Chapter XIX: Letter IV: Park House, Albion, Aug. 20, 1821 (8)

{263} Oxford is a fine situation for a town, being on a high bank of the Wabash, that is never inundated; the land good, and the timber fine, with some springs of excellent water. The road from it to the prairies is a good natural road, there being no creeks of any account between them and Oxford; as it is on the Wabash, and near the Bonpas river; it is well situated for trade; but this I have mentioned before. Bonpas possesses many of the same advantages, and is near a mile from it.

Carlisle is a town on the road from Shawneetown to Kaskaskai; its inhabitants are mostly English. The greater part of the land round it is rich prairie land, and report says it is likely to succeed well.[153]

[153] Oxford seems to have passed out of existence. Carlyle was platted as a town site in 1818, and incorporated the following year. It was advantageously located, being on the Vincennes-St. Louis road and on the Vandalia-Shawneetown road. It is now the seat of justice for Clinton County.--ED.

In the state of Illinois there are a great number of other towns of late date, but I know nothing of them. Towns are often rising up in this new country, as almost every person, who imagines he has a good site for one on his land; has it surveyed and laid out for a town, and offers the lots {264} for public sale. Many of these speculations are extremely wild, and often fail, but those that succeed are a source of great profit to the proprietors. As a lot of half an acre of land, that cost the purchaser one dollar, frequently sells from 50 to 500 dollars, and in a few instances much higher.

As Edwards' county is very large, it is expected to be divided; and should a division take place, it is supposed the county-town will be near the prairies, for the southern division; and for the northern division, in some of the prairies to the north of Palmyra, as most of the inhabitants dislike Palmyra for the county seat, as it is situated on the eastern side of the county, besides its being so unhealthy.

Shawneetown, is the seat of justice for Gallatin county.

Carmi, for White county.

Fairfield, for Wayne county.

Palmyra, for Edward's county.

Many of the American towns are named {265} from Scripture, Ancient and Modern History; and many of them are French, viz. Mount Carmel, Lebanon, Galliopolis, Athens, Herculaneum, Troy, Greece, Paris, Madrid, Vienna, Newport, York, Venice, Terre Haute, St. Louis, Vincennes, Illinois, &c. &c.

In surveying the land on the north side of the Ohio river, a point was taken on the river, and a line run from that point due north, till it reached the north side of the United States, as far as the Indian title to the land was extinct. This line was called the first principal meridian, and was begun somewhere in the state of Ohio. The second principal meridian, I believe, was in the state of Indiana; and the third principal meridian, in the state of Illinois, at the mouth of the Ohio. This third meridian was first run north till it reached the Indian boundary line, about seven miles to the north of the English Prairie. And the land was laid out into ranges of six miles wide, on the east and west side of the meridian {266} line; these ranges running from the Ohio river to the Indian boundary line, and the ranges are called first, second, third; and range east or west, as the case may be.

Next the ranges were ran into townships, six miles wide, beginning at the Indian boundary, called the base line, the townships running the width of the ranges, and the first line of townships from the base line is called town one. The second line town two, and so on to the Ohio river.

The townships are then laid out in sections of one mile square; thus a township contains six square miles, and thirty-six sections in each township: they are named section one, two, three, and so on. If the sections are in the woods, they are marked near the corners on the trees, and if in the prairies by stakes.

They are offered for sale in quarter sections, of a hundred and sixty acres; and are called north-east, north-west, south-east, and south-west quarters.

{267} When a part of the country is surveyed and offered for sale, notice is given in the public papers, for some months previous, with the time and place of sale. At the sale the lots are put up, beginning with the lowest number, at two dollars per acre; and if there be no bidder, another lot is put up, and so continued till the sale is ended. If a bidding be made the lot is sold; if more than one bidder, then the highest is the purchaser. He must then pay down one fourth part of the purchase money, one fourth more at the end of two years, one fourth more at the end of three years, and the remaining fourth at the end of four years; and if it be not then paid the land reverts to the government, and the money paid down forfeited. At the time of sale the purchaser receives a certificate of the quarter purchased, and of the money paid thereon, with the times of payment of the other instalments. These instalments bear interest, from the day of purchasing, at six per cent., but if they be paid on or {268} before they respectively become due, no interest is demanded thereon. But should the payment be delayed, only one day, after it becomes due, interest is demanded from the day of sale. If a person at the time of sale should pay the whole of the instalments, after the first, he receives eight per cent. discount on the sum so paid, according to the length of time of each instalment; or if at any time before the instalments are due, discount is allowed according to time.

