Chapter V: Part 5

Of all the uncouth human beings that Mr. Weld met with in America, the people from the western country were the most so. Their curiosity was boundless. Often has he been stopped abruptly by them, even in solitary parts of the road; and, without any further preface, has been asked where he came from? if he was acquainted with any news? where bound to? and what was his name?

The first town that Mr. Weld reached was _Lexington_, a neat little place, which had contained about one hundred dwelling-houses, a court-house, and a gaol; but most of these had been destroyed by fire, just before he was there. Great numbers of Irish are settled in this place. Thirty miles further on is _Staunton_. This town carries on a considerable trade with the back country, and contains nearly two hundred dwellings, mostly built of stone.

_Winchester_ stands one hundred miles north of Staunton, and is the largest town in the United States, on the western side of the Blue Mountains. The houses were, at this time, estimated at three hundred and fifty, and the inhabitants at two thousand. There were four churches, which, as well as the houses, were plainly built. The streets were regular, but very narrow. There was nothing particularly deserving of attention, either in this place, or in any of the small towns that have been mentioned.

Mr. Weld reached the _Potomac_, at the place where that river passes through the Blue Ridge; and where a scene is exhibited which has been represented as one of the most "stupendous in nature, and even worth a voyage across the Atlantic." The approach towards it is wild and romantic. After crossing a number of small hills, which rise in succession, one above another, the traveller at last perceives a break in the Blue Ridge; at the same time, the road, suddenly turning, winds down a long and steep hill, shaded with lofty trees, whose branches unite above. On one side of the road are large heaps of rocks, overhead, which threaten destruction to any one who passes beneath them; on the other, a deep precipice presents itself, at the bottom of which is heard the roaring of the waters, that are concealed from the eye, by the thickness of the foliage. Towards the end of this hill, about sixty feet above the level of the water, stand a tavern and a few houses; and from some fields in the rear of them, the passage of the river, through the mountain, is seen to great advantage.

The Potomac, on the left, winds through a fertile country, towards the mountain. On the right flows the _Shenandoah_. Uniting together, they roll on, in conjunction, through the gap; then, suddenly expanding to the breadth of about four hundred yards, they pass on towards the sea, and are finally lost to the view, amidst surrounding hills.

After crossing the Potomac, Mr. Weld passed on to _Frederic_, in Maryland, which has already been mentioned, and thence to Baltimore. The country between Frederic and Baltimore is by no means so rich as that west of the Blue Ridge, but it is tolerably well cultivated. Iron and copper are found here in many places.

From Baltimore Mr. Weld returned to _Philadelphia_, where he arrived on the fourteenth of June, after an absence of about three months.

* * * * *

We must now return to Pittsburgh, for the purpose of proceeding, from that place, with M. Michaux a French naturalist of considerable eminence, in a journey through Kentucky, Tenessee, North and South Carolina.

Ninth Day's Instruction.

UNITED STATES CONTINUED.

_Narrative of a Journey from Pittsburgh to Lexington in Kentucky. From Travels in North America, by_ F. A. MICHAUX.

This gentleman, in company with a Mr. Craft, set out from Pittsburgh, on the 14th of July, 1802; and, two days afterwards, arrived at Wheeling, a small town on the bank of the Ohio, and about eighty miles distant from Pittsburgh. _Wheeling_ had not been more than twelve years in existence, yet it contained, at this time, about seventy houses, built of wood. It is bounded by a long hill, nearly two hundred fathoms high, and the base of which is not more than four hundred yards from the river. In this space the houses are built: they form but one street, along which runs the main road. From fifteen to twenty large shops supply the inhabitants, twenty miles, round, with provisions. This little town shares largely in the export trade that is carried on with the western country at Pittsburgh.

At Wheeling the travellers purchased a canoe, twenty-four feet long, eighteen inches wide, and about as many in depth. Canoes of this description are made from the single trunk of a tree: they are too narrow for the use of oars, and, in shallow water, they are generally forced along either with a paddle or a staff. As a shelter from the sun, M. Michaux and his friend covered their canoe, a quarter of its length, with a piece of cloth thrown upon two hoops; and, having placed on board of it a sufficient stock of provisions, they embarked about five o'clock in the afternoon of the ensuing day. They floated twelve miles down the stream that evening, and slept on the right bank of the Ohio. Both M. Michaux and his friend were excessively fatigued with their first day's voyage; but not so much by paddling their canoe along, as by remaining constantly seated in one position. For, the canoe being very narrow at the bottom, they were obliged to keep their legs extended; as the least motion of the vessel would have exposed them to the danger of being overset. In the course, however, of a few days, they became accustomed to these inconveniences, and attained the art of travelling comfortably.

They were three days and a half in proceeding to _Marietta_, about a hundred miles from Wheeling. This town is situated on the right bank of the _Great Muskingum_, and near the place of its junction with the Ohio. Although fifteen years before M. Michaux was here, it was not in existence, Marietta now contained more than two hundred houses, some of which were built of brick; but the greatest number were of wood. Several of them were from two to three stories high, and somewhat elegantly constructed. The mountains which, from Pittsburgh, extend along the side of the river, are, at Marietta, distant from its banks, and leave a considerable space of level ground, which will facilitate, in every respect, the enlarging of the town.

