in pecuniary affairs, is such, that they cannot go forward, as thev are, for want of credit ; they cannot, by assignment of all they possess, get a legal release, and begin the world anew ; and they cannot get friends to help them to new undertak ings, lest the capital lent may become liable for former obligations to others. As a relief for this large class, a bill was introduced by Mr. Webster. into the Senate, which appears to have had the sanction of a large portiou of the mercantile classes, the object of which was to enact a general bankrupt law, to apply to all the States- — as Congress has by the constitution the power of passing an}^ laws for the whole country, that mav be necessary to the regulation of commerce and trade — similar in its provisions to the bankrupt law of England. More petitions, it is said, had been presented in favour of such a law, since the bill had been before Con gress, than for any other measure ever contemplated by that body ; and no petitions, it is alleged, were presented against it. Notwithstanding which, the Administration party, professing to act on the belief that such an act would be more injurious to the public welfare, by releasing dishonest debtors from obligations, which they could and ought to be made to pay, than beneficial, by relieving a much smaller portion of honest debtors, from obligations beyond their power to redeem, opposed the bill, and as this party possesses the majority in both Houses, the bill was rejected by them accordinglv. The meeting at Buffalo was convened bjT the Whigs, to pass resolutions of censure on the Admi- 446 buffalo. nistration, for taking this course. But the friends of the Administration, who are numerous in this city, met in great force, and opposed these resolu tions. This is contrary to the usual course in Ame rica, where it is more the custom to hold meetings attended by one party only, and, therefore, their proceedings are rarely or ever interrupted. But the very fact of not being used to hear both sides of a question discussed in a public meeting, makes them the less able to bear it patiently. This meet ing, therefore, soon became a stormy one, and it passed from that into a tempest, and ended in be coming a hurricane. After the first hour, no single speaker could be heard alone ; there were generally three or four, and sometimes a dozen, addressing the meeting at once. The cries of " order, order," from the chair, were as powerless and unheeded, as those of the Speaker of the House of Commons, after two or three o'clock in the morning, in an angry party debate in England. At length, the noise and confusion arose to such a height, that it came from the Court-house like a continued roar ; and it was difficult to persuade one's self that there was not a fight or a riot. It was ascertained, how ever, to be only a war of words, but such as I had never heard or witnessed since we had been in the country before. The meeting continued for at least two hours, in this state of unabated uproar, when the fatigue of the combatants seems alone to have dispersed them ; the numbers beginning to dimi nish about eleven, and the murmurs growing more and more subdued till midnight, when they gra dually died away. The stillness which succeeded TROOPS. 447 was the more striking, by its contrast to the pre vious din, and was most acceptable to our feelings. The troops that were here, were few in number ; but they were considered a fair specimen of the general appearance and discipline of the American army. It was thought that not more than half their number were native Americans, the rest being Ger mans, Irish, and Scotch. The whole number of the troops now embodied in the United States, does not exceed 6,000 ; and of these it is said at least 1,000 desert yearly, and these are almost all Americans. The truth is, that the service is very unpopular and distasteful to the natives of this country generallv. They are passionately fond of military parade and display ; and this they can indulge, in volunteer companies in their respective towns, and in the service of the militia ; but they have a rooted aver sion to the strict discipline and constraint which is indispensable to the maintenance of military subordination and efficiency. Accordingly, few enlist in the service as privates, without some powerfully impelling motive that almost takes away from them the freedom of choice ; when they have scarcely begun to enter on the duties of their new life, before they feel disgust, and hasten to quit it as soon as they can. The following statement, which was made in a communication to the St. Louis Gazette, and which I preserved at the time, is suffi ciently curious and interesting to be given here ; the writer says — " A surgeon in the United States Army, recently desired to know the most common cause of enlistments. By permission of the captain of the company, containing fifty-five, on a pledge 448 buffalo. never to disclose the name of any officer or private, except as a physiological or metaphysical fact, I obtained from him the true history of every man. On investigation, it appeared that nine- tenths enlisted on account of some female difficulty ; thirteen of them had changed their names, and forty-three were either drunk, or partially so, at the time of their enlistment. Most of these were men of fine talents and learning, and about one-third had once been men in elevated stations in life. Four had been lawyers, three doctors, and two ministers. The experimenter and writer of this believes, if it were not for his pledge of secrecy, that this would be as interesting a history, and would exhibit the frailty of human nature as fully as any experiments ever made on the subject of the passions." While they remain in the service, however, they must, of course, conform to its regulations, and they feel a personal pride in discharging its duties well, so long as they are members of the corps. The German, Irish, and Scotch, are mostly persons who have been privates in the armies of Europe, before coming to this country ; and habit having rendered that mode of life more agreeable to them than labour or agriculture, they embrace it, and remain steady in their discipline and obedience. The dress of the infantry is blue, like that of our artillery and engineers, the band and drummers and fifers only wear red. The uniform of the officers is somewhat more gorgeous than ours, more of gold lace, sashes, and feathers ; that of the privates is nearly the same. Both were well-dressed and well-drilled, marched with firm and uniform step, held their figures erect, and, in short, were quite equal on parade, and in their evolutions, to the average British regiments of the line. General Scott, who passed the troops under re view, is one of the most distinguished and popular GENERAL SCOTT. 419 commanders in the service, having been engaged in some of the most delicate and difficult negotia tions and expeditions, and conducted them all with uniform prudence and success . His appear ance is much in his favour ; he is about 50 years of age, stands 6 feet 2 inches in height, and is stout and muscular in proportion, with a fine military air and bearing. He was one of the candidates put forward by the Whigs for the Presidency at the late Convention, when Mr. Clay, General Harrison, and General Scott, were balloted for. Before the issue was made known, the public impression seemed to be that General Scott would have been chosen, but the Convention decided otherwise, and General Harrison was accordingly announced as the candidate of the Convention. General Scott lived at the American Hotel dur ing our stay there, and sat immediately opposite to us at table. It was remarkable to witness how little attention was paid to him by any one, considering his universal popularity, as well as his station, and above all, considering the high dignity to which a large portion of the community, and particularly the citizens of this State of New York, desired so recently to elevate him. Though admitted to be the first military chieftain of the country, of un blemished character, and popular with all classes, not a single person rose when General Scott entered the room, nor bowed, or made way, or even looked particularly towards him as he passed. He took his seat at the table with the rest, having on one day a store-keeper, and on another a mechanic sitting next to him ; but not a creature near or in. 2 g * 450 buffalo. around him, not even the waiters of the hotel, paid him the least attention more than they would have bestowed upon the sergeant or the drum- major of the regiment he had reviewed, if they had taken their dinner at the same table ; where all who pay the same price are admitted to the same honours, as well as the same fare, and the loftiest and the lowliest in rank and station are all placed upon the same level of equality. All this, to a person from Europe, accustomed to observe the distinctions which mark the different grades and classes of society there, seems strange and objectionable. At the same time, candour compels me to state, that I could not perceive any practical evil arising from it in the case in question. Habit has reconciled the people of this country to this equality in manners, which they witness from their infancy. The General did not appear to feel un comfortable, from sitting beside a mechanic, nor was the mechanic embarrassed by sitting beside the General. There was no degradation attached to the one, nor elevation assigned to the other, by the contact ; and after the meal was over, each fell into their respective ranks and stations, as if they had never come in contact at all. It seemed to me something like the temporary equality of Free Masonry, where, in the Lodge, and in Masonic Processions, the Duke of Sussex, as Grand Master, is on a level with the lowest member of the body, if a Master-Mason and a Brother, though this should be the Duke's valet himself. As in that case, as soon as the Lodge should be adjourned, and the procession broken up, each would resume his INTERMINGLING Of SOCIETY. 451 original position ; so here, as soon as the hotel- dinner was- finished, the General retired to his quarters, and the mechanic to his workshop or store, and no further communion perhaps took place between them. In England, we are beginning to approach this state of things, in our places of public resort, and vehicles of public conveyance. Steamboats and railroad-cars must bring into juxtaposition persons who would never come in contact in any other way ; and public dinners, especially of Operative Conservatives, with Tory noblemen at their head, as well as other festive occasions, must progressively remove for a time, the barriers that divide rank from rank, and class from class. If the effect of this should be to lessen the feeling of jealousy and hos tility which coldness and hauteur on the one side, and distance and reserve on the other, are calcu lated to engender ; and to create, in their stead, feelings of mutual dependence and reciprocal good-will, the change will be greatly for the better — much that is good will be gained — and nothing, except that which is evil, will be lost. 2 g2 452 CHAP. XXII. Leave Buffalo in the steamer for Niagara — Fort Erie — Waterloo — Grand Island — Navy Island — Schlosser — Burning of the Carolina — Chippewa — First sight of the Rapids and the Falls — Second visit to Niagara — Deeper impressions than the first — Table Rock — Indescribable sublimity of the scene — View of Niagara on a rainy morning — Increased volume of water from westerly winds — Splendour and beauty of fixed and wavy rain bows — New facts learnt with respect to the Falls — Distances at which the sound may be heard — Instances of persons being carried over the Cataract — Other cases of loss of life from accident — Highlanders at the Falls — Effect of costume — Drummondville — Battle of Lundy's Lane — Cross the ferry to the American Falls — View of the Horse-Shoe Fall from Pros pect Tower — Difficulty of tearing one's-self away from the scene — Lines written at the first sight of Niagara — Departure for Canada — Brock's monument — Queenstown — Lewiston — Beautiful view — Impressions of the poet Moore — Feelings on leaving Ameiica, probably for ever. Having, in our first visit to Buffalo, in August, 1838, seen everything of interest in the City and its environs, and fully described both these and the Lake, in the Journal of our stay here, at that period,* we made but a short halt here at present, and on the morning of Wednesday, the 22nd of July, we embarked in the steamer Cincinnati, for Chippewa and the Niagara Falls, intending to pass * See "America," First Series, Vol. iii. p. 1, et seq. NAVY ISLAND. 453 a few days there a second time, before we quitted the United States entirely, for our new Tour through Canada. Leaving the harbour of Buffalo at 11 o'clock, we soon entered the Niagara Strait, by which the waters of Lake Erie are discharged into Ontario ; and passing by the town of Black Rock, on the American, and Fort Erie and Waterloo, on the Canadian side, we entered the channel on the left of Grand Island. On reaching the termination of this we passed between it and Navy Island, the seat of the insurgents of Canada, under Ransallaer Van Ran- saeller, and William Lyon Mackenzie, in 1838, crossing over, and lying for half an hour at the wharf from whence the Caroline steamer was cut out and burnt by Captain Drew and some of his followers, in the same year. At 2 o'clock, we reached Chippewa, on the Canada side, where we landed, as it is dangerous for vessels to go nearer the Falls than this, a distance of about 2 miles, lest they should be drawn by the powerful current setting downwards into the Rapids, and thus car ried over the Cataract, which happens to small boats, sometimes with people in them, almost every year. From Chippewa we took a carriage to convey us to the Clifton Hotel, a distance of about three miles, and in our way there, over the high ground that overlooks the Strait, we had a fine view of the tur bulent Rapids, spreading over a space of more than a mile in length, and nearly a mile in breadth, covered with breakers, such as are seen only on a rocky sea-shore, in the most violent gales, and the 454 FALLS OF NIAGARA. foaming water hurrying along at the rate of eight or ten miles an hour. Soon after this we came to a point from whence the whole force of the impetuous torrent could be seen just curling over the edge of the Horse-Shoe Fall, and thence descending in one vast volume into the deep abyss below. From this point of view, the Fall seemed grander to our eyes than at our first visit to it ; and our second im pressions were certainly more powerful than the first. Every step that we made in advance only increased the grandeur and beauty of the scene. From the brow of the hill over which we were pass ing, and near to which the Pavilion Hotel formerly stood, (the burnt fragments of the building still remaining to tell the traveller of its recent destruc tion by fire,) the whole view of the Valley of Niagara was at once enchanting and sublime. The earth looked clothed in fresher verdure than we had seen it in before; the recent rains having brightened all the grass and foliage of the surround ing country. The undulations of hill and dale appeared more graceful. There were many more and prettier villa residences and gardens than we had remarked in our former visit. The water seemed in greater volume, and the rush of the Rapids, the foam of the Cataract, the rising clouds of mist from its feet, and the roar of its thunder, seemed to us all on a grander scale than ever. We lingered to enjoy this unequalled landscape ; full of the most sublime and awful grandeur near, and as full of the softest and loveliest beauty in the distance, with every combination of hill and valley, forest and lawn, rock and verdure, cataract, lake, FALLS OF NIAGARA. 455 and river, that the most enchanting scenes of the picturesque could demand- — a landscape that leaves all others on this continent, that we had yet beheld, far in the shade, and that cannot be surpassed, I think, in grandeur or in beauty, throughout the world. We reached the Clifton Hotel at 3 o'clock, and devoted the whole of the remaining day till dark night, to perambulating and re-enjoying, with new and increased delight, the endless charms of the Falls. In our former visit here, we had examined every remarkable spot and every, favourable point of view, and the result of the whole of my investi gations and impressions were embodied in the de scription of Niagara, drawn up at that time.* It will be unnecessary, therefore, to repeat here the state ments and facts already given ; but our feelings were, we thought, more powerfully affected now, than on that occasion, though we then considered them to be as deeply impressed as possible ; and if we before wondered at persons coming here, staying for ashort period, and then going away disappointed, it now seemed plain to us that the reason of this was to be found in the shortness of their stay ; and that a second visit, or a third, if necessary, might have brought out a feeling of admiration and delight, which a first visit was insufficient to kindle into life. We passed the greater part of the evening on Table Rock, which overhangs the deep basin into which the Horse-Shoe Fall descends on the Canada side, where you may stand within a few feet of the * See " America,'' First Series, vol. ii., p. 498. 456 FALLS OE NIAGARA. very edge of the Cataract, see its ceaseless torrent bending in one continuous stream of the richest emerald green, streaked with flakes of the purest snow, and descending in a resistless mass to the boiling abyss, whose depth is hidden by the clouds of mist rising upward, as the everlasting incense of the waters, ascending before an altar or a throne. For myself, I can truly say that I felt sensations of the deepest awe, mingled with an exquisite glow of the most intense pleasure, and a charm, amount ing almost to infatuation, which fixed me immove ably to the spot. Neither the showers of the rising spray, nor the deafening roar of "the voice of many waters," seemed to have any other effect, than to make it the more difficult to tear one's self away ; and the longer I remained, the more strongly I felt disposed to continue, to gaze on in silence, as if entering on an eternity of pleasure. Then, too, the feeling that thus this mighty Cataract had been rushing and roaring for thousands of years without intermission ; and that it would flow on in the same continuous and unabated impetuosity for thousands of years yet to come, exalts the whole subject into one of inexpressible sublimity. True, it is as a tear-drop, compared to the vastness of the ocean ; and the ocean itself is insignificant, compared with the whole mass of the globe ; the globe a speck, compared with the great luminary of the sun ; the sun a mere point, compared with the planetary system of which it is the centre ; and the whole system an almost inappreciable atom, when com pared with the boundless universe, diffused through that illimitable space, which, like the infi- FALLS OF NIAGARA. 