Chapter XV: Letter X (1)

Cincinnati--Situation--Manufactures--Settlement and Progress--Weather--Credulity and Want of Education--Descend the Ohio--Islands--Jeffersonville--Louisville--Falls of the Ohio--Taverns and Accommodations--Expedition for Exploring the Missouri Country and Forming a Military Post there--Miscellaneous Observations interspersed.

_Jeffersonville, (Indiana,)
May 19, 1819._

I concluded my last letter, dated Cincinnati, 30th December last, without taking any notice of the town; I shall therefore begin the present one with some particulars respecting that place.

Cincinnati is no sooner seen than the importance of the town is perceived. A large steam grist mill, three large steam boats on the stocks, and two more on the Kentucky side of the river, and a large ferry boat, wrought by horses, were the first objects which attracted my attention. The {125} beach is lined with keel boats, large arks for carrying produce, family boats, and rafts of timber. On shore the utmost bustle prevails, with drays carrying imported goods, salt, iron, and timber, up to the town, and in bringing down pork, flour, &c. to be put aboard of boats for New Orleans.

The town is situated in north latitude 39° 5′ 54′′, and in west longitude 85° 44′, according to the determination of Mr. Ellicott.[71] The distance from Pittsburg is 305 miles by land, and 513¹⁄₄ miles by the windings of the river. The streets are laid out in a rectangular form, and are enlivened by drays, waggons, and an active people. The houses are nearly all of brick and timber: about two hundred new ones have been built in the course of the year. Merchants’ shops are numerous, and well frequented. The noise of wheel carriages in the streets, and of the carpenter, the blacksmith, and the cooper, make a busy din. Such an active scene I never expected to see amongst the back woods of America.[72]

The manufactories of this new place are more diversified than extensive. An iron foundery, two breweries, several distilleries, a woollen manufactory, a cotton-mill, an oil-mill, a grist-mill, a nail-cutting machine, a tan-work, a glass-house, and a white-lead factory, seem to be the principal ones. But the more numerous part of the artizans are joiners, bricklayers, blacksmiths, plasterers, shoemakers, tailors, hatters, bakers, tobacconists, cabinet-makers, saddlers, &c. &c. Journeymen mechanics earn from one and three-fourths to two dollars per day. Their board costs about three dollars per week. Most of them dress well on the days they are not at work, and some of them keep horses.

In the end of December, 1788, or beginning of January, 1789, Cincinnati was first founded by about {126} twenty persons. For some time the place was occupied more in the manner of a fort than of a town, the neighbouring country being in the possession of hostile Indians, who, on different occasions, killed several of the settlers. In 1790, a governor, and the judges of a supreme court, for the territory, arrived. In 1792, the first school and the first church were built. In 1799 the legislative authority of the governor was succeeded by that of an assembly. In 1803, the State government of Ohio was instituted. In 1806, the government was removed from Cincinnati to Chillicothe. In 1800, the town contained seven hundred and fifty people, and in 1805, only nine hundred and sixty. It was subsequently to the last date that Cincinnati showed indications of outgrowing a village and becoming a town. Within three-and-a-half years past, the population is supposed to have been doubled, and the amount is now believed to be nearly ten thousand.

_January 1, 1819._ To-day the boys of the town made a great noise by firing guns and pistols. They commenced last night about dusk. During the night I heard much noise of fighting and swearing amongst adult persons.

_January 3. (Sunday.)_ Works of necessity form a numerous class here. To-day boats were loading pork, and drays carrying it down to the river.

_January 8._ To-day the river was almost covered with ice floating downward. Many large pieces adhering together form boards of one or two acres in extent. The pieces of hemlock tree intermixed make it plain that these masses of ice are from the Allegany river.

_January 10. (Sunday.)_ Dealers in pork were (in one instance) busy cutting up and salting. I {127} saw some young men in a small boat examining the driftwood on the river; when pine logs came within their reach they dragged them ashore. Others were intercepting timber of every description, for fuel.

_January 11._ The weather frequently changes from frosty to humid. Yesterday at two P.M. the thermometer stood at 76° in sunshine. The hottest day since the ninth of December. To-day the temperature was 54° in the shade.

_Jan. 13._ At seven o’clock in the morning, the thermometer indicated 21°. By mid-day, the sun’s rays softened the mud in the streets. The people say that the winter has hitherto been milder than usual, and some infer that we will have no severe cold during the season. Last winter the thermometer was once observed to stand so low as 10° below zero. The greatest cold from 1787 to 1806 was minus 18°. The most intense frosts of this country have the effect of congealing the moisture in forest trees, and splitting them with a loud noise. Notwithstanding the moderation of the present season, the grasses and weeds on the ground are withered to whiteness. In the woods no evergreen plants are to be seen, except the tufts of mistletoe, which are perched on the branches of the tallest trees.

