Travels Through North America, During the Years 1825 and 1826. v. 1-2

by Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Bernhard

On the 15th of April, I went into the garden back of Rapp’s house to see a plate or block of stone, which is remarkable as it bears the impression of two human feet. This piece of stone was hewed out of a rock near St. Louis, and sold to Mr. Rapp. Schoolcraft speaks of it in his travels, and I insert his remarks, as I have found them correct. “The impressions are to all appearance those of a man standing upright, the left foot a little forwards, the heels turned inwards. The distance between the heels by an exact measurement was six and a quarter inches, and thirteen and a half between the extremities of the great toes. By an accurate examination, it however will be ascertained, that they are not the impression of feet, accustomed to the use of European shoes, for the toes are pressed out, and the foot is flat, as is observed in persons who walk barefoot. The probability that they were caused by the pressure of an individual, that belonged to an unknown race of men, ignorant of the art of tanning hides, and that this took place in a much earlier age than the traditions of the present Indians extend to, this probability I say, is strengthened by the extraordinary size of the feet here given. In another respect, the impressions are strikingly natural, since the muscles of the feet are represented with the greatest exactness and truth. This circumstance weakens very much the hypothesis, that they are possibly evidences of the ancient sculpture of a race of men living in the remote ages of this continent. Neither history nor tradition, gives us the slightest information of such a people. For it must be kept in mind, that we have no proof that the people who erected our surprising western tumuli, ever had a knowledge of masonry, even much less of sculpture, or that they had invented the chisel, the knife, or the axe, those excepted made from porphyry, hornstone or obsidian. The medium length of the human male foot can be taken at ten inches. The length of the foot stamp here described, amounts to ten and a quarter inches, the breadth measured over the toes, in a right angle with the first line is four inches, but the greatest spread of the toes is four and a half inches, which breadth diminishes at the heels to two and a half inches. Directly before these impressions is a well inserted and deep mark, similar to a scroll of which the greatest length is two feet seven inches, and the greatest breadth twelve and a half inches. The rock which contains these interesting traces, is a compact limestone of a bluish-gray colour.”

This rock with the unknown impressions are remembered as long as the country about St. Louis has been known, this table is hewn out of a rock, and indeed out of a perpendicular wall of rock.

The garden of Rapp’s house was the usual flower-garden of a rich German farmer. In it was a green-house, in which several large fig trees, an orange, and lemon tree stood in the earth. Mr. Owen took me into one of the newly-built houses, in which the married members of the society are to dwell. It consisted of two stories, in each two chambers and two alcoves, with the requisite ventilators. The cellar of the house is to contain a heating apparatus, to heat the whole with warm air. When all shall be thoroughly organized, the members will alternately have the charge of heating the apparatus. Each family will have a chamber and an alcove, which will be sufficient, as the little children will be in a nursery, and the larger at school. They will not require kitchens, as all are to eat in common. The unmarried women will live together, as will also the unmarried men, in the manner of the Moravian brethren.

I had an ample conversation with Mr. Owen, relating to his system, and his expectations. He looks forward to nothing less than to remodel the world entirely; to root out all crime; to abolish all punishments; to create similar views and similar wants, and in this manner to avoid all dissension and warfare. When his system of education shall be brought into connection with the great progress made by mechanics, and which is daily increasing, every man can then, as he thought, provide his smaller necessaries for himself, and trade would cease entirely! I expressed a doubt of the practicability of his system in Europe, and even in the United States. He was too unalterably convinced of the results, to admit the slightest room for doubt. It grieved me to see that Mr. Owen should allow himself to be so infatuated by his passion for universal improvement, as to believe and to say that he is about to reform the whole world; and yet that almost every member of his society, with whom I have conversed apart, acknowledged that he was deceived in his expectations, and expressed their opinion that Mr. Owen had commenced on too grand a scale, and had admitted too many members, without the requisite selection! The territory of the society may contain twenty five thousand acres. The sum of one hundred and twenty thousand dollars was paid to Rapp for this purchase, and for that consideration he also left both his cattle, and a considerable flock of sheep behind.