As many people, who have speculated in land, have let their interest run, much will be due at the end of four years; but should the instalments and interest be paid on the day the last instalment becomes due, the interest will be saved on the fourth instalment; but four years' interest are due on the second and third instalments, that is 38 dollars 40 cents, but one day later will make it 57 dollars 60 cents.

If not paid at the end of four years, I have reason to think some time is allowed {269} before the land reverts to the government. But the interest still runs on till the day of payment; and if the arrears be not paid, the land and all its improvements, if any, return to the government.

The above was the plan on which the public lands were disposed of; but by an act of congress passed last spring,[154] a new plan has been adopted, and took place on the 1st of July, by which all credit on public land is done away, and the price reduced to 1 dollar 25 cents per acre, or 200 dollars for a quarter-section; that is, for land that has been offered by public auction.

[154] This act was approved April 24, 1820. See _Annals of Congress_, 16th Congress, 1st session, p. 2578.--ED.

I have every reason to conclude, that much remains due on the land entered in most of the western states, and some will, most probably, be forfeited to government, as much of it was entered on speculation, and still remains in a state of nature.

The alteration in the price of land, the large quantities lately offered for sale, with the shortness of money, will, I think, prove {270} extremely hurtful to some of the large speculators; but, in my opinion, will in the end be beneficial to the country at large, as it will oblige those who enter land to bring it into cultivation, instead of taking up large quantities, as it will now require a greater capital to speculate than it has hitherto done. Many of the speculators calculate to sell again without paying any of the instalments, after the first deposit, but some of them are now greatly dispirited, and would be happy to dispose of their land on almost any terms, at least to recover what it at first and since has cost them.

I will now endeavour to give a small sketch of the plan of the survey of the country near us, and likewise of the township in which we live.

* * * * *

From the third principal meridian, which begins at the mouth of the Ohio river, and runs north to the Indian boundary, called the Base Line, there is one range to {271} the west called Range 1, West of the 3d Principal Meridian; eleven ranges east, called Range 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, East of the 3d Principal Meridian; and three ranges, called Range 12, 13, 14, West of the 2d Principal Meridian; this survey was continued from the State of Indiana, and met the survey from the 3d Meridian at Range 11 East, which was the reason Range 11 was so narrow, and is called a fractional range.

The townships run from east to west, beginning at the Base Line; the upper line of townships, called Town 1, the second line Town 2, and so on down to Town 15, near the mouth of the Ohio; and the Townships and Ranges are called as follows; suppose at Albion, as marked in the map, in looking on the top is seen Range 10 and Town 2, East of the 3d Principal Meridian: or at Carmi, on the Little Wabash, Range 10, Town 5, East of the 3d Principal Meridian: or at Golconda, on the Ohio River, Range 6, Town 12, {272} East of the 3d Principal Meridian. The Townships are each six miles square, and are divided in sections of one mile square, 36 of which make a Township, and are marked and numbered as in the plate.

The Township, Range 10, East of the 3d Principal Meridian, Town 2, South of the Base Line, contains the whole of the English Prairie, most of Birks' Prairie, and a small part of Burnt and Long Prairie.

* * * * *

I live near the corner of section ten, the place marked J. W., and the dots from thence through section three and two, show the road to Albion; and those through sections nine, eight, seventeen, and nineteen, mark the road to my farm, in the south east quarter of section nineteen. My other farm is in the north-west quarter of section eighteen. Albion is in sections one and two; Wanborough is in section three.

