Book >L -5 o Z Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2011 witin funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/lifeofjohnledyar01spar THE LIFE OF JOHN LEDYAKD. LIFE JOHN LEDYA AMERICAN TRAVELLER; COMPRISIN-G SELECTIONS FROM HIS JOURNALS AND CORRESPONDENCE. BY JARED SPARKS, CAMBRIDGE, i PUBLISHEF^ ^^ HILLIARD AND BROWN ; AND BY HILLIARD, GRAY, LITT ■'^^' ^^^ WILKINS, AND RICHARDSON AND LORD, BOSTON- G A.^° <^- CARVILL, NEW YORK; CAREY, LEA, ' ■ AND CAREY, PHILADELPHIA. 1828. DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS, TO WIT. District Clerk's Office. Be it remembered, that on the twentyfourth day of November, 1827, in the fiftysecond year of the Independence of the United States of America, Hil- liard & Brown, of the said district, have deposited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof they claim as proprietors, in the words fol- lowing, viz. . „ ,, . . c. I •' Ihe Life of John Ledyard, the American Traveller; comprising Selec- tions from his Journals and Correspondence. By Jared Sparks." In coiifoimity to the act of the Congress of the United Slates, entitled " An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the limes therein mentioned ;" and also to an act, entitled " An act supplementa- ry to an act, eiitillcd-' An act for the encouiagenient of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the limes therein mentioned,' and extending the benehts thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical and other '"''"'"^^■" JNO. W. DAVIS, Clerk of the District of Massachiisetts. CAMBRIDGE. HilUard, Metcalf, and Company, Printers to the University. Hj N PREFACE. Soon after the death of John Ledyard, the subject of the fallowing memoir, some progress was made in collecting ma- terials for an account of his life, by Dr Isaac Ledyard, then of New York. The biographer's task was never begun, however, and the project was abandoned j but the papers procured for the purpose have been preserved by the family of Dr Ledyard, and have furnished the facts for much the larger portion of the pres- ent narrative. Researches have also been made in other quar- ters, and important original letters obtained. Particular ac- knowledgment is due to Mr Henry Seymour, of Hartford, Connecticut, for the aid he has rendered in this respect. All the papers that have been used are entitled to the credit of unquestionable authenticity. Wherever it could be done, without deviating too much from a regular and proportionate train of events, the traveller has been allowed to speak for himself. His manner of thinking, as well as of acting, was so peculiar, that a true picture of his mind and genius, his motives and feelings, could with difficulty be exhibited in any other way with so much distinctness, as through the medium of his own language. Free and full se- lections from his letters and journals are interspersed. His in- cessant activity, want of leisure, and few opportunities of prac- VI PREFACE. tising composition as an art, afTord an apology for the imperfec- tions of his style, which the candid reader will regard in the favorable light it deserves. His diction is never polished, and his words are not always well chosen ; but his ideas are often original, copious, well coiTjbined, and forcibly expressed. In executing this work, the only aim has been to bring together a series of facts, which should do justice to the fame and character of a man, who possessed qualities and performed deeds, that rendered him remarkable, and are worthy of being remembered. If the author has been successful in this attempt, he is rewarded for the labor it has cost him. fi f I CONTENTS CHAPTER I. Birth and parentage. — Early education. — Begins the study of the law.— - Enters Dartmouth College with a view to qualify himself to be a mission- ary among the Indians; — State of the Indian missions at that time. — His fondness for theatrical exhibitions while at College. — Travels among the Indians of the Six Nations. — His return to College, and adventure in visit- ing a mountain. — Consti-ucts a canoe at Dartmouth College with his own hands, and descends the Connecticut river in it alone to Hartford. — Dan- gers of the passage. — His singular appearance when he met his friends. — His enterprise compared to that of Mungo Park on the Niger. - - 1 CHAPTER II. His singular letters to President Wheelock. — Commences the study of the- ology. — His embarrassments on this occasion. — Visits several clergymen on Long Island, and pursues his studies there for a short time. — Proposes teaching a school. — Returns to Connecticut, and meets with disappoint- ment in his hopes of being settled as a clergyman. — Abandons his purpose of studying divinity. — Sails from New London on a voyage to Gibraltar. — Enlists there as a soldier in the regular service. — Released at the so- licitation of the captain of the vessel in which he sailed. — Returns home by way of the Barbary Coast and the West Indies. — Resolves to visit England, and seek for his wealthy family connexions in that countiy. — Sails from New York to Plymouth. — Travels thence to London in ex- treme poverty. — Realizes none of his expectations. — Enlists in the naval service. — Gains an acquaintance with Captain Cook, and embarks with him on his last voyage roimd the world, in the capacity of corporal of marines. .---.---.-..20 CHAPTER III. Ledyard's journal of his voyage with Captain Cook. — Testimony in his favor by Captain Burney. — Sails for the Cape of Good Hope. — Thence to Ker- guelen's Islands and the south of New Holland.— Character of the peo- Vm CONTENTS. pie on Van Diemen's Land. — Present state of the Colony there. — Arri^'es in New Zealand. — Account of the people, their manners and peculiarities. — Remarkable contrasts exhibited in their character. — Love adventure between an EngUsh sailor and a New Zealand girl. — Omai, the Otahei- tan. — Vessels depart from New Zealand, and fall in with newly discovered islands. — Affecting story of three Otaheitans found on one of them. — Ar- rival at the Friendly Islands. — People of Tongataboo. — Their condition, mode of Uving, and amusements. — Ledyard passes a night -with the king. — Wrestling and other athletic exercises described. — Fheworks exhibited by Cook. — Propensity of the natives to thieving. — An instance in a chief called Feenou, and the extraordinary measures used to recover the stolen property. — Departure from Tongataboo. - - - - . - 37 CHAPTER IV. Society Islands. — Otaheite. — Ledyard's description of the language, cus- toms, religion, laws, and government of the natives. — Their probable faith in the doctrine of transmigration. — Remarks on his mode of reasoning on this subject. — His theory of the origin of customs and superstitions. — Notions of a Deity among the Otaheitans. — Conduct of Omai. — Difl&cul- ties attending the efforts to civiUze savages. — Sandwich Islands discov- ered. — The vessels proceed to the American continent, and anchor in Nootka Sound. — Appearance and manners of the people. — Indian wam- pum. — The abundance of furs. — Cannibalism. — Curious digression on the origin and practice of sacrifices. — Captain Cook passes Bering's Strait, explores the northern ocean till stopped by the ice, and returns to the island of Onalaska. — Sends Ledyard^ with two Indians in search of a Rus- sian establishment on the coast. — His account of this adventure. — In what manner he was transported in a canoe. — ^Village of Russians and In- dians. — Hot baths. — Their habitations and manner of living described. — Bering's vessel. — Ledyard returns to the ships, and reports to Captain Cook. — Expedition returns to the Sandwich Islands. - - - - 61 CHAPTER V. The ships anchored in Kearakekua bay. — First interviewwith the natives. — Reverence with which they regarded Cook. — Tents erected for astronom- ical observations. — Ceremonies at the meeting of Cook with the old king. — Ledyard forms the project of ascending the high mountain in Ha- waii, called by the natives Mouna Roa. — Description of his ascent, and cause of his ultimate failure. — The natives begin to show symptoms of tmeasiness at the presence of the strangers, and to treat them with disre- spect. — Offended at the encroachment made on their Moral. — Cook de- parts from Kearakekua bay, but is compelled to retiu-n by a hea\y storm, that overtakes him, and injures his ships. — Natives receive him coldly. — , CONTENTS. IX -'rhey steal one of the ship's boats, which Cook endeavors to recover. — Goes on shore for the purpose. — Is there attacked by the natives and slain. — Ledyard accompanied him on shore, and was near his person when kiUed. — His description of the event. — Expedition sails for Kamtschatka, explores again the Polar seas, and returns to England. — Ledyard's opin- ions respecting the first peopling of the South Sea Islands. — Other re- marks relating to this subject, founded on the analogy of languages, and manners of the people. — Characteristics of Ledyard's journal. — Estima- tion in which he held Captain Cook. 92 CHAPTER VL Ledyard returns to America — Interview with his mother after an absence of «ight years. — Passes the winter in Hartford, and writes his Journal of Cook's Voyage. — Visits New York and Philadelphia to concert with the mer- chants the plan of a commercial expedition. — Robert Morris agrees to en- gage in a trading voyage, under his direction, to the Northwest Coast. — ' Proceeds to Boston, and afterwards to New London and New York to procure a vessel for the purpose. — Failure of the enterprise, after a year had been spent in fruitless attempts to cany it into effect. — Letters to his mother. — Makes a trial in New London to enhst the merchants of that place in his scheme. — Was the first to propose a voyage for a merchan- tile adventure to the Northwest Coast. — Sails for Cadiz. — Letters from that city containing political remarks. — Sails for L'Orient. — Makes an agreement with a company of merchants there to aid him in such a voyage, as he had proposed in America. — After eight months' preparation, it is given up. — Goes to Paris. - 126 CHAPTER VII. Meets with Mr Jefferson at Paris. — Project of a voyage to the Northwest Coast with Paul Jones, for the purpose of estabUshing a trading factory there. — Proposes travelling across the continent from Nootka Soiond to the United States — Thinks of going to Africa with Mr Lamb. — Remarks on Paris, and various objects that came under his notice. — The king at Versailles. — Mr Jefferson and Lafayette. — The Queen at St Cloud. — Ap- plication through Baron Grimm to the Empress of Russia, to obtain per- mission for him to travel across her dominions to Bering's Strait. — Colonel Humphreys. — Contemplates going to Petersburgh, before the Empress' answer is received. — Curious anecdote of Sir James Hall. — Visit to the hospitals in Paris. — Tour in Normandy. — Proceeds to London, where he engages a passage on board a vessel just ready to sail for the Northwest Coast. — Colonel Smith's letter to Mr Jay. — The voyage defeated. — Re- solves anew to go to Russia. — Sir Joseph Banks and other gentlemen contribute funds to aid him in his travels. 153 h X CONTENTS. CHAPTER VIII. Ledyard proceeds to Hamburg.— Goes to Copenhagen, where he meets Major Langbom, another American traveller. — Endeavors to persuade Langbom to accompany him on his tour, but in vain. — Continues his route to Sweden, and is disappointed in not being able to cross the Gulf of Bothnia on the ice. — Journey round the Gulf into the Aictic Circle on foot, through Sweden, Lapland, and Finland. — Maupertiiis' description of the cold at Tornea. — Airives at Petersburg, where he is befriended by Professor Pallas and others. — Procures a passport from the Empress, through the agency of Count Segur, the French ambassador. — Sets out for Siberia, and travels by way of Moscow to Kazan, a town on the river Wolga. — Crosses the Uralian Moimtains. Some account of the city of Tobolsk. — Proceeds to Barnaoul and Tomsk. — Desciiptions of the country and the inhabitants — Character and condition of the exiles at Tomsk. — Fossil bones. — Curious mounds and tombs of the ancient natives. — Arrives at Irkutsk. 173 CHAPTER IX. Residence at Irkutsk. — Miscellaneous remarks on the inhabitants, and the productions of the countr}'. — Accounts of the Tartars. — Unsuccessful at- tempts to civilize them. — Fur trade on the American coast. — Visit to the Lake Baikal. — Further remarks on the character and manners of the Kal- muks and other Tartars. — Leaves Irkutsk for the river Lena. — Scenery around the Baikal. — Rivers flowing into it. — Extraordinary depth of its waters.— They are fresh, but contain seals, and fish, peculiar to the ocean. — Estimate of the number of rivers in Siberia, and of the quantity of water they pour into the Frozen Ocean. — Ledyard proceeds down the Lena in a bateau. — Romantic scenery along the margin of the river. — Hospitality of the inhabitants. — Ends his voyage at Yakutsk. - - 208 CHAPTER X. Interview with the Commandant at Yakutsk. — Stopped at this place on ac- count of the advanced state of the season. — His severe disappointment at this event. — Detained under false pretences. — Takes up his residence in Yakutsk for the winter. — Elephant's bones on the banks of the Lena, and in other parts of the countiy. — General remarks on the various tribes of Tartars in Siberia. — Characteristics of savages in cold and warm cli- mates. — Kahnuks have two modes of writing. — Their manner of living. — The Yakuti Tartars. — Influence of religion upon them. — The love of free- dom common to all the Tartars. — Their dwellings. — Intermarriages be- tween the Russians and Tartars. — In what degree the color of descend- ants is affected by such intermarriages. — Peculiarities of features in the Tartar countenance. — Form and use of the Tartar pipe. — Dress. — DifB- CONTENTS. XI culty of taking vocabularies of unknown languages. — Marriage ceremo- nies. — Notions of theology. — Practice of scalping. — Wampum. — Classifi- cation of the Tartars and North American Indians. — Language a criterion forjudging of the affinity between the different races of men. — Causes of the difference of color in the human race. — Tartars and American Indians the same people. 227 CHAPTER XI. Climate in Siberia. — Extreme cold. — Congelation of quicksilver. — Images in Russian houses. — Attention paid to dogs. — Ice windows. — Jealousy of the Russians. — Moral condition of the Russians in Siberia. — Ledyard's celebrated eulogy on women. — Captain Billings meets him at Yakutsk, on his return from the Frozen Ocean. — Bering's discovery of the strait called after his name. — Russian voyages of discover}^ — Bering's death. — Russian fur trade. — Billings's expedition. — His incompetency to the un- dertaking. — His instructions nearly the same as those drawn up by Peter the Great for Bering. — Some of their principal features enumerated. - 25S CHAPTER XII. Ledyard departs from Yakutsk, and returns to Irkutsk up the Lena on the ice. — Is seized by order of the Empress, and hurried off in the charge of two guards. — Returns through Siberia to Kazan. — His remarks on the pe- culiarity of his fate. — Further observations on the Tartars. — No good account of them has ever been written. — Passes Moscow and arrives in Poland. — Left by his guards, with an injunction never to appear again in Russia. — Health much impaired by his sufferings. — Proceeds to Konigs- berg, and thence to London. — Inquiry into the motives of the Empress for her cruel treatment of him. — Her pretences of humanity not to be credited. — Her declaration to Count Segur on the subject. — Dr Clarke's explanation incorrect. — The true cause was the jealousy of the Russian American Fur Company, by whose influence his recall was procured from the Empress. — Lafayette's remark on her conduct in this particular, 273 CHAPTER XIII. Interview with Sir Joseph Banks in London. — Engages to travel in Africa under the auspices of the African Association. — Remarkable instance of decision of character. — Letter to Dr Ledyard, containing miscellaneous particulars respecting his travels and circumstances. — Description of his Siberian dresses. — Origin and purposes of the African Association. — An- cient and present state of Africa. — Benefits of discoveries in that conti- nent. — Letter from Ledyard to his mother. — His remarks to Mr Beaufoy on his departvu'e for Egypt. — Visits Mr Jefferson and Lafayette in Paris. — Xll CONTENTS. Sails from Marseilles to Alexandria in Egypt. — Description of Alexandria, in a letter to Mr Jefferson. — Arrives in Cairo. — Description of the city, and of his passage up the Nile. 2S9 CHAPTER XIV. Remarks on the appearance of the counti-y in passing up the Nile. — Con- dition of a Christian at Cairo. — Interview with the Aga. — Miscellaneous observations on the customs of the Arabs, and other races of people found in Cairo. — Information respecting the interior of Africa. — Visit to the cara- vans and slave markets. — The traveller's reflections on his circumstances and prospects. — His last letter to Mr Jefterson. — Joins a caravan and pre- pares to depart for Sennaar. — He is taken suddenly ill. — His death. — Account of his person and character. 30S ERRATA. Page 140, line 20, before Cadiz 'msevt from. " 178, '•' 2, and in several instances aftenvards. lor Langhorn read Lnnsborn. THE LIFE AND TRAVELS JOHN LEDYARD. CHAPTER L Birth and parentage. — Early education. — Begins the study of the law. — Enters Dartmouth College with a view to qualify liimself to be a missionary among the Indians. — State of the Indian missions at that time. — His fondness for theatrical exhibitions while at College. — Travels among the Indians of the Six Nations. — His return to College, and adventure in visiting a mountain. Constructs a canoe at Dartmouth College with his own hands, and descends the Connecticut river in it alone to Hartford. — Dangers of the passage. — His sin- gular appearance when he met his friends. — His enterprise compared, to that of Mungo Park on the Niger. John Ledyard, the celebrated traveller, was born in the year 1751. at Groton, in Connecticut, a small village on the bank of the river Thames, opposite to New London. The place of his birth is but a few hundred yards from Fort Griswold, so well known in the history of the American revolution. His grandfather, named also John Ledyard, came in early life to America, and settled at Southold, Long Island, as a small trader in dry goods. He was a na- tive of Bristol, England, and had been bred a mer- chant in London. Being prosperous in business at 1 2 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. Southold, he was soon married to a lady of amiable qualities and good fortune, the daughter of Judge Young, a gentleman of character and influence in that place. From Southold he removed to Groton, where he purchased an estate, and resided many years. He had ten children, and after the death of his wife he removed to Hartford, in Connecticut, .and there spent the remainder of his life. For his second wife he married Mrs Ellery, a respectable widow lady of Boston. To his eldest son, who had the same name as him- self, he gave the estate at Groton. He was a sea captain, engaged in tho West India trade, a man of sound understanding, vigorous constitution, and indus- trious habits. But he died at the age of thirtyfive, leaving a widow and four children, three sons and one daughter, of whom the subject of this memoir was the eldest. Colonel William Ledyard, the brave commander in the memorable action of Fort Griswold, who was slain after the capitula- tion, was the second son. It thus appears, that John Ledyard, the traveller, was the third of that name in lineal descent. His mother, who was the daughter of Robert Hempsted of Southold, has been described as a lady of many excellencies of mind and character, beautiful in per- son, well informed, resolute, generous, amiable, kind, and above all eminent for piety and the religious vir- tues. Such a mother is the best gift of Heaven to a family of helpless young children. In the present instance all her courage and all her strength of char- acter were necessary, to carry her through the duties LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. S and trials, which devolved upon her. The small estate, which had belonged to her husband in Groton, was, by some strange neglect of her friends, or crimi- nal fraud never yet explained, taken from her soon after his death. During a visit to Long Island, the deed, which she had left with a confidential person, disappeared. As this deed was the only evidence of her title to the property, and her claim could not be substantiated without it, the whole reverted to its former owner, her husband's father, who was still living. The particulars of this transaction are not now known, nor is it necessary to inquire into them. It is enough to state the fact that such an event occur- red, and that the widowed mother with four infant children was thus thrown destitute upon the world. In this condition she and her children repaired to the house of her father in Southold, where they found pro- tection and support. The estate at Groton after- wards fell into the hands of Colonel William Ledyard. It may be supposed, that misfortune did not weak- en her parental solicitude, nor make her neglectful of her high trust. The education of her children was the absorbing object of her thoughts and exertions. Her eldest son was now of an age to receive impres- sions, that would become deeply wrought into his mind, and give a decided bias to his future character. In the marked features of his eventful life, eccentric and extraordinary as it was, full of temptations, cross- es, and sufferings, may often be traced lineaments of virtues, and good impulses, justly referred to such a source, to the early cares and counsels of a judicious, sensible, and pious mother. Nor were these counsels 4 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. scattered in a vacant mind, nor these cares wasted on a cold heart ; in his severest disappointments and pri- vations, in whatever clime or among whatever people, whether contending with the fierce snows of Siberia, or the burning sands of Africa, the image of his moth- er always came with a beam of joy to his soul, and was cherished there with delight. Such of his letters to her, as have been preserved, are written with a tenderness of filial affection, that could flow only from an acute sensibility and a good heart. A few years after leaving Groton, and settling at Southold, Mrs Ledyard was married to a second hus- band, Dr Moore of the latter place. At this time her son John was taken into the family of his grandfather at Hartford, who, from that period, seems to have considered him as wholly under his charge. Tradi- tion tells of peculiarities in his manners and habits at this early age, of acts indicating the bent of his genius, and the romantic disposition, that gave celebrity to his after life. But no record of his schoolboy adven- tures has come down to us, and we are left to conjec- ture in what manner the wild spirits of a youth like his would exhibit themselves. He attended the grammar school in Hartford, it is to be presumed, with commendable proficiency, since he was at first designed for the profession of the law. Several months were passed by him as a student in the office of Mr Thomas Seymour, a respectable lawyer of that place, who had married his aunt. Meantime his grandfather died, and Mr Seymour became his guar- dian, and took him to his own house. Whether Led- yard turned his thoughts to the law by his voluntary LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 5 choice, or by the advice and wishes of his friends, who desired to quiet his temper, by fixing him in some settled pursuit, is not related ; most probably the lat- ter, for it was soon manifest, that neither the profound wisdom, the abstruse learning, nor the golden prom- ises of the law, had any charms for him. It was decided without reluctance on his part, therefore, that he should leave the path, which he had found so intricate, and in which he had made so little progress, and enter upon one more congenial to his inclination, and presenting objects more attrac- tive to his taste and fancy. Here was a difficult point to be determined. The pursuit, which would accord best with the propensities, temperament, and wishes of John Ledyard, and best promote his future usefulness and success, was a thing not to be decided, even at that time of his life, by the common rules of judging in such cases ; it was a prelim- inary, which no one probably would have been more perplexed than himself to establish. Never was he ac- customed to look forward with unwavering predilec- tions, to prepare for contingencies, or to mark out a course from which he would not stray. To be seeking some distant object, imposing and attractive in his own conceptions, and to move towards it on the tide of cir- cumstances, through perils and difficulties, was among the chief pleasures of his existence. On enterprises, in which no obstacles were to be encountered, no chances to be run, no disappointments to be appre- hended, no rewards of hazardous adventure to be looked for, he bestowed not a thought ; but let a pro- ject be started, thickly beset with dangers, and prom- b LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. ising success only through toils and sufferings, deeds of courage, and the resolute efforts of an untiring spirit, and not a man would grasp at it so eagerly, or pursue it with so much intenseness of purpose. The wholesome maxim of providing for the morrow rarely found a place in his ethics or his practice ; and as he never allowed himself to anticipate misfortunes, so he never took any pains to guard against them. He was now at the age of nineteen, with very narrow means, few friends, and no definite prospects. In this state of his affairs, as it was necessary for something to be done, he was compelled to look around him, and for a moment to exercise that fore- sight, which the tenor of his life proves him to have been so reluctant on most occasions to call to his aid. And, after all, he was more indebted to accident, than to his own deliberations, for the immediate events, that awaited him. Dr Wheelock, the amiable and pious founder of Dartmouth College, had been the in- timate friend of his grandfather, and prompted by the remembrance of this tie, he invited Ledyard to enter his institution, recently established at Hanover, New Hampshire, amidst the forests on the banks of the Connecticut river. This offer was accepted, and in the spring of 1772, he took up his residence at this new seat of learning, with the apparent inten- tion of qualifying himself to become a missionary aniong the Indians. His mother's wishes and advice had probably much influence in guiding him to this resolution. In accord- ance with the religious spirit of that day, she felt a strong compassion for the deplorable state of the LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 7 Indians, and it was among her earliest and fondest hopes of this her favorite son, that he would be edu- cated as a missionary, and become an approved instru- ment in the hands of Providence to bring these de- graded and suffering heathen to a knowledge of a pure religion, and the blessings of civilized life. When she saw this door opened for the realizing of her hopes, and her son placed under the charge of the most eminent laborer of his day in the cause of the Indians, her joy was complete. From the first settlement of the country much zeal and much disinterested philanthropy have been exer- cised, in attempts to convert the Indians to Christianity, and induce them to adopt the manners and partici- pate the comforts of civilized men. Eliot (rightly named the apostle of the Indians), and the May hews, are entitled to the praises, which succeeding times have bestowed on them ; and the efforts of the Society in Great Britain for propagating the Gospel in foreign parts, were prompted by motives of the noblest kind, and were bestowed with an ardor and with sacrifices, that demand a generous tribute from the pen of histo- ry, and the grateful remembrance of posterity. For many years little had been done, however, till the popular talents and fervent zeal of David Brainerd caused the journals of his missionary tours to be read throughout the country, his labors applauded, and his success regarded as an evidence of the great work, that might be wrought by the use proper of means. About this time the Reverend Eleazer Wheelock, who was then a settled clergyman in Lebanon, Con- necticut, formed the scheme of an Indian School, O LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. which should have the double object of preparing young preachers for the missionary field, and of edu- cating Indian youth, who should return to their tribes, and become teachers among their own people. With- out show or ostentation Dr Wheelock commenced the school at his own house, and almost at his own charge. He began with two pupils, one of whom was Sampson Occum, an Indian of the Mohegan tribe, afterwards so much celebrated as a preacher, and for his instructions to the Indians. The school gradually increased, and so benevolent an undertaking, pursued with such singleness of purpose, could not fail to attract public notice and approbation. He was aided by contributions from individuals, and tlv3 province of Massachusetts voted to pay, for a certain time, the expense of educating six Indian children. Mr Joshua Moor, who owned lands in Lebanon, gave a portion of them for the benefit of this school, and from this circumstance, the seminary for the education of In- dian boys, afterwards attached to Dartmouth College, was called Moor^s Indian School. But Dr Wheelock still found, that pupils from the forest flocked to him faster, than he could provide for them. He thought it now time to adopt the expedient of sending to England, and soliciting assistance from the wealthy and charitable on the other side of the water. For this object Sampson Occum, and another clergyman, were sent out as agents, furnished with testimonials of their character, and certificates of ap- probation from eminent persons in the colonies. Oc- cum was looked upon as a wonder in England. He was the first Indian preacher from North America, LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 9 that ever had been seen m the Old World ; wherever he went crowds gathered around him, and it has been the lot of few speakers to address audiences so throng- ed. A North American Indian in a pulpit, eloquently preaching in the English tongue, was a phenomenon too nearly miraculous to pass unseen or unheard. It was said, moreover, that he exhibited in his person and character, a practical example of w^hat might be done with Indians, when fairly brought under the influence of instruction. All this was highly favorable to the great ends of the mission, and in a few months a sub- scription was obtained, and money paid to the amount of nearly ten thousand pounds. The king gave two hundred pounds, and several gentlemen one hundred each. The money was deposited in the hands of trus- tees in England, and drawn out as occasion required. With this addition to his resources, Dr Wheelock began to think of enlarging the plan of his school, and removing nearer to the frontiers, both to diminish the expense of living, and to be nearer the Indians. After examining several situations, he selected Hano- ver, then almost a wilderness, to which place he removed in 1770, cut away the trees, and erected the the institution, which he called Dartmouth College, in honor of Lord Dartmouth, who had manifested zeal and liberality in collecting the Indian fund in England. To this college, about two years after it was found- ed, Ledyard resorted to prepare himself for the arduous office of a missionary among the Indians. The nature of a missionary's life at that time, and the prospects of the young candidate for such a station, may be fully realized by a perusal of the 2 10 , LIFE QF JOHN LEDYARD. letters from the Reverend Samuel Kirkland to Dr Wheelock, written previously to the removal from Lebanon. Mr Kirkland was a graduate of Nassau Hall, in New Jersey, and when qualified for the minis- try, he undertook a mission to the Seneca Indians, the most remote and fierce of the confederate nations. He continued there more than a year and a half, and gained the confidence of some of the chief persons of the tribe ; but so general was the aversion to the whites, and to the arts of civilized life, that after a thorough experiment, he despaired of any such success as would be adequate to the sacrifices he must make, and the sufferings he must endure. Leaving the Senecas, therefore, he next proceeded to the Oneidas, with whom he took up a permanent residence. Here poverty, and famine, and wretchedness stared him in the face.* Nor were these the worst evils, with * During the first year of his sojourning with his tribe (1767), he wrote to Dr Wheelock as follows. " I am distressed to know what to do ; the present poverty of these people cries aloud for the charity of God's people ; two years ago their corn was cut off by the frost, last year destroyed by the vermin, and worms threaten the destruction of one half of the present crop. Many of them for a month past have eat but once a day, and yet continue to v/ork. From week to week I am obliged to go eeling with the Indians at Oneida Lake for my subsistence. I have feasted and starved with them, as their luck depends on wind and weather. If it shoidd be asked, why they do not support me, the answer is ready, They can- not support themselves. They are now half starved. Some of them have no more than two quarts of corn. I fear my appearing in such a servile, beggarly manner will very much disserve the design in -vaew; but I must desist, must go down to the lake for eels this day, and. return tomorrow to hill my corn and potatoes." Again a few weeks afterwards he wrote, " Through the tender mer- cies of God, I enjoy some degree of health, amidst aU my troubles and distresses, though my strength begins to fail. I cannot subsist long LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 1 1 which he was obliged to contend. The capricious temper and furious passions of the savages, especially when intoxicated, frequently put his life in jeopardy, and kept him in a state of unceasing alarm. All these things were endured by Mr Kirkland with a christian fortitude, which nothing but a deep sense of the sacred nature of his duties could have enabled him to maintain. He triumphed at last ; he lived many years with the Oneidas, and had the satisfaction to see, that his toils were not fruitless. The Indians revered him as a father ; they had the wisdom to respect and some- times to follow his counsels ; a visible change took place in their character and modes of life ; the rough features of the savage vi^ere softened, famine and want chased away, and the comforts of life multiplied. These advantages the sons of the forest saw and felt. No man has ever been more successful than Mr Kirkland in improving the condition of the Indians, and to the last day of his life, he continued to receive from them earnest demonstrations of affection and gratitude.* without relief. I have ate no flesh in my own house for near eight weeks. Flour and milk with a few eels have been my living. Such diet, with my hard labor abroad, doth not satisfy nature. My poor people are almost starved to death. I am grieved to the heart for them. There is one family, consisting of four, I must support after my fashion, till squashes come on, or they must perish. They have had nothing these ten days, but what I have given them. They have only each an old blanket not worth sixpence, wherewith to buy anything ; and begging here at this season would be a very poor business. I would myself be glad of the opportunity to fall on my knees for such a bone as I have often seen cast to the dogs." * In speaking of this subject, the name of John Thornton should not be forgotten. He was a wealthy English gentleman, who was active in procuring donations to the Indian fund, and himself a large contribu- 12 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. To this brief sketch it is hardly necessary to add, that when the revokitionary war came on, a check was given to the designs of the benevolent in behalf of the Indians. They engaged in the strife, which had been kindled by their white neighbors, and the voice of the missionary was silenced by the war whoop, and the din of battle. Many of Dr Whee- lock's Indian pupils, having gone through a regular course of instruction, had returned to their homes, and were beginning to scatter the light they had re- ceived ; but their influence was lost amidst the rav- ages of war. Much was it to be lamented, that the agency of a school, to which Dr Wheelock had de- voted the years of a long and toilsome life, and which had awakened a lively interest in the friends of humanity, should be so soon brought to an end, and nothing be seen in the result but a melancholy waste of time, talents, and money. Such was the condition of a missionary among the Indians, and such the origin and purpose of the Insti- tution, to which Ledyard resorted for an education, which should qualify him to enter upon his destined task. Not many memorials remain of his college life. The whole time of his residence at Dartmouth was not more than one year, and during that period he was absent three months and a half, rambling among the Indians. A classmate still living recollects, that he tor ; he gave Sampson Occum a pension of one hundred dollars a year, sent private aid to Dr Wheelock and Mr Kirkland, wrote them frequent letters of encouragement, and was never weary, either by personal exertions or charitable gifts, of promoting the cause of Indian Missions. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 13 had then some amusing singularities, was cheerful and gay in conversation, winning in his address, and a favorite with his fellow students. His journey from Hartford to Hanover was performed in a sulkey, the first vehicle of the kind, that had ever been seen on Dartmouth plain, and it attracted curiosity not more from this circumstance, than from the odd appearance of the equipage. Both the horse and the sulkey gave evident tokens of having known better days ; and the dress of their owner was peculiar, bidding equal defiance to symmetry of proportions and the fashion of the times. In addition to the traveller's own weight, this ancient vehicle was burdened with a quantity of calico for curtains, and other articles to assist in theatrical exhibitions, of which he was very fond. From the character of this outfit we may con- clude, that he did not intend time should pass on heavy wings at Dartmouth. Considering the newness of the country, the want of bridges, and the bad state of the roads, this jaunt in a crazy sulkey was thought to in- dicate no feeble spirit of enterprise. The journey might have been performed with much more ease and expedition on horseback, but in that case his theatrical apparatus must have been left behind. As a scholar at college he was respectable, but not over-diligent ; he acquired knowledge with facility, and could make quick progress, when he chose, but he was impatient under discipline, and thought nothing more irksome, than to go by compulsion to a certain place at certain times, and tread from day to day the same dull circle of the chapel, the recitation room, the commons hall, and the study. It is not affirmed, that 14 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. he ever ventured to set up any direct hostility to the powers that ruled, but he sometimes demeaned him- self in a manner, that must take from him the praise of a shining example of willing subordination. In those primitive times the tones of a bell had not been heard in the forests of Dartmouth, and the students were called together by the sound of a conch-shell, which was blown in turn by the freshmen, Ledyard was indignant at being summoned to this duty, and it was his custom to perform it w'ith a reluctance and in a manner corresponding to his sense of the degradation. The scenic materials, brought with so much pains from Hartford, were not suffered to lie useless. The calico was manufactured into curtains, a stage was fitted up, and plays w^ere acted, in which our hero personated the chief characters. Cato was among the tragedies brought out upon his boards, and in this he acted the part of old Syphax, w^earing a long grey beard, and a dress suited to his notion of the costume of a Numidian prince. His tragedies were doubtless comedies to the audience, but they all answered his purpose of amusement, and of introducing a little variety into the sober tenor of a student's life. At this period he was much addicted to reading plays, and his passion for the drama probably stole away many hours, that might have been more profitably employed in preparing to exhibit himself before his tutors. He had not been quite four months in college, when he suddenly disappeared without previous notice to his comrades, and apparently without permission from the president. The full extent of his travels during LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 15 his absence cannot now be known, but he is under- stood to have wandered to the borders of Canada, and among the Six Nations. It is certain, that he acquired in this excursion a knowledge of Indian manners and Indian language, which was afterwards of essential service to him in his intercourse with savages in various parts of the world. His main object probably was to take a cursoi;y survey of the missionary ground, which he was contemplating as the theatre of his future career, and, judging from what followed, we may suppose that this foretaste put an end to all his anticipations. Nothing more is heard of his missionary projects, although it is not clear at what time he absolutely abandoned them. When three months and a half had expired, he returned to college and resumed his studies. If his dramatic performances were not revived, as it would seem they were not, his erratic spirit did not sink into a lethargy for want of expedients to keep it alive. In midwinter, when the ground was covered with deep snow, Ledyard collected a party whom he persuaded to accompany him to the summit of a neighbouring mountain, and there pass the night. Dr Wheelock consented to the project, as his heart was bent on training up the young men to be missionaries among the Indians, and he was willing they should become inured to hardships, to which a life among savages would frequently expose them. The projec- tor of the expedition took the lead of his volunteers, and conducted them by a pathless route through the thickets of a swamp and forests, till they reached the top of the mountain, just in time to kindle a fire, and 16 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. arrange their encampment on the snow before it was dark. The night, as may be supposed, was dreary and sleepless to most of the party, and few were they who did not greet the dawn with gladness. Their leader was alert, prompt at his duty, and pleased with his success. The next day, they returned home, all perfectly satisfied, unless it were Ledyard, with this single experiment of their hardihood, without being disposed to make another similar trial. He had a propensity for climbing mountains, as will be seen hereafter, when we meet him at the Sandwich Islands. After abandoning his missionary schemes he began to grow weary of college, and the more so, probably, as his unsettled habits now and then drew from the president a salutary admonition on the importance of a right use of time, and a regard for the regulations of the establishment. Such hints he conceived to be an indignity, and fancied himself ill treated. That there was value in rules of order and discipline he did not pretend to deny, but seemed at a loss to imagine why they should apply to him. That the whole sub- ject might be put at rest, without involving any puz- zling questions of casuistry, he resolved to escape. On the margin of the Connecticut river, which runs near the college, stood many majestic forest trees, nourished by a rich soil. One of these Ledyard con- trived to cut down. He then set himself at work to fashion its trunk into a canoe, and in this labor he was assisted by some of his fellow students. As the canoe was fifty feet long and three wide, and was to be dug out and constructed by these unskilful workmen, LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 17 the task was not a trifling one, nor such as could be speedily executed. Operations were carried on with spirit, however, till Ledyard wounded himself with an axe, and was disabled for several days. When recovered he applied himself anew to his work ; the canoe was finished, launched into the stream, and, by the further aid of his companions, equipped and pre- pared for a voyage. His wishes were now at their consummation, and, bidding adieu to these haunts of the muses, where he had gained a dubious fame, he set off alone with a light heart to explore a river, with the navigation of which he had not the slightest acquaintance. The distance to Hartford was not less than one hundred and forty miles, much of the way was through a wilderness, and in several places there were dangerous falls and rapids. With a bearskin for a covering, and his canoe well stocked with provisions, he yielded himself to the current, and floated leisurely down the stream, seldom using his paddle, and stopping only in the night for sleep. He told Mr Jefferson in Paris, fourteen years afterwards, that he took only two books with him, a Greek Testament, and Ovid, one of which he was deeply engaged in reading when his canoe approached Bellows's Falls, where he was suddenly roused by the noise of the waters rushing among the rocks through the narrow passage. The danger was imminent, as no boat could go down that fall without being in- stantly dashed in pieces. With difficulty he gained the shore in time to escape such a catastrophe, and through the kind assistance of the people in the neighbourhood, who were astonished at the novelty of such a voyage 3 18 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. down the Connecticut, his canoe was drawn by oxen around the fall, and committed again to the water be- low. From that time, till he arrived at his place of destination, we hear of no accident, although he was carried through several dangerous passes in the river. On a bright spring morning, just as the sun was rising, some of Mr Seymour's family were standing near his house on the high bank of the small river, that runs through the city of Hartford, and empties itself into the Connecticut river, when they espied at some distance an object of unusual appearance moving slowly up the stream. Others were attracted by the singularity of the sight, and all were conjecturing what it could be, till its questionable shape assumed the true and ob- vious form of a canoe ; but by what impulse it was moved forward none could determine. Something was seen in the stern, but apparently without life or motion. At length the canoe touched the shore directly in front of the house ; a person sprang from the stern to a rock in the edge of the water, threw off a bearskin in which he had been enveloped, and be- hold John Ledyard, in the presence of his uncle and connexions, who were filled with wonder at this sud- den apparition, for they had received no intelligence of his intention to leave Dartmouth, but supposed him still there diligently pursuing his studies, and fitting himself to be a missionary among the Indians. However unimportant this whimsical adventure may have been in its results, or even its objects, it was one of no ordinary peril, and illustrated in a forcible man- ner the character of the navigator. The voyage was performed in the last part of April or first of May, LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 19 and of course the river was raised by the recent melting of the snow on the mountains. This circumstance probably rendered the rapids less dan- gerous, but it may be questioned whether there are many persons at the present day, who would willingly run the same hazard, even if guided by a pilot skilled in the navigation of the river. We cannot look back to Ledyard, thus launching himself alone in so frail a bark upon the waters of a river wholly unknown to him, without being reminded of the only similar occurrence, which has been record- ed, the voyage down the river Niger by Mungo Park, a name standing at the very head of those most re- nowned for romantic and lofty enterprise. The melancholy fate, it is true, by which he was soon arrested in his noble career, adds greatly to the inter- est of his situation when pushing from the shore his little boat Joliba, and causes us to read his last affect- ing letter to his wife with emotions of sympathy more intense if possible, than would be felt if the tragical issue were not already known. In many points of character there was a strong resemblance between these two distinguished travellers, and they both per- ished martyrs in the same cause, attempting to explore the hidden regions of Africa. 