The inhabitants of Marietta were the first, in the interior of America, who entertained an idea of exporting, directly to the Caribbee Islands, the produce of their country. This they did in a vessel, built in their own town. The vessel was sent to Jamaica, and the success which crowned this first attempt, excited great emulation among the inhabitants of the western country. The ship-yard at Marietta is near the town, on the great Muskingum. When M. Michaux was there, the inhabitants were building three brigs, one of which was of two hundred and twenty tons burden.

On the 21st of July the voyagers set out from Marietta, for Gallipoli, distant about a hundred miles. On the 23rd, at ten in the morning, they discovered _Point Pleasant_, situated a little above the mouth of the _Great Kenaway_, and on a promontory which is formed by the right bank of that river. Its situation is peculiarly beautiful. The Ohio, into which the Kenaway falls, is here four hundred fathoms wide, and continues of the same width for four or five miles. Its borders, sloping and elevated from twenty-five to forty feet, are, in the whole of its windings, overgrown, at their base, with willow, from fifteen to eighteen feet in height, the drooping branches and foliage of which form a pleasing contrast to the sugar-maples, red-maples, and ash-trees, which are seen immediately above. The latter are overhung by palms, poplars, beeches, and magnolias, of the highest elevation; the enormous branches of which, attracted by a more splendid light and an easier expansion, extend towards the borders, overshadowing the river, at the same time that they completely cover the trees that are beneath them. This natural display, which reigns upon the two banks, forms, from each side, a regular arch, the shadow of which, reflected by the stream, embellishes, in an extraordinary degree, the magnificent _coup d'oeil_.

_Gallipoli_ is on the right bank of the Ohio, four miles below Point Pleasant. It was, at this time, composed of about sixty log-houses, most of which, being uninhabited, were falling into ruins; the rest were occupied by Frenchmen, two only of whom appeared to enjoy the smallest comfort.

On the 25th of July, M. Michaux and his friend set out, in their canoe, for _Alexandria_, about a hundred and four miles distant; and they arrived there in three days and a half. The ground designed for this town is at the mouth of the _Great Scioto_, and in the angle which the right bank of this river forms with the north-west border of the Ohio. Although the plan of Alexandria had long been laid out, few people had settled there: the number of its edifices was not, at this time, more than twenty, and the major part of these were constructed of wood. The inhabitants are subject, every autumn, to intermittent fevers, which seldom abate till the approach of winter.

On the 1st of April the voyagers arrived at _Limestone_ in Kentucky, fifty miles lower than Alexandria; and, at this place, their voyage on the Ohio terminated. They had floated, in their canoe, three hundred and forty miles from Wheeling; and, during the ten days which their voyage had occupied, they had been obliged, almost incessantly, to paddle their vessel along. This labour, although in itself painful to persons who are unaccustomed to it, was, in the present instance, still more so, on account of the intense heat which prevailed. They also suffered much inconvenience from thirst, not being able to procure any thing to drink, but by stopping at the plantations on the banks of the river; for, during summer, the water of the Ohio acquires such a degree of heat, that it is not fit to be drunk till it has been kept twenty-four hours. At Limestone M. Michaux relinquished an intention which he had formed of proceeding further down the Ohio; and here he took leave of Mr. Craft, who prosecuted the remaining part of the voyage alone.

The banks of the Ohio, though elevated from twenty to sixty feet, scarcely afford any hard substances, betwixt Pittsburgh and Limestone; except large detached stones, of a greyish colour, which M. Michaux observed, in an extent of ten or twelve miles, below Wheeling: the remainder of the country seems wholly covered with vegetable earth. A few miles before this gentleman reached Limestone, he observed a chalky bank, the thickness of which, being very considerable, left no room to doubt that it must be of great extent. The Ohio abounds in fish, some of which are of great size and weight.

Till the years 1796 and 1797, the banks of the Ohio were so little populated, that there were scarcely thirty families in the space of four hundred miles; but, since that time, a great number of emigrants had settled here, from the mountainous parts of Pennsylvania and Virginia; consequently the plantations had, at this time, so much increased, that they were not further than two or three miles asunder; and, when M. Michaux was on the river, he always had some of them in view.

The inhabitants of the banks of the Ohio employ the greatest part of their time in stag and bear-hunting, for the sake of the skins, which are important articles of traffic. The dwellings of this people are, for the most part, in pleasant situations; but they are only log-houses, without windows, and so small that they hold no more than two beds each. A couple of men, in less than ten days, could erect and finish one of them. No attention is here paid to any other culture than that of Indian corn.

The favourable situation of the Ohio entitles this river to be considered as the centre of commercial activity, between the eastern and western states; and it is the only open communication with the ocean, for the exportation of provisions, from that part of the United States, which is comprised between the Alleghany Mountains, the lakes, and the left bank of the Mississippi.

All these advantages, blended with the salubrity of the climate and the general beauty of the country, induced M. Michaux to imagine that, in the course of twenty years, the banks of the Ohio, from Pittsburgh to Louisville, would become the most populous and the most commercial part of the United States. _Limestone_ consisted only of thirty or forty houses, constructed with wood. This little town had been built upwards of fifteen years. It was for some time the place where such emigrants landed as came from the northern states, by way of Pittsburgh: it was also the mart for merchandise, sent from Philadelphia and Baltimore to Kentucky.

