1.
THE following are the observations of young Isaac Weld, of Dublin. He was on his way from Philadelphia, and stopped at the Falls of the Potomac:
“From hence I followed the course of the river downwards as far as George Town, where I again crossed it, and after passing through the Federal city, proceeded along the Maryland shore of the river to Piscatoway, and afterwards to Port Tobacco. In the neighborhood of Piscatoway there are several very fine views of the Virginian shore; Mount Vernon in particular appears to great advantage. From Port Tobacco to Hoe’s Ferry on the Potowmac River, the country is flat and sandy and wears a most dreary aspect. Nothing is to be seen here for miles together but extensive plains that have been worn out by the culture of tobacco, overgrown with yellow sedge and interspersed with groves of pine and cedar trees, the dark green colour of which forms a curious contrast with the yellow of the sedge. In the midst of these plains are the remains of several good houses.
“Such a number of roads in different directions cross over these flats, upon none of which is there anything like a direction post, and the face of a human being is so rarely met with that it is scarcely possible for a traveler to find out the direct way at once. Instead of twelve miles, the distance by the straight road from Port Tobacco to the ferry, my horse had certainly traveled twice the number before we got there. After having waited for two hours and a half for my breakfast, the most I could procure was two eggs, a pint of milk and a bit of cake bread, scarcely as big as my hand.
“After having got into the ferry-boat the man of the house, as if conscious that he had given me very bad fare, told me that there was a bank of oysters in the river, close to which it was necessary to pass, and that if I chose to stop the men would procure abundance of them for me. The curiosity of getting oysters in fresh water tempted me to stop, and the men got near a bushel of them in a very few minutes. These oysters are extremely good when cooked, but very disagreeable eaten raw; indeed all the oysters found in America are, in the opinion of most Europeans, very indifferent and tasteless when raw. The Americans, on their part, find still greater fault with our oysters, which, they say, are not fit to be eaten in any shape, because they taste of copper.
“The river at the ferry is about three miles wide, and with particular winds the waves rise very high; in these cases they always tie the horses, for fear of accidents, before they set out; indeed with the small open boats which they make use of it is what ought always to be done, for in this country gusts of wind rise suddenly. Having omitted this precaution, the boat was on the point of being overset two or three different times as I crossed over. On the Virginian shore, opposite to the ferry house from whence I sailed, there are several large creeks, which fall into the Potowmac. As I wished to go beyond these creeks I therefore hired the boatman to carry me ten miles down the Potowmac River in the ferry-boat, past the mouths of them all; this he accordingly did, and in the afternoon I landed on the beach, not a little pleased at finding that I had reached the shore without having been under the necessity of swimming any part of the way.
“The part of the country where I landed appeared to be a perfect wilderness. Taking a road, however, as nearly as I could guess, in a direct line from the river up the country, at the end of an hour I came upon a narrow road, which led to a large old brick house, somewhat similar to those I had met with on the Maryland shore. On inquiring here from two blacks for a tavern, I was told there was no such thing in this part of the country. In the course of five or six miles I saw several more of the same sort of old brick houses, and the evening now drawing toward a close, I began to feel the necessity of going to some one of them. I was considering within myself which house I should visit, when a lively old negro, mounted on a little horse, came galloping after me. On applying to him for information on the subject, he took great pains to assure me that I should be well received at any of the houses I might stop at, and strongly recommended me to proceed under his guidance to his master’s house, which was but a mile farther on.
“‘Masser will be so glad to see you,’ added he; ‘nothing can be like.’
“I accordingly took the negro’s advice and rode to the dwelling of his master, made him acquainted with my situation, and begged I might be allowed to put my horse in his stable for the night. The reception, however, which this gentleman gave me differed so materially from what I had been led to expect, that I was happy at hearing from him that there was a good tavern at the distance of two miles. I apologized for the liberty I had taken, and made the best of my way to it. Instead of two miles, however, this tavern proved to be about three times as far off. The next day I arrived at Stratford, the residence of a gentleman, who, when at Philadelphia, had invited me to pass some time with him whenever I visited Virginia. Some of the neighbouring gentlemen dined here together, and having related to them my adventures on arriving in Virginia, the whole company expressed the greatest astonishment. Every one seemed eager to know the name of the person who had given me such a reception, and begged me to tell it. I did so, and the Virginians were satisfied, for the person was a Scotsman, and had, it seems, removed but a short time before from some town or other to the plantation on which I found him.
“This part of Virginia is called the Northern Neck, and is remarkable for having been the birthplace of many of the principal characters which distinguished themselves in America, during the war, by their great talents.
“Though many of the houses in the Northern Neck are built of brick and stone, in the style of the old English manor houses, yet the greater number there and throughout Virginia are of wood, amongst which are all those that have been built of late years. This is chiefly owing to a prevailing, though absurd, opinion, that wooden houses are the healthiest, because the inside walls never appear damp. Tobacco is not near so much cultivated now as it was formerly, the great demand for wheat having induced most of the planters to raise that grain in preference. Those who raise tobacco and Indian corn are called planters, and those who cultivate small grain, farmers.
“Towards the end of April I crossed the Rappahannock River, which bounds the Northern Neck on one side, to a small town called Tappahannock, or Hobb’s Hole, containing about 100 houses. Before the war this town was in a much more flourishing state than at present; that unfortunate contest ruined the trade of this little place, as it did that of most of the seaport towns in Virginia. The Rappahannock is about three-quarters of a mile wide opposite the town. Sharks are very often seen in this river. What is very remarkable, the fish are all found on the side of the river next to the town.
