The commerce of Fayetteville is very flourishing, and must still increase from the vicinity of Cape Fear river, which is navigable to the sea. The products of the surrounding country consist principally of tobacco and grain. Its population is nearly four thousand souls, and increases with remarkable rapidity. Unfortunately more than a third of this population consists of slaves, who increase in the same proportion with the free inhabitants; a circumstance which will probably continue for some time to retard the full developement of its resources. What I here say of Fayetteville is applicable to the whole state of North Carolina, which, in a population of six hundred and forty thousand souls, has above two hundred thousand slaves.
The climate of North Carolina is said to be healthy, and very well adapted to every species of culture. Nevertheless, the part through which we passed did not present an agreeable aspect. We met with numerous pine forests overflown by the rivers which watered them; many sand plains, and but little cultivated ground; that which is cultivated producing only rice and indigo. The mountainous parts of the state are stated to produce abundant crops of wheat, rye, barley, oats, Indian corn, tobacco, hemp and cotton. This last article, when prepared for manufacturing, is produced in the proportion of one hundred and fifty pounds for each slave.
It is also in the highest grounds where native gold is found in considerable quantity. It is obtained by simply washing the earth. Its purity is very remarkable, having been found twenty-three carats fine, and superior in quality to the American or English gold coins. The pieces are of various weights. The heaviest yet found weighed nearly five pounds. In 1810, the mint of the United States received one thousand three hundred and forty-one ounces, the value of which amounted to twenty-four thousand six hundred and eighty-nine dollars. In Montgomery county, many persons live by hunting for this metal. Every one has permission to seek, upon condition that he gives half he finds to the owner of the soil.
Notwithstanding all its rich resources, North Carolina appeared to me one of the least advanced of all the states we have hitherto visited. Slavery, in my opinion, should be regarded as the principal cause of this condition. Its constitution, though in general founded upon those of the other states, differs from them in some points, and retains some traces of aristocracy. Thus, for example, to be elected a senator, a person must be owner of three hundred acres of land; to be a representative, he must possess one hundred: finally, no man can be elected governor unless he be the free proprietor of an estate yielding one thousand dollars. In the midst of promises of religious liberty, the constitution of North Carolina has nevertheless the misfortune to have preserved an unhappy distinction between sects: thus, any man who denies the truth of the protestant religion, can have no pretensions to any public employment.[[3]] I am well aware that in a government which supports no established order of clergy, the inconvenience of such a distinction is not so great, but it is nevertheless a serious blow aimed at the equality established and recognized by law. A wrong of still more consequence in this state, is that of having so long neglected the means of propagating primary instruction. In 1808 the legislature first ordered schools to be provided at the public expense. But in spite of the defects which I have pointed out, the inhabitants of North Carolina, from their patriotism, are unquestionably worthy to form a part of the great confederate family of the United States. To prove this, it will be sufficient to cite one fact, which is, that during the revolutionary war, the enemy could never procure a pilot upon the coast of this state. I might add, that the brilliant successes which attended the battles of Briar Creek in 1779, of Waxhaws in 1780, and of Guilford in 1781, were due to the militia of this state.
CHAPTER IV.
Entrance into South Carolina—Route from Cheraw to Cambden—Monument erected to Baron de Kalb—Road from Cambden to Charleston—Rejoicing in Charleston—Colonel Huger—History, Institutions, and Manners of the South Carolinians.
Twenty-four hours after our departure from Fayetteville, in the midst of a pine forest, we met the deputation of the state of South Carolina to General Lafayette. This meeting took place on the confines of the two states. Our kind and amiable travelling companions from North Carolina delivered us to their neighbours, with the most lively expressions of regret at a separation which cost us as much as them, and we continued our route in new carriages, with a new escort of friends, till we arrived at Cheraw, a pretty little town, which, three years previous, had not more than four houses built, and now contains about fifteen hundred inhabitants. The next day’s journey was long and difficult; sometimes, indeed, the road was almost impassable, being, in some places, entirely cut up by the overflow of rivers, whilst in others we could only cross the marshes by moving gently over a road formed of badly arranged trunks of trees. In fact, we travelled so slowly, that night overtook us on the road, and it soon became so dark that many of the gentlemen of our escort lost the road, and not being able to trace it in the sand, wandered into the forest. The carriages of the party also began to stray from each other, and towards ten o’clock Mr. George Lafayette and myself discovered that the one we rode in was at a great distance behind the others. A few minutes after we felt a violent shock, and heard a loud crash. Our carriage tongue was broken, and we were left in the midst of the marsh. Our situation was extremely disagreeable, and we should have had some difficulty to escape from it but for the assistance of two dragoons who had never left us, and who obliged us to mount their horses, which, after some minutes, brought us in sight of the fires of the guard surrounding the house that was to serve us for an asylum, where the general had arrived an hour before. In this house, which stood altogether alone in the midst of the woods, we were well accommodated. We had an excellent supper, and good beds, in which we might probably have slept soundly but for the trumpet, which was sounded all night for the purpose of rallying our scattered escort.
