Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/journaloftourins00fowl_0 „ / JOURNAL OF A TOUR IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK, IN THE YEAR 1830 j WITH REMARKS ON AGRICULTURE IN THOSE PARTS MOST ELIGIBLE FOR SETTLERS: AND RETURN TO ENGLAND BY THE WESTERN ISLANDS, IN CONSEQUENCE OF SHIPWRECK IN THE ROBERT FULTON. BY JOHN FOWLER. “ It occupies me to turn back regards On what I’ve seen or pondered, sad or cheery ; And what I write I cast upon the stream, To swim or sink.” Byron. LONDON: WHITTAKER, TREACHER, AND ARNOT. TO THOMAS ATTWOOD, ESQUIRE, THE LIBERAL AND ENLIGHTENED ADVOCATE OF REFORM, AND THE FOUNDER OF POLITICAL UNIONS, THOSE GREAT MORAL ENGINES, WHICH, BY CONCENTRATING PUBLIC FEELING, SENTIMENT, AND ENERGY, HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO PRODUCE SUCH GLORIOUS RESULTS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, THESE PAGES ARE VERY RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, BY HIS FRIEND AND ZEALOUS WELL-WISHER, THE AUTHOR, ■ ■ • . PREFACE. Lengthy prefaces, like lengthy parlia- ments, are now happily out of favour : if the reader is to be introduced to any thing’ worthy his notice, why detain him on the threshold ? if not, ’tis but needlessly adding to his labour and disappointment. I had once thought of offering apology for not going earlier to press, when it oc- curred to me that some complaisant critic or other might obligingly submit to me (young authors aforetime have known them as much concerned for their welfare) whether it would not have been better to have dispensed with the ceremony altogether; and thus, at one gentle flourish of his pen, have reduced my solicitude on this head to IV PREFACE. a mere dead letter. In other designs, sur- mises, and anticipations, I was but little more happy, until, at length, I have deter- mined to abide steadfastly by the old adage, “ the least said, the soonest mended and a few more prefatory words shall suffice me. The subsequent pages — as much of them at least as I lay claim to — were originally written, on a hasty Tour, for my own satis- faction and reference, and that of a limited circle of friends who felt interested in my proceedings; but others, whose judgment and candour I appreciate, having expressed some gratification in the perusal of them, and numerous inquiries having been ad- dressed to me, particularly upon the subject of agriculture and the prospects for emi- grants in the State of New York, as also respecting our shipwreck, — in the hope that what I relate may not be found wholly de- void of interest or utility, I have been in- PREFACE. V duced, with little correction or revision, to offer it, such as it is, to the public. This only recommendation I wish to advance in its favour: — It is presented by one who, to the extent of his opportunities, has endea- voured to investigate for himself, — who has no private or party feelings to gratify, — no smiles of patronage to court, or frowns to dread,— one who, in short, as he would scorn the meanness, has no earthly interest or motive to stoop to imposition, or in representing things otherwise than as they really are. J F ERRATA. la a few copies of this edition will be found the following errors: — Page 110, line 1 1, lor attended with, read attended by. 112, — 17, for venemous, read venomous. 152, — 14, for levelled, read livelier. 166, — 10, for bears resemblance, read bears any resemblance. 172, — 4, for then disappeared, read there disappeared. 182, — 18 and 20, for usual time are as follows, read usual times are as follow. 233, — 24, for getting under way, read weigh. 252, — 22, for Ponte del Gada, read Ponta — and wherever it occurs after- wards. JOURNAL, &c. VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. June 24th, 1830. — Having for some time past been meditating a trip across the Atlantic, and circum- stances at the present moment seeming rather to con- spire to favour the project, about twelve o’clock this day I put myself on board the packet-ship York, Captain Thompson, bound from Liverpool to New York, with seven cabin and seven steerage passengers. Before clearing the river we were taken in tow by a steam-boat, which continued with us to the Floating Light, (a light ship moored about fifteen miles from Liverpool,) when the wind got more easterly, and we made good progress through the night. 2 5th . — Little worthy of remark. Those never afloat before, sick in their berths, and those who have, being yet without their sea legs , staggering about the deck in a way that must be tolerated here, but would not be thought over creditable on land ; the vessel herself scarcely in proper trim, and all things bespeaking a recent departure from port, not omitting the intolera- ble bilge water , which drives me out pf the cabin altogether. Light wind from the S.E. 8 VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. 2 6th. — At three, this morning, I was awoke, or rather aroused, by the sound of very heavy rain. Went on deck and found it pouring almost in torrents, accompanied with thunder. The storm lasted little more than an hour, when the sun arose in cloudless beauty, and a gentle breeze from the S. carried us along at the rate of four or five knots for the remain- der of the day. A circumstance occurred which occa- sioned some amusement. One of the sailors, happening to descend the hatchway, was not a little surprised to observe a pair of legs obtruding from amongst the packages, and judging they must have an owner, he began tu make investigation accordingly ; but it was not until some time had elapsed, and they had sus- tained a repetition of pretty harsh usage, that any one could be found willing to assert proprietorship over them. At length the owner erected himself, and, after examination had, he turned out to be an Irish ship-carpenter, who, on the morning of our leaving Liverpool, having a disposition to visit New York, and it being somewhat inconvenient to him to make the necessary disbursements, had contrived to stow himself away, as mentioned, and had thus re- mained about two days without food of any descrip- tion, if I except the sailors’ specific, — grog, a bottle of which he had provided himself with before his con- cealment; had he not been discovered he says it Was his intention to have kept below' until he thought we were about half seas over, when we surely could not have refused to carry him through. He appears one of those stupid, half-witted fellows to w hom a change VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. 9 of country can prove but of slight advantage, and Captain Thompson has thrown a sad damp upon his prospects by telling him that he will put him upon the first homeward-bound vessel we can speak that will take charge of him, so that it is questionable even yet if Paddy effect his passage. 27th . — Passed thre£ American ships, supposed bound to Liverpool, but without speaking any of them ; the wind chopping about all day, occasionally carrying us nine or ten knots, and as often not more than two. 28th . — The night has been stormy. Wind this morn- ing N. W., making very poor way. W e, however, consi- der ourselves clear of the Channel, and are beginning to experience the fine bold swell of the Atlantic. Few of the passengers have yet settled matters with their stomachs, and appear on deck (those who come at all) with most ghastly visages. Amongst those in the cabin we have an elderly lady, sixty-four years of age, whose only son, if not only surviving relative, has been settled in America about fourteen years, and with whom she is now going to close her days. She comes from near Nottingham, and, though she has never been at sea before, bears the voyage admirably, and out of four, is quite the best lady passenger on board. On my anticipating the pleasure she would derive from meeting her son again, the tears started into her eyes, and she replied, “Oh, Sir, if I did not feel it beyond expression, do you think I could have been induced, at my time of life, and all alone, to have taken such a journey as this, and when we reach New York I shall then have 700 miles to travel, but there 10 VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. my boy will meet me, and ” She could proceed no farther. Heaven grant her the realization of every hope which animates her aged breast. We have not averaged to-day more than five knots, and that a point or two out of our course : ’tis well we are out of the Channel, or with the w r ind as it is, and blowing fresh, we could make no way at all. Crept into my berth about eleven o’clock. Let not the landsman suppose this getting into a comfortable bed for a night of undisturbed repose ; ’tis quite another thing I assure him : but let him fancy a small room (though called a State Room) some three feet by six, and six feet high, in which are placed, one above the other, two tolerable-sized kneeding troughs, and he will then have as good an idea as is necessary of a dormitory at sea. This said berth is not boarded at the bottom, (would it were,) but made in the ordinary way with sacking, only braced down the middle instead of the sides, leaving, when at all relaxed, a most comfortless hollow in that part, into which, of course, you roll immediately you enter, and, except when the lurching of the ship throws you for a moment upon the side, must there remain until you turn out altogether; pro- bably, if you happen to occupy the lower berth, with the over-workings of some uneasy stomach incon- veniencing you from above. At any rate there is the incessant dashing of the waves close to your head, — the noise of the helm, trampling on deck, and many et ceteras to break in upon sound slumber. When you rise, if shaving be the first operation, and the motion of the vessel considerable, it may probably be VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. 11 about half an hour before you can accomplish it, chiefly by holding on with one hand whilst using the razor with the other, and you may consider yourself pretty fortunate if the floor of your apartment be not swimming with the contents of sundries capsized in the interim. This is perhaps rather the worst side of the picture, though most “that go down to the sea in ships” have to pass through it; in fact, to a lands- man, from beginning to end, ’tis no place of comfort : it may be endured we know, and so may a prison ; and often have I thought, with Johnson, if there be a choice of evils, the latter has it. 29th. — Very little wind from the S.W. Spoke an Irish brig bound to Belfast. Paddy escapes transfer. The ship Ganges, of Philadelphia, which left Liverpool with us, and of which we have generally kept ahead, passed us this morning : her cargo is light, whilst ours, I believe, is the heaviest ever conveyed by any packet from Liverpool to New York; consequently, with light winds, she beats us, and, vice versa, when blowing fresh, we beat her, being able to carry more sail. About noon, the wind got more in our favour, and, until the evening of the following day, we made our course at the rate of six or eight knots. It then changed right ahead, and at night increased to a gale. July 1st . — This morning it blows tremendously, and just as unfavourably, rather increasing than diminishing throughout the day and night. 2nd. — 4 a. m. The storm still rages furiously and rolls us about, as if, at times, it were ready to roll us over, to the no small discomfiture of the lady part b 2 12 VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. of our cargo, who I can perceive would gladly ex- change their present situation for very humble accom- modation on land, and no wonder; the sea, in a storm, and to be upon it, (herein consists all the difference,) may well excite apprehension in the female mind. I have seen some of the other sex unable to contem- plate it with any great degree of composure, and the satisfaction of being on a good seaworthy vessel is sensibly felt by all. Let none ever be induced, from the consideration of a trifling saving of expense, or any other motive, to cross the Atlantic in one which has not been recommended to them by those on whose judgment, and sincerity too, (for the deceptions prac- tised upon the ignorant by the charterers of vessels are infamous,) they can fully rely. The hazards and privations of sailors are enough, at any rate, without adding to the list of evils a crazy or even suspicious barque. At noon it began to moderate, and before night the wind nearly died away. 3re?.-7-Strange contrast. This morning we are becalmed, and the same ocean which yesterday was rearing its waves around us, and drenching us with its yeasty spray, is now, excepting a long swell at intervals, as quiescent as a lake, and without a ripple breaking its surface. It is also much warmer, though accompanied with an unpleasant drizzling rain. Took breakfast at the cabin table, for the first time since coming on board, the smell (stench) of the bilge water, now beginning to subside, having hitherto induced me greatly to prefer the deck. Fare excellent. Tea, coffee, boiled ham and eggs, anchovies, pickled shad. VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. 13 cold tongue and other meat, bread, of the finest Ame- rican flour, baked fresh every day, biscuits, &c. &c* The hours for meals are : — Breakfast, at eight ; lunch, at twelve; dinner, at three; tea, coffee, or supper, just to your choice, at eight. We have a cow on board, which furnishes an abundant supply of milk ; four or five fine sheep ; half a dozen small pigs; some geese, and ducks and fowls unnumbered. Poultry, however, soon become very poor stuff at sea. I know of no animals which do not suffer by sailing excepting pigs; they appear to thrive quite as well as on land. Our wines and spirits are first rate, champaign especially ; ale and London porter equally good, and all supplied unsparingly. In short, whoever could find in his heart to desire more after this fashion, than is fur- nished: in the New York packets, deserves to be treated to a bread and water diet for the remainder of his days ; though, as one not estimating these matters over highly, I still hold there are drawbacks enough to counterbalance all the good recorded, and I could partake of less sumptuous fare on land with a far keener relish. Tastes, however, vary ; and I know those, whom I verily believe, without further induce- ment by this admirable bill of fare, might be tempted across the Atlantic. I once saw a little Scotchman under similar circumstances, who, had the voyage continued as many months as it did weeks, would surely not long have survived it. Throughout the twenty- four hours there was scarcely a successive five minutes that he did not occupy either in eating, drinking, or sleeping, and, to do him justice, never did I see so 14 VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. many good things so unprofitably bestowed. John Abernethy would at once have called him a " perfect beast.” Rain all day. 4fA. — During the night a breeze has sprung up just from the quarter we would not have had it, and it is again blowing fresh. Spoke an English brig bound for Liverpool. This is the anniversary of the Ame- rican declaration of independence, the signing of which memorable deed took place on the 4th July, 1776, and is consequently fifty-four years ago. Libe- rated the cork of an extra bottle of champaign upon the occasion. 5th . — Rain all night. Wind from the same quarter (N. W.) Spoke a brig from New Orleans, bound to Hamburgh. 6th . — The finest day since leaving port, though nearly becalmed. Fell into chat with an intelligent person from the Sister Isle. Amongst other things he tells me that the quality of flax is much deteriorating in Ireland, in consequence of the farmers having got into the habit of using lime to their land, which they were not formerly accustomed to do ; and that now nearly all their finest flax comes from Holland. I know nothing myself of the matter, but if it be so, it is worthy of notice. A beautiful evening. Some of our party on deck ; I believe for the first time since putting to sea. 1th . — After a fine morning, about noon it came on to rain, ctnd blow fresh ; and this evening we are going near ten knots : — great work with our wei c ht of lading. VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. 15 Sth . — It has rained all night; but the wind has been favourable, and continues easterly this morning, We hope to have made one-third of our way. Evening, quite a gale ; scudding with close-reefed sails ; most unseasonable weather ; far more like March or November than July. I pity the poor far- mers in England if it be no better with them. 9th . — Wind still favourable (N. N. E. ;) but ex- cessively cold. XOth to 13 th . — Wind got more ahead, and we made but little progress. The past has been a tempestuous night ; the ship rolling and pitching so that we could scarcely keep in our berths. Capt. T. remarks that latterly his summer have been much more boisterous and unpleasant than his winter voyages. Have had our lower studding-sail-boom carried away. What little way we are making is quite out of our course. 14-th . — Wind still ahead, but more moderate ; and the sea gone down considerably. So far an improve- ment upon yesterday, when we were pitched about, lumber-like, and to no purpose. Have discovered, partly by accident, that our mainyard has been seriously injured, in fact, nearly broken through by the gale ; had it given way during its continuance, the loss of the mainsail would have been inevitable, with, probably, much other damage. All hands busily employed in rigging out another ; and this evening, by dint of great exertion, w r e have hoisted it aloft, and attached the sail to it as before. We now only wait a fair wind. 1 5th . — Rain all night. Wind dead ahead. Three weeks out to-day. 16 VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. 16^. — Wind turning a trifle in our favour, and doing something better than standing still, which is more than we have been able to say for several days past. Took a bath this morning, (a luxury I have much missed since coming on board,) by getting over the bows of the vessel, and stationing one of the men aloft, whilst another supplied him with water, fresh from the ocean , to shower upon me ; no finer sea bathing could be desired, though I seem to be the only one manifesting the least partiality for it. We have had a drizzling rain, or rather very dense fog, through the day, a kind of weather generally ex- perienced about the banks of Newfoundland, which we are now nearly aj3proaching, our latitude being 43f, and longitude 45. This evening the wind ahead again. 17 th. Morning. Wind ahead and enveloped in fog. Spoke a very fine brig, the Mary, from Balti- more ; could not learn distinctly where she was bound. Evening. Wind a little more to the south; going about six knots. 18 th . — Still a dense fog, which obliges us to keep a sharp look-out for sails, and also for ice-bergs, fre- quently met with here at this season of the year, of prodigious size, to the destruction of many vessels The packet-ship, Liverpool, a few years ago, on her first voyage, or intended voyage to Liverpool from New York, struck upon one of them at mid-day, and went down in fifteen minutes ; the crew and all saved by taking to the boats, and landed at Newfoundland, from whence they returned to New York. Made VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. 17 several attempts to obtain soundings, but without success. Vivid and incessant lightning from eight in the evening till after midnight. \9th .~ —Wind S. W. by W. ; as adverse as it can blow. Fog, with occasional heavy rain. Have not had an observation for days ; but find a bottom with a line of forty-three fathoms, and consider ourselves about the middle of the banks. Twelve p. m. nearly a calm, and very vivid lightning again. 20 th . — Wind this morning from theE.N.E. though so light as to be of little service to us. It has, how- ever, pretty much dispelled the fog, and rendered it more agreeable in that respect. Passed a number of brigs, &c., chiefly French, engaged in fishing. The season commences in April, and ends in November, in which time the quantity taken is incredible. We have been trying to hook one, but as we are going two or three knots, of course, stand but little chance. 21s/. — Just off the banks, and nearly becalmed; otherwise a charming day. One of the finest I ever passed at sea. The sky perfectly cloudless, and the horizon singularly clear and distinct, so as we rarely — never — see it in England. It is indeed a most w elcome change after the wretched Bank iveather w r e have been groping through, and has not failed to produce a very sensible effect upon the animal spirits of every living thing on board, as something, however, too fair to last, towards evening, clouds and squalls succeed ; the wind ahead ; and to-night we are tossed about just after the old fashion. 18 VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. 2 2nd. — Stormy. Wind ahead. As great a con- trast to yesterday as is well possible. 23rd. — Finer. And the wind so that w ; e have made a tolerable slant throughout the day. 24 th . — After noon we had a brisk wind from the east, carrying us eight knots, which towards evening increased to ten or eleven. About ten o’clock it began to rain very heavily, and became excessively dark. An hour afterwards, on a sudden, the wind chopped round to the west, and commenced blowing furiously from that quarter ; had but just time to get the sails in ere it turned us end for end. Rain all night. 2 6th. — Morning. Wind ahead. Evening more northerly, and very cold. Making pretty good way. 26th .— After two o’clock this morning a famous breeze sprung up from the N.E. : going nine or ten knots. About three days, at this rate, would land us at New York, but I am scarcely sanguine enough to anticipate such unwonted despatch. I hope, at all events, our voyaging may terminate with the month, though, considering the winds and weather we have had, so far from having any thing to complain of, the wonder is how we have got on so well. Our ponderous cargo, too, has been against us. 27t,h.~— Had a good wind until noon to-day, when it became completely calm, so incessant and sudden are the changes at sea, the more so on approaching land, and our latitude to-day being 41? 5', and lon- gitude 66®, leaves us about 320 miles to run to our destined port A shark was playing round us for an hour or two in the morning, apparently about ten VOYAGE TO NEW YORK. 19 feet in length. Shortly before observing him, myself and another had been talking of a bathe ; a perform- ance we were well satisfied to dispense with after- wards. A shark, in seizing its prey, has to turn on its side, the under jaw being so much shorter than the upper one, as to prevent it taking it in the ordinary position in which it swims.— Evening. Wind from N.W. making five to seven knots. 28th . — Very foggy. In the midst of the Nantucket shoals. Soundings at thirty-three fathoms. Mates and crew busily employed in painting, scraping, and scouring the ship ; repairing and blacking the rigging, &c. ; getting all in the trimmest possible order to enter port. Passed very near one of the Havre packets. Should doubtless, now, discover many vessels if the atmosphere were clearer. 29th . — Still foggy. Fair wind from the E. Have been out five weeks to-day. Got an imperfect obser- vation, by which we suppose ourselves nearly in the latitude of New York, and are, consequently, steering due west. Spoke a brig from Portland bound to the W est Indies. 30th . — A gale from the S.E. all night, which has been sending us along at the rate of nine or ten knots, but, as an abatement to so much good luck, has deprived us of our foretopsail, shivering it to pieces. Surely such summer weather was never seen be- fore ! Men aloft diligently on the look-out for land, but the horizon is so thick that we may be almost close upon it ere we can discover it, and unless it clear up, shall soon be obliged to lay to. Nine 20 AT ANCHOR WITHIN SANDY HOOK. o’clock : it has become clearer, and one of the mates from aloft has just sung out, “ Land 0 !” Thrice welcome sound ! It is, doubtless, some part of Long Island, and thus satisfied, we are crowding all the sail we can. Evening . — At length riding safely at anchor with- in Sandy Hook , sixteen miles from New York, so that we may fully anticipate a termination of our voyage to-morrow. About two hours before we an- chored two boats came alongside of us, the one for the letter-bag, the other for the newspapers for the different reading rooms. Their first inquiries were after the health of our most gracious Majesty, whom we could only report alive when we left; more, I imagine, than the next packet will be able to do. Shortly after despatching these boats, a pilot boarded us. It is the finest evening we have had for long, so that we have distinctly seen them sending up rockets from the Castle Gardens in New York, the scene of nightly displays of fire-works, I am told, during the summer months, and a very favourite resort for the fashionables of the city. Most of our party making merry with champaign, rejoiced at the coining prospect. 31s/, — A brilliant morning, but no wind. Are be- ginning to feel it very warm. The pilot reports it the hottest summer they have had since the year 1822, for some days the thermometer in the shade having stood at 93°; — appalling intelligence after the tempe- rature w'e have been exposed to for the last five weeks, muffled up in top-coats and cloaks, and shivering even APPROACH TO NEW YORK, AND LANDING. 21 then, and now finding’ our lightest summer attire almost oppressive. — Scarcely a breath of air until four o’clock, when we had just enough to put us in motion for the city, the approach to which is very fine, heightened by the beauty of the day and the extreme clearness of the atmosphere. The shores on each side, though a good deal wooded, have, nevertheless, a rich and cultivated appearance, often ornamented with a handsome villa, and every where well guarded with fortifications. Governor’s Island, nearer the city, also a military station, is a beautiful object, and soon the Battery, Castle Gardens, many of the churches and public buildings, and Brooklyn on the heights, with crouds of shipping in the Bay, arrest the attention, and cannot fail to excite deep interest in the mind of a stranger ; but I was withdrawn from the contem- plation of this imposing scene to be introduced to one still more agreeable : two of my friends, haying ob- served our approach, had come off in a boat to give me a welcome to their shores, which I was within a little of reaching before they knew any thing of my intention of visiting them, the ship by which I had been advised of having only arrived on the preceding- day, though it had the start of us from Liverpool nearly a week. Mutual congratulations exchanged, I accompanied them ashore, and shortly after crossed the river to the residence of a friend in Brooklyn, situated immediately opposite to New York. Upon ascending the elevation on which it is partly built, I was much struck with the fineness and extent of the view which it commanded, embracing the whole of 22 NEW YORK AND BROOKLYN. the city, the bay, the vessels in the East River, as it is termed, (though more properly I should think a strait or sound,) Governor’s and other Islands, the Highlands of the Hudson, as well as the shores of New Jersey. The houses in the principal streets have a particularly neat and elegant appearance : they are chiefly built of wood, and painted white, with green latticed blinds on the outside ; and most of them I observe are furnished with conductors. For the entire length of some of the streets, weeping willows are planted on each side, which, independent of being very ornamental, afford a delightful shade to the fronts of the houses, and protect the foot-paths even from a noon-day sun. It was late before I returned to the city, which I had engaged to do with a friend, who had taken up his quarters at a boarding-house (seemingly more in fashion here than hotels) in V W. -street ; but I am sorry to say it proved much too early for my comfort, having scarcely retired to bed ere I found myself assailed by those most loathsome of nocturnal annoyances, bugs, and have arisen this morning, ( 1st August) with one of my organs of vision nearly closed, besides divers other injuries, altogether a very pretty figure to make my debut in a foreign city. Madame hostess, however, promises another room to-night, and strict search during the day, so I try my luck once more. — Chiefly in-doors, and little to remark. 2nd . — Of the past night I shall only observe that it was infinitely worse than its predecessor, the vile vermin compelling me to effect a precipitate retreat NEW YORK AND BROOKLYN. 23 from my apartment, and indeed from the domicile altogether, into the street, before one o’clock this morning ; and what, with the loss of two entire nights’ rest, and being swelled and inflamed from head to foot, into the bargain, I feel now as good for nothing as, under such circumstances, I may well be supposed to do. But enough — ’tis as poor a subject for others as myself. — This being the first business day since my landing, my first business upon it was to obtain a permit fr^m the Custom-house to bring my luggage ashore, for which article I was charged 20 cents. The officers here, since the tariff came so extensively into operation, are more precise and troublesome than in England, first obliging you to swear, or affirm, to the contents of your packages, and afterwards subjecting them to as scrupulous a search as if no such ceremony had been exacted. — Found the passengers, officers, and crew' of our vessel, natives as well as strangers, complaining grievously of the heat of the weather, though the thermometer in the shade was scarcely standing at 80° ; but the contrast between that and 58° and 60 q ; which we had it for the chief part of our passage, is too considerable to accommodate one’s-self to, very agreeably, at so short a notice. Dined with my friends at Brooklyn, and, after my two nights’ experience of the state of things in the city, and an assurance that I might go elsewhere and fare no better, was well satisfied to accept of their very pressing invitation to continue where I was, and pre- serve what remained to me of my English blood, for some worthier opportunity and assailants. c 2 24 NEW YORK AND BROOKLYN. 3rd . — Rose this morning vastly refreshed, and feeling myself again. In the course of the day made a pretty extensive perambulation of the city, of which, how- ever, I shall not, at present, attempt any description ; as a whole 1 was highly pleased with it. The City- hall and the Exchange are indeed noble edifices. Many of the banks, hotels, and other public places, are very spacious and elegant ; and the Battery, Castle Gardens, Broadway, &c., are well worthy the admiration they so generally excite ; but, as a striking defect, I noticed a great want of uniformity in the building of the houses, and, in the business streets particularly, of a total inattention to neatness, if I may not add cleanliness. At a future opportunity, and upon further acquaintance, will return to the sub- ject again, and offer a somewhat more respectful notice of this great city. — Revisited Brooklyn in the evening, of which, the more I see, the more I admire it. It is nothing less than a charming situation, inter- esting in itself, and so completely removed from the noise, dust, and bustle of the town, and yet through the medium of the steam-boats regularly crossing the river every five minutes during the day, seeming to possess every advantage of a residence in it. Its pre- sent population amounts to 15,000, but it is very rapidly increasing, and will, no doubt, continue to do so, many of the principal merchants, &c. now giving it a decided preference to the upper parts of the city. After a day spent there, what a luxury to ascend its beautiful heights, inhale the fresh and pure breezes from the water, and feast the eye with all the varied BROOKLYN, &C. 25 attractions which the scene unfolds ! I have found it so, at least, ere yet I have scarcely known it. Much of the land in the neighbourhood of Brooklyn appears to be devoted to the raising of fruits and vegetables for its own and the New York markets; prodigious quantities of which are taken across the water daily, as, also, from other parts of the island. I have counted eleven waggons driven off one steam-boat at a time ; and a friend, who was with me, told me there were frequently more. It is besides a place of considerable trade ; contains tanneries, distilleries, cotton and linen cloth manufactories, rope-walks, market-houses, and a great number of stores, warehouses, &c. There are several places of worship, a Lancasterian school, and other very respectable seminaries. — Thermometer at noon to day 81°. A thunder-storm in the evening, which greatly relieved the air. Night temperate and pleasant. 4 th . — Previous to setting out on my intended excursion to the western part of the state, wishing to see something of Long Island, and having given a relative, resident near Flushing, a promise of spend- ing a few days with him, took my place this afternoon upon a steam-boat, plying daily to different parts of of the Sound, to Whitestone, about eighteen miles distant from New York. We had a pretty numerous party on board. The day was beautiful, and the scenery along the banks of the river of a very interest- ing character. About midway between New Y ork and Whitestone we passed by Horll Gatt, or Hurl Gate, (by some even less respectfully designated) a narrow*. 26 FLUSHING. crooked, and dangerous strait, occasioned by huge projecting rocks, which very much contract the bed of the river, and produce tremendous whirlpools and eddies, formerly to the loss of many vessels which at- tempted the passage, though no accident of the kind has recently occurred, the navigation being better understood : to strangers, however, it has still rather a formidable appearance. At high water the rocks are nearly covered, and the current but little ruffled. On arriving at Whitestone, a mere landing, I was met by a conveyance, which my friend had kindly despatched for me, and soon set dow r n at his abode. — W- left England about ten years ago, married into one of the most respectable families on the island, purchased a nice farm, and is now settled in the midst of his wife’s relations, and surrounded by as fine a little group of his own as I have often seen ; doubtless as happy as such a pleasing combi- nation of circumstances can render him, and assuring me, that, if an estate in England were left to him, he would not cross the Atlantic again to take posses- sion of it. I know not, indeed, wherein would con- sist the inducement. In the morning, the 5th, I accompanied him over his farm, which comprises near two hundred acres of land, with an excellent house, outbuildings, &c. The quality of the soil, like most in the island, is rather light, but, with the aid of manure, produces excellent crops of ail descriptions of grain and various kinds of fruit. He has a beautiful young peach orchard, con- taining one thousand trees, now loaded with fruit. FLUSHING. 27 - selling in New York market, at from a dollar to a dollar and a half per bushel ; twenty or thirty acres occu- pied with apples, which thrive remarkably well, and are worth two dollars per barrel, of two bushels and a half. There are nearly fifty acres of woodland upon the farm, in which I observed a good deal of fine timber of different sorts, viz. the common, the white, and the red oaks, cedar, hickory, sassafras, birch, chesnut, and locust ; the latter a wood much in re- quest, and sells from sixty cents to a dollar per foot- W has taken considerable pains with his stock, and has a fine breed of cows, sheep, and pigs, with some very handsome and valuable young horses : — quite entered into the spirit of farming. The morning was very sultry, and w hilst walking we remarked an unusual heat in the ground, so much so as when ofi' the turf to be quite unpleasant to the feet. About mid-day it began to cloud over, became exceed- ingly dark, and a thunder-storm succeeded, which, whilst it lasted, was a complete tornado, more violent, W tells me, than he has known for years. It has done great damage amongst the fruit and other trees in the neighbourhood, torn some large ones up by the roots, and broken almost every branch off others. In half an hour after it was over the sun broke out again as bright as ever, and, though it rained very heavily during the storm, upon going out the only re- maining moisture I could perceive was upon the leaves of a few Swedish turnips which were growing in the garden. So essential to vegetation are frequent show r ers in this island in the hot months. In a dry 28 flushing. summer they suffer much.— As a thing which has at- tracted my attention since coming into the country, I may notice the endless variety of the insect tribe with which the creation every where teems, many of them unknown in England, and generally too insignificant to occasion inconvenience. Omitting bugs, to be met with in most countries and horrible every where, the most troublesome on the list is the musqueto, much resembling our gnat, only larger, but the bite of which is venomous in the extreme ; and even if you can manage to keep them off by day, their perpetual buzzing around you is very annoying ; and at night, unless you envelop yourself or the entire of your bed in a net, and exclude all light from the apartment, you are tormented with them beyond measure ; and what with locusts, crickets, tree-toads, kater-dids, grasshoppers, &c. &c., the din and bustle of the country, though of a very different kind, seems scarcely less than that of the town, and strikes by no means agreeably, as contrasted with the melody of the feathered choir in England, scarcely one of which has any note in America. Tis true, the winter effec- tually suppresses the nuisance, a remedy, you will say, as bad as the disease; and a stranger might deem it unworthy of notice at any time, but let him make his first landing here in the month of July or August, and I will venture to say, unless he be both deaf and invulnerable, he does not pronounce it so afterwards. 6tk . — Much of this and the succeeding day were occupied in visiting farms in the neighbourhood, and FLUSHING. 29 in making such memorandums on agricultural sub- jects, as appeared to me most interesting ; briefly as follows : — First stating that Long Island (called also Nassau Island) belongs to the state of New York; that it is about 115 miles long from east to west, and 20 broad; that is, at its greatest breadth, not averaging more than ten. It is bounded on the south by the Atlantic, and on the north by Long Island Sound, which separates it from the continent. Its eastern extermity terminates in a point, and westward it ex- tends into the Narrows , about eight miles below New York. It is divided into three counties. King’s County, (the longest settled, I believe, in the state,) Queen’s County, and Suffolk County, the latter ex- tending over two-thirds of the island. — The character of the land in Long Island is very various ; but the north side of it, for twenty or thirty miles up, com- prises the best. Farms in this part are to be purchased at from forty to one hundred dollars per acre, accord- ing to buildings and improvements upon them, &c. To the south the soil is very sandy, and, in some parts, not worth cultivation. The east is very much over- grown with pine forests. — Indian corn appears to be considered the staple article of produce, yielding from 25 to 50 bushels (of 56 lbs) per acre, and worth from 50 to 60 cents per bushel. Wheat may average 20 bushels (of 61 lbs.) per acre, and the price 1 dollar. Oats, 30 bushels, (of 30 lbs.) price 37| cents. Barley, 25 bushels, (of 52 lbs.) price 62 \ cents. Rye, 20 bushels, price 62 £ cents. Clover seed not gathered Hay, from 30 to 40 cwt, per acre, price 8 to 10 dollars 30 FLUSHING. per ton. Potatoes and turnips, much as in England, the price of the former 37 f cents per bushel; the latter not much grown for cattle. Horses, for farming purposes, are worth from 60 to 75 dollars; fancy horses, from 130 to 400 dollars. Milch cows, from 15 to 40 dollars. Sheep, (fat) 2 dollars; store sheep, 1 dollar. Pigs, (fed) 5 dollars per 100 lbs. weight. Beef, by the carcase, from 6 to 8 dollars per 100 lbs. hide and tallow given in. Butter usually sells for about 18 cents the lb.; no cheese made. Turkeys are worth 1 dollar. Geese, 50 to 75 cents. Ducks, the couple, 75 cents. Fowls, 62£ cents. Eggs, 12 cents per dozen; apples and peaches, already noticed, w ith melons, strawberries, cherries, and currants, are produced in abundance, and sold at remunerating prices. The natural grasses of the island seldom grow stout enough to mow, but the artificial ones thrive well, and will average from 25 to 30 cwt. for four years, though, of course, this is much dependant upon the dryness or wetness of the season. Manure, or ashes, are every where requisite, and much used : a plentiful supply obtained from New York : the ulti- mate cost on the land about twenty dollars per acre. The salt marshes also, and frequent inlets from the sound, afford great quantities of marine vegetable manure, the salt grass being of little value for other purposes. Fallowing is not much practised. The land tilled about equally by horses and oxen. The price given to farming men through the summer season (say for eight months) is from eight to twelve FLUSHING. 31 dollars per month ; in the winter from four to six dollars per month, always boarding them, — the inva- riable practice throughout the country. Women, five dollars per month, the year round, and board. The usual hours of labour are from sun-rise to sun-set. The most general kind of fencing is stone walls, the erection of which cost about 125 cents the rod ; some have a stone foot, with post and rails above, raised at rather less expense. The roads in the island, though a little too sandy, may, upon the whole, be considered good. The cost of repairing them to the farmer about five or six dol- lars to every hundred acres of land he occupies. There are very ready conveyances to New York both by land and water,* principally by steam-boats: passage for a person 25 cents ; freight for fruit, grain. Sec. 3 cents per bushel. The expense of carting by land, (a load of hay, &c.) when a team and man are hired for the purpose, is one dollar and a half. One great advantage attaching to Long Island, or the west end of it, as a situation for farming, is its contiguity to New York, in consequence of which it is always furnished with a superior market for its various productions, particularly butter, fruit, and vegetables ; and oftentimes, in the blockade of winter, * When 1 say by land, I mean, ot course, to Brooklyn, at which place the sound, or river, is only three-quarters of a mile in width, and where, by means of floating' slips, horses and carriages are driven without any difficulty upon the steam-boats, and conveyed across, in a few minutes, with as much facility as if upon a bridge. How is it that we do not adopt a similar plan at many of our ferries, where it could be used with so much advantage ? At Runcorn, above Liverpool, for instance. D FLUSHING. 32 articles of bulk and weight may be conveyed to the city, when, from the difficulty and expense of carriage, they are prohibited from places more remote ; wood, potatoes, hay, and straw, upon these occasions, will frequently return the farmer a profit of fifty or even a hundred per cent. There is a considerable quantity of game, &c. on the island, (though decreasing,) consisting of quail, some partridge, woodcocks, snipe, and rabbits, and, at seasons, wild ducks innumerable ; in the forests to the east, deer are also found. The bays, with which the island is much indented, abound with varieties of excellent fish. Upon the whole I should be inclined to say that Long Island is rather a situation for an opulent farmer than for one of limited means. The land, in the first place, is much dearer than in other parts of the state, and in addition, it is cultivated at a greater expense. Retired, or half- retired merchants are, therefore, com- monly to be found amongst the proprietors, a class of persons farming about as much for amusement as profit, and, as “ the old coachman loves the smack of the whip,” whenever they feel a taste for business, or the city, they are, at any moment, ready to step into it. The island, for the most part, is considered healthy, though the fever and ague is, by no means, unknown. The day of my last date (7 th August) has been tire hottest since my landing. Thermometer 85° in the shade. Took a boat for an hour or two’s fishing in one of FLUSHING. 33 the bays, though without any success as far as re garded our own efforts, but boarding a smack we hooked out of her well a number of fine black Jisk, and, at the expense of a dollar or so, returned well laden to the gentleman’s from whose house we started, and to his no small surprise, until we discovered the manoeuvre we had been practising ; though the fishing here is often very good. The master of the smack told us that he had about 1800 then in his well, weighing from half a pound to five and six pounds apiece. Lobsters are caught in great plenty, and have been taken of the extraordinary weight of twenty-five pounds each ! I myself saw the claw of one which, when fresh, I am satisfied would have weighed from seven to nine pounds. Upon returning to W ’s in the evening I was presented with a New York paper in which I was not surprised to read as follows: — “The packet-ship Man- chester, Captain Sketchley, from Liverpool, arrived in town yesterday morning, bringing advices of that long-anticipated event, the decease of his Majesty George the Fourth. The bulletin issued on the occa- sion was as follows: — ‘Windsor Castle, 26th June, 1830. It has pleased Almighty God to take from this world the King’s most excellent Majesty. His Majesty expired at a quarter-past three o’clock this morning without pain. (Signed) H. Halford, — Mat- thew John Tierney.’ His Majesty was born 12th August, 1762, and was consequently in the 68th year of his age; ascended the throne 29th January, 1820, crowned 19th July, 1821, and died 26th June, 1830. 34 FLUSHING. The Duke of Clarence immediately took the oaths of office as William the Fourth. He was born 23d August, 1765.” So for the present ends the career of the Georges ! 8th . — Have felt the night oppressive ; but which I attribute, in part, to sleeping with closed windows, (a thing, summer or winter, I scarce ever practise,) to exclude my musqueto enemies. In the morning rode with to Flushing village; in our way to which we called at , the finest establishment I have seen in the island, and conveying every idea of comfort and independence. The house is built of wood, and, after the fashion here, has a spa- cious entrance hall, with the door at the side, which admits of windows along that part, and besides the outer door, mostly open, there are also latticed doors at each end. The floor is very neatly matted, and the hall, throughout, furnished pretty much as a parlour, with sofas, settees, &c. It is, beyond any comparison, the pleasantest summer room in the house. I know not why this style of building should not be more frequently adopted in England ; it will by me, however, whenever I turn house builder. Here the effects of the tornado, mentioned on the 5th, were but too sadly apparent, and besides other damage we found the family much regretting, as well they might, the loss of a most beautiful weeping willow, wffiich grew near the house, every branch of which had been stripped, and the bare stump only left standing. Flushing is a neat, lively village, at the head FLUSHING. 