Chapter VII: Front Matter (7)

The water of several wells in this town was very cool about this time; but had a kind of acid taste, which was not very agreeable. On a nearer examination, I found an abundance of little insects in it, which were probably Monoculi. Their length was different; some were a geometrical line and an half, others two, and others four lines long. They were very narrow, and of a pale colour. The head was blacker and thicker than the other parts of the body, and about the size of a pin’s head. The tail was divided into two branches, and each branch terminated in a little black globule. When these insects swim, they proceed in crooked or undulated lines, almost like Tadpoles. I poured some of this water into a bowl, and put near a fourth part of rum to it. The Monoculi, instead of being affected with it, swam about as briskly as they had done in the water. This shews, that if one makes punch with this water, it must be very strong to kill the Monoculi. I think this water is not very wholesome for people who are not used to it, though the inhabitants of Albany, who drink it every day, say, they do not feel the least inconvenience from it. I have been several times obliged to drink water here, in which I have plainly seen Monoculi swimming; but I generally felt the next day somewhat like a pea in my throat, or as if I had a swelling there; and this continued for above a week. I felt such swellings this year, both at Albany and in other parts. My servant, Yungstroem, likewise got a great pain in his breast, and a sensation as from a swelling, after drinking water with Monoculi in it: but whether these insects occasioned it, or whether it came from some other cause, I cannot ascertain. However, I have always endeavoured, as much as possible, to do without such water as had Monoculi in it. I have found Monoculi in very cold water, taken from the deepest wells, in different parts of this country. Perhaps many of our diseases arise from waters of this kind, which we do not sufficiently examine. I have frequently observed abundance of minute insects in water, which has been remarkable for its clearness. Almost each house in Albany has its well, the water of which is applied to common use; but for tea, brewing, and washing, they commonly take the water of the river Hudson, which flows close by the town. This water is generally quite muddy, and very warm in summer; and, on that account, it is kept in cellars, in order that the slime may subside, and that the water may cool a little.

We lodged with a gunsmith, who told us, that the best charcoals for the forge were made of the Black Pine. The next in goodness, in his opinion, were charcoals, made of the Beech-tree.

The best and dearest stocks for his muskets were made of the wood of the wild Cherry-tree; and next to these he valued those of the Red Maple most. They scarce make use of any other wood for this purpose. The black Walnut-tree affords excellent wood for stocks; but it does not grow in the neighbourhood of Albany.

June the 21st. Next to the town of New York, Albany is the principal town, or at least the most wealthy, in the province of New York. It is situated on the declivity of a hill, close to the western shore of the river Hudson, about one hundred and forty-six English miles from New York. The town extends along the river, which flows here from N. N. E. to S. S. W. The high mountains in the west, above the town, bound the prospect on that side. There are two churches in Albany, an English one and a Dutch one. The Dutch church stands at some distance from the river, on the east side of the market. It is built of stone; and in the middle it has a small steeple, with a bell. It has but one minister, who preaches twice every Sunday. The English church is situated on the hill, at the west end of the market, directly under the fort. It is likewise built of stone, but has no steeple. There was no service at this church at this time, because they had no minister; and all the people understood Dutch, the garrison excepted. The minister of this church has a settled income of one hundred pounds sterling, which he gets from England. The town-hall lies to the southward of the Dutch church, close by the river side. It is a fine building of stone, three stories high. It has a small tower or steeple, with a bell, and a gilt ball and vane at the top of it.

The houses in this town are very neat, and partly built with stones covered with shingles of the White Pine. Some are slated with tiles from Holland, because the clay of this neighbourhood is not reckoned fit for tiles. Most of the houses are built in the old way, with the gable-end towards the street; a few excepted, which were lately built in the manner now used. A great number of houses were built like those of New Brunswick, which I have described [70]; the gable-end being built, towards the street, of bricks, and all the other walls of planks. The outside of the houses is never covered with lime or mortar, nor have I seen it practiced in any North-American towns which I have visited; and the walls do not seem to be damaged by the air. The gutters on the roofs reach almost to the middle of the street. This preserves the walls from being damaged by the rain; but is extremely disagreeable in rainy weather for the people in the streets, there being hardly any means of avoiding the water from the gutters. The street-doors are generally in the middle of the houses; and on both sides are seats, on which, during fair weather, the people spend almost the whole day, especially on those which are in the shadow of the houses. In the evening these seats are covered with people of both sexes; but this is rather troublesome, as those who pass by are obliged to greet every body, unless they will shock the politeness of the inhabitants of this town. The streets are broad, and some of them are paved; in some parts they are lined with trees; the long streets are almost parallel to the river, and the others intersect them at right angles. The street which goes between the two churches, is five times broader than the others, and serves as a market-place. The streets upon the whole are very dirty, because the people leave their cattle in them, during the summer nights. There are two market-places in the town, to which the country people resort twice a week.