Sections two, five, twenty, twenty-three, thirty, and thirty-three, in all townships, may be entered in half quarter-sections, {273} that is, in eighty acres; but in the other sections not less than a quarter can be entered. Owing to the land being uneven, some sections will a little exceed 640 acres, and the overplus is always put to the north-west quarter. The sixteenth section, in every township, is not sold, but reserved for the support of a public school. But this section in Town 2, is of little value, as much of it is very wet; but let the sixteenth section be good or bad, it is always reserved for school-land, because it is nearly central, should a school ever be opened in that township.

A few years back the United States obtained, by treaty with Indiana,[155] a considerable space of country, to the north of the base line; and in 1819, a new survey was made to the north of us, and the land was put up by auction in December, and in February and April last, to the amount of near a million of acres; but the greater part of it remains unsold, at the land-offices of Shawneetown, Edwardsville, and Kaskaskia. {274} I have heard this land is good; it is partly prairie and partly woodland; not remarkably well watered, and remote from water-carriage. It is represented as too much settled for backwoodsmen, and too remote for Europeans.

[155] This must be a misprint. Woods probably means the treaty signed by the Kickapoo Indians at Edwardsville, July 20, 1819, and by the Vermilion Kickapoo at Fort Harrison, August 30, 1819. The Indians ceded all lands east of the Illinois River lying between the Kankakee River on the north and a line drawn across the state from the mouth of the Illinois on the south.--ED.

In our journey, I frequently mentioned the state of the weather: I will now give a short account of it, from recollection, since our residence here. It was generally dry and hot till the end of October; November dry, temperate, and pleasant; this continued till the 14th of December, then wet and cold. January intensely cold, except from the 6th to the 10th, the thermometer sometimes as low as eight degrees below zero, or forty degrees below the freezing point; but this was only when the sun was set, as it is much warmer in the day than night; in this respect, much more so than in England. The Americans told us, it was the _toughest spell_ of cold they ever knew. The snow was at least eighteen inches on a level. The middle and end of February warm and showery; March generally {275} dry, but colder than the preceding month. On the first of April a heavy fall of snow, and a few following days cold, the rest of April dry; and after the middle as warm as July in England. May variable, hot, temperate, and even cold, but mostly dry. June hot and dry, except a few thunder showers. On the 4th of July a moderate rain, the rest of the month extremely hot and dry; and now, (August the 15th,) the thermometer stands nearly up to 100 degrees. The Americans say, they never knew so little rain as in the last thirteen or fourteen months.

With a few remarks on the country I left, and the one I reside in, I shall now conclude.

England has the advantage in climate, both in summer and winter; and people of large property may have better attendance in England than here. Clothing, furniture, and many articles of convenience and comfort are cheaper, and in greater abundance in England than with {276} us. And, it is true, many young men, who have visited the western country, have been dissatisfied at first, for want of society and amusements, and the difficulty of procuring comfortable places to board and lodge at; with the inconveniences attending getting their clothes made, washed, &c.: females being scarce with the European settlers, as three or four men have arrived to one woman. But after a short time, the greater part of them get reconciled to the country.

I should like to see the climate of this country more temperate, both in summer and winter, particularly the latter; as the cold is extremely severe, but of short duration. And if we had some running streams, it would be much pleasanter in the summer to us, and more beneficial to the cattle.

With regard to water for the stock, during the summer; in some places there has been great want of it, as most of the creeks have been dried up, and some of the cattle of the English Prairie went off to the Bonpas {277} and Little Wabash. But at Birks' Prairie they have done well for water, as most of the creeks of English and Birks' Prairie unite a mile below the south-end of the latter in the woods, and it is there called the big creek, and it is never dry; and from this creek some of the inhabitants of Birks' Prairie fetch all their water in a dry season. But few of these Americans will ever dig a well, and some of those that do soon lose it again for want of welling up. Among the English, there are now a number of wells, and many of them have now a good supply of water. When there are a few more dug, and a few ponds made, I think the prairies will be pretty well supplied with water, both for domestic use and cattle; but it will be difficult to extend it to any manufacturing purpose. This year, great drought has prevailed, from the 1st of April to the 20th of August; but in the last week we have had three good showers, each of several hours' continuance, so that the creeks run again, and the earth is got {278} well soaked; and, I hope, there will be plenty of water for the remainder of the summer. As the first part of it was so dry, we had no buffalo gnats, and but few prairie flies or musquetoes; but a great quantity of common flies, and they, I believe, are numerous all over America, at least we found them so all the way from Baltimore.