20 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. CHAPTER II. His singular letters to President Wheelock. — Commences the study of theology, — His embarrassments on this occasion. — Visits several clergymen on Long Island, and piu-sues his studies there for a short time. — Proposes teaching a school. — Returns to Connecticut, and meets with disappointment in his hopes of being settled as a clergyman. — Abandons his purpose of studying divinity. — Sails from New London on a voyage to Gibraltar. — Enlists there as a soldier into the regular sei-vice. — Released by the solicitation of the cap- tain of the vessel in which he sailed. — Rettims home by way of the Barbary Coast and the West Indies. — Resolves to visit England, and seek for his wealthy family connexions in that country. — Sails fiom New York to 'Ply- mouth. — Travels thence to London in extreme poverty. — Realizes none of his expectations. — Enlists in the naval service. — Gains an acquaintance with Captain Cook, and embarks with him on his last voyage roimd the world, in the capacity of corporal of marines. As Ledyard left Hanover when Dv Wheelock was absent, this was probably seized upon by him as a fit opportunity for taking his departure. A few days after his arrival in Hartford, his uncle thought proper to show him some of Dr Wheelock's letters, in which were very just complaints of his conduct, his disregard of discipline, and particularly his thoughtless waste of the small means he possessed, which his friends flat- tered themselves might, with good economy, be made to pay the expenses of his education. These letters of the president were apparently written not so much by way of accusation, as to vindicate himself from any charge of neglect that might be made against him, on account of the ill success of his eflbrts to manage a young man, whom he had no other motive for taking under his particular care, than good will for the grandson of his deceased friend, and regard for LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 21 his family. Ledyard was much incensed at these letters, and replied to them mider the impulse of feelings not the most kindly or respectful. From his nature he was extremely impatient of reproach, and ever deemed it an unpardonable offence in any one to question his motives, or insinuate that he could act deliberately and intentionally wrong. His foibles he could bear to have touched with a gentle hand, but no one ventured a suspicion of his integrity, or of the kind- ness of his heart, with impunity. He often lamented the failure of purposes caused by his fondness for change and love of adventure ; but at no time did he allow himself to think, that he was not pursuing great and worthy objects, and such as would redound to his honor, and the good of mankind. With this disposi- tion, and this confidence in himself, it was natural that he should sometimes regard the opinions, which others entertained of his conduct, with stronger feel- ings of disapprobation, than the merits of the case required. In reading the following extracts from a a letter to Dr Wheelock, these particulars should be kept in mind ; and it should moreover be remembered, that, whether right or wrong, he really fancied himself not well treated at Dartmouth. " When I sit down to write," says he, " I know not where to begin, or where to end, or what to say, especially since I have the contents of two of your letters concerning my affairs. What do I see ? Who is this that assumes the port of compassion, kindness, benevolence, charity, and writes as he writes ? You begin, sir, with a surprise, that my legacy was so much exhausted. Justly might you, sir, but not more ZZ LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. SO than my unfortunate self; and if truth has not turned liar, if any protestations, any declarations of honesty, uprightness, or anything else can avail, I now, under the most sacred obligations, bond jide declare I was not aware of it ; and when I saw the letters and account, I was so much ashamed of my inadvertency, and so justly culpable before you, that I could not compose myself to come before you, and answer for my misconduct. But from that moment, with much anxiety and care, I studied to remedy the matter. This I declare was- the honest purpose of my heart ; and to make you reparation still is ; and, under Heaven, you shall say you are satisfied. Then, sir, you say, a little after, that you could have no confi- dence in me, after the character given of me by Mr Seymour. I am sorry, sir, you could not. " I take what you have said, in regard to my pride, very ill-natured, very unkind in you. So far as I know myself, I came to your college under influences of the good kind, whether you, sir, believe it or not. The acquaintance I have gained there is dearer than I can possibly express. Farewell, dear Dartmouth. Doctor, my heart is as pure as the new fallen snow. Farewell, and may the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, bless you and yours. I am, honored and rev- erend sir, though sorely beset, your obliged and duti- ful young servant." Here end all the particulars, which have come to my knowledge, respecting Ledyard's college life. He next appears before us in the character of a stu- dent in divinity. Within a month after mooring his canoe at the river's bank in Hartford, he is found at LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 23 Preston, in Connecticut, advising with the reverend Mr Hart, a clergyman of that town, on the subject of his theological studies and prospects, and also with the reverend Dr Bellamy, at that time a preacher of wide fame in Connecticut. Both of these clergymen gave him such encouragement, that he resolved to apply himself immediately to a preparation for discharging the sacred functions of a divine, and turn the ruffled tenor of his life into the quiet and grateful occupation of a parish minister. He speaks of his anticipations on this occasion with a heartiness and enthusiasm, which show, at least, that he imagined himself sin- cere, and that in the future he fancied he had only to look for the unalloyed blessings of tranquillity, competence, and peace. Such was his haste to realize these precious hopes, that he had not pa- tience to wait the usual term required of young candidates, who had not been graduated at a col- lege. To facilitate the attainment of this end, his advisers recommended that he should go to Long Island, and there pass through his initiatory studies, where, it was said, smaller attainments were required for admission to the desk ; and when once admitted, he might return and procure a settlement wherever there should be an opening. With this scheme he was well satisfied, and being furnished by the above gentlemen with suitable letters of recommendation, he mounted his horse and set off for Long Island, with the same buoyancy of spirits, as when, two months before, he entered his canoe at Dartmouth, and with a purpose much more definite, and higher expectations. 24 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. In describing this tour I shall let him speak in his own language, as contained in a letter written to a friend at the time. " Equipped with my credentials, I embarked for Long Island. The next day I fortunately arrived at Southold, surprised my mother with a visit, and after remaining with her twenty-four hours, I rode to the eastward. With another recommendatory letter from the reverend Mr Storrs, I crossed Shelter Island ferry, and thence to East Hampton, where I met with a kind reception from the reverend Mr Buell, modera- tor of the Synod, an influential man, and a glorious preacher. Here I was introduced to a very large library, and, in company with another young candi- date, I spent about a month with intense application to study. But this was only an interregnum. Mr Buell let me know, that the presbytery here proceed in these matters with a perfect extreme of delibera- tion ; and since my circumstances were as they were, he advised me to comply with the dispensations of Providence, and seek a school, and study under some divine. I knew his advice to be as that from a father to a son, and, without a moment's hesitation, wiping the sweat of care from my brow, I bestrided my Rosinante with a mountain of grief upon my shoul- ders, but a good letter in my pocket. I jogged on groaning, but never desponding, passed to Bridgetown, thence to Southampton, and through many little villa- ges to Sataucket Quorum, then to Smithtown, Fire- place, Oyster Bay, and so on, visiting and making acquaintance with the clergy wherever I went. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 25 " At length, after a ride of almost one hundred miles, by crossing the island I arrived at Huntington, a large town about forty miles from New York, where I visited the minister of the place, old Mr Prime. After about twelve days' feasting upon his great libra- ry, and a quickly made friendship with the ingenious Dr Prime formerly of New York, and a fruitless attempt to get a school, I was returning, but stopped to become acquainted with the excellent Irishman, the reverend Mr Caldwell of Elizabeth Town, and the popular Dr Rogers of New York ; and, after some cordials of consolation and encouragement, they bade me go on, and God speed me. They told me that the sufferings I met with, and the contemptuous ideas the people where I was born and educated had of me, were nothing strange, but reflected honor on me, — that a prophet is hardly accepted in his own country, and the like. " I returned after a very fatiguing journey to Mr BuelPs, and staid a short time wdth that hermit, where and with whom I longed to be buried in ease ; but I scorned to be a coward, and chose to die in front of battle if anywhere. We advised together anew, and it w^as resolved, that since I was so disappointed I should proceed with renewed vigor. Accordingly, with warm letters I came again to the continent, where I arrived in the evening, but thought it most prudent not to stop there, no, not where I was born. I dropped a tear upon the occasion, and rode on toward Preston till eleven at night, when, feeling quite ex- hausted, for I had been severely sea-sick, I dismount- ed, left my horse to graze, looked up to heaven, and 4 26 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. under its canopy fell asleep. The next morning I rode to my cousin Isaac's house, and being refreshed, I. advanced once more to Mr Hart's, where I was again handsomely and kindly received." Thus disappointed in his expectations on Long Island, his ardor were somew^hat damped, but his re- solution remained unshaken. He made up his mind to apply again to his old friends, and seek their sym- pathy and counsel. As they had expressed themselves warmly in his favor, and recommended him in flatter- ing terms to the Long Island clergy, he was sanguine in the faith, that they would not, when things came to an extremity, hesitate to do, on their own part, what they had encouraged so earnestly in their brethren. With some confidence, therefore, he repeated his soli- citations to Mr Hart. The result shall likewise be given in his own words. " We have advised together, and read the aforesaid letters. The amount of all is this, ' Don't be dis- couraged, Mr Ledyard ; you will think the better of fair weather after this storm. My private sentiments, and my public conduct in your case, are two things. I don't doubt one single instant of your probity and well-meaning. What the world does, I cannot say ; but as I officiate in a public character, I must deal with you as so officiating, and for that reason, as well as securing your future tranquillity in the ministry, by making a good beginning, I by all means advise, first, that you write speedily to the reverend Mr Whitman, and get him to write to us respecting you what he can, as you have lived long under him ; secondly, that you write also to Dartmouth, to procure a regular dis- LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 27 mission from the president. When we have these, we shall proceed with confidence in the face of all men, and not be ashamed to introduce you anywhere.' Now, Sir, though but very brief, I have given you an exact account of my situation, and the fatigues of my pursuits. You see what bars my sitting directly down. " As Dartmouth is at such a distance, the clergy here do not insist on a return from that place so soon as from Hartford, but the sooner I have an answer from Mr Whitman, the sooner w^ill my mind be at rest. There are four ministers that stand ready to advance me the moment this is done, among whom the famous Dr Bellamy is one. The clergy are very exact in these things, and I have sometimes thought that they meant to keep me humming around them till I was tired, and so get clear of an absolute refusal, or, as Dr Young expresses it, to Fright me, with terrors of a world unknown, From joys of this, to keep them all their own. They have found me affliction-proof, if this was their motive ; but I plainly see they mean it for my honor — and their own too. The request, in short, which I make of you is, that you will please to wait on Mr Whitman with my letter, hurry him for an answer, and send it to me by the earliest opportunity." That such an answer never came, may be inferred from the fact, that he was never licensed as a preach- er; and the judgment of his friends, the clergymen, is not to be so much censured in this, perhaps, as in the unjustifiable encouragement they held out to him. They could not suppose him qualified for the clerical office, with the limited knowledge and experience he 28 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. possessed, and it was wrong to delude him with the notion, that they would under any circumstances pub- licly approve him as such, merely upon receiving two letters, which at most could testify only to his general character. His attainments were afterwards to be made. He was doubtless importunate, and Mr Hart and Dr Bellamy were goodnatured, but their kindness would have been better applied, especially on a mind like that of Ledyard's, if they had been more frank and decided in the outset. His sensibility was keenly touched by the disappointment, which, as much as anything perhaps, drove him, somewhat disgusted, from prosecuting his theological studies. That he engaged in them with considerable ardor, no one can doubt after reading his remarks above ; that he would have continued long of the same mind is not very likely ; but it was a mistaken exercise of bene- volence to foster hopes, which there was no chance of seeing ripened into realities, and thus enticing him into a profession, for which he was hardly in any one re- spect fitted. As a further proof, that he was in earnest at the beginning, it may be mentioned, that he not only applied himself assiduously to study, but was accus- tomed to declaim in the woods and retired places, that he might discipline his voice, and prepare himself for public speaking. But his studies in theology were of short duration. He was mortified at the ill success of his application to the clergy for being approved as a candidate, and other circumstances concurred to annoy and wound him. The effect of these on his feelings will appear in the follow- ing postscript to a letter, written three months after the LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 29 one last quoted. " I send you this from Groton, even the little Groton, where it seems I must at last hide mj head, and relinquish all the glorious purposes I had in view. 'Tis hard. Do you not wonder that I still live, when there is such inquiry about the strange man in Hartford, when I am the mark of impertinent curiosity, when everything around me opposes my designs ? Do you not wonder, that I have my senses in so great a degree as to let you know, that I am as unmoved as my observers and opposers ? " These hints are enough to show that obstacles of a serious kind, whether imaginary or real, met him in various quarters, and that a weight of corroding cares hung upon his soul. But we are not left long to sympathize with him in his griefs. All thoughts of divinity being now aban- doned, he is introduced to us a few weeks afterwards in a totally new character, that of a sailor on board a vessel bound to Gibraltar. Captain Deshon, who re- sided in New London, and sailed from that port, had been his father's friend, and the hero of our narrative now shipped with him for a voyage to the Mediterra- nean. He entered as a common sailor, but was treat- ed by the captain rather as a friend and associate, than as one of the ordinary crew, and his good humour, suavity of manners, and comparative intelligence, made his company highly acceptable to all on board. The voyage was first to Gibraltar, next to a port on the Barbary coast for taking in a cargo of mules, and thence homeward by way of the West Indies. One incident only has been transmitted, as worthy of notice during this voyage. While the ship was 30 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. lying at Gibraltar, Ledyard was all at once missing, and it was some time before anything could be heard of him. There came a rumor at length, that he was among the soldiery in the barracks. A person was sent to make inquiry, who descried him in the ranks, dressed in the British uniform, armed and equipped from head to foot, and carrying himself with a martial air and attitude, which proved that to what- ever vocation he might be called, he was not to be out- done by his comrades. Captain Deshon went to his quarters, and remonstrated with him for this strange freak, and urged him to return. He said he enlisted because he was partial to the service, and thought the profession of a soldier well suited to a man of honor and enterprise ; but that he would not be obstinate, and was willing to go back, if the captain insisted on it, and would procure his release. When the circum- stances were made known to the British commanding officer, he consented to release his new recruit, who returned on board the ship and prosecuted his voyage. While at Gibraltar he wrote home a very full and amusing account of what he saw in that place, but the letter has been lost. Within a year from the time of sailing from New London, the vessel anchored again in the same har- bor, and the only profit yielded by the voyage to our young adventurer was a little experience of the hard- ships of a sailor's life, and knowledge of the myste- ries of his profession. However valuable might be this species of gain as stock on hand for future use, it had no power to satisfy immediate want ; poverty stared him in the face ; and at the age of twenty-two LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 31 he found himself a solitary wanderer, dependent on the bounty of his friends, without employment or prospects, having tried various pursuits and failed of success in all. Neither his pride, nor his sense of duty, would suffer him to remain in this condition one moment longer, than till he could devise a method of escape from it ; yet the peculiar frame of his mind and temper was such, that nothing would have been more idle, either in himself or any other person, than to think of chaining him down to any of the dull courses of life, to which the great mass of mankind are contented to resort, as the means of acquiring a fortune, gaining a competence, or driving want from the door. That he must provide for himself by his own efforts, was a proposition too forcibly impressed upon him to be denied ; but there seemed not a single propensity of his nature, which inclined him to direct these efforts in the same manner as other people, or to attain common ends by com- mon means. Poverty and privation were trifles of no weight with him, compared with the irksome necessity of walking in the same path that all the world walked in, and doing things as all the world had done them before. He thought this a very tame pursuit, unwor- thy of a rational man, whose soul should be fired with a nobler ambition. Entertaining such views of the objects of human life, it is not surprising that he should feel himself hanging loosely upon society, and should discover that while he continued without purpose and without pro- perty, he would exhibit slender claims to the respect of the community, or the confidence of his friends. 32 LIFE OF JOHN LED YARD. Their sympathy he might have, but this was a boon which he disdained to accept, when elicited by misfor- tunes springing from his own improvidence, or by evils which he had power to avoid. That he had no intention of fixing himself down in any steady occu- pation, is proved by a remark in a letter written from Gibraltar. " I allot to myself," said he, " a seven years' ramble more, although the past has long since wasted the means I possessed." Often had he heard his grandfather descant on his ancestors, and his wealthy connexions in England ; and the thought had entered our rambler's head, that one day it might be no unwise thing for him to visit these relatives, and claim alli- ance with them as a hopeful branch of so worthy a stock. In this stage of his affairs he was convinced, that the proper time had come, and he suffered now and then a bright vision to play before his fancy, of the happy change that would ensue, by the aid and in- fluence of his newly found friends in England, who would receive with joy so promising a member of their family from America. Elated with dreams like these, he took a hasty leave of the place of his nativi- ty, and the associates of his youth, and made the best of his way to New York, there to seek out a passage to the land of promise. The first vessel about to sail for England was bound to Plymouth, and in this he obtained a birth, probably on condition of working as a sailor. His trip to the Mediterranean was now to yield its fruits. On his arrival in Plymouth and leaving the vessel, he was re- duced to the extreme of want, without money in his pocket, or a single acquaintance to whom he could LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 33 apply for relief. Thus situated it behoved him to make haste to London, where he looked for an imme- diate welcome and a home among the relations, whose wealth and virtues he had heard so much extolled by his grandfather. As the good fortune of the moment would have it, he fell in with an Irishman, a genuine specimen of the honesty, frankness, and good nature, which characterize many of the sons of Erin ; whose plight so exactly resembled his own, that they formed a mutual attachment almost as soon as they came in contact with each other. There is a sym- pathetic power in misfortune, which is heedless of the forms of society, and acts not by any cold rule of calculation. Both the travellers were pedestrians bound to London, both were equally destitute, having nothing wherewith to procure a subsistence. They agreed to take turns in begging on the road. In this manner they travelled harmoniously together, till they reached London, without having any reason to com- plain that Providence had neglected them on the way, or that there was a lack of generous and disinterested feeling in the human kind. Ledyard's thoughts were now gay, for although in beggary, he fancied that the next step would place him at the summit of his wishes, and open to him wide the door of prosperity. Had he possessed the very lamp of Aladdin, and been endued with the Dervise's power, he could not have been more confident or happy. To find out his relations was now his only anxiety. By acci- dent he saw the family name on a carriage, and he inquired of the coachman where the owner lived, and what was his occupation. The answer was, that 5 34 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD, he was a rich merchant, and the place of his resi- dence was pointed out. Our eager traveller hastened to the house, inquired for the occupant, and ascer- tained that he was not at home. A son was there, however, who listened to his story, but gave him soon to understand, that he put no faith in his representa- tions, as he had never heard of any such relations as he told of in America. He observed, moreover, that he resembled one of the family, who had been absent some years in the East Indies, and whom they were extremely anxious to see, assuring him, that if he were really the person, he would be received with open arms. This was a very unlucky interview, for nothing ever raised Ledyard's anger to so high a pitch, as a suspicion expressed or implied of his integrity and honest intentions. He seemed from that moment determined to prosecute his inquiry after his family connexions no further, but to shun all that bore the name. The son pressed him to remain till his father should return, but he abruptly left the house, and never went back. Some time afterwards, when he had gained ac- quaintances of respectable name in London, to whom he related his story, they went with it to the same gentleman, telling him, that the young man seemed honest, and they doubted not the truth of what he had stated. The gentleman refused at first to credit him, unless he would bring some written evidence. Upon further inquiry, however, he was better satisfied, and sent for Ledyard to come to his house. This in- vitation was declined in no very gracious manner ; and when money was sent to him afterwards by the same LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 35 person, who had heard that he was m distress, he rejected it with great iodigoation, and commanded the bearer to carry it back to his master, and tell him that he belonged not to the race of the Ledyards. Such was the end of his dreams about his rich relations, and it must be acknowledged, that his own haughty spirit seems to have been the chief enemy to his success. He would probably have called it magnanimous self- respect ; and, name it as we will, since it operated wholly against himself, he must certainly be freed from any charge of mean motives, or selfish ends. It was just at this time, that Captain Cook was making preparation for his third and last voyage round the world. So successful had he been in his former expeditions, and so loud was the sound of his fame, that the whole country was awake to his new under- taking, and the general sensation was such, as to in- spire adventurous minds with a wish to participate in its glory. Nothing could more exactly accord with the native genius and cherished feelings of Ledyard. As a first step towards becoming connected with this expedition, he enlisted in the marine service, and then by his address he gained an introduction to Captain Cook. It may be presumed, that on an occasion of so much moment to him, he would set himself forward to the best advantage ; and he had great power in re- commending himself to the favor of others, whenever he chose to put it in action. His manly form, mild but animated and expressive eye, perfect self-possession, a boldness not obtrusive, but showing a consciousness of his proper dignity, an independent spirit, and a glow of enthusiasm giving life to his conversation and his 36 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. whole deportment, — these were traits which could not escape so discriminating an eye as that of Cook ; they formed a rare combination peculiarly suited to the hardships and perils of his daring enterprise. They gained the confidence of the great navigator, who im- mediately took him into his service, and promoted him to be a corporal of marines. In this capacity he sailed from England, but tradi- tion reports, on what authority I know not, that he was in due time raised to the post of sergeant. That he should have been willing to undertake so long a voyage, in so humble a station, can be ac- counted for only from his burning desire to be con- nected with the expedition. His skill in nautical matters was not yet such as to qualify him for a higher place, even if he had been able to exhibit stronger pretensions through the agency and influence of friends. But he was in the midst of strangers, without any other claims to notice, than such as he presented in his own person. These were his only passport to the favor of Cook, and in relying on them no one was ever deceived. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 37 CHAPTER III. Ledyard's journal of his voyage with Captain Cook. — Testimony in his favor hy by Captain Burney. — Sails for the Cape of Good Hope. — Thence to Kergue- len's Islands and the south of New Holland. — Character of the people on Van Diemen's Land. — Present state of the colony there. — Arrives in New Zea- land. — Account of the people, their manners and peculiarities. — Remarkable contrasts exhibited in their character. — Love adventure between an English sailor and a New Zealand girl. — Omai, the Otaheitan. — ^Vessels depart from New Zealand, and fall in with newly discovered islands. — Affecting story of three Otaheitans found on one of them. — Arrival at the Friendly Islands. — People of Tongataboo. — Their condition, mode of living, and amusements. — Ledyard passes a night with the King. — Wrestling and other athletic exercises described. — Fireworks exhibited by Cook. — Propensity of the natives to thieving. — An instance in a chief called Feenou, and the extraordinary mea- sures used to recover the stolen property. — Departure from Tongataboo. The particulars of this voyage have been so often repeated from the official narrative, and are so well known, that any formal attempt to give a connected series of events would be superfluous and without interest. I shall, therefore, chiefly confine myself to such incidents as came under our traveller's observa- tion, and to such remarks and reflections of his own, as indicate his opinions and the character of his mind. He kept a private journal of the whole voyage, but on the return of the expedition, before any person had landed, all papers of this description were taken away, from both officers and men, by order of the comman- der, and Ledyard's journal among the rest. This precaution was necessary to prevent an imperfect ac- count of the voyage going abroad, before one could be issued under the sanction of the admiralty. 38 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. Ledyard never recovered his papers, but when he returned to Hartford, more than two years after the termination of the voyage, his friends induced him to write the short account, which appeared with his name. To satisfy public curiosity till a complete work could be prepared, a very brief sketch of the voyage in a single volume had already been published by authority in England. This volume Ledyard had pro- cured, and he relied on it for dates, distances, the courses of the vessels, and for other particulars serving to revive his recollection of what he had experienced and witnessed. Extracts are made without alteration in two or three instances, and several of the last pages are literally copied. With no other written materials Ledyard produced his manuscript journal, which ho sold to Mr Nathaniel Patten, publisher in Hartford, for twenty guineas. It was printed in a duodecimo volume containing a chart, and a dedica- tion to Governor Trumbull, expressive of the author's gratitude for the generosity and kindness, which he had received from that veteran patriot. A narrative thus drawn up must of course be in many respects imperfect, but the narrator makes no high pretensions; he never taxes our faith beyond the obvious bounds of probability, nor calls our atten- tion to hearsay reports and speculations of others. He describes what he saw and heard, and utters his own sentiments. In a few instances he varies from the accounts afterwards published in England ; but these commonly relate either to occurrences as to which he had a better opportunity for personal knowledge, or concerning which for various reasons it was the policy LIFE OF JOHN LEDTARD- 39 of the leaders of the expedition to preserve silence. The train of events at the Sandwich Islands, which led to the death of Captain Cook, is narrated by Ledyard in a manner more consistent and natural, than appears in any other account of it. The precipitancy of the officers, and of Cook particularly, or at least their want of caution, which was the primary cause of the tragical issue, was kept out of sight by the authorized narrators, and a mystery long hung over that catas- trophe, owing to the absence of any obvious coherency between causes and effects. On this point Ledyard's narrative is full and satisfactory, as will be seen in its proper place. As a proof of our traveller's activity of mind, and his ardor of inquiry, during this voyage, I shall here quote a passage from a work recently published by Captain James Burney, entitled, A Chronological History of Northeastern Voyages of Discovery. The author of this book was a lieutenant mider Cook in his two last voyages, son of Dr Burney, and consequently brother of Madame D'Arblay, the celebrated novelist. He is repeated);' mentioned in Ledyard's journal, and was a very enterprising officer. The estimation in which our hero was held by him will appear by the fol- lowing extract, as well as by other parts of the work. " With what education I know not," says Captain Burney, " but with an ardent disposition, Ledyard had a passion for lofty sentiment and description. When corporal of marines on board of the Resolution, after the death of Captain Cook, he proffered his services to Captain Clerke to undertake the office of historio- grapher to our expedition, and presented a specimen, 40 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. which described the manners of the Society Islanders, and the kind of life led by our people whilst among them. He was not aware how many candidates he would have to contend with, if the office to which he aspired had been vacant ; perhaps not with fewer than with every one in the two ships who kept journals. Literary ambition and disposition to authorship led us in each ship to set up a weekly paper. When the paper in either ship was ready for delivery, a signal was made, and when answered by a similar signal from the other ship, Captain Cook, if the weather was fine, would good-naturedly let a boat be hoisted out to make the exchange, and he was always glad to read our paper, but never favored our editors with the con- tribution of a paragraph. I believe none of these papers have been saved, nor do I remember by what titles we distinguished them. Ledyard's performance was not criticised in our paper, as that would have entitled him to a freedom of controversy not consistent with military subordination. His ideas were thought too sentimental, and his language too florid. No one, however, doubted that his feelings were in accord with his expressions ; and the same is to be said of the little, which remains of what he has since written, more worthy of being preserved, and which its worthiness will preserve, and particularly of his celebrated com- mendation of women in his Siberian Tour." Ledyard's contributions to the paper here mention- ed, and his account of the Society Islanders, were probably taken from him with his manuscript journal, as I have found no remnants of them among his papers. His printed Journal contains a graphic and animated LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 41 description of the Society Islands, but it was evidently written from recollection, like the rest of the volume. This testimony of Captain Burney in favor of his habits of observation, and literary industry, may justly inspire confidence in his writings. The last expedition under Captain Cook, and the one in which our traveller was engaged, left England on the twelfth of July, 1776. It consisted of two ships, the Resolution and Discovery, the former com- manded by Captain Cook, and the latter by Captain Clerke. After touching at Teneriffe, they proceeded to the Cape of Good Hope, and came to anchor in Table Bay, where they were to refit, lay in a new stock of provisions, and prepare for encountering the inconveniences and dangers of a long voyage in the great Southern Ocean, with the certainty that many months must elapse, before they could hope to arrive again in a port of civilized people. Several days were passed here in getting all things in readiness ; the men of science employed themselves in short excursions into the country ; provisions were collected by the proper officers, and the sailors were busy at their daily tasks. Last of all were taken on board various live animals, designed to be left at the islands where they did not exist, making, in con- nexion with those brought from England, a motley collection of horses, cattle, sheep, goats, hogs, dogs, cats, hares, rabbits, monkeys, ducks, geese, turkeys, and peacocks ; thus, says our voyager, " did we resemble the Ark, and appear as though we were going as well to stock as to discover a new world." iEsop might have conversed for weeks with such a 6 42 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. congregated multitude. The monkeys and peacocks seem to have been out of place m this assembly of sober and useful animals, and in the end they did little credit to their community. The monkeys never ceased from mischief, and the gay attire of the peacocks tempted a chief of Tongataboo to steal and carry them off. On the first of December, Cook departed from the Cape of Good Hope, and proceeded in a southeasterly direction, intending to shape his course around the southern extremity of New Holland. After sailing twentyfive days and passing two islands, the tops of which were covered with snow, although it was mid- summer in those latitudes, he came to anchor at an island, which had been recently discovered by Kergue- len, a French navigator. A bottle was found sus- pended by a wire between two rocks, sealed, and con- taining a piece of parchment, on which was written in French and Latin an account of Kerguelen's voyage and discovery. The island was desolate, without inhabitants, trees, or shrubs. A little grass was obtained for the cattle, and a species of vegetable was found resembling a wild cabbage, but of no value. It rained profusely, streams of fresh water came down from the hills, and the empty casks were replenished. The shore was covered with seals and sea-dogs, the former of which, apparently unconscious of danger, were killed without difficulty, and they afforded a seasonable supply of oil for lamps and other pur- poses. Vast flocks of birds hovered around, and the penguins, so little did they understand the char- acter of their visiters, would allow themselves to LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 43 be approached and knocked down with clubs. Man was an enemy, whose sangumary prowess these tenants of the lonely island had never learnt to fear, and the simple penguin received his death blow with a composure and unconcern, that would have im- mortalized a stoic philosopher. The sailors were indulged in celebrating Christmas at Kerguelen's Island, after which the ships sailed, and the next har- bor to be gained was Adventure Bay, in Van Diemen's Land, being at the southern limits of New Holland. As no discoveries were to be attempted during this run, they proceeded directly to the point of destina- tion, at which they safely arrived within less than two months after leaving the Cape of Good Hope. The ships being moored in this bay, called by Tas- man, who discovered it, Frederic Henry's Bay, the sailors were sent out in parties to procure wood, water, and grass, all of which existed there in great plenty. No inhabitants appeared, although columns of smoke had been seen here and there rising through the woods at some distance, affording a sign that people were in the neighbourhood. After a day or two the natives came down to the beach in small parties, men, women, and children, but they seemed the most wretched of human beings, wearing no clothes, and carrying with them nothing but a rude stick about three feet long, and sharpened at one end. Their skin was black, hair cm*ly, and the beards of the men, as well as their hair, besmeared with a red oily substance. They were inoffensive, neither manifesting fear, nor offer- ing annoyance to their visiters. When bread was given them, it was thrown away without being tasted, 44 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. although they were made to understand that it was to be eaten ; the same they did with fish, which had been caught in the harbor ; but they accepted birds, and intimated a fondness for that kind of food. When a gun was fired, they all ran off like wild deer to the woods, and were seen no more that day ; but their fright was not of long duration, for they came again the next morning with as little unconcern as ever. In all respects these people appeared in the lowest stage of human advancement. " They are the only people," says Ledyard, " who are known to go with their per- sons entirely naked, that have ever yet been discover- ed. Amidst the most stately groves of wood, they have neither weapons of defence, nor any other species of instruments applicable to the various purposes of life ; contiguous to the sea, they have no canoes ; and exposed from the nature of the climate to the inclem- ency of the seasons, as well as to the annoyances of the beasts of the forest, they have no houses to retire to, but the temporary shelter of a few pieces of old bark laid transversely over some small poles. They appear also to be inactive, indolent, and unaffected with the least curiosity." Cook remarked, that the natives here resembled those, whom he had seen in his former voyage on the north part of New Holland, and from this and other circumstances it was inferred, that New Holland from that point northward was not divided by any strait. Subsequent discoveries over- threw this conjecture, and it has since been made known, that Van Diemen's Land is an island separated from New Holland by a passage, or strait, nearly one hundred miles broad, and containing many small LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 45 islands. It is remarkable, that no resemblance has been discovered between the language of the natives here, and that spoken by the New Hollanders. On Van Diemen's island are now some of the most flourishing settlements in the British dominions. The wilderness is disappearing before the strong arm of enterprise, and under the hand of culture the hills and valleys yield in abundance all the products, common to similar latitudes in the north. Emigrants from Eng- land annually flock to that country, invest their capital in lands, and engage in agricultural pursuits. Towns have been built, and commerce established. Wheat, maize, wool, cattle, and other articles, are largely ex- ported, and there is hardly recorded in history an instance of a new colony having increased so rapidly in numbers and wealth. The wild men, like our North American Indians, retreat and leave their native soil to a better destiny. When Cook had provided his ships with wood and water, they were unmoored, and their course directed to New Zealand, where they entered a cove in Queen Charlotte's Sound. Here they remained a month, which aflbrded time for observations, and for laying in such provisions as were found in the country. New Zealand consists of two islands, which are situate be- tween parallels of latitude on the south of the equator, nearly corresponding with those of the United States on the north, thus having a variable climate, and a soil suited to most of the productions of temperate regions. In the character of the inhabitants are exhibited con- trasts never perceived in any other people. They are cannibals, devouring human victims with eagerness 46 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. and delight, ferocious beyond example in their wars, deadly in their revenge, and insatiable in their thirst for the blood of their enemies ; yet they have many of the opposite traits, strong attachment to friends, with a quick sensibility to their sufferings, and grief incon- solable at the death of a relative ; nor are they devoid of generosity, or unsusceptible of the tender passion. Living as they do in a temperate climate, they are an athletic, hardy race of people, whose progress in re- finement bears no proportion to their natural powers of body and mind ; and thus no proper balance being maintained, the contending elements of human nature, the propensities, passions, and affections, shoot forth into the wildest extremes. How they should differ so entirely from their neighbours, the New Hollan- ders, who are in nearly the same external condition, is a question upon which the curious may speculate, but will hardly come to a satisfactory conclusion. Plau- sible reasons may nevertheless be adduced to prove, that the New Zealanders and New Hollanders, not- withstanding their proximity, have originated from stocks widely remote. While the ships lay at anchor in Queen Charlotte's Sound, a singular love adventure occurred between a young English sailor and a New Zealand girl, the par- ticulars of which are related in Ledyard's journal, as they are also in Cook's Voyages, and which prove the softer sex among savages, even the daughters of can- nibals, to be capable of deep affection and strong- attachment. An intimacy was contracted between a sailor and a native girl about fourteen years of age, which grew stronger from day to day, till at length all LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD* 47 the time he could spare from his duties was devoted to her society. He furnished her with combs to decorate her hair, and with ornaments for her person ; and, to make himself more attractive in her eyes, he submit- ted to be tattooed according to the custom of the country. His passion was reciprocated in the most ardent and artless manner by the maiden, Gowanna- hee, whom no conventional rules had taught to conceal the emotions of nature ; and although they understood not each other's language, yet love whis- pered in accents, which they found no difficulty in comprehending. Thus their days and hours flew rapidly away, till the time of separation approached, Gowannahee was much distressed when such an event was hinted at ; she would throw her arms around her lover's neck, and insist that he should not go ; and such were the alluring arts she used, and such the willingness of the youth to be led by them, that he resolved to desert from the ship and remain behind. He contrived to remove his clothing and other effects on shore, and to escape by the stratagem of dressing himself in the costume of the natives and mingling in the crowd, just as orders were given to sail, and the New Zealanders were required to leave the ships. When the roll was called to ascertain if all hands were on board, his absence was discovered. The cause was easily apprehended, and some of the officers were dis- posed to let such an instance of true love have its re- ward, and not to disturb the enamored sailor in his dreams of future felicity among the savages of New Zealand. The less sentimental Cook was not moved by these mild counsels ; he saw mischief in such a 48 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. precedent, and he was inflexible ; a guard of marines was despatched to search for the truant, and bring him back to duty. He had proceeded to the interior and secreted himself with his faithful Gowannahee, but his hiding-place was at last discovered. As soon as she perceived their intention to take him away, she was overwhelmed with anguish, and at the parting scene on the beach she yielded herself up (o expres- sions of grief and despair, which the stoutest heart could not witness unmoved. The young sailor was examined and tried for his misdemeanor, but Cook was so much amused with the schemes he had devised for himself, and the picture he had drawn of his future prospects and greatness, as the husband of Gowanna- hee, and a chief of renown, that he forbore to aggra- vate the pains of disappointed hope by any formal punishment. Recent observations have confirmed all that was said by Cook and his companions of the New Zealan- ders. English missionaries have for some years past been stationed among them, and possessed the means of becoming perfectly acquainted with their character and habits. They have witnessed their banquets of human flesh, their extremes of passion, their savage barbarity at one time, and their docile, affectionate temper, and keen sensibility at another War is their highest delight, and in pursuing an enemy, nothing of the human being seems left, except his reason mad- dened with revenge, and making him adroit in the work of death. In several instances, boats' and ships' crews have been cut off and devoured by them. Yet these people are superstitious and full of religious fear, LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 49 imagining themselves to be surrounded by invisible spirits, who have powder over them, and who must be conciliated by prayers and ceremonies ; who control the elements, bring rain on the land, and rouse up the winds and waves at sea. The missionaries have known persons become so frantic, at the death of a near relation, as to commit suicide ; and it is a common thing for them to wound and mangle their bodies in a frightful manner on such occasions. When Mr Mars- den made his second missionary tour to these islands, after having been away two or three years, his old acquaintances burst into tears in talking of their friends, who had died during his absence. History^ does not acquaint us with more eminent examples of humanity and pious efforts, of resolution and self- denial, than are manifested in the missionaries, who have forsaken even the common comforts of civilized life, and settled down with a determination to pass their days in this region of moral darkness and human debasement. While Cook was at New Zealand he was greatly assisted in his intercourse with the people by Omai, a native of the Society Islands, whom he had taken to England on a former voyage, and who was now re- turning to his country, loaded with presents from the king, and other persons whom curiosity had drawn around him, in Great Britain. Although Omai had never before seen a New Zealander, yet the language so much resembled his own, that he could easily con- verse with the inhabitants. As he knew English, he thus became a ready interpreter. This was an advan- 7 50 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. tage, which Cook had never been able to enjoy on any former occasion. The vessels weighed anchor and departed from Queen Charlotte's Sound, destined to Otaheite, or, as it is now called, Tahiti, the largest of the Society Islands, and about fifteen hundred miles distant from New Zealand. Head winds and boisterous weather forced them out of their course ; grass and water for the cattle, as well as fresh provisions for the men, be- gan to fail ; and it was thought best to bear away for the Friendly Islands, where a supply could be at once obtained. On this passage they fell in with several islands never before discovered, but their shores were so closely bound with coral reefs as to prevent the ap- proach of the ships. The natives came off in canoes, and brought hogs and fruit, which they gave in ex- change for articles of little value. A small party, consisting of Mr Burney, three or four other officers, and Omai, landed on one of these islands, called Watteeoo, where they were immediate- ly plundered of everything they had about them, and detained through the day. Great crowds gathered around, and annoyed them much, but no violence was offered to their persons. Here Omai was astonished to find three of his own countrymen. Their story- was affecting. Several years before, they had set off in a large canoe with a party of about twenty persons, men, women, and children, to pass from Otaheite to Ulietea, a neighbouring island. A storm overtook them, and, after continuing three days, drove them so far out to sea, that they knew not where they were, nor what course to steer. Some of the women and LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 51 children had perished in the storm, and others were so much exhausted as to survive no longer. The canoe was carried along by the current from day to day ; water and provision failed ; some of the survivors died of hunger and fatigue ; others in the frenzy of despair jumped overboard and were drowned ; and after thir- teen days, when the canoe was discovered by the natives of Watteeoo, it contained but four men, and these so much reduced by famine and suffering, as to be unconscious of their situation, and scarcely to be dis- tinguished from the dead bodies, with which they were promiscuously lying, in the bottom of the boat. They were taken on shore, and by kind treatment they gradually recovered their consciousness and strength. One had since died, but the other three said they were happy in their adopted country, and declined Omai's invitation to return with him to their native islands, adding that their nearest relatives had perished before their eyes on the disastrous voyage, and it would only be renewing their grief to visit again the places, in which they had formerly known them. The distance between Otaheite and Watteeoo is more than fifteen hundred miles, and this voyage of a canoe affords an important fact in solving the great problem, which has so long perplexed geographers and speculating philosophers, as to the manner in which the innumerable clusters of islands in the Pacific ocean have been peopled. We here have proof incontestible, that a communication between remote islands was possible, even by such means only as the natives themselves possessed. This single fact, in short, is enough to settle the question. 