The fort lies higher than any other building, on a high steep hill on the West side of the town. It is a great building of stone, surrounded with high and thick walls; its situation is very bad, as it can only serve to keep off plundering parties, without being able to sustain a siege. There are numerous high hills to the west of the fort, which command it, and from whence one may see all that is done within it. There is commonly an officer and a number of soldiers quartered in it. They say the fort contains a spring of water.

The situation of Albany is very advantageous in regard to trade. The river Hudson, which flows close by it, is from twelve to twenty feet deep. There is not yet any quay made for the better lading of the yachts, because the people feared it would suffer greatly, or be entirely carried away in spring by the ice, which then comes down the river; the vessels which are in use here, may come pretty near the shore in order to be laden, and heavy goods are brought to them upon canoes tied together. Albany carries on a considerable commerce with New York, chiefly in furs, boards, wheat, flour, pease, several kinds of timber, &c. There is not a place in all the British colonies, the Hudson’s Bay settlements excepted, where such quantities of furs and skins are bought of the Indians, as at Albany. Most of the merchants in this town send a clerk or agent to Oswego, an English trading town upon the lake Ontario, to which the Indians resort with their furs. I intend to give a more minute account of this place in my Journal for the year 1750. The merchants from Albany spend the whole summer at Oswego, and trade with many tribes of Indians who come to them with their goods. Many people have assured me, that the Indians are frequently cheated in disposing of their goods, especially when they are in liquor, and that sometimes they do not get one half or even one tenth of the value of their goods. I have been a witness to several transactions of this kind. The merchants of Albany glory in these tricks, and are highly pleased when they have given a poor Indian a greater portion of brandy than he can bear, and when they can after that get all his goods for mere trifles. The Indians often find when they are sober again, that they have been cheated, they grumble somewhat, but are soon satisfied when they reflect that they have for once drank as much as they are able, of a liquor which they value beyond any thing else in the whole world, and they are quite insensible to their loss, if they again get a draught of this nectar. Besides this trade at Oswego, a number of Indians come to Albany from several parts, especially from Canada; but from this latter place, they hardly bring any thing but beaver-skins. There is a great penalty in Canada for carrying furs to the English, that trade belonging to the French West India Company; notwithstanding which the French merchants in Canada carry on a considerable smuggling trade. They send their furs, by means of the Indians, to their correspondents at Albany, who purchase it at the price which they have fixed upon with the French merchants. The Indians take in return several kinds of cloth, and other goods, which may be got here at a lower rate than those which are sent to Canada from France.

The greater part of the merchants at Albany have extensive estates in the country, and a great deal of wood. If their estates have a little brook, they do not fail to erect a saw-mill upon it for sawing boards and planks, with which commodity many yachts go during the whole summer to New York, having scarce any other lading than boards.

Many people at Albany make the wampum of the Indians, which is their ornament and their money, by grinding some kinds of shells and muscles; this is a considerable profit to the inhabitants. I shall speak of this kind of money in the sequel. The extensive trade which the inhabitants of Albany carry on, and their sparing manner of life, in the Dutch way, contribute to the considerable wealth which many of them acquire.

The inhabitants of Albany and its environs are almost all Dutchmen. They speak Dutch, have Dutch preachers, and divine service is performed in that language: their manners are likewise quite Dutch; their dress is however like that of the English. It is well known that the first Europeans who settled in the province of New York were Dutchmen. During the time that they were the masters of this province, they possessed themselves of New Sweden [71], of which they were jealous. However the pleasure of possessing this conquered land and their own, was but of short duration; for towards the end of 1664, Sir Robert Carre, by order of King Charles the second, went to New York, then New Amsterdam, and took it. Soon after Colonel Nichols went to Albany, which then bore the name of Fort Orange, and upon taking it, named it Albany, from the Duke of York’s Scotch title. The Dutch inhabitants were allowed either to continue where they were, and, under the protection of the English, to enjoy all their former privileges, or to leave the country. The greater part of them chose to stay, and from them the Dutchmen are descended, who now live in the province of New York, and who possess the greatest and best estates in that province.