M. Michaux resolved to travel on foot, from this place to Lexington. The distance is sixty-five miles, and he performed the journey in two days and a half. In his journey he passed through _Mays Lick_, where there is a salt-work. The wells that supply the salt-water are about twenty feet in depth, and not more than fifty or sixty fathoms from the _River Salt Lick_; the waters of which, during the summer, are somewhat brackish. In this part of the country salt-springs are usually found in places which are described by the name of _Licks_; and where, before the arrival of Europeans, the bisons, elks, and stags, that existed in Kentucky, went, by hundreds, to lick the saline particles; with which the soil is impregnated.

In the country around Mays Lick the soil is dry and sandy; and the road is covered with large, flat, chalky stones, of a bluish colour within, and the edges of which are round. The only trees that M. Michaux observed here, were white oaks and hickory; and the stinted growth and wretched appearance of these, clearly indicated the sterility of the soil.

In the year 1796, _Lexington_ consisted of only eighteen houses; but it now contained more than a hundred and fifty, half of which were of brick. This town is situated on a delightful plain, and is watered by a small river, near which were several corn-mills. Every thing seemed to announce the comfort of its inhabitants. It is built on a regular plan. The streets are broad, and cross each other at right angles. The want of pavement, however, renders it very muddy in winter. There were, at this time, in Lexington, two printing-offices, at each of which a newspaper was published twice a week. Two extensive rope-walks, constantly in employ, supplied, with rigging, the ships that were built upon the Ohio. Independently of other manufactories which had been established in this town, there were several common potteries, and one or two gunpowder-mills. The sulphur for the latter was obtained from Philadelphia, and the saltpetre was manufactured from substances dug out of grottos, or caverns, that are found on the declivity of lofty hills, in the mountainous parts of the state. The soil of these is extremely rich in nitrous particles.

[About fifty miles west of Lexington, on the bank of the Ohio, and near the falls of that river, is the town of _Louisville_. This place forms a connecting link between New Orleans and the whole western parts of the United States. Mechanics can here obtain full employment, and they are able to earn from forty to fifty-four shillings a week. Every article of clothing is excessively expensive; and the rents of houses are very high. This place was formerly very unhealthy, the inhabitants being subject to fevers, agues, and other complaints; but it is said to be improving in healthiness. Mr. Fearon, who visited this place in the year 1817, does not speak favourably of the character of the Kentuckians. He says they drink a great deal, swear a great deal, and gamble a great deal; and that even their amusements are sometimes conducted with excessive barbarity. The expence of sending goods, by water, from New Orleans to Louisville, is about twenty shillings per hundred weight; and down the stream, to New Orleans, about four shillings. The boats usually make the voyage upward in about ninety days; and downward in twenty-eight days. Steam-vessels accomplish the former voyage in thirty-six, and the latter in twenty-eight days.

There are in Louisville, two great hotels, one of which has, on an average, one hundred and forty, and the other eighty boarders. A person, on going to either of them, applies to the bar-keeper for admittance: and the accommodations are very different from those in an English hotel. The place for washing is not, as with us, in the bed-rooms; but in the court-yard, where there are a large cistern, several towels and a negro in attendance. The sleeping-room usually contains from four to eight bedsteads, having mattresses and not feather-beds; sheets of calico, two blankets, and a quilt: the bedsteads have no curtains. The public rooms are, a news-room, a boot-room, (in which the bar is situated,) and a dining-room. The fires are generally surrounded by parties of about six persons. The usual custom with Americans is to pace up and down the news-room, in a manner similar to walking the deck of a ship at sea. Smoking segars is practised by all, and at every hour of the day. Argument or discussion, in this part of the world, is of very rare occurrence; social intercourse seems still more unusual; conversation on general topics, or taking enlarged and enlightened views of things, rarely occurs: each man is in pursuit of his own individual interest. At half past seven, the first bell rings for the purpose of collecting all the boarders, and, at eight, the second bell rings; breakfast is then set, the dining-room is unlocked, a general rush commences, and some activity, as well as dexterity, is necessary to obtain a seat at the table. The breakfast consists of a profuse supply of fish, flesh, and fowl, which is consumed with a rapidity truly extraordinary. At half-past one, the first bell rings, announcing the approach of dinner; the avenues to the dining-room become thronged. At two o'clock the second bell rings, the doors are thrown open, and a repetition of the breakfast-scene succeeds. At six, tea, or what is here called supper, is announced, and partaken of in the same manner. This is the last meal, and it usually affords the same fare as breakfast. At table there is neither conversation nor drinking: the latter is effected by individuals taking their liquor at the bar, the keeper of which is in full employ from sunrise to bed-time. A large tub of water, with a ladle, is placed at the bar; and to this the customers go and help themselves. When spirits are called for, the decanter is handed; the person calling for them takes what quantity he pleases, and the charge is sixpence-halfpenny. The life of boarders at an American tavern, presents a senseless and comfortless mode of killing time. Most houses of this description are thronged to excess; and few of the persons who frequent them, appear to have any other object in view than spitting and smoking.

In the state of Kentucky there are several subterraneous _caverns_, which have attracted much attention, and which are described as among the most extraordinary natural curiosities in the world. They are also of considerable importance in a commercial view, from the quantity of nitre they afford. The great cave, near Crooked Creek, is supposed to contain a million pounds of nitre. This cave has two mouths or entrances, about six hundred and fifty yards from each other, and one hundred and fifty yards from the creek.]

