Early Western Travels 1748-1846

During the second decade of the nineteenth century, a colony of English emigrants was established in southeastern Illinois, at a place in Edwards County known afterwards as English Prairie. Interesting in itself as being a typical experiment in transplantation and in assimilation to frontier conditions, this settlement has attracted unusual attention because of the war of pamphlets it evoked, and the political prominence of some of its detractors.

Agricultural emigration was, at that period, a subject of much importance in Great Britain, and the English Prairie settlement became the nucleus around which the contention was waged. At the close of the Napoleonic wars, England's rural interests were much depressed. Hopes had been entertained that, with the return of peace, conditions for the farmer would improve, but these expectations proved fallacious, prices continually lowered, rents and wages increased, distress was widespread, and agrarian discontent alarming. Added to this, the political situation was grave. The domination of the Tory party, the reactionary tendency of foreign affairs, and the general national impoverishment led to the growth of a strong Radical party, which demanded manhood suffrage, abolition of the Corn Laws, and abrogation of the time-honored privileges of the upper classes. Mobs and disturbances were frequent, and there was developed a strong sentiment in favor of emigration to the United States, where political freedom, combined with the prospects of cheap lands, offered an enticing prospect to the harassed rural population of England.

The emigrants were not merely of the laboring classes, but frequently were men of substance and property, who sold good estates to reinvest in uncultivated lands in America, and to pave the way for the removal thither of large colonies of Englishmen. Among the promoters of such enterprises were Morris Birkbeck and George Flower, both of them owners of considerable estates not far from London. The former was of Quaker origin, and his growing dissatisfaction with affairs in England made him open to the suggestion of emigration. Meeting in London the well-known American diplomat, Edward Coles, returning from a mission to Russia, the latter's account of the wide stretches of virgin prairie lands in the then Territory of Illinois fired his imagination, and determined him to transplant himself and family thither, purchase a considerable area, and found an English colony for the relief of the island's distressed agriculturists. His friend Flower joined him in this resolution, and in the summer of 1816, went out in advance to the United States, where Birkbeck and his family followed him the next spring.

Nothing daunted by the difficulties and hardships of frontier conditions, Birkbeck and Flower bought a large tract of unbroken prairie in southeastern Illinois, began the building of log huts and the importation of furniture, and established themselves and their delicately-reared families on this border-land of civilization. Their optimistic, and even enthusiastic, reports, soon led to the accession of a considerable number of their English friends and neighbors. Some of the newcomers were disappointed in the situation. After the long, tedious ocean voyage, and the still longer and far more tiresome westward journey by land, they would fain have returned to the comparative ease and comfort of their English homes. Detractors arose, who took advantage of the sometimes ill-considered letters of the discontents, and utilized these to decry all English emigration to America. Others urged the intending English emigrant to go no farther than the Eastern part of the United States, where civilized conditions already existed. Prominent in the ranks of the latter was William Cobbett, the famous Radical leader and pamphleteer. Self-exiled from England to avoid prosecutions for libel and consequent fines, Cobbett was employed in rutabaga culture on Long Island. It was commonly reported by his enemies that he had been subsidized by land speculators in the vicinity of New York and Philadelphia to attract and retain in that neighborhood the well-to-do English emigrant who was proposing to make investment in American lands. Be that as it may, Cobbett began an attack upon the Birkbeck-Flower Illinois settlement, which at once brought it into notoriety. Wielding one of the most popular and trenchant pens of his day, the political oracle of thousands of Englishmen, he certainly was a formidable antagonist.

Birkbeck had recently (1817) published Notes on a Journey in America, and (1818) Letters from Illinois—honest, straightforward books, if somewhat optimistic in tone. Cobbett replied with A Year's Residence in the United States of America (New York, 1818, and many subsequent editions), in which he made a savage attack on English Prairie, using as a weapon the journal of his follower, Thomas Hulme, lately returned from a visit to Illinois. Birkbeck and Richard Flower (father of George, the first founder), answered the strictures of Cobbett; and various other emigrants added their testimony. From this mass of controversial literature, we have chosen for inclusion in volume x of our series those publications which appear to us best to exemplify Western life and conditions, and contain the most varied descriptions of an English immigrant's impressions and experiences.

Thomas Hulme was an honest English farmer, with strong Radical tendencies, and in earnest sympathy with democratic institutions as he found them in America. The Introduction to his Journal of a Tour in the Western Countries of America—which we herein extract and reprint from Part III of his friend Cobbett's A Year's Residence—contains some autobiographical material. In explaining his object in coming to America, he declares: "I saw an absence of human misery. I saw a government taking away a very small portion of men's earnings. I saw ease and happiness and a fearless utterance of thought everywhere prevail." The only question with him was, in what region of America would it be best for him to settle. His visit to the "Western Countries" was undertaken with a view to examining agricultural and social conditions there. Travelling over the usual Pennsylvania road to Pittsburg, he voyaged down the Ohio, and thence went through Illinois. His notes along the way contain shrewd but useful observations on the route, the people he encountered, prices, and wages. Hulme has nothing adverse to say of the West. Cobbett, who first published this journal, uses it as a text; but in making it serve this purpose of detraction, he obviously wrests Hulme's words from their meaning. We have thought it desirable to reprint Hulme's Journal apart from the mass of diatribe with which Cobbett originally enveloped it.

Richard Flower, whose Letters from Lexington and the Illinois (London, 1819), and Letters from the Illinois (London, 1822), herein reprinted, were first published in reply to Cobbett, was a man of culture and refinement, owner of a considerable estate in Hertford. In 1818, at the age of sixty-three, he sold his property and joined his eldest son, George, in promoting the colony to Illinois. The first winter in America was passed at Lexington, Kentucky, awaiting the preparation of a residence at Albion, the new Illinois town founded by his son in Edwards County. After his removal thither (July, 1819) he passed the rest of his life at this settlement, holding religious services for the infant colony, and in many ways serving as a medium of enlightenment and refinement in this distant region. He died in 1829. His Letters are eminently sane and sensible. His comments upon the American character are appreciative and kindly, his chief strictures being upon the subject of slavery.

The major portion of our volume is devoted to a reprint of John Woods's Two Years' Residence ... in the Illinois Country (London, 1822), detailing with precision the experiences of a well-to-do English farmer seeking a home in the new world. Woods was a matter-of-fact person, whose book has no pretensions to literary style; but it does present faithfully the average Englishman's impressions of persons and things in the United States of 1819-21. Landing in Baltimore, Woods bought conveyances that transported his family and goods over the new National Road to Wheeling, whence a flat-boat furnished their means of carriage down the Ohio River to Shawneetown, then the principal port of Illinois. From this point the immigrants walked overland to English Prairie, sending the baggage around by way of the Wabash and its tributaries. Arrived at the settlement, Woods bought of American pioneers lands that had already received some cultivation, and settled contentedly to build up a new farm in these rich regions. His experiences were typical; and while he expressly disclaims attempting to influence others intending to remove from England, yet his favorable pictures could not have failed of their effect.

His comments upon American life are shrewd and kindly. On the whole, he says, "we have received as good treatment as we should have in a tour through England; but the manners of Americans are more rough than those of Englishmen." Gifted with penetration that permitted him to discover the good qualities beneath the rude exterior, he makes an interesting portrayal of the backwoodsman, giving us an amusing although not a sarcastic record of an imaginary conversation imbued with some of the peculiar Americanisms of his time. More interesting, perhaps, from the point of view of our series, is the account he gives of the towns on the Ohio, and the progress of settlement, compared with those of the travellers of 1803-09. He finds older towns falling into decay, new ones springing into existence, and over it all the trail of the speculator. The extent and cheapness of public lands is a subject for comment, and the land laws and methods of survey are minutely detailed.

In view of the strictures of later English writers, their flippant comments and inappreciative criticisms, the plain, straightforward descriptions of these farmers of English Prairie give a just and wholesome account of the American West at the beginning of the third decade of the nineteenth century. One further service the English settlers performed for Illinois, and civilization. When a new constitution for the state was agitated—one that should admit slavery to its borders—it was the sturdy opposition of the English leaders that turned the scale in favor of freedom. In this struggle (1824-25), Morris Birkbeck once more met his friend Edward Coles, now become governor of Illinois. Although a Virginian, Coles was opposed to the extension of slavery, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Birkbeck in this great fight. Largely to English devotion to free institutions, it was due that the attempt to foist the "peculiar institution" upon the new West failed, and the state which was to shelter and train Abraham Lincoln was made a free land.

In the preparation of notes to this volume, the Editor has had the assistance of Louise Phelps Kellogg, Ph.D., Edith Kathryn Lyle, Ph.D., and Mr. Archer Butler Hulbert.

R. G. T.

Madison, Wis., November, 1904.

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Hulme's Journal of a Tour in the Western Countries of America—September 30, 1818-August 8, 1819.

Extracted and reprinted from William Cobbett's A Year's Residence in the United States of America: London, 1828.

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North Hempstead, Long Island,
10th Dec. 1818.

MY DEAR SIR,

The little volume here presented to the public, consists, as you will perceive, for the greater and most valuable part, of travelling notes made by our friend Hulme, whom I had the honour to introduce to you in 1816, and with whom you were so much pleased.

His activity, which nothing can benumb; his zeal against the twin monster, tyranny and priestcraft, which nothing can cool; and his desire to assist in providing a place of retreat for the oppressed, which nothing but the success in the accomplishment can satisfy; these have induced him to employ almost the whole of his time here in various ways all tending to the same point.

The Boroughmongers have agents and spies all over the inhabited globe. Here they cannot sell blood: they can only collect information and calumniate the people of both countries. These vermin our friend firks out (as the Hampshire people call it); and they hate him as rats hate a terrier.

Amongst his other labours, he has performed a very laborious journey to the Western Countries, and has been as far as the Colony {260} of our friend Birkbeck. This journey has produced a Journal; and this Journal, along with the rest of the volume, I dedicate to you in testimony of my constant remembrance of the many, many happy hours I have spent with you, and of the numerous acts of kindness which I have received at your hands. You were one of those, who sought acquaintance with me, when I was shut up in a felon's jail for two years for having expressed my indignation at seeing Englishmen flogged, in the heart of England, under a guard of German bayonets and sabres, and when I had on my head a thousand pounds fine and seven years' recognizances. You, at the end of the two years, took me from the prison, in your carriage, home to your house. You and our kind friend, Walker, are even yet, held in bonds for my good behaviour, the seven years not being expired. All these things are written in the very core of my heart; and when I act as if I had forgotten any one of them, may no name on earth be so much detested and despised as that of

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In giving an account of the United States of America, it would not have been proper to omit saying something of the Western Countries, the Newest of the New Worlds, to which so many thousands and hundreds of thousands are flocking, and towards which the writings of Mr. Birkbeck have, of late, drawn the pointed attention of all those Englishmen, who, having something left to be robbed of, and wishing to preserve it, are looking towards America as a place of refuge from the Boroughmongers and the Holy Alliance, which latter, to make the compact complete, seems to want nothing but the accession of His Satanic Majesty.

I could not go to the Western Countries; and the accounts of others were seldom to be relied on; because, scarcely any man goes thither without some degree of partiality, or comes back without being tainted with some little matter, at least, of self-interest. Yet, it was desirable to make an attempt, at least, towards settling the question: "Whether the Atlantic, or the Western, Countries were the best for English Farmers to settle in." Therefore, when Mr. Hulme proposed to make a Western Tour, I was very {262} much pleased, seeing that, of all the men I knew, he was the most likely to bring us back an impartial account of what he should see. His great knowledge of farming as well as of manufacturing affairs; his capacity of estimating local advantages and disadvantages; the natural turn of his mind for discovering the means of applying to the use of man all that is furnished by the earth, the air, and water; the patience and perseverance with which he pursues all his inquiries; the urbanity of his manners, which opens to him all the sources of information; his inflexible adherence to truth: all these marked him out as the man on whom the public might safely rely.

I, therefore, give his Journal, made during his tour. He offers no opinion as to the question above stated. That I shall do; and when the reader has gone through the Journal he will find my opinions as to that question, which opinions I have stated in a Letter addressed to Mr. Birkbeck.

The American reader will perceive, that this Letter is intended principally for the perusal of Englishmen; and, therefore, he must not be surprised if he finds a little bickering in a group so much of a family cast.

Wm. COBBETT

North Hempstead,
10th December, 1818.

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Philadelphia, 30th Sept. 1818.

It seems necessary, by way of Introduction to the following Journal, to say some little matter respecting the author of it, and also respecting his motives for wishing it to be published.

As to the first, I am an Englishman by birth and parentage; and am of the county of Lancaster. I was bred and brought up at farming work, and became an apprentice to the business of Bleacher, at the age of 14 years. My own industry made me a master-bleacher, in which state I lived many years at Great Lever, near Bolton, where I employed about 140 men, women, and children, and had generally about 40 apprentices. By this business, pursued with incessant application, I had acquired, several years ago, property to an amount sufficient to satisfy any man of moderate desires.

But, along with my money my children had come and had gone on increasing to the number of nine. New duties now arose, and demanded my best attention. It was not sufficient that I was likely to have a decent fortune for each child. I was bound to provide, if possible, against my children being stripped of what I had earned for them. I, therefore, looked seriously at the situation of England; and, I saw, that the incomes of my children were all pawned (as my friend Cobbett1 truly calls it) to pay the Debts of the Borough, or seat, owners. I saw that, of whatever I might be able to {264} give to my children, as well as of what they might be able to earn, more than one half would be taken away to feed pensioned Lords and Ladies, Soldiers to shoot at us, Parsons to persecute us, and Fundholders, who had lent their money to be applied to purposes of enslaving us. This view of the matter was sufficient to induce the father of nine children to think of the means of rescuing them from the consequences, which common sense taught him to apprehend. But, there were other considerations, which operated with me in producing my emigration to America.

In the year 1811 and 1812 the part of the country, in which I lived, was placed under a new sort of law; or, in other words, it was placed out of the protection of the old law of the land.2 Men were seized, dragged to prison, treated like convicts, many transported and put to death, without having committed any thing, which the law of the land deems a crime. It was then that the infamous Spy-System was again set to work in Lancashire, in which horrid system Fletcher of Bolton was one of the principal actors, or, rather, organizers and promoters. At this time I endeavoured to detect the machinations of these dealers in human blood; and, I narrowly escaped being sacrificed myself on the testimony of two men, who had their pardon offered them on condition of their swearing against me. The men refused, and were transported, leaving wives and children to starve.

Upon this occasion, my friend Doctor Taylor, most humanely, and with his usual zeal and talent, laboured to counteract the works of Fletcher and his associates. The Doctor published a pamphlet on the subject, in 1812, which every Englishman should read. I, as far as I was able, co-operated with him. We went to London, laid the real facts before several members of the two houses of Parliament; and, in some degree, checked the progress of the dealers in blood. I had an interview with Lord Holland, and told him, that, if he would pledge himself to cause the secret-service money to be kept in London, I would pledge myself for the keeping of the peace in Lancashire. In {265} short, it was necessary, in order to support the tyranny of the seat-sellers, that terror should prevail in the populous districts. Blood was wanted to flow; and money was given to spies to tempt men into what the new law had made crimes.

From this time I resolved not to leave my children in such a state of things, unless I should be taken off very suddenly. I saw no hope of obtaining a Reform of the Parliament, without which it was clear to me, that the people of England must continue to work solely for the benefit of the great insolent families, whom I hated for their injustice and rapacity, and despised for their meanness and ignorance. I saw, in them, a mass of debauched and worthless beings, having at their command an army to compel the people to surrender to them the fruits of their industry; and in addition, a body existing under the garb of religion, almost as despicable in point of character, and still more malignant.

I could not have died in peace, leaving my children the slaves of such a set of beings; and I could not live in peace, knowing, that at any hour, I might die and so leave my family. Therefore I resolved, like the Lark in the fable, to remove my brood, which was still more numerous than that of the Lark. While the war was going on between England and America, I could not come to this country. Besides, I had great affairs to arrange. In 1816, having made my preparations, I set off, not with my family; for that I did not think a prudent step. It was necessary for me to see what America really was. I therefore, came for that purpose.

I was well pleased with America, over a considerable part of which I travelled. I saw an absence of human misery. I saw a government taking away a very small portion of men's earnings. I saw ease and happiness and a fearless utterance of thought every where prevail. I saw laws like those of the old laws of England, every where obeyed with cheerfulness and held in veneration. I heard of no mobs, no riots, no spies, no transportings, no hangings. I saw those very Irish, to keep whom in order, such murderous laws exist in {266} Ireland, here good, peaceable, industrious citizens. I saw no placemen and pensioners, riding the people under foot. I saw no greedy Priesthood, fattening on the fruits of labour in which they had never participated, and which fruits they seized in despite of the people. I saw a Debt, indeed, but then, it was so insignificant a thing; and, besides, it had been contracted for the people's use, and not for that of a set of tyrants, who had used the money to the injury of the people. In short, I saw a state of things, precisely the reverse of that in England, and very nearly what it would be in England, if the Parliament were reformed.

Therefore, in the Autumn of 1816, I returned to England fully intending to return the next spring with my family and whatever I possessed of the fruits of my labours, and to make America my country and the country of that family. Upon my return to England, however, I found a great stir about Reform;3 and having, in their full force, all those feelings, which make our native country dear to us, I said, at once, "My desire is, not to change country or countrymen, but to change slavery for freedom: give me freedom here, and here I'll remain." These are nearly the very words that I uttered to Mr. Cobbett, when first introduced to him, in December 1816, by that excellent man, Major Cartwright.4 Nor was I unwilling to labour myself in the cause of Reform. I was one of those very Delegates, of whom the Borough-tyrants said so many falsehoods, and whom Sir Francis Burdett so shamefully abandoned. In the meeting of Delegates, I thought we went too far in reposing confidence in him: I spoke my opinion as to this point: and, in a very few days, I had the full proof of the correctness of my opinion. I was present when Major Cartwright opened a letter from Sir Francis, which had come from Leicestershire. I thought the kind-hearted old Major would have dropped upon the floor! I shall never forget his looks as he read that letter. If the paultry Burdett had a hundred lives, the taking of them all away would not atone for the pain he that day gave to Major Cartwright, not to mention the pain {267} given to others, and the injury done to the cause. For my part, I was not much disappointed. I had no opinion of Sir Francis Burdett's being sound. He seemed to me too much attached to his own importance to do the people any real service. He is an aristocrat; and that is enough for me. It is folly to suppose, that such a man will ever be a real friend of the rights of the people. I wish he were here a little while. He would soon find his proper level; and that would not, I think, be very high. Mr. Hunt5 was very much against our confiding in Burdett; and he was perfectly right. I most sincerely hope, that my countrymen will finally destroy the tyrants who oppress them; but, I am very sure, that, before they succeed in it, they must cure themselves of the folly of depending for assistance on the nobles or the half-nobles.

After witnessing this conduct in Burdett, I set off home, and thought no more about effecting a Reform. The Acts that soon followed were, by me, looked upon as matters of course.6 The tyranny could go on no longer under disguise. It was compelled to shew its naked face; but, it is now, in reality, not worse than it was before. It now does no more than rob the people, and that it did before. It kills more now out-right; but, men may as well be shot, or stabbed or hanged, as starved to death.

During the Spring and the early part of the Summer, of 1817, I made preparations for the departure of myself and family, and when all was ready, I bid an everlasting adieu to Boroughmongers, Sinecure placemen and placewomen, pensioned Lords and Ladies, Standing Armies in time of peace, and (rejoice, oh! my children!) to a hireling, tithe-devouring Priesthood. We arrived safe and all in good health, and which health has never been impaired by the climate. We are in a state of ease, safety, plenty; and how can we help being as happy as people can be? The more I see of my adopted country, the more gratitude do I feel towards it for affording me and my numerous offspring protection from the tyrants of my native country. There I should have been in constant anxiety about my family. Here I am in none at all. Here I {268} am in fear of no spies, no false witnesses, no blood-money men. Here no fines, irons, or gallowses await me, let me think or say what I will about the government. Here I have to pay no people to be ready to shoot at me, or run me through the body, or chop me down. Here no vile Priest can rob me and mock me in the same breath.

In the year 1816 my travelling in America was confined to the Atlantic States. I there saw enough to determine the question of emigration or no emigration. But, a spot to settle on myself was another matter; for, though I do not know, that I shall meddle with any sort of trade, or occupation, in the view of getting money, I ought to look about me, and to consider soberly as to a spot to settle on with so large a family. It was right, therefore, for me to see the Western Countries. I have done this; and the particulars, which I thought worthy my notice, I noted down in a Journal. This Journal I now submit to the public. My chief motive in the publication is to endeavour to convey useful information, and especially to those persons, who may be disposed to follow my example, and to withdraw their families and fortunes from beneath the hoofs of the tyrants of England.

I have not the vanity to suppose myself eminently qualified for any thing beyond my own profession; but I have been an attentive observer; I have raised a considerable fortune by my own industry and economy; I have, all my life long, studied the matters connected with agriculture, trade, and manufactures. I had a desire to acquire an accurate knowledge of the Western countries, and what I did acquire I have endeavoured to communicate to others. It was not my object to give flowery descriptions. I leave that to poets and painters. Neither have I attempted any general estimate of the means or manner of living, or getting money, in the West. But, I have contented myself with merely noting down the facts that struck me; and from those facts the reader must draw his conclusions.

In one respect I am a proper person to give an account of the Western Countries. I have no lands there: I have no interest there: I have nothing to warp {269} my judgment in favour of those countries: and yet, I have as little in the Atlantic States to warp my judgment in their favour. I am perfectly impartial in my feelings, and am, therefore, likely to be impartial in my words. My good wishes extend to the utmost boundary of my adopted country. Every particular part of it is as dear to me as every other particular part.

I have recommended most strenuously the encouraging and promoting of Domestic Manufacture; not because I mean to be engaged in any such concern myself; for it is by no means likely that I ever shall; but, because I think that such encouragement and promotion would be greatly beneficial to America, and because it would provide a happy Asylum for my native, oppressed, and distressed countrymen, who have been employed all the days of their lives in manufactures in England, where the principal part of the immense profits of their labour is consumed by the Borough tyrants and their friends, and expended for the vile purpose of perpetuating a system of plunder and despotism at home, and all over the world.

Before I conclude this Introduction, I must observe, that I see with great pain, and with some degree of shame, the behaviour of some persons from England, who, appear to think that they give proof of their high breeding by repaying civility, kindness, and hospitality, with reproach and insolence. However, these persons are despised. They produce very little impression here; and, though the accounts they send to England, may be believed by some, they will have little effect on persons of sense and virtue. Truth will make its way; and it is, thank God, now making its way with great rapidity.

I could mention numerous instances of Englishmen, coming to this country with hardly a dollar in their pocket, and arriving at a state of ease and plenty and even riches in a few years; and I explicitly declare, that I have never known or heard of, an instance of one common labourer who, with common industry and economy, did not greatly better his lot. Indeed, how can it otherwise be, when the average wages of {270} agricultural labour is double what it is in England, and when the average price of food is not more than half what it is in that country? These two facts, undeniable as they are, are quite sufficient to satisfy any man of sound mind.

As to the manners of the people, they are precisely to my taste; unostentatious and simple. Good sense I find every where, and never affectation. Kindness, hospitality and never-failing civility. I have travelled more than four thousand miles about this country; and I have never met with one single insolent or rude native American.

I trouble myself very little about the party politics of the country. These contests are the natural offspring of freedom; and they tend to perpetuate that which produces them. I look at the people as a whole; and I love them and feel grateful to them for having given the world a practical proof, that peace, social order, and general happiness can be secured, and best secured, without Monarchs, Dukes, Counts, Baronets, and Knights. I have no unfriendly feeling towards any Religious Society. I wish well to every member of every such society; but, I love the Quakers, and feel grateful towards them, for having proved to the world, that all the virtues, public as well as private, flourish most and bring forth the fairest fruits when unincumbered with those noxious weeds, hireling priests.

THOMAS HULME

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Pittsburgh, June 3.—Arrived here with a friend as travelling companion, by the mail stage from Philadelphia, after a journey of six days; having set out on the 28th May.7 We were much pleased with the face of the country, the greatest part of which was new to me. The route, as far as Lancaster, lay through a rich and fertile country, well cultivated by good, settled proprietors; the road excellent: smooth as the smoothest in England, and hard as those made by the cruel corvèes in France. The country finer, but the road not always so good, all the way from Lancaster, by Little York, to Chambersburgh; after which it changes for mountains and poverty, except in timber. Chambersburgh is situated on the North West side of that fine valley which lies between the South and North Mountains, and which extends from beyond the North East boundary of Pennsylvania to nearly the South West extremity of North Carolina, and which has limestone for its bottom and rich and fertile soil, and beauty upon the face of it, from one end to the other. The ridges of mountains called the Allegany, and forming the highest land in north America between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, begin here and extend across our route nearly 100 miles, or rather, three days, for it was no less than half the journey to travel over them; they rise one above the other as we proceed Westward, till we reach the Allegany, the last and most lofty of all, from which we have a view to the West farther than the eye can carry. I can say nothing in commendation of the road over these mountains, but I must admire the drivers, and their excellent horses. The road is every thing that is bad, but the skill of the drivers, and the well constructed vehicles, and the capital old English horses, overcome {272} every thing. We were rather singularly fortunate in not breaking down or upsetting; I certainly should not have been surprized if the whole thing, horses and all, had gone off the road and been dashed to pieces. A new road is making, however, and when that is completed, the journey will be shorter in point of time, just one half.8 A fine even country we get into immediately on descending the Allegany, with very little appearance of unevenness or of barrenness all the way to Pittsburgh; the evidence of good land in the crops, and the country beautified by a various mixture of woods and fields.

Very good accommodations for travellers the whole of the way. The stage stops to breakfast and to dine, and sleeps where it sups. They literally feasted us every where, at every meal, with venison and good meat of all sorts: every thing in profusion. In one point, however, I must make an exception, with regard to some houses: at night I was surprized, in taverns so well kept in other respects, to find bugs in the beds! I am sorry to say I observed (or, rather, felt,) this too often. Always good eating and drinking, but not always good sleeping.

June 4th & 5th.—Took a view of Pittsburgh. It is situated between the mouths of the river Allegany and Monongahela, at the point where they meet and begin the Ohio, and is laid out in a triangular form so that two sides of it lie contiguous to the water. Called upon Mr. Bakewell, to whom we were introduced by letter, and who very obligingly satisfied our curiosity to see every thing of importance. After showing us through his extensive and well conducted glass works,9 he rowed us across the Monongahela to see the mines from which the fine coals we had seen burning were brought. These coals are taken out from the side of a steep hill, very near to the river, and brought from thence and laid down in any part of the town for 7 cents the bushel, weighing, perhaps, 80 lb. Better coals I never saw. A bridge is now building over the river, by which they will most probably be brought still cheaper.

This place surpasses even my expectations, both in natural resources and in extent of manufactures. {273} Here are the materials for every species of manufacture, nearly, and of excellent quality and in profusion; and these means have been taken advantage of by skilful and industrious artizans and mechanics from all parts of the world. There is scarcely a denomination of manufacture or manual profession that is not carried on to a great extent, and, as far as I have been able to examine, in the best manner. The manufacture of iron in all the different branches, and the mills of all sorts, which I examined with the most attention, are admirable.

Price of flour, from 4 to 5 dollars a barrel; butter 14 cents per lb.; other provisions in proportion and mechanic's and good labourer's wages 1 dollar, and shipbuilder's 1 dollar and a half, a day.

June 6th.—Leave Pittsburgh, and set out in a thing called an ark, which we buy for the purpose, down the Ohio.10 We have, besides, a small skiff, to tow the ark and go ashore occasionally. This ark, which would stow away eight persons, close packed, is a thing by no means pleasant to travel in, especially at night. It is strong at bottom, but may be compared to an orange-box, bowed over at top, and so badly made as to admit a boy's hand to steal the oranges: it is proof against the river, but not against the rain.

Just on going to push off the wharf, an English officer stepped on board of us, with all the curiosity imaginable. I at once took him for a spy hired to way-lay travellers. He began a talk about the Western Countries, anxiously assuring us that we need not hope to meet with such a thing as a respectable person, travel where we would. I told him I hoped in God I should see no spy or informer, whether in plain clothes or regimentals, and that of one thing I was certain, at any rate: that I should find no Sinecure placeman or pensioner in the Western country.

The Ohio, at its commencement, is about 600 yards broad, and continues running with nearly parallel sides, taking two or three different directions in its course, for about 200 miles. There is a curious contrast between the waters which form this river: that of the Allegany is clear and transparent, that of the Monongahela {274} thick and muddy, and it is not for a considerable distance that they entirely mingle. The sides of the river are beautiful; there are always rich bottom lands upon the banks, which are steep and pretty high, varying in width from a few yards to a mile, and skirted with steep hills varying also in height, overhanging with fine timber.

June 7th.—Floating down the Ohio, at the rate of four miles an hour. Lightning, thunder, rain and hail pelting in upon us. The hail-stones as large as English hazelnuts. Stop at Steubenville all night. A nice place; has more stores than taverns, which is a good sign.11

June 8th.—Came to Wheeling at about 12 o'clock. It is a handsome place, and of considerable note. Stopped about an hour. Found flour to be about 4 to 5 dollars a barrel; fresh beef 4 to 6 cents per lb., and other things (the produce of the country) about the same proportion. Labourers' wages, 1 dollar a day. Fine coals here, and at Steubenville.

June 9th.—Two fine young men join us, one a carpenter and the other a saddler, from Washington, in a skiff that they had bought at Pittsburgh, and in which they are taking a journey of about 700 miles down the river. We allow them to tie their skiff to our ark, for which they very cheerfully assist us. Much diverted to see the nimbleness with which they go on shore sometimes with their rifles to shoot pigeons and squirrels. The whole expenses of these two young men in floating the 700 miles, will be but 7 dollars each, including skiff and every thing else.

This day pass Marietta, a good looking town at the mouth of the Muskingham River. It is, however, like many other towns on the Ohio, built on too low ground, and is subject to inundations. Here I observe a contrivance of great ingenuity. There is a strong rope put across the mouth of the river, opposite the town, fastened to trees or large posts on each side; upon this rope runs a pulley or block, to which is attached a rope, and to the rope a ferry-boat, which, by moving the helm first one way and then the other, is propelled by the force of the water across the river backwards or forwards.

{275} June 10th.—Pass several fine coal mines, which like those at Pittsburgh, Steubenville, Wheeling and other places, are not above 50 yards from the river and are upwards of 10 yards above high water. The river now becomes more winding than we have hitherto found it. It is sometimes so serpentine that it appears before and behind like a continuation of lakes, and the hills on its banks seem to be the separations. Altogether, nothing can be more beautiful.

June 11th.—A very hot day, but I could not discover the degree of heat. On going along we bought two Perch, weighing about 8 lb. each, for 25 cents, of a boy who was fishing.12 Fish of this sort will sometimes weigh 30 lbs. each.

June 12th.—Pass Portsmouth, at the mouth of the Scioto River. A sort of village, containing a hundred or two of houses. Not worthy of any particular remark.

June 13th.—Arrived at Cincinnati about midnight. Tied our ark to a large log at the side of the river, and went to sleep. Before morning, however, the fastening broke, and, if it had not been for a watchful back-woodsman whom we had taken on board some distance up the river, we might have floated ten or fifteen miles without knowing it. This back-woodsman, besides being of much service to us, has been a very entertaining companion. He says he has been in this country forty years, but that he is an Englishman, and was bred in Sherwood Forest (he could not have come from a better nursery). All his adventures he detailed to us very minutely, but dwelt with particular warmth upon one he had had with a priest, lately, who, to spite him for preaching, brought an action against him, but was cast and had to pay costs.

June 14th and 15th.—Called upon Doctor Drake13 and upon a Mr. Bosson, to whom we had letters. These gentlemen shewed us the greatest civility, and treated us with a sort of kindness which must have changed the opinion even of the English officer whom we saw at Pittsburgh, had he been with us. I could tell that dirty hireling scout, that even in this short space of time, I have had the pleasure to meet many gentlemen, {276} very well informed, and possessing great knowledge as to their own country, evincing public spirit in all their actions, and hospitality and kindness in all their demeanour; but, if they be pensioners, male or female, or sinecure place lords or ladies, I have yet come across, thank God, no respectable people.

Cincinnati is a very fine town, and elegantly (not only in the American acceptation of the word) situated on the banks of the river, nearly opposite to Licking Creek, which runs out of Kentucky, and is a stream of considerable importance. The country round the town is beautiful, and the soil rich; the fields in its immediate vicinity bear principally grass, and clover of different sorts, the fragrant smell of which perfumes the air. The town itself ranks next to Pittsburgh, of the towns on the Ohio, in point of manufactures.

We sold our ark, and its produce formed a deduction from our expenses, which, with that deduction, amounted to 14 dollars each, including every thing, for the journey from Pittsburgh to this place, which is upwards of 500 miles. I could not but remark the price of fuel here; 2 dollars a cord for Hickory; a cord is 8 feet by 4, and 4 deep, and the wood, the best in the world; it burns much like green Ash, but gives more heat. This, which is of course the highest price for fuel in this part of the country, is only about a fifth of what it is at Philadelphia.

June 16th.—Left Cincinnati for Louisville with seven other persons, in a skiff about 20 feet long and 5 feet wide.

June 17th.—Stopped at Vevay, a very neat and beautiful place, about 70 miles above the falls of the Ohio. Our visit here was principally to see the mode used, as well as what progress was made, in the cultivation of the vine, and I had a double curiosity, never having as yet seen a vineyard. These vineyards are cultivated entirely by a small settlement of Swiss, of about a dozen families, who have been here about ten years. They first settled on the Kentucky river, but did not succeed there. They plant the vines in rows, attached to stakes like espaliers, and they plough between with a one-horse plough. The grapes, {277} which are of the sorts of Claret and Madeira, look very fine and luxuriant, and will be ripe in about the middle of September. The soil and climate both appear to be quite congenial to the growth of the vine: the former rich and the latter warm. The north west wind, when it blows, is very cold, but the south, south east, and south west winds, which are always warm, are prevalent. The heat, in the middle of the summer, I understand, is very great, being generally above 85 degrees, and sometimes above 100 degrees. Each of these families has a farm as well as a vineyard, so that they supply themselves with almost every necessary and have their wine all clear profit. Their produce will this year be probably not less than 5000 gallons; we bought 2 gallons of it at a dollar each, as good as I would wish to drink. Thus it is that the tyrants of Europe create vineyards in this new country!

June 18th.—Arrived at Louisville, Kentucky. The town is situated at the commencement of the falls, or rapids of the Ohio. The river, at this place, is little less than a mile wide, and the falls continue from a ledge of rocks which runs across the river in a sloping direction at this part, to Shippingport, about 2 miles lower down. Perceiving stagnant waters about the town, and an appearance of the house that we stopped at being infested with bugs, we resolved not to make any stay at Louisville, but got into our skiff and floated down the falls to Shippingport. We found it very rough floating, not to say dangerous. The river of very unequal widths and full of islands and rocks along this short distance, and the current very rapid, though the descent is not more than 22 feet. At certain times of the year the water rises so that there is no fall; large boats can then pass.

At Shippingport, stopped at the house of Mr. Berthoud,14 a very respectable French gentleman, from whom we received the greatest civility during our stay, which was two nights and the day intervening.

Shippingport is situated at a place of very great importance, being the upper extremity of that part of the river which is navigable for heavy steam-boats. All the goods coming from the country are re-shipped, and every thing going to it is un-shipped, here. Mr. Berthoud {278} has the store in which the articles exporting or importing are lodged: and is, indeed, a great shipper, though at a thousand miles from the sea.

June 20th.—Left the good and comfortable house of Mr. Berthoud, very much pleased with him and his amiable wife and family, though I differed with him a little in politics. Having been taught at church, when a boy, that the Pope was the whore of Babylon, that the Bourbons were tyrants, and that the Priests and privileged orders of France were impostors and petty tyrants under them, I could not agree with him in applauding the Boroughmongers of England for re-subjugating the people of France, and restoring the Bourbons, the Pope, and the Inquisition.

Stop at New Albany, 2 miles below Shippingport, till the evening.15 A Mr. Paxton, I am told, is the proprietor of a great part of the town, and has the grist and saw-mills, which are worked by steam, and the ferry across the river. Leave this place in company with a couple of young men from the western part of the state of New York, who are on their way to Tennessee in a small ferry-boat. Their whole journey will, probably, be about 1,500 miles.

June 21st.—Floating down the river, without any thing in particular occurring.

June 22nd.—Saw a Mr. Johnstone and his wife reaping wheat on the side of the river. They told us they had come to this spot last year, direct from Manchester, Old England, and had bought their little farm of 55 acres of a back-woodsman who had cleared it, and was glad to move further westward, for 3 dollars an acre. They had a fine flock of little children, and pigs and poultry, and were cheerful and happy, being confident that their industry and economy would not be frustrated by visits for tithes or taxes.

June 23rd.—See great quantities of turkey-buzzards and thousands of pigeons. Came to Pigeon Creek, about 230 miles below the Falls, and stopped for the night at Evansville, a town of nine months old, near the mouth of it.16 We are now frequently met and passed by large, fine steam-boats, plying up and down {279} the river. One went by us as we arrived here which had left Shippingport only the evening before. They go down the river at the rate of 10 miles an hour, and charge passengers 6 cents a mile, boarding and lodging included. The price is great, but the time is short.

June 24th.—Left Evansville. This little place is rapidly increasing, and promises to be a town of considerable trade. It is situated at a spot which seems likely to become a port for shipping to Princeton and a pretty large district of Indiana. I find that the land speculators have made entry of the most eligible tracts of land, which will impede the partial, though not the final, progress of population and improvement in this part of the state.

On our way to Princeton, we see large flocks of fine wild turkeys, and whole herds of pigs, apparently very fat. The pigs are wild also, but have become so from neglect. Some of the inhabitants, who prefer sport to work, live by shooting these wild turkeys and pigs, and indeed, sometimes, I understand, they shoot and carry off those of their neighbours before they are wild.

June 25th.—Arrived at Princeton, Indiana, about twenty miles from the river.17 I was sorry to see very little doing in this town. They cannot all keep stores and taverns! One of the storekeepers told me he does not sell more than ten thousand dollars value per annum: he ought, then, to manufacture something and not spend nine tenths of his time in lolling with a segar in his mouth.

June 26th.—At Princeton, endeavouring to purchase horses, as we had now gone far enough down the Ohio. While waiting in our tavern, two men called in armed with rifles, and made enquiries for some horses they suspected to be stolen. They told us they had been almost all the way from Albany, to Shawnee town18 after them, a distance of about 150 miles. I asked them how they would be able to secure the thieves, if they overtook them, in these wild woods; "O," said they, "shoot them off the horses." This is a summary mode of executing justice, thought I, though probably the most effectual, and, indeed, only one in this state of society. A thief very rarely escapes here; not nearly so {280} often as in more populous districts. The fact was, in this case, however, we discovered afterwards, that the horses had strayed away, and had returned home by this time. But, if they had been stolen, the stealers would not have escaped. When the loser is tired, another will take up the pursuit, and the whole country is up in arms till he is found.

June 27th.—Still at Princeton. At last we get suited with horses. Mine cost me only 135 dollars with the bridle and saddle, and that I am told is 18 dollars too much.

June 28th.—Left Princeton, and set out to see Mr. Birkbeck's settlement, in Illinois, about 35 miles from Princeton.19 Before we got to the Wabash we had to cross a swamp of half a mile wide; we were obliged to lead our horses, and walk up to the knees in mud and water. Before we got half across we began to think of going back; but, there is a sound bottom under it all, and we waded through it as well as we could. It is, in fact, nothing but a bed of very soft and rich land, and only wants draining to be made productive. We soon after came to the banks of the great Wabash, which is here about half a mile broad, and as the ferry-boat was crossing over with us I amused myself by washing my dirty boots. Before we mounted again we happened to meet with a neighbour of Mr. Birkbeck's, who was returning home; we accompanied him, and soon entered into the prairie lands, up to our horses' bellies in fine grass. These prairies, which are surrounded with lofty woods, put me in mind of immense noblemen's parks in England. Some of those we passed over are called wet prairies, but, they are dry at this time of the year; and, as they are none of them flat, they need but very simple draining to carry off the water all the year round. Our horses were very much tormented with flies, some as large as the English horse-fly and some as large as the wasp; these flies infest the prairies that are unimproved about three months in the year, but go away altogether as soon as cultivation begins.

Mr. Birkbeck's settlement is situated between {281} the two Wabashes, and is about ten miles from the nearest navigable water; we arrived there about sunset and met with a welcome which amply repaid us for our day's toil. We found that gentleman with his two sons perfectly healthy and in high spirits: his daughters were at Henderson (a town in Kentucky, on the Ohio) on a visit.20 At present his habitation is a cabin, the building of which cost only 20 dollars; this little hutch is near the spot where he is about to build his house, which he intends to have in the most eligible situation in the prairie for convenience to fuel and for shelter in winter, as well as for breezes in summer, and will, when that is completed, make one of its appurtenances. I like this plan of keeping the old loghouse; it reminds the grand children and their children's children of what their ancestor has done for their sake.

Few settlers had as yet joined Mr. Birkbeck; that is to say, settlers likely to become "society;" he has labourers enough near him, either in his own houses or on land of their own joining his estate. He was in daily expectation of his friends, Mr. Fowler's family,21 however, with a large party besides; they had just landed at Shawnee Town, about 20 miles distant. Mr. Birkbeck informs me he has made entry of a large tract of land, lying, part of it, all the way from his residence to the great Wabash; this he will re-sell again in lots to any of his friends, they taking as much of it and wherever they choose (provided it be no more than they can cultivate), at an advance which I think very fair and liberal.

The whole of his operations had been directed hitherto (and wisely in my opinion) to building, fencing, and other important preparations. He had done nothing in the cultivating way but make a good garden, which supplies him with the only things that he cannot purchase, and, at present, perhaps, with more economy than he could grow them. He is within twenty miles of Harmony;22 in Indiana, where he gets his flour and all other necessaries (the produce of the country) and therefore employs himself much better in making barns and houses and mills for the reception and disposal of {282} his crops, and fences to preserve them while growing, before he grows them, than to get the crops first. I have heard it observed that any American settler, even without a dollar in his pocket, would have had something growing by this time. Very true! I do not question that at all; for, the very first care of a settler without a dollar in his pocket is to get something to eat, and, he would consequently set to work scratching up the earth, fully confident that after a long summering upon wild flesh (without salt, perhaps) his own belly would stand him for barn, if his jaws would not for mill. But the case is very different with Mr. Birkbeck, and at present he has need for no other provision for winter but about a three hundredth part of his fine grass turned into hay, which will keep his necessary horses and cows: besides which he has nothing that eats but such pigs as live upon the waste, and a couple of fine young deer (which would weigh, they say, when full grown, 200 lb. dead weight) that his youngest son is rearing up as pets.

I very much admire Mr. Birkbeck's mode of fencing. He makes a ditch 4 feet wide at top, sloping to 1 foot wide at bottom, and 4 feet deep. With the earth that comes out of the ditch he makes a bank on one side, which is turfed towards the ditch. Then a long pole is put up from the bottom of the ditch to 2 feet above the bank; this is crossed by a short pole from the other side, and then a rail is laid along between the forks. The banks were growing beautifully, and looked altogether very neat as well as formidable; though a live hedge (which he intends to have) instead of dead poles and rails, upon top, would make the fence far more effectual as well as handsomer. I am always surprised, until I reflect how universally and to what a degree, farming is neglected in this country, that this mode of fencing is not adopted in cultivated districts, especially where the land is wet, or lies low; for, there it answers a double purpose, being as effectual a drain as it is a fence.

I was rather disappointed, or sorry, at any rate, not to find near Mr. Birkbeck's any of the means for machinery or of the materials for manufactures, such as the water-falls, and the minerals and mines, {283} which are possessed in such abundance by the states of Ohio and Kentucky, and by some parts of Pennsylvania. Some of these, however, he may yet find. Good water he has, at any rate. He showed me a well 25 feet deep, bored partly through hard substances near the bottom, that was nearly overflowing with water of excellent quality.

July 1st.—Left Mr. Birkbeck's for Harmony, Indiana. The distance by the direct way is about 18 miles, but, there is no road, as yet; indeed, it was often with much difficulty that we could discover the way at all. After we had crossed the Wabash, which we did at a place called Davis's Ferry,23 we hired a man to conduct us some part of the way through the woods. In about a mile he brought us to a track, which was marked out by slips of bark being stripped off the trees, once in about 40 yards; he then left us and told us we could not mistake if we followed that track. We soon lost all appearance of the track, however, and of the "blazing" of the trees, as they call it; but, as it was useless to go back again for another guide, our only way was to keep straight on in the same direction, bring us where it would. Having no compass, this nearly cost us our sight, for it was just mid-day, and we had to gaze at the sun a long time before we discovered what was our course. After this we soon, to our great joy, found ourselves in a large corn field; rode round it, and came to Johnson's Ferry, a place where a Bayou (Boyau) of the Wabash is crossed. This Bayou is a run out of the main river round a flat portion of land, which is sometimes overflowed: it is part of the same river, and the land encompassed by it, an island. Crossed this ferry in a canoe, and got a ferry-man to swim our horses after us. Mounted again and followed a track which brought us to Black River, which we forded without getting wet, by holding our feet up.24 After crossing the river we found a man who was kind enough to shew us about half a mile through the woods, by which our journey was shortened five or six miles. He put us into a direct track to Harmony, through lands as rich as a dung-hill, and covered with immense timber; we {284} thanked him, and pushed on our horses with eager curiosity to see this far-famed Harmonist Society.

On coming within the precincts of the Harmonites we found ourselves at the side of the Wabash again; the river on our right hand, and their lands on our left. Our road now lay across a field of Indian corn, of, at the very least, a mile in width, and bordering the town on the side we entered; I wanted nothing more than to behold this immense field of most beautiful corn to be at once convinced of all I had heard of the industry of this society of Germans, and I found, on proceeding a little farther, that the progress they had made exceeded all my idea of it.

The town is methodically laid out in a situation well chosen in all respects; the houses are good and clean, and have, each one, a nice garden well stocked with all vegetables and tastily ornamented with flowers. I observe that these people are very fond of flowers, by the bye; the cultivation of them, and musick, are their chief amusements. I am sorry to see this, as it is to me a strong symptom of simplicity and ignorance, if not a badge of their German slavery. Perhaps the pains they take with them is the cause of their flowers being finer than any I have hitherto seen in America, but, most probably, the climate here is more favourable. Having refreshed ourselves at the Tavern, where we found every thing we wanted for ourselves and our horses, and all very clean and nice, besides many good things we did not expect, such as beer, porter, and even wine, all made within the Society, and very good indeed, we then went out to see the people at their harvest, which was just begun. There were 150 men and women all reaping in the same field of wheat. A beautiful sight! The crop was very fine, and the field, extending to about two miles in length, and from half a mile to a mile in width, was all open to one view, the sun shining on it from the West, and the reapers advancing regularly over it.

At sun-set all the people came in, from the fields, workshops, mills, manufactories, and from all their labours. This being their evening for prayer {285} during the week, the Church bell called them out again in about 15 minutes, to attend a lecture from their High Priest and Law-giver, Mr. George Rapp.25 We went to hear the lecture, or, rather, to see the performance, for, it being all performed in German, we could understand not a word. The people were all collected in a twinkling, the men at one end of the Church and the women at the other; it looked something like a Quaker Meeting, except that there was not a single little child in the place. Here they were kept by their Pastor a couple of hours, after which they returned home to bed. This is the quantum of Church-service they perform during the week; but on Sundays they are in Church nearly the whole of the time from getting up to going to bed. When it happens that Mr. Rapp cannot attend, either by indisposition or other accident, the Society still meet as usual, and the elders (certain of the most trusty and discreet, whom the Pastor selects as a sort of assistants in his divine commission) converse on religious subjects.

Return to the Tavern to sleep; a good comfortable house, well kept by decent people, and the master himself, who is very intelligent and obliging, is one of the very few at Harmony who can speak English. Our beds were as good as those stretched upon by the most highly pensioned and placed Boroughmongers, and our sleep, I hope, much better than the tyrants ever get, in spite of all their dungeons and gags.

July 2nd.—Early in the morning, took a look at the manufacturing establishment, accompanied by our Tavern-keeper. I find great attention is paid to this branch of their affairs. Their principle is, not to be content with the profit upon the manual labour of raising the article, but also to have the benefit of the machine in preparing it for use. I agree with them perfectly, and only wish the subject was as well understood all over the United States as it is at Harmony. It is to their skill in this way that they owe their great prosperity; if they had been nothing but farmers, they would be now at Harmony in Pennsylvania, poor cultivators, getting a bare subsistence, instead of having doubled their property two or three {286} times over, by which they have been able to move here and select one of the choicest spots in the country.