Examples of credulity are not rare. Yesterday a woman was deriving liberal emolument in town from fortune-telling, and from her supposed sagacity in knowing every thing respecting stolen goods. She also pretended to have the faculty of discovering springs of water and metallic ores, by means of the divining rod. Her speaking in the German language led me to suppose that she is descended from that part of Europe, where _Rhabdomancy_[73] {128} is prevalent. Almanack predictions of the weather are works of reference. I have seen several family registers of marriages, and the births of children, in which the sign of the zodiac in which the sun was, at the time of the particular events, is recorded. The positions are believed to have propitious or baneful influence on the fate of the individual. In some parts of the Union, what are called snake-stones are relied on as certain cures for the bite of the reptile, and of mad dogs, in opposition to the remonstrances of medical men. Such articles of belief having gained ground, a suspicion arises that the culture of the mind is much neglected, but unfortunately the position is established by more direct evidence. During my very short stay in this place, I have seen persons applying to others to read the addresses on packages of goods, or letters, and the sign-boards of merchants. A newspaper, in bewailing the want of schools, feelingly observed, that “the Ohian is in many cases growing up to manhood, with scarcely any other intelligence than that derived from the feeble light of nature.”[74] Books are scarce. I have seen a biography of General Washington; some notices of the military and naval characters of America; a history of the war; the Pittsburg Navigator; and some small almanacks more frequently than any others. The advertisements of booksellers indicate that they deal in romance. Many of the people are not in possession of a copy of the _Apocrypha_; of course such Jewish stories as the Idol Bel, or Susanna and the elders, are not often made the topics of conversation.[75]

{129} _January 14._ To-day I met with one of the passengers who came over with me in the ship Glenthorn. He has settled with his family about twenty-five miles from this place, having bought an hundred and seventy acres of land, fifty acres of which are cleared and fenced. There is a house, two barns, and a young orchard on the property. For the whole he paid seventeen hundred and twenty-five dollars, and can rent it out at twelve and a half per cent. on the price. He said that he meditates making another purchase, and that he does not regret having left his native country.

Since my arrival, I have seen an old acquaintance, who emigrated upwards of two years ago. He bought an excellent farm, which was well cultivated, in the State of Ohio, and paid two-thirds of the price in ready money. The money with which he ought to have paid the remaining part of the price, he imprudently lent to some neighbours, who never repaid him. The ultimate instalment was soon demanded, which, being unable to pay, he was obliged to sell the land. At this stage of the business, he found that he had originally agreed to pay for the farm twice its value, and was forced to leave it, after having lost nearly all his money.

Two large steam-boats from Pittsburg, put in here on their way for New Orleans.[76] One of them had been forty-eight hours, and the other forty-six hours and fifty minutes, in descending the river. The distance, as formerly stated, is 513¹⁄₄ miles.

The launching of a large steam-boat attracted a great assemblage of spectators. A careful observation of their countenances convinced me, that the complexion is more pale here than at Lexington. The difference is sufficiently striking to induce the belief, that there is a considerable disparity in the climate of the two places.

{130} Last week the weather was partly wet, and partly clear, the temperature was usually about 50°.

_Jan. 28._ This has been a warm day, the temperature 52°in the shade, the thermometer, exposed to sunshine, stood at 88°. The sky was clear, without a single cloud. I have never seen in this country figured icicles on the insides of windows during frosty weather. This is a clear proof of the dryness of the climate.

_31._ I have some pleasure in stating my conviction, that honesty, benevolence, and some other Christian virtues, are not singularities in this town. Several congregations that I have attended, behave with the attention and gravity which becomes the worship. It was easy to recognise many persons, who go to church three times on the same day. A preacher here of the Cameronian sect, is a man of talent and information. His diligence is no less conspicuous than his abilities. In addition to preaching three times on Sundays, he gives sermons in private houses on other evenings of the week.

_February 4._ This evening there were several heavy showers of rain, accompanied with more thunder than the residents have ever heard at the same season of the year. For a week past, we have had no bright sunshine; but westerly winds, and a temperature of 60° has been almost uniform.

With candour towards the American name, I must state, that much of the credulity recently hinted at, appears to be chargeable on people from Germany and Ireland, and their descendants. Methodists are also said to be true believers. It is at least certain, that the journal of their great apostle, Lorenzo Dow, is replete with paragraphs not dictated by the strictest accuracy.[77]

{131} _February 7._ To-day I left Cincinnati, on my way for Jeffersonville, at the falls of the Ohio. The boat in which I proceeded is a flat ark, loaded with flour and pork, for New Orleans. There are five such boats in company, all belonging to the same owner, who accompanies them. The wind has been south-westerly, and the thermometer, exposed to the sunshine, (which is but dim) stood at 60°. The warm weather, of late, has been uniformly attended by wind blowing up the river, importing, as it were, the air of a more southern latitude.

The flower buds of the water-maple, the elm, and the leaves of the weeping willow, are burst out, and the grass has become green. Dr. Drake, the describer of this western country, has stated the usual time of the flowering of the water-maple at a month later. It is to be feared that this early vegetation will be checked by subsequent frosts. Fruit trees, in that event, may be rendered unproductive for the ensuing season.

We put ashore, at night, twenty-three miles from Cincinnati. Gusts of wind, and a dark, clouded atmosphere, dissuaded us against sailing during the night. Much rain and loud thunder ensued.

_8._ The boatmen are not obliged to row in the present moderately high stage of the water. It is sufficient to make a few pulls occasionally to keep off the shore. Two boats are tied alongside of each other, and put about with the broadside to the stream. They float at the rate of nearly four miles per hour.