36 of the bay, containing a number of good bouses, stores, some excellent hotels, and several places of worship. Dr. Spafford, in his Gazeteer of the State of New York thus refers to it: — “Within a few years the fashionables of the metropolis have made Flushing, which, indeed, has many attractions, quite a place of resort for the butterflies of fashion, at least for a part of the year, and it has, of course, genteel accommodations, and receives, for its day, many high encomiums on the pleasure of a trip to Flushing, the town, the bay and harbour, so like * Venice and its bay/ But 'the fashions of this world pass away;’ and I hope this resort may not make Flushing too much like Venice , before it take some other direc- tion/' Under the same head is also the following no- tice : — “In this town (township) are still remaining two white oaks, which, with others long since de- stroyed, formed a shade, under which George Fox held a religious meeting in the year 1672. It is well known that George Fox was the founder of the sect of Friends, or Quakers, and that they erect no monu- ments to perpetuate remembrance. The Quakers, therefore, regard these trees with lively interest, and see in them all that monuments could teach, however splendid or costly.” Returned to W ’s to dine ; soon after which, with many obliging regrets at the shortness of my stay, I again took my departure to Flushing, to meet the New York steam-boat. Varying the morning’s route a little, we passed by what is considered, I be- d 2 36 NEW YORK AND BROOKLYN, lieve, the most complete farm upon the island. It consists of two hundred acres of land, a very su- perior house, a good farm-house, and excellent out- buildings, being also well fenced, and in a high state of cultivation. It cost the original proprietor 75,000 dollars, and has lately been sold for 30,000 dollars. It is, however, wanting of wood, which greatly de- tracts from its value. On arriving at New York, I crossed the ferry to Brooklyn, where I was politely welcomed by the friends whose hospitable roof I had so recently quitted. The temperature of to-day much as yester- day. 9th . — The night very fine and pleasant, as the morning continues. Making up letters for England, by the ship Adeline, leaving to-morrow, when I also hope to be off on my western journey. 10th . — A day of dissatisfaction, having passed it in the disappointed expectation of the arrival of a gen- tleman from Philadelphia, who had engaged to ac- company me into Orange county : come or not I start in the morning. My worthy friends at Brooklyn are much troubled this evening on account of the serious indisposition of their infant, from an attack of cholera morbus , a disease which carries off a great number of children here at this season of the year. Two doctors* have been called in, who quite disagree as to the mode ol* treatment, and between them and the disease * In this land of freedom doctor appears to be a title given and assumed nearly indiscriminately by all of the profession. AND STEAM-BOAT ‘ ALBANY/ 37 the little sufferer has, I fear, but a poor chance. During the late hot weather the number of deaths in the city alone amounted, in one week, to 204 ; (the usual number about 80,) more than 70 of these were under one year old, and 80 under five years of age. Many of the churchyards bear melancholy testimony to the mortality which at times has pre- vailed here ; though no bodies are now permitted to be interred, except in vaults, in the populous parts of the city. The general habits of the people, as regards the matter of health, as far as I have observed them in public, I consider decidedly bad, — chewing quantities of tobacco, drinking spirits, eating much, and upon the same occasion, of meat, pastry, fruit, and vegetables, and rising almost ere the repast be swallowed, with other customs they may not thank me to particularize, but the dispensing with which I have no doubt would, at least, render dyspepsia, one of their most fashionable maladies, and of the very name of which I begin to weary, much less frequent than it is. 1 1 th . — At seven this morning I got upon the steam boat Albany, to proceed up the Hudson river to Albany, about 150 miles north of New York, de- signing thus to leave Orange county until my return, but meeting with my Philadelphia friend just before starting, I was persuaded to adhere to my original plan of proceeding, and to land with him at New- burgh, sixty miles up the river, for the purpose of visiting it now. —The fare to that place seventy-five cents. 38 HUDSON RIVER, &C. The Albany is the most splendid conveyance I ever moved in, in my life, though surpassed, I am told, by the North America, belonging to the same Company, and fully con6rms every report I had heard of the vast superiority which the Americans display over us in the construction and arrangement of their steam- vessels, — in fact, of all vessels. It is no uncommon thing for there to be 500 or 600 persons on board one of these boats at a time. This morning there might be about 350 ; some, like us, landing at intermediate places, of which there are twenty or more, but the greater part going through to Albany. The whole distance (150 miles) is usually performed in twelve hours, more or less. In so rapid a transit it is impossible that I should describe places, or do any justice to the impressions excited by the varied and all-attractive scenery of this noble river. I could have wished not to have “thought down hours to moments,” but to have prolonged mo- ments to hours. I was so hurried on from the sublime to the beautiful, and again from the beautiful to the sublime, that before the image of one had impressed itself upon the mind, the other appeared to take pos- session, and every successive change but deepened the thrill of admiration and rapture. “ On one hand are seen summits, crowned with forests, apparently im- penetrable to the footsteps of cultivation, and on the other, beautiful and extensive lawns, checkered with the abodes of husbandry, and glowing in all the rich verdure of summer ; while, in the same circumstances HUDSON RIVER, &C. 39 of vision, may be seen the fading view of some town or city, and in perspective, a perpetual opening scenery of forests and cultivation, plains and moun- tains, towns and villages, imparting to the beholder all the charms of novelty, with the highest emotions of the sublime.” Almost the name of every place, too, I heard arti- culated reminded me of some scene or circumstance connected with that glorious struggle for indepen- dence, of which this was so frequently the theatre, and I exulted within myself at beholding the hallowed ground where the great and the brave had fought and fallen, but to raise over their ashes a prouder monu- ment than the “ the storied urn, or animated bust,” the deathless, the blood-bought altar of liberty ! long, long may it claim the homage, and the hearts of their posterity. Commencing the ascent of the river, I find the various objects of interest to a stranger well and accurately described in an excellent publication, with which I supplied myself previous to leaving New York ;* and to which, hurried as, upon this occasion, my journey must necessarily be, I may have frequently to refer. The first place noticed is * Weehawken, about six miles from the city, on the west side of the river, the ground on which Gen. Hamilton fell in a duel with Col. Burr. It is a small spot on the margin of the river, with huge rocks on three sides, effectually screen- “ Traveller’s Guide to the Middle and Northern States, and Canada.” 40 HUDSON RIVER, &C. mg it from the observation of man, except from the river; and probably has, for that cause, been selected as a suitable place for settling affairs of honour. ‘ Till within a few years it contained a monument erected to the memory of General Hamilton by the St. Andrew’s Society; but it has been removed. His body was deposited in the ground attached to Trinity Church in the city, where there is a handsome monu- ment, inclosed in an iron railing. ‘ The Palisadoes, which make their first appearance on the Hudson, about eight miles from New York, are a range of rocks, from twenty to five hundred feet in height, and extending from thence to Tappan, a distance of about twenty miles. In some places they rise almost perpendicularly from the shore, and form, for several miles in extent, a solid wall of rock, diver- sified only by an occasional fishing hut on the beach at their base, or wood slides down their sides,* and sometimes by an interval of a few acres of arable land, affording an opening for a landing place and a steep road leading to their top. On the opposite side of the river the land is varied by hill and dale, cultivated fields and woods, with cottages and country seats. ‘ Twenty-four miles above New York the river ex- pands and forms what is called Tappan Bay. The little village of Tappan, a place of much note during Andre’s and Arnold’s conspiracy, is situated on its western shore. The spot of Andre’s grave is still pointed out near this village, though his remains, a * For the purpose of conveying fire wood from the top to the bottom of the rocks. HUDSON RIVER, & C, 41 few years since, were conveyed to England by order of the British Government. The bay is from two to five miles wide, and eight miles long. Above Tappan village, on the eastern shore, is the village of Tarry- town, where Andre was captured by three American militia-men.* ‘Near the northern extremity of Tappan Bay, on the eastern shore, is the Sing Sing state prison. It com- prises 800 dormitories or solitary cells, is four stories high, and occupies 50 by 500 feet of ground. From * ‘ The names of the three men were John Paulding, Isaac Van Wart, and David Williams. Paulding died some years ago, and a monument was erected over his grave by the Corporation of New York. Van Wart died more recently, and a monument to his memory has been erected by the citizens of West Chester county. The following inscriptions are copied from the pedestal of the monument : On the north side — " Here repose the immortal remains of Isaac Van Wart, An Elder of Greensburgh Church, who died on the 23rd of May, 1828, in the 69th year of his age. Having lived the life, he died the death of a Christian." On the south side — •‘FIDELITY. *' On the 23rd Sept. 1780, Isaac Van Wart, accompanied by John Pauld- ing, and David Williams, ail farmers of the county of West Chester, inter- cepted Maj. Andrd on his return from the American lines in the character of a spy, and, notwithstanding the large bribes offered them for his release, nobly disdained to sacrifice their country for gold, — secured and carried him to the commanding officer of the district, whereby the dangerous and traitorous conspiracy of Arnold was brought to light, the insidious designs of the enemy baffled, the American army saved, and our beloved country, now free and independent, rescued from most imminent periL" On the east side — “ Vincit amor Patrick.’’ "Nearly half a century before this monument was built, the conscript fathers of America had, in the Senate Chamber, voted that Isaac Van Wart was a faithful patriot, one in whom the love of country w'as invin- cible, and this tomb bears testimony that the record is true.” On the west side — “ The citizens of the county of West Chester erected this tomb in tes- timony of the high sense they entertained for the virtuous and patriotic con- duct of their fellow-citizen, and as a memorial sacred to public gratitude ” 42 HUDSON RIVER, &C. each end of the main building*, which stands parallel with the river, in a westerly direction, are carried out wing*s 300 feet in extent, forming a spacious inner yard open only to the river. The wings, composed of marble, are constructed for workshops, a chapel, a kitchen, hospital, &c. The chapel is of sufficient dimensions to hold 900 persons. The keeper’s house, on the south-eastern end of the main building, is also constructed of marble. The number of convicts in the prison in 1829, was about 600. Its erection was commenced in 1825; and its cost is estimated at rising of 200,000 dollars. ‘ The Highlands, or Fishkill Mountains , which first appear about forty miles from New York, will attract notice, not only from their grandeur and sublimity, but also from their association with some of the most important events of the revolution. This chain of mountains is about sixteen miles in width, and extends along both sides of the Hudson, to the distance of twenty miles. The height of the principal has been estimated at 1565 feet. According to the theory of Dr. Mitchell, this thick and solid barrier seems, in ancient days, to have impeded the course of the water, and to have raised a lake high enough to cover all the country to Quaker Hill and the Laconic Mountains on the east, and to Shawangunk and the Catskill Mountains on the west; extending to the Little Falls of the Mohawk, and to Hadley Falls on the Hudson ; but by some convulsion of nature, the mountain chain has been broken, and the rushing waters found their way to the now New York Bay. At the entrance of HUDSON RIVER, &C. 43 the Highlands, on the south, is the site of an old fort on Ver plank’s Point, opposite to which stood the fort of Stoney Point, which was taken from General Wayne in 1778, and re-taken by him the same year. About two miles north of this, what is termed the Horse-race commences. This consists of an angle in the river, which, for a little more than a mile, takes an easterly direction, contracted to a very narrow space within bold and rocky mountains ; one of which, Anthony’s Nose, is 1,228 feet high, and is opposite the mouth of Montgomery Creek, overlooking Forts Montgomery and Clinton. These forts, under command of Gene- ral Putnam, were captured by the British troops under Sir Henry Clinton, in 1777, when on his way to co-operate with General Burgoyne, the news of whose surrender, however, reached Sir Henry when he had proceeded as far as Kingston, fifty miles higher up, and changed his advance into a retreat. Bloody Pond, so called from its being the place in which the bodies of the slain were thrown after the defences of these forts, is in the rear of Fort Clinton. * West Point, one of the most impregnable posts dur- ing the revolutionary war, is situated on the west side of the Hudson, near the entrance of the Highlands on the north. It formed one of the most important fastnesses of the American army during the eight years’ contest with the British nation ; and the con- sequence attached to it, in a military point of view, was evinced by the repeated but unsuccessful efforts of the enemy to obtain it. "It was here that Arnold conceived the horrid pur- E 44 HUDSON RIVER, &C. pose of bartering his country for gold. This con- spiracy, however, which aimed a death-blow at liberty in the western hemisphere, resulted only in the uni- versal contempt and ignominy of Arnold and the lamented death of the unfortunate Andre.* There * The circumstances connected with this event are of so peculi- arly interesting and affecting a character, that, though rather a long one, I cannot feel satisfied to withhold or abridge the following extract. Those familiar with the history of the revolutionary war must forgive me— those who are not will • — “ Benedict Arnold was a native of the State of Connecticut, and from the first commence ment of hostilities he had distinguished himself as a brave soldier, and an enterprising and skilful commander. He had succeeded in the bold and difficult attempt to invade the Canadas from the State of Maine, where the sufferings of himself and soldiers had excited the sensibility of the nation towards him. At Quebec, on Lake Champlain, and at Saratoga, he had acted a distinguished part ; aud, at the time of his appointment to the command of West Point, which was in November, 1779, he bore an honourable testi- monial of his attachment to his country, in the wounds which he had recently received at the surrender of Burgoyne. “ The residence of General Arnold w r as at the house and farm of Colonel Beverly Robinson, opposite West Point, on the east bank of the Hudson : — (the house is still a conspicuous object.) — It was here that General Arnold made the first proposals to surrender West Point, and the forces under his command, to the British army. The agents on the part of the British were Colonel Beverly Robinson and Major John Andre, who held frequent communications with the American General from on board the Vulture sloop of war, then lying at Haverstraw Bay, about 10 miles below Stoney and Verplank’s Points. « Major Andre, at that time 29 years of age, had from the natural amiablenes of his character, and his superior accomplishments as a citizen and a soldier, acquired the unreserved confidence of his officers, and was emphatically considered the favourite of the Bri- tish army. In early life he had formed an attachment with a lady whom he addresses by the name of Delia, and to whom he had devoted all the leisure afforded from the intervals of a mercantile profession, until the news of her marriage with a more successful rival, drove him, disappointed and unfortunate, to the bustling pur- suits of the camp. His biographer remarks ‘ There was some- thing singularly interesting in’ the character and fortunes of Andre* HUDSON RIVER, &C. 45 are here at present a number of dwelling-houses, and a military academy, built on the plain which forms the To an excellent undertanding, well improved by education and tra= vel, he united a peculiar elegance of mind and manners, and the ad- vantages of a pleasing person. His knowledge appeared without ostentation. His sentiments were elevated, and inspired esteem, as they had a softness that conciliated affection. His elocution was handsome — his address easy, polite, and insinuating. By his merit he had acquired the unlimited confidence of his General, and was making rapid progress in military rank and reputation. But in the height of his career, flushed with new hopes from the execution of a project the most beneficial to his party that could be devised, he is at once precipitated from the summit of prosperity, and sees all the expectations of his ambition blasted, and himself ruined.’ u A night in the month of Sept., 1780, was chosen for the fatal in- terview between Arnold and Andre. Under the pretence of a cor- respondence with the British General, on the subject of a treaty of peace, Arnold had succeeded in enlisting in his service an intelli gent and respectable citizen of the name of Smith. Under his di- rection a boat was despatched to the Vulture sloop of war, then lying across the Bay of Haverstraw, about twelve miles distant, to convey the British agent to the place appointed by Arnold for their meeting. On examining the papers, it was found that a pass had been sent for Colonel Beverly Robinson, and also a blank pass for whomsoever should be selected for the important trust. In the latter pass was inserted the name of John Anderson, under which name Andre consented to be conveyed to the shore from whence he was destined never to return. The place appointed for the inter- view was at the foot of a mountain called Long Clove, on the west side of the Hudson. Hither General Arnold had repaired, and on the arrival of Andre was found secreted in a thick grove of firs, the scene of their subsequent conference. After considerable conversation, which lasted till thedawn of day, it was found impracticable for Andre to return without being discovered from the neighbouring forts of Stoney and Verplank’s Points. He was, therefore, conveyed to the house of Smith, the person who had brought him to the shore, and who afterwards accompanied him on his way to New York. At this house he procured a coat in exchange for his military dress which he had worn on shore, and on the evening of the day after his arrival, set out in company with Smith, and under a pass from General Arnold, for White Plains. “ The first night of their journey was spent at a Mr. M‘Koy’s, about eight miles from the place of their departure. The next day they 46 HUDSON RIVER, &C. bank of the river, 188 feet in height, to which a road ascends on the north side of the point. In the back rode, without any interruption, as far as Pine’s Bridge, across the Croton river, which empties into the Hudson on the west side, at the head of Tappan Bay. Here, having received the necessary in structions as to the road he was to take, Andre the next morning took leave of his guide, and pursued his journey. He had not pro- ceeded more than six miles, when he was arrested by the three American militia-men, who, with others, were out on a scouting party between the out-posts of the two armies. These men stopped Major Andre in a narrow part of the road, at a place near Tarry- town, by suddenly seizing his horse by the bridle. Instead of imme- diately producing the pass which had been furnished him by General Arnold, Andre inquired where they belonged to ? They answered, “ To below.” Not suspecting any deception, he replied, “ So do I •” and declaring himself to be a British Officer, he entreated that he might not be detained, being on pressing business. This declaration was followed by further inquiries, which excited still more suspicion, and at length induced a resolution on their part to detain him. Finding himself thus surprised and a prisoner, he made use of every persuasion to regain his liberty, and offered a very valuable gold watch for his release; but it was all to no effect. “ They asked for his papers, which being refused, they commenced searching him, and memorandums, in Arnold’s handwriting, relating to the forces and defences of West Point, were found concealed in his boots. “Despatches were immediately forwarded to Gen. Washington, together with a letter from Major Andre to General Arnold, appriz- ing him of his arrest and detention. In consequence of some mis take of the messenger, information of the circumstances reached Arnold some time before Washington was apprized at all of them. Upon the receipt of the letter Arnold seized the messenger’s horse, and immediately proceeded down a precipice to the river, where boats were always ready to pass to and from West Point, and jump- ing into one of them, he directed the hands to row him down the river to the Vulture sloop of war. In the meantime information had been received by Washington, and scarce had Arnold passed Stoney and Verplank’s Points, when Colonel Hamilton arrived at the latter place with orders to stop him. “ Andre was arrested on the 23rd Sept., and a Board of General Qfficers were immediately summoned, by order of General Wash- ington, for his trial. The circumstances of the case were the sub- ject of much excitement in both the American and British armies, HUDSON RIVER, &C. 47 ground, and elevated on a mass of rocks 598 feet in height, is the site of Fort Putnam. Silence and decay now mark the spot of this once formidable fortress. Its mouldering ruins, however, convey a pretty cor- rect idea of the impregnable barrier its ramparts once presented to the enemies of freedom. f The Military Academy, here established by Con- gress, was first organized under the direction of the late General Williams, in 1802. Of the number of applicants for admission to this institution, a pre- ference is usually given, first, to the sons of officers of the revolution, and, secondly, to the sons of deceased officers of the late war. None are admitted under the age of fourteen years, nor above twenty- two. The number of cadets is limited to 250, each of whom costs the Government 336 dollars annually; and the whole establishment is maintained at an an- nual expense of 115,000 dollars. In addition to the and created much sympathy in favour of Andre. After an inquiry of a number of days, the court determined that Andre ought to be considered as a spy from the en emy, and that, agreeably to the law and usage of nations, he ought to suffer death. This sentence was protested against, on the ground that Andre had been admitted into the American camp under the protection of a flag, and at the imme- diate instance of Arnold, the commanding officer of the district, whose safe passport and return he had a right to demand. But the sentence was consented to be waved only on condition of deliver- ing Arnold into the custody of the American army ; which being refused by the British General, Andre was executed on the 2nd of October, 1780, at Tappan, or Orange Town, where his remains were deposited. When disinterred, for the purpose of being conveyed to England, it was discovered that the roots of a cypress had entwined their branches around the skull of the deceased. “ The four surviving children of Gen. Arnold have become pen- sioners of Great Britain, and receive annuities of £100 sterling each.” 48 HUDSON RIVER &C, various sciences which are taught here, the cadets arer instructed in all the practical minutiae of tactics ; com- prehending the lowest duties of the private soldier, as well as the highest duties of the officer. They are also required to encamp for six or eight weeks in a year ; during which time they are instructed in the manner of pitching and striking tents, in the various infantry evolutions, and in all the details of the camp/ * Several of the buildings at West Point are elegant, and among the number may be ranked a new and spacious hotel. It has been erected in a style and on a scale which render it a great ornament to the grounds. It is substantially built of stone, painted yellow, and the lower story is surrounded on its sides with extensive piazzas, forming a delightful prome- nade. Its rear is upon the Hudson, and presents a fine view up the river through the Highlands. The front faces the parade ground and the ground used for the encampment/ * Near the north-eastern extremity of the grounds, at the projecting point forming the abrupt bend of the river, stands a monument of white marble, consisting of a base and short column, on the former of wffiich is simply inscribed on one side, “Kosciusko,” it hav- ing been erected to the memory of that distinguished patriot, who resided here/ ' On the bank of the Hudson, at the south-eastern extremity of the parade ground, and several yards be- neath, is a spot called Kosciusko’s Garden, or Kos- cuisco’s Retreat. Tt is the place to which the Polish HUDSON RIVER, &C. 49 patriot was accustomed to retire to study, and which was cultivated by his own hands. Though now neg- lected, the marks of cultivation are perceptible in the regularity of the walks and the arrangement of the trees. A more delightful spot for recreation or repose cannot be imagined, nor one more suitable as a retreat from the cares of the great world, or a sanctuary for unfortunate patriotism or persecuted virtue.’ * Passing the Highlands, the prospect changes into a very agreeable contrast. The bay of Newburgh with the village of the same name, and New-Windsor, and on the opposite shore the village of Fishkill, with its numerous adjacent manufactories and country seats, together with a view of the Hudson for many miles above, form a prospect which cannot fail to impart much interest. The village of New-Windsor stands on the margin of the river, seven miles from West Point. It is calculated for a pleasant place of resi- dence, but in business it must yield to the rival vil- lage of ‘ Newburgh. This is an incorporated village, si- tuated on the declivity of a hill on the west side of the Hudson, ten miles north from West Point, and eighty-four south from Albany. It contains about six hundred houses, and four thousand inhabitants. From its situation it commands an extensive inter- course and trade with the country on the west, and, by means of the Hudson river, with New York. This place was for some time the head-quarters of the American army during the revolutionary war; and 50 HUDSON RIVER, &C. the “ stone house” in which General Washington quartered is still standing. ‘ On the opposite side of the liver (from Newburgh) is Beacon Hill, one of the highest summits of the Fishkill Mountains, where parties of pleasure fre- quently resort, in the summer season, to witness an extent of prospect including a part of the territories of five different states. This hill is 1471 feet in height. ‘Half a mile south is the New Beacon, or Grand Sachem, 1685 feet above the level of the Hudson. They are called Beacon Hills, from the circumstance that beacons were erected on their summits during the revolutionary war. The continuation of this chain of mountains is lost in the Appalachian Range on the north-east, and extends south as far as the eye can reach. Diminished in distance is seen West Point, environed by mountains, apparently reposing on the surface of the Hudson, and bathing their rocky summits in the clouds.* We reached Newburgh between twelve and one o’clock, from whence we procured a man with a pair of horses and one of their light waggons to convey us across the county about twenty-five miles, for which we agreed to pay him four dollars. After travelling over twelve miles of very bad road, through a barren, rocky, half cleared, uninteresting country, we arrived at Montgomery, a village with a few pretty good houses and stores, and, perhaps, about 800 inhabitants. We were detained some little time at this place, in borrow- ing another waggon, the one we started with having broken down by the way, and declined further service. ORANGE COUNTY. 51 About a mile before making Montgomery, we passed the house and farm of a Mr. Waite , who emigrated from Bristol a few years ago : he has about ninety acres of land, contiguous to his house, for which he gave thirty dollars per acre, and two hundred more at some little distance : — is looked upon as a good and extensive farmer. As we drove along we observed many persons cut- ting and carrying their hay, in the midst of stumps and stones, and where an English farmer would have deemed it utterly impracticable to have performed either operation. They allow their hay to become much riper than we do, gathering it last of all, except their Indian corn crop, and it really appears poor dry and coarse stuff. The cattle I saw were of a very in- ferior description ; the cows small — precise breed not easily determinable ; sheep, just of the order that range our commons ; and as to pigs, they were per- fectly hideous; their heads large, legs long, sides very flat, and bristled along the back like a wild boar. I have not seen one handsome individual of this race, except in Long Island. With some partial excep- tions, where the land was pretty much cleared of stumps and stones, it had a very uninviting aspect, so much so that had I not previously visited Long Island, and heard reports of other parts of the State, it would, I must confess, have given me but an indifferent opinion of farming in America. With various stoppages and hindrances it was late before we arrived at the end of our journey. My companion had been frequently in this county before. ORANGE COUNTY. 62 and seemed to have a general acquaintance both with farmers and farming concerns. At length, at a short distance from the main road, and about two miles from Bloomingburgh, in Sullivan county, he ordered the man to stop at the door of a Mr. , and not having previously heard him make any allusion to re- lationship,! was a little surprised on the old gentleman approaching us, to find him address him by the familiar appellation of “ uncle ,” a mode of salutation, of youth to age, it appears, nearly as much in vogue, throughout this western, as that of “ father ” was in the eastern world. Had we been a few minutes later, we should have found the whole household in bed, the major part, I believe, had been there some time, and the arrival of a couple of guests one of the last things thought of ; but there was no talk about “ bringing night with us ” — “ wlio’d have thought of any body coming now,” — hardly know where to put your horses &c. &c ; but those who were up welcomed us with cor- diality ; and those who had retired were quickly sum- moned, and evinced any thing rather than dissatisfac- tion at such an untimely interruption of their slumbers; all set about to entertain us in the best way the cir- cumstances of the case permitted : “ Uncle ” was very diffuse on politics and religion, (standing and con- secutive topics I find, go where you will,) and we had pretty much settled some abstruse points in both ere we had been half an hour in the house. Aunt and cousins were all alive for news, and plied us with in- terrogatories at an unmerciful rate, which, however, had I known the destiny that awaited me, I would ORANGE COUNTV. 63 have continued most patiently responding to, until the night had so far waned, as to have enabled me to decline, with a perfect good grace, the superfluous accommodation of a bed. “ What, the bugs again ?” — -Bear with me, reader, though I can hardly bear with myself, — "tis even so. It is now three o’clock on the morning of the 12 th of August, and for the last two hours, unable any longer to endure the inside of the house, I have been making trial of the out, and, in trans-Atlantic phraseology, have located myself in an adjoining shed, after disturbing half the family, and I know not what else, in effecting my escape, but which, after all, by the bye, is but a sorry sort of retreat, since, though I have cleared the bugs, I have been pounced upon by a fine corps of musquetoes, — light infantry to the others to be sure, but almost ' making up in numbers what they want in weight,’ and thirsting for my blood with a like avidity : either are bad enough, but united they oppose one of the most formidable barriers to a peaceable existence in the country I have yet met with; and it is the more trying to be subject to the annoyance just at that season of the year when the heat of the weather renders you less able to bear it. An American may smile at these remarks, but, as I have said, an English- man will not, — upon trial. — A pig has just risen from his berth and paid me a visit — the most agreeable living thing I have seen for hours, — and, thanks, the morning dawns. Determining, after what I had seen of the county on the preceding day, and evidenced of its produc - 54 ' ORANGE COUNTY. tions during the past night, not to prolong my stay in it, betimes this morning, partly on horseback, and partly on foot, I commenced a little further survey ; availing myself wherever, and so far as I could, of the experience of practical residents, but, without tending much to remove the unfavourable impressions pre- viously recorded. That portions of rich and valuable land are to be found in some parts, I readily admit ; but the general character of it is rocky and rugged in the extreme. I do not believe that a farm of two hundred acres could be any where selected in the county, of which the majority could be called well cleared , good land. Perhaps the best is to be found the neighbourhood of Goshen, where a great weight of butter is made and sent to New York market, at which it is in high repute. There is also some quantity of hemp grown in the county. Farms, with a fair house and outbuildings, are to be purchased for about thirty dollars per acre; price, of course, varying a little with circumstances. Articles of produce much as in Long Island, though the yield is generally less, and prices lower, and little, if any, fruit, & c. is cultivated for the New York market. Plaster is much used as a manure, worth at Newburgh seven dollars a ton ; considered a sufficient quantity for twelve acres. Cider is chiefly made for private use. The county is well supplied with water, and there is abundance of iron ore, mar- ble, lime, sand-stone, &c. ; but for an English farmer I should consider it any thing but desirable. Soon after four o’clock, p. m. I made for the high orange county -Newburgh. 55 road, and got into the Western Mail, a ponderous, uncouth vehicle, drawn by four good horses, carry- in o- nine inside, and one on the seat, or rail, with the driver — a gentleman in his shirt sleeves, and in good keeping with the whole concern. I may here notice a peculiarity in the tactics of American coachmanship, which not unfrequently brings English Jehu’s in con- tact with the wheels of their carriages, namely, that of turning out upon the right instead of the left side ; one would verily think by way of opposition, as all to whom I have noticed the custom admit its impro- priety — know not how it has obtained, but that so it is, and they are compelled to observe it. Our progress along a rugged, and, in some parts, dangerous road, was from three to six miles an hour, the dust, at times, nearly choking us : we managed, however, to reach Newburgh soon after nine in the evening. Here it had been my intention to have taken the night boat to Albany, w'hich passed by from New York about an hour afterwards ; but the day having been very warm, my exertion not trifling, and a night of campaigning into the bargain, after receiv- ing very positive assurances at the most respectable hotel in the place (the Mansion House, kept by Evan Davis) that T should be lodged secure from all invasion, I determined upon quartering here until morning ; and shortly requested an introduc- tion to my apartment, which I found as appa- rently neat and clean as I could have desired ; the bed and all the furniture in it excellent and nearly new. Well, thought I, this is some improvement F 56 AT NEWBURGH!, upon Bloomingburgh — no vermin here — sure of a charming night now, at all events — and with such like agreeable reflections and anticipations consigned myself to bed ; but, alas ! alas ! “ man is born to trouble whoso doubteth it, let him travel in a land of bugs and musquetoes. “ Kind nature’s sweet re- storer, balmy sleep,” had not commenced her visit ere my most persecuting assailants were again at me; — bugs I mean ; and I Was soon up and in a state of open warfare, killing and slaying in all directions. Finding myself thus deceived, and suffering se- verely from injuries received, I sallied forth, and was soon in close and no very peaceful contact with both landlord and waiter, who, until they went and examined for themselves, would not believe that such an appearance as I presented could have proceeded from such a cause, or even that the wretched vermin could have found access to the apartment into which they very politely told me (but I was in no mood to be complimented) that they never put any but the most respectable of their company. To dispute the point, however, against the joint evidence of our senses, was out of the question, and after expressing the utmost concern at the occurrence, and lamenting, in consequence of guests received by the steam-boats, in which the pest, or pestilence , if you will, abounds, the great difficulty they had in keeping, or, in fact, knowing, when they were free from it, I could only make the best of my bad bargain, and retiring into a drawing-room, threw myself upon a sofa, and, over- AND DEPARTURE FOR ALBANY. 67 powered with fatigue and vexation, dropped, perforce, to. sleep. August 13 th . — A most fine morning, and having taken a dip in the beautiful Hudson, with other re- freshing operations, I feel my condition somewhat improved, though truly in a poor plight, and half ashamed to walk abroad, even in this land of freedom, which, by the bye, at the rate I am proceeding, will prove any thing else to me. I scarcely think to venture into a bed again at any public establishment in the country : the consequences are too serious for any patient endurance, and if this be a fair spe- cimen of American entertainment of travellers, though already I can bear ample testimony to good fare and hospitality, I, for one, must be content to say, “ England, with all thy faults, I love thee still.” In consequence of the morning boat, which ought to have arrived here at twelve o’clock, having broken a part of her machinery, and come to a stand a few miles below, I was detained until near five in the afternoon, when the “Chief Justice Marshall” made its appearance, a very fine boat, though smaller than the Albany, from which, in addition to her own, she had received about 2-50 passengers, so that we were pretty thick upon the ground. It was a splendid moonlight evening, and the scenery which lined the banks of the river, though less grand than that which we passed through on the previous day, pos- sessed almost equal claims to admiration ; the towns and villages on either side we could discern but in- distinctly, — shall probably have an opportunity of 18 ALBANY. noticing them on my return, and therefore only ob- serve that, after passing Milton, Poughkeepsie, Hy de- park Landing, Catskill, the city of Hudson, & c. we reached Albany, at one o'clock this morning the 14 th of August but being unable to get my luggage from the boat before daylight, (an arrange- ment which the frequent thefts committed at all the landing-places of these vessels has rendered necessary) I did not quit it until after four o’clock ; during which interval I was visited again and again by the agents of the two lines of western stages, each eloquent upon the decided superiority of travelling by that for which he was respectively interested. They are termed the “ Old ” (which until lately was the only line) and “ Pioneer ” line. As a stranger, I at length decided upon the former, and engaged a place to Utica, in Oneida county, ninety-four miles W. N. W. of Albany, to start at nine o’clock ; afterwards getting into the bar of an indifferent inn, the only one I saw open, 1 dozed for an hour or so on three most uneasy wooden chairs, when, recollecting the brief interval allowed me for observation, — not that I forsook my couch with any extraordinary reluctance, — I rose and proceeded to reconnoitre the city ; with which, as the capital of the state, I cannot but express myself rather disap- pointed. "It is situated on the west side of the Hud- son river, and near the head of tide water. It was settled in 1612 ; and next to Jamestown in Virginia, is the oldest settlement in the United States. In 1614, a small fort and trading house were built by the Dutch on an island half a mile below the site of the present ALBANY. 69 city ; and soon afterwards, Fort Orange, where the city now stands. The place was first called Aurania ; then Beverwyck, till 1625 ; then Fort Orange, till 1647; and Williamstadt, till 1664. For a long time after its foundation it was inclosed with palisadoes or pickets, as a defence against the Indians, who were then numerous and powerful in its vicinity. Its charter was granted in the year 1686, and embraced an area of 7160 acres. A great proportion of its soil is sandy and unproductive, and under no system of useful cub tivation.’ Upon my going out soon after six o’clock, I found a great part of the stores open, and nearly as much appearance of business as there would have been at mid-day ; — generally speaking, commercial men in America (by which I include a great majority) commence the day much earlier than the same class in England, and whereas a London or Liverpool merchant will reach his office by ten or eleven, those of New York will be found at their posts soon after, and very often before, eight o’clock. The same want of uniformity and neatness which I had no- ticed at New York, was here still more conspicuous. There are many good buildings in different parts of the town, but nothing like a good street from beginning to end, and some of them are very badly paved, and not wholly free from appearances of vegetation ; the two principal. Market-street and Pearl-street, run parallel with the river, and State- street nearly E. and W. The public buildings most worthy of notice, are the Capitol and the State-hall . 60 ALBANY. "The Capitol, which contains the legislative halls, the common council chamber of the corporation, the su- preme and chancery court rooms of the state, the county clerk’s office, the state library, and other apart- ments for business, stands at the head of State- street, on an elevation of 130 feet above the level of the river. It is a substantial stone edifice, erected at an expense of 120,000 dollars ; of which sum 34,000 was paid by the corporation of the city. It is 115 feet in length, 90 feet in breadth, and 50 feet in height, con- sisting of two stories, and a basement of ten feet. The east front is adorned with a portico of the Ionic order. In the senate and assembly chambers, and in the room used for holding the court of chancery, are full-length portraits of Washington, of the various executives who have administered the government of the state, and of Abraham Van Vechten, Esq., an eminent counsellor at law, residing in Albany. There is also in the senate chamber a good bust of Dr. Franklin. ‘ The State Hall , for the offices of the Secretary of the State, Comptroller, Treasurer, Surveyor-Gene- ral, Attorney-General, and Clerk of the Supreme Court, is situated on the south side of State-street, nearly equidistant from the Capitol and the Albany, Farmers’ and Mechanics’ Banks ; both of which stand at the foot of State-street, and are elegant, white mar- ble edifices. There are in this city four Banks, and fourteen houses for public worship. Also a large brick building for a Lancastrian School, a Theatre in South Pearl-street, an Athenaeum, and an Arsenal in ALBANY. 61 North Market-street. The Museum is in South Mar- ket-street, and is one of the best in the country. North of the Capitol, stands the Academy, the most elegantly constructed building in the city. It cost about 92,000 dollars, exclusive of the lot on which it is erected, and some donations. It is built of free- stone, three stories in height, and ninety feet in front. It is one of the most flourishing institutions in the state; has five teachers and about one hundred and forty students.’ The principal Hotels are the Ame- rican Hotel, in State-street, a large and elegant esta- blishment; the Mansion House, and City Hotel, in north Market-street ; the State-street House in State- street, which, with others, no doubt, present every re- quisite comfort and convenience. In point of trade, wealth, and resources, Albany is considered to rank next to New York. The Erie and Champlain Canals, those great works of the day, which I shall take an opportunity of noticing more particularly, unite at Water vliet, eight miles and a half north of the city, and flow into it in one channel ; so that the produce of the north and the west, and an immense amount of merchandise from New York, &c. pass through it. No census has been taken since 1820, though one is now in progress;— its present population may be about 20,000, but I speak without data. There are a number of stages leaving daily, in different directions, and extras, or hired convey- ances, to be had in abundance. I much regretted that I had not an opportunity of visiting two objects of interest in the neighbourhood. 