457 nite Creator of all, knows neither beginning nor end ! How humble, then, are we, who stand thus over whelmed and overawed by such an inconsiderable fragment of the great whole as this, before which we seem but as dust in the balance ? Yet, at the same time, how " fearfully and wonderfully are we made," when amidst all this grandeur, of which the human intellect and the immortal spirit form so important a part, we seem blind to the dignity with which we are invested — as the living, feeling, thinking, reflecting, reasoning, and hoping inhabit ants and possessors of such a world for our domain ! Instead of striving to fill it with the moral blessings of mutual love, mutual instruction, and mutual peace — we honour War, the very breath of whose nostrils is hatred and revenge ; we pay homage even to Ignorance, if it be robed in wealth; and we elevate to the highest pinnacles of earthly glory, those whose lives have been the most remote from the " paths of peace," wdiose distinction lies in the number of battles they have fought, and the number of the slaughtered dead they have left upon the battle-field ! With these, and a thousand other kindred thoughts and feelings passing through my mind and heart, I sat and gazed upon Niagara for hours ; and yet they passed away so rapidly, that I was almost unconscious of their speed. We read again the lines written on the spot two years ago, and found no occasion to abate any expression of the intense admiration which such a scene cannot fail to inspire ; and as this volume may fall into the hands of some who may not possess the pre- 458 FALLS OF NUGARA. vious series of this work, and to whom, therefore, they may be new, they are presented here — HYMN TO NIAGARA. WEITTEN AT THE FIEST SIGHT OF ITS MAGNIFICENT FALLS, AUGUST, 1838. Haill Sovereign of the World of Floods, whose majesty and might First dazzles — then enraptures — then o'erawes the aching sight : The pomp of kings and emperors, in every clime and zone, Grows dim before the splendour of thy glorious watery throne. No fleets can stop thy progress, no armies bid thee stay ; But onward — onward — onward — thy march still holds its way. The rising mist that veils thee, as thine herald goes before, And the music that proclaims thee, is the thundering cataract's roar. Thy diadem is an emerald green, of the clearest, purest hue, Set round with waves of snow-white foam, and spray of feathery dew ; While tresses of the brightest pearls float o'er thine ample sheet, And the rainbow lays its gorgeous gems, in tribute, at thy feet. Thy reign is of the ancient days, thy sceptre from on high, Thy birth was when the morning stars together sang with joy : The sun, the moon, and all the orbs that shine upon thee now, Saw the first wreath of glory that entwined thine infant brow. And from that hour to this, in which I gaze upon thy stream, From age to age — in winter's frost, or summer's sultry beam — By day, by night — without a pause — thy wave, with loud acclaim, In ceaseless sounds, have still proclaimed the Great Eternal's name. For whether on thy forest banks, the Indian of the wood, Or, since his days, the Red Man's foe, on his father-land have stood — Whoe'er has seen thine incense rise, or heard thy torrent roar, Must have bent before the God of All ! to worship and adore. Accept then, O Supremely Great ! — O Infinite I — O God I From this primeval altar — the green and virgin sod — The humble homage that my soul in gratitude would pay To Thee ! whose shield has guarded me through all my wandering way. For, if the Ocean be as nought in the hollow of thine hand, And the Stars of the bright firmament, in thy balance grains of sand, If Niagara's rolling flood seem great — to us who lowly bow — O ! Great Creator of the Whole ! how passing great art Thou ! FALLS OF NIAGARA. 459 Yet though thy Power is greater than the finite mind may scan, Still greater is thy Mercy — shown to weak dependent man, For him Thou cloth'd the fertile field, with herb, and fruit, and seed, For him, the woods, the lakes, the seas, supply his hourly need. Around — on high — or far — or near — the Universal Whole Proclaims Thy glory, as the orbs in their fixed courses roll ; And from Creation's grateful voice, the hymn ascends above, While heaven re-echoes back to Earth, the chorus, " God is Love." It was with difficulty and reluctance that I tore myself away at last from the spot ; and as all the way of our return was in sight of the magnificent Cataract, and the thunder of its fall was heard incessantly, and even felt by the tremulation of floors, the windows, and slightly of the bed on which we lay, it was hardly to be wondered at that I should dream intensely of what had so power fully impressed me during my waking hours; and that the view of its falling masses, and the sound of its rushing torrents, should be as distinctly before my sight, and within my hearing, " in the visions of the night, when deep sleep cometh upon man," as they were during the day, when every faculty of my mind and heart was absorbed in the most profound and silent admiration. The succeeding morning opened with rain, the only aspect under which we had not yet seen the Falls ; and though it confined us to the hotel dur ing the early part of the day, we were enabled to continue our excursions in the evening, and had not, therefore, much cause for regret. One effect of the rain was to produce a much greater appear ance of mist rising from the bottom of the Fall, the column or cloud ascending sometimes 100 feet above its ordinary line of height. Another effect, 460 FALLS OF NIAGARA. produced by the strong west wind that blew was to accelerate the speed of the current above the Falls, and consequently to send a much larger volume of water over both. We were assured, by those who constantly reside here, that an easterly wind keeps back the current, and a westerly one accelerates it, to a degree sufficient to make a differ ence of from 20 to 30 feet in the elevation of the surface in the Strait below. This we could readily believe, from the increased fury of the Rapids above, whose waves were much more lofty, and their foam a more continuous and unbroken white than yesterday, while the mass of waters rolling over the upper edge of the Falls, seemed to leap farther out from the rock, and plunge with greater force into the stream below, from which, by this increased impetus of descent, and the general moisture of the upper atmosphere combined, the mist rose in clouds so thick, as sometimes to veil the surface of the Cataract, and then become gradually transparent like a thin sheet of the finest muslin. At intervals, when the sun shone out, the rainbows at the feet of both the Falls, were splendid, some times stationary, arched, and of the most vivid and clearly defined colours ; at others, presenting a sort of rainbow clouds, where bodies of mist would have all the prismatic rays marked on them, but in a -floating and undulating series of curves, advancing and receding, so as to form a wavy line, in perpetual motion, as if some colossal serpent of the mist was straining to ascend perpendicularly over the cliff, and waving the folds of his body in that undulating motion called serpentine, reflecting m m im i ii ,»i i, |:|||;j iiii I'll! tew IP'-- 1111 ioa©.#.ra )F.».jr,.i >H TH.iS F?:SET. FALLS OF NIAGARA. 4Cl the prismatic rays from every part as it moved ; it was altogether an unusual and most brilliant sight, and an ample compensation for the rainy morning in which it was seen. During our stay here, we learnt, from residents and constant visitors to the Falls, whom we met and conversed with on the subject, several new facts, which we did not remember to have heard before, and which were thought worth recording. The distance at which the sound of the roaring waters may be heard, depends much upon the state of the atmosphere, and the direction of the wind, as well as its force. It is said, however, that under the most unfavourable circumstances, the sound may be heard 10 miles off ; and in the most favourable, at least 20. Along the course of the Strait by which the waters pass into Lake Ontario, they are heard most distinctly ; and it has been asserted, that on the Lake, in the direction of this Strait, the sound has been heard a distance of 30 miles in a straight line. The number of instances in which boats and persons are wafted over the Falls, is greater than is usually supposed. In no instance has the attempt ever been made to do this voluntarily, as some have asserted ; but many unhappy individuals have been forced over, by the strength of the current, into which they had ventured too far, and could not again recede. In 1810, a boat with three men in it, was caught in the vortex of the Rapids ; one, the steersman, by leaping overboard, and taking with him an 'oar, was saved ; the two others were carried over the Falls. In 1820, two men were 462 FALLS OF NIAGARA. sleeping in a boat at Chippewa, of which the painter, or rope, that had fastened it to the shore, got loose, and the boat drifted out into the middle of the stream, the persons in it not awaking till it was too late for them to get the boat back, and too late for any aid to be sent them, they were there fore carried over the Falls. The instances, indeed, are so numerous, that it is believed a year never occurs, in which there are not several unhappy beings who meet this fate. Many persons are also drowned, in attempting to swim across the Strait, below the Ferry, especially deserters from the British army to the American side, and sometimes American soldiers to the Canadian side. When we were last here, I remem ber the Colonel of the regiment telling me, that several of his men had perished in this way ; and since we had been here, we had heard of three soldiers drowned within the last fortnight, in attempting to cross the stream. In 1836, a Scotchman, named Alexander, who had got into a dispute on religion with some Irish Catholics, employed, like himself, on the rail road from Niagara to Lockport, found it necessary to escape from his assailants, and ran, pursued by them, in the dark, till he came to a place where a slope of 20 feet, at a steep angle, led to a precipice of 70 feet, overhanging the rocks that formed the bank of the river ; down both of these he was precipitated, and there he remained, mangled and bleeding, till late the next day, having contrived, in this wounded state, to crawl about two miles from the spot where he fell. Some of his country- FALLS OF NIAGARA. 463 men went in search of him, and tracked him by the blood on the snow, it being in the depth of winter ; when they found him, he was standing on his feet, supported by a stick which he clenched with both his hands, the fingers of which were interlaced, and frozen, with the snow, into one solid mass ; he was turning round and round slowly, and was completely deranged ; yet, after all this, with medical aid and nursing, he was brought to himself again, but a mere wreck of what he once was. Still more recently, in 1839, Dr. Hungerford, of Troy, in the State of New York, met his death most unexpectedly here, while viewing the Falls. He was in company with two friends and a guide, viewing the river and the Cataract from a point below Biddle's Staircase, on the American side, when a mass of rock and earth above them gave way, and a large stone falling on Dr. Hungerford, killed him on the spot. Many pieces of Table Rock have fallen within the memoiy of persons now living ; and a large fissure, some feet within the outer edge, gives premonitory symptoms of another fragment being about to be dissevered soon. Still, visitors go on it, each believing the separation will not take place during their stay there ; and few are prevented from going out to the very extremity, by any apprehension of danger. Indeed, both banks of the Strait are lined with huge masses of rock, many of them weighing several tons, which from time to time have fallen ; and the great Horse-Shoe Cataract itself has evi dently been hollowed out progressively, by the 464 FALLS OF NIAGARA. breaking off, from year to year, of the upper edge. The 93rd regiment of Highlanders were now sta tioned here, 700 strong ; and their picturesque dress, as they were seen singly and in groups, some in their full parade uniform, and others in undress costume, harmonized well with the surrounding scenery of rocks, rapids, and cascades. Some American ladies affected to be greatly shocked at the naked knees of these sturdy sons of the moun tain and glen, at the same time that they look on the naked bodies of the Indians without scruple or offence. To us, however, it was very pleasurable to recognize a costume familiar to our earliest re collections, and presenting associations of home ; and we were pleased, too, at the fine stature, robust frames, and erect, and even elegant carriage and bearing of the men, which seemed to us greatly superior to that of any American troops we had ever seen. The privates were quartered in several large houses, formerly used as hotels, on this side, but since the diminished travel, converted into barracks; and the officers resided chiefly at the small village of Drummondville, about a mile from the Falls. This stands on the battle-ground of Bridgewater, or Lundy's Lane, for it is known by both these names, which occurred during the last war be tween the British and Americans, in July 1814. This is said to have been the most sanguinary con flict that took place on the frontier ; it raged with such fury that the sound of the cannon is reported to have been heard on the other side of Lake BATTLE-GROUND. 465 Ontario, a distance of nearly 50 miles ; and to persons within a few leagues, the incessant discharge of small arms seemed like a continuous roar, which for the time completely drowned the noise of the Cataract. The forces engaged on the British side under General Drummond, amounted to 3,000 men, and those on the American side, under Generals Brown and Scott, to 4,000 men ; the number of killed and wounded of the British being 900, and of the Americans 1,200. The victory was won by the British ; and when the battle was ended, the bodies of the Americans that lay dead on the field, were gathered into a heap and burnt, instead of being buried. It is alleged that the Indians, who were engaged in this conflict, on the side of the English, brought in some of the wounded Ame ricans who were yet alive, and attempted to push them into the fires, to be consumed with the dead. They were only prevented from so doing, by the superior humanity of the British soldiers, one of whom, seeing an Indian thus employed, while the American was suing for his life, seized the ruthless savage and hurled him into the flames, despatching him with a mortal stab at the time, and saving the wounded American, whom the Indian had doomed as the victim of his revenge. Such are the com plicated horrors of war ! In the evening, as we sat in the balcony of the Clifton Hotel, enjoying the grandeur of both the Falls, amidst the obscurity of an unusually dark night, the white masses of each being just visible, with bright scintillations at one moment, and then the softened haze of the rising mist at another, in. 2 h * 466 FALLS OF NIAGARA. several rockets and other fireworks were let off, on the American side, which, for a moment, illumined the darkness, and as the fragments of the exploded rockets descended with their brilliant stars into the very centre of the Cataracts, the effect was strikingly beautiful. On the following morning, the weather being bright and calm, we crossed the ferry from the Canadian to the American side, and enjoyed ex ceedingly the bounding motion of the turbulent and conflicting waves, occasioned by the increased volume, and consequently increased agitation of the water, the boats being excellent, the ferrymen skilful, °and the passage pleasurably exciting, yet perfectly safe.* As the grandeur of the Horse- Shoe Fall is best seen from the edge of the Table Rock, so the grandeur of the American Fall is best seen from the approach to the landing-place, where you are wetted with the spray from their plunge into the deep mass below, the depth of which has been ascertained, by sounding, to be 240 feet. The upward look towards the summit of this foaming Cataract, where the full force of the torrent is seen rushing over the crest or edge of the precipice, and where there is no intervening object between it and the sky, is terrifically impressive ; as wre feel that if the boat should be drawn into the vortex, which a few feet only from the landing-place would be sufficient to effect, the weight of a million of tons descending at once, would crush the frail bark into nothingness ; the computation being that the amaz ing quantity of 3,530,614 barrels of water descend * See the accompanying Engraving. FALLS OF NIAGARA. 