_9._ Last night at dusk, we passed the Swiss settlement Vevay, which lies on the Indiana side of the river.[78] These people are said to be industrious cultivators of the ground. Wine is their staple {132} product. It is procured from a round black grape, nearly the size of a musket ball. The liquor is often of an acid taste, and apt to undergo the acetous fermentation in keeping. We continued our course all night. The owner and I slept in the boat by a fire, where we had scarcely room enough to stretch ourselves. In all other respects this is a pleasant way of travelling. The river, in most parts which we have lately seen, appears to be from five hundred to six hundred yards broad, environed with rich bottoms, and beyond these high limestone ridges. From the tops of these to the water’s edge, the surface is covered with stupendous woods, with cleared farms at intervals. A few of the houses seem to be externally neat, but the majority of them are log cabins. The north side of the river is more thickly settled than the south side, where a negro population is to be seen along the banks.

In the afternoon we heard a remarkable sound issuing from a swamp near the river. I was told that it was the croaking of frogs. There must have been myriads of them in the place, as the noise was incessant, like that of wind amongst trees, or the fall of water over a distant cascade.

A contrary wind forced us to run ashore at a part where the limestone ridge is within thirty yards of the beach. The rock is of the siliceous kind, and the narrow bottom is strewed with large blocks that have tumbled from the steep. In the evening there was much rain and thunder, the wind continuing contrary and violent.

_10._ Early in the morning we heard the howling of wolves in the woods. Scarcely a single patch of cleared ground is to be seen for several miles.

Louisville is situated at the south-western extremity {133} of a stretch of the river that passes in a straight line for six miles, so that the town terminates a beautiful water prospect.[79] The river is here half a mile in breadth.

The towns passed on the Kentucky side of the river, are, Port-William, and West-Port. Those on the Indiana side, are, Laurenceburg, the Rising Sun, Vevay, and Madison, all places of recent erection and thriving.

The Pittsburg Navigator enumerates sixty islands in Ohio above the falls. They are so uniform in their character, that a description of one of them will give a general idea of all the rest. The upper end is broad, and intercepts part of the gravel that is moved downward during floods, forming a wide bar which acts as a partial dam that divides the stream into two parts, deflecting each of them toward the shores of the mainland, as represented by the figure.

The two currents are then deflected from the shores toward the island, which is thereby curtailed in its lower parts, and at its extremity contracted almost to a point. The two currents unite below, and form a deep channel. At the head of the island the water is shallow. The largest and oldest timber stands on the lower end, and {134} younger plants of willow, sycamore, &c. on the upper end of the island. It is farther to be noticed, that the trees on islands, although of rapid growth, are by no means so large as those on the adjoining banks and bottom lands. The alluvial process deposits gravel at the head. Over this, sand is precipitated; and lastly, a superstratum of mud and driftwood is deposited, forming a rich soil for the growth of timber. These facts, taken in connection, show that additions are continually making at the head, and that the converging streams are simultaneously carrying off the lower end of the island.

In most instances, these are not the islands discovered by the first white men who explored the Ohio. Nor are they those that will be known by the same names, thirty, forty, or fifty years hence. Their being gradually exchanged for others farther upward, produces an effect similar to what would be occasioned by the same islands moving against the stream, in their progress forcing the current against the shores, and thereby preserving a capacious bed for the river.

From Cincinnati downward, the ridges which bound the valley of the river on both sides are more broken, and divided into distinct hills, and are, of course, more diversified and pleasant than the unvaried ledges farther up. The traveller, notwithstanding, is apt to feel tired of the insipidity of the scenery. The same woods obstruct his view, or the same rude style of improvement meets his eye everywhere.

I landed at Jeffersonville, a small town on the Indiana side of the river.[80] It stands on a high bank, and has the most pleasant situation of any town that I have seen on the banks of the river.

{135} _February 12._ Visited Louisville, the town, next to Lexington, the largest in Kentucky. The population probably amounts to about 3000 persons. The falls immediately below the town being navigable for large craft only during times of high water, Louisville derives great advantage from the carrying trade.

_13._ Went over the rapids. The fall is said to be twenty-two feet and a half in less than two miles. Nearly the whole of the declivity is distributed into three shoots or rapids, where the stream is very swift, occasioning breakers amongst the rocks. Except in times of very high water, boats are conducted downward by pilots who are well acquainted with the falls. The temperature of this morning was 26¹⁄₂°.

_17._ Last night a gentleman from Carolina lodged in the tavern here. After a hired man had given him slippers, and asked him for his boots to be blacked, he exclaimed, “As I wish to see my Maker, I would not live in a free state, where one white man cleans the boots of another.”