When better cabins are built, and we get a little accustomed to the climate, I hope much of the inconveniences we feel from the difference will be over, as we continue to enjoy as good health as we ever did in England. We here take three meals a day,--breakfast of bacon, beef, eggs, butter, honey-bread, with tea and coffee: dinner, some sort of pudding, with meat or game, and water to drink: supper the same as breakfast. I never liked my living in England better than I do here, and I am quite reconciled to the loss of beer or cider at dinner. But I expect beer will be plentiful enough in a few years, and cider at some future period. Brandy, rum, {279} and wine can be procured, and whiskey is in great plenty; and too much of it is drank by many. Beer, peach-brandy, and persico, are also frequently to be purchased. Tea, coffee, sugar, spices, &c. &c. to be procured at the stores, and most articles of clothing; the latter dear. We have most kinds of mechanics, so that we can have many sorts of furniture made; and we have black walnut and cherry-tree wood to make it with; these trees are in great abundance, and we have other sorts for building.

Although I am well pleased with the exchange of countries, I hope no one will leave England on account of my being favourable to America, as I should be extremely sorry if any person came here, for any thing I have said in praise of this country, as, perhaps, another might not be so fortunate, or so well pleased with it as I am; and the trouble and the expense of moving so many miles is both considerable. It cost us nearly three hundred pounds, for nine people, including our luggage of 6000 lb. {280} weight. We were longer than many in performing our journey, as we took our luggage on with us; whereas many came forward and left their luggage to follow them by different conveyances, and many of them had great difficulty and expense to get it again; and some had it much damaged, and others never received it at all. We lived very economically on our journey; and, on the whole, I cannot find any party came so cheap as we did, considering the quantity of luggage we had: our expenses amounted to thirty-three pounds each.

Some few who had no luggage reached this place from England for twenty-seven pounds each; but it cost others, including their luggage, forty pounds and upwards. But of those who came cabin-passengers, I suppose, the expenses exceeded fifty, exclusive of their luggage.

Here a man with a family may get a good living, in a plain way, and leave his children in a situation to do the same. But money is too scarce for a man to get rich by farming, as produce is low and labour high, so that {281} it will not do to hire much; but what a man and his own family do themselves turns to good account; for though produce is low, yet here a man has no rent, tithes, poor-rates, or taxes of any sort worth mentioning. My taxes, for 320 acres of land, amount to the sum of four dollars eighty cents, a trifle less than 1_l._ 1_s._ 8_d._ sterling; this for a year's tax to the government and State.

I think that partly cultivation, and part raising of stock, will answer much better than sowing a large quantity of corn; as stock is reared without much trouble or expense, but cannot be wintered without some hay and corn at present. Corn is best; but when the country comes to be more cultivated, timothy-hay will hold a high place, in a prairie farmer's estimation, for winter use. I think turnips, carrots, and mangel-wurzel are too expensive in the present state of the country; but pumpkins are of great service for the first part of the winter, and are raised at a {282} trifling expense. I have heard that rye, sown in July, amongst Indian corn, yields much feed after the corn is ripe, and also early in the spring. And that land so sown is in good order for Indian corn, after the rye is fed off in April, but I have not seen any rye near us.

I have now, I think, given an account of every thing that can be interesting to any one, and a great deal more than will be so to many people; but before I left England, I heard numerous enquiries made as to the most minute circumstances; and, having begun an account for the entertainment of a few friends, I have noted many trifling occurrences, to give them an idea of our situation, manner of living, and the customs in this remote country. And as we are among the true back-woodsmen, some of whom are much like the late celebrated Colonel Daniel Boone, always wishing to live remote from society, many customs here must be different from those of my native country, and new to many of {283} my old friends; and I hope the foregoing account will at least give some information, on many subjects they may wish to be acquainted with.

