An Englishman's travels in America

by John Benwell

I visited the portion of the town appropriated by the Mormons as a residence. Here, in the midst of their dwellings, they had erected a temple for worship, which, on their emigrating west, their arch-leader, Smith, prophesied would, by the interposition of heaven, be destroyed by fire. The prophecy was verified as to the fact, but heaven had, it appeared, little to do with it; for it was ascertained to be the work of an incendiary of their sect, who was detected and brought to condign punishment.

I was afterwards informed by an American gentleman, to whom I had a letter of introduction, and who had been a great sufferer by these impostors, that some time before the great body of Mormons migrated to the interior, they started a bank. Having managed to put a vast number of their notes in circulation, for which they received produce, they closed the doors, and left the public to be losers by their nefarious schemes. I had the misfortune myself, in my ignorance, to take from a dishonest store-keeper a ten-dollar bill of this spurious currency, and did not detect the imposture until I offered it to the captain of the boat I had engaged a passage in to La Belle Rivière, as the Ohio is called. I must mention, however, that I took it previously to the interview with the gentleman I have adverted to, and actually, without knowing it, had the note in my pocket-book when he mentioned the default of these pseudo bankers. I paid ten dollars for a useful lesson.

The passengers from Cleveland formed a motley group; for, irrespective of French, Dutch, Americans, and Canadians, we had on board eight or ten families of the Mormon sect, following in the wake of their leaders, Smith and Rigdon, to their new settlement in the far west. These people were very reserved, and seemed inclined to keep aloof from their fellow-passengers. This, however, may be accounted for by the prejudice so justly existing at the time against them, as a body, from the causes I have already mentioned; in fact, the indignation of the people could hardly be kept in check by the authorities, and lynching was resorted to on more than one occasion. The men were clothed in drab broad-cloth, and wore large white hats; their garb altogether resembling that of the more respectable Society of Friends, in America. The resemblance, however, ceases with the dress, for, if reports speak true, and they are many-tongued, they are very exceptionable in their morality and general principles, amongst other peculiarities, polygamy being allowed, for the avowed purpose of extending and perpetuating the sect.

Our progress was pretty rapid, though it lay through an uninteresting country, in many parts uncultivated and barren-looking. Massillon is a very flourishing town, with some good stores and two or three hotels. As the captain was obliged to make a short stay here, I went into the town and, stepping into an hotel to procure a cigar, I found a company engaged in earnest conversation, interrupted at intervals by loud laughter. On inquiry, I was told that the landlord had that morning been played a Yankee trick by a travelling pedlar, who had stopped the previous night at his house. It appeared that the same man had some months before practised on the landlord; but, either supposing the matter blown over and forgotten, or, what is more likely, with a view to put another of his arts into exercise, he again put up at the same house. The proprietor, however, at once recognized the pedlar, and after taxing him with the cheat he had practised on the former occasion, wound up his lecture by stating, in true American style, that if he again succeeded in cheating him he would forego the amount of his tavern expenses. The man exclaimed, "Done," and at once it appeared set his wits to work to obtain the object. A few hours after the conversation, the fellow brought in from his waggon some boxes of fancy goods, and endeavoured to induce the landlady to purchase. This, however, no doubt prompted by her husband, she resolutely refused, and he had them removed to his room upstairs, as is customary. After breakfast, the following morning, he called the landlady aside and said he forgot the day before to show her a fancy quilt of superior workmanship, and if she would only look at it he would be satisfied, as it was one of great beauty. She consented to this, and the man at once went to his waggon, which was now at the door, he being about to start, and brought in a box which contained, amongst numerous other articles, the quilt he had been eulogizing. The landlady was much taken with its appearance, and after some little persuasion consented to become the purchaser. Accordingly, the bargain was concluded, and the balance between his tavern bill and the article in question was handed over at the hotel bar to the pedlar, who at once started from the house, the landlord on his doing so jocosely remarking on the conversation of the previous day, in reply to which the wily pedlar observed, that "he guessed it was all right." Soon after the man left, the landlady called her spouse to the inner room, and showing him her bargain, said she had been induced to buy the quilt, because it was an exact match for the one in the large room up-stairs. This led to a female help (as servants are there called), being despatched to the room to fetch and compare the original with that newly purchased. The girl speedily returned in the greatest consternation, saying it had vanished. The truth now became apparent; the artful pedlar had actually sold the landlady her own quilt!