A small degree of aversion to frivolous detail does not prevent me from describing a back-woods tavern. Like its owner, it commonly makes a conspicuous figure in its neighbourhood. It is a log, a frame, or a brick house, frequently with a wooden piazza in front. From the top of a tall post, the sign-board is suspended. On it, a Washington, a Montgomery, a Wayne, a Pike, or a Jackson, is usually pourtrayed, in a style that might not be easily deciphered except for the name attached. On the top of the house is a small bell, which is twice rung before meals. Immediately after the second peal, travellers and boarders assemble around the table, where they commence eating _without preface_. In such promiscuous {136} parties, the governor of a state, or a general of the militia, may be seen side by side with the waggoner. The larger towns having taverns of different qualities, and different rates of charges, a distinction of company is the natural consequence. We breakfast and sup on coffee or tea, accompanied with plenty of beef, bacon, chickens, and eggs. The hostess (or host if he is unmarried) takes her seat at the head of the table, and dispenses the tea. One or two _hired people_ (or slaves, in slave-keeping parts of the country) wait at table. At dinner, wheaten and Indian corn breads, beef, pork, venison, wild turkey, geese, and poultry, are staple articles; with a profusion of vegetables, such as cucumbers, onions, cabbages, beans, and preserved fruits. Lodging in taverns has not generally all the convenience that could be wished for. It is common to see several beds in the same room, and these are simple bedsteads without hangings. There are no bells in the bed-rooms, and other apartments; nor are menials accustomed to move at the signal of the stranger. Water is rarely to be met with in bed-rooms; washing is, of course, performed under a shed behind the house, or at the pump. A full house is always the apology for causing two strangers to sleep in the same bed; the propriety of the custom will always be admitted by the person who arrives latest. It has been my lot to sleep with a diversity of personages; I do believe, from the driver of the stage coach, to men of considerable name. The noted cutaneous disease is certainly not prevalent; if it was, the beds of taverns, which, like burying grounds, lay all on a level, would soon make the disease as prevalent in this country, as in some others in the old world.

{137} If Europeans and others, who indulge in censorious remarks on western taverns and tavern-keepers, would make reasonable allowances for the thinly-settled state of the country, the high price of labour, and the great numbers of travellers, their criticisms might be somewhat softened. The man who cannot enjoy a placid temper under privation of a part of the comforts of a more advanced state of society, is surely to be pitied for having business in the back woods of America.

A very inferior breed of cows and horses are to be seen almost every where by the river. This may be partly imputed to the want of proper fodder, and of shelter in the winter. Cattle are not housed in the season, when every plant is withered to whiteness. Grass is not sown to succeed the crops. A growth of tall weeds takes immediate possession of the soil. Hay, therefore, is a scarce article. Indian corn is resorted to as a substitute, but it appears to be too hard for mastication. Butter and cheese sell at 25 cents (13¹⁄₂d. sterling) per pound.

_February 17._ This morning was clear and frosty. Temperature 32° in the morning. Snow fell to the thickness of an inch in the forenoon. In the afternoon it disappeared.

_18._ The morning was clear; temperature 20°. In the afternoon the ice melted.

_19._ Temperature 29° in the morning. In the forenoon, snow fell to the thickness of an inch and a half. In the evening it became liquid.

There is much wet ground in the vicinity of the falls. Intermittent fevers afflict the inhabitants toward the end of summer and in autumn. Last season an unusual degree of sickness was experienced.

New settlers continue to descend the river. Family boats are almost continually in sight. In a {138} boat lying ashore to-day, a man was busy in making shingles. He has brought with him pine timber from Allegany river. Shingles give a good price here, where pine trees do not grow, and they furnish him with employment at intervals. This is a good specimen of the provident habits and the industry of New Englanders, a people admirably adapted for taking possession of the woods.

_March 1._ To-day the people of Jeffersonville elected a Squire, (Justice of the Peace.) Two young men disagreed, and fought a furious battle. In justice to the election, it is admitted that the fight was in consequence of an old quarrel.

I have met with no less than eight Scotsmen to-day. We are said to be the most national of all Europeans in America, and the most loyal to old monarchy.

The weather is mild and clear, with the aspect of spring. Birds begin to chirp in the woods; their plumage is fine, but they are not songsters.

Jeffersonville contains about sixty-five houses, thirteen stores (shops,) and two taverns; the land office for a large district of Indiana, and a printing office that publishes a weekly newspaper, and where the American copy of the most celebrated of all reviews is sold. A steam-boat is on the stocks, measuring 180 feet long, and forty broad; estimated to carry 700 tons. There are now thirty-one steam-boats on the Mississippi and Ohio. Twenty-nine more are building, and in a forward state.

At present, a passage from New Orleans to the falls of Ohio costs 100 dollars, including provisions. Goods are carried at 6¹⁄₄ cents per pound weight. This high rate, with the danger of passing through a most unhealthy climate, in case of arriving after the beginning of July, {139} or before the end of October, gives Baltimore, Philadelphia, or New York, a decided preference to Europeans who would settle in the lower parts of the Ohio country, or on the Missouri. It is, indeed, conjectured, that the increase of steam-boats will soon occasion a competition, and a great fall in the freight; but, it is only after a great deduction taking place, that New Orleans need be compared with Baltimore, as the port for landing emigrants.

_May 19._ The steam-boat, Western Engineer and a number of keel-boats, descended the falls to-day, with a considerable body of troops, accompanied by a mineralogist, a botanist, a geographer, and a painter.[81] Their object is to explore the Missouri country, and to form a garrison at the mouth of Yellow Stone river, about 1800 miles up the Missouri river. Five other steam-boats, besides other craft, are expected to join the expedition. The Western Engineer has on the bow, a large sculpture of the head of a snake, through which the waste steam escapes; a device, independently of the general aspect of the equipment, that might be enough to strike terror amongst the savage tribes.