62 FARM, NEAR ALBANY. namely, the farm of J. Buell , Esq., and the Shaker Settlement , of which I extract the following notices: — ‘ The highly cultivated farm of J. Buell, Esq., is about two miles west of Albany on the Cherry Valley turnpike. This farm, consisting of eighty acres, has been wholly reclaimed from commons since 1818, and is now under profitable cultivation. Mr. Buell pos- sessed the first requisite for improvement — a con- sciousness of the want of knoivledge in his new employ- ment. He diligently sought for this knowledge in the practice of the best farmers, and in the study of the sciences upon which agriculture is based ; directing, and superintending himself the labours of his farm. His improvements consist in selecting the best imple- ments adapted to his soil — in substituting fallow crops for naked fallows — in extensively and success- fully cultivating the Swedish and common turnip, as a second crop, after clover and small grains — in in- troducing new and valuable grasses — in the cultiva- tion of live fences, which he has growing of the white European thorn, of the native thorn of our woods, and of the three-thorned or honey locust — and in the eco- nomy and application of ordinary, and the use of new manures. His object has been to grow only good crops, and these at the least expense. In 1827 he sold from sixty-four acres in tillage and grass, under farm cul- ture, produce to the amount of more than 1500 dollars, exclusive of the consumption of a large family. His kitchen and flow r er gardens, abounding in the finest native and foreign fruits, ornamental trees, shrubs, and flowers, will also be visited with interest/ SETTLEMENT OF THE SHAKERS, 63 * The Shaker Settlement at Niskayuna is eight miles north-west of Albany. The Shakers are the followers of Ann Lee, called by them Mother Ann, a religious enthusiast, who was born in England some time ante- cedent to the revolutionary war, and while yet in her youth suffered much tribulation and deep exercises of spirit, in her conversion from the sins of this world to a state of greater perfection. She endured severe trials and much persecution, according to her own account, from her countrymen ; but was afterwards favoured with visions and an exhibition of miracles in her favour. Although in early life herself the wife of a poor blacksmith, the principal tenet of her creed is absolute and entire celibacy, which is defended on various spiritual grounds, and fully set forth in a work recently published by the society. In conse- quence of the persecutions experienced by Mother Ann, in England, she came to this country, and estab- lished a small society, which has been followed by the establishment of others, of which this is one. Her followers regard her memory with pious veneration, and consider themselves as the only people in pos- session of the true light. Some of the oldest and most perfect members, it is said, pretend to “ speak with tongues/^heal diseases by the touch, &c. The marriage contract is dissolved on joining the society ; their association is a perfect community of goods, all private property being thrown into the common stock, and they profess to banish the love of ambition, wealth, and luxury from their gloomy territories. ‘ They own at this place 2000 acres of excellent land. 64 SETTLEMENT OF THE SHAKERS, laid out and kept in the order, neatness, and cleanli- ness, which always distinguish their sect. This is di- vided into four farms, or families, as they are called, occupied by about seventy-five persons each, of both sexes and of all ages. They cultivate garden stuffs, seeds, & c. for sale, as well as everything necessary for their own support, and they manufacture various use- ful and ornamental articles. These, as well as the surplus produce of the farm, are sold, and the avails deposited in one of the Albany banks until required. The division of labour which they carry into practice, every occupation being entrusted to separate members, and their economical habits, render their gains very considerable. The men work as farmers, carpenters, shoemakers, tailors, &c. ; the women at weaving, spin- ning, washing, cooking, and in the duties of the farm ; making and mending clothes, — the occupations of each sex being performed in separate buildings. They also eat separately, and neither of them will sit down to a meal with what they call the “ world’s people.” The dress of the men is drab, perfectly plain ; that of the women, grey, with white caps, all made as plain and easy as possible. They all have a peculiar walk, but especially the females, in consequence of their mode of worship, from which they derive the name of Shakers, a strange and disagreeable mode of dancing, accompanied with a monotonous song. The young members of the community are regularly taught the steps of this dance by the older ones before they are permitted to join in public worship. It is usual before the admission of a member to all the privileges of the AND DEPARTURE FOR UTICA. 65 society, to impose a noviciate of three months, when, if he so desires, he may leave them ; if not, he is re- gularly admitted a member, and throws his property into the common stock. ' Notwithstanding the severity of their discipline as to celibacy, it is said the harmony of their society was lately much disturbed in consequence of a " love affair.” A young man and woman, both belonging to the society, in despite of the doctrines of their leader, fell from their estate of “ single blessedness,” and yielded to a worldly attachment. This heresy, as might be expected, produced considerable commotion. The members wrestled with the tempter, and the elders prayed for and with the victims to the dreaded enemy of the sect ; but all to no purpose. They left the society and were married. It is creditable, how- ever, to the members, that after finding their efforts to prevent this result unavailing, they sent the happy pair sufficient furniture for comfortable house-keeping, assigning as a reason, that they had laboured for the society, and that it was no more than justice to re- ward them.’ Before nine o’clock, with seven persons, besides myself, in our vehicle, I was again in motion for Utica. The morning was very fine and warm, but the dust terrible. The first place we arrived at was the city of Schenectady, fifteen miles from Albany ; the road as bad and the country as uninteresting as I have often travelled over, and there appears but very little in the town itself to attract the notice of a stranger. It is situated on the Mohawk river, over which there SCHENECTADY. 66 is a bridge 330 yards in length, built of wood and roofed over. The Erie Canal also passes through it, but in consequence of the number of locks between and Albany, no packet-boats run farther than Schenec- tady, and the intervening distance must therefore be passed by the stages. ‘ By the present arrangement, boats leave Schenectady every morning and evening, reaching Utica in twenty-four hours, and Buffalo, at the foot of Lake Erie, in four days. The price of con- veyance in the packet-boats is three cents per mile, meals extra.’* Spafford says that the present city ‘is built on the site of a large Indian town, anciently called Con-nugh-harie-gugh-harie, literally a-great-mul- titude-collected-together. It was built by a band of the Mohocks, or Mohawks, and could at one time send 800 warriors to the field. At a very early period of our historical knowledge of this country, the Indian settlement at this town was abandoned, (for reasons never understood by the white people,) and those Indians settled among their red brethren in the west. A long time before the American revolution they had entirely abandoned it.’ In 1819 it suffered severely by fire, 170 buildings being destroyed, and a large amount of other property. It may now contain 4000 inhabi- tants ; has a college of some celebrity, called Union College, at which about 200 students are educated an- nually ; there is also a Lancasterian and other schools, * These boats are exclusively for the conveyance of passengers, comfortably and conveniently fitted up, and towed by two or three horses. They are generally preferred to the stages, — are no doubt much easier — but give me land, however bad, or if it must be water — the ocean — no “ dull canal with locks and chains,” &c. &C., AND LITTLE FALLS. 67 three or four churches, or meeting-houses, (for the body of professors assembling, and not the building , is usually understood by the term church here,) a bank, one excellent hotel near the canal, and others else- where, besides tanneries, stores, &c. Sixteen miles further is Amsterdam , a very poor place, containing forty or fifty houses, where we dined indifferently. Passing on through Caughnawaga, Fort Plain , East Canada Creek, &c. there is little to interest the travel- ler until arriving at Little Falls in Herkimer county, when the scene becomes pleasingly romantic. "The place takes its name from a cataract in the vicinity, which in size is much inferior to the celebrated Cahoes, and has, therefore, been denominated the Little Falls of the Mohawk. A continuation of the chain of Catsbergs crosses the river at this place, and forms a rough bed for the waters of the cataract, which pour over the rocky fragments in the wildest confusion. Approaching from the south-east, a lofty ridge of mountains, frowning in grandeur on either side, conceals the course of the river and the falls, whose vicinity is announced only by the distant din and foam of its waters. For a considerable distance, a narrow pass only is allowed for a road, with im- mense natural battlements of rock on either side, affording a most sublime and interesting spectacle. About half a mile from the village the road turns suddenly to the left, presenting a view of the falls tumbling with irresistible violence over a gradual rocky descent of about eighty rods. At the termination of the ascent is situated the village, containing about G 68 LITTLE FALLS, &C., one hundred houses and eight hundred inhabitants. A little cluster of buildings, rising between the rush- ing waters of the Mohawk on the one hand, and the rugged cliffs and eminences on the other; the smooth current of the stream above gently gliding to the tumultuous scene below, and beyond the distant vale of the Mohawk, diversified with fields, orchards, mea- dows, and farm-houses, — all contribute to set off the romantic appearance for which this place is so justly celebrated. This village derives most of its impor- tance from the facilities for trade and commerce afforded by means of the Mohawk river and the Erie canal. Boats were formerly transported around the falls by means of a canal on the north side of the river. This old canal contains eight locks, and is now connected with the Erie canal on the south side of the river by means of an aqueduct 184 feet in length. The descent of the Erie canal here, in the distance of one mile, is forty feet, which is passed by five lock?.’ The road from this place continues to pursue the course of the river, and overlooks a rich alluvial vale known by the name of the Herkimer and German Flats , the latter on the opposite side of the Mohawk. Near the middle of these flats is situated the village of Herkimer, the capital of Herkimer county. — Let me here remark that the term village, in America^ must be understood as synonymous with town in Eng- land, and town or township as parish ; as this is the way they are uniformly applied, the Americans nei- ther having nor needing any thing answering to our TO UTICA. 69 ■ parish , an institution which no English farmer in the present day, and for days to come, will need de- fining. — Herkimer, like most on this day’s route, is an insignificant place, consisting chiefly of two streets and contains about eight hundred inhabitants. The remainder of the way to Utica, we travelled too late in the evening to discern any thing of the face of the country ; it was, however, less hilly, and, from what I could learn, rather loosely cultivated and uninteresting. There is some excellent land in the county of Herkimer, and much of a very inferior description; the best is to be found in the southern part, along the banks of the Mohawk, where, as in Montgomery county, which preceded it, good farms, with buildings and improvements, are to be purchased at from 25 to 40 dollars per acre. Clover seed is here cultivated to a considerable extent, and, it is said, at a good profit to the grower. The northern part of the county is very mountainous, cold, and barren, with immense forests of various kinds of timber, every way ineligible for agriculture. — We reached Utica about twelve o’clock in the evening, having travelled during the day, though at grievous bodily expense, at the rate of six miles an hour, including stoppages ; a feat which I will venture to say would never have been performed by an English coachman. The road, nearly the whole of the way, was very indifferent — rocky, and uneven, and, for the most part, unguarded. We had jolting enough not only to have broken our vehicle, but almost to have dislocated every bone in our bodies: those, however, who are unused to Mac- 70 at utica Remarks by the ivay. adamized smoothness think nothing of it, and the only emotion excited by the head being banged against the top of the coach, or a violent concussion with your opposite neighbour, (an oft-repeated occur- rence in the course of the day,) was a smile, or a hearty laugh, in proportion to the extent and mag- nitude of the jolt,-— a proof, amongst the many, what inconveniences and hardships may be tolerated, — borne even with equanimity, when we have no ability or idea of redressing them. I noticed a peculiarity in the toll-gates as we passed along, (which articles are much less frequent than in England,) namely, their drawing up in portcullis fashion, instead of opening as ours do; a custom in eastern countries referred to by that beautiful and sublime passage in the Psalms, “ Lift up your heads, O ye gates l” Sec. Another and a very convenient dissimilarity relates to the coachman, who does not expect the slightest fee or remuneration. There is no eternal opening of the door, and “ Please, Sir, I stop here — “ Please, Sir, I don’t go any further ;” — “ Please, Sir, remem- ber the coachman,” which is not always quite so pleasing as they would kindly desire it to be. Here, the fare paid, generally without opposition, about four cents a mile, you have done with all demands relative to the coach. At the end of every stage the man retires with his horses, which he has to attend upon himself, though this is a much less onerous duty than in England, brushes, curry combs. Sec. being but little in request. I do not, in any instance. At UTICA Remarks by the way. 71 recollect seeing him at all assisted even in taking out or putting in. Pretty soon after he has cleared him- self away, the driver, who is next to proceed, appears with his team, and though this changing is not quite so expeditious an affair as you may sometimes wit- ness when running opposition with us — I think I have known it performed in twenty seconds — you are off again in as little time as under the circumstances you would suppose possible. There is a very striking difference, too, perceptible at the inns : — look for no bowing landlord or obse- quious waiter at the door to welcome your arrival ; you may alight or not, as you please, and in some instances be served as if you, and not they , were the party obliged. Neither expect to find any snug par- lour or Travellers, or I suppose I must now say, Com- mercial Room, to retire to ; the bar seems the only in- habited apartment about the house, and there, upon arrival, the company immediately proceed : within it are always to be met with conveniences for washing — the very first operation — and a comb and a brush attached together by a string, suspended most likely from the ceiling, pro bono publico, and used sans ceremonie by by all comers and goers, though I took the liberty of declining the accommodation. You would suppose that all the news and affairs of the commonwealth, (as they most likely have) had gained access to this place, or, at any rate, you feel perfectly assured of being in a land where that valuable engine, the press, suffers not the slightest embarrassment : papers, daily, and weekly, local, and from different parts of the g 2 72 AT UTICA — — Remarks by the way. Union, are strewed about in * charming profusion/ — the merits of all persons and all things are discussed by all present, — the walls are covered with advertise- ments of elections — fares of stages and steam-boats, when and where running — auctions— sales of land — sales of stock — sales of merchandiser-sales of every thing that can be sold — quack medicines without end —the most prominent ‘ specifics for dyspepsia — but take exempli gratia the heads of half a dozen matters which I saw succeeding each other : — “ Real estate for sale, at a low price and easy terms to the purchaser.” - — tf Gotham. — Chronicles of the city of Gotham, from the papers of a retired common council- man ; by the author of John Bull, in America; just received and for sale by E. Peck and Co .” — “ Lectures on Univer salism, by Joel Parker, pastor of the third Presbyterian Church, Rochester .” — “ Journal of Health, price twenty-five dollars per annum .” — “ Canal transporta- tion.”- — “ Capital prize of 20,000 dollars ! Fortune’s home.” — “ I want a jirst-rate miller, and am willing to pay a first-rate price, for this fall. G. G. Kingman,” — “ Stage fare reduced ! ! ! ! — Pioneer stages from Rochester and Utica, four dollars per seat and under ; and to intermediate places in proportion. Caution to the Public. — A variety of methods having been resorted to in order to impress the public mind with the belief that the Pioneer stages are discontinued, the public are respectfully informed that the proprietors of the said line are running two daily lines of stages between Rochester, Canandaigua, and Utica, and one daily line from Utica to Albany, (sabbaths excepted ;) and at utica— — - Remarks by the way. 73 that in point of comfort, speed, and low rates of fare, this line shall not be surpassed : office, &c. — R. Hunt, agent/’ — “ Broken Banks ! Bills of the Bank of Co- lumbia, Middle District, and Washington and Warren, purchased by the subscriber. C. W. Dundas, Clinton House .” — “ Wadsworth’s cheese.” — “New shad.” — “Antibilous Pills.” — “ Cash for corn and rye.” — “ Cash for wheat.” — “ More new goods at the auction store. No. 1, Buffalo- street, near the market.” — “ Lake Ontario steam-boat.” — “ Ontario female seminary.” — " Stray horse. — Came into the stable of the subscriber, on the 19th instant, a light bay horse, with white hind legs, and one white fore foot, supposed to be five or six years old — the owner is requested to identify his property, pay the charges, and take him away — Luman Ashley.” — A trunk gone.” — “ American independence for ever ,” — “ Debilitated —but, perhaps, the fore- going may suffice. I could notice a few other customs, peculiarities, &c., but scarcely thinking this day’s travel furnishes a fair specimen, they may rest for future opportunity and confirmation. I was set down in Utica, at Bagfs Tavern, a com- modious Inn located at the corner of Main and Genesee-streets, and finding that the western stage, passing through New Hartford, where I was designing to tarry a week with a few ex-English friends, who had settled in the neighbourhood, did not leave till five in the morning, though pressed to make trial of a bed — a luxury I had not enjoyed since quitting Newburgh — I preferred rolling myself up in my cloak, on the floor 74 FROM UTICA TO NEW HARTFORD. where I was, and calling in the aid of my carpet bag for a pillow, after the fatigues of the day, thought but little of the lowliness of my resting-place, secure, at least, from evils I had endured in more exalted ones, and slept away till near the time of starting. August 1 6 th . — This morning, before five o’clock, our concern was all in readiness, and the driver most impatient for the appearance of my yesterday’s companions, who, jaded like myself, seemed to prefer the carriage whereon they were reposing to the one which they were now summoned to enter, ‘ where hope of present slumber flies.’ Jolt, jolt, jolt, however, we were soon at it again ; the morning was cheeringly fine, and the anticipated pleasure of meeting friends I had not seen for years, with the no- velty of all around me, diverted my thoughts from what might not, otherwise, have furnished them with very agreeable occupation ; and the distance to New Hart- ford being little more than four miles, I was happily at the end of my journey ere I had time to become sen- sitive to injuries, grievous enough by repetition. Alighting at the first public establishment the place afforded, after freeing myself from no trifling accu- mulation of dust and dirt, and partaking of an ex- cellent breakfast, I set out, with some previous direc- tion, to discover the retreat of my friends, which I found pleasantly situated, about two miles from the village, ‘ fast by a sheltering wood,’ with a good road, as roads go here, passing by it, and in the midst of rich and well cultivated lands. The wonted excitement of meeting subsided, we, of NEW HARTFORD, &C. 75 course, fell into chat of persons, and things, and many by- gone scenes of the ‘ Old Country.’ which time or distance had yet failed to obliterate, and passed the day, much after the fashion of days of like character, gratified with each other’s society, and mu- tually pained, pleased, or surprised, at our respective communications and developments. Some very refreshing rain fell during the afternoon, but scarcely more than enough to lay the dust ; the sun broke out again in the evening, and the day closed as fine as it commenced. August 1 6th. — I have arisen this morning from the first bed I have passed an hour in since leaving Brook- lyn, and it is needless to add, after a night of most welcome and refreshing repose. After breakfast I rode with one of the family to Whitesborough, a village about four miles distant, situated on the Sadaquada , or Sauquait Creek, and passed by the Erie canal, with which the main, and I may say the only, street runs parallel. It contains but few good houses, though many are to be observed in the neighbourhood. It is said that the first framed house, erected in the county of Oneida, still in existence, was at this place.- — We returned by way of the York Mills , considered the most extensive cotton manufac- tories in the State of New York; and passed, besides, several considerable manufacturing establishments of different kinds, all indicating the rapid advances which trade and population are making in these parts. On subsequent days I visited other places and parts of the country, committing memoranda and informa- 76 NEW HARTFORD Farming Journal. lion to my Farming Journal from which I extract the following : — ‘ The value and quality of land, as may be imagined, varies very much in different parts of this county. The best quality of soil is perhaps to be met with in the neighbourhood of Utica, which thriving and in- creasing town will soon furnish a market for a large amount of produce raised around it. Farms in the adjacent townships, say, of New Hartford, Clinton, Paris, Whitesborough, and Westmoreland, are worth from 25 to 50 dollars per acre, dependent upon cir- cumstances before alluded to. Wood land is fully as valuable as cleared. Much of the northern and western part of the county is unsettled, and about the Oneida Lake wild land is selling from 5 to 10 dollars per acre, the distance probably 25 or 30 miles from Utica, and 10 from the canal. The soil is for the most part of a strong loam, well calculated for grazing, and fully as productive in grass as grain, though good crops of all descriptions of the latter are raised. The best farms that can be purchased, and this remark may apply generally, I should think the most elegible, — particularly for an Englishman. But little land is rented, hardly enough to establish a rate of rental — 1 think, however, I shall not much err if I state it at from 1 to If dollars per acre: when taken in this way it is almost invariably by the year, though there are instances of farms being held on lease. The share, or halving system , as it is called, is not very extensively practiced. The terms of this contract are : — -the tenant finding half the seed and the NEW HARTFORD - Farming Journal. 77 teams, doing the whole of the work, and dividing the produce with the landlord. If the farm be a good one, the landlord frequently finds teams and milch cows, which are valued to the tenant on coming on, and upon which value he pays about equal to 7\ per cent, per annum during the time he uses them. The proportion which arable bears to grazing land, in this part of the county, is about one-third. The usual produce of wheat may be given at from 12 to 35 bushels per acre; of barley from 20 to 40; of oats from 15 to 60; Indian corn from 15 to 50; potatoes from 150 to 300 bushels ; hay from 20 to 60 cwt. The great variation in quantity much dependent upon management. Hops and apples are very un- certain ; turnips do not succeed well. The present, and which are about the average prices, are, say of wheat, 1 dollar per 60 lbs. Barley, 45 cents per 48 lbs. Oats, 25 cents. Indian corn, 56 cents per 58 lbs. Potatoes, 20 cents per bushel. Hay, 5 dol- lars per ton. Hops, 12| cents per lb. Cyder sells at from 1 to 3 dollars per barrel, (30 gallons, wine mea- sure.) No clover seed is gathered, but a good deal of timothy grass seed, which brings from 1 to 2 dollars per bushel. Flour is worth about 5 dollars per barrel, of 196 lbs. The value of horses is much as in Long Island ; as also that of cows and sheep. For stall-fed cattle, 5 cents per lb. may be obtained. Fat lambs are worth 1 dollar. Store cattle, say two-year old steers, sell from 10 to 13 dollars; three-year old, from 20 to 25 dollars per head. Store pigs, 4 cents per lb, alive. 7$ new Hartford Farming Journal. The native cattle are generally raised, and are con- sidered full as well adapted to the country as the im- ported ones ; the cows are small, but good milkers ; the oxen grow large, weighing sometimes 1500 lbs. each. It is quite customary to sell fat stock by its weight when alive. The horses, most in use for farming and other pur- jDOses, resemble the English stager : no heavy cart horses are used. The sheep are mostly a cross with the native and merino, and cut about 3 lbs. of wool each, worth 37£ cents per lb. Butter, taking the year round, sells for 12£ cents per lb. Cheese, from 6 to 8 cents. Apples, from 25 to 50 cents per bushel. Turkeys, from 6 to 8 cents per lb. Geese, 25 cents each. Fowls, 4 or 5 cents per lb. Beef is worth from 6 to 8 cents per lb. Veal, 3 to 4 cents. Mutton, 4 cents. Lamb, 30 cents per quarter. Fresh pork, 6 cents per lb. Labourers’ wages vary from 5 to 12 dollars per month — of course, exclusive of board — but few are hired by the day ; about half a dollar the usual price when that is the case : they work from daylight to dark all the year round. The land, as in Long Island, is tilled about equally by horses and oxen. Fallowing is much more in practice here than there. The ploughs in use are all single, with cast-iron mould boards and shares, well adapted to the country : the cost about 8 or 10 dollars each. Waggons are every where much lighter than in NEW HARTFORD Farming Journal. 79 England, calculated for a pair of American horses, weighing about 8 or 10 cvvt., and worth from 50 to 60 dollars. But few horse carts are used ] those drawn by oxen are a heavy stout vehicle, much as in Herefordshire, worth 40 dollars: other implements are very similar to those used in England. Manure, in this part of the State, is not made a sufficient object of ; oftentimes altogether neglected ; but the farmers ere long will learn its value, if I mis- take not. For years after land is cleared it does not require it : it is then too full of vegetable matter — in fact, nothing else ; but I have seen some naturally excellent land exhausted with cropping, and beg gared for w r ant of manure. At Utica it may be plen- tifully obtained from 12| to 18 cents per ton. The usual description of fences are worm , or crooked rail fences, and post and rail : the cost of making them about 50 cents a rod. The roads are mostly indifferent ; they are repaired by a levy on the farmers, and a poll-tax of a day’s work on every capable resident man in the parish : thus, working on the roads has a very different accep- tation here to wffiat it has with us, the most respectable farmers, &c. taking their turn quite as a matter of course. The wild land is generally well, some of it nobly timbered ; many hemlock and other trees I have ob- served from 70 to 90 feet in the but, w ithout one in- tervening bough, and of a proportionate thickness : the cost of clearing it is about 10 dollars per acre. There are a number of small streams, about the H 80 ' NEW HARTFORD Farming Journal, centre of the county, which form the Mohawk river, rising in the N. E. and supply most valuable mill- seats ; the quality of the water, however, obtained for domestic purposes, is often very bad, sometimes wholly unfit to drink. Fever and ague, diseases which shake the constitution to pieces, prevail occasionally, and the winters are very protracted and severe ; more so, it is said, than further either to the east or west, so as to suspend farming operations for five or six months in the year, but the county, I believe, is con- sidered as healthy as most. 5 I might add further, but these observations, very loosely thrown together, will probably more than suf- fice the generality of readers. The contrast between Orange and Oneida counties, as regards the state of their agriculture, is greater than can well be conceived. Spafford, speaking of the latter, says, f Its agriculture is of the first order, and twenty years hence there will not be an acre of w 7 aste land in the county/ He also says, ‘ It has now probably more capital employed in manufactures than any county in this State. 5 He gives its area at 1136 square miles. Latitude betw een 42° 46', and 43° 33', N. and long. 1° 05' and 1° 55' W., from New York. As I arrived at Utica from Albany very late in the evening, and left it at an early hour in the morning, only having visited it once since, and that not for any purpose of writing a description, I must be con- tent to offer a much shorter notice than I could wish to have given. * This flourishing village stands on the south bank AND UTICA. Si of Mohawk river. It occupies the site of old Fort Schuyler, where a garrison was kept previous to the revolution. Some remains of this fort are still to be seen between the eastern extremity of Main-street and the river. A few Germans were settled here previous to the revolutionary war ; but a part were captured by the Indians, and the remnant sought a place of more security. The first permanent settler established him- self about four miles west of Fort Schuyler, in 1784. Five years afterwards a few families established them- selves on the site of the present village, and in 1798 a village charter was granted to the place ; since which it has rapidly increased in population. In 1813, it contained 1700 inhabitants; in 1816, 2828; in 1820, 2972; in 1823, 4017; in 1826, 6040; in 1828,7460; and in 1829,9081. The village is re- gularly laid out, the streets of a good width, and mostly paved. Genesee- street, in particular, is pe- culiarly pleasant, and for the most part adorned with elegant stores and dwellings. "There are numerous literary, benevolent, and reli- gious institutions in this place. Among these, the Oneida Institute of Science and Industry is perhaps the most worthy of remark, from its uniting manual with mental labour on the part of the students. There is a farm attached to it, comprising 1 14 acres, upon which each student labours from three to four hours per day ; and it is said that the experiment of two years proves that labour, from three to five hours per day, pays the board of the student in this plentiful region. It is principally intended for the education of those 82 NEW HARTFORD Clinton, tyc. designed for the ministry, but its privileges are corm mon to all youth of unexceptionable character. There are also a classical academy, a library, lyceum, and nine churches, some of which are very elegant/ Utica is, as stated, 94 miles from Albany, 142 from Rochester, and from Buffalo 200. Another place in the neighbourhood, which I have seen with much interest, though in point of size in- significant to Utica, is Clinton. It is a very pretty village, six miles from New Hartford, and contains a number of respectable houses and buildings. Its situation is at the foot of a hill of considerable ascent, which is planted on each side with poplar trees, and on the summit of which stands Hamilton College, or colleges, for though the buildings are united there have been three separate erections. The corner stone of the first edifice was laid by that celebrated repub- lican patriot, Baron Steuben. Until very lately it was ranking high amongst institutions of the kind in the State, but I regret to hear that in consequence of some misunderstanding having arisen between the masters and students, it has been altogether deserted. His said, however, that a few of the latter are about to re- turn, and perhaps eventually it may regain its former pre-eminence : so vitally important are such institu- tions to the welfare of an infant republic that every lover of freedom, every good man, must ardently desire their prosperity. — From its elevated site, overlooking the village, there is a fine view of the surrounding plain, the fertile vale of the Mohawk, and the country, for many miles in extent, in different directions. DEPARTURE FOR AUBURN ONEIDA CASTLE. 83 Paris, Westmoreland, and other townships, though abounding with good land, and chiefly well cultivated, as villages are unimportant. Previous to my arrival at New Hartford I had felt a little undecided as to my future route, but having no time for hesitation, and wishing to see what was considered the most interesting and fertile part of the State, I soon determined upon extending my journey westward as far as Buffalo, occasionally diverging through some of the counties as I passed along, and returning by Niagara, and either upon or along the shore of Lake Ontario. Having so decided, this morning, — August 23 rd , — I engaged a place by the Telegraph Stage , from New Hartford to Auburn, in Cayuga county, distance about seventy miles ; and soon after eight o’clock had seated myself upon the most ob- durate leathern seat of the vehicle, and was bounding and rebounding along as vigorously as ever, though well up to my travelling traces again, and prepared ' to dash through thick and thin.’ The first village we arrive at is Manchester, five miles from New Hartford; next, Vernon, eight miles further; neither requiring comment; the land good and seemingly well farmed nearly all the way. Five miles from Vernon is Oneida Castle, a village situated upon the Oneida creek, and at which there is a set- tlement called here a reservation of the Oneida and Tuscarora Indians, several of whom I saw. A squaw (woman) I particularly noticed, who came to solicit charity, with one of the most marked and disgusting 84 ONEIDA CASTLE Indian Settlement , countenances I think I ever beheld. I was told, and have no reason to doubt it, that she was one hundred years old, more or less ; she appeared tolerably stout and robust, and I suspect what was evinced to the contrary was about as much feigned as real. Several children also, nearly in a state of nudity, came to us for a like purpose, and displayed their agility by keep- ing up with the stage, and we drove pretty fast, for some distance, though I thought their performances, notwithstanding the attention they appeared to excite, very inferior to those of the urchins of our own country, who will not only run parallel with the coach, but with amazing rapidity turn over and over upon their hands and feet into the bargain, and, alas ! I fear, with quite as good a plea of necessity. The tribe occupy about one-third of the township, and their number is estimated at 1100. They still retain some of the customs of their forefathers, and their usual dress is nothing more than a blanket thrown across the shoulders, and tied round the neck. They are wretched agriculturists, as their lands fully demon- strate ; but I am told, for several months in the year, they totally neglect them, and repair to the forests in the northern part of country, on hunting excursions ; — so hardly are we weaned from inbred habits and propensities ! A correspondent of Spafford's states that ‘there are missionaries amongst them to teach them letters and religion, and they pay one of them near two hundred dollars a year, besides making him a great many presents. These Indians are a harmless, inoffensive set of beings, but have lost much of their AND CHITTENINGO. 85 ancient spirit and energy. Several of them have be- come voluntary apprentices to different mechanics, placed amongst them by the Baptists, such as black- smiths, wheelwrights, &c. ; and many of the Indian women are becoming weavers and spinners, under the instruction of benevolent females of the missionary family/ — ‘Mr. Williams/ adds the Doctor, ‘late a missionary here, now of Green Bay, is of mixed blood, lineally descended from the Rev. Mr. Williams, of Deerfield, whose captivity and sufferings we have all read when children. He is a man of very consi- derable education, and seems to lead in a plan for col- lecting all our Indians into one great band, but I know nothing of the success or prospects of the scheme/ The road from this place, through the small villages of Lenox and Quality Hill to Chitteningo, eleven miles, is much elevated, commanding a fine view of the lofty mountains to the north : the soil is rich, but strangely overgrown with the Canada thistle, the down from which is wafted about in all directions, and has almost the appearance of falling snow. — Before reaching Chitteningo there is one of the finest specimens of native forest I have seen in the country — I ever saw —tree interwoven with tree — a dense mass of forest — seeming to bid defiance to the footsteps, ay, even the hands of man ; and yet but a few years may elapse ere this wilderness becomes a fertile plain, ere the share of the husbandman passes over its surface, and the abodes of happy industry are raised upon it ! So rapid are the strides of improvement and cultivation in this enterprising country. SYRACUSE AND m The village Cliitteningo, on the creek of the same name, and about two miles from the canal, to which a cut has been made, has little to attract the attention of a stranger ; but on arriving at Syracuse, through Hartsville and Fayetteville, fifteen miles, you are agreeably surprised at seeing a handsome thriving village, quite a business-like place. The canal passes directly through it, on both sides of which there are a number of spacious stores and warehouses. The population I should estimate at something like 1,500. On alighting at the principal hotel, which is a very handsome and commodious brick building, I ob- served a thermometer hanging in the shade, and exposed to a current of air, standing at 88° ; this was about four o’clock in the afternoon. No doubt, during the day, it had been as high as 90°. My stay here did not admit of my visiting the valu- able and very extensive salt springs which abound in the neighbourhood, and to which Syracuse is in- debted for its growth and existence. The reader, how- ever, in the subjoined information, will have little cause to regret my want of opportunity. ‘ A little west of Syracuse, a plain of 300 acres, (a part of which we passed over,) is nearly covered with vats for the manufacture of salt by solar evaporation. The water is brought in logs from the great spring at Salina, one mile distant, and supplies, with very little attention, the various ranges of vats. A light roof is constructed to each vat, which can be shoved off or on at pleasure, to permit the rays of the sun to act upon the water, or to prevent the dampness of the s aLin a Sdlt Works. SI atmosphere from commingling therewith. The salt is taken out of these vats twice or three times during the warm season, and removed to store-houses, from whence it is conveyed in barrels to the canal for transportation. ‘The spring at Salina was first discovered by the Indians, many years since, by being the resort of deer and other animals. The first white settlers were in the habit of boiling the water for domestic purposes. Since then the spring has been excavated to a con- siderable depth, and affords the strongest saline water yet discovered in the world, forty gallons yielding about a bushel of pure salt. The water is forced up to the top of an adjoining hill by a powerful hydraulian, driven by the surplus waters from the Oswego canal, which commences at this place. The salt water is in this way conveyed eighty-five feet above the canal to a large reservoir, into which it is discharged at the rate of three hundred gallons per minute. It is hence carried to the different factories in Salina and Syracuse. Of these there are about one hundred at Salina, and twenty-three at Syracuse ; there are also twenty- six at Liverpool, about six miles N. W. of Salina, and twenty-five at Geddesburgh, two miles W. of Syracuse. The works and springs all belong to the State, to which imposts are payable to the amount of 63 cents per barrel of five bushels,* and every manufacturer pays 2 cents per bushel for the use of the water. The water is conveyed from the * These duties are applied by the constitution of the State towards the extinguishment of the canal debt. 88 MARCELLUS SKANEATELES, reservoir to the different manufactories and evapo rating fields by means of wooden pipes. The salt is manufactured generally by boiling and evapora- tion. There are, however, two establishments in which it is made in large wooden vats by means of hot air passing through them in large metallic pipes. The manufactories contain from fifteen to forty pot- ash kettles, under each of which a constant fire is kept up, so that the water may not cease to boil. The first deposit of the water is thrown away. The pure salt soon after makes its appearance, and is re- fined for the table by means of blood, milk, rosin, & c. The springs are considered as inexhaustible. In 1828, there were 1,160,888 bushels inspected; and in 1829, 1,291,820 bushels; showing an increase of 130,932 bushels. Of this, 745,741 bushels were in- spected at Salina, 229,317 at Syracuse, 187,540 at Liverpool, and 129,222 at Geddes. 4 Salina is a village of much less magnitude than Syracuse, but it is not improbable that they will ere long become a continuous town. The Onondaga Lake is about a mile distant from the place. It is six miles long, and two broad. Gypsum and petrifactions are found in great quantities in the vicinity of the lake.’ A la route, Marcellus is the next place, containing perhaps fifty houses, and in the neighbourhood are found great quantities of water lime or cement, and some petrifactions. It is thirteen miles from Syra- cuse. Six miles further brought us to Skaneateles, a much larger and more interesting village, very pleasantly AND ARRIVAL AT AUBURN. 89 situated just at the foot of the Skaneateles Lake, along which you have a fine view for several miles. The lake is about fifteen miles in length, and \ to If miles wide. In its vicinity are several genteel residences, as well as in the village, and also a Friends boarding- school. The population of the place is estimated at 3,000. The following stage of seven miles brought us to Auburn, about half-past eight in the evening, having been twelve hours and a half in accomplish- ing the seventy miles, which, taking into account the state of the roads, the heat of the day, &c. is by no means to be complained of. During the latter part of the way the country was but 'partially cleared, but wherever cultivated, it appeared rich and productive. I did not find the price of land varying much from 30 dollars per acre ; that is, for improved farms with good buildings upon them. The average produce, say of wheat, 25 bushels per acre, sold from 75 cents to 1 dollar per bushel, chiefly at the stores in the village nearest the farm. I am here quartered at the American Hotel, an establishment upon a very extended scale, kept by Noyes. The building is of freestone, five stories high, with piazzas, twenty feet or more in width, up to the third story. Many of the apartments are large and elegantly furnished, and I am informed they can, if requisite, make up 250 or 300 beds. It has been recently erected, and, excepting at New York, is quite the best inn I have seen in the State; so much has it pleased me, in fact, that I am tempted to forego my half resolve, not to make trial of a public dormitory 90 AUBURN State Prison. again in the country. I shall venture this once upon the credit of fair promise, and will report progress in the morning. August 24 tJu — For once appearances have not been deceitful. I have slept undisturbed, excepting that I was aroused at a pretty early hour this morning by the loud pealing of thunder, without any disposition, however, to complain either of cause or consequence, the limited time I shall have to spend here not war- ranting much indulgence in this way ; to which, when most an idler. Pm not over prone. As an object of first attraction I proceeded to visit the State Prison, situated here, and considered one of the first in the Union. ‘It was commenced in 1816, and is constructed upon the plan of a hollow square, inclosed by a wall 2000 feet in extent, being 500 feet on each side. The front of the prison, including the keeper’s dwelling, is about 300 feet, and the two wings, extending west, are 240 feet each. The north wing contains the solitary cells and hospital, and the south wing is divided principally into two large rooms. Be- tween the two wings is a grass plat with gravel walks ; to the west of which is the interior yard, covered with gravel, containing reservoirs of water, and surrounded with workshops. These shops, besides the paint shop, form a continued range of 900 feet, and are well lighted by windows in the sides and from the roof. They are built of brick, and are well secured against fire. The outer walls, against which the shops are built, are thirty-five feet high in the inside, and the other walls about twenty. They are four feet thick. auburn ■Stale Prison. 91 and the walls of the prison three feet thick. The expense of the whole, without including- the labour of convicts employed, was above 300,000 dollars. The prison being erected on the bank of the Owasco, water- power is applied, in many cases to great advantage, in propelling machinery.” About six o’clock I applied at the door for admit- tance, which was granted on my paying twenty-five cents, and one of the keepers commissioned to con- duct me over the establishment. We first visited the cells, which the convicts leave at half-past five in the morning. These gloomy abodes are about seven or eight feet long, by four feet wide, and perhaps about seven feet in height. They are lighted from windows in the roof of the passage into which they open through ponderous iron doors. All the furni- ture they contain is a hammock, which is let down in the day-time, a stool, and a Bible upon a shelf in one of the corners. — From these we passed on to the work- shops, where the convicts were busily employed in their different avocations ; tailoring, shoemaking, weaving; machine, button, cabinet making, &c. ; coopering, and smiths’ work in general. These various manufactures, besides what are requisite for the pri- son, are furnished to all the principal stores in Au- burn, and sent to different parts of the State. My guide afterwards conducted me to the cooking apart- ment, where some of the convicts were engaged in preparing the morning’s repast for the rest, and which I presently saw arranged with great neatness in the general eating-room : it consisted of coffee, Indian i 92 auburn State Prison. corn bread, and boiled fish. At half- past six they were summoned by a bell to partake of it, upon which occasion I had a good opportunity of observing some of the most striking characteristics of the system. The convicts were arranged in separate corps, “ mov- ing in single file, with a slow lock step, and erect pos- ture, keeping exact time, with their faces inclined towards their keepers, (that they may detect conversa- tion, of which none is ever permitted,) all giving to the spectator somewhat similar feelings to those excited by a military funeral.” In a short time all were seated at the different tables, in the most orderly and regular manner, and, upon a signal being given by the keepers, with one simultaneous movement commenced their meal. Had I not witnessed the scene, I should have supposed it morally impossible for such a number of individuals to be assembled together,* for such a pur- pose, with so little noise and confusion. It was a very interesting, though at the same time a very painful and humiliating spectacle ; and various were the re- flections which hurried across my mind whilst looking round upon these imprisoned victims of crime, of almost every grade and malignancy. Some appeared calm and resigned, or sensible of the guilt and degra- dation of their situation ; others displayed an entire indifference to their fate ; whilst in a few I noticed the black expressions of obdurate cruelty, ferocity, and revenge, demonstrating but too plainly the justice of the doom which had overtaken them, * There are at this time 635 persons in confinement, twenty-two only of whom are women. auburn State Prison . 