But in noting down the state of this Society, as it now is, its origin should not be forgotten; the curious history of it serves as an explanation to the jumble of sense and absurdity in the association. I will therefore trace the Harmonist Society from its outset in Germany to this place.

The Sect had its origin at Wurtemberg in Germany, about 40 years ago, in the person of its present Pastor and Master, George Rapp, who, by his own account, "having long seen and felt the decline of the Church, found himself impelled to bear testimony to the fundamental principles of the Christian Religion; and, finding no toleration for his inspired doctrines, or for those who adopted them, he determined with his followers to go to that part of the earth, where they were free to worship God according to the dictates of their conscience." In other words (I suppose), he had long beheld and experienced the slavery and misery of his country, and, feeling in his conscience that he was born more for a ruler than for a slave, found himself imperiously called upon to collect together a body of his poor countrymen and to lead them into a land of liberty and abundance. However allowing him to have had no other than his professed views, he, after he had got a considerable number of proselytes, amounting to seven or eight hundred persons, among whom were a sufficiency of good labourers and artizans in all the essential branches of workmanship and trade, besides farmers, he embodied them into a Society, and then came himself to America (not trusting to Providence to lead the way) to seek out the land destined for these chosen children. Having done so, and laid the plan for his route to the land of peace and Christian love, with a foresight which shows him to have been by no means unmindful to the temporal prosperity of the Society, he then landed his followers in separate bodies, and prudently led them in that order to a resting place within Pennsylvania, choosing rather to retard their progress through the wilderness than to hazard the discontent that might arise from want and fatigue {287} in traversing it at once. When they were all arrived, Rapp constituted them into one body, having every thing in common, and called the settlement Harmony. This constitution he found authorised by the passage in Acts, iv. 32, "And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart, and of one soul: neither said any of them that aught of the things he possessed was his own, but that they had all things common." Being thus associated, the Society went to work, early in 1805, building houses and clearing lands, according to the order and regulations of their leader; but the community of stock, or the regular discipline, or the restraints which he had reduced them to, and which were essential to his project, soon began to thin his followers and principally, too, those of them who had brought most substance into the society; they demanded back their original portions and set out to seek the Lord by themselves. This falling off of the society, though it was but small, comparatively, in point of numbers, was a great reduction from their means; they had calculated what they should want to consume, and had laid the rest out in land; so that the remaining part were subjected to great hardships and difficulties for the first year or two of their settling, which was during the time of their greatest labours. However, it was not long before they began to reap the fruits of their toil, and in the space of six or seven years their settlement became a most flourishing colony. During that short space of time they brought into cultivation 3,000 acres of land (a third of their whole estate), reared a flock of nearly 2,000 sheep, and planted hop-gardens, orchards, and vineyards; built barns and stables to house their crops and their live stock, granaries to keep one year's produce of grain always in advance, houses to make their cyder, beer, and wine in, and good brick or stone warehouses for their several species of goods; constructed distilleries, mills for grinding, sawing, making oil, and, indeed, for every purpose, and machines for manufacturing their various materials for clothing and other uses; they had, besides, a store for retailing Philadelphia goods to the country, and nearly 100 good dwelling-houses of wood, a large stone-built tavern, {288} and, as a proof of superabundance, a dwelling-house and a meeting-house (alias the parsonage and church) which they had neatly built of brick. And, besides all these improvements within the society, they did a great deal of business, principally in the way of manufacturing, for the people of the country. They worked for them with their mills and machines, some of which did nothing else, and their blacksmiths, tailors, shoe-makers, &c. when not employed by themselves, were constantly at work for their neighbours. Thus this everlastingly-at-work band of emigrants increased their stock before they quitted their first colony, to upwards of two hundred thousand dollars, from, probably not one fifth of that sum. What will not unceasing perseverance accomplish? But, with judgment and order to direct it, what in the world can stand against it!26

In comparing the state of this society as it now is with what it was in Pennsylvania, it is just the same as to plan; the temporal and spiritual affairs are managed in the same way, and upon the same principles, only both are more flourishing. Rapp has here brought his disciples into richer land, and into a situation better in every respect, both for carrying on their trade, and for keeping to their faith; their vast extent of land is, they say, four feet deep of rich mould, nearly the whole of it, and it lies along the banks of a fine navigable river on one side, while the possibility of much interruption from other classes of Christians is effectually guarded against by an endless barricado of woods on the other side. Bringing the means and experience acquired at their first establishment, they have of course gone on improving and increasing (not in population) at a much greater rate. One of their greatest improvements, they tell me is the working of their mills and manufacturing machines by steam; they feel the advantage of this more and more every year. They are now preparing to build a steam boat; this is to be employed in their traffick with New Orleans {289} carrying their own surplus produce and returning with tea, coffee, and other commodities for their own consumption, and to retail to the people of the country. I believe they advance, too, in the way of ornaments and superfluities, for the dwelling-house they have now built their pastor, more resembles a Bishop's Palace than what I should figure to myself as the humble abode of a teacher of the "fundamental principles of the Christian Religion."

The government of this society is by bands, each consisting of a distinct trade or calling. They have a foreman to each band, who rules it under the general direction of the society, the law-giving power of which is in the High Priest. He cannot, however make laws without the consent of the parties. The manufacturing establishment, and the mercantile affairs and public accounts are all managed by one person; he, I believe, is one of the sons of Rapp. They have a bank, where a separate account is kept for each person; if any one puts in money, or has put in money, he may on certain conditions as to time, take it out again. They labour and possess in common; that is to say, except where it is not practicable or is immaterial, as with their houses, gardens, cows and poultry, which they have to themselves, each family. They also retain what property each may bring on joining the concern, and he may demand it in case of leaving the society, but without interest.

Here is certainly a wonderful example of the effects of skill, industry, and force combined. This congregation of far-seeing, ingenious, crafty, and bold, and of ignorant, simple, superstitious, and obedient, Germans, has shown what may be done. But their example, I believe, will generally only tend to confirm this free people in their suspicion that labour is concomitant to slavery or ignorance. Instead of their improvements, and their success and prosperity altogether, producing admiration, if not envy, they have a social discipline, the thought of which reduces these feelings to ridicule and contempt: that is to say, with regard to the mass; with respect to their leaders one's feelings are apt to be stronger. A fundamental of their religious creed ("restraining {290} clause," a Chancery Lawyer would call it) requires restrictions on the propagation of the species; it orders such regulations as are necessary to prevent children coming but once in a certain number of years; and this matter is so arranged that, when they come, they come in little flocks, all within the same month, perhaps, like a farmer's lambs. The Law-giver here made a famously "restraining statute" upon the law of nature! This way of expounding law seems to be a main point of his policy; he by this means keeps his associates from increasing to an unruly number within, while more are sure not to come in from without; and, I really am afraid he will go a good way towards securing a monopoly of many great improvements in agriculture, both as to principle and method. People see the fine fields of the Harmonites, but, the prospect comes damped with the idea of bondage and celibacy. It is a curious society: was ever one heard of before that did not wish to increase! This smells strong of policy; some distinct view in the leaders, no doubt. Who would be surprised if we were to see a still more curious society by and bye? A Society Sole! very far from improbable, if the sons of Rapp (for he has children, nevertheless, as well as Parson Malthus)27 and the Elders were to die, it not being likely that they will renounce or forfeit their right to the common stock. We should then have societies as well as corporations vested in one person! That would be quite a novel kind of benefice! but, not the less fat. I question whether the associated person of Mr. Rapp would not be in possession of as fine a domain and as many good things as the incorporated person of an Archbishop: nay, he would rival the Pope! But, to my journal.

Arrive at Princeton in the evening; a good part of our road lay over the fine lands of the Harmonites. I understand, by the bye, that the title deeds to these lands are taken in the name of Rapp and of his associates. Poor associates: if they do but rebel! Find the same store-keepers and tavern-keepers in the same attitudes that we left them in the other day. Their legs only a little higher than their heads, and {291} segars in their mouths; a fine position for business! It puts my friend in mind of the Roman posture in dining.

July 3rd.—At Princeton all day. This is a pretty considerable place; very good as to buildings; but is too much inland to be a town of any consequence until the inhabitants do that at home which they employ merchants and foreign manufacturers to do for them. Pay 1 dollar for a set of old shoes to my horse, half the price of new ones.

July 4th.—Leave Princeton; in the evening, reach a place very appropriately called Mud-holes,28 after riding 46 miles over lands in general very good but very little cultivated, and that little very badly; the latter part of the journey in company with a Mr. Jones from Kentucky. Nature is the agriculturist here; speculation instead of cultivation, is the order of the day amongst men. We feel the ill effects of this in the difficulty of getting oats for our horses. However, the evil is unavoidable, if it can be really called an evil. As well might I grumble that farmers have not taken possession as complain that men of capital have. Labour is the thing wanted, but, to have that money must come first. This Mud-holes was a sort of fort, not 4 years ago, for guarding against the Indians, who then committed great depredations, killing whole families often, men, women and children. How changeable are the affairs of this world! I have not met with a single Indian in the whole course of my route.

July 5th.—Come to Judge Chambers's,29 a good tavern; 35 miles. On our way, pass French Lick, a strong spring of water impregnated with salt and sulphur, and called Lick from its being resorted to by cattle for the salt; close by this spring is another still larger, of fine clear limestone water, running fast enough to turn a mill.30 Some of the trees near the Judge's exhibit a curious spectacle; a large piece of wood appears totally dead, all the leaves brown and the branches broken, from being roosted upon lately by an enormous multitude of pigeons. A novel sight for us, unaccustomed to the abundance of the back-woods! {292} No tavern but this, nor house of any description, within many miles.

July 6th.—Leave the Judge's, still in company with Mr. Jones. Ride 25 miles to breakfast, not sooner finding feed for our horses; this was at the dirty log-house of Mr. —— who has a large farm with a grist-mill on it, and keeps his yard and stables ancle deep in mud and water. If this were not one of the healthiest climates in the world, he and his family must have died in all this filth. About 13 miles further, come to New Albany, where we stop at Mr. Jenkins's, the best tavern we have found in Indiana, that at Harmony excepted.

July 7th.—Resting at New Albany. We were amused by hearing a Quaker-lady preach to the natives. Her first words were "All the nations of the earth are of one blood." "So," said I to myself, "this question, which has so long perplexed philosophers, divines and physicians, is now set at rest!" She proceeded to vent her rage with great vehemence against hireling priests and the trade of preaching in general, and closed with dealing out large portions of brimstone to the drunkard and still larger and hotter to those who give the bottle to drink. This part of her discourse pleased me very much and may be a saving to me into the bargain; for, the dread of everlasting roasting added to my love of economy will (I think) prevent me making my friends tipsy. A very efficacious sermon!

July 8th.—Jenkins's is a good tavern, but it entertains at a high price. Our bill was 6 dollars each for a day and two nights; a shameful charge. Leave New Albany, cross the Ohio, and pass through Louisville in Kentucky again, on our way to Lexington, the capital. Stop for the night at Mr. Netherton's, a good tavern. The land hitherto is good, and the country altogether healthy, if I may judge from the people who appear more cheerful and happy than in Indiana, always excepting Harmony. Our landlord is the picture of health and strength: 6 feet 4 inches high, weighs 300 lb. and not fat.

July 9th.—Dine at Mr. Overton's tavern, on our way to Frankfort; pay half a dollar each for an excellent dinner, with as much brandy and butter-milk {293} as we choose to drink, and good feed for our horses. In the afternoon we have the pleasure to be overtaken by two ladies on horseback, and have their agreeable company for a mile or two. On their turning off from our road we were very reluctantly obliged to refuse an obliging invitation to drink tea at their house, and myself the more so, as one of the ladies informed me she had married a Mr. Constantine, a gentleman from my own native town of Bolton, in Lancashire. But, we had yet so far to go, and it was getting dark. This most healthful mode of travelling is universal in the Western States, and it gives me great pleasure to see it; though, perhaps, I have to thank the badness of the roads as the cause. Arrive at Frankfort, apparently a thriving town, on the side of the rough Kentucky river.31 The houses are built chiefly of brick, and the streets, I understand, paved with limestone. Limestone abounds in this state, and yet the roads are not good, though better than in Indiana and Ohio, for there there are none. I wonder the government of these states do not set about making good roads and bridges, and even canals.32 I pledge myself to be able to shew them how the money might be raised, and, moreover, to prove that the expense would be paid over and over again in almost no time. Such improvements would be income to the governments instead of expense, besides being such an incalculable benefit to the states. But, at any rate, why not roads, and in this state, too, which is so remarkable for its quality of having good road materials and rich land together, generally all over it?

July 10th.—Leave Frankfort, and come through a district of fine land, very well watered, to Lexington; stop at Mr. Keen's tavern. Had the good fortune to meet Mr. Clay, who carried us to his house, about a mile in the country.33 It is a beautiful residence, situated near the centre of a very fine farm, which is just cleared and is coming into excellent cultivation. I approve of Mr. Clay's method very much, especially in laying down pasture. He clears away all the brush or underwood, leaving timber enough to afford a sufficiency of shade to the grass, which does not thrive here exposed {294} to the sun as in England and other such climates. By this means he has as fine grass and clover as can possibly grow. I could not but admire to see this gentleman, possessing so much knowledge and of so much weight in his country's affairs, so attentively promoting her not less important though more silent interests by improving her agriculture. What pleased me still more, however, because I less expected it, was, to hear Mrs. Clay, in priding herself on the state of society, and the rising prosperity of the country, citing as a proof the decency and affluence of the trades-people and mechanics at Lexington, many of whom ride about in their own carriages. What a contrast, both in sense and in sentiment, between this lady and the wives of Legislators (as they are called), in the land of the Boroughmongers! God grant that no privileged batch ever rise up in America, for then down come the mechanics, are harnessed themselves, and half ridden to death.

July 11th.—This is the hottest day we have had yet. Thermometer at 90 degrees, in shade. Met a Mr. Whittemore, from Boston, loud in the praise of this climate. He informed me he had lately lost his wife and five children near Boston, and that he should have lost his only remaining child, too, a son now stout and healthy, had he not resolved instantly to try the air of the west. He is confident that if he had taken this step in time he might have saved the lives of all his family. This might be however, and yet this climate not better than that of Boston. Spent the evening with Colonel Morrison, one of the first settlers in this state; a fine looking old gentleman, with colour in his face equal to a London Alderman.34 The people here are pretty generally like that portion of the people of England who get porridge enough to eat; stout, fat, and ruddy.

July 12.—Hotter than yesterday; thermometer at 91 degrees.

July 13.—Leave Lexington; stop at Paris, 22 miles.35 a fine country all the way; good soil, plenty of limestone and no musquitoes. Paris is a healthy town, with a good deal of stir; woollen and cotton manufactures are carried on here, but upon a small scale. {295} They are not near enough to good coal mines to do much in that way. What they do, however, is well paid for. A spinner told me he gets 83 cents per lb. for his twist, which is 33 cents more than it would fetch at New York. Stop at Mr. Timberlake's, a good house. The bar-keeper, who comes from England, tells me that he sailed to Canada, but he is glad he had the means to leave Canada and come to Kentucky; he has 300 dollars a year, and board and lodging. Made enquiry after young Watson, but find he has left this place and is gone to Lexington.36

The following is a list of the wages and prices of the most essential branches of workmanship and articles of consumption, as they are here at present.

	Dls.	Cts.		Dls.	Cts.
Journeymen saddlers' price for drawing on men's saddles	1	2537	to	2	50
Journeymen blacksmiths, per day	1	..	—	1	25
—Per month	25	00	—	30
Journeymen hatters (casters)	1	25	—
Ditto rorum	1	..	—
Ditto for finishing, per month, and found	30		—
Journeymen shoe-makers (coarse)	..	75	—
Ditto, fine	1	25	—
Ditto, for boots	3	25	—
Journeymen tailors, by the coat	5	..	—
Stone-masons or bricklayers, per day	1	..	—	1	50
Carpenters, per day, and found	1	..	—
Salary for a clerk per annum	200	..	—	500
Beef, per 100 lb	6	..	—
Flour, per barrel	6	..	—

July 14th.—Hot again; 90 degrees. Arrive at Blue Licks, close by the fine Licking Creek, 22 miles from Paris.38 Here is a sulphur and salt spring like that at French Lick in Indiana, which makes this a place of great resort in summer for the fashionable swallowers {296} of mineral waters; the three or four taverns are at this time completely crowded. Salt was made till latterly at this spring, by an old Scotsman; he now attends the ferry across the Creek. Not much to be said for the country round here; it is stony and barren, what, I have not seen before in Kentucky.

July 15th.—To Maysville, or Lime-stone, 24 miles. This is a place on the banks of the Ohio, and is a sort of port for shipping down the river to a great part of that district of the state for which Louisville is the shipping port to and from New Orleans.39 Still hot; 90 degrees again. This is the fifth day; rather unusual, this continuance of heat. The hot spells, as well as the cold spells, seldom last more than three days, pretty generally in America.

July 16th.—Hot still, but a fine breeze blowing up the river. Not a bit too hot for me, but the natives say it is the hottest weather they recollect in this country; a proof to me that this is a mild climate, as to heat, at any rate. Saw a cat-fish in the market, just caught out of the river by a hook and line, 4 feet long and eighty pounds weight, offered for 2 dollars. Price of flour, 6 dollars a barrel; fresh beef, 6½ cents, and butter 20 cents per lb.

July 17th.—Set out again, crossing the Ohio into the state of that name, and take the road to Chillicothe, 74 miles from Maysville. Stop about mid-way for the night, travelling over a country generally hilly, and not of good soil, and passing through West Union,40 a place situated as a town ought to be, upon high and unlevel lands; the inhabitants have fine air to breathe, and plenty of food to eat and drink, and, if they keep their houses and streets and themselves clean, I will ensure them long lives. Some pretty good farms in view of the road, but many abandoned for the richer lands of Indiana and Illinois. Travelling expenses much less, hitherto, than in Indiana and some parts of Kentucky; we had plenty of good buttermilk at the farm-houses all along the road, free of expense, and the tavern-keepers do not set before us bread made of Indian corn, which we have not yet learned to like very cordially.

{297} July 18th.—Come to Chillicothe,41 the country improving and more even as we proceed. See some very rich lands on passing Paint Creek, and on approaching the Scioto river; these, like all the bottom lands, having a coat of sediment from their river in addition to the original soil, are by far the richest. Chillicothe is a handsome town, regularly laid out, but stands upon a flat. I hate the very sight of a level street, unless there be every thing necessary to carry off all filth and water. The air is very fine, so far as it is not contaminated by the pools of water which stand about the town as green as grass. Main sewers, like those at Philadelphia, are much wanted.

July 19th.—Called upon Mr. Bond, being introduced by letter, and spent a very pleasant evening with him and a large party of his agreeable friends.42 Left them, much pleased with the society of Chillicothe.

July 20th.—We were introduced to Governor Worthington, who lives about 2 miles from the town.43 He took us to his house, and showed us part of his fine estate, which is 800 acres in extent, and all of it elevated table land, commanding an immense view over the flat country in the direction of Lake Erie. The soil is very rich indeed; so rich, that the governor pointed out a dung heap which was bigger than the barn it surrounded and had grown out of, as a nuisance. The labour of dragging the dung out of the way, would be more than the cost of removing the barn, so that he is actually going to pull the barn down, and build it up again in another place. This is not a peculiarity of this particular spot of land, for manure has no value here at all. All the stable-dung made at Chillicothe is flung into the river. I dare say, that the Inn we put up at does not tumble into the water less than 300 good loads of horse-dung every year.

I had some conversation with Governor Worthington on the subject of domestic manufactures, and was glad to find he is well convinced of the necessity of, or at least of the great benefit that would result from, the general establishment of them in the United States. He has frequently recommended it in his public capacity, he informed me, and I hope he will {298} advocate it with effect. He is a true lover of his country, and no man that I have met with has a more thorough knowledge of the detestable villainy of the odious Boroughmongering government of England, and, of course, it has his full share of hatred.

July 21st.—Leave Chillicothe. A fine, healthy country and very rich land all the way to New Lancaster, 34 miles from Chillicothe, and 38 from Zanesville.44 Stop at the house of a German, where we slept, but not in bed, preferring a soft board and something clean for a pillow to a bed of down accompanied with bugs.

Nothing remarkable, that I can see, as to the locality of this, town of New Lancaster; but, the name, alas! it brought to my recollection the horrid deeds done at Old Lancaster, the county town of my native country! I thought of Colonel F——r, and his conduct towards my poor, unfortunate townsman, Gallant! I thought of the poor, miserable creatures, men, women, and children, who, in the bloody year of 1812, were first instigated by spies to commit arson, and then pursued into death by the dealers in human blood. Amongst the sufferers upon this particular occasion, there was a boy, who was silly, and who would at any time, have jumped into a pit for a halfpenny: he was not fourteen years old; and when he was about to be hanged, actually called out for his "mammy" to come and save him! Who, that has a heart in his bosom, can help feeling indignation against the cruel monsters! Who can help feeling a desire to see their dreadful power destroyed! The day must come, when the whole of the bloody tragedies of Lancashire will be exposed. In the mean while, here I am in safety from the fangs of the monsters, who oppress and grind my countrymen. The thought of these oppressions, however, I carry about with me; and I cannot help its sometimes bursting forth into words.

July 22nd.—Arrived at Zanesville,45 a place {299} finely situated for manufactures, in a nook of the Muskingham, just opposite to the mouth of Licking Creek. It has almost every advantage for manufacturing of all sorts, both as to local situation and as to materials; it excels Wheeling and Steubenville, in many respects, and, in some, even Pittsburgh. The river gives very fine falls near the town, one of them of 12 feet, where it is 600 feet wide; the creek, too, falls in by a fine cascade. What a power for machinery! I should think that as much effect might be produced by the power here afforded as by the united manual labour of all the inhabitants of the state. The navigation is very good all the way up to the town, and is now continued round the falls by a canal with locks, so that boats can go nearly close up to Lake Erie. The bowels of the earth afford coal, iron ore, stone, free stone, lime-stone, and clays: all of the best, I believe, and the last, the very best yet discovered in this country, and, perhaps, as good as is to be found in any country. All these materials are found in inexhaustible quantities in the hills and little ridges on the sides of the river and creek, arranged as if placed by the hand of man for his own use. In short, this place has the four elements in the greatest perfection that I have any where yet seen in America. As to manufactures, it is, like Wheeling and Steubenville, nothing in comparison to Pittsburg.

Nature has done her part; nothing is left wanting but machines to enable the people of Ohio to keep their flour at home, instead of exporting it, at their own expense to support those abroad who are industrious enough to send them back coats, knives, and cups, and saucers.

July 23rd.—All day at Zanesville. Spent part of it very agreeably with Mr. Adams the post-master, and old Mr. Dillon who has a large iron foundery near this.

July 24th.—Go with Mr. Dillon about 3 miles up the Creek, to see his mills and iron-factory establishment. He has here a very fine water-fall, of 18 feet, giving immense power, by which he works a {300} large iron-forge and foundery, and mills for sawing, grinding, and other purposes.

I will here subjoin a list of the prices at Zanesville, of provisions, stock, stores, labour, &c. just as I have it from a resident, whom I can rely upon.

	Dls.	Cts.		Dls.	Cts.
Flour (superfine) per barrel of 196 lb. from	5	0	to	5	75
Beef, per 100 lb.	4	0	—	4	25
Pork (prime), per 100 lb.	4	50	—	5	0
Salt, per bushel of 50 lb.	2	25
Potatoes, per bushel	0	25	—	0	31½
Turnips, ditto	0	20
Wheat, ditto of 60 lb. to 66 lb.	0	75
Indian corn, ditto shelled	0	33⅓	—	0	50
Oats, ditto	0	25	—	0	33⅓
Rye, ditto	0	50
Barley, ditto	0	75
Turkeys, of from 12 lb. to 20 lb. each	0	37½	—	0	50
Fowls	0	12½	—	0	18¾
Live Hogs, per 100 lb. live weight	3	0	—	5	0
Cows, (the best)	18	0	—	25	0
Yoke of Oxen, ditto	50	0	—	75	0
Sheep	2	50
Hay, per ton, delivered	9	0	—	10	0
Straw, fetch it and have it.
Manure, ditto, ditto.
Coals, per bushel, delivered	0	8
Butter, per lb. avoirdupois	0	12½	—	0	18
Cheese, ditto, ditto	0	12½	—	0	25
Loaf Sugar	0	50
Raw ditto	0	31¼
Domestic Raw ditto	0	18¾
Merino Wool, per lb. avoirdupois, washed	1	0
Three-quarter Merino ditto	0	75
Common Wool	0	50
Bricks, per 1000, delivered	6	0	—	7	0
Lime, per bushel, ditto	0	18¾
{301} Sand, in abundance on the banks of the river.
Glass is sold in boxes, containing 100 square feet; of the common size there are 180 panes in a box, when the price is	14	0
The price rises in proportion to the size of the panes.
Oak planks, 1 inch thick, per 100 square feet, at the saw-mill	1	50
Poplar, the same.
White Lead, per 100 lb. delivered	17	0
Red ditto	17	0
Litharge	15	0
Pig Lead	9	50
Swedish Iron (the best, in bars)	14	0
Juniatta, ditto, ditto	14	0
Mr. Dillon's, ditto, ditto	12	50
Castings at Mr. Dillon's Foundery per ton	120	0
Ditto, for machinery, ditto, per lb.	0	8
Potash, per ton	180	0
Pearl Ashes, ditto	200	0
Stone masons and bricklayers, per day, and board and lodging	1	50
Plasterers, by the square yard, they finding themselves in board and lodging and in lime, sand, laths and every thing they use.	0	18¾
Carpenters, by the day, who find themselves and bring their tools	1	25
Blacksmiths, by the month, found in board, lodging and tools	30	0	to	40	0
Millwrights, per day, finding themselves	1	50	—	2	0
Tailors, per week, finding themselves and working 14 or 15 hours a day	7	0	—	9	0
Shoemakers the same.
{302} Glazier's charge for putting in each pane of glass 8 in. by 10 in. with their own putty and laying on the first coat of paint	0	4	to	0	5
Labourers, per annum, and found	100	0	—	120	0
The charge of carriage for 100 lb. weight from Baltimore to Zanisville	10	0
Ditto for ditto by steam-boat from New Orleans to Shippingport, and thence, by boats, to Zanesville, about	6	50
Peaches, as fine as can grow, per bushel	0	12½	—	0	25
Apples and pears proportionably cheaper; sometimes given away, in the country.

Prices are much about the same at Steubenville; if any difference, rather lower. If bought in a quantity, some of the articles enumerated might be had a good deal lower. Labour, no doubt, if a job of some length were offered, might be got somewhat cheaper here.

July 25th.—Leave Zanesville for Pittsburgh, keeping to the United States road; stop at Cambridge, 25 miles. During the first eight miles we met 10 wagons, loaded with emigrants.

July 26th.—Stop at Mr. Broadshaw's, a very good house on the road, 25 miles from Cambridge.46 This general government road is by no means well laid out; it goes strait over the tops of the numerous little hills, up and down, up and down. It would have been a great deal nearer in point of time, if not in distance (though I think it would that, too), if a view had been had to the labour of travelling over these everlasting unevennesses.

July 27th.—To Wheeling in Virginia, 31 miles. They have had tremendous rains in these parts, we hear as we pass along, lately; one of the creeks we came over has overflown so as to carry down a man's house with himself and his whole family. A dreadful catastrophe, but, certainly, one not out of the man's {303} power to have foreseen and prevented; it surprises me that the people will stick up their houses so near the water's edge. Cross Wheeling Creek several times to-day; it is a rapid stream, and I hope it will not be long before it turns many water-wheels. See much good land, and some pretty good farming.

July 28th.—Went with a Mr. Graham, a quaker of this place, who treated us in the most friendly and hospitable manner, to see the new national road from Washington city to this town.47 It is covered with a very thick layer of nicely broken stones, or stone rather, laid on with great exactness both as to depth and width, and then rolled down with an iron roller, which reduces all to one solid mass. This is a road made for ever; not like the flint roads in England, rough, nor soft or dirty, like the gravel roads; but, smooth and hard. When a road is made in America it is well made. An American always plots against labour, and, in this instance, he takes the most effectual course to circumvent it. Mr. Graham took us likewise to see the fine coal mines near this place and the beds of limestone and freestone, none of which I had time to examine as we passed Wheeling in our ark. All these treasures lie very convenient to the river. The coals are principally in one long ridge, about ten feet wide; much the same as they are at Pittsburgh, in point of quality and situation. They cost 3 cents per bushel to be got out from the mine. This price, as nearly as I can calculate, enables the American collier to earn upon an average, double the number of cents for the same labour that the collier in England can earn; so that, as the American collier can, upon an average, buy his flour for one third of the price that the English collier pays for his flour, he receives six times the quantity of flour for the same labour. Here is a country for the ingenious paupers of England to come to! They find food and materials, and nothing wanting but their mouths and hands to consume and work them. I should like to see the old toast of the Boroughmongers brought out again; when they were in the height of their impudence their myrmidons used to din in our ears, "Old England for ever, and those that do not {304} like her let them leave her." Let them renew this swaggering toast, and I would very willingly for my part, give another to the same effect for the United States of America. But, no, no! they know better now. They know that they would be taken at their word; and, like the tyrants of Egypt, having got their slaves fast, will (if they can) keep them so. Let them beware, lest something worse than the Red Sea overwhelm them. Like Pharaoh and his Boroughmongers they will not yield to the voice of the people, and, surely, something like, or worse than, their fate shall befall them!

They are building a steam-boat at Wheeling, which is to go, they say, 1800 miles up the Missouri river. The wheels are made to work in the stern of the boat, so as not to come in contact with the floating trees, snaggs, planters,48 &c., obstructions most likely very numerous in that river. But, the placing the wheels behind only saves them; it is no protection against the boat's sinking in case of being pierced by a planter or sawyer.49 Observing this I will suggest a plan which has occurred to me, and which, I think, would provide against sinking, effectually; but, at any rate, it is one which can be tried very easily and with very little expense.—I would make a partition of strong plank; put it in the broadest fore-part of the boat, right across, and put good iron bolts under the bottom of the boat, through these planks, and screw them on the top of the deck. Then put an upright post in the inside of the boat against the middle of the plank partition, and put a spur to the upright post. The partition should be water-tight. I would then load the fore-part of the boat, thus partitioned off with lumber or such loading as is least liable to injury, and best calculated to stop the progress of a sawyer after it has gone through the boat.—By thus appropriating the fore-part of the boat to the reception of planters and sawyers, it appears to me that the other part would be secured against all intrusion.

{305} July 29th.—From Wheeling, through Charlston, changing sides of the river again to Steubenville.50 My eyes were delighted at Charlston to see the smoke of the coals ascending from the glass-works they have here. This smoke it is that must enrich America; she might save almost all her dollars if she would but bring her invaluable black diamonds into service. Talk of independance, indeed, without coats to wear or knives or plates to eat with!

At Steubenville, became acquainted with Messrs. Wills, Ross, and company, who have an excellent and well-conducted woollen manufactory here. They make very good cloths, and at reasonable prices; I am sorry they do not retail them at Philadelphia; I for one, should be customer to them for all that my family wanted in the woollen-way. Here are likewise a Cotton-mill, a Grist-mill, a Paper-mill, an Iron-foundery and Tan-yards and Breweries. Had the pleasure to see Mr. Wilson,51 the editor of the Steubenville Gazette, a very public-spirited man, and, I believe, very serviceable to this part of the country. If the policy he so powerfully advocates were adopted, the effects would be grand for America; it would save her dollars while it would help to draw the nails of the vile Boroughmongers. But, he has to labour against the inveterate effects of the thing the most difficult of all others to move—habit.

By what I have been able to observe of this part of the country, those who expect to find what is generally understood by society, pretty much the same that they have been accustomed to it on the Atlantic side, or in England, will not be totally disappointed. It is here upon the basis of the same manners and customs as in the oldest settled districts, and it there differs from what it is in England, and here from what it is there, only according to circumstances. Few of the social amusements that are practicable at present, are scarce; dancing, the most rational for every reason, is the most common; and in an assemblage for this purpose, composed of the farmers' daughters and sons from 20 miles round, an Englishman (particularly if a young one) might very well think his travels to be {306} all a dream, and that he was still in a Boroughmonger country. Almost always the same tunes and dances, same manners, same dress. Ah, it is that same dress which is the great evil! It may be a very pretty sight, but, to see the dollars thus danced out of the country into the hands of the Boroughmongers, to the tune of national airs, is a thing which, if it do not warrant ridicule, will, if America do not, by one unanimous voice, soon put a stop to it.

July 30th.—From Steubenville, crossing the Ohio for the last time, and travelling through a slip of Virginia and a handsome part of Pennsylvania, to Pittsburgh.

August 1st.—Sold my horse for 75 dollars, 60 dollars less than I gave for him. A horse changes masters no where so often as in this Western country, and no where so often rises and falls in value. Met a Mr. Gibbs, a native of Scotland, and an old neighbour of mine, having superintended some oil of vitriol works, near to my bleach-works on Great Lever, near Bolton, in Lancashire. He now makes oil of vitriol, aquafortis, salt, soap, &c. at this place, and is, I believe, getting rich. Spent a pleasant evening with him.

August 2nd.—Spent most part of the day with Mr. Gibbs, and dined with him; as the feast was his, I recommended him to observe the latter part of the good Quaker Lady's sermon which we heard at New Albany.

August 3rd.—Leave Pittsburgh, not without some regret at bidding adieu to so much activity and smoke, for I expect not to see it elsewhere. I like to contemplate the operation by which the greatest effect is produced in a country. Take the same route and the same stage as on setting out from Philadelphia.

August 4th, 5th, and 6th.—These three days traversing the romantic Allegany Mountains; got overturned (a common accident here) only once, and then received very little damage: myself none, some of my fellow travellers a few scratches. We scrambled out, and, with the help of some wagoners, set the vehicle on its wheels again, adjusted our "plunder" (as some of the Western people call it), and drove on again {307} without being detained more than five minutes. The fourth night slept at Chambersburgh, the beginning of a fine country.

August 7th.—Travelled over the fine lime-stone valley before mentioned, and through a very good country all the way, by Little York to Lancaster. Here I met with a person from Philadelphia, who told me a long story about a Mr. Hulme, an Englishman, who had brought a large family and considerable property to America. His property, he told me, the said Mr. Hulme had got from the English Government, for the invention of some machine, and that now, having got rich under their patronage, he was going about this country doing the said Government all the mischief he could, and endeavouring to promote the interest of this country. After letting him go on till I was quite satisfied that he depends mainly for his bread and butter upon the English Treasury, I said, "Well, do you know this Mr. Hulme?" "No, he had only heard of him." "Then I do, and I know that he never had any patent, nor ever asked for one, from the English government; all he has got he has gained by his own industry and economy, and, so far from receiving a fortune from that vile government, he had nothing to do with it but to pay and obey, without being allowed to give a vote for a Member of Parliament or for any Government officer. He is now, thank God, in a country where he cannot be taxed but by his own consent, and, if he should succeed in contributing in any degree to the downfall of the English Government, and to the improvement of this country, he will only succeed in doing his duty." This man could be no other than a dependant of that boroughmongering system which has its feelers probing every quarter and corner of the earth.

August 8th.—Return to Philadelphia, after a journey of 72 days. My expenses for this journey, including every thing, not excepting the loss sustained by the purchase and sale of my horse, amount to 270 dollars and 70 cents.

As it is now about a twelvemonth since I have {308} been settled in Philadelphia, or set foot in it, rather, with my family, I will take a look at my books, and add to this Journal what have been the expenses of my family for this one year, from the time of landing to this day, inclusive.

				Dls.	Cts.
House-rent				600	0
Fuel				137	0
Schooling (at day-schools) for my children viz.; Dolls. for Thomas, 14 years of age		40
Peter and John, ages of 12 and 10		48
Sarah, 6 years of age		18	—	106	0
Boarding of all my family at Mrs. Anthony's Hotel for about a week, on our arrival				80	0
Expenses of house-keeping (my family fourteen in number, including two servants) with every other out-going not enumerated above, travelling incidents, two newspapers a day, &c., &c.				2076	66
Taxes, not a cent				0	0
Priest, not a cent				0	0
		Total		2999	66

"What! nothing to the Parson!" some of my old neighbours will exclaim. No: not a single stiver. The Quakers manage their affairs without Parsons, and I believe they are as good and as happy a people as any religious denomination who are aided and assisted by a Priest. I do not suppose that the Quakers will admit me into their Society; but, in this free country I can form a new society, if I choose, and, if I do, it certainly shall be a Society having a Chairman in place of a Parson, and the assemblage shall discuss the subject of their meeting themselves. Why should there not be as much knowledge and wisdom and common sense, in the heads of a whole congregation, as in the head of a Parson? Ah, but then there are the profits arising from the trade! Some of this holy Order in England receive upwards of 40,000 dollars per {309} annum for preaching probably not more than five or six sermons during the whole year. Well may the Cossack Priests represent Old England as the bulwark of religion! This is the sort of religion they so much dreaded the loss of during the French Revolution; and this is the sort of religion they so zealously expected to establish in America, when they received the glad tidings of the restoration of the Bourbons and the Pope.

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Reprint of the original edition: London, 1819

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LETTERS

FROM

LEXINGTON and the ILLINOIS,

CONTAINING A

BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE ENGLISH SETTLEMENT
IN THE LATTER TERRITORY,

AND A

REFUTATION OF THE MISREPRESENTATIONS
OF MR. COBBETT.

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London:
Printed by C. Teulon, 67, High Street, Whitechapel,
FOR J. RIDGWAY, PICCADILLY

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1819.

[Price One Shilling.]

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Various have been the reports respecting the Illinois Settlement, as they relate to the health of the climate, and the state of agriculture. The following Letters contain a simple narration of facts, the result of real observation, and an accurate survey; and will appear time enough to counteract the evil impression of false information by persons who have not been on the spot, or who appear to be interested in writing down the settlement.

As to the various reports about the state of health, they may be easily accounted for by comparing dates. On the arrival of emigrants in the summer of 1818, there were no cabins to shelter them from the heat of the sun by day, or from the dew, by night; neither a cow or pig for food, and scarcely a sufficiency for human subsistence to be procured: sickness to a considerable degree prevailed; but not more than three or four cases of death ensued. Since these inconveniences have {iv} been overcome, few places, I believe I may say in the world, have been healthier than the English settlement in the Illinois.

I trust my friends and acquaintance in England, who interest themselves in our concerns, retain that good opinion of me, as to believe me incapable, from any motive, of laying before them inducements to emigrate to a station, where their existence or comfort would be likely to be threatened by diseases not prevalent in the same degree, at least, as in their own country.

A difference of opinion as to eastern or western settlements may prevail, as differences of opinion in England respecting Essex or Hertfordshire, which may be most healthy or profitable. I have only to request the attention of the reader to the facts I have stated.

The miscellaneous matter relative to the state of Kentucky, &c. will not, I hope, be found to be entirely destitute of interest to my old acquaintance in my native country.

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Lexington, June 25, 1819.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

It is natural you should have made those enquiries of me which you did in your last, and which it shall be my business to answer in their respective order.

1st.—How I like America in general, and Lexington in particular?

2nd.—Whether I have been disgusted with the American character and habits, as many have been? or whether I dare invite others to follow the course I have taken? but above all, how I, whose notions of liberty run so high, can endure to reside in a state where personal slavery exists.

{6} Your first enquiry I am yet incompetent to answer to the extent you make it; for, although I have travelled from New York to Pittsburgh,—down the Ohio to this place,—I have only had a sample of this extensive country; and as you, my dear Sir, are in the habit of purchasing your goods by sample, and to my knowledge are often disappointed in the bulk, so you may not, perhaps, have a fair sample of entire America by the information I send you.

As to the great cities, they have no charms for me. You know, great cities in England, as places of residence, were the objects of my aversion; and if there is any thing in those of New York and Philadelphia which I dislike, it is because they approximate so much to similar cities of England, without those rare shows which please both infants and children of larger growth, in London.

Here are few public buildings worthy of notice. No kings going to open Parliament with gilded coaches and cream-coloured horses, with a train of dragoons at their heels.—No Lord Mayor's show.—No Towers filled with royal tigers and lions.—No old castles which beautify the rural scenes of the country, whose melancholy history informs the curious traveller, that their foundation was bedded in {7} tyranny, and their superstructure the retainers of weeping prisoners, often of rank, as well as oppressed plebeians. No cathedrals or old churches to ornament the cities as well as the counties of England,—monuments of superstition when erected, and of injustice and oppression even to this day, having for their support tithe-proctors, and surveyors, continually obstructing the progress of agriculture, and exciting contentions and law suits to an extent for which all the preaching of the clergy of England cannot present an equivalent, or balance the evil produced by a worldly and avaricious priesthood.

America has none of these costly ornaments or beautiful monuments of oppression. I thank God she has not; and hope she may be exempt from them, although strange to tell, I have found amongst both clergy and laity some few who wish for these degradations, and am even informed there are those who sigh after a religious establishment, and revenues besides those collected by the voluntary donations which flow from affectionate and religious hearers.

The episcopalian clergy in this country, have an enjoyment seldom known in England, that is, being chosen by the people, and supported {8} according to their respective merits; and it is my duty to add that episcopalians, as well as the ministers of most other sects, are in general "labourers worthy of their hire," virtuous in their conduct, exemplary in their deportment, exhibiting christianity in their every day conduct and intercourse with mankind, and enjoying the esteem of their congregations. There are none of those divines in the busy hive of America, which you know by the name of dignified clergy, partaking of the largest revenues, and doing the least possible service,—conduct which one would think must make their hearts shudder at the thoughts of a judgment day!

As to the travelling in America, you are already informed of its conveniences and inconveniences; you dine at a fixed hour, as at our ordinaries in England; and you have abundance of provision of every kind the country affords. Poultry in every shape, with the standing dish, ham or bacon: but you must be aware, that in a country so extensive as I have already traversed, there must be as much difference in accommodations, as there is between the best inns on the great roads of England, and those in the remote villages. The beds generally cleanly; but although I have {9} not suffered the inconveniences so magnified in England from musquitoes, the often-brought charge of being infested with that ugly and sleep-destroying insect the bug, is indeed too true. Also, the many-bedded rooms found in most taverns, as you travel westward, is more than an inconvenience, as often being the sleeping-place of those who fall sick, as of those who are in health; and, in this respect, the Americans are criminal, and instrumental in spreading infection, which might be avoided by a little expense in the division of sleeping-rooms; but there are many happy exceptions; and, as civilization advances, this evil will be cured.

As to the general character of the Americans, it is sober, industrious, and hospitable; although drunkenness, idleness, and gambling, are vices in existence, they are kept in the back ground, and are by no means so conspicuous as amongst what are called the lower class in England.

It is remarkable, that in the houses of the wealthy, as well as in store or shop-keepers back-rooms, it is the common practice to ask you to take a glass of water, cool fresh water, as a refreshment; at which offer no one is offended; and when wine or liquors are on the {10} salver, water is often preferred; but our countrymen would think it a sad insult to be invited to so simple a refreshment.

I have, my dear sir, met with no instances of a rude ruffian-like character, that will apply to Americans generally; and, I believe, much less than I should have met with in England, had I travelled her roads and rivers to the extent I have done in this country.

The American notion of liberty and equality is highly gratifying to me. The master or employer is kept within the bounds of reason and decency towards his labourer. No curses or oaths towards their servants, or HELPS as they choose to call themselves; (for every one who takes money or wages, is, after all, a servant;) he obeys all reasonable orders for his remuneration; and when this obedience ceases, the contract of service is at an end. I have often been surprised at the highmindedness of American labourers, who are offended at the name of servant.

With respect to this place, I have, in former letters, stated it to be a phenomenon in the history of the world; twenty-five years since it was trodden only by the foot of the savage; now it contains about three thousand inhabitants. A college, at which are already one {11} hundred and forty students; its professors, chosen purely for their talents, without any requirement of unanimity of religious opinions, as in the colleges with you: professors so chosen, not being confined to any particular sect, are likely to fill their stations with ability; and, as far as I am capable of judging, are eminently calculated for their respective situations to which they are chosen. This institution promises to be in the moral world, what the sun is in the natural world, and is calculated to illuminate, civilize, and bless mankind.

To the inhabitants of Lexington, wherever I may reside in future, I shall ever feel grateful: their hospitality, their kindness to me, as a stranger, and their sympathy in the hour of affliction, are never to be effaced from my memory.

Their politeness and liberality are perhaps, unequalled. Balls, at which the fair sex are never allowed to share any expence,—an Atheneum and a considerable museum, the benefits of which the stranger is invited to partake gratis,—may be mentioned as not being very customary in England. Tea-parties are a continual festival from the time you enter to the time of your departure, which however, are too much like our routs in England; and in time, I should fear would, as they have in England, become {12} a substitute for hospitality. I have known collected at these parties from one to two hundred persons. Thus, my dear Sir, you see, instead of being in continual broils, and exposed to the affronts and insults of rude Americans, I have received nothing but civility and hospitality. It will hardly be credited when I assure you I have not yet met with a single annoyance in the whole of my journey from New York to Pittsburgh by land; nor from thence down the Ohio to Louisville,—a distance of six hundred miles by water, and five hundred miles by land: thus you see, my dear friend, I am in no danger at present, of being disgusted by American rudeness, irreligion, or fanaticism.

To your last question,—How can you reside in a state where personal slavery is in existence? I, with regret, reply, this is the spot which clouds the American sun of liberty; and I confess I know not which are most excited in me, the risible or the sorrowful feelings, when I hear a Kentuckyan boasting, in lofty terms, of the liberty of his country, when that country is divided into two classes, and two classes only—the master and the slave! The term of master implies the willing servitude of free men: the term slave, includes in it the admission {13} of tyrants or tyranny; and a Kentuckyan has no more right to talk of freedom than the legitimates, whose determined purpose it is to blot liberty and happiness from the face of the earth. The one talks of liberty and social order, and it appears that by it is meant the increasing trappings of monarchy; the other does the same of liberty, and the rights of men.

The legitimates, who have high notions of regal authority, attempting to subjugate the minds of men, is perfectly consistent with their notions of power, their education and habits; but to hear the republicans of slave states point to the Declaration of Rights, who inform the coming traveller that they are now blazoned forth on satin and velvet;—an American republican pointing to the Rights of Men with his left hand, while his right is obliged to hold the whip, and with watchful eye to subjugate the minds and bodies of a large share of the population of his state:—this, indeed is worthy the taunts and derision of kings. It is this that keeps the wealth of Europe from pouring its treasures into the fertile region of Kentucky, and the industry of thousands from approaching the state. It would be painful to relate all the horrors I have beheld in slavery under {14} its mildest form. Whites full of whiskey, flogging their slaves for drinking even a single glass! Women, heavy with young, smarting under the angry blow, or the lash, and with babes at the breast, which one of our writers calls "Nature's passport through the world," lacking food in the midst of abundance, and cloathing insufficient to satisfy the demands even of common decency. Avarice, which our Poet Young calls "Earth's greatest blunder—Hell's loudest laugh;"—avarice, which seems to be the source of all this mischief, now comes to the relief of the ragged lingering wretch. If they are miserable, they must not die, for a mother and infant are worth from six hundred to a thousand dollars: but in a slave state, avarice has preserved life, clothed the wretched, and fed the hungry; it has fattened and made fine, the slave that he or she may fetch at the hammer, one or two hundred dollars more. "Lord, what is man!" Was it for this that your heroes fought, bled, and died ? Was it for this, that the brave and virtuous Washington, to whom so many memorials in the way of oration and praise are delivered on each succeeding anniversary of his birth, spent his long and glorious course ? Oh! youth of Kentucky, when you speak of his {15} fame with the enthusiasm of a republican, speak of his humanity, read his will; see his ardent desire to let the captive go free: imitate his virtues, and fall not into the errors of tyrants, who suppose military glory to be the glory of a christian.

It is worthy of enquiry, whether it is likely that Americans will escape the judgments with which God has afflicted other nations, while their land is infected with personal slavery, and whether the liberties of America are not endangered by the increase of its black population. Perhaps some ambitious military chief may take the work from the hands of republicans, and "proclaim liberty to the captives," and make them the instruments of political slavery: let it be the work of crowned despots to subjugate the minds and bodies of men, but let not republicans assist in such a work.

Whenever you take Freedom's sacred name into your lips—whenever you unfurl the standard of partial liberty—you stand self-condemned. Despots keep men's minds in ignorance, that the voice of slavery and abject dependance may not be heard even in its defence. Do ye not the same: both your efforts will be in vain; the minds of men are in progressive march, and your united efforts will not stop their destination.

I remain, yours, sincerely,
R. F.

Illinois, near Albion, Aug. 16.

MY DEAR FRIEND,

After many interruptions I removed from Lexington to this place, at which we arrived on the 2nd of July, spending in our way a week at Harmony, that wonder of the west.