The avarice and selfishness of the inhabitants of Albany are very well known throughout all North America, by the English, by the French, and even by the Dutch, in the lower part of New York province. If a Jew, who understands the art of getting forward perfectly well, should settle amongst them, they would not fail to ruin him. For this reason nobody comes to this place without the most pressing necessity; and therefore I was asked in several places, what induced me to go to it, two years one after another. I likewise found that the judgment, which people formed of them, was not without foundation. For though they seldom see any strangers, (except those who go from the British colonies to Canada and back again) and one might therefore expect to find victuals and accommodation for travellers cheaper than in places, where travellers always resort to; yet I experienced the contrary. I was here obliged to pay for every thing twice, thrice, and four times as dear as in any part of North America which I have passed through. If I wanted their assistance, I was obliged to pay them very well for it, and when I wanted to purchase any thing, or to be helped in some case or other, I could presently see what kind of blood ran in their veins; for they either fixed exorbitant prices for their services, or were very backward to assist me. Such was this people in general. However, there were some amongst them who equalled any in North America, or any where else, in politeness, equity, goodness, and readiness to serve and to oblige; but their number fell far short of that of the former. If I may be allowed to declare my conjectures, the origin of the inhabitants of Albany and its neighbourhood seems to me to be as follows. Whilst the Dutch possessed this country, and intended to people it, the government took up a pack of vagabonds, of which they intended to clear the country, and sent them along with a number of other settlers to this province. The vagabonds were sent far from the other colonists, upon the borders towards the Indians and other enemies, and a few honest families were persuaded to go with them, in order to keep them in bounds. I cannot any other way account for the difference between the inhabitants of Albany, and the other descendants of so respectable a nation as the Dutch, who are settled in the lower part of New York province. The latter are civil, obliging, just in the prices, and sincere; and though they are not ceremonious, yet they are well meaning and honest, and their promises are to be relied on.

The behaviour of the inhabitants of Albany, during the war between England and France, which was ended with the peace of Aix la Chapelle, has, among several other causes, contributed to make them the object of hatred in all the British colonies, but more especially in New England. For at the beginning of that war, when the Indians of both parties had received orders to commence hostilities, the French engaged theirs to attack the inhabitants of New England; which they faithfully executed, killing every body they met with, and carrying off whatever they found. During this time the people of Albany remained neutral, and carried on a great trade with the very Indians who murdered the inhabitants of New England. The plate, such as silver spoons, bowls, cups, &c. of which the Indians robbed the houses in New England, was carried to Albany, for sale. The people of that town bought up these silver vessels, though the names of the owners were graved on many of them, and encouraged the Indians to get more of them, promising to pay them well, and whatever they would demand. This was afterwards interpreted by the inhabitants of New England, as if the Albanians encouraged the Indians to kill more of the people, who were in a manner their brothers, and who were subjects of the same crown. Upon the first news of this behaviour, which the Indians themselves spread in New England, the inhabitants of the latter province were greatly incensed, and threatened, that the first step they would take in another war, would be to burn Albany, and the adjacent parts. In the present war it will sufficiently appear how backward the other British provinces in America are in assisting Albany, and the neighbouring places, in case of an attack from the French or Indians [72]. The hatred which the English bear against the people, at Albany, is very great, but that of the Albanians against the English is carried to a ten times higher degree. This hatred has subsisted ever since the time when the English conquered this country, and is not yet extinguished, though they could never have got such advantages under the Dutch government, as they have obtained under that of the English. For in a manner, their privileges are greater than those of Englishmen.

The inhabitants of Albany are much more sparing than the English. The meat which is served up is often insufficient to satisfy the stomach, and the bowl does not circulate so freely as amongst the English. The women are perfectly well acquainted with œconomy; they rise early, go to sleep very late, and are almost over nice and cleanly, in regard to the floor, which is frequently scoured several times in the week. The servants in the town are chiefly negroes. Some of the inhabitants wear their own hair, but it is very short, without a bag or queue, which are looked upon as the characteristics of Frenchmen; and as I wore my hair in a bag the first day I came here from Canada, I was surrounded with children, who called me Frenchman, and some of the boldest offered to pull at my French dress.

Their meat, and manner of dressing it, is very different from that of the English. Their breakfast is tea, commonly without milk. About thirty or forty years ago, tea was unknown to them, and they breakfasted either upon bread and butter, or bread and milk. They never put sugar into the cup, but take a small bit of it into their mouths whilst they drink. Along with the tea they eat bread and butter, with slices of hung beef. Coffee is not usual here; they breakfast generally about seven. Their dinner is butter-milk, and bread, to which they sometimes add sugar, then it is a delicious dish for them; or fresh milk and bread; or boiled or roasted flesh. They sometimes make use of butter-milk instead of fresh milk, to boil a thin kind of porridge with, which tastes very sour, but not disagreeable in hot weather. To each dinner they have a great sallad, prepared with abundance of vinegar, and very little or no oil. They frequently eat butter-milk, bread, and sallad, one mouthful after another. Their supper is generally bread and butter, and milk and bread. They sometimes eat cheese at breakfast, and at dinner; it is not in slices, but scraped or rasped, so as to resemble coarse flour, which they pretend adds to the good taste of cheese. They commonly drink very small beer, or pure water.