467 every minute, or 211,836,840 barrels in every hour ! The ascent of the winding flights of stairs projected at different angles along the shelving and rocky precipice, and ascending to a height of about 200 feet from below, afford many imposing views of the same magnificent sheet of water ; and on reaching the summit, the full career of the impetuous Rapids, foaming along for a mile above the edge of the descent, adds to the wildness and grandeur of the whole. We passed the early part of the day on the American side, re-enjoying, with increased zest, our walk across the bridge to Bath Island, then to Iris Island, along whose shady walks, and beneath whose dark groves, the feeling of seclusion as well as repose is agreeably experienced. We passed round the southern edge of this, usually called Goats' Island, which divides the Falls, and went across the platform placed over the raging torrent, leading by the Terrapin Rocks to Prospect Tower, up which we ascended by the winding staircase of the interior. From the outer gallery of the summit we enjoyed a close and full view of the deep curve of the great Horse Shoe Fall, with its magnificent mass of deep- green waters, bright and translucent as the purest emerald, foaming and thundering into the abyss below, and partially veiled by the clouds of snow- white mist or spray, ascending from thence to the clouds. The longer I gazed upon this- sublime scene, the more powerfully I felt the force of that fascination which bound me like a spell to the spot; and I could readily believe that a few hours of silent and uninterrupted feeling like this, would 2h2 468 THE WHIRLPOOL. occasion such a high degree of nervous excitement, as to induce the wish to plunge into the stream, and be floated over on its gorgeous billows. I re member no other sight in the world that ever wrought upon my imagination or my feelings half so powerfully as this, and we were rather glad that we had made our arrangements for returning to the other side by noon, so that we were forced to leave, sooner than we should otherwise have done, a scene which will never be obliterated from my memory. We returned across the Ferry to the Canada side, enjoying the boiling eddy of the contending waves as much as ever ; took a last view of the grand whole from the overhanging rock above, till the splendid picture was indelibly impressed upon the brain ; and then, finding the carriage drawn up for us at the door of the hotel, we drove off with rapidity and inexpressible reluctance, from one of the sub- limest features of Nature, whose equal we may never hope to see again. In our journey on towards Queenstown, where we were to embark for Toronto, it was our intention to have examined the Whirlpool, which lies about midway between that place and the Falls, but wehad lingered so long that there was now no time for this investigation, and we were therefore hurried rapidly past it. At this point of the Strait, the channel is so contracted, that a stone has been thrown across from the American to the Canadian side. It is this contraction, and probably the presence of some deep and extensive vortices in the rocky bed below, through which the water is drawn downward in its course, which causes the Whirl- QUEENSTOWN. 469 pool here witnessed. So completely is the current carried round in the circular whirlings that water assumes in any vortex having a large outlet at its base, that trees, beams, and branches of wood are carried round and round for hours in succession in its centre, sometimes descending out of sight, and re-appearing again near the same place broken into fragments. It is compared, by those who have seen both, to the celebrated Maelstrom of Norway, but on a smaller scale, and no boat, it is thought, could possibly pass over it. The idea has been entertained, of throwing a suspension bridge over this narrowest part of the Strait, the height of the [rocky cliff on either side being about 250 feet, and the breadth not so great as at Clifton, or the Menai Strait, at Anglesea ; so that it might no doubt be accom plished, and as it would then pass immediately over the Whirlpool, its cost might soon be re-imbursed by the payments of visitors to the spot. As we approached Queenstown, which we reached in about an hour, the distance being 8 miles, we passed close under the base of the column raised as a monument to the memory of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, who fell in battle near this spot ; and immediately the low plains below this higher level burst upon the sight, with Lewiston on the American side, Queenstown on the Canadian side, and between them the smooth and dark -green current of the Niagara Strait, winding its way between the lowlands, till it entered the blue Ontario, or the Beautiful Lake (which the Indian name implies) at a distance of 6 or 7 miles. The formation of the land is here very remarkable: as you descend from the level 470 STRAIT OF NIAGARA. platform, on which we had been riding all the way from the Falls, to a plain, apparently from 400 to 500 feet below it in elevation — which lower level continues all the wav to the borders of the Lake — it is impossible not to be impressed with the convic tion, as you look down from the brow of the Queens town Heights, along the plains extending northward for the space of 5 or 6 miles to the Lake, that all this level tract was once beneath the water, and that the high land above it was once the southern shore of Ontario. I was glad to find this opinion of mine, formed on the spot, corroborated by the high autho- ritv of an eminent engineer of the United States, who gives the following interesting facts and opinions on this subject — " Colonel Whittlesey, in a geological survey of the Western Reserve of Ohio, or south shore of Lake Erie, states that the whole of that region forms, to the south, a vast undulating table land, 500 feet high, which, as it approaches to a line within five miles of the Lake, breaks off by a sudden precipice parallel to the Lake, and forming, without doubt, what was once the southern shore of the extended basin of the Lake. This ridge, we have no question, is continuous with a precisely similar formation observed on Niagara river, at Queenstown and Lewiston, where the table-land on either side level with Lake Erie above, abruptly falls some 300 feet, and is traceable from Lewiston, on the American side, for more than 100 miles parallel with, and from 5 to 10 miles from the shore of Lake Ontario. We have no question that this ridge, known in our State as the beautiful natural turnpike, called the Ridge Road, could be traced to the head of the St. Lawrence, at the Thousand Isles, or commence ment of the Rapids — perhaps, more probably, to the Heights of Abraham and Falls of Montmorency. At this latter, and so on up the Thousand Isles above, some mighty rupture of the rocky beds beneath, seems to have occurred by a convulsion of nature, and ti.us furnished a passage or drain, for the Upper Lakes, into GEOLOGICAL CHANGES. 1/ 1 the Atlantic Hence the reception of the waters of Ontario, which, until then, were continuous with Erie, and extended over the whole level region of the North Canada shore. " The time when this convulsion occurred, must have been simultaneous with the production of the Falls of Niagara, which until then were a part of the shores of the two Lakes, which here silently commingled their waters, until the sudden rupture and draining below, threw the momentum of the mighty flood from the note table-laud, and then lake-bed at Queenstown, down the high precipice or naked shore, and thus excavated for themselves the deep channel of Niagara river from this point to the dimin ished basin of Ontario — leaving the mighty wonder behind, for the admiration of the world. From Queenstown, the Falls, in course of time, by gradually, as they now hourly do, breaking off the soft shelving calcareous rock, worked their way naturally up to their present position, 7 miles above, and will ultimately pene trate into Lake Erie, when another draining will take place, of Erie, Huron, and Michigan — both which latter doubtless are also diminished basins — up to the Sault St. Marie, or low falls, which divides these Lower Lakes from the great inland sea of Lake Superior. When that event occurs, another Niagara will in the same way be formed at this passage into Lake Superior. And so the mighty work will proceed, until our Lakes, which none of them have great rivers of their own to supply the present con stant draining by the St. Lawrence, and by evaporation, will shrink to minor pools, leaving, ultimately, their rich beds bare, to become the seats of civilization, and of a vast population. " These reflections might be extended to the more ancient period designated by Dr. Mitchell, when the Lakes were all one continuous vast sea. bounded on the south-east by the chain of the AUeghannies, and through which the first great ruptures into the Atlantic, and the first draining*, were made by the passages excavated through the mountain-chain at various places, the Highlands of the Hudson, the Gap of the Delaware, the Blue Ridge at the junction of the Shenandoah with the Potomac, the passage of the Tennessee through the Cumberland moun tains, &e." On descending the hill from Brock's Monument to Queenstown, we found the Transit, English 472 brock's monument. steamer, just ready to start for Toronto, in Upper Canada. We therefore immediately embarked in her, and crossing over to the American side of the Niagara Strait, the English boat remained for a short time at the wharf of Lewiston, the opposite town. An American steamer was lying a little lower down the stream, on the point of starting for the lower part of the Lake Ontario, and many passengers were embarking in both. The scene was, therefore, very animated, and the view of the heights of Queenstown, crowned by Brock's Monument, with the thickly shrubbed face of the promontory facing the Niagara Strait, formed a beautiful picture, to be added to the many exquisite views on which we had looked with so much pleasure during our Three Years' Tour through this interesting portion of the New World.* Deeply did we sympathize with the feelings so powerfully expressed by Moore, in his Epistle to Lady Rawdon, from the shores of the Lake into which we were now entering, when he says — " I dream'd not then that ere the rolling year Had filled its circle, I should wander here In musing awe ; should tread this wondrous world, See all its store of inland waters hurl'd In one vast volume down Niagara's steep, j" Or calm behold them, in transparent sleep, Where the blue hills of Old Toronto shed Their evening shadows o'er Ontario's bed ! Should trace the grand Cataraqui, and glide Down the white rapids of his lordly tide, * See the accompanying Engraving. | The following note is that of the poet also — " The first glimpse which I caught of these wonderful Falls, gave me a feeling which nothing in this world can ever excite again." : r ¦" ¦ .... ; ROCK'S (Trom- Qin ? PLATE XV. Oia'-'TCi'isrclio' 0 w js, m it ., RETROSPECTIVE VIEWS. 473 Through massy woods, through islets flowering fair, Through shades of bloom, where the first sinful pair For consolation might have weeping trod, When banished from the garden of their God ! Oh ! Lady ! these are miracles, which man, Caged in the bounds of Europe's pigmy plan, Can scarcely dream of ; — which his eye must see, To know how beautiful this world can be." We felt all this, in its fullest force ; and as we shot rapidly along the Straits of Niagara, and bounded over the blue waves of the Lake Ontario, while the shores of the United States were gradually lessening to the view, we enjoyed in all its intensity the pleasures of memory, which carried us back again over the beautiful scenes of the AUeghannies, in Virginia, Carolina, and Tennessee ; which wafted us once more down the lovely stream of the Ohio, and transported us to the verdant hills of the Upper Mississippi; which rolled us once more over the flower-enamelled Prairies of the West, in Missouri and Illinois ; and which gave us vivid sights of the romantic beauties of the Hudson and the Mohawk valleys. This pleasure, exquisite as it was, was nevertheless tinged with feelings of sadness and sorrow, when we considered that not only should we never, in all probability, look upon these lovely scenes again ; but that of the many warm-hearted and excellent friends whom we had learnt to love and esteem, we might never again look upon their countenances, or hear the sounds of their voices, though we can never forget the happy hours which we enjoyed in their society. 474 conclusion. In closing these volumes on the United States of America, in which I have endeavoured to make my readers the companions of my journey — to put before them the facts that occurred to my own observation, and the feelings and opinions they sug gested to my own mind — I have necessarily extended it beyond the ordinary space allotted to Works of this description. But, when I commenced the task, I prescribed to myself no limits but those which the information I desired to convey should necessarily impose. I was neither bent on producing a larger or a smaller, a cheaper or a dearer Book, than others with which it might be compared. My anxious and prominent desire was, to make it com prehensive, varied, instructive, agreeable, just, and impartial — such as should live beyond the passing hour — and be a Work worthy of future reference by those really seeking accurate information on the subjects connected with America — its Resources, its Institutions, and its People. I venture to hope that I have in a great degree attained the accom plishment of my wishes ; and the commendations of private friends and public journals confirm me in this belief. The Publishers, I think it will be admitted, have executed their part of the under taking with due regard to the just proportions between price, quantity, and quality ; and though the expense of the whole Work is greater than that of its predecessors in the same track, because it embraces a much greater extent of country and sub jects, yet it will not be denied, that, even in a purely mercantile and pecuniary sense, it is much cheaper, in the proportion of materials given, to the price CONCLUSION. 475 paid, than most of the recent Works published on the United States. It remains only, therefore, for me to close the Three Series with a set of Tables, prepared with great labour and care, giving Statistical Results, in a com pact space, conformably to their titles, as a General Summary of the whole ; and to tender to those who have honoured me with their company thus far — from the Gulf of Mexico to the Borders of Canada — my most cordial thanks. Whether, in the spring of the coming year, my health and avocations will admit of my giving to the world the remaining part of our Tour through Upper and Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, with a Descrip tion of these Dependencies of the British Crown, I cannot at present say ; but I shall make an effort to bring it into a Single Volume, not necessarily con nected with those that have already appeared, yet forming an appropriate addition, for those at least who feel an interest on the subject ; and if this should be accomplished, due notice will be given of it through the usual channels. — That the spirit of mutual forbearance and friendly intercourse, not merely between England and America, but between Great Britain and all the Nations of the Earth, may be encouraged and cherished by all parties, is the Author's most fervent and constant prayer ! till the Legislatures of every Land shall seek, in all their measures, to accomplish the great and noble ends of "Glory to God in the Highest — On Earth, Peace — and Good- will towards Men." 476 I.— TABLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN THE CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF THEIR SETTLEMENTS. Name of State. Date. Nation. Name of State. Date. Nation. Florida . . 1512 Spanish South Carolina 1670 English Alabama . . 1539 Spanish Illinois . . 1673 French North Carolina 1586 English Ohio . . . 1680 French Virginia . 1606 English Pennsylvania 1682 English New York . 1606 Dutch Arkansas 1685 French Maryland 1615 English ! Louisiana 1699 French Massachusetts 1620 English ; Indiana . 1702 French New Hampsh. 1622 English Mississippi . 1716 French New Jersey . 1624 Dutch Georgia . . 1733 English Delaware 1627 Swedish Tennessee 1754 American Maine . . 1630 English Kentucky 1754 American Rhode Island 1636 English Vermont . 1760 English Michigan 1648 French Missouri . . 1763 French Connecticut . 1662 English DistrictColum. 1790 American SUMMARY OF THE ABOVE TABLE. States settled by the English 12 States settled by the French 8 States settled by the Dutch 2 States settled by the Spaniards 2 States settled by the Swedes 1 States settled by the Americans 3 477 II.— TABLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN THE ORDER OF THEIR AREA. Name of State. Square Miles. Sq. Acres. Name of State. Square Miles. Sq. Acres. Virginia . . 64,000 40,960,000 Tennessee 40,000 25,000,000 Missouri . . 61,600 39,424,000 Michigan 38,000 24,320,000 Illinois . . 59,500 38,080,000 Indiana . . 36,000 23,040,000 Georgia . . 58,000 37,120,000 Maine . . 31,750 19,720,000 Florida . . 57,750 36,960,000 South Carolina 30,000 19,251,200 Arkansas 51,960 33,241,608 Maryland 10,950 7,008,000 Louisiana 48,220 30,860,800 Vermont 10,212 6,535,680 Mississippi . 48,000 30,720,000 Massachusetts 8,500 5,440,000 New York . 47,000 30,080,000 New Hampsh. 8,500 5,440,000 Pennsylvania 44,000 29,440,000 New Jersey . 6,600 4,224,000 Alabama 46,000 29,440,000 Connecticut . 4,764 3,048,960 North Carolina 43,800 28,032,000 Delaware 2,120 1,356,800 Kentucky 40,500 25,920,000 Rhode Island 1,500 960,000 Ohio . . . 40,000 25,000,000 DistrictColum. 1C0 64,000 NOTE. This calculation does not include the Ouisconsin, Iowa, Oregon, and Michigan Territories, with which, the area of the United States is 2,300,000 square miles, or 1,472,000,000 square acres ! 478 III.— TABLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN THE ORDER OF THEIR POPULATION. Name of State. Population, 1830. Population,! Name of State. 1840. { Population, 1830. Population, 1840. *New York . 1,918,608 2,428,921 f Alabama . 309,527 590,756 *Pennsylvania 1,348,233 1,724,033 *Connecticut 297,675 309,978 tVirginia 1,211,375 1,239,797 PVermont . 280,657 291,948 *Ohio . . 937,903 1 ,5 1 9,467 *Ne w Hampsh . 269,328 284,574 +N. Carolina 738,470 753,419 [Louisiana . 215,739 352,411 •("Kentucky . 688,844 779,828 ^Illinois . . 157,575 476,183 •[Tennessee . 681,903 829,210 [Missouri . 140,455 383,702 *Massachusetts 610,408 737,699 [Mississippi . 136,806 375,651 [S. Carolina . 581,458 594,398 *Rhode Island 97,199 108,830 •[Georgia . 516,567 691,392 [Delaware . 76,739 78,085 [Maryland . 446,913 469,232 [Dist. Colum. 39,868 43,712 *Maine . . 399,455 501,793 [Florida . . 34,720 54,477 *Indiana . 341,639 685,866 *Miehigan . 31,639 212,267 *New Jersey 320,823 373,306 ["Arkansas . 30,388 97,574 NOTES. It will be seen that the least increase of population is in Delaware, 1,237, and in Virginia, 28,392, both Slave States, marked f; and the greatest increase is in New York, 510,313 — Indiana, 342,835 — Illinois, 318,728— and Michigan, 180,626— all Free States, marked *. Popula. of New York City 312,710 Philadelphia 228,691 Baltimore 102,313 Population of New Orleans 102,193 Boston 93,383 Cincinnati 46,338 479 IV.— TABLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ACCORDING TO THEIR RELATIVE DENSITY OF POPULATION. Name of State. Population to square miles. Name of State. Population to square miles. District of Columbia 3,986 Kentucky . . Massachusetts . . 714 Tennessee . Rhode Island . . 44f North Carolina Connecticut . . . 621 | Maine ". . . New Jersey . . . 48* ! Indiana ." . New Hampshire 41-L i Georgia . Maryland .... 40! i Alabama . New York .... 40 ! Louisiana ° . . Delaware .... 36 I Mississippi . Pennsylvania . . 28j Illinois . . Vermont .... 27* Missouri . . Ohio 231 Michigan . . South Carolina . 19i Arkansas Virginia .... 18 Florida . . . 17 17 16*12* 9* 8! 61 4j H 2* 2* POPULATION OF DIFFERENT COUNTRIES TO THE SQUARE MILE. Europe .... Asia Africa .... America, N. and S. 61* 34j 81 3* Russia 25 Austria 133* France 161* Great Britain . . . 21 1$ The Island of Malta has 638 persons to the square mile ! 480 V.— TABLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN THE ORDER OF THE NUMBER OF NEWSPAPERS IN KACIl Name of State. Papers. Name of State. 1'npcrn. New Yorlc .... 274 Kentucky .... 31 Pennsylvania . . 253 Connecticut . . . 31 165 Michigan .... 31 Massachusetts 124 Vermont .... 31 69 North Carolina 30 52 Louisiana .... 26 Tennessee .... 50 Missouri .... 25 Maryland .... 48 New Hampshire . . 25 41 South Carolina 20 New Jersey . . 39 District Columbia 16 36 Rhode Island . . . 14 34 Florida .... !) 33 Arkansas .... 4 33 Delaware .... 3 Papers in 1775... 37 1810... 359 IH28... 831 1839.. .1,547 Circulated in 1801... 12,000,000 ' I» New York Cily.. 71 1810... 22,222,200 ! ,,hil"d«|I>hi» 7I I Boston (i!> ¦ 1839... 100,000,000 ( ^-^ 27 481 V.— TABLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, IN THE ORDER IN WHICH THEY WERE ADMITTED TO THE UNION. Name of State. Date. Name of State. Date. *North Carolina . 1776 Vermont . . 1790 *Virginia . . . 1776 Kentucky . 1792 *New York . . 1776 Tennessee . . 1796 *Maryland . . . 1776 Ohio . . . 1802 *Massachusetts . . 1776 Louisiana . 1812 *New Hampshire . 1776 Indiana 1816 •New Jersey . . 1776 Mississippi . 1817 •Delaware . . . 1776 Illinois . . 1818 •Rhode Island . . 1776 Maine . 1820 ""Connecticut . . 1776 Missouri 1821 •South Carolina 1776 Alabama . 1821 •Pennsylvania . . 1776 Arkansas . 1836 •Georgia 1776 Michigan . 1837 District of Columbia 1790 Florida . . NOTE. Those marked * were the thirteen original States ; the rest have been admitted since the Declaration of Independence. m. 2 i 482 VII.— TABLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, SHEWING THE GOVERNORS TERMS, AND SALARIES, IN EACH. Name of State. Term Salary. Name of State. Term Salary. YEARS DOLLARS. Arkansas . . YEARS 4 DOLLARS. 2,000 Louisiana . . 4 7,500 Tennessee . . 2 2,000 Maryland . . 3 4,200 North Carolina 2 2,000 New York . . 2 4,000^ New Jersey 1 2,000 Pennsylvania 3 4,000 Maine . . . 1 1,500 Georgia . . . 2 4,000 Ohio .... 2 1,500 Massachussetts . 1 3,666j Indiana . . . 3 1,500 South Carolina . 2 3,500 Missouri . . . 4 1,500 Alabama . . . 2 3,500 Delaware 3 1,3331 Virginia . . . 3 3,333§ New Hampshire 1 1,200 Mississippi . . 2 3,000 Connecticut 1 1,100 Kentucky . . 4 2,500 Illinois . . 4 1,000 Florida . . . 3 2,500 Vermont . . 1 750 Michigan . . . 2 2,000 Rhode Island . 1 400 NOTE. In all the States except New Jersey, Virginia, and South Carolina, the Governor is elected by the people, and in case neither of the Candi dates has a majority, the State Legislature makes the selection. The President of the Republic is elected for a term of 4 years only ; and has a salary of 25,000 dollars, or £5,000 sterling per annum. 483 VIII.— TABLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, SHOWING THE NUMBER OF SLAVES IN EACH. Name of State. Slaves. \ Name of State. Slaves. Virginia 469,757 | Delaware . . . 2,692 South Carolina 315,401 •New Jersey . . 674 North Carolina 245,601 •Illinois .... 331 Georgia 287,531 •Pennsylvania . . 64 Alabama . . 257,549 •New York . . . 4 Mississippi . 195,659 •Rhode Island . . 4 Kentucky 185,213 •Ohio .... 3 Tennessee 181,601 {•Indiana . . 3 Louisiana 169,588 |*New Hampshire . 1 Maryland 92,294 '* Connecticut . . 17 Missouri . . 60,081 •Maine .... 0 Florida . . 25,501 (•Vermont 0 Arkansas 19,916 (•Massachusetts 0 District of Columbia 6,119 (•Michigan Territory 0 NOTE. Although Slavery has been abolished in all the Northern and some of the Western States, yet it will be seen that in some even of the Free States, (marked thus *) there are still a few remaining, mostly old servants of Southern masters. 2 i2 484 IX.— SUMMARY OF FIVE OF THE FOREGOING TABLES, SHEWING THE ORDER OF THE STATES IN EACH. Name of State. c6 co < 3CO Cm n p. ] 04 1 Name of State. B| CO 15 < 19 no3 D. o Ph 9 a n 13 MS Maine . . . n 18 12 18 9 South Carolina 23 New Hampshire 8 23 18 6 22 Georgia . . 23 4 10 20 14 Vermont . . 26 21 17 11 18 Florida . . 1 5 26 28 26 Massachussetts 7 22 8 2 4 Alabama . . 2 11 15 21 12 Rhode Island . 12 27 23 5 25 Mississippi . 23 8 22 23 11 Connecticut . 14 25 16 3 16 Louisiana 20 7 19 22 20 New York 5 9 1 8 1 Arkansas 19 6 28 27 27 New Jersey . 9 24 14 4 10 Tennessee . 24 15 7 16 7 Pennsylvania . 18 18 2 10 2 Kentucky 25 13 6 15 15 Delaware . . 10 26 24 9 28 Ohio . . . 17 14 4 12 3 Maryland . . 6 20 11 7 8 Michigan , . 13 16 27 26 17 District Columbia 28 28 25 1 24 Indiana . . 21 17 13 19 5 Virginia . . 4 1 3 14 6 Illinois 16 3 20 24 13 North Carolina 3 12 5 17 19 Missouri . . 27 2 21 25 21 NOTE. Thus, out of 28 States and Territories, Maine is the 11th in order of date of settlement, the 18th in extent of area, the 12th in number of population, the 18th in density of population or proportion of persons to each square mile, and the 9th in the number of newspapers published in it ; and so of all the other States following in the same Table. GENERAL INDEX. A. Afc-Jiri.-H, excluded from the pulpit in Boston, as an exciting topic, L 33. AJkghanies, railroad across these mountains, L 519. Journey across them, ii. 156. Splendid views from their summits, Li. 157. -4'Krica, pictures of her present condition by a native, i. 453, ii. 119. Americans, their extreme national vanity, i. 304, ii. 20i 326, 435, 517. iii 25. Their extreme excitability, L 22. Their notions of the English, i. 173. 304. Their hurried mode of eating, i. 176. Their peculiar expres sions, i. 17. General characteristics of female beauty, i- 214. Tenacity of rank among the lower orders, i. 233. Causes of their superior morality in some points, L 302. Disorderly and dissolute character of the young, i. 405. Their disregard of comfort, i. 432. Their taste for profligate writing, i. 431. National profligacy and depravity, i. 227, 306, 431. 453. ii. 79. 192. in. 29. Demoralized sute of the press, i. 459. Glaring instances of fraud among |them, i. 464. Their impatient disposition, i. 4tr>. Frequency of unequal marriages. L 477. Do not feel ardent love, ibid. Their political misrepresentation, L 505. Their love of excite ment, i 563. Indifference to religion of a large class, i. 568. Their fondness for display, L 569. Are not penurious, iL 3. Gross hypocrisy of their conduct regarding slavery, ii. 41. Their apathy, ii. 43. Early demoralization of the youths, ii. 82. Evil effects of their devotion to polities, ii. S3. Influence of religions excitement, iL 87. Their regard for military renown, ii. 117. Causes of their national depravity, ii. 194. Their feelings towards the British, ii 325. Their slight veneration for antiquities, ii. 351. Their want of sympathy with sufferers, iL 407. Their love of war, ii 517. Strange inconsistencies of their character, iii. 28. Their recklessness of human life, iii. 38. Are very curious concerning Queen Victoria, iii 66, 88. Ignorance and negligence of the women with respect to domestic comfort, iiL 70. Their crude and absurd notions of English government, iii. 88. Their hypocritical compassion for the Indians, iiL 145. Prenigaoy of their press. L{4o9. 430. ii 84. Amislad, visit to the negroes captured in this vessel, i. 418. Phrenological developement of their leader, Jingua, L 424. Ati>jMSta. a town in Maine, its foundation and history. L 119. Site. L 120. Public builirrs. i 121. Pcp-.ib.tion 2!id :e.gicjs sees, i. 122. Clima;e. L 125. Kelks tf Puritan austerity among tie inhabitants, L i2o. 486 GENERAL INDEX. Autlior, bills introduced by him into the House of Commons for bettering the condition of the poor, i. 48. Receives a testimonial of respect from the ladies of Boston, i. 290. Is attacked in the New York Observer by an American missionary, i. 446. Defends himself publicly, i. 447. Aztekas, probably at one time inhabited Michigan, iii. 413. B. Baltimore, protracted trial for libel there, ii. 103. Religious party warfare, ii. 108. Theatrical church music, ii. 1 1 1 . Record office, ii. 124. Ceme tery, ibid. General characteristics of the inhabitants, ii. 132. Bangor, a town in Maine, its site, i. 92. Its history and progress, i. 93. Extensive land speculations there, i. 94. Present number and character of the population, i. 96. Commerce, i. 97. Public buildings, ibid. News papers, i. 98. Murders and outrages, i. 99. Remains of the Penobscot tribe of Indians, i. 102. Theatre and lyceum, i. 104. Lecture of Mr. Sabine on the fisheries, ibid. Temperance meeting, i. 112. Expression of feeling from the inhabitants to the Author, i. 113. Generally healthy aspect of the people, i. 116. Bath, its site and history, i. 178. Beverley, in Massachusetts, visit to, i. 255. Its population, i. 256. Bloodhounds, use of these animals by the Americans against the Indians in the Florida war, ii. 101. Resolution proposed in Congress by Mr. Adams on this subject, ibid. Blue Liclcs, in Kentucky, contest between the Indians and Americans there, ii. 441. Boarding Houses, exert an evil influence over those who reside in them, iii. 26. Boone, Daniel, an early settler in Kentucky, notices of him, ii. 451. Boston, review of volunteer companies at, i. 26. Evils of such displays, i. 27. Dismissal of two ministers by their congregations, i. 29. Procession of the Mechanics' Association, i. 35. Exhibition of American manufac tures, i. 39. Shipping, i. 42, Mariners' church, i. 44. Superior order and sobriety of the city, i. 40. Lectures there, i. 47. Railroad to the Hudson river, i. 49. The inhabitants resemble the Athenians in their fondness for novelty in doctrine, i 78. Resolutions of the Non-resistance Society, i. 79. Transcendentalism, i. 82. Beauty of the bay and harbour, i. 82. Description of the sea-serpent, i. 81. Brunswick, in Maine, its site, i. 172. Population, ibid. Churches, i. 173. College, ibid. Buffalo, excellent hotel there, iii. 443. Meeting on the bankrupt law, iii. 444. Specimen of American troops, iii. 447. C. Cairo, on the Mississippi river, iii. 79. Junction of the Ohio and Mississippi there, iii.80. Fraudulent transactions connected with its formation, iii. 81. Cannibalism, recent practice of in Michigan, iii. 420. Carbery, Mr. Edward, endeavours to induce the free negroes to emigrate to Guiana, ii. 96. GKXERAL INDEX. 487 Qu&sfe. in Pennsylvania, its settlement and history, i. 5ti7. Its plan, and public buildings, ibid. Dickenson College, i. 509. Visit to a revival meeting, i. 504. Carroll, Chatlts, of CarroHton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, ii. 151. Gtmsterji, at Brooklyn, near New York, i. 14. Chicago, its site iii. 262. Foundation, iiL 256. Churches, and private residence*, iii. 263. Population, iii. 265. CMtko&c. in Ohio, voyage to, from Columbus, ii. 345. Beautiful scenery around it, ii. 352. Antiquities, ii. 357. Its foundation and rise, ii. 367. Site, and public buildings, ii. 368. Population, ibid. Indian mounds, ii. 869. Ckmcs» „MWwjn, at Philadelphia, visit to the, ii. 43. OhcuuuOL its foundation, rise, and progress, ii. 382. Population, ii. 384. Site, ii. 385. Plan, ii. 386\ Appearance of private dwellings, ii. 390. Public buildings, ii. 391. Literary Institutions, ii. 392. Religious sects, ii. 393. Commerce and manufactures, ii. 394. Public amusements, ii. S95. Newspapers, ii. 396. Indian antiquities, ii. 397. State of society, ii. 463. Inhospitably of the inhabitants, ii. 520. Cifdteillt, curious remains of an old fort at, ii. S47. Its population, ii. 352. (Tfery, Mr., his seat near Lexington, in Kentucky, ii. 507. CohmisatwH society in the United States, opposes the abolition of slavery, ii. 29, Considers it as a divine ordinance for the regeneration of Africa, «6«A Its evident hollowness and insincerity, ii. 30. Commerce, state of. in various states and cities. New Bedford, i- 67. Ban gor, i. 97. Maine, L 166. Portland, i. 197. Newburyport, i. 250. Lynn, L 288. Connecticut, i. 359. Pittsburgh, ii. 183. St. Louis, iii 144. Cp'uutticKt. state of, its early history, i. 348- Present form of government, i. 449. Educational provision, i. 351. State-prison, i. 357. Yale college, i. 355. Internal improvements, i. 35S. Manufactures and commerce, i. S59. Topography, ibid. Population, i. SCO, Columbus, in Ohio, its settlement and history, ii. 301. Aspect of the sur rounding country, ii. 332. Public buildings, ii. 303. S rate penitentiary, ii. 305. Population, ii. 312. Churches, ii. 314. Hotels, ii. 315. News papers, ii. 316. Cfciv/aW, in Ohio, its origin, iii. 426. Site. iii. 427. Plan, iiL 428. Anti- revolutionary sermon there, iii. 429. Commerce and newspapers, iii. 431. Character of the adjacent country. iiL 438. Fisheries, iii. 439. Gmrt of Appeal, at New York, i. 18. (Y«m<", comparative annual amount of in New York.and London, ii. 203. Ofmierhfid ftixvr, iii. 59. D. IXriftnn. in Ohio, its aspect, ii. 418. Churches and educational institutions, ii. 419, Shaker settlement, ii 422. Debts of the various states, i, 311. Dcinvt, its settlement, iiL 521. Early troubles of the settlers, iiL 374. Indian plot for its destruction, iii- 375—378. Capitulates to the British, iii. 376. Is surrendered to the British by General Hull. iii. 384. Recap tured bv Commodore Pern-, iii. 885, Its site, iii. 386. Plan and pubhc buildings, iii. 387. Churches and educational institutions, iii. 388. Fur 488 GENERAL INDEX. trade, iii. 389. Fisheries, iii. 390. Smugghng from the Canada shore, iii. 394. Society, iii. 395. Increase of intemperance, iii. 398. Half- breed Indian boy, iii. 400. Disputed Territory, description of the, i. 148. Dover, in New Hampshire, visit to, i. 228. Its early history, i. 229. Popu lation, i. 230. Factories, i. 231. Aristocratic feeling of the female operatives, i. 233. Disadvantages to American manufactures of the reduction of the duty on English cloth, i. 236. General disadvantages of protective duties, i. 240. Economy, a Rappite settlement on the Ohio river, ii. 205. Its history, ii. 207. Plan of the town, ii. 213. Regulations of the society, ii. 214. Costume and appearance of the community, ii. 218. Manufactories, ii. 231. Advantages of the co-operative system, ii 935. Enchanted Mountain in Kentucky, iii. 74. Emigrants, bad classes of, in the United States, ii. 17. Temptations to which they are exposed, ibid. Emigration, plan for an organized system of, ii. 8. England, injurious effects of corn laws and taxes on her manufacturing com petition, i. 41, ii. 248. Erie, Lake, voyage on, iii. 442. English, description of the, by^an American lady, i. 175. bi a popular school-book, i. 304. Everett, Mr., his speech at the opening of the Boston and Springfield rail way, i. 50. Falmouth, a town in Maine, destroyed by the British, i. 192. Fay, Dr., is dismissed from his church in Boston for licentious conduct, i. 29. Fires, their frequency in the United States, i. 7, 179. Are connected with the increase of crime, i. 180. Additional evidence of this, iii. 399. Fisheries in the Bay of Fundy, lecture of Mr. Sabine on this subject, i. 104. Description of a fisherman, i. 107. General amount of profit in the trade, i. 109. Frankfort, aspect of the town, iii. 2. Site and public buildings, iii. 3. State penitentiary, iii, 4. Fredericton, its foundation and site, ii. 138. Churches and newspapers, ii. 139. G. Gardner, in Maine, history and description of, i. 123. Germantown, its site, ii. 74. Foundation and history, ii. 75. House of W. Penn, ii. 76. Population, ii. 77. Passion for merino sheep, ii. 87. And silk growing, ii. 88. Churches and Lyceum, ii. 92. Greemcuod, cemetery at, near New York, i. 14. GENERAL INDEX. 