I Arrived at this place, which is about twenty miles distant from Lancaster, yesterday. The inhabitants of this town, as well as those of Lancaster and of the adjoining country, consist principally of Dutch and German emigrants, and their descendants. Great numbers of these people emigrate to America every year, and the importation of them forms a very considerable branch of commerce. They are for the most part brought from the Hanse Towns and from Rotterdam. The vessels sail thither from America, laden with different kinds of produce, and the masters of them, on arriving there, entice on board as many of these people as they can persuade to leave their native country, without demanding any money for their passage. When the vessel arrives in America, an advertisement is put into the paper, mentioning the different kinds of men on board, whether smiths, taylors, carpenters, labourers, or the like, and the people that are in want of such men flock down to the vessel; these poor Germans are then sold to the highest bidder, and the captain of the vessel, or the ship holder, puts the money into his pocket[[16]].
[16]. Thousands of people were brought from the north of Ireland in the same way before the war with France.
There have been many very shocking instances of cruelty in the carrying on of this trade, vulgarly called “The white slave trade.” I shall tell you but of one. While the yellow fever was raging in Philadelphia in the year 1793, at which time few vessels would venture to approach nearer to the city than Fort Mifflin, four miles below it, a captain in the trade arrived in the river, and hearing that such was the fatal nature of the infection, that a sufficient number of nurses could not be procured to attend the sick for any sum whatever, he conceived the philanthropic idea of supplying this deficiency from amongst his passengers; accordingly he boldly sailed up to the city, and advertised his cargo for sale:
“A few healthy servants, generally between seventeen and eighteen years of age, are just arrived in the brig ——, their times will be disposed of by applying on board.” The cargo, as you may suppose, did not remain long unsold. This anecdote was communicated to me by a gentleman who has the original advertisement in his possession.
When I tell you that people are sold in this manner, it is not to be understood that they are sold for ever, but only for a certain number of years; for two, three, four, or five years, according to their respective merits. A good mechanic, that understands a particular kind of trade, for which men are much wanted in America, has to serve a shorter time than a mere labourer, as more money will be given for his time, and the expence of his passage does not exceed that of any other man. During their servitude, these people are liable to be resold at the caprice of their masters; they are as much under dominion as negro slaves, and if they attempt to run away, they may be imprisoned like felons. The laws respecting “redemptioners,” so are the men called that are brought over in this manner, were grounded on those formed for the English convicts before the revolution, and they are very severe.
GERMAN SETTLERS.
The Germans are a quiet, sober, and industrious set of people, and are most valuable citizens. They generally settle a good many together in one place, and, as may be supposed, in consequence keep up many of the customs of their native country as well as their own language. In Lancaster and the neighbourhood German is the prevailing language, and numbers of people living there are ignorant of any other. The Germans are some of the best farmers in the United States, and they seldom are to be found but where the land is particularly good; wherever they settle they build churches, and are wonderfully attentive to the duties of religion. In these and many other respects the Germans and their descendants differ widely from the Americans, that is, from the descendants of the English, Scotch, Irish, and other nations, who, from having lived in the country for many generations, and from having mingled together, now form one people, whose manners and habits are very much the same.
The Germans are a plodding race of men, wholly intent upon their own business, and indifferent about that of others: a stranger is never molested as he passes through their settlements with inquisitive and idle questions. On arriving amongst the Americans[[17]], however, a stranger must tell where he came from, where he is going, what his name is, what his business is; and until he gratifies their curiosity on these points, and many others of equal importance, he is never suffered to remain quiet for a moment. In a tavern he must satisfy every fresh set that comes in, in the same manner, or involve himself in a quarrel, especially if it is found out that he is not a native, which it does not require much sagacity to discover.
[17]. In speaking of the Americans here, and in the following lines, it is those of the lower and middling classes of the people which I allude to, such as are met with in the country parts of Pennsylvania.
GERMAN SETTLERS.