I went with the elder Doctor M‘Namee, to the two new established communities, one of which is called No. 2, or Macluria; the other lately founded, No. 3. No. 2, lies two miles distant from New Harmony, at the entrance of the forest, which will be cleared to make the land fit for cultivation, and consists of nine log houses, first tenanted about four weeks since, by about eighty persons. They are mostly backwoodsmen with their families, who have separated themselves from the community No. 1, in New Harmony, because no religion is acknowledged there, and these people wish to hold their prayer meetings undisturbed. The fields in the neighbourhood of this community were of course very new. The community No. 3, consisted of English country people, who formed a new association, as the mixture, or perhaps the cosmopolitism of New Harmony did not suit them; they left the colony planted by Mr. Birkbeck, at English Prairie, about twenty miles hence, on the right bank of the Wabash, after the unfortunate death of that gentleman,[II.20] and came here. This is a proof that there are two evils that strike at the root of the young societies; one is a sectarian or intolerant spirit; the other, national prejudice. No. 3, is to be built on a very pretty eminence, as yet there is only a frame building for three families begun.

After we had returned to New Harmony, I went to the orchard on the Mount Vernon road to walk, and beheld, to my great concern, what ravages the frost had committed on the fruit blossoms, the vines must have been completely killed. The orchards planted by Rapp and his society are large and very handsome, containing mostly apple and peach trees, also some pear and cherry trees. One of the gardens is exclusively devoted to flowers, where, in Rapp’s time, a labyrinth was constructed of beech tree hedges and flowers, in the middle of which stood a pavilion, covered with the tops of trees.

I afterwards visited Mr. Neef, who is still full of the maxims and principles of the French revolution; captivated with the system of equality; talks of the emancipation of the negroes, and openly proclaims himself an Atheist. Such people stand by themselves, and fortunately are so very few in number, that they can do little or no injury.

In the evening there was a general meeting in the large hall, it opened with music. Then one of the members, an English architect of talent, who came to the United States with Mr. Owen, whose confidence he appeared to possess, and was here at the head of the arranging and architectural department, read some extracts from the newspapers, upon which Mr. Owen made a very good commentary; for example, upon the extension and improvement of steam-engines, upon their adaptation to navigation, and the advantages resulting therefrom. He lost himself, however, in his theories, when he expatiated on an article which related to the experiments which had been made with Perkins’s steam-gun. During these lectures, I made my observations on the much vaunted equality, as some tatterdemalions stretched themselves on the platform close by Mr. Owen. The better educated members kept themselves together, and took no notice of the others. I remarked also, that the members belonging to the higher class of society had put on the new costume, and made a party by themselves. After the lecture the band played a march, each gentleman took a lady, and marched with her round the room. Lastly, a cotillion was danced: the ladies were then escorted home, and each retired to his own quarters.

I went early on the following morning, (Sunday,) to the assembly room. The meeting was opened by music. After this Mr. Owen stated a proposition, in the discussion of which he spoke of the advances made by the society, and of the location of a new community at Valley Forge, in Pennsylvania, and another in the state of New York. A classification of the members was spoken of afterwards. They were separated into three classes, first, of such as undertook to be security for the sums due Mr. Owen and Mr. M‘Clure, (that is, for the amount paid to Rapp, and so expended as a pledge to be redeemed by the society,) and who, if desirous to leave the society, must give six months previous notice; secondly, of such as after a notice of fourteen days can depart; and, lastly of those who are received only on trial.

After this meeting, I paid Mr. M‘Clure a visit, and received from him the French papers. Mr. M‘Clure is old, childless, was never married, and intends, as is reported, to leave his property to the society. Afterwards I went with Mr. Owen, and some ladies of the society, to walk to the cut-off, as it is called, of the Wabash, where this river has formed a new channel, and an island, which contains more than a hundred acres of the best land; at present, however, inundated by water. There is here a substantial grist-mill, erected by Rapp, which was said to contain a very good set of machinery, but where we could not reach it on account of the water. We went some distance along the river, and then returned through the woods over the hills, which, as it was rather warm, and we could discover no pathway, was very laborious to the ladies, who were uncommonly alarmed at the different snakes we chanced to meet. Most of the serpent species here are harmless, and the children catch them for playthings. The poisonous snakes harbouring about here, are rattlesnakes and copperheads; these, however, diminish rapidly in numbers, for it is a common observation, that the poisonous serpents, like the Indians and bears, fly before civilization. The rattlesnakes have a powerful enemy in the numerous hogs, belonging to the settlers, running about the woods, which are very well skilled in catching them by the neck and devouring them.