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.
FOOTNOTES:
[151] William McCammant’s tavern, at the sign of the “Cross Keys,” was first opened in 1801. An advertisement of early prices cited “dinner and horse-feed, twenty-five cents; jurors and others attending court, two dollars per week.”—Ed.
[152] For the history of Canonsburgh and the college here mentioned, see Harris’s Journal, vol. iii of this series, p. 347, note 31.—Ed.
[153] Morganza was the home of Colonel George Morgan, a prominent character in Western land history. He was originally a member of a large firm of Philadelphia Indian traders, and made journeys to Pittsburg as early as 1768. In the treaty of Fort Stanwix of that year, his firm was one of those reimbursed for losses by a grant of Western lands, out of which grew the Indiana Company, for which Morgan during many years acted as agent and secretary, vainly seeking confirmation of the grant by the Virginia legislature and later by Congress. At the outbreak of the Revolution, Morgan was made Indian agent for the Western Department, with headquarters at Pittsburg. At the close of the war, removal to Princeton, New Jersey, brought Morgan into contact with college life, his services as trustee being much appreciated. In 1788-89, he was engaged in a scheme for settling a colony on Spanish territory at New Madrid, but several trips to New Orleans on this business failed to effect a satisfactory arrangement. Morgan next turned his attention to the estate in Washington County, Pennsylvania, which had recently been bequeathed to him by his brother. Thither he removed in 1796, and at Morganza occurred the dinner at which Burr was charged with treasonable remarks against the authority of the United States. The death of Morgan occurred at Morganza in 1810.—Ed.
CHAPTER XXXVII
Pittsburgh—Panorama round it.