This ludicrous circumstance led to the confusion I had noticed when I arrived; the man had gone they knew not whither, and had it been possible to overtake him, I question whether he would have been pursued, the cleverness of the trick being highly applauded by the company, and the landlord feeling, perhaps, ashamed of being outwitted a second time, after himself giving the challenge. The ingenuity of American pedlars in cozening their countrymen, has long been proverbial, and in general, people are wary of them; they have, however, I suppose by long practice, become such adepts at roguery, that however alive to their propensities, folks are daily victimized by such men. It was nothing new to hear a roguish action applauded, but on this occasion the company were vociferous in his praise, and declared they would certainly patronize him when he came that way again, for he deserved encouragement.

After strolling through the town, which presented little worth recording, I again returned to the boat, which proceeded on its way. I had frequently heard and read of those vast flocks of wild pigeons which periodically pursue their flight to milder latitudes: and, as the boat was now approaching the centre of the state of Ohio, where myriads of these birds were seen the year before, I anxiously watched the horizon for their appearance. For several days, however, I was doomed to disappointment, and gave it up in despair; but a day or two after, when in the vicinity of the Tuscarawas river, it being about noon, the helmsman suddenly called out, "A field of pigeons." This announcement called all hands to the promenade deck of the packet. Looking in the direction indicated, a heavy black cloud appeared in the far horizon; this seemed to extend from right to left, and was so dense that the novices amongst us at once pronounced it, either a mistake or a hoax. The helmsman declared that it was neither, and that we should soon be convinced of it. The cloud seemed now gradually and visibly to spread; in truth, the whole firmament in that direction was totally obscured. By this time a general rummage had commenced in the boat for fire-arms; the captain hailed the driver on the towing path, who pulled up, and the boat was moored by the canal side. We now landed, intending to replenish the larder of the vessel with what, to most of the passengers, was a rare treat. On the left bank of the canal, and on the banks of the river, which here ran parallel with it, was a forest of gigantic trees; and, as the birds were evidently making in that direction, it was decided that all those who wished to take part in the expected sport, should proceed, and wait their passing this spot, in the hope that some would settle on the branches of the trees. Accordingly, after crossing the river by a rude bridge, which was very nearly half a quarter of a mile in length, we reached the intended spot after wading up to our knees in a swamp or turbary, and getting miserably bemauled by the briars and cane vines. We had not to wait long; the birds, wearied by a long flight, were evidently attracted by the favourable resting-place, and in less than a quarter of an hour, the air was darkened with the hosts hovering over our heads; the sound of their wings defies description, those of my readers who remember the peculiar noise made by a single pigeon in its flight, may form a faint idea by multiplying the sound a million times. It in fact filled the air, and produced a startling effect. Thousands of the birds alighted on the trees, the branches of which snapped and crackled fearfully under the superincumbent load; those of our party who were armed, continued to fire and load as fast as they possibly could. They brought hundreds to the ground, but still, through weariness, perhaps, the rest kept their station on the branches, and did not appear to heed the attack much—shifting their position or only flying off for a moment and then again alighting. By this time many of the settlers from the surrounding districts had arrived to share in the quarry. Thousands of birds were brought to the ground; in fact, every discharge of the guns and rifles brought down showers to our feet; and the noise seemed to resemble our being engaged in action with a foe; without, however, the dire effects of such a rencontre to ourselves. After bagging our game, of which we secured nearly two hundred brace, we returned to the boat, leaving the rest of the sport to those who chose to continue it. We had enough, and, for the remainder of the passage, were completely surfeited with pigeon fare, administered by the boat's cook in all sorts of outlandish forms. In our progress onward through the state, we saw many carcases of these birds outside the villages, such numbers having been destroyed, that the inhabitants could not consume them, and they were accordingly thrown out as refuse. These birds were in good condition, and were excellent eating.