93 Breakfast concluded (and there did not appear, on the part of the keepers, the smallest disposition to hurry over the ceremony; all were allowed sufficient time, and materials too, even for a hearty repast,) the prisoners rose again in like order, and were forthwith marched back to their different workshops and employ- ments ; — here, the guide informed me, they were kept until twelve o’clock, when they were again summoned to dinner, after which they resume their labour till six, when their daily toil is done: they are then marched off to their separate cells, each carrying his supper with him, and eating alone, if not in darkness, his last cheerless meal. There is a chapel within the prison, which the prisoners attend regularly every sabbath ; a Sunday school has also been established ; and in the hospital every attention is paid to such as re- quire it. The severity of the punishment here exercised con- sists in preventing every kind of intercourse of one convict with another: whether at their work, or at their meals, they are compelled to observe the most absolute and uniform silence; not the slightest attempt at communication would escape notice; and every offender against this tenacious and positive require- ment is punished by flogging, — an alternative, however, rarely needed. I observed the young and the old, and every description of character, mixed indiscrimi- nately together, but from which, with the restrictions imposed, no evil consequence can possibly arise. A decided majority, upon leaving the prison, have be- come reformed and useful members of society. It is 94 AUBURN. altogether conducted upon an admirable principle, and reflects the highest credit upon the projectors and the country; affording, at the same time, an exalted contrast, when compared with our miserable recep- tacles for this class of society : in them, if reformation take place, it is by miracle ; here, frequent, and the end and object of the institution. On returning to the hotel again, soon after seven o’clock, I found a pretty large company collected for breakfast, a very excellent one, and of which, after the ordinary fashion, we all partook at one common table. This ceremony over I sallied forth to take a hasty view of the town, ( village , I should say,) ere the stage ar- rived which was to convey me onward. — Auburn is situated on the Owasco creek ; it consists principally of one street, running east and west, which contains a number of good stores and private dwellings, a court- house, and a large hotel, independent of the one I am quartered at, called the Western Exchange. There are also, at the eastern end of the village, some extensive mills and manufactories. Its population is called more than 4,000, with every appearance of increasing, as buildings are springing up all around. The adja- cent country is very level, and of no particular in- terest : the land is loosely cultivated, and, without reflection, you would be ready to say that the town had pitched itself here before it was well prepared to receive it. The canal is distant about seven miles to the south; but it is intended, either by a cut or rail- road, to form a communication with it, which will greatly add to the importance and facilities of the place. CAYUGA BRIDGE. 95 Leaving Auburn, we next came to Cayuga, (eight miles,) a small village standing on the eastern side, and near the extremity of the lake of that name, and over which we passed by a wooden bridge, one mile and eight rods in length, — a most barbarous struc- ture, built upon piles, and conveying the idea, if not the reality, of great insecurity ; as the planks, or logs, upon which you pass, uncovered with gravel, soil, or other material, are of all shapes and sizes, heedlessly laid across from side to side, without nails or any kind of fastening whatever. In many instances I observed them scarcely resting upon the supports on each side, and the waters of the lake every where visible below : of course, as they were acted upon by the weight and motion of the coach and horses, they were perpetually jolting up and down, so that it was a matter of astonishment to me how the animals could pass over at the rate they did, a good brisk trot, with- out getting their feet between them ; the accom- panying noise and clatter, too, was any thing but agreeable. An English traveller, however, must leave all his fears and prejudices at home, and be here content to dash on, over, under, or through whatever it may please the driver and his steeds to convey him. The lake is about thirty-eight miles long, and of very various breadth, from one to four miles. “ A steam- boat is plying daily between the Bridge and Ithica, a beautiful and thriving village at the head of the lake, thirty-six miles distant,” and near to which I understand are several falls well worth notice. Some good farms are to be met with in the neigh i 2 96 SENECA FALLS, WATERLOO, AND GENEVA. bourhood of the lake, as well as in other parts of the county. The next village is Seneca Falls, (three miles.) It is said to contain upwards of 2,000 inhabitants, though I should have rated the population at much less ; has several mills, a tannery, distillery, and a few stores. “ A canal, twenty miles long, has been constructed from this place to the Erie canal at Montezuma, which, connected with a branch of the Seneca river, gives an uninterrupted water communication from Geneva to the lakes and the ocean.” Four miles further is Waterloo ; but I am no great admirer of Waterloos, nor can I, in its present state, bestow the inordinate praise upon this place which some have done. It is a half shire town, considerably larger than Seneca Falls; contains a court-house, jail, and several stores, but it is altogether a most irregu- larly-built and unfinished place, and whatever im- portance or interest time may add to its character, I have spoken of it as it now is, and without much of either. I observed several mills upon the Seneca river, or outlet, on which the village stands. Passing on to Geneva, seven miles from Waterloo, I am pleased to be able to make a much more favour- able report. For the last two miles, as we approached, the road became highly interesting, winding along the northern end of the Seneca Lake ; just to the west of which, at a considerable elevation, the village is situated ; one of the principal streets running imme- diately down to the lake, and the other along the summit of the bank and parallel with it ; extending be- GENEVA. 97 yond which are many elegant private residences, the gardens and grounds overhanging the lake, and which, whilst they add to the beauty, command a fine pros- pect of the charming scenery around. The public buildings consist of a college, recently erected, but which is handsomely endowed, and promises to arrive at eminence ; three or four churches, a bank, and two pretty comfortable inns. Many of the stores are commodious and well furnished: one I noticed ad- vertised as follows : — “ A Heimpus, variety store — a tolerably correct definition of stores in general, especially in the country towns, which not unfre- quently display the most heterogeneous collection of articles that can be well conceived, and embrace in their individual capacity what with us would occupy a score of different professors. I should think the present population of Geneva might be estimated at 3,000. It is twelve miles from the Erie canal, but has a water communication with it, which has much increased its trade and importance. From hence a delightful excursion is frequently taken down the lake, in a steam-boat plying daily, to Jeffersonville at the head of it. The lake is thirty- five miles long, and three or four miles wide, and is esteemed one of the purest and most beautiful sheets of water of the kind in America. After spending the chief part of the day at Geneva and its delightful environs, I took my departure for Canandaigua , fifteen miles distant, — in travelling to which I passed over one of the finest farming districts I have yet seen in the State of New York. The land 98 TO CANANDAIGUA. isagreeablyundulated,of excellent quality, well fenced, in smaller inclosures than 1 have noticed in other parts, and in a superior state of cultivation. The grain was mostly housed, but, independent of report, the stubbles themselves were ample evidence of the plentiful crops which had been taken off them, and the grass and seeds were looking remarkably healthy and well. Farms in this part, with good houses and buildings upon them, and chiefly they are so, are to be bought at from 30 to 45 dollars per acre. Wheat is selling for 70 or 80 cents a bushel, and meat from three to six cents per pound, which may be given as about the general average prices of those articles ; and labourers’ wages are usually from ten to twelve dollars per month. In the immediate neighbourhood of Canandaigua village the land, I am told, is chiefly held by two or three large proprietors, whose farms are from 1,000 to 1,500 acres each . What a contrast, delightful contrast, does this state of things present to the situation in which Dr. Spaf- ford reports that he found them in 1797 ! “The set- tlement of this township/’ observes the Doctor, “com- menced in 1790, and in 1797 I found it but feeble, contending with innumerable embarrassments and difficulties. The spring of that year was uncommonly wet and cold. Besides a good deal of sickness, mud knee deep, musquetoes and gnats so thick that you could hardly breathe without swallowing them, rattle- snakes and ten thousand discouragements, every where incident to new settlements ; surrounded by all these, in June of that year, I saw, with wonder, that these CANANDAIGUA. 99 people, all Yankees, from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Vermont, were perfectly undismayed, ‘looking forward in hope/ ‘ sure and stedfast.’ They talked to me of what the country would be, by-and-by, as if it were history , and I received it as all fable. In order to see the whole ‘ power of the county/ a military muster of all men bearing arms, I waited a day or two, and attended ‘the training/ Major Wadsworth was the commanding officer, and includ- ing the men who had guns, and the men who had not , the boys, women, and children, it was supposed that near two hundred persons were collected. This training, one of the first, was held at Captain Pitts’, on the Honeoye, and lasted all day and all night The early settlers of every new country are sanguine in hopes and expectations, and it is well they should be. Lands were selling, in 1797, in the very heart of this fine region, at 25 cents an acre.” — “I like,” continues the Doctor, “to trace the progress of affairs from their small beginnings, never ‘ despising the day of small things/ The reader will indulge me in this digression, so out of the way with most people, but perfectly in character with the pursuits of a general gleaner.” Like him, I beg pardon, if neces- sary; the comparison of past and present was too pleasing to allow me to forego it. It was between eight and nine in the evening when we arrived at Canadaigua : the day had been remarkably fine, though 20° or 30° cooler than yes- terday, changes which are rather trying to weakly constitutions. We were driven up to Blossoms Hotel, 100 CANANDAIGUA. a building little inferior in size to the American Hotel, in Auburn, but much older, and not so clean. The landlord, a jolly sort of fellow, had just re- turned from an excursion to the Western Lakes and Ohio, and being visited by numerous congratulatory friends and acquaintance, the house was in a tolera- ble state of confusion for the remainder of the even- ing, — the bar, of course, being the only general room of resort. After some few ineffectual attempts at journalizing, I inquired of the waiter as to the pro- bable security with which I might make my advances to a chamber, and replete with most satisfactory assurances, was glad to effect my escape, and leave them to feast on their wit and wine, which, though abundant, were neither of first rate quality, as much and as long as they liked. August 25th . — Foolishly presuming upon the waiter’s recommendation, and the comfortable night passed at Auburn, I have not escaped without a scar, though in a far less woful plight than heretofore, and happy to think I am getting more out of the way of the nuisance. Before breakfast I made my first, and almost only, survey of Canandaigua, which I admire even more than Geneva. Its situation is on the north-western extremity of the Canadaigua Lake,* where the main street, nearly two miles in length, commences, rising gradually to its termination. It is planted on each side with trees, and expands about the middle of the * The Lake is fourteen miles long, and from one to two in breadth, and has a steam- boat daily plying upon it. CANANDAIGUA ■Steam Mill Burnt. 101 village into a fine open square, where the court- house, clerks’ office, episcopal church, and other hand- some public buildings are situated. The private resi- dences, both in the village and vicinity, are uncom- monly elegant, laid out with courts and gardens, and every way worthy of the affluence and respectability of their occupants; many of them commanding a beautiful view of the lake and its surrounding scenery. The population amounts to 5000, more or less — not less, I think, certainly — and in 1790, Spaf- ford says, there was hut a single human habitation in it. A short time previous to my visit, a large steam flour mill, belonging to Messrs. Pomeroy and Bull, of New York, standing just at the entrance of the village, had been entirely destroyed by fire. The occurrence is supposed to have originated in the contents of a pipe, falling on a cloth, or some com- bustible substance in an adjoining room; — one of the many evils arising from the use of that worthless weed — tobacco ; and not the first or second of the kind that has come under my immediate knowledge: — would that it were for ever banished from the abodes of civilization ! The inconvenience produced by the calamity, I see thus adverted to in a Canan- daigua paper: — “The destruction of this flouring establishment, which was built in the best manner, and at a ruinous expense, by its original enterprising proprietors, is not only a severe loss to those directly interested, but to our village, and to our neighbours in towns adjacent This mill created, as it were, a 102 TO ROCHESTER. ready and convenient market for large quantities of wheat; imparted animation to business roundabout, and gave employment to numbers of our citizens. Its importance to the community, like the blessing of health, is mostly severely felt, by sudden depriva- tion. The property was insured by the Etna Com- pany to the amount of 8000 dollars.” Canandaigua stands upon the great western stage route to Buffalo and Niagara; is distant from the former place 89, and from the latter 109 miles, and 208 from Albany: it is also 12 miles south of the Erie canal, with which it has a water communication. In the neighbourhood are several springs charged with inflammable gas, or, as they are called, burning springs, well worth the attention of the virtuoso. From hence to Rochester, (only 27 miles in a direct line,) I performed a very circuitous route, travelling partly by stage, partly by waggon, and partly on foot, through Victor, Minden, Pittsford, Henrietta Corners, &c. The road is very bad nearly the whole of the way, and there is a good deal of land un- cleared ; but, at the same time, there is much in a fine state of cultivation, and I passed over some very eligible farms; the prices, products, expenses, & c., much as those quoted in Oneida county. About a mile to the south of Pittsford, a small village ten miles from Rochester, a farm was pointed out to me, now offering for sale by a gentleman whose family are set- tling in Michigan, where population is much on the increase. It consists of three hundred acres of land, the quality of the soil varying between sand and loam ; ROCHESTER. 103 is well timbered, well fenced, and has a good house and outbuilding’s upon it. The price asked is thirty- five dollars per acre, but I have no idea that ten dol- lars less would be refused . I also called upon a gen- tleman, by the request of a friend, who has recently emigrated from England into this neighbourhood, and is farming upon a small scale. He complains of a want of society, and many deprivations and incon- veniences, a great deal to 'put up with; and I give him full credit for all. I sincerely hope he may ultimately find himself rewarded for the sacrifices he has made; but, in my opinion, for one ignorant of farming, and wholly unused to a country life, he has retreated sadly too far from New York ; and little would it surprise me to hear, before any remote period, that he had arrived at a like conclusion. I left him some English newspapers, which I guess he would not put by un- read. It was late this evening before I gained a footing in Rochester ; too late, and I am too much tired, to ex- plore further. The day has been very fine ; tempera- ture quite agreeable. August 26th. — Before seven o’clock this morning I had perambulated the streets, as well as a part of the suburbs of this remarkable village, which has fully answered every representation I had heard of it. It is, indeed, scarcely credible that in the period of eighteen short years a place of the present extent and importance of Rochester should have arisen from the wilds of a forest; and, if such evidence were needed, it would alone speak volumes as to the energy and K 104 ROCHESTER Sam Patch. enterprise of a people who, with the obstacles and impediments which they must have had to contend against, have produced such splendid results. There are not only spacious and well-arranged streets, with corresponding stores and warehouses, and private re- sidences of elegance and respectability; but, besides a court-house, gaol, and eleven churches, two markets, two banks, and several very excellent hotels, there is a museum, institute, an athenaeum, an arcade, a Vaux- hall, public baths, reading-rooms, &c. &c., and a population of more than 13,000 souls ! and, in the face of all this, there are even now the stumps of trees standing in some of the streets. Surely, as Spafford well observes, “ it must be admitted that the growth of this place has been rapid, almost beyond example in any country, even in our own, the best supplied with such examples.” I found mine host here a respectable and obliging man, and under his auspices I visited objects of most interest in and about the village ; amongst others, the Falls, where Sam Patch , that notorious fall jumper, finished his mad career in the autumn of 1829. There are two falls within a short distance of each other, the one descending twelve, the other ninety-seven feet. Upon a projecting rock about the centre of these he erected a scaffold twenty-five feet in height, making together 122 feet, from which he fearlessly leaped into the gulph beneath. “ He did not rise at that time to the surface, nor was his body found until the follow- ing spring, when it was discovered at the mouth of the Genesee river, six miles below. His arms were pro- ROCHESTER. 106 bably dislocated at the first shock, as he carried them horizontally; and the depth of the water being only fifteen feet, it is supposed that he was killed by strik- ing on the rocky bottom. He was a little less than three seconds in falling, and struck the surface with a force of about 80001bs.” My attendant, however, tells me that he was pretty generally known to have been intoxicated at the time ; and to that circumstance, more than any other, is to be attributed the fatal re- sult, as, independent of his performances at Niagara, he had once or twice before, when sober, jumped from that very spot, without the slightest injury or incon- venience. All that can be said of it is, that any where and every where they were the acts of a madman, and sooner or later were likely to incur a destiny, I had almost said, due to such presumptuous, absurd temerity. I afterwards visited the market, which I saw well supplied with meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables, all of various kinds. The first named article was selling 1 at from 4 to 6 cents per lb., others equally moderate- Eggs 10 cents a dozen. Butter 10 to 12 cents a lb. Cheese 6 cents a lb. Flour (retail) 4| dollars a bar- rel, wholesale 4f. Wheat 87f cents to 1 dollar a bushel. Oats 25 cents a bushel ; considered a low price. Hay 5 dollars per ton. Wheat is now eagerly bought, and brings a better price than at any other season of the year, as the canal being open the millers are making every effort to get their flour to New York, &c., ere the frosts commence. — At this, as at most of the villages, as I have passed 106 ROCHESTER, along I have observed advertisements at the stores, in the public papers, and the bars of inns, offering the utmost cash price for any quantity of wheat, &c. The weight of flour made here annually is prodi- gious. ** Within the limits of the village are eleven flouring mills, containing fifty-three run of stones, capable of manufacturing 2,500 bushels of flour, and consuming more than 12,000 bushels of wheat every twenty-four hours. Some of the mills are on a scale of magnitude perhaps not equalled in the world, and all are considered unrivalled in the perfection of their machinery.” The charge for freight of flour from Ro- chester to New York is 00 cents a barrel. Besides flour, there are various other mills and manufactories, distilleries, breweries, &c. & c., every thing bespeaking the rising wealth and importance of the place. The canal runs directly through the village, and is carried across the Genesee river, which also flows through it, by an aqueduct. The river, at the distance of seven miles, empties itself into Lake Ontario; thus affording an easy and valuable navigation to the Canadas. During the summer a steam-boat is plying upon the Lake, between Niagara and Ogdensburgh, on the river St. Lawrence. Canal packets and stages are leaving Rochester every morning and evening, east and west; and stages in different directions frequently during the day. I have omitted to mention — but I have omitted a great deal, for which want of time must be my apology — that there are two daily, and, I think, three weekly TO GENESEO. 107 newspapers now in publication at this busy, spirited place. From Rochester, instead of proceeding direct to Buffalo, I took the stage to Geneseo, (31 miles S.) wishing to see the country along the banks of the Genesee river. Two miles out of the town 1 noticed a thrashing machine in operation, a wooden one to be sure ; but still a thrashing machine. It is the first I have seen in the country, was worked by two horses, and appeared to be rather an object of curiosity in its neighbourhood. A few miles further we had the misfortune to get capsized, the linchpin of the hind- wheel .falling out, if (as I very much query) there was one in at starting. The road, however, was tolerably good in the part where the accident oc- curred, and all escaped without injury; though not without the grievous discomfiture of a few fair nymphs, my companions in peril. Had it happened at any of the bridges or unguarded passes, with which this country abounds, it is more than pro- bable there would have been a full and final end to coach, horses, and cargo. It was further fortunate that a village was near at hand, from which we pro- cured help, righted the carriage, stuck in a wooden linchpin, and in the course of twenty minutes were rattling along as if no disaster had befallen us, or could by possibility occur again. We got to Geneseo about five in the afternoon. The land, the whole of the way, presented the ap- pearance of extreme fertility, though not better than in the township of Canandaigua, and the cultivation k 2 108 GESESEO, I thought far inferior; a considerable portion of it seemed to want good drainage, and some of the arable lands were in a most foul state, admitting, however, many exceptions. The township of Geneseo was settled in 1790, by a family of the name of Wadsworth, from Connecticut, who own an immense tract of land between and Ro- chester, and are farmers themselves upon a very extensive scale. Evening . — I am just returned from a walk over a part of their flats, which extend for miles along the banks of the river, and more beautiful or luxuriant meadows and fields I never beheld. They were engaged in getting their hay, (as said, the last crop in America, except Indian corn,) which was an immense bulk, nor had their crops of grain been less abundant; thirty-five bushels of wheat to the acre being considered below the average. Hemp is also cultivated to some ex- tent. The country, however, in the neighbourhood of the flats has the character of not being very healthy ; instances of the fever and ague are fre- quently occurring, and were I to choose a location , I should greatly prefer other parts of the State. The village of Geneseo has nothing particular to recommend it. It is small and has but few good houses or buildings of any kind in it. There are three hotels, (and by chance I have been at them all,) which, though tolerably large, are sad dirty, comfortless places. I have no wish to quarter in them again. —The day has been very fine, but rather to be called cool, than warm, for the season. TO AVON. 109 August 27th . — We have had a night cold enough for November, and this morning the flats are all enveloped in fog, as dense as ever rested on Eng- lish fen. The water at breakfast was so intolerably bad, that even in coffee I could not take it, and was obliged to call for milk ; — I mention this because I think it important to he noticed : — excepting at Brooklyn, I do not recollect to have tasted really pure, good water in any part of the country where I have been ; fre- quently it has been almost undrinkable, and, where- ever worst , there has been most of the fever and ague prevailing. Having seen quite as much of Geneseo as I de- sired, I should have taken a private conveyance this morning to Avon, (ten miles distant,) in order to meet the Buffalo stages, which usually pass through that place about nine o’clock, had I not been assured by the agents of the regular coach here that I should reach by their vehicle in abundant time ; in which they most completely deceived me. As usual, we had to drive round to the different inns, and several private houses to pick up passengers, who were not in readiness, and with one hindrance and another were near two hours behind the stated time of starting ; and, when off, went dreaming along at the rate of three miles and a half per hour — there is no opposition on this road — I, therefore, only ar- rived at Avon in time to know that I could proceed no further for the day, all the western stages having passed. Remonstrance was in vain ; the parties here 110 AVON Shooting Excursion, disclaimed all participation in the imposition, regret- ting it like myself ; my fare was paid, and there was an end of it. As an object of attraction in the neighbourhood, a recently discovered mineral spring was mentioned, and the landlord proposing a route by which we might connect a little sporting with it, and his son, a fine, intelligent youth, to accompany me, I began to feel my chagrin rapidly abating, and slipping on a shooting dress, we were shortly in the woods with our guns, attended by a pretty good pointer dog. We found a few woodcocks and squirrels, but, upon the whole, had indifferent success. As to what we de- nominate game, it is by no means abundant in the country, except quail, which are generally plentiful. Hares and pheasants there are none ; and partridges, (in some places called pheasants) are scarce. Wood- cock and snipe are uncertain both as to season and situation. ’Tis true that great quantities of other birds may sometimes be killed ; for instance, wild ducks and pigeons, which are occasionally seen in flocks of many miles in extent; but after all, and much as I have heard American shooting extolled, in my opinion it is a poor, insipid diversion, compared with the English, pursued without any kind of system or science, and reminding me more of the onsets of our mechanics and shopmen, let loose at Christmas and on holidays, to range the fields, no matter where, and pounce upon all, no matter what, than of any thing worthy the name of shooting. Let no English sportsman think to better himself by emigration in and Remarks « 11 this respect; I’ll answer, upon trial, for his total disappointment. There is not, there cannot be, an individual living who holds our game laws in greater abhorrence than I do, considering them as barbarous and ab- surd as they are wantonly tyrannical and unjust, — the very fag end of the old feudal system when barons could lord it ovef their debased vassals at their pleasure, and when in the humane diction of the day, if one of them “ did course or hunt, either casually or wilfully a beast of the forest, so that by the swiftness of the course, the beast did pant, or was put out of breath,” he was authorized to flay him alive* These days, thank Heaven, have passed away, and the doctrine of equal rights and equal 'privileges is becoming rather more fashionable — somewhat better understood, and I hope yet to live to see this blood- thirsty code altogether expunged from a statute book it has so long disgraced ; but if I must sport, I con- fess I should prefer meeting every unpleasantness still attendant upon these odious enactments, and shooting at English game, in English style , to going a gunning, with the most unbridled license, after the American fashion. Perhaps Long Island, and a few other parts, might prove some exception to these remarks ; but, generally speaking, American shooting will be found much of the character I have described it.f In ranging the woods I was particularly struck * Vide “ Manwood’s Forest Laws.” f Understand me as speaking of shooting in the State of New York, and with what the Americans call shot guns; in the other States, or with the rifle, I know but little of it. 112 a v o N Re ma rks, with their desolate and trackless appearance, as well as the death-like silence which reigned around : there is nothing of the delightful harmony so often heard in ours, but you might almost fancy yourself the only object that had life within them, excepting that you are now and then aroused by the hoarse barking of a crow, just resembling that of a dog; the screaming of the buzzard hawk, or the tapping of the wood-pecker. Notwithstanding the infinite variety of American birds, (upwards of 130 different kinds have been enumerated,) I believe there is only the mocking bird, which can imitate nearly all others, that has any note to be termed singing. Their plumage, however, far surpasses those of Europe, and many of them are, in this respect, in the highest degree splendid and beau- tiful. I saw not a single snake in my day's ramble, or any other venomous reptile. We visited the Springs, but there is at present merely a single house upon the spot, and nothing to interest any one about them, except a person desirous of analyzing the waters, or making trial of their efficacy; neither of which motives had induced my visit. They are said to be strongly impregnated with alum and sulphur. The quality of land, &c. offered no exception to my yesterday’s notice of them. For the benefit of future travellers I shall here put on record my bill of fare and charges at Avon. There are two inns, and I think not more than a dozen other houses ; but the one I have to do with is kept by a person of the name of Douglas, and stands on the left side of the road from Geneseo to Rochester. — It Bill of Fare, 3 fc. 113 was about eleven in the morning- when I arrived, and, previous to commencing- our sporting, I took a slight lunch. At a late hour I returned to dinner, which was introduced, with many apologies, as being past its best, &c. ; but, without particularizing, I wish it may never be my lot to sit down to a worse. To this I was supplied with a pint of tolerable port wine, half of which I might drink; and before retiring I took a glass of negus. My lodging, to be sure, was not superb, since the house being rather unexpectedly filled with company at a late hour, and it being in- convenient to accommodate me with a single bedded apartment, I preferred my cloak and the parlour floor to occupying a room with strangers, according to custom here, careless who or what. This morn- ing — Avgust 28th — I am just risen from a breakfast which, if I say w as a good one, is but giving it very moderate praise. The whole and entire charge for the entertainment from beginning to end, amounts to 81 cents, (3s. 4Jd. English). Waiter, 0; chamber- maid and boots, ditto ; and civility and thanks into the bargain. Will this be credited in England ? It will be some time before it is practised, at all events. We should dub ourselves not a little favoured, after such accommodation, sleeping excepted, to be let off with five or six times the sum I have paid. I must also notice here a very novel contrivance, which has attracted my attention, for serving up a re- past ; — a sort of cupboard, containing a number of shelves, is let down into the kitchen below, the top of it fitting and corresponding exactly with the boards of 114 TO BUFFALO Le Roy. the dining-room floor, so that, in that position, you cannot distinguish it from any other part. When a meal is in a state of readiness to be served, the various dishes, &c. are placed upon these shelves, and as soon as the freightage is complete, you see the whole, put in motion from below, tier after tier, gently rising into the apartment, where attendants are in readiness to transfer it to the table, upon which it is all smoking in the space of a few seconds, subject to the equally prompt attacks of its vigorous assailants. I was a good deal amused with the performance, doubtless a most convenient one, in a country where the saving of labour is so great a desideratum, and waiters are a class of men liking about as much ease and indulgence as their masters. From Avon to Buffalo is 67 miles; through Cale- donia, 10; Le Roy, 7; Stafford, 4 ; Batavia, 6; Alex- ander, 8; Pembroke, 5; Alden, 7 ; Clarence, 10; and thence to Buffalo, 10 miles. The only places worthy of notice are Le Roy and Batavia, the others being more like straggling houses by the way side, than villages ; a few years, however, sometimes do wonders in this country, and I there- fore give the names, about all I can do, that I may not be accused by the next traveller of overlooking a populous and thriving town. Le Roy is situated on Allan’s Creek. It is a very pleasant village, and contains a number of good houses and stores, and, I should think, nearly 4,000 inhabitants. The Erie canal runs seventeen miles to the north of it, and, in the words of my friend Batavia Temperance Societies. 115 Spafford, it appears to be “thriving as fast as any thing can thrive, which is not on the f Grand Canawl,’ towards which every body is looking and running.” The village of Batavia stands on the north side of the Tonnewanta Creek. It is the capital of Genesee county, rather larger than Le Roy, containing 4,200 inhabitants, and it appears a place of considerably more business. It is built in very compact style, and the stores and private residences have a neat and elegant appearance ; many of the latter would not disgrace any town or city in the State. There are two or three good inns, and the “Holland Com- pany’* have an office here. A court-house and its attendant jail I may add, of course. A little before entering the village, I was pleased to observe a pretty extensive brewing establishment, which, I was informed, was answering well to the proprietors. Great good has been effected in various parts of the State, and I believe I may say States, though much still remains to be done, by the very laudable exertions of what are called Temperance Societies, notwithstanding the unmeaning ridicule and ill-judged sarcasm which some have been disposed to direct towards them. They have been expressly formed to correct what had become a serious and even alarming national evil and disgrace; more or less pervading all ranks, and sapping the moral as well as the civil usefulness and respectability of * So called from being residents of that country: they own ex- tensive tracts of land in Genesee, and other counties in the State of New York. L 115 TO buffalo Batavia , fyc. thousands, — the too free use of ardent spirits. Since they were first established, the consumption of these deleterious articles, which, from their extreme cheap- ness, are within the reach of almost every one wish- ing to purchase them, has been greatly diminished. One or two respectable innkeepers have assured me that they have found it less by one half, and almost in an inverse ratio has the demand for malt liquor increased, and I trust there is fair reason to hope that this more natural and wholesome beverage, with cider and light wines, will so far supersede the use of the other as to become the common drink of the country. Batavia has been further conspicuous as the residence of the notorious William Morgan, the great masonic apostate, and whose revelation of the secrets of that would-be all mystic fraternity not long ago threw the whole neighbourhood into a most violent and dis- graceful state of excitement, which even yet has not wholly subsided. What a theme to distract the mind of a rational being, much more to disturb the harmony of any portion of an enlightened republic ! I heard the relation with sorrow and disgust. Between Le Roy and Batavia, and, indeed, as far as Alexander, as a fine agricultural district, I much admired the face of the country. The land is of excellent quality, and appeared to me as well farmed as any I have seen in the State, not even excepting the beautiful township of Canandaigua. The farm houses and outbuildings are generally good, and such as bespeak the comfort and respectability of Corduroy Road. 117 their proprietors. Improved farms are to be pur- chased here for rather less than at Canandaigua ; say, from twenty to thirty dollars per acre, and the prices of most kinds of produce are also a trifle lower : wages and other expenses much the same. We stopped to dine about two miles to the west of Pembroke, at an odd house, answering the two- fold purpose of farm-house and hotel, not unfre- quently the case in thinly-populated districts, where a very comfortable repast was served up to us, unac- companied with that breathless expedition I have noticed elsewhere. I had really time to lay my knife and fork upon my plate ere every chair had started back to its respective situation in the apart- ment, — a feat by no means to be lightly spoken of. The landlord told me of a good farm for sale near this spot, the owner wishing to retire from business . The size of it is 250 acres, with a corresponding house and outbuildings, well fenced, &c. ; — thought it might be bought for twenty dollars per acre. On approaching Alden, and westward of that place, the country assumed a very different appear- ance, being yet but little cultivated, and the road wooded on both sides; here and there patches of cleared land intervened, sufficient to demonstrate the latent fertility of the soil. Before arriving at Buffalo, travelling became, in- deed, no sinecure, it being our hard destiny to pass over what the Americans call a “corduroy road ” than which nothing can be conceived more direfully hostile to the comfort of either man or beast, or the 118 to BUFFALO — - Corduroy Road. safety of the vehicle. It is, in fact, a road of logs, of trees felled on the spot, and placed in contact with each other from side to side; the genuine cor- duroy rib, to be sure ; coarse enough for horse jockey taste, however extravagant : but the thing mentioned, no farther delineation is needful — the cause is ade- quate to any thing, and the effect does no discredit to the cause. Poor Peter’s pilgrims with their peas were well off, by comparison, even when the driver, in pure tenderness of heart towards us, condescended to limit his speed to two miles per hour; but when that speed was accelerated to five and six, why, then, good bye to description, and to seats of honour , and all other seats; ’twas rather too much for a joke: the reader’s imagination, if tolerably fertile, will best help me out. Finally, however, we escaped with- out loss of life or limb, which is saying as much as will be received without suspicion, and I gladly wave the traveller's license of adding more; — would that I could even dismiss the recollection ! But after all, sad as the confession, if the road is to be passed, I know not how it could be otherwise accomplished. The soil of these woods has no consistency beyond that of decomposed, or half decomposed, vegetable matter, wholly inade- quate to sustain the weight of carriages at any time, and, in the wet season, mere bog. Still you are strangely tempted to think, or, at least, to wish that these said logs had some earthly covering or other upon them ; but then again, you are told of a newly settled country, and the value of labour; the latter. BUFFALO. no according to Dr. Smith, a poser for every thing, so I may as well hold my tongue, and patiently ‘‘endure what can’t be mended;” — be the name of corduroy, however, for ever infamous ! The day was fast wearing away when we enterecj the village of Buffalo. It had been remarkably fine, and the wind happening to meet, instead of to follow us, rendered agreeable what would, otherwise, have proved a choking affair indeed. Throughout nearly the whole of the way, the log road excepted, when- ever we were in motion, there w r as nothing to be dis- cerned in our rear but one dense cloud of dust; trees, houses, and even villages, as soon as we had passed them, were lost to our view, and woe betide those who chanced on this day to be shaping their course in an opposite direction : it would require very familiar ac- quaintance to pronounce upon their identity with any thing like certainty, when landed at their respec- tive destinations. We were driven up to a splendid hotel at the south end of the village, called the Buffalo House, kept by E. Powell , jun. : it is less than a mile from the Lake, which in twenty minutes after my quitting the stage I had found my way into, and enjoyed the luxury of a moonlight dip in its refreshing waters. On returning to the inn I learnt that the last general meal of the day had been long ago despatched, and I had, therefore, hard fate, to put up with a quiet repast by myself In the few instances of my delinquency in this way, I have thought my hosts, for the time being, 120 buffalo Remarks on would have been quite as well pleased had I omitted to give them so much additional trouble. I amused myself for some time afterwards in a reading-room belonging to the establishment, and on retiring was shown into an apartment which for neat- ness, and even elegance, I have not seen surpassed on my route, only equalled at Auburn. August 29th. — After such fair promise it is almost needless to say that I have arisen this morning free from a vermin visitation, or other nightly annoyance; and, as if by contrast to the solitude attendant upon my last evening’s meal, have breakfasted with some thirty or forty sitting down to the table, and mine host and hostess presiding. By this time I have seen something more of the routine of affairs at inns, &c., than at the close of my first day’s stage travelling, which has but tended to confirm the observations I was then about to have made. They are not the comfortable, do-as- you-like public or private sort of places which the English hotels are ; and though the fare may be quite as good, oftentimes in greater profusion, few Englishmen, with the system pursued, would re- lish it half so well. — Suppose a roomy bar, as here- tofore described, full of strangers, and residents of the town, who half live at the hotels, standing about, ten minutes before dinner, as impatient as a throng at a theatre, until the ringing of a bell announces the re- past ready to be pounced upon. Forthwith one simultaneous rush takes place to the dining, or general, or only eating room , and each, as near as may be. Proceedings at Inns. 121 seating himself in the vicinity of his favourite dish, the dire attack commences. A novice would be apt to conclude that all had a heavy bet depending upon the quantity devoured in a given space of time ; Tis an affair in which each one is concerned exclu- sively for himself, carving, or cutting, and cramming down whatever he pleases, leaving his neighbour at liberty to do the same, or to do nothing at all, — all alike to him, — except, as I am pleased to do the Ame- ricans the justice to say upon these, as all other occa- sions, the utmost deference and most respectful atten- tion is ever paid to the ladies. But few words, per haps, are spoken by the whole company ; as each individual clears, or rather dismisses his plate, for it is rarely half cleared, “ another, and another, and an- other” succeeds, until he has gone the whole round of soup, fish, flesh, pudding, pastry, and dessert, — all fre- quently upon the table together, — and brought the performance to a close ; which is no sooner effected than up he starts, as if some contagion were spreading round the table, or there were a greater merit in bolt- ing than in properly masticating a meal ; in devour- ing with precipitancy than in eating with decent deliberation ; and, hurrying off to the bar, addresses himselfto smoking, chewing, &c. — spitting every where, of course, with most perfect freedom : — who would suf- fer restraint in a land of liberty ! In the intervals between meals there is usually as much taken in the way of drams, tossed down with equal expedition, as would serve an Englishman, at his meals, twice over. The difference is, that the one enjoys it, relishes it ; 122 buffalo Remarks, fyc. the other takes it because it is habitual to him ; and, without a moment's reflection in any way about it, is satisfied, for the time, if the act be only performed. I do not give this merely as a specimen of coach travel- ling; there haste and helter-skelter are often unavoid- able ; but I consider it a fair outline of these proceed- ings at hotels, in any part of the country where I have been, as much upon one occasion as another. At private houses, and in good society, there is no want of courtesy, and the most genuine good-breeding and hospitality ; but even here I think I have noticed a system of despatch neither necessary nor quite agree- able ; a confusing and intermixing of courses, &c., for instance; ever understanding that it is heresy itself not to vanish with the cloth, and what to an English- man would very much give the idea of hurrying over a meal to start a journey. Let no one charge me with advocating any of those after-dinner excesses so common with us ; none can more despise and condemn them; but some pause, at least, before retiring, and a friendly glass or two, if you will, I must think not only a social and agree- able, but a decent and proper custom. I can see no reasonable objection to it. The plea of the abuse of any practice is but a poor argument to constrain us to forego its use or propriety , neither of which appear to me unconnected with this. For myself, however, I shall retain my prejudices, let others think as they will. — I may be asked whether at an hotel a gentle- man would not be furnished with a private room and table, if he desired it P With the first no doubt he BUFFALO. 