Tenth Day's Instruction.

UNITED STATES CONTINUED.

_Narrative of the Journey of M. Michaux, from Lexington to Charleston in South Carolina._

On the tenth of August, M. Michaux set out from Lexington to Nasheville, in the state of Tenessee; and, as an establishment for the purpose of naturalizing the vine in Kentucky, was not very far out of his road, he resolved to visit it. Consequently, about fourteen miles from Lexington, he quitted the road, turned to the left, strolled through some woods, and reached the vineyard in the evening. It was, at this time, under the superintendance of a M. Dufoux, the principal person of a small Swiss colony, which had settled in Kentucky some years before. The vines had been selected chiefly from the vicinity of New York and Philadelphia. Many of them had failed; but those of the kinds which produce the Madeira wines, appeared to give considerable hopes of success. The whole of the vines occupied a space of about six acres; and they were planted and fixed with props similar to those in the environs of Paris.

From this place M. Michaux was conducted, through the woods, to a ferry over the _Kentucky River_. The borders of the river at this ferry are formed by an enormous mass of chalky stones, remarkably peaked, and about a hundred and fifty feet high.

Near _Harrodsburgh_ M. Michaux visited the plantation and residence of General Adair. A spacious and commodious house, a great number of black servants, equipages: every thing announced the opulence of the general. Magnificent peach-orchards, and immense fields of Indian wheat, surrounded the house. The soil was extremely fertile, as was evident from the largeness of the blades of corn, their extraordinary height, and the abundance of the crops.

About forty miles beyond the general's plantation, M. Michaux passed over _Mulder Hill_, a steep and lofty mountain, that forms a kind of amphitheatre. From its summit the neighbouring country presents the aspect of an immense valley, covered with forests of imperceptible extent. As far as the eye can reach, nothing but a gloomy verdant space is seen, formed by the tops of the close-connected trees, and, through which, not even the vestige of a plantation can be discerned. The profound silence that reigns in these woods, uninhabited by savage beasts, and the security of the place, forms an _ensemble_ rarely to be seen in other countries.

About ten miles beyond _Green River_ commence what are called the _Barrens_, or _Kentucky Meadows_. On the first day of his journey over them, M. Michaux travelled fifteen miles; and, on the ensuing morning, having wandered to some distance out of the road, in search of a spring, at which to water his horse, he discovered a plantation in a low and narrow valley. The mistress of the house told him that she had resided there upwards of three years, and that, for eighteen months, she had not seen any individual except of her own family: that, weary of living thus isolated, her husband had been more than two months from home in quest of another spot, towards the mouth of the Ohio. A daughter, about fourteen years of age, and two children, considerably younger, were all the company she had: her house was abundantly stocked with vegetables and corn.

This part of the Barrens was precisely similar to that which M. Michaux had traversed the day before; and the same kind of country extends as far as the line which separates the state of Tenessee from that of Kentucky. Here, to the great satisfaction of M. Michaux, he once more entered the woods. Nothing, he says, can be more tiresome than the doleful uniformity of these immense meadows, where there is no human creature to be met with; and where, except a great number of partridges, no species of living beings are to be seen.

The Barrens comprise a portion of country from sixty to seventy miles in length, by sixty miles in breadth. According to the signification of the name, M. Michaux had imagined that he should have to cross a naked space, scattered here and there with a few plants; but he was agreeably surprised to find a beautiful meadow, where the grass was from two to three feet high. He here discovered a great variety of interesting plants. In some parts he observed several species of wild vines, and, in particular, one which is called by the inhabitants "summer grapes:" the bunches of fruit were as large, and the grapes as good in quality, as those in the vineyards round Paris. And it appeared to M. Michaux that the attempts which had been made in Kentucky, to establish the culture of the vine, would have been more successful in the Barrens, the soil of which appeared to him better adapted for this kind of culture, than that on the banks of the Kentucky. The Barrens are very thinly populated; for, on the road where the plantations are closest together, M. Michaux counted but eighteen in a space of sixty or seventy miles.

_Nasheville_, the principal and the oldest town in this part of Tenessee, is situated on the _river Cumberland_, the borders of which are here formed by a mass of chalky stone, upwards of sixty feet in height. Except seven or eight houses, built of brick, the rest, to the number of about a hundred and twenty, were constructed of wood, and were distributed over a surface of twenty-five or thirty acres, where the rock appeared almost naked in every part.

This little town, although it had been built more than fifteen years, contained no kind of manufactory or public establishment; but there was a printing-office, at which a newspaper was published once a week. A college had also been founded here; but it was yet in its infancy, having not more than seven or eight students, and only one professor.

The price of labour in the vicinity of Nasheville was higher than at Lexington. There appeared to be from fifteen to twenty shops, which were supplied from Philadelphia and Baltimore; but they did not seem so well stocked as those of Lexington, and the articles, though dearer, were of inferior quality.

All the inhabitants of the western country, who go by the river to New Orleans, return by land and pass through Nasheville, which is the first town beyond Natchez. The interval which separates these towns is about six hundred miles, and was, at this time, entirely uninhabited. Several persons who had travelled this road, assured M. Michaux that, for a space of four or five hundred miles beyond Natchez, the country was very irregular; that the soil was sandy, in some parts covered with pines, and not much adapted for culture; but that, on the contrary, the borders of the river Tenessee were fertile, and superior even to the richest parts of Kentucky.