52 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. After touching at Anamoca, and remaining some days at the Happaee Islands, Cook came to anchor in a harbor of Tongataboo, on the ninth of June. Here they staid twenty-six days, collecting a great abun- dance of provisions, and living on social and friendly terms with the natives. This island is exceedingly fertile, covered with forests and luxuriant herbage. Agriculture and the arts of life were carried to a much greater extent here, than at New Zealand, or indeed most of the South Sea islands. The kind disposition of the people had given to Tongataboo, and the clus- ter of islands in its neighbourhood, the name of the Friendly Islands. Later experience has proved, that they had a smaller claim to this distinction, than was at first supposed. It is very probable, however, that their acquaintance with civilized men was the principal cause of their apparent change of character. They learnt new vices faster than they acquired a knowledge of their criminality, or the moral power of resisting temptation. Nowhere have the missionaries found their situation more uncomfortable, or their task more difficult, than at the Friendly Islands. When visited by Cook, the people were comparatively amiable, sim- ple, and happy, addicted to the weaknesses, but not to the grosser crimes of the savage state ; accustomed to warlike enterprises, but not making them, as did the New Zealanders, the chief source of their pleasure, and the great business of their lives. On the contrary, they had amusements of an innocent kind, as well as curious religious ceremonies, which occupied much of their time, and were suited to a state of peace and tranquillity. These were often LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 53 exhibited, and obviously as much with a desire to please their visitants, as to show off their skill to ad- vantage, or promote their own gratification. The king, or great chief, whose name was Poulaho, treated Cook with marked respect, and caused all his people to do the same, as far as he could exercise his power to that end. Ledyard describes in an agreeable man- ner the scenes, that came under his observation at Tongataboo. The day after landing, it was his duty to be on shore, and he passed the night with Poulaho, who had declined Cook's invitation to go with him on board. " It was just dusk," says Ledyard, " when they parted, and as I had been present during a part of this first interview, and was detained on shore, I was glad he did not go off, and asked him to my tent ; but Pou- lako chose rather to have me go with him to his house, where we went and sat down together without the entrance. We had been here but a few minutes, be- fore one of the natives advanced through the grove to the skirts of the green, and there halted. Poulaho observed him, and told me he wanted him, upon which I beckoned to the Indian, and he came to us. When he approached Poulaho, he squatted down upon his hams, and put his forehead to the sole of Poulaho's foot, and then received some directions from him, and went away, and returned again very soon with some baked yarns and fish rolled up in fresh plantain leaves, and deposited in a little basket made of palm leaves, and a large cocoanut shell full of clean fresh water, and a smaller one of salt water. These he set down, and went and brought a mess of the same kind, and 54 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. set them down by me. Poulaho then desked I would eat ; but preferring salt, which I had in the tent, to the sea water which they used, I called one of the guard, and had some of that brought me to eat with my fish, which was really most delightfully dressed, and of which I ate very heartily. " Their animal and vegetable food is dressed in the same manner here, as at the southern and northern tropical islands throughout these seas, being all baked among hot stones laid in a hole, and covered over first with leaves and then with mould. Poulaho was fed by the chief who waited on him, both with victuals and drink. After he had finished, the remains were carried away by the chief in w^aiting, who returned soon after with two large separate rolls of cloth, and two little low wooden stools. The cloth was for a covering while asleep, and the stools to raise and rest the head on, as we do on a pillow. These were left within the house, or rather under the roof, one side being open. The floor within was composed of coarse dry grass, leaves, and flowers, over which were spread large well wrought mats. On this Poulaho and I re- moved and sat down, while the chief unrolled, and spread out the cloth ; after which he retired, and in a few minutes there appeared a fine young girl about seventeen years of age, who, approaching Poulaho, stooped and kissed his great toe, and then retired and sat down in an opposite part of the house. It was now about nine o'clock, and a bright moonshine ; the sky was serene, and the winds hushed. Suddenly I heard a number of their flutes, beginning nearly at the same time, burst from every quarter of the surrounding LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD- 55 grove ; and whether this was meant as an exhilaratmg serenade, or a soothing soporific to the great Poulaho, I cannot tell. Immediately on hearing the music he took me by the hand, intimating that he was going to sleep, and showing me the other cloth, which was spread nearly beside him, and the pillow, invited me to use it." After describing the occupations of the natives, their traffic, articles of trade, and some of their cus- toms, he speaks of their amusements. " The markets being over, there were generally an hour or two, and those before dark, in which the na- tives, to entertain us and exhibit their own accom- plishments, used to form matches at wrestling, boxing, and other athletic exercises, of which they were very vain, and in which they were by far the best accom- plished of all the people we ever visited before or after. These exercises were always performed on the green within the circle, and among the Indian specta- tors there were a certain number of elderly men, who presided over and regulated the exercise. When one of the wrestlers, or combatants, was fairly excelled, they signified it by a short sonorous sentence, which they sung, expressing that he was fallen, fairly fallen, or that he was fairly conquered, and that the victor kept the field. From this there was no appeal, nor indeed did they seem to want it, for among their roughest exercises I never saw any of them choleric, envious, malicious, or revengeful ; but preserving their tempers, or being less irascible than we generally are, they quit the stage with the same good nature with which they entered it. 56 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. " When they wrestle, they seize each other by a strong plaited girdle, made of the fibres of the cocoa- nut, and worn round the waist for that purpose ; and they describe nearly the same operations in this con- test that we do in what we call hugging or scuffling. In boxing their manoeuvres are different. They had both hands clenched, and bound round separately wdth small cords, which perhaps was intended to prevent their clenching each other when closely engaged, thus preventing foul play ; or it might be to preserve the joints of the fingers, and especially the thumb, from being dislocated. Perhaps the best general idea I can convey of their attitudes in this exercise, is to com- pare them with those of the ancient gladiators of Rome, which they much resembled. " They are very expert and intrepid in these per- formances, but as they are mere friendly efforts of skill and prowess, they continue no longer than till the pur- poses of such a contention are answered ; and the combatant, as soon as he finds that he shall be con- quered, is seldom such an obstinate fool, as to be beat out of his senses to be made sensible he is so, but re- tires most commonly with a whole skin. But the exercise of the club is not so, and as these contests are very severe, and even dangerous, they are seldom performed. We never saw but one instance of it, but it was a most capital one, as the performers were capital characters ; and though we expected the exhi- bition to be very short, yet it lasted nearly twenty minutes, protracted by the skill of the combatants in avoiding each other's blows, some of which were no less violent than artful. After being pretty well buf- LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 57 feted about the body, a fortuitous blow upon the head of one decided the matter, and the conquered was carried off, while the victor, elated with success, stood and enjoyed the subsequent shouts of praise, that pro- ceeded from the spectators. When these shouts end- ed, the young women round the circle rose, and sang, and danced a short kind of interlude in celebration of the hero." Not to be outdone by the monarch of the Friendly Isles in politeness and attempts to please, Cook got up a brilliant exhibition of fireworks, with which Poulaho and all his people were greatly astonished and delight- ed. The mathematical and astronomical instruments, which had been fitted up in tents on shore, were also matters of curiosity and wonder. The natives were particularly amused, likewise, with the horses, cows, sheep, goats, and other animals, which Ledyard said, on leaving the Cape of Good Hope, made the ships resemble Noah's ark. As dogs and hogs were the only animals found on the islands, and of course the only ones ever before seen by the inhabitants, they seemed completely puzzled to know what to make of these new orders of the creation. The sheep and goats they called birds ; but the horses, cows, cats, and rabbits, were nondescripts for which no place had been assigned in their scientific arrangement. Thus agreeably passed the days at Tongataboo; the good-natured people omitted nothing, which was in their power, to gratify their visiters, whether by supplying them with the best provisions the islands afforded, or by amusing them with innocent pastimes. One thing only marred the harmony of their inter- 58 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. course. These simple and hospitable people, each and all, from the highest rank downwards, were incor- rigible thieves ; that is, they made no scruple to take whatever they could lay their fingers upon, and appro- priate it to their own use. This habit was prevalent throughout all the South Sea islands, but nowhere had the voyagers been so much annoyed by it, as at these islands of friendship. Cook resorted to summary and severe measures to teach the natives what he thought of this vice, and sometimes inflicted punishments little suited to the moral light of the people, whom he arraigned as transgressors. It does not appear that pilfering was deemed a crime, or a disreputable of- fence, and indeed the historian of Cook's Voyages declares, that " the inhabitants of the South Sea islands in their petty larcenies were actuated by a childish disposition, rather than a thievish one." In this view of the subject, it can hardly be imagined that there was any natural right in the civilized visi- ters to inflict harsh punishment on their ignorant and kind entertainers ; on the contrary, it was cruel and unjust ; it was the last way to gain friends, or to in- spire the natives with a love of the moral code. Led- yard speaks with warmth of some examples of this kind, which came under his notice, but adds, alluding to Cook, " It must be remembered that the ability of performing the important errand before us, depended very much, if not entirely, upon the precarious supplies we might procure from these and other such islands, and he must of consequence be very anxious and soli- citous in this concernment ; but perhaps no considera- tion will excuse the severity, which he sometimes used LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 69 towards the natives on these occasions ; and he would probably have done better to consider, that the full ex- ertion of extreme power is an argument of extreme weakness ; and nature seemed to inform the insulted natives of the truth of this maxim, for before we quit- ted Tongataboo, we could not go anywhere into the country upon business or pleasure without danger." One instance is related with more particularity than others, as it occurred in high life, and was made a state concern. In Tongataboo was a chief called Feenou, a man of fine personal appearance, graceful and commanding in his carriage, frank in his disposi- tion, generous, enterprising, and bold ; in short, he was the idol of the people, and throughout all the isles there was no chief, whose renown was so loudly and heartily trumpeted as that of Feenou. He was the man, whom the great Poulaho delighted to honor above others. When the strangers came, Feenou was their early and devoted friend, and his attachment and kind offices held out to the last. " If they lost any goods, and these were carried either to the interior of Tongataboo, or to any of the detached islands, their only confidential resource was Feenou ; or if any other emergency required despatch, policy, courage, or force, Feenou was the man to advise and act." Such were the character and deeds of this chief. He could subdue the hearts of men, and the strength of an ene- my, but he could not conquer the tyranny of habit. From day to day he had gazed with inward raptures upon the gaudy plumage of the peacocks, which had been brought with much care and trouble from Eng- land ; their charms were irresistible ; just as the ves- sels were about to sail, the peacocks disappeared ; 60 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. Feenou was also out of the way ; he had stolen the birds, and concealed himself with his booty. The affront was resented by Cook in an extraordi- nary manner ; he immediately ordered Poulaho, the king, to be arrested, and placed a guard over him in his own house, giving him to understand that he should be held a prisoner till the peacocks were re- stored. This was a novel mode of making a king answerable for the acts of his subjects. Much disor- der ensued ; the chiefs felt the insult offered to their sovereign, and began to assume a warlike attitude, and threaten the guard ; but Poulaho advised them to de- sist, and preserve peace till a reconciliation should be attempted ; and when Cook appeared, the khig salut- ed him with dignity and respect, but with a manifest sense of the injustice that was practised upon him. His coolness and counsel kept the people from offering violence to the guards, who surrounded him with fixed bayonets; and the next day Feenou himself came forward, entreated for the release of the king, and assured Cook that the birds should be returned to him before sunset. Thus the affair was happily termi- nated, leaving a much stronger proof of the firmness than the prudence of the great navigator. The re- conciliation was followed by magnificent presents of red feathers and provisions on the part of Feenou, and others equally valuable from Cook. He gave Poulaho some of the domestic animals, which he had brought from England for the purpose of distributing among the islands. All parties separated mutually satisfied with each other, and with as warm tokens of friend- ship from the natives, as could be expected after the recent transactions. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 61 CHAPTER IV. Society Islands. — Otaheite. — Ledyard's description of the language, customs, religion, laws, and government of the natives. — Their probable faith in the doctrine of transmigration. — Remarks on his mode of reasoning on this sub- ject. — His theoiy of the origin of customs and superstitions. — Notions of a Diety among the Otaheitans. — Conduct of Omai. — Difficulties attending the efforts to civilize savages. — Sandwich Islands discovered. — The vessels proceed to the American continent, and anchor in Nootka Sound. — Appearance and manners of the people. — Indian wampmn. — The abundance of furs. — Canni- balism. — Curious digression on the origin and practice of sacrifices. — Captain Cook passes Bering's Straits, explores the northern ocean till stopped by the ice, and returns to the island of Onalaska. — Sends Ledyard with two Indians in search of a Russian establishment on the coast. — His account of this adventure. — In what manner he was transported in a canoe. — Village of Russians and Indians. — Hot baths. — Their habitations and manner of Uving described. — Bering's vessel. — Ledyard rettirns to the ships, and reports to Captain Cook.- — Expedition returns to the Sandvidch Islands. We shall next join our navigators at the Society Islands, where they arrived on the fourteenth of Au- gust. Many of the officers and seamen, who had been there on a former voyage, were recognised by the na- tives, and received with great cordiality ; the day of landing at Otaheite was given up to festivity and mutual congratulations between old acquaintances. The occurrences during their stay at these islands, are related in a lively manner by Ledyard. He de- scribes the natural productions of the Society Islands, the appearance and condition of the natives, their food, clothing, and houses, their language, customs, religion, laws, and government. From the minute- piBss with which he speaks on most of these subjects, it is evident that the principal points in the essay 62 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. mentioned by Mr Burney were still fresh in his memory, and moreover that he was a close and in- quisitive observer of everything, which came within his reach or knowledge. " The inhabitants," he remarks, " are of the largest size of Europeans ; the men are tall, strong, well limbed, and fairly shaped. The women of superior rank among them are also in general above our middle size, but those of the inferior rank are far below it ; some of them are quite small. Their complexion is a clear olive, or brunette, and the whole contour of the face quite handsome, except the nose, which is generally a little inclined to be flat. Their hair is black and coarse ; the men have beards, but pluck the greatest part of them out ; they are vigorous, easy, graceful, and liberal in their deportment, and of a courteous, hospitable disposition, but shrewd and artful. The women cut their hair short, and the men wear theirs long. They have a custom of staining their bodies in a manner that is universal among all those islands, and is called by them tattooing ; in doing this they prick the skin with an instrument of small sharp bones, which they dip as occasion requires into a black com- position of coal dust and water, which leaves an in- delible stain. The operation is painful, and it is some days before the wound is well. " Their clothing consists of a cloth made of the inner rind of the bark of three diiferent kinds of trees, the Chinese paper mulberry, the bread-fruit tree, and a kind of wild fig tree, which, in the formation of dif- ferent kinds of cloth, are differently disposed of by using one singly, or any two, or all of them together. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 63 The principal excellences of this cloth are its coolness and softness; its defects are its being pervious to water and easily torn. They sometimes, especially if it is wet, wear fine mats of which they have a great variety. *' Their amusements are music, dancing, wrestling, and boxing, all which are like those of Tongataboo. " As to the religion, laws, and government of these people, much has been said about them by former voyagers ; and in truth too much, especially about their religion, which they are not fond of discovering, and therefore, when urged on the matter, they have often, rather than displease those who made the in- quiry, told not only different accounts, but such as were utterly inconsistent with what we knew to be true from ocular demonstration. They assured us, for instance, that they never sacrificed human bodies, but an accident happened, that contradicted it, and gave us the full proof of it, the operation and design. " They believe in the immortality of the soul, at least its existence in a future state ; but how it exists, whether as a mere spiritual substance, or whether it is united again to a corporeal or material form, and what form, is uncertain. It is supposed they have notions of transmigration. Our conjectures originate from observing that universal, constant, and uniform regard, which they pay in a greater or less degree to every species of subordinate beings, even to the minut- est insect, and the most insignificant reptile. This was never esteemed a philosophical sentiment, nor a mere dictate of nature, because the people who enter- tain these notions are not led to embrace them by the 64 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. unbiassed impulses of nature, which would lead them to regard their own species more than any other. It must, therefore, be from other motives, and I know of none so probable as religion or superstition, which are indeed synonymous terms when applied to these peo- ple ; besides, it is well known to have been a religious sentiment among many other people, both ancient and modern, who have claimed the appellation of civilized. It exists now among several Asiatic sects, both east and west of the Ganges, particularly among the Banians, who abstain from all animal food. It is well known, that some tribes in Asia have built hospitals for certain species of subordinate beings." The author's reasoning here about the doctrine of transmigration is somewhat curious, but his inference that the natives believed in it, because they showed a regard for inferior animals, is at least questionable. He goes on to enforce his opinion, however, by re- marking that they eat little animal food, and abstain from the flesh of some kinds of birds altogether. In killing animals, also, they are careful to inflict as little pain as possible ; they are extremely indulgent to rats, with which they are much infested, and rarely do them any harm ; when stung by flies or musquitoes, they only frighten them away. This lenity towards animals, however commendable in those who practise it, will hardly prove their faith in the doctrine of transmigration, or that these savages refrained from crushing a fly or musquito, because they apprehended a spirit, which had once animated a human form, had been doomed to an existence in one of these insects. It is a favorite theory of the author, at which LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 65 he hints on several occasions, that such habits and superstitions of a people, as are woven into their char- acter and history, must have come dovj^n from some very remote time, and not have sprung out of casual or local circumstances, of which any knowledge exists. He says, " all the customs of mankind appear to be derivative and traditionary." How far he would carry back the tradition, he does not add ; but this doctrine of transmigration he traces to Asia, and supposes it to have found its way to the islands of the Pacific with the first settlers, who came from that quarter, and to have kept its place through all subsequent changes among the superstitions of their descendants. " Their notions of a Deity," he continues, " and the speculative parts of their religion, are involved even among themselves in mystery, and perplexed with inconsistencies ; and their priests, who alone pre- tend to be informed of it, have, by their own indus- trious fabrications and the addition of its traditionary fables, shut themselves up in endless mazes of inex- tricable labyrinths. None of them act alike in their ceremonies, and none of them narrate alike when in- quired of concerning the matter ; therefore, what ihey conceive respecting a God we cannot tell ; though we conclude upon the whole that they worship one great Supreme, the author and governor of all things ; but there seems to be such a string of subordinate gods intervening between him and the least of those, and the characters of the whole so contrasting, whimsical, absurd, and ridiculous, that their mythology is very droll, and represents the best of the group no better than a harlequin. 9 66 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. " The government of Otaheite resembles the early condition of every government, which, in an unim- proved and unrefined state, is ever a kind of fe"dal system of subordination, securing licentious liberty to a few, and a dependant servility to the rest." Having above spoken of Omai, the native of the Society Islands, whom Cook had taken with him to England on a former voyage, and who had received every possible advantage for becoming acquainted with the habits, arts, and enjoyments of civilized life, the reader may be curious to know, in what manner he demeaned himself when he returned to his native country, and what were the prospects of his being benefited by his acquisitions and experience. In this case, as in many others, it will be seen, that the at- tempt to enlighten the ignorance and change the character of the savage was unsuccessful. On landing at Otaheite, says Ledyard, " we had a number of visiters, among whom w^as a sister of Omai, who came to welcome her brother to his native country again ; but the behavior of Omai on that occasion was conso- nant to his proud, empty, ambitious heart, and he refused at first to own her for his sister ; the reason of which was, her being a poor obscure girl, and as he expected to be nothing but king, the connexion would disgrace him." In a few days the vessels sailed over to Hueheine, the native island of Omai, at which he was finally to be left. Here a small house was built for him, in which his effects were deposited. About an acre of ground adjoining the house was pur- chased of the natives, surrounded with a ditch, and converted into a garden, in which various European LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 67 seeds were planted. Several of the live animals, broUg'it from England, were also put onshore, and left under his charge. " When ready to sail, Captain Cook made an enter- tainment on behalf of Omai at his little house, and in order to recommend him still further to the chiefs of the island, he invited them also. Every body enjoyed himself but Omai, v^'ho became more dejected as the time of his taking leave of us for ever approached ; and when he came finally to bid adieu, the scene was very affecting to the W'hole company. It is certainly to be regretted, that Omai will never be of any service to his country by his travels, but perhaps will render his countrymen, and himself too, the more unhappy." The subsequent fate of Omai is not known, but had his knowledge, his efforts, or his example pro- duced any valuable effects in his native island, the monuments of them would havo been obvious to future voyagers. There has never been a more idle scheme of philanthropy, than that of converting a savage into a civilized man. No one attempt, it is believed, has ever been successful. Even Sampson Occum, before his death, relapsed into some of the worst habits of his tribe, and no North American In- dian of unmixed blood, whatever pains may have been taken with his education, has been known to adopt the manners of civilized men, or to pass his life among them. The reason is sufficiently plain, without resort- ing to natural instinct. In a civilized community, a man who has been a savage, must always feel himself inferior to those around him ; this feeling will drive him to his native woods, where he can claim and 68 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. maintain an equality with his associates. This is the universal sentiment of nature, and none but a slave can be without it. When a man lives with savages, he will assume the habits of a savage, the light of education will be extinguished, and his mind and his moral sense will soon adapt themselves to his con- dition. The vessels at length departed from the Society Islands, and took a northerly course, with the inten- tion of falling in with the coast of America, at about the fortieth degree of north latitude. After sailing six weeks, without approaching any other land, than an uninhabited island, consisting chiefly of a bed of coral rocks, and abounding in turtle of a fine quality, the mariners were greeted with a view of high land at a distance, which was not marked on the charts. It proved to be a new discovery, and was one of the group of islands, named afterwards by Cook the Sand- wick Islands. A safe harbor was found and entered, in which the vessels were no sooner anchored, than they were surrounded by canoes filled with the natives, who regarded the new comers with mex- pressible surprise, though not with apparent fear. A source of astonishment to the navigators was, that the people should speak a language differing but little from those of the Society Islands and New Zealand, which were distant, the first nearly three thousand, and the other four thousand miles, with an ocean intervening. The wide extent of the Polynesian dialects was not then known. Although very shy at first, the natives "w^ere not long in summoning courage to go on board. They looked with wonder upon the objects around LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 69 them, examined the hands, faces, and clothes of the sailors, and inquired if thej could eat. When satisfied on this head, by seeing them devour dry biscuit, the simple islanders were eager to show their hospitality, and presented them with pigs, yams, sweet potatoes, and plantains, thus verifying a, declaration of Ledyard on another occasion, that " all uncivilized men are hospitable." A friendly intercourse was established, and provisions were given in barter for old iron, nails, and other articles of little intrinsic value, but impor- tant to the natives. Cook remained ten days only at these islands, and then sailed for the American coast, intending to visit them again on his return from the north in the follow- ing winter. It was now the first of February, and no time was to be lost in hastening his voyage to the northward, for his plan was to proceed along the American shore, and run through Bering's Strait, so as to explore the polar latitudes at the proper season. Without any remarkable accident or adventure he reached the continent, and anchored in Nootka Sound. This is an extraordinary bay, extending several leagues into the country, and completely land-locked. On the *first night he ships were anchored in water nearly five hundred feet deep, and in other parts it was more than six hundred. A convenient harbor was found the next day. The bay is surrounded by lofty hills, and the shore is so bold, that the ships were secured by ropes fastened to trees. Our wanderer was now on his native continent, and although more than three thousand miles from the place of his birth, yet he could not resist the sensa- 70 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. tions kindled by the remembrance of home. All the deep emotions, says he, " incident to natural attach- ments and early prejudices played around my heart, and I indulged them." The feeling was spontaneous and genuine. Ledyard saw in the inhabitants, like- wise, indications of an affinity between them and the Indians, whom he had visited in his native country. In ail his travels he manifests a remarkable acute ness in observing the human character in its various grada- tions of improvement, and particularly in detecting resemblances between uncivilized people of different regions. Whether among the South Sea Islands, on the Northwest Coast of America, in Kamtschatka, Si- beria, or Egypt, remarks of this sort escape him con- tinually. He seems to have had in his mind a scale upon which he graduated the nations of men, and which he studied so carefully, that he could assign to each its proper place. His observations w ere not restricted to one class of qualities or circumstances, but they extended to all that constitute individual and national peculiarities, to the intellect, physical charac- teristics, modes of living, dress, warlike implements, habitations, furniture, government, religion, social state, and domestic habits. Nor was he merely ob- serving and inquisitive ; he was addicted to thought and redeciion. His theories were raised on the basis of facts ; his results were sustained by reasons, satis- factory at least to himself. He was fond of pursuing analogies, especially in regard to the origin, customs, and characters of the various races of men, and here the wide compass of his inquiries supplied him with so many materials not accessible to others, that he LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 71 sometimes came to conclusions less obvious to those who follow him, than they were to his own mind. His description of the people of Nootka is here in- serted. " I had no sooner beheld these Americans, tlian I set them down for the same kind of people, that inhabit the opposite side of the continent They are rather above the middle stature, copper-colored, and ol' an athletic make. They have lon^ black hair, which they generally wear in a club on the top of the head ; they fill it, when dressed, with oil, paint, and the down of birds. Tney also paint their faces with red, blue? and white colors, but from whence they had them, or how they were prepared, they would not inform us, nor could we tell. Their clothing generally consists of skins, but they have two other sorts of garmeiits ; the one is made of the inner rind of some sort oi bark, twisted and united together like the woof of our coarse cloths ; the other very strongly resembles the New Zealand toga, and is also principally made with the hair of their dogs, which are mostly white and of the domestic kind. Upon this garment is displayed, very well executed, the manner of their catching the whale ; we saw nothing so well done by a savage in our travels. Their garments of all kinds are worn mantlewise, and the borders of them are fringed, or terminated wifh some particular kind of ornament. Their richest skins, whe;i converted to garments, are edged with a great curiosity. This is nothing less, than the very species of ivampnm, so well known on the opposite side of the co'itiiseot. It is identically the same ; and this wampum was not only found 72 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. among all the aborigines we saw on this side of the continent, but even exists unmutilated on the opposite coasts of Norvh Asia. We saw them make use of no coverings to their feet or legs, and it was seldom they covered their heads. When they did, it was with a kind of a basket covering, made after the manner and form of the Chinese and Chinese Tartars' hats. Their language is very guttural, and if it were possi- ble to reduce it to our orthography, it would very much abound with consonants. In their manners they resemble the other aborigines of North America. They are bold and ferocious, sly and reserved, not easily provoked, but revengeful ; we saw no signs of religion or worship among them, and if they sacrifice, it is to the god of liberty." The fact here stated, respecting wampum, is curious, and confirms a remark of the author, that the diffusive power of commerce extended at that time throughout the whole continent of North America. " Nothing," says he, " can impede the progress of commerce among the uninformed part of mankind, but an intervention of too remote a communication by water." Civilized nations may impose restrictions, or adopt regulations, under the name of protecting laws, and thereby embar- rass commerce, but when left free to move in its own channels, there is no obscure nook of human society^ which it will not pervade. Ledyard discovered, among the natives on the Northwest coast, copper bracelets and knives, which could only have come to them across the continent from Hudson's Bay. Clap- perton found articles of English manufacture in the heart of Africa ; and the Russian embassy to Buka- LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 73 ria met with others from the same source in central Asia. The wampum of the North American Indians has been an article of traffic, and probably passed as a kind of currency among all the tribes from time immemorial. Ledyard's views of the commercial resources of Nootka Sound, and other parts of the Northwest Coast, must not be overlooked in this place, because they were the foundation of many important succeed- ing events of his life, in suggesting to him the benefits of a trafficing voyage to that coast. It will be seen hereafter, that he was the first, whether in Europe or America, to propose such a voyage as a mercantile enterprise, and that he persevered against numerous obstacles for several years, though with fruitless en- deavors, to accomplish his object. The furs, pur- chased of the natives for a mere trifle, were sold in China at an enormous advance, which had not been anticipated, but which gave ample proof of the advan- tages of such a commerce, undertaken upon a large scale. After enumerating some of the productions of the soil, he adds, " The light in which this country will appear most to advantage respects the variety of its animals, and the richness of their furs. They have foxes, sables, hares, marmosets, ermines, weazles, bears, wolves, deer, moose, dogs, otters, beavers, and a species of weazle called the glutton. The skin of this animal was sold at Kamtschatka, a Russian factory on the Asiatic coast, for sixty rubles, which is near twelve guineas, and had it been sold in China, it would have been worth thirty guineas. We purchased while here about fiteen hundred beaver, besides other skins, but 10 74 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. took none but the best, having no thoughts at that tune of using them to any other advantage, than con- verting them to the purposes of clothing ; but it after- wards happened that skins, which did not cost the pur- chaser sixpence sterlins:, sold in China for one hundred dollars. Neither did we purchase a quarter part of the beaver and other fur skins we might have done, and most certainly should have done, had we known of meeting the opportunity of disposing of them to such an astonishing profit." At Nootka Sound, and at the Sandwich Islands, Ledyard witnessed instances of cannibalism. In both places he saw human flesh prepared for food, but on one occasion only at each ; for, he says, the sailors ex- pressed such a horror at the sight, that the natives never ventured to repeat the act in their presence. In this part of his narrative he makes a digression on sacrifices, which I shall quote, not so much for its originality, or the conclusiveness of its reasoning, as to show his manner of considering the subject. His notion is, that cannibalism, or the custom of eating human flesh, which has by no means been uncommon among savage tribes, had its origin in the custom of sacrificing human victims. There is good evidence, that other tribes of North American Indians, besides those at Nootka, have been cannibals, if they are not so even at the present day. There was a time, when some philanthropists professed to doubt the existence of this habit, so shocking to humanity, but the mass of testimony brought to light since Cook's first voyage is such, as to conquer the most obstinate reluctance to conviction. Let the skeptic look at New Zealand, and cease to doubt. Ji LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 75 " The custom of sacrificing is very ancient. The first instance we have of it is in the lives of Cain and Abel. Their sacrifices consisted in part of animal flesh, burnt upon an altar dedicated to God. This custom exists now among all the uncivilized and Jewish nations, in the essential rites requisite to prove it analogous to the first institution. The only material change in the ceremony is, that the barbarous nations have added human flesh. Whether this additional ingredient in the oblation took place at a remote subsequent period, by the antecedent intervention of any extraor- dinary circumstance independent of the original form, does not appear, unless we place the subsequent period below the time of Abraham, or perhaps below the time of Jephthah. The circumstance of Abraham's intended sacrifice of Isaac, to which he was enjoined by the Deity, though he absolutely did not do it, yet was sufficient to introduce the idea, that such a sacri- fice was the most pleasing to God, and as it was an event very remarkable, it probably became an histori- cal subject, and went abroad among other tribes, and was handed down among them by tradition, and liable to all the changes incident thereto ; and in time the story might have been, that Abraham not only oftered, but really did sacrifice his own son. But perhaps the story of Jephthah, judge of Israel, is more to the point. It is said, he sacrificed his daughter as a burnt-oflering to the god, who had been propitious to him in war ; which does appear to be an act independent of custom, or tradition, as it was performed wholly from the obliga- tions of a rash vow, made to the Deity in the fulness of a heart surcharged with hopes and fears. It is also 76 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. a fact, that after this, particularly in the reign of the wicked Ahaz, it was a general custom, especially among the heathen, to make their children ' pass through the fire ; ' by which I suppose it is understood, that they were sacrificed with fire. " It seems, then, that the circumstance of adding human flesh in the ceremony of sacrificing, did take place in the years antecedent to Christ, and most probably from the example of Jephthah. After this we find it shifting places, attending the diffusive emigra- tions of the tribes, and commixing with mankind in general, but especially with those disunited from the chosen descendants of the great Abraham ; whose de- scendants, being constantly favored with civil and religious instructions from Heaven itself, were not only preserved from superstition and barbarity themselves, but were the means of furnishing the detached heathen with a variety of customs and ceremonies, that from the mere light of nature they never could have thought of ; nor could they preserve them pure and uncorrupt after they had adopted them. Even the favored Israelites were perpetually deviating into schisms and cabals, and frequently into downright idolatry, and all the vanity of superstition and unbridled nonsense, from the imbecility of human policy, when uninflu- enced by heavenly wisdom and jurisprudence. No wonder, then, that the separate tribes from the house of Abraham, though they primarily received many of their principles of civil and religious government from a pure fountain, should debase and contaminate them by the spurious conjunction of things derived from their own imaginations. And this seems to have been LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 77 the course of things to this day. There hath always been a part of mankind conspicuous for knowledge, superior in wisdom, and favored by Heaven, from whom others are separated ; and these, like the moon, have only shone with borrowed light. Some customs may be local and indigenous to particular times and circumstances, both in the civilized and uncivilized world, but far the greater part are derivative, and were originally bestowed on man by his supreme Governor ; those that we find among the civilized and wise, measured on a philosophic scale, are uncorrupt- ed, while those that we find existing in parts remote from civilization and knowledge, though they have a resemblance which plainly intimates from whence they came, are yet debased, mutilated, and by some hardly known. But who, that had seen a human body sacri- ficed at Otaheite to their god of war, w^ould not per- ceive an analogy to ancient custom on those occasions, and attribute it rather to such custom, than to any other cause whatever. And the custom is not con- fined to Otaheite alone ; it pervades the islands throughout the Pacific ocean. It was the case with the ancient Britons. The Mexicans depopulated society by this carnivorous species of sacrifice. This could not be the effect of accident, want, or caprice. It may be worthy of notice to remark furthermore, that in the time of Ahaz, these sacrifices were made in high places. It was so in Mexico, and is so at Otaheite and other islands. The Mexicans flung their victims from the top of their temple, dedicated to their god of war. The Otaheitans and the other islanders prepare those oblations on their Morals." 