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Early Western Travels
1748-1846
Volume XXII
Early Western Travels
1748-1846
A Series of Annotated Reprints of some of the best and rarest contemporary volumes of travel, descriptive of the Aborigines and Social and Economic Conditions in the Middle and Far West, during the Period of Early American Settlement
Edited with Notes, Introductions, Index, etc., by
Reuben Gold Thwaites, LL.D.
Editor of "The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents," "Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition," "Hennepin's New Discovery," etc.
Volume XXII
Part I of Maximilian, Prince of Wied's, Travels in the Interior of North America, 1832-1834
Cleveland, Ohio
The Arthur H. Clark Company
1906
Copyright 1906, by
THE ARTHUR H. CLARK COMPANY
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The Lakeside Press
R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS COMPANY
CHICAGO
CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXII
Preface to Volumes XXII-XXIV. The Editor
Travels in the Interior of North America. [Part I, being chapters i-xv of the London edition, 1843.] Maximilian, Prince of Wied. Translated from the German by Hannibal Evans Lloyd
Text:
CHAPTER I—Voyage to Boston, Stay in that City, and Journey to New York, from May 17th to July 9th, 1832
CHAPTER II—Stay in New York, Philadelphia, and Bordentown, from the 9th to the 16th of July
CHAPTER III—Residence at Freiburg and Bethlehem in Pennsylvania, from July 30th to August 23rd
CHAPTER IV—Journey to the Pokono, and through the Blue Mountains to Mauch Chunk, in the Coal District, from the 23rd to the 30th of August
CHAPTER V—Description of Mauch Chunk and its Coal Mines—Journey through the Lehigh Valley to Bethlehem, and last Residence in that Town, from August 31st to September 16th
CHAPTER VI—Journey from Bethlehem to Pittsburg, over the Alleghanys, from September 17th to October 7th
CHAPTER VII—Journey from Pittsburg to New Harmony, on the Wabash, from the 8th to the 19th of October
CHAPTER VIII—Description of the Country about New Harmony, in Indiana, and Winter Residence there from October 19th, 1832, to March 16th, 1833
CHAPTER IX—Journey from New Harmony to St. Louis on the Mississippi, and our Stay there, from March 16th to April 9th
CHAPTER X—Journey from St. Louis to the Cantonment of Leavenworth, or to the Borders of the Settlement, from the 10th to the 22nd of April
CHAPTER XI—Journey from the Cantonment of Leavenworth to the Punca Indians, from April 22nd to May 12th
CHAPTER XII—Voyage from L'Eau qui Court to Fort Pierre, on the Teton River (the Little Missouri), and Stay there, from May 13th to June 4th
CHAPTER XIII—Voyage from Fort Pierre, on the Teton River, to Fort Clarke, near the Villages of the Mandans, from the 5th to the 19th of June
CHAPTER XIV—Voyage from Fort Clarke to Fort Union, near the Mouth of the Yellow Stone River, from the 19th to the 24th of June
CHAPTER XV—Description of Fort Union and its Neighbourhood
ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOLUME XXII
Facsimile of title-page to Maximilian's Travels
(The following are text cuts in original)
Punca Indians in buffalo robes
A Blackfoot musical instrument
PREFACE TO VOLUMES XXII-XXIV
Early trans-Mississippi exploration was undertaken largely in the interests of science. The great expedition of Lewis and Clark (1804-06) was, both in conception and plan, a scientific excursion. Bradbury and Brackenridge voyaged up the Missouri (1811) in search of rare plants and animals, Nuttall sought the Arkansas (1819) on a similar errand. Long's expedition (1819-20) was entirely scientific, both in organization and objects; while Townsend crossed the continent with Nathaniel Wyeth (1834) to secure a harvest of rare birds in the mountains and beyond. In the early nineteenth century, scientific collection was the chief object of ambition among thoughtful explorers—to secure for the world a complete catalogue of its plants and animals was worth much toil and hardship, heroic endeavor, and mighty daring. To such, the still unknown regions of the New World offered strong attractions. There were in the trans-Mississippi and in South America, spread out upon mountains and prairies and bordering far-flowing streams, fresh races of barbarians yet uncontaminated by civilized contact, beasts of prey, birds of brilliant plumage, and unknown plant species.
Among those to whom this call of the New World came clearly, was a German savant, prince of a small house in Rhenish Prussia. Even while upon Napoleonic battle-fields, he felt a desire for the wilderness, and news of the victory of Waterloo reached him upon the far-distant rivers of Brazil. His later journey to North America was but the completion of a purpose formed in early boyhood. Alexander Philip Maximilian, Prince of Wied-Neuwied, was born in the quaint capital of his little Rhenish sovereignty in September, 1782. The eighth child of the reigning Friedrich Karl, natural aptitude for study early marked his career for that of a scholar. Nevertheless, in obedience to the call of patriotism, he entered the Prussian army and was present at the battle of Jena. Soon thereafter he was captured and for some time suffered imprisonment. Exchanged and returned to Neuwied, he continued the scientific pursuits which had long interested him; but a fresh military crisis called him once more into service, in which he rose to a major-generalship, won the honor of the iron cross at Chalons, and entered Paris with the victorious army in 1813. Reminiscences of this warlike experience came to him twenty years later in the Missouri wilderness, when he notes that the song of the Assiniboin warriors before Fort McKenzie resembled that of the Russian soldiers heard in the winter of 1813-14.
While successful as a soldier, at heart Maximilian was a searcher for knowledge. In his boyhood his mother had encouraged his love for natural history, and under the direction of his tutor he had begun a collection that was creditable to a youth. Later, in his university course, he came under the influence of the celebrated Professor Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, and as a favorite pupil absorbed from him a keen desire to contribute to the world's stock of knowledge. Throughout what leisure he could snatch in the Napoleonic campaigns, the young prince was planning a scientific expedition to Brazil, and no sooner was he finally released from martial duties than he made preparations that culminated, early in 1815, in a departure for that country. Joined in South America by two German scholars who had preceded him thither, the trio spent two years in the tropical forests of that country, studying its flora and fauna, and above all the native races. After the return to Germany, Maximilian's succeeding years were spent in arranging his collections and preparing for publication the results of his journey. His Reise nach Brasilien in den Jahren 1815 bis 1817 (Frankfurt, 1820-21) was soon translated into French, Dutch, and English; later appeared Beitrage zur Naturgeschichte von Brasilien (Weimar, 1825-33), designed to accompany the atlas of ninety plates, entitled Abbildungenen zur Naturgeschichte Brasiliens (Weimar, 1822-31). The publication of these works gave Maximilian an honored place among scientists, and proclaimed his ability as an exploring naturalist.
By 1831 the prince was engaged in preparations for his second great enterprise—a visit to North America, including a scientific exploration of the trans-Mississippi region. Embarking on an American packet at Helvoetsluys, May 17, 1832, our traveller arrived in Boston amid the salvos of artillery ushering in the anniversary of American independence.
Maximilian was accompanied on this voyage by a young Swiss artist, Charles Bodmer, whom he had engaged to paint primitive landscapes in the New World, together with portraits of its aborigines. The artist's work proved eminently successful, as evidenced by the rare quality of the plates engraved from his sketches, which we reproduce in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv. Bodmer—born in Zurich in 1805—had studied in Paris; after his excursion to America with Maximilian, he returned to his former haunts, finally settling with the artist colony at Barbizon, in the forest of Fontainebleau, where he became a successful landscapist, and received medals of honor at the salons of 1851, 1855, and 1863, and in 1876 the ribbon of the legion of honor. One of his canvases was purchased by the French government for the Luxembourg gallery. His son Henri, also a painter, was recently exhibiting in the Paris salons. During the winter spent at Fort Clark, Bodmer experienced several adventures. At one time he was for several hours lost upon the prairie; again, his paints and oils congealed in the zero-blasts of the Dakotan winter. His interest in his task, however, was unwearied; by cajolery, bribery, and rare patience he secured sittings from famous Indian chiefs, faithfully presenting their portraits to the world in the full equipment of savage finery, thus giving us an unexcelled gallery of Indian types and costumes.
In addition to this admirable artist—in some respects perhaps the most competent draughtsman who has thus far sought to depict the North American tribesmen—Prince Maximilian was accompanied by his faithful jäger Dreidoppel, who had been with him in Brazil, and who rendered efficient service on the Missouri hills and prairies.
"There are," our author tells us in his preface, "two distinct points of view" from which the traveller may study the United States—he may consider its present conditions and its future prosperity; its resources, population, immigration, and "gigantic strides of civilization." Maximilian's own purpose, however, was to collect data concerning the remnants of its aboriginal population, and the primitive state of its fields and forests; these he sought to observe and to perpetuate both in description and drawing. The America of the Eastern states had therefore slight charm for our traveller, his object being to reach the frontier as soon as was consistent with his scientific purposes.
Tarrying briefly in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, communities which he describes in a few terse sentences, he sought the forests of Pennsylvania for preliminary experience in the simpler phases of woodcraft and hunting, as well as to visit the German immigrants settled in this region. He had expected to journey westward by way of the Great Lakes, but the appearance of cholera at Detroit and Buffalo made this plan impractical; instead, he visited the Moravians at Bethlehem, and made a leisurely journey through northern Pennsylvania, inspecting the coal mines and the geological structures. In the early autumn the prince and his two companions reached Pittsburg, but there finding the water in the Ohio too low for navigation, they went overland to Wheeling, where they embarked (October 9) for the descent of the river. At Louisville, they found that the cholera scourge had preceded them, whereupon with but a brief stay they continued their voyage to the Wabash, where they turned aside to visit the colony of naturalists settled at the Indiana town of New Harmony.
For some years Maximilian had been in correspondence with Thomas Say, the entomologist, who had accompanied Major S. H. Long's expedition, and was now managing the property of William Maclure, president of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, who had purchased Robert Owen's communistic settlement on the Wabash, founded in 1825. Owen's two sons, Robert Dale and William, were still in the vicinity, together with Charles Alexander Lesueur, a French naturalist of repute. Even more attractive than the society of the scientists was the presence of a good library of Americana and natural history, at that time probably the best west of the Atlantic seaboard. Here, therefore, on the banks of the Wabash, our naturalist contentedly spent the winter of 1832-33, preparing for his journey into the Far West, and studying the antiquities and natural sciences of America. During these months, Bodmer made a voyage to New Orleans, but returned in time to set forth with his patron, March 16, 1833. After a steamboat journey to the mouth of the Ohio and up the Mississippi, they arrived at St. Louis before the departure for the interior of the usual spring caravans of the Western fur-traders.
At this entrepôt of the wilderness trade, Maximilian presented letters to its prominent citizens, and was invited by General William Clark to accompany a deputation of Sauk and Foxes, headed by Keokuk, on a visit to the imprisoned Sauk chiefs, Black Hawk and his confrères, at Jefferson Barracks. The interest with which Maximilian regarded these first North American barbarians whom he had come so far to see, is well expressed in the narrative. Black Hawk he describes as a "little old man, perhaps seventy years of age, with grey hair, and a light yellow complexion, a slightly curved nose, and Chinese features, to which the shaven head, with the usual tuft behind, not a little contributed." The meeting between the prisoners and their free countrymen appeared to the prince most affecting.
Maximilian had desired to visit the Rocky Mountains and their inhabitants, and accordingly planned to join one of the annual fur-trading caravans that, under the auspices of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, set off for their rendezvous in the heart of the Cordilleras. From this purpose he was dissuaded by General Clark, Major Benjamin O'Fallon, and other St. Louis folk cognizant with the situation. They represented to the illustrious traveller that these caravans avoided rather than sought the Indians; and that if they met, the encounter was apt to be hostile rather than friendly. It would also be extremely difficult to transport any extensive collections of fauna and flora by the land route. They thereupon advised a visit to the American Fur Company's trading posts on the Missouri via that company's annual steamboat, a plan which met the approval of the scientist and his companions.
The tenth of April, 1833, the travellers boarded the "Yellowstone," on its third trip to the posts of the upper Missouri. Before parting with Major O'Fallon, the latter gave them a manuscript map copied from one prepared during the Lewis and Clark expedition by Clark himself, the topographer of that famous exploring party. This chart was constantly used by the prince. His narrative recites the daily routine and incidents of the river voyage on the outward route. By April 22 the steamer had reached Fort (then Cantonment) Leavenworth, and ten days later they were at Bellevue, just below the present Omaha. It was not until the eighteenth of May that the prince's party were greeted by their first sight of buffalo, and by the last of that month they had arrived at Fort Pierre, the company's main post among the Sioux. Here our travellers were transferred from the "Yellowstone" to her sister steamer, the "Assiniboine," a newer, larger boat with, however, a lighter draught; the latter was to continue to the upper river, while the "Yellowstone" returned to St. Louis.
Slowly the party steamed up the river, past the Sioux territory and the Arikara villages into the land of the Mandan and the Minitaree, where on June 18 they were landed at the company's Fort Clark, just below a Mandan village several miles above the present Bismarck, North Dakota. Tarrying here but one day, the steamer continued its journey to the mouth of Yellowstone River, where Fort Union was reached on the twenty-fourth of June. After spending two weeks at this point, Maximilian and his suite were transferred to a keel-boat, and continued their voyage to Fort McKenzie, on Maria's River, among the treacherous Blackfeet.
Here, during a stay of two months, the German naturalist was initiated into the mysteries of the fur-trade, came to understand the jealousies and rivalries of Indian tribes, and witnessed a battle before the stockade of the fort, between Blackfeet and Assiniboin warriors. Because of this intertribal quarrel and the consequent restlessness and untrustworthiness of the neighboring barbarians, it was deemed inexpedient by the fur-traders for the travellers to advance farther into the Rockies, and Maximilian had need to content himself with such glimpses of the mountain ranges as could be had from the bluffs of Maria's River, and the upper reaches of the Missouri. The "Assiniboine" having long since departed on the home trip, the chief factor at Fort McKenzie built a barge for the princely visitor, upon which Maximilian embarked (September 14), together with a small crew of voyageurs, two cages of live bears, and several animal pets.
Since wintering in the mountains had proved impracticable, our author determined to occupy the long cold months now at hand with the most interesting aborigines of the upper river. For this purpose he selected the Mandan and Minitaree, both because of their settled habitations and of the interest that these tribes had awakened in previous travellers. Known first to the early French explorers, it was from their villages that the Vérendrye brothers had in 1742 set forth on their explorations toward the "Shining Mountains." Located at the upper bend of the Missouri, they were readily accessible to British traders of the Assiniboin and Saskatchewan valleys, who were found as habitués in their villages by Lewis and Clark, in 1804-05. Accordingly Maximilian requested permission of the American Fur Company officials to pass the winter at Fort Clark, the Mandan post. McKenzie accommodatingly ordered to be built for the famous traveller a small house within the stockade, and every facility to be given him for making records of the neighboring tribesmen. In company with Toussaint Charbonneau, Lewis and Clark's former interpreter, the German visitor attended various ceremonies, dances, and feasts, took many portraits of the chiefs, and studied the manners and customs, and myths and superstitions of this vanishing race. The latter part of the winter the prince suffered with a serious attack of scurvy, from which, however, he recovered in time to set forth for the lower country on the breaking up of the ice.
By the eighteenth of May he was once more at Fort Leavenworth. After brief visits at St. Louis and New Harmony, he journeyed eastward by way of the Ohio Canal and Lake Erie, stopped to wonder at the majesty of the Falls of Niagara, and on July 16, 1834, embarked at New York on the Havre packet for the Old World. A large portion of his collections were left behind at Fort Pierre, to be forwarded with the season's furs by the annual steamer. A fire occurring on the "Assiniboine," but few of these natural history specimens ever reached him, and one object of the prince's American visit was thereby frustrated.
An interesting reminiscence of the visit of Prince Maximilian is found in the journals of Alexander Culbertson, a young fur-trade clerk who accompanied the scientist from Fort Union to Fort McKenzie. Culbertson says: "In this year an interesting character in the person of Prince Maximilian from Coblentz on the Rhine, made his first appearance in the upper Missouri. The Prince was at that time nearly seventy years of age [fifty-five], but well preserved, and able to endure considerable fatigue. He was a man of medium-height, rather slender, sans teeth, passionately fond of his pipe, unostentatious, and speaking very broken English. His favorite dress was a white slouch hat, a black velvet coat, rather rusty from long service, and probably the greasiest pair of trousers that ever encased princely legs. The Prince was a bachelor and a man of science, and it was in this latter capacity that he had roamed so far from his ancestral home on the Rhine. He was accompanied by an artist named Boadman [Bodmer] and a servant whose name was, as near as the author has been able to ascertain its spelling, Tritripel [Dreidoppel] ... McKenzie subsequently visited him in his palace at Coblentz, where he lived in a style befitting a prince, and was received with great cordiality and entertained with lavish hospitality. He inquired whether the double barrelled gun and the meershaum had reached their destination, as he had remembered his promise and forwarded them soon after his return to Europe. They had not, and never were received, for it subsequently appeared that the vessel in which they were shipped was lost; so they are probably now among the ill-gotten hoards of the Atlantic."[1]
The years immediately following the prince's return to Europe were spent in preparing the results of his journey for the press. This proved to be his last foreign expedition, but he nevertheless continued absorbed with studies and consequent collections at his native place until death removed him in 1867. A few months before that event he wrote an interesting letter in English to the artist George Catlin, whose account of Mandan religious ceremonies had been discredited by many. The prince therein speaks of reviving the "quite forgotten recollections of my stay among the Indian tribes of the Missouri, now thirty-three years past," and says that not only does he know "most of the American works published on the American Indians," but he possesses many of them.[2] His library and collections are yet cherished as the chief treasures of Neuwied, where his grand-nephew Wilhelm still directs the principality's affairs.
The narrative of Maximilian's North American journey was first published in German, having been written, as the author says, for foreigners rather than Americans, its title being Reise in das Innere Nord-America in den Jahren 1832 bis 1834 (Coblentz, 1839-41), and its form two handsome quarto volumes, with an atlas of Bodmer's remarkable engravings. A French edition in three volumes, with the atlas, appeared at Paris in 1840-43. The Englished version, undertaken by H. Evans Lloyd, was issued in London in 1843, in one quarto volume. This latter translation we here reprint for the first time. In addition we have included in the Appendix to our volume xxiv, the twenty-three Indian vocabularies, one of the glories of the German original, which feature has never been reproduced in any other of the translated editions. Carefully recorded and scientifically collated by a trained observer and scholar, they form a contribution to American philology now impossible to duplicate. But five years after Maximilian's visit to the upper river, smallpox broke out among the tribes, and carried its ravages to such an extent that bands once powerful were reduced to scanty remnants. The Mandan were at the time reported to be absolutely annihilated; a few, however, are still living on Fort Berthold reservation, in North Dakota. Maximilian's observations are the more valuable because made in the plenitude of that tribe's power and prosperity, before their diminished numbers made them subservient to the invading fur-traders.
In addition to the vocabularies, and unique in the present English edition, we present Maximilian's account of the Indian sign language, his catalogues of birds for both the Missouri and Wabash river valleys, and a summary of his meteorological observations on the upper Missouri. All of these were omitted from the London edition of 1843. It has been our purpose to give to American readers the entire scientific as well as narrative product of the prince's famous expedition.
While the chief value of the present work lies in its ethnological significance, it is highly interesting as an historical description of natural conditions west of the Mississippi, seventy years ago. The author's style is simple, natural, and unforced, rather the expression of the scientific than of the literary type of mind. A traveller of today, gliding across the plains and along the windings of the Missouri in a palace-car, may follow the pages of Maximilian and the plates of Bodmer, and thus obtain as clearly as words and pictures can express, an accurate presentation of the trans-Mississippi region in 1833. These volumes are thus a fitting supplement to the work of the prince's great progenitors, the American explorers, Lewis and Clark.
In preparing this volume for the press, the Editor has had throughout the valuable assistance of Louise Phelps Kellogg, Ph.D., who in turn has been aided by Clarence Cory Crawford, A.M. The translations from the German, not given by Lloyd, have been made for the present reprint by Asa Currier Tilton, Ph.D., chief of the department of maps and manuscripts in the Wisconsin Historical Library.
R. G. T.
Madison, Wis., November, 1905.
Part I of Maximilian, Prince of Wied's, Travels in the Interior of North America
Reprint of chapters i-xv of London edition: 1843
TRAVELS
IN
THE INTERIOR OF
NORTH AMERICA.
