The next day the tavern-keeper showed us the manufactories, distilleries, malt and brew-houses, steam, corn, and fulling mills; also a large barn, in which was a powerful eight-horse threshing-machine, with a winnowing one attached to it, so that the grain was cleaned at one operation. Many men were employed putting up the wheat and taking away the straw. Near the barn there was a capacious granary, that would contain some thousand quarters of grain. We saw more than fifty women and girls breaking flax in the streets, and all seemed fully employed. They are a most industrious people; but the greater part of them are not very enlightened. We staid two nights, and on the third morning set out for the prairies; one of the gentlemen, who accompanied us to Harmonie, we left there; and on our return a fine journey we had of it. As the water had risen much, we could {239} not reach the ferry by the same road we went by, but were forced to climb a steep hill much over-run by brush-wood; nor was the descent on the other side much better. We reached and passed the ferry: here we found the water had risen so much, as to have carried away the drift-wood bridge we had crossed in our road out, so that we could not proceed home that way. We then had the choice of returning to Harmonie, and remaining there till the water abated, which might be a fortnight or more; or agree with the ferryman to take us and our horses, nine miles down the river, and land us on the side of a pond, below the bayou, and just above another that there runs out of the river and continues out some miles. For this the man demanded eight dollars, and with this extravagant demand we were under the necessity of complying. We proceeded briskly down the river, and soon reached the entrance of the pond; where we found some large trees stumped down to keep back the fish. It took us two hours {240} to move the trees before we could enter the pond; but we at length got in, and rowed up above the bayou; where we landed, and proceeded through a wild country for some miles. We passed many small slues, and an hour after sunset reached the house of Major Phillips, only five miles west of Harmonie; but, I think, we made thirty miles of it, as we left Harmonie at eight o'clock in the morning. Here we slept, and the next day reached home, having only twenty-two miles to go. In March I visited it a second, and in May a third time, when I took a nearer road; the water was now low; it was not any where deep enough to swim my horse, but in two places nearly so.
The Wabash, at the ferry, is, I think, as wide as the Thames at London Bridge. In my two journeys I saw a great number of wild-ducks and pigeons on the banks of the Wabash; although a bad shot, I think if I had had a gun, I could have killed a great many. I was much pleased with the appearance of the gardens at this season, {241} at Harmonie. They were in excellent order, and filled with a variety of vegetables and fruit-trees; and some of them contained some beautiful flowers. Among the fruit-trees, I observed wild plum-trees grafted with prunes.
In July, I went again, and crossed the Big Wabash, by a new ferry, near the mouth of the Bonpas. The land on the Indiana side is extremely low, and I went four miles through the woods, before I saw a house, or any kind of cultivation. Some cane, an evergreen, grew the greater part of the way; it is the only evergreen in this part of the State, save mistletoe; but I have heard there are pines in the north of the Illinois. I saw in these wilds numbers of turkeys. As I approached Harmonie, I met their plow-teams, sixteen in number, just entering a field of wheat-stubble; I was much pleased with their appearance, all the horses looking well; nor did I see one blemish in the thirty-two horses.
I took a look at their vineyards; part {242} of the vines were trained on frames, and part tied up to small poles; there was a good show of grapes on many of them. The vineyards are on a steep hill, and planted round the hill, so as to have several different aspects. Trees are laid to keep the earth from washing down. The paths between the trees are sown with blue-grass.
As I returned from the vineyards to the town, I met their milch-cows going out to field; I counted eighty-seven, most of them were but indifferent cows, with a few good ones mixed with them. The dress of the Harmonites is uncommonly plain, mostly of their own manufacturing. The men wear jackets and pantaloons, with coarse hats. The women a kind of jacket and petticoat, with a particular kind of skull-cap, and a straw hat made peculiarly flat.
There is a hat-manufactory, both of fur and wool hats; they also make their straw ones. As this society do not marry, I suppose they must depend on emigration from Germany to keep up their number; as the {243} Americans are not likely to join them, as most of them regard them with jealousy, on account of their engrossing most of the business of this part of the country.
I will now give a slight and very brief sketch of the American character; but in speaking of our American neighbours, it must be recollected, that the greater part of them are backwoodsmen. Mr. Collins, of whom I bought some land, behaved in the most honourable manner, for which I shall ever respect him. Mr. Anderson, of whom I purchased my other farm, I never saw; Mr. Birkbeck transacting the business while I was at Shawneetown. My family have several American neighbours at Birks' Prairie, from whom they have received the most friendly treatment; and those with whom I have had dealings, have been uniformly civil and obliging. As we live at the entrance of Wanborough, we have frequently the first offer of game and other provisions brought for sale, and whether we buy or not, we never receive the {244} slightest incivility from them. In selling, they always take care to ask enough, as they can fall their price with a good grace; in short, they are Jews in this respect, nor are they very punctual in their payments.
Most of them are well acquainted with law, and fond of it on the most trifling occasions: I have known a law-suit brought for a piggin or pail, of the value of 25 cents. (1s. 1½d.) Another failing in their character is drunkenness; and they are extremely quarrelsome when intoxicated. Many of them are sometimes truly industrious, and at other times excessively idle. Numbers of them can turn their hands to many things, having been accustomed to do for themselves in small societies. They are a most determined set of republicans, well versed in politics, and thoroughly independent. A man who has only half a shirt, and without shoes and stockings, is as independent as the first man in the States; and interests himself in the choice of men to serve his country, as much as the {245} highest man in it, and often from as pure motives,—the general good, without any private views of his own. Most of them are from the south, from North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee; and though now living in a free State, they retain many of the prejudices they imbibed in infancy, and still hold negroes in the utmost contempt; not allowing them to be of the same species of themselves, but look on negers, as they call them, and Indians, as an inferior race of beings, and treat them as such.
Those of whom I purchased my farms, and some others, are moved off to the Red River, 700 miles to the south-west, and, as I have said before, many of our neighbours are true backwoodsmen, always fond of moving: there are others, who wish to sell their land, with its improvements, to go to the Sagamond river, 150 miles towards the north-west. This river runs into the Illinois river, and the country near it is highly spoken of, as to soil, timber, and water. {246} They have but few diversions amongst them except hunting and shooting, here both called hunting; they use rifles, and many of them are excellent shots. In this employment or amusement, they spend much of their time, and depend partly on what they kill in making a livelihood.
I will now mention something of the religion of this part of the United States. At Albion, there is a place of worship in part of the market-house, in which divine service is performed every Sunday in the forenoon; prayers and a sermon are read by one of the inhabitants. I twice attended; the service was from the church of England, with some variations: I think they style themselves Unitarians. At Wanborough, a Baptist held meetings at his own house, but few of the inhabitants attended them. An American of the Methodist persuasion, who resides near Wanborough, holds meetings at his house; but none of the English, and but few of the Americans ever frequent them. Many {247} people wished for a place of worship; but being of different religions, it was some time before there was one established; but in April 1820, it was agreed to have public worship at Wanborough; and on Sunday, the 25th of April, divine service was first held in a log-cabin, that was built for a school-room. Prayers from the service of the church of England, with a few omissions, were read by one of the inhabitants, and a sermon by another. This meeting was well attended, and has been continued every Sunday, in the forenoon, at eleven o'clock; and those of the church of England and Quakers both frequent it. It was proposed to erect a brick meetinghouse, and a subscription was set on foot, in May, but falling short of the estimate, it was agreed to continue the use of the present room, till a sufficient sum can be collected for a brick one. There is a piece of ground set apart for a burial-ground, and several persons have been interred in it; three since I have been here.