The governor of New York often confers at Albany, with the Indians of the Five Nations, or the Iroquese, (Mohawks, Senekas, Cayugaws, Onondagoes, and Onidoes) especially when they intend either to make war upon, or to continue a war against the French. Sometimes their deliberations likewise turn upon their conversion to the christian religion, and it appears by the answer of one of the Indian chiefs, or Sachems, to governor Hunter, at a conference in this town, that the English do not pay so much attention to a work of so much consequence, as the French do, and that they do not send such able men to instruct the Indians, as they ought to do [73]. For after governor Hunter had presented these Indians, by order of Queen Anne, with many clothes, and other presents, of which they were fond, he intended to convince them still more of her Majesty’s good-will, and care for them, by adding, that their good mother, the Queen, had not only generously provided them with fine clothes for their bodies, but likewise intended to adorn their souls, by the preaching of the gospel; and that to this purpose some ministers should be sent to them, to instruct them. The governor had scarce ended, when one of the oldest Sachems got up, and answered, that in the name of all the Indians, he thanked their gracious good queen and mother for the fine clothes she had sent them; but that in regard to the ministers, they had already had some among them, (whom he likewise named) who instead of preaching the holy gospel to them, had taught them to drink to excess, to cheat, and to quarrel among themselves. He then entreated the governor to take from them these preachers, and a number of Europeans who resided amongst them; for before they were come among them, the Indians had been an honest, sober, and innocent people, but most of them became rogues now. That they had formerly had the fear of God, but that they hardly believed his existence at present. That if he (the governor) would do them any favour, he should send two or three blacksmiths amongst them, to teach them to forge iron, in which they were unexperienced. The governor could not forbear laughing at this extraordinary speech. I think the words of St. Paul not wholly unapplicable on this occasion: For the name of God is blasphemed amongst the Gentiles, through you [74].

June the 21st. About five o’clock in the afternoon we left Albany, and proceeded towards Canada. We had two men with us, who were to accompany us to the first French place, which is Fort St. Frederick, or, as the English call it, Crown Point. For this service each of them was to receive five pounds of New York currency, besides which I was to provide them with victuals. This is the common price here, and he that does not choose to conform to it, is obliged to travel alone. We were forced to take up with a canoe [75], as we could get neither battoes, nor boats of bark; and as there was a good road along the west side of the river Hudson, we left the men to row forwards, in the canoe, and we went along it on the shore, that we might be better able to examine it, and its curiosities, with greater accuracy. It is very incommodious to row in these canoes; for one stands at each end and pushes the boat forwards. They commonly keep close to the shore, that they may be able to reach the ground easily. Thus the rowers are forced to stand upright, whilst they row in a canoe. We kept along the shore all the evening, towards the river, it consisted of great hills, and next to the water grew the trees, which I have above mentioned [76], and which likewise are to be met with on the shores of the isle, in the river, situate below Albany. The easterly shore of the river is uncultivated, woody, and hilly; but the western is flat, cultivated, and chiefly turned into corn-fields, which had no drains, though they wanted them in some places. It appeared very plainly here, that the river had formerly been broader. For there is a sloping bank on the corn-fields, at about thirty yards distance from the river, with which it always runs parallel. From this it sufficiently appears, that the rising ground formerly was the shore of the river, and the corn-fields its bed. As a further proof, it may be added, that the same shells which abound on the present shore of the river, and are not applied to any use by the inhabitants, ly plentifully scattered on these fields. I cannot say whether this change was occasioned by the diminishing of the water in the river, or by its washing some earth down the river, and carrying it to its sides, or by the river’s cutting deeper in on the sides.

All the grounds were ploughed very even, as is usual in the Swedish province of Upland. Some were sown with yellow, and others with white Wheat. Now and then we saw great fields of flax, which was now beginning to flower. In some parts it grows very well, and in others it was but indifferent. The excessive drought which had continued throughout this spring, had parched all the grass and plants on hills and high grounds, leaving no other green, plant than the common Mullein (Verbascum Thapsus Linn.) which I saw in several places, on the driest and highest hills, growing in spite of the parching heat of the sun, and though the pastures and meadows were excessively poor, and afforded scarce any food at all, yet the cattle never touched the Mullein. Now and then I found fields with pease, but the Charlock, (Sinapis arvensis Linn.) kept them quite under. The soil in most of these fields is a fine mould, which goes pretty deep.

The wild vines cover all the hills along the rivers, on which no other plants grow, and on those which are covered with trees, they climb to the tops of them, and wholly cover them, making them bend down with their weight. They had already large grapes; we saw them abundant all this day, and during all the time that we kept to the river Hudson, on the hills, along the shores, and on some little islands in the river.