BY
MAXIMILIAN, PRINCE OF WIED.
WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD,
AND A LARGE MAP.
TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN,
BY H. EVANS LLOYD.
TO ACCOMPANY THE ORIGINAL SERIES OF EIGHTY-ONE
ELABORATELY-COLOURED PLATES.
SIZE, IMPERIAL FOLIO.
LONDON:
ACKERMANN AND CO., 96, STRAND
MDCCCXLIII.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE
Immense additions have been made of late years to our knowledge of the extensive continent of North America. A large portion of that country, which, only a few years ago, was covered with almost uninterrupted primeval forests, and a scanty, scattered population of rude barbarians, has been converted, by the influx of emigrants from the Old World, into a rich and flourishing State, for the most part civilized, and almost as well known and cultivated as Europe itself. Large and flourishing towns, with fine public institutions of every kind, have risen rapidly, and every year adds to their number. Animated commerce, unfettered, unlimited industry, have caused this astonishing advance of civilization in the United States. The tide of emigration is impelled onwards, wave upon wave, and it is only the sterility of the North-west that can check the advancing torrent.
We already possess numerous accounts of these daily-increasing States, and there are many good statistical works on the subject. We have even excellent general works on the physical state of this continent, among which Volney's "Tableau du Climat et du Sol des Etats Unis," holds a high rank.[3] Little, however, has yet been done towards a clear and vivid description of the natural scenery of North America: the works of American writers themselves on this subject, with the exception of Cooper's and Washington Irving's animated descriptions, cannot be taken into account, as, in writing for their countrymen, they take it for granted that their readers are well acquainted with the country.
For this reason I have endeavoured, in the following work, to supply this deficiency to the best of my ability, and have aimed rather at giving a clear and faithful description of the country, than at collecting statistical information. Hence these travels are designed for foreign, rather than for American readers, to whom, probably, but few of the details would be new.
There are two distinct points of view in which that remarkable country may be considered. Some travellers are interested by the rude, primitive character of the natural face of North America, and its aboriginal population, the traces of which are now scarcely discernible in most parts of the United States; while the majority are more inclined to contemplate the immigrant population, and the gigantic strides of civilization introduced by it. The account of my tour through a part of these countries, contained in the following pages, is chiefly intended for readers of the first class. I have avoided the repetition of numerous statements which may be found in various statistical publications; but, on the contrary, have aimed at a simple description of nature. As the United States were merely the basis of my more extensive undertaking, the object of which vi was the investigation of the upper part of the course of the Missouri, they do not form a prominent feature, and it is impossible to expect, from a few months' residence, an opinion on the social condition and character of that motley population.
The indulgent reader, following the author beyond the frontier of the United States, will have to direct his attention to those extensive plains—those cheerless, desolate prairies, the western boundary of which is formed by the snow-covered chain of the Rocky Mountains, or the Oregon, where many tribes of the aborigines still enjoy a peaceful abode; while their brethren in the eastern part of the continent are supplanted, extirpated, degenerated, in the face of the constantly increasing immigration, or have been forced across the Mississippi, where they have for the most part perished.
The vast tracts of the interior of North-western America are, in general, but little known, and the government of the United States may be justly reproached for not having done more to explore them. Some few scientific expeditions, among which the two under Major Long produced the most satisfactory results for natural history, though on a limited scale, were set on foot by the government; and it is only under its protection that a thorough investigation of those extensive wildernesses, especially in the Rocky Mountains, can be undertaken.[4] Even Major Long's expeditions are but poorly furnished with respect to natural history, for a faithful and vivid picture of those countries, and their original inhabitants, can never be placed before the eye without the aid of a fine portfolio of plates by the hand of a skilful artist.
In my description of the voyage up the Missouri, I have endeavoured to avail myself of the assistance of an able draughtsman, the want of which I so sensibly felt in my former travels in South America. On the present occasion I was accompanied by Mr. Bodmer, who has represented the Indian nations with great truth, and correct delineation of their characteristic features. His drawings will prove an important addition to our knowledge of this race of men, to whom so little attention has hitherto been paid.
After mature consideration, I have judged it desirable to throw the account of my voyage on the Missouri itself into the form of a journal, as the daily notices were numerous, but the variety very trifling; so that the patience of the reader will unfortunately be tried a little in this part of the narrative. In those uninhabited, desert countries the traveller has nothing but the description of the naked banks of the river, and the little diversity they afford, interrupted at times by the adventures of the chase, and occasional meetings with Indians; the reader will therefore excuse many observations and unimportant descriptions, which would have been omitted if the materials had been richer in variety. I need still more indulgence with respect to many observations on natural history, but for this the loss of the greater part of my collections will be a sufficient excuse. The cases containing them were delivered to the Company, to be put on board the steamer for St. Louis, but not insured; and, when the steamer caught fire, the people thought rather of saving the goods than my cases, the contents of which were, probably, not considered to be of much value, and so they were all burnt. This may be a warning to future travellers not to neglect to insure such collections.
Though the main object of my journey, namely, to pass some time in the chain of the Rocky Mountains, was defeated by unfavorable circumstances, I should have been able, but for the loss of my collections, to communicate many new observations, especially in the department of zoology, which are now more or less deficient. The accounts of the tribes of the aborigines, and vii especially of the Mandans and Manitaries, are more complete, because I spent a whole winter among them, and was able to have daily intercourse with them. Authentic and impartial accounts of the Indians of the Upper Missouri are now especially valuable, if the information that we have since received is well founded, namely, that to the many evils introduced by the Whites among those tribes, a most destructive epidemic—smallpox—has been added, and a great part of them exterminated: according to the newspapers, the Mandans, Manitaries, Assiniboins, and Blackfeet have been swept away except a small remnant. The observation of the manners of the aborigines is undoubtedly that which must chiefly interest the foreign traveller in those countries, especially as the Anglo-Americans look down on them with a certain feeling of hatred. Hence we have hitherto met with little useful information respecting the Indians, except in the recent writings of Edward James, Long, Say, Schoolcraft, McKinney, Cass, Duponceau, Irving,[5] and a few others; and as good portraits of this race have hitherto been extremely rare, the faithful delineation contained in the portfolio of plates accompanying this work will be interesting to the friends of anthropology and ethnography.
Several men, of great eminence in the learned world, have had the kindness to contribute to the publication. President Nees Von Esenbeck has undertaken the determination and description of the plants which I brought home;[6] Professor Goldfuss, of Bonn, that of some fossil shells; Professor Göppert, of Breslau, that of the impression of fossil plants from Mauch Chunk;[7] Professors Valenciennes at Paris, and Wiegmann at Boston, the comparison of some zoological specimens with those in their cities;[8] and Lieut.-Col. W. Thorn, the construction of the map; for which obliging assistance I beg leave to offer to these gentlemen my sincere thanks.
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE
The author, in his Preface, gives so full an account of the objects and results of his travels in the interior of North America, that it would have been unnecessary for me to prefix any observations of my own, were it not for some circumstances, connected with the translation, which seem to require explanation.
The prospectus of the German original announced that the work would consist of two large quarto volumes, accompanied by a portfolio of above eighty beautifully coloured copper-plates, executed by eminent artists at Paris, from the original drawings. Some specimens of the plates having been brought to London, were so much admired by many competent judges, that Messrs. Ackermann were induced to agree with the Paris publisher for a limited number of copies of the plates; and as it might justly be presumed that the English purchasers would be desirous of having the narrative of the travels, it was resolved to publish a translation compressed into a single volume. By selecting, however, a page of a large size, the translator has been able to retain all the most interesting parts, omitting only minute details of the measurements of animals, &c. All the chapters illustrative of the manners, customs, traditions, and superstitions of the Indians are given without abridgment, and these, as the author justly observes, are by far the most attractive and valuable portions of the work. The papers in the Appendix, giving an account of the plants collected, are also inserted entire, and have been kindly revised by my friend Sir William Hooker.[9]
The principal omission is that of the very extensive vocabularies of the languages of the different Indian tribes.[10] They are written so as to represent the pronunciation in German, and have, in numerous instances, special directions, as thus: kontschue (on as in French, schue, short and quick, e½). It appeared to be a hopeless and unprofitable task to rewrite these vocabularies, and to represent the true pronunciation in English. Those who are curious in such matters will find many specimens in Mr. Catlin's interesting work.[11]
The numerous Indian proper names are, of course, written in the original as pronounced in German. It has been thought best to leave them unchanged, merely requesting the reader to observe, in general, that the consonants are pronounced as in English; only that ch is guttural, as in the Scotch word loch; that sch is pronounced sh, and that the vowels have the same sound as in French, ah, a, ee, o, oo.
The author alludes, in his Preface, to the recent fearful ravages which have been caused among the Indian races by the small-pox. The origin and extent of these ravages will be seen from the following very affecting letter on the subject:
ix"New Orleans, June 6, 1838.—The southern parts of the United States, particularly Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana, are as healthy as can be wished; there has been no appearance of the yellow fever, and even at the Havannah only a few isolated cases have occurred. During the autumn, winter, and spring, the small-pox has carried off many victims among the whites, and thousands of the Indians; but it has now wholly disappeared in the territory of the Union, in consequence of a general vaccination of persons of all ages. On the other hand, we have, from the trading posts on the western frontier of the Missouri, the most frightful accounts of the ravages of the small-pox among the Indians. The destroying angel has visited the unfortunate sons of the wilderness with terrors never before known, and has converted the extensive hunting grounds, as well as the peaceful settlements of those tribes, into desolate and boundless cemeteries. The number of the victims within a few months is estimated at 30,000, and the pestilence is still spreading. The warlike spirit which but lately animated the several Indian tribes, and but a few months ago gave reason to apprehend the breaking-out of a sanguinary war, is broken. The mighty warriors are now the prey of the greedy wolves of the prairie, and the few survivors, in mute despair, throw themselves on the pity of the Whites, who, however, can do but little to help them. The vast preparations for the protection of the western frontier are superfluous: another arm has undertaken the defence of the white inhabitants of the frontier; and the funeral torch, that lights the red man to his dreary grave, has become the auspicious star of the advancing settler, and of the roving trader of the white race.
"The small-pox was communicated to the Indians by a person who was on board the steam-boat which went, last summer, up to the mouth of the Yellow Stone, to convey both the government presents for the Indians, and the goods for the barter trade of the fur dealers.[12] The disorder communicated itself to several of the crew of the steam-boat. The officers gave notice of it to the Indians, and exerted themselves to the utmost to prevent any intercourse between them and the vessel; but this was a vain attempt; for the Indians knew that presents and goods for barter were come for them, and it would have been impossible to drive them away from the fort without having recourse to arms. Two days before the arrival of the steam-boat, an express had been received at the trading fort, 2000 miles west of St. Louis, with the melancholy news of the breaking-out of the small-pox on board; this was immediately communicated to the Indians, with the most urgent entreaties to keep at a distance; but this was as good as preaching to the winds. The survivors now lament their disobedience, and are as submissive as the poor dogs which look in vain in the prairie for the footsteps of their masters. The miserable remnants of the Indians implore us not to abandon them in their misfortune, and promise, if we will take pity on them, never more to disobey our commands.
"The disease first broke out about the 15th of June, 1837, in the village of the Mandans, a few miles below the American fort, Leavenworth, from which it spread, in all directions, with unexampled fury.[13] The character of the disease was as appalling as the rapidity of the propagation. Among the remotest tribes of the Assiniboins from fifty to one hundred died daily. The patient, when first seized, complains of dreadful pains in the head and back, and in a few hours he is dead: the body immediately turns black, and swells to thrice its natural size. In vain were hospitals fitted up in Fort Union,[14] and the whole stock of medicines exhausted. For many weeks together our workmen did nothing but collect the dead bodies and bury them in large pits; but since the ground is frozen we are obliged to throw them into the river. The ravages of the disorder were the most frightful among the Mandans, where it first broke out. That once powerful tribe, which, by accumulated disasters, had already been reduced to 1500 souls, was exterminated, with the exception of thirty persons. Their neighbours, the Bigbellied Indians, and the Ricarees, were out on a hunting excursion at the time of the breaking-out of the disorder, so that it did not reach them till a month later; yet half the tribe was already destroyed on the 1st of October, and the disease continued to spread. Very few of those who were attacked recovered their health; but when they saw all their relations buried, and the pestilence still raging with unabated fury among the remainder of their countrymen, life became a burden to them, and they put an end to their wretched existence, either with their knives and muskets, or by precipitating themselves from the summit of the rock near their settlement. The prairie all around is a vast field of death, covered with unburied corpses, and spreading, for miles, pestilence and infection. The Bigbellied Indians and the Ricarees, lately amounting to 4000 souls, were reduced to less than the half. The Assiniboins, 9000 in number, roaming over a hunting territory to the north of the Missouri, as far as the trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company, are, in the literal sense of the expression, nearly exterminated. They, as well as the Crows and Blackfeet, endeavoured to fly in all directions, but the disease everywhere pursued them. At last every feeling of mutual compassion and tenderness seems to have disappeared. Every one avoided the others. Women and children wandered about in the prairie seeking x for a scanty subsistence. The accounts of the situation of the Blackfeet are awful. The inmates of above 1000 of their tents are already swept away. They are the bravest and the most crafty of all the Indians, dangerous and implacable to their enemies, but faithful and kind to their friends. But very lately we seriously apprehended that a terrible war with them was at hand, and that they would unite the whole of their remaining strength against the Whites. Every day brought accounts of new armaments, and of a loudly expressed spirit of vengeance towards the Whites: but the small-pox cast them down, the brave as well as the feeble; and those who were once seized by this infection never recovered. It is affirmed that several bands of warriors, who were on their march to attack the fort, all perished by the way, so that not one survived to convey the intelligence to their tribe. Thus, in the course of a few weeks, their strength and their courage were broken, and nothing was to be heard but the frightful wailings of death in the camp. Every thought of war was dispelled, and the few that are left are as humble as famished dogs. No language can picture the scene of desolation which the country presents. In whatever direction we go, we see nothing but melancholy wrecks of human life. The tents are still standing on every hill, but no rising smoke announces the presence of human beings, and no sounds but the croaking of the raven and the howling of the wolf interrupt the fearful silence. The above accounts do not complete the terrible intelligence which we receive. There is scarcely a doubt that the pestilence will spread to the tribes in and beyond the Rocky Mountains, as well as to the Indians in the direction of Santa Fé and Mexico. It seems to be irrevocably written in the book of fate, that the race of red men shall be wholly extirpated in the land in which they ruled the undisputed masters, till the rapacity of the Whites brought to their shores the murderous fire-arms, the enervating ardent spirits, and the all-destructive pestilence of the small-pox. According to the most recent accounts, the number of the Indians who have been swept away by the small-pox, on the western frontier of the United States, amounts to more than 60,000."[15]
The general correctness of the melancholy details given in the above letter has been confirmed to me by several travellers who have visited these nations since they were desolated by this awful epidemic. The almost total extinction of these tribes greatly enhances the value and importance of the full and interesting particulars imparted by his Highness.
H. EVANS LLOYD.[16]
Charterhouse Square,
May 1st, 1843.
TRAVELS IN THE INTERIOR OF
NORTH AMERICA, IN THE
YEARS 1832, 1833, AND 1834
[PART I]
CHAPTER I
VOYAGE TO BOSTON, STAY IN THAT CITY, AND JOURNEY TO NEW YORK, FROM MAY 17TH TO JULY 9TH, 1832
Voyage—Boston—Festival of Independence—The American inns—Charlestown—Monument on Bunker's Hill—Cambridge—New England Museum—Pawtucket—Providence—Embark on board the Boston—Voyage to New York—Fine view of that city.
Voyages to North America are become everyday occurrences, and little more is to be related of them than that you met and saluted ships, had fine or stormy weather, and the like; here, therefore, we shall merely say that our party embarked at Helvoetsluys, on board an American ship, on the 17th of May, in the evening, and on the 24th saw Land's End, Cornwall, vanish in the misty distance, and bade farewell to Europe.
Even when we were in latitude 48° 40′, and for several days afterwards, we had very unfavourable weather and violent storms, which were succeeded, on the 10th of June, by calms. On such days, shoals of dolphins crowded round the ship, and some men got on the bowsprit to throw the harpoon at them. The mate was at length so fortunate as to drive his harpoon through the body of one of these monsters of the deep, an event which was hailed with loud cheers. By the aid of several sailors the heavy prey was drawn upon deck. The animal, after it was wounded, made desperate efforts to free itself, and the harpoon had nearly given way, when the fish was secured by a rope thrown under the pectoral fins.
2 On the following day we had some of the flesh dressed as steaks, which we found to be very good; indeed, we preferred them to all other meat. I did not know, at that time, that I should soon find dog's flesh relishing! It is necessary to remove the blubber immediately; because, if this precaution be neglected, the flesh contracts a taste of train oil. The liver in particular is excellent.
On the same day we were to the south of the bank of Newfoundland, and, therefore, steered in nearly a northerly direction. On the 19th we were in a thick fog. White and other petrels flew round us, with some gulls, and birds resembling sea swallows, with a forked tail. We sounded, but found no bottom. On the 20th, however, we were on the bank, where, at half-past eight in the morning, the temperature of the air was +5¼° Reaumur, and that of the water, +2¾°. At two in the afternoon, with thick fog, the temperature of the air was +8°; that of the water, +4°. We then had a calm, and sounded in thirty-five fathoms. Large whales and flocks of sea-birds showed that we were on the bank. A hook and line being thrown out, we caught a fine cod, from whose stomach clams were taken, which served as a bait for other fish. We were on the middle of the lower point of the great bank, when large dolphins, quite black, called by the Americans blackfish, swam rapidly past in long lines, alternating with porpoises, which threw up white foam as they leaped and tumbled on the waves. A diver was shot while swimming, and flocks of black petrels hovered round us. A dead calm succeeding, a boat was put out to give chase to the latter. Fat was thrown out to entice the birds, and many of the little black petrel, (Procellaria Pelagica), were shot, and also some of the birds, called by Charles Bonaparte,[17] Thalassidroma Wilsonii, which very nearly resemble each other in colour, as well as in shape. A snow white gull (probably Larus eburneus) flew about the ship. On the 26th of June, we had been just forty days at sea, and at noon were off the lower part of Sable Island bank, in fifty-five fathoms, but did not see the island itself. We steered towards Nova Scotia, but the wind soon forced us in a southerly direction. We had many indications of the vicinity of land, and from this time we proceeded more satisfactorily, till the 3rd of July, at noon, when, to the joy of all, we descried land. Cape Cod Bay lay to the south of us, about fifteen miles distant. It showed low sandhills, with dark bushes on them. About two o'clock we could distinguish a lighthouse of moderate height, with a wind-mill, and several other buildings. As the wind was unfavourable, we were obliged to tack often, in order to sail into the great bay of Massachusetts, which we did in the finest and most lovely weather. The cool of the evening had succeeded the heat of the day; the dark blue mirror of the sea shone around us, moved only by a gentle breeze, while a few white or dark brown sails hastened to the coast, which was already veiled in the evening mist.
Sublime repose prevailed in this extensive and grand scene, our ship alone was in a state of activity. Various preparations were made for the approaching landing, while we Europeans looked eagerly at the distance. I had hoped in vain for a sight of the famous sea serpent; it 3 would not shew itself. I had, in the sequel, opportunities to speak with several American naturalists on the subject, but they all looked upon the story as a fable.
The moon rose in the utmost splendour, and lighted up the unagitated surface of the sea, and the fishing-boats which lay at anchor. Before midnight we saw Boston lighthouse, and soon afterwards several other such lights on the coast, which are a most welcome sight, and increase the impatience of the stranger in a remote quarter of the globe.