Though I hope no person will leave England to come here, from any thing I have said, yet should any one from our old neighbourhood come to us, I will endeavour to give him all the assistance in my power, as to choice of situation, &c.

_Wanborough, Aug. 29. 1820._

P.S. As I have no opportunity to send this account to England at present, I will add a little more to it.

* * * * *

I have seen some wheat thrashed on the earth in dry weather; it was afterwards put into a cabin, in the chaff; it seemed to me a very slovenly manner of doing it; but as there was little or no sand where it was thrashed, perhaps the wheat may not be gritty.

Wheat is much easier thrashed here than in England, owing to the dryness of the {284} climate. I saw some thrashed without untying the sheaves, and the straw was quite clean. I was informed a man could thrash fifteen bushels of that wheat a-day; it appeared to yield well. Wheat and other grain damage much sooner, in wet weather, in this country, than in England, from the greater heat of the climate. Indian corn, on the contrary, will remain out the greater part of the winter, and sustain but little damage from the weather. I saw some, near us, that was left out most part of last winter, and was not greatly hurt, except from birds. This field was much frequented by prairie fowls, and some other birds, during a great snow in January last, and the greater part of the corn was eaten by them.

Sept. 1. No bustle to-day as in England, as we have no Game Laws, and the time of sporting lasts from the 1st of January to the last day of December; as every person has a right of sporting, on all unenclosed land, for all sorts of wild animals {285} and game, without any licence or qualification as to property. The only qualifications required here are a good rifle and a steady hand and eye. Many of the Americans will hardly credit you, if you inform them, there is any country in the world where one order of men are allowed to kill and eat game, to the exclusion of all others. But when you tell them that the occupiers of land are frequently among this number, they lose all patience, and declare, they would not submit to be so imposed on. Here, if game do a farmer any mischief, he may destroy it by night or by day, in any manner he may choose, without fear of fines or penalties; and he is in no danger of offending his neighbour by so doing. And if he should kill any game, he may dispose of it by public or private sale, if so inclined. Nor are there here any Excise Laws; a person may make beer, leather, spirits, soap, candles, &c. &c. and not be troubled with excisemen; he {286} may likewise turn auctioneer, or any other calling, without a licence.

I have just finished walling up my well, at Birks' Prairie; the water rose so fast we had some difficulty to do it. As some of the earth gave way, it took a large quantity of stones, I suppose from twelve to fifteen loads. At the depth of 23 feet, we found a small vein of coal about three inches thick, just above the slate-rock. In digging this well we found no sand-stone above the clay-slate rock, as is generally the case. The water had, in the first place, a slight taste of sulphur, but it wears off, and is now much better flavoured; it stands sixteen feet deep. It cost 100 dollars (22_l._ 10_s._)

Some began sowing wheat a fortnight ago, but there is but little sown yet.

We have had large flocks of pigeons, from the north, almost continually passing over us for the last week.

Sept. 25. This day has completed our {287} first year's residence in the prairies, and between fourteen and fifteen months in America; during which time, my family have been in as good health as I ever knew them, for the same length of time, in England. Although much sickness has prevailed, in many parts around us, among the American settlers, the Europeans, on the contrary, have generally enjoyed very good health, with the exception of a few, who have had agues, from which they are now recovered. This, I think, may be owing to their different manner of living, as many of the Americans eat but two meals a-day, and sometimes but one, while the Europeans eat three times a-day. The change of climate must, of course, be greater to us than to them.

I lately saw a young pointer-dog, belonging to Mr. R. Birkbeck, that had three days before been bitten by a rattle-snake, in two places in the nose. A person present killed the snake, and cut it open, and rubbed some of the fat on the wounds, and afterwards {288} bathed them with sweet oil, and gave the dog some castor-oil. When I saw it its throat was a little swollen, but otherwise the dog was well. This is the only instance I have met with, or heard of, of any thing being hurt by any reptile.

As trade is dull, and money scarce, in America, we find the times at the Prairies also dull. But there are several new buildings going forward at Wanborough; viz. a malt-house, a brewhouse, a horse-mill, on an improved principle, (that is, an inclined plane,) and a distillery for making whiskey; there are likewise half-a-dozen men employed in making bricks for another year.