I shall conclude this, with mentioning two singular occurrences. The passage of a steam-boat from Pittsburg to Louisville, seven hundred miles in fifty hours; and the marriage of a girl in this place, at the age of eleven years and three months.

FOOTNOTES:

[71] For a biographical sketch of Andrew Ellicott, see Cuming’s _Tour_, volume iv of our series, note 213.--ED.

[72] For the early history of Cincinnati, see Cuming’s _Tour_, volume iv of our series, note 166.--ED.

[73] _i. e._ Divination by the wand. This science may be fashionable, but unquestionably it must be a novelty, as the occult sciences, particularly that of divination, can only exist with the vulgar.--FLINT.

[74] Portsmouth Gazetteer, No. 4.--FLINT.

[75] These stories are found in the apocryphal chapters of the book of Daniel in the Old Testament; for Idol Bel, see chapter 14; for Susanna, see chapter 13.--ED.

[76] The “New Orleans,” built for Fulton and Livingston at Pittsburg in 1811, was the first steam-boat on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Having made a triumphant journey down to New Orleans, an object of wonder at every town on the way, she did not attempt to return, but ran between that city and Natchez until her destruction in 1814. The “Enterprise,” the fourth steam-boat on Western waters, after serving Jackson in his defense of New Orleans, made the first attempt to steam up the river, reaching Louisville in twenty-five days. But the water was high and she frequently found an easy course over inundated fields, so that it was reserved for the “Washington,” which made a like journey in 1817, to demonstrate the value of the steam-boat for Western commerce.--ED.

[77] Lorenzo Dow, a native of Coventry, Connecticut, began his work as a Methodist preacher in New York in 1779. He spent some years in Ireland, endeavoring to convert the Irish to Methodism; also in England, where he introduced camp-meetings, not without opposition from a large part of the English Methodists. Upon his return to America, he travelled from place to place, holding revivals. During his later life he was almost fanatical in his bitterness towards the Jesuits, and, as Flint implies, his zeal led him to make extravagant statements.--ED.

[78] For the Swiss settlement at Vevay, see Bradbury’s _Travels_, volume v of our series, note 164.--ED.

[79] For a brief account of Louisville, see Croghan’s _Journals_, volume i of our series, note 106.--ED.

[80] Jeffersonville, on the site of old Fort Steuben at the falls of the Ohio, was laid out in 1802 in accordance with a plan proposed by President Jefferson. It soon superseded the older neighboring town of Clarksville, upon the same tract of land.--ED.

[81] This was the expedition of Major Stephen H. Long. The object stated by Flint was abandoned, due to bad management of the military branch of the undertaking. While the party was wintering near the mouth of the Platte River, Long, returning to Washington, received new instructions from President Monroe, namely, to seek a pass through the Rocky Mountains south of the route of Lewis and Clark, and on the return journey to examine the source of Red River. Abandoning their steamer, “Western Engineer,” the party mounted horses, followed the south fork of the Platte to the base of the mountains, saw and named Long’s Peak, crossed over to the Arkansas, and ascended it to the Royal Gorge. There, despairing of success, they gave up the attempt and started home. The Union Pacific Railway now follows, in large measure, the route travelled by Long. In returning, he followed a stream which he supposed was the Red, but which proved to be a tributary of the Arkansas. For the journal of this expedition, see volumes xiv-xvii of our series.--ED.

{140} LETTER XI

Morals and Manners of the People--Defects in Education--Generosity--The President of the United States.

_Jeffersonville, (Indiana,)
June 28, 1819._

My residence at this place for some time past, prevents me from noting down such occurrences as travellers usually meet with. This letter must therefore be composed of other materials. Some remarks therefore on the people will form the subject; premising that it is not the American character in general that I treat of. My opinions and assertions are founded on my own limited observation, and on what I conceive to be authentic facts.

The European, on his first arrival in the United States, may perhaps expect to find sound republican principles, and good morals, pervading nearly the whole population. He has probably heard that capital punishments are rare, and from that circumstance, may have inferred that there are few crimes to punish. For some time this ideal character may be entertained. Newspapers will naturally be looked to, as the current records of delinquency; in these, multitudes of cases regarding the proceedings against criminals are entirely omitted. After some correspondence with the people, and after some observation of incidents, a sojourner from the old world will be apt to modify his original opinion.

{141} Last winter, a committee of inquiry into the state of the prison at Baltimore, stated in strong terms the inadequacy of the present modes of punishment, and the deplorable increase of offenders, who by their numbers threaten to overwhelm every lenient corrective. The confinement not being solitary, and the young being mixed with older and more experienced desperadoes, the institution intended for reformation is literally converted into a school of vice, where plans for future depredations are regularly concerted. The speech of Governor Clinton,[82] at the opening of the last session of the legislature of New York State, is another authority on this subject. That gentleman feelingly deplored the growth of depravity, and affirmed that magistrates are unable to inflict deserved punishments on all, and that, from the numbers committed, there is a necessity for extending pardon to an undue extent, or of granting absolute impunity. He stated farther, that the prisoner released is sometimes re-committed for a new crime on the same day.