78 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. Captain Cook remained a few days only at Nootka Sound, and then sailed northward coasting along the American shore, and making various geographical dis- coveries till he came to Bering's Strait, which sepa- rates Asia from America. In passing through this Strait, Ledyard says both continents were distinctly seen at the same time. Cook traversed the polar seas in the month of August, as far north as the ice would permit, in search of a northwest passage, but without success. As the season advanced, he returned to the south, intending to renew his attempts the next year. Few occurrences are recorded in the voyage back to the Sandwich Islands. There is one, however, which merits particular attention in this narrative, since our hero was the chief actor. The adventure is mentioned in Cook's Voyages, and by Captain Burney, as highly creditable to the enterprise and dis- creticui of Ledyard. It happened at the island of Onalaska, on the Northwest Coast. Ledyard himself wrote a particular description of it, which hardly admits of abridgment, and which may best be given, therefore, in his own words. " I have before observed, that we had noticed many appearances to the eastward of this, as far almost as Sandwich Sound, of an European intercourse, and that we had at this island in particular met with cir- cumstances, that did not only indicate such an inter- course, but seemed strongly to intimate, that some Europeans were actually somewhere on the spot. The appearances that led to these conjectures were such as these. We found among the inhabitants of this LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 79 island two different kinds of people, the one we knew to be the aborigines of America, while we supposed the others to have come from the opposite coasts of Asia. There were two different dialects also ob- served, and we found them fond of tobacco, rum, and snuff. Tobacco we even found them possessed of, and we observed several blue linen shirts and drawers among them. But the most remarkable circumstance was a cake of rye meal newly baked, with a piece of salmon in it, seasoned with pepper and salt, which was brought and presented to Cook by a comely young chief, attended by two of those Indians, whom we supposed to be Asiatics. The chief seemed anxious to explain to Cook the meaning of the pre- sent, and the purport of his visit ; and he was so far successful as to persuade him, that there were some strangers in the country, who were white, and had come over the great waters in a vessel somewhat like ours, and though not so large, was yet much larger than theirs. " In consequence of this. Cook was determined to explore the island. It was difficult, however, to fix upon a plan, that would at once answer the purposes of safety and expedition. An armed body would proceed slowly, and if they should be cut off by the Indians, the loss in our present circumstances would be irreparable ; and a single person would entirely risk his life, though he would be much more expeditious if unmolested, and if he should be killed the loss would be only one. The latter seemed the best, but it was extremely hard to single out an individual, and com- mand him to go upon such an expedition ; and it was 80 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. therefore thought proper to send a volunteer, or none. I was at this time, and indeed ever after, an intimate friend of John Gore, first lieutenant of the Resolution, a native of America as well as myself, and superior to me in command. He recommended me to Captain Cook to undertake the expedition, with which I im- mediately acquiesced.* Captain Cook assured me. * The following biographical sketch has been furnished from a source which gives it a claim to confidence. Captain John Gore was born about the year 1730, in the Colony of Virginia. It may be reasonably inferred, that he was brought up to the sea, as he served a long time on board the Windsor man-of-war, during the contest which preceded the American Revolution. In the suc- cessive voyages of the Dolphin, under Byron and Wallis, he served as a master's mate, and on his return to England with the latter, was promoted to a lieutenancy. The Endeavour was then preparing for a similar expedition, and having beon appointed her second lieutenant, he accompanied Captain Cook in his first voyage round the world. In the following year, 1772, he was appointed to the command of a mer- chant-ship, which had been engaged by Sir Joseph Banks for the pur- pose of visiting Iceland and the Hebrides ; and did not return again until after the departure of the Resolution and Adventure. In the last voyage of Captain Cook, he served as first lieutenant of the Resolution, and on the death of the navigator, and of Captain Gierke, he respectively succeeded to the captaincy of the Discovery and to the chief command. On his arrival in England, he was imme- diately promoted to the rank of Post Captain, and shortly after to the station in Greenwich Hospital, which was to have been resumed by Captain Cook, in the event of his having returned. He remained in this honorable retirement till his death, which is recorded in a publica- tion of the time, in the foUov/ing words. " August 10, 1790 — At his apartments in Greenwich Hospital, sin- cerely regretted by all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance. Cap- tain John Gore, one of the Captains of Greenwich Hospital, a most experienced seaman, and an honor to his profession. He had sailed four times round the world ; first with Commodore Byron ; secondly, with Captain Wallis, and the two last times with Captain James Cook." LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 81 that he was happy I had undertaken it, as he was convinced I should persevere ; and after giving me some instructions how to proceed, he wished me well, and desired I would not be longer absent than a week if possible, at the expiration of which he should ex- pect me to return. If I did not return by that time, he should wait another week for me, and no longer. The young chief before-mentioned, and his two at- tendants, were to be my guides. I took with me some presents adapted to the taste of the Indians, brandy in bottles, and bread, but no other provisions. I went entirely unarmed, by the advice of Captain Cook. The first day we proceeded about fifteen miles into the interior part of the island, without any remarkable occurrence, until we approached a village just before night. This village consisted of about thirty huts, some of them large and spacious, though not very high. The huts are composed of a kind of slight frame, erected over a square hole sunk about four feet into the ground ; the frame is covered at the bottom with turf, and upwards it is thatched with In the theoretical attainments of his profession, Captain Gore may have been equalled by many, but as a practical navigator he was surpassed by none. As an officer, he appears to have blended a proper degree of prudence with the most unshaken intrepidity ; and his illus- trious commander declares, that he ever reposed the fullest confidence in his diligence and ability. In his disposition he was benevolent ; and his generosity (as is remarked by Captain King) was manifested on all occasions. But the character of a " very worthy man," ascribed to him by Van Troil, in his letters on Iceland, will comprise the enumera- tion of his virtues. Of his particular kindness and attention to his countrymen, we have a striking proof in the case of Ledyard. 11 82 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. coarse grass ; the whole village was out to see us, and men, women, and children crowded about me. I was conducted by the young chief, who was my guide, and seemed proud and assiduous to serve me, into one of the largest huts. I was surprised at the behavior of the Indians, for though they were curious to see me, yet they did not express that extraordinary curi- osity, that would be expected had they never seen an European before, and 1 was glad to perceive it, as it was an evidence in favor of what I wished to find true, namely, that there were Europeans now among them. The women of the house, which were almost the only ones I had seen at this island, were much more tolerable, than I expected to find them ; one, in par- ticular, seemed very busy to please me ; to her, there- fore, I made several presents, with which she was extremely well pleased. As it was now dark, my young chief intimated to me, that we must tarry where we were that night, and proceed further the next day ; to which I very readily consented, being much fatigued. Our entertainment, the subsequent part of the evening, did not consist of delicacies or much variety ; they had dried fish, and I had bread and spirits, of which we all participated. Ceremony was not invited to the feast, and nature presided over the entertainment. " At daylight Perpheela (which was the name of the young chief that was my guide) let me know that he was ready to go on ; upon which 1 flung off the skins I had slept in, put on my shoes and outside vest, and arose to accompany him, repeating my presents to my friendly hosts. We had hitherto travelled in a north- LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 83 eriy direction, but now went to the westward and southward, I was now so much relieved from the apprehension of any insult or injury from the Indians, that rny journey would have been even agreeable, had I not been taken lame, with a swelling in the feet, which rendered it extremely painful to walk ; the country was also rough and hilly, and the weather wet and cold. About three hours before dark we came to a large bay, which appeared to be four leagues over. Here my guide, Perpheela, took a canoe and all our baggage, and set off, seemingly to cross the bay. He appeared to leave me in an abrupt manner, and told me to follow the two attendants. This gave me some uneasiness. I now followed Perpheela's two attend- ants, keeping the bay in view, but we had not gone above six miles before we saw a canoe approaching us from the opposite side of the bay, in which were two Indians ; as soon as my guides saw the canoe, we ran to the shore from the hills and hailed them, and find- ing they did not hear us, we got some bushes and waved them in the air, which they saw, and stood directly for us. This canoe was sent by Perpheela to bring me across the bay, and shorten the distance of the journey. " It was beginning to be dark when the canoe came to us. It was a skin canoe, after the Esquimaux plan, with two holes to accommodate two sitters. The Indians that came in the canoe talked a little with my two guides, and then came to me and desired I would get into the canoe. This I did not very readily agree to, however, as there was no other place for me but to be thrust into the space between the holes, extended 84 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. at length upon my back, and wholly excluded from seeing the way I went, or the power of extricating myself upon any emergency. But as there was no alternative, I submitted thus to be stowed away in bulk, and went head foremost very swift through the water about an hour, when I felt the canoe strike a beach, and afterwards lifted up and carried some dis- tance, and then set down again ; after which I was drawn out by the shoulders by three or four men, for it was now so dark that I could not tell who they were, though I was conscious I heard a language that was new. I was conducted by two of these persons, who appeared to be strangers, about forty rods, when I saw lights and a number of huts like those I left in the morning. As we approached one of them, a door opened, and discovered a lamp, by which, to my joy and surprise, I discovered that the two men, who held me by each arm, were Europeans, fair and comely, and concluded from their appearance they were Rus- sians, which I soon after found to be true. As we entered the hut, which was particularly long, I saw, arranged on each side, on a platform of plank, a number of Indians, who all bowed to me ; and as I advanced to the farther end of the hut, there were other Russians. When I reached the end of the room, I was seated on a bench covered with fur skins, and as 1 was much fatigued, wet, and cold, I had a change of garments brought me, consisting of a blue silk shirt and drawers, a fur cap, boots, and gown, all which I put on with the same cheerfulness they were presented with. Hospitality is a virtue peculiar to man, and the obligation is as great to receive as to LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 6b confer. As soon as I was rendered warm and com- fortable, a table was set before me with a lamp upon it ; all the Russians in the house sat down round me, and the bottles of spirits, tobacco, snuff, and whatever Perpheela had, were brought and set upon it ; these I presented to the company, intimating that they were presents from Commodore Cook, who was an Eng- lishman. One of the company then gave me to understand, that all the white people I saw there were subjects of the Empress Catherine of Russia, and rose and kissed my hand, the rest uncovering their heads. 1 then informed them as well as I could, that Commodore Cook wanted to see some of them, and had sent me there to conduct them to our ships. These preliminaries over, we had supper, which con- sisted of boiled whale, halibut fried in oil, and broiled salmon. The latter I ate, and they gave me rye-bread, but would eat none of it themselves. They were very- fond of the rum, which they drank without any mixture or measure. I had a very comfortable bed composed of different fur skins, both under and over me, and being harassed the preceding day, I went soon to rest. After 1 had lain down, the Russians assembled the Indians in a very silent manner, and said prayers after the manner of the Greek church, which is much like the Roman. 1 could not but observe with what particular satisfaction the Indians performed theii' de- voirs to God, through the medium of their little cru- cifixes, and with what pleasure they went through the multitude of ceremonies attendant on that sort of w^orship. I think it a religion the best calculated in the world to gain proselytes, when the people are either 86 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. unwilling or unable to speculate, or when they cannot be made acquainted with the history and principles of Christianity without a formal education. " I had a very comfortable night's rest, and did not wake the next morning until late. As soon as I was up, I was conducted to a hut at a little distance from the one I had slept in, where I saw a number of plat- forms raised about three feet from the ground, and covered with dry coarse grass and some small green bushes. There were several of the Russians already here, besides those that conducted me, and several Indians who were heating water in a large copper caldron over a furnace, the heat of which, and the steam which evaporated from the hot water, rendered the hut, which was very tight, extremely hot and suf- focating. I soon understood this was a hot bath, of which I was asked to make use in a friendly manner. The apparatus being a little curious, I consented to it, but before I had finished undressing myself, I was overcome by the sudden change of the air, fainted away, and fell back on the platform I was sitting on. I was, however, soon relieved by having cold and lukewarm water administered to my face and different parts of my body. I finished undressing, and pro- ceeded as I saw the rest do, who were now all un- dressed. The Indians, who served us, brought us, as we set or extended ourselves on the platforms, water of different temperatures, from that which was as hot as we could bear, to quite cold. The hot water was accompanied with some hard soap and a flesh-brush ; it was not however thrown on the body from the dish, but sprinkled on with the green bushes. After this, LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 87 the water made use of was less warm, and by several gradations became at last quite cold, which concluded the ceremony. We again dressed and returned to our lodgings, where our breakfast was smoking on the table ; but the flavor of our feast, as well as its appear- ance, had nearly produced a relapse in my spirits, and no doubt would, if I had not had recourse to some of the brandy I had brought, which happily saved me. I was a good deal uneasy, lest the cause of my dis- composure should disoblige my friends, who meant to treat me in the best manner they could. 1 therefore attributed my illness to the bath, which might possibly have partly occasioned it, for I am not very subject to fainting. I could eat none of the breakfast, however, though far from wanting an appetite. It was mostly of whale, sea-horse, and bear, which, though smoked, dried, and boiled, produced a composition of smells very offensive at nine or ten in the morning. I there- fore desired I might have a piece of smoked salmon broiled dry, which I ate with some of my own biscuit. " After breakfast I intended to set off on my return to the ships, though there came on a disagreeable snow storm. But my new-found friends objected to it, and gave me to understand, that I should go the next day, and, if I chose, three of them would accompany me. This I immediately agreed to, as it anticipated a favor I intended to ask them, though I before much doubted whether they would comply with it. I amused my- self within doors, while it snowed without, by writing down a few words of the original languages of the American Indians, and of the Asiatics, who came over to this coast with these Russians from Kamtschatka. 88 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. " In the afternoon the weather cleared up, and I went out to see how those Russian adventurers were situated. I found tiie whole village to contain about thirty huts, all of which were built partly under ground, and covered with turf at the bottom, and coarse grass at the top. The only circumstance that can recommend them is their warmth, which is occa- sioned partly by their manner of construction, and partly by a kind of oven, in which they constantly keep a fire night and day. They sleep on platforms built on each side of the hut, on which they have a number of bear and other skins, which render them comfortable ; and as they have been educated in a hardy manner, they need little or no other support, than what they procure from the sea and from hunt- ing. The number of Russians were about thirty, and they had with them about seventy Kamtschadales, or Indians from Kamtschatka. These, with some of the American Indians, whom they had entered into friend- ship with, occupied the village, enjoyed every benefit in common with the Russians, and were converts to their religion. Such other of the aborigines of the island, as had not become converts to their sentiments in religious and civil matters, were excluded from such privileges, and were prohibited from wearing certain arms. I also found a small sloop of about thirty tons bur- then lying in a cove behind the village, and a hut near her, containing her sails, cordage, and other sea equip- age, and one old iron three pounder. It is natural to an ingenuous mind, when it enters a town, a house, or ship, that has been rendered famous by any particular LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 89 event, to feel the full force of that pleasure, which re- sults from gratiijing a noble curiosity. 1 was no sooner informed, that this sloop was the same in which the famous Bering had performed those discoveries, which did him so much honor, and his country such great sei' ice, than I was determined to go on board of her, and indulge the generous feelings the occasion in- spired. I intimated my wishes to the man that accompanied me, who went back to the village, and brought a canoe, in which we went on board, where I remained about an hour, and then returned. This little bark belonged to Kamtschatka, and came from thence with the Asiatics already mentioned to this island, which they call Onalaska, in order to estab- lish a pelt and fur factory. They had been here about five years, and go over to Kamtschatka in her once a year to deliver their merchandise, and get a recruit of such supplies as they need from the chief factory there, of which I shall take further notice hereafter. " The next day I set off from this village, well satis- fied with the happy issue of a tour, which was now as agreeable as it was at first undesirable. I was ac- companied by three of the principal Russians, and some attendants. We embarked at the village in a large skin boat, much like our large whale-boats, row- ing with twelve oars ; and as we struck directly across the bay, we shortened our distance several miles, and the next day, passing the same village I had before been at, we arrived by sunset at the bay where the ships lay, and before dark I got on board with our new acquaintances. The satisfaction this discovery gave 12 90 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. Cook, and the honor that redounded to me, may be easily imagined, and the several conjectures respecting the appearance of a foreign intercourse were rectified and confirmed." Such other researches, as could be pursued at that season, having been made at Onalaska, and along the coast. Cook left the continent and shaped his course for the Sandwich Islands. Two months' sailing brought him in view of one of the group, not discov- ered on his voyage to the north, called by the natives Owhyhee, or Hawyhee, as Ledyard writes it, or Hawaii, according to the modern orthography of the missionaries.* As our traveller is more minute in his description of the events that happened at this island, and particularly in his account of the death of Caj)tain Cook, than most narrators, and as he describes only what came within his own knowledge, it may be worth while to dwell a little upon these topics. * It is to be observed, that the sound expressed by Ledyard's ortho- graphy, and that of the missionaries, is exactly tlie same, he preserving the English sounds of the vowels, and they adopting the Italian. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 91 CHAPTER V. The ships anchored in Kearakekua bay. — First interview with the natives. — Reverence with which they regarded Cook. — Tents erected for astronomical observations. — Ceremonies at the meeting of Cook with the old king. — Ledyard forms the project of ascending the high mountain in Hawaii, called by the natives Mouna Roa — Description of his ascent, and cause of his ultimate failure. — The natives begin to show symptoms of uneasi- ness at the presence of the strangers, and to treat them with disrespect. — Offended at the encroachment made on their Moral. — Cook departs from Kearakekua bay, but is compelled to return by a heavy storm, that overtakes him, and injures his ships. — Natives receive him coldly. — They steal one of the ship's boats, which Cook endeavors to recover. — Goes on shore for the purpose. — Is there attacked by the natives and slain. — Ledyard accompanied him on shore, and was near his person when killed. — His de- scription of the event. — Expedition sails for Kamtschatka, explores again the Polar seas, and returns to England. — Ledyard's opinions respecting the first peopling of the South Sea Islands. — Other remarks relating to this subject, founded on the analogy of languages, and manners of the people. — Character- istics of Ledyard's journal. — Estimation in which he held Captain Cook. The ships 'v^^ere several days among the islands, sailino; in different directions, before a harbor was dis- covered, in vi'hich they could anchor with safety, and where water and provisions could be procured. At length they entered a commodious bay on the south side of Hawaii, extending inland about two miles and a half, having the town of Kearakekua on one side, and Kiverua on the other. These towns con- tained fourteen hundred houses. The crowds of people that flocked to the shore, as the vessels sailed in and came to anchor, were prodigious. They had assembled from the interior and the coast. Three thousand canoes were counted in the bay, filled with men, women, and children, to the number of at least 92 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. fifteen thousand, besides others that were swimming and sustaining themselves on floats in the water. The scene was animated and grotesque in the extreme. " The beach, the surrounding rocks, the tops of houses, the branches of trees, and the adjacent hills were all covered ; and the shouts of joy and admiration, proceeding from the sonorous voices of the men, con- fused with the shriller exclamations of the women dancing and clapping their hands, the oversetting of canoes, cries of the children, goods afloat, and hogs that were brought to market squealing, formed one of the most curious prospects, that can be imagined." But amidst this immense concourse, all was peace, harmony, hilarity, and good nature. Many of the natives were contented to gaze and wonder ; others, by their noise and actions, gave more imposing demon- strations of their joy and admiration ; while others were busy in bartering away hogs, sweet potatoes, and such provisions as they had, for articles that pleased their fancy. Cook's first visit to the shore was attended with a good deal of ceremony. Two chiefs, with long white poles as ensigns of their authority, made a passage among the canoes for his pinnace, and the people, as he was rowed along, covered their faces with their hands. When he landed, they fell prostrate en the beach before him, and a new set of officers opened a way for him through the crowd. The same expres- sions of awe were manifested, as he proceeded from the water's edge. " The people upon the adjacent hills, upon the houses, on the stone walls, and in the tops of the trees, also hid their faces, while he passed LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 93 along the opening, but he had no sooner past them, than they rose and followed him. But if Cook hap- pened to turn his head, or look behind him, they were down again in an instant, and up again as soon, when- ever his face was reverted to some other quarter. This punctilious performance of respect in so vast a throng, being regulated solely by the accidental torn of one man's head, and the transition being sudden and short, rendered it very difficult even for an indivi- dual to be in proper attitude. If he lay prostrate hot a second too long, he was pretty sure not to rise again until he had been trampled upon by all behind him, and if he dared not to prostrate himself, he ivould stumble over those before him who did. This pro- duced a great many laughable circumstances, and as Cook walked very fast to get from the sand into the shades of the town, it rendered the matter still more difficult. At length, however, they adopted a a medium, that much better answered a running com- pliment, and did not displease the chiefs ; this was to go upon all fours, which was truly ludicrous among at least ten thousand people." This confusion ceased, however, before long, for Cook was conducted to the Morai, a sacred enclosure, which none but the chiefs and their attendants were allowed to enter. Here he was unmolested, and the presents were distributed. His first object w^as to procure a situation on shore to erect tents, and fit up the astronomical instruments. A suitable spot was granted, on condition that none of the seamen should leave the place after sunset, and with a stipulation on the part of the chiefs, that none of their people should enter it by night. To make 94 LIFE OF JOHN LEDTARD. this effectual, the ground was marked out bj white rods, and put under the restriction of the lahu, which no native dared violate, being restrained by the super- stitious fear of offending the atuas, or invisible spirits of the island. This caution surprised Cook a little, as he had not witnessed it among the natives of the other South Sea Islasjds. It appeared reasonable, and he consented to it, not foreseeing the mischiefs to which it would ultimately lead. Ledjard considers it the origin of all the disasters that followed. Restric- tions were imposed, which could not be enforced ; thej were violated secretly at first, then with less re- serve, and at last openly. The men in the tents were the first to transgress, by going abroad contrary to the agreement. The native wonien were tempted by them to pass over the prescribed limits, although they shuddered at the apprehension of the consequences, which might follow such a disregard ol the tabu. When they found, however, that no harm came upon them from the enraged atuas, their fears by degrees subsided. This intercourse was not such, as to raise the Europeans in the estimation of the islanders. It was begun by stealth, and prosecuted in violation of the sacred injunction of the tabu, and as no measures were taken to prevent it, the chiefs naturally consid- ered it an infraction of the agreement. Ledyard was himself stationed on shore with a guard of marines to protect the tents, and enjoyed the best opportunity for seeing and knowing what passed in that quarter. Harmony, and a good understanding among all parties, prevailed for several days. Cook went through the ceremony of being anointed with cocoa- LIfE OF JOHN LEDYABD. 95 nut oil by one of the chief priests, and of listening; to a speech half an hour in length, on the occasion, from the same high dignitary. When Teraiobu, the king, a feeble old man. returned from one of the other islands, where he had been on a visit, there was another ceremony, conducted with great form, at his meeting with Cook. Entertainments succeeded, and good cheer and good humor were seen everywhere. Cook first invited Teraiobu and his chiefs on board to dinner. They were temperate, drinking water only, and eating but little. The old king satisfied himself entirely with bread-fruit and water, but the yoimger chiefs comprised in their repast the luxury of pork and fowls. They all went away well pleased, and the king invited Cook to dine with him the next day at his royal resi- dence. The invitation was accepted ; and when the hour came, the navigator and his officers were sump- tuously feasted on baked hog and potatoes, neatly spiead out on green plantain leaves, and for beverage they were supplied with cocoanut milk. The day was closed with gymnastic exercises, wrestling and boxing, ordered by the old king for the amusement of his guests. On the next evening Cook in his turn exhibited fireworks on shore, much to the amazement of the beholders, who had never before seen such a display. Many laughable incidents occurred. When the first sky-rocket was discharged, the multitude was seized with the greatest consternation. Cook and his officers " could hardly hold the old feeble Teraiobu, and some elderly ladies of quality that sat among them ; and before they had recovered from this parox- ysm, nearly the whole host, that a moment before 96 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. surroimded them, had fled." Some were too much fi-ighteiied to return any more, but others came back as their fears abated, and had the courage to keep their 2;round through the remainder of the exhibition. Thus all things were pro* eeding, as Ledyard ex- presses it, " in the old Otaheite style ; " the visiters and the islanders were mutually pleased with each other, kind offices were reciprocated, abundant stores of provisions were carried on board, and prospects were favorable. While affairs were in this train, Ledyard formed the design of ascending the high peak, which rises from the centre of the island, and is called by the natives Mouna Roa. Although this mountain stands on an island only ninety miles in diameter, yet it is one of the highest in the world. Its elevation has been esti- mated to be about eighteen thousand feet, and its sumniit is usually covered with snow. From his sta- tion at the tents, Ledyard sent a note on board the Resolution to Captain Cook, asking permission to make this jaunt, for the double purpose of exploring the interior, and, if possible, climbing to the top of the imountain. The request was granted. The botanist, and the gunner of the Resolution, were deputed by the commander to accompany him. Natives were also engaged to carry the baggage, and serve as guides through the woods. A tropical sun was then pouring its rays on them at the bay of Kearakekua, but the snows visible on the peak of Mouna Roa warned them to provide additional clothing, and guard against the effects of a sudden transition from heat to cold. The party at length set off. On first leaving the town LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 97 their route lay through enclosed plantations of sweet potatoes, with a soil of lava, tilled in some places with difficulty. Now and then a patch of sugar-cane was seen in a moist place. Next came the open planta- tions, consisting chiefly of bread-fruit trees, and the land began to ascend more abruptly. " We continued up the ascent," he writes, " to the distance of a mile and a half further, and found the land thick covered with wild fern, among which our botanist found a new species. It was now near sunset, and being upon the skirts of these woods, that so remark- ably surrounded this island at a uniform distance of four our five miles from the shore, we concluded to halt, especially as there was a hut hard by, that would afford us a better retreat during the night, than what we might expect if we proceeded. When we reached the hut, we found it inhabited by an elderly man, his wife, and daughter, the emblem of innocent, unin- structed beauty. They were somewhat discomposed at our appearance and equipment, and would have left their house through fear, had not the Indians, who accompanied us, persuaded them otherwise, and at last reconciled them to us. We sat down together before the door, and from the height of the situation we had a complete retrospective view of our route, of the town, of part of the bay, and one of our ships, besides an extensive prospect on the ocean, and a dis- tant view of three of the neighboring islands. " As we had proposed remaining at this hut through the night, and were willing to preserve what provi- sions we had ready dressed, we purchased a little pig, and had him dressed by our host, who, finding his ac- 13 98 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. count in his visitants, bestirred himself and soon had it ready. After supper we had some of our brandy dikited with the mountain water, and we had so long been confined to the poor brackish water at the bay below, that it was a kind of nectar to us. As soon as the sun was set, we found a considerable difference in the state of the air. At night a heavy dew fell, and we felt it very chilly, and had recourse to our blankets, notwithstanding we were in the hut. The next morning, when we came to enter the woods, we found there had been a heavy rain, though none of it had approached us, notwithstanding we were within two hundred yards of the skirts of the forest. And it seemed to be a matter of fact, both from the informa- tion of the natives and our own observations, that neither the rains nor the dews descended lower than where the woods terminated, unless at the equinoxes or some periodical conjuncture, by which means the space between the woods and the shore is rendered warm, and fit for the purposes of culture, and the vegetation of tropical productions. We traversed these woods by a compass, keeping a direct course for the peak, and was so happy the first day as to find a footpath that tended nearly our due course, by which means we travelled by estimation about fifteen miles, and though it would have been no extraordinary march, had circumstances been different, yet, as we found them, we thought it a very great one ; for it was not only excessively miry and rough, but the way was mostly an ascent, and we had been unused to walking, and espe- cially to carrying such loads as we had. Our Indian companions were much more fatigued than we were. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD, 99 though they had nothing to carry, and, what displeased us very much, would not carry anything. Our botanical researches delayed us somewhat. The sun had not set when we halted, yet meeting" with a situation that pleased us, and not being limited as to time, we spent the remaining part of the day as humor dictated, some in botanizing, and those who had fowling-pieces with them in shooting. For my part I could not but think the present appearance of our encampment claimed a part of our attention, and therefore set about some alterations and amendments. It was the trunk of a tree, that had fallen by the side of the path, and lay with one end transversely over another tree, that had fallen before in an opposite direction, and as it mea- sured twentytwo feet in circumference, and lay four feet from the ground, it afforded very good shelter except at the sides, which defect I supplied by large pieces of bark, and a good quantity of boughs, which rendered it very commodious. We slept through the night under it much better than we had done the pre- ceding, notwithstanding there was a heavy dew, and the air cold. "The next morning we set out in good spirits, hoping that day to reach the snowy peak ; but we had not gone a mile, before the path, that had hitherto so much facilitated our progress, began not only to take a direction southward of west, but had been so little frequented as to be almost effaced. In this situation we consulted our Indian convoy, but to no purpose. We then advised among ourselves, and at length concluded to proceed by the nearest route without any beaten track, and went in this manner 100 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. about four miles further, finding the way even more steep and rough, than we had yet experienced, but above all impeded by such impenetrable thickets, as rendered it impossible for us to proceed any further. We therefore abandoned our design, and returning in our own track, reached the retreat we had improved the last night, having been the whole day in walking only about ten miles, and we had been very assiduous too. We found the country here, as well as at the seashore, universally overspread with lava, and also saw several subterranean excavations, that had every appearance of past eruption and fire. Our botanist to day met with great success, and we had also shot a number of fine birds of the liveliest and most variegated plumage, that any of us had ever met with, but we heard no melody among them. Except these we saw no other kind of birds but the screechowl ; neither did we see any kind of quadruped, but we caught several curious insects. The woods here are thick and luxuriant, the largest trees being nearly thirty feet in the girth, and these with the shrubbery underneath, and the whole intersected with vines, render it very umbrageous. " The next day, about two in the afternoon, we cleared the woods by our old route, and by six o'clock reached the tents, having penetrated about twentyfour miles, and, we supposed, within eleven of the peak. Our Indians were extremely fatigued, though they had no baggage." * * This mountain was never ascended to the top, till very recent- ly. Mr Goodrich, one of the American Missionarioe on the island, was the first person, who persevered in reaching the summit. He ascended on a side of the mountain nearly opposite to that, where Ledyard made the attempt. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 101 Were we to follow the author closely m his narra- tive, we should here introduce his description of the island of Hawaii, and of the various objects that at- tracted his notice. He speaks of the geological struc- J ture of the island, its soil, productions, climate, and animals ; the customs of the natives, their supersti- tions, government, and criminal offences ; their way of living, and the remarkable differences between them and the other islanders of the South Sea. On some of these topics his remarks are original and striking, but we must pass over them, and hasten to particulars of higher interest. Before two weeks had expired, the natives began to show symptoms of uneasiness at the presence of the foreigners, and to treat them with diminished respect. In truth, very little pains were taken to preserve their good opinion, or to keep alive their kind feelings ; and one untoward event after another was perpetually occurring to lessen the admiration, which novelty had excited, and to alienate them from their newly made friends. Ledyard mentions several incidents of this description, which are not alluded to in the authorized account of Cook's last voyage. Some of them, probably, were not known to the writer, and others were omitted from motives of policy, as being rather evidences of neglect or injudicious management, than of cautious or discreet measures. The natives first began to practise slight insults, which seemed to pro- ceed rather from a mischievous, than a malignant temper. The master's mate was ordered to take on board the rudder of the Resolution, which had been sent ashore for repairs. It was too heavy for his men 102 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. to remove, and he asked the natives to assist them. Fifty or sixty immediately caught hold of the rope attached to the rudder, and began to pull. But whether in sport, or by design, they caused only em- barrassment and disorder. " This exasperated the mate, and he struck tvi^o or three of them, vi^hich being observed by a chief that was present, he interposed. The mate haughtily told the chief to order his people to assist him, and the chief as well as the people hav- ing no intention, but of showing their disregard and scorn, which had long been growing towards us, laughed at him, hooted him, and threw stones at him and the crew, who taking up some trunnels that were lying by, fell upon the Indians, beat many of them much, and drove the rest several rods back ; but the crowd collecting at a little distance, formed, and began to use abusive language, challenge our people and throw stones, some of which came into our encamp- ment." Ledyard's guard of marines was ordered out, *' at least to make a show of resentment," and the commanding officer at the tents went out himself to quell the disturbance ; but they were all pelted with stones, and retired, leaving the field to the natives till night, when the rudder was taken on board. " Instances of this kind, though of less apparent importance, had happened several times before this on shore ; but on board hardly a day passed after the first week, that did not produce some petty disturbance in one or both of the ships, and they chiefly proceeded from thefts perpetrated by the natives in a manner little short of robbery. Cook and Teraiobu were fully employed in adjusting and compromising these differ- LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 103 ences, and as there was really a reciprocal disinterested regard between him and this good old man, it tended much to facilitate these amicable negotiations. But in the midst of these measures, Cook was insensible of the daily decline of his greatness and importance in the estimation of the natives ; nay, so confident was he, and so secure in the opposite opinion, that on the fourth of February he came to Kearakekua, with his boats, to purchase and carry off the fence round the Morai, which he wanted to wood the ships with. When he landed, he sent for the Priest Kikinny, and some other chiefs, and offered them two iron hatchets for the fence. The chiefs were astonished, not only at the inadequate price, but at the proposal, and refused him. " Cook was as much chagrined as they were sur- prised, and, not meeting with the easy acquiescence he expected to his requisitions, gave immediate orders to his people to ascend the Morai, break down the fence and load the boats with it, leading the way him- self to enforce his orders. The poor dismayed chiefs, dreading his displeasure, which they saw approaching, followed him upon the Morai to behold the fence that enclosed the mansions of their noble ancestors, and the images of their gods, torn to pieces by a handful of rude strangers, without the power, or at least without the resolution, of opposing their sacrilegious depredations. When Cook had ascended the Morai, he once more offered the hatchets to the chiefs. It was a very unequal price, if the honest chiefs would have accepted of the bribe ; and Cook offered it only to evade the imputation of taking their property with- 104 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. out payment. The chiefs again refused it. Cook then added another hatchet, and, kindling into resent- ment, told them to take it or nothing. Kikinny, to whom the offer was made, turned pale, and trembled as he stood, but still refused. Cook thrust them into his garment, that was folded round him, and left him immediately to hasten the execution of his orders. As for Kikinny, he turned to some of his menials, and made them take the hatchets out of his garment, not touching them himself. By this time a considerable concourse of the natives had assembled under the walls of the Morai, where we were throwing the wood down, and were very outrageous, and even threw the wood and images back as we threw them down ; and I cannot think what prevented them from proceeding to greater lengths ; however, it so happened that we got the whole into the boats, and safely on board." This story is told differently by Captain King, who wrote that part of Cook's Third Voyage, which relates to the Sandwich Islands. As he represents it, no ob- jection was made to the proposal for taking away the enclosure of wood, that surrounded the Morai, and even the images were tumbled down and carried off, under the eyes of the priests, without any resistance or dis- approbation on their part. This would seem improba- ble. The Morai was the depositary of the dead, a place where the images of the gods were kept, and solemn ceremonies performed. It is not easy to re- concile the two accounts, but Ledyard was employed with others in removing the fence, and he manifestly describes what he saw. He may not have been so well acquainted with the manner and conditions of LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD., 105 the purchase, as Captain King, yet in the detail of occurrences in which he was engaged, and their effects on the people around him, it is hardly possible that he should have been mistaken. Again, he writes, " On the evening of the fifth we struck our tents, and everything was taken on board, and it was mani- festly much to the satisfaction of the natives. A little after dark an old house, that stood on a corner of the Moral, took fire and burnt down ; this we sup- posed was occasioned by our people's carelessly leav- ing their fire near it, but this was not the case. The natives burnt it themselves, to show us the resentment they entertained towards us, on account of our using it without their consent, and indeed manifestly against it. We had made a sail-loft of one part of it, and an hospital for our sick of the other, though it evidently was esteemed by the natives as holy as the rest of the Moral, and ought to have been considered so by us." They bad now been nineteen days in Kearakekua bay ; the ships had been repaired, the seamen re- cruited after their long toils, provisions for several months laid in, and nothing more was wanting to ena- ble them to go again to sea, but a supply of water. This was not to be had at Kearakekua, except of a brackish quality, and it was resolved to search for it on some of the other islands. For this object the vessels were unmoored, and sailed out of the har- bor. No sooner had they got to sea, than a violent gale came on, which lasted three days and injured so seriously the Resolution's foremast, that Cook was compelled to return speedily to his old anchorage ground and make repairs. Our voyager is so circum- 14 106' LIFE OF JOHN LEDVARD. stantial in his account from this point, till the tragical death of Captain Cook, that I shall not mar his narra- tive by curtailing it. The only thing necessary to be premised is, that he was one of the small party, who landed with the unfortunate navigator on the morning of his death, and was near him during the fatal con- test, although this does not appear from his own state- ment. " Our return to this bay was as disagreeable to us, as it was to the inhabitants, for we were reciprocally tired of each other. They had been oppressed, and were weary of our prostituted alliance, and we were aggrieved by the consideration of wanting the provi- sions and refreshments of the country, which w^e had every reason to suppose, from their behavior antece- dent to our departure, would now be withheld from us, or brought in such small quantities as to be worse than none. What we anticipated was true. When we en- tered the bay, where before we had the shouts of thou- sands to welcome our arrival, we had the mortification not to see a single canoe, and hardly any inhabitants in the towns. Cook was chagrined, and his people were soured. Towards night, however, the canoes came in, but the provisions both in quantity and quali- ty plainly informed us, that times were altered ; and what was very remarkable was the exorbitant price they asked, and the particular fancy they all at once took to iron daggers or dirks, which were the only arti- cles that were any ways current, with the chiefs at least. It was also equally evident from the looks of the natives, as well as every other appearance, that our former friendship w^as at an end, and that we had LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 107 iiothins: to do but to hasten our departure to some dif- ferent island, where our vices were not known, and where our extrinsic virtues might gain us another short space of being wondered at, and doing as we pleased, or, as our tars expressed it, of being happy by the month. " Nor was their passive appearance of disgust all we had to fear, nor did it continue long. Before dark a canoe with a number of armed chiefs came along- side of us without provisions, and indeed without any perceptible design. After staying a short time only, they went to the Discovery, where a part of them went on board. Here they affected great friendship, and unfortunately overacting it, Gierke was suspi- cious, and ordered two sentinels on the gangways. These men were purposely sent by the chief, who had formerly been so very intimate with Gierke, and afterwards so ill treated by him, with the charge of stealing his jolly-boat. They came with a deter- mination of mischief, and effected it. After they were all returned to the canoe but one, they got their paddles and everything ready for a start. Those in the canoes, observing the sentry to be watchful, took off his attention by some conversation, that they knew would be pleasing to him, and by this means favored the designs of the man on board, who watching his opportunity snatched two pairs of tongs, and other iron tools that then lay close by the armorers at work at the for^e, and mounting the gangway-rail, with one leap threw himself and his goods into the canoe, that was then upon the move, and, taking up his paddle joined the others ; and standing directly for the shorej 108 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. they were out of our reach almost instantaneously, even before a musket could be had from the arms- chest to fire at them. The sentries had only hangers. This was the boldest exploit that had yet been at- tempted, and had a bad aspect. Gierke immediately sent to the commodore, who advised him to send a boat on shore to endeavor at least to regain the goods, if they could not the men who took them ; but the errand was as ill executed as contrived, and the mas- ter of the Discovery was glad to return with a severe drubbing from the very chief, who had been so mal- treated by Gierke. The crew were also pelted with stones, and had all their oars broken, and they had not a single weapon in the boat, not even a cutlass, to defend themselves. When Gook heard of this, he went armed himself in person to the guard on shore, took a file of marines and went through the whole town demanding restitution, and threatening the de- linquents and their abettors with the severest punish- ments ; but not being able to effect anything, he came oflfjust at sunset highly displeased, and not a little concerned at the bad appearance of things. But even this was nothing to what followed. " On tire thirteenth, at night, the Discovery's large cutter, which was at her usual moorings at the bower buoy, was taken away. On the fourteenth the cap- tains met to consult what should be done on this alarming occasion ; and the issue of their opinions was, that one of the two captains should land with armed boats and a guard of marines at Kiverua, and attempt to persuade Teraiobu who was then at his house in that town, to come on board upon a visit, and that LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 109 when he was on board he should be kept prisoner, until his subjects should release him by a restitution of the cutter ; and if it was afterwards thought proper, he, or some of the family who might accompany him, should be kept as perpetual hostages for the good behavior of the people, during the remaining part of our continu- ance at Kearakekua. This plan was the more ap- proved of by Cook, as he had so repeatedly on former occasions to the southward employed it with success. Gierke was then in a deep decline of his health, and too feeble to undertake the affair, though it naturally devolved upon him, as a point of duty not well trans- ferable ; he therefore begged Cook to oblige him so much, as to take that part of the business of the day upon himself in his stead. This Cook agreed to, but previous to his landing made some additional arrange- ments, respecting the possible event of things, though it is certain from the appearance of the subsequent arrangements, that he guarded more against the flight of Teraiobu, or those he could wish to see, than from an attack, or even much insult. The disposition of our guards, when the movements began, was thus. Cook in his pinnace with six private marines ; a corporal, sergeant, and two lieutenants of marines went ahead, followed by the launch with other marines and seamen on one quarter, and the small cutter on the other, with only the crew on board. This part of the guard rowed for Kearakekua. Our large cutter and two boats from the Discovery had orders to proceed to the mouth of the bay, form at equal distances across, and prevent any communication by water from any other part of the island to the towns witnin the bay, or from 110 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. those without. Cook landed at Kiverua about nine o'clock in the morning, with the marines in the pin- nace, and went by a circuitous march to the house of Teraiobu, in order to evade the suspicion of anj de- sign. This route led through a considerable part of the town, which discovered every symptom of mis- chief, though Cook, blinded by some fatal cause, could not perceive it, or too self-confident, would not regard it. " The town was evacuated by the women and chil- dren, who had retired to the circumjacent hills, and ap- peared almost destitute of men ; but there were at that time two hundred chiefs, and more than twice that number of other men, detached and secreted in differ- ent parts of the houses nearest to Teraiobu, exclusive of unknown numbers without the skirts of the town, and those that were seen were dressed many of them in black. When the guard reached Teraiobu's house, Cook ordered the lieutenant of marines to go in and see if he was at home, and if he was, to bring him out ; the lieutenant went in, and found the old man sitting with two or three old women of distinction, and when he gave Teraiobu to understand that Cook was without, and wanted to see him, he discovered the greatest marks of uneasiness, but arose and accom- panied the lieutenant out, holding his hand. When he came before Cook, he squatted down upon his hams as a mark of humiliation, and Cook took him by the hand from the lieutenant, and conversed with him. " The appearance of our parade both by water and on shore, though conducted with the utmost silence, and with as little ostentation as possible, had alarmed LIFE OF JOHN lEDYARD. Ill the towns on both sides of the bay, but particularly Kiverua, where the people were in complete order for an onset ; otherwise it would have been a matter of surprise, that though Cook did not see twenty men in passing through the town, yet before he had conversed ten minutes with Teraiobu, he was surrounded by three or four hundred people, and above half of them chiefs. Cook grew uneasy when he observed this, and was the more urgent in his persuasions with Teraiobu to go on board, and actually persuaded the old man to go at length, and led him within a rod or two of the shore ; but the just fears and conjectures of the chiefs at last interposed. They held the old man back, and one of the chiefs threatened Cook, when he attempted to make them quit Teraiobu. Some of the crowd now cried out, that Cook was going to take their king from them and kill him, and there was one in particu- lar that advanced towards Cook in an attitude that alarmed one of the guard, who presented his bayonet and opposed him, acquainting Cook in the mean time of the danger of his situation, and that the Indians in a few minutes would attack him ; that he had over- heard the man, whom he had just stopped from rush- ing in upon him, say that our boats which were out in the harbor had just killed his brother, and he would be revenged. Codk attended to what this man said, and desired him to show him the Indian, that had dared to attempt a combat with him, and as soon as he was pointed out, Cook fired at him with a blank. The Indian, perceiving he received no damage from the fire, rushed from without the crowd a second time, and threatened any one that should oppose him. Cook, 112 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. perceiving this, fired a ball, which entering the Indian's groin, he fell and was drawn off by the rest. " Cook perceiving the people determined to oppose his designs, and that he should not succeed without further bloodshed, ordered the lieutenant of marines, Mr Phillips, to withdraw his men and get them into the 'boats, which w^ere then Ijing ready to receive them. This was effected by the sergeant, but the in- stant they began to retreat, Cook was hit with a stone, and perceiving the man who threw it, shot him dead. The officer in the boats observing the guard retreat, and hearing this third discharge, ordered the boats to fire. This occasioned the guard to face about and fire, and then the attack became general. Cook and Mr Phillips were together a few paces in the rear of the guard, and, perceiving a general fire without orders, quitted Teraiobu, and ran to the shore to put a stop to it, but not being able to make themselves heard, and being close pressed upon by the chiefs, they joined the guard, who fired as they retreated. Cook, having at length reached the margin of the water, between the fire of the boats, waved with his hat for them to cease firing and come in ; and while he was doing this, a chief from behind stabbed him with one of our iron daggers, just under the shoulder-blade, and it passed quite through his body. Cook fell with his face in the water, and immediately expired. Mr Phillips, not being able any longer to use his fusee, drew his sword, and engaging the chief whom he saw kill Cook, soon despatched him. His guard in the mean time were all killed but two, and they had plunged into the water, and were swimming to the boats. He LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 113 Stood thus for some time the butt of all their force, and being as complete in the use of his sword, as he was accomplished, his noble achievements struck the bar- barians with awe ; but being wounded, and growing faint from loss of blood and excessive action, he plunged into the sea with his sword in his hand and swam to the boats ; where, however, he was scarcely taken on board, before somebody saw one of the marines, that had swum from the shore, lying flat upon the bottom. Phillips, hearing this, ran aft, threw himself in after him, and brought him up with him to the surface of the water, and both were taken in. " The boats had hitherto kept up a very hot fire, and, lying off without the reach of any weapon but stones, had received no damage, and, being fully at leisure to keep up an unremitted and uniform action, made great havoc among the Indians, particularly among the chiefs, who stood foremost in the crowd and were most exposed ; but whether it was from their bravery, or ignorance of the real cause that deprived so many of them of life, that they made such a stand, may be questioned, since it is certain that they in general, if not universally, understood heretofore, that it was the fire only of our arms that destroyed them. This opinion seems to be strengthened by the circumstance of the large, thick mats, they were observed to wear, which were also constantly kept wet ; and, furthermore, the Indian that Cook fired at with a blank discovered no fear, when he found his mat unburnt, saying in their language, when he showed it to the by-standers, that no fire had touched it. This may be supposed at least to have had some influence. It is, however, certain, 15 114 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. whether from one or both these causes, that the num- bers that fell made no apparent impression on those who survived ; they were immediately taken off, and had their places supplied in a constant succession. " Lieutenant Gore, who commanded as first lieute- nant under Cook in the Resolution, which lay opposite the place where this attack was made, perceiving with his glass that the guard on shore was cut off, and that Cook had fallen, immediately passed a spring upon one of the cables, and, bringing the ship's starboard guns to bear, fired two round shot over the boats into the middle of the crowd ; and both the thunder of the cannon, and the effects of the shot, operated so power- fully, that it produced a most precipitate retreat from the shore to the town." " Our mast that was repairing at Kearakekua, and our astronomical tents were protected only by a corpo- ral and six marines, exclusive of the carpenters at work upon it, and demanded immediate protection. As soon, therefore, as the people were refreshed with some grog and reinforced, they were ordered thither. In the mean time the marine, w ho had been taken up by Mr Phillips, discovered returning life, and seemed in a way to recover, and we found Mr Phillips's wound not dangerous, though very bad. We also ob- served at Kiverua, that our dead were drawn off by the Indians, which was a mortifying sight ; but after the boats were gone they did it in spite of our cannon, which were firing at them several minutes. They had no sooner effected this matter, than they retired to the hills to avoid our shot. The expedition to Kiverua had taken up about an hour and an half, and we lost, besides Cook, a corporal and three marines. LIFE t>F JOHN LEDYARD. 115 " Notwithstanding the despatch that was used in sending a force to Kearakekua, the small party there were already attacked before their arrival, but by an excellent manoeuvre of taking possession of the Moral, they defended themselves without any material damage, until the succours came. The natives did not attempt to molest the boats in their debarkation of our people, which we much wondered at, and they soon joined the others upon the Moral, amounting in the whole to about sixty. Mr Phillips, notwithstand- ing his wound, was present, and in conjunction with Lieutenant King carried the chief command. The plan was to act only defensively, until we could get our mast into the water, to tow off, and our tents into the boats ; and as soon as that was effected, to return on board. This we did in about an hour's time, but not without killing a number of the natives, who resolutely attacked us, and endeavored to mount the walls of the Morai, where they were lowest ; but being opposed with our skill in such modes of attack, and the great superiority of our arms, they were even repulsed with loss, and at length retreated among the houses adjacent to the Morai, which affording a good opportunity to retreat to our boats, we embraced it, and got off all well. Our mast was taken on the booms, and repaired there, though to disadvantage." This account is the more valuable, as having been drawn up by one, who had a personal knowledge of all that passed. Neither Captain King, nor Captain Burney, each of whom has described the transactions, was on shore with Cook. Nor indeed, as hinted above, can it be inferred with certainty from anything Ledyard says, that he was in that part of the fray. 116 Life of john ledyard. But the confidence and particularity with which he speaks would seem to indicate actual observation. We have Captain Burney's testimony, moreover, which may be deemed conclusive. He says, that " Cook landed with Lieutenant Molesworth Phillips of the marines, Sergeant Gibson, Corporals Thomas and Ledyard, and six private marines, being in the whole elev^en persons."* It follows, that Ledyard must have been near Cook from the time he left the ship till he was killed, and that he heard and saw distinctly all that happened. Four marines were killed, three wounded, and three escaped unhurt, of which last number he was one. After this melancholy catastrophe, the ships re- mained six days in the harbor, till the defective mast was repaired, and a supply of water obtained. This latter was effected with difficulty, however, as the watering parties were repeatedly assailed by the na- tives, and skirmishes ensued. It may well be imagined, therefore, that the hour of departure was hailed with joy by all on board. They passed ten days more among the islands, and, the water on board being bad, a fresh supply v^^as procured at the island of Atui. The season being now advanced, and everything in readiness, they launched out again into the great ocean, pursuing a northerly course, with the design of making a second attempt to explore the polar regions, in search of a northwest passage. In six weeks they approached the shore of Kamtschatka, and anchored in the harbor of St Peter and St Paul. The result of the expedition is well known. They passed through Bering's Strait, and * Chronological History of Northeastern Voyages of Discovery p. 260. LIFE OF JOHN I,ED¥ARB. 117 groped among islands of ice in a high latitude, but with no better success, than the year before. They touched again at Kamtschatka on their return, and, proceeding by the way of China and the Cape of Good Hope, they reached England, after an absence of four years and three months. Many facts and speculations in our traveller's jour- nal, not a little curious in themselves, have been omitted in the preceding sketch, because they would occupy a space not consistent with the nature or limits of the present memoir. I am tempted, however, in this connexion to quote his remarks on the mode in which the South Sea Islands were probably first peo- pled. The subject has since been much discussed by philosophers and geographers, but no one before him had examined it with views so much enlarged by ex- perience and observation ; and it is believed he was the first to advance the opinion, that the inhabitants of those islands, scattered as they are through an ocean of vast extent, " were derived from one common ori- gin." Of this he will not allow that there is any room for doubt, and the only question is, whether they came from Asia "or America. Whichever way this question may be answered, there will remain objections not easy to be removed, if we attempt to find out a re- semblance in every peculiarity of character and man- ners, or to explain obvious diiferences. He does not pretend to solve the problem, but only to throw out such hints illustrative of the subject as occurred to him, and as tend to establish the possibility, that an emigration from either of the continents might have reached to all the islands, without any other means of 110 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARB. transportation, than such as the people themselves possessed. " The New Zealanders say theh' ancestors came from an island called Havvyjee ; now Owyhee, as we carelessly pronounce it, is pronounced by its inhabi- tants Hawyhee. This is a curious circumstance, and admits of a presumption, that the island of Owyhee, or Hawyhee, is the island from which the New Zealand- ers originally emigrated. It supersedes analogical evidence. But Owyhee is in twenty north, and New^ Zealand is in forty south, and not above three hundred leagues distant from the southern parts of New Holland, and is besides situated in the latitudes of variable winds, which admit of emigrations from any quarter. On the other hand, the languages of Owyhee and New Zealand were originally the same, and as much alike as that of Otaheite and New Zea- land ; not to mention other circumstances of the like kind. Whereas the languages at New Zealand and New Holland have very little or no resemblance to each other. This difference, with many others, be- tween New Zealand and New Holland, cannot be reconciled; but the difficulties that may arise from considering the distance between New Zealand and Owyhee may be, as there are clusters of islands that we know of, and there may be others unknown, that occupy, at no great distance from each other, the inter- mediate ocean from Owyhee to New Zealand. The obvious reasonings, that would be used to conclude the New Zealanders emigrants from Owyhee, would be, first, to suppose them from the Friendly Isles, then the Society Isles, and then the Sandwich Isles ; and the LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 119 gradation thus formed is very rational and argumenta- tive, because all their manners and customs have the same cast. Suppose, then, that the islands we have mentioned were peopled from Owyhee, and suppose it to be the first island settled, the second arid ultimate question is. From which of the continents, America or Asia ? Its situation respecting America, and the trade winds, strongly intimate from that continent, for it is twice the distance from Asia that it is from America ; and a ship, fitted for the purpose at China, which is in a paralled latitude, would be more than two months in reaching it, and we must suppose the emigrations that respect these people to have been merely fortuitous ; but a canoe, driven by stress of weather from the southern part of California, or the coast of New Gali- cia, the opposite parallel, would reach Owyhee in a direct course in half the time or less. The distance is about nine hundred leagues, and we saw people at the island Watteeoo, who had been driven from Ota- heite there, which is five hundred leagues. " But if we suppose Owyhee peopled from South America, we shall be somewhat disappointed in sup- porting the conjecture by arguments, that respect their manners and customs, and those of the Californians, Mexicans, Peruvians, or Chilians. There is but a faint analogy, compared with that which we should find on the southeastern coasts of Asia in these respects. Let us then, without attending to the few analogical customs, that subsist between the Owyhee- ans and the South Americans, reverse our system of emigration. Suppose the inhabitants of the Sandwich Islands to have come from the Society Islands, and 120 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYAKD. those from the Friendly Isles, and the New Zealan- ders from them ; the inhabitants of the Friendly Isles from New Caledonia, from the New Hebrides, New Guinea, Celebes, Borneo, Java, or Sumatra, and finally from the continent at Malacca. Supposing the emi- gration we are now speaking of to have taken this course, the most apparent argument in its favor is, the proximity of the several islands to each other, from (he Friendly Isles to the continent ; but its sufliciency will abate, if we consider emigrations, as I think they are, oftener the effects of accident than previous inten- tion ; especially when out of sight of land. Besides, it is evident from ocular proof, that, though New Guinea and New Holland are very near to each other, there has never been any intercourse between them ; and yet, from many appearances, there seems to have been one between New Guinea, the New Hebrides, and the Friendly Isles, although farther distant from each other. There is indeed no remarkable similarit}^ in the people, customs, and manners of New Guinea and the Friendly Isles, but an exact conformity be- tween the domestic animals and vegetable productions of both countries. Some fruits, that we call tropical, are peculiar to all places within the tropics ; but bread-fruit is nowhere known, but among these islands and the islands further northward on the coast of Asia. It is not known at New Holland, but it is at New Guinea. Therefore, wherever I can find this bread-fruit in particular, I shall suppose an intercourse to have once subsisted, and the more so, when I find a correspondent agreement between the animals of dif- ferent places ; and it ought to be remembered also. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 121 that there are no other animals throughout those islands, unless they are near the continent ; those remote islands have no other. It is the same with their vegetables. The remote islands have no water- melons, guavas, and such other fruits. " These observations will essentially apply to the circumstances of emigration. A canoe, in passing along its own coast, or visiting a neighboring island, would take on board a hog, a dog, a fowl, and bread- fruit for subsistence, in preference to a monkey, a snake, or a guava ; and if the canoe is driven acci- dentally on some foreign island, they turn to greater advantage." Since these remarks were written, there have been many opportunities for further discovery, but very little has been added to the stock of knowledge on the subject. The missionaries, during a residence of thirty years in the Society Islands, have found nothing among the traditions or customs of the people, from which their origin can be deduced. It was supposed for a time, that the languages of the islanders in the Pacific Ocean would afford a clue, that might lead to a solution of the difficulty ; but hitherto all inquiries in this quarter have failed, and contributed rather to confirm than diminish the uncertainty, which existed at first. It is proved, that in all the islands, constituting that portion of the globe denominated in recent geography Polynesia, a multitude of dialects prevail, which have so near an affinity to each other, as to make it demonstratively certain, that they all sprang from the same stock. It is moreover remarkable, that none of these dialects, which has as yet been ex- 16 122 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. amined, bears any analogy to other known languages, except those in use among the natives of these islands. It is true, that in the Friendly Islands, New Zealand, and some others bordering on the Asiatic islands, a few Malayan w^ords are intermixed with the Polynesian, but so sparingly as to make a very small part only of the whole, and with characteristics plainly indicating their foreign origin. If we may judge from the grammars prepared by the missiona- ries, as well as from their own declarations, very few languages are more widely different in their principles, structure, and vocabulary, than the Malayan and Poly- nesian. No argument, therefore, drawn from the analogy of languages, any more than from striking traits of character in the people, can be urged to prove the Polynesians to have come originally from the islands on the south of Asia. The same may be said in regard to northern Asia, and South America. No resemblances in language have been discovered, and very slight ones only in prevail- ing customs ; and these, after all, may be accidental. Malte-Brun is opposed to the theory of an emigration from South America, on the ground, that the islands nearest the coast are not inhabited. But this reason has very little weight. In the first place, these islands are small, and would thus be the less likely to be met by canoes, floating at random over the ocean, which was undoubtedly the condition of the first emigrants ; and in the next place, they are sterile, and might not have afforded subsistence to people landing on them. Again, these islands are not in clusters, but scattered remotely from each other, and many casualties may LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 123 be imagined by which settlers on them might have been cut off, even if accident had thrown them there. In short, little can be said, as to the mode of the first peopling of the Polynesian islands, with any approach to certainty. The study of the language, which the missionaries are now prosecuting, will open a new channel of investigation, from which some favorable results may be hoped. Nothing will proba- bly put the question beyond controversy, but the dis- covery of a language among some of the tribes of Asia, or America, which bears a close resemblance to the Polynesian. As no written memorials of the lan- guages of these tribes remain, if it should have hap- pened, that the nation from which the islanders descended has become extinct, together with its lan- guage, which is most likely to be the case, the prob- lem must go down to future ages, a theme only for ingenious conjecture and speculation. When the pre- valence of the trade wind is considered, always setting towards the west, the probability of a migration from America is much stronger, than of one from Asia. Ledyard considers the emigration to have been compar- atively recent, because the islands are volcanic, having been formed by violent eruptions from the earth ; and many centuries must have elapsed after such an event, before they could be habitable. The journal, which has now passed under our notice, can in no respect be regarded as a complete narrative of Cook's Third Voyage. It was written, as heretofore stated, under many disadvantages, in haste, and without the aid of the author's original notes ; and to all appearance the manuscript was printed without his correction and supervision. The 124 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. part prepared by himself breaks off, indeed, more than a year before the end of the voyage, and was proba- bly filled out by the publisher from the brief account before printed in England. Ledyard's descriptions agree in the main, however, with those contained in the large work, which afterwards appeared under the authority of the Admiralty. Occasional differences will of course naturally be expected, when we take into view the different circumstances under which the commanding officer, and a corporal of marines, would observe the objects and events they described. The latter was often in situations to witness and contem- plate occurrences, which could not com6 to the knowledge of the former, and which, to a mind acute and observing like his, would make impressions worthy to be recorded. Nor is it any disparagement of the other writers to say, that several of Ledyard's descriptions of the manners and peculiarities of the natives are written with a vivacity, descrimination, and force, which they have not equalled. He utters his own sentiments with a boldness, and expresses himself with a confidence, that convince us of his sincerity, honest zeal, and mental vigor, even when we cannot assent to his opinions. He sometimes cen- sures his superiors in office with a freedom not alto- gether commendable, and imagines them to have been actuated by motives, which could scarcely exist. This may be perceived in the tone, which pervades some of the extracts quoted above. His station was not one, in which he could be acquainted with the views and plans of the commander, and yet his inquisitive temper, and high sense of his dignity as a man, prompt- ed him to think for himself, and put much reliance in LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 125 the conclusions of his own mind. When these were thwarted, as they often would be, it ,was natural that he should suppose his superiors in an error, especially if ill consequences resulted from their measures. He was accustomed to speak with high respect of Captain Cook, although he thought his proceedings towards the natives sometimes rash, and even unjusti- fiable. But this was no more than has been thought by many others. Nobodyhas ever doubted the purity of Cook's intentions, or his humanity, but he adopted a system of conduct towards the savages, especially in punishing slight offences, the policy and good effects of which were less obvious to others than to himself. Pilfering was so universal in all the South Sea islands, that it was hardly recognised in the moral code of the natives as an offence, much less a crime ; yet he inva- riably punished transgressions of this kind with severi- ty. A long course of experience had confirmed the navigator in this system, and he practised it usually with success. We have seen how he applied it in the case of Feenou, who stole the peacocks at Tongata- boo, and many similar instances might be cited. It was his rigid adherence to this course, in fact, which at last caused his death ; for he landed at Kiverua with the express purpose of enticing the old king on board, that he might retain him there as a hostage, till the stolen boat should be given up. The opinions of Ledyard on this head, therefore, though sometimes expressed with earnestness, argue no disrespect or want of esteem for the commander, whom he honored for the high station to which his merits had raised him, and whom he admired for his many great and good qualities. 126 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. CHAPTER VI. Ledyard returns to America. — Interview with his mother after an absence of eight years. — Passes the winter in Hartford, and writes his Jom-nal of Cook's Voyage. — Visits New York and Philadelphia to concert with the merchants a plan of a commercial expedition. — Robert Morris agrees to engage in a trading voyage, under his direction, to the Northwest Coast. — Proceeds to Boston, and afterwards to New London and New York, to procure a vessel for the purpose. — Failure of the enterprise, after a year had been spent in fruitless attempts to carry it into effect. — Letters to his mother. — Makes a trial in New London to enlist the merchants of that place in his scheme. — Was the first to propose a voyage for a mercantile adventure to the Northwest Coast. — Sails for Cadiz. — Letters from that city containing political remarks. — Sails for L'Orient. — Makes an agreement with a company of merchants there to aid him in such a voyage as he had proposed in America. — After eight months' preparation it is given up. — Goes to Paris. During the two years succeeding our traveller's arrival in England from Cook's last expedition, lie continued in the navy, but what rank he held, or on what stations he served, cannot now be ascertained. It is only known, that he refused to be attached to any of the squadrons, which came out to America, giving as a reason, that he would not appear in arms against his native country. Growing weary, however, of a mode of life little suited to his disposition, unless on some adventurous enterprise, like that from which he had lately returned, his thoughts began to wander homeward, and to dwell on the scenes of his youthful days. Apparently conquering the scruples, which he had hitherto urged as the motives of his reluctance, he sought the first opportunity to be transferred to the American station, and in December, 1782, we find him on board a British man-of-war in Huntington Bay, Long Island Sound. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 127 It was natural that his first impulse should be to visit his mother, who lived at Southold. Ostensibly for this purpose he obtained permission of seven days' absence from the ship, but evidently intending to return no more. Long Island was then in the posses- sion of the British. He remained but a short time among his old acquaintances at Huntington, where, it will be recollected, in his theological tour ten years before, he had " feasted twelve days on Mr Prime's great library." From this place he hastened to South- old, and the first interview with his mother is repre- sented as affecting. She kept a boarding-house, which was at that time occupied chiefly by British officers. He rode up to the door, alighted, went in, and asked if he could be accommodated in her house as a lodger. She replied that he could, and showed him a room into which his baggage was con- veyed. After having adjusted his dress, he came out and took a seat by the fire, in company with seve- ral other officers, without making himself known to his mother, or entering into conversation with any person. She frequently passed and repassed through the room, and her eye was observed to be attracted towards him with more than usual attention. He still remained silent. At last, after looking at him steadi- ly for some minutes, she deliberately put on her spec- tacles, approached nearer to him, begging his pardon for her rudeness, and telling him, that he so much re- sembled a son of hers, who had been absent eight years, that she could not resist her inclination to view him more closely. The scene that followed may be imagined, but not described ; for Ledyard had a tender 128 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. heart, and affection for his mother was among its deepest and most constant emotions. As he had already resolved to quit the British ser- vice, being persuaded that no principles of justice or honor could make it his duty to act with the enemies of his country, he thought it prudent, before the seven days had expired, to leave his mother's house, and go over to the continent. The recollections of his child- hood detained him a short time at New London and Groton, and he then proceeded to Hartford, where, after a ten years' wandering in the remotest corners of the globe, he received the cordial greetings of his early friends, and found a kind home under the roof of his uncle and former guardian. His feel- ings on this occasion will be understood from his remarks in a letter, written shortly after he reached Hartford. " You will be surprised to hear of my being at Hartford ; I am surprised myself. I made my escape from the British at Huntington Bay. I am now at Mr Seymour's, and as happy as need be. I have a little cash, two coats, three waistcoasts, six pair of stockings, and half a dozen ruffled shirts. I am a violent whig and a violent tory. Many are my acquaintances. I eat and drink when I am asked, and visit when I am invited ; in short, I generally do as I am bid. All I want of my friends is friendship ; pos- sessed of that, I am happy." In writing to other per- sons he expresses similar satisfaction, and although, in alluding to the toils and sufferings he had under- gone, he declares himself to have been worn down by them to such a degree, as to make his person so " perfect a contrast to beauty or elegance, that LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 129 Hogarth himself could not deform it ; " yet he writes with a gaiety and playfulness, which show the sorrows of the past to have been forgotten in the felicity of the present, and that no gloomy anticipations of the future were allowed to mingle their alloy. In Hartford he remained four months, that is, from the first of January till about the first of May, in which period he wrote the Journal of Cook's Voyage. In this occupation, and in visiting his friends, he passed the winter. His restless spirit could be tran- quil no longer. He had great projects in view, which he was impatient to see executed. New adventures courted his fancy, and flattering hopes as usual pressed him forward with an ardent, determined, and ceaseless zeal. Bidding adieu to his friends in Hartford, he repaired to New York, where he unfolded his plans to such persons, as he thought might be induced to pa- tronize them ; but not meeting with encouragement adequate to his sanguine expectations, he hastened onward to Philadelphia. He had but just arrived in that city, when he described his condition to his cousin, Dr Isaac Ledyard, in a manner so characteris- tic, that no apology will be necessary for quoting the letter in full. *' The day after I parted with you, I took the Bor- denton route, and the next morning landed at the Crooked Billet, where I breakfasted, and sallied out to view the nakedness of things here. I first went to McClanagan ; he had no navigation ; next to two other houses, but to no purpose. I then went among the shipping, and examined them pretty thoroughly. I doubt that I should even be put to it to get to sea be- 17 130 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. fore the mast. The most of the shipping here are foreigners. Sixteen sail of seven different maritime powers arrived a few days ago. Fourteen sailors went out to the northward the morning I arrived, for want of employ, and numbers are strolling the docks on the same account. There is at present little home navigation. " After a walk of about four hours I returned to my quarters, asked for a room to change my dress, and went up and counted my cash ; turned it over and looked at it ; shook it in my hand ; recounted it, and found two French crowns, half a crown, one fourth of a dollar, one eighth of a dollar, and just twelve coppers. Shall I visit H's ? I looked at my stockings ; they will do ; — my shoes — if I look that way, my two crowns and I shall part. We did part, — • I put my new pumps on, washed, shaved, and went to H's, where I had determined not to go. Mr H. is now waiting for his horse ; he is going to Princeton. This will go by him. I am at a loss whether to say anything about money here, or depend upon this letter meeting you at Princeton, wait the return of Mr H., the chance he has of seeing you, or — I don't know what to do. — 1 am determined. Send me either by Mr H. or the first conveyance — some cash. Adieu." In this state of embarrassment he continued for several days, seeking employment without success, mortified at the defeat of all his purposes, and cha- grined that his schemes should be so coldly received by those, whom he had fondly hoped would under- stand and promote them. By another letter, however, written two or three weeks after the above, it would LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 131 appear, that a gleam of light was breaking in upon him, and that his perseverance had not been wholl} fruitless. He writes again to his cousin ; " It is uncertain by what medium of conveyance this may reach you. I design it for the Amboy House, and thence to Middletown. A duplicate will be directed to Princeton. It is abundantly manifest, that this argues anxiety, and of so intense a kind too, as to prompt a wish for the possibility of the annihilation of time and distance. I have been so often the sport of fortune, that I durst hardly credit the present dawn of bright prospects. But it is a fact, that the Honora- ble Robert Morris is disposed to give me a ship to go to the North Pacific Ocean. I have had two inter- views with him at the Finance Office, and tomorrow I expect a conclusive one. What a noble hold he in- stantly took of the enterprise ! I have been two days, at his request, drawing up a minute detail of a plan, and an estimate of the outfits, which I shall present him with tomorrow ; and I am pleased to find, that it will be two thousand pounds less than one of his own. I take the lead of the greatest commercial enterprise, that has ever been embarked on in this country ; and one of the first moment, as it respects the trade of America. If the affair is concluded on, as I expect it will be, it is probable I shall set off for New England to procure seamen, or a ship, or both. Morris is wrapt up in the idea of Yankee sailors, " Necessity has overcome my delicacy. I have unbosomed myself to H. and laid my poverty open to him. He has relieved me for the present, which I have told him to draw on you for. Send me some 132 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. money, for Heaven's sake, lest the laurel, now sus- pended over the brows of your friend, should fall irre- coverably into the dust. Adieu." The enterprise to which he alludes in this letter, as having been concerted with Mr Morris, and which had occupied his thoughts ever since his return from Cook's expedition, was a trading voyage to the Northwest Coast. At this time no such mercantile adventure had been attempted, either in this country or Europe, nor is it known that anything of the kind had even been contemplated. Ledyard's knowledge of the resources of the Northwest Coast in furs, derived from his observations while there, particularly at Nootka Sound and the Russian establishment on the island of Onalaska, together with the enormous advances, which he had seen paid in Canton on the original cost of this article, had convinced him that great profits might be realized by a voyage, fitted out expressly for this trade. Hitherto no market had been opened to the natives, by which they could dispose of the supera- bundance of their furs, or receive such articles in exchange, as might suit their fancy or convenience ; hence the furs could be purchased extremely low, and paid for in commodities of little intrinsic value, and at such prices as the vendor might choose to affix. It was clear, therefore, in his mind, that they, who should first engage in this trade, would reap immense profits by their earliest efibrts, and at the same time gain such knowledge and experience, as would enable them to pursue it for years with advantages superior to any, that could be commanded by the competitors, who might be drawn into the same channel of com- merce. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 133 So Strong had grown his confidence in the accuracy of his opinions, by long reflection on the subject, and such was the eagerness of his desire to prove the truth of his theory by actual experiment, that he ap- plied the whole energy of his mind and character to the task of creating an interest in his project among the merchants, who had the means of carrying it into effect, and without whose patronage nothing could be done. In New York he was unsuccessful ; his scheme was called wild and visionary, and set down as bear- ing the marks rather of a warm imagination, and sanguine temperament, than of a sober and mature judgment. No merchant was found willing to hazard his money, or his reputation, in an adventure so novel in its kind, and so questionable in its promise, a scheme not only untried, but never before thought of. His first inquiries in Philadelphia met with no better favor, till Mr Robert Morris, with an enlargement of mind and purpose, which characterized his undertak- ings, entered into his views, and made arrangements to furnish the outfits of a voyage, according to !he plan he drew up. The first thing to be done was to procure a ship suitable for such a voyage. At that time there was none unemployed in Philadelphia, and Ledyard was despatched to Boston, where it was thought a pur- chase might speedily be effected, and where progress was actually made in the preparation of a vessel for this purpose ; but for some cause not now known it was taken for a voyage of a different kind. He next proceeded to New London, where the Con- tinental frigate, Trumbull, was engaged for the voy- 134 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. age, but this ship was afterwards diverted to another adventure, suggested by this plan. The Count d'Ar- tois, a large French ship then lying in the harbor of New London was next thought of, but was finally otherwise destined. Again, a ship in New York, of about three hundred tons, was provided ; but on examination it proved to be so old and defective, that it was condemned as unsafe for a voyage of such length and hazard. The season was by this time too far advanced to think of prosecuting the voyage before the next spring. Meantime Mr Daniel Parker was employed to purchase a ship in New York, and to have it in readiness as soon as the favorable season for its sailing should arrive. A ship was procured accord- ingly, but the outfits were delayed from time to time, till the winter passed by, and then the spring, and at last it was sent on an adventure to Canton. Thus a year was spent, in a vexatious and fruitless struggle to overcome difficulties, which thickened as he ad- vanced, till his patience, and that of Mr Morris also, would seem to have been exhausted, for the voyage was altogether abandoned. While he w^as in New London negotiating for the ship Trumbull, after his return from Boston, he wrote a letter to his mother, from which an extract here follows. " This is the first opportunity in reality, which I have had of writing to you, since I have been in this country. My ambition to do everything, which my disposition as a man, and my relative character as a citizen, and more tenderly as the leading descendant of a broken and distressed family, should prompt me LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 135 to do, has engaged me in every kind of speculation, which afforded the least probability of advancing my interest, my happiness, or the happiness of my friends. These different engagements have led me into different conditions ; sometimes I have been elated with hope, sometimes depressed with disappointment and distress. I postponed informing yoo of my circumstances, in- dulging the constant hope of their soon being better, until which time I was determined you should not know anything particularly concerning me. If that time is now arrived, it has been more from the influ- ence of a kind Providence, than my own merits. My prospects at present are a voyage to the East Indies, and eventually round the world. It will be of two or three years' duration. If I am successful, I shall not have occasion to absent myself any more from my friends ; but above all, I hope to have it in my power to minister to the wants of a beloved parent, and others who languish and fade in obscurity. My dear sisters engage my tenderest love, and solicitude for their future welfare. My best wish is, that they may be educated and disposed of suitably to the beauty of their persons, and their excellent hearts, and that I could be instrumental in conferring such a kindness. I beg my brotherly salutations to them. Tell them I long to strew roses in their laps, and branches of palm beneath their feet." It ought to be recorded in this place, that while Ledyard was in New York, anxiously waiting for a vessel, his embarrassments, occasioned by the want of money, were often relieved, in a spirit of great kind- ness, by Mr Comfort Sands. This gentleman became 136 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. acquainted with him in Philadelphia, and early ap- proved and promoted the enterprise, which he had in contemplation ; he proposed sending an adventure by the same voyage, and during the whole preparation rendered him essential services, for which it is believ- ed he never received any other returns, than such as always attend the consciousness of benevolent acts, and of having aided the advancement of large and useful designs. Not discouraged .by the ill fortune, which he had so signally experienced, Ledyard resolved not to relin- quish his purpose, till he had made other trials to carry it forward. He repaired to New London, and sug- gested the same adventure to persons of commercial pursuits in that port. He was particularly strenuous in persuading Captain Deshon, who owned a fine new ship then lying in the harbor, and well constructed for such a voyage, to embark with him in a trading expedition to the Northwest Coast. Captain Deshon was the nephew of the commander of the vessel, in which Ledyard sailed to Gibraltar, and although at that time a youth, he was himself on board in the service of his uncle. A friendship had ever afterwards subsisted between the two voyagers, and Captain Deshon was now willing to join with his friend in any mercantile adventure, wiiich should seem to him prac- ticable, safe, and affording a reasonable prospect of gain. But Ledyard drew so glowing a picture of the advantages to be derived from his projected voyage, the trifling value of the articles necessary for an out- w^ard cargo, and the immense advances that would be received on the price of the articles purchased ; in LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 137 short, his enthusiasm gave so bright a coloring to his representations, and such amplitude to his hopes, that Captain Deshon could not so far resist the dictates of prudence, as to participate in feelings and views, which he deemed little short of romantic, and as more strongly tinged with the native warmth of his character, than with that trait of mind, which weighs and deliberates cautiously before it resolves. It is needless to add, that, under these impressions, he could not prevail on himself to second his friend's wishes ; yet he was afterwards heard to say, that Ledyard's account, in its minutest details, was verified by the first voyages of that kind from the United States, and that he had often regretted his not hav- ing listened to him, and prosecuted the voyage in compliance with his solicitation. As far as can be ascertained, Ledyard's views of the subject, both as unfolded in the transactions with Mr Morris and with Captain Deshon, accorded exactly with those acted upon by the first adventurers, who were rewarded with extraordinary success. It was a part of his plan to purchase lands of the natives, and establish a fac- tory, or colony, for the purpose of a continued inter- course and trade. Weary of making fruitless applications in his own country, Ledyard determined to embark for Europe, where he might expect better patronage from larger capitalists, and in a wider field of commercial activity. Mr Morris had made him some compensation for the time he had spent in his service, and favored him with several letters of recommendation to eminent merchants abroad, particularly in France. He took 18 138 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. passage in a vessel from New London, bound to Ca- diz. On the first of June, 1784, he wrote as follows to his mother. " Since I saw you last, I have passed through a great many difficulties and disappointments, which my most intimate friends are, and must be for the present, at least, unacquainted with, as it will answer no good purpose to break their repose, or add to my cares, by reflecting on what is past, and thence antici- pating evil. You have no doubt heard of my very great disappointment at New York. For a moment, all the fortitude, that ten years' misfortune had taught me, could hardly support me. I am now very well in health. This will probably be the last letter I shall write you from this country. I shall sail within twelve days for Spain, whence I expect to go to France, and there again to renew the business I was so unfortunate in at New York. If I succeed in my wishes, it may be two or three years before I return. In this interim, I pray you to give me your blessing and your prayers. My sisters I hope are well, and beg them to accept a brother's love. Please to pre- sent my kind love to my brothers. May that Being, who is infinitely great and infinitely good, be the friend of them, and of us all." He sailed for Spain, as here intimated, shortly after writing this letter, having been the first, whether in America or Europe, to suggest a scheme of trade with the Northwest Coast, which has since proved to be a very lucrative field of commerce to merchants in both hemispheres. It was more than a year after his earliest application to the merchants in New York, LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 139 before any expedition of the kind was fitted out from Europe. The first voyage from the United States to the Northwest Coast was in the ship Columbia, of three hundred tons, which sailed from Boston under the command of Captain John Kendrick, about thrcB years after Ledyard's visit to that place, in search of a ship for Mr Morris. He may justly be considered, therefore, the first projector of this branch of com- merce. Captain Kendrick so far adopted his ulterior purpose, as to purchase lands of the natives, with a view of founding a colony there, wdien a proper occasion should offer. To this end he took formal deeds of the land, confirmed by the signs manual of the chiefs, who claimed the territory.* To some of his friends, Ledyard mentioned his intention of leaving the ship on the coast, when the cargo should be obtained, and exploring the country over land from Nootka Sound, or some point farther north, across to the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, thus traversing the whole space between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Meantime the vessel was to proceed to China, and thence to return and meet him in New York, ready for another voyage. But all the fine prospects, which he had dwelt upon in anticipation, are to be given up for the present, and we must follow him to Europe. The passage to Cadiz was favorable and expeditious. He does not seem to have had any special design in visiting Cadiz, * The original deeds are now in the office of the Secretary of State in Washington. In company with the Columbia was the Washington, a vessel of one hundred tons' burden, commanded by Captain Robert Grey. 140 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. in reference to the main object of his crossing the Atlantic. This destination probably awaited him, in consequence of an opportunity presenting itself of a more direct passage to that port, than to any other in the south of Europe. L'Orient was the city, which he intended to visit, and in which he had been encouraged to look for patrons of his projected enter- prise. He had been furnished with letters to weal- thy and enterprising merchants there, and he made all haste to be on the spot. Various causes of delay kept him in Cadiz more than a month. This time he filled up as well as he could, in gaining information of the place, of its resources and trade, and of the manners and character of the people. He also endeavored to drive away the melancholy thoughts, incident to the anxiety of his situation, by mingling in social circles, and contriving to be entertained by the public amuse- ments, that were much frequented by all ranks of people. On the sixteenth of August he wrote thus Cadiz to Dr Ledyard. " Just as I was seated, and had dated my letter, the carriage of General O'Reilly hove in view, a clumsy, gothic vehicle, dragged by five jaded mules to the bull-fight. Who is General O'Reilly ? A poor, migrating, Irish cadet ; a soldier that was scalded at the storm of Gibraltar. O'Reilly is to Cadiz, and all wdthin his jurisdiction, which consists of two provin- ces, what Czar Peter was to Russia. The reform he has made in the minutest parts of his government, as well as the most important, is looked upon as a phe- nomenon in this country. He has, with a boldness that characterizes an enterprising commander and LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 141 legislator, even struck at those old habits among a people, so dangerous to be meddled with. Envy is the natural concomitant of such merit, and O'Reilly has probably greater friends and enemies at the court of Madrid, than any other character in the kingdom ; and both parties had a fair opportunity of contesting their ascendency, after the miscarriage of the late descent against the Moors ; but his conquering his court enemies at home fully compensated that misfor- tune abroad, and confirmed his fame, nay, added to its lustre.* To execute all these great matters, O'Reilly is not the man you would suppose. His education is contracted ; he is capricious, severe, and arrogant ; ordinary in his person, and forbidding in his address. " The exhibition of the bull-fights is in a spacious amphitheatre, that will accommodate twelve thousand spectators. The horsemen display more skill and courage, than the footmen. But it is a barbarous amusement. There are many Irish inhabitants here, all of whom are particularly friendly to Americans. I am now writing at the house of Mr Harrison, hand- somely situated on the side of the Alameda. I take a family dinner with him to-day, having already taken * This alludes to an attack by the Spaniards on Algiers in the year 1775. A formidable armament of six ships of the line, twelve frigates, a large number of smaller vessels, and twentyfive thousand men, all under the command of the Conde de O'Reilly, formed that expedi- tion. A large part of the army was landed, and a partial battle ensued, in which the Spaniards met Vv'ith a signal and most disgraceful defeat. Severe censures were passed on O'Reilly, and a general spirit of indig- nation existed against him throughout Spain, but the weight of his talents, and his influence at court, enabled him to triumph over his enemies, and to sustain himself in the highest stations. 142 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. a formal one. The British consul also receives me with great politeness. Bat what I am doing among these gentry, with only half a dollar and four reals in my pocket, you must, with me, wait for time to de- velope. I shall soon leave this place for France, and my route will be either up the Mediterranean to Mar- seilles, and thence on the grand canal west to Bour- deaux ; or along the coast of Spain and Portugal by sea. I yesterday conversed with an Englishman, who is commissioned to treat privately with our States in behalf of the Emperor of Morocco ; but if I can per- suade him to send his Arabic commission back, and join me with his cash and importance at Bordeaux, or Nantz — . The preliminary step is accomplished, and he is now somewhere in the town as busy in the affair, as a dozen such heads as mine could be." Since no more is heard of this commissioner from the Emperor of Morocco, it is presumed the prelimi- nary step was the only one taken in the. business. Ledyard remained in Cadiz, apparently waiting for a passage either to Marseilles, or to some port in the west of France, as chance might offer. He wrote to his friends, communicating his observations on what passed around him, but said little of his own circum- stances or prospects. The remarks now about to be quoted, are contained in a letter written to his corres- pondent in America, after he had been two weeks at Cadiz, and are not more curious for their singularity, than for the historical hints they convey, in regard to the state of knowledge and feeling, which then pre- vailed in the south of Europe, respecting the United States. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 143 '' The people in this, as in other parts of Europe, are more systematic than you [Americans] are in everything. Here the routine of life, however varied, is still uniform, whether composed of virtue or vice, wisdom or folly. Before dinner, the merchant, mechanic, and ordinary laborer, are assiduously intent on their different employments. After dinner, they as regularly devote themselves to their several gratifi- cations, which consist either of conversation or sleep. The opulent and polite adopt the first. At a polite table, therefore, you hear the very best things they are capable of saying. Here, then, I am told you err in your politics ; I mean that kind of policy, which your independence has given birth to. The general disap- probation of your present government on this score, is the sentiment of those, who are subjects of other na- tions, as well as of this ; but I am happy to say, that 1 have found no character, who any otherwise thinks ill of you. This is not a negative regard, bestowed on a people they think cannot approximate their im- portance, and therefore deserve pity ; it is a positive one ; and you may please yourself with the assurance of its originating from your general conduct during the war. Another feather in your cap, and that not an obscure one, let me tell you, is the plain, affable, and honest deportment of your kinsfolk, who sojourn hereabout. Brother Jonathan is an agreeable singu- larity. These observations, which you are included in, did not come from the cabinet of Charles, or the Pope, who no doubt hate you very sincerely ; the one for your laws, which he fears ; and the other for your religion, which he is unwise enough to abominate. 144 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. " The great complaint, which people make against your government is the obscure, unimportant, unener- getic investitures of Congress. So strongly are they impressed with the idea of the degree of powder, which Congress ought to hold, compared with what they now conceive it to be invested with, that they declare the resolve of a Boston committee commands more immediate attention in Cadiz, than a congres- sional one would do ; observing, that although Con- gress claims more respectability, it only demands what it ought to have, and not what it is possessed of. They further add, that whatever embarrassments may attend the progress of a young nation, and however excusable some exigences may have rendered some parts of your conduct, yet surely the leading prelimi- naries, the first strong outlines, that form the basis of a great republic, cannot be thus lost sight of without reflecting on your councils. Have you formed even a treaty of friendship with that pestilential meteor in power, Hamet, Emperor of Morocco? No. Have you in your own right a Mediterranean passport? No. What security have you then for your Straits- men ? The savage, Hamet, knows no medium in such kind of friendship ; never dreamt of such a thing as an independent neutrality. What will you do then ? Eat all your flour, cod, spars, and potash, or ransom your captiv'ated countrymen at fifteen hundred pounds a head, and lose your produce ? Hamet wants your alliance. Give the snarling mas- tiff a bone, and while he is gnawing it you can do as you please. It is certain, that your unorganized sys- tem of government is here much talked of, and you LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 145 know the consequence of these matters being much talked of. Your paltry state schisms are considered to be such vulgar errors, as a people aiming at the most refined system of government could not commit, vvith- out the imputation of perfect insanity. But adieu, politics. Indeed I know not what humor prompted me to offer my advice to you in this way. " If the incongruity of my letter bespeaks a pertur- bation of mind, it will not deceive you. It is a cloudy day with me. However, my hobby tells me it will be fair weather tomorrow ; and I believe it, be- cause I wish it. You will probably next hear from me in France. In the mean time, let me make sure of one circumstance, and if tomorrow bring its mis- fortunes, they will be less severe, when I reflect on having said to those I know will believe me, that no evil, till that which is esteemed the last of evils, can ever obliterate, or even obscure, that lasting affection and esteem, which I have for you and your best of brothers. My other remembrances I commit to your care." He remained in Cadiz but a few days after this letter was written, when he somewhat unexpectedly procur- ed a passage for Brest, on board the French ship Bourbon. It was rare for him to be out of health, but in Cadiz he was attacked with a fever, which had scracely left him when he went to sea. While on board he writes, " My fever was in consequence of a slight cold originally, and heightened by a fit of un- common melancholy ; but I am getting about again, and excepting a slight debility, and some of Cook's rheumatism in my bones, I am well." His spirits 19 146 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. were not unfrequently oppressed, when the various turns in his affairs left him inactive, with precarious means of support, and uncertain as to the future ; but he took great pains to conceal the symptoms of gloom from his friends. They are occasionally discovered in his letters, rather from his forced attempts to be cheerful and gay, when it is evident by the general tenor of his thoughts, that his heart is sad, than from any formal complaints of his ill fortune, or repinings at the will of Providence. He was now visiting Europe in the prosecution of what he deemed a noble and important enterprise ; but he was going among strangers, who could only be induced to listen to his proposals by motives of interest, and whom he must inspire with some portion of his own enthusiasm, be- fore they could be expected to favor his schemes, or even comprehend his views. The task thus presented to him was disheartening. But however despondency might sometimes give a hue to his thoughts, he never suffered it to weaken his resolution, or repress his ardor. The great object of pursuit was never lost sight of, while his way to its accomplishment was lighted by a gleam of hope. The whole force of his mind was now bent upon a voyage of trade and discovery to the Northwest Coast. He was powerfully impressed with the belief, that such an enterprise would redound to the honor of those engaged in it, and confer new benefits upon the commercial world ; and was not a little chagrined at the small' encouragement, which his strenuous exertions had received in his own country. In this state of mind it is no wonder, that he should express himself in the following language on his LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 147^ voyage to Brest. " I saw an English gentleman at Cadiz, who assured me, that about six months past a ship of seven hundred tons, commissioned by the Em- press of Russia, was fitted out in the English Thames on a voyage to the back parts of America ; that she was armed, and commanded by a Russian, and that some of her officers were those, who had been with Cook. You see the business deserves the attention I have endeavored, and am still striving to give it ; and had Morris not shrunk behind a trifling obstruction, I should have been happy, and America would this mo- ment be triumphantly displaying her flag in the most remote and beneficial regions of commerce. I am tired of my vexations." He arrived, after a short passage, at Brest, and set off by land through Quimper to L' Orient. " I am now at Quimper," he writes, " and tomorrow, if my horses please, I will be in L' Orient. ' What will you do there ? ' The best I can. Brest is a naval arse- nal, but not so respectable as I had imagined. Mon- sieur de Kerguelen, the great navigator, lives within nine miles of me, but a Holland consul has me by the button, and I cannot see him. The dialect of Bre- tagne has some resemblance both to the Irish and Welsh. But, good night ; I must sleep. Tired na- ture will have it so." From Quimper he proceeded to L' Orient, where he immediately began to put his affairs in train. The letters he brought with him from respectable sources, procured him a speedy acquaintance with gen- tlemen of the first character in the place ; and his plan was received with so much approbation, that within 148 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. twelve days he completed a negotiation with a com- pany of merchants, and a ship was selected for the in- tended voyage. Mutual engagements were enter- ed into by the parties, and everything seemed to wear the most promising aspect. So unaccustomed had he been to such good fortune, that he could hard- ly realize at first the happy issue of events as they then stood. " I have been so much the sport of ac- cident," said he, " that I am exceedingly suspicious. It is true, that in this L' Orient negotiation, I have guarded every avenue to future disappointment, with all possible caution ; yet this head I wear, is so much a dupe to my heart, and at other times my heart is so bewildered by my head, that in matters of business I have not much confidence in either." He then speaks of the point to which the negotiation had been brought, and adds, " but here comes a hut, — ah, these huts ; pray Heaven they may not hut the modicum of brains out of my head, which Morris has left there. The hut is this. I have arrived so late in the season, that the merchants have procrastinated the equipment un- til next summer, and requested me to stay here till then, allowing me genteelly for that purpose. And were I but certain, that no cruel misfortune would eventually happen, I should be quite happy, for present appearances could not be better. Upon any consider- ation, it is for my interest to wait the event ; and as I hourly perceive the folly of repining at a disappointed wish, or, indeed, of suffering what I may happen to call misfortune, whether present or anticipated, to meet any other reception from me, than the most undaunted which my experience can enable me to meet it with, LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 149 I am determined to sit down, not despondingly, de- jectedly, or supinely — 'What a vile row of adverbs — but contemplatively, cheerily, and industriously. It seems decreed by somewhat, that I shall be driven about the world in a most untraversable way ; but in whatever clime I may alight, my ardent desire is, that the friendship of my friends may greet me well. This done, I have drunk my cordial, and there is not a richer in France — and only in America one, which perfumed the air from M — ■ to Amboy House." All things being thus arranged to his mind, and hav- ing nothing to regret but the procrastination of his voyage, which he perceived to be unavoidable, he re- solved to spend the winter in L' Orient, and be in readiness to commence preparations the moment that the season would admit. It was now October, and the opinion of the merchants was, that a suitable ves- sel could not be obtained and properly fitted out before the succeeding August. Ten months for such an ob- ject seemed a long period to Ledyard, as well in- deed they might, but experience had taught him pa- tience ; and the fair prospects held out by this nego- tiation, together with the consideration, that, by leav- ing France at the close of summer, he would pass round Cape Horn into the Pacific Ocean at the most favorable season, reconciled him to the delay. In the mean time, being supplied with a liberal income by the mercantile company mentioned above, he frequent- ed the best society in L' Orient, to whom his exten- sive knowledge of the world, his general intelligence, mipretending manners, and frank and generous tem- per, always made him acceptable. Nothing occurred 150 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARt). to interrupt his happiness, or darken his hopes, during the four months that followed, except occasional re- flections on the time that had been lost in his fruitless endeavors, and the glory that others were reaping in the field of discovery, which he ought to have been the first to explore. " I wrote you last," says he, " that a Russian ship had been sent into that part of the vast Pacific Ocean. Four nights ago, I saw a Russian gentleman from Petersburg, who informed me of two ships having been sent thither. In our yesterday's paper, it is said that the ship Seahorse, belonging to the English Hud- son's Bay Company, had made a voyage thither, and returned well. You see what honorable testimonies daily transpire to evince, that I am no otherwise the mad, romantic, dreaming Ledyard, than in the estima- tion of those who thought me so. The flame of enterprise, that I kindled in America, terminated in a flash, that bespoke little foresight or resolution in my patrons. Perseverance was an effort of understand- ing, which twelve rich merchants were incapable of making ; and whether I now succeed or not, the obsta- cles I have surmounted, to reach my present attain- ment, infer some small merit, which I do not blush to own among my private pleasures." The winter soon passed away, and near the end of February measures began to be taken for equipping the vessel for sea. It was intended, that a commission from the king should be obtained to sail on a voyage of discovery. Some advantages, it was supposed, would thus be derived to the mercantile interests of the voyage, as the vessel would be clothed with a LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 161 public character, and from this circumstance ensure a greater respect from any foreigners she might fall in with, as well as enable the owners to claim, in the name of the King of France, any islands or unknown regions, that might be actually discovered. A memo- rial, and other suitable papers, were sent to the king's ministers, applying for such a privilege, and for letters of recommendation to the European public agents residing in those parts of the world, at which the ves- sel would probably touch. On the twentythird of February, 1785, Ledyard wrote to his brothers from L'Orient ; " My affairs in France are likely to prove of the greatest honor and advantage to me. I have a fine ship of four hundred tons, and in August next I expect to sail on another voyage round the world, at the end of which, if Heaven is propitious to me, I hope to see you. In the mean time, may the God of nature spread his mantle over you all. If I never see you more, it shall be well ; if I do, it shall be well ; so be happy and of good cheer." From this tone of his feelings, it is evident that his heart was light, and his hopes high. Up to this point all things had proceeded according to his expectations and wishes ; he had passed an agreeable winter in a social and refined cir- cle of friends, and he began now to enjoy in anticipa- tion the triumphs of his zeal and perseverance. But unfortunately this flattering vision was soon to be dissipated, like the many others, by which he had been elated and deceived ; again was he to be made, in his own phrase, " the sport of accident ; " again w^as the burden of a cruel disappointment to weigh on his spirits, and disturb his repose. After the 152 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. date of the above letter, we hear no more of the L'Orient negotiation, excejDt that it failed. Whether this result, so desolating to the hopes of our adven- turer, was produced by the caprice of the merchants, who had united with him in the undertaking, or by any sudden change in their affairs, which took from them the ability of fulfilling their contract, or by the refusal of the government to grant such a commission as was expected, or by all these com- bined, is not known. It is enough, that the voy- age w^as entirely abandoned, and Ledyard was left with no other recompense for this new vexation, than his ow^n mortified feelings, and the prospects of a fu- ture too gloomy even for him to contemplate unmoved. The slender stock of money, with which he landed in Europe, was completely exhausted ; he could expect no more from the L'Orient merchants, nor from any other quarter ; and, what afflicted him more severely than all the rest, the last resort for carrying into effect his darling plan of northwestern discovery and trade, had been tried in vain. No consolation remained for his baffled purposes and wasted zeal. Yet fifteen years' experience, in buffeting the rough and some- times perilous current of life, had taught him other lessons than those of despondency, and nerved him for other deeds than a tam.e submission to the control of untoward circumstances. His bewildering doubts, as to what course he should pursue, detained him a short time in L'Orient. He looked to Paris as the theatre, on which he would be most likely to better his fortunes, and after his concerns relative to the voyage were closed, he hastened to that capital. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 153 CHAPTER VO. Meets with Mr Jeiferson at Paris. — Project of a voyage to the Northwest Coast with Paul Jones, for the purpose of establishing a trading factory there. — Proposes travelling across the continent from Nootka Sound to the United States. — Thinks of going to Africa with Mr Lamb. — Remarks on Paris, and various objects that came under his notice. — The IQng at Versailles. — Mr Jefferson and Lafayette. — The Queen at St Cloud.— Application through Baron Grimm to the Empress of Russia, to obtain permission for him to travel across her dom.inions to Bering's Strait. — Colonel Humphreys. — Contemplates going to Petersburg, before the Empress' answer is received. — Curious anecdote of Sir James Hall. — Visit to the hospitals in Paris. — Tour in Nor- mandy. — Proceeds to London, where he engages a passage on board a vessel just ready to sail for the Northwest Coast. — Colonel Smith's letter to Mr Jay. — The voyage defeated. — Resolves anew to go to Russia. — Sir Joseph Banks and other gentlemen contribute funds to aid him in his travels. At this time Mr Jeiferson was minister from the United States at the court of France. That patriot, equally ardent in the love of science, and friendly to every enterprise, which had for its object the improve- ment of his country, received Ledyard with great kindness, and approved most highly his design of an expedition to the Northwest Coast of America. He perceived at once the advantages, that would flow from such a voyage, not merely in its immediate mercantile results, but in its bearing on the future commerce and political interests of the United States. No part of that wide region had then been explored, nor any formal possession taken of it, except the few points at which Cook's vessels had touched, and others where the Russians possessed small establishments for the prosecution of the fur trade with the Indians, These latter were also probably confined to the 20 154 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. islands. To a statesman like Mr Jefferson it was evident, that a large portion of that immense country, separated from the United States by no barrier of nature, would eventually be embraced in their territory. He was convinced of the propriety, therefore, of its being explored by a citizen of the United States, and regretted the failure of Ledyard's attempts in his own country to engage in a voyage before the same thing had been meditated anywhere else. These views were deeply impressed on the mind of Mr Jefferson, and in them originated the journey of Lewis and Clark over land to the Pacific Ocean, twenty years afterwards, which was projected by him, and prosecuted under his auspices. Ledyard had not been many days in France, before he became acquainted with Paul Jones, at that time acting mider a commission from the Congress of the United States, to demand the amount of certain prizes, which he had taken during the war, particularly in the famous capture of the Serapis and the Countess of Scarborough, and sent into French ports. This intre- pid adventurer, being now unemployed in any military or public service, eagerly seized Ledyard's idea, and an arrangement was closed, by which thej agreed to unite in an expedition, on a scale somewhat larger than Ledyard had before contemplated. Two vessels were to be fitted out, and, if possible, commissioned by the king. Jones was to use his influence at court, to persuade the government to enlist in the enterprise, or at least to furnish the vessels and the requisite naval armament. If this could, not be effected, it was re- solved that the outfits should be reduced within the LIFE OF JOHN LED YARD. 155 limits of Jones's private means, and the two partners would act wholly on their own responsibility and risk. If it should be found necessary to pursue the enter- prise, on their private account alone, the two vessels were to proceed in company to the Northwest Coast, and commence a factory there under the American flag. The first six months were to be spent in col- lecting furs, and looking out for a suitable spot to es- tablish a post, either on the main land, or on an island. A small stockade was then to be built, in which Led- yard was to be left with a surgeon, an assistant, and twenty soldiers ; one of the vessels was to be de- spatched, with its cargo of furs, under the command of Paul Jones, to China, while the other was to remain in order to facilitate the collecting of another cargo during his absence. Jones was to return with both the vessels to China, sell their cargoes of furs, load them with silks and teas, and continue his voyage round the Cape of Good Hope to Europe, or the United States. He was then to replenish his vessels with suitable articles for traffic with the Indians, and proceed as expeditiously as possible round Cape Horn, to the point of his departure in the Northern Pacific. Mean- time Ledyard and his party were to employ themselves in purchasing furs, cultivating a good understanding with the natives, and making such discoveries on the coast, as their situation would allow. Ledyard sup- posed he should be absent four or five years, and per- haps six or seven.* * A voyage from Canton to the Northwest Coast, and back to that port, for purposes similar to those meditated by Ledyard and Paul 156 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. Here was a scheme, that might give full scope to the imagination of the two heroes by vvhom it had been conceived, presenting at once the prospect of hazard, adventure, fame, and profit. Thej dwelt upon it with complacency, and so much was Jones taken with it, that he advanced money to Ledyard with which to purchase a part of the cargo for the outfit, even before he had applied to the government for aid, being determined to prosecute it at his own risk if he failed in that quarter. But at this moment, his affairs in regard to the prize-money assumed a crisis, which compelled him to go from Paris to L'Orient, where he was detained nearly three months ; and although he was ultimately successful, yet his zeal for this new scheme gradually cooled down, as he probably found that the government would do nothing in the matter, and that his private fortune was not adequate to so expensive an undertaking. At any rate, it fell through, and after four or five months of suspense, Ledyard had the renewed mortification of another disappointment, and of seeing his ardent wishes no nearer their accom- plishment, than when he left L'Orient. The only advantage he had derived from his intercourse with the Chevalier, was an allowance of money sufficient for his maintenance, which Jones had stipulated at the commencement of the negotiation, and which he had promptly paid. Jones, was performed fourteen years afterwards by Captain Richard J. Cleveland. Whoever would understand the difficulties and dangers of such an enterprise, at that time, will be pleased with reading- a brief account of Captain Cleveland's voyage, in the North American Review for October, ]827. No. 57. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 157 Just at this time Mr Lamb, the diplomatic agent appointed by the Congress of the United States to treat with the Dey of Algiers, arrived in Paris. Led- yard met him occasionally at Mr Jefferson's, took an interest in his mission, and had serious thoughts of joining him and going to Africa, but for what specific purpose is not told. The lingering desire., however, of still being able to conquer the fatality of circum- stances, which had hitherto impeded his progress to glory, in the course his fancy had pictured to him, continued to sustain him with the hope of a better turn of fortune, aiid to urge him forward to untried expedients. Ill Paris he associated Yv^ith several Americans, who approved and encouraged his ardor, and whose society afforded him consolation in the midst of his misfor- tunes, but who were not in a condition to promote his wishes, or remove his embarrassments. The question, what was to be done, which he had so often been compelled to ask himself, in cases of similar extremity, now recurred anew, and with as small a prospect as ever of its being answered in such a manner, as to lull his apprehensions, or relieve his anxiety. He determined to adventure one effort more, and submit the same proposition to a mercantile company in Paris, which he had done i^ L'Orient. Some progress was made in an attempt to organize such a company, but it was never matured. It was his intention, after he had visited the coastj and procured a full cargo of furs, to despatch the vessel to China under proper officers, and return himself across the continent to the United States, thus accomplishing the double object of a 158 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. lucrative voyage, and a tour of discovery through an unexplored wilderness of four thousand miles in ex- tent. Afterwards he would join the expedition in the company's service, either in France, or any other part of the world, as circumstances might dictate. Such was the compass of his desires ; yet he w^ould have relinquished the idea of this exploratory tour, and re- joiced to engage in a voyage merely for commercial ends, if even that could have been effected. Several months were passed in unavailing efforts to conquer obstacles, which seemed to thicken as he ad- vanced, and in vainly striving to enlighten ignorance and overcome prejudice, till his perseverance could hold out no longer, and he was forced to abandon the thought of a voyage by sea to the Northwest Coast, either for trade or discovery. He continued in Paris, but felt himself, as he really was, a wanderer without employment or motive. With Mr Jefferson, the Marquis de la Fayette, Mr Barclay the American con- sul, and other gentlemen of character and conse- quence, he was on terms of intimacy. In this society, and enjoying the amusements afforded in the capital of France, his time passed away agreeably enough, and in some of his letters he speaks of his happiness ; yet he was far from being satisfied ; he suffered under the pressure of want and a corrq^ing sense of depen- dence ; and occasionally his finances were at so low an ebb, that he was compelled, however reluctantly, to be a pensioner on the bounty of his friends. So dis- interested were his aims, however, and so entirely did he sacrifice every selfish consideration in prosecuting them ; so benevolent was his disposition, and so en- LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 159 larged his views of serving mankind, that no one con- sidered favors of this sort in the light of obligations conferred, nor so much acts of charity, as a just tri- bute to the singleness of his heart, the generosity of his purposes, and the effective warmth of his zeal. A few miscellaneous extracts from his letters, writ- ten during the first months of his residence in Paris, may properly come in here. They will give some insight into his occupations, as well as his habit of observing events and objects in the great world around him. -^^ " Paris is situated in an extended plain, rising on all sides into gradual elevations, and some little hills happily interspersed in the borders of its horizon. Its extent, viewed from the tower of Notre Dame, ap- peared to me less than London, though it must be larger. The public buildings are numerous, and some of them magnificent. Paris is the centre of France, and its centre is the Palais Royal, the resort of the greatest virtues and the greatest vices of such a king- dom. It is France in miniature, and no friend to France should ever see it. The Tuilleries afford a consummate display of artificial elegance and gran- deur ; the gardens of the Luxembourg are much in- ferior. The Boulevards were originally fortifications, and they now form a broad way that surrounds the city, separating it from the suburbs. It is well lined with fine umbrageous elms on each side, forming a beautiful course for coaches and horsemen ; but the farmers-general, to prevent illicit trade, are walling it in, at the expense of a thousand lamentations of the Parisians, and several millions of livres. I have been 160 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. once at the king's library. Papa Franklin, as the French here call him, is among a number of statues that I saw. The bust of Paul Jones is also there. Did you ever know, that Captain Jones was two or three nights successively crowned with laurels, at the great Opera House in Paris, after the action between the Bon Homme Richard and the Serapis ? " I find at our minister's table between fifteen and twenty Americans, inclusive of two or three ladies. It is very remarkable, that we are neither despised nor envied for our love of liberty, but very often caressed. I was yesterday at Versailles. It was the feast of St Louis, but I never feasted so ill in my life, as at the hotel w^here I dined, and never paid so dear for a din- ner. I was too late to see the procession of the king and queen, but I was little disappointed on that ac^ count, as I had already seen those baubles. The king I saw a fortnight before to very great advantage, being near to him while he was shooting partridges in the fields. He was dressed in common musqueto trowsers, a short linen frock, and an old laced hat without a cockade. He had an easy, gentlemanly appearance ; and had it not been for his few attend- ants, I should have taken him for the captain of a merchant ship, amusing himself in the field. The Palace at Versailles, and its gardens, are an ornament to the face of the globe. It was dirty weather. I wore boots, and consequently was prohibited from visiting the galleries. I was in company with our Mr Barclay, Colonel Franks of the American army, a young Virginian, and an English sea officer. Franks was booted too ; but though honest Tom Barclay was LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 161 not, he had no bag on, and they were dismissed also ; so that boots on, and bags off, are sad recommendations at the court of Versailles." " If the two Fitzhughs remain in town a week longer, you shall have a week's detail. They dine with me to day in my chamber, together with our worthy consul Barclay, and that lump of universality, Colonel Franks. But such a set of moneyless rascals have never appeared, since the epoch of the happy villain Falstafif. I have but five French crowns in the world ; Franks has not a sol ; and the Fitzhughs cannot get their tobacco money. " Mr Jefferson is an able minister, and our country may repose a confidence in him equal to their best wishes. Whether in public or private, he is in every word and every action, the representative of a young, vigorous, and determined state. His only competitors here, even in political fame, are Vergennes and La Fayette. In other accomplishments he stands alone. The Marquis de la Fayette is one of the most growing characters in this kingdom. He has planted a tree in America, and sits under its shade at Versailles. He is now at the court of old Frederick. I am sure, that you could not yourself have manifested more alacrity to serve me, than he has done. The Marquis is a warm friend to America. It will be difficult for any subsequent plenipotentiary to have as much personal influence in France, as Dr Franklin had ; it will at least be so, till the causes, which created that venerable patriot's ascendency, shall become less recent in the minds of the people. I had the pleasure of being but once at his house, before his departure, and although 21 162 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. bent down with age and infirmities, the excellent old man exhibited all the good cheer of health, the gay philosopher, and the kindness of a friendly coun- v^ryman." " It has been a holiday to day ; the nativity of the Virgin Mary. My friend, the Abbe D'Aubrey, tells me, that they have but eightytwo holidays in the year, which are publicly regarded ; but this is a mistake ; they have more. We both agree, that they have eightytwo less than they formerly had. There are certainly a hundred days in this city every year, whereon all the shops are shut, and there is a general suspension of business ; for the good policy of which, let them look to it. You will hear in your papers of an affair, between a certain Cardinal and the Queen of France. It has been the topic of conversation here for thirty days ; and forty fools, that have expressed themselves too freely in the matter for the police, are already in the Bastile. We have news to day, that the king will have him tried by the Parliament, and has written to that dying meteor, the Pope, not to meddle in the business." " I was late home yesterday evening from the feast of St Cloud, held at a little town of that name on the bank of the Seine. It is particularly remarkable for having the Queen's Gardens in it, and a house for the Queen, called a Palace. The chief circum- stance, which renders the village a place of curiosity to strangers, is the waterworks, which, after the labor of many years and vast expense, exhibit a sickly cas- cade, and thvee jets d?eau, or fountains, that cast water into the air. The largest of these throws out a col- LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 163 umn as big as a man's arm, which rises about thirty yards. In the evening I entered a part of the gardens, where some fireworks were played off. The tickets were twentyfonr sols. The fireworks were very few, but good. This little rustic entertainment of the Queen's, was with great propriety attended with very little parade about her person. It was a mere rural revel, and never before did I see majesty and tag-rag so philosophically blended ; a few country fiddlers scraping, and Kate of the mill tripping it with Dick of the vineyard. "^ Thus you see how some few of my days pass^ away. I See a great deal, and think a great deal, but derive little pleasure from either, because I am forced into both, and am alone in both." By these methods he endeavored to amuse himself, and forget his favorite scheme of traversing the west- ern continent, and ascertaining its physical character and commercial resources ; but this was not possible ; it had taken too strong a hold of him to admit of being driven altogether from his mind. As fate seem- ed to throw difficulties insurmountable in the way of a passage by sea, he bethought himself of the only remaining expedient, by which a part of his original design might be carried into execution ; and that W'as, to travel by land through the northern regions of Europe and Asia, cross over Bering's Strait to the American continent, and pursue his route thence down the coast, and to the interior, in such a manner as the exigencies of his condition might point out to him when on the spot. 164 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. The first object requiring attention, was to gain ipermission of the Empress of Russia to pass through her immense territories to Kamtschatka. Mr Jeffer- son, who heartily approved the project, interested himself in this preliminary measure, and applied to M. de Simoulin, minister plenipotentiary from Russia at the court of France, and especially to the Baron de Grimm, minister from Saxe-Gotha at the same court. Grimm was a correspondent and private agent of the Empress, and would be likely to have as much influ- ence with her in a matter of this sort, as her public minister. Both these gentlemen very readily acceded to Mr Jefferson's request, and made in his name a direct application to the Empress, soliciting permis- sion for Ledyard, in the character of an American citizen, to travel through her dominions. As haste is not a characteristic of transactions of this sort with crowned heads, the impatient traveller resolved to busy himself in the best manner he could, at least till a reasonable time should elapse for a reply. In the interim he retired to St Germain, where he after- wards commonly resided during his stay in France. The letter, which contains the following passages, is dated at St Germain, on the eighth of April, 1786. " If Congress should yet be at New York, this will be delivered to you by my friend, and almost every body's friend. Colonel Humphreys, whom you knevi^ in days of yore. He is secretary to our legation at the court of France, has a good head and a good heart ; but his hobby is poetry, and as the English reviewers allow him merit therein, I may very safely venture to do it. He is a friendly, good soul, a sincere yankee, and so affection- LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 165 ately fond of his country, that to be in his society here is at least as good to me, as a dream of being at home. I imagine he takes despatches, but as we are republi- cans a little more polished, than on your side of the water, we never presume to ask impertinent questions. " You have doubtless by this time received my let- ters by Mr Barrett. Your hearing from me so often by those, who intimately know my situation, and who are so much my friends, is a happy circumstance ; bat I would freely have relinquished the pleasure, which I take in writing this letter, to have been where I sup- posed I should be when I wrote you last. But soon after the departure of Mr Barrett, our minister, the Russian minister, and the Marquis de la Fayette, took it into their heads, that I should not go directly to Petersburg, but wait till I was sent for, which is the occasion of my being here to write you at this time. You see that I have so many friends, that I cannot do just as I please. I am very well in health. A gra- cious Providence, and the Indian corn diet of my childhood, added to the robust scenes I have since passed through, have left me at the same age at which my father died, ' healthy, active, vigorous, and strong.' * I am for a few weeks at the little town where my letter is dated, and as I live upon the skirt of a royal forest, I am every day in it, and it is usual for me to run two miles an end and return. I am like one of Swift's Houyhnhnms. Ask Humphreys if I did not walk into Paris last week, and return to dine with Madam Barclay the same morning, a distance * A line from his father's tombstone ; he died at the age of thirt)^ve. 166 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. equal at least to twentyfour of our miles. But this is not the work of nature ; she made me a voluptuous, pensive animal, intended for the tranquil scenes of domestic life, for ease and contemplation, and a thou- sand other fine soft matters, that I have thought nothing about, since I was in love with R. E. of Ston- ington. What fate intends further, I leave to fate ; but it is very certain, that there has ever been a great difference between the manner of life I have actually led, and that which I should have chosen ; and this is not to be attributed more, perhaps, to the irregular in- cidents that have alternately caressed and insulted me, than to the irregularity of my genius. Tom Barclay, our consul, who knows mankind and me very w^ell, tells me that he never saw such a medley as in me. The Virginian gentlemen here call me Oliver Cromwell, and say, that, like him, I shall be ' damn'd to fame ; ' but I have never dared to prophesy, how- ever, that it would be by a Virginian poet. " I every hour expect my summons to Peters- burg from the Russian minister. I shall have a de- lightful season to pass through Germany, though it does not suit my tour well. I shall lose a season by it. I am not certain about the result of this busi- ness, and shall not be perfectly at ease, till I have been introduced to the Empress." From a remark above, it may be inferred, that Ledyard wished to begin his journey to Petersburg before any intelligence had been received by the Russian minister in reply to his application. His principal motive doubtless was, that he might take advantage of the season, and reach Siberia so far in LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 167 anticipation of the severest parts of the winter, as not to be blocked up for several months by the snows in that frigid region. His advisers considered such a step ill judged, inasmuch as a formal petition had been sent to the Empress, and it would evince a want of proper respect to set out on the journey, before her answer had been returned, however strong might be the prob- ability that her consent would be granted. These points of etiquette were overlooked by the traveller, in his eagerness to be on the road, and he moreover thought the business might as well be settled at the court of the Empress in Petersburg, as through her minister in Paris. The event proved his impres- sions not to be ill founded. His forebodings were verified, for he was kept in daily expectation for more than five months, without receiving an answer, or hearing anything on the subject either from M. de Simoulin, or the Baron de Grimm. His last letter from France is a very long one, dated at St Germain, the eighth of August, 1786. It touches on a great variety of topics, and was written at different times. " Since I wrote to you by Colonel Humphreys," says he to his friend, " I have been at St Germain, waiting the issue of my affair at Petersburg. You wonder by what means I exist, having brought with me to Paris this time twelve months only three louis d'ors. Ask vice-consuls, consuls, ministers, and plenipotentiaries, all of whom have been tributary to me. You think I joke. No ; upon my honor, and, however irreconcileable to my temper, disposition, and education, it is nevertheless strictly true. Every day of my life, my dear cousin, is a day of expectation. 168 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. and consequently a day of disappointment. Whether I shall have a morsel of bread to eat at the end of two months, is as much an uncertainty, as it was four- teen months ago, and not more so. The near ap- proach, that I have so often made to each extreme of happiness and distress, without absolutely entering into either, has rendered me so hardy, that I can meet either with composure. "Permit me to relate to you an incident. About a fortnight ago, Sir James Hall, an English gentleman, on his way from Paris to Cherbourg, stopped his coach at our door, and came up to my chamber. I was in bed at six o'clock in the morning, but having flung on my rohe de chambre, I met him at the door of the antechamber. I was glad to see him, but sur- prised. He observed, that he had endeavored to make up his opinion of me, with as much exactness as possi- ble, and concluded that no kind of visit whatever would surprise me. I could do no otherwise than remark, that his opinion surprised me at least, and the conversation took another turn. In W'alking across the chamber, he laughingly put his hand on a six livre piece and a louis d'or, that lay on my table, and with a half stifled blush, asked me how I was in the money w^ay. Blushes commonly beget blushes, and I blushed partly because he did, and partly on other accounts. ' If fifteen guineas,' said he, interrupting the answer he had demanded, 'will be of any service to you, there they are,' and he put them on the table. ' I am a traveller myself, and though \ have some fortune to support my travels, yet I have been so situated as to want money, which you ought not to do. You LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 169 have my address in London.' He then wished me a good morning and left me. This gentleman was a total stranger to the situation of my finances, and one that I had by mere accident met at an ordinary in Paris. We had conversed together several times, and he once sent his carriage for me to dine with him. I found him handsomely lodged in the best Fauxbourg in the city. Two members of the British House of Commons, two lords, Beaumarchais, and several members of the Royal Academy, were at his table. He had seen me two or three times after that, and always expressed the highest opinion of the tour I had determined to make, and said he would, as a citizen of the world, do anything in his power to promote it ; but I had no more idea of receiving money from him, than I have this moment of receiving it from Tip- poo Saib. However, I took it without any hesitation, and told him I would be as complaisant to him, if ever occasion offered." " I have once visited the Foundling Hospital, and the Hospital de Dieu, in Paris ; twice 1 never shall. Not all the morality from Confucius to Addison could give me such feelings. Eighteen foundlings were brought the day of my visit. One was brought in while I was there. Dear little innocents ! But you are, happily, insensible of your situations. Where are your unfortunate mothers ? Perhaps in the adjoining" hos- pital ; they have to feel for you and themselves too. But where is the wretch, the villain, the monster — ? I was not six minutes in the house. It is customary to leave a few pence ; I flung down six livres and retired. Determined to persevere, I continued my visit over 170 LIFE OF JOHN LED YARD. the way to the Hospital de Dieu. I entered first the apartments of the women. Why will you, my dear sisters, I was going to say as I passed along between the beds in ranks, why will you be — but I was inter- rupted by a melancholy figure, that appeared at its last gasp, or already dead. ' She 's dead,' said I to a German gentleman, who was with me, ' and nobody knows or cares anything about it.' We approached the bedside. I observed a slight undulatory motion in one of the jugular arteries. 'She 's not dead,' said I, and siezed her hand to search for her pulse. I hoped to find life, but it was gone. The word dead being again pronounced, brought the nuns to the bed. ' My God ! ' exclaimed the head nun, ' she 's dead ; ' — ' Jesu, Maria ! ' exclaimed the other nuns, in their de- fence, ' she 's dead.' The head, nun scolded the others for their mal-attendance. ' My God ! ' continued she, ' she is dead without the form.' ' Dieu ! ' said the others, ' she died so silently.' ' Silence,' said the elder, ' per- haps she is not dead; say the form.' The form was said, and the sheet thrown over her face." " While in Normandy 1 was at the seat of Conflans, the successor of him, who was so unfortunate in a naval affair with Hawke of England. It is the lord- ship of the manor. The peasants live and die at the smiles or frowns of their lord, and, avaricious of the former, they fly to communicate to him any uncommon occurrence in the village ; and such they thought our arrival. The place, to be sure, is very remote, and the gentleman I accompanied, who was an English- man, rode in a superb manner. His coach and ser- vants were in a very elegant style. M. Conflans was LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 171 informed of it. On that day it was my turn to cater, and the little country taverns in France are such, as oblige one to cook for himself, if he would eat. I was consequently very busy in the kitchen. The Otaheite marks on my hands were discovered ; the mistress and the maids asked our servants the history of so strange a sight. They were answered that I was a gentleman, who had been round the world. It was enough ; Conflans knew of it, and sent a billet, written in good English, to inquire if we would permit him the honor of seeing us at his mansion ; and, if he could be thus distinguished, he would come and wait on us thither himself. It was too late ; the Englishman and I had begun pell-mell upon a joint of roast. If Jove himself had sent a card by Blanchard inviting us, it would have been all one. We would honor our- selves with waiting on the Marquis de Conflans in the evening. We did so, and we could not but be pleased with the reception we met with ; it was in the true character of a French nobleman." " I took a walk to Paris this morning, and saw the Marquis de la Fayette. He is a good man, this same Marquis. I esteem him, and even love him, and so we all do, except some few, who worship him. I make these trips to Paris often ; sometimes to dine with this amiable Frenchman, and sometimes with our minister, who is a brother to me. I am too much alive to care and ambition to sit still. The unprofita- ble life I have led goads me ; I would willingly crowd as much merit as possible into the autumn and winter of it. Like Milton's hero in Paradise Lost, (who happens, by the way, to be the evil one himself,) it be- hoves me now to use both oar and sail to gain my port. 172 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. " The Paris papers of to day announce the discov- ery of some valuable gold mines in Montgomery county, Virginia, which I rejoice to hear ; but I hope they will not yield too much of it, for, as Poor Rich- ard says, ' too much of one thing is good for noth- ing.' All that I can say is, that, if too much of it is as bad as too little^ the Lord help you, as he has me, who, in spite of my poverty, am hearty and cheerful. I die with anxiety to be on the back of the American States, after having either come from or penetrated to the Pacific ocean. There is an extensive field for the acquirement of honest fame. A blush of generous regret sits on my cheek, when I hear of any discovery there, which I have had no part in, and particularly at this auspicious period. The American Revolution in- vites to a thorough discovery of the continent, and the honor of doing it would become a foreigner, but a native only can feel the genuine pleasure of the achievement. It was necessary, that a European should discover the existence of that continent, but, in the name of Amor Patrice^ let a native explore its resources and boundaries. It is my wish to be the man. I will not yet resign that wish, nor my preten- sions to that distinction. Farewell for the present. I have just received intelligence, which hurries me to London. What fate intends is always a secret ; forti- tude is the word. I leave this letter with my brother and my father, our minister. He will send it by the first conveyance. Adieu." The intelligence here alluded to, was from his ec- centric friend. Sir James Hall, who had returned to London. In six days Ledyard was with him in the LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 173 British capital. He there found an English ship in complete readiness to sail for the Pacific ocean. Sir James Hall introduced him to the owners, who imme- diately offered him a free passage in the vessel, with the promise, that he should be set on shore at any place on the Northwest Coast, which he might choose. The merchants, no doubt, hoped to profit somewhat by his knowledge and experience, and he could not object to such an exchange, as these were his only possessions. One of Cook's officers was also going out in the same vessel. The day before he was to go on board, Ledyard wrote to Mr Jefferson in the follow- ing animated strain. " Sir James Hall presented me with twenty guineas pro hono publico. I bought two great dogs, an Indian pipe, and a hatchet. My want of time, as well as of money, will prevent my going any otherwise than indifferently equipped for such an enterprise ; but it is certain, that I shall be more in want before I see Vir- ginia. Why should I repine ? You know how much I owe the amiable la Fayette. Will you do me the honor to present my most grateful thanks to him ? If I find in my travels a mountain, as much elevated above other mountains, as he is above ordinary men, I will name it La Fayette. I beg the honor, also, of my compliments to Mr Short, who has been my friend, and who, like the good widow in Scripture, cast in not only his mite, but more than he was able, for my assistance." The equipment of two dogs, an Indian pipe, and a hatchet, it must be confessed, was very scanty for a journey across a continent, but they were selected 174 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. with an eye to their uses. The dogs would be his companions, and assist him in taking wild animals for food, the pipe was an emblem of peace to the Indians, and the hatchet would serve many purposes of conve- nience and utility. His choice could not have fallen, perhaps, upon three more essential requisites for a solitary traveller among savages and wild beasts ; they would enable him to provide for his defence, and pro- cure a friendly reception, covering, and sustenance. All these were necessary, and must be the first objects of his care. His plan was fully arranged before entering the ship. He determined to land at Nootka Sound, where he had passed some time with Cook's expedition, and thence strike directly into the interior, and pursue his course as fortune should guide him to Virginia. By his calculation, the voyage and tour would take him about three years. He was much gratified with the reception he met in London, and particularly from Sir Joseph Banks, and some other gentlemen of science, who entered warmly into his designs. It was believ- ed, that his discoveries would not fail to add valuable improvements to geography and natural history ; and there was a romantic daring in the enterprise itself, well suited to gain the applause of ardent and liberal minds. Thus encouraged, his enthusiasm rose higher than ever, and his impatience to embark increased every moment. While in Paris the preceeding year, he had become acquainted with Colonel Smith, Secretary of Legation to Mr Adams, at that time American minister in Lon- don. Colonel Smith befriended him after his arrival LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD, 175 in England, and, conceiving the journey he was about to undertake, as promising to be highly important to America, he wrote an account of it to Mr Jay, then Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the United States. After a few remarks relative to Ledyard's previous at- tempts and objects. Colonel Smith proceeds ; " In consequence of some allurements from an Eng- lish nobleman at Paris, he came here with the inten- tion of exploring the Northwest Coast and country ; and a vessel being on the point of sailing for that coast, after supplying himself with a few necessary articles for his voyage and march, he procured a pas- sage with a promise from the captain to land him on the western coast, from which he means to attempt a march through the Indian nations to the back parts of the Atlantic states, for the purpose of examining the country and its inhabitants ; and he expects to be able to make his way through, possessed of such infor- mation of the country and people, as will be of great advantage to ours. This remains to be proved. It is a daring, wild attempt. Determined to pursue the object, he embarked the last week, free and independ- ent of the world, pursuing his plan unembarrassed by contract or obligation. If he succeeds, and in the course of two or three years should visit our country by this amazing circuit, he may bring with him some interesting information. If he fails, and is never heard of more, which I think most probable, there is no harm done. He dies in an unknown country, and if he composes himself in his last moments with the reflec- tion, that his project was great, and the undertaking what few men are capable of, it will to his mind soothe 176 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. the passage. He is perfectly calculated for the at- tempt, robust and healthy, and has an humense pas- sion to make discoveries, which will benefit society, and ensure him, agreeably to his own expression, ' a small degree of honest fame.' It may not be improper for your excellency to be acquainted with these cir- cumstances, and you are the best judge of the propriety of extending them further." The vessel went down the Thames from Deptford, and in a few days put to sea. Ledyard thought it the happiest moment of his life. But alas ! how uncertain are human expectations. Again was he doomed to suffer the agonies of a disappointment more severe than any that had preceded, because never before were his wishes so near their consummation. He looked upon the great obstacles as overcome, and re- garded himself as beyond the reach of fortune's caprice. This delusion soon vanished. The vessel was not out of sight of land, before it was brought back by an order from the government, and the voyage was finally broken off. He went back to London, as may be supposed, with a heavy heart. A month after- wards he wrote to Dr Ledyard, " I am still the slave of fortune, and the son of care. You will be surprised that I am yet in London, unless you will conclude with me, that, after what has happened, nothing can be surprising. I think my last letter informed you, that I was absolutely embarked on board a ship in the Thames, bound to the Northwest Coast of America. This will inform you, that I have disembarked from said ship, on account of her having been unfortunately seized by the customhouse, and JLIFE OF JOHN LED YARD. 177 eventually exchequered ; and that I am obliged in con- sequence to alter my route ; and, in short, everything, all my little baggage—shield, buckler, lance, dogs, squire, — and all gone. I only am left ; — left to what ? To some riddle, I'll warrant you ; or, at all events, I will not warrant anything else. My heart is too much troubled at this moment to write you as I ought to do. I will only add, that I am going in a few days to make the tour of the globe from London east on foot. I dare not write you more, nor introduce you to the real state of my affairs. Farewell. Fortitude ! Adieu." By this it will be seen, that his Siberian project was again revived ; and, in fact, a subscription to aid him in this object had already been commenced in London, under the patronage of Sir Joseph Banks, Dr Hunter, Sk James Hall, and Colonel Smith. " I fear my subscription will be small," he says, in a letter to Mr Jefferson ; "it adds to my anxiety to reach those dominions, where I shall not want money. I do not mean the dominions, that may be beyond death. 1 shall never wish to die while you and the Marquis are alive. I am goij^ig across Siberia, as I before intended." The amount collected by his friends is not mentioned, but it was such, as to induce him to set out upon the jour- ney; which, indeed, he probably would have done, had he obtained no money at all. He had lived too long by expedients to be stopped in his career, by an obstacle so trifling in his imagination as the want of money, and he was panting to get into a country, where its use was unknown, and where of course the want of it would not be felt. 23 178 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. CHAPTER VIII. Ledyard proceeds to Hamburg . — Goes to Copenhagen, where he meets Major Langhorn, another American traveller. — Endeavors to persuade Langhorn to accompany him on his tour, but in vain. — Continues his route to Sweden, and is disappointed in not being able to cross the Gulf of Bothnia on the ice. — Journey round the Gulf into the Arctic Circle on foot, through Sweden, Lap- land, and Finland. — Maupertuis' description of the cold at Tornea. — Arrives at Petersburg, where he is befriended by Professor Pallas and others. — Pro- cures a passport from the Empress, through the agency of Count Segur, the French ambassador. — Sets out for Siberia, and travels by way of Moscow to Kazan, a town on the river Wolga. — Crosses the Ui-alian Mountains. — Some account of the city of Tobolsk. — Proceeds to Barnaoul and Tomsk. — ^Descrip- tions of the country and the inhabitants. — Character and condition of the exiles at Tomsk. — Fossil Bones, — Curious mounds and tombs of the ancient natives. — Arrives at Irkutsk. Leaving London in December, Ledyard went over to Hamburg, whence he immediately wrote to Colonel Smith. From the account of his finances contained in that letter, it would not seem that he was encum- bered, at his departure from England, with a heavy purse. He makes no complaint however ; on the contrary, he expresses only joy, that the journey, which he had so long desired, was actually begun. " I am here," he says, " with ten guineas exactly, and in perfect health. One of my dogs is no more. I lost him on my passage up the river Elbe to Ham- burg, in a snow storm. I was out in it forty hours in an open boat. My other faithful companion is under the table on which I write. I dined to day with Madam Parish, lady of the gentleman I mentioned to you. It is a Scotch house of the first commercial dis- tinction here. The Scotch have by nature a dignity of sentiment, that renders them accomplished. I LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 179 could go to heaven with Madam Parish, but she had some people at her table, that I could not go to heaven with. I cannot submit to a haughty eccentricity of manners. My fate has sent me to the tavern, where Major Langhorn was three weeks. He is now at Co- penhagen, having left his baggage here to be sent on to him. By some mistake he has not received it, and has written to the master of the hotel on the subject. I shall write to him, and give him my address at Petersburg. I should wish to see him at all events, but to have him accompany me on my voyage would be a pleasure indeed." This Major Langhorn turns out to be an American officer, lately arrived in Hamburg from Newcastle, " a very good kind of a man, and an odd kind of a man," as the master of the hotel called him, one who had travelled much, and was fond of travelling in his own way. He had gone off to Copenhagen without his baggage, taking with him only one spare shirt, and very few other articles of clothing. It does not ap- pear, that Ledyard had ever been acquainted with Langhorn, or even seen him ; but he had heard such a description of him from Colonel Smith, and others, that in fancy he had become enamored of the originality and romantic turn of his character, and particularly of his passion for travelling. Carried away with this whim- sical prepossession, he had got it into his head, that Langhorn was the fittest man in the world to be the companion of his travels. An imaginary resemblance between their pursuits, condition, and the bent of their genius, created a sympathy, that was not to be resist- ed. He moreover suspected from hints, which he saw 180 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. in Langhorn's letter, inquiring about his trunk, that he was in want of money. Here was another appeal to his generosity, and one which he could never suffer to be made in vain, when he had ten guineas in his pocket. " 1 will fly to him with my little all, and some clothes, and lay them at his feet. At this moment I may be useful to him ; he is my country- man, a gentleman, a traveller. He may go with me on my journey; if he does, I am blessed; if not, I shall merit his attention, and shall not be much out of my way to Petersburg." With this state of his feelings it is not wonderful, that we should next hear from him at Copenhagen. He hastened on to that city, and arrived there about the first of January, 1787, although it was taking him far aside from his direct course, and exposing him to all the fatigues and perils of a long, tedious winter passage through Sweden and Finland. He found Langhorn in a very awkward situation, without money or friends, and shut up in his room for the want of decent apparel to appear abroad in ; and, what was wors(», incurring the suspicions of those around him, that he was some vagabond, or desperate charac- ter, whose conduct had rendered it expedient for him to keep out of sight. Imagination only can paint the joy, that glowed in our traveller's countenance, when he saw the remains of his ten guineas slip from his fingers, to relieve the distresses of his new found friend. All that could now be said of them was, that their poverty was equalized; the Major could walk abroad, and his benefactor had not means to carry him beyond the bounds of the city. The road LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 181 to Petersburg was many hundred miles long, through snows, and over ice, and presenting obstacles enough at that season to appal the stoutest heart, even with all the facilities for travelling, which gold could purchase. What then was the prospect for a moneyless pedes- trian ? These reflections were not suffered to intrude upon the pleasures of the moment. His money was gone, it was true, but a worthy man, and a traveller, had been made happier by it. How he should advance further was a thing to be thought of tomorrow, yet the doubt never came into his mind, that anything could stop him, when the time should arrive for him to move forward. Neither confidence nor fortitude ever forsook him. Two weeks were agreeably passed in the society of Langhorn, but no inducements could prevail on him to undertake the Siberian tour, much less to hazard the dangerous experiment of entrusting himself among the wild barbarians of North America. His humor was not of this sort, yet it was scarcely less peculiar, than if it had been. " I see in him," says Ledyard to Colonel Smith, " the soldier, the countryman, and the generous friend ; but he would hang me if he knew I had written a word about him ; and so I will say no more, than just to inform you, that he means to wander this winter through Norway, Swedish Lapland, and Sweden ; and in the spring to visit Petersburg. I asked to attend him through this route to Petersburg ; — ' No ; I esteem you, but I can travel in the way I do with no man on earth.' " After this avowal, the Major certainly merits the praise of frankness, if not of compliance ; and Ledyard must 182 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. have possessed a larger share of practical philosophy, than falls to the lot of most men, to have been per- fectly reconciled to this abrupt declaration, after com- ing so far out of his way, and spending much time and all his money in search of a companion, who he fondly hoped would participate in his adventures. When this visit of friendship was closed, and the hour of departure approached, the necessity was press- ed upon him of looking about for money. He drew a small bill on Colonel Smith, and good fortune put in his way a merchant, who consented to accept it, and pay him the amount. " Thompson's goodness to me," he writes to Colonel Smith, " in accepting the bill on you, relying on my honor, has saved me from perdition, and will enable me to reach Petersburg." A small sum, to meet such an exigency, had been left in Colonel Smith's hands, but not to the full amount of the draft. Ledyard apologizes for the addition, and tells his friend, that he must put it to the account of charity, for his necessities only had compelled him to overdraw. The draft was kindly accepted by Colonel Smith, when it came to hand. Thus replenished, our traveller parted from the eccentric Major, crossed over into Sweden, and arrived in Stockholm towards the end of January.* * Langhorn pursued his route, as he had proposed, wandering over Sweden, Norway, and Lapland. The summer following he arrived in Tornea, at the proper season for witnessing the sight, which has drawn other travellers to that place. Tornea is but a few miles south of the Arctic Circle, and at the time of the summer solstice the sun appears above the horizon, as observed by Maupertuis, " for several days to- gether without setting." Travellers are then favored with what is LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 183 The common mode of travelling from Stockholm to Petersburg in the summer season, is to cross the Gulf of Bothnia to Abo in Finland by water, touching at the isles of Aland on the passage. In winter the same route is pursued, when the sea is frozen so hard as to admit of sledges being drawn from one island to another on the ice. The greatest distance to be pass- ed over in this manner, without touching land, is about thirty miles. Under the most favorable circum- stances this passage is troublesome and dangerous. It is well described by Acerbi. " My astonishment was greatly increased," says he, " in proportion as we ad- vanced from our starting post. The sea, at first smooth and even, became more and more rough and unequal. It assumed, as we proceeded, an undulating appearance, resembling the waves by which it had been agitated. At length we met with masses of ice called " a view of the sun at midnight." Acerbi was there in 1799, and he mentions Langhorn. In the church of Jukasjeroi, a town at some distance to the north of Tornea, and the Ultima Thule of travellers in that direction, there is a book in which are written the names of visit- ers, with such remarks as their humor prompted them to indite. These are copied into Acerbi's Travels, amounting to only seven in number. The first record was by Regnard, on the 18th of August, 1681. The following is a literal transcript of another. " Justice bids me record thy hospitable fame, and testify it by my name. W. Lang- horn, United States. July 23d, 1787." This was six months after Ledyard left him in Copenhagen. Acerbi says he v/as travelling on foot from Norway to Archangel. There is another record in the Album of Jukasjeroi, entered by a character noted for his singularities, and his passion for rambling, and who is still remembered in the United States, as well as in many other parts of the world, by the name of the Walking Steivart. " Non mihi fama, sed hospitalitatis et gratitudinis testimonium. S. Stewart, Civis Orbis. 30 Julii, 1787." 184 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. heaped one upon the other, and some of them seem- ing as if they were suspended in the air, while others were raised in the form of pyramids. On the whole, they exhibited a picture of the wildest and most savage confusion, that surprised the eye by the novelty of its appearance. It was an immense chaos of icy ruins, presented to view under every possible form, and embellished by superb stalactites of a blue green color." Over this rough surface, and between the broken waves of ice, the passengers are drawn in sledges, muffled up in wolf skins and other furs. The chief danger consists in the sledges being repeatedly upset, and the horses sometimes taking fright, and running away like wild deer. Acerbi had a serious adventure of this sort, but he luckily escaped without harm, as he did from many other adventures, which awaited him in his travels to the North Cape. This is the method of crossing the Gulf of Bothnia in common seasons, but there is occasionally an open winter, when it is impassable, either by water or on the ice, for if the passage does not freeze entirely over, the water contains so much floating ice, that no vessel can sail through it. When this happens, the only way of going to Petersburg is around the Gulf, a distance of twelve hundred miles, over trackless snows, in regions thinly peopled, where the nights are long and the cold intense, and all this to gain no more than fifty miles. Such was unfortunately the condition of the ice, when Ledyard arrived at the usual place of crossing. It had not been frozen solid from the beginning of the winter, and no traveller could pass. Of all his dis- LIFE OF JOHN LEDTARD. 185 appointments, none had afflicted him more severely than this. The only alternative was, either to stay in Stockholm till the spring should open, or to go around the Gulf into Lapland, and seek his way from the Arctic Circle to Petersburg, through the whole ex- tent of Finland ; and in either case he foresaw, that he should arrive so late in Russia, that another season would be wasted in Siberia, before he could cross to the American continent. The single circumstance, therefore, of the passage to Abo being thus obstructed, was likely to keep him back a full year from the at- tainment of his grand object. But he did not delibe- rate long. He could not endure inactivity, and new difficulties nerved him with new strength to encounter and subdue them. He set out for Tornea in the heart of winter, afoot and alone, without money or friends, on a road almost unfrequented at that frightful season, and with the gloomy certainty resting on his mind, that he must travel northward six hundred miles, be- fore he could turn his steps towards a milder climate, and then six or seven hundred more in descending to Petersburg, on the other side of the Gulf. When Maupertuis and his companions were about leaving Stockholm, on their journey to Tornea, for the purpose of measuring a degree of the meridian under the Polar Circle, the King of Sweden told them, that " it was not without sensible concern, that he saw them pursue so desperate an undertaking ; " yet they were prepared with every possible convenience for travelling, and protection against the rigors of a north- ern winter. A better idea of the degree and effects of cold, at the head of the Gulf, cannot be formed, 24 186 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. perhaps, than from Maupertuis' description. " The town of Tornea, at our arrival on the thirtieth of December, had really a most frightful aspect. Its little houses were buried to the tops in snow, which, if there had been any daylight, must have effectually shut it out. But the snows continually falling, or ready to fall, for the most part hid the sun the few moments, that he might have showed himself at mid- day. In the month of January the cold was increased to that extremity, that Reaumur's mercurial ther- mometers, which in Paris, in the great frost of 1709, it was thought strange to see fall to fourteen degrees below the freezing point, were now down to thirty- seven. The spirit of wine in the others was frozen. If we opened the door of a warm room, the external air instantly converted all the air in it into snow, whirling it round in white vortexes. If we Avent abroad, w^e felt as if the air were tearing our breasts in pieces. And the cracking of the wood whereof the houses are built, as if the violence of the cold split it, continually alarmed us with an approaching increase of cold. The solitude of the streets was no less, than if the inhabitants had been all dead ; and in this country you may often see people that have been maimed, and had an arm or a leg frozen off. The cold, which is always very great, increases sometimes by such violent and sudden fits, as are almost infallibly fatal to those, that happen to be exposed to it. Some- times there arise sudden tempests of snow, that are still more dangerous. The winds seem to blow from all quarters at once, and drive about the snow with such furv, that in a moment all the roads are lost. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 187 Unhappy he, who is seized by such a storm in the fields. His acquaintance with the country, or the marks he may have taken by the trees, cannot avail him. He is blinded by the snow, and lost if he stirs but a step."* These were the scenes, that awaited our pedestrian in his winter excursion to the Polar Circle. How far they were realized by him must be now left to conjec- ture. No part of his journal during this tour has been preserved, nor is it known what course he took from Tornea to Petersburg. The common route is along the border of the Gulf to Abo, but in winter the road is much obstructed by ice, and is extremely bad. Linnaeus passed it in September, when returning from his scientific tour to Lapland, and he estimates the distance from Tornea to Abo at upwards of six hun- dred English miles. From a remark in Ledyard's letter to Mr Jefferson, which will be quoted below, it would seem, that he took a different direction, and passed farther into the interior of Russian Finland. This route, as he intimates, must have been wholly unfrequented by travellers, although the distance must be shorter, and at that season perhaps the difficulties to be encountered were not greater, than down the Gulf. Be this as it may, he reached Petersburg before the twentieth of March, that is, within seven weeks of the time of leaving Stockholm, making the average distance travelled about two hundred miles a week. * See Maupertuis' Discourse before the Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris. November 13th, 1737. 