You have heard this settlement mentioned, and it is worth visiting to see, and observe the effect of united industry, regulated by sound wisdom and discretion: here perfect equality prevails, and there are no servants; but plenty of persons who serve. Every man has his station appointed him according to his ability, and every one has his wants supplied according to his wishes. He applies to the mill for his supply of flour; to the apothecary for medicine; {17} to the store for cloaths, and so on for every thing necessary for human subsistence. They do not forbid marriage, as some have represented; but it is one of their tenets that the incumbrance created by families is an hindrance to the spirituality of christians, and it is this opinion which discourages marriage amongst them. They have also an aversion to bear arms; this would not allow them to remain in Germany, and they emigrated to live in the manner they have adopted, and have certainly the outside appearance of contentment and happiness.

After travelling through the woods of Indiana, the hills divide to the right and left, and a fine valley opens to your view in which the town stands. The hills assume a conical form, and are embellished with fine cultivated vineyards; and the valleys stand thick with corn. Every log-house is surrounded by a well cultivated garden, abundantly supplied with vegetables, and ornamented with flowers. It was the beginning of wheat harvest when I arrived, and the entire company of reapers retired from the fields in a body, preceded by a band of music: their dress is like the Norman peasants, and as all are of the same form and colour, may properly be designated their {18} costume. The men marched first, the women next, and the rear rank composed of young women, with each a neat ornament of striped cedar wood on their head, formed one of the prettiest processions I ever witnessed. The sound of French horns awakened them in the morning to their daily labour, which is moderate, and performed with cheerfulness; the return of evening appears to bring with it no fatigue or symptoms of weariness.

Besides the gardens of individuals, there is a public garden of five acres, the outside square planted with fruit trees and vegetables, the inside with herbs medicinal and botanical. In the centre is a rotunda of the rustic kind, standing in the midst of a labyrinth, which exhibits more taste than I supposed to be found amongst the Harmonites. It is from this hive of industry that Albion and its vicinity have drawn their supplies, and its contiguity to such neighbours has been of great advantage.

Having given you this account, I arrive at the point at which, my dear friend, I know you feel most interest, and proceed to give you an account of the state in which I found my friends, and the English settlement in general. I have great satisfaction in being able to inform you that almost every individual I {19} knew in England, was much improved in appearance, all enjoying excellent health. The same blessing is also our lot, and if I can form a proper estimate from six weeks residence, I must pronounce this to be as healthy a situation as any America affords, and much preferable, in this respect, to the eastern states. What travellers have recorded, that the thermometer does not rise so high as in the east, is true, and we are never many hours without a fine breeze. The nights are cool, the thermometer dropping 10 degrees, and you can obtain refreshing sleep. In the eastern states the thermometer being at 98 in the day, remained at 96 at night, a suffocating heat. The average of our days are from 80 to 86, but we have had a day or two at 90, which produces a thunder gust and a cooler atmosphere.

Now, my dear sir, as to the questions which agitate the minds of thousands in your country. The advantages of emigration to America, and the comparative advantages of eastern and western climates. I am, most decidedly, for settling in the west, on account of the prairies, and the facility with which they are cultivated.

The cultivation of new land, incumbered with heavy timber, presents a formidable feature; {20} labour incessant and unremitting, before a small tract of land can be tolerably cleared; but here I can enter either as a farmer or a grazier immediately; fine wide spreading fields of grass, inviting the flocks and herds to come and partake of the bounty with which they are loaded. In answer to the enquiry as to the proper mode of farming, I sit, and from the place I am now writing, see a beautiful herd of cattle of nearly two hundred in number. I have one hundred tons of fine hay collected for spring provision. Every head of cattle, the expence of herdsmen deducted, on a moderate calculation, promises a fair profit of at least five dollars per head; and yet Mr. Cobbett, in his weekly letters, very modestly asserts, "There is no farming for profit in the west!"— I state these facts for the information of those who may wish to join us, and in direct contradiction to the ill-founded assertions of this writer on the subject.

It is also stated by Mr. Cobbett, that "the obstruction by bush and briar are such as to prevent early or easy cultivation."—In contradiction to this assertion, I affirm, that I can put the plough into thousands of acres where there is no such obstruction. One {21} gentleman in our settlement has grown eighty acres of fine corn, although he only arrived last year; this alone is a sufficient contradiction to all Mr. C. has said on this subject. There is also a sufficiency of corn and grain grown this first harvest to supply the wants of the settlement: next year there will be a surplus for brewing and distilling.

If a person enters heavy timbered land, it is by great exertion he clears ten acres the first year; but he has only here to enclose and take his choice of farming and grazing, or enclose enough for corn and pasture, his cattle feeding on the unoccupied range of grass which the neighbouring cultivator cannot stock himself, and which is much improved by the feeding of cattle.

Now, my dear Sir, as to the persons who come here or to any other part of America, I would have them consider for what purpose and intent they emigrate. It is certain as regards farming, that there are only two ways in which it can be performed: the one, labouring by his own hands; the other, by his capital, stocking his farm, and hiring his labourers. It is thoughtlessness and folly to tell any person, if he bring with him one hundred pounds, he can place himself in comfort; but, it is certain, that a {22} hundred pounds here will go as far as five hundred pounds in England; and that the person who has that sum in possession, is certainly five times better off than in that country. The person who has this sum may enter his quarter section of land, build his cabin, enclose his garden, keep his cows and pigs; but then he must be a man of that description who has been in the habit of milking his cows and tending his pigs: all such persons will find vast advantage in emigrating to this place. Every farmer in England (of which there are thousands) who holds the plough, or his sons for him, will find an easy life, and the abundant supply of every good thing. As to the reward of his industry, every farmer who can stock a farm in England, may here become the proprietor of his own soil with that capital which affords him only a tenant's station, a precarious subsistence in his own country; an inducement, I should think, sufficient to make thousands follow our steps, and taste the blessings of independence and the sweets of liberty. Let all who are bending under the weight of taxation, and trembling at the approach of every quarter-day, come here and partake of ease and abundance. If the affluent, also, are tired of the system of the British government, {23} and feel the effect it has upon their fluctuating property, here they will find the wide domain, the natural park, whose hills and boundaries are beautifully capped with woods, inviting them to build their dwellings and sit down in ease and content. These parks are already stocked with deer, all which they may purchase, where previous entry has not taken place, at the land office price, two dollars per acre. These prairies appear as if that eminent improver of parks and grounds—Repton, had been consulted in laying them out to their taste.52

It has been reported that we can get no servants: this is true in a degree, because the price of service is such, as soon to elevate the servant to a state of independance: but I have found no want of persons to work for hire, even in domestic stations; those that are most wanted are farming labourers; good ploughmen are in request, and can obtain twelve dollars per month and their board. Female servants from eight to ten dollars, according to their respective merits; these are in great request; and what perhaps is to them still more pleasing, their industry is the certain road to marriage. Our young females are almost all engaged in this way, and we certainly lose good servants, {24} but have the pleasure of seeing them well settled.

Now, my dear Sir, as to the state of the settlement and the progress it has already made.

On a tract of land from the little Wabash to the Bonpar53 on the Great Wabash, about seventeen miles in width, and four to six from north to south, there were but a few hunters' cabins, a year and a half since, and now there are about sixty English families, containing nearly four hundred souls; and one hundred and fifty American, containing about seven hundred souls, who like the English for their neighbours, and many of whom are good neighbours to us. We have nothing here like loneliness. In our circle of English acquaintance, as well as in that of American settlers, we find companions who are often found interesting and intelligent. In good deed and in truth, here is, to the industrious, a source of wealth more certain and productive than the mines of Golconda and Peru. Industry of every kind has its ample reward: but for the idle, the drunkard, and the vicious, there is no chance; spirits are cheap, and a short existence is their certain portion. All persons feeling anxieties that attend agricultural pursuits may be released {25} from those anxieties by emigrating to the Illinois.

Your newspapers, the Farmer's Journal in particular, relate the particulars of the distress of the farmers, and the ruin in which many of them are involved. It is in vain that you petition for relief. By your own account your ruin is inevitable, and your destruction sure. Escape then to a land where the efforts of your industry will be rewarded, and the produce of your labour will be your own. You will escape, not only from the tax-gatherer and tithe-collector, but from the expence attending the frightful system of pauperism, which is constantly making demands, not only on your pecuniary resources, but calling you to the most painful personal exertions.

In the extensive region from New York to this place, I have had but one application for relief, and that was from an Englishman. In this country peace and plenty reign.

I have mentioned a scarcity of servants: this arises much from emigrants bringing out with them a better sort, or confidential servants: the only sort wanting are females who can work in the kitchen, milk the cow and attend to the dairy. All above this class can earn too high wages by their needle. A good sempstress, {26} earning a dollar per day, will soon quit servitude, and put on the airs of American independance, with an addition of some little insolence; but a cure is not unfrequently wrought, and that by various easy methods.

A gentleman hired a female servant of this sort, who would insist, as a condition, on sitting down at the dinner table, with the family; her christian name was Biddy, the condition was consented to, and a project for cure at the same time engaged in:—A party was invited to dinner, and Biddy took her place at the table, being above waiting, or being in any degree more than a HELP. When anything was wanting, a gentleman arose from table and offered it to Miss Biddy. Miss Biddy was asked to drink a glass of wine, first by one gentleman and then by another. Miss Biddy was desired not to trouble herself about any thing, and was ceremoniously treated, till she felt the awkwardness of her situation, and said, the next day to her mistress,—"Madam, I had rather give up dining at your table,"—which she did, continuing in their service for some time. I have had to do with people of the same cast, though not quite so foolish as Miss Biddy:—I have hired persons to certain employments, and they have been discontented {27} and spoiled by their notions of equality: "Very good," said I; "we, then, are equal; I like the idea much; it pleases me greatly: you, of course, mean to take no money of me for what you please to do for me; and, if that is the case, I shall be as perfectly satisfied with your notion of things, as you appear to be; but, if you take my money, you must perform the service I have pointed out to you."—This perfect notion of equality does not suit, although it is too reasonable to be much objected to.

It is generally supposed, that this high notion is of republican origin; but it is the contrary, and originates in the insolence of those who keep and domineer over slaves. Any thing that a black is made to perform, is pronounced unfit for whites; and, although many who have held slaves as their property, are far inferior in understanding to the slaves they hold, and are sometimes reduced to poverty, they deem it degrading to perform any work that a slave can perform; and those persons who, like myself, are far from thinking all men equal in character, are little disposed to engage with such persons in any service. With our superiority in our consistent love of freedom, and our having escaped from political {28} slavery, we shall never fail to oppose the extention, and even the continuance of personal slavery.

The arguments for a state of slavery, urged by Americans, are just such as might be urged by Algerines for taking the ships of America, and making slaves of her seamen. Both consist in the right of force, and not of reason or justice; and when a person hears members of congress pleading the cause of slavery,—personal slavery,—with the pretence they are my property, one cannot help blushing for human nature. Those who appear to love freedom, both personal and political, making use of such a pretence, forces the tear of sorrow from the eye of humanity. One human being the property of another. No! the whole race of mankind is the sole property of their great universal parent; and he who enslaves another, whether his skin be black, white, or intermediate, insults the right of his God, and blasphemes the name of his Creator.

I rejoice, my dear friend, in the choice the English have made of a free state; and am certain we shall be able to cultivate from the services of free men, cheaper than those who cultivate them by slaves.

But to return to our settlement and its infant {29} capital Albion. Log houses, those cabins unpleasant to the cleanly habits of Englishmen, the receptacles of the insect tribe, are no longer erected. I have had the pleasure of laying the first brick foundation in Albion; it is for an inn where travellers I hope may find rest without disturbance from insects. We have also nearly completed our market house which is sixty feet by thirty. A place of worship is began. Religion, I mean the outward form, has not been unattended to: a selection from the Church of England service, and a sermon has been read on the sabbath to a few persons assembled in a log room: our psalmody is excellent, having some good musicians, and singers amongst us. The Americans here think all who take money for preaching, hireling ministers, and several well-intentioned farmers preach to small assemblies in the neighbourhood. The worship of God, and the keeping his commands is the thing which I believe all will agree in, as being the end to be produced by public worship. As we have not, and I trust never shall have, that grand corruption of Christianity, an establishment formed and supported by statesmen and politicians, I hope christianity in its original purity, will for ever flourish in the Illinois. We intend also our place of worship for a library, {30} and to open it on a Sunday afternoon; a day when all persons have leisure to read, and are clean in their dress and persons. The strict sabbatarians will doubt the propriety of this proceeding; but any thing which will have a tendency to promote moral and intellectual improvement, and keep men from the vices of idleness and drinking, is justified by him who put the question,—"Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath?"

But to return from spiritual to temporal things. I spoke of our market house being finished. The price of provisions in this place is as follows.

A fine turkey, a quarter of a dollar.—Fowls, twelve cents each.—Beef four to five cents per pound.—Mutton none yet at market.—Eggs twelve and a half cents per dozen.—Cheese thirty cents per pound.—Butter scarce, owing to the heat of the climate, sixteen cents per pound.—Bacon at this time fifteen cents per pound, half the price in winter.—Flour nine dollars per barrel.—Deer, a fine fat buck from one dollar to one dollar and a half including skin.—Melons, such as cannot be procured in England, twelve and a half cents each in great abundance.—Honey of the finest flavour, one dollar per gallon.—Whiskey one dollar per gallon {31} retail.—Fine Hyson tea two dollars per pound.—Moist sugar thirty one cents.—Coffee sixty-two cents per pound: wholesale from New Orleans much cheaper.—Fine fish three cents per pound.

We leave it to the public to judge of our danger of starving, as some writers have hinted.

Here then you have the situation of our rising settlement; progressing with rapidity in the eye of Americans, though to Englishmen, setting and watching for fresh intelligence, but slowly.

You ask me, dear Sir, whether there is any sale for books here? We have no bookseller yet, and the writings of your favourite authors, in defence of civil and religious liberty, would not sell here: the love of civil and religious liberty is unbounded in every Illinois heart; there are none to dispute the truth of the principles of complete and perfect freedom; and when controversy ceases, controversial writings must of course lose their interest.

I would not for the world invite persons, no! not a single individual, if I did not think that his happiness would be encreased: it may be said that I am an interested person, and so are those who take such pains to prevent persons from coming westward. Emigration {32} from the eastern states, has already reduced the price of lands there.

When I passed New York, I heard a popular writer say, "I'll be d——d if I don't write down Birkbeck and the settlement:" those who are familiar with this writer's usual phraseology in conversation, cannot, I think, be in any great danger of mistake as to the person alluded to:54 how far he has succeeded, the public will be a proper judge when they carefully peruse the facts I have stated, and compare the evidence they receive from time to time through the various channels from the Illinois. We have here plenty of scribes, and the truth—the whole truth will appear before both an American and British public.

I remain,
Your sincere friend,
Richard Flower.

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Reprint of the original edition: London, 1822

LETTERS

FROM

THE ILLINOIS,
1820. 1821.

CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF THE ENGLISH SETTLEMENT
AT ALBION AND ITS VICINITY, AND A REFUTATION OF
VARIOUS MISREPRESENTATIONS, THOSE MORE PARTICULARLY
OF MR. COBBETT.

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By RICHARD FLOWER.

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WITH A LETTER FROM M. BIRKBECK; AND A PREFACE
AND NOTES BY BENJAMIN FLOWER.

Thou shall bless the Lord thy God for the GOOD LAND which he hath
given thee:—beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Divine Commands.

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London:
PRINTED FOR JAMES RIDGWAY, PICCADILLY
By C. Teulon, 67, Whitechapel.
1822.

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[Price Two Shillings and Sixpence.]

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Letters from Lexington and the Illinois, 1819; containing a Brief Account of the English Settlement in the latter territory, and a Refutation of the misrepresentations of Mr. Cobbett.

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Two of the following letters have before appeared in a respectable periodical publication, in which the editor has impartially inserted the communications of writers of different opinions, on the subject of emigration;56 but as they may be said to be a continuation of former letters, and connected with those now for the first time published, I have thought proper to insert them.

Readers who are desirous of forming just opinions on this subject, are requested to bear in remembrance the precise stations described in the following pages. However unworthy or base may have been the motives of certain writers, who have grossly calumniated the English Settlement, there are others, {iv} to whom it would be uncandid to impute such motives, but who are chargeable with misrepresentation, which appears to have arisen from their not having considered that the spots they are describing are not those described by others; and that, of course, it is not fair to charge others with statements they have never made.

I have publications before me in which Mr. Birkbeck and my brother are charged with unfairness in their statements, because they do not apply to the situations the writers had chosen, one of which was fifty, and the other four hundred miles from the English Settlement. There are at the Illinois as in almost all other countries, situations pleasant and unpleasant, healthy and unhealthy, and that emigrant does not act a very wise part, who fixes on a station unless he had carefully examined it himself, or at least had the recommendation of some intelligent friend who would scorn to mislead him.

Emigration to America, after all that has {v} been written on the subject, and the various advantages it certainly presents to different classes of society, is an affair of such importance, that those who propose it should seriously reflect on the turn of their own mind, their disposition, habits, circumstances, &c. Some who have emigrated to America find themselves as unhappy there as they were in their own country. Those who are averse to labour, fond of luxuries, and whose minds are rivetted to the artificial distinctions of society in Europe, have found to their cost, that America is not the country for them; and unless they can learn wisdom, and form resolution sufficient to alter some of their habits, and if not to despise, to regard with indifference most of those distinctions, they can never be reconciled to Republican manners and institutions. Respecting a few persons of this description at the Illinois, one of the principal settlers exclaimed:—"What are such people come here for?"

For the Notes to the following letters, with "all their imperfections on their head," I am {vi} solely responsible.—I am not without apprehensions that there may be even candid readers, who may think that in my Reflections on Infidelity, Civil Establishments of Religion, &c. I have somewhat wandered out of my way: to such readers I beg leave to offer a word or two by way of apology. True religion, I consider as the most important concern of life; and were I, when reflecting on the state of society which too generally characterizes this globe, even its most civilized parts, and on the various follies and vices which have so sadly deformed mankind—on the adversity of the righteous, and the prosperity of the wicked,—were I not, amidst such reflections, supported by divine consolations, suggested by a firm belief in the Being and Providence of God, and of the truth of the christian system which assures us that "all things shall be subdued and reconciled to HIM," I should indeed be "of all men the most miserable;" and, as I am firmly persuaded that the success of the gospel is not more hindered by open infidelity than by {vii} the corruptions of christianity, I have from the circumstances which are stated in the following letters respecting the state of religion at the Illinois, thought proper to express myself on the subject with my usual freedom. So little has been done towards the restoration of primitive christianity in this country for the two past centuries, although there has been of late, an unusual bustle in the religious world,—so inveterate are the evils resulting from STATECRAFT and PRIESTCRAFT united, that although I believe with a firm and unshaken faith, that the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, I confess my ignorance as to the period, and the means by which those glorious events predicted in the sacred writings will be accomplished. I cannot however but indulge the hope that mankind will, by observation and experience, under the blessing of heaven grow wiser; and that in the formation of new settlements, many of the evils referred to, may with proper care be avoided. With this hope, I {viii} have endeavoured to give a helping hand, however feeble, to those who have at heart the best interests of their fellow creatures.

For the language I have made use of in exposing bad men, and more particularly a notorious political impostor, who when indulging his deep-rooted prejudices and violent passions, cares not how he throws off the common feelings of humanity, or sets truth and decency, or the principles of honour and honesty at defiance, scarce any apology is necessary. Should any one think my language too strong, I might plead the example of some of the greatest and best men in different ages; but I shall confine myself to that of the sacred writers. The prophets and apostles, yea, our Saviour himself, when describing the COBBETTS of their day, have used much stronger language than I have done; and if it be a duty at any time to rebuke sharply, or as critics inform us the words should be rendered, with a cutting severity, or cutting to the quick, it is when we have to do with men of such a description.

{ix} In conclusion, I ask I hope no great favour in claiming on behalf of Mr. Birkbeck, my brother, and myself, that credit for our statements, until they are refuted by evidence, to which persons who have little character to lose, cannot lay claim; and that we may on the present occasion obtain belief when we have nothing to contradict us but the confident language of a man "known to be wholly indifferent to truth;" and who has, in the compass of three months only, for his scandalous libels on private characters,—on one of those occasions for having invented the atrocious charge of FORGERY against a former associate—most deservedly smarted in a court of justice. Should I, however unintentionally, have committed any mistake, I shall deem myself bound to acknowledge it.

B. F.

Dalston, Jan. 16th, 1822.

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P. S. Mr Cobbett somewhere remarks—"That he would sooner join the fraternity of gypsies in this country than the settlement at the Illinois." This is not so extravagant as some of his assertions, as he has proved himself pretty {x} well qualified, in one respect at least, for a member of that fraternity; namely, by his numerous gipsy prophecies. To select one class only:—How frequently has he in terms the most unqualified and confident, predicted that the Bank of England would never return to cash payments; how frequently has he fixed the period beyond which it was impossible for bank-notes to preserve their value! Perhaps he had in his eye the accomplishment of his favourite plan,—a general forgery of those notes, as the grand means of bringing about his predictions. Notwithstanding the complete failure of those predictions, (and I could produce numerous instances of similar failure) he, although apparently sadly mortified, goes on with his prophecies, and renews the senseless and injurious advice to the farmers, which he has been giving them for many years past, but which he knows, alas! they cannot follow—to hoard up the gold "because in two years it will buy twice as much land as it will buy now!" It was not many months since he gave them the same advice respecting silver, assuring them "that a bundle of silver would shortly prove a mine of wealth."—Address to the Farmers. (Register Dec. 15). In which publication Mr. C. has, in his language applied to Mr. Webb Hall, so justly drawn his own picture, that I hope the farmers will keep it constantly in view.—"The truth is, Mr. [Cobbett] is a conceited man with a great deal of loose and indistinct stuff in his head; and, having great power of front, he puts the stuff forth without hesitation. A modest man may be a weak man and yet not deserve our contempt; but impudence and folly joined claim as much of contempt as man can bestow."—If the farmers can swallow such "stuff," they have indeed, what Dr. South {xi} calls an "iron digesting faith," and should the Jesuits visit this, as they are now visiting other countries, they will doubtless consider Mr. Cobbett's boasted "disciples" as well prepared to swallow down the doctrine of Transubstantiation!

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Albion, Illinois, Jan. 18, 1820.

Dear Sir,

My whole family, I think enjoy, since we have been here, much better health than in England, and we have enjoyed the fine Indian summer, which has lasted full two months, of most charming temperature, the thermometer varying from 70 to 75. We had only two wet days in November, and one sudden change to 35 degrees; the weather in December was equally fine till Christmas-day, when we had frost and snow much as in England, and since that time some very cold days, the thermometer being below freezing, 22 degrees. We have now milder weather, but frost and snow on the ground, and the thermometer again at freezing, but gently thawing.

Our settlement has been remarkably healthy, and every thing is going on tolerably well. You {10} will say tolerably well has a suspicious sound; I will therefore allude to that term in future, and state the inconveniences as well as the pleasures of the autumn. We have experienced considerable inconvenience from drought, and been obliged to draw water by carriage to the town, as the wells did not supply the inhabitants with a sufficiency, and the people, like the Israelites, murmured at us, the town proprietors, as much as ever that stiffnecked people did at Moses. I had no rock to strike, or power to raise water by miracle of any kind, and therefore applied industry and perseverance to make up this deficiency, and offered to supply them with fine spring water at a quarter-dollar per barrel, from a most delightful spring, found on my son George's estate, only eight feet deep, and inexhaustible. I had nearly two miles to draw it, but I lost nothing by my contract, and murmuring was allayed. This want of water would have been a serious objection to our settlement if it had been local, but it has been an unusual drought throughout the whole of the Western country, such as has been rarely experienced, and we have been much better off than the people of Kentucky: it has also awakened our energies, and within half a mile of the town an excellent well has been opened, besides two {11} others at a mile and a half, so that no lasting want has been known, only a temporary inconvenience suffered.

I am rather particular on this subject, as report had spread that our town had broke up, our people scattered, and disease prevailed for want of water, all which was notoriously false; and through mercy, I think there have been fewer deaths in the number of inhabitants than in any part of England.

Another inconvenience from this drought was, the burning of the prairies much earlier than usual. There is a grandeur in this scene almost indescribable and somewhat alarming. We see whole prairies, containing thousands of acres, like a sea or lake of fire ascending; columns of smoke so affect the air, that it is a complete fog, and painful to the eyes; but after a few days all is over; the sky clear, and the air serene, but our herbage is gone. At this season the cattle go into the barn: we pay a herdsman to look after them, and if the weather is not immoderately wet, they come out as fat as sheep from coleseed, and afford profit to the grazier. Our bullocks, which were bought at sixteen or seventeen dollars last year, are now selling at Albion Market, from twenty-eight to thirty-one dollars each, paying nearly cent per {12} cent, for nine month's keeping; thus we are this year principally graziers, having two hundred acres enclosed, and more enclosing. George will have a fine farm opened, an excellent garden and young trees, and vegetables of the most luxuriant growth.

It ought not, however, to be concealed that we are much in want of farming labourers; we with difficulty get a regular ploughman, and a ploughboy is still a scarcer commodity; and till we can get our prairies once broken, and go with two horses without a driver, ploughing will be difficult to be performed. Our people put on the independent airs of Americans, without either their natural or noble independence, which disdains any thing like servitude; but, as if delighting to teaze us gave them great pleasure, they quit their work suddenly and without reason; but we greatly counteract this by keeping them out of employ, and our money in our pockets, and pay the Americans who come out and are always migrating for a job of work, and then return to their farms. We are also, in many instances, destitute of female servants, but then we have plenty of helps, or charwomen, who will come and work by the day or half-day, and then return to their families. My wife has managed this business {13} admirably well: observing their disposition, she hires them by the hour, sees well to them for the time being, and generally gets a usual day's work done in a few hours. This occasional assistance, in addition to the services of Mrs. C. who we brought with us, and a woman servant, makes us comfortably served.

On the return of Christmas day, we invited our party as at Marden, my late residence in Hertfordshire: we assembled thirty-two in number. A more intelligent, sensible collection I never had under my roof in my own country. A plentiful supply of plumb pudding, roast beef and mince pies were at table, and turkeys in plenty, having purchased four for a dollar the preceding week. We found among the party good musicians, good singers; the young people danced nine couple, and the whole party were innocently cheerful and happy during the evening. The company were pleased to say I had transferred Old England and its comforts to the Illinois. Thus, my dear Sir, we are not in want of society; and I would not change my situation for any in America, nor for disturbed or tumultuous England.

My efforts to assemble the people to public worship have been successfull; our place is well attended, from forty to fifty people, {14} and amongst our congregation we often number a part of Mr. Birkbeck's children and servants. Our singing is excellent; our prayers the reformed Unitarian service. The sermons which have been read are from an author I never met with in England, Mr. Butcher; they are; without exception, the best practical sermons I have ever seen. Our Library-Room is well attended in the afternoon; the people improving in cleanliness and sobriety, recover the use of their intellectual faculties, and interest themselves in moral and christian converse.

When I arrived at Albion, a more disorganized, demoralized state of society never existed: the experiment has been made, the abandonment of christian institutes and christian sabbaths, and living without God in the world has been fairly tried. If those theologians in England who despise the Sabbath and laugh at congregational worship, had been sent to the English settlement in the Illinois at the time I arrived, they would, or they ought to have hid their faces for shame. Some of the English played at cricket, the backwoodsmen shot at marks, their favourite sport, and the Sunday revels ended in riot and savage fighting: this was too much even for infidel nerves. All this also took place at Albion; but when a few, a very few, {15} better men met and read the Scriptures, and offered prayer at a poor contemptible log-house, these revellers were awed into silence, and the Sabbath at Albion became decently quiet. One of its inhabitants, of an infidel cast, said to me, "Sir! this is very extraordinary, that what the law could not effect, so little an assembly meeting for worship should have effected." "Sir," said I, "I am surprised that you do not perceive that you are offering a stronger argument in favour of this Christian institute than any I can present to you. If the reading of the Scriptures in congregation has had such efficacious and such wonderful effects, you ought no longer to reject, or neglect giving your attention to its contents, and its excellent religious institutions."

Thus, my dear Sir, my efforts for the benefit of others have been greatly blessed. I appear at present more satisfied with my lot, because I appear to be more useful than ever: in England all my attempts at usefulness were puny compared to what they are here. Many people here openly express their gratitude to me as the saviour of this place, which, they say must have dispersed if I had not arrived. This is encouraging to a heart wounded with affliction as mine has been, and is urging me {16} on to plans of usefulness. A place for education, a Sunday-school, and above all, a Bible-society, if we increase, shall be my aim and endeavour. I have already abundant testimony that God will bless his word, and if the rest of my life should be spent in such useful employment, my deathbed will be more calm than if I had been taken from life before I had arrived at this period of utility. You will, I trust, be able to appreciate the station Providence has placed me in, and feel pleasure at this communication.

My house, which is nearly finished, is a comfortable one, and can boast a roof that neither Hertford nor Marden could. It stands the most drenching rains and drifting snows without letting in any wet. I described it in my former letters; and while I am satisfied with the comfort it affords, the Americans behold it with surprise.

You would have been much amused if you had been with us a few weeks since, when I had a visit from Captain Burke,57 a sensible and intelligent backwoodsman. He paid me a short visit, put off his business that he might fetch his wife, which he did; we thought we saw through the plan; he returned with her the next day, and we felt disposed to gratify their {17} curiosity. "There wife," said he, "did you ever see such fixings?" He felt the paper, looked in a mirror over our chimney-piece which reflected the cattle grazing in the field before the house, and gazed with amazement. But turning from these sights to the library,—"Now," said he to my wife, "does your old gentleman" (for that is my title here) "read those books?" "Yes," said she, "he has read most of them."—"Why if I was to read half of them, I should drive all the little sense in my head out of it." I replied that we read to increase our sense and our knowledge; but this untutored son of nature could not conceive of this till I took down a volume of Shaw's Zoology.58 "You, Mr. Burke, are an old hunter, and have met with many snakes in your time. I never saw above one in my life; now if I can tell you about your snakes and deer, and bears and wolves, as much or more than you know, you will see the use of books." I read to him a description of the rattle-snake, and then shewed him the plate, and so on. His attention was arrested, and his thirst for knowledge fast increasing. "I never saw an Indian in my life, and yet," said I, "I can tell you all about them." I read again and shewed him a coloured plate. "There," said he, "wife, is it not {18} wonderful, that this gentleman, coming so many miles, should know these things from books only? See ye," said he, pointing to the Indian, "got him to a turn." In short, I never felt more interested for an hour or two, to see how this man's mind thirsted after knowledge; and though he dreaded the appearance of so many books, he seemed, before he left us, as if he could spend his life amongst them.

Our library is now consolidated; and that the kind intentions of yourself and others may not be lost, and that your names may live in our memories and be perpetuated to future generations, I have conveyed all the books presented to us, in trust to the proprietors of the town, for the use of the Albion Library; writing the names of the donors in them; and in my next letter I shall, pro forma, be able to convey to you our united thanks for the books presented. Our little library is the admiration of travellers, and Americans say we have accomplished more in one year, than many new settlements have effected in fifty—a well supplied market, a neat place of worship, and a good library.

Park House, Albion, June 20, 1820.

I have not written many letters to my friends in England, because I was determined not to state any thing on presumption, or of mere opinion, but only matters of fact, which must stand uncontradicted, and bear the test of examination.

I proceed to state to you the circumstances which we are now in; and you will my dear Sir, feel satisfaction at my being able to give you the pleasing account, that, after nearly a twelvemonth's residence, there is no foundation for reasonable complaint. Every workman or artificer has abundance of employment at a price that will procure him a plentiful subsistence; and at this time our little town is amply supplied, with not only the necessaries of life, but even its luxuries. I have a comfortable habitation, containing four rooms and a hall on the ground floor, and five chambers above: two wings are added which contain kitchen, china closet, dairy, and an excellent cellar. My farm produces, as it did at Marden, good beef and mutton, with abundance of {20} poultry, eggs, milk, cream, butter, and cheese. I am quite at home again, and am writing to you surrounded by the same library standing in the same relative situation, in my large easy chair, and enjoying every earthly comfort. I have the happy absence of tax-gatherers, and am never galled with tithe or poor-rate collectors.

Our settlement, thank God, is remarkably healthy, and my family and self have never enjoyed better health than in the situation which some of your reviewers and critics call "the swamps of the Wabash." There is no situation in the habitable globe in which less sickness and fever have taken place in the given period of twelve months, and the evil reports that have been spread about, applied only, in a small degree, to the large party of settlers who, on their arrival, took shelter in the woods, finding none of the conveniences prepared for them which they had reason to expect. All is going on here to the full as well as can be expected or hoped; and if the British settlement does not prosper, it will be the fault of the settlers only.

As to religion, the form of it is now regularly attended to by many, and all have the {21} means of assembling on the Sunday at our small but neat place of worship. We read the Reformed or Unitarian Liturgy, the Scriptures, and Sermons from our best English authors. Our place of worship is likewise our library-room. Religion in the outward form is by no means ostentatious, notwithstanding which, we have a large portion of good, sober and industrious people amongst us, who, I trust, by a virtuous example and keeping alive religious feelings, will be ultimately successful in preserving true religion amongst the people of the Illinois.

But to return from spiritual to temporal concerns: I imagine you asking,—Are there then no inconveniences? There are. We have not a sufficiency of female servants, on account of the frequency of marriage, which is constantly depriving us of those we have; and although I have hitherto been well off, yet I am fearful we may be as others are, inconvenienced for want of them. Boys for either plough or house work are scarce, but the entire absence of pauperism more than amply compensates for these privations. How much I regret that more of the overflowing population of England cannot find {22} their way here, exchanging their poverty for plenty of employment and good fare.

We have East and West India produce in abundance; silks, crapes, &c. such as you in England only can procure by a breach of the laws. On the first day that I dined at the tavern which I had just finished building in Albion, I drank bottled porter as cheap as in London, and had fine English salt at half the price I paid for it in England. Thus I find I have escaped the ruinous system of taxation which has reduced so many thousands to beggary or the workhouse, and so many of the middling classes to a state of pinching want, whom I have seen shivering through the winter over a few coals called a fire, because their limited means would not afford a cheerful blaze.

A great advantage in settling in the Illinois, rather than many other parts of America, is the state of society amongst us. Most of the persons who emigrate here, are those who have diminished their former fortunes; persons who have received good education, but are unable to sustain their stations in England. There is no arrogance in saying our circle of society is far superior to that in most of the villages in our native country. Except the parson, the {23} squire, and the principal farmers, what is the society of many of the English hamlets but rude and uncultivated? Here it is different; for within the circle of a few miles, there is more good company (I mean well-educated persons) than in the same circle in most parts of England.

We frequently find superior education and intelligence among the sons of the plough and the axe, to those in like situations in England. A person lately offered me his services to split boards for me: we agreed for price. I observed a correctness in his pronunciation and manner of speaking, apparently far above his situation. I attended him to the woods; he had with him two younger men than himself. The first singularity that appeared was, after taking off their clothes, (having first ground their axes) a nail or two were driven into a tree, on which were hung handsome gold watches. These men were well educated, understood geography, history, European politics, and the interesting events that now so much excite the attention of mankind. I went into my field the other day, and began a conversation with my ploughman: his address and manner of speech, as well as his conversation {24} surprised me. I found he was a colonel of militia, and a member of the legislature; he was indeed a fit companion for men of sense; and where will you find persons of this class in England with equal intelligence?

Of the particular news of this place, there is one piece of intelligence that will surprise you; the author of "Letters from the Illinois," (Mr. Birkbeck) has opened a place of worship at Wanborough; he officiates himself, and reads the Church of England Service, so that Wanborough is the seat of orthodoxy, and our place stands, as a matter of course, in the ranks of heresy?

There is an opinion prevailing amongst many in England, that the marriage ceremony in America is considered lightly of, and but loosely performed; but there never was a greater mistake. A minor cannot marry without the consent of his or her guardian or parent. A license must be applied for at the county court, and a declaration accompanying it from the parent, that it is with his consent. This license is taken to a magistrate who performs the ceremony, that is, the legal part of it, at either his own house or that of the parties; which is simply asking if they are willing to become man and wife, and their answer of consent. This is registered at the magistrates, and recorded by him at the county court: if {25} either neglect to make this register, a heavy fine is the punishment of their negligence, and the marriage is considered illegal. This is legal marriage in the Illinois; but both the magistrates inquire of the parties, and the law allows of any addition of a religious kind, that they may choose, and we adopt the vows of the marriage service of the Church of England, which are as solemnly put and answered, as if performed by a person in canonical habits before the altar.

Marriages here take place so frequently, that we are certainly in want of female servants; even our Mrs. C., who lived with us upwards of twenty-five years, and is turned of fifty, has not escaped; she is married to a Mr. W., having first refused Monsieur R., an Italian gardener, of very polite manners, and who may be said to have seen a little of the world, as he marched from Italy to Moscow with Bonaparte, back to France, and proceeded from thence to this place: he was tall and majestic in person, made very elegant bows to Madame C., and spoke English enough to assure her he had the highest esteem for her, and would marry her to-morrow if she would consent; but all in vain, plain John Bull {26} carried the day. We have had ten or twelve marriages within three or four months. This, I think, is settling the Illinois pretty fast, and a good proof that Cobbett has not, as he threatened, 'written us down;' nor is there any sign of abandonment, but a good prospect, of increase of population, even if emigration should diminish.

We hear news from England sufficient to appreciate the wretched situation of our native country, and the disturbed state of Europe in general. We see, or think we see most plainly, the phial of God's wrath pouring forth on guilty nations; and England, notwithstanding its pulpit flatterers, in the church and out of the church, is tasting of that wrath. It appears to me that we have great cause for gratitude in escaping divine judgments, and finding an asylum where we may, I hope, rest in peace.

I see, on looking from my window, the golden harvest waving before me; a beautiful field of wheat, the admiration of the country, the first fruit of my son's industry in this kind of grain.

My wife and family enjoy excellent health, and spirits, and had not the Almighty hand {27} smote me in my tenderest part, by sending his awful messenger to call my dear son William away,59 the days of my emigration would have been the happiest of my life.

R. F.

March 26, 1821.

As to the settlement in general, I consider it most prosperous, making, comparing it with many new ones, the most rapid strides to comfort and prosperity: our little town, now the capital of the English Settlement60 has a store which supplies us with luxuries. A market with abundance of meat, poultry, and vegetables, so that persons with very limited incomes might live here in comfort. A person with 100 per Annum would be in affluence, which you will say is owing to the cheapness of provisions;61 and freedom from tythes, taxes, poor's rates, &c. The labourer or mechanic who is steady, can work himself into plenty. {28} We are relieved entirely from the dreadful state of pauperism witnessed before I left England. My wife, with others of our acquaintance, have not had such good health for twenty years past. Mrs. Flower rides twenty miles a day, on horse back, with ease. I wish you could visit my old servant T. S. on one of the pleasantest situations in the world, with his nice garden, his cows, pigs, and poultry about him; his wife and children contented and happy. Perhaps were you to come suddenly upon him, eggs and bacon with a hastily got up chicken might be your fare; but if you gave him a day's notice, you would see a haunch of venison, or a fine cock turkey on the table. How long would Tom have fagged in England, although he had double his wages, before he could have possessed himself of two hundred acres of good land, and been placed in such affluence. Here, indeed, it may be truly said that the hand of the diligent maketh rich. We have here and there an idle person, but Providence has given them an industrious help-mate; and I know two instances of females earning from six to eight dollars a week by their needles; enough for them to keep comfortable tables.

I have felt great satisfaction in never having {29} invited any one to emigrate, and still greater in finding those who came here out of regard to my opinions, in such situations of ease and comfort, as not only to contribute to their own happiness, but to add greatly to mine. I may say that those who have asked and taken my advice have succeeded to their wishes; and in all cases which have come to my knowledge, where affairs have been conducted with industry and tolerable discretion, they have occasion to be thankful for the change they have made from the old world to the new. Our population increases. We want in particular more tailors and shoemakers: any one understanding the coarse earthen-ware manufactury would meet with great success.—I have just finished a flour mill on an inclined plane, which has given fresh spirit to agriculture. Distilleries are also building. It is a happy circumstance that while industry is attended with certain success, vice, drunkenness, and idleness are no better off than in Europe; the effect of this will be to give the virtuous that natural ascendancy over the vicious which they ought always to have. We read in the newspapers of all the bustle you have had about your queen;62 but if it ends without the people regaining their long lost liberties, between the {30} collision of the different factions, you will only be worse off; and if the regaining of those liberties will not rouse the people to the same exertions for themselves as they have made for their queen, we must smile at their oppressions and say they deserve them.

Park House, Albion, Aug. 20, 1821.

Dear Sir,

Some of my letters, written in 1819, appeared through the medium of the press; and some of the English Reviewers, after a candid criticism, observed, that they should be glad to hear from me at some future period. Several other persons also have expressed a strong desire to have an account of our present situation and future prospects. In compliance therefore, with their wishes, I most cheerfully resume my pen, with the assurance that what I have written may be relied upon as an impartial and candid statement of facts.

Various are the reports which have been circulated in the private circle, and by means of the press, concerning the state of this settlement; {31} and great has been the anxiety which many friends have expressed on our account. It is my purpose therefore, to examine the principal reports which travellers have given of us.

When any one returns to England, though he may have visited us but a few days, he obtains a credence far above those who have only hear-say reports to communicate; whether his visits were made during the winter, amidst rains or snows, or in the summer, when an unparalleled drought pervaded the whole western country. Is so transitory a view to be considered as a just description of the soil, the climate, the advantages or disadvantages of the British Settlement in the Illinois? Surely not. I am informed even of some accounts which have been written from settlements above fifty miles distant from us, where circumstances are so very different, that they bear no resemblance to the situation in which we have located. These statements have been brought forward in opposition to the indisputable facts which have been given by us, and they no more apply to this place, than a description of the lowlands of Essex and Lincolnshire can apply to the high and dry situations of Shooter's-hill or Blackheath. I therefore request the reader's {32} attention to a few observations on the various reports which travellers have circulated of the English settlements at the Illinois.

I must first be allowed to remark on the want of competency of some very confident writers to form any judgment of our real situation; they appear to be wholly unacquainted with the history of the new settlements, and from this defect are unfitted to form a right judgement of our comparative and relative advantages. Hence the incongruous and contradictory accounts which have been given of our soil, climate, and agricultural concerns. Of the many who have visited us there are two individuals whose reports I hear gain some credence amongst my country men; I shall therefore confine my attention chiefly to the accounts they have given of us, and then examine those reports which have been raised from deep-rooted enmity and determined self-interest. These, with a brief account of our present situation and future prospects shall be the remaining subject of this letter.

One of these travellers visited us when the snows were melting, and the rains descending: he reports us to be dwelling upon the swamps of the Wabash; and our lands to be so wet that they are unfit for either cattle or sheep to {33} thrive on; and on that account unsuitable for the purposes of an English farmer.

Another passed through our country in an unparalleled drought, and reported us to be in a sad situation for want of water. There was some degree of truth in this, but a very partial degree, owing to his not stating the circumstances of the case. Our town is situated very high, and till we had experienced some drought we knew not that we should want to dig deep for water, and of course could not provide for an exigency that was not known to exist. "Dig deep" I have said; but one hundred feet is thought, by a western American, to be a vast and dangerous enterprise; we have however with us Englishmen who have been far into the bowels of the earth in England, and have no sort of fear of there not being abundance of water in Albion; already have we experienced the benefit of these exertions; but while our dry-weather traveller was reporting our inconveniences, he should have stated it was an unusual season which pervaded the whole of the western country: that Kentucky and Ohio were worse than the Illinois; and that in Indiana, in the best watered districts, springs, rivulets, and wells were exhausted. Such an instance has never before occurred {34} during the memory of the oldest inhabitants. The same person (who I know would not willingly give a false account) has stated that so short was the water that we were obliged to send our cattle into Indiana.—That our herds were in Indiana is very true, but that they were sent there on account of want of water, is equally untrue. We have in Indiana about twelve miles distant, some high ground in the midst of low land, subject to be overflowed; on this low ground grows the most luxuriant cane, springing to an extraordinary height; the tender shoots of which, affording excellent food for cattle, we send them in the winter season, with the exception of milch cows and working oxen, to fatten. Our custom is somewhat similar to that of the farmers of the upland districts in England, who send their stock into the fens of Lincolnshire to fatten on coleseed and superabundant grass. So we dispose of our herds when the winter draws to a close. To this may be added, that the cane in the low river bottoms, growing naturally is the most luxuriant pasturage for summer feeding: and as we only pay the expense of the herdsman, the food either there or in the cane costing nothing: and the herdsman living there we leave our herds; so it was true that they {35} were in the cane, but were not sent there on account of the want of water. When this person reported that there was shortness of water amongst us, he should have added, that fine wells were no rarity in the vicinity of Albion; that he drank as fine water from our well as he ever tasted in his life; and that from the grounds of Richard and George Flower, Albion, and even a part of Wanborough were supplied.

It will therefore appear that this person, as well as many others, told the truth, but very partially, and not the whole truth, and on that account are not to be depended on. At the very time he was visiting us a person from Kentucky, assured us that we were better off than they were at Kentucky and Ohio.63

Another person who visited us on purpose to examine and spy out the land of evil report, went back to Baltimore and brought his family, stating in his travels that he had not met with such good water as at this place. This same traveller has reported our soil to be poor, and our inability to raise a sufficient quantity of provisions for ourselves, and that we are still dependant on the Harmonites: in this he only shews his {36} want of knowledge of the history of new settlements and their progress. Every person knows that the second year is the most unprofitable: the first year being spent in building and fencing, little produce is raised: but then all settlers of property bring a supply with them to make up for this certain deficiency; but capital being somewhat exhausted, and an increase of population still continuing, must of necessity keep a new settlement short of self-supplies; but when to this was added an extraordinary drought, is it a matter of surprise that the crops should in some degree have been scanty; but at the time I am writing, almost every thing these travellers have said of the Illinois, is happily reversed: they are the remarks of very superficial observers; though they may be in some degree true at the moment they were written, they are no fit representations [of] the Illinois; either as to its soil, climate, or general character; could I but set these very travellers down here at this moment, how would their astonished senses give contradiction to their own accounts!

We have now what the Americans tell us is a usual specimen of the seasons of the Illinois. Frequent rains, with the heat more moderate than the last year. Agriculture is beaming forth {37} in its glory. If some of our travellers to whom I have alluded were now here, they would see some of the finest wheat crops their eyes ever beheld: they would witness the most luxuriant crops of natural grasses, now gathering for the supply of winter food; also fine plants of artificial grasses well set in our inclosures; they would acknowledge that the corn crops were as abundant, or more so than any they had before witnessed in the United States; but as they are not here I must inform you that our corn crops upon good tillage have the appearance of from sixty to eighty bushels; and in some instances the Americans, who are the best judges, say one hundred bushels per acre. If this is the usual season of the Illinois, which can scarcely be doubted, as it answers the character given by those longest resident, then is the Illinois one of the finest countries under heaven for human beings to dwell in; one of the most delightful given to man for his residence.

Another traveller has stated that the Illinois is in general low and swampy, but that Mr. Flower's family, with one or two others, had placed their houses upon rising ground. This gentleman must either be naturally or willfully {38} blind. He might have found, within a circuit of five miles round Albion, numerous pleasing elevations, all so inviting that the beauty which they presented to the admiring eye of the settler, would be the only difficulty in the way of instant decision.

Then comes another objector, armed with an un answerable question?—"But what will you do with your produce?" This objection only needs to be examined to be refuted. The answer is, that for the present our home market will take all we raise, and if our population increases in future as it has done during the present year, and the probability is that, it will increase much faster, no foreign market will be wanted for ten or a dozen years to come. Our infant town has taken root, and is growing luxuriantly. It has increased one hundred in the number of inhabitants since last September, and its vicinity has added seventy to their number. Our mill is at work, and can grind the produce now raised; and a distillery and brewery will shortly be at work, so that the su[r]plus of several years will not raise more than a sufficiency for the population. We have also in the settlement some small plantations of tobacco, hemp, and cotton, articles which we {39} at present import; it will therefore be a work of some time to raise a sufficiency for our own consumption.

Another article of produce is wool. Since I have been here I have turned my attention to an important object which engaged much of my attention in my native country—the breeding of sheep, and have succeeded to the utmost of my wishes and expectations. My flock consists of about four hundred sheep and lambs; and although the first winter there were unexpected difficulties to encounter, I can assure my countrymen that it has been more healthy this last year than any I ever had, or ever heard of in England; but as I intend giving an account of my success in this branch of agriculture in some future letter, it will be sufficient to say, that although I can grow in the Illinois a profitable export, at present its produce is wanted, and all that can be raised for years to come, will be wanted at home. We have therefore not only a market for our extra produce around us, but we have also a foreign market at New Orleans, and through it to the market of the world. If it be said that owing to our situation, we labour under peculiar disadvan[ta]ges, all is reduced to the price of land carriage, of about nine miles to the Wabash, {40} at sixteen cents per hundred pounds. If therefore it is said that our surplus produce cannot be disposed of, it is not applicable to local circumstances alone; but to all America. Whenever the United States in general can dispose of their produce advantageously, the Illinois can do the same; and we are more contiguous to navigation than the great proportion of the interior of America.