The following day (4th of July), on which I landed for the second time in the New World, was the anniversary of the day on which America proclaimed its independence. Early in the morning, the salutes of artillery resounded from the coasts, which we now saw clearly before us. In the centre, in the direction of the city of Boston, was the white lighthouse, with its black roof, on a small rocky island,[18] and around it several little picturesque islands, partly of white sand, with plots of grass; partly rocks, which adorn the beautiful bay. At a distance we saw some low mountains, the coast covered with numerous villages, obscured by the smoke of the gunpowder, and numbers of ships and boats sailing in every direction, all adorned with gay flags in honour of the day. We passed in succession several islands, the lighthouse, the telegraph, and drew nearer and nearer to the coast of the Continent, diversified with gentle eminences covered with corn, or beautifully green as in England: and here and there, in the bays and inlets, adorned with lofty trees. These coasts, with the numerous white buildings of the towns and villages, presented a most charming scene in the splendour of the morning sun. At length the long-expected pilot came on board, and in the bay, on our right, we saw the city of Boston, and many steam-boats before it. The sea had no longer the blue colour, but the green tinge which it has on all coasts, and was covered with medusæ, and the leaves of the sea grass, which grows on these shores. The heat was very great, 18° in the shade, by Reaumur's thermometer, on board the ship, when we cast anchor at India Wharf, Boston, on the forty-eighth day of our voyage. The temperature in this oblong basin, which is surrounded with large magazines of naval stores, was by no means agreeable at the moment of our arrival; we, therefore, left the ship as soon as possible, and repaired to the Commercial Coffee House, where we took up our quarters.
Boston, an extensive city, with above 80,000 inhabitants,[19] reminded me, at first sight, of one of the old English towns; but various differences soon appeared. The streets are partly long and broad, partly narrow and irregular, with good flag pavement for foot passengers; the buildings are of brick or stone; but in a great portion of the old town the houses are of wood; the roofs are, for the most part, covered with shingles; the chimneys resemble those in England, but do not seem to be so lofty; the dark colours of the buildings give the city, on the whole, a gloomy appearance. 4 There are many important buildings and churches, which have been described by numerous travellers. In the front of the houses there are frequently little plots of garden, next the street, in the English fashion, planted with tall, shady trees, and flowers. Strangers will immediately look for American plants, especially for those species of trees which are generally cultivated in Europe; but, instead of them, they will observe only European trees, such as Lombardy poplars, Babylonian willows, syringa hibiscus, chestnuts, elms, &c., and it was with much difficulty that I found some stems of the catalpa, which was just then on the point of flowering, and some other native trees. Besides the little grass plots, planted with flowers, in the front of the houses, there are, in Boston, many plantations and avenues of very tall and shady elms, which, like the same species in England, are remarkably vigorous and flourishing. Among these avenues, the principal is that called the Commons, where there were fireworks in the evening of the 4th of July.
Washington-street is looked upon as the finest and longest street in Boston; its length is nearly equal to that of the whole city. Here, as in the first cities of Europe, there are numerous fine and elegant shops, with the most costly articles; and the productions of the West Indies. Cocoa-nuts, oranges, bananas, &c., are nowhere to be found so fresh, and in such perfection as in the seaports of North America. On account of the celebration of this day, most of the shops were closed; but then the entire population seemed to throng the streets, and the gay crowd was very interesting to strangers, as it was not difficult to catch the general features. Though a great part of the Americans have much of the English stamp, there are, however, some essential differences. The peculiar character of the English countenance seems to have disappeared in America, in the strange climate; the men are of a slenderer make, and of taller stature; a general expression of the physiognomy seems to be wanting. The women are elegant, and have handsome features, but frequently a paleness, which does not indicate a salubrious climate, or a healthy judicious way of living.[20] Straw hats, trimmed with black or green ribbons, were in general use. Cloth was much worn, and everything was according to the newest English and French fashions. Among the busy throng were a great number of negroes, who, in the Northern and Eastern States, have been made free. Not far from the public walks was a small narrow street, almost entirely inhabited by negroes and their hybrids. The stranger in Boston looks in vain for the original American race of the Indians. Instead of its former state of nature, this country now shows a mixture of all nations, which is rapidly proceeding in the unjustifiable expulsion and extirpation of the aborigines, which began on the arrival of the Europeans in the New World, and has unremittingly continued.
After we had enjoyed a hasty view of the city, we returned to our inn, where we had an opportunity of making ourselves acquainted with many new customs, differing from those of Europe. It must be confessed that the arrangements in the large and much frequented inns of 5 the great towns in the United States, are, in many respects, inferior to those of Europe. The rooms are very small, and all have beds in them: parlours, that is, rooms without beds, must be hired separately. The hours for meals are fixed—three times in the day; and the signal is usually given, two or three times, by ringing a bell. In general, a number of persons habitually take their meals in these inns; they besiege the house before the appointed time arrives, and, when the signal is given, they rush tumultuously into the eating-room; every one strives to get before the other, and, for the most part, the crowd of guests is far too great, in proportion to the number of the black attendants. Then every one takes possession of the dish that he can first lay his hands on, and in ten minutes all is consumed; in laconic silence the company rise from table, put on their hats, and the busy gentlemen hasten away, whom you see all the day long posted before the inns, or at the fire-side in the lower rooms, smoking cigars and reading the colossal newspapers. The hat, which the Americans seldom lay aside, except in the company of the women, is always taken off at table, which is certainly no small exertion in this land of perfect liberty, as Captain Morrell expresses it.[21] Elegance of dress is far more common in America than in Europe; but then this is all that the gentleman in America cares about, when he has finished his mercantile business, read the newspaper, and performed his part in the government of the State. I have often been surprised at the crowd of idle gentlemen before and in the American inns, who spend the whole day in total inactivity; and these elegant loiterers are, in fact, a characteristic feature of these inns. Here, too, there is a peculiar arrangement, which many travellers have noticed, and which we do not meet with in ours—I mean the bar-room, where a man stationed behind the bar, mixes compounds, and sells all sorts of beverages, in which a quantity of ice and of freshly gathered peppermint leaves are employed. Very agreeable cooling liquors are here prepared, which the heat of the climate calls for. In the evening the European is surprised at being desired to pull off his shoes before a number of people in the bar-room, and to exchange them for slippers, which are piled up in large heaps. The attendance is, in general, indifferent. There are scarcely any white servants, or, at least, they are almost useless; all menial offices must be performed by blacks, who, though free people, are still held in contempt by the Americans, who so highly estimate the dignity of man, and form a rejected caste, like the Parias in India.
At the approach of evening, on the 4th of July, the whole population of Boston was in motion; but the streets were soon entirely deserted, and all the inhabitants had collected in the promenade, called the Commons. The sight was highly interesting. An extensive piece of ground, covered with green sward, stretches in a gentle slope to the water, and is surrounded by avenues of lofty, shady elms. Numerous paths cross each other in the centre, and here there is a gigantic elm, with a wide-spreading crown, measuring from thirty to forty paces in diameter. We regretted that the great crowd of people rendered it impossible to approach this fine tree, on 6 this busy evening. All Boston, rich and poor, was here assembled, in the most elegant dresses. Groups were sitting, or lying in the grass; rows of tables and little stalls were set out, where there was a real oyster feast, in which the people indulged to an extent that rendered the appearance of the tables anything but inviting. As it grew dark, there was a very indifferent display of fireworks, on the eminence, in honour of the day, the expense of which was defrayed by subscription. Several companies of city militia had previously paraded the streets; they are all volunteers, who equip themselves, and that in a very superior manner; but their uniforms are very gay and motley, as may be expected, where every one is left to follow his own taste. Each company, or troop, had a different uniform—one red, another blue, and, in part, richly embroidered with gold. There were very few men in a company. It seemed very strange that the musicians, who preceded them, were, for the most, in plain clothes of all colours, with round hats. "The Yankee-doodle," the favourite popular song of the Americans, was heard in different directions; and it is much to the credit of this motley assemblage, that there was no impropriety of conduct or unseemly noise. The effect of the light on the mixed crowd of whites and negroes was very interesting, and we enjoyed the scene till the coolness and damp of the night air made us retire to our inn.
On the following morning, the shops were opened, and Boston resumed its usual appearance of commercial activity. Our baggage was put on board a schooner bound to New York, to which city I wished to go by land. Our next excursion was to the monument on Bunker's Hill, from which there is the best view of the surrounding country.
Early in the morning we got into our carriages, and drove rapidly through the streets, refreshed by the cool morning breeze, where many wagons were arriving with the productions of the environs. We noticed vehicles of various descriptions, with four or two wheels, often with an awning of linen, or leather, open at the sides, and drawn by two or four horses. The drivers, generally in a white summer dress, with straw hats, sit on a bear skin, which is here worth eight or ten dollars. On the causeway, out of the city, the dust was troublesome, but a number of water-carts (like those used in the streets of London) were already preparing to water the road.
Boston is joined to the continent by a narrow tongue of land, at the two sides of which creeks, or bays run into the land. Over these creeks there are several long wooden bridges, made to draw up in the middle, one of which leads, in a north-west direction, to the neighbouring town of Charlestown; another, more to the south, to Cambridge, where there is a college, or university. All these places have been described by several travellers. We took the road through Charlestown, to the Navy Yard, close to which is the eminence on which the Bunker's Hill monument is erected. The hill is called Breed's Hill, and immediately beyond it is Bunker's Hill, where the English troops were posted during the battle fought in 1775. The Americans were repulsed, and lost their leader, who was a physician. The monument in memory of this action 7 has been begun on the foremost, or Breed's Hill. The granite (Quincy granite) employed in it is found in the neighbourhood, and is of a grey colour.
It was intended, originally, that this monument should be 210 feet high; it is now meant to be only 180 feet high. What is already done is a pyramid between fifty and sixty feet in height, which was covered with a temporary wooden roof. Withinside, a convenient stone staircase leads to the top, and from the small windows in the roof, there is an incomparable view over the city of Boston, Charlestown, the two inlets, the long bridges, the Bay of Boston, with its diversified islands, and the ships with their white swelling sails, coming from, and bound to, all parts of the world. Looking into the country, there is an alternation of verdant hills, numerous villages, and dark woods; the whole forming a highly picturesque landscape. Cattle were grazing near the monument, on the green hill; a well-dressed boy was employed in milking the cows.[22]
From Bunker's Hill we went to Cambridge, and had, on this road, the first sight of an American landscape. Meadows, partly covered with arundinaceous plants, corn-fields, and European fruit trees, alternated with small thickets and groves. The apples that grow here are said to be yellow, and not particularly good; they are chiefly used to make cider. On almost all these fruit trees we saw caterpillars' nests of extraordinary size, they being often a foot and more in diameter. The butterfly which produces them must be in vast numbers, and it is surprising that more care is not taken to destroy them. The road was bordered with trees, as is generally the case here; we observed Celtis occidentalis, Lombardy poplars, partly lopped, and not growing to any great height. The thickets consisted of oaks, with various deeply indented leaves, in general of a beautiful shining green; different kinds of walnut, ash, and elm, which always attain a great height here, and, where they stand free, the stems are clothed with thick boughs down to the ground. The low thickets were of a bright green, and in adjacent meadows, which were partly marshy, grew plants, much resembling those of Europe, such as Ranunculus, Pyrethrum, several with white flowers of the genus Syngenesia; both a white clover and a red clover, common with us, seemed to be generally cultivated, as well as potatoes, corn, and maize. This part of the country has, on the whole, the European character—like England, for instance—but it is even now more wooded, and pines of different kinds give a variety: the population, too, is distributed in a different manner. In one of the nearest thickets, a little songster (Sylvia æstiva), and some other birds, reminded me that I was not in Europe, but on the borders of the northern part of the New World, and the beautiful Icterus Baltimore flew to the higher thickets; and I very well distinguished its black and bright red plumage. These new objects gave 8 us great pleasure, and we only regretted that we could not immediately pursue them. On the summit of the gentle eminences we came to Cambridge College, which is very agreeably situated on a verdant lawn, shaded with trees, and surrounded by avenues of elms, Weymouth pines, maples, ash, planes, and other shady trees. The buildings stand separately; and in all the gardens of the neat habitations, we observed, in general, European plants—the rose, syringa, hibiscus, and but few American plants, of which the trumpet tree was not then in blossom. My visit might have been very interesting if I had known that Mr. Nuttal,[23] one of the most active naturalists and travellers in North America, held an office in this college.
On our return to Boston, we visited many of the curiosities of the city, which are enumerated in various works. Among them I mention only the New England Museum,[24] as in part, at least, an institution for natural history, but where the expectation of the stranger is grievously disappointed. These museums, as they are styled, in all the larger cities of the United States, except, perhaps, the Peale Museum, at Philadelphia, are an accumulation of all sorts of curiosities, the selection of which is most extraordinary. Here we find specimens of natural history; stiff, awkward, wax figures; mathematical and other instruments, models, bad paintings and engravings, caricatures; nay, even the little prints out of our journals of the fashions, &c., hung up without any order. Among the animals there are some interesting specimens, but without any ticket or further direction. This collection was placed in several stories of a lofty house, in narrow passages, rooms, and closets, connected by many flights of steps; and to attract the public, a man played on the harpsichord during our visit—a concert which could have no great charms for us.
Boston, however, has much that is worthy of notice, and numerous excellent institutions, respecting which the many descriptive works may be consulted, which treat on the subject more in detail than a passing traveller can do. As my time was limited, I took places in a stage-coach that was to set out at noon for Providence, from Bunker's coach-office, at the Marlborough hotel. The establishment of stage-coaches, and the mode of travelling in this country, have been accurately described by Duke Bernhard of Saxe Weimar;[25] I therefore merely say, that we went in a commodious stage, with nine seats inside, and four good horses, which carried us at a rapid pace from Boston to New Providence, forty-one miles distant, where we embarked for New York.
The causeway was a good, solid, broad road, paved in some places, and very dusty at this dry season; it led over low hills and plains. Near the city there is a great number of pretty, and some elegant country houses; and as they became less numerous, they were succeeded by the houses of the farmers and planters, which are spread over the whole country. All these farm-houses are slightly built, boarded, and roofed with shingles; often grey, of the natural colour of the wood; but many of those belonging to the richer class are neatly painted, and variously ornamented. The walls, even of large buildings of this kind, are extremely thin, and one would think they 9 must be too slight for the cold winters of this country. It seems quite inconceivable that, throughout the United States, you find only open fireplaces; and very rarely good stoves, against which the Americans are prejudiced, because they are not aware of their great superiority. The business of the occupant is painted on the house in large letters, as in England and France.
The road by which we travelled was often bounded by hedges, or by walls of blocks of granite, or other kinds of stone, on which plantain, elder, stagshorn, sumach, &c., were growing. In the low marshy meadows were willows, a kind of reed mace, cotton grass, rushes, and, in the water, adder's tongue. Near the road, the hills, which here and there gradually rise to a great elevation, are covered with shrubs and trees, among which we noticed some firs, mixed with the other trees.
Juniper trees, from fifteen to twenty feet high, grew in all these woods, partly as underwood. In the low grounds, near the road, we observed luxuriant tufts of various kinds of oak, walnut trees—some with large shining leaves, chestnuts, now in blossom, and many other kinds of trees cultivated in European gardens. Wild vines, with the under side of the leaves whitish, twine round many of the bushes; but, in these northern parts, they do not attain a great height. These thickets alternate with open tracts of land, where the peasants, tanned by the powerful American sun, wearing large straw hats, were busily employed in making hay.
However small and poor the dwellings, we still saw at the windows, and before the doors, the women, most elegantly and fashionably dressed, engaged in their household employments. In this land of freedom, nobody, of course, will allow his neighbour to have an advantage over him; hence we often see silk gowns, and the newest fashions of all kinds, in laughable contrast with the poor little habitations. Small country carts pass the traveller, in which, beside the owner, who drives, sits a country lady, handsomely attired, who looks like a copy of some journal des modes. The dress of the countrymen is, in general, not so fine, but is, in some degree, according to the man's circumstances.
We were much pleased with some thick forests of oak, with beautiful glossy (often deeply indented) leaves, of a great variety of forms. Forests, consisting wholly of the Weymouth pine, alternated with the oak. The trunks were large, but the height of the tree was not great in proportion. Among them there was always a number of dead trees; others had a quantity of bearded moss hanging on them; in a word, though so near to the habitations of man, and in a cultivated country, they had more of the wild character of unreclaimed nature than our European forests. In many places there were openings into dark forests, to a great distance; and, now and then, into lovely valleys, with a lake or a river, where the white buildings had a very picturesque appearance, contrasted with the dark woods and the green meadows. Mr. Bodmer, however, was not satisfied with all these landscapes: he had expected to find, at once, in America, forms differing from those of Europe; but these must be looked for under another zone; for, in 10 North America, the general character of the vegetation resembles that of Europe. In some parts, we remarked in the meadows large stones, something like those in Westphalia, or in the Westerwald, in Germany.
We changed horses at three places, at one of which we had dinner, which, as in England, was ready when the passengers arrived. The regulations here have an advantage over those in most parts of Europe, inasmuch as fees are nowhere given, so that you cannot be molested by the importunity of the driver: on the other hand, the coachman dines at the same table as the passengers. You are, however, pretty secure against the conversation of unpolished people, because the Americans are usually mute at table.
Towards evening we reached Pawtucket, a neat town on the river of the same name, in the state of Massachusetts. The place has manufactures of various kinds, and is animated by trade and industry. The river empties itself into Narraganset bay, and is said to have falls of fifty feet. We soon travelled the few miles from this place to Providence. The evening being fine, the journey was very pleasant: the road was full of stages, cabriolets, farmers' wagons, and smart country ladies, whose veils on their large fashionable hats waved in the wind; they were generally seated in little chaise carts, the seats of which were covered with bear skins.
At Providence, which we reached before night, we put up at Franklin House, a respectable inn. A crowd of idle gentlemen and other curious persons stared at us, and laughed in our faces, when they found, by our pronunciation, that we were foreigners. We had to pass some days here, waiting for the return of a steam-boat from New York; we therefore employed this interval in exploring the town and neighbourhood.
Providence is a busy town, the capital of the state of Rhode Island, and situated on an arm of the sea. It is built partly on sandy hills, partly on the low ground next the sea, has some good new streets, and a brisk trade, as appears from the many ships at anchor. There is no want of handsome shops, and several public buildings deserve notice; such as twelve churches, several colleges, and other public institutions, which I forbear to enumerate. In the churches the singular style of the architecture calls for censure:—they are of brick, with steeples variously ornamented, but often painted with glaring colours; for instance, the lower part reddish brown, with the frames of the windows and of the doors white; the upper part bright yellow with white. There is a considerable degree of luxury at Providence. The women appear in the streets in the most expensive dresses; and the country ladies (farmers' wives), whom I have so often mentioned, dressed in silk, and wearing large straw bonnets and veils, bring milk to market in little carts. This love of finery is quite a characteristic trait in the American people; but it is, at the same time, an indication of prosperity; for it is true that, in this country, there are neither poor nor beggars; and if you see people doing nothing, they are generally new comers from Europe. Negroes and their coloured descendants are more numerous here than in Boston and the northern parts.
11 The next day was Sunday, in the observance of which the Americans are very scrupulous. All the people, with their books under their arms, proceeded to the churches, the bells of which were very slowly tolled. The streets were quite still on this day, and all the shops closed; but, then, numerous carriages and cabriolets, filled with finely-dressed people, were in motion. We strolled about the surrounding country, which, in general, has a dead and rather sterile appearance. Here, too, we saw, almost exclusively, European trees and flowers in the gardens; there were, however, some peculiar to the country, among which the magnolia was now in blossom.
Intelligence had been received from New York that the cholera had broken out there, and that numbers of the inhabitants were leaving the city. On the arrival of the Boston steam-boat, the Captain confirmed this unwelcome news, which, however, did not deter us from embarking in this fine vessel for New York. On the 8th of July, in the afternoon, we went on board the steam-boat, which had above 100 passengers. The Boston was a large, handsome vessel, about the size of a frigate. It had three decks; in the lower part was the large dining and sleeping room, where above 100 persons were very well provided for. On the middle deck there was a cabin for the ladies, with twenty-four beds. The numerous attendants were negroes and mulattoes of both sexes, all free people. The vessel had two low-pressure engines, which are thought to be less dangerous than the high-pressure engines, though the Americans affirm the contrary. On the upper deck was a pavilion, with glass windows, in which, when the weather was unfavourable, the company could sit and enjoy the prospect.
When all the passengers were on board, one of the engines was set to work, and when we got further from shore, the other also. The low, sandy coast, partly covered with trees, where towns alternated with forests, quickly disappeared. The sky was dark and cloudy, and a cool, fresh breeze blew. We reached the strongly fortified town of Newport, where many small vessels lay at anchor. The place is distinguished by three forts, and other fortifications, and a lighthouse. When twilight set in we were already in sight of the open sea, which, however, remained visible for a short time only, because we steered to the right, into the channel between the continent and Long Island.