The white-backed Maize-thieves appeared now and then, flying amongst the bushes: their note is fine, and they are not so large as the black maize-thieves, (Oriolus Phœniceus). We saw them near New York, for the first time.

We found a Water-beech tree (Platanus occidentalis) cut down near the road, measuring about five feet in diameter.

This day, and for some days afterwards, we met with islands in the river. The larger ones were cultivated, and turned into corn-fields and meadows.

We walked about five English miles along the river to-day, and found the ground, during that time, very uniform, and consisting of pure earth. I did not meet with a single stone on the fields. The Red Maple, the Water-beech, the Water-asp, the wild Prune-tree, the Sumach, the Elm, the wild Vines, and some species of Willows, were the trees which we met with on the rising shores of the river, where some Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) grew wild.

We passed the night about six miles from Albany, in a countryman’s cottage. On the west side of the river we saw several houses, one after another, inhabited by the descendants of the first Dutch settlers, who lived by cultivating their grounds. About half an English mile beyond our lodgings, was the place where the tide stops in the river Hudson, there being only small and shallow streams above it. At that place they catch a good many sorts of fish in the river.

The barns were generally built in the Dutch way, as I have before described them [77]; for in the middle was the threshing-floor, above it a place for the hay and straw, and on each side stables for horses, cows, and other animals. The barn itself was very large. Sometimes the buildings in the court-yard consist only of a room, and a garret above it, together with a barn upon the above plan.

June the 22d. This morning I followed one of our guides to the water-fall near Cohoes, in the river Mohawk, before it falls into the river Hudson. This fall is about three English miles from the place where I passed the night. The country till the fall is a plain, and only hilly about the fall itself. The wood is cleared in most places, and the ground cultivated, and interspersed with farm-houses.

The Cohoes Fall is one of the greatest in North America. It is in the river Mohawk, before it unites with the river Hudson. Above and below the fall, the sides and the bottom of the river consist of hard rock. The river is three hundred yards broad here. At the fall there is a rock crossways in the river, running every where equally high, and crossing in a strait line with the side which forms the fall. It represents, as it were, a wall towards the lower side, which is not quite perpendicular, wanting about four yards. The height of this wall, over which the water rolls, appeared to me about twenty or twenty-four yards. I had marked this height in my pocket-book; and afterwards found it agreed pretty well with the account which that ingenious engineer, Mr. Lewis Evans, communicated to me at Philadelphia. He said, that he had geometrically measured the breadth and height of the fall, and found it nine hundred English feet broad, and seventy-five feet high. The representation of this fall, which is here joined, has been made by Mr. Evans. There was very little water in the river at present, and it only ran over the fall in a few places. In such places where the water had rolled down before, it had cut deep holes below into the rock, sometimes to the depth of two or three fathoms. The bed of the river, below the fall, was of rock, and quite dry, there being only a channel in the middle fourteen feet broad, and a fathom or somewhat more deep, through which the water passed which came over the fall. We saw a number of holes in the rock, below the fall, which bore a perfect resemblance to those in Sweden which we call Giants Pots, or Mountain Kettles. They differed in size; there being large deep ones, and small shallow ones. We had clear uninterrupted sun-shine, not a cloud above the horizon, and no wind at all. However, close to this fall, where the water was in such a small quantity, there was a continual drizzling rain, occasioned by the vapours which rose from the water during its fall, and were carried about by the wind. Therefore, in coming within a musket-shot of the fall, against the wind, our cloaths were wetted at once, as from a rain. The whirlpools, which were in the water below the fall, contained several kinds of fish; and they were caught by some people, who amused themselves with angling. The rocks hereabouts consist of the same black stone which forms the hills about Albany. When exposed to the air, it is apt to shiver into horizontal flakes, as slate does.

At noon we continued our journey to Canada in the canoe, which was pretty long, and made out of a white pine. Somewhat beyond the farm where we lay at night, the river became so shallow that the men could reach the ground every where with their oars; it being in some parts not above two feet, and sometimes but one foot deep. The shore and bed of the river consisted of sand and pebbles. The river was very rapid, and against us; so that our rowers found it hard work to get forward against the stream. The hills along the shore consisted merely of soil; and were very high and steep in some parts. The breadth of the river was generally near two musket-shot.

Sturgeons abound in the river Hudson. We saw them for several days together leap high up into the air, especially in the evening; our guides, and the people who lived hereabouts, asserted that they never see any sturgeons in winter time, because these fish go into the sea late in autumn, but come up again in spring and stay in the river all the summer. They are said to prefer the shallowest places in the river, which agreed pretty well with our observations; for we never saw them leap out of the water but in shallows. Their food is said to be several kinds of confervæ, which grow in plenty in some places at the bottom of the river; for these weeds are found in their bellies when they are opened. The Dutch who are settled here, and the Indians, fish for sturgeons, and every night of our voyage upon this river, we observed several boats with people who struck them with harpoons. The torches which they employed were made of that kind of pine, which they call the black pine here. The nights were exceedingly dark, though they were now shortest, and though we were in a country so much to the South of Sweden. The shores of the river lay covered with dead sturgeons, which had been wounded with the harpoon, but escaped, and died afterwards; they occasioned an insupportable stench during the excessive heat of the weather.