The report which has injured us most is the want of that blessing, without which all that this world can give is but of little avail—Health. Reports of sickness which never existed, and of deaths which happily never took place, have been most industriously circulated; the fact is, that there has seldom been a new settlement which has suffered so little loss by death; or which has been so free from sickness. The number of deaths has been in the ratio of four in ninety-five each year, and this is a smaller number than in most places in the habitable globe, where the records of such events have been preserved. Many of its inhabitants have with myself, enjoyed far better health, than in their native country; so that I may safely conclude, after two years residence, with the information of those who were here a year and a half before me, that {41} there scarcely existed in the habitable globe, a place where the inhabitants have enjoyed so large a share of this invaluable blessing.

As to our future prospects they are truly flattering, in the probability of increasing population, now the clouds and mists which malignity has spread abroad are disappearing, before the light of truth, as the mists of morning disappear before the light and the heat of the sun: the well-grounded hopes of future harvests, arising from the rich abundance of the present; the perseverance and industry of a large portion of our settlers; the excellent materials for building, and the increasing number of fine wells of water, all present a most encouraging and delightful prospect.

Another testimony in favour of our situation is, that some of our countrymen who have settled in other places, have visited us, expressing their surprise and regret that they had been the dupes of false reports, and had stopped short of the Illinois. While others more prudently came down from Cincinnati, and even Baltimore to visit this land of evil report, minutely examined for themselves, returned to bring their families, and are contented with their lot.

Another remark was made by certain writers, {42} that although we had improved our situation as to animal enjoyments, we had sacrificed intellectual pleasures, because I stated, in one of my letters, that there were no booksellers here, and that the necessary business which could not be avoided in a new settlement, left us but little time for reading. Hasty conclusion! Many of us brought out ample libraries of our own, and we have also a standing library in our little town; which is supplied with newspapers and periodical publications. Those who emigrated to the Illinois were not altogether illiterate; a majority of them were quite of a contrary description; and as to agricultural knowledge, there are very few spots on the face of the earth, where it is so much concentrated, as at the Illinois, having farmers from almost all the different counties in England. There are likewise, several American, Dutch, and French farmers, gardeners, and vine dressers in our neighbourhood.

The reports of the wickedness and irreligion of our settlement, with a view to prevent individuals from joining us, have been industriously spread far and near. That there is a diversity of character in every part of the globe, will not be denied; that this diversity exists here is equally true; and that a portion of its inhabitants {43} is of an immoral cast, will be as readily admitted; that we have not left human nature with its infirmities and propensities behind us is equally a fact; and even if it should be admitted, that unhappily, a larger portion of the dissipated, the idle, and the dissolute are to be met with in new countries than is usually to be found in old ones, yet we have the same antidote for these mischiefs:—the light shining in a dark place. We have public worship and ample supplies of sermons from pious practical preachers, from the Catholic to the Socinian Creed,64 which are read on the Sabbath. But above all we have the incorruptible seed of the word of God which liveth and abideth for ever; and it is with pleasure I can assure my readers, that there is an increasing congregation, and I trust, increasing religion amongst us. But if it was otherwise, surely this should be rather an argument for persons of religious zeal to join us, who have emigration in view; to come over to Macedonia and help us, rather than shrink from such a task. At least it is not apostolic or evangelic feeling that would draw a different conclusion.

When I was at Philadelphia a lady of the Society of Friends addressed me most emphatically on the subject:—"Wilt thou, friend {44} Flower, take thy family to that infidel and wicked settlement in the Illinois? Thou appearest to be a christian; how wilt thou answer to thy God for endangering the precious souls of thy dear children?" Madam, answered I, my destiny appears to be in the Illinois settlement; and rather than turn from thence on the account you have mentioned, you have furnished me with a forcible argument to proceed. I trust I am as you have supposed a sincere christian, and as it is my special duty to go where reformation is so necessary, I will endeavour to perform it, and hope for the blessing of the Most High. It is for us to use the means. We know who it is to command success in our present state and future prospects.65

It may be worth while to make a few remarks on the characters, situations, and apparent motives of some of those persons by whom we have been misrepresented and reviled.

The first class that opened their batteries of illiberal abuse, were the ministerial and hireling writers in England.66 The emigration of Englishmen, in the Illinois it appears did not please the masters whom these writers serve; and this is sufficient to account for their {45} conduct: as usual, they were not very nice, in the means they made use of. Private characters were assailed indiscriminately, and motives imputed to the emigrants which never entered their minds. The grand reason for emigration was to escape that overwhelming system of taxation which had diminished the property of the emigrants, and threatened if they staid much longer, to swallow up the whole. Their conduct has proved their discernment, and justified their proceedings.

How many of my brother farmers have lost their all! How many have been added to the list of paupers since we left our beloved country, newspapers and private letters, agricultural meetings and parliamentary proceedings and reports, sufficiently declare. Happy had it been for many others, if they had accompanied us: some who have followed us have lamented their indecision, and have felt the fatal consequences of their lingering in their own country. The motives and views of this first class of revilers, is too obvious to need fa[r]ther notice.

Another writer, who is, or rather who was once popular, whom I met at New York, passionately expressed his determination to write us down: amongst much false reasoning which {46} he made use of for this purpose, it is greatly to be feared he also cared but little for truth; and I have often wondered what could be his motive? Whether he had some other settlement at heart; or whether he wished to keep all emigrants near him to persuade them to enter into his grand plan of inundating England with forged Bank of England notes!!—One thing however is decidedly clear; that he knew nothing about what he was writing; and our present success, surrounded by so many comforts, is a sufficient proof he did not do us all the harm he intended. Were he to ride over our fine prairies, viewing our flocks, herds, and corn fields, such ocular demonstration of the falsehood of his statements would be to him a sufficient mortification.67

But there is another class of men of a very different sort; those who were raising rival settlements, in various parts of America, and who had lands for sale: who longed to stop the cash which seemed to be pouring into the lap of the Illinois. It was natural for them, as human nature is constituted, to attempt to arrest its progress; they therefore joined the hue and cry against the Illinois, and spread reports {47} of sickness, starvation, famishing for thirst, frequent deaths, and the consequent abandonment of our settlement. In this they in some instances succeeded, and as I have before hinted, some have visited us who speak of their having been entrapped, and express the deep regret that they did not join us. Facts however soon began to dispel the illusion: one gentleman brought his family to Cincinnati, several families visited Baltimore, who notwithstanding the evil tidings that they had heard ventured, although with fearful apprehensions, to the English settlement: but singular as it may appear to our calumniators, after a most minute investigation into our situation and circumstances, in the autumn of the year they could not find a sick person throughout the settlement: nor was the drought which certainly inconvenienced us, peculiar or local; it raged throughout the western country. They were satisfied, and went to fetch their families, who are now residents amongst us to their entire satisfaction. It is no wonder then, that the falsehoods and calumnies which have been so industriously spread, are at length found to be such; and that the character and motives of the persons who have assailed us are duly appreciated: and, as a consequence of these and {48} other circumstances one hundred individuals have joined the town of Albion, and about twenty have settled in its environs since last August.

Notwithstanding all I have stated, I would not have my countrymen consider me as inducing them to emigrate, without serious and due consideration of their own circumstances; but rather consider me as advising them if they do emigrate to America, to come and unite with us in the Illinois; resting assured that what I have stated is truth—impartial truth.

It is a trial of no mean sort to quit one's native country, and separate ourselves from those for whom we have the sincerest friendship and regard. The privations however of a first settlement are at an end: we may now indeed say "the way is smoothed for them;" and it rests with us who are now settled to be prosperous, contented, and happy. It is equally our duty and our interest, to consider well the blessings we enjoy at this place of abounding plenty. Many of you my countrymen, can look back on the frightful abyss of pauperism and starvation which you have escaped, and should lift up your hearts in gratitude to God for his mercies vouchsafed to you. Forget not who it is that has preserved your lives and prolonged {49} your days; blessed you with so much health; preserved you from the arrow that flieth at noon day; and the pestilence that walketh in darkness. Remember that it depends upon your virtuous endeavours, how great, how good, and how happy the settlement in the Illinois shall be. Eradicate the stain which report has cast on your moral and religious characters; and may your example be such as to influence the formation of character of this place; that your ways may be ways of pleasantness, and all your paths be peace. Remember that without virtue happiness cannot exist. Let future generations rise up and call you blessed; so that you may, on your departure from this life, rest satisfied that your emigration to the Illinois proved the means of your increasing welfare and happiness in time and eternity.

R. F.

---

Wanborough, May 7, 1821.

Sir,

Regarding the abuse which people have indulged in about my undertakings, and my accounts of them, I find little difficulty in taking it quietly. I have spent four years in this country, and now every day furnishes fresh proofs of the correctness of my early impressions, so complete as to excite a degree of astonishment at my good fortune in conjecturing rightly, and occasionally something of self-congratulation, under the hope that partial friends may give me a little credit for sagacity.

A statistical account of this country, by the time I had finished it, and long before it could reach you, would need correction. Satisfied as I am, to a degree of occasional exultation, with the condition of my own farm, and my prospects as an American cultivator, so rapid and certain is the progress of improvement, that I should not be flattered by your reading, six months hence, an account of its present state. Besides, enough has been already written to shew the candid public that all our {51} reasonable expectations are satisfied: for the rest, who enjoy our imaginary reverses, and rely more on the superficial accounts of such people as C. F. &c. who have never seen the country, or if they have seen it, are incapable of judging, it really is a waste of labour to write for them. Those wretched people who indulge their malevolence in personal abuse are unworthy of my notice. It would indeed be to our advantage, and is the only harm I wish them, that their ignorance and their prejudices should continue, lest they should follow us.

We are on the eastern limits of a country differing essentially from all that has hitherto been cultivated in the United States. The people to the east of us are incapable of imagining a dry and rich wholesome country, where they may enter at once on fine lands prepared for cultivation, without the enormous expence of time and labour in clearing, which has been bestowed on every acre between this and the Atlantic. The inhabitants of the old States are profoundly and resolutely ignorant of the advantages of our prairie country. Books are written in the east to prove the wretchedness of the prairies, by persons who have never approached them within five hundred miles; and English writers of the same {52} description, some with names and some without, can obtain more credence than is granted to me, from that description of readers. On the whole, I do not think it worth while to undertake the conviction of these people. The settlers here who prosper, that is to say, those who possess good morals and common discretion, will, in course, tell their experience to their friends and connections in England, and invite them to follow their example; these again will invite others. This is now going on in all directions. Some write for their former neighbours or the residue of their families, others push back to the old country, to conduct them out. Numbers who come to try their hands at a new settlement are wholly unfit for any place in this world, new or old, unless it be to supply the requisite quota of evil, which in this imperfect state, adheres to all places. These are the people sometimes most likely to be heard, whilst those who go on well and wisely are little noticed. Their adventures are at an end: they "keep a pig" and live happily. A volcano is a fine subject when in action, but the interest ceases with the eruption. At some future day,—some "still time, when there is no room for chiding," should my life be spared, I may lay before my countrymen a statement {53} of our condition: but the suitable time, I think, is not yet. It is, however, a pleasing office to transmit to an intelligent friend an occasional sketch of the settlement; and to receive, as I have from you, and I hope you will repeat the obligation, a return of liberal communication.

The various attacks upon my reputation will be repelled, surely, though perhaps slowly, by time. Among my neighbours, who are now numerous, their effect has ceased already. The accuracy of my statements become daily more evident, and my errors are found to be on the opposite side to exaggeration; a style which I dislike: it is offensive to my taste, as well as my moral feelings: is not a written lie to the full as abominable as one that is spoken?

The telescope which you have had the goodness to procure for me is an object of pleasant anticipation. This climate is favourable for astronomical observations, and it will add to our rational amusements. I shall therefore be obliged by your forwarding it as before directed, as soon as convenient.

M. B.

---

The following Remarks respecting the want of water, and the account of the English settlement at the Illinois, are taken from a most entertaining, interesting, and elegant work, lately published, and of which a second edition is in the press. I here insert them, as they tend to confirm the correctness of the accounts published by Mr. Birkbeck and my brother, and contain some excellent advice to emigrants,

"You have expressed in your late letters, some curiosity regarding the condition of the English settlement, in the Illinois, adding, that the report has prevailed that those spirited emigrants had been at first too sanguine, and had too little foreseen the difficulties which the most fortunate settler must encounter. This report, I believe, to have originated with Mr. Cobbett, who thought proper to pronounce upon the condition of the farmer in the Illinois, in his own dwelling upon Long Island. Feeling an interest in the success of our countrymen in the West, I have been at some pains to inform myself as to their actual condition. The following statement is chiefly taken from the letters of two American gentlemen, of our acquaintance who have just visited the settlement; they inform me that its situation possesses all those positive advantages stated by Mr. Birkbeck; that the worst difficulties have been surmounted; and that these have {56} always been fewer than what are frequently encountered in a new country.

"The village of Albion, the centre of the settlement, contains at present thirty habitations, in which are found a bricklayer, a carpenter, a wheelwright, a cooper, and a blacksmith; a well supplied shop, a little library, an inn, a chapel, and a post office, where the mail regularly arrives twice a week. Being situated on a ridge, between the greater and little Wabash, it is from its elevated position, and from its being some miles removed from the rivers, peculiarly dry and healthy. The prairie on which it stands, is as exquisitely beautiful; lawns of unchanging verdure, spreading over hills and dales, scattered with islands of luxuriant trees, dropped by the hand of nature, with a taste that art could not rival—all this spread beneath a sky of glowing and unspotted sapphires. The most beautiful parks of England, would afford a most imperfect comparison. The soil is abundantly fruitful, and of course has an advantage over the heavy timbered lands, which can scarcely be cleared for less than from twelve to fifteen dollars per acre, while the Illinois farmer, may in general clear his for less than five, and then enter upon a more convenient mode of tillage. The objection that is too frequently found to the beautiful prairies of the Illinois, is the deficiency of springs and streams for mill seats. This is attended with inconvenience to the settler, though his health will find in it advantage. The nearest navigable river to Albion is the Wabash, eight miles distant: the nearest running stream, that is not liable to fail at Midsummer, the Bonpaw, four miles distant. The stock of water in ponds for cattle, was liable to run dry in a few weeks, and the settlement apprehended some temporary inconvenience from {57} the circumstance. The finest water is every where to be raised from twenty to twenty-five, or thirty feet from the surface, these wells never fail, but are of course troublesome to work in a new settlement.

"The settlement at Albion, must undoubtedly possess some peculiar attractions for an English emigrant, promising him, as it does, the society of his own countrymen, an actual or ideal advantage, to which he is seldom insensible. Generally speaking, however, it may ultimately be as well for him, as for the community to which he attached himself, that he should become speedily incorporated with the people of the soil: many emigrants bring with them prejudices and predilections which can only be rubbed away by a free intercourse with the natives of the country. By sitting down at once among them, they will more readily acquire an accurate knowledge of their political institutions, and learn to estimate the high privileges which these impart to them, and thus attaching themselves to their adopted country, not for mere sordid motives of interest, but also from feeling and principle, become not only naturalized, but also nationalized. I have met with but too many in this country, who have not advanced beyond the former. I must observe, also, that the European farmer and mechanic, are usually far behind the American in general and practical knowledge, as well as enterprise. You find in the working farmer of these states, a store of information, a dexterity in all the manual arts, and often a high tone of national feeling, to which you will hardly find a parallel amongst the same class elsewhere. His advice and assistance always freely given to those who seek it, will be found of infinite service to a stranger; it will often save him from many rash speculations, at the same time that it will dispose {58} him to see things in their true light, and to open his eyes and heart to all the substantial advantages that surround him."

Views of Society and Manners in America, in a series of Letters from that Country to a Friend in England during the years 1818, 1819, 1820. By an Englishman, 8vo.69

The above as the reader will notice, was written two years ago, since which the settlement, as appears by the letters now published, has considerably increased, and for the time it has been established, is in a very flourishing state.

The address of the worthy female, one of the Society of Friends to my brother, respecting the "infidel wicked settlement at the Illinois," proceeded from that principle of fear for the interests of christianity, which an enlightened christian, by which I mean one who understands the principles, imbibes the spirit, and follows the example of the primitive christians, need not indulge. To all sincere christians who may have indulged similar fears, may be applied what the Psalmist remarks of certain pious persons of his day, who appear to have been placed in a very "infidel, wicked settlement;"—"There were they in great fear where no fear was." (Ps. liv. 5.) Infidelity, or unbelief in the divine mission of Christ; a rejection of those grand truths, essential to the salvation of a lost world, where the gospel can be read and examined, as it may easily be in the present enlightened age—enlightened, with respect to the means of instruction for the attainment of knowledge the most important,—is so inexcuseable, that I know not how any man, even if his capacity be below mediocrity, and more especially any man whose capacity {59} is above mediocrity, can, remaining an unbeliever, rationally hope to escape the awful sentence pronounced by our Saviour:—"He that believeth not the Son, shall not see life:—he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John iii.) Passages as equally applicable to unbelievers of the present day, as to those of old, as the evidences of christianity are equally bright and convincing as in our Saviour's time, if not more so. We have no such gross prejudices to combat as the Jews had, as no persons are so stupid as to expect a temporal Messiah, to imitate those grand pests of society, who, in all ages, have ravaged the world—despotic kings, and wholesale murderers commonly called conquerors! And if we have not the evidence of sense, the personal presence of Christ, we have a more sure word of prophecy, not of a temporary nature, but more suitable to succeeding ages, even to the end of time,—the fulfillment of Divine predictions. Men who after reading the various relations of travellers of the first reputation, concerning the fall and present state of ancient states and cities, Babylon, Tyre, Egypt, &c. can reject the evidence of the truth of revelation arising from such a source, may be pronounced without breach of charity, wilfully blind. If it be said, there is no general rule without exceptions,—I allow it, but only so far as there may be exceptions to other important general rules: for instance, that justly called the golden rule, delivered by our Saviour in his sermon on the mount. But let it be seriously recollected, that the very word exceptions implies the generality of the rule, and that the man cannot be very wise, who endeavours to persuade himself, that he shall, in the great day of final account, be included in these exceptions. For myself, I {60} must profess, that after some acquaintance with several of our principal infidel writers, English and foreign, I have never met with any who dared meet the distinguishing evidences of christianity fairly; and that in general, the description of writers alluded to, have been men whose moral conduct has been so defective, as to afford just reason to apprehend they were not sincere inquirers after truth. The infidel public may safely be challenged to answer, not only the writings of Locke, Newton, Lardner, Paley, &c. but even some of our shilling or sixpenny pamphlets. Let any unbeliever exert his energies in refuting that admirable tract entitled—An Answer to the Question, WHY ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN? by the late Dr. Clarke of Boston, in America, of which there have been published numerous editions, but to which, if an answer has been written, I will thank any person to inform me, and where it can be procured. But so long as the enemies of revelation consider misrepresentation, arising from wilful ignorance, sneering, jesting, and ribaldry, lawful weapons to effect the purpose they have at heart—the destruction of christianity—I shall certainly suspect they do not possess that indispensable qualification in all inquiries concerning revelation,—an honest and good heart, and that of course they are not sincere in their inquiries; but let all such men take warning from the numerous declarations in scripture concerning the rejectors of the gospel, as they will most assuredly find, that with respect to threatenings, as well as promises, it is impossible for God to lie!

Should it be asked,—How is it that so many men of talents, and who may possess qualities, which may render them in different ways, and to a certain degree useful to the world and ornamental to the social circle reject christianity; various {61} causes may be assigned. I must confine myself to a few. The principal reason is assigned by the divine author of Christianity:—This is the condemnation; light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil.—The love of applause in favourite circles is assigned by the same authority as another reason. Our Saviour demanded of the Pharisees,—how can ye believe who receive honour one of one another, and not the honour which cometh from God only. They rejected our Saviour's doctrines because they loved the praise of men, more than the praise of God.—How often has pride determined men to reject truths the most important? The doctrine of the cross, although the brightest display of the wisdom and power of God to the world, is to the carnal man, that is the man whose belief and practice are determined by worldly motives, foolishness. The remark of Dr. Priestley on this subject, deserves the most serious attention of men, who are by their talents and learning, elevated above the rest of the world. "Learned men have prejudices peculiar to themselves, and the very affectation of being free from vulgar notions, and of being wiser than the rest of mankind, must indispose them to the admission of truth, if it should happen to be with the common people!"

Although if the opinions I have expressed be true, they want not the sanction of the learned, yet knowing the influence of names, I will in their support add two, who although men of very different opinions, are by their respective admirers, considered masters in Israel. The first is Dr. Johnson who, as his biographer Mr. Boswell informs us, remarked on this subject,—"No honest man could be a deist; for no man could be so after a fair examination of the proofs of christianity. Hume owned {62} to a clergyman, in the bishopric of Durham, that he had never read the New Testament with attention!" Another example of the truth of Johnson's remark is the famous Thomas Paine, who in a work misnamed "the Age of Reason," but which is a disgrace to any man possessing his reason, at the very moment of pretending to criticise the bible, and of glorying in having destroyed its credit, acknowledged "that he had not read it for several years!" This may, in part at least, account for the numerous misstatements and falsehoods which deform his pages. This work has been the more injurious to society, as thereby the author lost much of that fame he had justly acquired by his admirable, and popular political writings, but to which the world has since shewn a comparative indifference.

To Dr. Johnson's opinion I only add that of Mr. Belsham, who in his Calm Inquiry, &c. observes:—"The Unitarians acknowledge that the scriptures were written for the instruction of the illiterate as well as of the learned, and they believe—that ALL which is essential to doctrine or practice is SUFFICIENTLY INTELLIGIBLE even to the meanest capacity."

From these premises I conclude, that there is little danger of the spread of that absurdity of absurdities—INFIDELITY, where it is not supported by more plausible reasons than are contained in the writings of its votaries; but it is with pain, that I am obliged in justice to the subject to add, that its principal support has been the corrupt systems and lives of its professors.—Those ANTICHRISTIAN CHURCHES under whatever denomination, and in every country under heaven, which have been established by the civil magistrate:—THE ALLIANCE BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE, which has displayed its brazen front in the temple of God, exalting itself above all that is called God; robbed {63} the great head of the church of his peculiar prerogative, the sovereignty over conscience; and plundered countless millions of their rights and properties, thus turning the church into a den of thieves,—These ecclesiastical corruptions constitute a more formidable argument against christianity, although by no means an honest reason for rejecting it, than the writings of the whole infidel world united.70

{64} But as America is not disgraced with an established church, supported by penal laws, the work of statecraft and priestcraft united, infidelity has, in that country, lost {65} its chief support, and cannot, to any extensive degree, flourish. Let that favoured quarter of the globe carefully preserve her only establishment—LIBERTY AND EQUALITY, and her religious interests are safe. Christianity left to itself will, by its own internal excellence, and by the lives of its sincere professors, have free course, and be glorified.

The English settlement in the Illinois already affords an illustration of the truth of these sentiments. In the first stage of its infancy, reports, as it appears by the remonstrance and admonitions of the female friend at Philadelphia to my brother, have been industriously and widely circulated, of its being a "wicked infidel settlement;" where "a christian parent" could not "answer it to his God for endangering the precious souls of his dear children!" Three years have scarcely passed since this solemn warning was given; and what is the present state of this "Infidel settlement?" The friends to Christianity have exerted themselves, and although without the assistance of Priests, or even Reverends of any denomination, two places within the distance of as many miles, have been erected for public worship; one on the moderate candid Unitarian plan,—I mean that which according to the only accurate import of the word includes in its communion, all christians who dissent from that contradiction in terms—"THREE divine PERSONS in ONE GOD:"—The other for the members of the Episcopal Church of England, which in America, by losing its antichristian sting, has lost its principal deformities; and what deserves peculiar notice—the service in the latter is read by the very person who was supposed to have been the chief promoter of infidelity!—A third chapel is now erecting for the use of the Calvinistic baptists. These different denominations, with any others {66} which may hereafter appear, have only to follow the example of their brethren throughout America; to meet in civil society, as friends, perfectly equal as to political, civil, and religious rights, no one allowed to have any ascendancy over the other, christianity will then triumph, and infidelity will be ashamed to shew its face.

To the excellent admonitions on the subject of religious and moral conduct with which my brother concludes his letters, I cannot help adding my ardent hopes, that as the English settlement appears to be increasing in prosperity, and to present an happy asylum for those, who from various circumstances, are induced or compelled to emigrate from their native country, the inhabitants will prove an example of that true religion and virtue, which constitute the only sure foundation and preserver of states and communities:—my wishes are equally ardent, that as christians, they would not only avoid the errors of antichristian established churches, but of those which although professedly dissenting from them still retain a strong attachment to many of their follies. Primitive christianity, how seldom is it aspired after! The unnecessary division of christians into clergy and laity; the distinctions of dress, habits, and titles, so calculated to please the fancy of our grown babies in the christian church; the objectionable manner in which christian pastors are too frequently ordained and supported:—these with other follies which might be mentioned, all innovations on the simplicity and purity of the primitive churches will at the Illinois, it is hoped, be avoided. Let the English seriously recollect, that in their native country priestcraft prevails, not only in the established church, but in different degrees amongst those who dissent from it, where I fear it is increasing; and that those who are distinguished for their {67} attachment to weak and beggarly elements, are in general equally distinguished for their indifference to the grand principles of LIBERTY, for their servility to the ruling powers, and for their support of that ruinous system of war and corruption, which has so peculiarly disgraced the British nation for the past sixty years.—May the office of pastor of a christian church be no longer deemed a trade, but let every christian teacher aspire to the honour of being equally independent with the apostles and pastors of the primitive churches, who are chiefly if not wholly dependant on their own exertions in the pursuit of some honest calling. May all denominations, uniting with each other in the bonds of christian friendship, no longer consider their peculiar explanation of doctrines as necessary to christian communion. May their only grand essentials be, sincerity in the search of truth, and honesty in practising it. Thus may they, in the full enjoyment of political, civil, and religious liberty go on unto perfection.71

Mr. Cobbett's former calumnies respecting the English settlements in the Illinois were amply refuted by Mr. Birkbeck and my brother, in two pamphlets, published in 1819, and to neither of which, although he has alluded to a private letter, since written by the former, and inserted in a provincial paper, has he dared to reply. He has however, had the effrontery in a late Register, (July, 7th, 1821,) not only to repeat those calumnies, but to invent others still more atrocious; and as the parties concerned are five thousand miles distant, I deem it my duty on the present occasion, to add a few observations to those of my brother, that the character of the calumniator may appear in its true colours, and that my countrymen may no longer be the dupes of a man who has so frequently deceived them.

This writer has in his rage against the settlements at the Illinois, not only shewn his usual disregard of truth and decency, but thrown off the common feelings of humanity. Yes!—This marble-hearted reprobate has impiously dared to reproach an affectionate,—a peculiarly warm-hearted father with the death of a favourite son. Addressing himself to Mr. Birkbeck, he states as follows:—"As to English farmers, yours, or any like yours, is the very worst spot they can go to." Of the falsehood of this assertion, the reader has before him demonstrative evidence. Then, alluding to Mr. William Hunt and his qualifications for farming, the writer adds:—"With great sorrow I heard of his untimely end, from one of those terrible fevers that never fail to haunt new settlements for years. One of Mr. Flower's sons is dead also, in the bloom of life. Now, had Mr. F. followed my advice given him at New York; if he had purchased a farm or two on the Atlantic side, this son would in all probability have been alive!" {69} To this atrocious paragraph I reply:—It is false that "terrible fevers haunt the English settlements" more than is common in either England or America. I am well acquainted with some who were born, and had previous to their emigration, lived in one of the finest counties in England, Devonshire, who were not unfrequently subject to fevers in general, but to such "terrible fevers," as had nearly terminated their earthly existence. These very persons have lately written me, that during a twelvemonth's residence near Albion, succeeding a long and fatiguing voyage and journey, they had been less subject to fevers, and have enjoyed better health than when breathing their native air. As to the climate in general, its healthy state has, after four years experience, been proved, by the evidence of persons, whose characters for veracity more particularly, are as superior to that of their calumniator, as light is to darkness.—It is false that Mr. W. Hunt was brought to an untimely end by "a terrible fever." At the moment I am writing I have a gentleman at my elbow, who during his late residence at the Illinois was well acquainted with Mr. H. and with the circumstances attending his death; and he has authorized me to state:—That Mr. Hunt's disorder was a common pleurisy, attended with but a slight degree of fever; that he was fast recovering; but as is not uncommon in other countries, not taking proper care of himself, and negligent in following medical advice, he had a relapse which terminated fatally.

It is false, that my amiable and excellent nephew died also in consequence of one of those "terrible fevers." Being intimately acquainted with the circumstances of his case, from the very best authority I assure the reader, that his death was occasioned by a common complaint {70} in all countries, and to which young people are more peculiarly subject: a cold, caught on a journey, (it is not necessary to detail the particulars) which, without any alarming symptoms of fever, terminated in a decline, and as is frequently the case in such disorders, suddenly, when his parents and family were flattering themselves he had nearly recovered. Thus has Mr. Cobbett impiously represented an affecting visitation of Providence;—a visitation common to every spot on the habitable globe,—as a judgment inflicted on my brother for not following his advice, although he forgot to add, that this advice was enforced with a denunciation, clothed in his favourite phraseology, "I'll be d——d if I do not write down Birkbeck and his settlement."72—Thus has he strove to transpierce the heart of a father, and to tear open a wound, which time, a flourishing situation, with those ample means of enjoyment with which the favour of providence has surrounded him, together with those "strong consolations," which a true christian only can feel the force of, was healing; and I trust, that the same supports will enable him to triumph over the fiend whose deadly aim has been to send him a mourner to the grave.

Mr. C. warns my brother and his family "to retreat in time," which if they do not, he dooms them for their lives "to pass their days principally amongst the fellers of trees, and the swallowers of whiskey." After the reader has attended to the evidence respecting the state of society at the English settlements, in the pamphlet before him, (I might refer him to additional respectable evidence) it is only necessary to warn Mr. C. in return, should he again cross the Atlantic, and take it into his head to reside at the Illinois, to be careful to leave his vicious habits of {71} swearing and lying behind him, as he will otherwise find not only English society, but even the society of "fellers of trees, and swallowers of whiskey" too humane, too civilized, too virtuous to be very fond of his company.

The hypocrisy of Mr. Cobbett, in his professions of respect for Mr. B. and my brother can only be equalled by his falsehood. His inhuman attack on the latter I have already noticed; and his eagerness in the same Register, to expose and misrepresent private matters with which the public have no concern, for the sole purpose of making mischief, must be too obvious to its readers to require farther notice. I might quote from a subsequent Register, the manner in which he has endeavoured to ridicule both my brother and Mr. B. but it is too contemptible for a reply.

Mr. Birkbeck, in the letter quoted by Cobbett observes, "I suppose you have seen Cobbett's attack on me, and laughed at the ridiculous posture in which he has contrived to place me." On this Mr. C. indignantly demands—"Pray Sir, by what rule known amongst men, are you justified in imputing to me an attack on you. I addressed to you two letters while I was in Long Island, dated in the latter part of the year 1818:—now throughout the whole of those letters there is not to be found one single expression to warrant this charge of having made an attack on you; from one end to the other I speak of you with the greatest respect." Of the sincerity of these professions the reader will judge, by a short extract or two from the letters referred to. "It is of little consequence," observes Mr. C. "what wild schemes are formed by men who have property enough to carry them back; but to invite men to go to the Illinois, with a few score of pounds in their pockets, and to tell them that they can become farmers with those pounds, appears to me to admit of no other apology {72} than an unequivocal acknowledgment that the author is MAD! Yet your fifteenth letter from the Illinois really contains such an invitation. This letter is manifestly addressed to an imaginary person, it is clear that the correspondent is a feigned or supposed being. It is, I am sorry to say, a mere trap to catch poor creatures with a few pounds in their pockets." Mr. Birkbeck in reply, after stating that his letter was not addressed to an "imaginary person," but to one with whose circumstances he was intimately acquainted, a relation by marriage, adds:—"You have posted me over England and America as mad, as a simpleton, and a boaster, and in one or two instances as something worse. So great a liberty with truth, you say, never was taken by any mortal being; and having made the discovery, you are in great haste to conclude your letter to me, that your son William might take it to England with him, and publish it there six months before I could hear of it!"—So much for Mr. Cobbett's sincerity in his high professions of respect for Mr. B. his veracity in declaring he made "no attack on him," and that his letter, "was not written to be circulated in Europe!" It is a pity that he did not adduce his ever-memorable denunciation against Mr. B. and his settlement uttered a short time before he wrote his letters, as an additional proof of his sincerity and veracity!73

The conceit of this writer is as intolerable as his other vicious qualities. Speaking of the House of Commons, he thus expresses himself:—"I am well aware of all the feelings that are at work in that assembly with regard to me and my writings. I have not mock modesty enough, to pretend not to perceive the power that I have in the {73} country; and it is out of the power of that assembly to disguise from me that they are well aware of the extent of that power. Neither am I ignorant of the power that I have with regard to their actions, and of the great reluctance that they have to suffer the public to perceive that they feel the effects of any such power. I manage my matters adroitly: but the power I have, and the power I will have; and this I repeat it, the public know full as well as I do; and I only state the facts here in order to let those who grudge me the power know, that the possession of it gives me great satisfaction." How adroitly this bankrupt in fortunes and character has "managed his matters," the London Gazette and our courts of justice have recently afforded ample evidence; and should he profess modesty, that it will be "mock modesty," no man will dispute: as to the rest of the paragraph, surely the ravings of the poor bedlamite, with his crown of straw, brandishing his straw scepter, and fancying himself a king, appears rationality itself compared with this display of bloated pride and intoxicated vanity! What particular power this writer possesses over the country, or over parliament, I know not: that he may impose upon some people by his acknowledged talents as a writer, whose style is so well calculated for the lower classes more particularly, and by his confident assertions, I do not deny; but in justice to Mr. C. I must observe, that I do not believe his powers for wickedness are so gigantic as he has laboured to persuade us they are. How often has he boasted of his power at any time totally to ruin the Bank of England by his favourite project of a general forgery of bank notes; and which he could easily put in execution at any time; but notwithstanding he proves his good wishes on the subject, he has not had that {74} confidence in his own marvellous powers, as to risk his neck in the acquisition of that exaltation, which the attempt to put such a project in execution would most assuredly be his reward!

Mr. Birkbeck has drawn a most correct miniature likeness of his grand enemy, in describing him as a man,—I copy the sentence as printed by Mr. C.—"KNOWN to be wholly indifferent to truth." This description is so terribly galling as to provoke him to give additional proof of its justice. How numerous are the proofs,—how vast the evidence which might be collected from his writings! How many of the most useful and ornamental characters, and of the greatest and best men in the political, social, and literary world has he not libelled! It is not only Birkbeck, and Flower, but Waithman, Burdett,74 {75} and Fox, Priestley, Franklin, Locke, and Addison, with many others whom this general libeller has calumniated. But to wade through his innumerable pages, and to collect the numberless proofs of the truth of this statement would be a more Herculean task than that of cleansing the Augean stable. To the number of his Register already quoted I must confine myself: and indeed that may be produced as a fair specimen of many others. Many years since, and early in his political career, he poured forth his abuse on Dr. Franklin; the fit has lately revisited him; and it has happened to him, to use the language of St. Peter, when describing similar characters of his time, according to the true proverb, the dog is turned to his own vomit again. Speaking of this friend of his country, and of the world, Mr. C. observes:—"Dr. Franklin's maxims are childish, if not trivial; a still greater number of them are false, the whole tenor of them tends to evil, for it constantly aims at strengthening selfishness, and at enfeebling generosity."—Yes reader! such is the description of the luminous pages of this illustrious American philosopher, statesman, and patriot, and which abound equally with lessons of philanthropy and prudence, enforced by his own example, and which have instructed, improved, and adorned, not only his own country, but almost every civilized spot on the habitable globe.

But although there is much more offensive matter in the Register I have quoted, I must draw to a close. Mr. C. on some subjects shews considerable talents and industry, and he might have been useful to society, had he confined himself to his peculiar forte,—ferretting out {76} public abuses, and making every class understand their nature. It is indeed to be lamented how little he feels himself, what he has made others feel. But, as there is no system, men nor measures, but he has equally panegyrised and reviled, as it has suited his caprice, or weathercock opinions; his own conduct has, in a great degree, destroyed the effects of the best parts of his writings.—But as he has lately turned his attention to that best of books,—the bible,—which he has frequently sneered at, and reviled the successful exertions of those who have extended its circulation;—as his prolific pen has lately produced SERMONS, in which he has displayed his usual energies, I will not despair of him; and I hope he will take in good part my friendly and concluding hints. I will help him to one or two subjects for his succeeding sermons. The first shall be—THE SIN AND DANGER OF PROFANE SWEARING, from Exodus xx. 7. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. The other,—GOD'S ABHORRENCE OF FALSEHOOD, from Prov. xii. 22. Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord. No man is capable of doing these subjects more ample justice; and I will promise him that, as I have distributed some of his writings, I will so exert myself respecting these proposed sermons, as that he may add to his recent boastings of their extensive sale. It is impossible that in reading and studying the Bible, he can prevent it from flying in his face, and I most sincerely hope his reflections will terminate in his repentance and reformation: that he may no longer remain in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity; but that it may be his fervent prayer to God,—That the thoughts of his heart may be forgiven him.

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Reprint of the original edition: London, 1822

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TWO YEARS' RESIDENCE

IN THE SETTLEMENT ON THE

ENGLISH PRAIRIE,

IN THE

ILLINOIS COUNTRY,
UNITED STATES.

WITH AN ACCOUNT OF ITS

ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS,
AGRICULTURE, &c. &c.,

A DESCRIPTION OF THE

PRINCIPAL TOWNS, VILLAGES, &c. &c.

WITH THE

HABITS AND CUSTOMS OF THE BACK-WOODSMEN.

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By JOHN WOODS.

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LONDON:
PRINTED FOR
LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN,
PATERNOSTER-ROW.

1822.

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June 5th, 1820.

As I was much pressed to write to many of my friends in England, to give them my opinion of emigrating to America, and as I promised to write to several, to give them my sentiments of America, and of my situation here; I will now endeavour to give them the best description in my power of our voyage and journey to this place, and how I am now situated, and of my future prospects.

As to the propriety of any person's leaving England, I must decline giving any advice on the subject.

{2} As I was conscious but little information could be conveyed in the short space of a letter to any particular friend, I shall, therefore, present them, (that is, all those who requested me to write to them,) with some extracts from my Journal.

We left Killinghurst about noon, on April 29, and arrived at Portsmouth in the evening. Our party consisted of nine persons, including Mr. C. and a female servant.

30th. Our luggage, in a waggon, arrived at Portsmouth at noon, and we got a permit from the Custom-House, and embarked it on board a vessel for East Cowes, in the Isle of Wight, where it arrived in the evening, but too late to enter it at the Custom-House. We slept at East Cowes.

May 1st. Entered our luggage at the Custom-House, and were ourselves examined, {3} and afterwards put our luggage on board the brig Resolution, of Newcastle, Captain Clarke. From that time till the 9th, we were employed in procuring provisions and conveniencies for our voyage, and in stowing our luggage, &c. When about noon, the wind and tide being favourable, we sailed from East Cowes; but before we reached the Needles' rocks, the wind and tide both failed, and we cast anchor for a short time; but the wind again rising, we passed them, and before dark got a few miles to the westward. The pilot left us as soon as we had passed the Needles, and so did some friends of the passengers. They gave us three cheers at parting, which was returned by firing a salute with some small arms on board. The same was done at West Cowes, when we heaved our anchor.

The brig Resolution was of five hundred tons, and had seventy-one passengers on board, a small cargo of salt, the luggage of the passengers, to a considerable amount, {4} with the following live stock: a bull, two cows, a calf, three horses, with pigs, dogs, fowls, and ferrets. Mr. Pittis, who chartered the Resolution, with Mr. Edney, his son-in-law, and their families, occupied the cabin, but their young man slept in the fore part of the steerage, with the young men of the other parties. The females of my family, with myself, and some other passengers, occupied the hind part of the steerage, divided into ten separate births, with two bed-places in each birth; they were six feet square, and about five feet nine inches high.

10th. In the afternoon, part of the coast of Dorsetshire in sight.

11th. A great swell of the tide, and much sea-sickness on board; Berry-Head in Devonshire in sight in the morning, and land near Plymouth seen in the evening.

12th. Land seen in the morning, the last we saw of England; as the wind was north and north-west we stood to the southward, and it prevented our touching {5} at the Land's End, as our captain intended.

13th. We supposed ourselves opposite to the Land's End about noon.

15th. A good wind from the south-east, but the ship rolling much during the night; most of the passengers got but little rest. Weather fine, but cold.

16th. Being Sunday, two of the passengers read some chapters from the Testament, and a sermon.

22d. A good shower of rain, just as we had got our bedding on deck to air it. In the evening, I observed, for the first time, the water at the bows of the vessel to look like sparks of fire.

23d. Being nearly in the latitude of the Western Isles, many on board were on the look-out for them, in the hopes of getting some fish and fruit, and sending letters to England; but we were disappointed, as we saw nothing of them.

24th. The ship's carpenter tried a girdle {6} made of tin, and water tight, called a life-preserver; he found he could not sink, but at the same time he could not make any way in the sea with it on.

25th. Early in the morning we got sight of the island of St. Mary's; it was seen at a great distance. We had seen no land since the 12th, when we last saw the coast of Cornwall. In the afternoon, we passed the island 15 or 18 miles to the north of us, so we did not get any fruit, to the great disappointment of many on board.

27th. The sea ran high, and once cleared the fore-part of the vessel of every thing that was moveable. When the waves broke over the deck, some of the passengers generally got a wetting, which caused a hearty laugh from those who escaped.

29th. At noon, by observation, we were in latitude 33 deg. 58 min. north, which is three degrees south of Cape Henry, at the entrance of Cheasepeake Bay, to which we were bound. The weather warm, though not more so than a fine May-day in {7} England, although we were upwards of a thousand miles south of it.

30th. Some of the passengers bathed, till one of them got stung in the leg by a sea-nettle, or what the sailors called a Portuguese man of war; he was in great agony, but by rubbing it with vinegar, the pain abated.

June 6th. There were four ships in sight in the morning, and in the afternoon another was seen, and, at four o'clock, she sent a boat, with an officer and five men. They proved to be Russians, from a frigate of thirty-six guns, the Kamtschatka, from Kamtschatka, and the north-west coast of America; they had been round Cape Horn in their way out, and returned by Manilla, the Cape of Good Hope, and St. Helena, where only the captain was suffered to land. The inhabitants know but little of Bonaparte, as the governor was extremely jealous of all intercourse with his prisoner; most that they knew of him was from the English newspapers. {8} The officer eagerly enquired for news from Europe, they having been out two years. We gave him some English newspapers, and he in return took some letters for our English friends, as they intended to touch at some port in England, before they proceeded to Russia. The officer was regaled in the captain's cabin, and the men were treated with plum-pudding and strong beer, but they refused to taste it, till one of the passengers had first partaken of it; they then seemed to relish it extremely well. Some large fish and porpoises were seen round the ship, and two rifles were fired at them, without effect. A sea-snake was also seen in the evening, it appeared to be six or seven feet long.

7th. We saw some sea-weed that had much the appearance of the tops of dead juniper bushes, with many small berries on them; we took some pieces out of the sea, and found many little crabs in them, and a few small shrimps; the crabs from a quarter to two inches long. Most of the {9} passengers were now in good health. A pleasant evening, and the young people had a dance on the deck.

8th. Some dolphins taken by the sailors, with hooks and lines; they were from 18 to 30 inches long, and very beautiful fish. I bought one of the small ones, it weighed six or seven pounds, and proved very good eating.

9th. A small Swedish brig, the Dryade, sent a boat to enquire for a surgeon, their captain being ill; our surgeon went on board, and afterwards sent some medicines, for which, through a speaking trumpet, their captain thanked ours. They took some letters from us for England, as they proposed going thither, before they proceeded to Copenhagen. Our water being got very bad, it caused a little commotion on board, as there was but little water belonging to the captain. The passengers were found water by the person who chartered the Resolution; and the badness of {10} the water appeared to be occasioned by its being put into foul casks.

13th. Many flying fish seen; they flew from twenty to thirty yards at a time, some of them about the size of a herring, and others not larger than a chafer; when they rose near the vessel, the water that ran from them, had the appearance of a white string behind them; and when it ceased, they dropt into the sea again.

14th. We made 186 miles in 24 hours, being a great deal more than we had sailed, in the same space of time, since we left Cowes.

23d. We had a strong gale that blew down one of our sails.

26th. In the evening the main-sail boom broke, and spoiled a dance just began on deck. The accident was owing to the sailor at the helm being intoxicated, and letting the vessel get out of her course.

27th. All eagerly looking out for the gulf stream. In the evening we saw a sea-gull; {11} these birds are said never to fly far from land.

30th. We had a rough windy night, and it continued stormy through the day, and about six o'clock we had a tempest that split one of our sails. About noon we saw a ship that proved to be the Commodore Rogers, a pilot vessel of Baltimore, and from her we received a pilot, who informed us that Cape Henry, at the entrance of Cheasepeake Bay, was distant 25 miles. But a storm coming on, the wind changed just as we had sight of land, supposed to be Smith's Island, just at the entrance of the bay; this was the first land we saw after we lost sight of the island of St. Mary's.

July 1st. A wet night: we got upwards of 20 miles from Cape Henry. In the evening we again stood out to sea, the wind against us.

2d. In the evening, it being calm, we anchored two miles from Cape Henry light-house, and one mile and a half from the shore; which was very low land and covered {12} with trees to the water's edge, mostly pines of a barren appearance, resembling a furze hedge in the poor heaths of England. We had a good view of the shores for several miles. The weather being pleasant, there was a dance on deck; and as the night was calm and the moon shone brightly, it was kept up till a late hour.

3d. The captain and some passengers went on shore in a boat; when they returned, they brought on board a branch of wild vine, with some small grapes on it, a bough of myrtle, and some honeysuckles like the trumpet one in leaf and flower. They likewise brought some crab fish, of different sorts, unlike any I had ever seen before; one of them had a long tail, and was much larger than the rest; this the pilot called a sea-crab. They also brought a few sea-shells. The land, near the light-house, very sandy and barren, mostly covered with woods, composed chiefly of pines and a few oaks. The very little that was cultivated, was Indian corn.

{13} Cape Henry light-house is built of wood, and stands on the west side of the bay of Cheasepeake, and is in latitude 37 degrees north, longitude 85 degrees west. The bay, at its entrance, is upwards of 20 miles wide. On the opposite side is Cape Charles. At one o'clock we entered the bay opposite the mouth of James River.

4th. In the night there was a riot with the sailors; they quarrelled amongst themselves and with the captain; it was owing to the former having drank too freely; it was happily made up without any effusion of blood: I was in bed at the time, and heard nothing of it. We were much disappointed in not reaching Baltimore by this day, as it was the anniversary of American independence, and, as such, is always kept as a high holiday. We much wished to see their manner of celebrating it, but, for this year, we were disappointed in so doing.

5th. A little before day-break the mate discovered a comet. The bay much narrower, and both banks full in view, the land {14} much higher than before, and covered with trees. Early in the morning, the captain and some passengers went on shore, on the west side of the bay. They went four miles through the woods; but little cultivated land; wheat mostly harvested; Indian corn just come into ear; tobacco in a green state. The land poor, the woods mostly pines with a few oaks, &c. The country round was thinly peopled, no towns, villages, churches, or mills, for many miles. It is in Maryland, and the land is mostly cultivated by negro slaves, of whom they saw several, and their habitations. They shot a sea-eagle, as large as a goose, with very long wings, the quills of which were too hard for pens. They also shot a bird something like an English blackbird, except that the wings were crimson. They likewise killed a small dove, and were informed many wild ducks frequented the creeks in winter; and heard of two men killing a hundred and ten in one day. They brought on board some ripe cherries, and some apples nearly so; they saw great quantities {15} of the latter; also peaches and nectarines in a green state. They saw a few sheep, oxen, and cows, but no horses, oxen being worked instead of horses.

6th. We anchored near Kent Island, said to be good land, but we could see but little of it. At eight o'clock we again proceeded, and at ten got sight of Baltimore, eight or ten miles distant. As we approached Baltimore the bay became narrower, and the land, on both sides, so very low, the trees seemed to grow out of the water. The country more cultivated, and the people employed in getting in their harvest. We met a large steam vessel, and passed her at about twenty yards distance. There were two chimnies, from which issued a large quantity of smoke, a wheel on each side forced her forward; the forecastle was much like a common ship; the stern was covered with a canvas awning, to shelter the passengers from sun or rain; it was open on the sides: she moved along very majestically.