123 might; but as to the latter, if it were not refused altogether, it would be esteemed a most out-of-the- way request, and in all probability be made so un- pleasant to him that he would be most easy, in a short time, to dispense with it, and take his chance, pell-mell, with the rest. What is done with the parlours, I know not. At every good inn there are mostly several, and those on the first floor are to be seen carpeted, about half fur- nished, the door standing wide open, and no one in them. The drawing-rooms above are often elegant, and these I have occasionally seen occupied, but more commonly empty. As to lodging, when not intruded upon by company of one sort or other, it is all that can be wished : — you are generally waited upon by black servants, who are civil and attentive, and expect not money, but fair words. But to speak of Buffalo, — upon my first view of which, after the route I had pursued to it, I was filled with admiration and astonishment ; and could I for a moment have suffered myself to lose all recollection of the canal, and retain only the idea of its land ap- proach, I should have been almost tempted to believe that such an appearance as it presents, at the termina- tion of a forest, had been rather produced by magic or supernatural than by human means. In point of size it only yields to New York, Brooklyn, Albany, Utica, and Rochester, and how long any of these places, but the two first, may be able to boast even such superiority, is, in my opinion, a matter of great uncertainty. The situation of Buffalo, however con- 124 BUFFALO. sidered, is commanding- and important beyond most. Standing at the foot of Lake Erie — now connected with Lake Ontario by the Welland Canal — it has a direct communication with the Canadas ; is open to the mighty lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior, and an almost limitless extent of western continent; and, on the other hand, at the head of what is justly termed the Grand Canal, it is equally connected with the Hudson River, New York, as well as all intermediate places, the Eastern States, and, in fine, with the shores of the Atlantic. It is, as it were, the rallying point for the agricultural produce of the west, and the migratory population, the commerce and manu- factures of the east, the connecting link of the varied interests of a great portion of this vast empire, and embracing within itself most of the advantages which, separately, may attach both to inland towns and sea- ports, but which are rarely united as in Buffalo. Spafford, alluding to Rochester, has well, if I mistake not, portrayed the future prospects and destiny of this place:—' ff Looking forward,” says he, “ a few centuries, or half centuries, weighing all the balances of probabilities, the changes likely to be produced by steam navigation, by canals, and the march of popu- lation, and capital, and business westward, — not to Florida and the shores of the Mexican Gulf, but to the shores of the great lakes of the west, extending a line of navigation through Michigan to the Missis- sippi, and pushing it through the Missouri, and across the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, — I see a line of perspective so extended, so wide-spread in the BUFFALO. 125 sphere of its action, that it seems boundless, almost as the fields of imagination into which the contem- plation conducts me.” Leaving general for particular; — Buffalo stands on a fine plain at the mouth of the Buffalo Creek, an outlet of Lake Erie, and at the head of the Niagara river. The canal commences near this outlet, and from it lateral canals are cut in various directions, upon which numerous and extensive stores and ware- houses are already erected, and many more in pro- gress. Like Canandaigua, it consists principally of one fine broad street, called Main-street, having be- sides three public squares; and much that I have observed of the character and appearauce of the buildings, public and private, there, and at Rochester, may apply to Buffalo. I think there are fewer erec- tions of wood than at either of those places, whilst they are equally spacious and elegant. It has two handsome churches, and a court-house, built in very good style, an academy, of which report speaks highly, and where there are 100 students; with printing establishments, libraries, public baths, &c. ; and in the bar of the inn I am at, and at that inn, I see the play of “Is he Jealous ?” advertised for performance to-morrow evening ; — so soon the refine- ments, luxuries, and dissipations of life succeed to its comforts and conveniences. The present population amounts to more than 6,000. — And this is the Buffalo which has arisen from that Buffalo, the British with the horrid brand of war reduced to ashes, leaving but one house standing, in 1814 ! — Never may that 126 buffalo Erie Canal. execrable, that self-inflicted scourge of the human race, with all its long train of evils and calamities, revisit its borders more, but, with the blessings of peace, and the industry and enterprise of her sons, may Buffalo become all that they can desire, or I anticipate — a great and highly distinguished com- mercial town, the honour and ornament of their august republic ! Being here, as stated, at the fountain head of that splendid national work, the Erie canal, to which I have so frequently alluded, the following notice will not perhaps be deemed uninteresting : — “ This magnificent structure,” says the writer, “ was commenced under the patronage of the State, on the 4th of July, 1817, and was completed in 1825, uniting the waters of the Erie and Hudson, at an expense of less than seven millions of dollars, a sum trivial in comparison with the immense advantage derived to the State from such communication. The canal, beginning at Albany on the Hudson, passes up the west bank of that river nearly to the mouth of the Mohawk ; thence along the bank of the Mo- hawk to Schenectady, crossing the river twice by two aqueducts. From Schenectady it follows the south bank of the Mohawk until it reaches Rome. In some places it encroaches so near as to require embankments made up from the river to support it. An embankment of this description, at Amsterdam village, is five or six miles in extent. What is called the long level, being a distance of 69f miles, with- out an intervening lock, commences in the town of BUFFALO ■Erie Canal. 127 Frankfort, about eight miles east of Utica, and ter- minates three- fourths of a mile east from Syracuse ; from thence the route proceeds thirty-five miles to Montezuma, situated on the east border of the Cayuga marshes, three miles in extent, over which to the great embankment, seventy-two feet in height, and near two miles in length, is a distance of fifty-two miles; thence eight and a half miles to the com- mencement of the Genesee level, extending westward to Lockport, nearly parallel with the ridge road, sixty-five miles. Seven miles from thence, to Pen - dleton village, the canal enters Tonnewanta Creek, which it follows twelve miles, and thence following the east side of the Niagara river, communicates with Lake Erie at Buffalo. The whole line of the canal, from Albany to Buffalo, is 363 miles in length. It is forty feet wide at the top, and twenty-eight feet wide at the bottom. The water flows at the depth of four feet in a moderate descent of half an inch in a mile. The tow-path is elevated about four feet from the surface of the water, and is ten feet wide. The whole length of the canal includes eighty-three locks and eighteen aqueducts of various extent- The locks are constructed in the most durable man- ner of stone laid in water lime, and are ninety feet in length and fifteen feet in width. The whole rise and fall of lockage is 688 feet ; and the height of Lake Erie, above the Hudson, 568 feet. The principal aqueducts are, one crossing the Genesee river at Rochester, 804 feet in length ; one crossing the Mo- hawk at Little Falls, supported by three arches, the M 128 buffalo Erie Canal. centre of seventy feet, and those on each side of fifty feet chord ; and two crossing the Mohawk river near Alexander’s bridge, one of which is 748 feet, and the other 1188 feet in length. The whole workmanship evinces a degree of beauty and proportion consistent with the greatest strength. In many places the sides of the canal are either paved with small stone, or covered with thick grass, designed to prevent the crumbling of the soil by the motion of the water. To the main canal are a number of side cuts or lateral canals: one opposite Troy, connecting with the Hudson ; one at Syracuse, a mile and a half in length, to Salina; one from Syracuse to Oswego, thirty-eight nr iles in length ; one at Orville ; one at Chitteningo; one at Montezuma, extending to the Cayuga lake, five miles, and from thence to the Seneca lake at Geneva, a distance of fifteen miles ; and one at Rochester of two miles in length, which serves the double purpose of a navigable feeder, and a mean of communication for boats between the canal and the Genesee river. It is highly probable that these lateral cuts will increase in ratio with the enterprise of the numerous adjacent villages scattered along the line of the main canal. From these and various other improvements, which public enterprise has already suggested, the State of New York is des- tined to reap a full harvest of prosperity. If her national glory has already dawned with so much lustre, what will be its meridian splendour, when her magnificent improvements, uniting with her own the navigable waters of her sister States, shall serve 129 buffalo Erie Canal. as so many ligaments to bind the confederacy in the indissoluble bonds of friendship and interest ?” “ The debt contracted for the Champlain and Erie canals amounted, on the 1st of January, 1826, to 9,108,269 dollars, including 1,621,274 dollars ex- pended in the construction of feeders, lateral canals, dams, &c., and in the payment of salaries of the commissioners and other officers engaged in the work. The revenue from the tolls of both canals, in 1822, amounted to 64,071 dollars; in 1823, to 151,099 dollars; in 1824, to 289,320 dollars; in 1825, to 500,000 dollars; in 1826, to 675,190 dollars; in 1827, to 859,058 dollars; and in 1828, to 883,000 dol- lars. On the 1st of January, 1830, the canal debt, including the expenses of constructing the Oswego, Cayuga, and Seneca canals, and exclusive of the extinguishments which had been made, amounted to 7,706,013 dollars; and the tolls received for the preceding year, to the sum of 816,302 dollars, — the Oswego and Seneca canals not having furnished a revenue equal to the interest of their cost and the expense of their repairs. To the payment of the interest and principal of the canal debt, is appro- priated not only the tolls, but also the duties on salt and auctions, with other sources of income, which amounted, in 1829, to 377,677 dollars, making the total receipts of that year, including tolls, 1,193,979 dollars ” The day has been overcast, temperature agreeable, and closes with rain. 130 BUFFALO Seneca Reservation. August 30 th . — “The morn is up again, the dewy morn, With breath all incense, and with cheek all bloom ; Laughing' the clouds away with playful scorn, And living as if earth contained no tomb.” Swimming 1 in Lake Erie at five o’clock. — I was diverted in passing along Main-street at ob- serving the extreme singularity of the names over the shop doors, &c. ; a circumstance, indeed, I have often noticed elsewhere; and, in addition, you will mostly see portrayed upon a sign suspended over, or at the side of the door, some touch of the pro- fession practised within ; for instance, at a doctors, I saw a mortar and pestle ; at a bookseller’s, two large folio volumes; at a Miss Jeremiah’s, a most exqui- sitely trimmed bonnet; and at a fancy dyers, a board, upon which was announced the character of their establishment, had every letter painted with different coloured paint so much for customs. Near Buffalo there is a reservation of the Seneca Indians; but their numbers do not now amount to more than a few hundreds, and even these are an- nually diminishing, and retain but little of their ori- ginal character, habits, and customs; a few years, comparatively, will sweep this race of inhabitants altogether from the face of this wide continent, of which they were once the sole and undisputed pos- sessors ; and I leave it to the philosopher, the moral- ist, the philanthropist, the Christian to say, whether, if the good of mankind, and not the mere aggran- dizement of territory, had led to their extirpation — for whatever virtues or brilliancy of character they DEPARTURE FOR NIAGARA. 131 might possess in some respects, they were the mere children of the forest, averse to all but the savage and uncivilized states of life — looking upon America now, and comparing her with what she then was, and under such a people ever would have been, whether, in all the varied, vast, and important advantages which have followed their subjugation, the result would not have justified the act ? As it is. We can only say that the result has been greatly glorious — would that we could add, the means and the motives were as greatly good ! And now, having lingered a whole day at Buffalo, only twenty-two miles from Niagara, and within the sound of that mighty cataract,* I felt this morn- ing an overpowering excitement in anticipating the august spectacle which, in a few hours, would be presented to my view. Every description I had heard or read, and every conception I had formed of that stupenduous work of nature, was this day to be disappointed or realized. I was to behold a scene which is pronounced by all who have wit- nessed it, to stand unrivalled in any country, and to be able to answer in the affirmative that first and all-important interrogatory which meets a stranger on returning from the western world, “ Have you seen Niagara ?” Such w r ere the impressions with which I * In reference to the distance at which the falls are audible, Dr. Spafford observes, “ The sound is heard at various distances ; ex- tending five, eight, ten, twenty, and even thirty miles, when wafted by a gentle breeze. I have once heard it thirty miles in a direct line ; and I think that in 1797 I approached within five miles, with- out hearing any of that roar, which soon became tremendous from a change of wind,” M 2 132 TO NIAGARA. recommenced this most interesting portion of my journey. And here let me remark, that, in attempt- ing to convey to others, who do not happen to have been as much favoured as myself, not an idea of the scene — that were impossible — but something of the feelings with which I surveyed it; and considering the limited interval arrangements allowed me for observation, I shall not fastidiously and wholly re- ject the sentiments of those who have preceded me, when I consider them strikingly appropriate, or so nearly resembling my own, that I might either appear, however unintentionally, to have availed myself of, or studiously evaded them, to be, perhaps, less pointed and accurate ; — with this acknowledgement, then, I proceed. I have before said that the Niagara river, which forms the communication of Lake Erie with Lake Ontario, commences at Buffalo, receiving into it not only the waters of Lake Erie, but those of Huron, Michigan, and Superior, well denominated the inland seas of the ivest .* The elevation of Lake Erie above * “ Lake Huron is 218 miles from east to west, and 180 .broad. “ Michigan is 300 miles long and 50 wide. “ Superior , the most westerly, is 459 miles long, and about 109 wide. About forty small and three large rivers enter this lake, on one of which, just before its entrance, are perpendicular falls of more than 600 feet. The water of the lake is remarkably transpa- rent, so much so, that a canoe over the depth of six fathoms seems rather suspended in air than resting on the water. “ Lake Erie is on the boundary line between the United States and Upper Canada. It is 290 miles long from south-west to north- east, and in the widest part 63 broad. Lake Ontario , nearly half in the State of New York, “ is in length 171 miles, and in circumference 467. In the middle, a line of 350 fathoms has been let down without finding a bottom.” TO NIAGARA. 133 that of Ontario is upwards of 330 feet. The river is about thirty-five miles long, and from half a mile to six or seven in width, and nearly equidistant from each lake is crossed by a branch of the Alleghany mountains, which intersect almost the whole con- tinent of America, and to which circumstance we are indebted for the falls of Niagara. From Buffalo, the approach may be made either on the American or Canadian side of the river. I preferred the latter, and getting into a stage about eight o’clock, was conveyed three miles to Black Rock, a small, but increasing village on the east bank of the river, and upon the line of the canal ; like Buffalo destroyed by the British in 1814. The river here is about a mile in width, running with a very moderate current, and twenty-five feet deep. Over this we were ferried in a boat, with paddles worked by horses. On the Canada side, just as you land, are a few houses, christened “Waterloo,* very near the site of old Fort Erie,f the scene of desperate engagements be- * As if one must be reminded, wherever one goes, of that bloody struggle for the suppression of one tyrant, that five or six might form a inle league , which, with horrid blasphemy, they dared to de- signate “ holy” against all that was dear and sacred to man. But, “ every dog has its day,” and they, thank Heaven ! have had theirs, and are fallen and falling, amidst the scorn and execration of “ free millions.” — So perish all and every thing opposing the cause of civil and religious liberty, on its broadest basis, the world over ! f “ Fort Erie was rendered memorable as the theatre of several severe engagements during the last war. The last and most deci sive battle fought at this place was on the night of the 15th of Au gust, 1814. The fort was occupied by the Americans, and its pos session was considered au object of importance to the British. Taking advantage of the darkness of the night, they made repeated and furious assaults, and were as often repulsed ; until, at length, they succeeded by superior force in gaining a bastion. After main- 134 TO NIAGARA. tween the Americans and the British, during the last war, as was, in fact, nearly the whole extent of the river from lake to lake. Continuing along the banks of the stream, we shortly came opposite Grand Island , which is twelve miles long, and from two to seven broad, and was ceded to the State of New York by the Seneca Indians in 1815. We were about twelve miles dis- tant, when looking in the direction of the falls, I saw the spray, which I at first mistook for smoke, rising in columns to a very considerable height, and the whole horizon around skirted with light clouds ; I also began to hear the sound of them very dis- tinctly. Besides Grand Island, the river contains a number of other small islands,* and independent of the influence of that excitement by which, at every progressive step, the mind and feelings become more deeply aroused, the ride itself, the whole distance, is one of singular beauty and interest. Until we reached Chippewa, f the stream had been gliding taining it for a short time, at the expense of many lives, accident placed it again in the hands of the Americans. Several cartridges which had been placed in a stone building adjoining exploded, pro- ducing tremendous slaughter and death among the British. They, soon retreated, leaving on the field 221 killed, among whom were Cols. Scott and Drummond, 174 wounded, and 186 prisoners. The American loss was 17 killed, 56 wounded, and 11 missing. This action was followed by a splendid sortie , near the Fort, on the 17th of the following month, which resulted in a loss to the British of nearly 1000, including 385 prisoners, and to the Americans of 511 killed, wounded, and missing.” * The largest of these is Geneva Island , about a mile long, and nearly the same in width. It belongs to the British. f “ The battle of Chippewa was fought "on the 5th of July, 1814, and has been described as one of the most brilliant spectacles that TO NIAGARA. 135 along with a smoothness which left you wholly un- prepared for the ruffled and tumultuous scene it was could be well conceived. The day was clear and bright, and the plain such as might have been selected for a parade or a tourna- ment ; the troops on both sides, though not numerous, admirably disciplined ; the generals leading on their columns in person ; the glitter of the arms in the sun, and the precision and distinctness of every movement, were all calculated to carry the mind back to the scenes of ancient story or poetry, to the plains of Latium or of Troy, and all those recollections which fill the imagination with images of personal heroism and romantic valour. “ After some skirmishing, the British Indians were discovered in the rear of the American camp. Gen. Porter, with his volunteers and Indians, were directed to scour in the adjoining forest. This force had nearly debouched from the woods opposite Chippewa, when it was ascertained that the whole British force, under Gen. Riall, had crossed the Chippewa-bridge. Gen. Brown gave immediate orders to Gen. Scott to advance with his brigade, and to Gen. Ripley to be in readiness to support. In a few minutes the British line was dis- covered formed and rapidly advancing, their right on the woods, and their left on the river. Their object was to gain the bridge across a small creek in front of the American encampment, which, if done, would have compelled the Americans to retire* This bridge, however, was soon gained by Gen. Scott, and crossed, under a tre- mendous fire of British artillery, and his line formed. The British orders were to give one volley at a distance and immediately charge. But such was the warmth of the American musketry that they could not withstand it, and were obliged to retreat before the ap- pearance of Ripley’s brigade, which had been directed to make a movement through the woods upon the enemy’s right flank. The British recrossed the Chippewa bridge, which they broke down in their retreat, having suffered a loss in killed and missing of 514. The American loss was 328.” “ One mile farther is Lundy’s Lane, celebrated as the ground on which an important battle was fought, twenty days after the battle of Chippewa. The scene of action was near the mighty cataract of Niagara, and within the sound of its thunders, and was, in propor- tion to the number engaged, the most sanguinary, and decidedly the best fought action which ever took place on the American con- tinent. The following letter, written by a surgeon of one of the (American) regiments, the day after the engagement, contains many interesting particulars : — ‘ In the afternoon the enemy advanced towards Chippewa with 136 TO NIAGARA. so soon to present ; but “ here,” in the words of an eminent traveller, “the grand spectacle begins” — a powerful force. At six o’clock Gen. Scott was ordered to advance with his brigade and attack them. He was soon reinforced by Gen. Ripley’s brigade ; they met the enemy below the falls. They had selected their ground for the night, intending to attack our camp before daylight. The action began just before seven, and an unin- terrupted stream of musketry continued till half-past eight, when there was some cessation, the British falling back. It soon began again with some artillery, which, with slight interruptions, continued till half-past ten, when there was a charge, and a tremendous stream of fire closed the conflict. Both armies fought with a desperation bordering on madness ; neither would yield the palm, but each re- tired a short distance, wearied out with fatigue. Such a constant and destructive fire was never before sustained by American troops without falling back. ‘ The enemy had collected their whole force in the peninsula, and were reinforced by troops from Lord Wellington’s army, just landed from Kingston. For two hours the two hostile lines were within twenty yards of each other, and so frequently intermingled^ that often an officer would order an enemy’s platoon. The moon shone bright; but part of our men being dressed like the Glenga- rian regiment caused the deception. They frequently charged, and were as often driven back. Our regiment, under Col. Miller, was ordered to storm the British battery. We charged, and took every piece of the enemy’s cannon. We kept possession of the ground and cannon until twelve o’clock at night, when we fell back more than two miles. This was done to secure our camp, which might otherwise have been attacked in the rear. Our horses being most of them killed, and there being no ropes to the pieces, we got off but two or three. The men were so excessively fatigued they could not drag them. We lost one howitzer; the horses being in full gallop towards the enemy to attack them, the riders were shot off, and the horses ran through the enemy’s line. We lost one piece of cannon } which was too much advanced, every man being shot that had charge of it, but two. Several of our caissons were blown up by their rockets, which did some injury, and deprived our cannon of ammunition. The lines were so near that cannon could not be used with advantage. ‘ The British loss in killed and wounded and prisoners was 878, and the American loss 860 ’ “ The road to the falls passes directly over the hill where the Bri- tish artillery were posted at the time Scott’s brigade commenced NIAGARA. m here the rapids * commence; and leaving- stages and such like material vehicles, let us suffer ourselves for a short time, in fancy’s airy car, to follow the impetuous current. There is a gradual expanding of the river from Waterloo to this place, and here it attains the width of nearly two miles; but on a sudden it is narrowed, and its rapidity is redoubled by the declivity of the ground on which it flows, estimated by some at sixty, by others at ninety feet, as well as by the sudden contraction of its bed. The channel is rocky, and the interspersed fragments of rock increase the violence of the stream. As it proceeds, it becomes more closely hemmed in by rocks on the right encroaching upon its channel, and sweeps along with prodigious velocity. Before the action ; and the houses in the village of Bridgewater, the trees and fences in the vicinity, still retain marks of the combat. Many graves are seen upon the hill ; among others that of Capt. Hull, son of the late Gen. Hull, who distinguished himself and fell in this action. Most of the slain were collected and burned upon the battle ground ; on which spot it is in contemplation to erect a church.'* — [A pretty sort of ground for a reverend Christian to consecrate /] * An American term for a broken and rapid current. “ Falling into the current, within a mile of the falls, is considered fatal- Several accidents of this kind have happened, and only one per son has ever been known to reach the shore. Mauy bodies have been found below the falls •, those that have fallen in the centre of the stream, without any external marks of injury ; and those that have fallen near the shore, much lacerated and disfigured. The latter has probably been occasioned by coming in contact with the rocks in shallow water, before reaching the cataract. A few years since an Indian, partially intoxicated, in attempting to cross the river near Chippewa, was forced near the rapids, when finding all his efforts to regain the shore unavailing, he laid down in his canoe, and was soon plunged into the tremendous vortex below. He was never seen afterwards.” 138 NIAGARA. arriving at the great pitch it is intersected by two small islands, namely, Bath and Goat Island , which divide the current into two arms, thus creating a fall both on the American and Canadian sides ; “and resting on their rocky basis, seem, as it were, to swim between the streams, which here rush down at once into the dread chasm below.”* The main, or Horse Shoe Fall, is on the Canada side; its circum- ference is estimated at 600 or 700 yards, and its height at 158 feet. The sheet in falling does not pitch immediately downward, but, as may be in- ferred from its rapid motion, it advances about fifty feet from the perpendicular of the cataract, and de- scends in the form of a curve. To describe my sensations when from the Terrapin Rocks the mighty scene opened upon me, is utterly beyond my power; — many another has had to make a like confession, and as a talented and intelligent writer, whom I have repeatedly quoted, remarks,— “The immense volume of water that forms a river of a mile wide can only be conceived by those who have seen large rivers, and have indulged in some habitual reflection. I had (says he) enjoyed these advantages, and had read many good descriptions of Niagara Falls, before I had an opportunity to consult the impressions derived from personal observation, and still the scene was altogether new to me when I stood, and gazed, and wondered at the sight : — a broad, rapid river poured at once down a precipice of more than 150 * “ Dr. Dwight has estimated that more than one hundred mil- lions of tons of water pass over the falls every hour.” NIAGARA. 139 feet into an awful chasm of about three-quarters of a mile wide, and near 300 feet deep, reckoning from the surface of the river bank ! The first effect of this sight is absolutely indescribable. My head became giddy, and it seemed to me that every nerve was affected in the same way with those of the head : nor was it till after some minutes that I dare crawl to the brink of the precipice to take a nearer view.” The Terrapin Rocks are approached by a rudely- constructed bridge from Goat Island. They extend about 300 feet from the shore to the Horse Shoe Fall, and, at their farthest verge, absolutely overhang the vast abyss into which the torrent rolls with all its thrilling and majestic grandeur. “ No one,” says another, “ can witness this at first without involuntary shrinking back.” He must allow, however, of one exception : I had noticed the remark, and to give every possible effect to the scene which I was about to survey, when I advanced upon the bridge, I closed my eyes, and, as far as I could, kept them in that state until I found myself as it were suspended over the cataract. I confess the impression was awful, but to me, if I may so say, it was awfully enchanting; my excitement was raised to a pitch which s^nied to dispel the idea of danger, and I verily believe if, at that moment, I had known it to be imminent, I should have retreated from the position with some hesitation and reluctance. I was dumb with high and enthralling amazement. “ There was a mass of many images Crowded like waves upon me.” “The tablet of unutterable thoughts was traced.” N 140 NIAGARA. My feelings asked for words, and in the same in- stant mocked the power of language. I felt the weak- ness — the littleness — the nothingness of man, and the immensity of that Being whose almighty fiat had called into existence the magnificent scenes which surrounded me, and poured along the cataract which foamed and thundered at my feet. I was as if com- mingled with the very elements — living in the tumult : the world seemed annihilated and dead : every faculty and power of the soul was taken captive — riveted to this spot. The creations of fancy had fled away; imagination was beggared by reality ; and I felt at once that Niagara — the mighty Niagara ! — was all, and more than all, it had ever been represented to be — what no pencil could paint, or pen portray — great beyond every conception of grandeur — sublime be- yond all idea of sublimity ! How long I continued in this reverie of rapture I know not ; *twas too overpowering for endurance. The spell was at length broken : I was recalled to the vapidness of life, and, like one just aroused from a trance, retraced my steps to the shore ; but the im- pression remains fixed, and permanent, and vivid, as when stamped upon the mind, and when I lose the recollection of that hour, and that scene, time must have drawn its veil over all that I would cherish, and thought and memory become extinct : — I must cease to live. The reader will forgive me this digression — rhap- sody, or whatsoever he is pleased to term it : the feel- ings of the moment were ardent and irresistible, in- NIAGARA. 141 spired by the majesty of the scene : they can never recur again but upon a like occasion — at the same spot. We will now commence on the Canada side, and make the entire circuit. My first point of observation was upon the Table Rock,* a little lower down the river bank than the great fall, and although the view from this is indeed superlatively grand, it did not, in my mind, produce all those overpowering emotions which I experienced in the situation alluded to, and I surveyed the parti- cular features of the scene perhaps with more atten- tion. Viewed from the point, this falling sheet sometimes resembled an immense avalanche of snow, as during its descent amongst the rocks of the rapids it acquires a foaming whiteness before it reaches the great pitch , but much depends upon the position of the sun, the state of the atmosphere, force of the wind, &c. Its colour was occasionally a dark green, and not un- frequently it exhibited every brilliance of hue and shade that can be imagined. The surface below presented the wildest confusion : the water, after its “ * A large crack in the Table Rock, which has increased annually for some years, renders it very certain that a considerable propor- tion will ere long fall into the abyss below. The part thus cracked is nearly fifty feet in width, and might be blasted off* without diffi- culty. The height of the rock has been ascertained to be 163 feet.” It is highly disgraceful to those who have the power to remove it to suffer this rock to remain in its present state. It may fall any moment — it must fall before long, and whenever it does, it will be remarkable if lives are not sacrificed. Is there no one who will interfere to prevent it 1 142 NIAGARA. descent, partly rising' again in thick columns of mist, towering above the falls, and mixing with the clouds; thus producing — for the sun was bright throughout the day — perpetual and most splendid rainbows; the remainder breaking upon the masses of rock, in the bed of the river, filled the whole chasm with spray, and which, the wind meeting me on my approach, I per- ceived, like small rain, at a considerable distance off. From the Table Rock I next passed under the fall. The descent is by means of a spiral stair-way which is inclosed, and on arriving at the bottom of which I had to doff every vestige of clothing, and was fur- nished by the guide, who was about to accompany me, vrith a waterproof garment in lieu of it : the necessity of this exchange I full soon discovered, being com- pletely enveloped in a cloud of spray. The path is a very rugged one, under awfully overhanging rocks and as we approached nearer and nearer, the roar, the tumult, and the agitation which encompassed us " around, above, below,” was appallingly, grandly terrific. The violence and density of the spray, too, increased at every step, so that we were obliged to carry our heads down to respire at all ; and in one part, where there is a considerable projection, it was driven against us with such almost incredible vehe- mence that it required no trifling effort to keep on our feet. I can compare it to nothing better than the most violent of thunder rain, which, instead of falling vertically, is propelled horizontally, with the fury of a tornado. The walking, too, is rendered more diffi- cult by the number of small eels, which are twisting NIAGARA. 143 about under your feet in all directions. At length, however, staggering and stumbling on, we reached what is called Termination Rock, 153 feet from the commencement of the volume of water, and beyond which there is no proceeding, the descent being nearly perpendicular. Few, I believe, evince any inclination to explore thus far, though tales are told of persons taking a meal underneath, and so on; which, for the mere say-so, certainly might be done, as any one, if so disposed, might treat himself to dinner in a shower- bath, nor fear having to complain of a dry morsel; but be assured the inconvenience of such a ceremony under the Falls of Niagara would, if possible, be an hundred-fold greater. After remaining some time seated on the farthest projection of rock, contemplating the wildly majestic and novel character of the scene around, I returned to the stair-way, and on reaching the little building which has been erected at the top of it, and casting off my drenched surtout, I was presented by my guide with a printed form of certificate, in testimony of the performance, in the following words : To wit, — “ This may certify that Mr. John Fowler has passed with me behind the Great Falling Sheet, under the Falls of Niagara, to ‘Termination Rock.’ Given under my hand, at the office of the General Register of Visitors, at the Table Rock, this 30th day of Au- gust, 1830.— (Signed) W. D. Wright, G. N. F” Continuing from this along the bank, about a quarter of a mile lower down, is a man in attendance with a small boat to ferry across the river. To a stranger it would appear altogether impossible for a N 2 144 NIAGARA. boat to live in such a water, and certainly the impe- tuosity and strength of the current, together with its numerous eddies, are not quite pleasant; but I had every confidence in my ferryman, apparently grown gray in the service, and was right little disposed to indulge in any groundless apprehensions of danger. He even told me, but this he esteemed a feat, that his son, a boy of twelve years of age, had, more than once, swam across. “ The bed of the river here is formed by two ridges of rock, which extend a great way further down,* and it is still more narrowed, as if a part of this mighty stream had vanished during the fall, or were swallowed up by the earth.” — We landed within about eighty yards of the fall on the American side. This is much smaller than the Horse Shoe Fall , not being more than 300 yards wide; the sheet is also greatly thinner, and it descends almost perpendicularly, so that there is no possibility of passing behind it, but in conse- quence of a rocky barrier in front it can be approached to within a few feet, making up your mind to re- turn with a wet jacket. It is rather higher than the * “ The great northern terrace of high plain meets the Niagara river of Lewiston, seven miles below the falls, which is just at the foot of it ; and here must have been originally the Falls of Niagara. The corresponding strata of rocks and earths, w’ith every geological feature, carry irresistible evidence of this prodigious excavation. 4 “ In the autumn of 1795, it is said a shock of an earthquake was felt here, when a large piece of the rock that formed the cataract fell, and perceptibly changed the form of its curvature. “ Indeed it is altogether incredible to suppose this immense body of water should descend thus, and not be constantly wearing away the rocks that lie in its wav. How long it may have taken to cut this vast chasm is of no importance.” NIAGARA. 145 Horse Shoe Fall, being 164, whilst that is only 158 feet, and 1 thought the roar quite as tremendous, in- deed it struck me as being louder. I ascended from this place by a long flight of stairs, which has been constructed to the top of the bank, and passing along the shore about a quarter of a mile, came to a bridge which has actually been carried across the rapids to Bath Island,* and upon which, (will it be believed ?) there is a large paper mill, as well as other mills, in operation : there is also a house where the weary tra- veller may find most comfortable refreshment, and where I partook of all the dinner — it was a very slight and hasty one, to be sure — I either had or needed during the day. My feasting was of another character, but the richest, the noblest, the most sumptuous ban- quet I ever did, I ever can enjoy. At this place there is a tolerable collection of shells, petrifactions, and * “ Gen. P. B. Porter, of Black Rock, to whom the public are in- debted for the construction of this bridge, informed me that its erec- tion was not effected without considerable danger. Two large trees, hewed to correspond with their shape, were first constructed into a temporary bridge, the huts fastened to the shore, with the lightest ends projecting over the rapids. At the extremhy of the projection, a small hutment of stone was first placed in the river, and when this became secure, logs were sunk around it, locked in such a manner as to form a frame, w'hich was filled with stone. A bridge was then made to this hutment, the temporary bridge shoved forward, and another hutment formed, until the whole was completed. One man fell into the rapids during the work. At first, owing to the velocity with which he was carried forward, he was unable to hold upon the projecting rocks ; but through great bodily exertions to lessen the motion by swimming against the current, he was enabled to seize upon a rock, from which he was taken by means of ropes. “ The sensation in crossing this bridge over the tremendous rapids beneath, is Calculated to alarm the traveller for his safety, and hasten him in his excursion to the island.” — Traveller's Guide. 14G NIAGARA. various curiosities, the produce of this interesting neighbourhood. T also saw a large stuffed swan, which venturing too near the fall had the misfortune to be carried over, and was picked up dead below by the man who ferried me across. From Bath Island I passed by another bridge on to Goat Island, which is perhaps about a mile in cir- cumference, overgrown with trees and shrubs of dif- ferent kinds, some of which I made pretty free with on behalf of friends in England : but here, in my opi- nion, is obtained decidedly the finest view of the rapids, and the principal fall, which is to be had from any situation around them. I allude, of course, to the Terrapin Rocks ; but these I have already spoken of, and let me not trust myself upon enchanted ground again. There is another very small island adjoining Goat Island, called Iris Island, from which a stair-way has been constructed to the foot of the falls, affording an excellent position for contemplating them from that part. “ It was from ladders erected near this place that the celebrated Sam Patch made a descent of 118 feet into the water below, a short time previous to his fatal jump at Rochester, in the autumn of 1829.” Here I completed my tour of the falls, recrossed the rapids, and was again ferried over the river to the Canada side, where I retired to the Pavilion,* and en- joyed a most splendid coup d’oeil of the whole scene, * “ The Pavilion, kept by Mr. Forsyth, is a lofty eminence above the falls, on the Canada side, affording from its piazzas and roof a beautiful puospect of the surrounding scenery. It is a handsomely constructed building, and can accommodate from 100 to 150 guests.’’ NIAGARA. 147 regretting that I had only been able to devote hours where I could willingly have lingered months, and should realise new beauties, fresh sources of interest, with every succeeding day. I did not feel, however, as if taking a last adieu ! I could not force myself to believe it : the moment will be hailed with rapture whenever these impressions are verified. I have seen Niagara in all the splendour of summer; I would again behold it in the icy array of a Canadian winter. And now, reader, thou has followed me — I would hope not quite impatiently — around this mighty scene, which, instead of being compressed in a few pages, might well furnish matter for a volume. To the little I have said, add all thy loftiest conceptions — the most vivid colourings of thy fancy — give wings to thy imagination, and soar to any height thou wilt — I still tell thee, thou hast no idea of Niagara ; be- lieve this thyself, and thou art then, perhaps, as familiar with it, as any multiplication of words could make thee, and to the testimony which I have given let me add that of the celebrated Duke de la Roche- focault Laincourt, who visited the falls in 1795. “I must repeat it again and again,” says he, “ that nothing can stand the test of comparison with the Falls of Niagara. Let no one expect to find here something pleasing, wildly beautiful, or romantic; all is wonderfully grand, awful, and sublime. Every power of the soul is arrested : the impression strikes deeper and deeper the longer you contemplate, and you feel more strongly the impossibility of doing justice to your perceptions and feelings.” 148 FROM NIAGARA TO From Niagara I had wished to return by the Lake Ontario, landing either at Oswego or Sacket’s Har- bour ; but the steam-boat in which I thought to have taken a passage, being a few days too late for me, I was compelled to alter my plans, and proceed by stage along the Alluvial Way, upon the lake border, which is considered one of the great natural curiosities of the country.* Took a conveyance along the Canada side of the Niagara river to Queens- * “ This is called the Ridge Road, or the Alluvial Way. It lies along the south shore of the Lake Ontario, and is composed of common beach sand and gravel stones, apparently worn smooth by the action of water ; and the whole intermixed with small shells. Its general width is from four to eight rods, and it is raised in the middle with a handsome crowning arch from six to ten feet. Its general surface preserves a uniform level, being raised to meet the unevenness of the ground through which it lies. At the Genesee and Niagara rivers, it is found to be elevated about 120 or 130 feet ; and this, of course, determines its elevation from Lake Ontario, from which it is distant from six to ten miles, and towards which there is a pretty uniform, though gradual descent. That this stupendous work of nature was formed by the action of water is very evident, and that water must have been no other than the Lake Ontario, now settled away 130 feet below its ancient boundary ; and the whole intermediate space is said to be good land, exhibiting strong evidences of alluvial origin. It could hardly escape the observation of the enterprising inhabitants of the west, that on the surface of this ancient work of the waters of Ontario, a very excellent road might easily be made through its whole extent. At an early period one was opened with little labour, extending from Lewistown, on the the Niagara river, to the Genesee, terminating at the spot now occu- pied by Rochester, a distance of eighty-seven miles. The circum- stance deserves notice, that between this Alluvial Way and the shore of Lake Ontario, there are few of those ancient works, the mounds, tumuli, &c. of a race of people about whom we know nothing but by such like monuments ; pretty good evidence that their era preceded that of the present level of the waters of that lake, or of their retire- ment below the Alluvial Way” LEW1ST0WN. 149 town, seven miles, where I crossed to Lewistown, The river at this place has a very strong current, and is sometimes considerably ruffled. The banks are three hundred feet high ; but they soon decrease to about twenty or thirty feet, at which elevation they continue to Lake Ontario, seven miles below. Lewistown shared the fate of most of the frontier villages during the war ; but it is now rebuilding in neat and respectable style, though I should imagine it will never arrive at equal commercial importance with the villages along the line of the canal. Be- sides a church, custom-house, &c., it has to boast of a very excellent hotel, much such a one as a per- son in want of every kind of comfortable refresh- ment would desire to fall in with. I have noticed generally that there is no difference in the charges at these places for breakfast, dinner, and tea, or sup- per — call it what you will ; both meals are here com- prised in one; — the customary demand for each is 37| cents, and, as before hinted, there are no ad- dendas, as with us, to half the amount of the bill. I recollect not long ago, when travelling in England, my expenses at a certain inn were 10s., and the servants’ fees, in the usual way of remunerating them, and as I did upon the occasion, amounted exactly to 5s. I have no doubt, however, before any distant day, it will be found that the American servants, (I beg their pardon, I ought to have said “ helps/ 3 ) will consent to accept of a little remembrance from a parting guest without any manifest embarrassment. 