The river Ohio is considered the greatest thoroughfare of banditti in the Union. Here the thief, in addition to the cause of his flight, has only to steal a skiff, and sail down the river in the night. Horse stealing is notorious in the western country, as are also escapes from prison. Jails are constructed of thin brick walls or of logs, fit only to detain the prisoner while he is satisfied with the treatment he receives, or while he is not apprehensive of ultimate danger. Runaway apprentices, slaves, and wives, are frequently advertised. I have heard several tavern-keepers complain of young men going off without paying for their board. This is not to be wondered at, where so many are continually moving in this extensive country, without property, without acquaintances, {142} without introductory letters, and without the necessity of supporting moral character.

Swearing, as I have repeatedly mentioned, is a most lamentable vice. If I am not mistaken, I have already heard more of it in America than twice the aggregate heard during the whole of my former life.

A high degree of nationality is frequently to be observed, and encomiums on American bravery and intelligence poured forth by men who are not remarkable for the latter quality, and who, by their ostentation, raise a doubt as to their possessing the former. Their conduct seems to be more disgusting to cultivated Americans, than to Europeans.

Here are multitudes of persons who have no accurate notions of decorous behaviour. This, no doubt, may arise partly from their ideas of the equality of men, without making due allowances for morals, manners, intellect, and education. Accustomed to mix with a diversity of company at taverns, elections, and other places of public resort, they do not well brook to be excluded from private conversation. On such occasions, they exclaim, “_This is a free country_” or a “_land of liberty_,” adding a profane oath. They do not keep in view that one man has a natural right to hear, _only_ what another is willing to tell him. Of late I have several times found, that when I had business to transact, a third party drew near to overhear it. Hired people, mixing with families and their visitors, have ample means of gaining a knowledge of other people’s affairs. I shall relate a story which I have on good authority. A gentleman, in a State where slaves are kept, engaged some carpenters from a neighbouring free State to erect a barn. On the day of their first arrival they eat {143} along with himself. On the second day the family took breakfast a little earlier than usual, and caused the table to be covered anew for the mechanics, previous to their coming in. They were so highly offended with this imaginary insult, that they went off without finishing their work. This little affair became so well known in the vicinity, that the gentleman could not procure other workmen for some time. This extension of liberty and equality is injurious, inasmuch as it prevents the virtuous part of society from separating from the vicious; and so far as it removes from the unprincipled and untutored part, the salutary incitement to rest character on good behaviour and intelligence, instead of citizenship, or an allusion to the _land of liberty_, or the favourite maxim that one man is as good as another. I have frequently been asked such questions as, “Where are you come from? Where are you going? What are you to do there? What have you got in these here boxes? Are you a merchant? I guess, then, you are a mechanic.”--Dr. Franklin did well in wearing labels on his person, announcing his name, his residence, the place he was travelling for, and his business there.

The abolition of titles and hereditary distinctions in America has not been productive of all the simplicity of address that might have been expected, or was perhaps intended by the illustrious founders. Squire, the appellation designating a Justice of the Peace, or Magistrate, is commonly retained for life, although out of office, or even when dismissed for misconduct. It is so also amongst officers in the militia. Men who are appointed Captains, or Majors, and may have been present at trainings for a short time, are called Captains or Majors ever afterwards. Of _ex officio_ corporals or serjeants I have heard no mention made. The persons who {144} take charge of keel-boats are also Captains. Except in cases where such names as those just alluded to are applied, Mr. is the epithet of every man, and is applied on every occasion. All are gentlemen. The wife is, of course, Mrs.; the daughter and maid servant are indiscriminately saluted Miss, or Madam. All are ladies. Thus the Christian name has fallen into disuse. I do not wish to be understood as approving of giving an appellation to one man and withholding it from another, but would only observe, that where all are Mr. Mrs. and Miss, these terms do not imply a distinctive mark, and that the simple Christian names would be more discriminately useful in the affairs of life, if not almost as respectable.

A passion for money has been said to be a great characteristic of Americans. To admit this would perhaps be conceding too much. It is certain that security of property and high profits on capital, tend to promote this disposition, and it therefore cannot be wonderful that America has a full proportion of enterprizing citizens, and such as are essential to the progress of a new country.

Polite behaviour, talents, education, and property, have influence in society, here, as elsewhere. It is true that many who occupy the back ground are obtrusive, and wish to act on the principle of equality, and that violations of decorum are not repulsed with the same contempt as in Britain; but it is only those who are agreeable in their manner and conversation, that can be received as interesting companions amongst accomplished men. The finer sympathies of human nature are not to be taken possession of by force. Those who have believed in the equality of society in America, have adopted a position physically and morally impossible.

{145} Most of the defects noticed may be traced to the education of youth, reared in families where the parents have not had the advantage of early culture, and where the son becomes a mere transcript of the father, the model after which he is formed. If he is sent to school, in most cases he knows that the teacher is not allowed to whip him. The teacher is thus rendered any thing but that object of reverence which becomes his office, and it can scarcely be expected that the young freeman will be much inclined either to follow the precepts or to imitate the example of his tutor. He is practically taught to look down on the learned man as an inferior, and to despise the most useful attainments. The most efficient means of instruction, then, are those of the family, where, in too many instances, the children are the unrestrained offspring of nature. It gives no pleasing sensations to hear them swearing, at an age when they ought to be learning to know one letter from another, or to see them throwing off submission to parents, and assuming all the confidence of manhood before they arrive at half the stature.

