Chapter I: Havana, 1 (9)

All the necessaries of life are abundant and cheap in Sweden, more so than in most other countries, but the cuisine is horrible. There are no table d’hôtes in the public-houses, and one is obliged to go to restaurants, which are very indifferent. One custom prevails throughout all Sweden, in restaurants, country-houses, and private houses; that is to offer the guest on a side table, what they call schnaps--a species of white brandy, with small particles of smoked salmon or ham, to prepare the appetite. The interior of a Swedish log cabin, in its rustic style, is a curiosity. From the ceiling, by means of network or wood frames, are suspended monthly supplies of black flat rye bread or cakes, with a hole in the centre; the whole battery of kitchen utensils is hung up on one side of a huge fireplace, and as the country abounds in timber the inhabitants need not freeze; the beds are a sort of boxes, hardly wide enough to turn round in, and the pillow is a sort of wedge, in the form of a letter V; in place of coverlids they give you a light feather bed, or one of eider down, which almost suffocates you; yet you dare not throw it off for fear of taking cold.

In the vicinity of the old and ruined town of Upsala, are seen some high mounds, which tradition says were the tombs of the heathen kings of Sweden. They are lofty and curious, and bear resemblance to some I have seen in the western part of our country, so I was induced to visit them. The present king, Oscar, ordered an excavation through the centre of the largest, and walled and piled up the passage as the work progressed, and sure enough, about the centre was found a deposit of human bones, which are preserved and seen through a grate, after passing the line of the passage by torchlight.

The communication by steamer to St. Petersburg is broken up by the cholera, and the want of passengers, as imperial orders by the Emperor to all Russian ministers forbid a passport to other than Russian subjects. If I get into the Czar’s dominions it will be with courier passport, as bearer of despatches, and by a circuitous route, via Finland.

Northern Russia with Poland inclusive, being the only parts of Europe I have not visited, and being now in the extreme north, I should much regret not being able to visit those countries, which occupy so deeply the minds of all philanthropists, and which exercise such a powerful influence over the politics of Europe.

I am prepared to make some sacrifices and incur some risks, in order to finish entirely the continental tour, and if I succeed will write you from St. Petersburg.

XLVI.

ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA, 1848.

I wrote you last from the beautiful city of Stockholm, and stated that I intended visiting Russia if a passport could be procured; as in consequence of the revolutions in Europe, the Czar had given peremptory orders to all the Russian ministers not to grant a visé to any but Russian subjects. From this cause, and the prevalence of the cholera, and strict quarantine, no steamers were plying between the two countries.

The only means of entering Russia, therefore, was by taking a small steamer for Finland, then posting one hundred and fifty miles to Helsingfors, where a steamer would be found for Revel, in Livonia, and thence to Cronstadt and St. Petersburg. Through the politeness of our minister at Stockholm, Col. H. W. Elsworth, I was made bearer of despatches to St. Petersburg, but without charge to Uncle Sam, and took my departure on board of a small steamer, with four Finland passengers, who were Russian subjects, in a small cabin with two berths, and two settees. It reminded me in some respects of my expedition up the Nile, from the fact that we were obliged to lay in a stock of provisions ourselves, there being no restaurant on board. My friends dissuaded me from going, and I anticipated but little pleasure; but fortunately the weather was beautiful, and with a little German, mixed with Swedish, and one of our number who spoke French, we understood each other perfectly. In less than two days we had descended the river, traversed the straits, and coasted along through the thousand picturesque islands of Finland to Abo, a pleasant seaport of fifteen to twenty thousand inhabitants. I then took private conveyance and post horses, which went like the wind, on full gallop to Helsingfors, a considerable seaport, celebrated for its sea-baths, and much resorted to by the Russians. I found here a steamer for Livonia, and thence to this city.

This was an agreeable trip through Finland. The rude and primitive habits of the people; the wild, half-cultivated country; the common country inns, with the floors sprinkled with small branches and leaves of the pine tree, which imparted an odor throughout the house; the spittoons, instead of sand, filled with wild flowers--how novel everything was! In the month of June, the traveller can write up his journal at night without candles, as the sun sets at eleven P.M. and rises at two A.M. This is the bright side of the picture; but in the winter, when imbedded in snow and ice, you can judge for yourselves of the amount of pleasure. When spring once breaks, vegetation comes forth rapidly, and from sixty to ninety days the crops are ready for the sickle.

St. Petersburg is considered the most brilliant capital in Europe, although it is situated upon the banks of the Neva, in a low and unhealthy location, and almost on a level with the river; the vast resources of Russia, however, have contributed to fill the marshes and build up the imperial city in all its grandeur, through the genius of the best artists from all countries, and here may be found a little of all which is produced in other parts of Europe. In approaching the city one is struck with the grandeur of the domes and spires of the churches, glittering with gold in the distance, and after entering it, with the magnificence of its monuments and public edifices. There is a good deal of style in the equipages, and the Russian horses are superior. It is less gay now than usual, in consequence of the cholera having made such ravages. The city is intersected by several large canals, in which the water is nearly stagnant, and emits in hot weather unhealthy effluvia. The people often drink the foul water of the canals in preference to incurring the expense of getting it from the river.