{16} Shortly after, a surgeon came on board, to examine the health of the passengers and crew; he expressed much satisfaction at their appearance. He was a venerable looking old man, of about 70 years of age, and a native of Britain.

At three o'clock we anchored near Fell's Point, Baltimore, and in the evening went on shore; but returned on board to sleep. The weather fine and very hot.

7th. At noon we went to the Custom-House to enter our luggage; in the afternoon some of our fellow-passengers, with ourselves, engaged a house at Fell's Point, at 10 dollars per month.

8th. We removed to our house, and hired a cart to take our luggage from the vessel, at 25 cents a load. Paid at the Custom-House, 37 dollars, 75 cents; expences, one dollar, 40 cents.

Trade at Baltimore extremely dull, and paper credit very bad, except some few banks.

Accounts are kept in dollars and cents; {17} a dollar is of the value of 4s. 6d. English; but in Maryland and Pennsylvania, it is called 7s. 6d.; in New York, 8s.; and in all the western country, 6s.; but it is of equal value in all the states; it is the shilling that differs; 100 cents make a dollar; a cent is a trifle more than an English half-penny. Dollars are divided into halves, quarters, eighths, and sixteenths, thus 100 cents make a dollar, 50 cents half a dollar, 25 cents a quarter of a dollar, 12½ cents the eighth of a dollar, and 6¼ cents the sixteenth of a dollar. The shillings are different, as follows:—

	1s. is		The dollar
Illinois, Virginia, Kentucky, &c.	16⅔ cents	——	6s. 0d.
Pennsylvania, Maryland, &c.	13⅓ cents	——	7s. 6d.
New York, &c.	12½ cents	——	8s. 0d.

These different denominations of the parts of a dollar are troublesome to strangers, and might be avoided, by counting in dollars and cents only; as there are no shillings in America, but only dollars, halves, quarters, eighths, and sixteenths, mostly Spanish coin, and some 10 and 20 cent {18} pieces of American and Spanish coin. Cents and half cents of copper are used in the eastern, but not in the western states; few cents being to be found west of the mountains.

The morning after we were settled at Baltimore, we opened some of our packages, and found them in good order. In the afternoon, I took a walk with a person I had known in England; he went to purchase some milch cows; we went three or four miles through the woods, to a Mr. Slater's, who had a 100 oxen and cows, of good size and shape, but of different sorts; his stock ran mostly in the woods, as he had but little cleared land. When we arrived, we found Mr. Slater with his men cutting wheat in a field of 25 or 30 acres; the wheat was of good quality, but not a large crop, not more than 14 or 16 bushels per acre. They cut it with scythes, some follow to tie it up and set it up in heaps, rather than shocks; the cutting, binding, and setting up, all done in a very slovenly manner. The wheat, {19} after Indian corn, was ploughed in ridges of about four feet wide, and sown before the Indian corn was got in, a practice very common in America; and the stalks of Indian corn cut down in the winter or spring, and left in the wheat. The land, a poor clay, very wet in winter. As Mr. Slater purposed bringing his cows to Baltimore market, the next day we returned, and passed his house, a very good brick building, pleasantly situated, having a fine view of the bay of Baltimore, a quarter of a mile distant. The out-houses and negroes' houses much out of repair. The manure was but little attended to, being scattered in all directions, although the soil stood so much in need of it. We saw one field of very poor oats and some weak Indian corn. The orchard contained much fruit, apples, peaches, and late cherries, the early ones were over. We had a fine view of the bay and part of the city; and the mouth of the Patapses River and a fort near it;75 and the {20} numerous vessels sailing up and down the bay.

We passed a fishing party of ten or twelve; they were taking some refreshment on the shore; one of the gentlemen was a native of England; but his parents left Cornwall when he was an infant: we took some whiskey and water with them. The woods we passed resembled English pleasure grounds, except there was a greater variety in the trees and shrubs. In this walk a greyhound dog that accompanied us, attracted much notice from all we met; few of whom had ever seen one before. One of the passengers in the Resolution brought over some ferrets; they also excited much attention, and a person wished to purchase one, to go into a collection of animals, and offered a great price for it; but no bargain was made when we left Baltimore. I have never seen or heard of any other ferrets in America.

There are many new buildings in Baltimore, and some now going on. Baltimore {21} street is a noble one, wide, straight, and of great length, crossed at right angles by many other good streets; Baltimore-street running east and west, the cross streets north and south. As the city was planned before the buildings had made much progress, it is very regular, and should the plan ever be completed, it will be a large and noble city. There are some good shops, (in America called stores), but not equal to those of London.

As no burial grounds, butcher's shops, or slaughter houses, are allowed in the city or at Fell's Point, many of them are on a hill, north east of Fell's Point. There are three burial grounds, all badly kept, one belonging to the catholics; I did not learn to what sects the other two belonged. The butcher's shops are on the top of the hill, in an airy situation; here they kill their meat, and carry it to the daily markets. At some distance from the burial grounds, there is a noble looking hospital, some rope walks, and brick yards.

{22} Across the top of the hill, some intrenchments were thrown up during the late war, to stop the progress of the British troops when they landed near Baltimore, but they did not advance so far as these intrenchments.

A man on the hill with porter for sale recommended it as of good age, it having been brewed three whole days. Malt liquor not much drank, except by the English.

Towards the north-west, the land better than to the north-east, but still poor and rocky. Yet there is a great variety of soils in and near Baltimore. I was informed by a person who belonged to the society of Friends, that he had lived here a great many years, and had been concerned in most of the buildings; he said he believed there was not so convenient a place for building a city in the universe, as far as regards the finding the materials on the spot. Trees of many sorts grew where the city now stands, fit for building; {23} free-stone in great plenty; also shells and lime-stone for mortar; abundance of sand and clay, that made excellent bricks. The land being uneven, it required some labour to form the streets, but as most of the little hills were composed of sand or free-stone, a great part of them came into use, and the remainder served to raise the streets against the bay.

I was informed, there were thirty thousand inhabitants or upwards, but the number did not increase as during the war.

Trade being bad, most of the new buildings at a stand, to the great disappointment of many of the emigrants from Europe. But to those who came in the Resolution, it was of no great moment, as we most of us intended going westward before we left England, and not to stop in the sea-ports; and there were but few mechanics on board. Several vessels with emigrants arrived a short time before us, and there were three a few days after us; amongst them, one small American vessel from Havre with a {24} hundred and sixty-nine English, chiefly from Portsmouth and its neighbourhood; fifty-four days from Havre to New York, where some of them landed; the remainder came on to Baltimore, which place then contained many emigrants in want of work; some without money to take them up the country; and some with no inclination to go up; and some without either. A person who comes to America is most likely to succeed by moving from the sea-ports, they being very full of people. Labourers in agriculture, and many trades, are sure of work in the western country; but some from Europe have very erroneous opinions of America, in thinking that, when they arrive, they shall find every thing without any trouble; others think they cannot ask too much for their labour. I have known men dissatisfied with 6s. per day, who in England must have worked much harder for 2s.

Many hackney-coaches and one-horse carts for hire, with very fine horses in {25} them, much better than the horses for the same purposes in England. The horses have much blood in them, and would not disgrace a nobleman's carriage; those that bring provisions to market are of the same description, light and active, and would make good hunters. The hackney-coaches are open on the sides, on account of the heat of the climate, with leather curtains, to let down in wet weather; the drivers principally negroes. But the carmen mostly English, Scotch, or Irish, but most of the latter.

The person with whom I went to Mr. Slater's, purchased of him at the market two cows and calves for 71 dollars, (15l. 19s. 6d.), the cows young and very kind, and when fat, might weigh about 560 lbs. each; the calves eight or ten days old.

There is a market for horses and beasts, &c. twice a-week at Baltimore, and one every day, except Sunday, there and at Fell's Point, but there are two on Saturday, one in the morning, the other in the {26} evening, at each place, for the sale of flour, meal, meat, fish, butter, cheese, vegetables, and fruit, consisting of pine-apples and cocoa-nuts from the West Indies. Sweet and water-melons, apricots, peaches, prunes, plums, limes, lemons, oranges, cherries, currants, whortleberries, blackberries, fox-grapes, apples, pears, earth-nuts, and walnuts. The fruit in general good and reasonable; and vegetables the same, with the exception of cabbages, and they were very dear, owing to the dry season. Pine-apples 3¼d.

Fell's Point has many pumps, but few of them possess good water; there was one near us a very good one, called Jackson's pump. The badness of the water, its low situation, and the quantity of stagnant water, were, I think, the chief, if not the only causes of the fatal fever that broke out soon after we left it; nay, I rather suppose it had commenced before we quitted it, as many people were ill, and some died most days during our stay. But the city {27} standing higher, with good springs, it is much healthier.

The first Sunday after our arrival, we went to the episcopal church, the building was lofty, light, and airy, with five stoves to warm it in winter; the pews were painted a light colour, with mahogany coloured rails. The service much as in England. The psalms for the day, or a selection at the choice of the minister. Prayers for the president and general government, instead of the king, &c. There was a fine organ. The congregation was a very genteel one, and as the heat was great, all the ladies used fans, mostly made of feathers. In the afternoon there was a thunder-storm and some rain, preceded by a very high wind, for about ten minutes; and as the weather had been extremely dry, the dust was driven in such clouds, as almost to make it totally dark. Much colder in the evening; and some of us went to the Methodist meeting; it was numerously attended, the manner much the same as in {28} England; the preacher, who had a strong voice, made the most of it. Towards the close of the service, two men, each with a bag at the end of a long stick, made a collection for the minister, &c.; and while they were so employed, a man with a long beard, and a leather girdle about his loins, (as the prophet Elijah), stood up, and begged to say a few words. First, he reproved the minister for taking money, and then declared himself a preacher sent from God to warn the world of its wickedness, and to inform the people, that before the crop of the year 1818 was consumed, "Time should be no more." I sat very near him, and he stood on one of the seats, that he might be heard the better, but he spoke so rapidly, I could not hear all he said, but I heard him reprove the minister, and all present; at length he was persuaded to sit down, and the preacher again went on. It being late we went home, as did some others. This man was deranged, constantly attending the markets, preaching and {29} prophesying the end of the world. He was often surrounded by a large concourse of people, to hear him; but few, if any, gave any credit to his testimony. He often got insulted by the crowd, but the magistrates did not interfere, but left him to do or say what he pleased. Some of our party went to the African meeting. There are many different religions in Baltimore, and all appear to live together in great harmony. As there is no religion established by law, all are equal in this respect, except the poor negroes, who are not allowed to attend divine worship with the white inhabitants. And although I disapprove of slavery in every point of view, in none so much as in their not being allowed to worship the Almighty with the other inhabitants, I think the treatment of the slaves at Baltimore was mild, but still they were slaves, and at the mercy of their owners, if fellow-creatures and Christians can be called the property of others. But thank God, I never yet considered any person had that right; {30} and as that was my opinion, I could not settle in a slave state, to disgrace myself and family by the horrid practice of slave keeping.

On the 15th there was a very heavy thunder-storm, the thunder was extremely loud, attended by heavy rain, the streets near us looked like rivers; indeed, when the rain ceased, the boys waded in the one before our house for some time. I was informed by several of the inhabitants, that they had seldom heard such thunder, or seen such rain before. This evening, and two other evenings, we had a very disagreeable scene in an alley near us. It was that of an Irish howl or wake, in which the mourners made a dreadful noise, crying and howling; we could hear them enquire, "Why their dear sister died;" "whether she wanted any thing;" "whether her friends were unkind to her," &c. &c. As the mourners made pretty free with whiskey, the noise increased as the night advanced. The watch several times {31} ordered them to be quiet, and they always obeyed for a short time, but soon began again.

Many of the principal people in Baltimore are Catholics, as well as numbers of the lower order of Irish, many of whom were recently arrived from Ireland. Irishmen are numerous every where in the States, but I am informed generally of a higher description than those in Baltimore and in the sea-ports.

One of our company, going out one morning before it was light, to call some of his fellow-passengers to go for a day's shooting, was taken into custody by the city-watch, and taken to the watch-house, but finding he was a stranger, he was liberated; he staid till day-light, and then called his companions and went out, but found no game.

The Americans are not reserved in their manners, they do not scruple asking a stranger any question, nor do they appear to mind answering any that may be asked {32} them. Many of them seemed to like the English amongst them very well, others are more jealous of strangers. On the 14th, I put some letters in the post for England, for which I paid 18¾ cents., about 10d. each. I saw a beggar in Baltimore street, the first I saw in America. We did not purchase any fruit, although it was very cheap, on account of its being unwholesome for people just arrived from Europe.

As I could not settle all my business, several who came over with us, and had been residing in the same house, left us on the 17th for Pittsburg; they hired a waggon to take them and their luggage, for four dollars and a quarter per hundred pounds weight. As they purposed going to the English settlement in the state of Illinois, we expected to see them when we got there; but they stopped at Evansville in Indiana, and hearing of an English settlement ten miles distant,76 they went there; and I have seen nothing of them since, except one, who has arrived at Wanborough.

{33} In one of my walks, I saw upwards of twenty very fine red and white oxen, belonging to a butcher on the hill above Fell's Point, fine and clear in their horns, though most of the beasts I have seen in America are rather thick in their horns; they were very fat, and might weigh from 600 lbs. to 700 lbs. each, of the value of from 30 to 35 dollars each.

As we understood it was difficult for large boats to go from Pittsburg to Wheeling, the water being low, we agreed with a Mr. Merchant, for the carriage of ourselves and luggage to the latter place, a distance of 280 miles, for the sum of 350 dollars, (78l. 15s.); this was for nine people, and upwards of 6000 lbs. of luggage. We had two waggons, with six horses and one driver to each waggon; the manner of travelling in them is very different from that of England. Here they are hired to take passengers, luggage, goods, &c. to any part of the United States, by the 100 lbs. weight. The drivers look after their own horses,— {34} buying hay, Indian corn, chopped straw, ground rye, &c. at the taverns. Looking after their own horses prevents their setting out early in the morning, so they take their breakfasts before they commence their journey. They then travel till noon, when they stop for a short time, and then go on till sun-set or after; therefore they have no time in an evening to clean their horses. The waggons are lighter than English waggons, with a pole instead of shafts. The drivers ride the left-wheel horse, with reins to the other two pair; they seldom walk, and when they do, they always mount should a bad piece of road, or a difficult log-bridge come in their way, as they can see to guide their horses much better than when on foot. A trough is screwed behind the waggon, containing a small mattress, a blanket or two rolled up, and a water-pail. When stopping to bait, or for the night, the trough is placed on the pole of the waggon, and the horses are tied up to it, where they stand in all weathers. They mostly water {35} their horses out of their pails, seldom letting them go into the water to drink, if ever so convenient.

Having settled all my money transactions, and got our luggage ready, we took leave of our fellow-passengers, not expecting ever to see them again; and in the afternoon of the 22d of July we left Baltimore. The country but little cultivated, but many fruit trees; for some distance from Baltimore, the land poor and stony; we first took a turnpike road, but soon quitted it. We saw many waggons to and from Baltimore to the westward. We had our own bedding with us, which we generally made use of at the taverns, never hiring more than one or two beds. The weather very hot.

23d. Breakfasted at the tavern, charge for nine breakfasts, a gallon of tea the evening before, beds, &c. 4 dollars 31¼ cents., nearly (19s. 6d.) We passed this day a poor, rocky, hilly country, many huckleberries in the woods, 23 miles to a {36} tavern, where we slept. Wheat and rye mostly harvested. Hay, some housed, and some cutting; it was timothy grass, and extremely ripe; it was put up in very small ricks, and not thatched. The fences were of rails, laid on each other in a zig-zag form, thus, ; having laid one row, they begin again on the first, and rise up from six to nine rails high; which make a strong fence against all sorts of cattle. The expense of a rail fence is not great where timber is plentiful. The price of cutting and splitting rails is from 3s. to 4s. 6d. a hundred. Generally a hundred, laid eight rails high, will make about six rods of fence, so that including cutting, casting, and putting up, the expense may average at 14d. a rod.

24th. We were charged for breakfasts, beds, &c. 3 dollars 31¼ cents. We passed through a country similar to that on the preceding day, till near the town of Liberty, 40 miles from Baltimore, a small neat place, of fifty or sixty houses. This was {37} the first town or village we had passed, by the road we came. From Liberty to Frederic town, a much better country; Frederic town is a large place, with many good brick buildings in it.77 It is said to be the largest town in the States, that does not lie on a navigable river. From thence to Elders town, soil pretty good. This day we travelled 22 or 23 miles. We now mostly provided our own dinners and suppers, and took our breakfasts at the taverns. These breakfasts consisted of several of the following articles: chickens, hams, veal-cutlets, beef-steaks, roast pork, and several sorts of fish; various kinds of hot bread, viz. wheat and corn bread, buck wheat cakes, and waffles, a sort of soft cake, said to be of German origin; butter, honey, jelly, pickles, apple-butter, and the following dried fruits: peaches, cherries, apples, &c. And for one of these breakfasts they generally charged us 25 cents, (1s. 1½d.) In the above, I should have included tea or coffee.

{38} 25th. We travelled, a hilly country, to Trap town, a very small place, mostly of log-houses. From near Trap town, to the Potomac river, it still continued rocky. We passed 2 or 3 miles, up the side of the river, along a very sandy road, the river to our left, and some very high rocks on our right; many of which had, at different times, rolled down into the river. On the south side of the river, was a high ridge of rocky hills, and the sun shining on them; and, as we were passing through a deep sandy road, the heat was more intense than I had ever felt it before. The Potomac river is upwards of 250 yards wide, but shallow at the time we passed it, and full of large rocks. We saw some people fishing, in canoes, but what kind of fish they were fishing for, we did not learn. Many papaw trees on the banks of the river: as we approached near to Harper's Ferry, the rocks on our right rose to an immense height; we passed close under one, much larger and higher than St. Paul's church, London. {39} We were told it was a quarter of a mile high; but this, I think, was an exaggeration. Some small pines and cedars grew on these rocks; the cedars, on the highest points of them. We crossed the Potomac at Harper's Ferry,78 in a ferry-boat; one waggon and its horses passed over at a time, the river was so full of rocks, it was difficult for the ferryman to find a passage for their boat. The river, at the ferry, was about 200 yards wide; we passed it just above its junction with the Shadanoak.79 We had now entered the State of Virginia; hitherto we had been travelling in Maryland. We saw many large birds on the river, but of what sort we did not learn, but supposed them to be fish-eagles. At Harper's Ferry, there is a manufactory of fire-arms, at which many of our countrymen were employed. I saw eight or ten of them, and they informed me there were about sixty men, women, and children; but as it was Sunday, they were most of them walking out. Four miles from this place, we stopped {40} for the night, at Brick Mill tavern; here was a mill of five stories high, but short of water in a dry season, and this was the case when we were there. We passed a mill two days before, seven stories high, with more than fifty sash windows, the water-wheels more than twenty feet high, said to be well supplied with water at all seasons of the year. This day we travelled 19 miles.

26th. We proceeded 4 miles, through a hilly country, to Charles town,80 Virginia, a long place of eighty or a hundred houses, mostly of wood, but some good brick ones. A small creek, at the end of the town, then nearly dry; the land tolerably good. Here I saw a small piece of flax; it was the first I saw; but we had passed three or four small pieces of tobacco, very well cultivated, being planted in squares, at eighteen or twenty inches apart. At noon, we stopped at Cook's tavern, during a storm of thunder and rain, and afterwards proceeded up a rocky hill, of good limestone land, {41} on which there were the best farmhouses and out-buildings, and the most manure we had hitherto seen. Dung, in this country, is but little attended to in general; indeed, they seem to try who shall get rid of it with the least trouble. At Brick Mill, the stable was placed over the mill stream, the horses standing on a plank floor; indeed, where there are stables, the horses stand on plank floors, without litter; but generally, through the country we passed, they tied them up in the open air in a road, or any other place. As this hill lies high, the corn on it was rather backward; the wheat and rye were cut, but not harvested; the former, as fine as any I ever saw. The road from Harper's Ferry is situated high, and we were now on what is called the South, or Blue Mountains.81 Leaving the hill, we passed some woods down a road more rocky, if possible, than ever, to a small clear river, about twenty yards wide, and eighteen inches deep. There were some fine springs where we passed the river; {42} then, for two miles, through a country uncommonly sterile, covered with scrubby pines, to a new tavern, where we intended to sleep. But some words arising between one of our drivers and the mistress of the tavern, we went forward half a mile to another; this tavern miserably dirty, and the accommodations uncommonly bad. On some of our party complaining, the landlord told us, he was sorry we came to his house, as he liked people to be satisfied or stay away. This was, by far, the most filthy tavern we ever met with; in fact, it was but little preferable to an English pig-sty. This day we only travelled 15 or 16 miles.

27th. We provided the greater part of our breakfast, not much wishing to partake of the landlord's accommodations. We then went forward, through a poor country, till we passed some woods, and then into some good limestone land, but much encumbered with large rocks; some of them upwards of 100 yards long, many yards wide, and {43} some feet above the surface of the earth. What with these rocks, and the stumps of trees, full one-fourth part of the land could not be cultivated. A great deal of very stout wheat and rye cut, but remaining on the ground; it was cut very high from the ground, in a very slovenly manner, and set up in large heaps, almost without form. We had seen but few oats, and no barley, since we left Baltimore; the oats not good. Indian corn in general slight, owing to the drought. The after-crop of clover short, but well set, the first cut had been mostly stout and very ripe; the meadow grass now cutting, and also very ripe. The hay ricks, we had passed, extremely small, with little or no covering. Small ricks are most convenient to the Americans, as they do not cut their hay, but begin at the top, and so continue taking off till the rick is gone, a little waste not being much regarded. We passed a little fallow land, but it is not common to make fallows for wheat, as by keeping the Indian corn {44} ploughed between, it is left in a good state for wheat or rye. A negro was ploughing for turnips, on some land, where a slight crop of flax had grown this summer; the land very kind for once ploughing. This negro said, some very elegant potatoes grew on this land last year. They plough with a light swing-plough, and use two horses, except when ploughing between their Indian corn, and then they only use one. They do not generally use harrows, but when they do, they are made with wooden teeth; nor have I any where in America seen iron tined ones, except in the English Prairie. They use a large hoe to cover in their corn: I have not seen a roller in this country.

Near this, we saw some mulberry and plum-trees. We then passed a creek, and afterwards some hilly pine woods; soil very barren till near Pew's town, a small place, mostly log houses. Here we saw some buck wheat just come up; we had seen some before equally backward, and {45} we were told, it was common to sow it after a crop of wheat or rye was taken off the ground. The gardens here better kept than most we had seen, but these were far from neat. In the afternoon, we met two droves of fat beasts, from the south branch of the Potomac river, going to Baltimore. The first, a drove of handsome fat oxen and heifers; the other, a larger one, all oxen, young and handsome, but not so fat as the first, some of which were too fat for the hot weather. These beasts only travel mornings and evenings, often stopping to graze, and going but a short distance in a day; they do not lose so much flesh as might be expected in so long a journey. Just as we had passed the last drove, we had a heavy storm of thunder and rain, so that we got wet through, but our clothes were nearly dry by the evening, when we stopped at Mr. Dent's tavern, at a place called, "the Pine Hills." Here our accommodations were excellent; our progress {46} this day was 16 miles; the weather warm in the morning, but colder after the rain.

28. Early in the morning I looked over Mr. Dent's garden. It was pretty good land, though most that lay round it was very barren. This garden was kept in tolerable good order, and had a little manure bestowed on it. There was some fine water-melons, nearly ripe, a few small horse-beans; I had not seen any before, and these were very weak; but there were some turnips, just come up, that looked well.

The evening before, a poor old man begged for a lodging. Mr. Dent ordered him into the house, and gave him a hot supper, and provided a bed for him; and on his going off early in the morning, Mr. Dent seemed to blame himself for not giving him a dram before he started. This was the second beggar we saw in America. After breakfast, we paid 3 dollars 31¼ cents, and left the tavern well pleased with our accommodations and our landlord; {47} and then proceeded through a sterile mountainous country. There were pines and cedars on the hills, and large oaks and chesnuts in the valleys. We afterwards went down a long rocky valley, with a small stream of water running in it, which we crossed ten or twelve times in our progress down. We then came to a more open country, and the stream was lost in a larger one, thirty or forty yards wide; very shallow at that time, and the bed of it full of rocks. In the afternoon, we met a drove of 120 oxen, from the State of Kentucky, for the Baltimore and Philadelphia markets. They were large kind beasts, mostly young, not over fat, except two or three, which were very fat indeed; one was equal to any beast I ever saw, and might weigh upwards of 1200 lbs. weight. But most of them would weigh from 600 to 800 lbs.; they were chiefly red and white, but not all of one breed.

We saw a partridge fly from a tree, the first game we saw, though we had now advanced {48} 120 miles into the country. We were told pheasants, turkeys, and deer, were plentiful in many places, but we had not seen any. We saw many huckleberries, and some fern; this was the first fern we saw, but we afterwards saw much of it on the mountains: some of this fern had stalks of a bright mahogany colour. The fern on the east of the mountains, grew like the English, on poor land; but in the State of Illinois, at least, where I have been, it generally denotes a good soil; and the same may be said of beech trees, on the banks of the Ohio, the richer spots are often covered with a heavy growth of them; and in the western country, beech land is called excellent. In the evening, we reached Mr. Vannosdeln's tavern, in a poor high country; his garden was in a much better state than any we had seen before. He gave us a fine water-melon, but none of us relished it much, as it was the first we had ever tasted, nor was it quite ripe.

29th. We paid at Mr. Vannosdeln's {49} excellent tavern, 3 dollars 33 cents.; and went on to Springfield town,82 through a barren country, called the South Branch Mountain. We passed the south branch of the Potomac river, forty yards wide, shallow when we crossed it, but sometimes it rises to a great height. After passing the river, we went up its bank close under a ridge of hills, and many fragments of the rocks had rolled down into the river, and large masses hung over our heads that threatened to bury us as we passed. Some large sycamore-trees lined the banks of the river; these trees always grow on land liable to be overflowed, and are the same that are called plane-trees in England. The red or water-maple most resembles the sycamore of England, but scarcely any tree or plant is exactly the same. Cedars and pines grow mostly on the tops of rocky hills; the latter are of several sorts, pitch, spruce, and white; the first a little like the Scotch fir; the last, much resembles the Weymouth pine; but the spruce bore but little {50} similarity to any I had ever seen. There was a large sort of berry that our drivers called gooseberries, but totally unlike the fruit of that name I had been accustomed to; but as they were not ripe, we did not taste them. Leaving the banks of the river, we passed a small mill, and followed the course of its stream up a valley till we reached Springfield town, a place of forty log-houses, and stopped at Mr. Piper's tavern. The weather being extremely hot, the country hilly, and the roads bad, we only travelled 16 or 17 miles.

30th. Early in the morning I walked round the town, and went into a tan-yard; the owner was an old man, 48 years since from Ireland. He told me he was not troubled with excisemen. He bought his bark mostly by the cord, but sometimes by the hundred pounds weight, price half a dollar. Only the body and the large limbs are barked. The bark is shaved, but not chopped, before it is sold to the tanners; it is ground in a kind of coffee-mill.

{51} At this place, I saw a few sheep of the Leicestershire breed, very poor. Mr. Piper's tavern was a neat log-house, lined with pine boards, and ceiled with the same. We left this place for Frankfort, a small place of near forty log-houses. We then passed Patterson's Creek,83 thirty yards wide, but not deep. The land near it much overrun with pennyroyal, of which we had seen much during our journey, and also a great deal of mint; in many of the small streams which we passed, it grew in a very luxuriant manner; we frequently gathered some of the latter, and put it into the water we drank, to take off its rawness, and found it far more palatable for so doing. Most of the briers we had passed were of the scented kind, and they continued from Baltimore to the Allegany Mountains, a distance of more than 150 miles; but on the mountains, and on the west side of them to Wheeling, and from thence to the Prairies, a distance of 1100 miles, I did not see one scented one, but {52} many that were not. From Patterson's Creek, a short distance, to Crisepsburg's town, a very small place of log-houses;84 and soon afterwards reached the north branch of the Potomac river, 200 yards wide, rocky, and not deep. The land, on the banks of the river, much better than any we had seen of late. Having crossed the river, we were again in the State of Maryland. The country between this place and Harper's Ferry, which we passed on the 25th, all in the State of Virginia. From the north branch of the Potomac river, we passed a very hilly country, to a new road, called the National Turnpike.85 This road is to extend from Cumberland on the Potomac, to Wheeling on the Ohio, a distance of more than 120 miles; the first 62 miles, from Cumberland to Union town, on the west side of the Allegany Mountains, was just finished, and is a good road, though hilly. The road west from Union town to Wheeling, was begun in many places, and many men were employed on {53} it when we passed along it. This grand national road is intended to connect all the western country with the seat of government, as there is water communication from Cumberland to the city of Washington, on the east by the Potomac, and from Wheeling on the Ohio, with the States of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and all the western country, by the means of the Ohio, Mississippi, Missouri, Cumberland, Tennessee, and other rivers. This national road is free, as there are no gates on it; for as it was made by the nation, so it is to be kept in repair by it. We entered this road, five miles west of Cumberland, and soon after stopped at Mr. Carter's tavern, called "the Travellers' Rest," at the foot of the Allegany Mountains.

We had lately seen fewer fruit-trees, and much less fruit on them, except on the apple-trees, these being generally well hung. Blackberries had been very plentiful all the way, and so they continued over the mountains. {54} I ate large quantities of them, liking them much better than I did the cherries, of which we often had plenty given us: these blackberries were much better than any I had before tasted.

We saw but few birds on our journey; woodpeckers of several sorts, a handsome yellow bird, something like a goldfinch, a few crows, and some small birds, much like tom-tits. As my youngest daughter was carrying some flowers in her hand, a humming bird settled on them, it made her start, thinking it was a large insect; it was not larger than a chafer, but a beautiful bird.

The country, from Harper's Ferry, mostly rocky to the mountains, generally of slate, but some limestone, free stone, and coarse marble. Most of the valleys had streams of water and good springs. The soil, chiefly poor, but well watered. But little cultivated land, and much of that only partly cleared of trees. They grub up the underwood, and most of the small {55} trees; they then either cut down the large ones, within three feet of the ground, and leave the stumps standing, or else chop them round the stems, and take off a small strip of bark, which kills them, leaving them to decay, and fall down of themselves. It is common to see eight or ten acres of land, in cultivation, with some hundreds of dead trees standing in it. They collect the small trees, underwood, and roots, into heaps, and then burn them; and thus the fire often communicates itself to the standing trees, running up to the top of the highest of them, leaving them half burnt. These trees have a very dismal appearance at first, but people get reconciled to it in time. It is much the quickest method of clearing land for corn, as it enables a man to begin with very little strength of money, men, and horses. The hogs, on the mountains, were not so handsome as those nearer Baltimore, being in general badly kept.

In our journey thus far, we had seen but {56} few gardens, and those indifferently kept; they contained a few peas, parsnips, carrots, onions, shalots, sweet, and other potatoes, lettuce, and a large flat sort of cabbage, with a few sorts of herbs. Our landlord, Mr. Carter, had a farm of 700 acres; 100 cleared, the rest in a state of nature.

31st. We proceeded, by the turnpike road, up a valley of the mountains; the road good. As we ascended, we found vegetation much later; the blackberries not ripe, a little rye not cut, oats quite green, no wheat or Indian corn to be seen. A few gooseberry-bushes, no fruit on them; some strawberry-plants; I had noticed a few raspberry-bushes, the fruit small and hard, of a dark red colour. A great variety of wild flowers, almost all new to me. Much timber in the hollows of the mountains, oak, chesnut, and pine; the pines of an immense height. I measured one that was cut in making the turnpike; it was 102 feet to the broken top, and there it was seven inches in diameter. {57} Some that were standing appeared much longer; I thought the highest, at least, 140 feet high. The oaks and chesnuts were also very high, but they grew too close together to be very large, but many of them might contain from 50 to 150 feet of solid timber. Many thousands of trees, that were cut for making the turnpike, lay rotting by the sides of it, besides the vast quantities of dead trees in the woods. This day only, we passed some thousand loads of timber, thus decaying. I believe I have seen more timber in this wasting state, than all the growing timber I ever saw in my life in England. We saw no heath on the mountains, nor have I ever seen or heard of any in America.

In the forenoon, we passed a village of good houses, most part of them lately built: a flour and saw mill, and a noble tavern, the Globe; it equalled many English inns in outward appearance. We stopped to dinner at a poor log-tavern, but the landlord was building a new log one, on a large scale. Here we saw a poor little negro {58} boy, he was a cripple; the landlord had bought him some months before, out of a drove of negroes going westward for sale. The landlord treated him with great humanity, and the child seemed as much attached to him, as he could have been to his own relations. I was much pleased to see a poor negro child so well treated, but as to buying or selling human beings, I utterly abhor it. In the evening, we arrived at Mr. Kimberley's tavern; here we took our supper, our provisions being now exhausted. In the forenoon, it was extremely hot; in the afternoon, a little thunder and rain, and afterwards much colder: we travelled seventeen miles, mostly up hill, the road good, but rough, the stones being laid on rather large.

August 1st. Having breakfasted, and paid five dollars, we set out and crossed the little Yougany or Cressing river,86 by a new stone bridge of one arch of 76 feet span, and very high. We passed many ridges and small valleys; but little cultivated land, a small quantity of rye cut; only one piece {59} of wheat, nearly ripe. Oats here form the chief crop, some nearly ripe, others just coming out in haw. A little Indian corn, but we were told the summers on the mountains were too short for it to ripen; and, therefore, they only planted a little to cut green. Some healthy-looking apple trees in the valleys, but with little fruit on them, owing to the spring frosts being later than usual. Some new land bringing into cultivation, potatoes or fallows first. The oats and potatoes, much better on the mountains, than those seen between them and Baltimore; indeed, the land in the hollows of the mountains was much better than a great deal of that we had passed before we arrived at the foot of them, but backward, the winters being severe, and the springs late.

We called at a cabin, to get some bread, where we found a woman with six small children; she said her husband worked 40 miles off, and only came home once in two or three weeks; they lived in this place {60} before the turnpike was begun, four years since; no stores nearer than six or seven miles. They procured most of their tea, coffee, whiskey, and other necessaries from the waggons, that traded to, and from Baltimore, to the westward. She said, she had never been molested in this lonely situation. She was born in the state of Jersey, but near Philadelphia. Her great grandfather of the name of Wood, emigrated from England, being oppressed with tithes, he being a Quaker; he founded a small town in the state of Jersey, and called it Woodbury, after his own name, and the place he left in England, which was Bury. But whether it was a town, village, or farm, she did not know, only, that it was in Gloucestershire.

Sixteen miles from the Little Cressing or Yougany, we came to the Big Cressing, and the small town of Smithfield, placed in a very romantic situation.87 It had three taverns, viz. a stone house, the Globe; a frame one, the Rising Sun; and a good {61} log one, the Yougany; and about twenty other houses, mostly of logs. A noble stone bridge over the river, the centre arch ninety feet span, said to be the largest in the United States. The Yougany is one of the head streams of the Monongahela. Leaving the river, we followed the course of a small stream, to the Elephant tavern, kept by Major Paul, (late in the American service), where we slept. This town is noted as a waggon house; there were eight stopped there at the time we were there, mostly drawn by six horses each, and none less than five.

At noon this day, we passed the line between the states of Pennsylvania and Maryland,88 and found ourselves in a state where slavery is not admitted; but still negroes were treated with much contempt, as we witnessed at Major Paul's. A negro drove one of the waggons, that stopped for the night; he was not allowed to sit at table with any one, but had a table to himself: I believe he was a free negro, but of this I am not certain. We had come seventeen {62} miles, weather very hot, with much thunder at a distance, but no rain. Mr. Paul's house was surrounded by some of the best meadows we had then seen in America;89 the hills inclosed them on both sides, and the valleys were narrow.

2d. We advanced up a valley for a great distance, and passed a mine of coal; it lay twelve or fifteen feet below the surface of the earth; the veins about three feet thick; several hundred bushels lay dug; it had a strong sulphureous smell. We afterwards passed over a large flat, of thin, weak, black, wettish soil, covered with dwarf alders and large weeds; a little of this land cleared and planted with potatoes, they looked well. What little timber there was, was short and scrubby.

We now again ascended, and at length reached the top of Laurel Hill, the last ridge of the mountains. Much laurel on this eminence, resembling the Portugal laurel. Here we had the first, and a most extensive view of the west side of the mountains. {63} As the air was clear, we could see objects distinctly; much cleared land in sight, and many fine springs; indeed, they were numerous all over the mountains, but there were but few houses. This day we descended gently down the hill; the road was steep and winding. As we advanced, the timber increased in size, mostly oak, and towards the bottom it was immensely large. From the summit to the town of Monroe,90 at the foot of the hill, is full three miles, most of the way very steep. Monroe was two years old, named in honour of the president of the United States. It contains two large stone taverns, and about twenty log houses, and a saw mill on a small stream near it. Much land cleared of timber and laid down to grass, of a better sward than any I saw east of the mountains. From Monroe to Union town, two miles; here we stopped for the night.91 I passed a meadow between these towns, it was of timothy grass, and higher than any I ever saw before; it was not so thick on the ground as {64} I have seen English meadow grass, but a most productive crop. This day our waggons were separated a considerable distance, the first reached Union at sunset, the other not till two hours after. We came twenty-one miles.

3d. We had now entered the western country, but we were still in the old settled part of it, Union town having been built more than thirty years. It is a large place, mostly of brick buildings; it has a bank, twelve or fourteen taverns, a flour, a saw, and a carding mill, on a small stream near the town. On this stream there were some good meadows, but in a bad state, there being many docks and other weeds in them. The Indian corn luxuriant; a great many orchards, with a good show of apples in them. Paid charges for supper, beds, and breakfast, 4 dollars 75 cents, (1l. 1s. 4½d. sterling.)

From Union town, the turnpike was only begun at different places, but many men were employed on it. Near the town, the {65} land was of good quality. We afterwards passed a rocky ridge of hills, perhaps a spur of the mountains. Here the land was rather poor, a clay on a slate-rock; but many fine orchards well stored with good apples, and some morello-cherries still on the trees. A woman, at a small cabin, offered us some, if we would take the trouble to gather them; we took two or three pounds; they were small but palatable, being very ripe. But cherries, in general, are not so good as in England, as the Americans seldom bud or graft any fruit-trees, only planting the stone. Land better as we approached Brownsville, on the Monongahela.92 Brownsville is a thriving place, with some iron-works: at high water many people embark here for Pittsburg. As the national road crosses the Monongahela at this place, there is a bridge to be built over the river; it was about 300 yards when we forded it, but it is much wider when the water is high.

From the river we went six miles, mostly through woods, to the Golden Lion Tavern. {66} A woman milking her cow, on the side of the road, gave us some milk, and offered us some apples, of which there were large quantities in their orchard. She said they purchased their farm for 2700 dollars, 900 of which they paid down at the time, and the remainder by instalments, most of which were now paid; and when the whole were paid, she would not give a cent to call King George her uncle. A large wooden building, by the side of the road, in ruins, and a new stone-chapel, belonging to the Methodists, built to supply the place of the old one. Here the Methodists are numerous: we passed a wood on the east side of the mountains, where a camp-meeting had recently been held; these meetings often continue four or five days, during which they have prayers four times a day.

4th. I proceeded on foot to Pittsburg, having some business to transact there, the rest went on towards Wheeling; I should have left the national road at Brownsville, as I was there at an equal distance from {67} Pittsburg. I went five or six miles through a poor country, to Bentleyville;93 a place with several taverns, a large public school, a grist and a saw mill on a very large creek, then low, but much subject to floods in wet weather. I then went two miles up a valley, full of sugar-maple trees, most of them had been tapped for procuring the sweet liquor to make sugar. February, in general, is the month for making it; they catch the sap in wooden troughs, and most of them are left under the trees from one season to another. After leaving this valley, at a little distance, I entered the road from Brownsville to Pittsburg; here I first saw some water-meadows, although I had passed many pieces of land that might easily have been irrigated. The water was taken along the side of the hill for some distance; it was not done in a good manner, yet still it was a great improvement: I have seen but few water-meadows since. I slept at a tavern, five or six miles from Pittsburg. This day I travelled twenty-five miles.

{68} 5th. I reached Pittsburg at nine o'clock in the morning, after having crossed the Monongahela in a ferry-boat, for which I paid three cents. Having concluded my business at the bank, I took a walk round the town: it is a large place with upwards 7000 inhabitants. It is well situated for trade on the Ohio, at the junction of the Monongahela and Allegany rivers. A large bridge is nearly finished over the Monongahela, and another partly built over the Allegany; both these bridges have stone-piers above high water-mark, but the remainder of them is of wood. The bridge, that was nearly finished, was divided into four passages; two for carriages and horses, the other two for foot passengers. Contrary to the English practice, each takes the right-hand side; so there is no meeting on the bridge, as there are two passages for coming out, and two for going into Pittsburg. These passages are covered over, with holes in the sides to admit air and light. As the whole is covered, the bridge is kept dry in {69} all weathers, and the timber is prevented from rotting. They are longer and higher than London-bridge, at least at the ends, being quite level. The streets are laid out in straight lines, from the Monongahela to the Allegany rivers, and crossed by others mostly at right angles. There are many handsome brick-buildings, but there are also a great number of log and frame-houses. There are several places of public worship, a large market house, several banks, numerous taverns, and large stores; yards for building steam and other boats. Several steam ones were building, and others laid up, the water being too low for them or large flat-bottom boats to get down the river, when I was there. Trade of all kinds extremely dull. Owing to the quantity of iron-works, it has a black and dismal appearance; and from the account I had heard of it, I was, on the whole, rather disappointed in Pittsburg. It was a desert until about the year 1756, when the French, from Canada, built a fort near it.94 But a few {70} years after it was taken by the British, and the name of Du Quesne changed to Pittsburg. From that time till the revolutionary war it was held by them, and during that war it increased much, being made a place for the manufactory of arms. Yet as the Indians remained near it for some years, they were very troublesome; but now they are removed to a greater distance, except a few, who are settled near, and have adopted the manners of the Americans. It will always be a place of considerable consequence from its situation. It is 1100 miles from the mouth of the Ohio, and more than 2000 from New Orleans. Steam-boats, in high water, come from New Orleans to Pittsburg, in seventy or eighty days; but from the latter to the former place in much less time.

Having purchased a new rifle for 18 dollars, and taken a place in the Wheeling stage for Washington, for which I paid 2 dollars 50 cents; I supped and slept at {71} the Pittsburg Hotel; charge for supper and bed 50 cents.

August 6th. I left Pittsburg, in the stage, before day-light, and crossed the Monongahela, by the new bridge. Then up a very steep hill, the passengers all walking; we passed a very rough country, for nine or ten miles, to a tavern, kept by the driver of the stage, where we breakfasted; they charged us 2s. 3d. each, instead of the usual charge of 1s. 1½d., yet our fare was very indifferent. From this tavern to Cannonsburg,95 eight miles; the country still rough, but better as we approached this town. Here is a college, a large brick-building, where most of the principal people of Pittsburg send their sons to finish their education. This town was begun twenty years since by a Mr. Cannon. It is pleasantly situated on the side of a steep hill. From this town, seven miles, to Washington (Pennsylvania), along a rough road with many log-bridges; but some of my fellow passengers, from the state of Kentucky, called them corderoy. The {72} stage-coach was very different from an English one, it was much more like a light waggon; it was covered at the top, but open on the sides, with leather curtains to let down in case of rain or cold. The road being rough, we could not keep these curtains down, as there was no sort of fastenings to them; and as it rained very hard several times, we got wet. We were much crowded with luggage; the seats were placed across the carriage, and the luggage under them. At Washington we dined, and I drank some spruce-beer (for the first time in my life), and I found myself very unwell from it. I left the room, and went into the air; in a few minutes I was better; but as the stage still stood at the door, I did not return for about twenty minutes, when I found they had changed coaches, and were gone. I endeavoured to recover my money, but there was no bookkeeper to be found.

Wishing to rejoin my family at Wheeling, I set off on foot; the afternoon was excessively hot. The road was good for {73} the first ten miles, to Claysville, a new town.96 Then six miles of hilly country to Alexandria;97 here I took some refreshment, and again set forward: near this place I left the state of Pennsylvania, and again entered the state of Virginia. Then six miles farther to a tavern, where I intended to sleep; but the house being full, they recommended me to go two miles farther on. It was very dark, and thundered much; when I arrived at this tavern I could not make any of the family hear, but I roused two or three great dogs, and I was again forced to proceed. My road lay up a long valley, part of the national road to Wheeling. I passed over several large stone-bridges, but partly finished; at length it began to rain, and I put up at the first building I could find; it proved to be a stable. This day I travelled twenty-five miles by the stage, and about the same distance on foot.

7th. From my lodgings, in the stable, I proceeded up a valley to some houses, and enquired the way to Wheeling. I found I {74} was in the right road, and that it was only seven miles distant. I found much excellent land on the sides of a creek; the meadows were particularly so: I saw twelve small hay-ricks in one large meadow. The Indian corn was much larger than any I had before seen.

I met the two men who had driven our waggons; from them I learnt where my family were, and that they had settled with them for the carriage of our luggage. It is but justice to them to say, we had every reason to be satisfied with their conduct during our journey; Marchant, in particular, was in his manners much above his station in life. At seven o'clock I reached Wheeling.98

After breakfast we entered into an agreement with Messrs. Knox and Pemberton, of Wheeling, for the conveyance of ourselves and luggage to Louisville, in Kentucky, 600 miles, for 50 dollars, on condition we should help to navigate the boat down the river. We hired a horse and dray, for a dollar and {75} a half, to convey our luggage on board, and paid one dollar for the room where our goods were lodged. We laid in some provisions for our voyage, as we expected to sail in the afternoon, but a thunder storm coming on, we stopped till the next morning: we slept in the ark or flat boat. There were twelve tons of store-goods, for Cincinnatti and Louisville, besides our luggage of about three tons. The ark was about 36 feet long and 10 feet wide, with a fire-place in the centre; it was covered with boards, as a protection from the weather.

Wheeling is a thriving place, with some iron-works. As the national road is to terminate at this place, it bids fair to rival Pittsburg in the trade of the western country. In a dry time it has greatly the advantage of Pittsburg, being nearly a 100 miles lower down, and below the shallowest parts of the Ohio. At any rate, the great road for all the western country, crossing the Ohio at this place, will always add much to its importance. The country round {76} Wheeling is very fine, and I have seen no part of America I should like better than the valley above it. But all the land is taken up, and sells for a high price; and, what is still worse, it is situated in a slave-state, where every thing is done by the negroes, while the whites look on.

8th. At break of day we sailed, or rather floated, from Wheeling; Mr. Pemberton went part of the way with us, and a Mr. Ferris had the charge of the boat and the store-goods: these two gentlemen boarded with us. The wind being against us, we made but little progress, although we rowed the greater part of the day. We passed several islands in the river: the banks were steep and high, the country very hilly, and mostly covered with timber; the flats of the river generally cleared, and planted with Indian corn. The land would be too rich for wheat, were it not flooded in the winter and spring. We passed many small cabins, several of them were on the banks. We only advanced 20 miles this day, {77} and anchored on the Ohio side: the right, or north-west side of the river, is the state of Ohio; the state of Virginia lies on the left, or south-east side. The weather very warm.

9th. The land much as yesterday, except that the hills lay farther back. In the evening we anchored on the same side, 46 miles from Wheeling. We landed, and went to a cabin for some milk, where we purchased five chickens for fifty cents.

10th. We proceeded with caution, the morning being misty, as there are many sunk trees in the river sometimes. A man we had seen the evening before, came to us and offered to sell his skiff, as he was near his journey's end; I purchased his skiff, and an old iron shovel, for two dollars; Mr. C. bought of him a hand-saw, for thirty-seven and a half cents. As soon as we had paid him, he went off into [the] woods; from that, and other circumstances, we then concluded he had stolen them. Mr. Pemberton took the skiff and followed {78} him on shore, but could see nothing of him. Mr. Pemberton purchased five large melons for half a dollar, but as we had not been accustomed to melons, we could eat but little of them; but after a few days, most of us could eat them without sugar as well as the Americans. We passed Sistersville, a small place of Virginia.99 The wind being in our favour we made 30 miles.