150 TO ROCHESTER Lockport . I have seen one effort of the kind made, and only one, which was received very graciously. August 31 st. — After a few hours’ repose, which restored me to all the transporting scenes of the day, at half-past three o’clock this morning, I was in, or on the stage for Rochester. In the distance we pass through some eight or nine villages, none of which are worthy of mention, excepting Lockport, and that I was too much straitened for time to reconnoitre as I could have wished. I see it thus noticed in the Tra- veller’s Guide : — “ By far the most gigantic works on the whole line of the canal, are at this place. After passing along the canal between sixty or seventy miles on a perfect level, the traveller here strikes the foot of the f Mountain Ridge,’ which is surmounted by five magnificent locks of twelve feet each, connected with five more of equal dimensions for descending; so that while one boat is raised to an elevation of sixty feet, another is seen sinking into the broad basin below. The locks are of the finest imaginable workmanship, with stone steps in the centre and on either side, guarded with iron railings, for the convenience and safety of passen- gers. Added to this stupenduous work, an exca- vation is continued through the Mountain Ridge, com- posed of rock, a distance of three miles, at an average depth of twenty feet. When viewing this part of the canal, we are amazed with the consideration of what may be accomplished by human means. Remarks by the way. 151 “The village of Lockport is mostly located on the mountain ridge, immediately above the locks; and though “founded on a rock,” surrounded with rocks, and with little or no soil, it has already become a place of importance. In 1821, there were but two houses in the place ; now there are between three and four hundred. The canal here being on the highest summit level, and supplied with water from Lake Erie, (distant about thirty miles,) an abun- dance is obtained for hydraulic purposes, and the surplus at Lockport has been sold for 20,000 dollars. In the excavation through the mountain, several minerals were discovered, among which some of the finest specimens of the dog-tooth spar ever found in the United States. At first they were easily ob- tained; but latterly they have become an object of profit, and are sold at prices corresponding with their beauty.” As to the Alluvial Way, I am any thing but pleased with it, to travel along, and so far from recommend- ing it to tourists, as some have done, I recom- mend all, but the mere geologist, to keep bflf it; I consider it beyond comparison the most uninter- resting eighty miles of ground I have passed over in the country, and whatever thanks may be due to nature for the effort she has made to open a path, way through a wilderness, her handmaiden art must at all events be excluded from the least possible par- ticipation therein. For the first thirty or forty miles it is pretty closely wooded on each side, occasion- ally, perhaps, relieved by a rib of corduroy ; of which o 152 TO ROCHESTER- distinguished mention has been previously made ; and now and then a hut or two, and a few acres of half-cleared land, will be observed. It passes over, or is intersected by several small creeks and streams, at which parts it is wholly unguarded, and might be offering a very premium upon capsizing, or other equally agreeable occurrence to break in upon the wearying sameness of its character ; indeed, an acci- dent of the kind had happened a few days previ- ously ; but, fortunately, the stage at the time was without a single passenger, and the driver escaped unhurt, though both himself and horses had a most hair -breadth escape of being dashed to pieces. As we neared Rochester, the road became leveller, and the country more cleared and cultivated ; but the land appeared of indifferent quality, and agri- cultural affairs at a very low ebb. The dust was all but insupportable, and much as I have had occa- sion to complain of it elsewhere, it has been nothing like so bad as on this road. I have had to ride with my handkerchief tied over my head the greater part of the way ; but notwithstanding that, and every other experiment, at times I was half suffocated. Having frequently alluded to the inconvenience which a traveller sustains from the dust of an Ame- rican road, perhaps a better idea of the justness of my complaint may be entertained if I mention the principle upon which they are usually repaired. When a road — now I am not including all, I say usually — has become in a state in which the wheels of carriages, in place of running upon its surface. Remarks by the way. 153 have to perform their revolutions some eighteen inches or more below; and when we should un- hesitatingly begin to prefer our indictments and so forth, the neighbouring farmers are very civilly ap. plied to for a loan of their services, and as civilly and promptly repair to the defective part with oxen, ploughs, &c., and commence breaking up the sides of the road just as they would one of their own fallows : this done, the oxen are released from the ploughs, and yoked to a large shovel, or scope, with two handles, held by the driver : this is pressed down into the ground which has been previously loosened, and when as much is upon it as it will retain, the cattle, with admirable docility, and almost without a bidding, start with it at once into the centre of the road, where their driver tosses it over, and returns for further supplies; thus on till the repairs are completed. “ Completed ! — but when are the stones laid upon it?” Reader, thou art asking a very rational question, which I answer by informing thee that whenever any adjacent field abounds with these substances to the injury of its vegetation, and it is not too much trouble to remove them, they are gratuitously bestowed upon the road, where no hammer of M'Adam or any other Adam ever molests them, but in all their original shapes and sizes they are suffered to remain, occupy- ing just those positions which chance, the laws of gravity, stage wheels, &c. may determine. And thus, with much republican simplicity, is an operation per- formed in a day or two, which would cost us as many months, and employ one or more overseers, surveyors, 154 FROM ROCHESTER TO NEW HARTFORD. and half the poor of the parish.* Do not marvel, however, after this, independent of now and then a jolt, that in a dry season there should be ‘something too much’ of dust, and, in a wet one, a little super- abundance of mud and mire ; though, taking the run of times and seasons, travelling is really more tolerable than under such a state of things could be well sup- posed, and, except in newly settled districts, not to be greatly complained of — as good, no doubt, as England afforded in equally juvenile years — and every year im- proving. The Americans, I imagine, would have had better roads but for their admirable water conveyances, in which they so far surpass us, that it were be- coming to be pretty modest in our animadversions upon the other. I have spoken of the matter, en pas- sant, with that perfect good will which I have noticed other things, and feel towards them upon all occasions. They are a great people — have done great things — are doing great things — and, ere long, we shall not have to tell them to do more — 1 guess. Of Rochester I can only confirm what I have pre- viously stated. It is decidedly the first place upon the line of canal, and of all, excepting Buffalo, is likely to take the lead, but I shall be much deceived, if, in the course of — may I say — a few years, Buffalo does not leave every other in the rear. My route from Rochester to New Hartford, and in- * This latter term may almost need explaining to an American, but the mass of enlightened people in England are so well acquainted with it that I will not do him the injustice to infer his disability to comprehend it. Remarks by the way. 155 deed to Albany, was so nearly the same as the one by which I travelled westward that it would be as tedious as unnecessary to dwell upon it. Omitting dates, I will take incidents and objects in hasty rotation And first, about two miles to the south of Pittsford, the grand, (canal) embankment , as it is termed, over the Irondequoit * Creek, had given way and caused a most serious inundation in the neighbourhood : at the principal breach it had swept a course, for some distance, from sixty to a hundred yards wide, and five or six feet deep, depositing immense quantities of sand in the surrounding fields and woods. An orchard I noticed which presented a singular appearance, the trees being all buried as high as their buts, and the boughs full of fruit resting upon the sand, as if grow- ing immediately out of it. The occurrence had taken place a week or two prior to my passing the spot, and all had been put to rights again, but from the loose and sandy nature of the soil in the vicinity 1 should fear there is but little security against a repetition of it. It seems the most imperfect part along the whole * This ought to be called “ Teoronto .” Dr. Spaft’ord, speaking of the Bay , observes, — “ The Indians call it Teoronto, a sonorous and purely Indian name, too good to be supplanted by such vulgarisms as ‘ Gerundegut, or ‘ Irondequoit !’ The Bay is about five miles long and one wide, communicating with the Lake [Ontario] by a very narrow opening, or such it used to have ; and Teoronto, or Tche-o-ron-tok, perhaps rather nearer the Indian pronunciation, is the place where the waves breathe and die, or gasp and expire. Let a person of as much discernment as these ‘ Savages’ watch the motion of the waters in this Bay, facing the north, after a storm on the Lake, or a violent gale, and he will admire the aptitude of its name, and never again pronounce Gerun degut, Irondequot, or Irondequoit.” o 2 156 TO NEW HARTFORD line of the canal. — Might not the canal have been carried farther to the south and have avoided this creek and the necessity of an embankment altogether ? I am suggesting, however, with professed ignorance of attendant circumstances; my map may be incorrect, or what not — I only wish that an execution so great, and so complete in most parts, may not remain defective in any. One of the next things that caught my eye, though seemingly insignificant by comparison, was scarcely more agreeable, namely, a handbill offering a rew r ard of twenty-five dollars for the apprehension of a shop lifter at Canandaigua, and not the only one I have noticed. A few years ago such an advertisement would have been no trifling novelty, but whoever will take the trouble to observe the specimen of society daily teeming in from the ‘ old country,’* and diffus- ing itself particularly in the State of New York, will be at no loss to account for the occasional appearance of such things now — the cause and effect are at once, and equally self-evident. From Canandaigua to Geneva we varied the route a little by taking the Castleton road; along which the land was chiefly in a superior state of cultivation, and in quality, and all respects, fully supported the very favourable opinion before expressed of the agri- culture of this fine district. About a mile to the west of Geneva. I saw the only quick hedge I have * The emigrations from Great Britain and Ireland to the State of New York, during the last twelve months, amount I believe to more than 20,000. Remarks by the way . 157 noticed in my travels, which appeared to be thriv- ing remarkably well; much, indeed, would it con- tribute to beautify the country were this description of fence to become general. I begin almost to tire of their everlasting wood and stone. Since leaving Albany, I had been frequently told, I suppose by those interested in supporting the old line of stages, that the new, or Pioneer line, had sold out their stock, and discontinued running. I had my suspicions as to the accuracy of the information, and at Geneva I found them fully confirmed, there being a meeting of the proprietors at the inn where we dined, at which it was resolved to carry on the most vigorous opposition. I am no friend to illiberal or uncalled-for opposition, but I hate monopolies of all kinds ; and as regards these stages, before there was a choice of conveyances, I have heard enough of the inconvenience which persons sustained in tra- velling just upon the terms which might be dictated to them; and once myself, when upon a cross road, where the old line had it all to themselves, besides breaking down, which, to be sure, might have occur- red to either party, I had such a sample of their proceedings as I should not wish to experience again. We scarcely averaged more than three and a half miles an hour; and in urging the drivers even to that speed, had to submit to no little insolence into the bargain. When upon the main roads, where both lines have been 'plying, the state of things has been widely different, — the fare moderate — speed nearly doubled, and a spirit of accommodation 158 TO NEW HARTFORD evinced by drivers and all connected with the esta- blishment. I hope and trust the public will so far support the new line, as to warrant them in keeping the field. There is travelling enough for both, and the disposition to travel will keep pace with the facilities afforded. Where two concerns may thrive, and the public at the same time be much better accommodated, there can be no reason why one should engross its exclusive patronage, to confer upon it a smaller amount of benefit. “ Live and let live,” is a good old-fashioned maxim, notwithstand- ing being somewhat outre in the present day : — I wish both parties success, and a fair competition and understanding between them; but neither merely to oppose or subvert the other. We reached Auburn late on the evening of a very fine and warm day, but it was succeeded by a night which set us all a shivering, and I remarked that the natives seemed to feel it quite as much as my- self. We were eight inside, with the leathern cur- tains of the carriage closely buckled down, and well wrapped up in cloaks, &c.; but all would not do; at the end of every stage we were glad to run to a fire, where there happened to be one, or up and down the street to warm ourselves. In the morning, by nine or ten o’clock, it was as hot as it had been on the preceding day; the curtains were rolled up, and our clothing again made as light as possible. These great variations in the temperature between day and night, between one day and another, and oftentimes between different parts of the same day. Remarks, §c. 159 are much complained of. A good deal of the “ fever and ague” is generally prevalent at this season of the year — perhaps, in part, attributable to this cause. Upon arriving at New Hartford, I was met by a general complaining of the want of rain, and the herbage appeared to me to be more burnt up than I had seen it farther westward. My friends informed me that they had scarcely had even a shower since my leaving, and there had been none of any con- sequence for some time before. Farmers here must “make hay while the sun shines/’ for what with the heat and draught of summer, the frost and snow of winter, and the 'puddly state of the land in the spring, there is much less time allowed for the cultiva- tion of it than in England ; and farmers, I think, are more on the alert, and eager to embrace every oppor- tunity which presents itself. There are somewhat fewer “ gentleman farmers” than with us, — or, I should rather say, than there had used to be with us, the race having been pretty well plucked and thinned of late; — and, with few exceptions here and there, masters and men take the field together, and continue their operations, with but little interruption, from morning till night. One of the first settlers at New Hart- ford, ere such luxurious conveniences as houses were in fashion, resided for some time in a hollow tree, and hence is frequently distinguished by the appel- lation of “ the hollow tree man he is now, however, a respectable freeholder, has built himself a very comfortable habitation, where he may securely repose under his own vine, if not under his oivn Jig tree, and 160 NEW HARTFORD Trenton Falls. close a life of labour and privation in peace and independence. He is not, perhaps, in affluent cir- cumstances, as we esteem affluence, but he has more than enough to bound every want, and, therefore, he is a rich man. Could any of our aristocratic lordlings say as much P During the little pause I made at New Hartford, I availed myself of an opportunity of visiting Trenton Falls, fourteen miles north of Utica. They are situated on the West Canada Creek, the largest northern branch of the Mohawk ; — but here is a much better descrip- tion than my hurried view enabled me to concoct: — “These renowned falls/’ says the writer,* “are on West Canada Creek, between 22 and 24 miles above its confluence with the Mohawk. The West Canada Creek is a powerful stream, and constitutes almost one half of the rivers at their coalescence. The falls are six in number, and occupy an extent of rather over two miles. The West Canada Creek in its way from the summit of the highlands of Black river to its lower valley, lying between the latter and Has- senciever mountain, crosses a ridge of lime-stone four or five miles in breadth, stretching through the country from the Mohawk to the St. Lawrence. Its course over this ridge by its tortuous bed is six or seven miles, two and a half of which are above the falls. The waters of the creek, soon after they have reached the lime-stone, move with accelerated strides over the naked rocks, to the head of the Upper Fall, James Maca\iley, F.sq. NEW HARTFORD Trenton Falls. 161 where they are precipitated eighteen or twenty feet down an abrupt ledge into a spacious basin. The whole descent to the head of this fall in the last two miles is computed at sixty feet. Here a deep and winding ravine begins, which extends down the stream more than two miles. Its average depth is estimated at 100 feet, and its average breadth at the top, 200 feet. The sides and bottom consist of lime- stone, deposited in horizontal layers, varying in thickness from some inches to a foot and upwards, and abound with organic remains. The sides of the ravine are shelving, perpendicular, and overhanging; and some of the trees that have taken root in the fissures of the rocks are now pendant over the abyss, where they form the most fanciful appearances ima- ginable. The country along, and neighbouring the ravine, descends to the south, and is mostly covered with woods, which exclude every appearance till you arrive upon the very verge. ‘‘The water at the Upper Fall descends eighteen or twenty feet perpendicularly. Below there is a capa- cious basin, out of which the stream issues in a diminished bed into the ravine, the entrance of which is between lofty barriers of rocks. This fall, when viewed from the bridge, or from the high ground west of the creek, has a fine appearance. “At the Cascades, consisting of two pitches, with intervening rapids, the water falls eighteen feet. The bed of the stream is here contracted, and the sides serrated; the banks of the ravine rising with abruptness almost directly in the rear. 162 NEW HARTFORD Trenton Falls. “ The Mill-dam Fall, a little lower down, has an abrupt descent of fourteen feet, the stream being about sixty yards broad at the break. “ The High Falls are forty rods below the latter, and consist of three distinct falls, with intervening slopes and some small pitches. The first has a perpendicular descent of forty-eight feet ; in floods and rises the water covers the whole break and descends in one sheet; but at other times, mostly in two grooves at the west side of the fall. The second has a descent of about eleven feet ; the third, thirty-seven feet : and the three, including slopes and pitches, 109 feet. In freshets and floods, the entire bed at the High Falls is covered with water of a milk-white colour; and the spray, which at such times ascends in pillars towards the sky, when acted upon by the rays of the sun, exhibits the rainbow in all its brilliant colours. “ The fourth fall is called Sherman’s, and is distant nearly seventy rods from the High Falls. The descent is thirty-three feet, when the stream is low, and thirty- seven when high. “ The last fall is at Conrad’s Mills, at the very foot of the ravine, and is six feet. “ Besides the falls, there are several raceways or chutes, from ten to twenty rods long, through which the waters pass with great rapidity. The whole de- pression of the stream, from the top of the Upper Fall, to the foot of Conrad’s is 312 feet; and if wa add the descent above the Upper Fall, which is com- puted to be sixty feet, and that below Conrad’s Fall in NEW HARTFORD Trenton Falls . 163 half a mile, which is estimated at fifteen feet, we shall find that the entire depression in less than five miles, is 387 feet. “The falls, raceways, and rapids, and, in truth, the whole bed within the ravine, exhibit very different ap- pearances at different times. In floods the whole is one tremendous rapid, with four cataracts, and several chutes. “ The best time to visit these falls, is when the stream is low, because then there is no inconvenience or diffi- culty in ascending the ravine from the foot of Sher~ man's Stairway to the head of the upper raceway. Few persons who visit them have resolution to ascend the ravine from the Stairway to the basin at the Upper Fall. This, however, is not to be wondered at, because the lofty rocky barriers which constitute the sides of the ravine advance to the water’s edge in many places, and terminate in frightful projections, which cannot be passed without the most imminent danger. Some of these difficulties, however, have been obviated by blasting away portions of the rocks and putting up chains ;* and persons now go to the upper raceway without hazard. “ The ravine, with some few exceptions, is still bordered by woods, and persons desirous of visiting the falls are obliged to go to what is called Sherman's * Several persons were so employed on the day I visited the falls, and loud and continued were the reverberations along the ravine at the time of the explosions. One fragment of rock of, I should think, near 2 cwt. blasted a few yards from the spot on which I was standing, was hurled across the ravine, and struck the rocks on the opposite side with great violence, P 164 NEW HARTFORD Trenton Falls. House, from whence they proceed through the woods by some rude paths. One of these leads to the Stair- way, which descends to the bottom of the ravine, and the other leads up to the High Falls. The former is usually preferred. On reaching the strand at the foot of the Stairway, you proceed up the stream at first upon the strand, and then by a narrow winding foot- path to Sherman’s Fall. From hence you advance to the High Falls, a part of the way being overhung by large jutting rocks which menace you with destruction. From the head of the High Falls to the upper end of the racew ay above the Cascades, the way is easy w'hen the stream is low, but from thence, upwards, it is dif- ficult and dangerous. “ While you are passing along the narrow and sinuous paths leading to the projections, and by the brinks of headlong precipices, you tremble with re- verential awe, when you consider that one false step might precipitate you into the resistless torrent below, and in an instant consign you to a w atery grave.* * A most distressing accident very lately occurred here. The victim was a young man of the name of Bill, son of Dr. Bill, of Remsen. He was engaged at the time in conducting some female friends around the first point of a rock, a short distance above th e lower fall, when, the water being high, he incautiously stepped into the edge of the current, slipped into the river, passed over the falls about forty feet, and was seen no more until two days afterwards. The Utica Intelligencer gives the following particulars “ We learn that Mr. Bill made a number of attempts to gain the shore, as he was borne along by the current, which was too strong for him to resist. He was only immersed in w ater to his middle when he went over the first fall, and his friends were so much shocked that they were unable to render him any assistance. The party was composed of his sister, uncle, and two cousins, the former of whom immediately ran towards the public-house for assistance, but she new hatrford Trenton Falls , 165 « Along the bottom and lower parts of the ravine, numerous organic remains are found enveloped in the rocks which are easily divisible. The remains lie flat in or between the laminae, their contours and compo- nent parts being little distorted from their original shape and dimensions. Sometimes there is defect, occasioned in the transition from the animal to the stony or fossil state ; but, in most instances, all the parts are so completely defined, that not only the order, but the genera and species may be recognised. These remains are easily separated from the layers in which they are inclosed. Their exteriors are com- monly glossy, often very smooth, and ordinarily of a dark colour, being transformed into stone, and con- stituting integral parts of the rocks which envelop them. From a careful examination of certain of these remains, and their positions, we are led to believe that their prototypes lived and died on the spot, and that the roc£s in which they are entombed are of pos- terior formation/’ was so hurried when she arrived that it was some time before the bystanders were able to learn what she wanted to make known to them. Her appearance was distressing to every one ; she had lost her hat, and in running for help, her hair had fallen over her shoulders, and she was in a state of mind little short of distraction. A number of persons went to the falls, and on arriving found the rest of the party almost overcome with grief, but no traces of the deceased could be found. The body was found two days afterwards below the lowest fall. The young man, it is said, completed his twentieth year on Sunday, the day before this dreadful event, and was full of hope and joy at the prospect before him in life. His look, as he was carried over the fall, is represented by the uncle as heartrending in the extreme, and the more so as they were unable, from their position, to assist him, which he seemed by that look to request they would do,” 166 NEW HARTFORD Trenton Falls. There is a very comfortable hotel on the spot, where every accommodation and refreshment is afforded to visiters. Before my setting out for these interesting falls I was cautioned not to raise my expectations too high — told that I should think nothing of them after Niagara — that I should have seen them previously, and so forth — observations of no weight whatever. I contemplated the scene with an exquisite delight, as who would not ? but if I am asked whether it bears any resemblance to Niagara, one short monosyllable will suffice me, — No — none at all, — no more than a river resembles the ocean, or a pigmy a giant. It is per- fectly immaterial which you see first or last — they are totally distinct and different scenes, and the interest ahd emotions which they excite are as widely separate and dissimilar. One would charm and engage, whilst the other fixed you in rapturous and awful amazement ; the one is grandeur and sublimity, the other in the highest degree romantic and beautiful. It is natural to wish to realize by comparison ; to impress upon the mind by what we have seen, some image or idea of what we have not ; but every attempt of the kind must be abandoned here. Niagara must thunder on in peerless majesty, and Trenton bound along through its enchanting ravine, but they re- main Niagara and Trenton still : — “ When thy light bark to summer streams is given, What deemest thou of the vessel on the deep, When mutiny within all law has riven, And round it billows in dread thunder sweep ?” To suppose a parallel is doing injustice to both. NEW HARTFORD TO ALBANY. 167 Let each be viewed through its own medium of at' traction, and each will be found deserving of all the admiration that can be lavished upon it— and much more. The country between New Hartford and Trenton is rather flat than hilly. The land, more or less cul- tivated, of good quality and well watered. Near Whitesborough, on our return, w r e overtook one of the largest droves of sheep I have seen on any pub- lic road in the State; there must have been some thousands : they were a description of travellers, however, we would most gladly have given the way to, had an opportunity offered of making our escape : — the very recollection of the atmosphere of dust we had to respire through, sets me a coughing and sneezing even now. I would scarcely have driven the flock twenty miles to have been installed pro- prietor, without other fee or reward. Two days before I left New Hartford, there had been a considerable fall of rain, which set the farmers busily to work getting their wheat into the ground, and imparted to the herbage almost the green and freshness of spring: the dust w 7 as laid as if never again to rise, but in its place, on my journey to Albany, we had to contend with a depth of mud scarcely more agreeable ; though I was thus furnished with a specimen of both kinds of travelling here, the dry and the wet, neither of which you can pronounce just to your mind, — like most other things, best in the medium. Except in parts where the road inclined to rock, and afforded the wheels some p 2 168 ALBANY, TO support, I know hot to what depth they were sunken in; at times it was about as much as the horses could manage to drag us along, and to relieve them by walking ourselves was utterly out of the question. We were twenty hours and a half in getting over our ninety-six miles, leaving Utica at half- past eight, on one morning, and reaching Albany at five on the following: for the last fifteen miles, namely, from Schenectady, the horses walked nearly every step of the way. Altogether, however, I fared far better than a much -esteemed friend of mine in New York once did, in travelling between the same places, three entire days and two nights having stolen away ere they had completed the distance. Albany had so few attractions for me, and the Catskill Mountains , to which I had determined to devote the day, so many, that notwithstanding my previous day and night of travel, I felt impatient for the departure of the steam-boat, on this morning, the North America, and before seven o’clock I was pacing the deck of that magnificent vessel. We were, I suppose, about 300 on board, with one half of whom I sat down to a breakfast, only too pro- fusely good, and in an apartment which, for size and elegance, would have done no discredit to a palace. The morning was brilliant, the rain had all passed over, and the sky as cloudless as ever. What a contrast to my yesterday ! dragging through mud knee deep, along a dull road, at little more than four miles an hour, and now cutting the waters of the majestic Hudson at nearly three times that CATSKILL. 169 speed, and every moment fresh beauties and attrac- tions opening upon the enraptured view. Well, our pleasures are made up of variety. It is sometimes worth enduring extremes for the sake of their oppo- sites. Not that I would willingly have bartered the sunshine and smiles of to-day, for the darkness and gloom which preceded it. By ten o’clock I had landed at Catskill. The only place of importance between and Albany is the city of Hudson, which stands on the east bank of the Hud- son, twenty-seven miles from Albany. It is very finely situated, and contains about 5000 inhabitants ; but we merely stopped for a few seconds to discharge and take in passengers. Catskill is on the west bank, five miles lower down, and is a very pretty village. There are a number of houses bordering the river, but the principal part of the village is full half a mile from it. The Catskill Creek , on which are several mills and manufactories, flows through it, and here unites its waters with those of the Hudson. It has two or three churches, as many banks and hotels, and a number of neat and well-furnished stores. Its population is estimated at 4000. From the village to Pine Orchard, on which stands what is called the Mountain House, at an ele- vation of 2,200 feet from the level of the Hudson, is about twelve miles ; and having procured a car and a pair of good horses at the hotel, with one or two more of my steam-boat companions, I was soon making my way towards it. For the first seven miles the road is very good, and tolerably level, and we bowled along 170 catskill Mountain House in admirable style : I had not had better travelling in the country. At this distance we came to a little inn, called Lawrence’s Tavern, where tourists may pause and refresh themselves, if they will, but which horses never ought to pass without, unless it be the design of the parties to accommodate them with an empty ve- hicle for the remainder of the distance, quite enough for any animals to drag up that precipitous ascent. The humanity of one of my fellow-travellers was aroused a few moments earlier than mine, and elated with his progress for the first few hundred yards, when I alighted, with much self-complacency and impor- tance he ventured to suppose — all his hurried respiration would permit him to articulate — that this teas a new sort of work to me ; before reaching the top, however, he found me not quite so much in my novitiate as he had imagined, and evinced the least possible disposi- tion to put my experience to the test. I saw him but once again throughout the day, and am inclined to believe that he was honouring Catskill with his pre- sence for the first and last time. No matter ; — in three hours and a half we had gained the summit, and little should I have thought of ten times the labour to have witnessed such a scene as there burst upon us. The day continued, as it commenced, most propitious for the excursion, without the least of that haze in the distance so often attendant upon the finest days ; and I could distinctly see the far off Green Mountains of Vermont to the north, the Highlands of the Hudson to the south, and the range of the Tagh- kanic to the east : the outlines of the latter towards and Kaaterskill Falls. 171 evening, when the sun was casting his expiring beams upon them, and bordering them with a golden ra- diance, were uncommonly fine. Through the whole extent of the valley, the “ Silver Hudson,” edged by well-cultivated lands, and elegant mansions, with numerous towns and villages, was gracefully flowing along; its surface often diversified by “some fair isle,” the whitened sail, or the rising smoke from a steam- boat ; the only situation in which I ever thought the latter had any tendency to improve a prospect. The face of the mountain below was finely wooded, and forests of trackless extent, appearing from this elevation to be only partially thinned by the advance of agriculture, were spreading all around. It was a scene altogether so beautiful, so boundless, so all- attractive to the " nature-loving eye,” that I could have dwelt upon it with a heightening rapture the longer I had surveyed it; but time was stealing on, however imperceptibly, and having engaged to descend to the village, in order to proceed by the evening steam- boat, which passed at eight o’clock, to Poughkeepsie, the rest of the party intending to remain at the Moun- tain House, to witness the rising of the sun, I inquired of the driver how soon he could run me down, and set off all alone to the Kaaterskill Falls, about two miles distant. —The approach is by a narrow road through a wood, and I had cause to regret the very imperfect direction I received at starting, as long before reach- ing the falls the principal path terminates, and several small and obscure ones branch off in different direc- tions. I knew not which to pursue, and after some 172 CATSKILL Falls, fyc. hesitation contrived to make choice of the wrong, which, with many windings and turnings, becoming more and more indistinct at every progressive step, led me at length into a thicket, and there disappeared altogether, leaving me to steer myself out as I could. T felt convinced, from the distance I had come, that I could not be very far from the falls, and listened attentively to catch the sound of them, but all around was silent. Not to tire others, however, as much as I tired myself in getting clear of the labyrinth, — after beating about for some time, in no very enviable state of uncertainty, I at length found the falls, but almost without water, which at once unravelled the mystery of their having been so completely inaudible to me when not more than a quarter of a mile off. “ The stream takes its rise from two small lakes, half a mile in the rear of the hotel ; and after a westerly course of a mile and a half, the waters fall perpendicularly 175 feet; and pausing a moment on a projection of rock, plunge again down a precipice of 85 feet more, making the whole descent of the falls 260 feet;” but the smallness of the body of water which is usually passing over them seems almost lost in the vast chasm into which it descends ; scarcely entitling them, in- deed, to the name of a cataract; the spot, however, is well worth visiting, if it were only for the view above the falls, where the eye roves over the finest and most extensive dell I ever beheld, wooded throughout, and the varied hues of autumn now adding to the foliage an almost more than verntd richness and beauty. There is a small wooden hut at the place, where per- TO POUGHKEEPSIE. 173 sons are in attendance, during the summer season, to lend any aid to visitors which they may require. I have no doubt but it will become a place of much resort. I would only recommend any one designing to visit it — and they will find themselves well re- warded — either to set out more liberally directed than I did, or to take a guide from the hotel ; but the way, ere long, may be made intelligible to the capacity of any blunderer that can travel it. On my return to the Mountain House,* I dis- covered that the limits which my charioteer pre- scribed to me had so nearly expired, that I had only time to cast a parting glance over the scene of my morning’s enchantment, and obey the unwelcome summons. Our descent was a most rapid one, occu- pying but little more than two hours, a performance only fit for a driver and horses well accustomed to it, the road being very much unguarded, and pre- senting quite enough of ravine and precipice to accord with the tastes of the generality of travel- lers. My object, however, in meeting the boat was effected, though we had run the matter so fine as to prevent my taking the slightest refreshment before starting; the necessity of which my somewhat subsid- ing excitement had induced me to feel with no slight * “ This building is owned by the Catskill Mountain Association, an incorporated company, with a capital of 10,000 dollars. It is 140 feet in length, 24 in width, and four stories high, and has piazzas in front the whole length, and a wing extending in the rear for lodging rooms. It is well furnished, and possesses every convenience and accommodation requisite to the comfort and good cheer of its numerous guests.” 174 POUGHKEEPSIE. degree of urgency; nor did my situation seem much improved when transferred to the steam-boat, the established repasts of the day being at an end, and I had to make out a most moving case ere I could soften the caterer general to order the needful com- pliance with my wishes. From Catskill, or Kaats- kill ,* to Poughkeepsie is about thirty-five miles, a three hours’ trip, as we left the former place at eight, and arrived at the latter at eleven o’clock: — And here have I found an hotel, excellent of its kind, the fatigues of the day only rendering me the more apt at appreciating its various accommo- dations. September i\th . — I occupied the early part of this morning in strolling over Poughkeepsie. It stands on the east side of the river, from whence to the village is a pretty steep ascent of about three-quarters of a mile. It was first settled by some Dutch families, nearly 100 years ago, and “the Convention that met to deliberate on the federal constitution, and voted for its adoption, met in this place in 1788.” It now contains about 5,000 inhabitants. The streets are well laid out, the two principal ones crossing each other at right angles, and the stores and private resi- dences have a very neat and respectable appearance. There are several churches, or meeting-houses, banks — a very handsome one is now r in erection — schools, * We ought to write Kaatskill for the creek, Kaatsbergs for the mountains, and let the people have Catskill for the name of their township and village, to which they seem so wedded.” — Dr. Staf- ford. POUGHKEEPSIE, &C. 175 hotels, breweries, factories, printing establishments, &c. &c. The post road from New York to Albany passes through it, and its trade and intercourse with both those places, particularly the former, since the admirable facilities afforded by steam navigation, are very considerable; it has also an extensive and frequent communication with the Eastern States. In the neighbourhood are some very elegant man- sions, situated either upon the bank of the Hudson, with a verdant lawn extending to the water’s edge, or upon the heights around, and commanding a fine view of the river and the adjacent country. It is a place which few could see without admiring; — “ taken for all in all,” I have scarcely met with one, to my taste, worthy of a precedence. The name, Poughkeepsie , is of Indian origin, from apokeepsing — safe harbour. From hence I had engaged to pay a visit to a friend, residing near Hartsville, distant about eighteen miles in a north-easterly direction, to whom I had received no other address — a very customary and certainly a very comprehensive one — than “ Nine Partners it would be as well at once to say Dutchess County, since Nine Partners, as the term may imply, is a tract of land originally granted to nine proprie- tors, comprising several townships, and extending from the Hudson to Connecticut. Fortunately, the family were extensively known, but, ^fortunately, I missed the morning and only regular coach passing by Hartsville, having been deceived as to the time of its starting, and was conveyed as far as Pleasant Val- ley, seven miles on the road, in a very neat one-horse Q 176 hartsville Excursion to car, by a person who carried the mail to Pine Plains, See., at the northern extremity of the county. The road was excellent, and the country on either side had a rich and fertile appearance, reminding me much of Herefordshire, and some other counties in England, — but of this anon. At Pleasant Valley, a small village of no particular interest, not meeting with any conveyance to my mind, I determined to walk the remaining eleven miles; a mode of travelling which, notwithstanding my par- tiality for it, the heat of the day rendered much more fatiguing than agreeable, obliging me to raise my umbrella to protect me from the rays of the sun; a thing I have only had occasion to do once for rain since I landed. Under these circumstances I was well pleased to gain the door of my friends, where I was received with all the sincerity of an American welcome. With this kind and hospitable family I spent nearly a week, variously but always agreeably engaged, and each member of it solicitous to add to my pleasures, and promote to the utmost the objects I had in view in visiting the county. One of our excursions was to Dover Falls, east about fifteen miles from Hartsville, which though not of the magnitude of some I have seen, are well worthy of notice; but I mention the circumstance the more from a little feat which on this day it fell to my lot to per- form, viz. the slaying of a rattle-snake . We were at the time in a very thick part of a wood, and I was just in* the act of stepping over a log, on the opposite Dover Falls, fyc. 177 side of which the creature was lying, coiled up. I had so nearly set my foot upon it, that had it not been a young- one I suppose I should not have escaped its envenomed fang; as it was, it was probably large enough to have inflicted a fatal wound, but its dispo sition seemed to be to retreat with all possible de- spatch. I had not pursued it far when I was so for- tunate as to strike it, and thus capture the prize. It had one rattle perfectly formed, by which I supposed it was two years old, as I believe they have none before that age, and one annually afterwards. When I exhibited it at Dover, on our return, it appeared to excite almost as much curiosity as if such reptiles had never existed in the country; and it was generally determined that one had not been seen in those parts for twenty years or more. I know not how it chanced to me to stumble upon such a prodigy; no one could less have troubled themselves, either before or since, on behalf of the serpent tribe than I have done, and with the exception of a few harmless garter-snakes , I have scarcely seen one in the country ; but so it was, and I have not failed to accord it due preservation, for the inspection and satisfaction of my curious, as well, perhaps, as for the conviction of my incredulous friends. Dover is quite a small village : the township six or seven miles long, and nearly the same in width : its eastern boundary is the State of Connecticut, where it is hilly, as also to the west ; but the centre is a re- markably fine and fertile plain, watered by several streams, and well rewarding the labour of the agricul- 178 hartsville- Shooting, turist. In the course of the day we found a number of choice plants, flowers, and minerals, and some of the finest and most curious specimens of moss I ever met with. "The shades of evening were drawing on ere we took our departure for Hartsville, and I may almost say that we travelled by starlight, such was the irradiating brilliancy with which they shone : nothing can sur- pass the purity of the atmosphere in this county : I have seen skies and sunsets of the richest beauty and splendour, such as England never knows; such as the favoured land of Italy may equal, but not outvie; the concurrent testimony of those who have seen both. On several other days, or parts of days, one of our party and myself were occupied in perambulating the neighbouring country w'ith our guns. We met with little other game than woodcock, which, had we been provided with a brace of good English pointers or set- ters, would have afforded us excellent diversion : as it was, we killed a considerable number. My friend was more successful than myself, owing in part, per- haps, to the situations in which we found the birds, chiefly amongst Indian corn, and to which he had learned better to accommodate himself. It frequently grew so high, and so far out-topped me, that I often heard the rise of a bird within ten yards of me, with- out seeing any thing of it, and could only get snap shots at best. The few quail which we saw were un- comrfionly wild : in fact, between buck-wheat, which is a very favourite resort, and Indian corn, it was almost impossible to get them on the wing. The best Remarks, fyc. 179 month for shooting here is November: it is usually very fine: the corn is all gathered, and the game has nearly attained its full growth, so as to be strong enough, whether on wing or foot, to give it a chance for its life, and the hattu system has no attractions for me. All the diversion which I could ever discover attaching to shooting, consists in anticipation, in pur- suit, in the excitement of seeking and finding the game: there can be none in the mere killing, except as undeniable evidence of a good shot, an attainment few ambitious of such distinction, with moderate self- possession and practice, need despair of; but the exercise, which persons in general would never take without the accompanying stimulus of dog and gun, is worth all the rest put together. Whoever designs to sport here, though as I have said it will bear no comparison with English shooting, should take care to provide himself with good dogs; they are scarce, and frequently sell for extravagant prices. I should think a cargo of them would answer better than many an- other shipment. I know not what amount of commis- sions in this way I was favoured to receive ; certainly more than T either promised or should find it very con- venient to execute. Upon these and other occasions during my visit at Hartsville, or Cottage, I had an oppor- tunity of seeing a good deal of the soil, agriculture, &c. of the county, and of any part of the State in which I have been — and I think I have been in the best — upon the whole, as a farmimg situation, I must now say I should give a decided preference to this. 180 hartsville — - — Farming Journal. It has been long settled, and to a considerable extent is well cleared and drained — the roads are good — the climate remarkably fine — rather more temperate than any other on the Hudson — and, not a trifling recom- mendation, the water is excellent, which cannot be said of that of any of the Western Counties, as I have but too frequently had occasion to notice. — I might mention other inducements — or which so appear to me — but opinions differ, and some, I have no doubt, would think the western part of the State greatly preferable. The county of Dutchess, or Duchess, extends about thirty-eight miles along the Hudson. Its area is 725 square miles, or 464,000 acres. To the east and north-east it is mountainous, but for the most part the land is very finely diversified with hill and dale. Its quality is various, between sand, sand and loam, and some clay. It is watered chiefly by small springs and streams, which are very numerous, and there is abundance of good timber for all necessary purposes. There is but a small proportion of land in the county that may not be converted to the raising of grain, though, perhaps, in general, not more than one-sixth is under the plough at a time. The produce of all the different kinds of grain is much as in Long Island, and the prices very little lower ; and, though fruit is not grown, as there, for the New York market, it is the opinion of those to whom I have mentioned the subject, that it might be, to a very good account. Apples, for cider, are extensively cultivated. [Mem .