There is one trait of character sufficiently generous to give a lustre to the American name. The stranger is not insulted on account of his country. I have not seen or heard of a single instance where a native of Britain has met with a disagreeable reflection for having paid taxes to the government so long inimical to the Republic, and that has repeatedly leagued with savages in carrying bloodshed amongst her people.

In almost every part where I have travelled, I have met with intelligent and interesting individuals. In every town where my stay was for any considerable length of time, I have become acquainted {146} with citizens whom I should be happy to meet again. A few introductory letters which I brought with me to this country, have not only procured for me the most polite and friendly receptions, but other introductions to respectable and eminent persons before me on my route; letters not weakened by the distance of my friends, whose good wishes dictated the first, but if possible stronger than the originals.

To give a summary character of the American people, or even of any considerable portion of them, is beyond the reach of my observation and intellect. It may be safe to state, that they are much diversified by education, local circumstances, and the sources from which the population has been derived. The manners of Britain seem to predominate. The want of schools is a great desideratum in new settlements. Hence it is, that in travelling from the coast into the interior, the proportion of uneducated persons appears to be the greater the farther to the westward: a fact that has been noticed by many, and one showing that civilization follows in the rear of population.

His Excellency James Munro, President of the United States, is now on a tour through the southern and western parts of the country.[83] On the 24th current, three of our citizens, deputed by the inhabitants of the town, went to congratulate him, on his arrival in the neighbourhood, and to invite him to visit Jeffersonville. On accidentally meeting with them returning, I felt myself at a loss for a trite phrase in congratulating them, and could only tell them bluntly, that in Europe we should say, You are very _loyal_. One of them was polite enough to set me right, by informing me, that the object of their mission was to make an expression {147} of _public respect_. Should you consider the loyalty of Europe, and the public respect of America as convertible terms, you will also have occasion to be set right, and this may perhaps be best done by telling you, that the President does not engage in dubbing knights or granting sinecures:--That public officers are not appointed by his fiat, nor with the concurrence of a privy council of his choice; but in conjunction with the Senate, whose members are elected by the people. These officers are not only few, but their salaries are merely remunerations for the services which they perform. In short, the President is not regarded as a dispenser of public money. On his part he has to regard public greetings as the spontaneous sentiments of disinterested and independent men, without repulsing any one in the language of James the First of Scotland, “What does the cunning loon want?”

On the 26th the President arrived. A tall pole with the striped flag was displayed on the bank of the river. A salute was fired, and a large body of citizens waited his coming on shore. To be introduced to the President was a wish almost universal, and he was subjected to a laborious shaking of hands with the multitude. A public dinner was given. This, too, was an object of ambition. Grocers left their goods, and mechanics their workshops, to be present at the gratifying repast. The first magistrate appears to be about sixty years of age. His deportment is dignified, and at the same time affable. His countenance is placid and cheerful. His chariot is not of iron, nor is he attended by horse-guards or drawn swords. His protection is the affection of a free and a represented people.

FOOTNOTES:

[82] De Witt Clinton (1769-1828) was from early manhood engaged in New York politics. Beginning as secretary to his uncle, Governor George Clinton, he was state senator from 1798-1802; mayor of New York from 1802-1815; and, with the exception of four years, governor from 1817 until his death. His interest in the Erie Canal is well known. In 1812 he urged its construction upon Congress; failing in that he drew up an elaborate memorial to the state legislature, which had great weight in inducing that body to undertake the enterprise. When the canal was opened (1825), he was carried on a canal barge in triumphal procession from New York to Lake Erie.--ED.

[83] For Monroe’s tour, see Buttrick’s _Voyages_, volume viii of our series, note 28.--ED.

{148} LETTER XII

On Emigration--The Prospects of Emigrants--Inconveniences--The method of laying out and disposing of public lands.

_Jeffersonville, (Indiana,)
August 2, 1819._

This letter will be devoted to such remarks on emigration so far as my little experience and short residence in America enable me to have made. Before entering upon the subject, I think it proper to state, that I disown every intention of advising any one to leave his native country; and that I disapprove of exaggerating the prospects held out here, and underrating those of Britain, as uncandid and deceptive, as appealing to the passions to decide in a matter which ought to be determined by the sober exercise of reason.

In exchanging Britain for the United States, the emigrant may reasonably expect to have it in his power to purchase good unimproved land, and to bring it into a rude state of cultivation, with less capital unquestionably, than that employed in renting an equal proportion of good ground at home. He will not be burdened by an excessive taxation, nor with tithes, nor poor’s rates; for there are no internal taxes paid to the government, no privileged clergy, and few people who live by the charity of others. His labour and his capital will be more productive, and his accumulation of property more rapid, (good health, industry, and economy, presupposed,) {149} and a stronger hope may be entertained, that extreme poverty or want may be kept at a distance. After residing five years in the country, he may become an elector of those who have the power of making laws and imposing taxes.