4!r9 H. HaVowell, in Maine, description of, i. 122. Hancock, John, melancholy fate of one of his descendants, i, 45. Harper's Ferry, description of, ii. 140. Armory, ii. 147. Arsenal, ii. 149. Harrisburgh, disgusting scene in a bar-room at, i. 474. Its first settlement, i. 481. Plan and public buildings, i. 482. Newspapers, i. 484. Capitol, i. 486. Occupations of the members of the legislature, i. 488. Old state records, i. 491. Proceedings on the bank charter question, i. 495. Message of the governor to the legislature, i.498. Scene in the legislature, ii. 197. Whig convention, i. 501. Outrages in the legislature, i. 491, 554. Harrison, General, is ridiculed by the Democrats, i. 503. And defended by the Whigs, ibid. His personal appearance and history, ii. 409. Hartford, its settlement and history, i. 338. Population, i. 341. Plan and public buildings, i. 343. Asylum for the deaf and dumb, i. 344. Hotels, American, their general discomfort, i. 336, 432, ii. 159, 284. Huron, Lake, its extent, iii. 365. Clearness of the waters, iii. 367. I. Illinois, State of, its history, iii. 269. Topography, iii. 272. Mineral wealth, iii. 273. Deer hunting, iii. 277. Religious sects, iii. 280. Educational provisions, ibid. Illinois River, entrance to it, iii. 209. Beautiful prairie on its banks, iii. 216. Incendiarism, its increase in the United States, i. 557. Causes of a great proportion of instances of it, i. 558. Indiana, State of, short visit paid to it by the Author, iii. 41. Its settle ment and history, iii. 44. Population, iii. 45. Topography, ibid. Soil and productions, iii. 46. Legislature, iii. 47. Judiciary, iii. 48. Educa tional provisions, iii. 49. Native Indians, iii. 51. Large forest trees, iii. 52. Indians of North America, their reception of the first settlers in New Bed ford, i. 61. Are sent to Bermuda and sold as slaves by the Pilgrim Fathers, i. 63. Abuse of religion by the whites in the attempt to form their alliance, i. 139. Rebuke of the whites by one of the chiefs i. 141. Atrocious treatment of them by the first settlers at Lancaster, in Penn sylvania, i. 533. Instance of noble self-devotion among them, ii. 456. Speech of a chief against the sale of ardent spirits, ii. 476 Hebrew relics among them, ii. 487- Their mode of hunting the buffalo, iii. 226. Their games, iii. 230. Speech of a chief at Chicago, iii. 258. Their exposure of the dead, iii. 291. Possibility of their civilization, iii. 301. Character of the race, iii. 306. Their keen perception of the motives of the whites, iii. 308. Speech of Little Elk, iii. 309. Of Black Hawk, iii 310. Their torture of their captives, iii. 315. Difficulty of reclaim ing them, iii. 323. Their removal by the Americans, iii. 327. Their courteous conduct towards missionaries, iii. 331. Answer of a Seminole chief to a missionary, iii. 336. Their resemblance to the Hindoos, iii. 338. .. nlQ Innkeepers, American, are generally obtrusive and negligent, i. .218. Ioioa, territory of, iii. 173. Its topography, in. 176. Ipswich, its history, l 251. And population,,;, loo. 490 GENERAL INDEX. J. Joliet, Mount, an Indian mound, iii. 245. Human sacrifices at, iii. 246. K. Kennebec Fiver, voyage on the, i. 86. Kentuclcy, State of, its settlement, ii. 451. Contests with the Indians, ii. 452, Its progress after the peace, ii. 462. Is separated from Virginia, ii. 463. Topography, ii. 470. Mineral wealth, i. 472. Indian mummies, ii. 478. Government, ii. 491. Judiciary, ii. 492. Internal improvements, ibid. Penitentiary, ibid. Educational system, ii. 493. Religious sects, ii. 494. Population, ibid. Retarding influence of slavery, ii. 495. General cha racter of the people, ii. 509. Political zeal, ii. 513. Manners of the Kentuckians, ii. 523. Use of tobacco, ii. 524. Slight prejudice against people of colour, iii. 7. Public opinion with regard to murder, iii. 33. Reckless indifference to human life, iii. 38. Condition of the slaves, iii. 41. Keocuck, a village on the Mississippi river, iii. 164. Kirke, Colonel, governor of Maine, his atrocities, i. 133. L. Lancaster, in Pennsylvania, its settlement and history, i. 527. Plan, i. 528. Population and newspapers, ibid. Churches and religious sects, i. 529. Productive character of the country, i. 531. Atrocious treatment of the Indians by the early settlers, i. 533. Lexington, in Kentucky, its settlement, ii. 497. Early history, ii. 488. Population and site, ii, 501. University, ii. 503. Churches, ii. 506. Hospitality of the inhabitants, ii. 521. Lexington Steamer, its destruction, i. 439. London, amount of annual crime in that city as compared with New York, ii. 203. Louisville, in Kentucky, aspect of the environs, iii. 6. Causes of excite ment in the city, iii. 9. Abundance of gamblers, iii. II. Settlement and rise of the town, iii. 17. Its site, iii. 18. Plan, iii. 19. Public buildings and churches, iii. 20. Commerce and manufactures, iii. 21. Newspapers, iii. 23. Population, iii. 24. Personal characteristics of the inhabitants, iii. 30. Street affrays, iii. 31. Trial of a judge for murder, iii. 32. Fossil remains, iii. 36. Love, is of an unimpassioned character among the inhabitants of the United States, i. 303, 478. Lowell, visit to, i. 293. Its site, i. 294. Plan, i. 295. Manufactures, i. 296. General comfort of the operatives, ibid. Regulations of the factories, i. 299. Hours of labour, ibid. Wages, i. 300. General purity of morals. i. 301. Causes of this, i. 302. General despondency of the manufac turers, i. 310. Lumberers, their mode of life, i. 117. Reform in their general habits, i. 184. Their professional enthusiasm, i. 119. Lynn, its population, churches, and commerce, i. 288. GENERAL INDEX. 491 M. Mackinaw, its first settlement, iii. 351. Site of the town, iii. 353. Popu lation, iii. 344. Establishment of the American Fur Company, iii. 355. Store of an Indian trader, iii. 357. Fisheries, iii. 361. Indian wig- warns, ibid. Maine, State of, its first settlement, i. 127. Voyage of Pring, ibid. Ascent of the Penobscot by the first settlers, i. 128. Voyage of Smith, i. 129. Rise and progress of the state, i. 130. First organized government, ibid. Is incorporated with Massachusetts, i. 132. Atrocities of Governor Kirk, i. 133. Issue of paper-money, i. 134. New charter, ibid. Bill of rights and absurd punishments, ibid. Executions for witchcraft, i 135. Wars with the Indians, i. 136. Visit of George Whitefield, i. 142. Reli gious dissensions, i. 143. Share of Maine in the revolutionary war, iiMrf. Depressed state of the revenue, i. 145. Abolition of slavery, i. 146. Is separated from Massachusetts, ibid. Population at that period, i. 147. Topography of the state, i. 148 Surface of the country, i. 151. Mount Katahdin, i. 152. Mars Hill, i. 15o. Lakes, i. 154. Soil and productions, ibid. Timber, i. 155. Maple sugar, i. 157. Medicinal plants, i. 16l! Wild animals, game, and birds, i. 162. Fish, i. 164. Commerce, i. 166. Educational institutions, ibid. Legislature, i. 167. Judiciary, i. 168. Religious sects, i. 169. Population, i. 170. Common schools, i. ]97. Mammoth, skeleton of the, in the Philadelphia Museum, i. 543. Mammoth Cave, in Mentucky, description of the, iii. ] 1 . Manchester, in England, statistics of depravity in, i. 308. Manitou Islands, why so called, iii. 347. M.irblehead, its site and history, i. 281. Population, i. 282. Churches, i. 283. Instance of the good feeling of the people, i. 284. Martha's Vineyard, why so called, i. 60. Maryland, State of, journey through it from Harper's Ferry towards Pitts burgh, ii. 153. Uniontown, ii. 159. Brownsville, ii. 160. Amusements of the country people, ii. 163. Michigan, State of, its settlement, iii. 401. Topography, iii. 405. Climate and productions, iii. 406. Mineral wealth, iii. 409. Antiquities, iii. 412. Indian mounds, ibid. This probably the country of the Aztekas, iii. 413. Legislature and judiciary, iii. 416. Education, iii. 418. Slavery and lotteries prohibited, ibid. Character of the inhabitants, iii. 420. Indians, ibid. Cannibalism, ibid. Religious sects, iii. 419. Population, iii. 420. Michigan, Lake, its extent, iii. 364. Beautiful land on its banks, iii. 287. Michillimackinac, (see Mackinaw.) Military parades, their evil effects, i. 27. Mississippi Fiver, its extreme muddiness, iii. 81. Scenery of its banks, iii. 87, 162. Its junction with the Missouri, iii. 151. Peculiar dangers of the river, iii. 160. Danger of the rapids, iii. 171. Comparison of this with other rivers, iii. 179. Sketch of its course, iii. 181. Fishes, iii. 202. Missouri, State of, its settlement, iii. 93. Early history, iii. 94. Topography, iii. 95. Soil and productions, iii. 96. Mines, iii. 97. Climate, iii. 99. Government and judiciary, iii. 102. Educational provisions, iii. 104. Religious bodies, iii. 106. Population, iii. 107. Contrasted with the free state of Illinois, iii. 108. Missourium, skeleton of the, iii. 134. Mobile, horrid outrage in, i. ISO. Museums, their generally low character in the United States, i. 539. Muskingum River, its rise and course, ii. 257. Mocking bird, beauty of its song, ii. 355. Is called by a native writer the Shakspeare of birds, ibid. Mosquitoes are abundant on the praries of Illinois, iii. 251. 492 GENERAL INDEX. N. Names, singularity of those applied by the Americans to their towns, i. 90. ii. 435. Natchez, tornado at, ii. 405. Navy, peculiar arrangements of that of the United States, i. 3. Its punish ments, i. 4. Negroes, superior comfort of the free over the enslaved, i. 9. Respectful conduct of the free, i. 10. Are kidnapped from the North for sale in the South, i. 11. Tyranny of the whites over them, i. 89. Advantages which would accrue from their separation from Europeans, ibid. Their rapid increase, ii. 25. Their proportion to the whites in various states, ii. 26. Their condition in Guiana, ii. 97. New Bedford, first visited by Gosnold in 1602, i. 57. Origin of the name, i. 64. Progress and rise of the town, i. 65. Present state of its com merce and shipping, i. 67. Whale fishery, i. 63. Mode of crossing the ice in winter, i. 74. Newburyport, its general aspect, i. 243. Its history, i. 244. Site, and plan, i. 245. Public buildings, i. 246. Tomb of Whitefield, i. 247. Remark able natives of the town, i. 248. Newspapers, i. 251. Newhaven, its history and progress, i. 361. Protection of the regicide judges by the inhabitants, i. 367. Anecdotes respecting them, i. 370. Foundation of Yale College, i. 372. History of some remarkable natives of the town, i. 377. Population, i. 384. Plan, i. 385. Public buildings, i. 386. Churches, i. 387. Yale College, i. 388. Mineralogical collec tion, i. 391. Trumbull gallery, i 393. Disorderly and dissolute character of the students, i. 405. Temperance meeting, i. 407. Prevalence of intemperance in the city, i. 409. Visit of the negroes to the Amistad, i. 418. Phrenological developement of their leader Jingua, i. 424. Literary Journals, i. 429. Hotels, i. 431. Observance of new year's day, i. 433. Good and bad consequences resulting from this practice, i. 434. Newport, in Rhode Island, its general aspect, i. 25. Newspapers of the United States, their profligacy, i. 430. Their pernicious influence on the people, ii. 84. New York, extensive fire at, i. 7. Peculiar advantages and beauties of its site, i. 23. Monetary embarrassments in, i. 436. Frequent fires, i. 438. Rutger female institute, i. 442. Navy yard, i 443. Naval Lyceum, i. 444. Croton aqueduct, L, 445. Dishonest causes attributed for the fires in this city, i. 452. Annual amount of crime in the city as compared with London, ii. 203. Niagara, Falls of, second visit to, iii. 455. View from the Canada side above the Falls, iii. 454. Sensations produced by regarding the Falls, iii. 456. Instances of the loss of boats over the Cataract, iii. 461. English troops there, iii. 464. Their superiority over those of the United States, ibid. Last view of the Falls, iii. 467. Whirlpool, iii. 468. o. Ogle, Mr., his speech on the extravagance of Mr. President Van Buren, iii. 432. Ohio, State of, its settlement and history, ii. 319. Contests with the Indians, ibid. Constitution of the state after the Declaration of Independence, GENERAL INDliXj 4S3 ii. 321. Topography, ii. 327. Soil and productions, ii. 328. Antiquities, ii. 329. Wild animals, ii. 333. Internal improvements, ii. 336. Popula tion, ii. 337. Educational provisions, ii. 338. Religious sects, ii. 342. Beauty of the country, ii. 268. Ohio River, its source and course, ii. 263. Scenery of the banks, ii. 252, 436. Oregon Territory, iii. 109. Its topography, iii. 112. Owen, Mi:, his community at Harmony, ii. 209. Causes of its failure, ii. 210. P. Pennsylvania, State of, its sources of wealth, i. 520. Increase of crime in, i. 553. Penobscot Indians, remains of, near Bangor, i. 102. Philadelphia, riots and assaults in, i. 180. The museum, i. 538. Its superior character, i. 539. Notice of some of its more remarkable contents, i. 54 1. Skeleton of the mammoth, i 543. Catholic bazaar, i. 567. Horrid murder in the city, ii. 20. Chinese museum, ii. 43. Phrenology, danger incurred from a zeal for this science by an American surgeon, iii. 290. Pierpont, Dr., is dismissed by his congregation in Boston for preaching on exciting topics, i. 29. Pilgrim Fathers, Indians sold by them as slaves, i. 63. They banish those who advocate freedom of religious opinions, i. 314. Their despotic sway, i. 254. Pittsburgh, voyage to, from Brownsville, ii. 165. Its settlement and history, ii. 170. Site of the town, ii. 174. Plan, ii. 176. Public buildings, ii. 178. Churches, and religious sects, ii. 179. Literary institutions, ibid. Popu lation, ii. 179. Newspapers, and banks, ii. 180. Manufactures, ii. 182. Coal-trade, ii. 183. Sooty and smoky atmosphere, ii. 185. Beautiful scenery, ii. 186. Population, of various states and towns — Maine, i. 170. Connecticut, i. 360. Ohio, ii. 337. Kentucky, ii. 494. Indiana, iii. 45. Missouri, iii. 107. Wis consin, iii. 299. Michigan, iii. 420. Bangor, i, 96. Augusta, i. 122 Bruns wick, i. 172. Portland, i. 197. Dover, i. 230. Ipswich, i. 255. Beverley, ibid. Salem, i. 279. Marblehead, i. 282. Lynn, i. 288. Lowell, i. 303. Springfield, i. 334. Hartford, i. 341. Newhaven, i.384. Lancaster, i. 528. Germantown, ii. 77. Fredericton, ii. 139. Pittsburgh, ii. 179. Steuben- ville, ii. 242. Wheeling, ii. 259. Zanesville, ii. 277. Columbus, ii. 312. Circleville, ii. 352. Chillicothe, ii. 368. Portsmouth, ii. 375. Cincinnati, i.384. Maysville, ii. 438. Lexington, ii. 501. Louisville, iii. 24. Chicago, iii. 265. Mackinaw, iii. 354. Sandusky, iii. 424. Portland, its site, i. 186. History, i. 187. Its share in the revolutionary war, i. 192. Depreciation of money, ibid. First newspaper, i. 194. Public buildings, i. 195. Churches, ibid. Literary institutions, i. 196. Population and commerce, i. 197. Cemetery, i 204. Portsmouth, in New Hampshire, its history, i. 219. Site, ibid. Ship-building, i. 220. Plan, and public buildings, i. 222. Educational institutions, i. 223. Newspapers, ii. 226. Agreeable hotels, i. 226, 217. Portsmouth, in Ohio, its site, ii. 374. Public buildings, ii. 375. Population, ibid. Singular white crows, ii. 376. Prairie, detention on one in Illinois, in a morass, at midnight, ii. 239. Pro ductiveness of the soil, iii. 241. Burning of the long grass, iii. 243. Press, American, its profligacy, i. 459. ii. 84. Puseyism, its rapid spread in the United States, ii. 154. 494 GENERAL INDEX. it. Rappilcs, a religious community, ii. 207. (Hoc Economy.) Red-Jacket, un Indian Chief, his speech to a misNiunary ut u Seneca council, iii. 331. Revival, description of one at Carlisle, i. 514. Dreadful nnturc of the scene, i. 515. Pernicious effects of such displays, i. 516. Their slight influence on the converts, ii. 376. Rhode Island, State of, its settlement and hiHtory, i. 313. Charier of Charles I., i. 319. Confirmed by Charles II., i. 320. Protection of Hit: regicides by the inhabitants, i, 324. Surrender of the charter by llio people, ii. 324. Their tardy assent to the Americun Constitution, i. 320. S. Salem, its first settlement, i. 258. Example of high virtue among the curly settlers, i. 259. Early history, i. 260. Executions lor witchcraft, i. 261. Opinion of Dr. Cotton Mather on this subject, i. 262. Site, i. 208. Plan and public buildings, i. 269. Museum of the: East India Marine Society, i. 271. Remarkable natives of the town, i. 275. Manufactures, i. 27H. Population, i. 279. Sandusky, origin of the name, iii. 424. Plan, ibid. Population, ibid. Shakers, their settlement, neur Dayton, in Ohio, ii. 122. Extravagance of their superstitions, ii. 425. Seamen {American), arrangements for tlieir education, i. 4. Sea Serpent, description of the, i. 85. Sigourney, Mrs., her Poems on the Aborigines, ii. 409. iii. 314. Slavery, opposition of feeling which it engenders, between the North and South, i. 202. Springfield, its foundation, i. 333. Site, i. 334. Population, ibid. Armoury, i. 335. Journey thence in ». sleigh to Hartford, i. 336. Steam navigation, is superior in point of safety to Hailing, i. 7. Steamboats, their size and splendour in the southern states, iii. 02. New laws for tlieir regulation, iii. 03. Steubenville, its foundation and present aspect, ii. 240. Manufactures, ii. 241 . Population, ii. 242. Party fury of the newspaper press, ii. 244. Statistical Tables, of the United States, according to their date of settle ment, area, population, slaves, newspapers, &c, iii. 476—484. St. Louis, its foundation, iii. 115. Site, iii, 117. I'lan, iii. 118. Public buildings, iii. 119. Jesuits' College, iii. 121. University, iii. 123. Increasing value of property, iii. 127. Immigration, iii. 128. Incrcnse of crime, iii. 129. Museum, iii. 133. Gigantic fossil, iii. 134. Indian mounds, iii. 141. Commerce, iii. 144. Trade to Santa F<5, iii. 145. Murder of a negro, iii. 107. Superior, Lake, its extent, iii. 363. T. Tarring and Feathering, origin of this usage, i 285. Taunton, its foundation and history, i. 75. Site, i. 77. Temperance, meeting in favour of, at Newhaven, i. 407. Camp-mecl-ing in Kentucky, ii. 520. Report of a Committee of the Kentucky Legislature on this subject, ii. 532. Tennessee River, iii. 60. Tobacco, immoderate use of this weed in Kentucky, ii. 524. Its connection with intemperance, ii. 520. Trumbull, Colonel, his history, i. 393. Anecdote of his professional life, i. 4 1 5. GENERAL INDEX. 495 u. Univcrsalists, great popularity, and extensive spread of their doctrine, in the United States, i. 181. V. Violence, and outrage, instances of, in the United States, of recent date, i. 13, 99, 180, 491, 554, 550. ii. 20, 79, 189, 197, 313, 403. iii. 31, 32, 156, 197. W. War, powerful instance of its horrors, i. 205. Washington, celebration of his birthday in Philadelphia, i. 559. Whale Fishery, equipment of ships for this service, i. 70. Description of, i. 71. Popularity of the service, i. 73. Difference between the Greenland and the American South Sea fisheries, ibid. Wlieeling, its site, ii. 253. Ingenious and singular ferryboat, ii. 254. Its early history, ii. 256. Plan, ii. 257. Public buildings, ii. 258. Population, ii. 259. Singular specimens of Westerners, ii. 260. Wings, in the United States, their political principles, ii. 115. Williams, Roger, his history, i. 313. Wilkinson, Judge, his trial for murder at Louisville, iii. 32. Wisconsin, territory of, iii. 294. Its topography, ibid. Mineral wealth, iii. 296. Legislature, iii. 299. Population, ibid. Witchcraft, executions for, in New England, i. 261. Opinion of Dr. Cotton Mather on this subject, i. 262. Worcester, its early history, i. 329. Manufactories, i. 330. Lunatic asylum, i. 332. Wyldiff'e, Governor, his seat near Lexington, ii. 508. Herd of Buffalo there, ibid. Zanesville, in Ohio, its site, ii. 274. Plan, ii. 276. Advantages of position, ii. 277. Population, ibid. Manufactories, ii. 278. Fossil remains, ii. 279. THE END. LONDON . FISHER, SON &" CO. TKINTERS. AMERICA, HISTORICAL— STATISTIC— AND DESCRIPTIVE. UN THREE SERIES. BY JAMES S. BUCKINGHAM, ESQ. LATE M.P. 