The cold is generally reckoned very severe here. The ice in the river Hudson is commonly three or four feet thick. On the 3d of April some of the inhabitants crossed the river with six pair of horses. The ice commonly dissolves about the end of March, or beginning of April. Great pieces of ice come down about that time, which sometimes carry with them the houses that stand close to the shore. The water is very high at that time in the [[253]]river, because the ice stops sometimes, and sticks in places where the river is narrow. The water has been often observed to rise three fathom higher than it commonly is in summer. The ground is frozen here in winter to the depth of three, four, or five feet. On the 16th of November the yachts are put up, and about the beginning or middle of April they are in motion again. They are unacquainted with stoves; and their chimnies are so wide that one could drive through them with a cart and horses.
The water of several wells in this town was very cool about this time; but had a kind of acid taste, which was not very agreeable. On a nearer examination, I found an abundance of little insects in it, which were probably Monoculi. Their length was different; some were a geometrical line and an half, others two, and others four lines long. They were very narrow, and of a pale colour. The head was blacker and thicker than the other parts of the body, and about the size of a pin’s head. The tail was divided into two branches, and each branch terminated in a little black globule. When these insects swim, they proceed in crooked or undulated lines, almost like Tadpoles. I poured some of this water into a bowl, and put near a fourth part of rum to [[254]]it. The Monoculi, instead of being affected with it, swam about as briskly as they had done in the water. This shews, that if one makes punch with this water, it must be very strong to kill the Monoculi. I think this water is not very wholesome for people who are not used to it, though the inhabitants of Albany, who drink it every day, say, they do not feel the least inconvenience from it. I have been several times obliged to drink water here, in which I have plainly seen Monoculi swimming; but I generally felt the next day somewhat like a pea in my throat, or as if I had a swelling there; and this continued for above a week. I felt such swellings this year, both at Albany and in other parts. My servant, Yungstroem, likewise got a great pain in his breast, and a sensation as from a swelling, after drinking water with Monoculi in it: but whether these insects occasioned it, or whether it came from some other cause, I cannot ascertain. However, I have always endeavoured, as much as possible, to do without such water as had Monoculi in it. I have found Monoculi in very cold water, taken from the deepest wells, in different parts of this country. Perhaps many of our diseases arise from waters of this kind, which we do not sufficiently examine. I have [[255]]frequently observed abundance of minute insects in water, which has been remarkable for its clearness. Almost each house in Albany has its well, the water of which is applied to common use; but for tea, brewing, and washing, they commonly take the water of the river Hudson, which flows close by the town. This water is generally quite muddy, and very warm in summer; and, on that account, it is kept in cellars, in order that the slime may subside, and that the water may cool a little.
We lodged with a gunsmith, who told us, that the best charcoals for the forge were made of the Black Pine. The next in goodness, in his opinion, were charcoals, made of the Beech-tree.
The best and dearest stocks for his muskets were made of the wood of the wild Cherry-tree; and next to these he valued those of the Red Maple most. They scarce make use of any other wood for this purpose. The black Walnut-tree affords excellent wood for stocks; but it does not grow in the neighbourhood of Albany.
June the 21st. Next to the town of New York, Albany is the principal town, or at least the most wealthy, in the province of New York. It is situated on the declivity of a hill, close to the western shore of the [[256]]river Hudson, about one hundred and forty-six English miles from New York. The town extends along the river, which flows here from N. N. E. to S. S. W. The high mountains in the west, above the town, bound the prospect on that side. There are two churches in Albany, an English one and a Dutch one. The Dutch church stands at some distance from the river, on the east side of the market. It is built of stone; and in the middle it has a small steeple, with a bell. It has but one minister, who preaches twice every Sunday. The English church is situated on the hill, at the west end of the market, directly under the fort. It is likewise built of stone, but has no steeple. There was no service at this church at this time, because they had no minister; and all the people understood Dutch, the garrison excepted. The minister of this church has a settled income of one hundred pounds sterling, which he gets from England. The town-hall lies to the southward of the Dutch church, close by the river side. It is a fine building of stone, three stories high. It has a small tower or steeple, with a bell, and a gilt ball and vane at the top of it.