On the morning of the 9th of July, the sky was gloomy, and the sea much agitated. On our left we had the coast of Long Island, which, in general, is not high, but has some more elevated parts, with an alternation of sand, bushes, and brushwood. Some very picturesque and diversified inlets run into the land. The channel becomes gradually narrower, and the beauty of the landscape increases in the same proportion. One narrow place is called Hellgate: there are here many rocky islets covered with sumach bushes (Rhus typhinum). At length, turning round a point of the continent, a new and most picturesque scene presented itself. We were in what is called the East River, an arm of the sea, open towards New York, which is connected with the Hudson or North River, one of the most beautiful rivers in North America. At the conflux 12 of both, lies the city. The banks of the East River are like an English park, shaded by beautiful copses and groups of lofty trees: the ground was clothed with the brightest and most luxuriant verdure, with tall tulip trees, planes, Babylonian willows, Lombardy poplars, and many others, alternating with green meadows, where there are neat, and often elegant country-houses; and the eye is charmed by many fine prospects and a great diversity of scenery. Passing the Navy Yard, which is situated on a point of land, the great city of New York, with its innumerable masts, lies before you. As you approach and enter the broad and extensive piece of water formed by the conflux of the East and North Rivers, you see the whole mass of houses, with countless ships, which line both the banks to a considerable distance, with a forest of masts, to which few other cities can present a parallel. The steamer landed us at a spot where, notwithstanding the heavy rain, there was a great crowd of people collected. Porters, black workmen, and coachmen in abundance, with loud cries, and much importunity, offered their services; and we immediately proceeded to the American Hotel, a considerable inn, in one of the handsomest squares in the city.
CHAPTER II
STAY IN NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA, AND BORDENTOWN, FROM 9TH TO 16TH JULY
New York—Bloomingdale—Hoboken—New Brunswick—Trenton—Bordentown—Philadelphia—Fair Mount, with the water-works—Stay at Bordentown—Park of the Count de Survilliers—Excursions in the forests—Return to Philadelphia.
New York is but little inferior to the capital cities of Europe, with the exception of London and Paris. It has, at present, 220,000 inhabitants, and its commerce is so extensive, animated, and active, that, in this respect, it is scarcely surpassed by any. There are so many descriptions of this great city, that to say much on the subject would be merely repetition. The first impression that it made on me was very striking, on account of the beauty of its situation. In the interior the style of building resembles that of many English cities. It has one remarkably fine street, called the Broadway, which traverses its whole length; other parts are old, and not so handsome. In the Broadway, which is the favourite resort of the fashionable world, is an uninterrupted line of shops, but little inferior to those of London and Paris. The city is extremely animated, and people of all nations carry on business here. We were assured that the population had been diminished, in a few days, by the emigration of 20,000 of the inhabitants, who had fled to other towns for fear of the cholera.[26] It is well known that this lamentable disease had been very fatal in Canada, and had now penetrated into the Northern States of the Union: it was raging in Albany, on the Hudson, at Detroit, and on the great lakes, so that it seemed as if it would defeat our project of beginning our journey to the interior by that route. This had been my plan, in which the recommendations of our worthy countryman, Mr. Astor,[27] would have been of great service, as he is the founder and head of the American Fur Company, which has spread its trading stations over the whole of the interior of North America. I formed numerous interesting acquaintances, in a short time, in New York. Several estimable fellow-countrymen, Messrs. Gebhard and Schuchart, and Mr. Iselin, did their utmost to afford us their counsel and assistance. Mr. Schmidt, the Prussian consul, contributed not a little to make our stay in this city agreeable; and so did Mr. Meier and other of our German friends. Mr. Schmidt has a country-house at Bloomingdale, 14 where we passed some very pleasant days in the circle of his amiable family. Mrs. Schmidt, an American lady, had visited Europe and travelled in Germany, and remembered, with pleasure, the banks of the Rhine.
The house at which Mr. Schmidt resides in the summer, is charmingly situated on the banks of that picturesque river, the Hudson, seven miles from the town. The pretty dwelling-house, with a veranda all round, covered with passion flowers, honeysuckles, the red trumpet flower, and other beautiful climbing plants, stands on a verdant lawn, shaded by lofty trees, among which we observed the finest kinds of this country, the trunks of which were slender, and straight as pillars. The park extends to the Hudson, where the tall sassafras, tulip, oak, walnut, and other trees, protected us by their shade; while the large steam-boats, rapidly passing on the bright surface of the Hudson, had a very picturesque effect. Mr. Schmidt had the kindness to afford us an admirable view of what is called the island of New York. Near Bloomingdale is a large and very well conducted lunatic asylum, from the lofty roof of which we enjoyed an inexpressibly beautiful, extensive, and interesting prospect of the whole country. From this spot we overlooked the East and North Rivers, the broad bend of the latter, and its high banks towards Albany; to the north, dark forests, with detached dwellings and country seats; and, in all directions, luxuriant green thickets, towns, villages, and handsome country-houses. At our feet, contrasting with that rich and noble view, full of variety and life, we looked down on the buildings and court-yards of the hospital, in which we could observe the patients; while, in another enclosed space, Virginian deer were sporting and playing. This asylum is a very excellent establishment, and contains a great number of patients: the physician resides in the house, and was so good as to show us over it. New York has many such useful institutions,—hospitals, poorhouses, and houses of correction, in which latter the young, who may still be reclaimed, are not mixed with the old, hardened offenders, but are kept apart. There is an asylum for the deaf and dumb, &c.
Our returning from Bloomingdale, in the evening, was extremely agreeable, the weather being delightful. In the dark thickets and woods were swarms of fire-flies; and from the marshes and pools came the croakings of the frogs, with which we were not yet familiar; but we did not hear that of the celebrated bull-frog.
The most beautiful spots and environs of New York are indebted for the attraction of their views, to the variety of the waters surrounding the city: thus, for instance, at the end of the Broadway, is the Castle Garden, formerly a circular fort, the walls of which are converted into a public walk. From the wall itself is a fine prospect of the noble harbour, the neighbouring city, the banks, the opposite coast, and the broad river, where ships of every kind and of all nations are coming and going. Another favourite place of resort is the garden at Hoboken, the name of which indicates its Dutch origin, for it is well known that the Dutch founded the first considerable settlement in this place, numerous traces of which still remain. 15 The communication with Hoboken is by means of a steam-boat. The garden extends along the banks of the Hudson, and the lofty trees and thickets are pleasing and interesting to the stranger. The tall hickory and other kinds of walnut trees had now their fruit half grown. Storax trees (Liquidambar styraciflua), with their maple-like leaves, grow very high and straight, Gleditschia triacanthos and inermis, with wild vines, climbing round them; and many other fine forest trees afford protection against the heat of the summer. Many European trees and shrubs, too, have been planted here. Thus we saw a hedge of whitethorn, the growth of which, however, was stunted by other wood. Many birds, whose notes were unknown to us, were heard in these shades. On my first visit to New York, I was interested by some collections of natural history; for instance, two museums, one of which, belonging to Mr. Peale, is, however, much inferior to that of his brother at Philadelphia. Being anxious to see Philadelphia, I hastened to set out for that city, and left New York, where the cholera was daily spreading more and more.
On the 16th, at six in the morning, I embarked on board the Swan steam-boat, which was so crowded with passengers that there was scarcely room to sit down. On our left we had Staten Land; but we soon turned to the right, into the river Raritan, on which New Brunswick is situated.
New Brunswick is a village, consisting of many straggling streets, where all the passengers landed from the steam-boat, and took their seats in stage-coaches, drawn by four horses, which were standing ready to receive them. The heat was great, the company very mixed, and I had the misfortune to have noisy and disagreeable companions. A long hill, with steep sides, which appears to consist of a reddish clay, extends along the water-side to New Brunswick. On the eminence above the town it was naked and rather sterile; the road was bad, and we were roughly jolted as we drove rapidly along. Meadows, fields of clover, rye, oats, and maize succeeded each other in the vicinity of the habitations, as well as plantations of European fruit trees, full of large caterpillar's nests, but flourishing in the greatest luxuriance. The beautiful red trumpet flower partly covered the sides of the houses, about which Italian poplars and Babylonian willows were frequently planted; the latter are often very high and spreading. The cattle are partly without horns. Sheep and swine were numerous.
While we were changing horses at Kingston, negro and other children offered milk, little cakes, and half-ripe fruit for sale, of which a great deal was bought. Some German peasants, lately arrived from Europe, who were welcomed by their relations, previously settled in the country, completely filled a couple of stages, and were not a little merry, in their low German language, at which Americans laughed heartily. From this place the country was rather woody. Here and there were fine forests, the shade of which was very refreshing in this hot weather. The growth of timber was very fine. A pretty wild rose blossomed among the bushes in the meadows. Oak, sassafras, walnut, chestnut, plane, and tulip trees, displayed their luxuriant foliage of various and often glossy green. The tulip trees, when young, are distinguished by 16 their pyramidal shape and beautiful light green leaves; they were at this time covered with their seed vessels, which were full-grown, but not ripe. The branching phytolacea, and the thorn-apple with its large white flowers, which were now open, as well as several plants brought from Europe, grew in abundance by the road-side, also species of sumach, partly entwined with wild vine; and in the forest was underwood of Rhododendron maximum. We passed rapidly through Prince Town, and arrived at Trenton, on the Delaware, a straggling town, lying among thickets, on the low banks of the river. A long, covered wooden bridge led to the opposite bank of this broad river, which was animated by ships and boats. Such colossal, covered wooden bridges are very common in the United States; and many travellers have already described the construction of these useless masses of timber. From Trenton, we hastened over a sandy tract to another place on the river, opposite to which is Bordentown, and at a short distance lay the steam-boat, Trenton, ready to convey us down the river to Philadelphia. We descended the fine river Delaware, the low, verdant banks of which are covered with many towns, settlements, and country houses; here and there, too, with forests of oaks, &c., and of a kind of pine (pinus rigida).[28] After taking dinner, at which we were waited on by negroes and mulattoes, we reached Philadelphia about five or six o'clock.
This city extends a great way along the right bank of the Delaware, but has by no means so beautiful and striking an effect as New York. It is large and regularly built; the long, straight streets crossing each other at right angles. The modern part of the city is handsome, consisting of lofty brick buildings, ornamented in the English fashion; but the older parts of Philadelphia consist of low, mean houses. It is very judicious that, in hot weather, an agreeable shady walk is formed by awnings spread before the houses, and that the streets are well watered. The water-works are at Fairmount, where there is a basin, from which pipes convey the water to every part of the city.
The streets which run at right angles to the Delaware are called by the names of different kinds of trees—Mulberry Street, Walnut Street, Chestnut Street, &c.: the streets which cross them are numbered, First Street, Second Street, Third Street, &c. Chestnut Street, without doubt the finest, is full of life and traffic. A part of it has, in the middle, a shady avenue of lime trees; and, besides, there are, in many of the streets, rows of trees which do not yet afford much shade. Splendid shops, in almost uninterrupted succession, line the streets, and you find here all the manufactures and produce of the other quarters of the globe. The ancient, injudicious practice of having the churchyards in the towns is still retained in America. They are filled with great numbers of whitish monuments, of various forms, often planted with high trees, and lie quite exposed to view, being separated from the street only by an iron railing. Philadelphia has a considerable number of public buildings, especially many churches and meeting-houses of 17 different religious denominations, most of which are extremely plain brick buildings, without any external ornaments whatever. This country has no history like the Old World, and therefore we look in vain for the ancient Gothic cathedrals, and those awe-inspiring monuments of past ages, from which the traveller in Europe derives so much pleasure and instruction. Besides the churches, the principal buildings are the State House, where the independence of the country was proclaimed on the 4th of July, 1776, the United States Bank, the Bank of Pennsylvania, the Exchange, the University and the Medical College, the Mint, some hospitals, the Deaf and Dumb Asylum, and many others, which it would lead us too far to mention here.
Philadelphia would make a more striking impression if we could find a spot commanding a view of the whole; but as it lies in the plain between the rivers Delaware and Schuylkill, which unite five miles below the city, no such spot is to be found.
It is well known that this city was founded, in 1682, by William Penn, a Quaker, who concluded, under an elm tree, which recently fell down from age, a convention with the Delaware Indians, the proprietors of the soil, by which they ceded to him a tract of land. Philadelphia, literally "the city of the brethren" (Quakers), contains people from all the nations of Europe, especially Germans, French, and English. In some parts of the city, German is almost exclusively spoken. In the year 1834, the population consisted of 80,406 whites, and 59,482 people of colour. I arrived in Philadelphia at an unfavourable moment, for the cholera had already manifested itself also in that city. Letters of introduction from Europe procured me a kind reception in some houses; but, on the other hand, I had not an opportunity of becoming acquainted with several scientific gentlemen, because, being physicians, they were now particularly engaged. Professor Harlan, M. D., well known to the learned world as an author, was of the number.[29] Mr. Krumbhaar, a German, to whom I had letters, received me with much kindness, and introduced me to many agreeable acquaintances. He took me to the water-works at Fair Mount, one of the most interesting spots near the city, which are indeed worth seeing. The road led past the House of Correction, where young offenders, who are still capable of being reclaimed, are confined. On the bank of the river, there are buildings in which large wheels set in motion the machinery by which the water is raised to the reservoirs, on an eminence about eighty feet high, whence the pipes are carried to all parts of the city. The rocky eminence, from which a fine, clear spring rises, is provided with stairs and balustrades, and adorned with elegant pavilions, which command a view of the water-works, and of the beautiful valley of the Schuylkill. It is a favourite promenade, and daily resorted to by numbers of persons, as they can have all kinds of refreshments there. Beautiful plants, the catalpa, plantain, &c., grow among the rocks with great luxuriance, being watered by the springs. We crossed the great bridge over the Schuylkill, to return to the city, where I made but a short stay, because my fellow-travellers were still detained at New York, waiting for our baggage from Boston. As 18 all the roads were crowded with fugitives from New York, it was not a favourable moment for travelling; I therefore resolved on an excursion to Bordentown, in order to obtain some little knowledge of the forests of New Jersey.
I left Philadelphia, on board the Burlington steam-boat, about noon, and arrived at Bordentown between four and five o'clock. At this place are the estates of the Count de Survilliers (Joseph Buonaparte), who had but lately sailed for Europe.[30] The pleasant country house, in the fine park, is about 300 paces from the village, near to the high road, and near, also, to the iron railway from Amboy to Camden, opposite to Philadelphia.[31] Workmen were employed in making this road, in doing which, advantage was taken of the hollow of the valley, so that the railway was much below the common road, or the street of the town. I found some interesting plants in the woods opposite the Count's park. There were three or four kinds of oak, among which are the Quercus ferruginea, with its large, peculiarly shaped leaves; the white oak, the leaves of which are the most like the European; also, varieties of walnut trees, chestnuts, and the sassafras, a fine, tall tree, which was just then in blossom, the leaves of which often vary in shape. The undergrowth of this forest, in which pines were mixed with other trees, consisted of Rhododendron maximum (Pennsylvania mountain laurel) and kalmia, the latter of which, in the deep shade, was already out of flower; but the former still had its large bunches of beautiful white or pale red blossoms, and was from ten to fifteen feet high. The stiff, laurel-like, dried leaves of this fine plant covered the ground, and crackled as we passed along, which reminded me of the Brazilian forests, where this occurs in a much greater degree. On open, uncultivated spots, the great mullein (Verbascum thapsus), with its yellow flowers, and large, woolly leaves, grew in great abundance, and likewise the phytolacea. Among the thick blackberry bushes, entwined with vines, by the road-side, I observed the little striped squirrel, which doubtless climbs to get at the fruit.
At ten o'clock, the heat was already so intense that I returned to the inn, where I arrived very much fatigued. This house is very pleasantly situated on an eminence above the Delaware, at the place where the steam-boats arrive, and from which there is a fine view of the arm of the river, and the adjacent lowland, covered with woods and thickets. A great ornament of this landscape is the white garden-pavilion of Count Survilliers, which rises above the thick groves on the left bank of the Delaware, above Bordentown. In the cool of the evening I usually went to this park. The house itself is a pretty building, on a lawn near the water-side, where oleander and orange plants are placed. The park is very shady, and extends along the Croswick Creek, towards which the bank forms a steep, wildly wooded declivity. In this wood there was likewise a thick undergrowth of Rhododendron maximum, now in full blossom. On an eminence immediately above the river, stands a kind of tower, several stories high, upon a terrace, from the gallery of which is a fine and extensive view over the low, wooded country, and the arms of the river. From this place winding paths lead through the gloomy forest of 19 pine trees, of different varieties, where many birds, of kinds unknown to me, were flying about. The cat bird (Turdus felivox, Vieill.), whose voice has a slight resemblance to that of a cat, was very numerous in this place. From the top of the wooded bank a sort of bridge has been carried out, a great height above the river, and a square place furnished with seats, from which you overlook the whole country. An old Canadian pine stands at the edge of the bank, some branches of which we carried off, by way of memorial. The view from this place is remarkably beautiful; to the right and left extends the river, or rather broad brook, which, at the feet of the spectator, is covered with water plants. The yellow-blossomed Nymphæa adversus, and the beautiful Pontederia cordata grow here in great abundance. There was plenty of occupation for the botanist and the ornithologist, and the sportsman would have reason to be satisfied, for in the neighbouring thickets there were deer (Cervus virginianus), and hares (Lepus Americanus), which frequently crossed our path.[32]
On my return to Bordentown, I found before the door of the inn a number of gentlemen lying in more than easy positions on the benches; the chief subject of conversation was the cholera, which filled the whole country with terror.
It was precisely the hottest part of summer, and it was scarcely possible to protect one's self against the swarms of European flies, which are very numerous. On this account there are, in the inns, negroes and mulattoes, who attend at table, and give the company rest from those troublesome insects, and, at the same time, cool air, by fanning them with fans, made of feathers, often those of the peacock. Fans are, in fact, an article of luxury, and are purchased in the towns; they are made of the tail feathers of the wild turkey, the crane, or the swan, of palm leaves, &c. It was so hot in the daytime, that it was hardly possible to leave the house; and the cholera, therefore, spread rapidly in New York. In this sultry season, the evenings were really refreshing, and gave new life both to men and animals. When it became dusk, luminous insects flew about, and the crickets chirped in notes like those in Europe, but in more rapid succession.
On the following day I visited other places and woods in the vicinity of Bordentown. The town itself is built in the country fashion, with regular, broad, unpaved streets or roads, and the houses lie detached from each other, shaded by rows of trees: this is very necessary, for now, at 10 o'clock in the morning, Fahrenheit's thermometer, in the cool passage of the inn, was at 73°. The avenues of trees in the town consisted of robinia, paper-mulberry, large-leaved poplars, which exude an aromatic gum, weeping willows, and Syrian mallow, which latter grow to the height of ten and even fifteen feet. These plants, with their beautiful flowers, flourish here in much greater perfection than in Germany. In the gardens we observed monarda (Oswego tea), 20 the Indian cress (tropæolum), purple convolvulus, buckthorn (Lycum Europeum), the climbing trumpet flower, vine, catalpa, larkspur, &c.
From Bordentown I sometimes passed beyond the iron railroad, and penetrated into the neighbouring forest. Five or six species of oak, several kinds of walnut trees, beeches, chestnuts, and dogwood, formed the thick wood, the undergrowth of which consisted of Rhododendron maximum, kalmia, rhus, and tall juniper.
On the 23rd of July I left Bordentown, and returned to Philadelphia, as our baggage had not yet arrived from Boston. I made use of this interval to examine the museum of Mr. Titian Peale, which contains the best collection of natural history in the United States. There is the fine large skeleton of the Ohio elephant (Mastodon, Cuv.), and likewise most of the animals of North America, pretty well stuffed. Among them I noticed, especially, the bison, the bighorn or wild sheep of the rocky mountains, the prairie antelope (Antilocapra Americana Ord.), the elk (Cervus major, or Canadensis) the grisly bear (Ursus ferox), and others. Mr. Peale, the owner, accompanied the expedition under Major Long to the Rocky Mountains, where he procured part of these specimens himself.[33] There are likewise many specimens of foreign animals; for instance, a rhinoceros; and the collection of Indian dresses, utensils, and arms, is, I think, the most important that I have yet seen. I was particularly interested by some oil paintings of Indian villages and scenery by Seymour. This artist also accompanied Major Long's expedition. Mr. Peale's collection deserves precedence above all the public museums in the United States, for its more scientific arrangement, and because fewer trifling nicknacks have been admitted into it. Mr. Peale has also travelled in South America, and his health was still suffering from his visit to that country.