— From eight to ten bushels of apples will Farming Journal. 181 yield thirty gallons of juice. The value of good sweet cider in New York, in the summer months, is from 3 to 5 dollars per barrel. The barrel (new) costs 87 f cents ; freight to New York, 20 cents. The cartage from the different parts of the county to the river varies, of course, with distance, from 6 cents to 40 cents. — When the fruit is purchased, what is called grafted cider fruit (in contradistinction to the natural or indigenous) is from 15 to 40 cents a bushel. Table fruit , from 25 to 50 cents, and the natural fruit from 6 to 12 cents.] Wool is considered as the staple produce of the county, and there has been grown this year about 400,000 lbs. : the price from 50 to 60 cents a pound. The quality, is generally fine, averaging about 31bs. to the fleece. Some flax is raised in the county : price of the seed 125 cents, per bushel ; of the flax, cleaned, 12f cents a pound. Both yard manure and plaster are much used ; the latter article in the quantity of 200 pounds to the acre ; cost on the land 50 cents per acre. Some quantity of manure is also obtained from the swamps, &c. Fallowing is but little practised, though, by good farmers, the system is quite approved of. Wheat is generally sown after a summer crop of oats or barley. Farms, in Dutchess County, are to be purchased at from 30 to 60 dollars per acre ; much, as elsewhere, depending upon situation, & c. But little land is rented. 182 hartsville Farming Journal. The halving system is practised to a limited extent, as in Oneida County. Labourers* wages the same as in Long Island. The fences consist of stone and wood : the expense of raising them estimated at from 50 to 70 cents a rod. Excepting two or three turnpikes, which are not here “ the King’s highways,” but belong to private companies, the roads are repaired by the inhabitants: cost to the farmer about 5 dollars per 100 acres per annum. Dutchess County is well and respectably popu- lated; the inhabitants chiefly of English and Dutch extraction. Its trade and manufactures are consi- derable, and in a very thriving state. No mines are in working; but iron, and lime-stone, and marble are found in the county. The usual times of seed time and harvest , through- out the State (varying, as in England, a week or two in different parts) are as follow, namely: — Wheat is sown the latter end of September, and cut in July : — Barley the latter end of April, and cut in July: — Oats the latter end of April, and cut in August: — Indian Corn is planted about the middle of May, in the quantity of one peck to the acre, or four grains to the h ill, in hills three and a half feet apart, and gathered in October. The Farm Houses in general are smaller than in England, and built of wood; the cost of a good one, to erect it, would be from 1,500 dollars to 2,500 dollars. To English taste there is a sad want of Farming Journal , fyc. 183 neatness observable about them, and even where the establishment is upon an extensive scale, they will be found, in this respect, to fall many degrees below what we are accustomed to see, the occupier being merely a tenant, and not, as is nearly always the case here, the proprietor: — as to gardening, laying out ground, & c., with the idea of embellishment, ’tis out of the question. “Here,” say the Americans, “the English miss it when they come to this country — these things don’t pay.” The State taxes are levied agreeable to the real and personal estate of individuals by officers ap- pointed for the purpose, any one having the pri- vilege of correcting the amount, by affidavit made at a seasonable time after assessment: — the rate is usually in the proportion of one dollar upon one thousand dollars. It is paid annually to one com- mon collector, and includes all that is ever required in this way, except a military charge or service, which does not apply to foreigners, and a general tax in time of war. As to tithe, I dare hardly allow the word to be seen in my journal. Upon the very important subject of emigration — referring to farmers — so much depends upon situa- tion, and circumstances in life, previous habits, cha- racter, disposition, constitution, and numberless other things, that I would rather be excused giving an opinion either pro or con. Thousands who come over, return, to my knowledge, dissatisfied, but more remain, and the majority, after a few years’ residence, appear to prefer this country to England. I would 184 HARTSVILLE TO TOUGHKEEPSIE by no means represent farming, in the State of New York, as a lucrative undertaking; in the ordi- nary way of following the pursuit, and taking the State generally, it will not return more than seven or eight per cent.; but there is a wide difference between even that and sinking the capital, as the mass of farmers with us have latterly been doing. Upon coming, however, one thing I would especially recommend to all — to see different parts of the State, and make due investigation before settling any where. The common error of disappointed emigrants, next to that of raising their expectations too high before starting, seems to have been that of deciding too soon after arrival. I have endeavoured, as opportunity has admitted, to collect, and state facts ; let parties form their own judgment. September 18 th. — On this morning I left Cot- tage for Poughkeepsie, to which place I was accom- panied by several of my kind friends, and from thence by some of them down the Hudson to New York. We had a delightful ride; but the river named, every thing that can enchant in scene and scenery at once presents itself to the mind ; I think it even charmed me more than on the first day I witnessed it, and I envy not the taste of those who can ever survey it without feelings of the highest gratification ; still less of any (and those there are) who can exist in a land, and almost on the spot where such beauties are to be contemplated, and yet have to acknowledge that they hare never gazed upon AND NEW YORK. 185 them ! I should have thought myself repaid for crossing the Atlantic to have passed once up and down this river, in the North America steam-boat. How well I have been repaid by all I have seen, I can much more readily feel than express. We landed at New York at eight in the evening, having been just six hours in accomplishing the seventy- five or eighty miles. new YORK General allusions , modation, and much the worse for wear. Including captain and crew, we numbered about fifty souls on board ; — as motley a group as is often seen : videlicet, English, Scotch, Irish, American, Portuguese, two Jews from Morocco, — the elder a Shylock personi- fied, — pigs from Flores, and dogs from St. Michael’s. Until ten o’clock in the evening we had very little wind, when it began to rain and blow fresh from an unfavourable quarter, and so continued for the most part of our voyage, which surpassed in wretchedness, (excepting danger,) all previous experience. For three days and nights, the whole of the rest which I got was upon a coiled wet cable on deck; the little box in the stern, denomi- nated a cabin, being too insufferably offensive to enter, stuffed with people and luggage, and literally swarming with bugs. To add to the evils on deck, a cask of whale oil got stoved in, and its contents ran all about, so that, independent of the stench, it was with difficulty we could move or stand: — but I spare the reader a recital, loathsome even in reflec- tion, and pass on to the morning of the 20th by day-break on which we were close in with the west end of Faval, the density of the atmosphere not having permitted us to discern it before, and Pico being wrapped in a mantle of cloud down to its very base. The wind had now almost died away, and the ocean began to assume a lake-like smoothness : our sails were flapping idly against the masts, and scarce a dying murmur of the waves was audible upon the rocks of the coast. As the sun arose, the APPROACH TO FAYAL. 277 mists gradually dispersed, and never shall I forget the scene of beauty and of grandeur which then unfolded itself to our view. On our left lay the highly cultivated and luxuriant Fayal, a very Eden of loveliness, and before us, in all its sublimity, towered the mighty Pico. A few clouds still hung upon the sides of the mountain, but the sun was shining brilliantly upon the peak, which, from its immense height, and the obstruction below, had more the appearance of being suspended in ether, than of any thing resting upon a basis of earth. Its elevation above the level of the sea is not con- sidered so little as 7,000 feet, and in clear weather it can be discovered seventy, and, it is said, even ninety miles off. But notwithstanding the sublime and exciting scenery by which we were sur- rounded, such had been the miseries of this short voyage, and such my eagerness to be again on land, that (I almost write it with a blush) I would have relinquished all for a few hours of fair wind to have brought us to an anchor in the Bay of Orta. We lay till noon almost becalmed, when a light breeze sprang up; but, to our mor- tification, just against us. Being scarcely more than a mile from land, often did I propose to have recourse to our boat, or even to swim ashore, rather than endure this very lazer-house of filth for another night ; but I was assured by those more familiar with the arbitrary exercise of power than myself, though merely passing from one island to another, and our history and object well known. 278 AT ANCHOR IN THE BAY OF ORTA that no one would be permitted to leave the vessel until we had been visited by the officers of both the revenue and health departments, and received their sanction to land. There was, therefore, nothing left us but submission to our fate, whatever it might be. At length I did manage to get the boat over, and several of our crew and others betaking themselves to the oars, we commenced the towing process. At intervals the wind so nearly died away, that, with great exertion, we were able to effect something ; but again it vexa- tiously thwarted us, and drove us backward farther than we had advanced; and thus, hoping and fear- ing, advancing and receding, we continued until near six in the evening, when the tide turned in our favour, and we found ourselves slowly entering the channel between the islands of Fayal and Pico; and as soon as we were discerned from the fort of Orta, the capital of the former, several revenue officers came off to us, bringing us the agreeable intelligence that we should not be allowed to land before morn- ing. Owing to eddy winds and calms, which, from the height and contiguity of the mountains, are very frequent amongst these islands, we did not come to an anchor until ten o’clock ; shortly after effecting which, having lowered the sails, Mr. Borges and myself stowed ourselves away amongst them, and I may almost say slept for the first time since quitting Santa Cruz. When we awoke in the morning, we found ourselves safely moored within half a mile of the town, the appearance of which from the Bay is uncommonly fine and imposing, forming, with the projections of APPEARANCE OF THE TOWN, AND LANDING. 279 high land at either end of it, the most perfect and splendid amphitheatre. The town is built close to the shore, from which it rises to a considerable elevation, interspersed throughout with gardens, orangeries, and other plantations. It contains a great number of churches, convents, &c., which, “on first appearing before the little city, give it an air of architectural magnificence;” and viewing it alto- gether, you would be ready to estimate its extent and population at, at least, double what it really is. It was ten o’clock before the officers of the health department came off to us, and near three hours after that before boats were despatched to convey us ashore. Some had been occupying this interval in sundry attempts at purification, and, it must be confessed, put on a rather more civilized aspect ; but as for me, though I felt myself one of the filthiest of human beings, so I was determined to remain until I could effect my escape from this abode of defile- ment, and luxuriate in a thorough ablution. I have before said, and heard it said, that it is worth enduring extremes for the sake of their opposites : — I would not endure filth for any thing, — but surely I never in my life more highly estimated the value of soap and fresh water, or arrayed myself in clean linen with a more exquisite satisfaction, than when they were pre- sented to me upon landing in the city of Orta: — I seemed, indeed, as if I could scarcely have enough of either the one or the other ; and fervently hoped, if this were a fair specimen, that I had for ever finished my sailing under Portuguese colours. 280 orta Mr. Dabney’s. I had scarcely made my toilette when the American Consul, C. W. Dabney, Esq., most kindly called upon Mr. Borges, Captain Britton, and myself, with an invita- tion to dinner, which we gladly accepted, and accom- panied him to his residence, — an elegant mansion, and w hich, for the magnificent beauty of its situation, has seldom indeed a parallel. It stands on the acclivity of a hill, in the centre of a garden, delight- fully overlooking the town and bay, whilst imme- diately in front lies the vine-covered Island of Pico, with its lofty and majestic peak. The garden, which is most tastefully laid out, displays a rich variety of tropical and European trees and plants; — the orange, lemon, banana, fig, vine, apple, pear, myftle, geranium, rose, &c. growingluxuriantly together, with “ flowers of every scent and hue ” As contrasted with the scenes which had been passing before us for some previous days, it seemed rather like the work of enchantment than reality, nor were such impressions in any degree lessened when our kind magician introduced us to the interior of his abode, and to the attractive family circle by which he was surrounded. It w ? as one of the quickest and most agreeable transitions in situa- tion and feeling I ever experienced, — from a w^ant of the commonest comforts of existence, to the enjoyment of its very luxuries; and from society of the low r est grade, to that of those replete with every refinement, and manifesting a truly generous and friendly interest in our fate. — After thus enjoying, ourselves for the remainder of the day, in the evening, there being at Orta, as at Santa Cruz, no hotel, or other establish- ORTA ■Call upon Mr. Walker. 281 ment of the kind, we retired to a vacant house on the outskirts of the town, which, upon landing, we had requested might be engaged, and partially furnished for our accommodation. Upon trial, however, it proved every way inconvenient and ineligible; so that betimes in the morning we sallied forth to reconnoitre the town in quest of a better, and succeeded, at last, in taking two small rooms in a house about mid- way along the main street, which, though nearly as destitute of cleanliness and comfort as those we had quitted, were much more agreeably situated, and, as we were assured, the best the town afforded — that strangers would be likely to gain ad- mission into. Before noon we were again honoured with a call from Mr. Dabney, repeating a kind invitation to dinner, which, gratified as we had been on the previous day, we were in no mood to refuse. In the course of the morning I paid my respects to the British Vice-Consul, Mr. Walker, (a pleasant, gentlemanly man, but, unfortunately, blind,) who having taken charge of the British subjects, had written to Mr. Read, the Consul-General, residing at St. MichaePs, for instructions how to proceed in conveying them home. He informed me of the steps which he had taken to provide, as far as pos- sible, for their comfort; evident indications of which I had not failed to observe in the renovated attire of most I had met with, and some of whom, I doubt not, fared infinitely better at Santa Cruz and Orta than they ever did before, or, it is to be feared, ever 282 orta Fredonia House, tyc. will again. I received from this gentleman every polite attention, accompanied with offers of any as- sistance it was in his power to render me. The afternoon of the day fully realized the agree- able anticipations of the morning in the intelligent and interesting society of the family at (what I shall term) Fredonia House; fiom whence we were not suffered to take our departure until, in the hand- somest manner, I may say delicately so, to remove any diffidence on our part, Mr. Dabney desired us to consider the invitation extended to every day whilst we remained at Orta, and that, when not interfering with other, engagements, we would visit them, with- out the least ceremony, upon all occasions. For several succeeding days my mornings were spent in perambulating different parts of the island, and my afternoons chiefly at Fredonia House ; or in walking, or riding out (for Mr. Dabney supplied us with most beautiful ponies) as inclinaton might prompt— But were it not for the obligations I feel myself under to this gentleman and his family, I should be reluctant to intrude myself so much into the foreground of the picture. It is time also that I offer a few more general remarks upon the place and its people. The Island of Fayal (which is said to derive its name from the Faya, a beautiful kind of beech-tree growing upon it) lies in latitude 38° 30' and lon- gitude 28° 41' 2*. It is about the same size as Flores, though very differently formed, its length and breadth being nearly alike. It is also much less ORTA General Remarks. 283 mountainous, and, of course, contains a far greater proportion of cultivated land, of equal richness and fertility. The climate is deliciously fine, said even to surpass that of the Azores generally: — but perhaps, in a few words, I cannot give a better description than I find in a valuable nautical work,* which I happen to have in my possession, and from which I shall take the liberty of making further extracts. It observes, “ This island has been celebrated for its excellent pastures, fish, wood, &c. The air is always mild and pure ; the cold of winter never felt, and the heat of summer always tempered by refreshing winds. Its inhabitants are computed at 17,000. The island pro- duces wheat and maize, sufficient for itself and a part of Pico. The cattle reared here are not sufficient for the consumption of the island, and supplies are therefore sent from the neighbouring island of St, George, which produces a great number. The annual produce of wine is also scanty ; for that wiiich is ex- ported hence is mostly from Pico, the opulent people of Fayal being owners of the best vineyards in that island ; and they ship the wines from the port of Fayal for the different ports of Europe and America.” Oranges are now cultivated to a considerable extent, and the flavour of the fruit is very fine, quite equal to that of St. MichaePs. Several cargoes are annually exported to England ; but I understand from those engaged in shipping them, that from the perishable nature of the fruit, the damage it often sustains on * Purdy’s Memoir, &c. for the .Atlantic Ocean. 2 B 284 orta General Remarks . the passage, the uncertainty of a market, and various other causes, taking the average of years, they have found it a losing speculation. Fayal is not so well supplied with water as some of the other islands, nor is its quality equally pure and good. It contains, besides Orta, nine or ten villages; but as the first named could only prove of interest to strangers, I shall confine my remarks accordingly. The Villa Orta (which I have before partially noticed) is situated on the south-east side of the island, and its population is estimated at more than 5000. The principal street, which runs nearly pa- rallel with the shore, and extends throughout the whole length of the town, is irregular, in many parts narrow, and roughly paved. From this several small streets ascend to the level above the town, along which there is a pretty good road, though not adapted for carriages, to the village of Flamingo, about five miles distant, and other places. The houses, vastly superior as they are to most, even of the best in Santa Cruz, are built much after the same fashion, generally of limestone, two stories high, with glazed folding- doors, and balconies, of course, — essential, I conceive, to the very existence of their owners, as without them they would certainly either inadvertently precipitate themselves into the street, or expire for want of a lounging-place. The lower rooms, in the main street, are chiefly occupied as shops; amongst which those of tailors and shoemakers abound, who are to be seen sitting at their doors (the only part at wdiich light is admitted) throughout the day in the exercise of their ORTA General Remarks . profession. Boots and shoes are remarkably cheap, and handsomely made, though they do not wear so well as the English. The other shops, equally dark and incommodious, are very variously furnished. I can not better designate them than as little general stores. The public buildings, as said, are chiefly (or so styled) of a religious character, — monasteries, con- vents, &c. ; appearing, like many other things, to the greatest advantage when viewed from a distance. They are then conspicuously ornamental to the place ; a distinction of which a closer inspection very much divests them, the front being the only part displaying the least architectural taste. This is generally very lofty, and whitewashed, “ terminating in the centre in a curved line pediment, containing some emblematic religious device; and a square tower at either side, with circular-headed windows, black quoins, cornices, belting courses, &c. ; and surmounted by Turkish or Arabic turrets. The rear presents nothing more than a plain building of rough masonry.” Amongst this description of edifices I may include one or two nun- neries, several of the inmates of which I frequently observed peeping through their latticed windows, whether with “ Each flattering hope subdued, each wish resigned,” I know not, but certainly without “All beauty’s treasure opening on the cheek.” The numbers of the pious sisterhood, I was in- formed, were much diminished a few years ago, during the sojourn in the place of a company of the gallant sons of Mars; since which but few votaries 286 ORTA General Remarks. have offered themselves, and the mania (if I may so term it) appears altogether on the decline. Orta is said formerly to have been a place of consi- derable strength, and in the hands of either the English or Americans would easily be rendered impregnable; but it is not now strongly fortified. The principal forts are at the south end of the town, and appear to be tolerably garrisoned ; but the military force of the island is greater than common, the soldiers engaged in the unsuccessful attempt to reduce Terceira to the dominion of Miguel having been landed here, and for the present are quartered in Orta. A high and sub- stantial stone wall is built along the whole front of the town ; but I imagine as much to protect it from the tide, which often rolls and thunders against it with desperate fury, as for the purpose of defence in case of attack ; at all events it would be found no very serious impediment to vigorous assailants. Fayal, in the Bay of Orta, affords the best anchor- age of any of the Azores, “excepting that it is open to the winds from north to north-east, and from south-east to south-west ; and these winds are frequent in winter. That from the south-east is often very destructive, it blowing right in.” So lately as last year Mr. Dabney had a fine brig driven ashore, the very morning she was prepared to start on her voyage, laden with wines, &c., and lost, with nearly all her cargo. The crew, I was told, were with difficulty saved, princi- pally through his own very active exertions. During the non-intercourse of America with Eng- land, preceding the late war, this was the principal ORTA General Remarks . 287 depot for American produce, and from whence a large amount found its way to England, which, I am sorry to say, greatly frustrated the justifiable and pacific intentions of the American Government tq effect the rescinding of our iniquitous Orders in Council, as well as the prevention of the impress- ment of her seamen into the British service. Here, as at Flores, provisions are exceedingly cheap. Beef, though not the largest, without any exception the finest flavoured I ever partook of, selling only for 2d. sterling a pound. Fish and poultry are also very plentiful, and equally good. Some quantity of cheese is made upon the island, but the quality of that is inferior; nor can I say any thing in favour of the bread ; it is brown, tough, and insipid. The style of living, as well as the society of the better class in Orta, I should suppose only differs in its degree from that of Flores; but as I visited with no Portuguese family during my brief stay, I am unable to speak to particulars. Besides Mr. Walker, there are several respectable English residents. The peasantry are just the same sort of people, — a quiet, hardy, and industrious race, and possess all the necessaries of life in great abundance: but they will perform the heaviest labour for the most trifling consideration in money. Numbers of them I saw carrying boxes of oranges, weighing two to three hundred weight, from the gardens at Flamingo, where they were packed, to Orta, (five miles,) for a pistareen, or tenpence ; and you will generally meet them at- tended by dogs, so remarkable for their fatness that 2 b 2 288 orta — — - General Remarks. you are ready to query what they can have been fed upon to produce such an effect; but I am satisfied there is something in the climate very congenial to these ani- mals, since, if they are brought upon the island from other places, ever so lean, in a month or six weeks, without any extraordinary feeding, they become as fat as those bred on the island ; and the dreadful dis- ease of hydrophobia is wholly unknown. Oxen and asses are the principal beasts of burden ; but I saw even fewer carriages, of any description, than in Flores ; nor are the roads much better adapted for them. Ploughing at both places is always performed by oxen, and the soil is so uncommonly rich and fine that the ploughs have not a particle of iron about them, (excepting, perhaps, the few nails which may be used inputting them together;) and I observed the peasants merely ran them through the ground, turning nearly an equal furrow on either side. But little art is requisite to raise crops on the cultivated lands of the Azores ; such is their fertility, that seed would almost grow if thrown on the surface. There are fewer stone or pumice-stone walls in Fayal than in Flores, the fields often being fenced with a sort of cane reeds, which grow twelve or fifteen feet high, and form excellent hedges ; they are used also for thatching the cottages, and various other purposes. The peasants manufacture very handsome baskets from willows that grow upon the island, and great quantities of them are exported to the other islands, as well as to the Brazils. They are generally red and white, a part of the willows being dyed a scarlet orta— — Visit to the Caldera . 289 colour. A nest of them, as it is termed, (fifteen or twenty of intermediate sizes, fitting within each other, the largest capable of containing three bushels, and the smallest scarcely a goose’s egg,) may be pur- chased for about two dollars. I omit other things which might seem of more importance, as it is my intention presently to devote a few pages to those of the Azores which I have not already spoken of, and as in many respects so great a similarity exists between them, it is unnecessary to indulge in general comments upon each. November 27th . — Before we had risen from breakfast this morning we received a very polite note from Mr. Dabney, proposing, if agreeable, as the morning was particularly favourable, that we would avail our- selves of it to visit the Caldera, an immense, though now exhausted crater, upon the extreme height of the island. There was, of course, little reluctance on our part to comply with the kind suggestion, and equip- ping ourselves for the excursion, we proceeded to Mr. D.’s, where we found Mr. Frederic Dabney, a younger brother of the Consul, with asses and at- tendants prepared to accompany us, and soon after nine o’clock we commenced the ascent. The dis- tance, by the route we had to pursue, was about ten miles; for the first two or three of which the road was nearly level and of little interest, but after- wards it began to rise considerably, and winding along over a high ridge of hills, commanded a view 290 orta — — Visit to the Caldera . of the most transcendant beauty. A richly-cultivated plain, with orange groves and ever- verdant fields, interspersed with the neat white cottages of the pea- santry, extended for some miles on either side, and at the foot, gracefully retiring from its lovely bay, appeared the convent-crowned Orta. Pico was un- commonly clear, from base to summit, which I had scarcely seen it before since our landing, and an object of inconceivable grandeur. Though the day was comparatively calm, the surf was breaking high upon its rocky shores, forming around them a girdle of the most snowy whiteness, and the sound being to us perfectly inaudible, tended to favour the decep- tion ; while to the west, serenely slumbering, and as if never more to be awoke by storm or tempest, lay the blue and boundless ocean. Again and again did I pause enraptured with the scene, — in all its variety, richness, beauty, splendour, and extent, the most transporting I ever beheld. I felt, if it would but have remained the same, as if I could have gazed upon it for ever ; and had I not been reminded by my companions of the object which had induced the excursion, the Caldera, much as I had desired to see it, might have stood over for future opportunity, — I must have lingered out my day of admiration here. Moments like these are the purchase of years, and they are worth it, — sweet in possession, still sweeter in retrospect: the bright spots on the dark ground of our existence : once realized they can never cease to charm ; the mind recals them in its happiest ORTA Visit to the Caldera . 291 musings through after years; they create its happiest musings, and “ pass like spirits of the past,” bringing “ The day, the hour, the sunshine, and the shade, All things pertaining to that place and hour” in fair review before us. The scene itself may vanish, —the recollection never. Pursuing our route we continued at every step mounting higher and higher, and at length arriving within three miles of the summit, we dispensed with our steeds, and one of our attendants returning with them to the village of Flamingo, which we had left about two miles in the rear, the other with a basket of refreshments accompanied us on foot. The re- maining distance, alternately bog and rock, (not the most desirable footing for pedestrians,) was of much less arduous ascent than I had anticipated, and before one o’clock we had gained the southern edge of the crater; of the magnitude of which, having purposely been kept a little in the dark, I had formed no con- ception, and stood for some time on the brink in almost speechless astonishment. The form of the immense cavity, as the name. Caldera, may imply, is very similar to that of a caldron or basin. Its circum- ference at the top is about six miles, — the diameter consequently tw 7 o, — gradually contracting in its de- scent to a circumference, at the bottom, of perhaps two miles. The entire depth of it is estimated at 4000 feet, and it is even thought by some to be on a level with the sea. When the first overwhelming sensations of amaze- ment had a little subsided, the day being now on the 292 orta Visit to the Caldera . wane, I proposed to my companions to make the descent; but neither appearing to manifest any such disposition, without a guide, and almost without direc- tion, I determined to undertake it myself. For the first part of the way down I pursued nearly a direct course, sometimes scrambling through bushes, and at others rolling over rank and slippery beds of moss, as wet as rain or dew could render it, and in which I frequently sank more than a yard deep. But afterwards it became fatiguing in no small degree, the only passage I could discover being a rocky and most tortuous water-course, often seeming to ter- minate in abrupt projections, from which I had to jump or fall, as the case might be, until I found it again amongst the thickly interwoven shrubs which were arched over it. At length, however, with jump- ing, tumbling, and rolling, soaked to the skin, I arrived at the bottom, and confess my sensations were not of the most agreeable character, when, after descending experience, on first casting my eyes upwards, I contemplated the difficulty of a re-ascent , a reflection, too, which in addition to the advanced hour of the day, left me little opportunity for obser- vation — none worth recording; — nor do I imagine from the period which has elapsed since the crater was in a state of conflagration, that, except in the peculiarity of its form, its appearance is strikingly dissimilar from that which it might have presented h id it been occasioned by other violent convulsion of nature; — a question, however, fitter for geologists than me. The surface at the bottom is nearly level; orta Visit to the Caldera. 293 for the most part very wet and boggy ; the centre is wholly covered with water, though of no great depth, and containing quantities of gold and silver fish. Near the part where I descended, but quite de- tached from it, there is a huge mass of rock and earth of considerable height, which has also a large cavity on its summit. The whole scene is calculated to inspire the most sombre ideas and impressions; even the water, from the great depth of the crater, and the dark foliage which hangs upon its sides, assumes an inky black- ness. No kindly sunbeam penetrates to exhale the heavy vapours which stagnate in the air; but the atmosphere is chill and damp. The storm may howl its fury ; but it is heard not. The roar of ocean never reaches here. Solitude reigns supreme, and all is mute and motionless, save the sea birds, which, wheeling around you in rapid eddies, keep up a loud and incessant screaming as if to scare you from their dreary retreat. It requires almost an effort of mind to believe that such things as cities, and the busy hum of men, have any where an existence, or that you can ever again behold them. You are lost in conjecture at the mysterious agency which once filled this mighty vacuum with sulphureous matter — how it has so totally disap- peared — by what unknown causes it may be again produced — or where it may be still raging;— but speculate and ponder as you will, all is doubt and mystery, and you end but where you began, in knowing, in determining — nothing. Had I allowed 294 ORTA Visit to the Caldera. myself, however, much farther to indulge the reverie into which my situation, so full of the novel and exciting was leading me, I must have been content to amuse myself with it during the night, for which various cogent reasons disinclining, I turned at once to the somewhat more feasible, but still vastly per- plexing proposition of a re-assent, which, wherever meditated, put on a most formidable aspect. I had unwisely determined, supposing I could not change for the worse, to make the attempt in another quarter from that in which I descended; and after surveying the crater around, awfully precipitous as it ap- peared, fixed upon the northern side. I accordingly floundered on through bog and water, until I had gained what appeared the most eligible part, and here — for nothing less I found it — commenced the arduous struggle. For the first 500 feet or so it was difficult and dangerous in the extreme ; the rocks, steep as they were, being in addition, in con- sequence of the water which was perpetually trick- ling down from the top upon the moss that grew in their fissures, excessively slippery, and up these I had frequently to pull myself as high as I could reach, and cling till I could gain a fresh footing, conscious the while that one false step would have been inevitably fatal ; and that, after all, however fearful the alternative, finding it impracticable to proceed, I might be compelled to return. The last reflection had perhaps the good effect of stimulating me to still greater exertion to accomplish my pur- pose, and thus struggling on, with but little im- ORTA- Visit to the Caldera. 295 provement for one-third of the way up, at that dis- tance I had the good fortune to stumble upon a sort of track, as rugged as you please, but still a track, and worn by human feet. — I afterwards dis- covered that the peasants had proceeded thus far down the side of the crater for the purpose of cutting wood, which accounted for the abrupt commence- ment of the path, as well as for there being no communication between it and the bottom. — Such as it was, however, I pursued it, until, by a most circuitous and wearying course, it landed me at length on the summit, a position which I regained with feelings of no ordinary satisfaction, exhausted as I was both by long fasting, and the severe exer- tion I had used. I had then to continue winding round the edge of the crater, for about three miles, until I reached the spot from whence I started, and where, instead of meeting with my friends, 1 found the servant left with a note, informing me of their having sought for me in vain, and that almost in despair of seeing me again, they had taken their de- parture for Flamingo, where, if I were fortunate enough to escape from my perilous exploit, I should find them awaiting my arrival. — Here then was a trudge of five miles further; but having rested a moment, and refreshed myself with a draught of excellent wine, pleased to be thus far landed, I again set forward, and quickly arrived at the vil- lage, and the orange garden of our kind friend, Mr. Dabney, who, accompanied by Mr. Borges and members of his own family, had rode out thus far 2 c 296 ORTA -JV. S. de la Guia. to give us the meeting, and with my morning’s companions did not fail to congratulate me upon the feat which I had performed, assuring me that he had never before heard of any individual attempting the ascent of the crater on the northern side, and, in fact, that it had been deemed impossible I would not willingly be again called upon to demonstrate its practicability. — After partaking of a bountiful re- past, which our generous host had provided us, we mounted our steeds, and returned to his residence at Orta, adding one more to the many charming- evenings we had passed there, and I retired not a whit the worse for my ten hours’ toil, (estimating it, however, equal to a ramble of fifty miles on level ground,) and w r ith a feeling of interest in the ex- cursion and events of the day which I shall long retain. On the following morning, in company with Mr. Frederic D., I ascended one of the projecting mounts at the south of the town, which is fortified, and very finely commands the entrance of the bay. On the top of it, to which the ascent is pretty steep, is a hermitage, dedicated to Our Lady of Gum. (N.S. de la Guia.) At its southern extremity, which is altogether rock, there is a tremendous cavern, called the Devil’s Hole , and where, in a storm, Mr. D. informs me, the roar of the surge is truly appalling. Connected with this mount is a smaller one, the soil of which is of a deep red colour, exactly re- sembling that of Pico, and in appearance as if it had been burnt for ages, which it most probably DEPARTURE FOR ENGLAND. 297 has. It is totally unlike any other to be found upon the island, and is the only land in it de- voted to the cultivation of the vine. To the west of this is a sandy cove, called Port Pin, where small vessels frequently anchor, in favourable weather ; but it is quite open to winds from the south-west. The nearest point of Pico from Fayal is but about four miles, and I very much regretted that I had not an opportunity of visiting the island, and ascending the peak ; but during the early part of my stay in Fayal, the surf was breaking so violently upon its shores, that it was not thought prudent for a boat to venture, and afterwards being in daily expectation of sailing, I could not absent myself from Orta. I must, therefore, be content very briefly to notice it with the other islands. December ls£. — Captain B. and myself having de- termined upon pursuing our course to England by the first possible chance, soon after our arrival at Orta engaged the cabin of a small schooner, which had been some time waiting for a cargo of oranges, and was to have sailed on this day, but frequent showers preventing the loading of the fruit, she was de- tained until the following afternoon ; — when, bidding adieu to our kind friends at Fredonia House, &c\, we were conveyed on board the Kitty, such the no- menclature of our little vessel, William Johns, master, bound for Plymouth ; — and rarely indeed have I taken my departure from a scene and from friends with a heavier heart than I quitted Orta. Mingled was 298 DEPARTURE FOR ENGLAND. the association of ideas and feelings which crowded upon me: but ten days ago I had landed here, and place and people were alike unknown and indif- ferent to me; now I regarded the former with a high degree of interest, and my acquaintance with one family at least, had ripened into the warmest senti- ments of gratitude, regard, and esteem. I could leave both with the most lively and unfeigned regret; the more so, from the possibility, (I will not write pro- bability,) which existed of my never meeting them again. Such is the ever-varying, the checkered allot- ment of life ! how transient, how uncertain is all that it presents to us ! how little of the morrow can we read to-day ! What mere chances, as they would seem to us, serve to bring parties together who may never even have heard each other’s names before : — to form friendships which you would deem a real acquisition, and wish to cultivate and enjoy : — to open some of those fairy scenes of nature, lovelier than fancy had painted them; and just when all is beginning most to charm and rivet itself upon you, and, rather than resign it for ever, you are tempted to wish you had never known it, the spell is rudely broken, and the harsh sentence of separation sounds in the ear, and saddens on the heart ! You feel — but I check myself : if there is pain, there is also pleasure in the retrospect. Most have passed the ordeal : I envy not those who cannot. I would be the last to offend with panegyric, but I must be forgiven in saying that it never was my lot to be introduced to a more interesting or agreeable FREDONIA HOUSE. 299 family circle than that of the Dabney’s— one in which a stranger would, or ought, sooner to feel himself at home. Mr. Dabney is, in all respects, the finished gentleman, well-informed and intelligent above the common, of highly fascinating manners, with a dispo- sition nobly generous, and kind and courteous to all, one whom but to know, must be to respect and ad- mire : — I will not, however, particularize where all are so truly amiable and deserving— where all alike de- mand my ardent and devoted thanks. Most gratifying to me was it to witness the delightful harmony which reigned throughout this establishment. Truly might each be said to share the bliss of others. There seemed, as it were, to be no division of interest or feeling, — none of those petty envyings and dissensions which are just enough to ruffle the surface of social pleasures, but mutual good will and affection predo- minant in every breast; refinement, without affecta- tion; and polish, without display. Though, in every domestic arrangement, the nicest taste was observ- able, the useful and convenient were not therefore thrown heedlessly into the back ground, as things of no moment. Whether alone, or surrounded by guests, an elegant table alike was spread, but there was no in- sipid, hackneyed observance of etiquette or formality ; and, to crown the whole, you felt fully assured of the hearty sincerity of the welcome. The very words of obligation, intrusion, and so forth, seemed as unin- telligible sounds to the whole household. — Such was the circle into which, with no other recommendation than that of an unfortunate stranger, I was here 2 c 2 300 FAREWELL ADDRESS. unexpectedly introduced. I ask the reader’s pardon for the insertion of the following effusion,* which I penned upon taking my leave : — it might not, indeed, be worth transcribing, but as a record of emotions which the past had inspired, and which the future can never obliterate ; — a sense of the deepest gratitude for favours received, and the sincerest desires for the happiness and welfare of my generous benefactors. Long may Heaven preserve them, and crown their lives with the best and choicest of her blessings ! TO MR. AND MRS. DABNEY, AND THE MEMBERS OF THEIR WORTHY FAMILY, UPON MY LEAVING ORTA FOR ENGLAND. My worthy friends ! or ere we part And I, with no exulting heart, Pronounce the word adieu ! (Although from off a foreign strand, I steer towards my native land,) My grateful thanks are due. And thanks e’en more than I can pay, Or more than feeble words may say. Or feebler pen express ; Yet trust me, where engraven deep The record stands for time to keep, I shall not feel it less. * Originally very hastily written, and not intended to meet the public eye. FAREWELL ADDRESS. 301 No, oft will memory seek to dwell O’er scenes that I have prized full well, Nor leave without regret; And though my fate hath seemed severe, And wreck and peril cast me here, I grieve not we have met. So fair an isle from ocean’s wave, As if by Heaven decreed to save, And wrest his greedy prey : What, though in fancy I might trace Semblance of such a resting place, I thought not to survey. And not alone a land I’ve found, With nature’s beauties richly crown’d,' -=* Nor blooms the year in vain : But safe, within a genial zone, Our wintry blasts are all unknown, To sweep the smiling plain. Here Flora holds her lovely court, And with Pomona seems to sport In ever gay costume. — Here Pico rears his monarch head, And rocks and mountains wildly spread, And wilder billows boom. What transport, Nature for our guide ! Conductress fair ! who asks beside, Or whether grave or gay, But just to mark thy footsteps free, And rove, as here I’ve followed thee, Along the devious way? 302 FAREWELL ADDRESS. Yet still I’ve found what charms me more — The kindest hearts — the open door — The welcome all sincere ; Warm, generous, sympathizing friends, Prompt to devise each fair amends And make e’en exile dear. I’ve seen one social circle meet, In harmony and union sweet, Each other’s bliss to prove. Seen brothers own “ the kindred band,” (Too oft destroyed by discord’s brand,) “ Of Friendship, Truth, and Love.” And elegance, that innate grace, Apart from pride, which may deface Her all -attractive mien ; And minds with each endowment fraught, And gay luxuriance of thought, With sportive wit between. These have I found — these have I priz’d — These have I fondly realized, Nor ever deem’d to find : And Orta's name, and Dabney's worth, Where’er I rove, or rest on earth I never leave behind. We part, indeed, and Heaven can saj 7 , Alone, when next our meeting-day, And seas may roll between ; But seas nor time can e’er erase The cherish’d memory of this place, Or banish what hath been. AZORES. 