CHAPTER XXXVI
Fine morning—Clement’s tavern—Washington—Go on in the stage—Meet an acquaintance—Canonsburgh—Morganza—Colonel Plummer’s—Coal Hill—Frightful road—Charming views—Monongahela ferry—Arrive at Pittsburgh.
Thursday, twenty-first August, I walked on with the first dawn of a fine morning, nothing being wanting to render it delightful, except the carrol of the winged inhabitants of the woods, which throughout this whole country is very rare. I stopped to rest a few minutes at Clement’s tavern, five miles on the road, where I found a number of young men and women up, and drest decently, and even genteelly, though so early; indeed many of them had the appearance of not having been in bed all night. On inquiry I learned that there had been a wedding here last night, which had occasioned such a concourse of young people. Several of the males joined {216} the landlord in civilly pressing me to take my morning dram of bitters with them, and they were not a little astonished at my excusing myself, and requesting in lieu, a little milk and water.
Wishing to arrive in Washington in time to join the stage for Pittsburgh, I walked very fast, on a good road, through a pleasant but hilly country, and got to M’Cammont’s tavern, as the family were rising from breakfast.[151] The table was however soon replenished with plenty and variety, to which I did ample justice from the excellent effect on my appetite, of early rising, and a ten miles’ walk.
Having a little time before the stage would depart, I walked through the town, and was much pleased with it. Washington is surrounded by a fertile, well cultivated, and well inhabited country, rather hilly, but the hills not very steep. The town occupies a hill itself, and consists of one main street, intersected at right angles by four shorter ones, the whole containing one hundred and seventy-five dwelling houses, a good brick court-house and a stone gaol adjoining; two meeting houses, one of brick for Presbyterians, and an old one of logs for Methodists; a neat masonick lodge of stone and lime, and a small market house. There are several stores and taverns, and on the whole it is a thriving town, and a pleasant residence for either trader, mechanick or private man, the inhabitants being a spirited and polished people, mostly descendants from the northern Irish.
At noon I left Washington in the stage, having the pleasure of a fellow traveller in my old acquaintance Dearborn, who was returning to Pittsburgh after an excursion to Washington for the purpose of taking some likenesses. His anecdotes of domestick and social occurrences at Pittsburgh during my absence, beguiled the time pleasantly, and we were in Canonsburgh, without being sensible of the seven {217} miles between Washington and it. The road leads mostly along Chartier’s creek, crossing it three times in that distance. We stopped at Westbay’s excellent tavern, where is also the post office. They were making preparations for dinner, which (having breakfasted so late) we declined partaking of, and amused ourselves with a walk through the town. It is on the S. western declivity of a steep hill, having Chartier’s creek at the bottom. It contains eighty-eight houses, of different descriptions, exclusive of the college, which is a plain stone edifice, much out of repair, with a cupola belfry. There is also a small market house, but the town does not seem flourishing; indeed was it not for the college, it would probably soon go to decay, in favour of its more successful neighbour Washington.[152] The most striking thing I saw here was my landlord’s garden, which is both good and handsome, being laid out with taste, abounding in a variety of the best culinary vegetables, and having some very pleasant shady bowers, where the student, or man of leisure, sheltered from the noonday sun, and inhaling the fragrance of the surrounding aromatick plants, might luxuriantly roam into the realms of fancy.
Two miles from Canonsburgh, we passed Morganza, the seat of general Morgan, on the left. It is a long and narrow frame building, with two ends lower than the body of the house, by way of wings—the whole ornamented with green jalousie window shutters. The situation, immediately on the road side, does not appear well chosen, especially as the general apparently had a choice of a variety of situations, any of which I should have supposed, would have merited a preference. One is more apt to be struck with any thing like false taste in any work which has been finished under the direction of a man of education and refinement, which in addition to {218} liberal hospitality, is general Morgan’s character, as well as that of his amiable and accomplished lady.[153]
At Fosset’s, three miles further, we changed an excellent set of grey horses, for as good a one of bays, owned by my friend M’Cullough of Pittsburgh.—For four miles from Fosset’s to M’Cully’s, the country is neither so fertile, nor so well cultivated as before, but it there improves again a little, and is ornamented at two miles further, by colonel Plummer’s fanciful but handsome house and fine farm on the left. Rather exceeding three miles more brought us to the top of the Coal hill, the descent of which to the Monongahela, almost a mile, is so steep that two of the wheels of the stage wagon had to be locked, and I frequently wished myself out of it, but it was impossible to stop to get out, so I comforted myself with the reflection that no unfortunate accident had yet happened to the stages on this hill, which giving me courage, I was enabled to enjoy the views so inexpressibly fine, which are perpetually varying, as the road winds down the hill.
From a bird’s eye view on the top, the town of Pittsburgh, Grant’s hill, and even Boyd’s hill so much higher than Grant’s, appear as a plain, enclosed by the Monongahela from the S. E. directly under one, and the Allegheny meeting it at a point below the town, and both together forming the Ohio, which glides off majestically towards the N. W.—keeping the course of the Monongahela rather than that of the more rapid Allegheny, which flowing into it at a right angle from the N. E. is seen several miles upwards in that direction, with some beautiful islands about three miles above Pittsburgh. Descending the hill, the Monongahela gradually opens more on the right from its breadth assuming the appearance of a beautiful lake surrounded by irregular hills, with Mr. Beelen’s finely situated country house, shewing to great advantage, at its upper end.
{219} When near the bottom of the coal hill, a sudden precipice on the right, and a short turn of the road to the left, brought back our thoughts home to ourselves, but the well trained horses seeming to know exactly where they should place their feet, soon removed us from the object of terror, and without stopping, trotted directly with the stage and us into the ferry flat, which was prepared to receive us—after which, ten minutes sufficed to land us at Pittsburgh.