As the study of the aboriginal nations of America had peculiar attractions for me, I searched the shops of all the booksellers and printsellers, for good representations of that interesting race; but how much was I astonished, that I could not find, in all the towns of this country, one good, that is, characteristic representation of them, but only some bad or very indifferent copper-plates, which are in books of travels! It is incredible how much the original American race is hated and neglected by the foreign usurpers. Only a few eminent men, who have felt this reproach and defect, are now exerting themselves to rescue from oblivion the neglected materials, scarce as they now are, after it has become next to impossible to collect anything complete respecting the history of many exterminated Indian tribes. Messrs. Morse, Smith Barton, Edwin James, Say, Duponceau, Schoolcraft, Cass, Mc Kenney, and some others, are an honourable exception in this respect. A fine work, with coloured lithographic plates, was contemplated at Philadelphia, which deserves encouragement; it was to give the history of the several Indian tribes, with portraits of their chiefs, for which the Government was ready to furnish all the materials in its possession. It seems that this important publication has at length been carried into execution.
CHAPTER III
RESIDENCE AT FREIBURG AND BETHLEHEM IN PENNSYLVANIA, FROM JULY 30TH TO AUGUST 23RD
View of the Country—Population of German Origin—Freiburg—Residence there—The Rocky Valley—Excursions—The Colony of the Moravian Brethren at Bethlehem—Residence there—Excursions.
All the members of our party had now joined, and, though our baggage was not yet arrived from Boston, I resolved, in order to make myself acquainted with the interior of Pennsylvania, to take up my abode in the settlement of the Moravian Brethren at Bethlehem. I had previously paid a visit to the place, and found it very favourably situated for our object. On the 30th of June [July], before daybreak, in the finest weather and bright moonlight, we drove through the long streets of Philadelphia, and passed the churchyards, with their white, ghost-like monuments and tombstones. The day broke when we got out of the city. On both sides of the road were country houses, alternating with fields, enclosures, gardens, and parks; and high trees of various kinds were everywhere planted by the road-side. We passed through Germantown, a scattered village, and, by eight o'clock, arrived at Chestnut Hill, where the passengers usually breakfast. The inn was rather uncleanly, and the coffee so bad, that a portly Quaker in our company would not take this beverage, of which he was otherwise very fond. At table we were molested by innumerable European flies, though a servant girl took great pains to drive them away, by waving a large green bough over our heads.
The whole country, as far as Bethlehem, and much farther, is chiefly inhabited by the descendants of German emigrants, who all speak an indifferent low German, and say that they rather converse in German than in English. The appearance of the country in this part is not particularly pleasing. Fields of potatoes, clover, oats, and maize as high as a man, alternate with meadows and little thickets, and all the fields are surrounded with hedges or wooden fences. At Montgomeryville, the horses are changed a second time, and the road becomes more diversified. 22 The habitations of the country people are generally small, often rather poor, frequently composed of boards, covered with shingles; sometimes they are merely great block-houses, like the cowkeeper's cottage in Switzerland. These cottages are surrounded with little gardens, in which there are various kinds of European plants, such as the hollyhock, hibiscus, larkspur, balsam, &c. The Hibiscus Syriacus was everywhere in blossom, in the greatest beauty. I have never seen this fine plant so high and vigorous, or its flowers so large and splendid, in Europe, as here. They are of three varieties of colour—white, purple, and bright pink, the latter by far the most beautiful. In general, the trees and shrubs in this country are very vigorous. The vegetative power increases the more you advance towards the south, and the prodigious fertility of the soil remains long unimpaired, even after it has been stripped of its primeval forests.
The country, as we advanced, was gradually more and more wooded. We drove through fine young woods of slender oaks, walnuts and chestnuts, ash, sassafras, beech, tupelo (Nyssa sylvatica), and other tall trees, all, with the exception of a single spot, without any underwood or young trees, which is a proof that there is no intention of perpetuating these woods for future use. In many parts they are on the way to total destruction, for they contain neither timber fit for felling, nor young plants; and if it is thought fit in future to raise timber in these ruined forests, the country people must be checked in their love of destruction, and forest laws and regulations introduced. It is fortunate for Pennsylvania that the rich coal mines have been discovered. There was a very agreeable succession of woods and meadows, and we saw great numbers of the beautiful red-headed woodpecker, which, when it spreads its wings, displays a large surface as white as snow. It is often seen sitting on the fences where the ground squirrel and the reddish squirrel, with dark lateral stripes (Sciurus Hudsonius), frequently resort. The first, in particular, is seen in great numbers about all these fences, running backwards and forwards on them. The birds which we particularly remarked were the robin, the blue bird, the fox-coloured thrush, the goldfinch, the turtle-dove, &c. The Caprimulgus Virginianus, which the Americans call the night hawk, was flying about in a meadow in bright sunshine. I have seen these birds everywhere, flying about in numbers, in the daytime, like Azaras Nacunda in Brazil. This species, too, shows, when on the wing, the white transverse stripes which are observed in many species in that country. Crows and blackbirds are common, but there are very few birds of prey, which are far more numerous in Brazil. The forests in this part of the country become more lofty; the crowns of the trees spread wider, and afford a thicker shade. Travelling by a road which runs alternately through corn-fields, meadows, and agreeable eminences, we arrived at Freiburg, a straggling village, almost wholly inhabited by descendants of German emigrants. We stopped here a couple of days, to make excursions in the forests, and took up our quarters in a tolerably good country miller's house, close to which a Jew had set up his store.
On the 1st of August, conducted by my obliging neighbour, the German Jew, and some 23 others of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, we made an excursion to the Rocky Valley, which was represented to us as very well worth seeing. We proceeded through meadows and between fences for about half a league, and often saw the large prairie lark (Alauda magna, Linn.; Sturnella, Vieill.), which usually sits on the ground, on the grass, or on the branch of a shrub, and, when scared, often lights on the pines. Its song is short, and not disagreeable. This handsome bird is shy of the sportsman, and flies away betimes, when it may immediately be recognized by its short, outspread tail, the side feathers of which are white. Our path lay past isolated farm-houses, most of the inhabitants of which spoke German, and we then reached the forest, where we shot many fine birds. We next passed by several lonely log or block-houses, before the doors of which the children, many of them very poorly and dirtily dressed, were at play, and seemed to be the only possession of the inhabitants. The sky was overcast, and it rained, while the weather was very warm, which obliged us to visit the cool draw-wells of the peasants. From this place the forest was more and more filled with blocks of primitive rocks, mixed with hornblende and quartz, and these blocks lay about irregularly, some of them very large, and covered with various kinds of lichens. In this wild wooded spot, our guides could not tell where they were, till a German peasant showed us the rather hidden path, which could hardly be distinguished among the many blocks of stone. The Actæa racemosa, with its long spikes of white flowers, was growing everywhere, four or five feet high, like the Digitalis purpurea, in the mountain forests on the Rhine.
The wood now became thicker, and fuller of brushwood. We reached the bed of a stream, now dry, likewise quite filled with blocks of stone, which we followed, leaping from block to block, till we came in sight of the place called the Rocky Valley. Here, on a gentle hill, is a free prospect through the forest up the stream, where prodigious masses of great blocks of stone were so piled up, one over another, that a tract, from 150 to 200 paces in breadth, appears quite covered with them, exactly like similar heaps of stone, especially basalt, in Germany, some of which are found in the countries on the Rhine, where they are called beilsteine. No shrub or blade of grass can grow among these boulders, and the rain, which continued to fall, made them so slippery that it was dangerous to climb over them. No living creature was to be seen in this wilderness, nor, as I said before, was there any vegetation. These blocks seem to have been accumulated and piled up by some impetuous torrent, and it is said that, at the season of the year which is less hot and dry, the sound of water running under the stones is heard.
From this place we returned to the habitation of the German peasant who had showed us the way, where we refreshed ourselves with brandy-and-water. The inmates of the house were, in part, engaged, sitting under the shade of the trees, in cutting shingles, which they sold. They were much astonished at our double-barrelled guns, with percussion locks and safety caps. There are now scarcely any wild animals in these forests; hardly any but the grey fox, the 24 Pennsylvania marmot (ground hog, or wood chuck), the grey and the red squirrel, have escaped the love of destruction of the invaders.
On our return to Freiburg, I found our countryman, Dr. Saynisch, of Bethlehem, whom I had previously met with. He is a naturalist, and, being well acquainted with this part of the country, was able to give me much interesting information concerning it. He stopped a couple of days with us, and we set out on a shooting excursion the same afternoon.
On the 2nd of August, early in the morning, we left Freiburg, in the most beautiful weather, and our host drove us in his dearborn (such is the name given to a small covered vehicle), and two spirited horses, to Bethlehem, the road to which afforded us much pleasure. The country is very agreeable: meadows, corn-fields, habitations, and copses succeeded each other on the side of low hills; and the fine valley, called, by the inhabitants, Upper Sakena, is remarkably fertile. The road was here and there shaded by large trees, and a small pond was extremely interesting to us; for, besides many curious birds, we saw tortoises everywhere on the banks, and on old stumps in the water, which, however, were very shy, and plunged below the surface as soon as we approached them. In the sultry heat of noon, we reached the Moravian settlement, Bethlehem, where we put up at a German inn.[34]
This settlement is built on the top and the side of a hill, at the foot of which the Monocasa brook joins the Lecha (Lehigh). The Lecha is celebrated for its picturesque valley, which is at first wild and wooded, and lower down, fruitful and well cultivated. At present, Bethlehem is no more than a village, but it is rapidly increasing, and has already some pretty considerable streets, which, however, are still unpaved. The church is a large, neat, light building, quite in the plain style of the German churches of this sect, and gives the place a pretty appearance, being situated nearly at the top of the hill. Another large building is the girls' school, which has a shady garden, planted with timber trees, the lower part of which is on the Monocasa, where flowers of many kinds attract the little humming-birds. The lower part of the village, consisting of but a few houses, one of which is the inn where we lodged, and where there is a long wooden bridge over the Lecha, is situated in Lehigh county; and the large upper part, in the county of Northampton, the boundary line of the two counties passing through the place. Like all the settlements of the industrious brethren, Bethlehem has a number of different trades, mechanics and field-labourers. New settlers are continually arriving, and it will, in time, become a place of importance. The inhabitants are, for the most part, Germans; but there are likewise many English, and divine service is performed in the church in German and English alternately, and most of the inhabitants speak both languages. The country about Bethlehem is agreeable and diversified; the climate very healthy. Large woods alternate in the vicinity with the fields of the inhabitants, and a canal, from the coal district of Mauch Chunk to the Delaware, gives animation and support to the country by the numerous boats that navigate it. All kinds of 25 European field and garden plants are cultivated here, and likewise maize; they have even begun to plant vines; but what is called the Alexander grape, yields a rather acid beverage, which they usually sweeten with sugar. We were told that much better wine is produced in the country about Lancaster, in Pennsylvania, near York. Fruit does not seem to thrive so well in the United States as in Europe: the peach, however, may, perhaps, be excepted.
I became acquainted with the directors of this colony: Mr. V. Schweinitz, well known in the literary world as a distinguished botanist, Mr. Anders the bishop,[35] and the Rev. Mr. Seidel. All these gentlemen received me in a very friendly manner, and Mr. Seidel, in particular, showed me much kindness. Dr. Saynisch lived in the same house with me, and I derived great benefit from his knowledge of the country. Our whole time at Bethlehem was devoted to excursions in the neighbouring country. Opposite the place, on the other side of the Lecha, is a range of mountains, or moderate hills, beautifully wooded, which afforded a great variety of pleasant walks. The mountains are covered with picturesque forests of oak, walnut, and other timber trees, under which there is, generally, a thick covert of tall Rhododendron maximum, which was still adorned with its magnificent large tufts of flowers. In these dark shades we soon learned to distinguish the notes of the different birds, among which was the flame-coloured Baltimore bird, which we recognized, at a distance, by its splendid plumage, when it was flying to its remarkable pendent nest, of which we saw several. The Lecha, the bottom of which was covered with naked blocks and masses of stone, is adorned by picturesque islands, some of them of considerable extent, to which we made many interesting excursions. Numerous kinds of aquatic plants grow in the water; and among these plants we saw numbers of tortoises. Mr. Bodmer made a very characteristic drawing of this wood and water scenery.[36] When we had crossed the river, we landed on the island in a dark, lofty, airy grove, where all the kinds of trees common in this country grow vigorously, and entirely exclude the sun's rays. The ground is clothed with many fine plants: the beautiful Lobelia cardinalis, which is common in all this part of the country, was in blossom on the banks, as well as many other plants.
This beautiful forest was peopled by a great variety of birds; besides those above-mentioned, we saw, in the crowns of the highest trees, the bright red Tanagra, the black and red Baltimore bird, the humming-bird, with reddish-brown eyes; the greenish heron, and the ash-coloured kingfisher, flew up from the stones on the bank. Whenever we were overtaken by a shower of rain on these lovely islands, we took shelter in the hollow trunks of old plane trees, of which there is one capable of holding ten persons. In these cool shades we did not much feel the heat of the summer, but it was very oppressive in the town; at nine o'clock in the evening the temperature of our apartment was 18° Reaumur (72½° Fahrenheit), and there were frequent thunder-storms. At noon the temperature in the cool passages of our house was at 23° or 24° Reaumur (86° Fahrenheit).
26 We made frequent excursions to these charming islands; and Mr. Bodmer, who went thither every day to complete his sketch of the forests, generally came back laden with tortoises (Emys odorata and picta) and other amphibia, or fresh water shells. This Emys picta is one of the most beautiful kinds of this family in Pennsylvania: there is certainly no country in which tortoises are so numerous, and of such a variety of species, as North America.
The banks of the Lehigh, chiefly covered with high woods, differ from the more open banks of the Monocasa, where extensive thickets of reed and reed mace (Typha) are the abode of the beautiful red-shouldered Oriole. The little shrub-like oak (Quercus chincapin) grows in abundance on the hills that border this stream. We made other interesting visits to the wooded Lecha mountains, on the north or north-east bank of that river, below Bethlehem. They are thickly covered with high timber and much underwood, and from their summits there is a fine prospect over the whole of the surrounding hilly country. The chestnut trees have been very much thinned in these forests, as the wood is highly valued, not for fuel, as it is light and porous, but for fences, because it is said to remain uninjured in the ground for sixty years.
The splendid bright red Tanagra was not uncommon in these forests; but we now met with none that were quite red, because the old males put on, towards autumn, the plain olive-coloured plumage of the females. Many of these fine birds had still bright red spots, which showed that they were undergoing a change in their plumage. Only a couple of species of the genus Tanagra, which are so numerous in the Brazilian forests, are found in all North America; but the manner and mode of living of these animals are everywhere the same. They are quiet birds, not remarkable for their song, but make up for this deficiency by the splendour of their plumage. The small hare (Lepus Americanus) and the grey squirrel were almost the only quadrupeds we saw in these woods; but of the class of amphibia there were many kinds. The larger wild animals have almost wholly disappeared. All North America was formerly one interminable forest, only there were what are called prairies in the western parts beyond the Alleghany mountains; but all Pennsylvania, a state comprising 44,500 square miles, was a primeval forest, which was thinned in a short time by the numerous settlers who flocked to this country. The larger species of game disappeared in the same ratio; and in the immediate vicinity of Bethlehem there are now not even any deer. It was mentioned to me as a very rare occurrence, that a bear had been seen here two years before, and was immediately pursued, but in vain, by the hunters. Some small animals still live in these forests, which, however, are not to be found except at night; among these are the opossum (Didelphys Virginiana) and the skunk (Mephitis Americana). The first is not frequently met with in these parts; the latter, on the contrary, is not uncommon.
In order to catch the skunk, our hunters went by night to the Lecha mountains, and searched the forest with hounds, and almost always attained their object. The dogs killed the animal by biting it, and were sometimes a little perfumed. It has been reported that they 27 avoid the smell; but I can testify that we did not meet with any confirmation whatever of this statement. In fact, the stories told of the offensive smell of this animal are rather exaggerated, for an European polecat is often nothing behind the skunk in this disagreeable quality. The hunters brought home a half-grown skunk alive, and we kept it in a box in the garden, where it was very tame and quiet, and never emitted the slightest smell. We opened the box, and let it run about at liberty. It is only when alarmed that the skunk is offensive to the olfactory nerves. The hollow trees in these forests were the abode of the pretty flying squirrel, which, however, is not to be seen in the daytime. The banks of the river are inhabited by the musk-rat, which is often seen swimming, and is sometimes taken in the fishing nets.
One of our usual walks, during our stay at Bethlehem, was up or down the banks of the Mauch Chunk canal. This canal is divided from the Lecha by a dam, on which grow many fine plants, about which numbers of humming-birds were fluttering. In my whole journey through North America, I nowhere found these pretty birds so numerous as here. They hummed about the yellow flowers of the broad-leaved tree primrose (Oenothera), of the violet Asclepias incarnata (swallow wort), of the Impatiens fulva, with its deep orange-coloured flowers, &c., and we shot many of these little creatures, among ten of which we found, at the most, one male, with deep red throat. The dam was bordered with stones at the sides; and among them were numbers of the striped ground squirrel. Tall thistles are the constant resort of the goldfinches, which picked the woolly seeds from the flower heads. At some mills, on an island near the road, there was a grove of tall trees, the dark shades of which were animated by many interesting birds, especially the beautiful Baltimore bird and the flycatcher (Muscicapa ruticilla), which is distinguished by the same colours, and is frequent here. Under the old stems, and from the roots of the trees on the bank, the great bull-frogs leaped into the water, however softly and cautiously we approached. Their deep, hollow note was not heard so much in this season, as in the spring and the beginning of the summer. I nowhere saw these frogs so numerous as here in Pennsylvania.
Opposite to these hills, on the other bank of the Lecha, was a wood of very tall, old trees, the airy, shady crowns of which were inhabited by birds of more different kinds than any other place in this neighbourhood. From that wood we always returned loaded with booty. There, too, we observed interesting butterflies, such as Papileo turnus, the beautiful black and blue philenor, and other species. The thick hedges near the houses were the resort of numerous cat-birds. The fishing-hawk hovered over the river, watching for prey, and we often saw the three-striped viper (Coluber sirtalis) glide among the grass.
To the north and north-west of Bethlehem the woods consist of oaks without any underwood, the cattle having their pasture there. All these interesting excursions greatly increased our collections; and the Rev. Mr. Seidel, who had a good library, and a taste for the study of Nature, had the kindness to provide us with the necessary literary assistance. We lived here 28 very agreeably in the society of well-informed men and fellow-countrymen, and our residence at the extremity of the place, close to the woods and fields, afforded us the most favourable opportunity for our researches and labours; and our landlord, Mr. Wöhler, from Westphalia, did everything in his power to assist us in our occupations. This, in some degree, indemnified me for the deplorable loss of time occasioned by the delay in the arrival of our baggage. I should have reached the Western States long before, if I had not been obliged to wait for those indispensable articles. During our stay here, we often saw German emigrants arrive, almost all of whom were from Würtemberg, Baden, or Rhenish Bavaria. In the most lamentable condition, without money, without the slightest knowledge of the country or the language, they were going to meet their precarious fate. They were generally refused admittance at the English inns, and then Wöhler, not without considerable expense, took on him to forward them on their journey.
We received news from Philadelphia that the cholera had rather abated; it had entirely spared Bethlehem and its vicinity. The canal colliers gave me an opportunity of sending my collections to New York, which I did in the beginning of September. The Flora of the country had then produced its white, yellow, or purple autumnal flowers; the golden rod, sunflower, Eupatorium, and some kinds of Aster were in blossom, and the white flowers of the Clematis Virginiana.