I have not seen one Indian, although there have been several at Wanborough at different times, since I have resided there, but I have always been from home at the time.

I see the American settlers understand the culture of this country better than the Europeans, and I mean generally to follow the rules of the former, unless where {289} I see a great defect in their practice; and should I depart from their plan, I shall do it at first on a small scale, to try if my method is preferable to theirs; as I always observed in England, that when a person removed from one part of the country to another, he almost always adopted the practice of that neighbourhood, however different to the one he had before been accustomed to.

An agricultural society was established last year, in the State of Illinois, and Mr. Birkbeck made president. It held its first meeting at Kaskaskia; but whether there has been any other meeting I do not know.

I have just received the patents of my farms, from the city of Washington, where they had been sent for the president's signature. They are complete titles, of a short and simple form. The following is a copy of one of them:--

{290} "269. JAMES MONROE, President of the United States of America,

"To whom these presents shall come, greeting.

"Know ye, that John Woods, assignee of Hugh Collins, of White county, Illinois, having deposited, at the general land office, a certificate of the register of the land office at Shawneetown; whereby it appears, that full payment has been made, for the south-east quarter of section nineteen; in township, two south; of range, ten east; containing 160 acres of the lands directed to be sold at Shawneetown, by the acts of Congress relative to the disposal of the public lands in Illinois. There is granted to the said John Woods, the quarter section of land above described; to have and to hold the said quarter section of land, with the appurtenances, unto the said John Woods, his heirs and assigns, for ever. In testimony whereof, I have caused these letters to be made patent, and the seal of the general land office to be hereunto {291} affixed. Given under my hand, at the city of Washington, the eighteenth day of December, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and nineteen, and of the independence of the United States, the forty-fourth.

[Seal.]

By the President,
JAMES MONROE.

Josiah Meigs, Commissioner of the
General Land Office.
Recorded Vol. ii. page 445."

I received the above, from the land office of Shawneetown, free of all expence. By the number 269 at the beginning, is meant the number as it stands in the Shawneetown land-office books; and it is also mentioned where to find the entry of it in the general land office books, so that it is easy to find the title of any land that has been sold at any time by the United States' government.

We have had but few emigrants from England this summer; but there is a family or two on the Ohio coming on, and {292} some more are expected from the eastward. And several at the Prairies intend returning to England, during the winter, to bring back their families with them in the spring.

With regard to the language of this country, I have found no difficulty to understand any of the Americans I have met with, a few words only excepted. I have seen several from England, that came from a distant part from that in which I resided, that I have had far more trouble to understand. Yet the manner of discourse among the true Back-woods-men is rather uncouth to an English ear. I will attempt to give a specimen of it, in a conversation between two of them, who meet each other on the road; one an Esquire, the other a Judge.

_Esq._ Well, Judge, how do you do ? I hope you are well.

_Judge._ Well, Squire, I am tolerably bad. How do you do?

_Esq._ Well, I am a heap better than I was; but I have been powerfully sick lately.

{293} _Judge._ But, Squire, you have a powerful chance of plunder on your creature. What are you going to do with it?

_Esq._ Well, I am going to town with a tolerable chance of plunder, to get it carded at the mill.

_Judge._ Well, so you have got your wool to be carded; I could not calculate what truck you had got.

_Esq._ Well, I fancy you have been to town. How goes times there?

_Judge._ Times are dull; I calculated to sell my creature there, and then when I got home, to turn in and earn some money to get me another.

_Esq._ Well, as you could not trade away your creature, you must turn in and work as well as you can. I also must turn in, and build a cabin or two, to raise a little cash.

_Judge._ Well, Squire, have you done any hunting lately? I have followed it steadily for some time.

_Esq._ Well, Judge, I also have hunted {294} steadily; and I calculated to make a heap of money of my truck, but I have got none.

_Judge._ Well, what truck have you got, to trade away to make money?

_Esq._ I have got a few beefs, and a tolerable chance of corn.

_Judge._ Well, I also have got some beefs, and a powerful chance of corn, and some wool, that I must toat to town and trade away.