In the month of June, the people have a religious fast of three weeks’ duration, when they subsist on vegetables and fruits, abstaining from flesh and other nourishing food; which, with an unusual season for changes from heat to cold, augmented the cholera, which reached one thousand cases per day, five hundred of which were deaths. It has almost entirely subsided, or at least is not alarming; and out of the fifty thousand who fled the city at its approach, great numbers are returning from the interior.

We have just returned from a visit to the imperial summer residence at Peterhoff, on the banks of the Neva, between this city and Cronstadt. It is called the Versailles of Russia, and is truly magnificent for its gardens, fountains, statuary, grottoes, and palaces; but will not bear comparison with the beauties of the much renowned Versailles, in France.

When in Pisa, last winter, I made the acquaintance of a Russian family, who invited me strongly to visit them; and on my arrival I found they had preceded me only a few days, and received me with the greatest kindness. The gentleman being the colonel of the empress’s body-guard, and the annual fête of the regiment about taking place, I had an opportunity of assisting at the review of the regiment, which was one thousand strong, and one of the best dressed and best disciplined in the world; the platoons are of uniform height, and move as one man, and in line appear like living statues. The ceremonies of high mass were performed in the open air in front of one of the summer palaces, a few miles from the city, with all the pomp and form of the rites of the Greek church; the immense Asiatic gilded silk tent spread to protect from the sun’s rays of a beautiful day; the gorgeous services and robes of the priests, with long floating beards, and hair covering the shoulders; the burning of immense wax candles, and the fumes of incense; the whole imperial family en grande toilette; the review of the regiment, after mass, by the Emperor Nicholas and his sons, the grand dukes, on horseback--altogether it was one of the most imposing sights you could behold. After the review by the emperor, the empress and the beautiful new bride of the Grand Duke Constantine reviewed the troops from their magnificent carriage, drawn by four horses, with outriders in jockey style, passing over the beautiful lawn amid the spontaneous “vivas” of the whole regiment, who adore the empress, and are under her particular patronage. The officers of the regiment dined with the royal family in the palace, after which the soldiers partook of a sumptuous dinner, under a long line of tents near the barracks, which were visited by the empress and the new bride, who were saluted by a thousand voices.

The colonel of the regiment and his son conducted me through the tents of the soldiers, and when the word for action was given, it was amusing to see the dismemberment of the carcasses of entire roasted sheep, with gilded horns, whose heads were severed with as much facility as a Cossack would have shown in taking off the head of an enemy. By this same military influence I have had access to the winter palace and private apartments of the empress, which are rich beyond description, and the treasures of the palace in sceptres, crowns, imperial robes, with the decorations in diamonds, emeralds, rubies, pearls, &c., to the value of many millions, all of which was at this time inaccessible to a stranger. I have seen almost all the monarchs of Europe, and I must say that the Emperor Nicholas is the finest looking personage among them all.

Being about six feet in height, with fine complexion and more of the German than Russian caste, well proportioned, with a commanding yet dignified and graceful air, when he appears in full uniform on horseback, one says directly, “There goes the Emperor.” He is represented as being one of the most bold and daring of men, with the most indefatigable perseverance and zeal, and his works prove it. With his arbitrary rule of sixty millions of subjects, the largest portion of them uneducated, his task is a difficult one, and extorts praises from his friends, and curses from his enemies.

In matters of politics my lips are sealed, as spies are found in every direction, even among the domestics in hotels and private houses. The passing of the custom-house is most difficult; officers often engage you in conversation hoping to draw out your political views, but I must say that travelling in an official capacity, entitled to courtesy in all countries, my passport excluded me from visitation of luggage, and gave despatch, and the officers were exceedingly polite.

Within a fortress on the left bank of the Neva is a cathedral, rich in relics, which contains the tombs of all the emperors since Peter the Great; and in a cabinet in the Museum may be found all the relics which belonged to that great genius of the age in which he lived. In the suburbs of the city is a small wooden or log house where he resided, and which is now inclosed within another building to protect it from the ravage of time; there is also a boat there, made by his own hands. These to me were pleasing reminiscences.

Russia is extremely rich in mines of gold, copper, and precious stones. Her annual resources from Siberia, where the convicts are sent, are enormous, enough so to support her immense army, which is estimated at over one million men. In the galleries and vaults of the miners’ corps, is the finest collection of minerals, metals, precious stones, and marbles, I have yet seen in Europe. Here are found also all the models of industry, from the most simple machine to the entire apparatus for the working of the Siberian mines. The vaults under the building, which are most ingeniously constructed, and into which one descends by torches, are a fac simile of the arches and avenues in the gold, silver, and copper mines of Siberia, with the walls stained in different colors, and particles of ore representing all the different strata, so naturally indeed that one cannot but believe that he is really traversing the mines.

The Arsenal for the manufacture of cannon, and the immense collection of arms and trophies from the early ages, are well worth a visit, though they did not strike me as being remarkable.