As we went further up the river we saw an Indian woman and her boy sitting in a boat of bark, and an Indian wading through the river, with a great cap of bark on his head. Near them was an island on which there were a number of Indians at present, on account of the sturgeon fishery. We went to their huts to try if we could get one of them to accompany us to Fort St. Frederic. On our arrival we found that all the men were gone into the woods a hunting this morning, and we were forced to engage their boys to go and look for them. They demanded bread for payment, and we gave them twenty little round loaves; for as they found that it was of great importance to us to speak with the Indians, they raised difficulties, and would not go till we gave them what they wanted. The island belonged to the Dutch, who had turned it into corn-fields. But at present they had leased it to the Indians, who planted their maize and several kinds of melons on it. They built their huts or wigwams on this island, on a very simple plan. Four posts were put into the ground perpendicularly, over which they had placed poles, and made a roof of bark upon them. They had either no walls at all, or they consisted of branches with leaves, which were fixed to the poles. Their beds consisted of deer-skins which were spread on the ground. Their utensils were a couple of small kettles, and two ladles, and a bucket or two of bark, made so close as to keep water. The sturgeons were cut into long slices, and hung up in the sunshine to dry, and to be ready against winter. The Indian women were sitting at their work on the hill, upon deer-skins. They never make use of chairs, but sit on the ground: however, they do not sit cross-legged, as the Turks do, but between their feet, which, though they be turned backwards, are not crossed, but bent outwards. The women wear no head-dress, and have black hair. They have a short blue petticoat, which reaches to their knees, and the brim of which is bordered with red or other ribbands. They wear their shifts over their petticoats. They have large ear-rings: and their hair is tied behind, and wrapped in ribbands. Their Wampum, or Pearls, and their money, which is made of shells, are tied round the neck, and hang down on the breast. This is their whole dress. They were now making several kinds of work of skins, to which they sowed the quills of the American Porcupines, having dyed them black or red, or left them in their original colour.

Towards evening, we went from hence to a farm close to the river, where we found only one man, looking after the maize and the fields; the inhabitants being not yet returned since the end of the war.

The little brooks here contain Crawfish, which are exactly the same with ours [78], with this difference only, that they are somewhat less; however, the Dutch inhabitants will not eat them.

June the 23d. We waited a good while for the Indians, who had promised to come home, in order to shew us the way to Fort St. Ann, and to assist us in making a boat of bark, to continue our voyage. About eight o’clock three of the men arrived. Their hair was black, and cut short; they wore rough pieces of woollen cloth, of a bright green colour, on their shoulders, a shirt which covers their thighs, and pieces of cloth, or skins, which they wrap round the legs and part of the thighs. They had neither hats, caps, nor breeches. Two of them had painted the upper part of their foreheads, and their cheeks, with vermilion. Round their neck was a ribband, from which hung a bag down to the breast, containing their knives. They promised to accompany us for thirty shillings; but soon after changed their minds, and went with an Englishman, who gave them more. Thus we were obliged to make this journey quite alone. The Indians, however, were honest enough to return us fifteen shillings, which we had paid them before-hand.

Our last night’s lodging was about ten English miles from Albany. During the last war, which was just now ended, the inhabitants had all retreated from thence to Albany, because the French Indians had taken or killed all the people they met with, set the houses on fire, and cut down the trees. Therefore, when the inhabitants returned, they found no houses, and were forced to ly under a few boards which were huddled together.

The river was almost a musket-shot broad, and the ground on both sides cultivated. The hills near the river were steep, and the earth of a pale colour.

The American Elder (Sambucus occidentalis [79]) grows in incredible quantities along those hills, which appear quite white, from the abundance of flowers on the Elder.

All this day along, we had one current after another, full of stones, which were great obstacles to our getting forward. The water in the river was very clear, and generally shallow, being only from two to four feet deep, running very violently against us in most places. The shore was covered with pebbles, and a grey sand. The hills consisted of earth, were high, and stood perpendicular towards the river, which was near two musket-shot broad. Sometimes the land was cultivated, and sometimes it was covered with woods.

The hills near the river abound with red and white clover. We found both these kinds plentiful in the woods. It is therefore difficult to determine whether they were brought over by the Europeans, as some people think; or whether they were originally in America, which the Indians deny.