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While you speak with boldness where you differ, it is refreshing, in these days of vulgar and vituperative ignorance and bigotry, to see that it is possible to express differences of opinion without asperity ; and when speaking even of the peculiarities of the Shakers, their views are men tioned with the respect due to all, however erroneous, in a truly catholic spirit. From T. B. Pease, Esq., Leeds. " Having derived much valuable information, instruction, and amusement from the perusal of your first series of Travels in America, I am desirous of availing myself of the privilege of enjoying the same pleasure in your second series, which, I have no doubt, will realize all my expectations." From Robert Lucas Chance, Esq., Birmingham. " I have much pleasure in subscribing for a copy of your Work on the Slave States of America ; for I have derived so much information and amusement from your Work on the Free States, that I con sider myself greatly indebted to you for its publication." From Francis Hoole, Esq., of Sheffield. " I shall be glad to become a Subscriber to your new Work on the Slave States of America, having perused your former Volumes on the Free States with great interest, enhanced, no doubt, by a Tour which I have recently made through those States, and which enables me to appreciate the Work as one of great accuracy and fidelity." From the Rev. Thomas Johnstone, Wakefield. " I am happy to become a Subscriber to your forthcoming Work on the Slave States of America, and very sincerely wish it, as I doubt not it will merit, the same success which to the credit of public discernment, has attended the previous Work." .From Join Tabrix SvrriL jEsj., Ipsr^ei. » I have read, carefully, thy former volumes, on the Free States of America, in which I have found math to interest k, and expect to be auue as well pleased with thy fbrthcomiBr Work on the Slave States.— It was a diScniS matter to speak oat the tree stale of things in Ammra, hc-restly and fairly, wShoox unnecessarily vr>uiulir.gilier*abrxal pride and peculiar seosiriver, ess of the American people; battais has been hapnuy ^Itected in thy pages, by WM^™c them tefl their own tale, through the filial ts from their newspapers and periodicals: and this, I judge, win be still more needful in the Save Sates.* Frnm Cammd Mmdae, BmAwmd, Dear.. ~ I mast beg t? oser ray best thanks for the pleasure I have had ra perusing your Work on America, ndiayhnHBi j amfratf rhrnrirrTilrrrinTTira-r commensurate with the value." Fnm Jeim Oaries HjZ. J/J>, J\Z.S.. Retfcv3. "lamyWoriaafiVe « Animal Kingdom, and the TJJoiry of oer Spaass,' I save taken Sie Ebeity of making a few extracts from your recently published Work on America, which I hare read with very great pleasure, sad which, I am eenain, remmes only to be known ~?have a most extensive cxroa- mtkm. It win gne me very great pleasure to naHgnmesj iitomyfgends, ir^m fhe very high regard I koe for me Author, bat uxse especsaBy because, >it so doing, 1 feel that I am conferring a beneSt on asaety.0 From Admiral Robert DmHeg OBzer, DmbSm. ¦"Tout vofasmes on rie Xorfhexn States of America have given me very great pleasure; and sum wsa His mte3iajssrr, under Admiral Dighy-^ remember erery thiiig ahoost itwnBpexfecrIerJQl- ; and I know of so dry so beautifully sros^i." Fnm aie row Racmmi Fi&er Matter, Cork. "Vng fin—I ¦ \Ctwdtrmk *,¦.,«« j tj^.^un^ri ^5fgi =-TpmTiiaSff^grf-,gMt, T tnre*, ajhrawxiage.. Concluding fhatyosr new Work on the Save Ssrs will be equally vabmue, I request yoa r3 have lie kindness to name me among yocr Subscribers TDifcjibrtwD cranes. Grateful id yco f:ir yr-irr powerful advocacy and aoAjbj co-opsrasia in rs^mioring; the glorious cause of togal £b?r -¦?- zg fre:n &Z nvroxkalinr ¦Mafre^ i^i wishing you usoualined success,* &c &c -Fjtok Sir Amdrac Agmac, Bait, STrjxraa; SccdamL "Ishanceanaaaca&ged by your having the goodness to send me the second series of your amf iafcrei&ng Work on America." fnm DtuudDe L&k Bmc&, -Esg-, diefMngkxrmte cf Gmenaeg. "I wish to IjeeiGBe a Subscriber to your Work on 6ns SteroSSan^a^ Free State- ofAmerica. AH here who have read the firs* parr, speak of it inthenKSt&rromaKis bams.* From the Reverend F. Trestrail, Cork. " I have read your Volumes on the Slave States with even more interest than those which preceded them. The tone of candour and moderation which pervades them is very striking— not sparing what you saw good reason to condemn— especially the enormous evil of Slavery, and some other less inju rious social evils, which prevail— while you have not unduly extolled the advantages of the country and the form of government. Such a Work, distinguished by so much ability and fairness, will serve to correct the mistakes and prejudices so prevalent in this Country, while it cannot but exert a good influence on the public mind In America." From the Reverend Septimus Ramsay, M.A., Minister of St Michael's, London. " Having for some years taken a lively interest in whatever relates to our brethren on the other side of the Atlantic, I have been in the habit of reading every work that came out upon America; and I can with truth say, that, in my humble judgment, your 'America ' casts all other productions on the same subject into the shade. I have read both your First and Second Series, with the greatest attention, twice through, and with increased satisfaction. I think it impossible to rise from their perusal without being fully convinced that this production of your pen upon America, contains a mass of information most carefully arranged and digested, and on all occasions gives a most candid and impartial description of the manners of the people and the institutions of the Country. The distinguishing characteristic of the Work is its strict impartiality, combined with deep research, and a most discriminating judg ment. Upon the whole, I certainly prefer the Second Series on the Slave States, from its containing so much information which was, at least to me, entirely new; though I anticipate much pleasure also from the perusal of your forthcoming serieB on the Eastern and Western States. Having for so many years enjoyed your friendship as a member of my congregation, it affords me the greater pleasure to speak thus highly and conscientiously of a work I so much admire, by one whom I so sincerely esteem and whose friendship I so highly value." From Samuel Gurney, Esq., London. " Thy work on the Southern States of America I have found most valuable and interesting." From George Longstaff, Esq., M.D., Wandsworth. " 1 have read with great pleasure your volumes on the Slave States , and I can, from a long residence in that part of the world, bear testimony to their general accuracy. I think them much more interesting and valuable than the first scries, on the Free States." From George Catlin, Esq., the American Traveller. " My wife and myself, who are now residing in London, have read your very interesting Work on our native Country, America, with peculiar satisfaction, inasmuch as the nature of my pursuits has led us to visit nearly all the places and institutions which you have so vividly and so justly described in your pages, as well as in your eloquent lectures, which we have attended. In listening to the one, and in reading the other, we have been carried along by a feeling scarcely less vivid and less real th an if we were fellow travell ers with y ou, and actually passing over the scenes you have so graphically described. I think you have brought to, the Parent Country a very encouraging and just account of her Transatlantic Child, and this at a time when general and correct information is especially desirable, to remove mutual prejudices, and to promote a fair and friendly understanding between the two Countries." From Atkins Adams, Esq., Massachusetts, America. " We have been deeply interested in perusing your Book, which is allowed by all here to be the best Work on America that has ever been published. — I hope you will have sufficient encouragement to proceed with the continuation of it as you contemplate." From Edward C Detavctn, Esq., Albany, New York. " I have now the pleasure to acknowledge the safe receipt of your two new volumes on the Slave States— I shall read them with great interest. Your previous Work on America, I believe, ia considered by all unprejudiced minds here as one of the finest Books of Travels overwritten on this Country Mr. Bleecker, tho American Minister for Holland at the Hague, among others, so estimates it." From His Excellency Sir John Harvey, K.C.B., Governor of Newfoundland. " I shall be most happy to have my name placed on the List of Subscribers to the Third Series of your excellent Work on the United States, which I hope may obtain a circulation commensurate with the good which your writings are calculated to produce, by the substitution of facts and useful informa tion in the place of ignorance and prejudice, as respects our Transatlantic neighbours and friends of the American Union. Such labours merit the approbation and gratitude of every patriotic and philan thropic individual of both Countries." NOTICES FROM REVIEWS. Literary Gazette. — " It is a very entire and comprehensive view of the United States, diligently collected by a man of observation." Athenatum.— "While others have been content to give in general summaries the results of their observations, Mr. Buckingham goes deliberately through the States, treating of all, historically and statistically— of their rise and progress, their manufactures, trade, population, topography, fertility, resources, morals, manners, education, and so forth. Mr. Buckingham's volumes will be found a store-. house of knowledge." The Sun. — " His volumes, the result of three years' close and patient observation, are worthy of every attention, and certainly furnish us with the clearest ideas we have yet had of the present aspects of society in the United States." Bristol Journal. — " Mr. Buckingham's work, we do not hesitate to state, appears to contain by far the most voluminous, extensive, and amusing history of the United States in the three characters, ' historical, statistic, and descriptive,' that has yet been published." East India Telegraph.— " In Mr. Buckingham's America, the public possesses one of the most generally interesting works, descriptive of the New World, which has ever emanated from the press. The extensive geographical range of the country traversed hy our experienced traveller — the multi plicity of subjects which have occupied his pen—his agreeable style of composition— the ability and tact with which he has blended historical and statistical matter with bright delineations of manners and customs, the general topics dwelt on in cities and states — and, especially, the philanthropic pur pose, in the prosecution of which Mr. Buckingham has gathered the stores of knowledge enumerated —combine to produce a book of travels containing literary ana unsurpassed for novelty, comprehen siveness, and interest, by any extant work." Sheffield Independent.—*1 We have seen enough of the work to ascertain that it fully realizes the high anticipations which our knowledge of Mr. Buckingham as an author, as a man of most varied information, and of great acuteness, had induced us to form. He writes in a spirit of candour and honesty. He neither flatters America at the expense of England, nor England at the expense of America, but draws his contrasts between the morality, the intelligence, the manners, and the habits of the.two countries, in that spirit of fairness which alone can give value to such comparisons." 8 NOTICKS FROM REVIEWS. Bath Journal.—" Mr. Buckingham gives full scope to his powerful mind in his America -he makca his work attractive to the millions by a detail of every circumstance which tends to show the charactcr of the people he has to describe. We may now say that Amorica Is more ably and impartially described than has yet been her fate ; and we sincerely trust all national prejudices have the axe laid to their roots, and that they will give place to a new spirit, which will briDg both nations into a more intimate connexion, and extend tlie interchange of commercial advantages, among tlie people both of America and Great Britain." Liverpool Albion.—1* He, however, deals not in dry details, but conducts his readers with him in a plain and business-like manner, bestowing upon them, en passant, the richness of his well-stored mind. Describing events and occurrences as they actually took place, noting every thing that met his view, of habit, manner, and charactcr, the appearance of cities, and aspect of countries, with the accuracy of one possessed of a trained eye and understanding. By introducing us to all objects worthy of notice, and in the direct order in which such objects came under his own observation; bo almost realizes to ourselves the scenes of his travel, and as we visit the edifices and public institutions which he examined, we are enabled to form a correct notion of tlie customs of our brethren of tlie United States in many particulars which other travellers have overlooked or deomod unworthy of attention.'* Scotsman. — " We have always suspected the eulogiums of American writers on the oloquenco of their public speakers, to be, if not wholly unmerited, at least absurdly extravagant j but we do not recollect to have met with any remarks in any work on America, till we read Mr. Buckingham's, cal culated to give us something like positive and correct information on this subject. Numerous as the works on America already are, there is not one which we should, for various reasons, so unhesitatingly recommend, as this of Mr. Buckingham's." Plymouth Herald.—" These volumes contain a fund of knowledge on every subject connected with America j its rise and progress j the education, manners, and merits of its inhabitants ; its manu factures, trade, population, &c. j in fact, no subject of importance is left untouchod. It is quite refreshing to peruse the sensible and sterling remarks of this writer, after what has recently teemed from tlie press on the United States of America. This work is a valuable addition to the standard literature of the age." Liverpool Chronicle,— " The circumstances of Mr. Buckingham's life qualify him, above others, to present to the English reader a faithful and striking transcript of tho social, commercial, litorary, and political character of our transatlantic neighbours. His work contains featuros of a pleasing kind, peculiar to itself. Whether regarded as a work of instruction, amusement, or as a mere political treatise, it is a production of great merit, and unquestionable utility." Morning Herald. — " There arc few men, in this age of adventure and exertion, whose intellectual labours and researches have been more extensive, varied, and have embraced a wider rango over tlie globe, than Mr. Buckingham. His public labours extend over our Colonial possessions, and large portions of the Eastern and Western Worlds. For the present we would direct public attention to the very important work on Amorica which ho has now published. Of his qualifications for the task he has uqdertaken, and of his litorary acquirements, it may suffice to say, that he possessos a thorough knowledge of trade and commerce, in all their multifarious departments, has had great experience of the world, united to literary powers of observation and narration of the highest order, speaks fluently many ancient and a great number of modern languages, and the list of his published works Is such in extent as perhaps no man living has produced." „ *#* Orders for either of these Works may he transmitted to Mr. Buckingham, No. 8, Regent's Villas, St. John s Wood, London, who will undertake to have them forwarded to any address, and delivered (carriage free) at the publication pice ; but no payment will be required till the Works are received. LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. Her Majesty the Queen, a copies— His Royal Htehness Prince Alhort—w « i«o.i,.«» .. « . 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Dumvile Esq. J. Carpenter, Esq. V. ValeofWyly Rev. J. S. Stock well Salisbury . . . ScarboroughShaftesbury N. Shields.. S. Shields .. Staines . . . Stockton ... Swindon ... Tarporley . , Tavistock.., WarminsterWarringtonWaterford Wellington Whitby WhitehavenWigan Wilton, .... Wincanton..Winchester Wisbeaeh. . . Witney .... Wickham . . Yarmouth, Yeovil.. .,i W. Hen. Wansey, Esq H. Hardey, Esq. Rt. Rev. Dr. Foran, R. C. Bishop. Francis Davis, Esq. Edward Fox, Esq. J.G.Loy,Esq,,M.D.Joseph Miller, Esq. R. Thicknesse,Esq, Wm. Thring, Esq. Geo. Messiter, Esq H.G. Lyford, Esq., M.D., FR.C.S. W. Peckover, Esq. John Early, Esq. R. Dixon, Esq. Y. , Capt. G.W. Manby, Royal En.,F.RS. , Wm. Porter Esq. J. T. Vining, Esq. INDEX TO THE SLAVE STATES OF AMERICA. [As this Index was not supplied to Subscribers with the Second Series of this Work when issued, it is furnished now, for incorporation with the Volumes, by all those who possess that Series, so as to make the Work complete.] A. Abingdon, in Virginia, its situation, ii. 273. Population, ibid. Splendid natural bridge in the vicinity, ii. 276. Amory and Henry College, ii. 277. Beauty of the vicinity, ii. 284. Elevation of the town, ibid. New species of wheat grown there, ii. 286. Silk cultivation, ii. 287. Alabama River, voyage on it from Montgomery to Mobile, i. 261. Peculiar steam-boat employed, i. 262. Scenery on the banks, i. 261. Singular fellovv-passenger, i. 270. Military arsenal of Mount Vernon, i. 274. Voyage up the river, i. 465. Picturesque scene at midnight on the banks, i. 471. Singing birds in the woods, i. 472. Flowering trees, i. 475. Effects of clearing land on health and temperature, i. 477. Alabama, State of, entrance into it from Georgia, i. 150. Character of its scenery, and condition as contrasted with that state, i. 251. Bad condition of the roads, i. 257. Large plantations, i. 256. Wretched appearance of the slaves on these, i. 259. Recent settlement of the state, i. 275. Origi nally part of Georgia, i. 276. Ceded by her to the United States, ibid. Subjugation of the Indians by General Jackson, ibid. Topography of the state, i. 277. Its productions, i. 278. Its government and judiciary, ibid. Its educational institutions, i. 279. Internal improvements, i. 280. Statistics of population, and proportion of religious denominations, ibid. Albemarle, Duke of, palatine of Carolina, i. 19. Alexandria, relics of Washington in the museum there, ii. 570. Alleghany, mountains, their beautiful scenery, ii. 350. Amalgamation, horror expressed of it in the Southern States, i. 240. Proofs of the insincerity of this, i. 241. ii. 213. Americans, i. 468. Are generally uniform in stature and personal ap pearance, i. 487. Causes of this, ibid, their general personal charac teristics, i- 489. Their showy taste, i. 539. Their custom of providing brushes and combs for public use in hotels, ibid. Dishonesty and fraud of the mercantile classes, ii. 3. Recklessness of the Southerners, ii. 4. their absurd notions of the reasons for the emancipation of the slaves in the West Indies, ii. 8. Unromantic and passionless character of their attachments, ii. 14. Reasons for this, ibid. Their general avidity for novels, ii. 27. The ladies generally devoid of musical taste and skill, ii. 93. Their opinion and taste