St. Petersburg being a European city, one gets but an imperfect idea of the character of Russia, without going into the interior. Moscow is represented as being one of the most attractive cities of Europe, and of quite another style, being oriental in its character.

I shall visit that renowned city, and from thence cross the interior of Russia into Poland, striking the river Vistula at Warsaw. Through the influence of friends I have succeeded in getting a Russian and German passport from Count Nesselrode, purporting to be bearer of despatches, which gives me command of horses at all the stations in preference to others. Agreeably to an imperial order the peasants are obliged to have at all times a certain number of horses reserved for couriers or bearers of despatches. You will hear from me again at Moscow.

XLVII.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA, 1848.

I came to this city by extra post from St. Petersburg over the imperial macadamised road, which terminates here, a distance of about four hundred and sixty American miles, in forty-eight hours, including stoppages. Our change of horses ordinarily required only three minutes, and in consequence of some little delay on the road, the last ten miles to the gate of the city were made in forty minutes by three horses abreast, the lead with postillion on, coachman and conductor in front, and four inside passengers, the horses on the full gallop. I have never travelled faster in any country, by mail coach, than in Russia.

I wrote you from St. Petersburg, with some details of that brilliant capital, which is, however, modern and European; but whoever has visited it and not gone into the interior, has seen but little of Russia. There are several important towns and cities on the route between Petersburg and this city, Novogorod being one of the principal. The villages of the peasants, which are composed of log cabins mostly, and which, with the immense estates, belong to the nobles, are frequently seen. The serfs, usually clad in a long frock or surtout, made from sheepskin with the woolly side reversed, rough coarse boots or sandals, made from the bark of trees, an old small-brimmed conical hat, with long beard and mustache, and an ugly strap or girdle around the waist, present a rather uncouth appearance. They are conveyed with the land, yet sometimes separately, and are worth about three hundred silver rubles, or two hundred dollars each. The females are much less valuable, and can be bought for one quarter the sum. The usual custom is for them to employ one half their labor for the master, who must be noble, and the balance on their own account. The emperor is disposed to ameliorate their condition, and in time will effect it, but the power and influence of the nobles are so great he cannot directly. There are nobles in St. Petersburg and Moscow, who possess immense landed estates, with from eighty to one hundred and fifty thousand male peasants, and females in proportion, and you can well imagine the princely edifices and equipages these persons can maintain.

I was enchanted with the entrance to this magnificent city at mid-day. The plain where once encamped the defeated Army of Napoleon, in consequence of the Russians burning their own homes and palaces, was in part occupied by a grand review of a portion of the Russian army, the most powerful as a concentrated force, and the best disciplined troops in the world. In the distance, as far as the eye can reach, from some points, can be seen hundreds of temples, churches, towers, of all kinds of architecture, with domes and minarets gilded with gold, the buildings generally painted white or cream color, and the roofs of plated iron, painted green or brown, and presenting a remarkable appearance. I have never yet seen any city in Europe which bears any general resemblance to it, except Constantinople, which for its locality upon the Bosphorus and its general objects, presents itself more beautifully than any other port perhaps in the world.

In this ancient city of the Czars I find reminiscences of the African cities of Grand Cairo and Alexandria. It would be idle to attempt a description of the renowned Kremlin, which incloses within its walls a town of itself, comprising the palace of the Czars, the palace of the Patriarchs, the Senate, the Arsenal, the new palace of the emperor (not yet occupied), the Tower of John the Great, which incloses thirty bells of large and small sizes, from sixty tons weight down, and from which you have a magnificent view; the Cathedrals of the Assumption and the Archangel, which are extremely rich, and dazzle the eyes with gold and silver plating and ornaments. The Czars are crowned here, and here rest the ashes of the emperors prior to Peter the Great, since which time they are interred within the church of the Fortress, at St. Petersburg.

In one of the palaces are five immense saloons, which are entirely occupied for the treasures of the country, and contain riches beyond description. Here are seen the crowns of all the kingdoms that have become subservient to Russia, as well as all the sceptres, crowns, and regalia of the emperors, not including that of Nicholas, which is in the winter palace at St. Petersburg. To give a faint idea of the value of this collection of gold and silver, ornaments, horse armor, &c., I will mention one object which struck my attention particularly for its beauty--a saddle, presented by the Sultan to the Empress Catharine; the pommel is of gold and set with diamonds, rubies, pearls and emeralds, the bridle and straps are dazzling with brilliants; it is said to have cost two hundred thousand rubles or one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The crown of Peter the Great is said to contain eight hundred and forty-seven diamonds. This collection struck me as being richer than any I had seen, richer even than that of the Sultan or of the crown jewels of England.

The great bell of Moscow, of which so much has been said, and which after its fall remained buried in the earth, is placed upon a circular wall, corresponding to its size, near the tower. Its weight is said to be two hundred tons, and in its composition is a large proportion of gold and silver, contributed by the inhabitants. It is twenty feet high, and twenty-two feet in diameter. A piece of about six feet was broken from it by its fall.