On the fifth of September, M. Michaux set out from Nasheville for Knoxville. He was accompanied by a Mr. Fisk, one of the commissioners who had been appointed to determine the boundaries between the states of Tenessee and Kentucky. They stopped on the road, with different friends of Mr. Fisk; among others, with General Smith, one of the oldest inhabitants of the country. M. Michaux saw, _en passant_, General Winchester. He was at a stone house which was building for him on the road. This mansion, the state of the country considered, bore the external marks of grandeur: it consisted of four large rooms on the ground-floor, one story, and a garret. The workmen employed to finish the inside had come from Baltimore, a distance of near seven hundred miles.

A few miles from the residence of General Winchester, and at a short distance from the road, is a small town which had been founded but a few years, and to which the inhabitants had given the name of _Cairo_, in memory of the taking of Cairo by the French.

Between Nasheville and Fort Blount the plantations, though always isolated in the woods, were, nevertheless, by the side of the road, and within two or three miles of each other: the inhabitants resided in log-houses, and most of them kept negroes, and appeared to live happily and in abundance. Through the whole of this space the soil was but slightly undulated: in some places it was level, and in general it was excellent.

_Fort Blount_ had been constructed about eighteen years before M. Michaux was in America. It had been built for the purpose of protecting, against the attacks of the Indians, such emigrants as came, at that time, to settle in its vicinity. But peace having been concluded with the Indians, and the population having much increased, the fortifications now no longer existed.

On the eleventh of September M. Michaux and Mr. Fisk left Fort Blount; and, at the house of Major Russel, some miles distant, they were obligingly furnished with provisions for two days' journey through the territory of the Cherokees.

The country became now so mountainous, that they could not proceed more than forty-five miles the first day, though they travelled till midnight. They encamped near a small river, where there was an abundance of grass; and, after having lighted a fire, they slept in their rugs, keeping watch alternately, in order to guard their horses. During this day's journey they had seen no animals, except some flocks of wild turkeys.

The second day after their departure, they met a party of eight or ten Indians, who were searching for grapes and chinquapins, a small species of chesnuts, superior in taste to those of Europe. As M. Michaux and his friend had only twenty miles to go before they reached West Point, they gave to these men the remainder of their provisions. With the American Indians bread is a great treat; for their usual food consists only of venison and wild-fowl.

The road, which crosses this part of the Indian territory, cuts through the mountains of Cumberland; and, in consequence of the great number of emigrants who travel through it, to settle in the western country, it was, at this time, as broad and commodious as the roads were near Philadelphia. In some places, however, it was very rugged. Little boards painted black and nailed against the trees, every three miles, indicated to travellers the distance they had to go.

In this part of Tenessee the mass of the forests is composed of all the species of trees which belong more particularly to the mountainous regions of North America; such as oaks, maples, hickory-nut trees, and pines.

At _West Point_ there was a fort palisadoed round with trees, and built upon a lofty eminence, at the conflux of the _rivers Clinch_ and _Holstein_. A company of soldiers was kept here, for the purpose of holding the Indians in check, and also of protecting them against the inhabitants on the frontiers, whose cruelty and illiberal proceedings had frequently excited them to war.

These _Indians_ are above the middle size, are well-proportioned, and healthy in appearance, notwithstanding the long fasting they are frequently obliged to endure, whilst in pursuit of animals, the flesh of which forms their chief subsistence. The carbine is the only weapon they use: they are very dexterous with it, and are able to kill animals at a great distance. The usual dress of the men consists of a shirt, which hangs loose, and of a slip of blue cloth, about half a yard in length, which serves them for breeches; they put it between their thighs, and fasten the two ends, before and behind, to a sort of girdle. They wear long gaiters, and shoes made of prepared goat-skins. When full dressed they wear a coat, waistcoat, and hat; but they never have breeches. On the top of their heads they have a tuft of hair, which they form into several tresses, that hang down the sides of their face; and they frequently attach quills or little silver tubes to the extremities. Many of them pierce their noses, in order to put rings through. They also cut holes in their ears, which are made to hang down two or three inches, by pieces of lead, which are fastened to them. They paint their faces red, blue, or black.

A shirt and a short petticoat constitute the chief dress of the women, who also wear gaiters like the men. Their hair, which is of jet-black colour, they suffer to grow to its natural length; but they do not pierce their noses, nor disfigure their ears. In winter both the men and women, in order to guard against cold, wrap themselves in blue rugs, which they always carry with them, and which form an essential part of their luggage.

M. Michaux was informed, at West Point, that the Cherokees had lately begun to cultivate their possessions, and that they had made a rapid progress in agriculture. Some of them had good plantations, and even negro slaves. Several of the women spin cotton and manufacture cotton-stuffs.

The distance from West Point to Knoxville is thirty-five miles. About a mile from West Point the travellers passed through _Kingstown_, a place consisting of thirty or forty log-houses. After that the road extended, upwards of eighteen miles, through a rugged and flinty soil, covered with a kind of grass. The trees that occupied this space, grew within twenty or thirty yards of each other.