little regarded, ii. 124. Have slight influence in political affairs, ii. 182. Low state of oratory among the nation generally, ii. 120. The science much studied, but guided by bad taste, ibid. The lower classes prejudiced against the English, ii. 256. Are generally silent in public meetings, ii. 261. Profanity of some of their toasts, ii. 278. Their extravagant notions of the excellence of their orators and great men, ii. 282, 444. Their extreme passion for gain, ii. 295. Low standard of honour and fair dealing among them, ii. 296. II. 2 R 590 GENERAL INDEX. Specimens of dandies, ii. 336. Show their regard for their heroes only by words, ii. 442. Their inconsistency, ii. 440. And extravagance, ii. 447. Their really aristocratic feeling, ii. 449. Their want of reve rence for antiquities, ii. 544. Their conceited notions of national excel lence, ii. 545. Amusing instance of this, ii. 546. Hollow character of their reverence for Washington, ii. 569. Their immoderate use of tobacco, especially in the South, i. 234, 270, 379, 498. ii. 90, 121. Their use of peculiar phrases, ii. 132. Their fastidiousness with regard to the use of certain words, ii. 133. Their homage to men in power, ii. 183. Their fondness for military titles, ii. 192. Opinion of a native regarding the prevalence of unhappy marriages among them, ii- 196. Their slight perceptions of natural or architectural beaury, ii. 198. Their general indifference to comfort, ii. 209- Their singular inconsistency in some points evinced, ii. 211. Real indelicacy of feeling among them, ii. 241. This peculiarly the case in the South, ibid. Arises from slavery, ii. 242. AshviUe, journey from Greenville to, ii. 192. Beautiful scenery around, ii. 200. Arrival, and incendiary fire at, ii. 201. Athens, journey to from Augusta, ii. 53. Public funeral of Judge Clayton, ii. 60. Impressive address, ii. 62. Meeting of the Bible Society, ii. 64. Startling statement of prevailing infidelity, ii. 63. Militia muster and grotesque display, ii. 69. Phi Kappa Society in the University, ii. 70. Demosthenian Society, ii. 71. Appearance of the town, iii 73. Univer sity buildings, ibid. Population, ii. 74. College expenses and salaries of professors ii. 75. Newspapers, ii. 76. Literary taste of the South, ii. 81. Debating society, ii. 88. Personal characteristics and manners of the inhabitants, ii. 92. General deficiency of musical taste in the United States, ii. 93. Climate of Athens, ii. 94. Botanical garden, ibid. Sin gular geological curiosity from the enchanted mountain, ii. 95. Scenery in the environs of the town, ii. 111. Cotton factories, ii. 112. Wretched appearance of the whites, ii. 113. Burial ground, ii. 114. Municipal government, ibid. Mode of assessing taxes, ii. 115. Moving houses, ii. 129. Negro girls as footmen, ii. 131. Peculiarities of pronunciation among the inhabitants, ibid. Protracted meeting at the Presbyterian church, ii. 134. Augusta, voyage to, on the Savannah river, i. 152. Singular juxta-position of names on the river, i. 154. Trees and flowering shrubs of the forest, i. 156. Vicissitudes of temperature, i. 160. When founded and why so called, i. 163. Its plan, i. 164. Public buildings and churches, i. 165. Population, ibid. Manners of the inhabitants, i. 166. Medical college, ibid. Jail discipline, ibid. Educational institutions, i. 167. Theatre, ibid. Mild treatment of slaves, i. 168. Bridges and railroads, i. 170. Falls of the Savannah river, i. 171. Trappers at the rapids, ibid. Grape vines, i. 178. Racoons and opossums, i. 179. Fire at the Planters' Hotel, ii. 47. Zealous and heroic conduct of an Irish servant, ii. 48. Rapid conflagration, ii. 49. Discovered to have been the work of an incendiary, ii. 50. Author, his narrow escape from being tarred and feathered at Macon, i. 352. B. Baden corn, a new species of Indian corn, ii. 57. Banhs, general dishonesty of their proceedings in the United States, i. 453. Barney, Mr. Charles, his seat in North Carolina, ii. 197. Baton Rouge, a town on the banks of the Mississippi, i. 407. Blountsville, hospitable conduct of an Irish gentleman resident there, ii. 257. Description of the town, ii. 260. Political meeting, ibid. Rustic simpli city of the inhabitants, ii. 263. GUNEKAL INDEX. 591 Bridges, peculiar species of common in the United States, ii. 10. Blue Ridge, beautiful views from, ii. 394. Descent of the mountains, ibid. Bunco7nbe, county, N. C, beautiful scenery of, ii. 200. Carey, Mr. Matthew, his funeral, ii. 577. And character, ibid. Carolina, origin of the name, i. 11. First settlement, (see Florida.) Granted by Charles I. to Sir Robert Heath, i. 13. Charter of Charles II., ibid. Powers of the first patentees, i. 14. Laxity of morals among the early settlers, i. 15. Constitution of John Locke, i. 16. Allowed freedom of religion, i. 18. And negro slavery, i. 19. The constitution of Locke abolished, i. 22. Introduction of rice, ibid. Christian missionaries, i. 24. State of the colony in 1700, i. 25. Annoyed by pirates, i. 26. Became a colony of the crown, i. 29. Addition of Swiss settlers, i. 30. Propor tion of blacks and whites at various periods, i. 31. Emigration of Scotch, i. 32. Discovery and cultivation of indigo, ibid. Fear of the slaves by the colonists, i. 33. State of the colony in 1765, i. 34. Carolina (North), at first included in Florida, ii. 215. Its progress and history, ii. 216. Charters of Charles II., ibid. First legislative body, ii. 217. Becomes a royal colony, ibid. Is abdicated by the British, ii. 218. Topography and population of the State, ii. 219. Soil and climate, ii. 220. Mineral wealth, ii. 221. Commerce, ii. 222. Govern ment, judiciary, education, and proportion of religious sects, ii. 224. Carolina (South), its topography, i. 37. Soil, i. 38. Climate and produc tions, i. 39. Exports of rice and cotton, i. 40. Mineral wealth, i. 42. Population, i. 43. Internal improvements, i. 44. Legislative and judi ciary, ibid. Proportion of religious denominations, i. 45. Opposition of the inhabitants to the general government on the question of the tariff, i. 35. Charleston, voyage to from New York, i. 5. Its foundation, i. 20. Change of position, ibid. Present advantageous site, i. 46. Destructive fire in 1838, i. 47- Means taken to prevent its recurrence, i. 48. General aspect of the city, ibid. Public buildings, i. 49. Churches, ibid. Benevolent institutions, i. 50. 'Commerce of the city, i. 52. Banks and insurance companies, i. 53. Institutions for education, i. 54. Literary journals, ibid. General support of slavery by these, i. 55. Examples of this, i. 56. Reasons avowed for the good treatment of slaves, i. 60. Examples of capability in negroes, i. 65. Climate of the city, i. 67. Statistics of health, i. 70. Population, i. 74. Classes, occupation, and character of the white inhabitants, ibid. Their personal appearance and manners, i. 75. General hospitality of the citizens, i. 76. Prevalence of literary taste, ibid. Library.of Charleston, i. 77. Literary, religious, and bene volent societies, i. 80. Public meeting on behalf of feamen, ibid. Rice fields in the vicinity, i. 550. Clay eaten by the neighbouring farmers,. i. 551. Duel in the public streets, i. 552. Public promenade, i. 559. Vultures, i. 561. Markets, i. 562. Trinket worms, i. 575. Fireflies, i. 576. Meeting in favour of temperance, i. 564. Desire of the inha bitants for direct trade with Europe, i. 566. Means taken to prevent and suppress insurrection of the slaves, i. 568. Charlottesville, visit to, ii. 398. University at, ii. 403. Description of ii. 408. Cherokees, an Indian tribe ; visit of some of their chiefs to England, l. 30. Their civilized condition, ii. 97. Are removed west of the Mississippi, ii. 98. Their number, ii. 101. Their government and judiciary, ii. 102. Grant made to them for education, ii. 106. Chocktaws. an Indian tribe; their numbers and government, ii. 100. Then- laws ii 101. And dress, ibid. Grant to them for education, ii. 106. 2n2 592 GENERAL INDEX. Clay, Mr., senator from Kentucky; his speech in favour of negro slavery, i. 141. Comments of the American press on it, i. 142. Clay, eaten by farmers in South Carolina, i. 551. Unhealthy effects of this practice, ibid. Columbia, the legislative capital of South Carolina, ii. 19. Journey to it from Augusta, ii. 2- Excessive heat, ii. 16. Site and plan of the town, ii. 20. State House, ii. 21. College, ii. 22. Difficulty of governing the Southern youths, ii. 24. Library, ii. 25. Churches, ii. 26. Newspapers and population, ii. 27. Columbus, a town in Georgia; comfortless hotel there, i. 243. Falls of the river Chattahoochie, i. 246. Dirks and bowie knives sold by the drug gists, i. 147. Situation of the town, i. 510. Population, ibid. Churches and hotels, i. 511. Wretchedness of fare and accommodations, i. 512. Burning of the Court-house, i. 514. Singular endorsement on a bank note, i. 515. Newspapers, i. 516. Antiquities, i. 520. Nefarious con duct of the Americans to the Indians, i. 523. Commerce, statistics of, in various parts of the United States ; in North Carolina, ii. 223. South Carolina, i. 40. Charleston, i. 52. Savannah, i. 111. Mobile, i. 283. New Orleans, i. 314. On the Mississippi river, i. 461. Macon, i. 199. Richmond, ii. 426. Petersburgh, ii. 430. Norfolk, ii. 455. Virginia, ii. 535. Constitution of the State of Mississippi, i. 412. Cotton, exports of, from South Carolina, i. 40. From the United States, i. 41. Various qualities of, ibid. Its recent introduction into the United States, ii. 42. Various Descriptions now cultivated, ii. 43. Increased cultivation of, in the United States, ii. 289. Creeks, an Indian tribe ; their numbers and position, ii. 102. Their govern ment, ii. 103. Grant to them for education, ii. 106. D. Dancing, refined distinction with regard to the sinfulness of this amuse ment, i. 546. Deery, Mr. William ; his hospitable conduct to the Author, ii. 257. His history, ii. 258- Defaulters, list of, ii. 479. De Gorques, avenges the murder of the French in Carolina, i. 2. Democrats, in the Southern States, the most hostile to the abolition of slavery, i. 138, 375. Dismal Swamp, near Norfolk, in Virginia, ii. 488. Drunkenness, prevails to a melancholy extent among American sailors, i. 2. Was repressed by the early legislature of Carolina, i. 21. E. Election, at Mobile, in Alabama; drunkenness and riot at, i. 290. Emigrants, desirability of a better order of, in the United States, i. 128. F. Faquier, springs in Virginia ; visit to, ii. 555. Their beautiful situation, ii. 556. Description of the hotel, ii. 558. Incendiary fire, ii. 560. Florida, first visited by Europeans, i. 10. Visit of Prince de Leon, ibid. Explored by Verazzana, i. 11. Name changed to Carolina, ibid. Settled by French refugees, ibid. Conflicts of these with the Spaniards, i. 12. Their fate avenged, ibid. Settled by Sir Walter Raleigh, i. 13. Name changed to Virginia, ibid. Old name of Carolina restored, ibid. ( See Carolina. ) Frederichsburgh, a town in Virginia ; description of, ii. 551. French Broad river, beautiful scenery on its banks, ii. 202, 206. Journey along it, ii. 226. GENERAL INDEX 593 G. Georgia, state of ; when founded, i. 92. Its use and progress, ibid. Visit of Sir Walter Raleigh and General Oglethorpe, ibid. Philanthropic design of the original colony, i. 94. Oglethorpe's first treaty with the Indian chiefs, i. 96. Visit of the Indians to England, i. 98. First code of laws framed for the colony, i. 99. Rum and slavery prohibited, and why, i. 100. Immigration of Moravians, i. 101'. Voyage of John Wesley, ibid. Immigration of Scottish Highlanders, i. 103. Visit of George Whitefield, i. 107. Charter of the colony surrendered to the crown, ibid. Character of the population at that period, i. 108. Immigration of Quakers, ibid. Progress of the State since the Revolution, i. 110. Statistics of population, ibid. Of commerce, i. 111. Topography of the State, i. 112. Its productions, ibid. Its government and judiciary, i. 113. Its educational institutions, i. 114. Proportion of religious denominations, i. 115. Banking and trade, ibid. Specimen of the piety and feeling of the people, i. 216. Proportion of blacks and whites, i. 241. Value of land, i. 237. Has a state geologist, i. 516. Blowing caves, i. 517. Sin gular antiquities, i. 520. Gold, recently found in North and South Carolina, i. 42. Greenville, in South Carolina j journey to, from the falls of Tuloola, ii. 162. Culture of silk, and high expectations of Carolinean patriotism, ii. 163. Ideas of fashion; New York the emporium of taste, ii. 165. Notions of rent among the country farmers, ii. 167. Description of the town, ii. 175. Churches, ii. 1 76. Increased value of land, ibid. Rides in the vicinity, ibid. Singular mountain in the neighbourhood, ii. 178. Political cele brations, ii. 179. Singular toasts, ii. 181 . General fraud among coach proprietors in the United States, ii. 191. Journey from thence to Ash viUe, ii. 192 Seat>f Mr. Charles Baring, ii. 197. Not imitated by the Americans, ii. 198. Idleness of the Southerners, ii. 199. Greenville, in Tennessee ; journey to, from the Warm Springs, ii. 226. Changes of temperature, ii. 227. Painted rocks, ii. 229. The Chimnies, ii. 230. Splendid forests, ii. 233. Remarkable cavern, ii. 235- Com fortless hotel, ii. 239. Electioneering excitement, ibid. Indecent picture on stage door, ii. 241. Grey sulphur springs, visit to, ii. 315. H. Hickory wood, the emblem of a political party in the United States, ii. 320. Home education, encouraged in the South, and why, i. 444. Hotels (American,) their general discomfort, i. 244, 451. Humphries, Solomon, a free negro, resident in Macon ; his history, i. 211. I. Indian mounds, near Natchez, i. 425. Resemble the works of the ancient Britons, i. 429. Indians, wars with them in Carolina, i. 20. Kidnapped for slaves, i. 21. Visit of some of them to England, i. 30, 98. Festival for the worship of the sun by those on the Askansas river, i. 434. Fraudulent transac tions of the Americans with them, i. 514, 523. Grants from the United 2 r 3 594 GENERAL INDEX. States to those beyond the Mississippi, ii. 105. Missions among them, ii. 107. Number of, in the United States, ii. 108. Savage tribes west of the Mississippi, ii. 109. (See also Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks, Pawnees. ) Indigo, discovery and cultivation of, i. 32. Infidelity, startling account of the prevalence of, in the South, ii. 63. James River, voyage on it from Richmond to Norfolk, ii. 438. Ruins of Jamestown, ii. 441, 543. Jefferson, Thomas, his opinion of the influence of slavery on the passions, i. 556. Proofs of the accuracy of his views, i. 557. His opinions with regard to trade, i. 567. Effects which would have followed the adoption of these, ibid. Land, value of, in Georgia, i. 237. Lexington, in Virginia, when founded, ii. 362. Its population, ibid. Locke, John, his constitution of Carolina, i. 16. Allows religious freedom and slavery, i. 19. Change of his opinion on the latter point, ibid. Lousiana, state of; its first settlement, i. 300. Original extent of ihe colony, ibid. Visited by the French, i. 301. By the English, i. 302. Mississippi company of John Law, ibid. Cession of the charter of the company to France, i. 303. And by France to Spain, i. 304. Sold to the United States, ibid. Admitted to the Union, ibid. Topography, i. 305. Soil, ibid. Productions, i. 306. Population, i. 308. Varied degrees of civilization, ibid. Proportion of religious sects, i. 309. Government, i. 309. Judiciary, i. 310. Humane laws regarding slaves, i. 356. Love, its unromantic character and slight intensity in America, ii. 14. Causes of this, ibid. M. Macintosh. General, an Indian chief; his history, i. 521. Macon, a town in Georgia; journey thither from Augusta, i. 187. Badness of the roads, i. 188. Description of the town, i. 192. Its history, ibid. Site, i. 193. Plan, i. 194. Public buildings, ibid. Female college, i. 195. Churches and sects, i. 197. Attempts to fire the city, i. 207. Newspapers, i. 209. Indian mounds, i. 210. History of Solomon Hum phries, a resident free negro, i. 211. Sermon against the love of wealth, i. 220. Kindness and hospitality of the inhabitants, i. 225. Exorbitant charges and bad fare at the hotel, ibid. Norrow escape of the Author from tarring and feathering there, i. 532. Grave charges brought against the Author by some of the inhabitants, i. 533 Mammoth, remains of, on the banks of the Mississippi, i. 440. Skeleton in the Philadelphia museum. Marriages, more frequently mercenary in the Southern than in the Northern States, and why, ii. 13. Milledgeville, the legislative capital of the State of Georgia, i, 190. Conven tion there, i. 536. The capitol, a building in very bad taste, i. 538. Mississippi River, elevation of its bed, i. 317. Similar instances in other parts of the world, i. 320. Dykes, or levees, at New Orleans to prevent its overflow, i. 318. Description of a crevasse, i. 321. Tracts of land gained from it, i. 322, Beds of marine shells and subterranean forests on its banks, ibid. Voyage on it from New Orleans to Natchez, i. 395. GENERAL INDEX. 