Yesterday I went to Sparrow Hill, some five miles from the Kremlin, to see the convicts examined by the physician before their departure for Siberia. After being presented to the General of Police, the Royal Counsellor, and other officers present, Doctor Haas, who is very kind to the prisoners, and quite unwilling they should leave on a pilgrimage of four thousand and five hundred miles without being in health, or supplied with all that the government furnishes, drew them up in line to the number of about one hundred, men, women, and some children, and asked three questions, to which they answered in Russian. Are you in good health? Are you in want of anything? Are you satisfied to depart? To all of which they gave satisfactory answers, with few exceptions, which were inquired into. The largest proportion were going to the colonies for life; the worst subjects were branded on the forehead and both cheeks, and condemned to the Siberian mines. To-day I saw them take their departure on the Siberian road; prior to which they were conducted by the soldiery to the suburbs of the city, where, in a building adapted for the purpose of confinement, they received from their friends and the charitable of both sexes, supplies of food, clothing, and considerable sums of money. Those who can read are supplied with books by benevolent societies. They were drawn up in line, having a light leather strap from the shoulders to support the chains on their ankles, and received the gifts of the benevolent as they passed them for the last time. I could not help but feel for the poor wretches, guilty as they may be, and followed in the train giving each a small piece of money; they perceived I was a stranger, and some of them, learning from my valet that I was an American, gave a hearty shout.

The weather is still mild and agreeable, much more so than at St. Petersburg, lying several degrees further south and east. It is now the 17th of September by Russian time, but with us the 29th, there being twelve days difference in style. Here the macadamised roads terminate, and those who wish to travel south and east must in most cases have private conveyances and post horses, which are to be found everywhere, but the living is horrible. In the country inns, which are detestable, scarcely anything eatable is to be found; white bread is a luxury. The peasants subsist mostly on black rye-bread and water. The article of tea, which is a favorite beverage of the Russians, may almost always be found, and of the best quality of Caravan, which comes across the country. It is amusing to go into the new park, a favorite drive and promenade in the suburbs of the city, and see a hundred tables belonging to as many girls or women, who furnish the boiling water from as many kettles, to those who come provided with the aromatic plant.

The cholera, which has been frightful the past summer, is now almost entirely subdued, and is wending its way westward. Notwithstanding that the streets are broad, and an infinity of gardens and promenades is scattered and extended on both sides of the Moscow river, with a circumference of twenty-five American miles, still the disease has been awful. With a population of three hundred and fifty thousand, there have been as many as twelve or fifteen hundred cases, and six hundred interments per day. On visiting the city hospital, a fine large structure, admirably adapted to ventilation and comfort, and well deserving a visit from a stranger, I saw only a few cases of the disease remaining.

The great Railroad in process of construction, has met with unforeseen difficulties in the grading, and as the contractors, in order to make the most of it, will procrastinate the work, it will not be completed in all probability short of five years. Our enterprising countrymen, Messrs. Eastwick and Harrison, whose establishment I visited, about six miles from St. Petersburg, and who have employed sixteen hundred men in their foundries and wood-work shops belonging to the government, had a contract for one hundred and sixty-two locomotives, and twenty-five hundred passenger and freight cars, and the emperor gave them four years for their completion. At the expiration of the second year the work was completed and the emperor was informed of the fact, which he could not credit; the answer was, “Will your majesty please visit the establishment?” which he did, and expressed himself in warm terms of satisfaction. Those gentlemen are now engaged in throwing an Iron Bridge across the Neva.

The Russian religion is Greek. It does not acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope, the emperor being at the head of the Church. There is more form visible than among the Latins, and more repetitions of the sign of the cross, and they prostrate themselves in the churches frequently. This is the birthday of one of the Russian saints, consequently one of their festivals, of which they have a great number in the course of the year. Last evening I attended the imposing service of the nuns in the dazzling chapel of the convent of Strachnoy, preceding the anniversary of the patron saint of to-day. The bleeding form of Christ, suspended on the cross, surrounded by burning lights, the reflection of a thousand candles on the gilded images, and the burning of incense, carried my mind back to the ceremonies of the Greek church at Jerusalem, during the Holy Week.

Leaving the interior of the Kremlin by the Gate of our Saviour, where all who pass, by an ancient custom, uncover the head, one passes on the opposite side of the square into the bazaars, which are worth a visit, and where, it is said, there are ten thousand shops, of every branch of industry.

I found here a well-ordered hotel, kept by an Englishman, where I am quite at home, although the only traveller in the house. The landlady tells me I am the only American who has visited them this year, in consequence of the cholera and the revolutions in Europe, with the difficulty of procuring passports.

In Russia, all strangers are obliged to publish for ten days in the public journals, their intention to leave the country; which publication, with the permission of sojourn, is quite a tax. I have, however, escaped all that, and shall depart soon for Warsaw.

XLVIII.

CRACOW, POLAND, 1848.

Since I last wrote you at Moscow, I have travelled over one thousand miles in Russia and Poland, by mail coach, private post, and lastly by railroad from Warsaw to this place, having had but one upset, without injury, and the breaking of an axle on another occasion, which obliged me to take the common wagon of the country. These wagons are made almost entirely of wood, with little iron, on low wheels, and very light. There not being any seats, the only resource was to fill the wagon with hay, to avoid the jolting. With a pair of good horses, and sometimes four, on the full jump, and a rough peasant driver, one gets over the road rapidly.