_Esq._ Well, Judge, I must go on and toat my truck to mill, and then get right strait home.

_Judge._ Well, I must also get on, as my woman is powerfully sick and weak, and I am fetching her some whiskey.

_Esq._ Well, but Judge, where did you get your creature? It is a powerfully fine looking one.

_Judge._ Well, Squire, mine is a great little horse, I bought him of our general; but I must be going; farewell.

Well begins most sentences. Plunder {295} and truck include almost every thing. A horse is generally called a creature. Beefs are cows. Toat means to carry any thing. Strait and turn in, are words they frequently use. Woman,--they always call their wives their women. Many of them, instead of saying yes, make a sort of noise, like "him, him," or rather like pronouncing "m, m," with the mouth shut.

In this remote part of America, judges, generals of militia, colonels, captains, and esquires, are not generally men of property or education; and it is usual to see them employed in any common kind of labour. Yet I have seen men among them that possess very good abilities; far from ignorant, and much better informed than could be expected from their appearance.

Oct. 2. This day was kept at Wanborough, as last year, instead of Catherine Hill fair; but as some of the young men were gone to a county court at Palmyra, there was no cricket-match, as was intended, only a game of trap-ball. There have been {296} several cricket-matches this summer, both at Wanborough and Birk Prairie; the Americans seem much pleased at the sight of the game, as it is new to them.

The acorns of the white-oak are now falling, and very fine indeed they are; but the weather is too hot and dry for the swine to thrive as well as usual. The acorns of the other sorts of oak not yet ripe, nor are they in so large quantities as the white-oak, except on the post-oak. The white-oak acorns are much larger than any I ever saw in England. The post-oak most resembles the English oak in growth, leaf, &c. The acorns of the other sorts of oaks, differ much from each other, in size and quality.

26th. I have finished sowing wheat this day. I have only sown six acres, after Indian corn, potatoes, and buck-wheat; but I intend to get ready a larger quantity of land another year. Wheat is always sown dry in this country, and I have never heard of any smut.

I was lately at an auction, of a little live {297} stock and household furniture, belonging to a person leaving this neighbourhood. The auctioneer was no less a person than a justice of the peace, and he was an excellent auctioneer. The terms of sale much the same as in England, except three months' credit on all purchases above three dollars, on giving bond and security. But the most striking contrast in this sale from an English one, was, the auctioneer held a bottle of whiskey in his hand, and frequently offered a dram to the next bidder. As I made some biddings, I was several times entitled to a sip out of the bottle. And though I much dislike the taste of whiskey, I took a sip for the novelty of the thing. But I found the auctioneer had taken good care to keep his company sober, by lowering his whiskey considerably with water. As I only purchased a small lot, under three dollars value, I had no need to give bond and security; nor did I stop to see their manner of giving it.

Nov. 15. The weather is much colder {298} now than at the same season last year, but it is extremely variable. One day lately, at noon, the thermometer stood at 65 degrees, and the next morning was down to 17 degrees; a difference of 48 degrees in less than 20 hours; almost as great a difference as you experience between July and December. These sudden changes are unpleasant, but I do not find them very unhealthy, as colds are much less frequent here than in England; and, with the Americans, chilblains seem to be unknown.

A short time since, near a dozen of the inhabitants of the Prairies went to a court at Palmyra, and a few days after their return, most of them were taken seriously ill, but none of them died; while those who remained at home continued in health.

Dec. 8. Most people are busy getting in their Indian corn; the crop much slighter than last year, as the dry weather injured the early, and the early frosts the late corn. I have housed mine, and shall not have more than 30 bushels per acre; not more than {299} half an average crop, on land of that quality. Nor is the corn so sound and fine as last year.