The inconveniences or difficulties which attend removing, are upon no account to be overlooked. The man who undervalues these is only holding disappointments in reserve for himself. He must part with friends, and every acquaintance to whom he is attached, a case that he may, perhaps, not fully understand, till he acts his part in it. A voyage and a long journey must be submitted to. He must breathe a new air, and bear transitions and extremes of climate, unknown to him before. His European tinge of complexion must soon vanish from his face, to return no more. A search for the new home will require his serious attention, a diversity of situations may soon be heard of, but it is not easy to visit or compare many of them. Nor is the emigrant, on his first arrival, an adequate judge of the soil of America. In a dilemma of this kind advice is necessary. This is easily procured every where; but it deserves attention to know, whether the informant is interested in the advice he gives. Land dealers, and others, naturally commend tracts of land which they are desirous to sell. The people of the neighbourhood have also an interest in the settling of neighbouring lands, knowing, that by every augmentation of population, the value of their own property is increased. On several occasions I have met with men who attempted to conceal local disadvantages, and defects in point of salubrity, that were self-evident. I do not recollect of having heard more than two persons acknowledge, that they lived in an unhealthy situation. {150} In the high country of Pennsylvania, I was told that Pittsburg is an unhealthy place. At Pittsburg, I heard that Marietta and Steubenville are very subject to sickness. At these places, the people contrast their healthy situation with Chillicothe, which, I was told, is very unhealthy. At Chillicothe, the climate of Cincinnati is deprecated; and at Cincinnati, many people seem willing to transfer the evil to the falls of the Ohio. At this place the truth is partially admitted; but it is affirmed that the Illinois country, and down the Mississippi are very unhealthy. The cautious will always look to the views and character of the man who would direct them, and will occasionally rely on their own judgments.

In the public land-offices, maps of the new lands are kept. Sections of a square mile, and quarter sections of 160 acres, are laid down. The squares entered are marked A. P. meaning advance paid. This advance is half a dollar per acre, or one-fourth of the price. Lands, when first put to sale, are offered by public auction, and are set up at two dollars per acre. If no one offers that price, they are exhibited on the land-office map, and may be sold at that rate at any subsequent time. New settlers, who are sufficiently skilled in the quality of the soil, are in no danger from land-office transactions. Besides the land-offices for the sale of national property, there are agents who sell on account of individuals. I can mention Mr. Embree, of Cincinnati, as a gentleman who does much business in this way, and with much reputation to himself.

The land office maps are divided into townships {151} of six miles square.[84] The figure represents a portion of the country laid out in this way.

The positions of the townships relatively to the base line, are expressed by the numerals I, II, III, &c. and their positions relatively to the meridian are numbered on both sides of it east and west, as marked on the top and bottom. The parallels marked I, I-II, II-III, III, and so on, are called townships, Nos. I, II, III, &c. north or south according as they lie on the north or south side of the base line. Positions in regard of the meridian are indicated by the numbers 1, 2, 3, &c. at top and bottom, east or west, as they lie on the {152} east or west side of the meridian line, and are called ranges, Nos. 1, 2, 3, &c. For an explanatory example, suppose the designation of the township at the bottom of the right hand column is required. The square in question, is in the parallel numbered V south of the base line, and IV east of the principal meridian. It is therefore called town five south, range four east.

The townships are divided into sections of a square mile each, as in town No. 4 north, range No. 3 east.

The figure [page 178] is a larger representation of a township, showing how it is divided and numbered.

The faint lines represent the divisions of sections into quarters of 160 acres each. At the auctions {153} of public lands, and at subsequent sales, lots of this extent are frequently entered. The sixteenth section of each township is reserved for the support of a school.

Lands entered at the public sales, or at the Register’s office, are payable, one fourth part of the price at the time of purchase; one fourth at the expiry of two years; one fourth at three years, and the remaining fourth at four years. By law, lands not fully paid at the end of five years, are forfeited to the government, but examples are not wanting of States petitioning Congress for indulgence on this point, and obtaining it. For money paid in advance at the land office a discount of eight per cent, per annum is allowed, till instalments to the amount of the payment become due. For failures in the payment of instalments, interest at six per cent is taken till paid. The most skilful speculators usually pay only a fourth part of the price at entry, conceiving that they can derive a much greater profit than eight per cent. per annum from the increasing value of property, and occasionally from renting it out to others. Where judicious selections are made, they calculate rightly.

The land system now adopted in the United States is admirable in regard of ingenuity, simplicity, and liberality. A slight attention to the map of a district, will enable any one to know at once the relative situation of any section that he may afterwards hear mentioned, and its direct distance in measured miles. There can be no necessity for giving names to farms or estates, as the designation of the particular township, and the number of the section is sufficient, and has, besides, the singular convenience of conveying accurate information as to where it is situated. By the new arrangement the boundaries of possessions are most securely fixed, {154} and freed alike from the inconvenience of rivers changing their course, and complexity of curved lines. Litigation amongst neighbours as to their landmarks, is in a great measure excluded. The title deed is printed on a piece of parchment of the quarto size. The date, the locality of the purchase, and the purchaser’s name, are inserted in writing, and the instrument is subscribed by the President of the United States, and the agent of the general land office.[85] It is delivered to the buyer free of all expense, and may be transferred by him to another person without using stamped paper, and without the intervention of a law practitioner. The business of the land office proceeds on the most moderate principles, and with the strictest regard to justice. The proceeds are applied in defraying the expense of government, and form a resource against taxation. The public lands are in reality the property of the people.