11th. We passed the mouth of the Little Muskingham river, thirty or forty yards wide, but very low. About four miles lower down we anchored at the Great Muskingham, close by the town of Marietta,100 of about a hundred houses, many of them good brick-buildings. There are, also, between thirty and forty houses on the other side of the Muskingham. Marietta is well situated for trade; but being subject to floods, it does not appear to increase at all rapidly. It contains two meeting-houses, a bank, several taverns, a jail, a stream-mill, and several rope-walks. Ship-building is {79} carried on, on a small scale; some years ago, a ship of a hundred and twenty tons was built here, fit for the sea, although nearly 2000 miles from it by the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. The country, between the Great and Little Muskingham, very hilly; but the bottoms, on the Ohio and Great Muskingham, particularly rich land. The latter river runs far across the state of Ohio, from north to south; it is upwards of two hundred yards wide at its mouth. We were informed some English families were settled at the back of Marietta, but we did not see any of them; I have since heard that one of our fellow-passengers in the Resolution is residing there. Mr. Pemberton did not proceed any farther with us, he having business at Marietta. We proceeded four miles, when Mr. Ferris landed, and went to see his mother and brothers, who lived two or three miles back from the river. Whilst he was gone, I landed, with one of my sons, on the Ohio side; we walked a short distance into the {80} country; the soil excellent, but not much of it cultivated. Some apple and peach orchards, containing vast quantities of fruit; there were more peaches than I ever saw before; single trees had bushels on them. In the afternoon we passed the town of Parkersburg, in the state of Virginia, at the mouth of the Little Kenaway, fifty or sixty yards wide.101 There is a ferry established here. We made 20 miles, and after we anchored we laid in some lines, and caught a cat-fish; it weighed six or seven pounds, and was excellent eating. As they have no scales, they are stripped like eels; they are often taken of a large size; they sometimes weigh a hundred pounds; they take their name from having whiskers like a cat.

12th. Passed the mouth of the Little Hockhocking, near thirty yards wide.102 The Ohio is here wider than at Wheeling. We passed several islands in the river, some of them cultivated. Generally the houses on the banks were of logs, but there were {81} some good brick and frame ones; some large orchards. We met several keel-boats going up the river, drawn by eight or ten men to one boat; sometimes they push them up the river with long poles, and at other times, when the wind is favourable, make use of a sail. At almost every house we passed on the banks of the river, there was either a skiff or a canoe. We saw some large wild ducks. About noon we passed the mouth of the great Hockhocking river, fifty or sixty yards wide; this river runs through the State of Ohio, between the Scioto and Muskinghum rivers. It is said to be navigable to Athens, forty miles up. I landed and went to a cabin to purchase provisions. The owner told me a bad fever prevailed at Cincinnatti, and cautioned me against going there: being newly settled, he had nothing to spare. In the afternoon we passed the town of Belleville, in Virginia, a very small old place. This evening we anchored on the Ohio side. Some of my {82} family crossed over to the other side, and bought six chickens for 50 cents (2s. 3d.) This day we advanced twenty-five miles; weather extremely hot.

13th. We were detained some time by anchoring on some rocks over-night, and the water had fallen a few inches in the night; we got out of the boat, and pushed it into deep water. The banks were high and rocky, some of the rocks had the appearance of an old castle. We passed several islands and sand-banks, the current always much brisker near them than where the river is wider. The country more settled at some distance back than on the banks of the river, as it is said to be more healthy. In the afternoon we passed the falls of Letart;103 these falls are only a sharp run over some rocks for near half a mile; nowise dangerous, even in low water, to those acquainted with the navigation of the river, but to strangers a little so. In high water there is only a sharp run, sometimes hardly perceptible. There is a floating {83} mill on these falls, it had then most of the grist-work; the other mills for many miles standing still for want of water. We could not procure any flour, they being fully employed in grist-work. We afterwards landed at several cabins to get some butter; but there was not any to be had, being almost all new settlers, many of them in the Spring. Seven or eight miles below the falls, we anchored for the night, after making about twenty-six miles.

14th. The moon shining brightly, we started soon after midnight; the banks high and rocky until we passed an island, when the country became more level and open. In the forenoon the country again more hilly, with many veins of pit-coal under the rocks; some of them opened, and some coal lay dug on the sides of the river. In the afternoon we passed the mouth of the Great Kenhaway; there are some salt-works on this river, and much salt is sent from thence to many towns on the Ohio.104 This river comes from the south, through {84} part of Virginia. Point Pleasant is situated near the Big Kenhaway; it is a small town, and does not appear to flourish.105 A great battle was fought here when it was first settled, between the Americans and Indians, in which neither party had much cause for triumph. About four miles below we came to the town of Galliopolis, in Ohio.106 It is pleasantly situated on a high bank that is never overflowed. This town was first settled by a colony of French, in 1790; but having bought their land of speculators, their titles were not so good as they wished, and some of them left it; but many of the inhabitants are still French and other Europeans, and some Americans. It contains two places of public-worship, a post-office, a large court-house, a printing-office, a market-house, some good stores and taverns, and about a hundred houses of brick, frame, and log. On a green of good land, near the town, a motley flock of sheep was feeding; many of them had a rotten appearance. I was told they {85} belonged to the inhabitants, who kept them in common. The green on which they were was good sound land; but as they had free access to the river-banks, they often fed on herbage that was frequently under water. I was much pleased with the situation of Galliopolis; more so than with any place I had seen west of the Allegany Mountains. We made thirty-two or three miles; the heat intense, with a little rain in the evening.

15th. Started by moon-light and got six or seven miles by day-light, and four or rather more afterwards; till the wind being against us, we anchored on the Virginia side. I landed, and went through the woods to a poor log-cabin; but could get no provisions or fruit. The inhabitants looked extremely miserable; they had a female negro-slave, that appeared to do what little was done. The soil very rich; but little of it cultivated, and that little very badly. The trees in the woods I passed through were sycamore, ash, honey-locust, {86} poplar, buck-eye, black walnut, beech, and sugar-maple, &c. Many of the trees were overrun with grape vines. The black walnut and sugar-maple trees were larger than any I had before noticed. Most of the sugar-maple trees had places chopped in them to let out the sap, instead of being tapped. Many of the troughs that were used last Spring were still remaining under the trees. After dinner the wind shifted, and we proceeded for a short time; but a thunder-storm coming on we again anchored, as do most of the flat boats or arks, for fear of being driven on shore, as the wind is generally high at the commencement of a tempest. We had but little wind or rain, and therefore again proceeded. We passed an ark sunk in the river, and also the Little Guyandot river, forty yards wide; and then went over a very rapid part of the river. After dark we anchored on the Virginia side, with a store-boat and a light ark that contained a rather numerous family of English from {87} the neighbourhood of Manchester, going, like ourselves, to look for a home in the western country. The master of the store-boat was also a fellow-countryman; he had been settled a short time at Marrietta, but now purposed going further westward. He had freighted his boat with store-goods and fruit, to pay his expenses down the Ohio. He intended settling in the neighbourhood of Cincinnatti, or of going down to the State of Indiana. He said that, in April last, near a thousand boats of different descriptions passed Marietta going westward; most of them with emigrants, and but few of them Europeans, it being too early for them to come from Europe, Spring being generally the season they leave their native countries. We almost daily saw boats with Europeans, chiefly from England or Ireland. Numerous skiffs had passed us since we left Wheeling, and we afterwards saw many more. The wind being against us, we only advanced about twenty-four miles. Weather much colder.

{88} 16th. Started two hours before sun-rise; the hills lower, and lay farther back from the river. We passed the mouth of the Great Guyandot,107 and the town of Bordenton, a small place which is situated near it. At dusk we passed Big Sandy river, 200 yards wide, it rises in the Allegany Mountains, and runs east and north-east, separating the States of Virginia and Kentucky for more than 200 miles. This day we made twenty-six miles.

17th. Towards noon we reached Greenup, in Kentucky, a small place;108 here we staid some hours to get our pump repaired. Here I conversed with a native of Kent, who had resided fourteen years in America, three or four of which he had spent at this place. He said he was doing well in his business as a cabinet-maker and carpenter. He informed me much confusion prevailed here in regard to the titles of land, owing to the lots having been entered without the boundaries of each individual being distinctly marked out; so that land was often {89} claimed by two or more individuals.109 Indeed disputes frequently occur in the old States of America, in regard to the titles of land, as the first settlers often took it without any title. Others obtained grants for a certain space from some river, or other given mark; but as the country was but little known at the time of these grants, they often clash with each other, and many boundaries yet remain to be settled. In the greater part of the new States the country is first surveyed, and then laid out in sections of a mile square; but this I shall mention hereafter. We left this place late in the afternoon, and anchored a few miles below, on the Ohio side. We ran twenty-two or three miles. Weather temperate.

18th. Passed the Little Sciota, a small stream of Ohio. At noon we reached the town of Portsmouth, in Ohio, at the mouth of the Big Sciota;110 a considerable stream, said to be navigable upwards of two hundred miles towards the north. Portsmouth {90} is an improving place, containing a court-house, a bank, several good taverns and stores, with more than one hundred houses, many of them of brick: we could get but few provisions here. Alexandria is situated opposite, on the other side of the Sciota; it is a small place. We found change at these towns very scarce; what there was, was mostly cut-money; that is, when change is wanted they often cut dollars, half-dollars, and quarter-dollars, into smaller pieces, with an axe or chisel; and some of them are so expert and honest, as to make five quarters out of a dollar. We advanced twenty-two or three miles this day.

19th. We passed a very swift riffle without any danger. About three miles farther on, we were in danger of losing our boat on Twin Riffle, by not going towards the Kentucky side soon enough; but by hard rowing, we got over with only five or six inches to spare. These riffles are occasioned by the water's running rapidly over {91} a rough hard bottom; they resemble the Falls, only they are much less. We saw many wild ducks while passing this riffle; I believe they often feed on these sharp runs, as I noticed they generally frequented them. A little below, we saw three hunters with several dogs; they had just killed a fine young deer in the river, and were skinning it on the bank. We bought a hind-quarter, it weighed fifteen or sixteen pounds, for 50 cents, (2s. 3d.) sterling. The quarter was as much as we could consume while good, the weather being so extremely hot, or we might have had the whole deer for a dollar. In the afternoon we passed a bad riffle, called Bush Riffle, opposite a creek of the same name. This riffle was full of sunk logs, that made it difficult to pass, as the river was so low; at high water these riffles are not perceptible. We passed Salt Creek, Ohio. Some saline-works here; also a small town, of which I did not learn the name. As we floated after dark, the ark got stuck on a sand-bank, {92} in the middle of the river; but some of us getting out into the water, we pushed it off, and then anchored on the Ohio side.

This day we made about twenty-six miles, according to the "Pittsburg Navigator,"111 also by our pilot's account; but I believe the Ohio has never been surveyed or measured, except that on the Ohio side the land has been surveyed and laid out into sections, from the upper part of the State of Ohio to the mouth of the Ohio river. But the lines running north and south, and east and west, make many small fractions on the edge of the river that have never been measured very correctly, so as to know the exact length of it. We often went in a very circular direction; much more so than the banks; and as the river is full half a mile wide, we sometimes stood nearly right across it, as an ark is difficult to keep out of the current, should it get too near it when the draught is strong. Thus the measurement of the {93} banks of this river cannot be accurate, in the distance it takes to navigate it.

20th. Passed the Manchester Islands;112 and a little below a town of the same name, a small place of about thirty houses. Two of our company landed, opposite the islands, on the Kentucky side. A woman, where they went for milk, gave them some peaches, nearly ripe; she told them they had only apples and peaches for their pigs, a hundred and forty in number. She said they did not get fat on this diet, nor did they expect them to thrive much till the beech-masts fell. Beech the prevailing timber, except on the banks of the river; there mostly sycamore, water-maple, and willows. In the afternoon we reached the town of Maysville, in Kentucky;113 it is frequently called Limestones, from a small creek of that name that here empties itself into the Ohio. Maysville is a considerable place, and enjoys a good trade with the back country. It lies high; but part of it is subject to floods from the {94} creek. Much good building going forward. A large ferry-boat, worked by horses, plies between Maysville and a small town opposite; it takes over passengers, horses, carriages, and stock; as a road on the opposite side takes most of the land-travellers through the state of Ohio,114 that cross so low down as this place. We sent a letter from here, that reached Godalming, in Surrey, in fifty-seven days; but letters from England are usually three months in reaching the Prairies, and sometimes much longer. This day twenty miles: the weather sultry, with much thunder, but no rain. The river falling very fast.

21st. Passed Ripley, a new town of Ohio: it seems likely to thrive.115 A gentleman who had joined us at Maysville, and my eldest son, went on shore near this place. My son purchased two quarts of milk, for which they charged him 25 cents: he demanded his money again, and offered to return the milk; this they refused; {95} he then gave them, as he called it, a good blowing up, and came on board in a very bad humour, not being at all pleased with his bargain.

We afterwards passed a small place, on the Ohio side, of only seven or eight houses, although laid out before Ripley. In the afternoon we passed the town of Augusta in Kentucky; it appears a flourishing place.116 It was built to rival Maysville in the back-country trade, and it is likely to come in for a full share of it, as the roads are said to be much better than in the rear of Maysville. A considerable deal of land brought into cultivation in its neighbourhood: some round hills cleared quite to their tops, and planted with Indian corn, the growth of which seemed to bespeak a good soil. These hills have a fine appearance from the river. In the evening we passed the town of Mechanicsburg (Ohio), a small place, mostly of log-houses. At dark we anchored on {96} the Kentucky side; our progress twenty-five or six miles.

22d. Much rain during the night; and as the ark was far from being weather-proof, we got very wet in our beds. At noon we anchored near the towns of Richmond117 and Susanna (Ohio); they are rising places, containing several taverns and stores. A great deal of land round these towns laid down in grass: the soil rich. But few gardens, and these much neglected; the weeds seven or eight feet high, and completely concealed the vegetables. This day we only made thirteen or fourteen miles, and anchored on the Kentucky side. The weather much colder. After we got to bed, two men and a boy came close to us, and began fishing, by torch-light, striking the fish with a gig, or grig, like a dung-prong, with barbed points: I believe they had also some hooks and lines over the sides of their canoe. After fishing about two hours, they anchored, and hung their fish over the {97} side of their canoe, and went on shore and made a fire to dry themselves; then spreading some small boughs under a tree, they laid down till daylight.

23d. At dawn the fishers offered us some cat-fish, of between thirty and forty pounds weight each, for 25 cents a piece, but as we had a store of provisions we did not purchase any. They then started for Cincinnatti with their fish. At sun-rise we also proceeded, the wind much against us. After going four miles we passed a large steam-boat a-ground, and had been for some time, and must so remain till the water should rise three or four feet; this did not occur till after Christmas. Soon after we passed a new town, of a few houses, its name I did not learn. We then went over some sand-bars where the water was very shallow; the wind rising, we put in close to the Kentucky side, where the water was deeper, and most of us going on shore, we hauled our boat along, with a towing line, for about two miles. We passed the town {98} of Columbus, at the mouth of the Little Miami.118 This river crosses the state of Ohio, from the north, and is sometimes upwards of 100 yards wide. Columbus is a small old place, with but few good buildings. Late in the afternoon we reached the city of Cincinnatti; and, with great difficulty, anchored close to four steam-boats that were laid up, the water being too shallow for them to go up and down the river. We had about 14,000 lbs. weight of store goods, on board the ark, to be left at this place. Cincinnatti is the capital of the state of Ohio,119 and is situated in the richest part of the state, seven miles below the Little Miami, and twenty miles above the Great Miami. Much of the country, between these rivers, brought into culture for a considerable distance from the Ohio; and land sells very high, from five to a 100 dollars per acre. The city is extensive and the buildings are increasing. It is a noble looking town, by far the best I have seen in the western country. It is built on {99} ground rising to a great height from the river. The streets cross each other at right angles. It has several large woollen and cotton manufactories; some glass and iron-works, also a steam-mill, built on a limestone rock, close to the water; the walls of this noble mill are of stone; it contains nine stories, and is upwards of a 100 feet high. The machinery is said to be good, and will manufacture 700 barrels of flour weekly, that is, upwards of 500 sacks. It is represented to have cost 120,000 dollars, or 27,000l. sterling in erecting.

The streets of Cincinnatti are very wide; and the stores well stocked with European, East and West Indian, and American merchandize, but in general dear. Articles of dress are much dearer than at Baltimore; yet the principal inhabitants are very gay in their appearance, particularly the ladies, who are equally so with those of London. But the females of the middle and lower orders, though gaily dressed, often go without shoes and stockings; indeed, most of the {100} females in the western country go without them, at least in the summer, and some of the English women, of the lower class, follow their example.

Trade very dull and paper credit extremely low, the banks issue notes as low as 6¼ cents, less than 3½d.; but these notes are far from being current with strangers, nor were the large ones in good credit, being much below the value of state notes or specie. No copper money to be seen here. There are two large market houses, one in the upper, and one in the lower part of the town; there is a daily market held alternately at one of them. It was the upper market day when we were there; it was well supplied, and most articles were good and cheap, but the tradesmen perfect Jews in their dealings. Meat from 6 to 10 cents per pound; bacon from 8 to 12½ cents a pound; flour from 4 to 5 dollars per barrel, of 196 lbs., average less than 6s. a bushel; very fine peaches for 6¾d. per peck; melons in vast quantities, both sweet and {101} water, the latter of immense size, weighing from ten to twenty pounds each, for 6¾d. Poultry and eggs very reasonable.

The number of inhabitants supposed to be upwards of 12,000, from every part of the Union, and from most of the countries of Europe. Many English, Irish, and Scotch amongst them. I heard of some being there, that I knew, but I did not see any of them. There is a ferry-boat, worked by horses, between Cincinnatti and the towns of Newport and Coverly;120 these towns, in Kentucky, lie opposite to Cincinnatti, and are separated from each other by the mouth of the Licking; a considerable stream, of Kentucky, during the winter, but very low in dry weather. The streets of these towns are laid out to correspond with those of Cincinnatti, so that at the upper part of the city you see the streets of Newport and Coverly, without perceiving the river between them, and thus the whole appears but one town.

There is a fort at Newport, with an {102} arsenal of arms, and a magazine for gun-powder; and a garrison of the states' troops are kept here in case of a war with the Indians, as the Indian territories are within 100 miles to the north. We saw some of these troops, they were good looking; their uniform blue.

Newport contains some good houses, and near it there is a large building, in the castle style, belonging to General Taylor, the proprietor of the town.

Coverly is newly laid out, the building but just begun: these two towns may contain about 100 houses.

24th. In the afternoon, having laid in a few provisions for our voyage, we prepared to go off, but found some honest person had made free with the oars belonging to our skiff, and also with a skiff belonging to some person of Cincinnatti. We saw two men go off, about 10 o'clock the night before, with a skiff, but supposed it belonged to them, nor did we know they had borrowed our oars; but this did not detain us {103} long, as we made some more with some boards we had on board. We went about eight miles, and then anchored on the Ohio side of the river. I found myself troubled with very bad boils, that continued for several days; in other respects I was in perfect health, as was the whole of our party. The gentleman, who joined us at Maysville, left us at Cincinnatti.

25th. We passed the mouth of the Big Miami, a considerable stream of Ohio, the boundary between that state and Indiana, at least at its mouth; as a meridian line runs from the middle of the mouth of this river north, to a parallel line, from the south end of Lake Michigan. This river is 200 yards wide at its mouth, and is navigable for a considerable distance up the country. We saw a waggon with four horses, also six or seven men and women fording it, the water up to their middles, and the current so strong they could hardly stand against it. We passed Petersburg,121 a small place in Kentucky, and also a little {104} town of Indiana, its name unknown to us. We only made 20 miles. Mr. C. shot two turkey-buzzards at one shoot. These birds are of great utility in a warm climate, as they live on carrion; and should you see several of these birds hovering about, you may be certain something is dead near. I understand, that on the Mississippi river, people are liable to a fine of several dollars for killing one of them. Nor is there any temptation to destroy them, having so strong a scent as scarcely to be bearable, and any thing only just touching them retains a very strong smell for some time. The quills of their wings are larger than those of a goose, and too hard to write with.

The hills on the river lower with round tops. Some tobacco on the Kentucky side, but none on the other; it is never cultivated on an extensive scale except in the slave states. In the free states cotton and tobacco are only raised for home consumption.

{105} 26th. We passed Lories Island, and afterwards a small town of Kentucky; its name we did not learn. The river banks much lower, and the bottoms much wider, as the hills were further back. Not many houses on the banks. We saw some wild ducks, woodpeckers, and snipes. We advanced twenty-two miles; weather warm.

27th. The country less cultivated. About noon we landed at Fredericksburg, in Kentucky, a place of about forty log-houses; we purchased some butter at eighteen cents per pound. At dusk we passed the Kentucky, a river of the state of the same name, and navigable some distance up the country. After dark we passed Vevay and New Switzerland,122 and soon after got stuck on a sand bank; some of us got into the water and turned the ark round, and then we floated off again, and about midnight anchored. This day, twenty-five miles. I regretted passing Vevay after it was dark, as I much wished to land to inspect the vineyards belonging to a Swiss colony settled {106} there, who cultivate the vine on a considerable scale, in the manner of their native country. In the twilight we had a glimpse of their vineyards, but too far off to see much of them. I have since learnt that a few Swiss emigrants settled at New Switzerland in 1805, and in 1810 they had eight acres planted with vines, and in full bearing, and from which they made two thousand four hundred gallons of wine, then said to be very good. Since that time their vineyards are considerably extended, but their wine of an inferior quality. They also cultivate wheat, Indian corn, hemp, and flax. They are represented to be a sober, industrious people, and much respected in the country. They speak the French language, most of them having come from the frontiers adjoining France.

28th. We landed at Port William,123 Kentucky, a small place, and procured some very excellent bread. As we proceeded slowly I landed on the Indiana side, and went to two or three cottages; at one of {107} them I got a peck of fine peaches, for which the inhabitants would not take any money. They were hardly ripe, but made very good puddings; as the settlements were new, none of the trees were six years old. At one cabin a man showed me a tree on which there was then growing at least a bushel of peaches; he had planted the stone from which this tree sprung in the spring of 1816. We landed at a cabin in Indiana, where there were a few vines cultivated after the Swiss method; viz. in rows about six feet each way, and tied up to a stick four or five feet high. I was told their appearance promised a productive crop, but a heavy shower of rain prevented my examining them. The soil was rich, but very broken. Only made sixteen miles; the weather showery, and much colder.

29th. Early in the morning we reached the town of Madison in Indiana,124 capital of the county of Jefferson, of sixty or seventy houses, a mixture of brick, frame, and log; {108} it has a steam-mill, &c. The country less settled, and on the banks a much less number of horses, cows, sheep, pigs, geese, &c. to be seen. This day we made thirty miles or upwards.

30th. Both sides of the river more hilly, and but little land brought into culture. In the forenoon we passed an island eighteen or twenty miles above Louisville; the river much wider, the banks lower, with but little space between them and the hills. We passed another island twelve miles above Louisville, and, after sun-set, anchored opposite a small town of Indiana.

Many new places are continually springing up on the bank, and numbers of them soon go to decay, having nothing to recommend them except the opinion of the proprietors. These are often a set of speculators, who purchase land and attempt to puff it off as one of the best spots in the western country; in short, in the whole world. A speculator like those is a nuisance wherever he sets his foot.

{109} 31st. Passed six mile islands; keeping between them we got sight of Louisville, which at that distance had a fine appearance. We could see far beyond it, as the country below the falls is very flat for many miles. The wind rising, we anchored four miles above it, and some of us went to it by land. Louisville is a considerable town of Kentucky, at the head of the Falls of the Ohio.125 Many boats unload here for the back country, others stop here to get a pilot to take them over the Falls, and sometimes at low water to get part of their lading carried by land to below the Falls. It possesses some manufactories, and is a place of considerable trade, and with the exception of Cincinnatti, is by far the best town I have seen in the western country. It is seven hundred and six miles by water from Pittsburg, and by the course of the river near fourteen hundred miles from New Orleans. The river, opposite Louisville, is a mile wide, being bent back by an island and a chain of rocks that runs {110} through the river. These rocks are the cause of the Falls, as they pen back the water about twenty-two feet above the level of the flat country below. The town of Jeffersonville lies opposite,126 on the Indiana side, and many boats stop there for a pilot. We did not visit it, but we were informed it was an elegant place, of a hundred and forty houses.

The best boat channel to pass the Falls is on the Indiana side, it is called the Indian shoot; the next is called the middle, and the other the Kentuckian shoot; the last was dry when we were there. In high water they may all be passed without danger, but in a dry season, as when we passed, it requires a skilful pilot, and even then is attended with some danger. Some English from Puttenham in Surrey, near Godalming, passed these Falls during the night in a small skiff, without perceiving any of them, the water being then very high. In the morning they enquired how far they had to the Falls, and could hardly {111} be persuaded they had passed them. There is an opposition between the towns of Louisville and Jeffersonville, as to making a canal for vessels to pass the Falls by the means of locks, each wanting it on their side, as most of the traffic would of course be on that side where the canal was.

As we returned to our boat, we passed the stump of a sycamore, lately cut, that three feet from the ground measured eleven feet one way and ten feet the other; the tree was gone, so we could not ascertain the length of it, but the trees on the banks were of an immense size. In the evening we anchored within a mile of Louisville. Made only seven miles; weather very warm.

Sept. 1st. Early in the morning we anchored at the mouth of Bear Grass Creek, that joins the Ohio on the upper side of Louisville. The store goods were here unloaded, to the amount of ten thousand pounds weight. I purchased the ark of Mr. Ferris for twenty-five dollars, and {112} hired two men for eighteen dollars and their board, to take us to Shawnestown, in Illinois, a distance of near three hundred miles. One man was an Englishman, the other a Scotchman. Having trimmed our boat, we expected to go over the Falls in the evening, but the pilot having another boat to take over first, he did not return till too late for us to go over, so we remained at Louisville all night. We purchased a few articles for our voyage, but we should have done better, if we had bought more at Cincinnatti, instead of afterwards doing it at Shawnestown; but the difference was not very material. The heat very oppressive, and in the evening, for the first time, we were annoyed by mosquitoes. We saw great quantities of rats; the quay where we lay was much infested with them. They were most likely brought from Europe, as they are the same as the English rat. I have not seen one at the Prairies, but there being plenty on the Ohio; and I suppose on the Wabash, {113} most likely we shall soon receive a visit from them.

2d. Soon after sun-rise our boat proceeded to go over the Falls. Mr. Ferris was so kind as to go with it; Mr. C. and my eldest son also went. We hired two more men, besides the two going to Shawneetown, as our boat drew twelve inches of water, and there were only fifteen or sixteen inches for some distance over the Falls in the middle, and less, if ever so little on either side. The rest of us walked to below the Falls. They rowed the ark some distance up the stream on the Kentucky side, and they then crossed into the middle shoot, and proceeded to Shippingport, a small town of Kentucky, at the end of the Falls.127 They passed them with perfect safety, except that the rocks cut the rope of the skiff by which it was tied to the ark, and it was lost on them. We breakfasted at Shippingport, in company with Mr. Ferris, with whom we settled all accompts; he then took leave of us, and {114} returned to Louisville on foot, purposing to walk to Wheeling. It is but justice to Mr. Ferris to say, he was very obliging during the time he was with us, and most attentive to the care of the boat and the store goods committed to his charge.

We started, and soon passed an island where we got a hard rap on some rocks; we now found we had lost our pilot with Mr. Ferris; both our new men were much intoxicated, and this they most times continued to be afterwards, whenever they could get liquor; Thomas, the Englishman, in particular. We landed at New Albany,128 a small town of Indiana, and procured a few provisions which were short at Louisville and Shippingport, and at every other place we touched at till we reached Shawneetown, most of the bacon, pork, &c. having been sent off to New Orleans in the spring. We came thirteen or fourteen miles. In the evening the mosquitoes were very troublesome.

3d. We found our ark had sprung {115} a leak from hitting on the rocks yesterday, so that we were obliged to be frequently pumping. The country below New Albany less settled than above, but most on the Indiana side.129 At noon we passed Salt river; it crosses Kentucky from north to south, and in a wet season, at least, it is navigable a good distance. We afterwards passed Otter creek, and found the country more cultivated; and at dusk, Doe creek; our progress thirty miles. We purchased at Louisville "The Pittsburg Navigator," to serve instead of a pilot. We found much difference, in regard to distances, between the book and the accounts we received on the river; but the directions respecting sand-banks and islands we found pretty correct; and these were of some use to us.

4th. At ten o'clock, we reached the town of Northampton, in Indiana; a place of twenty-five or thirty log-houses. We landed for some whiskey; for our men would do nothing without, and but little with too {116} much of it. The river narrower than above Louisville, and the current brisker; this was generally the case where the river was narrow, as by islands, sand-banks, &c. In the evening we passed Little Blue river and two islands. Thirty miles this day.

5th. At nine o'clock we passed the Big Blue river, sixty or seventy yards wide; it rises in the north of Indiana, and runs south and south east, till it enters the Ohio, eighty-seven miles below Louisville. The country much resembles that below Wheeling, rocky, and the hills close to the river, first on one side then on the other. We landed at several cabins to procure provisions, but found them very scarce, most of the settlements being new. We met a keel-boat, the people on board greatly in want of provisions; they applied to us, but our stock was too low to supply them with any. At dark we passed Flint island, without any difficulty; this is said to be a bad place. We made about thirty miles.

6th. At nine o'clock we reached Rome, {117} the capital of Perry county,130 a town of Indiana, laid out in 1818; about twenty houses built, and building; a stone jail begun, the second floor laid with solid logs, ten or twelve inches thick, the roof not put on. We purchased sixteen pounds of very lean beef for a dollar; it was killed the evening before, and salted immediately, yet such was the heat of the weather it was scarcely eatable. No bacon, pork, or vegetables to be procured. A garden is the last thing that is thought of by the generality of the Americans. We landed at several cabins and procured a few small potatoes, and some ears of green Indian corn, (here called roasting ears,) but we boiled them; they ate something like green peas, but not quite so good. We bought an old skiff for a dollar, to supply the place of the one we lost on the Falls. Our progress nearly seventeen miles.

7th. We started at sun-rise, as we generally did, but the wind was so much against us we were obliged to anchor at eight {118} o'clock, at Clover creek. We landed in Indiana, and got near a bushel of peaches for ten-pence. Here we saw some children setting off to school; one boy came to the cabin to light his segar, that he might take a whiff going along to school. The men smoke segars, and many of the women (at least the married ones) pipes; we frequently saw women nursing their children with pipes in their mouths. And we often saw them washing on the banks of the rivers, as there is plenty of drift-wood. It saves the trouble of carrying fuel and water; and it is colder on the banks of rivers than near their cabins. Most of the women were surrounded by a number of young children; indeed, the first thing that strikes a traveller on the Ohio is the immense number of children, many of them almost naked. They do not appear healthy; but they look happy, rolling in the water and dirt. We often saw very little boys swimming in the river, sometimes leading others that could not walk: thus {119} the dread of water wears off while they are very young: I never heard of any of these children being drowned.

At ten o'clock we again set forward till two o'clock, when we passed Doe creek; the wind still getting higher, we anchored till near sun-set, when we again floated on. We found it was often the case for the wind to rise or sink with the sun; and that it was almost always from the south, south west, or west; and very seldom from the north, or east; and as the Ohio runs towards the south west, it was but seldom in our favour. And from what I have heard and read, the wind is generally the same as we found it; and this is the reason why vessels are so long descending the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, at least in low water. At high water they descend much more rapidly, as the current is then a great deal swifter, and the wind makes but little difference. But vessels with sails, often proceed as quickly up the Ohio as those do that float down; so that the advantage that is lost one way is {120} gained the other. This day only seven miles.

8th. At day light we grounded on a sand bar for a few minutes; and at eight o'clock reached Troy, a small town of Indiana; and afterwards passed Anderson's river, from fifty to sixty yards wide.131 The wind rising, obliged us to anchor a short distance below. I landed on the Indiana side, and walked three or four miles down the bank. I found a little cabin, situated on a small plantation, surrounded on all sides with high rocks, except against the river. The soil was so rich that the Indian corn was the largest I have ever seen; the owner said, it was eighteen feet high, but I think he made the most of it. I picked up a stick about six feet long, and, by measuring it with that and my own height, I should judge the highest of it was from fourteen to sixteen feet. There were great quantities of beans, pompions, and melons, running on and between the corn, all very luxuriant; in short, much larger than I ever {121} saw before or since. I then went to the next cabin; most of the way very rocky, but there the country more open; the owner was winnowing wheat, by the wind without any fan. The wheat was very coarse; it was sown in the spring; he said the land on the river was too rich for wheat, and subject to floods in the winter and spring; and when sown in the spring subject to rust or blight. But Indian corn came to high perfection. I saw a bear skin hanging up to dry; he informed me the country some distance back was rough and unsettled, and abounded with bears, wolves, deer, racoons, opossums, polecats, and other wild animals; and that they had frequently hunting parties. I asked him if a wounded bear was not a dangerous animal; he said he had frequently wounded them, and never saw one attempt to turn. He had, during the course of his life, killed more than a hundred. In their hunting parties they have always some stout dogs with them; but, he said, it was common for one man to {122} go alone, but never without dogs. Here I tasted the ripe fruit of the pawpaw or papaw, an extremely rich fruit, in flavour something like a pine-apple. I did not relish it; this they told me was often the case at first tasting it, but when accustomed to it people were fond of it. We did not see any more of these trees on the Ohio, but my son and Mr. C. saw a great many of them on the Wabash, in their voyage up that river. From this cabin I walked two miles, mostly through woods, to another; no provisions to be procured here, the people being newly settled. In this walk I passed fourteen or fifteen wild turkeys, in a field. As they only gently walked into the woods, I did not suspect they were wild ones; but mentioning them at the cabin, I was told there were no tame turkeys for many miles, but plenty of wild ones.

We returned to our ark, but, the wind continuing high, we could not proceed. At sunset we had a heavy tempest; the storm increased after we were a-bed. The {123} thunder and lightning, and the wind equally strong, and afterwards the rain poured down in torrents; and, driven on by the winds, came into our ark in every direction; so that most of us got completely wet in our beds. It continued for an hour, and was, by far, the most awful storm I ever knew. It made our ark shake very much, as we lay in shallow water, the wind driving us against the sand; but we were in no danger of being driven on shore, as the water shallowed very gradually, and we were a considerable distance from the bank. We had no large trees near us; and indeed it is advisable to avoid anchoring, during a thunder storm, near heavy timbers, as old trees frequently then fall.

9th. In the morning we set forward; afterwards some of us landed in Kentucky, and went about a mile to a horse-mill, where we procured some flour and vegetables. We continued on the river banks for near five miles; the country mostly in a state of nature. In the afternoon we {124} went to a cabin, and purchased some provisions; here we saw a small piece of land planted with cotton, just beginning to ripen. The person who belonged to it was from South Carolina; he said this cotton was as good, if not better, than that in Carolina. But most I have heard speak on the subject, say that the southern cotton is much better than that on the Ohio; and that it will not pay for raising in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois, except a little for home use. In the evening we passed some very high rocks named "The Lady Washington," and near them the small town of Rockport, in Indiana.132 We met with a bad sand-bar, that took us two hours strong exertion to get over. This day twenty-five miles. Weather warm and pleasant; mosquitoes a little troublesome.

10th. Soon after day-light we passed Yellow Banks, but we did not see the town. We afterwards passed an island, called in the "Pittsburg Navigator," number seventy. In the evening the men landed, at a small place {125} in Indiana, to get some whiskey, but none to be had, to the great disappointment of our two men, who did not stay to learn the name of the place, but came away in a great rage because there was no whiskey to be had. This was pleasing intelligence to us, as they had been very troublesome when in liquor, especially Thomas. About thirty miles this day.

11th. We had a little rap from a log sunk in the river, and twice we got a-ground before sun-rise. Very early in the morning we passed Green river, 200 yards wide, navigable for many miles; it rises far up in Kentucky; it runs west and south west. At sun-rise we passed Green island, and at eight o'clock reached Evansville,133 Indiana; it is the county town of Vanderburg; it is not three years old. It is situated near Pigeon creek, a middling size stream in winter, but nearly dry in summer. There is a settlement of English emigrants eight or ten miles back from Evansville, called Saundersville.134 Several of our fellow-passengers {126} in the Resolution had reached it about a week before, and are now settled there. This morning I first noticed cane growing on the banks; it is an evergreen, and much sought after by cattle in the winter. In the afternoon we reached the town of Hendersonville, or Red Banks, capital of Henderson county, Kentucky.135 There are about 100 houses, a jail, a court-house, some large tobacco warehouses, and a steam-mill, &c. &c. Here we procured some bread, but no meat to be had. It is situated on a high bank, above high-water mark. The size of the apple-trees showed it had been settled some years. There is much tobacco cultivated in the country to the back of it, and sent to distant markets; but I saw none on the banks of the river. This day 26 miles by water, but very few by land, the river making nearly a circle. The weather extremely hot at night, and much tormented with sand-flies and mosquitoes; the stings of the latter made some of my family swell, and produced great {127} itching, which, if rubbed, occasioned small sores, and made them much worse.

12th. At ten o'clock the wind obliged us to anchor a little above Diamond island. We landed in Indiana, but found no cabins. The woods mostly oak, sugar-maple, hiccory, with but little underwood; a few hazels without nuts; we had seen but few hazels on the river or any where else, except once near the mountains. Near mid-night, one of the men and myself being up, we discovered something near us, which we took for a log, and began pulling from it, when we found our mistake; it was a bear swimming in the river; he came close to that part of the boat where I was standing, and then made off up the river in great haste. We could hear him blow in the water longer than we could see him. Made this day 16 or 17 miles. We continued floating till near two o'clock, when we stuck on the top of a fallen tree, and we were obliged to cut off a bough before we could extricate the ark.

{128} 13th. Passed Straight island, and afterwards Slim island; near it we saw a large flock of pelicans, perhaps near eighty; they were on a sand bar; they were larger than a swan, and of a heavy appearance. Some of us went on shore, in Indiana, and purchased some peaches, pompions, and three fowls for 2s. 6d., which were paid for in English silver, with which they seemed much pleased, saying they should keep it for a curiosity. They said two little boys, a short time before, killed a large bear in the river, with the paddles of their canoe, having first almost drowned him by rowing round him. At seven o'clock we grounded close to the Wabash island, one mile above the mouth of the Wabash, after coming about 24 miles.

14th. At day-light we got off the sand-bar and passed the mouth of the Wabash, a large river that separates the states of Indiana and Illinois for many miles.136 Having passed this river, we had Kentucky on the left, and Illinois on the right. When we {129} reached Browns' Island, five miles from the Wabash, and four from Shawneetown; the wind obliged us to anchor on the left side, close to three large flat boats, loaded with flour, bacon, whiskey, tobacco, horses, and pine and cherry planks, for the Orleans' market. They had been 24 days from the falls of Louisville to this place, owing to the state of the water. This day we only came nine miles.

15th. In the morning we moved opposite to Shawneetown, and anchored close to some rocks, amongst keel-boats, arks, &c., some of them for sale. Many disembark here to go by land to Kaskaskia, and St. Louis, on the Mississippi river; and some for the English settlement at the Prairies. It is subject to floods, and that retards its growth. It is the nearest inhabited spot below the mouth of the Wabash, and in the neighbourhood of the United States Saline works, where about 300,000 bushels of salt are made annually. It is the county town of Gallittin, and has a land office for the {130} sale of the government lands, situated in the south east part of the state of the Illinois; extending 80 or 90 miles from the Ohio river towards the north; these united causes draw many to it, and make it a brisk place. There is a bank called the "Bank of Illinois," in good repute, many stores, and several taverns; the principal one, the Steam-boat Hotel, kept by Mr. Hobson from the north of England. There are about 80 houses, mostly of wood, and a wooden jail. The situation of the town is handsome; but being surrounded by low land, that is liable to be inundated, it is rather unhealthy, at least it was so when we were there. We paid off our two men, who soon hired themselves to go with a keel-boat to Nashville, in Tennessee, 200 miles up the Cumberland.

16th. We still remained in our ark, but landed to get some beef, but were too late except for the head and tongue, for which they charged 1s. 1½d.; they killed three beasts the evening before, but all the beef {131} was gone by seven o'clock in the morning; price from three to four and a half cents a pound: the beasts young but not half fat.

Having thus completed our second voyage in safety, we set out to look for a conveyance to the English Prairie, but could not hear of any. I forgot to mention, that, on the ninth of September, whilst I was on shore, those in the ark were offered peaches at 25 cents per bushel, or if they would take five bushels they should have them for a dollar.

17th. In the morning we agreed with Captain Hagan, master of a keel-boat belonging to Vincennes, to take our luggage to the mouth of the Bonpas, about 11 miles from the English Prairie; for the sum of 37½ cents per hundred weight. He agreed to take it at 6000 lbs. without weighing, which came to 5l. 1s. 3d. We could not agree for a waggon to convey us to the Prairies, as I thought they demanded too much.

We took a walk, and just above the town {132} saw a cypress swamp. The cypress is a singular tree, having a great many conical knobs growing round it, at some distance from the stem; they are called cypress knees, and are sometimes used for pails and bee-hives. This tree, at a distance, resembles the yew, but it is not an evergreen. The country round not much settled.

18th. We purchased a few articles to take with us, as we understood they were difficult to be procured at the Prairies; they consisted of an iron oven, some articles of grocery, &c. Many of the store-keepers were very obliging, but the boatmen the very reverse; a rough set of men, much given to drinking whiskey, fighting, and gouging, that is, they fight up and down, trying to put out each others eyes with their fingers and thumbs, and sometimes biting off each others noses or ears. A man, who resides near me, had the top of his nose bitten off, in one of these brutal frays, some years since. This is their common manner of fighting; but it is said that the neighbourhood {133} is improving in buildings and manners.

19th. This was the Sabbath, but not much observed at Shawneetown, there being no place of public worship. The Methodists sometimes hold meetings in a private house, but they are not well attended. There was much drinking and fighting, nor was work wholly laid aside, as we saw several teams out.

20th. I sold our ark for 14 dollars, but gave our skiff in the bargain; the purchaser was going to New Orleans, with fruit and vegetables.

21st. We removed our luggage from the ark, to Mr. Hagan's keel-boat. Captain Hagan had been waiting for some salt from the Saline, but as it did not arrive he would not wait any longer for it; as the water kept falling, he was afraid he should not get up the Wabash if he staid much longer. They went off at three o'clock with our luggage, and a small quantity of salt. Mr. C. and my second son went {134} with them. They took some provisions with them. The rest of us took our dinner and supper at Mr. Hobson's hotel, and slept there. The next day we intended to commence our journey on foot towards the Prairies, although the news just received from thence was unfavourable, that of three deaths, the wife of an Irish gentleman, and two Englishmen. Report said, much sickness prevailed at the Prairies, but this we had heard all the way from Wheeling, of most of the places in advance of us; but, except at Shippingport and Shawneetown, we found none at any place we called at. We, therefore, concluded this might be the case at the Prairies; and, even should the report be correct, we should be no better off by remaining where we were, as many of the inhabitants at Shawneetown were ill.

22d. Having procured some directions from Mr. Hobson concerning our road, at ten o'clock we commenced our journey; we first went through some low rich land, {135} mostly woods. The country not much settled; after walking 10 miles, we stopped at a cabin, and procured some water to make us some tea; this we had brought with us. From this cabin the soil not so good, and but few habitations. On the right of the road there was a marsh; this, most probably, had formerly been the bed of the Wabash. The heat being very great, and the road close, my daughters were greatly fatigued, and their feet being very sore they nearly gave out. In the evening we reached Robinson's or Boon's Mill, otherwise Newhaven, 18 miles from Shawneetown. We found the people at the tavern too ill to take in travellers, but we procured a lodging at the mill. The master and mistress from home on account of ill health; some servants were left at home to take care of the house and business; however, we fared pretty well. Newhaven is situated on the Little, and three miles from the Great Wabash. There is a grist and saw mill, and another large one building, {136} but for what purpose I did not learn; a tavern, and three or four other houses, comprise the whole of the town. The situation is unhealthy, owing to the mills penning back the water so much as to make it stagnant, the land being low between Newhaven and the Great Wabash.

23d. We passed the Little Wabash on the mill dam, it was only a few inches wide on the top, but slanting two or three feet to the water on the upper side, and ten feet or more on the lower side to the water. The water was low, and I did not much like crossing a river, near 100 yards wide, on so narrow a bridge; besides, some of the top was broken away, and there we had to crawl on the slanting timber. But most of my family did not appear to be alarmed. We proceeded slowly, my daughters' feet being very tender. At noon we stopped at the Rev. Samuel Slacum's to dinner; here we met four English and Scotch gentlemen, who had left Shawneetown the afternoon before. After dinner {137} we proceeded with them to the Big Prairies, 12 miles from Newhaven. At the entrance of the Prairies we separated, there being too many of us to hope to be accommodated at one tavern; we procured a lodging at the house of Mr. Hamilton, in the middle of the Prairie. The Big Prairie is a fine-looking place; and as we had been travelling generally surrounded by woods, it looked pleasant to see an open plain, of several miles extent in each direction. Just as we reached Mr. Hamilton's, I found a small land tortoise of about five inches over; the shell was strong, and beautifully clouded. I had never seen one before, or heard there were any in America; but I have seen several since.

Mr. Hamilton had only Indian corn bread, and as we had not been accustomed to it, we did not relish it; but he gave us some good fresh pork, and we had every reason to speak well of our treatment. Mr. Hamilton did not keep a tavern or boarding-house, but only occasionally lodged {138} travellers. It is customary, when travelling in America, to get a lodging at the first house we come to in an evening, for which a charge, (generally a reasonable one,) is made. Mr. Hamilton informed me, this Prairie had been settled eight or nine years; that the soil was very fertile but unhealthy, being surrounded by ponds and swamps. Warm, but no musquetoes.

24th. We arose before day-light, intending to go some distance to breakfast, and to travel leisurely in the middle of the day. We went two miles, through the Prairie, and joined the company we had parted with the preceding evening, and proceeded to the house of Captain Phillips, eight miles to breakfast. Our road was chiefly through woods, and part of it lay through the Hurricane-track, that is where a strong wind, some years back, opened a passage through the woods for a mile in breadth, and some hundred of miles in length; I have heard, from the upper part of the state of Ohio, to the Mississippi river, or {139} beyond it. This Hurricane-track is a great harbour for wild animals and game, as it keeps a large tract of country unoccupied. But as the hunters generally set fire to the weeds, &c. in the autumn, many of the trees are burnt; but, in other places, they lie on each other, and mostly in one direction. Mr. Phillips is a native of Ireland, an officer in the American service, a distiller of whiskey, a farmer, and a cattle dealer. After breakfast our road lay through woods, the country not much cultivated, to Mr. Paine's tavern at Bonpas, a place of six or seven houses, a quarter of a mile from the Big Wabash. The land fertile, and the timber extremely fine near the Bonpas; but much of the land we had passed this day was of very middling quality. Walked 17 miles, the weather not so warm, and no mosquetoes. Here we were informed, that the three deaths we had heard of at the Prairies all proceeded from different causes, and not from any prevalent disorder raging there.

{140} The town of Bonpas not likely to thrive, at least at present, as Oxford is laid out about a mile from it, at the mouth of the Bonpas, on the banks of the Big Wabash; and thus it is better situated for the trade of the Wabash, and equally so for that of the country; for should the Prairies ever be fully settled, their spare produce must find a market by this river, and one of these towns is the only place they can get to it.

25th. After breakfast we went on towards the Prairies; after walking two miles we took the wrong road, being deceived by the marks on the trees, viz. three notches, the road to Palmyra being marked the same. We afterwards inquired and got into the right road; passing through the woods we found many dwarf hazles, with vast quantities of nuts on them; and we soon loaded ourselves with them. We called at a cabin, and there found the gentlemen who had been our companions for the last two days, but we left them there. Two {141} of them are since settled in the English Prairie. About half a mile from the cabin we passed a small Prairie, and soon entered the woods again, and then some barrens. A barren is land nearly destitute of timber, but much overrun with scrubby underwood. A great deal of the land we had passed from Bonpas was good, and some of the timber very fine: I thought these barrens a poor sample of the country. After passing these barrens for more than a mile, we got sight of the Prairies. We first entered the long Prairie, and crossed one corner of it; then passed a small strip of timber, and then entered the English Prairie towards the east corner. Here we had a fine view towards the south-west and north-west, and it was extremely pleasant to see so much open land, with a few trees scattered over it. As we advanced, we saw some men making hay for Mr. Flowers, of Albion; the grass was coarse, and very ripe. We saw some large hay-ricks made in the English manner. Mr. Flowers's {142} flock, of more than 200 hundred sheep, were feeding near the road. I went and looked at them; they were poor and coarse, of different sorts, having been collected from the several places, and on the whole an indifferent flock. We saw the houses of Mr. Flowers and Mr. Birkbeck, and we entered the enclosures of the latter, about a mile from his house. There was a good deal of his land fenced in, but a piece of fallow, of upwards of 20 acres, was all I saw of cultivation. It was towards evening when we reached Mr. Birkbeck's house; we met with a friendly reception from him and his family; we supped with them, and slept at a cabin near.

Having arrived at the end of our journey, I have ceased to keep a regular journal.