9th. As I shall have an opportunity to send this to-morrow, I must hasten to conclude, as quickly as possible, with a short statement of the present situation of affairs in this neighbourhood. I have hitherto avoided saying any thing on the disagreement between Mr. Birkbeck and Mr. Flowers. Reports are so contradictory, and I have heard so much on both sides of the question, that I am quite at a loss to judge of the merits of the quarrel. Nor do I think it is an easy thing to get at the true origin of it; and could I do so, I have no wish to become a party therein. This unfortunate dispute was the cause of two settlements near each other, and most of those who arrived for sometime either joined one side or the other, which increased the difference. But after a time, as more settlers arrived, they considered they had nothing to do with the quarrel between these two {300} gentlemen, and settled in the prairies round, and in the woods towards the mouth of the Bonpas. Thus this disagreement was the reason of scattering the English emigrants for some miles round. But if this had been the only effect, it had been of no consequence, as many of the settlers so dispersed, have procured as good situations as they would otherwise have done. But the evil of two villages so near each other has been great; for had they been united, there would have been better taverns, stores, &c. In point of situation and water, Wanborough, in my estimation, has the advantage; but Albion, at present, appears most likely to succeed best. Whatever was the origin of this quarrel, it has been the cause of a much worse name being given to the settlement, in the English Prairie, than it really deserves. For the land is in general pretty good, such as in England would be called rich; as it is capable of producing, in abundance, corn, hay, fruit, vegetables, &c. &c.; and the woods and prairies are pleasant and healthy.

{301} Bees are numerous in the woods, but mostly at a distance from us; honey is plentiful, and now sells for 75 cents a gallon. There are some bees kept in hives, the same as in England, and the same sort; and so are the wild ones; they are in hollow trees, and when a swarm is found, they cut down the tree to get at the honey, and sometimes a swarm has several gallons. The Americans often go a great distance in quest of bees, camping out for many nights together. Six weeks ago a party of sixteen, on horse-back, went through Wanborough, towards the north, and seven or eight days after, two of them came back in the morning, almost dead with cold, as there was a severe frost, and they had camped out. They had been about 40 miles, and had met but poor success, having only found four gallons between the two. They said, they lived on the Ohio river, upwards of 50 miles south-east of us. They had been out ten days, and during that time they had not seen a bed. But others frequently {302} succeed much better, and collect a large quantity of honey in these bee-hunting expeditions.

The fires in the fall of 1819 were much greater than usual, as every thing was so excessively dry, and much mischief was done to the woods and plantations; my rail fences caught fire, but the damage was trifling. For several days we could scarcely see the sun at noon-day, the air being so full of smoke, and people, whose eyes were weak, were much annoyed by it.

It was supposed, that these fires extended many hundred miles. This year, on the contrary, there has scarcely been any fires in the woods or prairies, as the weather of late has been much wetter than last year.

Although the last summer was drier than the preceding one, and the number of settlers greatly increased, and a much greater quantity of stock, than in 1819, yet as many more wells were dug, water was not so scarce; and I have every reason to expect, that, should the next, or any future {303} year, prove ever so dry, there will be much less want of water than there was this year.

I mentioned before, one of my son's neighbours had a thrashing-floor, and intended to add a barn to it, which he has now done; and, I believe, it is the only barn within some miles of us. I have not yet seen it, but my eldest son informed me, that it is 20 feet square on the inside, about 16 feet high to the roof. It is built of solid logs, and covered with cleft boards. There were between thirty and 40 people employed in raising the logs, as they were uncommonly large, and all lifted up by main strength, without aid from pullies, &c.

At Baltimore, I saw one _old_ woman begging in the streets, and in our journey, of upwards of twelve hundred miles, from thence to the prairies, I also saw one _old_ man apply for relief, and the manner of his treatment I have mentioned on the 28th of July. These _two_ are the _only_ beggars I have seen in America; from this I am led {304} to conclude, that there is much less misery in this country than I had been in the habit of seeing in England, at least as to beggars.

We have had some difficulty in getting some of our letters from England, from their being directed near Shawneetown or Princetown, as all letters are left at the post-office of the town where they are directed near. The best direction is, English Prairie, Edward's County, Illinois State, North America.

I would advise those who write to their friends in this remote country, to say but little of public affairs, (unless any thing of great consequence has just occurred,) as such news is always sure to reach us through the public prints; but to fill their letters with local intelligence, as it is extremely interesting to us to hear of our old friends and neighbours, and any little circumstance relating to them.