On arising, an entirely novel scene was presented to my view. We were in the midst of what is called in America a new settlement, that is to say, a clearing or erection of a new habitation in the woods. The house in which we had passed the night was the only dwelling in the place, and it was still unfinished. By its side they had begun to raise the frames of some other buildings, doubtless intended for granaries and stables. Numerous trunks of half hewn trees collected together showed that it was the intention of the owner soon to erect other buildings, and already the forest was prostrated to a considerable extent. But a few vast trees were standing in the clearing, whose branches were not only lopped off, but some of them were deprived of their bark, and blackened for their whole length by the action of the flames which had been employed to burn the brush about them. It is difficult to imagine any thing more desolate than such a scene. “It is, nevertheless, in this way,” said one of our travelling companions, “that all our little towns, which are so attractive and lively, begin. Cheraw, where you slept yesterday, and with which you were so much pleased, but a few years ago resembled this, and, perhaps, should you return in four or five years, you may here find another Cheraw. See,” continued he, taking me to a part of the forest which the axe and the fire had still spared, “with what care and skill the founder of this future city has laid the basis of a fortune which he anticipates enjoying in a short time. Look at this lot of several acres, surrounded by a strong fence, in which his cows, horses, and hogs are enclosed. These last named animals, raised thus at large, and in the enjoyment of abundance of food, soon multiply without number, and afford him a certain part of his subsistence. The next year, that portion of his land which comes to be cleared, will probably yield him a rich harvest of corn or rice; but the proprietor, whilst waiting for the growth of his crops, is obliged to obtain his bread by trading, and pays for it in turpentine, collected from the enormous pines which surround him. A small notch cut in the body of the tree, gives issue to a liquid which is received in a trough. Three thousand trees furnish annually seventy-five barrels of turpentine. But it is not only the young and vigorous trees which contribute to his wants; he has recourse also to those time has destroyed. From the dead trees he extracts tar, obtained by burning the wood upon a grate, a kettle being placed beneath to receive the boiling liquid. Sometimes from the plants which he clears away from around his house, he obtains a considerable quantity of potash, which still augments his wealth. Every year sees the cleared land increase around him, and soon other settlers, encouraged by his success, place themselves about him, and assist in erecting the new village, in which he may be permitted to enjoy the public employments conferred by his fellow citizens as a tribute to his talents and patriotism.”
Whilst we were thus engaged in casting a rapid glance over the resources of our host and his future destinies, General Lafayette concluded the preparations for his departure, and, at a signal given by the trumpets, we resumed our journey, passing through the sands and pines on our way to Cambden, where we were to lodge. The weather had changed during the night, and our march was now favoured by a clear sky. Although it was the month of March, we felt the heat of the sun considerably, and every thing around bore the appearance of advanced spring. On approaching Cambden, where we saw a considerable number of well cultivated gardens, we were a good deal surprised to find the trees in flower, and the balmy air perfumed by the plants, as in France during the month of June.
Cambden is not a large town, containing only about two hundred inhabitants. We nevertheless found there a very numerous population, collected from more than eighty miles around, to receive General Lafayette, and assist in laying the corner stone of a monument which they were about erecting to the memoir of Baron de Kalb. General Lafayette was received a little in advance of the town, near the old quarters of Cornwallis, by all the citizens under arms, and was conducted with great pomp, and in the midst of companies of young ladies, to the dwelling prepared for him, where he was addressed by Colonel Nixons, Jr. with a remarkable warmth of feeling. The attentive crowd applauded the orator with transports, when he told the general that his visit to the United States had added a new page to history, and that the splendour of Greek and Roman triumphs faded before the unanimity and harmony of this popular ovation.