I have passed over large tracts of country entirely level, there being no great elevations in central or western Russia--a vast deal of uncultivated and thin soil--long distances made without signs of habitation or life, and presenting a desert appearance--most parts of the country thinly wooded; and it was gladdening to the eye to strike a town or village, to obtain supplies, but particularly gratifying to arrive in Poland, an old and better cultivated country, with more evidence of civilization, and means to support life. The weather has favored me much, being mild and dry, and the roads in good order.

On my arrival at Warsaw, on the banks of the Vistula, a city with a population of one hundred and fifty thousand, I was struck with its dull and sombre appearance, under the iron hand of despotic rule--liberty of thought and speech being suppressed. Here I found the Russian troops were marching out of the city, to take up winter quarters, after a general review. They were composed of thirty-one battalions of infantry, forty-six squadrons and eight divisions of cavalry, twenty batteries of artillery--in all thirty-four thousand men, ten thousand horses, and two hundred and twelve pieces of cannon. It was a brilliant sight to see them on the move. The Russian government is exceedingly jealous of its rights, and determined to maintain its authority. There are three hundred thousand soldiers ready to march to the frontier at a moment’s warning.

A signal telegraph is established from Warsaw to St. Petersburg, but the people here know nothing of the events in Europe. A Warsaw newspaper is a curiosity; it is about six inches square--a double sheet.

On passing the frontier, and coming to Cracow, I was questioned particularly why I was going out of my route on my way to Berlin, as my courier pass expressed; to which I replied I was ahead of time, and wished to see Cracow in passing. The conversation of the officer was of a nature to draw out my views, but I was on my guard. After which, as I was obliged to pass the night there, he was extremely polite, and told me the difficulty he had to obey orders in the visitation of luggage and examination of papers; he was even obliged to take off newspapers as envelopes from packages, to prevent the introduction of news from the adjacent countries.

Europe is in a dreadful state, and as yet there are little signs of conciliation or harmony. Germany with all its great and small kingdoms, with over thirty princes, with its different races, religions, and languages, is as difficult to amalgamate as vinegar, oil, and water, and no man can predict the result.

The horrible massacre at Vienna, the revolution in Hungary, the hanging of ministers, &c., have reached us, and you will see the accounts in the papers. I have been, since February last, either among revolutions, ahead of them, or after them, and have seen the effects produced, so that I have become accustomed to them; but I hope soon to be out of the way of European commotions, and as I have seen all the sights of the Continent with very few exceptions, I shall take my departure for one of the Ocean Isles where may be found some tranquillity, and a better climate for the ensuing winter.

In approaching Cracow, which was formerly a free state or republic, enjoying commercial trade, with a population of forty thousand, it presents a beautiful view with its churches and spires, but on entering it is found lifeless, with but little trade, and a miserable population. It was usurped by Austria in the spring of 1846, after the horrible massacre of the nobles by their own peasants, in Gallicia, through Austrian intrigue, of which you are undoubtedly familiar. The city is antique, and is remarkable for being the former residence of the Polish kings, whose tombs are found in the old cathedral, which was built in the fifteenth century, and which is adjoining the palace, and situated upon a commanding eminence. The cathedral is perhaps richer in treasures and costly gifts, dedicated by nobles, kings, and other devotees, than any north of Italy. In the crypt under the pave of the cathedral into which one descends by torches, are found the massive copper coffins, gilded with gold, of all the Polish kings. Here is also the sarcophagus of the great general, John Sobiesky, with his crown, sceptre, and sword; the remains of Joseph Poniatowski, who fell at Leipsig, and I well recollect the spot where he was lost, and where a monument is erected; likewise the remains of Kosciusko, who is so well known in our own country. They were brought here in 1817. About three miles from the city I ascended a mound of earth one hundred and fifty feet in height, which was raised to his memory by all classes of Poles, who wrought four years in completing it, and even brought portions of earth from the different battle-fields in which he was engaged.

Here is found an immense number of Jews who fled from Spanish persecution in the middle ages, and were granted an asylum by Casimir the Great. They have a fine opportunity here to traffic in exchanges, as all the coins of Russia, Austria, Prussia, and Poland are known, and here the traveller must make his exchanges. Men and women with bags in their hands present themselves on the arrival of a stranger, and it was my luck to fall into their hands, having Russian funds to exchange, and it required some skill to accomplish it without being fleeced, as I was surrounded by about twenty of them, and they hung together like a chain.