We found Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) growing plentifully in a sandy soil. In gardens it was one of the worst weeds.

We found people returning every where to their habitations, which they had been forced to leave during the war.

The farms were commonly built close to the river, on the hills. Each house has a little kitchen-garden, and a still lesser orchard. Some farms, however, had large gardens. The kitchen-gardens afford several kinds of gourds, water-melons, and kidney-beans. The orchards are full of apple-trees. This year the trees had few or no apples, on account of the frosty nights which had happened in May, and the drought which had continued throughout this summer.

The houses hereabouts are generally built of beams of wood, and of unburnt bricks dried by the sun and the air. The beams are first erected, and upon them a gable with two walls, and the spars. The wall on the gable is made of boards. The roof is covered with shingles of fir. They make the walls of unburnt bricks, between the beams, to keep the rooms warmer; and that they might not easily be destroyed by rain and air, they are covered with boards on the outside. The cellar is below the house.

The farms are either built close to the river-side, or on the high grounds; and around them are large fields with maize.

We saw great numbers of Musk-Rats (Castor Zibethicus Linn.) on the shores of the river, where they had many holes, some on a level with the surface of the water. These holes were large enough to admit a kitten. Before and in the entrance to the holes, lay a quantity of empty shells, the animals of which had been eaten by the Musk-Rats [80]. They are caught in traps placed along the water-side, and baited with some maize or apples.

The Sassafras-trees abound here, but never grow to any considerable height.

Chestnut-trees appear now and then.

The Cockspur Hawthorn (Cratægus Crus Galli Linn.) grows in the poorest soil, and has very long spines; which shews, that it may be very advantageously planted in hedges, especially in a poor soil.

This night we lodged with a farmer, who had returned to his farm after the war was over. All his buildings, except the great barn, were burnt.

June the 24th. The farm where we passed the night was the last in the province of New York, towards Canada, which had been left standing, and which was now inhabited. Further on, we met still with inhabitants: but they had no houses, and lived in huts of boards; the houses being burnt during the war.

As we continued our journey, we observed the country on both sides of the river to be generally flat, but sometimes hilly; and large trails of it are covered with woods of fir-trees. Now and then we found some parts turned into corn-fields and meadows; however, the greater part was covered with woods. Ever since we left Albany, almost half-way to Saratoga, the river runs very rapid; and it cost us a deal of pains to get upwards. But afterwards it becomes very deep, for the space of several miles; and the water moves very slowly. The shores are very steep, though they are not very high. The river is two musket-shot broad. In the afternoon it changed its direction; for hitherto its direction was from North to South, but now it came from N. N. E. to S. S. W. and sometimes from N. E. to S. W.

Anthills are very scarce in America; and I do not remember seeing a single one before I came to the Cohoes Fall. We observed a few in the woods to-day. The Ants were the same with our common red ones (Formica rufa Linn.) The Ant-hills consist chiefly of the slate-like mouldered stone which abounds here, there being nothing else for them.

Chestnut-trees grew scattered in the woods. We were told, that Mulberry-trees (Morus rubra Linn.) likewise grow wild here, but rather scarce; and this is the most northerly place where they grow in America; at least, they have not been observed further to the north. We met with wild parsneps every day; but commonly in such places where the land was or had been cultivated. Hemp grows spontaneously, and in great abundance, near old plantations.

The woods abound with Woodlice, which were extremely troublesome to us.

The Thuya occidentalis Linn. appeared along the shores of the river. I had not seen it there before.

The trees which grow along the shores, and on the adjacent hills, within our sight to-day, are elms, birches, white firs, alders, dog-trees, lime-trees, red willows, and chestnut-trees. The American Elder, (Sambucus Canadensis Linn.) and the wild vines, only appear in places where the ground has been somewhat cultivated, as if they were desirous of being the companions of men. The lime-trees and white walnut-trees are the most numerous. The horn-beams, with inflated cones, (Carpinus Ostrya Linn.) appeared now and then; but the water-beech and water-poplar never came within sight any more.

We frequently saw ground-squirrels and black squirrels in the woods.

At a little distance from Saratoga, we met two Indians in their boats of bark, which could scarce contain more than one person.

Near Saratoga the river becomes shallow and rapid again. The ground is here turned into corn-fields and meadows, but on account of the war, it was not made use of.

Saratoga has been a fort built of wood by the English, to stop the attacks of the French Indians upon the English inhabitants in these parts, and to serve as a rampart to Albany. It is situated on a hill, on the east-side of the river Hudson, and is built of thick posts driven in to the ground, close to each other, in the manner of palisades, forming a square, the length of whose sides was within the reach of a musket-shot. At each corner are the houses of the officers, and within the palisades are the barracks, all of timber. This fort has been kept in order and was garrisoned till the last war, when the English themselves in 1747 set fire to it, not being able to defend themselves in it against the attacks of the French and their Indians; for as soon as a party of them went out of the fort, some of these enemies lay concealed, and either took them all prisoners, or shot them.