On reviewing a journey of this length, we find we have much to thank the Almighty for, in conducting us in safety to the end of it, and in preserving us in health through such changes of climate and difference {143} of diet. As we did not leave England till the 9th of May, it was late in the season for crossing the Atlantic ocean; our ship sailed badly too, and the wind, as is usual in the summer, was from the south and west; and thus it took us 58 days to reach Baltimore from Cowes. Yet, with the exception of sea-sickness, we were all in perfect health. At Baltimore, we remained 16 days; here most of us had a slight bowel-complaint, but we left it perfectly recovered; yet at Fell's Point, where we resided, a very malignant fever broke out while we were there, or, at least, very shortly after we left it. In our journey, of 16 days, from Baltimore to Wheeling, 280 miles, we met with no accident of any kind, and our health continued equally good. In 38 days, from Wheeling to Shawneetown, 906 miles, we had no accident or sickness of any kind, although, from Louisville to Shawneetown, we had two very drunken and troublesome boatmen {144} to deal with. At the latter place we staid seven days, and still continued well, though many of the inhabitants were ill. Four days more took us to the Prairies, where we had the satisfaction of arriving well, and of finding the settlement was healthy, there being only two or three people unwell with agues. In our journey, if we asked the road, we received the best information in the power of the person of whom we inquired to give us. The Custom-house officers, who did not neglect their duty, behaved with great civility. Mr. Macgan, a native of Ireland, of whom we took a house in Baltimore, behaved in a most friendly manner, as did his wife also. The men who drove our waggons I have before spoken highly of, but not more so than they deserved. The same is due to Mr. Ferris, and his employer, Mr. Pemberton. The tavern-keepers were very civil, but not so polite as in England, but I must not forget Mr. Dent and Mr. Vannosdeln; {145} in short, we met with as good treatment as we should in a tour through England; but the manners of the Americans are more rough than those of Englishmen.

For several days I looked over the surrounding land with the intention of purchasing some. I found there were several quarter-sections belonging to the Congress, (as the public land is here called,) but these quarters were not in very good situations; and I had the offer of some entered land, some on which there were a few improvements, and some in its natural state. The first I had offered was at Birks' Prairie, four miles south-west of Wanborough. It belonged to Mr. Jeremiah Birks, the first settler in that prairie, and named after him.137 Mr. Birks was from home, and his father-in-law, Hugh Collins, Esq. showed me the land; there were upwards of twenty acres of Indian corn, the rest all wood-land, except two or three acres of prairie; the land rich, but rather wet. Mr. Collins, who lived near, also offered me his land; it was a {146} quarter-section, that is, a hundred and sixty acres. Fifteen or sixteen acres were fenced in, fifty acres prairie, the rest wood-land; this land drier than the other, but not so well timbered; that enclosed was partly wood-land and partly prairie, with some dead trees on it. He also offered me his crop and stock, and on the 30th of September I purchased it for nine hundred and forty dollars—two hundred and eleven pounds ten shillings; he received seven hundred of the dollars, and two hundred and forty were due at the land-office. My purchase included on the land two cabins, a stable, a well partly dug, nine acres of Indian corn, from which I had upwards of four hundred bushels; more than three hundred bushels of pompions; a small quantity of cotton; some shalots, and some small beans, much like French beans.138 The live stock consisted of three cows, three calves, three sheep, upwards of thirty pigs, and a considerable deal of poultry: I afterwards bought of him a heifer for four dollars.

{147} Mr. C. and my son arrived on the first of October with our luggage, in three waggons, from the mouth of the Bonpas river, or rather creek; for in a dry time it hardly runs, but in the winter it is a tolerably large stream. By their account they had rather a rough trip up the Wabash. The day they left Shawneetown they did not reach the Wabash, but entered it the next day; the water was so low they proceeded very slowly. The crew of the keel-boat were mostly Canadian Frenchmen from Vincennes; they soon consumed their own provisions, likewise those belonging to Mr. C. and my son; and as there were but few habitations on the river banks, they were forced to land and hunt for a living; they killed a few geese and some turkeys; these they were obliged to eat without bread, but once they procured a few potatoes at a cabin. In four or five days they reached Harmonie in Indiana, and procured a fresh supply of provisions and some whiskey, of which the crew made pretty free till it was {148} gone. Two days from Harmonie took them to the Bonpas, and in two more they arrived at the prairies, in health, and the luggage in good order. They described the Frenchmen as much the same as those of Europe, merry, good-natured, and thoughtless, enjoying the present moment, with but little thought for to-morrow. They lived on their provisions till they were gone, and then, in a manner perfectly good-natured, gave part of that they procured in hunting to their companions.

On the second of October, there was a game of cricket played at Wanborough by the young men of the settlement; this they called keeping Catherine Hill fair,139 many of the players being from the neighbourhood of Godalming and Guildford, &c.

On the third of October, I set out to walk to Shawneetown; I lost my way in the course of the day, by taking the road to {149} Carmi,140 this road being marked the same as the other; and went about four miles wrong before I discovered my mistake, but by inquiring I got directed right. Before sunset I reached the house of Mr. Slocum, thirty-four miles from Wanborough, where I slept. Very early in the morning I reached the Little Wabash, and forded it below the mill, the water nowhere higher than my knees. I arrived at Mr. Hobson's at two o'clock, twenty-four miles from Mr. Slocum's. On the following morning I settled with Mr. Collins, and also with the land-office, by paying up the remainder of the money due on the land. As Mr. Sloo, the register of the land-office, was from home, Mr. Collins was forced to sign the transfer of the land to me before a justice, (here called an esquire,) and also to get the county clerk's signature, and the county seal put to it, signifying the magistrate is a regular one for that county. But its being done before the register of the land-office saves all this trouble and expense. I returned {150} to Newhaven to sleep. The next morning I bought of my landlord a horse for seventy dollars; I applied to a store for a saddle and bridle, but neither was to be procured; at length the landlord found the bit of an old bridle, and we made a rein with some tow; so I mounted and set forward. Towards evening it began to rain very fast, and I stopped at the house of Mr. M., sixteen miles from Wanborough. He was one of the first settlers in this part of the country; he had lived nine or ten years in the Illinois; most part of the time where he now resides; but he had been driven off three times by the Indians. He was once shot through the thigh by a rifle-ball, as he was in a house one evening with seven or eight others. One of his companions was killed: the Indians fired through the holes between the logs; they soon put out their light, and the Indians did not enter the house, of which, he said, they were very glad, as they were not well armed to receive them; having only three rifles and as {151} many axes. The reason why so many of them were together was, they had sent off their wives and children, and they were met to shell some corn to take with them, intending to remove the next day. These back-woodsmen have a strong dislike to the Indians, and having been brought up with sentiments of antipathy towards them from their childhood, many of them declare they should not mind shooting an Indian more than a wild cat or racoon. Some of the back-woodsmen have been following the Indians from the frontiers of Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia, through the States of Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, without being much more settled than the Indians themselves. Mr. M. said, the Indians had not disturbed him for some years, and he did not think he should go again to molest them.

About a week afterwards I made a purchase of 162 acres, of Mr. Samuel Anderson, for 480 dollars, 108l. sterling. This {152} land was also at Birks' prairie, one mile north from the other; it was all prairie, except 40 or 50 acres of wood-land. It lies well to cultivate, and by some is called as good a quarter section as any on the prairie; but I prefer my first purchase, and think it was much cheaper. On the 13th I settled at the land-office at Shawneetown, but not having the transfer signed by the county clerk of Edwards county, I could not send the certificate on to Washington for the President's signature. A certificate, with the land-office receipt, being sent to Washington, a patent is made out, and signed by the President of the United States, which is a complete title. I sent the transfer from Mr. Anderson to me to Palmyra,141 the county town of Edwards county, and got the county clerk's signature; for this I paid 75 cents, 3s. 4½d. And on the 30th I again visited Shawneetown, and lodged my two certificates at the land-office, to be sent on to Washington for the President's signature. On my return {153} I had a most disagreeable journey, owing to the fires in the woods, that filled the air so full of smoke, that the sun could scarcely be seen through it. In the autumn, (here called the fall,) the hunters always set fire to the grass and weeds, for the benefit of hunting. These fires do much damage to the woods, and sometimes to the plantations; but clear the country of weeds, and destroy much of the harbour for wild beasts.

Thus having purchased all the land I intend to buy at present, and having taken the cabin we lodged in on our arrival at Wanborough, I purpose to remain here at least for some time, and to take in a few boarders, as such a house is much wanted. But part of my family have removed to Birks' prairie.

I shall now take a short survey of the state of Illinois, and the country round the prairies; with some account of its animal and vegetable productions, agriculture, &c. &c.

The state of Illinois, where I have {154} pitched my tent, is one of the youngest of the states, as it has been a state only about two years. But some parts of it have been settled upwards of 100 years; near Vincennes, the town of Kaskaskia, and a few other places near the Mississippi river. These settlements were formed by the French, from Upper Canada.142

In 1783 it was settled this part of the country belonged to the United States; from that time till within a very few years, the Americans made but few settlements in Illinois, but of late many have been formed. And the inhabitants amounting to more than 60,000, it was raised into a state; and admitted into the union, as the 21st state. Three others have since been admitted, viz. Missouri, Alabama, and Main, so that the union now consists of 24 states, whereof 13 were the original ones, and two formed from them, Vermont and Main; and nine new ones, namely, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, {155} Missouri, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois; also a large tract of country equal in extent to all the 24 states, under the names of Michigan, North Western, Mississippi, and Missouri territories. These immense territories extend from the gulf of Mexico towards the Spanish territories; and north and westward to the rocky mountains and the Pacific Ocean; north eastward towards Canada and the Lakes.

The state of Illinois had its boundaries established by an act of congress. The Ohio river washes its southern border for 160 miles, from the mouth of the Wabash to the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and separates it from the state of Kentucky. The Mississippi river bounds its western side to the rocky hills, in latitude 41 deg. 50 min. north, a distance, by the river, of 600 miles; and separates it from the state of Missouri. The Wabash washes its eastern border, from its mouth to near Fort Harrison,143 where the division line leaves the river, and runs due north till {156} it reaches 41 deg. 50 min. north, and separates it from Indiana. An imaginary line, from east to west, in latitude 41 deg. 50 min. north, divides it from the north western territory. The length of the Illinois state, from north to south, is more than 300 miles; and its mean breadth upwards of 200 miles. Its southern point, the mouth of the Ohio river, is in latitude 36 deg. 57 min. north. It is calculated to contain 52,000 square miles, or 33,280,000 acres, which is nearly as large as England and Wales. Its present population is estimated at 70,000, but it is fast increasing. It is well situated as to navigation, the Wabash running on its eastern side 240 miles. The Ohio, on its southern, 160; and the Mississippi, on its western side, upwards of 600 miles. The noble river, the Illinois, runs through the state upwards of 300 miles, and the Kaskaskia 150; besides many other considerable streams, as the Mine, Sagamond, Demi Quain, Seseme Quain, Fox River, Plein, and Theakiki; these two last {157} form the Illinois river.144 The rest of these rivers, with some others, fall into the Illinois, which river runs into the Mississippi 200 miles above the mouth of the Ohio, and 20 above the Missouri river. Au Vase, or muddy river, and Wood river, also fall into the Mississippi; as does Rocky river, 300 yards wide: this is the largest river on the western side of Illinois, except the Illinois river, which is more than 400 yards wide. The rivers emptying into the Ohio are but few and small, but the Saline is much noted for its salt-works; it enters the Ohio about 15 miles below Shawneetown. On the eastern side of the state are several rivers that run into the Big Wabash, and are of considerable note; such as Rejoicing, Duchat, Mascoutin, Embarres, Little Wabash, and some others.145 The Big Wabash is 300 yards wide at its entrance into the Ohio, in latitude 37 deg. 20 min. north. There are some small lakes towards the north part of the state; and the northern boundary-line is supposed to touch the {158} south end of Lake Michigan; but this line has not yet been run, so that it is not certain.

This state contains more prairie land (prairie means meadow-land) than any, if not as much as all the other states east of the Mississippi, but very little, if compared with the west side of that river. The land on the Missouri being mostly prairie for many hundred miles. The prairies of Illinois vary in size from a few acres, to one called the Grand Prairie, which is upwards of 200 miles in length, and from 20 to 30 in breadth. I have been informed, by a person who lives in the Long Prairie, an arm of the grand one, that he has been 25 miles along his own prairie, but had never seen the Grand Prairie; but understood he was near it. The arm comes within 10 miles of the English prairie, but on the other side of the Little Wabash, to the north-west of the English prairie. The English prairie was first called Boltinghouse prairie, from a young man of that name, who was killed by the Indians a few {159} years ago. It is situated towards the east side of the state, about 45 miles, almost due north, from the mouth of the Big Wabash; so that it lies about 38 deg. 26 min. north latitude; and about five miles east of the Little Wabash, and about 10 miles north-west, from the nearest point of the Big Wabash, which is at the mouth of the Bonpas. It may, I suppose, be five miles by four, but of a very irregular figure, and may contain 16 square miles, that is, about 10,000 acres. It is one of the largest prairies near which the English are settled, but there are some in many others, namely, Village, Long, Bonpas, Burnt, Bushy, French Creek, and some others, and Birks: this last is long and narrow, with several arms to it, and, I suppose, it may contain nearly 4000 acres. The irregular form of the prairies makes it difficult to ascertain accurately their size; but the prairies enumerated above, take one with another, are, I suppose, as large as Birks. Long Prairie, here mentioned, is not the arm of {160} the Grand Prairie noticed before. All these prairies are situated between the Bonpas to the east, and the Little Wabash to the west, and are separated from each other by woods; but in many places are nearly contiguous, and some of them, I believe, do join. They are destitute of timber, except a few strips on the water-courses, and a few groves in them. They produce a coarse grass, which although full of weeds, and the stalks of many large flowers, the cattle seem fond of it: it is made into hay, and eaten by them during the winter.

Mr. Birkbeck's settlement, called Wanborough, is situated at the north-west corner of the English Prairie, and contains 25 cabins, a tavern, a store or two, and several lodging houses; and several carpenters, bricklayers, brick-makers, smiths, wheelwrights, and sawyers; also a taylor and butcher.

A horse or ox mill is building, a malt-house planned out, and a new brick building for a tavern, and several new houses {161} began. As water is scarce, there are some more wells digging. Mr. Birkbeck, in July, found a tolerable good spring, by digging only six feet, about 300 yards from his house; but several of the wells lately dug have but little water in them.

Mr. Birkbeck's house is situated south of the village, a frame and log building of good size; it stands pleasantly, and commands a fine view of the prairie.

The building lots, at Wanborough, are some of five, and others of two and a half acres, laid out, like most of the American towns, in streets that cross each other at right angles, running north and south; the cross ones east and west. The lots are in the woods, but a considerable quantity of the wood is now cleared.

Albion, Mr. Flower's settlement, lies two miles east of Wanborough; it is also situated in the woods, a little north of the English Prairie. It has about 20 cabins, a place of worship, a market-house, two taverns, two stores, a surgeon, several carpenters, brick-makers, {162} bricklayers, wheelwrights, smiths, sawyers, and a shoemaker. Several wells have lately been dug in and near it, but water is still scarce.

Mr. Flower's house is to the south-east of Albion, a large log-building, well placed to enjoy the prospect of the prairie.

Many cabins are built round the prairies, but mostly just in the woods. The English that do not reside in the two villages, are scattered round the different prairies, mostly in single cabins.

About four miles to the east of Albion, at Bonpas-bridge, there is a saw-mill lately built, but it is not yet got to work, having had the mill-dam carried away by a flood in February. I believe it is a place very short of water; it is the property of Messrs. Le Serre and Grutt, late of Jersey or Guernsey, I do not know which: it has a tavern and store also.

The country round us is not well watered but very healthy. The creeks in the woods and prairies dry up in a dry season, {163} except a few deep holes that are shaded by trees; nor are there many of the wells that possess good springs. As the weather has been very dry ever since the first of April, water is now (August the sixth) extremely low in most of the wells and creeks; but there are some wells that still afford a good supply; and some of the large holes in the creeks have plenty of water in them. The soil found in digging wells, is, first, a vegetable mould, next loamy clay, then sand-stone, and lastly clay-slate, through which no one has yet penetrated, though some have dug 50 or 60 feet without finding water. Many are of an opinion, that, if the clay-slate was once dug through, water would be found in great abundance underneath; others, that pit-coal lies below the clay-slate. I am rather of the latter opinion, and my reason for so thinking is, that very thin veins of coal have frequently been found in the clay-slate; and on the bank of the Little Wabash, where the country is considerably lower, there are {164} large mines of coal. The water that is found in the wells, mostly rises between the sand-stone rocks, but often in too small quantities to be of much service for domestic uses. I have dug two; one at Wanborough, the other at Birks' Prairie; the first is 11 feet deep, it has but little water: the latter is quite without, though 23 feet down to the slate-rock. As most of the wells dug out in Birks' Prairie have produced water, I have begun another, at some distance from the cabin, that promises to afford a good supply: the two I have finished cost me about 15 pounds. I have stopped a creek at Wanborough that has supplied us with water for many uses. Our well, though very short of water, has been very convenient; we let meat down in the bucket, it prevents the flies getting at it, and keeps it much better than any safe in this hot climate.

The clay-slate lies from 5 to 30 feet below the surface of the earth. No lime-stone near us; a little free and soap {165} stone; but sand-stone is the prevailing stone for many miles round us. A well at Birks' Prairie is strongly tinctured with glauber salts, and another with sulphur. And there are several salt-licks: a salt-lick is a place where the earth is strongly impregnated with salt; horses, cattle, and pigs often frequent them, and the earth is worn away in a great degree by their licking it. It is supposed by some, that salt-water might be obtained by digging at these places, from which salt might be made, but no one has yet attempted it. These places were first used by the buffaloes, that some years ago used to frequent the prairies: a man, who resides at Birks' Prairie, informed me, that eight or nine years since, he often visited the Prairies, as he was then employed, with many others, during a war with the Indians, to be on the look-out for them, and then he often saw both elks and buffaloes, but they were not numerous. As the country became settled, they moved off to the large prairies, to the {166} north and west. Deer at that time were in vast quantities, and in these expeditions they lived mostly on venison; sometimes for a fortnight or three weeks at a time without any bread. And I have been told, by the first English settlers, that deer were much more numerous in 1818, than they now are 1820.

The buildings round us being chiefly of logs, I will give the best description in my power of a log-cabin; as I could form no idea of it till I saw one, that was at all like it. They are of various widths, lengths, and heights, but generally only one story high. The usual shape a long square, some are made of round, and others of hewn logs. In building a cabin, suppose 30 feet long and 20 wide; first, two logs, 30 feet long, are placed on the ground on a level, and about 18 feet from each other, these two logs are then notched in, near their ends, for a few inches; and then two more logs of 20 feet long, having their undersides also notched, are laid on the two first, forming {167} a long square of the following figure, about 26 feet long, and 16 feet wide on the inside. One square being thus formed, they next proceed to place on two more of the longest logs on the sides, notched as before, and then two of the shortest, as before; this they continue till the building is nine or ten logs high on each side, when the two last cross-logs are laid on three or four feet longer than the other cross ones; this is to form a sort of eaves to drip the logs; two more of the longest logs are then laid on, and this completes the upright of the building. Two cross-logs, cut slanting at the ends, are next placed on, just the length of the width of the building, and then two more of the side-logs on the cross-logs, but not to the end of them by some distance; then two more, cut slanting at the ends, are placed just to reach to the last side-logs; thus drawing in the sides, till the side-logs meet in a point at the top of the building. {168} A cleft piece of a tree is next placed on the outer end of the long cross-logs, and pegged on to prevent the cleft boards from sliding off, this is done on each side of the building. The whole is then covered with cleft-boards, (here called clap-boards;) they are about four feet long and six inches wide, laid on nearly double, so as to cover the joints; the boards at the top of the cabin on one side come a little over those on the other. When the roof is thus covered, some poles are laid along the building to keep the boards on; these poles are kept at about three feet distance from each other, by some short pieces of wood placed on the boards, to keep up the weight-poles as they are called. When they have done thus far, they call the cabin "raised." But no door-place, window, fire-place, floor, or ceiling is yet made, nor is the house very close on the sides, but looks something like a bird-cage. Next a door-place, of the usual size, is cut through the logs, and two pieces of wood are nailed or pegged up to the ends of the sawed logs, to keep them in {169} their places, and to serve for door-posts; frequently two doors are made opposite to each other. The windows are made in the same manner as the door-places. The chimney is generally placed at the end of the building, and is made as follows: first, four or five logs are cut out the same as for a door-place, of what width people chuse, and then some logs are cleft and placed in the following form on the outside, so that the ends of them are let in between the ends of the end-logs of the cabin that were sawed. The cleft-logs are thus continued, till they rise as high as the logs that were sawed out. The chimney is then carried up thus, exactly in the form of the cabin, but of much smaller logs, till it rises above the roof of the building; it is drawn in and made smaller from the bottom to the top. It is then chunked, that is, cleft pieces of wood are driven in between the logs, to fill up the open places. The next thing to be done, is to mud the cabin on the outside {170} between the logs; that is, it is plastered with loam or clay: this is sometimes done on the inside also, but more frequently cleft boards are pegged on to cover the joints on the inside. A few pieces of timber are next laid to lay the floor on, which is most commonly made of cleft-logs, hewn smooth on one side, and notched a little on the under side to lie level on the sleepers or joists. A ceiling is then made; some small saplings are cut and put in between the side-logs of the building, just under the roof, about three feet apart; and these ceiling joists are then covered with cleft boards, beginning at one end of the cabin, and laying a line across the end on the two joists, and then another row with their ends just resting on the first; and this is continued till the whole is covered. Most times the chimney is walled up several feet on the inside, the stones are laid in loam or clay instead of mortar; and above the wall it is plastered on the inside, and sometimes on the outside to the top of the chimney. The hearth is {171} made of stone or clay. The doors are generally made of cleft boards, nailed or pegged on some ledges, with wooden hinges, made in the following manner. A piece in the back part of the door is left longer than the door, and enters a hole in the sill; and at the top of the door a piece is also left to rest against the top of the door-place, which is covered with a piece of wood, either nailed or pegged over it. The windows are always sash ones; the usual size of the glass is eight inches by ten; the windows are sometimes made to open with hinges, and others to slide backwards and forwards, while others take out and in. When the doors are made of sawed boards they have eight or ten panes of glass in them, and then it is seldom there is any other window in the cabin. A porch is often made before the cabin, the whole length of it, and covered with cleft boards; which cost seventy-five cents a hundred, cutting the trees and cleaving out; they are always made from large trees, mostly the black {172} oak. Cabins are frequently made double; that is, two are built from 10 to 20 feet a-part, with a roof laid over the space between them. A shelter like this is very convenient, and, in the summer, it is more comfortable than a close room in so warm a country.

Many cabins, belonging to the Americans, have no ceiling nor windows, and some of them have no floor, nothing but the bare earth; and some are not mudded, but open on all sides. Locks to doors are nearly unknown, but wooden bolts are common with the English: many of the American houses have only a latch, and some have not even that.

A double cabin, with a 20-feet porch between, with floor and ceiling, finished as above described, may be built for the sum of 150 dollars, 33l. 15s., or something less. But with ceiling, floor, and doors, made of sawed boards, will come, I suppose, to near 50l. Sawing comes very high, being 9s. per hundred feet; but the sawyers cut {173} down the trees and go with the horses that draw them to the pit.

The cabin I inhabit first consisted of a double one, with a porch 20 feet wide between them: this I have since converted into two rooms; the end rooms are of logs, the centre ones of frame and board, with a brick chimney. At the back of the cabin I have added a cellar, &c. Smoke-houses are very common, and built much as dwelling-houses, only slighter, and not often mudded. Some cross-pieces are put on the joists to hang the bacon on. I have built one; it cost 23 dollars; it is about eighteen feet square and nine feet high. We are obliged to cut our flitches asunder, as we have not sufficient height above the fire. Old wood, nearly rotten, is best for drying bacon, as it makes much smoke and but little strong fire. The fires are kept burning a considerable length of time, as bacon, in this warm climate, requires to be well dried, to keep. The Americans, do not, in general, I think, allow sufficient {174} salt. The average price of salt near three pence per pound; bacon from eight to twelve and a half cents per pound; in summer it is sometimes rather higher; now (August) from ten to twelve and a half cents.

Farm-buildings are not yet numerous. Corn-cribs are built the same as cabins, except that they are placed on logs, so as to stand hollow for some distance from the earth; the bottom is made of cleft pieces, laid pretty close. They are built of different lengths and widths, but about six feet on the inside is deemed wide enough, as corn will dry in them better than if wider. The roof is only drawn in on one side, which two lengths of boards will cover. As they lay the top pretty flat, they most times take off the greater part, or the whole of the boards, when filling them with Indian corn ears, as they only gather the ears. When full, or the whole growth of the year is put in, the boards are put on, and the weight poles again laid on. Should a heavy {175} shower, or even a set rain, come on whilst the corn-crib is filling, as the bottom and sides are not close, not being mudded, it will soon dry out again without damaging the corn. I had one built, for 15 dollars, that will hold upwards of 600 bushels of corn in the ear. I suppose, it would hold near 1000 bushels of cleared corn. The Americans never shell theirs till it is wanted for use or market; but most of what is sold, is in the cob or ear. They measure it by barrels; that is, they fill an old flour-barrel, then shell and measure it, and from the produce of it they calculate on the whole number of barrels sold.

Cow and pig pens, with cart and waggon lodges, are yet scarce. When pigs are shut up for fatting, it is common to make a fence for them of rails, in the same manner as for fields; sometimes one corner is covered over for a lodging place for them, but it is more common for them to be left to the mercy of the winds and weather. But as they are hardy animals, and accustomed {176} to hard living and lodging, it does not appear to hurt them. There are but few cattle-yards and sheds; and the cattle are mostly left abroad in winter, with no shelter but what the leafless trees afford. I have seen no barn in any part of the English settlement, although several of our American neighbours grew some wheat last year. A person at Birks' Prairie has built a threshing-floor, to which he purposes adding a barn. Mr. Birkbeck, Mr. Flower, and other wheat-growers of this year, have put up their wheat, in the fields where it grew, in very small stacks, with little or no covering; this I think hazardous to the wheat, but the Americans say no: but they do not stand on trifles; however, time will show.

I have seen barns at a distance from the English settlement, that would hold, perhaps, six loads of wheat, (forty bushels to the load,) in the straw, supposing it to yield tolerably well; with a large threshing-floor, for threshing or treading out the {177} grain with horses. One similar to these might be built for a hundred dollars (twenty-two pounds ten shillings).

There are no granaries or store-houses except corn-cribs, a few poultry-houses, mostly built the same as the cabins; as are stables also, but they are sometimes carried higher, to allow room for a hay-loft; some have a rack, but this is not common among the Americans, as, generally, they only have a manger, which is frequently made out of a hollow tree, the ends being stopped with wood or clay.

I shall now proceed to give a short description of the domestic and wild animals. Most of the horses are of Spanish origin; they are light and clean, but not very handsome; their coats are fine, when kept up and well cleaned, but this is seldom the case; active, but not good in the collar, being too light for heavy draught. I have bought three since my arrival, for two hundred and ten dollars (forty-seven pounds five shillings): the first {178} was six years old, for which I gave seventy dollars; the second eight years, sixty dollars; and the last four years old, eighty dollars. The first and the last very good bargains, but the other a very indifferent one, as she has given me much trouble, for she will leap any rail-fence like a greyhound dog. Times being dull, horses are getting cheaper; but still they are much dearer than any other kind of stock. Oxen and cows are now more plentiful, but hitherto they have been fetched from the states of Indiana and Kentucky. They are of various sorts, but on the whole pretty good; some of them are handsome, and with a little care and expense an excellent breed might be raised. The price of beef from four to six cents a pound; it is now selling at five cents, but expected to be soon cheaper. Calves are not often killed. Cows are generally suffered to run in the woods, and return to their calves mornings and evenings, when they are partly milked, and the calves have the remainder of the milk. If {179} calves are killed or die, the cows often go dry for the remainder of the season, as it is very difficult to get the cows to come home to be milked; and as many of them take a long range, it is troublesome to find them. The price of veal nearly the same as beef. A good cow and calf may be had for from sixteen to twenty dollars.

Besides the cows and calves I bought of Mr. Collins, I purchased nine beasts of a drover from Kentucky, for eighty-four dollars and a half (2l. 2s. 3d. each); my stock now consists of sixteen beasts, of different ages, and three calves. I shall not increase my number till we get water in the fall, as new cattle are apt to stray for want of it. We often give them salt; a handful will do for twelve or fifteen. If given twice a-week, it is said to be wholesome for stock of all kinds, and I concur in this opinion. The reason I have heard why stock require salt in this country, is, that being at so great a distance from the ocean, there is no salt in the air, as in countries nearer the sea. I {180} believe they give their beasts salt on the shores of the Atlantic; and as it is there said to be serviceable to them, perhaps salt is beneficial to cattle in all situations, at least in hot climates. Beasts are much lighter here than in England, as their flesh is not so firm as in a colder country; the difference, perhaps, one-sixth or one-seventh part, in two beasts of the same size.

No great quantity of butter, and but little cheese, has been made in this settlement. Mr. Birkbeck has lately begun a dairy of twenty cows; he intends to make cheese; the dairy is managed by a woman from the New England States. He has weaned fourteen or sixteen of his calves, and his cows appear to keep well together. As Mr. Birkbeck has much land under fence, and some of it sown with timothy grass, and several good wells, and some creeks running through his enclosures, I hope he will soon establish a good cheese-dairy. The present price of butter is twelve cents and a half; but during the {181} winter it was twenty-five cents, and difficult to be procured. Cheese is now sixteen cents.

Beasts, sheep, and pigs are all marked in their ears, by cutting and notching them, in all possible directions and forms, to the great disfigurement of many of them; yet these marks are absolutely necessary in this wild country, where every person's stock run at large; and they are not sometimes seen by their owners for several months, so that without some lasting mark it would be utterly impossible to know them again. Most people enter their marks with the clerk of the county in which they reside, and no person is then allowed to use the same marks, if living in the same county, and within five miles of the person who has previously entered the same marks. The county clerk's fee for entering a mark is twelve cents and a half. And no person is allowed to dispute his marks with another of the same marks, unless his are also entered at some county office.

{182} The sheep of this country, and indeed of the whole of America, as far as I have seen, are mean, when compared to those of England. They are of different sorts, but much mixed. If I can judge of their origin, I think the Lincolnshire and Welsh sheep are the nearest to their original breeds; but many of them have had a little Merino blood mixed with them of late years. I have seen no sign of the South-down sheep. There are but few sheep at the prairies, and the greater part of them are very mean ones. But there a few good Merinoes, and some few others tolerable; but in general they are coarse, with very hollow coarse wool; and there are some that have a hairy kind of wool. Nor do I think sheep will be of much service in this part of the country, till more land is brought into culture, and laid down in cultivated grasses, as prairie grass is of a coarse nature, and will not bear much feeding, as it is apt to die if eaten down very bare.

Few of the American flocks exceed {183} twenty; but most of those who keep a few, shut them up at night to protect them from the wolves. Bears, I believe, never destroy sheep, at least I never heard of it.

The Americans keep sheep for the sake of their wool, which is manufactured into various articles of clothing; and at most of their cabins you may see carding, spinning, and weaving going forward; for to give the American women their due, many of them are truly industrious, as they manufacture most parts of their dress; and as they grow the cotton, flax, and wool, it comes reasonable.

These Americans hold mutton in the utmost contempt, and I have heard them say, people who eat it belong to the family of wolves. And many of them, who in the summer are sometimes short of meat, when their bacon is exhausted, would live on corn-bread for a month, rather than eat an ounce of mutton, veal, rabbit, goose, or duck. Their dislike arises from prejudice, {184} as many of them have never tasted these things. But I have heard a few of them say they like mutton; but even if fond of it, they will never purchase it, for fear of the scoffs of their neighbours. I do not intend to keep any sheep till I am better prepared for them. Wool sells, on a small scale, for half a dollar a lb., without much regard to its fineness, which is the reason why sheep are higher than mutton, as a sheep of fifty lbs. weight will fetch from two dollars fifty cents to three dollars; whereas, at five cents per lb., the very top price for mutton, the same sheep would only fetch two dollars fifty cents. Very few sheep are therefore killed here, as the butcher cannot afford to sell for five cents per lb., the same as beef, as their skins are of little or no value. Fat for candles sells high, ten cents a lb., twice the price of meat.

Pigs are numerous, being easily raised: they are of various sorts; but many of them {185} are of a sandy colour, and some with wattles; that is, a piece of flesh, about two inches long and half an inch thick, growing out on their cheeks. They are of middling size, but from very hard keep, they do not rise to much weight. It is not uncommon for one person to have from sixty to a hundred running in the woods, and left to shift for themselves, except giving them now and then a little salt. During the summer, when grass and herbs are dry, and before the masts begin to fall, it is almost impossible to describe how excessively poor they are. Most of them run till they are two, and sometimes three years old, before they are killed; and, in general, they have but little fattening. Some years, when there is a large quantity of acorns, hiccory-nuts, &c., they are said to get good pork. A hog of two hundred lbs. weight is here called a fine chunk of a fellow, and few exceed that weight; though many, if well kept and made fat, would weigh three hundred lbs. weight, {186} and some of them are large enough to weigh four hundred lbs. weight. They do not, in general, produce many at a time; I do not recollect I ever saw more than nine, and this number is very unusual. We frequently lose some, as the bears and wild cats make free with them. Many of the Americans tie a bell round the neck of one of their old hogs, to keep the gang, as they call it, together. It is also common to bell horses and cows, when running at large. The price of pigs varies very much: it is generally very low; but much dearer in September and October than in any other part of the year, as the masts are then near falling. Pork last year from four to five dollars per hundred lbs. weight, which, on an average, is less than two-pence halfpenny a lb.; and in Indiana it was cheaper than with us. Pigs are generally killed by the seller, and after they are scalded, they are carried to the buyer, as it is very difficult to drive wild pigs in a country like this. And as to the fattening bestowed on them, it only {187} enables them to run much faster than ever they could before.

A farrier and cow-leech are here nearly unknown, as most people doctor their own horses and cattle; they are subject to many disorders unknown in England, particularly to sore mouths; it first comes in the tongue, and proceeds towards the throat. The first mare I purchased was taken with it soon after I had her; I was on a journey; I found it first by her foaming much at the mouth; I examined her tongue, and found it was getting a little sore. I had heard of a remedy for this complaint, and I determined to apply it as soon as possible. I called on Mr. Slocum, whom I knew, and procured some alum and copperas, and pounding a small quantity of each, I tied it in a rag round the bit of my bridle, and when I got home I renewed the application. As horses with this disease can seldom eat corn, I tied mine up out of doors on a piece of timothy grass, and gave her as many pompions as {188} she would eat. Once a-day I put on her bridle, as before, and kept it on an hour. She soon got well, without losing any flesh; but many horses that have had it have been reduced almost to skeletons before they were cured, and some have died of it. I think it is a very dangerous disorder if neglected at first; and it is catching, by horses eating at the same manger. Some cows and pigs have caught it by eating the remainder of the corn left by horses. Some geese likewise had it. The fret is sometimes fatal. I have not seen one broken-winded, and but very few blind horses in America.

The poultry are—fowls, geese, and ducks; I have seen but few turkeys or guinea-fowls. Fowls are in very great abundance, and now sell for 12½ cents, (6¾ d.) A dozen of eggs is, generally, the price of one chicken. Geese and ducks are kept by the Americans for the sake of their feathers, and not for sale or to eat. They pick them six or eight times in a year, nearly naked {189} except their wings; they look extremely bad for some time after they are picked, but, in the summer, they get full feathered in about a month. I last year saw some very naked late in November. We have not picked ours, at which the Americans express much surprise, as the feathers are their only motive for keeping them. The geese are, I think, finer flavoured than in England, as they are not so strong tasted.

Fowl-feathers the Americans do not save, but scald their fowls to fetch them off. Geese and duck feathers are 50 cents per pound. We brought several beds with us, and we have purchased three since we have been here; they cost us 5l. 12s. 6d. each; it is, therefore, cheaper to buy them here than to bring them from England; but a person might, perhaps, have some time to wait before any could be procured, as, I believe, not ten beds have been offered for sale, in this settlement, since September last.

I have now given an account of all the {190} live stock, with the exception of dogs and cats; the latter we find very useful, having plenty of mice; and as to dogs we have a numerous collection of every size, sort, and colour, lap-dogs, I believe, only excepted; and as we have no dog-tax in this country, we much miss that useful thing.

The woods and prairies contain the following wild animals (but there are but few of those that are most dangerous);—viz. bears, wolves, panthers, wild-cats, foxes, opossums, racoons, ground-hogs, ground-squirrels, tree or common squirrels, deer, buffaloes, elks, beavers, otters, and rabbits. Bears and wolves are not numerous; but the latter, sometimes, kill pigs and sheep; a person at Birks' Prairie lately lost several sheep by the wolves. I have never heard of a wolf being killed, but I have frequently heard them howl of a night, and sometimes near us. Parties are frequently formed to hunt the bears, and some are often killed; yet I have never seen one, except that one in the Ohio. Their skins sell from one to two {191} dollars. Of panthers I have seen nothing, and heard but little; a noted hunter told me, he had followed hunting steadily (an American phrase) for twenty years, and had never seen one; but that others, who had hunted but little, had sometimes killed one. It is said to be a very fierce animal.

Wild cats are often destructive to young pigs; it is a bold animal, about twice the size of the common cat. Foxes are very scarce; I saw one near Robertson's Mill, it was much like an English fox. Racoons are numerous, and frequently destroy poultry; my sons have killed several; they are larger than a large cat; their skins, when good, sell for 25 cents each. Opossums are plentiful, and also destructive to poultry. They are easily taken, as they will not run away; but they are hard to kill, and often get away after they are left for dead.

The pole-cat is an offensive animal, and some dogs will not touch them, and those that do are frequently obliged to put their noses into the earth to get rid of the scent; {192} they are not so numerous as the two last mentioned. Ground-hogs are scarcer; I have seen but one; it was larger than a large cat; it had a large head, that a little resembled the head of a pig; in colour like an English badger; the legs very short, with long strong claws. It was fat, and said to be good eating; the person who had it did not eat it, but stripped it for the sake of its skin, which he was going to tan, to make shoes for his wife. He put it into some very strong lye, to take off the hair, and afterwards he intended to put it into a vat with some oak-bark. I have seen several of the Americans tanning hides and skins, in a trough made from a large tree, the inside hollowed out, and the skins put in and covered with some small pieces of oak-bark and water. These troughs are covered to keep off the sun and rain. I do not know how long they are in tanning their skins, but I have not, any where in America, seen any good leather of their own manufacturing.

{193} Ground-squirrels are handsome little animals, mostly running on the earth, fallen trees, and rails, and are as mischievous as rats. Tree-squirrels are of two or more sorts, and are eaten here. A party of eight Americans, in May this year, had a squirrel hunt, for a trifling wager. They were equally divided, and started at day-light with their rifles; and that party which produced most squirrels by the middle of the next day, was to win the wager. They each took a different ground to hunt on, each had a man to attend him to see all was fair. Three of them hunted on and near my land. I knew them all; and I saw one of them several times during the hunt; he was of the winning side, he killed 41; the whole number killed by his party was 152; by the other, 141; total 293. Although more than 100 squirrels were killed on my farm and near it, it did not appear greatly to lessen them.

Deer are not very numerous. I suppose, I have seen about 100, but never more than {194} five or six together. I bought several in the winter, the greater part without their skins, at one dollar each, but one or two higher; one weighed more than 100 lb. weight. They generally weigh from 60 lb. to 100 lb. A good skin is worth 50 cents: their horns, though large, are of no value here.

To the north of us there are buffaloes and elks; also beavers and otters on the rivers.

Rabbits are tolerably plentiful, smaller than the English rabbit; their skins are weaker, and their flesh is not so white, but it is more moist and tender. They do not burrow in the earth, but when hunted run into the hollow trees, so that an axe is necessary in rabbit hunting. The weakness of their claws is, I suppose, the reason they do not burrow in the earth.

I before mentioned picking up a land-tortoise in my journey to the Prairies, but tortoises are not numerous by any means. I have never seen one more than seven {195} inches over. Their shells are hard, strong, and beautifully clouded. I kept one several days in a tub; it had a young one, about an inch over; but somebody overturned the tub, and I lost my tortoises. There are a few moles, much like the English.

We have the following reptiles; namely, rattle-snakes, copper-heads, black, garter, and water-snakes; and a great quantity of frogs in wet places, and they make a great noise in a warm evening, but in a dry season we see or hear but little of them.

A few rattle-snakes and copper-heads are sometimes seen, but I have not heard of any person or animal being hurt by them.

The black, water, and garter-snakes, all said to be harmless: the black snakes are often six feet long. I have heard of their twining themselves round a man's leg so hard that he could scarcely move. I have seen many of them, and two dead rattle-snakes. But wild beasts and reptiles are but little more thought of or dreaded than in England.

{196} The birds are turkeys, turkey-buzzards, prairie-fowls, quails, pigeons, doves, wild-geese, wild-ducks, wood-cocks, snipes, blackbirds, mocking-birds, red-birds, yellow-birds, humming-birds, wipperwills, blue-jays, paroquets, larks, wood-peckers, black-martins, and a few other small birds. But birds are not so numerous as in England; some of them have very beautiful plumage, but not many of them are birds of song.

Turkeys are of a large size; we bought many during the winter for 25 cents each. At that time they were, in general, thin, but in the spring they get very fat; we bought one in April that weighed more than 20 lb. for 1s. 8¼ d. Prairie-fowls visit us in cold weather, but go to the north in the summer. They are nearly as large as a pheasant, and quite as heavy; they are short legged, their colour brown, with some feathers that look like ears. They are sometimes difficult to get near, but in severe weather they are very dull; their flesh is dark, but extremely palatable: they are a kind of grouse.

{197} Quails are here called partridges; they are small, and uncommonly fine flavoured. Pigeons are sometimes in immense flocks, smaller than the wild pigeons, but larger than the tame ones of England. A great number of doves, much like turtle doves.

Wild geese frequent the Prairies in a wet season; they much resemble some I saw at the Earl of Egremont's, at Petworth, in Sussex. Wild ducks also, in a wet season, larger than English wild-ducks. There are woodcocks and snipes on the creeks.

Blackbirds,—often seen in large flocks, much like starlings. Mocking-birds;—all I know of them is, they mock the notes of others. Red-bird,—a most beautiful scarlet bird, the size of a blackbird. Yellow-bird,—a handsome yellow bird with dark wings. Humming-birds are scarce; I mentioned one on our journey. Wipperwill, or whip-poor-will, or wippervill,—a brown bird that is named from the cry it makes, of "whip-poor-will;" it is generally heard of an evening in spring and summer.

{198} Paroquets are the same as are seen in cages in England,—a mischievous bird.146 Blue-jays are a very noisy busy bird. The larks are much larger than those of England; but the most common birds are wood-peckers, of many sorts.

The Americans frequently fix boxes on poles, or on the cabin, in which the black-martins build. I have seen them begin their nests in a few minutes after the boxes were fixt up.

Having given a short account of the animal, I shall now proceed to the vegetable, productions of this country; and, first, begin with the different sorts of natural grasses. Prairie-grass,—a very coarse strong grass; cattle are fond of it, but feeding or mowing it soon destroys it. Nimble-will,—a kind of fiorin-grass, or running couch-grass; it springs up in land that is fed bare of prairie-grass; cattle do not much like it.

Crab-grass comes on ground that is cultivated, (a soft kind of meadow-grass,) {199} likely to succeed as a meadow-grass for hay.

Yard-grass comes on land that has been much trodden; it is something like cock's-foot-grass, except the seed. Horses and cattle are fond of it, and, I think, it will answer as a cultivated grass, as it bears drought. Buffalo-clover resembles white-clover, but does not run on the ground; the leaf as large as red-clover. Cattle will eat it, if cut and given them, but they are not fond of it, as I have often seen bunches of it left where the other wild grasses have been eaten bare. The seed, like clover-seed, but chiefly of a pale yellow. There are a few other sorts of wild grasses, but I do not know their names or qualities; I believe they are of no great value.

Red or white-clover I have not seen; but I have heard there are some small patches of the latter in the prairies. Both sorts are said to be extremely pernicious to horses, cattle, and pigs. I have not seen trefoil, rye-grass, saintfoin, and cock's-foot, {200} or any English grass, with the exception of a little lucern, just come up, which I think likely to succeed. Saintfoin and cock's-foot are, in my opinion, most likely to answer, and bear the heat of the climate, of any English grasses.

The grass that is most commonly cultivated here, is timothy-grass. It belongs to the English meadow-grass, but grows here to a larger size; it does not appear to be a good pasture-grass.

Blue-grass is highly prized, but as a pasture-grass is, I believe, unknown in England. It resembles young rye-grass more than any other English grass; the seed is much like fiorin seed: cattle are fond of it. It comes early in the spring, and dies early in the fall. Timothy and blue-grass are the only sorts cultivated near us; but I think yard-grass would improve our pastures, as it keeps green much longer than blue-grass. In my opinion, crab-grass would answer well for pasture-grass in moist situations.

{201} But little cultivation amongst the English settlers took place till this year, but most of the Americans raised some Indian corn from their first settling; and this year a little wheat, oats, &c. This year, perhaps, 200 acres of wheat have been harvested in the different prairies; that which was sown in good time, and with good seed, produced a productive crop, and of good quality; but as good seed-wheat was difficult to be obtained last season, many were forced to put up with such as they could procure, and some from Vincennes and Indiana turned out very bad: those who sowed it had but little come up; and the wheat at spring being very thin on the ground, it branched out in a very extraordinary manner. I heard from several people, to whom I think credit might be given, that, in cutting a piece of wheat, they found a root that had 66 ears of corn on it; and that 40 and upwards were very common. I went over the field, after the wheat was cut, and saw many of the stems {202} of an immense size, but I did not count any of them. The wheat was, however, much too thin; it was blighted with the black and red blight, and of little value. I have been much surprised with the smallness of the quantity of wheat and oats sown per acre, and yet found the corn, (or as it is here called, grain,) thick enough on the ground. One bushel of wheat, or two of oats, is the quantity usually sown, and I have seen wheat thus sown too thick. I suppose the dryness of the seed, newness of the land, and its kindness in working, are the causes of so much less seed being required than I had been accustomed to.

Most of the wheat sown in 1819 by the Americans, was after Indian corn: it was sown before the corn was gathered, and plowed in between the rows of corn; it was sown in September or early in October. They sowed some after oats or flax, and for some they made fallows. That they sowed after the three last, was generally better than that after Indian-corn, when sown in {203} good time. Most of the backward wheat was touched with the blight, more or less, chiefly according to its thickness on the ground. I have not yet heard of any being thrashed for sale near us; but 75 cents per bushel is expected to be the price for good wheat. Most of that sown by the English, was after fallows; they having, in general, no other land to sow it on. The price given for reaping this year was about 11s. 3d. an acre, where paid in money; but some was cut to receive three bushels of wheat per acre, and some was cut by the day. The Americans usually help each other to cut their wheat, as they are fond of company when at work: this they return at some future time in the same way.

I believe much more wheat will be sown this autumn than last, possibly a double quantity. As I did not buy my land till October, and none of it being prepared for wheat, I could not sow any with a prospect of success if I could have {204} obtained seed wheat. This year, I think of sowing a few acres; probably, six or seven. I have bespoke some seed-wheat of the bearded kind; this is generally sown in this neighbourhood, and said to answer the best of any sort.

But few oats sown, as seed was not to be procured for money for many miles; but I think sufficient to raise seed for another year. I did not try much to get any seed, as I wished to see how they succeeded, particularly on new prairie-land. I have bespoke some seed for next year. The oats I have seen this year were but indifferent; they were much hurt by the dry weather, and the quality of them was bad. I think they will never be much cultivated in this country, unless it be on new prairie-land; and that for the sake of mellowing it, to prepare it for a crop of wheat or Indian corn another year.

The Americans reap and bind their oats the same as wheat, and stack them in very small stacks, without any covering. I have {205} heard no price for oats lately, but 37½ cents was the price per bushel some time ago. Wheat was begun cutting this year about the 20th of June, and oats the 26th of July. I believe no barley has yet been cultivated near us, nor have I seen any growing any where in America; but I saw some winter barley in a barn, at Harmonie, in Indiana, and I understood some was cultivated by the Harmonic society, for the purpose of making malt. I hope to procure a little seed barley and rye the next time I go to Harmonie.

I have seen no rye or peas near us, except garden peas, which do not grow so strong as in England, but yield well. I saw some fit to gather on the 10th of May; how early they were planted I do not know. Vegetation is much quicker here than in England. Some peas I planted on the 1st of April, were quite ripe for seed by the middle of June; and French-beans were also fit for seed in June. There was some snow and a smart frost, with scarce {206} any thing green on the 1st of April, yet on the 6th of May there were ripe strawberries in Birk's Prairie.

Flax is cultivated, on a small scale, by most of the Americans near us, for home-use. It is sown in April; and after the flax is pulled, the land is often ploughed and sowed with turnips, about the end of July or the beginning of August: this year, the land was too dry to plough it at that time.