595 Description of the species of steamers used on it, ibid. Sugar planta tions on the banks, i. 399. General character of the scenery, i. 398. Contrast^ of the former and present navigation of the river, i. 405. Baton R'ouge, i. 407. Resemblance of the river to the Nile of Egypt, ibid. Junction of the Red River with it, i. 408. Voyage on it from Natchez to NewOrleans, i.460. Gorgeous foliage, ibid. Statistics of com merce on the river, i. 461. Mississippi State, formerly part of Louisiana, i. 410. Its settlement and pro gress, i. 4 1 1. Its political constitution, i. 412. Lelislative body, i. 415. Judiciary, i. 417. Militia, i. 421. Post-office establishment, ibid. Topo graphy, i. 422. Soil and climate, ibid. Production, i. 423. Statistics of population, i. 424. Names of towns and cities, i. 425. Indian mounds, ibid. Resemble the works of the ancient Britons, i, 429. Idol discovered at Natchez, i. 432. Remains of the mastodon, i. 438. Mineral sponge, i. 442. Education, ibid. Proportion of religious sects, i. 444. , Murders and affrays, i. 445. Statistics of commerce, i. 447. General defiance of the civil power, i. 552. Generally distressed condition of the mer cantile population, i. 555. Mobile Town, when founded, i. 281. Its position, ibid. And progress, ibid. Plan of churches and public buildings, i. 282. Splendid hotel, i. 283. Statistics of commerce, ibid. Population, i. 284. Extent of demoralization and crime, i. 285. Public bar-rooms, i. 286. Frequency of fires, i. 287. Hibernian society, i. 288. Newspapers, i. 289. Muni cipal election, i. 290. Drunkenness and riot on this occasion, ibid. Mobile Bay, numbers of shipping anchored in it, i. 292. Monticello, the residence of Jefferson ; visit to, ii. 398. Description of Jefferson's house, ii. 399. University of Charlottesville, ii. 403. Montgomery, a town in Alabama ; its site and population, i. 482. Eloquent address at a Sunday-school meeting, i. 483. Musical contest between a mocking bird and a canary, i. 484. Mormon, much persecuted by the Americans, ii. 447. Mount Vernon, the residence and burial place of Washington ; visit to, ii. 564. Music, little taste evinced for, by American ladies, i. 229. N. Names, singularity of those applied to towns in America, i. 154, 272, 425. ii. 77. Natchez, a town in Mississippi ; description of, i. 449. Its plan, l. 450. Discomfort of the hotels, i. 451. Public buildings, i. 452. Incorporated companies, ibid. Banks, i. 453. Their fraudulent practices, ibid. New mode of stopping proceedings in cases of debt, i. 455. Doctrine of repudiation, ibid. Newspapers and amusements, i. 456. General reck lessness, ibid. Forced silence on the subject of slavery, i. 457. Charac teristics of the inhabitants, i. 458. Natural Bridge, in Scott county, Virginia ; its reputed beauty, n. 276. Nalural Bridge, in Rockbridge county, Virginia; its dimensions, n. 356. its magnificent sublimity, ii. 357. Daring feat of a lady, n. 359. Dan gerous adventure of a gentleman, ii. 358. Supposed to have been part ot a cavern, ii 366. . . Neqroes, examples of their capacity for improvement, l. 6o. Contradictory statements with regard to their character, i. 87. ' Characteristic anecdote of their indolence and industry, i.35. Superstition of those of African birth, i. 160. Anecdotes, i. 224. Singular specimen of an aged female, i 227 Their wretched condition, ii. 6. Repeated false assertions with regard to their happiness, ibid. Legal decisions regarding them, ii. 31. 596 GENERAL INDEX. Incredible injustice of the law with relation to them, ii. 32. As easily taught as the whites, ii. 1 12. Supposed by a Southern writer to be the great beast of the Apocalypse, ii. 83. Are separated from the whites in the ordinances of religion, ii. 275, 481. Are not allowed to learn to read by the law, ii. 429. Their desire to do so, ibid. Equality of those in the American navy with the whites in skill and ability, ii. 471. Newhaven, in Connecticut ; outrage committed by the Southerners at an abolition meeting there, ii. 51. Slight punishment inflicted, ibid. New Orleans, voyage to, from Mobile, i. 292. Entrance to the city, i. 294. French and American quarters, i. 295. Beauty and elegance of the Creole ladies, i. 297. When founded, i. 311. French settlers, ibid. Jesuits, i. 312. Visited by British vessels, ibid. Ceded to the Americans", i. 313. Visit of the first steamboat to the city, ibid. Statistics of population and commerce, i. 314. Description of the city, i. 317. Its site, ibid. Dykes, or levees, i. 318. Plan of the old city, i. 323. Fauxbourgs, ibid Striking juxta-position of the names of the streets, i. 324. The levee, i. 325. Public buildings, i. 327. Cathedral and Catholic churches, ibid. Churches of other denominations, i. 328. State house, i. 329. Charity hospital, ibid. Infirmary, i. 330. Mint, ibid. Hotels: St. Charles, i. 331. St. Louis, i. 333. Verandah, i. 335. Merchants' exchange, i. 336. Banks, markets, and public baths, i. 337. Waterworks, i. 339. Theatres, i.340. Balls, concerts, and masquerades, i. 342. Contrast of manners between the Northern and Southern States, ibid. Population, white and coloured, i. 343. Personal characteristics of the Creoles, i. 344. Peculiar elegance of the Creole ladies, i. 345. Superiority to the Americans, i. 346. Ame rican population ; their general characteristics, ibid. Various classes of visitors to the city, i. 347. Frequency of murder and duelling, i. 351. Sunday amusements, i. 353. Religion made a recreation, i. 354. Coloured population, i. 355. Beauty and elegance of the Quadroon women, i. 358. Public improvements, i. 359. Board of works, ibid. Railroads and canals, i. 360. Colleges and schools, i. 361. Female academy, i. 362. Orphan asylum, i. 363, 386. Literary institutions, i. 365. Medical board and college, i. 366. Climate and health of the city, ibid. Liability of strangers to disease, i. 367. Superior longevity in ihe city, i. 368. Newspapers, i. 370. Examples, of style, i. 371. Specimens of bombast, i. 375. And of extravagance, i. 374. Uniformity of their opposition to abolition, i. 375. Precantions to prevent the rising of the slaves, i. 376. Visit to the Franklin infirmary, i. 382. Museum of natural history, i. 384. Visit to Madame America Vespucci, 388. Exorbitant charges in every department, i. 395. Newspapers, in the United States ; general delinquency of subscribers, ii. 118, 186. Their vituperation, ii. 247. Number of them in the United States, ii. 248. Their acknowledged degradation, ii. 249. New York, beautiful view of the city from the harbour, i. 5. Instance of burking in the city, ii. 185. Number of emigrants arriving there, ii. 459. Beauty of its bay and harbour, ii. 579. Gaiety of the city, ibid. And general distress, ii. 580. Prevalence of handsome women, ii. 581. Norfolk, in Virginia; description of, ii. 451. Its antiquity, ibid. Had been previously visited by the Author in 1808, ii. 452. Site, ibid. Public build ings, ii. 454. Theatre, ibid, Statistics of population and commerce, ii. 455. Emigrants, ii. 456. Navy-yard, ii. 462. Naval asylum, ii. 467. Excursion to old Point Comfort, ii. 475. Deserted condition of the fort, ii. 476. Churches, ii. 480. Negroes excluded from the body of the church, ii. 481. Slave trade carried on there, ii. 485. Society, ii. 487. Beauty of the women, ibid. Resemblance of the society to that of the British colonies, ii. 488. North Carolina. (See Carolina, North.) Nuttifiers, in South Carolina; their objects, ii. i't GKNEUAL INDKX. 597 O. Oratory, turgid and bombastic style which characterizes it in the United States, ii. 120. Studied as an art more than in England, ibid. The public speakers much inferior to the rCnglish, ibid. But thought by their fel low countrymen to be highly superior, ibid. ii. 282. The inferiority especially visible at the Universities, ii. 121. Painted rocks, in North Carolina, ii. 229. Pawnees, an Indian tribe ; their numbers and habits, ii. 103. Petersburgh, in Virginia; origin of the name, ii. 435. Site, plan, and public buildings, ibid. Manufactures and commerce, ii. 436. Livery servants at the hotel, ibid. Bad streets, ibid. Variable weather, ii. 437. Pocahontas, an Indian princess; her romantic interference in behalf of Captain Smith, ii. 498. Her history, ii. 502. Is presented at the English court, ibid. Her death in England, ii. 503. And burial at Gravesend, ibid. Politicians, American, a singular peculiarity of, i. 147. Ponce de Leon, curious object of his visit to Florida, i. 10. Population, of various states and cities ; North Carolina, ii. 219. South Carolina, i. 43. Georgia, i. 110. Alabama, i. 280. Louisiana, i. 308. Mississippi, i. 424. Texas, i. 503. Tennessee, ii. 269. Virginia, ii. 536. Charleston, i. 74. Savannah, i. 122. Augusta, i. 186. Macon, i. 193. Mobile, i. 284. New Orleans, i. 314. Montgomery, i. 482. Houston, i. 505. Columbus, i. 510. Columbia, ii. 27. Athens, ii. 74. Greenville, (S. C.) ii. 175. AshviUe, ii. 202. Blountsville, ii. 260. Abingdon, ii. 273. Lexington, (Va.) ii. 362. Charlottesville, ii. 408. Richmond, ii. 426. Petersburgh, ii. 436. Norfolk, ii. 454. Frcdericksburgh, ii. 551. Potomac, river, beauty of its scenery, ii. 573. Q. Quadroon women, in New Orleans ; their extreme elegance and beauty, i. 358. Quarterly Review, notice of some facts with regard to that periodical and the Author, ii. 585. R. Raleigh, Sir Walter ; visits Florida, i. 13. Muund raised to him by the Indians, i. 153. Red River, its junction with the Mississippi, i. 408. Healthiness of the country through which it runs, i. 409, Traces of a Welsh settlement on its banks, i. 437. Red Sulphur Springs, pgreeuble society theie, ii. 317- Picturesque situation ii. 307. Arrangement of the hotel, ii. 310. Beautiful rides in the vicinity, ii. 313. Contrasted with Saratoga ii. 316. Requlators, insurrection of, against the lawyers in North Carolina, ii. 218. Religion, state of, in New York state and Georgia, as shown by the reports of Bible societies, ii. 65. ...... Repudiation, a doctrine adopted by the governor of the State of Mississippi, i. 455. Its nature, ibid. Revivals, general bad tendency of these, n. 136. Instance of grossly inde corous conduct at one of them, ii. 137. Other instances, n. 138. Are got up at regular periods, i. 547. Doubtful charactcr of the conversions they effect, ibid. 598 GENERAL INDEX. i?ice, its first introduction into Carolina, i. 22. Richmond, in Virginia ; visit to, ii. 412. When founded, ii. 413. Its site, ibid. Plan, ii. 415. Bad streets, ii. 416. City expenses, ii. 417. Public buildings, ii. 418. Capitol, ii. 419. Dreadful conflagration of the theatre, ii. 422. Monumental distinction between whites and negroes, ii. 424. Government of the city, ii. 425. Statistics of commerce and population, ii. 426. Negro happiness on the Sabbath, ii. 427. Salt Sulphur Springs, in Virginia ; description of, ii. 324. Savannah, in Georgia ; voyage thither from Charleston, i. 84. Its founda tion, i. 116. Visited by General Oglethorpe, ibid. Attacked by the French and Americans, i. 109. Evacuated by the British, i. 110. Descrip tion of the town, i. 116. Plan, i. 117. Public buildings, i. 120. Private houses, shops, and hotels, i. 119. Churches, i. 121. Monument to Count Pulaski, ibid. Population, white and coloured, i. 122. Character and manners of private society, ibid. Hospitality of the citizens, i. 124. Bene volence of the ladies, i. 125. Military spirit, i. 126. Premature inde pendence of Southern youths, i. 126. Early marriages, i. 127. News papers, i. 129. Visit to a rice plantation near the city, i. 132. Condition of the field slaves, ibid. Comparison of their lot with that of English labourers, i. 134. Public meeting to establish a sailor's home, i. 148. Meeting of ladies for the promotion of Oriental missions, i. 150. Tem perance meeting, i. 151. Seamen, system pursued with respect to them in the United States, i. 3. Public meetings in behalf of, in Charleston, i. 80. In Savannah, i. 148. In New Orleans, i. 298, 477. Silk, cultivated in the United States, i. 204. Premiums offered for its production, i. 206. Sioux, a tribe of Indians in the West, ii. 109. Burning of a girl of- their tribe taken in war by the Pawnees, ibid. Slavery, allowed by John Locke in his constitution of Carolina, i. 19. All public discussion on it prohibited in the Southern States, i. 183. Dis advantageous to the planter, i. 200. Necessarily deprives the United States of the respect and esteem of mankind, i. 335, 394. Inconsistency and contradictions of its supporters, i. 377. Discussion on, in a Mississippi steamer, i. 399. Not economical to the planter, i, 401. Forced silence with regard to it, in the Southern States, i. 457. Its depraving and corrupting effects upon those surrounded by it, i. 553. Creates an aver sion to labour, i. 554. And a love of display, ibid. Engenders vindic tive passions, i. 556. Opinion of Jefferson on this point, ibid. Proofs of its accuracy, i. 557. Morbid dread of discussing it, i. 558. Danger which it threatens to the United States, i. 568, 570. Difficulties which surround the settlement of the question, i. 573. Fearful prospect of its ultimate adjustment, i. 574. Increasing danger every year, ibid. Sup ported and defended by the Georgia and South Carolina Methodist Con ference, ii. 88. Its evil effects on the whites, ii. 198. Restrains the punishment of crime, ii. 202. Its effects on the morals, ii. 242. Its effects on the national prosperity, ii. 409. Retards the progress of the Southern States, ii. 458. Its first introduction into Virginia, ii. 507. Slaves, feared by the early Carolinians, i. 33. Description of their condi tion by a Southern writer, i. 60. Their actual state, i. 62. Testimony of Charles Wesley with regard to their treatment, i. 105. Treatment of them in Charleston, i. 106. Are employed in cotton factories in Georgia, i. 162. Are bred in Virginia for Southern markets, i. 182. Their mode of avenging their wrongs, i. 208. Their condition contrasted with that GENERAL INDEX. ~)V9 of the labourers in English factories, i. 215. Tlieir value, i. 235. Varieties of traffic in them, ibid. Anecdotes illustrative of the wretched condition of the females, i. 248. Precautions to prevent their rising in New Orleans, i. 376. Means adopted by them to evade labour, i. 402. Pro visions of the constitution of Mississippi regarding them, i. 417. A caravan of, on their way from Virginia to Alabama, ii. 43. Mutiny of those on board the Amistad, ii. 483. Discussions on their case, ii. 484 Smith, Captain John ; his voyage to Virginia, ii. 496. Singular preservation of his life, ii. 497. Interference of Pocahontas in his behalf, ii. 498. His after history, ii. 501. Sun, worshipped by the Indians on the Arkansas river, i. 434. Sweet Springs, in Virginia; journey thither from the White Sulphur Springs, ii. 340. Good baths, ii. 344, Agreeable accommodations and attentive landlord, ii. 345. T. Temperance, meeting in favour of, in Savannah, i. 150. In Augusta, i. 185. In Charleston, i. 564. Legislation on, in the United States,!. 419. Tennessee, state of ; entry into, ii. 230. Splendid forests, ii. 233. Exces sive vituperation of the political press, ii 247. Points in which the inhabitants resemble the Athenians, ii. 252. Beautiful sunset, ii. 254. Detention at the Widow Hall's, ii. 255. Insolence of a driver, ii. 256. Hospitable conduct of an Irish gentleman, ii. 257. Topography, ii. 266. Origin of the name, ibid. Originally included in North Carolina, ibid. Ceded to the United States, ii. 287. Soil and productions, ii. 268. Popu lation and proportion of religious sects, ii. 269: Towns, ibid. Govern ment and judiciary, ii. 270. State expenses, ii. 271. Texas, interest felt in its progress by the Americans, i. 377. Recent accounts of its progress, i. 379. Description of the country from the relations of a settler, i. 500. Means taken to encourage immigration, i. 502- Principal town, i. 503., Form of government, i. 507. Tobacco, mode of preparing the weed, ii. 397. Appearance of the plant, ii. 320. Its effects on the soil, ii. 395. Its first introduction into Eng land, ii. 493. Is used immoderately in the Southern States, i. 234, 270, 397, 498. ii. 90, 121 . Tukoa Falls, in Georgia ; journey to, from the Madison Springs, ii. 144. Wonder and alarm of a young negro, ii. 147. Inhospitable and surly farmer, ii. 148. Curreighee hotel, primitive accommodations, ii. 149. Description of the falls, ii. 151. Tuloola Falls, in Georgia ; journey to, from the Falls of Tukoa, ii. 152. Mountain children, ii. 153. Beautiful birds, ibid. Comfortable hotel, ii. 154. Rudeness of manners, ii. 155. Description of the falls, ii. 157. Wild beasts of the forest, ii. 159. Non-consumption of mutton by the country people, ibid. Breakneck hill, ii. 161. U. Universalists, excellent reply to one of tlieir preachers, i. 198. V. Vespucci. Mademoiselle America ; visit to her in New Orleans i. 388. Her history, i. 389. Object of her visit to the United States, i. 390. Its failure, ibid. Virginia, state of; journey through it from Abingdon to the Springs, n. 290. Peculiar expressions, ii. 292. Buck-eye tree, ii. 296. Buck wheat, ii. 297. Partridges, ibid. Large grazing farm, ii. 298. Mountain flowers and shrubs, ii 299. Methodist camp-meeting, ii. 502. Pheasants and grouse, ii. 501.' Rude inscription, ii. 305. Beer-shop, ii. 328. History of the 600 GENERAL INDEX. State, ii. 498. Its first settlement, ii. 491. Origin of the name, ii. 492. Introduction of tobacco into England from thence, ii. 493. ftnd of the potato, ii- 494. Grant from James 1. to the colony, ibid. Voyage of Captain^ Smith, ii. 496. Singular preservation of his life, ii. 497. Romantic interference of Pocahontas in his behalf, ii. 498. First repre sentative assembly, ii. 506. Introduction of negro slavery, ii. 507. Sup ply of English wives, ii. 508. First educational provision, ii. 509. Loyalty of the colonists during the usurpation of Cromwell, ii. 512. Progress of the State since the Revolution, ii. 526. Causes of its present backward ness, ii. 527. Topography, ii. 523, Soil, climate, and productions, ii. 529. Natural curiosities, ii. 532. Antiquities, ii. 533. Literary and educa tional institutions, ii. 534. Manufactures and commerce, ii. 535. Propor tion of religious sects, ibid. Internal improvement, ibid. Government and judiciary, ii, 537. Paupers, ibid. Taxes, ii. 538. Population, ii. 536. Peculiar advantages of the State,ii. 539. Characteristics of its inhabitants, ii. 562. w. Warm Springs, in North Carolina; journey from AshviUe to, ii. 202. Baths, ii. 208- Wretched accommodations connected with them, ibid. Romantic situation of the hotel, ii. 209. Warrenton, unfurnished hotel at, i. 539. Tawdry taste of the Americans, ibid. Brush and comb for public use, ibid. Washington, General; celebration of his birthday in Savannah, i. 126. His first entry into public life, ii. 523. Visit to his tomb at Mount Vernon, ii. 565. Epitaph on him, ii 567. The reverence for him among the Americans not heartfelt, ii. 569. Relics of him in the Alexandrian museum, ii. 569. Watering places, their evil effects on the Americans, ii. 347. Wesley, Charles, his testimony on the treatment of the slaves.'i. 105. White Sulphur Springs, in Virginia; beautiful position, ii. 333. Arrange ment of the hotel, ii. 334. Evening ball, ii. 335. American dandies, ii. 336. Independence of hotel-keepers, ii. 338. Immense receipts at this establishment, ii. 340. Woman, this term offensive to American females, ii. 29. Why, ibid. Woods, beautiful flowering trees and shrubs with which they abound, i. 492. Woodpeckers, i. 495- Squirrels and cameleons, i. 496. Solemn stillness at night, i. 508. Immense fires, i. 509. Song of the nightingale, i. 508. Fireflies, i. 509. Wright, James; an Irish man-servant of the Author's; his zealous and heroic conduct at the burning of the Planter's Hotel, ii- 48- Wyer's Cave, in Virginia ; visit to, ii. 368. Motley appearance of the party, ii. 359. Illumination of the interior, ii. 388. Accident to a visitor, ibid.