303 Peace to thine house, thrice honour’d host i I pledge thee with as warm a toast As parting guest e’er gave : And would that it might e’er be mine To pay the debt to thee or thine, No happier boon I’ll crave. Peace — and Farewell! and if that word Were ever uttered, ever heard, All honest from the heart, I speak it now,— may time fulfil The prayer responsive to my will,— And with that wish depart. Orta, December 2nd. AZORES. And here, in place of presenting the dry detail of a sea journal, let me be allowed to fill up the interval, and fulfil my promise, by adding such general notice of the Azores, and of the remaining particular islands, as I find in the work already referred to. The Azores, (originally Ilhas dos Acores, or Isles of Hawks,) or Western Islands, are nine in number, and named Santa Maria, or St. Mary’s, St. Miguel, or St. Michael’s, Terceira, or Tercera, St. Jorge, or St. George’s, Graciosa , Fayal, Pico, Flores, and Corvo. The land is, in general, high ; the coasts steep and rocky. 304 AZORES- ■St. Michael’s. “ These islands are said to have been discovered about the middle of the fifteenth century by Joshua Vanderberg, of Bruges, in Flanders, who, in a voyage to Lisbon, was driven to them by stress of weather. At Lisbon he boasted of his discovery ; on which the Portuguese, in that spirit of enterprise so strongly manifested by them at this period, set sail and took possession of them, calling them Azores, from the many hawks and falcons found amongst them. “ Antonio Gonzalo says that the great Don Henry, Prince of Portugal, considered these islands as so con- siderable an acquisition, that he went in person to take possession in 1449. This was forty- three years before Columbus landed in America: and it has been affirmed that the Flemish merchants, on the part of their countrymen, sent a colony thither, many of whose descendants continue in Fayal to this day. Hence the islands have been also called Flamingos, or Flemish Islands. “ The capital of the Azores is (or was) Angra, in Terceira. “ The inhabitants generally are an innocent, good, and honest people, who prefer the olive to the laurel, and who would seek for distinction rather by industry than by arms. The climate is delightful ; the air generally clear and serene ; the soil so prolific that both European and tropical plants arrive at the greatest perfection : the face of the earth is, however, so diversified as in some places to exhibit, within a small extent, volcanic hills and productions, gardens of aromatic plants, pastures, vineyards, orangeries, &c. Azores St. Michael’s. 305 The greatest inconvenience of these isles is their having been subject to eruptions and earthquakes, and in some parts, where the coasts are low, the sea has, at times, overflowed the land, and occasioned considerable mischief. Yet in the cultivated parts, the lava, once a stream of fire, is planted with oranges, lemons, and vines; and the land, formed from the decomposition of volcanic substances, is sown with Indian corn, small beans, and wheat. The islands still abound in waste lands, fit for the cultivation of hemp, the vine, &c.” The following description of the appearances of St. Michael’s will apply generally to the other islands : “ The Island of St. Michael appears to have been originally a plain, covered with beautiful trees, rich verdure, and aromatic plants : at the present time, however, it consists of a number of mountains, hills, and declivities, none of which are primitive, but evidently the production of volcanic eruptions. The mountains and hills clearly indicate, by their conical figure and the cavity at their summits, their being the production of fire, and bear unequivocal marks of the effects of this destructive agent in an accumu- lation of lava, scoriae, and volcanic sand. Externally, the volcanoes appear extinguished, but they are sup- posed still to burn internally and invisibly : of this Caldeiras, or fountains of boiling water, in the valley of Furnas and other parts, are evident symptoms. Circumstances also afford strong reasons for believing that there have existed three principal craters, whose vertex now’ form three great lakes, situate towards the 306 AZORES St. Michael's. centre and the northern and southern portions of the islands. From these craters vast mountains have been thrown up ; and, in proportion as these ceased to vomit forth the matter, partial eruptions burst out, and formed the lateral hills and declivities which extend themselves in every direction from the mountains surrounding the lakes. The cessation of fire from the different craters has been attributed to water, which appears to have gained access to each, and suddenly extinguished the effervescence of its mineral contents ; and the fire now seems confined to stations, where it operates only in boiling water, with various degrees of activity and force. “ Exclusive of the remains of burning volcanoes, the island presents decisive evidence of its having been the theatre of repeated earthquakes and convulsive shocks. In most countries, earthquakes are produced by sulphur and nitre, or by sulphur sublimed from pyrites, and ignited, in subterraneous caverns, by a fermentation of vapours, which gives an appulse to the neighbouring combustible matter, and causes it to be discharged with a noise like thunder, and some- times with an eruption of water and w ind : but here the earthquakes seem to have been occasioned by a contrary cause ; by the bursting in of the w aters upon the mineral fires ; an agency which must have instantly produced sudden blasts, violent explosions, rumbling in the bowels of the earth, and that lifting up of the ground above it, which occasions havoc and devastation till it gets vent or discharge. That this is the case, appears incontrovertible ; for many AZORES ■St. Michael's. 307 of the existing- extinguished volcanoes, which served as so many spiracles for the discharge of subter- raneous fire, are rent and torn asunder by the violent effervescence caused by the sudden conjunction of the two opposing elements. “The effect produced by this unnatural confluence of fire and water is not confined to fissures in the craters, and rents in the cliffs ; some mountains have been precipitated into the adjacent valleys; others upset from their base ; and some swallowed up in the bosom of that earth whence they originally rose in lava, scoriae, and sand. The bases of the precipitated mountains exhibit palpable remains of decomposed substances originally produced on the surface of the globe; the strata of the mountains nearly upset is displayed perpendicularly, and not horizontally ; and those mountains which have been swallowed up have left behind them some frightful chasms, tremendous precipices, or form the beds of beautiful lakes. The more perfect mountains are of a conical or hemi- spherical figure, as formed by continued eruptions, and their exterior is distinguished by characters which denote the nature, and, in some measure, the date of the conflagration. The lava, on some, appears in craggy eminences ; and on others is in a state of decomposition, forming a soil highly fertile and pro- ductive. The various features of the ground show where the lava ran without interruption, only filling up inequalities in a lovely champaign country ; and where its course was impeded so as to leave insulated spots or oases, covered with all the bloom of luxuriant 308 Azores St. Michael’s. vegetation, while encompassed by mountainous ridges of volcanic ashes, with ferruginous and pumice stone. “The island, at length, seems to be of such a struc- ture and conformation that the waters pass freely throughout its volcanic caverns, and are easily forced out without shaking or disturbing the earth. One hun- dred years have elapsed since the inhabitants have been terrified by volcanic explosions of a terrific nature ;* and what is now heard, and that perpetually in several places, resembles the flowing and ebullition of waters, with a dull noise like that of a heavy car- riage rolling along in rapid motion ; and it seems that in consequence of the introduction of the waters into the subterraneous caverns, and of the washing away of the sulphur and nitre from their arches, the fire has ceased to appear in frequent eruptions as for- merly, yet it operates invisibly on the waters con- tained in the caverns beneath. “ These observations, which were previously written, have been corroborated by a remarkable event. In the early part of the year 181 1 a most awful and tre- mendous explosion of smoke and flames issued from * “ The approximation to an eruption has, however, at times, appeared to have been very close. On the 11th of August, 1810, at the hour of ten, pan. slight shocks of an earthquake were felt, which continued, at intervals of a few minutes, for four hours. Between two and three o’clock next morning, a dreadful rocking was ex- perienced throughout the whole island ; several houses, unable to resist its violence, were thrown down, and many others were greatly damaged ; and such persons as sought safety in the open air were dashed to the ground. On the eastern side of the island an orifice was discovered resembling the crater of a volcano, and out of which flames occasionally burst forth ; but they do not appear to have been accompanied by any ejection of volcanic matter.” AZORES -St. Michael's. 309 the sea, at the distance of half a league from the shore, at the western end of the island. From the depth of about forty fathoms in the ocean issued smoke, fire, cinders, ashes, and stones of an immense size. Innu- merable quantities of fish, some nearly roasted, and others as if boiled, floated on the surface of the sea towards the shore. Thus a dangerous shoal gradually formed.* On the 16th of Jane the crew of the Sa- brina, British sloop of war, observed two columns of white smoke arising from the sea, which they supposed to arise from an engagement, and made sail towards it, but were disappointed by the wind’s dying away. The smoke continued to ascend, with volumes of flame, and they then concluded it was a volcano- Next day they were close in with the land of St. Mi- chael’s, and found the volcano still raging. They learned, on the island, that smoke was first discovered on the 13th of June; two or three days previous to which there had been felt repeated shocks of earth- quakes in the capital of St. Michael’s, which threw down several cottages and portions of the cliff towards the north-west, so that destruction was feared on the island ; but these ceased so soon as the volcano broke out. " On the 18th the Sabrina went so near to the “ * The flames were first seen in the night of the 1st of of February > but invisible indications of its operation had been felt in shocks on the island from the middle of the preceding year. Its observed situation was south-west of Point Ferraria and due west from the Pico de Ginetes, at about a mile and a quarter from the nearest shore. — The ship Swift , with all her crew, were lost on this spot before the existence of the shoal was known.” 310 AZORES ■St. Michael’s. volcano as she could with safety, and found it still raging with unabated violence, throwing up, from under the water, large stones, cinders, ashes, &c., accompanied with several severe concussions. About noon, on the same day, they observed the mouth of the crater just showing itself above the surface of the sea, where there were formerly forty fathoms of water. At three, p. m., same day, it was about thirty feet above the surface of the water, and about a furlong in length. On the 19th, they were within five or six miles of the volcano, and found it about fifty feet in height, and two-thirds of a mile in length; still raging as before, and throwing up large quantities of stones, some of which fell a mile distant from the volcano. The smoke drew up several water-spouts, which, spreading in the air, fell in heavy rain, accom- panied with vast quantities of fine black sand, that completely covered the Sabrina’s decks, at the dis- tance of three or four miles. On the 20th they pro- ceeded on a cruise, leaving the volcano about 150 feet high, and still raging as formerly, and continuing to increase in size. On the 4th of July they again visited it, and found that a complete island was formed, and perfectly quiet. The captain and several officers landed upon it, and found it very steep, and its height from 200 to 300 feet. It was with difficulty they were able to reach the top, which they at last effected in a quarter where there was a gentle declivity; but the ground, or rather the ashes, composed of sulphurous matter, dross of iron, &c., was so very hot to their feet that they were obliged to return. They, however, AZORE& St. Michael's. 311 took possession of the islet, in the name of his Britannic Majesty, and left an English union-jack dying on it. u The form was nearly circular, and the circum- ference of the isle, at this time, about a mile. In the middle was a large basin of boiling water, whence a stream, of about six yards across, ran into the sea, on the side facing St. Michael’s; and at the distance of fifty yards from the island, the water, although thirty fathoms deep, was too hot to hold the hand in : in short, the whole isle appeared as a crater : the cliff on the outside as walls, steep within and without; the basin of boiling water being the mouth, from which the smoke, & c. issued. “ On the 17th of June, Captain Tillard, of the Sabrina, accompanied by Mr. Read, the British Con- sul, with two other gentlemen, proceeded over land to the cliff nearest to the volcano, and which was between 300 and 400 feet above the level of the sea. The first appearance it presented was that of an immense body of smoke revolving in the water almost horizontally, in varied involutions ; when suddenly would shoot up a column of the blackest cinders, ashes, and stones, in form like a spire, and rising to windward at an angle of from ten to twenty degrees from a perpendicular line. This was rapidly succeeded by a second, third, and fourth, each having greater velocity, and overtopping the preceding one, till they had attained an altitude as much above the level of the eye on the cliff, as the sea was below it. The columns of ashes, &c. 2 d 2 312 AZORES St. Michael 3 s. at their greatest height, formed into branches re- sembling magnificent pines; and, as they fell, mixing with the festoons of white feathery smoke, at one time assumed the appearance of vast plumes of black and white ostrich feathers; at another, that of light wavy branches of a weeping willow. These bursts were accompanied by explosions of the most vivid lightning, with a noise like the continual firing of cannon and musketry intermixed; and as the cloud of smoke rolled off to leeward, it drew up the water- spouts, above-mentioned, which formed a beautiful and striking addition to the scene. “ Subsequently, this islet fell, by degrees, into the sea; and in the middle of October no part was left above water; but a dangerous shoal remained in the place which it had occupied. In February, 1812, smoke was discovered still issuing out of the sea near the spot.* “ St. Michael’s is about thirty-five miles long, and from four to eight wide, and contains one city, five principal towns, fifty-four parishes, and about 80,000 inhabitants The coast is very bold, and may be approached without fear in almost every part, the north-west side excepted. Its military strength consists of 300 or 400 troops, with a militia of several thousand peasantry, whose arms are the pikes with which they drive their cattle. The prin- * “ About fifteen leagues to the westward, a volcano, which had appeared Jn 1638, broke out from the sea in 1719, and disappeared in 1723. A depth of eighty fathoms was afterwards found on the spot which it had occupied.” AZORES ■St. Michael’s. 313 cipal fortification is the castle of St. Bras, which is close to the sea, at the western end of the city of Ponta del Gada. It is mounted with twenty- four pieces of cannon, but few of which are capable of service. A league to the eastward are two small three-gun forts, inefficient from decay and neglect. The island, notwithstanding, has many strong local holds; and several of the hills and passes, if judiciously for- tified, would be impregnable. The rich level coun- try is properly adapted for wheat, Indian corn, and beans, or callivances. In the lava districts are cul- tivated the vine and orange, which yield most abun- dantly. It is generally understood that the lava in the south-east region of the island is older, softer, and becomes fertile sooner, than that of the north- west, which retains such a degree of hardness as to be, in many parts, altogether incapable of yielding to human industry. In the intermediate parts, be- tween the volcanic lands and the level country, the surface exhibits volcanic sand, metallic slag, pumice- stone, &c. “ The inhabitants of this and the other islands were formerly compelled by law to confine their trade to the port of Lisbon ; but latterly they have been al- lowed a wider range, and maintain a considerable commerce not only with Lisbon, but with England, Russia, America, &c. From England they are en- tirely supplied with woollens, hardware, earthenware, and various other necessaries, sending in exchange about seventy vessels annually with fruit. To Por- tugal are sent corn, pulse, poultry, cattle, and vege- 314 Azores St. Michael's. tables, which are paid for in returns of tobacco, sugar, coffee, trinkets, dispensations, indulgences, images of saints, relics, &c. From America they receive boards, staves, lumber, rice, pitch, tar, iron in pots and bars, and a variety of Indian goods, which are paid for, in exchange, by wines. The intercourse with Russia is similar to that with America, but on a more con- tracted scale. There exists, also, a ready-money trade with vessels which make the island (or islands) for refreshments, the crews of which are furnished with cattle and provisions equal to the English, and to any in the world beside; and also with wine, pleasant and peculiarly suited to the health of seamen. “ The city of Pont a del Gada is the chief seat of com- merce. It is situated in the narrowest part of the island, on the south-west side, in lat. 37° 45' 10" N., and long. 25° 41' 15" W. This town appears exceed- ingly pleasant from the offing, and derives an air of dignity from its numerous convents, &c. There is a mole for the protection of small vessels, but those of greater burden are compelled to ride in an open roadstead. By deepening and enlarging the harbour, it might be rendered capable of receiving vessels of a considerable draught; and, by excavating the square of St. Francis, and cutting a canal between it and the mole, a large number of vessels might be accom- modated. As it is, vessels of burden cannot safely use it; for they would risk the danger of slipping their cables, while loading or unloading, and, per- haps, not be able to recover their station for several AZORES ■St. Michael’s. 315 weeks; or, at least, not dare to attempt its recovery during the prevalence of strong southerly gales. The roadstead and harbour of Ponta del Gada are, however, the best that the island affords. The place of next consequence is that called Ribeira Grande, on the north side of the island ; but here is no anchorage; and having no harbour, it is dependent for its commercial supplies on the towns on the south side. Villa Franca, which is on the latter, has a very inferior anchorage, and that for small vessels only. “ The disadvantages arising from the want of naval conveniences are greatly aggravated by the customs of the country and its government ; but with all these disadvantages the country has improved, and exports annually about 15,000 tons of fruit, wine, and pro- visions, the amount of its surplus produce. Yet the arts, agriculture, and commerce are not carried to more than a twentieth part of the extent to which they might be ; nor is the population by any means proportioned to the extent of territory. “ On approaching the north-west end of the island, from the westward, the appearance is very unpromis- ing, as it presents barren mountains of stupendous bulk, with a coast like many ramified pillars of ba- saltes, exhibiting at the top a few trees of stunted growth. The impression made by a scene of rough and craggy cliffs is, however, soon dissipated by a pleasing contrast on the southern coast, as this pre- sents a beautiful acclivity adorned by luxuriant vege- tation. Open pastures, bounded by woods, vineyards. 316 AZORES — —57. Mary's, fyc. and corn-fields, interspersed with orange and lemon trees, every where meet the eye, and afford a land- scape extensive and various, that will always, in clear weather, be seen with delight.” The Island of St. Mary lies to the south of St. Michael’s, and is the most southerly of the Azores. Its principal town is of the same name, and is situated on the south-west side, in lat. 36° 58' N, and long. 25° 12' 18" W. Besides this there are three villages containing together about 4,500 inhabitants. “ The chief productions of the island are wheat and barley of the first quality, with some wine and cattle, but only sufficient for its own consumption. It has water in abundance, but of wood little, and a scanty propor- tion of fruit and vegetables. The Road of St. Mary's is open, and exposed to southern gales ; on this ac- count it is resorted to in summer by small vessels only. The best anchorage known to the pilots is about a mile from the coast, in a depth of thirty-six fathoms, bottom of sand ; but at a short distance eastward the ground is foul. Hence it is that Port San Lorenzo, on the north-east side, is considered as the best an- chorage about the island. At either place refresh- ments may be obtained as at the other islands, with the addition of partridges, which abound here.” — In size, the island is rather less than Fayal. “ The Formigas , or Ants, which lie to the north- eastward of St. Mary’s, in lat. 37° 16' 50" N. and AZORES Terceira. 317 long. 24° 54' W., are a range of seven or eight high rocks, extending N.N.E and S.SW. (N. and S.) about three-quarters of a mile, and among which there are other rocks under water. The highest, which is nearly sixty feet in height, bears, from a distance, some resemblance to the sails of a ship, and lies two-thirds of the length of the range towards the north. At the north part are many rocks under water. Close along-side is a depth of seven fathoms. — The Formigas have a dreadful appearance, the breakers commonly flying higher than a ship’s mast- head. At a time when the sea ran from the westward, no soundings could be found off the eastern side, with a line of fifty fathoms, until within thirty yards of the rocks. “ Between the Formigas and the Island of St. Mary no bottom was found with a line of 120 fathoms, until within a quarter of a mile from the island.” “ The Island of Terceira is from eighteen to twenty miles long, and from eight to eleven wide. It is fertile, pleasant, and healthy. The lava districts here, as at St. Michael’s, produce excellent vines, although not equal to those of the Canaries and Madeira The land yields large crops of wheat and other grain, pasture for cattle, and a prodigious quantity of lemons, oranges, and all those fruits of hot and cold climates which are propagated to the greatest advantage in temperate countries. 318 AZORES Terceira. “ The capital, as already noticed, is Angra, situated on the south side of the island, in lat. 38° 38' 33" N. and long. 27° 12, 33" W., and having a harbour, defended by a fortress, in which was wont to reside the Gover- nor of the Azores. It is distinguished by several handsome churches, convents, &c. Besides this there is another town, Pray a, and fifteen villages, all of which contain about 30,000 inhabitants. In the Bay of Angra, and around the island, fish of good quality are abundant. “ The coasts are high, and so surrounded with craggy rocks as to render the island almost impreg- nable ; every accessible part being defended by bat- teries, with heavy cannon, and a numerous garrison. The interior is, in general, moderately high, but the western side is higher than the eastern, and is distin- guished by a rugged mountain, extending nearly east and west, and of which the western extremity, Pico de la Serreta, is the most elevated. This peak may be known, at a short distance, by a great break on the eastern side. The Bay of Angra is open to all winds from the S.S.W., by the south to the east. The swell from the south-west, in particular, which sets round Mount Brasil, (a remarkable forked hill near the sea, on the western side,) is tremendous. Vessels may safely re- main in the road in June, July, August, and Septem- ber, when the winds are light, and prevail from between *vest and north-west ; but on the commence- ment of winter the winds from the offing rage so AZORES Ter ce ira . 319 violently that upon the least appearance of bad weather it is requisite to put off to sea, the coast affording no shelter. “ The boats of the island come out so soon as any vessel is seen to anchor, and by them supplies may easily be obtained, even while keeping under weigh, tacking in and out, as they will bring water, wood, and all kinds of provisions.” This, of course, refers to the state of things prior to Miguel’s dominion in Portugal. REMARKS ON TERCEIRA, BY CAPTAIN LIVINGSTON. “ The City of Angra is generally very regular, the situation beautiful, and the streets have regularly excellent flagged footpaths. The houses are com- monly of three stories. “ At about six and a half or seven miles north of Angra, in a valley near the summit of the mountains, a great deal of steam issues from crevices of the earth, or rather clay, which clay, I am informed by a scien- tific gentleman here, is actually lava, decomposed by the action of sulphuric acid. Some of the clay looks, when cut by a knife, much like Castile soap : it is of various hues, and the natives of Terceira use it as paint. There are small quantities of sulphur formed around some of the apertures. The steam which rises is very hot: we cooked some eggs by laying them among the clay, at mere cracks whence the steam issued. My thermometer ranged only to 152^ of Fahrenheit’s scale, I exposed it to the steam at 2 E 320 Azores Terceira. the first aperture I reached, but the mercury rose so rapidly that, from fear of bursting the tube, I was obliged to withdraw it in, I think, about three or four seconds. Persons visiting Angra, who have any curiosity in their composition, should see this furnaso, or souffriere. The access to it is by no means very difficult, though if you ask any of the Portuguese, (I dare vouch for Captain Livingston’s accuracy,) they will describe it as accessible only at some periods of the year. One may ride to within less than half a mile of it. Ponies or asses, and guides, may readily be hired. “ No vessels should go to Angra without two good chain-cables; the bottom of the bay being generally too foul for any to trust in hempen cables. “ The better sort of people in Angra (natives) are very hospitable and kind, but full of ceremony. The poor people are generally very clean, and none seem in want of the necessaries of life. None of that wretchedness which we so often see in this country is visible ; but many of the older peasants have their clothes, though clean, so industriously patched, that it is next to, or altogether, impossible even to con- jecture of what colour they originally were. “ There are some fine pine woods in the island ; a good deal of boxwood, and some cedar. Plenty of juniper, the berries of which are so very strong as to leave, for a long time, a very unpleasant flavour in the mouth after chewing them. There is plenty of pumice-stone, but of a coarse quality, in the island, and every where marks of volcanic agency are appa- Azores Terceira. 321 rent. Water is good, but not so easily procured as might be supposed. “ The Terceira fruit (oranges) has improved much of late years ; more attention having been paid to its culture, and it is now little, if at all, inferior to the St Michael’s. “ Very good linen is made in the island, and they manufacture a coarse earthenware, the clay of which it is made being imported from St. Mary’s. No noxious animal is known ; nor, though there are many dogs, has hydrophobia ever made its appearance. The natives rear a great many swine, most of which are remarkably broad-backed. Their backs are gene- rally shorn, which, it is alleged, allows them to spread in fattening. “ Bloody flux is very frequent, both among strangers and natives, and is often fatal. A Scottish surgeon there told me it was the worst disease he met with in the island.* “ Vegetables are excellent and cheap : poultry and eggs good and reasonable : beef and mutton tolerable, the former about threepence per pound. Some of the island wine is tolerably good. “ I was surprised to see a pretty fair bunch of bananas one day carried by a peasant. They have apples, pears, figs, chesnuts, and walnuts, and, I have * “ It deserves to be known that the size of a hazel-nut of Castile soap, scraped fine and dissolved in about three wine glasses of boil- ing water, to which add half a wine glass of good spirits and a few lumps of white sugar, scarcely ever fails of curing bloody flux. Two or three doses may be required. I have tried it on myself and others with perfect success. — A. L .” AZORES Pico. 322 heard, some olives, with abundance of grapes. Goose- berries and currants, I am told, have been tried, but have not succeeded. They have a very fine tough willow, which makes excellent hoops and baskets; also plenty of yams, Indian corn, wheat, and excel- lent barley, also tolerable potatoes. The market is generally well supplied with good and cheap fish. Rabbits and quail are plentiful : thousands of black- birds, fine turkeys, few or no geese; no peacocks and no pheasants; a few red-legged partridges; and I have heard it positively asserted that there are some grouse on the mountains, yet I doubt the fact. There is a great deal of orehilla weed — monopolized by the Government. " The north coast of Terceira should not be ap- proached by a stranger, as it is rocky and dangerous. The western coast is also inaccessible.” Pico. — “ This island derives its name from the re- markable peak or volcanic mountain which stands upon it; the summit of which is in lat. 38° 26' 15" N., and long. 28° 27' 58" W., and terminated by a small sugar-loaf, so very regular that one w r ould think it had been made by art. The height of the peak above the level of the sea, according to the geometrical ope- rations of the French astronomers, is 1100 French toises, (about 1172 English fathoms;) and, conse- quently, in clear weather, it can be seen twenty- four or twenty-five leagues off; but it is frequently AZORES Pico. 323 so obscured by clouds as not to be seen at any distance.* “ The peak has been described as filled with dark volcanic caverns, which have frequently emitted smoke, flames, and ashes, to a considerable distance. At the foot of the mountain, towards the east, is a spring of fresh water, generally cold, but sometimes so heated with the subterraneous fire as to rush forth in torrents, in a boiling state, and sending forth a stream of sulphureous vapours, vitrified stones, &c.” Pico, exclusive of the great inequalities of its sur- face, may be about tw r enty-five miles long, and from six to nine miles wide, though narrowing to the south-east, where it terminates in an obtuse angle ; it contains about 22,000 inhabitants, who occupy three towns and eleven villages. The soil being stony little grain is produced, and the greater part of the wheat and maize, for consumption, is imported from the neighbouring islands. The wine is the staple commodity, and is reputed the best in the Azores. This, with brandy, is exported in considerable quan- tities. The cattle are various, numerous, and excel- lent; fruit is abundant, and equally fine.f They * “ The Spanish surveyors have since given the height of the peak, from its observed altitude, above the level of the sea, as 1212§ Spanish toises, (1103 English fathoms only.) The mountain, they observe, covers the whole of the western part of the island ; its skirts, and even half way up, are cultivated with vines ; the next fourth part by shrubs ; and the last and highest part seems all of rock, covered with a very short grass. An ascent to the summit may be made, though not without difficulty, and some caverns' afford occasional shelter.” f Pico, I believe, produces no oranges. 2 E 2 - 324 AZORES Pico St. George’s. have cedar and other timber, including a beautiful kind of yew, called Teixo , which is remarkably solid and fine; but which is monopolized by, and felled only by order of, the Government The vino tinto of Pico, made from the Oporto vine, propagated in Pico, Captain Livingston thinks excel- lent; but it is not plentiful. The teixo wood, he says, is the same as our yew. " The principal towns and villages are Lagens, Pico, Santa Cruz, St. Sebastian, Pesquin, S. Rocca, La Playa, and Magdalena .” The island affords no anchorage, and nothing but coasters can approach its shores. “ Off the most prominent part of the western coast is the little port and isles of La Magdalena. From the town which stands here, the greater part of the produce of the island, for exportation, is shipped off for Fayal in small row-boats. The islets are sur- rounded with rocks; but very near the latter the depths are six, seven, and eight fathoms, rocky ground.” " St. George’s lies at a distance of three leagues from Pico, and is separated from Graciosa by a channel eight leagues in breadth. It is a long narrow island, about nine leagues long, and not more than one in its average breadth. Its most easterly point, Ponta del Topo, lies W. $ N., (W.S.W. 2 W.,) 30| miles from the summit of Mount Brasil, in Terceira, and in lat. 38° 29' 22" N., and long. 27° 50' 27" W. Azores St. George’s. 325 “ On its south coast is the little town called Villa das Velas, or Veil as, with a port where small vessels may lie sheltered from all winds. “ This island, when Tofino described it, contained more than 11,000 persons, in three towns and seven villages. He says that it produces much wine of a good quality. It has been famous for its cattle, with which it supplies other islands, and its cheese is said to be fine. The produce of wheat and maize is equal only to the consumption of a part of the inhabitants, as the lower class substitute the root of iname. Wood and fresh water are abundant. “ On the 1st May, 1808, a dreadful volcano, seen from Fayal, burst out about the centre of the island, in the midst of fertile pastures, about three leagues south-east of Vellas. On the 3rd, a crater was formed, in size about twenty-four acres. In two days, it had thrown out cinders or small pumice- stones, which a strong north-east wind had propelled southerly; and which, independent of the mass accu- mulated around the crater, had covered the earth from one to four feet in depth, half a league in width, and three miles in length: then, passing the channel, did some injury to the eastern end of Pico. The fire of this large crater had nearly subsided on the 3rd of May ; but, in the preceding evening, another small crater had opened, one league to the northward of the large one, and only two leagues from Vellas. The sulphureous smoke of the new crater rendered impracticable an approach to the large one. Within a mile of the crater, the earth 326 Azores— — St. George’s. was rent in every direction. The Fredonian Consul of Fayal, who, with some friends, visited this place, stated that “they at length arrived within 200 yards of the spot, and saw it in the midst of a pasture, distinctly, at intervals, when the thick smoke, which swept the earth, lighted up a little. The mouth of it was only about fifty yards in circumference, and the fire seemed struggling for vent. The force with which a pale blue flame issued forth resembled a powerful steam engine, multiplecl a hundred- fold— - the noise was deafening — the earth where they stood had a tremulous motion — the whole island seemed convulsed; hollow bellowings were occasionally heard from the bowels of the earth, and earthquakes were frequent. After remaining here about ten minutes, they returned to town; the inhabitants had mostly quitted their houses, and remained in the open air, or under tents. They passed the night at Vellas, and next morning went by water to Ursulina, a small sea-port town, two leagues south of Vellas, and viewed that part of the country covered with cinders before mentioned, and which had changed the most valuable vineyards in the island into a frightful desert. " On the same day, (May 4th,) the party returned to Fayal ; and, on the 5th and succeeding days, from twelve to fifteen small volcanoes broke out in the fields they had traversed on the 3rd, from the chasms above described, and threw out a quantity of lava, which travelled on slowly towards Vellas. The fire of these small craters subsided, and the lava ceased AZORES St. George’s. 327 running about the 11th of May; on which clay the large volcano, that had lain dormant for nine days, burst forth again, like a roaring lion, with horrid belchings, distinctly heard at ten leagues distant, throwing up prodigious large stones, with an immense quantity of lava, illuminating at night the whole island. This continued with tremendous force until the 5th of June, exhibiting the awful, yet mag- nificent, spectacle of a perfect river of fire, (dis- tinctly seen from Fayal,) running into the sea. On that day, the 5tb, its force began to fail, and, in a few days after, it ceased entirely. The elevation of the crater from the sea was about 3,500 feet. The lava inundated and swept away the town of Ursu- lina, and country houses, and cottages adjacent, as well as the farm-houses, throughout its course. It, as usual, gave timely notice of its approach, and most of the inhabitants fled ; some few, however, remaining in the vicinity too long, endeavouring to save their effects, were scalded by flashes of steam, which, without injuring their clothes, took off not only their skin but their flesh. About sixty persons were thus miserably scalded, some of them died on the spot, or in a few days after. Numbers of cattle shared the same fate. The consternation and anxiety were so great among the people, that even their domestic concerns were abandoned ; and, amidst plenty, they were in danger of starving. Supplies of ready-baked bread were sent from Fayal for their relief, and large boats to bring away the inhabitants who had lost their dwellings. In short, the island. 328 AZORES Graciosa . heretofore rich in cattle, corn, and wine, presented such a scene of desolation and distress as has rarely been witnessed in any country.” “ Graciosa is said to take its name from its beauty and fertility in corn, fruit, pasture, and cattle; sup- plying Terceira and several of the other islands with a great part of its produce. It is the most fertile of all the Azores, and has about 8,000 inhabitants distributed in two towns and two villages. The greatest extent of the island is only eight miles and a half ; but, in this extent, the -quantity of barley which is produced is almost incredible, together with wheat, maize, wine, and all kinds of fruit and vege- tables. Of sheep, hogs, and fowls, the inhabitants have more than they can consume. The only scarce article is wood, which is obtained from St. George’s and Pico. The chief town is Santa Cruz , on the north-east side; but the anchorage is to the south-east near Pont a del Carapacho, which is situated in lati- tude 39° O' 0" N. and longitude 27° 57' 45" W. Here vessels load and unload, and are ready to be off with any winds; but they lie sheltered only from south by the west, nearly to north. All the goods from the town of Santa Cruz are brought to this anchorage to be shipped, as they have no other. “ The Channels among the Azores are, in general, clear and deep, and may be navigated at all times: that, however, between St. George and Pico should not be attempted, unless in settled weather, or with AZORES. 329 a steady breeze, for a sudden calm may prove fatal ; as a strong current runs through the channel, ac- cording to the state of the tide.”* To these observations and extracts it is unnecessary for me now to make farther addition : should future opportunities (shipwreck always excepted) reland me amongst the very interesting group of islands to which they refer, perhaps I may be able to offer something better worthy of notice than any thing at least which I have said myself respecting them; and would that I might find them from under the dominion of the detested tyrant who now holds them in subjection — Terceira excepted, which, I have before noticed, has espoused the cause of Donna Maria ; but this I am inclined to attribute much more to foreign agency and example than to any ambition of the Portuguese themselves: they appear to me a people altogether without energy or enterprise, content to lead a life of the most worthless and degrading indolence, and, if that be only conceded, ready to crouch to any tyrant who may chance to usurp supremacy over them. Terceira, for some time past, has been cut off from all communication with the other islands, or elsewhere, having been closely blockaded by Miguel, and we have frigates there acknowledging the blockade, whilst the pitiful tyrant is suffered to rob and plunder our merchants with impunity; and yet we call ourselves Britons! It was in reference to this subject that I * “ And we suspect, too, according to the state of the Florida Stream, especially when it flows from a high northern parallel.” 330 AZORES. was addressed by a foreigner nearly as follows: — “ Sir, formerly if England said or did a thing, we knew, and the world knew, at once, what she meant by it, but now there is so much assumed mystery, tampering, equivocation, and insincerity in her foreign policy, that it is difficult to comprehend, and still more difficult to trust any thing she says or does. How is it. Sir? We ascribe much of it to the mili- tary Duke who now presides in your Cabinet, and who, however familiar he may be with the ruses and artifices which war may sanction, displays none of those qualifications which are necessary to direct the affairs, and uphold the renown of a great nation like England. And did he not, at the time of Mr. Can- ning’s coming into office, acknowledge his own utter incompetency to fill the situation ? It would have been well, indeed, if his conscious inability — very commendable diffidence — or any thing else had kept him out of it.” — I could but own the justice of the gentleman s observations, and arrive at the like con- clusion.* As to Terceira, however, she will carry * Since penning these remarks a new era has dawned upon us, and but for the benefit of contrast I would most gladly cancel them. Wellington and Peel, and the old Tory boroughmongering faction are gone, I trust, for ever; — we have a patriot king, — an enlightened and liberal ministry willing to keep pace with the growing intelli- gence and enterprise of the times; — we are upon the point of obtaining a second Magna Charta , a Bill of Rights , which even eclipses the first : — and, as regards Miguel, had not the dastard wretch fallen on his knees and sued for mercy, the British thunder would have shaken his citadel to atoms. I am thankful to have lived to see this day. I shall not now blush, as I have done, on a foreign shore, for the sullied and suffering honour of my native country. AZORES. 331 her point against either, sufficient is produced upon the island for its consumption, and nature has sup- plied impregnable barriers of defence, of which every advantage is taken. The established religion of the Azores is, of course. Catholic, and priestly and kingly dominion much upon a par. At St. MichaePs, where British residents are numerous, I am informed a church has been erected, in which service is performed upon the prin- ciples (as it is styled) of the Church of England . Here, too, I am told, there are tolerable roads ; car- riages and horses, or ponies, (the latter remarkable for their beauty,) in abundance ; and asses, also very fine ones, so numerous that there is said to be one for every inhabitant in the island. I must not omit to mention that there is excellent shooting at the Azores, without the slightest inter - ference or restriction. Quail, rabbits, and pigeons plentiful, I believe, on all the islands. Partridge on some, and woodcocks ; and, as Captain Livingston remarks, it is said, grouse. Of the existence of the latter, like him, I am rather dubious; but I scarcely know why, excepting that I saw none on two of the islands, (and I rambled pretty much over them,) but I saw some of the finest heath I ever met with, three or four feet high, and cover enough for all the grouse in Scotland. Plymouth, December 14, 1830. — After a voyage of twelve days, during the latter part of which we suf- 2 F 332 PLYMOUTH AND fered severely from cold — our fruit cargo prohibiting us the use of fire — and various inconveniences inci- dent to the smallness of our vessel, (though obliged to Captain Johns for the disposition he evinced to accommodate us in every possible respect,) with a fair proportion of favourable and head winds, gales, laying to, &c., we anchored safely in this port about two o’clock this afternoon, the coast being almost strewed with wrecks which had occurred a few days previously ; and thankful do I feel not only to have escaped the number of these, but for my preservation through the many trying scenes of difficulty and peril to which I have been exposed since quitting my native land. May I never forget the goodness of that beneficent Being to whom I owe so much; whose tender mercies are over all his works; and to whom, for favours and blessings, past and present, I would ascribe the homage of a reve- rently grateful heart! A day or two passed at Plymouth, recovering from our fatigues and retracing a file of adventures now so happily consummated, and far from unpleasing in retrospect, I again set out with Capt. B. for Liver- pool, whence he was designing to take a passage by the earliest packet leaving for New York. Our ride, though for the most part, and for December, a fine, was a very cold one, and oftentimes had I occasion to contrast the nipping severity of our winter climate with the mild and. spring-like temperature of the one we had so recently quitted, — drawing all my com- parisons in favour of the latter. It was difficult, ARRIVAL IN LIVERPOOL. 333 indeed, to believe, with the cheerless evidences of the season around us, — the whitened and frost-bound plain,— the current stiffened in its course, — the “ naked shoots, barren as lances,” — and the hollow wind, as sighing nature’s dirge, — that but a fortnight ago we were ranging the orange groves, and surveying the ever-living verdure and beauty of a sunny Fayal. But I hasten to a close: — the reader has, doubtless, thought me too much of a laggard already. Arriving at Liverpool I was welcomed by many kind friends and acquaintance as one arisen from the dead; but few amongst them not having long since consigned me to an ocean grave : — and for the truly affectionate interest evinced by them, and the nu- merous other congratulations which I have received, I take this opportunity of returning my very sincere thanks. With heartfelt pleasure I have subsequently heard of the safe arrival at their various destinations of all on board our unfortunate vessel ; — for whom, as for myself, I cannot indulge or conclude with a better wish than that upon every future embarkation we may be favoured with a more propitious voyage, or, if cast away, be driven upon the like hospitable and friendly shores we found at Flores and Fayal. FINIS. E. Smith and Co.. Printers. * . ■ . ♦