I have seen no buck-wheat at the Prairies, with the exception of about 20 rods of my own. I dug a piece of prairie-land to sow it on; part of it had some hazle-brush on it; and where it was grubbed, it looks well, but where it was only dug it is but indifferent; however, I hope to raise enough for seed another year: I sowed it the 5th of July.

Cotton is planted in rows, near four feet apart, the end of April or the beginning of May. It soon comes up, and at first looks much like buck-wheat, except that the {207} leaves are larger, and it continues to grow much like it, only it has a larger blossom. Some round pods are afterwards formed, as large as a fine walnut in its husk. When ripe, the pods burst open, and the cotton then appears like white wool. When they gather it, the cotton contains many seeds, about the size of a large pea, either blue or green. The seeds are so light, it is very troublesome to separate them from the cotton by hand. Where it is cultivated on a large scale, they have machines to clear it from the seeds, which, I believe, are of no value only to plant again. I planted a little this year, but rather too late, and, as the weather was dry at the time, but little of it came up. It now looks pretty well, and is in full blossom. Here it seldom exceeds two feet in height, but in the southern states, it grows much higher. A dry soil is said to suit much better than richer land. I have heard, from those who came from South Carolina and Georgia, that it is there common to see several hundred {208} acres of it in one field; and from one to six hundred negroes working together, in the planting and gathering season. One thousand pounds of cotton, in the seed, is a good average crop. I suppose it will lose half of its weight in getting out the seeds; therefore, about 500 lbs. of cleaned cotton is thus raised per acre. I think half that quantity is as much as we can raise, as we are not warm enough for cotton.

Some few Americans, near us, raise tobacco in small quantities, for home consumption. It is thought the land round us is as good for tobacco as in any part of the United States. I have a little of it in my garden; but, as the first I sowed failed, it is rather backward. The seed is sown in February or March, and transplanted in June, in rows like cabbages; it requires to be kept very clean. I know but little of the manner of curing it, but understand it is attended with some difficulty, at least to strangers.

{209} Hemp is cultivated in this country, but I have not seen any in this neighbourhood, with the exception of a few rods of my own; I brought the seed from the Big Prairie, as I thought a small quantity would be useful for lines, &c.

I now come to the most important article of this country's growth, I mean Indian corn, which, with the Americans, is cultivated on a far more extensive scale than any thing else; and, I believe, it is rising much in the estimation of the Europeans, except as a bread corn. The corn I took of Mr. Collins was on new Prairie-land, thin on the ground, had been badly cultured, and much injured by cattle and pigs getting into it; yet I had very near 50 bushels per acre. I have heard of 132 bushels per acre, but from 60 to 80 is considered a good crop. The husks that cover the corn-ears, and the flags or leaves, are all good for fodder. Horses, cattle, and sheep, all seem as fond of it as of the best {210} hay. Horses and cattle will eat part of the stalk after the corn is ripe; but in a green state, they, and pigs, will eat it all up. Horses and pigs will eat the corn, and leave the cob or inside of the ear; but cattle will eat inside and all. The time of planting is from April to the middle of June; the middle of May is considered the most proper season. It is planted in rows, of about four feet in each direction; and after it is up they plough between the rows, first one way, and in a week or two in the other direction; a third ploughing is sometimes given to it. An extremely light plough, drawn by one horse, is used. Between the corn they hoe up the weeds left near the corners that escape the plough; so that the land is made very clean. Generally two or three plants are left at each angle. Pompions are often planted at the angles with the corn, but only in every fifth or sixth row, and at some distance apart in the rows. They also plant a small {211} kind of French-bean with part of their corn, the stalks serving instead of sticks for the beans to run on.

There are several sorts of Indian corn, and of different colours; namely, white, red, yellow, mixt, &c. A small sort of yellow corn is ripe much sooner than most of the other sorts, but yields a smaller produce. White and yellow are the most common sorts, but there are several kinds of these. A good ear of corn contains from 14 to 20 rows, and from 40 to 50 grains of corn in each row. A hundred middling ears of corn will yield a bushel of clear corn. The Americans live mostly on corn-bread; the English eat but little of it. I have now growing 12 acres of it; it is in general very stout, but, from the dryness of the season, I do not expect it will yield well. I planted some of it six feet between the rows, and the plants near three feet apart, as I wished to keep it particularly clean and in good order for wheat; and so ploughed it all one way, and ran a harrow {212} between the rows. I do not see but it comes on as well as that I planted on the square. I have not seen any corn near us so large as mine; much of it is upwards of twelve feet high. It was planted between the 10th and 20th of May, but the weather being dry, it did not come up very soon.

The green ears are eaten boiled or roasted, the latter mostly by the Americans, who call all green ears roasting ears. The price of corn last fall was mostly 50 cents a bushel delivered, and now 50 cents in the place. But near us there is very little to be procured at any price. On the Wabash, where the country has been longer settled, it is lower and plentiful. It is gathered in October and November, when they only take off the ears; but as the ears are covered with a large husk, they carry them as they are to the corn-crib, and then all the neighbours collect together to help to husk it, and put it into the corn-crib. This is a high day with the Americans, and is called a Husking Frolic; plenty of whiskey {213} is generally to be found at one of these frolics. I never was present but at one; I suppose there were near forty people present; I did not stop, but I understood it concluded with a dance. We did not make any frolic in husking our corn, but did it ourselves; but the Americans seldom do any thing without having one. Thus, they have husking, reaping, rolling frolics, &c. &c. Among the females, they have picking, sewing, and quilting frolics. Reaping frolics, are parties to reap the whole growth of wheat, &c. in one day. Rolling frolics, are clearing wood-land, when many trees are cut down, and into lengths, to roll them up together, so as to burn them, and to pile up the brushwood and roots on the trees. I think this one is useful, as one man or his family can do but little in moving a large quantity of heavy timber. Picking cotton, sewing, and quilting frolics, are meetings to pick cotton from the seeds, make clothes, or quilt quilts; in the latter, the American women pride {214} themselves. Whiskey is here too in request, and they generally conclude with a dance.

Raisings, are a number of men getting together to raise a piece of building, that is, to lift the logs on each other; this is practised by the English as well as the Americans; nor is whiskey here omitted.

Pompions, or pumpkins, is another highly prized production of this country; they often grow to an immense size, and weigh from 40 to 60 lbs. I have heard of a single vine that, in 1818, grew a load of pumpkins. It grew in the Big Prairie, about 30 miles to the south of us, on some rotten chaff, where some wheat had been trodden out the year before. I find they do best where the ground is moved or very mellow to run on, as they strike root at every joint as they run. A load is forty bushels; I have never seen them measured, but I judge from the waggons I have seen them in. I last year sold three waggon loads, in the place, at four dollars {215} a-load. Cattle of all descriptions, pigs, and poultry, are fond of them; but all prefer the inside and seeds to the outside. They make good sauce and excellent pies, and are much eaten here; they are sliced and dried for winter use, for pies and sauce. They will keep till the frosts come, but will soon rot when frozen. At Major Phillips's, I once tasted some molasses made from them, and liked them very much, not being so sweet as the real molasses, but very pleasant flavoured.

Swede turnips but little known here; a person who resides at Birk's Prairie, sowed an acre in May, on a piece of land that had been in cultivation for two or three years; they are thin on the ground, but seem likely to be of a good size, notwithstanding the dryness of the season. They have been twice hoed, but were sown on one ploughing only.

Common turnips are sometimes sown after a crop of flax; the time of sowing the beginning of August, but many of the {216} Americans are very particular as to the age of the moon, in this and many other things; and if they should be put by in doing it, they will not do it that year, as many of them are very superstitious, having great faith with regard to the moon's age, &c. Hoeing turnips is not practised by them.

Broom-corn; the seed is much like the seed of crop-weed: it is planted in rows on the sides of corn-fields, and is frequently ploughed between. It resembles Indian corn, but is slighter. I have seen it upwards of ten feet high, the corn comes on the top of it, on long slender fibres that unite at the stalk. The corn is useful for poultry, and the stalks or fibres make excellent brooms, the same as carpet-brooms. I have a large quantity of it growing at Birk's Prairie. Many of the English have none; and as brooms are much wanted, I shall soon dispose of all I have to spare.

We have some uncommonly fine hops in the woods, and in some of the prairies; {217} we found them very convenient for making yeast. They are of the white-bine sort, like the grape-hop of England. I intend to plant a few hills in the spring, as I can get plenty from the woods; and I have saved a few seeds, to see if it will improve them or not. They usually grow on the sides of creeks, and on low rich bottoms that are not liable to be flooded, that is always on the best soil.

The wild flowers of the prairies are numerous, and many of them are beautiful; and there is a succession of them from April to October or November. Most of them are new to me, and as I am no botanist I can give but a poor description of them. I have noticed the following, but not exactly like those of England: sun-flowers, goldenrod, larkspurs, sweet-williams, pinks, lilies, blue cowslips, roses, briers, persicaries, and violets, white, blue, and yellow, but without scent.

My daughters brought some flower-seeds from England, but few of them grew; {218} some of them came up, but did not in general flourish. Stocks, sweet-peas, &c. were weak; on the contrary, princes-feathers and convolvulus grew stronger than in England. Mignonette grew, but not very strong, nor was the scent so fine or powerful; which, I believe, is generally the case with flowers in America: this I attribute to the heat of the climate. But the prairie-roses, balm, here called bergamot, and sassafras-wood, are exceptions, and have all powerful scents.

I have seen sun-flowers near twelve feet high, and I have heard in Ohio they plant them for the seed, from which they extract oil; and there are some in the prairies, from which turpentine distils, in the same manner as from fir-trees. I have also seen growing, in some gardens near us, a plant from which an oil may be extracted, like castor-oil. I had some marigold plants that came into blossom, of a very pale colour, and did not produce any seed.

{219} There are many small flowering shrubs that are new to me, in the woods and prairies.

The herbs I have met with are balm, horehound, pennyroyal, fennel, coriander, peppermint, and spearmint; but the last two are scarce; sage is extremely plentiful, but unlike English sage of any kind. I have not seen any thyme or wormwood.

The following trees and herbs are used in medicine—snake-root, gentian, genseng, Columbia-root, and sumach, and sassafras trees.

We found many morels in the spring, but the weather has been too dry for mushrooms, and I have seen but few.

Most of the weeds are new to me; and I believe to most of the Americans they are but little known, as this part of the country is almost as little known to the American settlers as to the European, and many of its productions differ from those to the eastward or southward. I have seen a few docks, sow-thistles, plaintain, dunghill-weed, {220} and water-pepper; but land in cultivation here is easily kept clear of weeds.

I have seen no sweet potatoes; but Irish, or common potatoes, grow tolerably in a wet season, but in a dry summer come to little. The early ones are planted in April, but those intended for winter use not till June; but neither will answer this season. In this year, at different times, I have planted about sixty rods, but I shall have but little more than the seed again. They are not so good here as in England; their present price is fifty-five cents a bushel, and not many to be procured for that. Last fall they were from thirty-three to fifty cents. Very few parsnips or carrots; but they are said to be good in a wet season. Indian corn ears, I have before said, are eaten as a vegetable.

Small beans, of the kidney kind, are cultivated by the Americans; they are generally planted to climb on the corn, and are of many sorts, and different colours. There are some dwarf ones, {221} called bunch-beans, and they all appear to do better than in England. I brought some scarlet-runners, and some dwarf ones with me; the climate appears too warm for the former, the latter succeeded much better. Beans and vegetables require to be planted thinner here than in England, that the earth may be moved between them, as they then receive much more benefit from the heavy dews of this country than when the ground is hard. Here are a few Indian peas in growth, leaf and blossom, much like a kidney-bean; the pods are very long, and contain from nine to sixteen peas in each; but they resemble but little either peas or beans. I had a very few given me; and when first planted they grew but slowly, but afterwards rapidly.

Cabbages grow well; the Americans plant a large backward sort, and make but one sowing and planting out in a year. In the fall they dig them up and bury them in the ground, or rather, they plant them underneath {222} it; as they dig a deep trench, and set a row of cabbages with their roots in it, then, bending the outward leaves over the top of the cabbage, cover them with earth, and thus preserve them, in the most severe frosts of this country. I believe, the great heat of the sun in the day, falling on the frozen vegetables, is the principal cause of their dying, as it completely scorches every thing that is green. Broad-beans fail in a great measure; they may sometimes succeed, but, I believe, the seed again is the usual crop.

Onions are two years coming to perfection; the first year they are sown very thick, and the next they are transplanted, at about eight inches apart, when they grow to a middling size. Prairie onions are common in moist situations, and are very good early in the spring, but soon get hard; the root is very small. As they come up early in the spring before other vegetables, cows eat them with great {223} avidity, and it gives their milk and butter a disagreeable flavour; this lasts for two or three weeks.

Shalots grow to great perfection, and are planted by the Americans in preference to onions.

I have a few asparagus plants that look well; I have heard they succeed admirably more to the eastward. Here the plants are all young. Squashes are a sort of gourd frequently boiled for sauce, and much relished by many. There are a variety of gourds, but, I believe, of little use, except one sort, which has a hard rind or shell, which serves for many uses; as bottles, pans, ladles, and tunnels. Their form is round, tapering off towards the tail. By cutting off the end next the tail, a bottle is formed; the pulp and seeds may be easily shaken or washed out, and the top being flat, it will stand upright. By cutting off the neck, a pan or jar is made. By cutting a slice from one side it makes a ladle, much used to lade water with, and to drink out {224} of; and, lastly, by cutting off the top, and the end of the neck near the tail, a tunnel is formed: they hold water well, and will last a considerable time.

Cucumbers grow well, and, I believe, are more wholesome than in England, and far more productive.

Parsley and radishes thrive; and, I believe, lettuce, but I have seen but few of them; horse-raddish is very scarce. Capsicum is cultivated for seasoning soups, &c.

The woods round the prairies are not so thick, nor the timber so large, as on the river bottoms, but they contain a great variety of trees; viz. oak of many sorts, as, white, black, red, post, swamp, laurel, pin, Spanish, and blackjack, and some others; three kinds of hiccory; two of ash; two of elm; two of maple; black-walnut, cherry, sycamore, persimon, gum, hack-berry, cotton-wood, mulberry, serve, honey-locust, sassafras, dog-wood, crab, &c. On the creek bottoms, coffee-berry, poplar, pecan, white walnut, &c. &c. The undergrowth {225} in the woods is, hazel, spice-wood, red-bud, haws, sumach, plum, and brambles. Willows grow on the water-courses.

The woods and prairies produce many fruits; some of them excellent, others but indifferent: I will briefly describe them. The grape-vines run over the tallest trees in a very extraordinary manner, sometimes reaching from the ground to the boughs of trees forty or fifty feet high, without touching the bodies of the trees. I suppose they must have first fixed to the boughs when the trees were very young, and continued growing with them; otherwise I cannot think how they could reach so great a height without support. These vines are of so strong a nature, that I have frequently seen them fixed on a high sweep to draw water from wells, some of them 30 feet deep, and they seem to answer as well as a rope. This method of drawing water is common with the Americans near us, and is the same that is practised by the market-gardeners in the neighbourhood of London. {226} There are several sorts of grapes, but not in general very good; soon after our arrival we found some, nearly dried to raisins, good eating, and we used some for tarts and sweet-sauce. I suppose they would make wine, with sugar; but I do not know that any one has tried the experiment. Pomegranates grow on a vine much like a cucumber, the size of an orange or rather larger: a beautiful fruit, of a yellow or orange colour, of a most fragrant smell, but I have never tasted one; they are said to be most delicious when preserved. There are many sorts of sweet melons, and much difference of size in the various kinds. I have only noticed musk, of a large size; and nutmeg, a smaller one; and a small pale-coloured melon of a rich taste; but there are other sorts with which I am unacquainted. Watermelons are also in great plenty, of vast size; some, I suppose, weigh twenty pounds: they are more like pumpkins, in outward appearance, than melons; they are round or oblong, generally green, {227} or a green and whitish colour on the outside, and white or pale on the inside, with many black seeds in them; very juicy; in flavour, like a rich water; not sweet and mawkish, but cool and pleasant. After people are accustomed to them, they generally prefer them to sweet melons; they are considered extremely wholesome in warm climates, as they quench thirst, and are not feverish.

Persimon is a fruit many people are fond of; it is something like a medlar. Papaws, or pawpaws, grow in clusters of three or four on a shrub 20 feet high; the fruit is three inches long and about an inch thick; in shape something like a cucumber, of a yellow colour; in flavour something like a pine, but not so rich. Strawberries nearly the same as scarlets, excellent, and in some places in great abundance. We one day gathered more than a peck of beautiful strawberries in my orchard, and we got a great many at other times: they made excellent pies. Raspberries are small and {228} dry. Cherries grow in bunches, the same as currants, very small and bitter. May-apple is a yearly plant, of only two leaves; the stalk one foot high; the fruit the size of a small apple, of a straw-colour, with some small seeds; very pleasant tasted. Plums are mostly small and sour; but there are some whose flavour resembles that of a gooseberry. I have before remarked on the excellence of the blackberries. The elderberries are fine, but generally eaten by the birds as soon as coloured. Pecan is a sort of walnut, said to be the finest nut in this country. White-walnut, or butter-nut, and black-walnut, are not so good as the English walnut. Hazel-nuts are in vast quantities; the shells hard, but the kernels good. I have some earth-nuts growing in my garden; the green of them something like clover, or rather lucern; they blow with a small yellow blossom: I planted them in rows, and earthed them like potatoes; they have two kernels inclosed in a husk, about one inch long, and as large round.

{229} Fruit, and all other trees, are of much more rapid growth here than in England. There are not many orchards yet planted, and none of them yet come to bear much, as the oldest settlement round the prairies has not been made more than four years. I planted, in March and April, a hundred and twenty apple, twenty-five peach, and eight cherry trees; the summer having been so dry, it has killed many of my apple and cherry trees, but my peach-trees are all alive. I suppose, I have about hundred live trees. I have some peach-trees, two years old, to put out in the autumn.

Having thus fulfilled my promise, by a brief description of the animal and vegetable productions, I will now mention a few particulars respecting the land. The soil is a light vegetable mould, of no great depth in general; the under soil is a fat loam or clay, of considerable depth, that retains moisture, and prevents the land from burning. The land is easy of culture, much more so than any I was ever accustomed {230} to, and dry enough to plough in a day after heavy rain; this is the case with most of the land round the prairies. Prairie land is hard to break up the first time, and requires four horses to do it effectually, it being so full of strong roots; in particular, one, called red-root, that runs a great deal: and, in moist places, there is a small shrub, named white-root, which must be grubbed up before it can be ploughed; and sometimes there is a little brushwood, of different sorts, to clear off. Land planted with corn is attended with some trouble the first year of breaking it up, as the furrows are too tough to work with a plough, but it is managed with a hoe. When it has been thoroughly broken up, in a wet or dry season, it will work well; but it is injurious to work it in very wet weather. The land differs, in several particulars, from any I ever saw before: if used with wheel-carriages, in wet weather, it retains no sign of ruts for any length of time; and, although the soil is light, it is firm to walk on; as it contains but {231} little sand, and that little of so fine a grain, as scarce to be found to grit, if handled ever so closely.

The roads are all natural roads, yet always free from ruts, and perfectly smooth when dry. I have heard the land round us is much like some in Lincolnshire; but of this I cannot judge, as I never was there. I never found any land in Surry that hoed or dug so light as this does, when it has once been well broken up. The colour of it is rather brown, but much blacker when wet; and in appearance it bears the most resemblance to peat-mould, of any soil I ever saw in England.

Many of the people here have been extensive travellers; and to have resided in three or four states, and several places in each state, is not uncommon. A man, who boarded a short time at my house, said, he was born in Old Virginia; that he removed, with his father, over the mountains into New Virginia, but left his father before he was twenty; that he married, and took up {232} his abode in the wild parts of South Carolina, and built a cabin, the first in that part of Carolina. People settling round him, he sold his land, and removed into Kentucky; and on the land he disposed of in Carolina, a town soon sprang up of 300 houses and seven large stores. In Kentucky he staid some years; but settlers arriving and seating themselves near him, he again moved off into the wild part of Indiana, near Rockport, where he now resides; but expressed a wish to come into the Illinois, as, he said, the country round him was not healthy for cattle.

A person who lives in Birks' Prairie, who has been there four years, and who has planted a small orchard, had a few apples last year, the first he ever grew, although he had planted six orchards before the present one. His wife says she has had twelve children, but never had two born in one house; and does not remember how many houses they have inhabited since they were married: yet they think they are now fixed {233} for life; but several of their sons are gone to the Red River, 700 miles to the south-west. Since I have been here, I have travelled more than I ever did in the same space of time in England. In a journey I took to Palmyra, to record my own and my sons cattle-marks, I saw a muster of Edwards' county militia, near Bonpas bridge. They amounted to several hundred men, under the command of Colonel Jourdan; there were five or six companies, but much the largest one was from our township, under Captain Cadwalleder Jones. The militia, at this muster, did not cut a very warlike appearance, being all drest in their customary clothes, except some of the officers, who had uniforms. They all find their own arms, mostly rifles; a few had fowling-pieces, and a very few only sticks. There are four musters, besides this general yearly one, of the whole county. Captain Jones's company mustered in the English Prairie, on the 1st of April, upwards of one hundred strong, from a township, where, {234} four years before, there were not six families in the whole township.

I have been several times to Shawneetown, and in these journeys I have lodged at the houses of a clergyman, a judge, a colonel, a justice, and a captain. First, at the Reverend S. Slocum's, a clergyman and justice; next, at Major Pomeroy's, late a judge in the state of Indiana; at Captain, now Major Phillips's; and lastly, at Colonel Williams's, a native of Wales, but he left it when an infant, with his father. He is a colonel in the militia.

In February, accompanied by my wife and two gentlemen from the English Prairie, I paid a visit to Harmonie. We set out late in the day, and only reached Bonpas that night; here we found the waters of the Big Wabash so much out we could not get to the ferry, but were told we might go to another, 10 miles lower down the river. This we did, by passing a slue, or bayou (that is, where the water breaks out over a low place, and again enters the river several {235} miles lower down), on a drift-wood bridge, formed of fallen trees and drifted together; our horses swimming the bayou: two of the horses ran away, as soon as they were over the bayou, and obliged our companions to walk three or four miles before they could catch them. Mrs. W. and myself were well loaded with their saddles, bridles, great coats, blankets, and saddle-bags. We caught their horses near the ferry, and passed the Big Wabash, in the ferry-boat, and had a watery road to Harmonie, which we reached at dark. In passing some woods, we saw some sugar-maple trees that were tapped, with the liquor then running into some troughs; we dismounted, and had a good draught or two of the liquor; it was pleasant-tasted.

Harmonie belongs to a society of Germans, here called Dutch, under the direction of Mr. Rapp. This society first took its rise in Germany, but being opposed by the Lutheran clergy, they emigrated to America, and settled in Pennsylvania; but {236} removed to this place, in Indiana, five or six years since. Here they have purchased some hundred acres of land: much is now cleared, but a great deal still remains in a state of nature. This society now consists of upwards of eight hundred members; they carry on many branches of business; amongst which are carpenters, wheelwrights, smiths, tanners, saddlers and harness-makers, shoe-makers, linen and woollen manufacturers, curriers; distilleries, malt and brew-houses, two water-mills, and one steam one.

They have planted a considerable number of acres with apple and peach trees; and several acres of vineyards, from which they make a small quantity of wine, not of the best quality. They have 2000 sheep, and a large quantity of stock of every description. Their store-goods are of very considerable value, and report estimates their property at 1,000,000 of dollars: this belongs to the society in general, as they have all things in common, like the Apostles; {237} and their society is said to be formed on that part of Scripture. Each lives at his own house; but all dine at the same hour, and, I believe, all take their meals in the same manner. Most of them only speak German, and divine service is performed in that language: the Reverend George Rapp is their priest; but their business is carried on in the name of his son Mr. Frederick Rapp; all accompts being made in the name of F. Rapp only. Many of the buildings are of logs; but there are some good brick houses, and a neat frame-church painted white, with a large clock. There are many brick-buildings going on; and the log-cabins are so placed, that they will serve for outhouses to the new brick-houses. Each cabin has a small garden to it; most of them are in good order, much more so than American gardens generally are. I understand brick-houses are built for those to whom the lot falls, without any regard to persons; with the exception of Mr. Rapp, who has a {238} large one. The tavern, stores, and a few others, are also brick.

The next day the tavern-keeper showed us the manufactories, distilleries, malt and brew-houses, steam, corn, and fulling mills; also a large barn, in which was a powerful eight-horse threshing-machine, with a winnowing one attached to it, so that the grain was cleaned at one operation. Many men were employed putting up the wheat and taking away the straw. Near the barn there was a capacious granary, that would contain some thousand quarters of grain. We saw more than fifty women and girls breaking flax in the streets, and all seemed fully employed. They are a most industrious people; but the greater part of them are not very enlightened. We staid two nights, and on the third morning set out for the prairies; one of the gentlemen, who accompanied us to Harmonie, we left there; and on our return a fine journey we had of it. As the water had risen much, we could {239} not reach the ferry by the same road we went by, but were forced to climb a steep hill much over-run by brush-wood; nor was the descent on the other side much better. We reached and passed the ferry: here we found the water had risen so much, as to have carried away the drift-wood bridge we had crossed in our road out, so that we could not proceed home that way. We then had the choice of returning to Harmonie, and remaining there till the water abated, which might be a fortnight or more; or agree with the ferryman to take us and our horses, nine miles down the river, and land us on the side of a pond, below the bayou, and just above another that there runs out of the river and continues out some miles. For this the man demanded eight dollars, and with this extravagant demand we were under the necessity of complying. We proceeded briskly down the river, and soon reached the entrance of the pond; where we found some large trees stumped down to keep back the fish. It took us two hours {240} to move the trees before we could enter the pond; but we at length got in, and rowed up above the bayou; where we landed, and proceeded through a wild country for some miles. We passed many small slues, and an hour after sunset reached the house of Major Phillips, only five miles west of Harmonie; but, I think, we made thirty miles of it, as we left Harmonie at eight o'clock in the morning. Here we slept, and the next day reached home, having only twenty-two miles to go. In March I visited it a second, and in May a third time, when I took a nearer road; the water was now low; it was not any where deep enough to swim my horse, but in two places nearly so.

The Wabash, at the ferry, is, I think, as wide as the Thames at London Bridge. In my two journeys I saw a great number of wild-ducks and pigeons on the banks of the Wabash; although a bad shot, I think if I had had a gun, I could have killed a great many. I was much pleased with the appearance of the gardens at this season, {241} at Harmonie. They were in excellent order, and filled with a variety of vegetables and fruit-trees; and some of them contained some beautiful flowers. Among the fruit-trees, I observed wild plum-trees grafted with prunes.

In July, I went again, and crossed the Big Wabash, by a new ferry, near the mouth of the Bonpas. The land on the Indiana side is extremely low, and I went four miles through the woods, before I saw a house, or any kind of cultivation. Some cane, an evergreen, grew the greater part of the way; it is the only evergreen in this part of the State, save mistletoe; but I have heard there are pines in the north of the Illinois. I saw in these wilds numbers of turkeys. As I approached Harmonie, I met their plow-teams, sixteen in number, just entering a field of wheat-stubble; I was much pleased with their appearance, all the horses looking well; nor did I see one blemish in the thirty-two horses.

I took a look at their vineyards; part {242} of the vines were trained on frames, and part tied up to small poles; there was a good show of grapes on many of them. The vineyards are on a steep hill, and planted round the hill, so as to have several different aspects. Trees are laid to keep the earth from washing down. The paths between the trees are sown with blue-grass.

As I returned from the vineyards to the town, I met their milch-cows going out to field; I counted eighty-seven, most of them were but indifferent cows, with a few good ones mixed with them. The dress of the Harmonites is uncommonly plain, mostly of their own manufacturing. The men wear jackets and pantaloons, with coarse hats. The women a kind of jacket and petticoat, with a particular kind of skull-cap, and a straw hat made peculiarly flat.

There is a hat-manufactory, both of fur and wool hats; they also make their straw ones. As this society do not marry, I suppose they must depend on emigration from Germany to keep up their number; as the {243} Americans are not likely to join them, as most of them regard them with jealousy, on account of their engrossing most of the business of this part of the country.

I will now give a slight and very brief sketch of the American character; but in speaking of our American neighbours, it must be recollected, that the greater part of them are backwoodsmen. Mr. Collins, of whom I bought some land, behaved in the most honourable manner, for which I shall ever respect him. Mr. Anderson, of whom I purchased my other farm, I never saw; Mr. Birkbeck transacting the business while I was at Shawneetown. My family have several American neighbours at Birks' Prairie, from whom they have received the most friendly treatment; and those with whom I have had dealings, have been uniformly civil and obliging. As we live at the entrance of Wanborough, we have frequently the first offer of game and other provisions brought for sale, and whether we buy or not, we never receive the {244} slightest incivility from them. In selling, they always take care to ask enough, as they can fall their price with a good grace; in short, they are Jews in this respect, nor are they very punctual in their payments.

Most of them are well acquainted with law, and fond of it on the most trifling occasions: I have known a law-suit brought for a piggin or pail, of the value of 25 cents. (1s. 1½d.) Another failing in their character is drunkenness; and they are extremely quarrelsome when intoxicated. Many of them are sometimes truly industrious, and at other times excessively idle. Numbers of them can turn their hands to many things, having been accustomed to do for themselves in small societies. They are a most determined set of republicans, well versed in politics, and thoroughly independent. A man who has only half a shirt, and without shoes and stockings, is as independent as the first man in the States; and interests himself in the choice of men to serve his country, as much as the {245} highest man in it, and often from as pure motives,—the general good, without any private views of his own. Most of them are from the south, from North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee; and though now living in a free State, they retain many of the prejudices they imbibed in infancy, and still hold negroes in the utmost contempt; not allowing them to be of the same species of themselves, but look on negers, as they call them, and Indians, as an inferior race of beings, and treat them as such.

Those of whom I purchased my farms, and some others, are moved off to the Red River, 700 miles to the south-west, and, as I have said before, many of our neighbours are true backwoodsmen, always fond of moving: there are others, who wish to sell their land, with its improvements, to go to the Sagamond river, 150 miles towards the north-west. This river runs into the Illinois river, and the country near it is highly spoken of, as to soil, timber, and water. {246} They have but few diversions amongst them except hunting and shooting, here both called hunting; they use rifles, and many of them are excellent shots. In this employment or amusement, they spend much of their time, and depend partly on what they kill in making a livelihood.

I will now mention something of the religion of this part of the United States. At Albion, there is a place of worship in part of the market-house, in which divine service is performed every Sunday in the forenoon; prayers and a sermon are read by one of the inhabitants. I twice attended; the service was from the church of England, with some variations: I think they style themselves Unitarians. At Wanborough, a Baptist held meetings at his own house, but few of the inhabitants attended them. An American of the Methodist persuasion, who resides near Wanborough, holds meetings at his house; but none of the English, and but few of the Americans ever frequent them. Many {247} people wished for a place of worship; but being of different religions, it was some time before there was one established; but in April 1820, it was agreed to have public worship at Wanborough; and on Sunday, the 25th of April, divine service was first held in a log-cabin, that was built for a school-room. Prayers from the service of the church of England, with a few omissions, were read by one of the inhabitants, and a sermon by another. This meeting was well attended, and has been continued every Sunday, in the forenoon, at eleven o'clock; and those of the church of England and Quakers both frequent it. It was proposed to erect a brick meetinghouse, and a subscription was set on foot, in May, but falling short of the estimate, it was agreed to continue the use of the present room, till a sufficient sum can be collected for a brick one. There is a piece of ground set apart for a burial-ground, and several persons have been interred in it; three since I have been here.

{248} There have been four or five weddings, and five or six births, so that the English have rather increased, exclusive of new arrivals from Europe.

At Albion there have been several marriages, births, and deaths.

The Americans most commonly bury their dead near the place where they die, and erect a small pale fence round the grave, to prevent its being disturbed. I believe it is seldom they have any service read over them, except the Methodists, who have prayers at their funerals.

As there is no church established by law, of course there are no tithes. I was much struck at Baltimore, to find in what harmony people of different religions lived together, and I have since had no reason to alter my opinion. I have had much conversation with Baptists, Methodists, and Quakers. They all expressed much charity for those of other sects, although most of them seemed to have a high opinion of their own.

I will now give a few of my reasons for {249} my fixing in the Illinois. I set out with the intention of visiting it, and had my luggage with me. In my journey, from Baltimore to Wheeling, I saw but few places I should like to settle at, till near Wheeling. I was much pleased with the country a few miles above it, but that being in a slave State, I could not think of settling there; besides, the land was taken up: this was the case with many of the most desirable situations on the Ohio river; and I had no opportunity of seeing the interior of the States of Ohio and Indiana, but, I understood, much of the best parts of them were occupied.

When I reached the Prairies, I was greatly pleased to find myself in an open country, with a great deal of pretty good land for sale, at a low rate, and not very distant from water-carriage: and having the offer of some of the first selected quarter-sections, at a small advance of price, in an extremely healthy situation, containing both wood and prairie, with {250} some of it brought into cultivation, I took a situation much to my satisfaction, and still remain well pleased with it.

Our land is not so rich, nor the timber so large as on the river-bottoms; but it will bear as good wheat, corn, and grass, as a person would wish; besides having that great advantage, health. It is true we are not so well watered as in some situations, yet through an unusually dry and hot summer, our stock have found plenty of water, in some creeks, about a mile below us, and have done uncommonly well. Our having plenty of open prairie-land, for pasture or breaking up, is, in my estimation, far preferable to clearing of woodland, which is attended with much trouble and expence. Had I removed to the west side of this State, on the Mississippi river, I might, perhaps, have found as good or better land, and nearer water-carriage; but, by all accounts, not so favourable to health. Then the expence of getting my luggage there would have been considerable, and I should, {251} most probably, have been surrounded by total strangers: it is true, I knew but few at the prairies, but I had heard of many of them; and here my family were not quite in the midst of people they had never seen or heard of, as they would have been, in almost every other part of America.

There is an English settlement in Indiana, about ten miles back from Evansville, I have heard, better watered, and nearer markets than we are; but it is in the woods, and the land is inferior to ours. This is the account I have received of it, but I know nothing, only from the report of those who had no interest in either settlement. I have no personal knowledge of Mr. Hornbrook, or Mr. Maidlow, the heads of that settlement; and should any person see my account of this part of the country and come to America, I would advise him to see both settlements before he fixed in either. But I do not invite any one to leave England and come hither; for, although well pleased with the exchange of countries myself, another {252} might not be so. And many Englishmen, if they were to come here, would be much disappointed, as there is no want of tradesmen. A man with some property, and a large family, may, perhaps, do better here than in England; and a person with a considerable property might here lay the foundation of a noble fortune for his descendants, provided he laid out his money with caution, and lived on a moderate establishment. But this is not the country for fine gentlemen, or those who live in a grand style, nor for tradesmen at present; but hard-working people, who are sober, may do well, and settle their families in a plain way.

On the 7th August we had an election in this county, for the following offices, (in conjunction with Wayne county, formerly part of Edwards county):147—one member of congress, one member of the senate, and two members of the assembly of the State of Illinois; one sheriff, three county commissioners, and a coroner for Edwards county.

{253} The State of Illinois returns one member to congress, but it is supposed it will shortly return two; the number of the members depending on the population of the State. There were two candidates for congress, namely, Daniel P. Cooke, the present member, and Mr. K. Kane;148 as Mr. Cooke had given general satisfaction, it is supposed Mr. Kane did not expect to come in at this election, but that he might be known at another, as a second member to congress. As the counties are divided into districts, there is an election in each district, all held on the same day. In ours there were 168 people who voted, but not all for every office. Mr. Cooke had 136 votes, Mr. Kane 18; so there remained 14 who did not vote for a member of congress. Here every person, who has attained the age of 21 years, has a vote; and there can be no perjury, as there is no oath required. All strangers or emigrants from Europe, or elsewhere, have a vote, if resident six months before the election. There was but {254} one vote refused, and that was of a person under age.

Three judges are appointed by the magistrate to receive the votes, which each person delivers in writing to the judges, who have two assistants to record the names of the voters, as they deliver in their lists, as the voters do not sign their names to the lists. When a list is delivered to the judges, it is folded up and put into a locked box, by a hole in the lid, and there remains till six o'clock in the evening, when the election closes; and afterwards the box is opened, and the votes are counted up.

There were three candidates for the senate, seven or eight for the assembly, and the same number for county commissioners, two for sheriff, also two for coroner.

The voters for a member of congress are from all the counties of the state of Illinois; but for the senate and assembly, from the counties of Edwards and Wayne only; and for county commissioners, sheriff, and coroner, from Edwards county {255} only; Wayne county choosing its own coroner, &c.

I think there are about twelve districts in Wayne and Edwards county where elections were held. I was present, in the evening, at the opening of the box and counting up the votes. The two assistants to the judges had each a paper with the names of the several candidates written thereon, one of the judges took out a list, and proclaimed aloud the names of the candidates mentioned therein, and then delivered the list to the other judges, who retained the same. And the assistants each entered the votes against the name of the candidate voted for, in the following form:—

"D. P. Cooke: Congress.149

."

When a vote is told out, one of the assistants calls out "One," "two," "three," "four," or "tally," and so continues till the whole number is counted out. When the box that contains the lists is empty, the {256} number of names of the voters kept by the assistants is compared with the lists, to see if they agree. And then all the lists, and one of the papers with the candidates' names, and the number of voters, are again locked up in the box, and kept by the judges in case of a scrutiny. But the other papers with the names of the voters, &c. are sent to the county seat; where all the districts send their lists, and from these a general one is made out, and those candidates who have the highest number of votes are elected to their respective trusts.

The election was held at the house of Allen Emerson, Esq., a mile west of Wanborough, in an arm of Birks' Prairie.

One unpleasant circumstance is the paper currency of this part of the United States, and it requires some experience to know what notes to take. The paper money is of two kinds, called land-office and current money; land-office money is bank paper that will pass at the land-office, but this money frequently changes. Current-money {257} is bank-paper that will pass in trade, but is not payable at the land-office, and is often from 10 to 20 per cent. below the value of land-office money. It is common to make a price according to the sort of money to be paid, and there are some articles in most stores that are only sold for land-office money.

The United States bank notes and silver are mostly sought for, as the credit of that bank is better than that of any other, and they will sometimes bear a premium of two per cent. above the price of silver, as notes are more convenient to send to the eastern states to pay for merchandise, &c.

But there are many people who prefer silver, and I find I can purchase many articles a great deal more reasonable with silver than with the best paper money.

I have never yet lost but one dollar-note, nor have I discounted a single one. Discounting of notes is called shearing, and is sometimes much practised.

As I have before described the boundaries {258} of the state of Illinois, and mentioned most of the rivers in it, I will now attempt to show you our situation with regard to other places; but having no map of the Illinois, I shall place them according to the best accounts I have heard of them, but I do not pretend to be exact as to distances, &c. I have, however, been more particular on the east side of the state, as that shows our situation with regard to the Wabash rivers, and also our road to Shawneetown on the Ohio, to Harmonie and Princetown in the state of Indiana. And northward, by Palmyra, the seat of justice for Edward's county, to Vincennes in Indiana. My map should extend much further to the left or west side, as Kaskaskai town is upwards of 100 miles west, and Coffee Island only 18 miles east of Wanbro'; but the country between Wanbro' and Kaskaskai is but little settled, and much of it is prairie or open land.

Kaskaskai is at present the seat of the legislature of Illinois; but its next meeting {259} is expected to be at the town of Vandalia,150 on the Ochka river, as being a more central situation; that place, or rather spot of land, was fixed on for the seat of government, for the Illinois, two years ago. The country near it was then a wilderness, with a single cabin inhabited by a person of the name of Vandalia. A town is now laid out, and much building begun. The town lots sell very high. One thousand dollars and upwards for the best lots of only a few rods of land.

Vandalia, by the Ochka, Kaskaskai, and Mississippi rivers, has a water communication with New Orleans, the grand outlet of all the western country.

I will now mention a few of the places of most note at present, and those reported likely to rise into notice.

Kaskaskai is at this time of most consequence in the state, and is said to be situated in the richest spot of land in the United States, called the American Bottom, but is said to be unhealthy; and the {260} removing the seat of government to Vandalia has much checked the growth of the town. It has a land-office for the sale of public land: it is six miles in a direct line from the Mississippi river. A road from it runs through the state of Illinois, to Vincennes in Indiana: this lies higher than it is placed in my map.

The inhabitants are many of them of French origin, as it was first settled by the French from Lower Canada. There are also several villages on the Mississippi river, that were also settled by the French many years ago; and the inhabitants still speak the French language, and profess the Roman Catholic religion. But within the last ten years, many Americans are settled amongst them, and the English language begins to be spoken.

By an order of congress a road is to be surveyed from Wheeling, on the Ohio, through the states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, to the mouth of the Illinois river, or near it, and to the town of St. Louis on {261} the Missouri river.151 This road is expected to pass by or near to Cincinnatti, Vincennes, and Vandalia, and to go about 30 miles north of the English Prairie.

Shawneetown, I have noticed before, as a place likely to be of some consideration, notwithstanding its low situation.

Golconda is a town, on the Ohio river, upwards of 30 miles below Shawneetown; said to be a thriving place, as many people cross the Ohio from the lower parts of the states of Kentucky and Tennessee, for St. Louis, and the Missouri states.

America is a new town, near the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers; being out of the reach of the floods, and in a good situation for trade; it is a rising place, and people are fast settling at it.

Edwardsville, near the Mississippi river, has a land-office. I never heard the place highly spoken of.152

Carmi, on the Little Wabash, is an unhealthy place, and so is Newhaven, a few miles further down the same river; and, I {262} believe, most low situations on sluggish streams are so.

Palmyra, though placed on a high sandy bank of the Wabash, a county town, and settled six years since, does not contain more than twelve houses, and not more than half of them inhabited, owing to its being so unhealthy; this arises from some rocks that lie in the bed of the river, some distance below it, and by thus penning the water back it becomes stagnant. I saw a man who said he came there six years before, with several others; that most of them were taken ill soon after their arrival; that they then removed about three miles into the fork, between the Wabash and White rivers, but their illness increasing, they returned to Palmyra, and continued there for twelve months, during which time most of his family continued very unwell; he then removed with them into a prairie, a few miles to the north, where he had remained ever since; where they recovered, and continued in good health.

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

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

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

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

Shawneetown, is the seat of justice for Gallatin county.

Carmi, for White county.

Fairfield, for Wayne county.

Palmyra, for Edward's county.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

---

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

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

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

---

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wanborough, Aug. 29. 1820.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"To whom these presents shall come, greeting.

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

[Seal.]

By the President,
James Monroe.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

---

July 3d, 1821. I have but little to add to my Journal, and but few alterations to make, except in the article of grasses. I have there mentioned yard-grass as a pasture-grass, I now find it is an annual plant, being killed by the first frosts, and coming up from seed in the spring: it blossoms almost as soon as it comes up, and produces a great deal of small seed. It appears to come upon land that has been much trodden. I spoke of blue-grass as unknown in England, but it much resembles the natural grass with you; with a light fluey seed. There are now several sorts of English and American grasses sown round us, but I have seen too little of them to give any account of them.

The distances in my Journal are computed miles, except on the great national road, over the Allegany Mountains; that is, from Mr. Carter's, at "The Traveller's Rest," to Union Town; which distance is measured miles.

July 16th. We are now harvesting, and in two days, I think, we shall cut all our grain. The wheat is very stout, but somewhat blighted. The oats are good; the barley tolerably so. Indian corn excellent; at the beginning of July some of {306} mine was nine feet high, without any appearance of its coming into ear. Should the weather continue fine, the wheat will be all harvested in a few days. As the summer has been wet, the harvest is ten or fifteen days later than last year. Peas, potatoes, and most garden-vegetables are good. We have no peaches this season, the bloom being all cut off by the severe frosts in the spring. I planted out thirty-two in the spring, and I have seventy or eighty more for next year. There are a few apples round us, and a good show for most kinds of wild fruits. Last year our pigs got in excellent condition on acorns, &c. Many of them remained out all the winter. I lost upwards of thirty, from October till May; when, except three, they all returned, and in exceeding good order. Our cattle were very poor early in the spring, but are now got lusty, as cattle thrive much faster here in the spring than in the best English pastures.

I have raised a number of hop-plants from seed, and think of planting a small hop-garden. I am also going to make a vineyard, on a small scale. I have had ten vines from Harmonie, and hope to procure a hundred more next year, as they will grow in the open fields, and make wine without sugar. This year some sugar has been made near us, from the white maple, and it appears to answer nearly as well as the sugar-maple. I suppose, another season, it will be made in considerable quantities.

{307} Our country is settling pretty fast, and our county was lately divided into two, when a part of Crawford county was added to the north part of Edwards' county, and called Laurance county. Our part still retains the name of Edwards. Albion is made the county town, since which it is much improved; and many English and American families are now settled at it.

There is a water-mill on the Little Wabash, six or seven miles to the south of my farms; and another is building on the same stream, at nearly an equal distance to the north of them. There is an ox-mill at Albion that commenced work in March. I have before mentioned one building at Wanborough. A Mr. Backhouse, an English gentleman, has a brewery there, and has brewed a considerable quantity of beer this season. As barley is not to be procured, he has made his malt of wheat. This beer is far preferable to the Harmonie beer.

Mr. Birkbeck has two dairies of about sixty cows, and makes a large quantity of cheese. Mr. Flowers is also going to establish one, on a large scale, so that cheese will soon be plentiful. Butter is so at 12½ cents, 6¾d. per lb. Most kinds of provisions are very cheap: beef, 4 cents per lb.; bacon, 6 to 8 cents per lb.; flour, 4s. 6d. to 5s. per bushel, English weight and money. A good cow and calf from 12 to 14 dollars. Sheep scarce; mutton, 5 to 6 cents per lb. Venison and game in general not so plentiful as last year; prices much the same.

{308} The weather was much milder last winter than the preceding one, with a great deal more rain. The spring backward, and sometimes very cold. May and June generally warm, with many thunder-storms,—I suppose near forty; but none of them very heavy, except one on the 9th of this month (July). The 10th of June, a particularly hot day: the thermometer 98 in the shade.

As the summer has been wet, the grass and weeds are much higher in the prairies than I have before seen them; in some places six feet or higher. We have, therefore, as much prairie hay as we choose to cut.

There was an assize or circuit court held at Albion, on the 7th, 8th, and 9th of June: there was not a great deal of business,—only two criminal causes. One for pig-stealing, found guilty: the sentence a fine of fifty dollars, and twenty-five lashes, which were immediately inflicted by the sheriff. The other was for stealing peach-trees, but was acquitted. Four or five counsellors attended: no particular dress worn by them or the judge. As the heat was great, one of the counsel, who had the most causes, took off his coat and pleaded without it. Although no wigs or black gowns are worn, there was no more want of quirks and quibbles than in Westminster Hall; nor were they deficient in eloquence; but not so much tied down to forms, nor perhaps quite so polite as with you.

W—— was of age in January, but his birth-day {309} was not kept till the middle of April, on account of the illness of Mr. S——. A party of about thirty young people sat down to supper: and suppose I give you a description of this Illinois entertainment: a round of beef, from an ox of 800 lbs. weight; a turkey that weighed 19 lbs.; a large ham, chickens, rabbits; peach, apple, and pumpkin pies, sweet cakes, &c. &c. As the night was wet, the dance was kept up till late in the morning.

The following is the return of the American militia laid before Congress, Feb. 26th, 1821, in which you will find the State of Illinois stands last, but it is too thin to muster in the greater part of it; and as 1820 was only the first year of its being mustered, it will probably be returned nearly treble another year.

1	State of New York	121,553
2	Pennsylvania	115,231
*3	Virginia	88,915
4	Ohio	83,247
*5	Kentucky	51,052
6	Massachusetts	48,140
*7	North Carolina	46,728
*8	Tennessee	36,146
9	New Jersey	33,240
*10	Maryland	32,189
11	Maine	30,990
*12	Georgia	29,661
13	New Hampshire	27,012
*14	South Carolina	23,729
15	State of Connecticut	22,109
{310}	16 Vermont	20,781
17	Indiana	14,990
*18	Missouri	12,080
*19	Alabama	11,261
*20	Louisiana	10,257
21	Rhode Island	8,665
22	Delaware	7,451
*23	Mississippi	5,292
24	Illinois	2,031
25	Michigan Territory	1,707
	Total	884,457
*26	Arkansaw territory	No return.
27	North-west do.	do.
28	Missouri do.	do.

In most of the new States and territories the returns are very imperfect, and much short of the number liable to serve. Those marked thus * are slave States; but no slaves are liable to serve. The number of slaves calculated to be upwards of 2,000,000. Whites upwards of 8,000,000. Indians near 300,000. Total supposed to be about 11,000,000, of all colours. The Floridas are not included in this return.

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