I was interested in passing through a portion of Gallicia to the great Salt mines of Cracow. The country about here is beautiful and picturesque. The town of Wieliczka contains a population of five thousand, and is mostly undermined by the salt works. I met with an exiled Pole in Cracow, who had recently returned from Paris, whom I invited to join me, as he had never seen the mines, and who acted as interpreter in the Polish language. We put on white frocks over our clothes, and hired a number of boys to carry lamps and a supply of torches to illuminate the subterranean vaults. We placed ourselves with the guides in a sort of swing attached by cords to the main rope, and descended to the first stage about two hundred feet. There are four stories to the depth of about thirteen hundred feet. We then by the aid of our lamps walked through the wide and airy galleries into several halls and chambers, then crossed over bridges spanning salt lakes and dived deeper down from one story to another by staircases. It is the most extraordinary work in the world. Here are found one thousand hands constantly employed by the Austrian Government. The mines have been worked since the ninth century; and although one walks for miles through these caverns, which undermine a whole city, passing through galleries one thousand feet in length, and saloons one hundred feet in height, still the supply is inexhaustible. There are immense saloons with candelabra in glittering crystal salt; there is a Gothic church ornamented with the full length figure of Christ upon the cross. Also the statues of saints as large as life; and once a year in the presence of all the miners mass is performed. One of the saloons was in the form of a theatre, and was fitted up for the emperor of Russia when he visited the mines and held a ball there. The illumination of these vast subterraneous caves with torches, throwing the lights upon obelisks and columns, with inscriptions dedicated to distinguished persons, produced an effect indescribable. The rock is hard, and is cut and chiselled, and even powder is employed in blasting it. It comes up in blocks of an oval form, about two and a half feet in length, by immense windlasses, driven by horse power, and is laden on wagons for the different markets to be broken up when received. It is computed that four millions of tons are taken out annually for the supply of the different governments bordering on Austria.

1849.

XLIX.

ISLAND OF ST. THOMAS, WEST INDIES, 1849.

It was my intention on leaving Southampton, to spend a month at Madeira, and proceed to the West Indies by the next monthly steamer, but circumstances prevented it. We had a rough and boisterous passage through the Bay of Biscay, and only reached Madeira, a distance of one thousand two hundred and eighty miles, in ten days. We had about one hundred and twenty passengers, a fair proportion of whom had paid full tribute to Neptune, and for the first eight days there was little contention for seats at table; but after getting in the trade-winds and balmy air from the African coast, the summer dresses began to appear, the awning was struck, and we found ourselves uncomfortably elbowed at our meals.

We had about twenty passengers to land on the island, but to our surprise, on entering the harbor, we found the Portuguese authorities had got frightened by the cholera reports from England, and put all passengers in the Lazaretto for ten days. Having had considerable experience in quarantines in the east, and learning there were only accommodations for one half the number of passengers to be landed, and that one of our number was dying with the consumption, and believing that in the event of his sudden decease these stupid people would consider it a cholera case, and I might be imprisoned for a month, I promptly concluded to continue by the steamer to Barbadoes, the first windward West India Island. We remained in the harbor of Madeira twenty-four hours, exercising the greatest precaution on the part of the officers in the boats to prevent contact in putting supplies on board, and some most amusing scenes took place among the boatmen, who looked upon us all as infected with the disease. One poor fellow had brought out some canary birds in cages for sale, which were handed carefully to a sailor on the foot-ladder, and the purchaser threw the sum demanded in the boat. With the rolling of his boat the sailor caught his hand to frighten him, the passengers gave a shout, and the poor fellow dropped as if seized by an apoplectic fit; his face was of a ghastly hue, and it was some moments before he regained his self-possession. He had exposed himself to a quarantine of ten days.

The town of Funchal had a novel appearance, with its white houses and flat roofs, its steeples, and turrets, and the mountains rising in the distance. The climate was beautiful. We had thrown aside our cloaks and overcoats, and were enjoying the genial breeze, and requiring protection from the sun’s rays. Ripe figs, oranges, and other fruits were brought off to us in baskets.

From Madeira to Barbadoes is about two thousand five hundred miles, which we made in thirteen days. It is the most easterly of the Caribbee Islands, and lies in twelve degrees north latitude. Notwithstanding the trade-winds blowing constantly in our favor, the heat and confinement on board of a crowded steamer, under the tropics, were quite sufficient to cause all to rejoice in making this low island, which is seen about thirty miles off, and is about the size of the Isle of Wight; say twenty-five miles in length, and fifteen in breadth. It is richly cultivated, and one of the most populous islands for its size. There are some high lands called Scotland, resorted to by invalids, and from its being the first island that has the trade-winds, it is considered the coolest. We landed at Bridgetown, the capital, upon Carlisle Bay; it is a considerable town, stretched along the shore for two miles, with some twenty thousand inhabitants.

The yellow fever was committing great ravages among the British troops and residents. I stopped but a short time and then took the steamer, to make the tour of the other islands landing and receiving passengers and mails at the English islands of St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Montserrat, Dominica, Tortuga, Antigua, as also the French islands of Martinique and Guadaloupe, affording an opportunity of sailing along all those beautiful and picturesque shores on board of a large and commodious steamer, with but few passengers and mostly islanders, who could point out all the striking peculiarities of each island, town, mountain, and volcano, as they presented themselves. At one glance in passing near the shore, with the aid of a glass, you have in a beautiful slope or valley, the house of the sugar planter nearly lost in the foliage of gardens of bananas and cane fields, with the slender stems of thousands of cocoa-nut trees forming a green fence upon the sea-shore. Then again you have immense rocks or mountains which rise up from the sea, covered with evergreen foliage, their summits hung with white clouds; standing as pillars at the entrance of some deep bay or circuitous cave, formerly the secure abode of pirates. At Martinique they told us that they had had several slight shocks of earthquakes, and when one considers the sufferings from them as well as hurricanes, it is not surprising the people should be excited. The country around St. Pierre is quite pretty, with its cane fields and palm trees, intersected with winding roads and dotted with white houses. The town is regular and cleanly, and looks more European than most of the English islands.