I shall only mention one, out of many artful tricks which were played here, and which both the English and French who were present here at that time, told me repeatedly. A party of French, with their Indians, concealed themselves one night in a thicket near the fort. In the morning some of their Indians, as they had previously resolved, went to have a nearer view of the fort. The English fired upon them, as soon as they saw them at a distance; the Indians pretended to be wounded, fell down, got up again, ran a little way, and dropped again. Above half the garrison rushed out to take them prisoners; but as soon as they were come up with them, the French and the remaining Indians came out of the bushes, betwixt the fortress and the English, surrounded them, and took them prisoners. Those who remained in the fort had hardly time to shut the gates, nor could they fire upon the enemy, because they equally exposed their countrymen to danger, and they were vexed to see their enemies take and carry them off in their fight and under their cannon. Such French artifices as these made the English weary of their ill-planned fort. We saw some of the palisades still in the ground. There was an island in the river, near Saratoga, much better situated for a fortification. The country is flat on both sides of the river near Saratoga, and its soil good. The wood round about was generally cut down. The shores of the river are high, steep, and consist of earth. We saw some hills in the north, beyond the distant forests. The inhabitants are Dutch, and bear an inveterate hatred to all Englishmen.

We lay over night in a little hut of boards erected by the people who were come to live here.

June the 25th. Several saw-mills were built here before the war, which were very profitable to the inhabitants, on account of the abundance of wood which grows here.

The boards were easily brought to Albany, and from thence to New York, in rafts every spring with the high water; but all the mills were burnt at present.

This morning we proceeded up the river, but after we had advanced about an English mile, we fell in with a water-fall, which cost us a deal of pains before we could get our canoe over it. The water was very deep just below the fall, owing to its hollowing the rock out by the fall. In every place where we met with rocks in the river, we found the water very deep, from two to four fathoms and upwards; because by finding a resistance it had worked a deeper channel into the ground. Above the fall, the river is very deep again, the water glides along silently, and increases suddenly near the shores. On both sides till you come to Fort Nicholson, the shore is covered with tall trees. After rowing several miles, we passed another water-fall, which is longer and more dangerous than the preceding one.

Giants-pots [81], which I have described in the memoirs of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, are abundant near the fall of the rock which extends across the river. The rock was almost dry at present, the river containing very little water at this season of the year. Some of the giants-pots were round, but in general they were oblong. At the bottom of most of them lay either stones or grit, in abundance. Some were fifteen inches in diameter, but some were less. Their depth was likewise different, and some that I observed were above two foot deep. It is plain that they owed their origin to the whirling of the water round a pebble, which by that means was put in motion, together with the sand.

We intended to have gone quite up to Fort Nicholson in the canoe, which would have been a great convenience to us; but we found it impossible to get over the upper fall, the canoe being heavy, and scarce any water in the river, except in one place where it flowed over the rock, and where it was impossible to get up, on account of the steepness, and the violence of the fall. We were accordingly obliged to leave our canoe here, and to carry our baggage through unfrequented woods to Fort Anne, on the river Woodcreek which is a space from forty-three to fifty English miles, during which we were quite spent, through the excess of heat. Sometimes we had no other way of crossing deep rivers, than by cutting down tall trees, which stood on their banks, and throwing them across the water. All the land we passed over this afternoon was almost level, without hills and stones, and entirely covered with a tall and thick forest, in which we continually met with trees which were fallen down, because no one made the least use of the woods. We passed the next night in the midst of the forest, plagued with muskitoes, gnats, and wood-lice, and in fear of all kinds of snakes,

June the 26th. Early this morning we continued our journey through the wood, along the river Hudson. There was an old path leading to Fort Nicholson, but it was so overgrown with grass, that we discovered it with great difficulty. In some places we found plenty of raspberries, some of which were already ripe.

Fort Nicholson is the place on the eastern shore of the river Hudson, where a wooden fortification formerly stood. We arrived here some time before noon, and rested a while. Colonel Lydius resided here till the beginning of the last war, chiefly with a view of carrying on a greater trade with the French Indians; but during the war, they burnt his house, and took his son prisoner. The fort was situated on a plain, but at present the place is all overgrown with a thicket. It was built in the year 1709, during the war which Queen Anne carried on against the French, and it was named after the brave English general Nicholson. It was not so much a fort, as a magazine to Fort Anne. In the year 1711, when the English naval attempt upon Canada miscarried, the English themselves set fire to this place. The soil hereabouts seems to be pretty fertile. The river Hudson passed close by here.