The weather now remained very uniformly hot during the whole of July and August, with occasional thunder-storms; and if the summers in the United States are usually of this temperature, as we were assured, they are more equally hot, and for a longer time, than that season is in Germany. In order to make myself acquainted with Nazareth, the other settlement of the Moravian brethren, I drove there in company of the Rev. Mr. Seidel. It is ten miles from Bethlehem. On the road to it lies Altoona, consisting of some scattered habitations, and afterwards, on approaching the Monocasa, Hecktown. Nazareth is a pleasant place, with some unpaved streets, and has a gymnasium for the education of young clergymen. All the masters are Germans, but their instructions are given in the English language. The building seems to be old, and not very spacious. From the roof there is a fine, extensive prospect to the blue hills on the banks of the Delaware, and to the verdant, wooded banks of the Lecha. The gymnasium has a small cabinet of natural history. The church is not so large as that at Bethlehem, but can be easily warmed in the winter. A little beyond the garden, which has many shady walks, is the churchyard, where the flat, square tombstones, with short inscriptions, lie in regular rows, near to each other. The names of the brethren interred here show that most of them were Germans. There is a very fine prospect from the higher part of this churchyard. The greensward is here thickly covered with European thyme. Nazareth has about 350 inhabitants, and sixty youths in the gymnasium. There are in the place a good inn, shops of various kinds, &c. Mr. Herrman,[37] the present director of the establishment, had the kindness to show us everything worthy of notice, and we had only to regret that we could not enjoy longer the pleasure of his company, as we were 29 obliged to return to Bethlehem in the afternoon. Mr. Gebhard, from New York, who had surprised us by an unexpected visit, returned direct from Nazareth to his own residence. The view of these Pennsylvanian landscapes would be much more agreeable if the numerous wooden fences did not give them a stiff, unnatural character. Some idea may be formed of the number of these fences from the fact that, in the short distance of ten miles, persons going on foot, direct from Bethlehem to Nazareth, have to climb over twenty-five of these fences.
CHAPTER IV
JOURNEY TO THE POKONO, AND THROUGH THE BLUE MOUNTAINS TO MAUCH CHUNK, IN THE COAL DISTRICT, FROM THE 23RD TO THE 30TH OF AUGUST
Easton on the Delaware—Morris Canal—View of the Blue Mountains—Delaware Gap—Dutotsburg—Chestnut Hill—Sach's Public house on the Pokono—Height of the Pokono—Long Pond—Tonkhanna Creek—Tobihanna Creek—Inn of the Widow Sachs—Saw-mill on the Tobihanna, with the Bear-trap—Stoddart's Ville on the Lehigh—Shade Creek—Bear Creek—Extensive View of the Mountains—Wilkesbarre in the Valley of Wyoming, or Susquehannah Valley—Falls of Solomon Creek—Hanover Township—Neskopeck Valley—German Settlers—Lausanne—Neskihone or Neskihoning Valley—Picturesque Scenery on the Lehigh—Mauch Chunk.
In order to make ourselves acquainted with the interior of Pennsylvania, and the Alleghany mountains, which are the most interesting part of that state, we left Bethlehem early in the morning, on the 23rd of August, in a light, covered carriage, driven by our landlord, Wöhler, who was well known in all this country. Dr. Saynisch and Mr. Bodmer accompanied me. I left my huntsman behind to look after our affairs at home. The country was enveloped in fog, as had been generally the case for some time past, till the sun dispelled it. We took the road to Easton, where the fields were partly cleared, and covered with stubble, partly planted with clover, maize, potatoes, and buckwheat, which was just in flower. The ground was gently undulating, with an alternation of fields, and woods of walnut and oak. This country belongs to the secondary limestone formation; where-ever the ground was broken up, limestone was seen, and in the woods were several limekilns, the produce of which was lying on the fields in large heaps, to be spread over them for manure. Isolated farm-houses are scattered along the road. They are slightly built of wood, many of them very small; but there are a great number of wealthy planters in this State. The little gardens of these houses were generally planted with European flowers, and on the road-side in the hedges, the kermes-oak and juniper abounded, and their berries attracted numbers of thrushes. Horses and horned cattle are very numerous, and the first, which are often of a very good breed, are left, day and night, at liberty in the meadow, and little trouble is taken about them. 31 The peasants are very bold in riding and driving, never use drags to their wheels, but drive down the hills full trot. In the hot and dry season, this country is often in want of water, and even the cisterns made by the farmers then become dry, so that the cattle must frequently be driven five or six miles to water. This arid tract is called by the inhabitants, in their German language, "das Trockene land," the dry land.
We now saw, on our right hand, the heights on the banks of the Lehigh, covered with verdant forests, which we were again approaching. The double call of the Perdix Virginiana et Marylandica, called, by the Americans, quail or partridge, sounded in the clover fields; the ground squirrel ran along the fences; the red-headed woodpecker flew from tree to tree; and plants of various kinds, Verbascum thapsus (great mullein), Antirrhinum linaria (the common toadflax), Phytolacea, Rhus typhinum (Virginian sumach), Eupatorium purpureum, golden rod, &c., grew by the road-side; the dwelling houses were surrounded with large orchards, and the apple trees were loaded with small yellow apples of an indifferent kind, and immense caterpillars' nests covered many of the branches. A great deal of cider is made, but the culture of fruit seems to be, in general, in rather a backward state. The cherry trees, too, were covered at this time with their small, bad fruit, which, as in Europe, was eagerly sought after by numbers of birds. After travelling twelve miles, we arrived at Easton, a small town with a population of 2,000 inhabitants, the capital of Northampton county, situated at the conflux of the Delaware and the Lehigh. We alighted at the inn with many country people, and immediately set out to take a walk in the town, while breakfast was preparing. The streets of Easton cross each other at right angles; they are not paved, excepting a footway on the sides, paved with bricks; the largest of them runs with a gentle declivity to the Delaware. In a square in the highest part stands the Court-house. The buildings in the place are, in general, only two stories high; and the most interesting spot is the terrace, near the bridge over the Delaware. This bridge is 600 English feet long, has three arches, is quite closed, covered with a strong roof, and has fifteen glass windows on each side; it is painted yellow, and the building of it, like all similar undertakings in the United States, was a private speculation, and brings in thirty per cent., a toll being paid.
We crossed this bridge, and walked down the river, till we came opposite to the spot, immediately below the town, where the Lehigh, issuing from its picturesque valley, between the rocky hills covered with pines and other trees, falls into the Delaware. Near to the former, on the same side, is the mouth of the Mauch Chunk canal; and on the other side of the Delaware begins the Morris canal, leading to New York.[38] A great number of men were busily employed at this spot. On the banks of the Delaware grew Datura Tatula, with its purple flowers, tall Virginian junipers, a verbena, and other plants; and the three-striped viper darted through the low bushes.
32 Returning to the inn, we loaded our guns and proceeded on our journey. As soon as we were out of the town, we went up the Delaware on the right bank, and crossed a bridge to Bushkill, a picturesque stream, flowing between lofty shady trees, on banks richly covered with a variety of plants. From this spot the way becomes extremely romantic and agreeable. It leads close by the bright mirror of the river, which may be full 200 paces broad, in the shade of the dark forest of plane, oak, tulip, walnut, chestnut, and other trees; and on the left hand rises the steep rocky wall, covered with many interesting plants, which are protected by the shade of the trees. The river soon becomes broader, and we came to isolated habitations situated in shady groves. We stopped at one of them to send a messenger, on horseback, back to Bethlehem, where the drawing materials, of which we had so much need, had been forgotten.
The rocks often came so close to the bank of the river, that there was scarcely room for two carriages to pass each other: lofty forest trees afforded a welcome shade. In many places the rock stood out. Dr. Saynisch struck off with his hammer some fine pieces of saussurite (Hornstone), and talc, with mica; but a slate formation soon succeeded, and we were glad that we had taken good specimens of the preceding. Continuing our way, in the shade, by the banks of the river, we frequently came to other steep rocks, till the wilderness again gave way to human habitations, where we stopped at the White House to water our horses and take some refreshment. From this place the country was more diversified. The road still runs by the side of the river, which was animated by boats, and by numbers of ducks and geese. The Mudrun creek here issues in a very picturesque manner, between high trees, from a small side valley. A little farther on, we left the Delaware to ascend some pretty high hills. We proceeded along the side valley of Martin's creek, in which there are some spots of marshy meadow, where the splendid Lobelia cardinalis, which is usually found on the banks of all these rivers, attracted the eye by its deep red flowers. We then passed a naked lateral defile, where stubble, and clover fields, and woods, which we saw at a distance, reminded us of some parts of our own country. The road led over the heights, alternately gently ascending and descending till we came to the little village of Richmont, where we watered our horses, which suffered from the great heat, and ascended a considerable eminence, on which there is a mean looking church, called Upper Mount Bethel. We then proceeded through a more elevated plain, where, on the left hand, in a north-west direction, is a near prospect of the Blue Mountains, which form the first chain of the Alleghany.
This first chain is said to be only 2,000 feet above the level of the sea; but it extends here further than the eye can reach, and is uniformly covered with verdant, primeval forests. It runs in the direction from north to south, and has no characteristically shaped peaks, or remarkable forms, so that there is nothing picturesque in the total effect. With the exception of some parts, especially the beautiful Catskill mountains, most of the landscapes of North America are characterized by this want of striking outlines, and this constitutes the great difference between them and 33 the views in Brazil, where the mountains and the outlines of the horizon are almost always marked by the most striking forms, as is usual in primitive mountains.
In the chain before us, we remarked an opening in a northerly direction, where the Delaware breaks through; this is called the Delaware Water Gap, or the Delaware Gap. It is twenty-three miles from Bethlehem, and was the place of our destination to-day. We were now two miles from it. After passing the little town of Williamsburg, we saw before us, almost in all directions, luxuriant verdant woods, and eminences rising behind each other. As our horses hastened to the valley, the height of the mountains seemed to increase. At length the bright Delaware appeared before us, and we soon reached its banks. The river here forms the boundary of Warren County in New Jersey. On the opposite side we perceived a large glasshouse, managed by Germans, called Columbia Glasshouse, where many who have possessed it have already become bankrupts.
As we approached this defile, we observed a water-snake swimming in the river, which suffered itself to be carried down with the stream, but disappeared as soon as we approached. We procured one on the following day, as they are not uncommon here.
We had now reached the mountain chain, which rose bold and steep on both sides, and at every step became more and more contracted. Just before the defile, or gap, is an inn, behind which, at the distance of hardly a couple of hundred paces, runs the steep rocky wall of grauwacke and clay slate, here the predominant kind of rock. This high wall is crowned on the summit with pines, and covered at the base with various other trees, while the middle part is naked and rugged. At the foot of the mountains are luxuriant fields and meadows, in which the fine cattle were grazing. From this spot the rocky wall approaches nearer and nearer to the river, the banks of which, rude and desolate, are covered with many broken trunks of trees confusedly thrown together, many of which were still lying in the water. This is the effect of the rising of the river, and the breaking-up of the ice in spring, which had caused more extensive damages in the spring of 1832 than on any former occasion within the memory of man. Where the banks of the river are flat and sandy, thickets of young planes often supply the place of the willows on the banks of our European rivers. The plane—called by the German inhabitants water maple, or water beech; by the Anglo-Americans, buttonwood, or sycamore—flourishes particularly near the water, or in low, moist situations, where it attains its colossal growth in perfection. These young planes, on the bank, were almost entirely stripped of their bark by the action of the water.
The inn, Delaware Gap, is supposed to be 600 feet higher than Philadelphia, and the steep wall of rock behind it is elevated 600 or 700 feet above it. We might have stopped here for the night, but, as it was early, we preferred passing the Gap. The road now led immediately along the bank of the river, and then obliquely upwards on the steep wooded western rocky wall. The savage grandeur of the scenery is very striking. The forest has underwood of 34 various kinds, where numbers of interesting plants attracted our attention. Picturesque rocks, over which water trickles, covered with various coloured mosses, lichens, and beautiful ferns, stand between the trunks of the trees, and form shady nooks, caverns, seats; while all the forest trees of this country, mixed with pines, particularly the hemlock spruce fir, and the Weymouth pine, make a dark wilderness that inspires a feeling of awe.
The valley of the Gap leaves the river just room enough to force its way between the steep walls of rock; and, if you turn and look back in this interesting ravine, you see against a steep-wooded height what is called the Indian ladder. There are several islands in this part of the river, which are partially stripped of their wood by the action of the current, but some of them have pretty lofty trees on them. At the distance of about a mile from the narrowest part of the Gap, we reached a lonely house, where a man, six feet high, and very corpulent, came to meet us; he was of German descent, and his name was Dietrich. He would willingly have received us for the night in his small public-house, but there was no accommodation for our horses, and we therefore proceeded on our journey. In a short time we reached an eminence, at the turn of the rocky wall, where the solitary dwelling of a Frenchman, named Dutot, is built on a steep rock, high above the river. From this place the valley becomes more open, and the mountains less steep as you recede from the Delaware. A bad road leads over some eminences to a large open place in the woods, forming a hollow, where the poor little village, Dutotsburg, consisting of twelve or thirteen scattered dwellings, is situated. Here we took up our night's lodging in a tolerable public-house, which is also the post-office for the stages, and is kept by a farmer named Broadhead.
We had scarcely taken a little rest, when a poor old man entered, who was the first person that had settled in this part of the country; his name was Dutot, and the village was called after him. He was formerly a wealthy planter in St. Domingo, and possessed 150 slaves; but, being obliged to fly during the revolution, had purchased a considerable piece of land here on the Delaware, and commenced building Dutotsburg. He had previously lost part of his property by the capture of ships, and his speculations here too seem to have failed. The property melted away, and the last remnant of his possessions was sold. He had built houses and sold them, so that he might be called the founder of the whole of Dutotsburg; yet, after all this, he is reduced to a state of great poverty, and his situation excites the compassion of travellers who pass that way.
As the country about Delaware Gap was highly interesting to me, we remained here on the following day, the 24th of August. We were early in motion, when the rising sun beautifully illumined the mountains. Our guide, Wöhler, had accompanied young Broadhead on a shooting excursion in the woods; the rest of us went different ways, each with his gun, till breakfast time. Near the village, a small stream, the Cherry Creek, meandered through the thickets and meadows, where numbers of birds came to drink, while the report of the fowling-pieces of our sportsmen 35 echoed from the neighbouring wood. After our return, I accompanied old Dutot to see his house and his family. He himself had nearly forgotten his native language, and his family knew nothing of it. We found in this house a delightful view into the ravine of the Delaware below, and afterwards took the way to the romantic wild tract which we passed through on the preceding evening. Several plants were here pointed out to me, to the roots of which the inhabitants of the country ascribe great medicinal virtues; for instance, the snake root, perhaps Aristolochia serpentaria, which is said immediately to stanch the most violent bleeding of any wound; and, above all, the lion's heart (Prenanthes rubicunda), which is commended as a sovereign remedy against the bite of serpents. Old Dutot related a number of successful cures which he had performed with this root. This plant has a tall flower stem with many flowers, and large arrow-shaped leaves; its root is partly tuberous, partly long, pretty large, and branching, of a reddish yellow colour, and contains a milky juice. It is boiled with milk, and two table-spoonfuls are taken as a dose. The swelling, caused by the bite of the reptile, is said speedily to disappear, after chewing the root. The Delaware Indians,[39] who formerly inhabited all Pennsylvania, made this remedy known to an old man, from whom it was inherited by the family of Dutot. The latter had himself been among the Indians, and gave me some information respecting them. They, as well as the river, were called after an English nobleman, but they named themselves Leni Lenape, that is, the aboriginal, or chief race of mankind, and they called the river Lenapewi-hittuck (river of the Lenape). They are the Loups, or Abenaquis of the French, inhabited Pennsylvania, New Jersey, &c., and were formerly a powerful tribe. A great part of them dwelt, subsequently, on the White River, in Indiana, after they had been much reduced by the whites; but, in 1818, they were compelled to sell the whole of this tract of country also, to the Government of the United States, and lands have been allotted to them beyond the Mississippi, where some half-degenerate remnants of them still live. They are said to have previously dwelt between fifty and sixty years in the territory of the present state of Ohio. They buried their dead in the islands of the Delaware, which are now partly in possession of old Dutot, but wholly uncultivated, and of little importance. It is said that human bones are still constantly met with on turning up the ground, and that, formerly, Indian corpses were found buried in an upright position, which, however, seems to be uncertain, and with them a quantity of arrow-heads and axes of flint; but all these things were disregarded and thrown away, nor had Dutot anything remaining but a thin, smoothly polished stone cylinder, with which those Indians used to pound their maize. I was filled with melancholy by the reflection that, in the whole of the extensive state of Pennsylvania, there is not a trace remaining of the aboriginal population. O! land of liberty!
Our excursion was extended to the public-house situated on the other side of the Delaware Gap, where we found a live specimen of the red fox of this country (Canis fulvus, Desm.), which we had not before met with. Loaded with plants, and other interesting objects, we returned to 36 Broadhead's house, where all the persons of our party successively arrived, each with something interesting. Some boys brought me the beautiful water-snake which we had seen on the preceding day. Mr. Bodmer had taken a faithful view of the Gap, near Dietrich's public-house.
We left Broadhead's on the 25th of August, early in the morning. The place which we wished to reach on this day is called the Pokono, and is the most elevated point of the first chain of the Alleghanys or Blue Mountains. Our road led in a south-westerly direction, along Cherry Creek, through a pleasant valley diversified with meadows, thickets, and woods, and gradually ascending.
As we rose higher and higher over gentle hills, we met a disagreeable, raw, cold wind, and reached, on the elevated plain, an isolated church, with a few habitations round it. On our asking the name of the place, a person, pretty well dressed, said, "he did not himself know the name of the place; the clergyman, a German, came, about once in a month, from Mount Bethel, to preach here."
On reaching the top, we saw before us the highest ridge of the Blue Mountains, the summit of which, as I have said, is called Pokono, where an unbroken tract of dark forests covers the whole wilderness. We gradually advanced towards a more bleak and elevated region, where pines and firs more and more predominated. On an elevated plain we were surrounded, as far as the eye could reach, with woods or thickets of low oaks, from which numbers of slender, half-dried, short-branched pines (Pinus rigida) shot up. These pines originally formed the forest—the oaks, only the underwood; but the former have, for the most part, perished in the fires, with which the settlers have, in the most unwarrantable manner, without any necessity whatever, destroyed these primeval forests. On a part of the highland, cleared of wood, through which the road passes, we saw a row of new wooden houses, and at once perceived that timber is the source of the subsistence of the inhabitants. Boards, planks, shingles, everywhere lay about, and large quantities are exported. Shops, where most of the common necessaries of life were sold, had already been established in this new settlement.
From this place, called Chestnut Hill, from the abundance of chestnut trees in the forests, the road declines a little, and you see, on all sides, numerous saw mills, which prepare for use the chief product of the country. The outside cuts of the pine and firs were piled up in large stacks; scarcely any use is made of them, and they may be bought for a trifle. We had to pass five or six times the windings of Pokonbochko Creek, the banks of which are agreeably bordered with thickets of alder, birch, willow-leaved spiræa, and the Lobelia cardinalis. A great number of skins of different animals were hung up at the house of a tanner, such as grey and red foxes, racoons, lynxes, &c., which led us to ask what beasts of the chase were to be met with, and we learned that deer and other large animals are still numerous. Rattlesnakes abound in these parts; they showed us many of their skins stuffed, and one very large one was hung up on the 37 gable end of a house. Some persons eat these dangerous serpents from a notion that, when dressed in a certain manner, they are an effectual remedy against many diseases.
We had here a foretaste of the wild scenery of North America, which we might expect to find in perfection, in uninterrupted primeval forests on the Pokono; we, therefore, did not stop here, but hastened to the less inhabited, more elevated, and wilder region, where the mixture of firs in the forest already began to preponderate. We halted, and took our dinner at an isolated public-house, kept by a man of German origin, whose name is Meerwein. Forests surrounded the verdant meadows about the house, in which woodcocks were numerous. In a little excursion in the forest I saw splendid bushes of Rhododendron maximum, kalmia, Andromeda, Rhodora canadensis, Ceanothus vaccinum; and in the shade of the first, Orchis ciliata, with its beautiful orange-coloured flowers, which is found also nearer to Bethlehem.