At St. Kitts we landed two fellow passengers from Europe, residents of the island. The town is called Basseterre, and as a writer remarks, the valley looking from the sea, in softness, richness, and perfection of cultivation, surpassed anything he had ever seen in his life. Green velvet is an inadequate image of the verdancy of the cane fields which lie along this lovely valley, and cover the smooth acclivities of Monkey Hill. This hill is the termination of a range of great mountains which thicken in enormous masses in the centre of the island. The apex of this rude pyramid is the awful crag of Mount Misery, which shoots forward over the volcanic chasm. The height is three thousand seven hundred feet, and it is bare and black at the summit. Monkeys still exist in large numbers on this island.

I arrived at St. Thomas at last, alone, having lost all my fellow passengers from England, who were scattered to the four winds; some had preceded me by steamers direct, en route for South America, or to the Leeward Islands, others had left us from time to time in the Windward Islands. I took up my quarters at the hotel, which is one of the best in the West Indies, allow me to say for the information of those who may come this way.

This small island, belonging to the Danes, has a free port, and with its excellent and commodious harbor for shipping, has become the great depot for goods and merchandise for the supply in part of some of the other islands, and the coast of Venezuela. The population is some ten thousand, and is composed of native Creoles, French and Danes, and many German, French, and English merchants, consequently all languages are spoken. The town is prettily built on three hills, rising from the Bay, and surmounted by picturesque conical mountains. The horseback rides are very good, and in four hours one can make the tour of the island.

In consequence of the emancipation of the blacks in Santa Croix, another Danish island, after the insurrection and destruction of property in June last, the Governor gave the negroes here their liberty. The planters complain of the low price of sugar and the difficulty of getting the blacks to work, they being such an indolent race, and it requiring so little to support life in these warm latitudes. The merchants of St. Thomas have suffered much, and cannot either realize for goods sold, or extend sales, and business is paralysed in the West Indies, with all their resources and beautiful climate. The English planters complain of injustice on the part of the mother country, but if they are not satisfied with part payment for their slaves, what will the holders say in the Danish islands who have received no compensation, the mother country being too poor to pay them?

In the French islands they complain of injustice from the new Republic, which proclaimed not only the abolition of all slavery, but universal suffrage, which sent their enemies to the National Assembly at Paris, as members, to vote against their interests. The French Republic will yet do justice to her colonies, I think, but in the interim labor is considerably suspended, and the crops will be much neglected.

The island of St. Croix lies forty miles south of St. Thomas, and schooners run over frequently in six hours. Having some travelling companions who are planters on this beautiful island, I sailed for West End, a small town, and of much less importance than East End at the other extremity of the island. The rides on the island are beautiful and picturesque; the roads are excellent, being mostly level, and bordered with cocoa, palm, lime, and other tropical trees, affording much shade and delight to the eye. The immense cane fields were promising a rich reward to the planter, as the season has been favorable; but the sugar works and houses of the planters, which were formerly annually brushed up and kept in good repair, are much neglected this year, since the burning and destruction of property by the blacks in the insurrection. Some of the planters are complaining for want of help, but others say they get on tolerably, and I thought the gangs under the new system worked very well. It is the intention of the new governor to compel able-bodied persons to work, or be arrested. I had an opportunity of conversing not only with the planters themselves, but with the negroes in their cabins, and found them generally satisfied; and in reply to my questions as to the difference between slavery and freedom, some who had had good masters found themselves worse off than before, as they had medical attendance when sick; others said they preferred to be free and work when they liked.

The season of Christmas at St. Thomas was less noisy than usual, as the Governor issued orders to prevent the usual parade through the streets with masks and music. The life of the judge had been threatened by those who were aggrieved, but the citizen police were out parading the streets, and all passed off quietly.

I found some old acquaintances resident here, at whose hands I received many courtesies rendering my stay agreeable. I am now awaiting the departure of the English mail schooner to visit that part of South America of which the Republic of Venezuela forms a portion.

L.

CARACAS, REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA, SOUTH AMERICA,
_January 15, 1849_.

The English steamer not arriving at St. Thomas before the time appointed for the mail schooner, I found myself, as the only passenger, entire possessor of the ladies’ cabin, excepting an abundant supply of cockroaches and ants, which infest vessels long navigating these seas; but one gets accustomed to these annoyances, however frightful they may appear at first. Our schooner of ninety tons, London built, had the length of hold fitted up in a ladies’ and gentlemen’s cabin and dining saloon. She carried four nine-pounders, with first, second, and third officers, who mount the naval cap with gold band, and altogether was a miniature ship of war.