“As I passed through this part of the country, from Tappahannock to Urbanna, I observed many traces of fires in the woods, which are frequent, it seems in the spring of the year. I was a witness myself to one of these fires, that happened in the Northern Neck.
“The day had been remarkably serene; in the afternoon, however, it became sultry, and streams of hot air were perceptible now and then, the usual tokens of a gust. About 5 o’clock the horizon towards the north became dark, and a terrible whirlwind arose. I was standing with some gentlemen on an eminence at the time, and perceived it gradually advancing. As it came along it leveled the fence rails, and unroofed the sheds for the cattle. We made every endeavor, but in vain, to get to a place of shelter; in the course of two minutes the whirlwind overtook us; the shock was violent; it was hardly possible to stand, and difficult to breathe. The whirlwind passed over in about three minutes, but a storm, accompanied by heavy thunder and lightning, succeeded. On looking round immediately after the whirlwind had passed a prodigious column of fire now appeared in a part of the wood where some brushwood had been burning; in many places the flames rose considerably above the summit of the trees, which were of a large growth. It was a tremendous, and at the same time sublime sight. The negroes in the surrounding plantations were all assembled with their hoes, and watches were stationed at every corner to give the alarm if the fire appeared elsewhere.
“The country between Urbanna and Gloucester is neither so flat nor so sandy as that bordering upon the Rappahannock. The trees, chiefly pines, are of very large size, and afford abundance of turpentine, which is extracted from them in large quantities by the inhabitants, principally, however, for home consumption. Gloucester contains only ten or twelve houses. There are remains here of one or two redoubts thrown up during the war. The town of York consists of about seventy houses, an Episcopalian church, and a gaol. Great quantities of tobacco were formerly inspected here; very little, however, is now raised in the neighborhood. The little that is sent for inspection is reckoned to be of the very best quality, and is all engaged for the London market. In the town the houses bear evident marks of the siege; and the inhabitants will not, on any account, suffer the holes perforated by the cannon balls to be repaired on the outside. Till within a year or two the broken shells themselves remained; but the New England men that traded to York, finding they would sell well as old iron, dug them up and carried them away in their ships. Twelve miles from York, to the westward, stands Williamsburg. The town consists of about 1,200 inhabitants, and the society in it is thought to be more extensive and more genteel at the same time than what is to be met with in any other place of its size in America. No manufactures are carried on here, and scarcely any trade.
“From Williamsburgh to Hampton the country is flat and uninteresting. From this town there is a regular ferry to Norfolk, across Hampton Roads, eighteen miles over. Norfolk would be a place of much greater trade than it is at present were it not for the impolicy of some laws which have existed in the State of Virginia. One of these laws, so injurious to commerce, was passed during the war. It was enacted that all merchants and planters in Virginia, who owed money to British merchants, should be exonerated from their debts if they paid the money due into the public treasury instead of sending it to Great Britain. The treasury at first did not become much richer in consequence of this law. However, when the continental paper money became so much depreciated many of the people began to look upon the measure in a different point of view. In vain did the British merchant sue for his money when hostilities were terminated; he could obtain no redress.
“Another law, baneful in the highest degree to the trading interest, is one which renders all landed property inviolable. Owing to this law they have not yet been enabled to get a bank established at Norfolk. Repeated attempts have been made in the State Assembly to get this last mentioned law repealed, but they have all proved ineffectual. The debates have been very warm on the business.
“The houses in Norfolk are about 500 in number. These have all been erected since the year 1776, when the town was totally destroyed by fire. The losses suffered on that occasion were estimated at £300,000. Amongst the inhabitants are great numbers of Scotch and French. The latter are almost entirely from the West Indies, and principally from St. Domingo.
“Not a bit of fodder was to be had on the whole road from Norfolk to Richmond, excepting at two places. Oats were not to be had on any terms. Great crowds were assembled at Petersburgh, as I passed through, attracted to it by the horse races, which take place four or five times in the year. The only particular circumstance in their mode of carrying on their races in Virginia is that they always run to the left.
“Richmond is situated immediately below the falls of James River, on the north side. The river opposite to the town is crossed by the means of two bridges, which are separated by an island. The bridge, leading from the south shore to the island, is built upon fifteen large flat-bottomed boats, kept stationary in the river by strong chains and anchors. The bows of them, which are very sharp, are put against the stream, and fore and aft there is a strong beam, upon which the piers of the bridge rest. The bridges thrown across this river, opposite the town, have repeatedly been carried away; it is thought idle, therefore, to go to the expense of a better one. The strongest stone bridge could hardly resist the bodies of ice that are hurried down the falls by the floods on the breaking up of a severe winter.
“Though the houses in Richmond are not more than 700 in number, yet they extend nearly one mile and a half along the banks of the river. The lower part of the town is built close to the water, and opposite to it lies the shipping. This is connected with the upper town by a long street, which runs parallel to the course of the river, about fifty yards removed from the banks. The situation of the upper town is very pleasing; it stands on an elevated spot, and commands a fine prospect of the falls of the river and of the adjacent country on the opposite side. The best houses stand here, and also the Capitol, or State house. From the opposite side of the river this building appears extremely well.
“A canal is completed at the north side of the falls, which renders the navigation complete from Richmond to the Blue Mountains, and at particular times of the year boats with light burthens can proceed still higher up. In the river, opposite the town, are no more than seven feet of water, but ten miles lower down about twelve feet. Most of the vessels trading to Richmond unload the greatest part of their cargoes at this place into river craft, and then proceed up to the town. Trade is carried on here chiefly by foreigners.”