The houses in this town are very neat, and partly built with stones covered with shingles [[257]]of the White Pine. Some are slated with tiles from Holland, because the clay of this neighbourhood is not reckoned fit for tiles. Most of the houses are built in the old way, with the gable-end towards the street; a few excepted, which were lately built in the manner now used. A great number of houses were built like those of New Brunswick, which I have described[70]; the gable-end being built, towards the street, of bricks, and all the other walls of planks. The outside of the houses is never covered with lime or mortar, nor have I seen it practiced in any North-American towns which I have visited; and the walls do not seem to be damaged by the air. The gutters on the roofs reach almost to the middle of the street. This preserves the walls from being damaged by the rain; but is extremely disagreeable in rainy weather for the people in the streets, there being hardly any means of avoiding the water from the gutters. The street-doors are generally in the middle of the houses; and on both sides are seats, on which, during fair weather, the people spend almost the whole day, especially on those which are in the shadow of the houses. In the evening these seats are covered with people of both sexes; but this [[258]]is rather troublesome, as those who pass by are obliged to greet every body, unless they will shock the politeness of the inhabitants of this town. The streets are broad, and some of them are paved; in some parts they are lined with trees; the long streets are almost parallel to the river, and the others intersect them at right angles. The street which goes between the two churches, is five times broader than the others, and serves as a market-place. The streets upon the whole are very dirty, because the people leave their cattle in them, during the summer nights. There are two market-places in the town, to which the country people resort twice a week.
The fort lies higher than any other building, on a high steep hill on the West side of the town. It is a great building of stone, surrounded with high and thick walls; its situation is very bad, as it can only serve to keep off plundering parties, without being able to sustain a siege. There are numerous high hills to the west of the fort, which command it, and from whence one may see all that is done within it. There is commonly an officer and a number of soldiers quartered in it. They say the fort contains a spring of water.
The situation of Albany is very advantageous [[259]]in regard to trade. The river Hudson, which flows close by it, is from twelve to twenty feet deep. There is not yet any quay made for the better lading of the yachts, because the people feared it would suffer greatly, or be entirely carried away in spring by the ice, which then comes down the river; the vessels which are in use here, may come pretty near the shore in order to be laden, and heavy goods are brought to them upon canoes tied together. Albany carries on a considerable commerce with New York, chiefly in furs, boards, wheat, flour, pease, several kinds of timber, &c. There is not a place in all the British colonies, the Hudson’s Bay settlements excepted, where such quantities of furs and skins are bought of the Indians, as at Albany. Most of the merchants in this town send a clerk or agent to Oswego, an English trading town upon the lake Ontario, to which the Indians resort with their furs. I intend to give a more minute account of this place in my Journal for the year 1750. The merchants from Albany spend the whole summer at Oswego, and trade with many tribes of Indians who come to them with their goods. Many people have assured me, that the Indians are frequently cheated in disposing of their goods, especially when they are in [[260]]liquor, and that sometimes they do not get one half or even one tenth of the value of their goods. I have been a witness to several transactions of this kind. The merchants of Albany glory in these tricks, and are highly pleased when they have given a poor Indian a greater portion of brandy than he can bear, and when they can after that get all his goods for mere trifles. The Indians often find when they are sober again, that they have been cheated, they grumble somewhat, but are soon satisfied when they reflect that they have for once drank as much as they are able, of a liquor which they value beyond any thing else in the whole world, and they are quite insensible to their loss, if they again get a draught of this nectar. Besides this trade at Oswego, a number of Indians come to Albany from several parts, especially from Canada; but from this latter place, they hardly bring any thing but beaver-skins. There is a great penalty in Canada for carrying furs to the English, that trade belonging to the French West India Company; notwithstanding which the French merchants in Canada carry on a considerable smuggling trade. They send their furs, by means of the Indians, to their correspondents at Albany, who purchase it at the price which they [[261]]have fixed upon with the French merchants. The Indians take in return several kinds of cloth, and other goods, which may be got here at a lower rate than those which are sent to Canada from France.
The greater part of the merchants at Albany have extensive estates in the country, and a great deal of wood. If their estates have a little brook, they do not fail to erect a saw-mill upon it for sawing boards and planks, with which commodity many yachts go during the whole summer to New York, having scarce any other lading than boards.
Many people at Albany make the wampum of the Indians, which is their ornament and their money, by grinding some kinds of shells and muscles; this is a considerable profit to the inhabitants. I shall speak of this kind of money in the sequel. The extensive trade which the inhabitants of Albany carry on, and their sparing manner of life, in the Dutch way, contribute to the considerable wealth which many of them acquire.