We had a strong trade-wind with a heavy rolling sea at times, which, with the unusual pitching of such a small vessel, produced upon me more effect than crossing the Atlantic. The second officer and carpenter were quite sea-sick. We made the distance, however, of four hundred and eighty miles in the short space of sixty-two hours, and I was landed on the beach of La Guayra at eight P.M. with a heavy surf rolling in, the sailors rowing with all their strength, and it really looked frightful, as the harbor of La Guayra is an open roadstead, and much exposed.

“The chain of mountains,” says Humboldt, “that separates the port from the high valley of Caracas descends almost directly into the sea, and the houses of the town are backed by a wall of steep rocks, with but a few hundred yards between the wall and the ocean.” There are two principal streets which run parallel along between the wall and the sea. The population is about eight thousand. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1819, and the ruins are still existing in many parts of the town, inclosed by front walls where lots are not occupied. There is no vegetation in the town, and with the exception of Cape Blanco and the cocoa-nut trees of Marqueta in the distance, no view meets the eye except the sea, the horizon, and the heavens. It is one of the hottest places on the globe, the air being stifling during the day, and frequently at night, as the sea breeze is less felt. Along a deep ravine or mountain torrent outside of the town, the change of air is delightful, and here may be seen groups of females and children in the morning, bathing in the cool and invigorating waters which descend from the mountains.

This curious old city of Caracas, lying on ground sloping to the valley, surrounded on all sides by a bold and lofty mountain, with its valleys abounding in sugar and coffee plantations, was partially destroyed by the great earthquake of 1819, of which many temples and buildings in ruins still tell the sad story. It is three thousand four hundred feet above the level of the sea. There are two roads, the old and new; the first is only for mules and donkeys, and is much shorter than the other, say twelve miles in length; the new road is twenty-one miles, and is winding and circuitous. At present there are no carriages running, and the only way of getting here is on horse or mule-back.

In order to reach the place you ascend about six thousand feet, and then descend to the city. I procured a mule at the hotel at La Guayra, having sent my luggage by a mule-team in the morning, and at three P.M., to avoid the excessive heat of mid-day, I started all alone, being disappointed in a companion. My ride was lonely, but the sights were majestic, the road winding zigzag, the bold and lofty mountains towering above with the most gorgeous and luxuriant growth of tropical trees, with immense fields of cactus interspersed, thirty feet in height; the precipice below, with a depth of from five hundred to one thousand feet, was awfully grand.

Towards sunset I found that my mule was unable to carry me, and I concluded I could not get to the city that evening. I stopped at a rude cabin built of cane and mud, and inquiring for a Posada, or tavern, ascertained that there was one a league further, at which I arrived with the intention of resting until morning. I found I could get no bed, but could get a horse; I was told the road was safe, yet I felt that I was incurring risk in the distracted state of the country, and, as I had heard of the robbery of a Frenchman by three negroes, I felt uneasy; I pushed on, however, and arrived in the city at about nine o’clock at night.

This city has a population of some forty thousand, composed of the native population, with full one-half or two-thirds of the half-breeds, Indian, and black. The houses are of stone, one and two stories high, covered with tile, with grated windows and no glass, as in most Spanish countries in warm climates. There are no remarkable public monuments; in the cathedral, in one of the side altars, are the mortal remains of General Simeon Bolivar, the liberator of his country. The state house and reception rooms of the president are not unworthy of this young republic; the senate chamber and house of representatives is one of the confiscated Spanish convents, where the unfortunate massacre of several members took place last year by the military, in consequence of the threat of impeachment of the existing president, Monagas. The ex-president, General Paez, had a strong party, with means to oppose the measures of the new executive, which led to the armament of vessels of war and troops on both sides, as you have seen by the public journals, and consequently exhausted the treasury, distracted commerce, and almost ruined the country.

In a recent contest, several vessels of the Paez party have been seized; and the American steamer Scourge, brought out for them, has been taken, and will be condemned. The city has been thrown into great rejoicing on the part of the existing government, to the discomfiture of the friends of the opposite side, by news from Maracaibo that the castle has been evacuated by the insurgents, who have abandoned some of their vessels and fled to New Granada. Flags were flying, drums beating, the church bells ringing, and thousands of blacks were in the streets at nine o’clock at night, crying “Viva la Republica,” “Viva la Libertad,” “Viva la Constitution,” with maddening and deafening shouts. I joined the throng at the house of the president, and found upon the Plaza about one thousand men, of mixed colors, with the black sentinels at the door, in round white cotton jackets and pantaloons, a sort of red pointed fatigue cap, and bare-footed. I entered and found the president, who is a fine military looking man, with black moustache, surrounded by his friends, who greeted him on the suspension of hostilities. I could not help thinking how little these people, without the means of education, know of real liberty, and the value of a constitution, and the respect due to a majority of voices in the popular suffrage. The present government, which is popular with the blacks and lower orders, has been obliged to make great concessions and promises, which would bring anarchy, were they not a mild and easily governed race.