As the packet was likely to be detained for some hours at Zoar, a settlement about two miles beyond Bolivar, owing to a dispute between the captain and some officers connected with the canal, I availed myself of the opportunity, on the invitation of a very gentlemanly fellow-passenger from Connecticut, to visit a farm a few miles in the interior, where resided a celebrated character, named Adam Poe, surnamed by the inhabitants, the "Indian-killer," who had acquired the summit of a backwoods-man's fame, by some forty years ago shooting "Black-foot," a formidable Indian marauder, who, for a long period, spread consternation and alarm among the early settlers. As this exploit (whether justified by the circumstances and times or not, I cannot pretend to say) was one that restored security among the settlers, and dispersed a body of Indians, who destroyed every white inhabitant they encountered, and laid waste their farms, it is no wonder that Adam Poe was regarded as a great man. On arriving at the farm-house, which was one of the better description in that region, we were kindly welcomed by the son of the hero I have mentioned, who bore the father's patronymic, and after the usual hospitality, were ushered into an adjoining apartment, and introduced to the object of our visit. He was sitting in an armchair by the side of his wife, who, like himself, was far advanced in years, their united ages numbering 173. The old man, who was so feeble as to be unable to rise when we entered, saluted us with the usual "Glad to see you, strangers," his spouse at the same time advancing towards us to shake hands. He was evidently used to such intrusions; for, after inquiry where we came from and whither bound, he began, in a tremulous voice, which, from his extreme age, was scarcely intelligible, to narrate his early adventures. It was absolutely shocking, as he became more animated by the subject, to hear the coolness with which the veteran related some of his bloody combats; so much so, indeed, that I and my companion at once cut short his narration, being horrified at the turpitude of the aged sinner, who, although gasping for breath, and evidently on the verge of the unseen world, talked of his deeds of violence with an ardour that befitted a better cause.

The old man dwelt at great length on his hair-breadth escapes and deeds of prowess; but the destruction of the implacable "Black-foot," was the absorbing subject. This chief, it appeared, had, with a small party, been hovering round Poe's farm for several nights, and the inmates were in great terror of a midnight attack; the principal aim of the chief, being, it is supposed to despatch a man, whose activity had rendered him particularly obnoxious to his tribe, and whose bravery was acknowledged by the settlers far and near.

After several nights passed in anxiety, every little circumstance, any unusual noise, the baying of a dog, a disturbance in the hog-pens, exciting the greatest apprehension, Poe determined on stealthily watching the enemy under covert of a hillock or embankment on the farm. He accordingly sallied out with his Indian rifle, in the haze of the evening, taking with him a supply of aqua vitae, as he facetiously said, to keep up his "dander." After watching a considerable time, every now and then applying his ear to the ground to listen for approaching footsteps (a plan invariably followed by Indians themselves), he ascertained that an Indian was in the vicinity; again intently listening, he soon satisfied himself that the alarm he had experienced was occasioned by one individual only. Instantly on the qui-vive, he first cocked his rifle, and, just as he descried the Indian's head above the embankment he pulled with unerring aim the fatal trigger, when with an agonizing howl, the Indian toppled backwards down the embankment, and all was silent. Poe now sprang forward, and with his knife severed the "war scalp" from the head of the savage, and after securing his knife and rifle, returned to his home in high glee to announce the horrid achievement. It was, however, deemed unsafe to venture out again that night, for fear of other Indians of Black-foot's band, who it was well known were in the neighbourhood.

In the morning Poe sallied out to the place of reconnoitre with some of the inmates of the farm. Here they found, stretched on the ground, weltering in gore, the vanquished warrior, who was now, for the first time, from a plume he wore, and some other peculiarity in his equipments, identified as the veritable "Sachem," who had for months kept that settlement in a state of alarm. Poe was soon complimented by the settlers around, and from that day forward became a celebrated character.