_Knoxville_, the seat of government for the state of Tenessee, is situated on the _river Holstein_, here a hundred and fifty fathoms broad. The houses were, at this time, about two hundred in number, and were built chiefly of wood. Although it had been founded eighteen or twenty years, Knoxville did not yet possess any kind of commercial establishment, or manufactory, except two or three tan-yards. Baltimore and Richmond are the towns with which this part of the country transacts most business. The distance from Knoxville to Baltimore is seven hundred miles, and to Richmond four hundred and twenty. The inhabitants of Knoxville send flour, cotton, and lime, to New Orleans, by the river Tenessee; but the navigation of this river is much interrupted, in two places, by shallows interspersed with rocks.

In the tavern at Knoxville travellers and their horses are accommodated at the rate of about five shillings per day; but this is considered dear for a country where the situation is by no means favourable to the sale of provisions. A newspaper is published at Knoxville twice a week.

On the 17th of September, M. Michaux took leave of Mr. Fisk, and proceeded alone towards Jonesborough, a town about a hundred miles distant; and situated at the foot of the lofty mountains which separate North Carolina from Tenessee. On leaving Knoxville the soil was uneven, stony, and bad; and the forests contained a great number of pine-trees. Before he reached _Macby_, M. Michaux observed, for the space of two miles, a copse extremely full of young trees, the loftiest of which was not more than twenty feet high. The inhabitants of the country informed him that this place had formerly been part of a barren, or meadow, which had clothed itself again with trees, after its timber, about fifteen years before, had been totally destroyed by fire. This appears to prove, that the spacious meadows in Kentucky and Tenessee owe their origin to some great conflagration which has consumed the forests and that they continue as meadows, by the practice, still continued, of annually setting them on fire, for the purpose of clearing the land.

M. Michaux stopped, the first day, at a place where most of the inhabitants were Quakers. One of these, with whom he lodged, had an excellent plantation, and his log-house was divided into two rooms. Around the house were growing some magnificent apple-trees: these, although produced from pips, bore fruit of extraordinary size and excellent flavour, a circumstance which proves how well this country is adapted for the culture of fruit-trees. At this house there were two emigrant families, consisting of ten or twelve persons, who were going to settle in Tenessee. Their clothes were ragged, and their children were barefooted and in their shirts.

Beyond this place the road divided into two branches, both of which led to Jonesborough; and, as M. Michaux was desirous of surveying the banks of the _river Nolachuky_, renowned for their fertility, he took the branch which led him in that direction. As he proceeded he found many small rock crystals, two or three inches long, and beautifully transparent. They were loose, and disseminated upon the road, in a reddish kind of earth.

On the twenty-first he arrived at _Greenville_, a town which contained scarcely forty houses, constructed with square beams, and somewhat in the manner of log-houses. The distance between this place and Jonesborough, is about twenty-five miles: the country was slightly mountainous, the soil was more adapted to the culture of corn than that of Indian wheat; and the plantations were situated near the road, two or three miles distant from each other.

_Jonesborough_, the last town in Tenessee, consisted, at this time, of about a hundred and fifty houses, built of wood, and disposed on both sides of the road. Four or five respectable shops were established there, and the tradespeople, who kept them, received their goods from Richmond and Baltimore.

On the twenty-first of September, M. Michaux set out from Jonesborough to cross the _Alleghany Mountains_, for North Carolina. In some places the road, or rather the path, was scarcely distinguishable, in consequence of the plants of various kinds that covered its surface. It was also encumbered by forests of rhododendron: shrubs, from eighteen to twenty feet in height, the branches of which, twisted and interwoven with each other, greatly impeded his progress. He had also to cross numerous streams; particularly a large torrent, called Rocky Creek, the winding course of which cut the path in twelve or fifteen directions.

On the twenty-third this gentleman proceeded twenty-two miles, through a hilly country; and, in the evening, arrived at the house of a person named Davenport, the owner of a charming plantation upon _Doe River_. M. Michaux staid here a week, in order to rest himself and recruit his strength, after a journey of six hundred miles which he had just made. On the second of October, he again set out, and proceeded towards Morganton. About four miles from Doe River he passed the chain of the _Blue Ridges_, and afterwards that of the _Linneville Mountains_. From the summit of the latter he observed an immense extent of mountainous country, covered with forests. Only three small places appeared to be cleared, which formed as many plantations, three or four miles distant from each other.

From the Linneville Mountains to Morganton, the distance is about twenty-five miles: in this interval the country was slightly mountainous, and the soil extremely bad.

_Morganton_, the principal town of the county of Burke, contained about fifty houses built of wood, almost all of which were inhabited by tradesmen. There was only one warehouse, and this was supported by a commercial establishment at Charleston. To it the inhabitants of the country, for twenty miles round, came to purchase English manufactured goods and jewellery; or to exchange, for these, a portion of their own produce, consisting of dried hams, butter, tallow, bear-skins and stag-skins.

From Morganton to Charleston the distance is two hundred and eighty-five miles. There are several roads; but M. Michaux took that which led through Lincolnton, Chester, and Columbia. The distance from Morganton to Lincolnton, is forty-five miles. Through the whole of this space the soil is extremely barren; and the plantations, straggling five or six miles from each other, have an unfavourable appearance. The woods are chiefly composed of different kinds of oaks; and the surface of the ground is covered with grass, intermixed with other plants.