The entertainment in this solitary house was pretty good and reasonable; all the inmates, except one man, were Germans. If we had stopped for the night, they would have gone out for us with their guns, as deer and pheasants abound in the forests. Having taken the opportunity of forwarding our collections to Bethlehem by the stage which passed the house, we proceeded on our journey. From this place the road continues to ascend, traversing a fine thick wood, frequently crossing the stream. An undergrowth of scrub oak and chestnut is spread uniformly, and without interruption, over the whole country, the pines, as already mentioned, rising above it, most of which have suffered by fire; for in the dry season these woods have often been destroyed by extensive conflagrations, which have generally been caused by the negligence of the wood-cutters and hunters. Even now, clouds of smoke rose at a distance, and announced a fire in this great lonely wilderness. The high road is here carried directly through the forest; it is, for the most part, laid with wood, covered with earth, which requires carriages with good springs.
When you have nearly reached the most elevated part of this wilderness, and look back, you have a grand prospect. Lofty ridges rise one above another in a narrow valley, all covered with dark forests, and, on the right and left, high walls of rock close the valley. We soon reached the highest summit of the Pokono, or second chain of the Blue Mountains, which, as I have said, forms the most easterly of the Alleghanys.
Mr. Moser, a young botanist, had accompanied us from Bethlehem, and I undertook with him an excursion to a neighbouring lake on the top of the Pokono, while Dr. Saynisch prepared the birds that had been killed, and our other hunters went out to look for stags and woodhens.
We proceeded about half an hour along the high road, when we perceived the summit of the Pokono, and then turned to the right towards an old decayed cottage, where oxen were grazing among the thick bushes, and followed a scarcely perceptible path through the wilderness. We crossed a valley, with thickets and scorched pines rising above them, where the ground was covered with various kinds of plants. An old path led us half a league over an eminence; after which we 38 found a valley, where the lake, called Long Pond, is situated, surrounded by low reeds and rushes, among pine woods and various interesting shrubs. On the narrow lake we found a small boat, in which Mr. Moser pushed about to botanize. He procured in this manner the pretty blue flowering Pontederia lanceolata, a red flowering utricularia, nymphæa, &c. Though this wilderness was perfectly lonely, we did not see any water-fowl, and, in fact, very little animal life, so that the botanist finds much more employment than the zoologist. The lake is about a mile long, has but little open or clear water, and receives its supply from the Tonkhanna Brook. When Mr. Moser reached the bank again, he called to me that he was very near a rattlesnake, the rattle of which he had distinctly heard; but, though we looked diligently, we could not find the animal which we had long wished to possess, because the ground was so thickly overgrown with plants. One of the sons of Mr. Sachs, our landlord, had been lately bitten by a rattlesnake while fishing, and they affirmed that he was soon cured by tea made of the bark of the white ash, which is said to be an infallible antidote to the bite of serpents.
At noon, while we were all taking some repose, we were suddenly alarmed. A mink, or minx (Mustela vison), a small beast of prey, resembling the European lesser otter, had had the boldness to attack, in broad daylight, the poultry that were about the house, and was shot. Our hunters had had no success, a single pheasant being all they had procured.
In the afternoon Mr. Bodmer joined us, having been driven hither by Broadhead. We immediately went out to look in the neighbourhood of the Sand springs[40] for a bear-trap, with an iron plate fastened to a chain, which was carefully covered up and concealed. Mr. Moser, who thought he could find the place, led us astray, but we amused ourselves with the interesting vegetation.
We made but little addition to our ornithological collections, scarcely anything having been killed but the whip-poor-will (Caprimulgus Virginianus), which is very numerous in all these forests. Day had scarcely dawned on the 17th of August, when our whole company was in motion to go seven miles to the house of another Sachs (a near relation of our host), whose widow lived there. For about a mile the wood retains the same character, the firs then attain a greater height, and are closer together. The wood had been cleared around some houses, and Phytolacea, Verbascum, and Rhus typhinum, which occupy all the uncultivated spots in Pennsylvania, immediately sprang up. The small habitations were built entirely of wood, and generally painted a reddish brown. In some places we observed traces of fire: the low scrub oaks were scorched and black, and were putting forth shoots from the stumps and roots. At times we had an extensive view of the mountains, uniformly clothed with dark pine forests, everywhere high tops and ridges, and all around black woods. The Canadian and the Virginian pine were high and close together, especially in the valleys. The soil in this part is not very fertile, and requires to be well manured. All is forest and wilderness, and bears, deer, and other wild animals abound. 39 The Tonkhanna meanders picturesquely between thickets, and the Lobelia cardinalis was in blossom on its banks. Bull-frogs appeared here, as on the banks of the Lehigh at Bethlehem, and the same species of butterflies as are found there. Not far from this place we came to a second very romantic brook, the Tobihanna, over which a short, covered bridge is thrown, and about 300 paces further, reached the lonely habitation of the Widow Sachs, in a desert spot without wood, where we were to pass the night.
Mrs. Sachs gave us tolerable quarters, and I immediately sent for the most expert hunters of the neighbourhood, in order, if possible, to procure a bear or a stag. Three or four men came who were ready to go for a remuneration. One of them had but a few days before, met with two bears and their young, among the bilberry bushes, and shot two of them. I obtained from him a fine large skin of one of them, and several interesting stags' horns.
The part of the country in which we now were was so lonely, wild, and grand, that we immediately took our fowling-pieces to ramble about. The Tobihanna,[41] over which is the above-mentioned bridge, thirty or forty paces in length,[42] is a pretty considerable stream, and the surrounding scenery is extremely picturesque. It is enclosed in rather high banks, overhung with fine, dark, primeval forests of Canadian pine trees, here called spruce fir, mixed with isolated trees of various kinds, and with a very close underwood of colossal Rhododendron maximum, thicker than a man's arm,[43] whose dense masses of foliage, with their dark green, laurel-like leaves hang down over the water, and are often mixed with the beautiful Kalmia latifolia. Even now, the appearance of this dark thicket on the bank was magnificent; how much more beautiful must it be when in blossom! The black forest of gigantic firs, crowded together, rises in awful gloom, here and there relieved by the light green foliage of other trees. These majestic pine forests have hitherto been visited by only a few settlers, and have escaped the great conflagrations which have deprived the skirts of these wooded mountains of part of their lofty stems. We were charmed with this North American wilderness, where Nature is, indeed, less vigorous, and poorer than in the hot climates, but still has a striking, though very different character of solemn and sublime grandeur. Mr. Bodmer immediately chose a place to sketch the above-mentioned beautiful brook, while the rest of our party strolled through the forest. Old decayed trees, often singularly hollowed, and roots of firs covered with moss, spreading over the surface in all directions, hindered us from penetrating far into this wilderness. A dark, damp shade received us here in the heat of the day, and the three-striped viper, of which there are 40 numbers under the old, decayed trunks, frequently fled as we advanced. Rattlesnakes are said to be less common than in the parts which we had before visited. Birds were not numerous in the deep recesses of these forests; only the hammering of the woodpeckers resounded in the awful wilderness. In places where there was much underwood, very thick stems of rhododendron, often from ten to twenty feet high, formed an intricate, impenetrable thicket. It was now perfectly dark, and we found the most beautiful natural arbours. The Kalmia latifolia, too, grew to the height of eight or ten feet. This country was so wild and attractive that I resolved to stop another day. To the north-east of the solitary dwelling of the Widow Sachs, was a fine beech forest, among the underwood of which pheasants were pretty numerous. We procured some of them, but I could not yet succeed in obtaining a stag or a bear.
On the 28th of August we undertook an excursion to see the bear-trap, in which one of those animals had been caught two or three days before. The man who owned this trap lived on the road between Tonkhanna and the Tobihanna, both of which flow into the Lehigh. He had appointed his house for our rendezvous, where we saw the skin of the bear, lately taken, nailed up against the gable end to dry. The saw-mill of our bear-catcher lay in a rude valley, to the south-west of the road. We came to this saw-mill, in a solitary valley, on the Tonkhanna, which rushes, roaring and foaming over rocks covered with black moss, between old broken pines, in a true primeval wilderness. In this retreat for bears, prickly smilax, brambles, and other thorny plants, tear the strongest hunting dress, and leather alone resists these enemies. At every step we had to clamber over fallen trunks of trees, to the injury of our shins, which were almost always bleeding. We found our guide, who, though it poured of rain, took his rifle, and went before, to lead us to the bear-trap.
The trap was in a place rather bare of thick stems, between young pines, and made of large logs, in such a manner that a young bear might be taken alive in it. It consisted of two round stems lying flat on the ground, between which two others, which are supported by a prop, are made to fit, and fall down when the prop is touched.[44] a is the base on which the two logs, b, rest; c, the two suspended logs, which fall as soon as the bear touches the bait, fixed in e, at the lower end of the rack f. The pole A, A, which is set in the rack f, rests in front on the prop g, and supports in h, by means of a withe, the logs c, c, c, c. When the bear touches the bait, the rack f moves, the pole A, A, becomes free, and lets the logs c, c, c, c, fall, which catch or kill the animal. The whole is covered with green fir boughs when the trap is set, and all the parts must have their bark on. The bear caught here, some days before, was about a year old, so that there was room for him between the logs; and as he was not large, and had entered the trap in front and not from the side, his life was prolonged a little. He was shot in the trap, and his head used as a bait; we took the head away with us, and the owner of the trap substituted a piece of the animal's lungs in its stead.
Bear-trap
After a hasty sketch had been made of the bear-trap, we set out on our return; I very much regretted leaving the magnificent wilderness. On the way we found a fine viburnum, with large reddish leaves, and the Oxalis acetosella, which grew in abundance among the moss and decaying trunks of trees. The loud hammering of the woodpeckers resounded in this forest, and we shot the great spotted woodpecker of this country, which very much resembles our Picus major; for dinner we had bear's flesh, which we thought resembled mutton.
When I returned to the house of Sachs, I found the hunters, whom I had hired, in no little confusion. One of them, in particular, after receiving his wages for the first day, had remained in the public-house the whole night and the following morning. Stretched at length on a table, he had slept off the effects of his drunken fit, talked big, and found here a willing audience, a number of drinkers of whisky being collected in this place. Brandy drinking is far more common among the lower classes in America than with us; and here, on the Pokono, this bad habit was peculiarly prevalent among the country people. Not far from Tobihanna Creek there was a small wooden house, ten or twelve feet square, with a little iron stove (see the view of the Tobihanna Bridge), in which a school was kept. The stalls for cattle, swine, and sheep, are, for the most part, cages, the bars of which being pretty wide apart, the cold winter wind blows freely through them; nay, many of them had half fallen to pieces. The swine, which ran about in great numbers, had a triangular yoke round their necks to hinder them from getting through the fences. In all this part of the country, garden vegetables are raised in beds, or rather boxes, filled with mould, elevated on four posts. The seeds are sown in these boxes, and the young plants not transplanted till they have acquired a certain growth, otherwise they would be destroyed by the insects. Maple sugar is not made here, because the tree does not grow in sufficient abundance. The 42 chief occupation of the settlers, in this part, is the making of shingles, which are manufactured from the Weymouth pine. We were assured, that these peasants steal the greater part of the wood for their shingles, in the forests belonging to greater landowners, who live at a distance, and have no keepers to protect their property. One workman can make in a day 300 or 400 shingles, which are sold on the spot for half-a-dollar per 100. They are sent to all the neighbouring country, in large wagons drawn by four horses. At Bethlehem, forty-two miles from Pokono, the best shingles were sold, at that time, for eleven dollars per 1,000. These shingles are of two kinds; the German, made by Germans, who first manufactured them in this way, which are considered to be the best, and the English; the former are equally thick at both edges, the latter thicker at one side than the other. Many persons, whose horses are not otherwise employed, come here and fetch shingles.
On the 29th of August we continued our journey through forests that extended, without interruption, on all sides. After crossing a bridge over the little brook called Two-miles-run, we came to an open spot in the forest, where the great village of Stoddartsville is built on the Lehigh, which at this place is still an inconsiderable stream. The environs of the place are still wild. Stumps of trees, cut or sawed off two or three feet from the ground, were everywhere seen, and this newly-cleared spot was still covered with wild plants. As you come down the hill, you look directly into the street of the place, to which some neat and pretty houses give a very striking effect in this wilderness. We continued our journey over wooded eminences, where bears and stags are said to be still numerous. Having passed Bear Creek and Ten-miles-run Creek, we soon reached the Pokono, or highest summit of the Blue Mountains, and began gradually to descend. In the forests through which we now passed, the firs began to give way to other timber trees, and the woods are again more burnt and ruined, frequently consisting only of shoots from the stumps of oaks, chestnuts, maples, and sassafras trees, with single pines everywhere rising above them, as the palms in Brazil do, above the lower Dicotyledones.
On one of the next eminences, we came to another lofty point, whence we had the most extensive view, backwards and forwards, that we had yet enjoyed in these mountains. Towards the north-west lies the beautiful valley of Wyoming, through which the Susquehannah flows; and backwards, in the opposite direction, a rude prospect of wood and mountain, where peak rises above peak, and the eye ranges over an uninterrupted extent of immense forests. It is said to have been ascertained, by actual measurement, that this spot is 1,050 feet above the level of the Atlantic. Unfortunately, our time would not allow us to take a drawing of this grand prospect. From this place we began to descend into the valley of the Susquehannah, where the woods assume a more cheerful character, the firs being soon entirely succeeded by the oak, chestnut, and other timber trees. The road resembles an avenue, overshadowed by lofty oaks, tulip, chestnut, walnut, beech, hornbeam, birch, maple, elm, nyssa, and other trees, growing very close 43 together. Here we already see the formation of the conglomerate—the precursor of the coal district, which we now enter. When we had descended rather more than half way down the declivity of the mountain, we were taken about 200 paces to the right of the road, to be surprised by the beautiful prospect of the valley of Wyoming, or the Susquehannah. A group of rocks of conglomerate rises, isolated in the forest, and, on ascending it, you have a magnificent view. The broad and extensive valley, covered with towns and detached houses, alternates agreeably with forests and fields; the river flows through its whole length, and at our feet lay the pretty town of Wilkesbarre, the streets of which we could overlook. It is manifest, at a glance, that the whole of the valley was formerly covered with a thick primeval forest, for strips of wood everywhere traverse the fields.
Proceeding on our journey we came to a solitary public-house, where we met with a rattlesnake. I bought it, and it was put into brandy, as a live creature of this kind is not the most agreeable travelling companion. This snake had been kept three weeks in a box, and had not taken any nourishment whatever, so that it moved its rattle but faintly when it was irritated. As it was a very large and handsome specimen, I paid two dollars and a half for it. The landlady, a very corpulent personage, was in a very light morning dress when she concluded the bargain with me, and not being able to give me change, she immediately threw on her Sunday clothes, to follow our carriage on foot, and settle the account at Wilkesbarre. Her head was adorned with a large fashionable straw hat; she had a silk gown, and a silk parasol, which she might very well have spared, protected her tanned face from the sun. It was remarkable that, heavy as she was, she reached the town as soon as we did, though we had half a league to go. Wilkesbarre, in Lucerne county, is a place with about 1,200 inhabitants, with three churches, a court-house, a bank, &c.[45] The streets are pretty regular, and the buildings separated by gardens and intermediate spaces. The place has its singular name from the first settlers, who were called Wilkes and Barre. The population consists of handicraftsmen, field labourers, storekeepers, and merchants; and several of the inhabitants are interested in the important coal mines, situated to the west of the road which we had taken. This bed of coals is said to extend fourteen miles along the slope of the valley of the Susquehannah, and then to continue over other eminences, of which there will be occasion to speak in the sequel. For the purpose of conveying the coals by water, a canal has been dug, which was not quite completed, and which is to form a communication between the coal mines and the Susquehannah. On the other side of the river the great Pennsylvania canal is already finished, which connects Pennsylvania with Maryland by means of the Susquehannah.[46] This last canal, which is divided into several parts, will be continued to Baltimore, the chief seaport, but it is not yet quite completed. Pennsylvania is already intersected by numerous canals, which connect the rivers, and are of the highest importance by the facilities they afford to inland trade.
44 The inn at which we put up at Wilkesbarre was kept by a German, named Christ, who recommended to our notice some interesting points in the environs; and we, therefore, did not take the usual road at the bottom of the valley, but soon turned aside from the Susquehannah, into a wild, lateral valley, in which there are fine waterfalls. At less than a league from Wilkesbarre, we reached, at the foot of the mountain, a wild, thickly-wooded ravine, where we soon heard the roaring of Solomon Creek. Near a mill, the owner of which is General Ross,[47] this stream forms some highly picturesque cascades over smooth, perpendicular black rocks, covered with moss, forming a basin below, in a thick forest of pine and other timber. There are two cascades, one above the other, of which the second is the largest; then comes the last and highest, where the water, conducted from the mill directly across the ravine, falls perpendicularly, about the height of a house, over a steep rock. It was, unfortunately, too late, when we arrived, to make a drawing of this interesting scene. We asked for accommodation for the night in the mill, which is a roomy house; but our countryman (this man's mother was born in Germany) could not, or would not, receive us. They gave us some of the water of the stream to drink, which had a strong taste of iron and sulphur. As it was not possible to find a lodging in the neighbourhood, we were advised to proceed three miles to the top of the mountain, which we, indeed, accomplished, but had nearly had reason to repent of our resolution.
The road ascends on the left rocky bank of Solomon Creek, in a thick forest, over rough ground, so that we constantly had the steep precipice on the right hand. There was no room for two carriages to pass; luckily, carriages are rare in this remote wilderness. As we had been told that there was abundance of wild animals, we loaded our fowling-pieces with ball. We now turned to ascend in a wooded defile, where a couple of solitary miserable dwellings, built of trunks of trees, scarcely left room for a small field or a little garden overgrown with weeds. While the road became more and more rude, and obstructed by the vegetation, twilight set in, and it was only with the greatest efforts that our horses could draw the carriages among rocks and fallen trunks of trees, and nothing but the greatest care prevented them from being overturned. We met several peasants, with their axes and guns, returning from their work in the woods: they were robust, savage-looking, powerful men, whose sudden appearance in such a lonely spot might elsewhere have excited suspicion. There are no robbers in these parts; at least, I never heard of any, but it must be owned that the place is extremely well suited to them. The beautiful cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) grew in such abundance in the swampy parts of the wood, as to form a fine red carpet. The Chelone obliqua, with its white flowers, was likewise very common.
At length the moon rose bright and clear to relieve us from our unpleasant situation, and cheered by her friendly beams the gloomy path of the wanderer. When we reached the summit the road divided into two branches, of which we were so lucky as to choose the right one. At 45 length, about nine in the evening, we had the pleasure of seeing a light; and a lonely house, in an open spot, lay before us. On our knocking, the door was slowly opened. We entered a poor hut, where two women—one an elderly person, the other younger—were sitting by the fireside. The master of the house, whose name was Wright, was not at home. The two women were very tall, and were smoking, quite at their ease, small clay pipes. They were not a little surprised at so late a visit, but soon stirred up the fire, and set on water. Our frugal supper, consisting of coffee and potatoes, was soon finished, and we lay down in our clothes on tolerable beds, placed in a large unfurnished room, which in this country are almost always made for two persons. This house belongs to Hanover township; the settlement itself had not yet any name. Only English was spoken here. Not far from the house the Wapalpi Creek ran through the thickets towards the ravine.
The night was soon passed, and at six in the morning we proceeded on our journey. In order to take a view of the Falls of Solomon Creek, Mr. Bodmer left us, and returned to the mill, with the intention of joining us again at Bethlehem, by taking another road. John Wright, brother to our host, lived three miles off, in a little rude valley, where we intended to breakfast. Some men, who were going to hay-making, with their guns and dogs, met us. The inhabitants of these woods generally take their guns when they go to their work, as they frequently have opportunities of killing some large game. They have powerful dogs, resembling our German bloodhounds, brown or black, with red marks; or striped like the wolf, and sometimes, but seldom, their ears are cropped. These dogs are used in chasing the bear or the stag.