_Lincolnton_, at this time, consisted of forty houses, and, like all the small towns in the interior of the United States, was surrounded by woods. There were, at Lincolnton, two or three large shops, which transacted the same kind of business as that at Morganton. The tradesmen who kept them sent the produce of the adjacent country to Charleston, but they sometimes stocked themselves with goods from Philadelphia.

At Lincolnton a newspaper was published twice a week. The price of subscription was two dollars per annum, but the printer, who was his own editor, took, by way of payment, flour, rye, wax, or other traffic, at the market-price. As in England, the advertisements were the most important source of profit. The foreign news was almost wholly extracted from papers published at the sea-ports.

The district around Lincolnton was peopled, in a great measure, by Germans from Pennsylvania. Their plantations were kept in excellent order, and their lands were well cultivated. Almost all had negro slaves, and there reigned among them a greater independence than in the families of English origin.

From Lincolnton to Chester, in the state of South Carolina, the distance is about seventy miles. Through the whole of this space the earth is light, and of a quality inferior to that between Morganton and Lincolnton, although the mass of the forests is composed of various species of oaks. In some places, however, pine-trees are in such abundance that, for several miles, the ground is covered with nothing else.

_Chester_ contained about thirty houses, built of wood; and among the number were two inns and two respectable shops.

From Chester the country becomes worse in every respect than before; and the traveller is obliged to put up at inns, where he is badly accommodated both in board and lodging, and at which he pays dearer than in any other part of the United States. The reputation of these inns is esteemed according to the quantity and different kinds of spirits which they sell.

From Chester to Columbia the distance is fifty-five miles. M. Michaux passed through _Winesborough_, containing about a hundred and fifty houses. This place is one of the oldest inhabited towns in Carolina, and several planters of the low country go thither every year to spend the summer and autumn.

[_Columbia_, now the seat of government for the state of South Carolina, is situated below the confluence of the _Broad_ and _Saluda Rivers_. It is laid out on a regular plan, the streets intersecting each other at right angles. The buildings are erected at the distance of about three quarters of a mile from the _Cangaree River_, on a ridge of high land, three hundred feet above the level of the water. In 1808, Columbia contained about one hundred and fifty houses. Vineyards, cotton, and hemp-plantations are successfully cultivated in its vicinity; and oil-mills, rope walks, and some other manufactories have been established here.]

The distance from Columbia to Charleston is about a hundred and twenty miles; and, through the whole of this space, the road crosses an even country, sandy and dry during the summer, whilst in the autumn and winter, it is so covered with water that, in several places, for the space of eight or ten miles, the horses are up to their middle. Every two or three miles there were, by the side of the road, miserable log-houses, surrounded by little fields of Indian corn.

The extreme unwholesomeness of the climate is shown by the pale and livid countenances of the inhabitants, who, during the months of September and October, are almost all affected with tertian fevers. Very few persons take any remedy for this complaint: they merely wait the approach of the first frosts, which, if they live so long, generally effect a cure.

M. Michaux arrived at _Charleston_ on the eighteenth of October, 1802, three months and a half after his departure from Philadelphia, having, in that time, travelled over a space of nearly eighteen hundred miles.

Eleventh Day's Instruction.

UNITED STATES CONTINUED.

_A Description of Charleston, and of some places in the adjacent parts of Carolina and Georgia._

Charleston is situated at the conflux of the rivers Ashley and Cooper. The ground that it occupies is about a mile in length. From the middle of the principal street the two rivers might be clearly seen, were it not for a public edifice, built upon the banks of the Cooper, which intercepts the view. The most populous and commercial part of the town is situated along the Ashley. Several ill-constructed _quays_ project into the river, to facilitate the trading-vessels taking in their cargoes. These quays are formed of the trunks of palm-trees, fixed together, and laid out in squares, one above another. The _streets_ of Charleston are wide, but not paved; consequently, every time the foot slips, from a kind of brick pavement before the doors, it is immersed, nearly ancle deep, in sand. The rapid and almost incessant motion of carriages grinds this moving sand, and pulverizes it in such a manner, that the most gentle wind fills the shops with it, and renders it very disagreeable to foot-passengers. The principal streets extend east and west between the two rivers, and others intersect these nearly at right angles.

From its exposure to the ocean, this place is subject to storms and inundations, which affect the security of its harbour. The town also has suffered much by fires. The last, in 1796, destroyed upwards of five hundred houses, and occasioned damage to the amount of L.300,000 sterling.

The _houses_, in the streets near the water-side, are, for the most part, lofty, and built close together. The bricks are of a peculiar nature, being porous, and capable of resisting weather better than the firm, close, and red bricks of the northern states. They are of a dark brown colour, which gives to the buildings a gloomy appearance. The roofs are tiled or slated. In this part of the town the principal shopkeepers and merchants have their stores and warehouses. Houses here bear a very high rent: those in Broad and Church-streets, which are valuable for shops, let for more than L.300 per annum; and those along the bay, with warehouses, let for L.700 and upwards, according to the size and situation of the buildings. The houses in Meeting-street and the back part of the town, are in general lofty and extensive, and are separated from each other by small gardens or yards, in which are the kitchens and out-offices. Almost every house is furnished with balconies and verandas, some of which occupy the whole side of the building, from top to bottom, having a gallery for each floor. The houses are sometimes shaded with Venetian blinds, and afford to the inhabitants a cool and pleasant retreat, from the scorching rays of the sun. Most of the modern houses are constructed with taste and elegance; but the chief design seems to be, to render them as cool as possible. The town is also crowded with wooden buildings, of an inferior description.

Three of the _public buildings_ in Charleston, and the episcopal church of St. Michael, are situated at the corners, formed by the intersection of Broad and Meeting-streets. St. Michael's is a large and substantial edifice, with a lofty steeple and spire. The Branch Bank of the United States occupies one of the corners: this is a substantial, and, compared with others in the town, is a handsome building; but, from an injudicious intermixture of brick, stone, and marble, it has a very motley appearance. Another corner of the street is occupied by the gaol and armory: the fourth corner has a large and substantial brick building, cased with plaster. The ground-floor of this building is appropriated to the courts of law: in the first story are most of the public offices; and the upper story contains the public library and the museum.

A kind of tree, called the "pride of India," (_melia azedarach_,) is planted, in rows, along the foot-paths and the streets of Charleston. It does not grow very high; but its umbrageous leaves and branches afford, to the inhabitants, an excellent shelter from the sun. It has the advantage also of not engendering insects; for, in consequence of its poisonous qualities, no insect can live upon it. When in blossom, the large clusters of its flowers resemble those of the lilac; these are succeeded by bunches of yellow berries, each about the size of a small cherry. It is a deciduous tree; but the berries remain during the winter, and drop off in the following spring.

The health of the _inhabitants_ is very much injured, in consequence of their general neglect of cleanliness. The drains that are formed for carrying off the filth and putrid matter, which collect from all parts of the town, are too small for the purpose. This circumstance, added to the effluvia of the numerous swamps and stagnant pools in the neighbourhood, are known to be extremely injurious. Another neglect of health and comfort arises from a filthy practice, which prevails, of dragging dying horses, or the carcasses of dead ones, to a field in the outskirts of the town, near the high road, and there leaving them, to be devoured by troops of ravenous dogs and vultures. The latter, in appearance, are not much unlike turkeys, and thence have obtained the name of turkey buzzards; but, from their carnivorous habits, they have a most offensive smell. These birds hover over Charleston in great numbers; and are useful in destroying putrid substances, which lie in different parts of the city.

At Charleston there is a garden dignified by the name of _Vauxhall_. It is situated in Broad-street, at a short distance from the theatre; but it possesses no decoration worthy of notice. It cannot even be compared with the common tea-gardens in the vicinity of London. On one side of it are warm and cold baths, for the accommodation of the inhabitants. During summer, vocal and instrumental concerts are performed here, and some of the singers from the theatre are engaged for the season. The situation and climate of Charleston are, however, by no means adapted for entertainments of this description.

There are, in this town, four or five _hotels_ and coffee-houses; but, except the Planters' Hotel, in Meeting-street, not one of them is superior to an English public-house.

Charleston contains a handsome and commodious _market-place_, which extends from Meeting-street to the water-side, and is as well supplied with _provisions_ as the country will permit. Compared, however, with the markets in the towns of the northern states, the supply is very inferior, both in quality and quantity. The beef, mutton, veal, and pork, of South Carolina, are seldom in perfection; and the hot weather renders it impossible to keep meat many hours after it is killed. Though the rivers abound in a great variety of fish, yet very few are brought to market. Oysters, however, are abundant, and are cried about the streets by negroes. They are generally shelled, put into small pails, which the negroes carry on their heads, and are sold, by measure, at the rate of about eight-pence per quart. Vegetables have been cultivated, of late years, with great success; and, of these, there is generally a tolerable supply in the market.

In winter, the markets of Charleston are well supplied with fish, which are brought from the northern parts of the United States, in vessels so constructed as to keep them in a continual supply of water, and alive. The ships, engaged in this traffic, load, in return, with rice and cotton.

At Charleston, wood is extravagantly dear: it costs from forty to fifty shillings a _cord_, notwithstanding forests of almost boundless extent, commence at six miles, and even at a less distance, from the town. Hence a great portion of the inhabitants burn coals that are brought from England.

The pestilential marshes around Charleston yield a great abundance of rice. It is true that no European frame could support the labour of its cultivation; but Africa can produce slaves, and, amid contagion and suffering, both of oppressors and oppressed, Charleston has become a wealthy city.

* * * * *

The road from Charleston towards North Carolina, extends, for some distance, through the districts adjacent to the sea-coast; and much of the country is clad with bright evergreens, whence, in many places, it appears like the shrubbery of a park. In this part of America the trees are covered with a curious kind of vegetable drapery, which hangs from them in long curling tendrils, of gray or pale green colour. It bears a small blue flower, which is succeeded by a plumed seed, that adheres to the bark of the trees. Though the bark of the oak seems to afford the most favourite soil, it suspends itself to trees of every description; and, as it has no tenacity, but hangs like loose drapery, it probably does them no injury.

In the interior of the country the road traverses a desolate tract of swamps and sandy pine-forests, and afterwards a series of granite rocks.

The capital of North Carolina is _Raleigh_, a clean little country town. At one end of the only street stands the governor's brick house; and, at the other, the senate or court-house, surrounded by a grass-plot, neatly laid out. The houses are, in general, small, and built of wood; but some of them have foundations of granite, which is the only kind of stone in the country. The total want of limestone, and the scarcity of brick-earth, render it here extremely difficult and expensive to give to buildings any degree of stability.