In a romantic wooded valley we reached the solitary dwelling of John Wright, where we halted. The mistress of the house, who, with a little boy, was alone at home, gave us a very friendly reception, and prepared us a breakfast with coffee; all very clean and good for this retired spot. In the course of conversation we learned that she was of German descent, and born at Tomaqua.[48] She lived here in a pretty roomy log-house, with a chimney and iron stove; yet she said that in winter it was often very cold in the room, the walls of which were, indeed, not quite air-tight. In many rooms in these mountains we found two iron stoves. Leaving these scattered dwellings of Hanover township, we reached, in five hours, the Nescopeck Valley, eleven miles from our last night's quarters, the road to which is bad, little frequented, and in part stony, gently ascending and descending, and passing through ruined forests, such as have already been described. In some places the wood is thicker, in others the sides of the mountains had been quite cleared, and were covered with young shoots and some higher trees; small streams, here called runs, flow in the defiles and valleys; the bridges of beams over which were, for the most part, so rotten, 46 and in such bad condition, that horses and carriages could not pass without danger. We saw no human beings or dwellings on this road, nor any animals except some small birds and frogs. After this rather monotonous journey, we were glad to descend into the Nescopeck Valley, and reached it, at the mill of one Bug, of German descent, where we refreshed ourselves with milk and brandy. The Nescopeck Creek, a pretty considerable stream, which turns several mills, flows through this beautiful wooded valley. This district belongs to Sugarloaf township, in Lucerne county.
After we had watered our horses, and the miller had questioned us about his native Germany, we crossed the bridge over the stream, ascended the mountain on the other side, and reached an inn on the summit, from which it is eighteen miles to Wilkesbarre. Proceeding from this place, we crossed the valley of the little Nescopeck Creek, which is covered with lofty trees, then passed the little Black Creek, and afterwards came to a high mountain wall, with a beautiful wood of various forest trees, which the inhabitants, who are mostly of German origin, call the Bocksberg. German is everywhere spoken here.
From the mill, the way leads through a thick underwood of shrub-like oaks, with a few higher trees, and we soon reached the high road from Berwick, in the Susquehannah Valley, along which we proceeded to Mauch Chunk, where two stage-coaches pass daily.
We took this road, and soon came to an inn, kept by a German named Anders, who likewise had a saw-mill. The host had, a short time before, caught an old she-bear in a trap, and in the three following days her three cubs, which he sold to travellers passing that way. The point where we now were is called the Hasel Swamp; and, proceeding onwards, we passed Pismire Hill, where rattlesnakes are said to abound. We observed, too late, a very large animal of this kind dead in the road, one of the wheels of our carriage having crushed the head of the snake, which was otherwise in a good state of preservation. My driver laid it in a natural position by the road-side, and I have no doubt that it was again knocked on the head by some other traveller. The marshy tract through which the Beaver Creek flows, is called Beaver Meadow, and is covered with willow bushes. It is probable that beavers may have formerly been numerous here, at least the place is quite suited to them; but those harmless animals have been long since extirpated. We came next to a considerable eminence, called Spring Mountain, which we ascended, and then rapidly descended, always through a thick forest, where we observed, on both sides of the way, the Grauwacke formation. On reaching the bottom of Spring Mountain we entered a wide valley, both the steep sides and bottom of which are covered with thick woods, only thinned a little round the habitations. In the middle of the valley, directly before us, six or seven buildings, in a broad street, formed the village of Lausanne, five or six hundred paces below which the Quackack Brook flows through the valley. A Jew keeps here a public-house and shop, where we met likewise with newspapers.
47 Beyond Lausanne is a high mountain, called Broad Mountain, up which the road is carried in an oblique direction. Trees and shrubs form everywhere a very thick but ruined forest, in which there is scarcely any serviceable timber. The view back over the extensive and wild valley of Lausanne was extremely interesting. One can hardly fancy this sublime and rude country without its aboriginal red inhabitants. The wide and hollow valley is everywhere covered with dense forests; and the little village of Lausanne is scarcely to be seen amidst the dark green foliage. On the Broad Mountain we find again the same formation of conglomerate, which I have before mentioned; the beds of coal are at a small distance. On the side which we descended the wood is more beautiful, the trees taller than on the edge of the mountain; oaks, chestnuts, and other trees, were very vigorous and luxuriant. Several planters have formed detached settlements here, among whom an Irishman was pointed out to us, who had lately been arrested on an accusation of murder, but had been since set at liberty.
The Neskihone or Neskihoning Valley, into which we now descended, is wide, and enclosed by very high, far-extending walls of rock, everywhere covered with thick woods, in which some small cultivated patches are here and there seen. Along the right, or southern wall, an iron railroad has been laid down, which forms a communication between one of the coal mines of the Mauch Chunk Company, on the Rumrun Creek, and Mauch Chunk. It runs down into the valley of the Lehigh, which it follows to the last-named place. The appearance of the valley is very wild and picturesque; the Neskihone, which you pass at a saw-mill, flows at the bottom of it, and then turns to the left into the beautiful valley of the Lehigh, into which the Neskihone empties itself. The Lehigh comes on the left hand, out of a deep, extremely wild mountain valley, or dark glen, the entrance to which is entirely concealed by lofty, steep wooded mountains. Its glassy surface shines, half hid by tall shady oaks, beeches, and chestnuts; and the whole is one of the most interesting scenes that I met with in Pennsylvania. The road from this place to the Lehigh Valley is agreeably shaded by high trees, and on the banks of the river there are several dwelling-houses and inns. In a quarter of an hour we reached Mauch Chunk, now celebrated as the central point of the Lehigh coal district.
CHAPTER V
DESCRIPTION OF MAUCH CHUNK AND ITS COAL MINES—JOURNEY THROUGH THE LEHIGH VALLEY TO BETHLEHEM, AND LAST RESIDENCE IN THAT TOWN, FROM AUGUST 31ST TO SEPTEMBER 16TH
Mauch Chunk—The Coal Mines—Lehighton—Mahoning Creek and Valley—Gnadenhütten, a destroyed Colony of the Moravian Brethren—Weissport—Lehigh Gap—The Devil's Pulpit—Berlin—Crytersville—Howard Town—Schoner's Town—Last Residence in Bethlehem.
Mauch Chunk is a village of about 200 houses, in the deep and narrow Lehigh Valley. The houses form almost one row only, and a small street in the lateral valley of the Mauch Chunk stream. This place has sprung up since the discovery of the very rich coal mines in the vicinity. The Lehigh Company employs from 800 to 1000 workmen, and supplies the whole surrounding country with the very fine coals obtained here. Several iron railroads, leading to the works, have already been made, canals dug to export the coals in numerous barges, great works erected, a large and capital inn established in the valley of the Lehigh, and mills of various kinds built; and travellers ought by no means to neglect this highly interesting spot. This deep and wild valley, which is enclosed on every side by wooded mountains from 800 to 1000 feet high, has become, within a few years, a scene of action and profitable industry, which will soon render this spot one of the most remarkable in Pennsylvania. The principal work, to which an iron railroad has been made, lies on a considerable eminence, nine miles from Mauch Chunk. On the 31st of August, we visited this interesting spot.
As the railroad runs up along the declivity, it has been necessary to cut it obliquely; it is, therefore, narrow, with only one line; and places, at certain intervals, to allow two carriages to pass. For the convenience of travellers who wish to see the works, a stage-coach has been established, which is drawn up by two horses. Our company assembled at the inn, and ascended, by a steep path, from the town, to the iron railroad, which runs a little above the village. The 49 railroad stages are light carriages, with four low wheels, and seats for eight persons; they are covered at top, and open at the sides. The wheels are of iron, and have a groove, which fits into the rail, and runs upon it. The driver sits in front, and has a long tin horn, which he blows, to announce his approach to such as may be coming in the opposite direction; in the other hand he holds, in the descent, the machine with which the carriage is stopped when necessary. This contrivance consists of a pole, at the lower end of which there is a stuffed leather cushion, which, by moving the pole, is brought close to the wheels, and by its friction checks the rapidity of the motion. As a train of coal-wagons was expected, we slackened our pace. The two stages were fastened together, and though both were quite full of passengers, a couple of horses drew them up with great ease. We had not proceeded far, when we heard the rolling of a train of coal-wagons. It was interesting to see the black train advance, and dart by us with the rapidity of an arrow. These are built of strong beams and planks; each contains two tons of coals, and forty-five wagons go at the same time, which carry 90 tons; they run five times a day, thus 450 tons, or 25,200 bushels, are brought down to Mauch Chunk daily. Every fifteen wagons are fastened together by strong iron bands, and in the middle of this train is a man who holds a chain in his hand, by means of which he can check the rapidity of the motion, or even stop it entirely. Four or five hundred paces behind the first column comes the second, and then, at an equal distance, the third, and after these, seven wagons, in each of which there are four mules, with provender, and a bridge for them to get in and out. Their heads are turned to the front, and they eat quietly, as they descend. These mules are to draw up the empty coal wagons.
It was interesting to see the thundering column approach us, and then hasten by. As soon as it had passed, our horses trotted up the mountain, which could not be attempted, except on an iron railroad. The road runs along the rocky wall, always through a forest, where single settlers have here and there built their little wooden dwellings. Cattle were feeding in the neighbourhood, whose bells we heard in the woods. The valley at our left hand was very wild and romantic. Both the high mountain and the valley below, in which the Mauch Chunk flows, are clothed with a forest of fir and other timber, and wild vines twine about the bushes by the road-side. The number of miles is marked on white boards nailed to the trees. When we reached the top we came to an inn, which had a small park with Virginian deer. The fawns of these deer were still spotted a little at the end of August.
As soon as our company had rested a little, and taken some refreshment, as it was very hot, we got again into our carriage, and proceeded, this time without horses, to the coal mines, about ten minutes from our inn, to which the railroad declines a little. You reach these interesting works by a deep section of the upper stratum of sandstone, and then enter the pits, which may be 300 paces long, 150 wide, and 30 feet deep; quite open at top, having been gradually sunk to that depth. 112 men were at work in and about these mines, and 130 mules were employed 50 in conveying the coals, which stand out, shining, and with a beautiful play of colours; in some places they are of better quality than in others. They are detached partly with iron crows, partly by gunpowder, broken into pieces with pickaxes, and loaded in the wagons. From one part of the mine to another there are little railroads, on which boxes with four wheels run like what is called the dog (hund), in our German mines, in which refuse and rubbish are removed. In this manner high heaps of rubbish have arisen about the pits, which extend further and further into the valley. In some parts of the works there are impressions of antediluvian plants, of which we found some interesting specimens. The labour of seeking, in a stooping attitude, was particularly disagreeable on this day, which was hotter than any that preceded it. When we returned from the works to our inn, the thermometer, at twelve o'clock, and in the house, was at 96°; to which we must add that the mine is 1,460 feet above the level of the sea. There was not a breath of air stirring, and everybody found the heat extremely oppressive.
To return to Mauch Chunk we again got into our carriage, but had now no need of horses; the driver shoved the carriage a few steps, leaped into his seat, and we immediately proceeded faster than a horse could gallop. We had travelled the greater part of the way in seventeen minutes, when we were obliged to halt, in order to let a train of wagons, returning, pass us, which detained us about twenty minutes; we then proceeded with the rapidity of an arrow, and travelled the whole distance of eight miles in thirty-two minutes. When we had reached the bottom we hastened to see the place where the wagons are unloaded.
At the end of the iron railroad is a building on the eminence, in which there is a large windlass, with an endless rope, which with one part lowers a loaded coal wagon, on an obliquely inclined iron railroad, down the mountain, while the other part draws up an empty wagon from below. The distance from the windlass to the place on the iron railway, where the wagons deposit the coals in a large shed, is above 700 feet.[49] The mechanism of all these works is well worth seeing, and the whole establishment extremely interesting. Mr. White, one of the principal members of the Lehigh Company, is a man of much and varied knowledge, and particularly well acquainted with machinery.[50] He has erected a saw-mill on the Lehigh, the construction of which is very ingenious. A single workman is able to saw 4,000 square feet of deal in twelve hours. The Company requires six such saw-mills in the Mauch Chunk, to saw the wood that it wants, because the coal barges are sent down the canal and the Delaware, and sold at Philadelphia as planks.
The road from Mauch Chunk through the Lehigh Valley, which we took, on the 31st of August, in the evening, is agreeable and diversified. A violent thunder-storm had passed over the valley, and had poured down torrents of rain, the traces of which were everywhere visible. We proceeded along the right bank of the river, in a rather sandy road, shaded by old trees. On 51 our right hand we had at first the steep wooded mountain, where Rubus odoratus and other beautiful plants grew amongst rude rocks. The mountains then recede, and fields, meadows, and detached dwellings, succeed.
We came to Lehighton, where the sign of the inn was conspicuous afar off.[51] Lehighton is situated at no great distance from the opening of the Mahoning Valley, from which the Mahoning stream flows. This valley is wooded, has many settlements, and is well known from the destruction of Gnadenhütten, a small establishment, founded there by the Moravian Brethren. Some Delaware Indians, instigated, it is said, by neighbouring colonists, who were hostile to the Brethren, attacked the settlement, which they burnt, and killed eleven persons. Only four of the fifteen who composed the little colony escaped.[52] Mr. Bodmer, who followed us from Wilkesbarre, visited the spot. He found among the bushes the tomb-stone which covers the remains of the victims, and made a drawing of it. The following is the inscription:—
TO THE MEMORY
OF
GOTTLIEB AND CHRISTINA ANDERS,
WITH THEIR CHILD JOHANNA;
MARTIN AND SUSANNAH NITSCHMANN;
ANN CATHARINE SENSEMANN;
LEONHARD GATTERMEYER;
CHRISTIAN FABRICIUS, CLERK;
GEORGE SCHWEIGERT;
JOHN FREDERIC LESLY; AND
MARTIN PRESSER;
WHO LIVED HERE AT GNADENHÜTTEN, UNTO THE LORD,
AND LOST THEIR LIVES IN A SURPRISE FROM
INDIAN WARRIORS,
NOVEMBER 24TH, 1755.
"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints."
PSALM CXVI. 15.
1788, AND. W. BOVER, PHILADELPHIA.
On the lands at Gnadenhütten, which still belong to the Brethren, several farmers reside, among whom there is a singular female of no ordinary education, and, as it is said, of high rank, 52 whose real name is not known. She is said to have come from Germany, it is supposed from the principality of Lippe. Her sole employment is agriculture; she performs all manual labour herself, milks her cows, to which she has given names, and which she has tamed. She has rented a piece of land from the Brethren, which Mr. Von Schweinitz, as director of the council, let to her.
Near the issue of the Mahoning, or Mahony Valley, a wooden bridge has been built, in a picturesque situation, over the Lehigh. It is surrounded on all sides by fine lofty trees, and on the right hand the wooded eminences of the Mahony Valley overlook it. From this place we came to a level, open part of the valley, where a few scattered dwellings bear the name of Weissport.[53] A man named Weiss proposed to build a town here, and had collected the names of many subscribers, but the town consists, at present, of only four detached houses.
Night set in, and the moon showed us, in the Blue Mountains before us, a deep cleft, called the Lehigh, or Lecha Gap, where that river passes through the mountain chain. At the Gap we halted at an isolated, but very good inn, kept by a man named Craig, son of the General of that name. He spoke both English and German, and we were very well accommodated in his house.
On the 1st of September we visited the Lehigh Gap, the mountains on the north side of which are low, rocky, and wooded. A projecting portion is called the Devil's Rock. Near the buildings there are great heaps of limestone thrown up, which is obtained from a mountain in the Mahony Valley. The lime is of bad quality, but serves very well for mortar. It contains a number of small bivalve shells. About eight o'clock we left the Lehigh Gap, and took the road to Bethlehem, where we arrived at noon, having passed through Berlin, Cryterville, Howard Town, and Schoner's Town.
Our baggage, which we had so long expected from Boston, arrived at length on the 4th of September, and as Mr. Bodmer rejoined us on the 10th, I should have thought of proceeding on our journey, did not the traveller often depend on accidents, which render it impossible to fix anything for certain. Mr. Bodmer, desiring to finish a drawing that he had begun, undertook a second visit to the Delaware Gap, and on this occasion was severely wounded by the bursting of his fowling-piece, which compelled us again to defer our departure. On our hunting excursions, we now saw the country in its autumnal dress. Night frosts had already set in, and the mornings were foggy, till the sun had risen pretty high, when a hot day followed. Most of the birds of passage were gone; no swallows were to be seen, and the wild pigeons passed by in large flocks. On a walk to Allentown,[54] the capital of Lehigh County, which has 1,700 inhabitants, three churches, and a court-house, six miles from Bethlehem, we found, in the Lehigh Valley, several flocks of birds ready to depart. The blue birds (Sylvia sialis) were assembled, twenty together. The yellow woodpecker and the nuthatch were hovering about the gardens and fields, where 53 numbers were collected together. The plants that were in blossom in the fields and hedges were chiefly of the class Syngenesia.
The accounts of the progress of the cholera, which we daily received, were not favourable. In New York and Philadelphia, and more especially at Baltimore, the disorder was extremely dangerous; it had also spread in the country about the great lakes, and on Hudson's River, and had extended from Detroit to the Mississippi and Ohio. It seemed impossible to avoid it; I therefore chose the route down the Ohio, intending to make the Mississippi, in the following spring, the basis of our excursions into the Western wilds or the Indian country. We took leave of our friends at Bethlehem, and set out in the first instance for Pittsburg.
CHAPTER VI
JOURNEY FROM BETHLEHEM TO PITTSBURG, OVER THE ALLEGHANYS, FROM SEPTEMBER 17TH TO OCTOBER 7TH
Allentown—Reading—Lebanon—Harrisburg—Mexico—Mifflin Town—Valley of the Juniata—Huntington—Alexandria—Yellow Springs—The Summit—Ebensburg—Hunting parties—Wild Scenery of the Alleghanys—Laurel Hills—Conomaugh Valley—Blairsville—New Alexandria on the Loyalhanna—Pittsburg—Situation of the Town—Economy, Mr. Rapp's Settlement on the Ohio—Remarkable natural productions of that river.
Violent thunder-storms, accompanied with heavy rains, had taken place during the night before I left Bethlehem, early in the morning of the 17th, with the stage from Easton to Reading. Mr. Bodmer remained behind for some days, on account of the injury done to his hand. At day-break we reached Allentown, where we changed both carriage and horses, and passed the Cedar Creek, which was much swollen. The thunder-storm had not changed the temperature of the air. All this country was covered with plantations of maize, clover, and buckwheat, and detached farm-houses were numerous. The clover was often sown, as among us, with the corn. The ears of the maize were partly cut off, and the stalks tied up in bundles. The maize becomes ripe here in October. We halted very often at the post-houses, where the horses are always watered. As soon as the stage arrives, the large leather bag containing the letters is thrown down, and the correspondence for places further on the road is put in. We were here on a calcareous soil, and many limekilns were burning in the neighbourhood. Flocks of birds, of many kinds, appeared ready to depart; Papilio plexippus flew about the hedges. The Datura, with purple blossoms, and the Phytolacea, with ripe black berries, dark red stems and branches, grow on the road-side, and about the houses.[55] The leaves of the sumach, and of some kinds of oak and maple, had already 55 changed to a beautiful red colour. The fallow fields were entirely covered with the yellow blossoms of the golden rod, or St. John's wort, and beautiful asters, mostly with small white or purple flowers. The farm-houses in this part of the country are remarkably handsome. The barns are built of stone, very large, and have, in the lower part, the stables, with eight or twelve doors and windows, and over this is the barn, properly so called. At the end of the building there is a passage where the wagons stand under cover; the windows, doors and roof are frequently painted of a reddish brown colour: cattle of all kinds surround these farms. The swine are very fat, have broad hanging ears, and are generally marked with small round black spots, and sometimes, but more rarely, they are reddish brown. We saw some fine forests of oak and walnut trees, among which is much hickory (Juglans alba), which, next to the white oak, and the black walnut tree, furnishes the best timber. In general this country resembles Germany: it is diversified and pleasant; wooded eminences on the sides, and bright green meadows, often kept in very good order, occur as in our country; but large, new habitations, built in rather a different style, the zigzag fences, and the more lofty and luxuriant growth of the trees, give, on the whole, another character to the scenery.
In Maxatawny township we addressed the inhabitants in the German language, who answered us at once in the same, and we heard German names all the way to Pittsburg. After passing Sackoma Creek, we arrived at ten o'clock at Kutztown, eighteen miles from Bethlehem, where we breakfasted. The heat being very great, the dust was extremely annoying, for the thunder-storm, which had passed over Bethlehem, had not extended to this part of the country. The cattle sought protection against the sun, in the shade of single trees, or in the orchards. Large stacks of corn, six, eight, or ten together, stood in rows by the fences. On the right hand ran the Oli Mountains, beautiful verdant wooded eminences, which are connected with the Lehigh Mountains. About noon we had travelled the thirty-six miles to Reading, where we were obliged to stop one day, because the stage had already left.