188 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. It is evident, therefore, that he met with no obstacles, which his resolution did not speedily overcome. His letter to Mr Jefferson, dated Petersburg, March 19th, 1787, will acquaint us with the state of his feelings, and his prospects, at this stage of his travels. " It will be one of the remaining pleasures of my life, to thank you for the many instances of your friendship, and, wherever I am, to pursue you with the tale of my gratitude. If Mr Barclay should be at Paris, let him rank with you as my next friend. I hardly know how to estimate the goodness of the Marquis de la Fayette to me, but I think a French nobleman, of the first character in his country, never did more to serve an obscure citizen of another, than he has done for me ; and I am sure, that it is impossi- ble, without some kind of soul made expressly for the purpose, that an obscure citizen in such a situation can be more grateful than I am. May he be told so, with my compliments to his lady. " I cannot tell you by what means I came to Peters- burg, and hardly know by what means I shall quit it, in the further prosecution of my tour round the world by land. If I have any merit in the affair, it is perseverance, for most severely have I been buffeted ; and yet still am even more obstinate than before ; and fate, as obstinate, continues her assaults. How the matter will terminate I know not. The most proba- ble conjecture is, that 1 shall succeed, and be bufTeted around the world, as I have hitherto been from Eng- land through Denmark, through Sweden, Swedish Lapland, Swedish Finland, and the most unfrequented parts of Russian Finland, to this aurora borealis of a LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 189 city. I cannot give you a history of myself since I saw you, or since I wrote you last ; however abridged, it would be too long. Upon the whole, mankind have used me well ; and though I have as yet reached only the first stage of my journey, I feel myself much indebted for that urbanity, which I always thought more general, than many think it to be ; and were it not for the mischievous laws and bad examples of some governments I have passed through, I am per- suaded I should be able to give you a still better ac- count of our fellow creatures. But I am hastening to countries, where goodness, if natural to the human heart, will appear independent of example, and furnish an illustration of the character of man, not unworthy of him, who wrote the Declaration of Independence. I did not hear of the death of M. de Vergennes until I arrived here. Permit me to express my regret at the loss of so great and so good a man. Permit me, also, to congratulate you, as the minister of my coun- try, on account of the additional commercial privileges granted by France to America, and to express my ardent wishes, that the friendly spirit, which dictated them, may last for ever. I was extremely pleased at reading the account, and to heighten the satisfaction, I found the name of La Fayette there. "An equipment is now on foot here for the sea of Kamtschatka, and it is first to visit the Northwest Coast of America. It is to consist of four ships. This, and the expedition that went from here twelve months since by land for Kamtschatka, are to cooper- ate in a design of some sort in the Northern Pacific Ocean ; the Lord knows what, nor does it matter 190 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. what with me, nor indeed with yon, nor any other minister, nor any potentate, south of fifty degrees of latitude. I can only say, that you are in no danger of having the luxurious repose of your charming climates disturbed bj^ a second incursion of either Goth, Van- dal, Hun, or Scythian. " I dined today with Professor Pallas. He is an accomplished man, and my friend, and has travelled throughout European and Asiatic Russia. I find the little French I have, of infinite service to me. I could not do without it. It is a most extraordinary language. 1 believe wolves, rocks, woods, and snow understand it, for I have addressed them all in it, and they have all been very complaisant to me. We had a Scythian at table, who belongs to the Royal Society of Physicians here. The moment he knew me and my designs, he became my friend ; and it will be by his generous assistance, joined with that of Professor Pallas, that I shall be able to procure a Royal Pass- port, without which I cannot stir. This must be done through an application to the French minister, there being no American minister here ; and to his secretary I shall apply with Dr Pallas tomorrow, and shall take the liberty to make use of your name, and that of the Marquis de la Fayette, as to my character. As all my letters of recommendation were English, and as I have hitherto been used by the English with the greatest kindness and respect, I first applied to the British minister, but without success. The apolo- gy was, that the present political condition, between Russia and England, would make it disagreeable for the British minister to ask any favor. The secretary LIFE OP JOHN LEDYARD. 191 of the French embassy will despatch my letter, and one of his accompanying it, to the Count Segur to- morrow morning. I will endeavor to write you again before I leave Petersburg, and give you some further accounts of myself. Meantime, I wish you health. I have written a short letter to the Marquis. Adieu.'' It will be remembered, that at this time the Em- press was absent on her famous jaunt to Kerson and the Krimea. She had left Petersburg in January, accompanied by Prince Potemkin, and many others of the courtiers, and of the Russian nobility. The Aus- trian and French ambassadors were also in her train. She passed through Smolensk, and was now at Kief, where she remained amidst a brilliant assemblage of nobles from Poland and her Russian territories, till the spring was so far advanced, that she could proceed by water down the Dnieper, in the magnificent gallies prepared for the purpose. While the Empress and her retinue were at Kief, a round of splendid entertainments, ceremonies, and visits from eminent personages, occupied her time, and absorbed her thoughts, in addition to the great politi- cal projects, which she is said to have been meditating in regard to the conquest of Turkey. Had the French ambassador found an opportunity, therefore, amidst these scenes of gaiety and bustle, to present a petition to the Empress from an unknown individual, for a passport to travel through her dominions, it could not be thought strange, that she should have neglected to attend to it with the promptness, which more im- portant affairs might require. Weeks passed away, and no answer was returned. Ledyard's patience 192 LFFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. was severely tried by this delay, and he began to talk of going forward without any passport. On the fif- teenth of May, after waiting nearly two months at Petersburg, he writes to Colonel Smith, " My heart is oppressed ; my designs are generous ; why is my fate otherwise ? The Count Segur has not yet sent me tny passport. But this shall not stop me ; I shall surmount all things, and at least deserve success." About this time he became acquainted with a Russian ofBcer, who belonged to the family of the Grand Duke, and who took a lively interest in his concerns, and proffered his services. Ledyard says he was not only " polite and friendly, but a iliinJdng Russian.-' By the kind assistance of this gentleman he obtained his passport in fifteen days, and was prepared for his departure. It was fortunate, that just at this time Mr William Brown, a Scotch physician, was going to the province of Kolyvan, in the employment of the Empress. Ledyard joined him, and thus had a companion on his tour for more than three thousand miles. From this arrangement he enjoyed an important advantage, for Brown travelled at the expense of the government, and as Ledyard went with him by permission of the proper authority, his travelling charges w'ere probably- defrayed in part at least from the public funds^ And, indeed, without this aid, it would have been impossible for him to move a step, for his own re- sources were completely exhausted. On his arrival in Petersburg his necessities were extreme, as his money was gone, and he was almost destitute of clothes. In this extremity he drew a bill for twenty LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 193 guineas on Sir Joseph Banks, which he found some friend willing to accept, although he confessed, that Sir Joseph had not authorized him to draw, and that the payment of the bill would depend on his generosi- ty. It was immediately paid when presented in Lon- don, much to the honor of that munificent patron of science and enterprise. It is said, that a quantity of stores was sent under the care of Dr Brown, to be forwarded to Mr Billings at Yakutsk, who was em- ployed in exploring those remote regions of Siberia and Kamtschatka, in the service of the Empress. The party left Petersburg on the first of June, and in six days arrived at Moscow. During the last day's ride they overtook the Grand Duke and his retinue, who were going to Moscow to meet the Empress on her return from her pompous journey to the Krimea. The two travellers remained but one day in Moscow. They hired a person to go with them to Kazan, a dis- tance of five hundred and fifty miles, and drive their kibitka with three horses. " Kibitka travelling," says Ledyard in his journal, " is the remains of cara- van travelling ; it is your only home ; it is like a ship at sea." In this vehicle they were hurried along with considerable speed towards Kazan, through Vladimir, Nishnei Novogorod, and other towns. Kazan stands on the right bank of the majestic Wolga, and is the capital of a province of the same name. It is ranked among the first cities in the empire, containing a uni- versity, churches, convents, and other public buildings, some of which are magnificent, and finished with much architectural taste and elegance. Immense quantities of grain are produced in this province, and 25 194 LIFE OF JOHJH LED YARD. also flax and leather for exportation. The soil is well cultivated, but low and unhealthy, and the inhabitants are a mixed population of Russians and Tartars. They staid a week at Kazan, and then commenced their journey to Tobolsk, where they arrived on the eleventh of July, having crossed the Ural mountains, and passed the frontiers of Europe and Asia. The face of the country had hitherto been level, with hardly an eminence springing from the great plain, which spreads over the vast territory from Moscow to Tobolsk. The ascent of the Ural mountains was so gradual, as scarcely to form an exception to this general remark, and nothing could be more monoto- nous and dreary, than the interminable wastes, over which their route had led them since leaving Kazan, with here and there a miserable village, and mipro- ductive culture of the soil. " The wretched appear- ance of the inhabitants," says our jom'nalist, " is such as may generally be observed in a greater or less de- gree in those places, which are so unhappy as to be the frontiers between nations ; like step-children are they." This is especially the condition of the people throughout the whole extent of the China frontiers, that border on Russia. It is the policy of the govern- ment to preserve this belt of desolation, as a barrier against the too easy access of foreigners, and as a means of preventing contraband trade. Tobolsk is a city of considerable interest, having been once the capital of all Siberia, and in early times the scene of a great battle between the renowned hero Yermak, and the Tartar prince, Koutchum Khan, in which the former was victorious. The citv stands LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 195 at the junction of two large rivers, the Tobol and Irtish, which there unite and flow on together, till their waters are mingled with the Obe, and thence conveyed to the Northern Ocean. It consists of the upper and lower town, the latter situate on the margin of the river, and the former on a commanding emi- nence, which overlooks the lower town and much of the adjacent country. Captain Cochrane, who visited his place a few years ago, was greatly pleased with its natural advantages and scenery, and the condition and comforts of the people. The town is well laid out into streets^ contains handsome churches and other edifi- ces, a well regulated market, and provisions of all kinds in abundance, and exceedingly cheap. He was not less charmed with the society, for although To- bolsk is the residence of exiles, they are such as have been sent to Siberia for political reasons, and not male- factors, these latter being accommodated with a resi- dence and employment much farther in the interior towards Kamtschatka. These political exiles are com- monly persons of some culture and intelligence, for, as this author justly remarks, no government banishes fools; and the social circles of the better sort indicate a refinement and happiness, which might be envied in more civilized parts of the globe. So much was this traveller pleased with the wild and beautiful scenery on the banks of the Irtish, that he followed up the stream to the borders of China, enraptured at every step ; nor was he satisfied, till he had contemplated by moonlight the deep solitudes and lofty granite mountains, that constitute the bulwark of this north- ern boundary of the Celestial Empire. 196 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. But Captain Cochrane was an amateur traveller, wandering for amusement, and seeking odd adventures in the most promising theatre for them. Ledyard, on the contrary, was impelled forward by a single motive, and he would gladly have annihilated space and time, if he could have set his foot the next moment on the American Continent. He did not traverse the wild wastes of Siberia to make discoveries, gaze at moun- tains, trace rivers to their sources, nor even to examine the economy of society and the condition of the peo- ple. He had a soul to admire whatever was grand or beautiful in nature, and to be strongly affected with the various states of human existence, as his observa- tions abundantly prove ; but he suffered these to make an incidental claim only on his attention, keeping them subordinate to his great design and absorbing purpose. Hence he stopped no longer in any place, than was necessary to prepare for a new departure. Three days he and his companion stayed at Tobolsk, and then continued their journey to Barnaoul, the capital of the province of Kolyvan. At this place he was to leave Dr Brown and proceed alone. For this gentleman he had contracted a sincere esteem, and was prevailed upon to remain in Barnaoul a week, out of regard to the kindness and in compliance with the solicitation of his friend. In many respects Barnaoul is one of the most agree- able places of residence in Siberia. The province, of which it is the capital, is a rich mining district, and this] brings together in the town persons of science and respectability, who are employed as public officers to superintend the working of the mines. The sur- LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 197 rounding country, moreover, is well suited to agricul- ture, abounding in good lands for pasture and grain, supporting vast herds of cattle, and producing vegeta- bles in great profusion. In consequence of these bounties of nature, there is an overflowing and cheap market, an absence of want, and much positive happi- ness among the people. Ledyard was lodged at Barnaoul in the house of the treasurer, by whom he was treated with great hos- pitality. He dined twice with the governor, and also with two old discharged officers of the array, who, at their own request, had quitted the service, and become judges and justices of the law. He was shown the armorial bearings of forty two provinces in the empire. The governor told him, that the salt, produced by the salt lakes in the province of Kolyvan, yielded some- what more to the revenue than the mines, and also that the aggregate amount of revenue from that pro- vince was greater than from any other. In respect to gold and silver, this is no doubt the case at the present day, but in regard to the salt it is uncertain. There are said to be salt lakes in Siberia, so much saturated with saline matter, that the salt crystalizes of its own accord, and adheres in this state to pieces of wood and other substances put into the water, Kolyvan is near the middle point between Peters- burg and Okotsk, it being somewhat more than three thousand miles in opposite directions to each of those places.* Barnaoul stands on the bank of the river * In his Journal, Ledyard enters the following distances, which he says were taken from a Russian Almanac In the second column I 198 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. Obe, which is a broad and noble stream where it passes the town. It is in the fifty third degree of north latitude, and in the last week of July the mornings were exceedingly hot, the sky cloudless and serene, and the atmosphere perfectly calm. In the afternoon a gentle breeze would spring up, increase by degrees till evemng, and contmue through the night. Rams are not frequent in Kolyvan. The following extract is from that part of the jour- nal, which was written at Barnaoul, and contains re- marks on what came under the writer's notice during his journey to that place. " The face of the country from Petersburg to Koly- van is one continued plain. The soil before arriving at Kazan is very well cultivated ; afterwards cultiva- tion gradually ceases. On the route to Kazan we saw large mounds of earth, often of twenty, thirty, and forty feet elevation, which I conjectured, and on in- quiry found, to be ancient sepulchres. There is an analogy between these and our own graves, and the Egyptian pyramids ; and an exact resemblance between them, and those piles supposed to be of monumental earth, which are found among some of the tribes of North America. We first saw Tartars before our ar- have reduced the versts to English miles. Three versts are equal to two miles. Versts. Miles. From Petersburg to Barnaoul 4539 . . . 3026 " Barnaoul to Irkutsk 1732 ... 3155 « Irkutsk to Yakutsk 2266 . . . 1510 « Yakutsk to Okotsk 952 ... 635 " Okotsk to Awateka in Kamtschatka . . 1065 . . . 710 Whole distance from Petersburg to Kamtschatka 10554 . . . 7036 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 199 rival at Kazan ; and also a woman with her nails painted red, like the Cochin Chinese. " Notwithstanding the modern introduction of linen into Russia, the garments of the peasantry still retain not only the form, but the manner of ornamenting them, which was practised when they wore skins. This resembles the Tartar mode of ornamenting, and is but a modification of ilm wampum ornament, which is still discernible westward from Russia to Denmark, among the Finlanders, Laplanders, and Swedes. The nice gradation by which I pass from civilization to incivilization appears in everything ; in manners, dress, language ; and particularly in that remarkable and important circumstance, color, which I am now fully convinced originates from natural causes, and is the effect of external and local circumstances. I think the same oi feature. I see here the large mouth, the thick lip, the broad flat nose, as well as in Africa. I see also in the same village as great a difference of complexion ; from the fair hair, fair skin, and white eyes, to the olive, the black jetty hair and eyes ; and these all of the same language, same dress, and, I suppose, same tribe. I have frequently observed in Russian villages, obscure and dirty, mean and poor, that the women of the pea- santry paint their faces, both red and white. I have had occasion from this and other circumstances to sup- pose, that the Russians are a people, who have been early attached to luxury. They are everywhere fond of eclat. ' Sir,' said a Russian officer to me in Peters- burg, 'we pay no attention to anything but eclat.'' The contour of their manners is Asiatic, and not Eu- ropean. The Tartars are universally neater than the 200 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. Russians, particularly in their houses. The Tartar, however situated, is a voluptuary ; and it 4S an origi- nal and striking trait in their character, from the Grand Seignior, to him who pitches his tent on the wild frontiers of Russia and China, that they are more addicted to real sensual pleasure, than any other peo- ple. The Emperor of Germany, the Kings of Eng- land and France, have pursuits that give an entirely different turn to their enjoyments ; and so have their respective subjects. Would a Tartar live on Vive le Roi ? Would he spend ten years in constructing a watch ? or twenty in forming a telescope ? " In the United States of America, as in Russia, we have made an effort to convert our Tartars to think and act like us ; but to what effect ? Among us, Sampson Occum was pushed the farthest within the pale of civilization, but just as the sanguine divine, who brought him there, was forming the highest expectations, he fled and sought his own ely- sium in the bosom of his native forests. In Russia they have had none so distinguished ; here they are commonly footmen, or lackeys of some other kind. The Marquis de la Fayette had a young American Tartar, of the Onandago tribe, who came to see him, and the Marquis, at much expense, equipped him in rich Indian dresses. After staying some time, he did as Occum did. When I was at school at Mount Ida [Dartmouth College], many Indians were there, most of whom gave some promise of being civilized, and some were sent forth to preach ; but as far as I observ- ed myself, and have been since informed, they all returned to the home and customs of their fathers, and LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 201 followed the inclinations, which nature had so deeply enstamped on their character." To these remarks is here added part of a letter, written to Mr Jefferson from Barnaoul, dated on the twentyninth of July, 1787. <' How I have come thus far, and liow I am to go still farther, is an enigma that I must disclose to you on some happier occasion. I shall never be able, without seeing you in person, and perhaps not then, to inform you how universally and circumstantially the Tartars resemble the Aborigines of America. They are the same people ; the most ancient and the most numerous of any other ; and had not a saiall sea divided them, they would all have been still known by the same name. The cloak of civilization sets as ill upon them, as upon our American Tartars. They have been a long time Tartars, and it will be a long time before they will be any other kind of people. '^' I shall send this letter to Petersburg, to the care of Professor Pallas. He will transmit it to you, together with one for the Marquis, in the mail of the Count Segur. My health is perfectly good; but notwith- standing the vigor of my body, my mind keeps the start of me, and I anticipate my future fate with the most lively ardor. Pity it is, that in such a career one should be subjected, like a horse, to the beggarly im- pediments of sleep and hunger. " The banks of the large rivers in this country everywhere abound with something curious in the fos- sil world. I have found the leg-bone of a very large animal on the b^mks of the Obe, and have sent it to Dr Pallas, requesting him to render me an account of 26 202 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. it hereafter. It is either an elephant's, or rhinoceros' bone. The latter animal has been in this country. There is a complete head of one in a state of high preservation at Petersburg. I am a curiosity here myself. Those who have heard of America flock round to see me. Unfortunately the marks on my hands * procure me and my countrymen the appellation of wild men. Among the better sort we are some- w hat more known. The governor and his family have got a peep at the history of our existence, through the medium of an antiquated pamphlet of some kind. We have, however, two stars, that shine even in the galaxy of Barnaoul, and the healths of Dr Franklin and of General Washington have been drunk, in compliment to me, at the governor's table. I am treated with the greatest hospitality here. Hitherto I have fared com- fortably when I could make a port anywhere, but when totally in the country I have been a little incommoded. Hospitality, however, I have found as universal as the face of man. When you read this, perhaps two months before you do, if I do well, I shall be at Okotsk, where I will do myself the honor to trouble you again, and if possible will write more at large. My compliments wait on all my Parisian friends." After spending a week very agreeably in Barnaoul, he made preparations for recommencing his journey. From this place to Irkutsk it was arranged, that he should travel post with the courier, who had charge of the mail. All things being in readiness, he writes, " I waited on the governor with my passport ; he was * The tattoo marks made on his hands at Otaheite. XIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 203 well pleased with it ; gave me a corporal to conduct the affairs of the mail ; said I had nothing to do but sit in the kibitka, and mustered up French enough to say, Monsieur, je vous souhaite im bon voyage. I took an affectionate farewell of the worthy Dr Brown, and left Barnaoul." The next stopping-place on the route was Tomsk, distant three hundred miles, which were passed over in two days and three nights. The river Tom, which flows near this town, is as large as the Irtish, where it is crossed by the main road above Tobolsk, and was the first river met with by our trav- eller since leaving Petersburg, which had either a gravelly bottom or shore. On its banks were found little mounds of earth, which were ascertained to have been the habitations of the natives, who dwelt there before the conquest of the country by the Russians.* * In Bell's Journey from Petersburg to Pekin, with the Russian em- bassy, in the year 1720, the author gives a curious account of the mounds in the regions about Tomsk. He considers them the tombs of ancient heroes, who fell in battle. " Many persons go from Tomsk,'' he observes, " and other parts every summer to tliese graves, which they dig up, and find among the ashes of the dead considerable quan- ties of gold, silver, brass, and some precious stones ; but particularly' hilts of swords and armour. They find, also, ornaments of saddles and bridles, and other trappings for horses ; and even the bones of horses, and sometimes those of elephants. Whence it appears, that when any general or person of distinction was interred, all his arms, his favorite horse, and servant, were buried with him in the same grave. This custom prevails to this day among the Kalmuks and other Tar- tars, and seems to be of great antiquity. It appears from the number of graves, that many thousands must have fallen on these plains, for the people have continued to dig for such treasure many years, and still find it unexhausted. They are sometimes, indeed, interrupted and robbed of all their booty by parties of the Kalmuks, who abhor the disturbing the ashes of the dead." Vol. I. p. 253. 204 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. The nights, he remarked, were very cold, more so than he had known them in any country, where it was at the same time so hot by day. All the way from Barnaoul, and particularly in its neighborhood, were perceived the ruinous effects of the violent winds, that frequently produce great devastation in those parts of Siberia. Forest trees and fields of grain were indis- criminately blown down and destroyed. The hospi- tality of the inhabitants, however, was unabated. They could rarely be prevailed upon to take anything for "provisions or accommodation. On one occasion, for as much barley soup, onions, quass, bread, and milk, as made a hearty meal for the traveller and his corporal, the good woman, who furnished them, con- sented to receive one kopeek, and nothing more.* They were detained two or three days at Tomsk, waiting for a mail, that was coming by another route from Tobolsk ; but the commandant was affable and generous, and did not allow the time to pass heavily. He was somewhat of a singularity, being a French- man, born in Paris, now seventythree years old, having resided twentyfive years in Siberia, and more than thirty in Russia. He spoke his native language im- perfectly, and wrote it still worse. His favorite topic was the dignity of his birth, and the high rank of his family. But Ledyard wished to know more about Siberia at that moment, than of the genealogy or rank of the families in France, and he ventured to ask the * The value of the kopeek varies at different times. Ledyard states it to have been about one tenth of an English penny, when he was in Siberia. In Dr Clarke's Travels it is put down as equal to an English halfpenny. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 205 old man if the town, or its environs, afforded anything valuable or curious in natural history. His answer was, that there were thieves, rogues, liars, and villains of every description. The conversation was pushed no further in the way of philosophical inquiry, for it was evident the Frenchman's thoughts had run very little in that channel. There was truth in his remark, although uttered somewhat out of place. Tomsk had long been the rendezvous of the worst class of exiles, w4io had been banished for their crimes, and could not be expected to exercise a very salutary influence on society, or to become pattern members of it themselves. Poverty and wretchedness, the accompaniments of vice, formed here some of the prominent objects in the foreground of the picture, and beggars daily thronged the streets, as in the most populous regions of the civilized world. The charity and kind feelings of the better sort of inhabitants, however, afforded a pleasing contrast to this debasement and suffering. Ledyard observes, that the family with whom he lodged, were accustom- ed every morning to lay aside in the window ten or twelve farthing pieces for the charitable purposes of the day. Considering the extraordinary cheapness of food, this would afford relief to many persons. The beggars began their rounds at an early hour, and went regularly from house to house, and were very rarely sent away without something. Those, who did not give money, gave bread. Some of the beggars were in irons. The people asked no questions, but appeared to give cheerfully and without grudging. The de- mand was uniformly made, pour Vainour de Dieu, 206 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. "for which," sajs the journalist, " one may have more in this country, than in any other I have seen." In ten days from the time of leaving Tomsk, the traveller and his corporal were safely arrived in Ir- kutsk, over a road, of which he speaks in no terms of commendation. The river Yenissey was crossed at the town of Krasnojarsk, where the commandant pressed him to stop long enough to dine, and celebrat- ed the event of a stranger's arrival, with such free potations as to become intoxicated. From Tomsk to Yenissey the country exhibited rather an agreeable aspect, and marks of cultivation. Ledyard observes, that in this region he " first finds the real craggy, peaked hill, or mountain," and from Krasnojarsk to Irkutsk was the first stony road, which he had passed over in the Russian dominions. The streets of To- bolsk, and some of the other towns on his route, were paved with wood. " Passing on east from the Yenissey to Irkutsk the country is thinly peopled. A very few, and those miserable houses, are to be seen on the road, and none at all at a distance from it. The country is hilly, rough, mountainous, and covered with thick for- ests. The rivers here also have all rocky beds, and are rapid in the degree of three to five miles an hour. The autumnal rains are begun, and they have set in severely. I am now in Irkutsk, and have stayed in my quarters all day to take a little rest, after a very fatiguing journey, rendered so by sundry very disagree- able circumstances ; going with the courier, and driv- ing with wild Tartar horses, at a most rapid rate, over a wild and ragged country; breaking and upsetting LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 207 kibitkas ; beswarmed with musquetoes ; all the waj hard rains ; and when I arrived at Irkutsk I was, and had been for the last fortjeight hours, wet through and through, and covered with one complete mass of mud." 208 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. CHAPTER IX. Residence at Irkutsk. — Miscellaneous remarks on the inhabitants, and the productions of the country. — Accounts of the Tartars. — Unsuccessful attempts to civilize them. — Fur trade on the American coast. — Visit to the Lake Bai- kal. — Further remarks on the character and manners of the Kalmuks and other Tartars. — Leaves Irkutsk for the river Lena. — Scenery around the Baikal. — Rivers flowing into it. — Extraordinary depth of its waters. — Tliey are fresh, but contain seals, and fish, peculiar to the ocean. — Estimate of the number of rivers in Siberia, and of the quantity of water they pour into the Frozen Ocean. — Ledyard proceeds down the Lena in a bateau. — Romantic sceneiy along the margin of the river. — Hospitality of the inhabitants. — Ends his voyage at Yakutsk. Ledyard staid in Irkutsk about ten days, and his observations and general reflections during that time may be best understood by extracts from his journal, as they were written on the spot. They are rather in the nature of hints and first thoughts, than of a regu- lar narrative, but they will show his inquisitive turn of mind, and his eagerness for acquiring such knowl- edge, as accorded with the general objects of his travels. " August 16th. I have not been out this morning, but I shrewdly suspect by what I see from my poor talc window, that I shall even here find the fashiona- ble follies, the ridiculous extravagance, and ruinous eclat of Petersburg. — I have been out, and ray suspi- cions were well founded. Dined with a brigadier, a colonel, and a major, a little out of town ; they are Ger- mans. Had at the table a French exile, who had been an adjutant. Scarcely a day passes but an exile of some sort arrives. Most of the inhabitants of this remote LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 209 part of Siberia are convicts. The country here was formerly inhabited by the Mongul or Kalmuk Tartars, who are, I conclude, the same people. Find no account of the Calumet. The French exile had been at Quebec, and thinks the Tartars here much inferior to the American Indians, both in their understanding and persons. I observe the Tongusians have not the Mongul or Kalmuk faces, but moderately long, and considerably like the European face. These Tongu- sians form the second class of Tartars, so obviously distinguishable by their features from other Tartars, and from Europeans. What I call the third class are the light eyed and fair complexioned Tartars, which class I believe includes the Cossacs. The Tchuk- tchi are the only northern Tartars, that remain unsub- jected to the government. " The town of Irkutsk is the residence of the Gov- ernor-General, Jacobi, and of a military commander, and has in it two battalions of infantry. It has two thousand poor log houses, and ten churches. Jacobi's authority extends from here to the Pacific Ocean, an immense territory. I waited this morning on the director of the bank, Mr Karamyscheff, who was a pupil of Linnaeus. He is very assiduous to oblige me in everything, and sent for three Kalmuks in the dress of their country. Nothing particularly curious about them, but their pipes, which are coarsely made of copper by themselves ; the form altogether Chinese. Karamyscheff informs me, that the Monguls and Kalmuks are the same people. From his house I went with the Conseiller cVEtat, who introduced me to Jacobi, the Governor. Fie is an old, venerable man, 27 210 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. and although I believe, with Pallas, that he is un homme de hois, yet he received me standing and un- covered. Our conversation was merely respecting my going with the post, which he granted me, and, be- sides, told me that I should be particularly well accom- modated, wished me a successful voyage, and that my travels might be productive of information to mankind. I conversed with him in French, through the interpre- tation of the Conseiller. " This latter gentleman gave me the following in- formation. ' The white Tartars you saw about Kazan are natives of that country, and we call them Kazan Tartars. Kazan was once a kingdom of theirs. From this place to Yakutsk you pass among the Kal- muks. At Yakutsk you will see the Yakuti, and also the Tongusians, who are more personable than the Kalmuks, or Monguls, and more sensible ; but the Yakuti are more sensible than either. They are indeed a people of good natural parts and genius, and by experience are found capable of any kind of learn- ing. From Yakutsk you pass through the Tongusians all the way to Okotsk. In the time of Jenghis Khan the Thibet Tartars, that is, the Kalmuks, or Monguls, made incursions into this country. We have two hundred thousand Russians, and, as nearly as we can estimate, half that number of Indians of all descrip- tions in this province. Marriages in and near the vil- lages take place between the Russians and Tartars, but they are not frequent. I believe the extreme cold, and want of snow here during winter, and the sudden change of weather in the summer, to be the reason why Ave can have no fruit here. We have often, in the LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 211 months of May and June, ice three and four inches thick. Besides, this country, as you have observed, is subject to terrible gales of wind, which blow away both bud and blossom. We have nevertheless a few little apples, which we eat at our tables, and they are not without flavor.' Thus much the Conseiller. " The forest trees in this country are almost alto- gether birch ; they are generally rotten at the heart. Mr Karamyscheff tells me, that there are many bones of the rhinoceros in these parts of Siberia, and also the same large bones, that are found on the banks of the Ohio in America. It seems, that the places in which to find those bones, and other cm'ious fossils, are at the mouths of the great rivers Yenissey, Lena, Kolyma, and others, among the islands that are formed where they flow into the sea. Here they are all lodged, after having been washed from under ground by the rivers in the different countries, which they traverse. " August 17th. Today it seems the jubilee is ob- served, on account of the Empress having reigned twentyfive years. In coming from Karamyscheff 's I met the Governor-General and his suite of officers, the brigadier I dined with yesterday, and other digni- taries, to the number of two hundred, all going to dine with the Governor, who keeps open house on the occasion. The governor and other officers saluted me as they passed ; those, who did not know me, wonder- ing what could procure such attention to one so poorly and oddly attired. I was pressed by some of the company to go and dine. Had my clothes been good, I would have gone. But I dined with Karamyscheff. 212 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. It is a Tartar name, and he is of Tartarian extraction. Saw an appletree in his garden. The fruit, as he de- scribed it, would be as large as a full sized pea in France or England. It is the genuine appletree, and their naturalists distinguish it by the name of the pyrus haccata. These are the only apples in Siberia. " Karamyscheff says the Yakuti Tartars are the veritables Tartars, by which I understand, that they are a less mixed race than the others. Their language he says is the oldest language, and that other tribes understand it. The Yakuti formerly possessed this country, but they were driven out by the Kalmuks, who made a succession of attacks upon them, and pursued them to the ^ la, down which they fled, and settled at Yakutsk, ixaramyscheff has in his house four children descended from a Kalmuk father and Russian mother. The first resembles the father, and is entirely Kalmuk ; the second the mother, with fair hair and eyes ; one of the others is Kalmuk, and the other Russian. They are all healthy and well look- ing children. I saw three of them. Karamyscheff knows not among what people to rank the Kamtscha- "lales. He acknowledges with me, that their faces are entirely Kalmuk, but says they came from Ameri- ca. This controverts the common opinion, that America was peopled after Asia. But he is carried away with the wild notions of the French naturalist, Buffon. I find universally, that the Tartars wear their beards. The ears of Kalmuk, or Mongul Tar- tars, project universally farther from the head, than those of Europeans. I measured the ears of the Kal- muks at Karamyscheff 's today, and on an average LIFE OF JOHN LEDTARD. 213 they projected one and a half inch, and they were by no means extraordmary examples. The ears of the Chmese are shuilar. " We have French and Spanish wines here, but so adulterated, that I was told of it before I knew it to be wine. KaramyschefT is fully sensible of the luxury and vanity I complain of in this country, which is but beginning to begin., as I told him today. He laments it, and declared frankly to me, that patriot- ism and the true solid virtues of a citizen are hardly known. The geographical termination of Russia, and the commencement of Siberia, is at the city of Perm. The natural boundary is the river Yenis- sey. I observe that the face of the country is very different on this side of the Yenissey, and Karamy- schefT, who is a botanist, says the vegetable produc- tions differ as much. ^ '■^ August l^lh.. Went this morning to see some curiosities from different parts of Siberia. Saw also a piece of Sandwich Island cloth, which was obtained from Captain Cook's ship at Kamtschatka, when he was there. In the collection was the skin of a Chi- nese goat, the hair of which was the whitest, longest, and most delicate that I ever saw ; also some excel- lent sea-otter skins, the largest of which were valued at two hundred roubles ; likewise a bow, quiver, and all the military apparatus of a Kalmuk, which was very heavy. The Kalrauks and Monguls here receive the common name of the Buretti. I went to the Archbishop's to see a young savage of the Tchuktchi. The good bishop had taken great pains to humanize him (as Dr Wheelock had done 214 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. with Sampson Occum, whose story I related on this occasion) ; but he informed us, that he had lately taken to drink, and died drunk ; or, in the bishop's own words, ' somebody had one day given him half a rouble, and he went out with it, but never returned, and was found dead by the side of a Kabak.' Dined with my friend Karamyscheff again today, who pre- sented me, in lieu of a domestic, a young lieutenant to go with me and buy a few things ; ' But,' said he, ' don't put any money in his hands, he will not return it.' We had at table the wife of a clerk to Mr Karamyscheff, whose mother was a savage from the Tchuktchi regions, and her father a Russian. She is a fine creature, and her complexion a good middling color. It strengthens my opinion, that the difference of color in man is not the effect of any design in the Creator, but of causes simple in themselves, which will perhaps soon be well ascertained. It is an extra- ordinary circumstance, but I think I ought not on that account to conclude, that it is not the result of natural causes. ^^ August 19th. For the second time I have ob- served, that in the wells, about twelve feet down, there is a great deal of ice adhering to the sides. I went this morning to see a merchant, who was the owner of a vessel, that had passed from Kamtschatka to different parts of the coast of America. He showed me some charts rudely descriptive of his voy- ages ; says there are, on different parts of the coast of America, two thousand Russians ; and that, as nearly as he can judge, the number of skins, procured by them in that country, amounts to twelve thousand. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 215 He has a vessel at Okotsk, which leaves that place for America next summer, and he offers me a passage in her. " Dined today with a German colonel, and after dinner set out for the Lake Baikal, which, in the Kal- muk language, signifies the North Sea. The Kalmuks, or Monguls, originally lived on the south of this lake, towards China and Thibet. After a good and cheer- ful dinner with the colonel, we mounted his drosky, with post horses, and took our departure for the lake. After seven hours' ride over a miserable road, we ar- rived at the little hamlet of St Nicholas, where for- merly the Russian ambassadors resided, before they embarked to cross the lake for China. This village has a church in it, dedicated to St Nicholas, and all the sailors on the lake resort to it. We lodged here through the night, and early next morning resumed our journey, and reached the border of the lake. Here are six or seven houses, among which the largest was ordered to be built by the Empress for the accommo- dation of all strangers that pass this way ; and also a galliot, which plies as a packet in the summer across the lake. " We hailed the galliot, which was at anchor in the lake. The captain came ashore, and we went off with him in a small boat, wdth line and lead to take soundings ; but having only fifty fathoms of line, and it raining very hard, we could not make much progress. At the distance of one hundred feet from the shore, my whole length of line was taken up. We retired to the house, breakfasted, and waited an hour for the rain to abate ; but, finding it to continue, we requested the 216 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. captain to send us in his boat to Irkutsk. He com- plied with our request, and made us a canopy of hides to defend us from the rain. We sent our drosky back by the postboy, and embarked with two sailors to row us. We passed along the margin of the lake to the outlet, where the river Angara begins, and thence down the river to Irkutsk, a distance of about forty- five miles. This lake is seven hundred and sixtynine versts (five hundred and thirteen miles) in its longest ,part, and sixty versts (forty miles) in its broadest. Its depth is said to be unfathomable. It has an annual ebb and flux ; the one is caused by the autumnal rains, and the other by the dry season in spring. It has emptying into it one hundred and sixtynine small streams, from twenty to eighty yards wide, and three larger ones from a quarter to half a mile wide. It has but one outlet, by which to dispose of the redundancy from all these influxes, and that is the river Angara, which is a Kalmuk name. It is no more than a quar- ter of a mile wide, where it springs from the lake, is very shallow, and far from being rapid. " August 22d. The government of Irkutsk has four provinces, namely, Irkutsk, Yakutsk, Nartschintsk, and Okotsk. These are divided into several districts each. The governor sent me a surveyor, with the latest chart of the great territory embracing these provinces. By measurement I found its latitudinal extent, from its southern extremity to the Icy Ocean north, to be two thousand seven hundred versts, and its longitudinal extent, from its western boundary to Tchuktchi Nos, its eastern extremity at Bering's Strait, to be three thousand nine hundred versts. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 217 " I am informed by the Governor, that the post will not be ready for three days. " August 23d. The commerce of Irkutsk is very small with Europe, and consequently at present at a very low ebb, since there is no open trade with the Chinese, its nearest neighbors of a commercial charac- ter. The frontiers, between this country and China, are principally defended by an army of Buretti, or Kalmuk Tartars. They are mostly horsemen, like the Cossacs in the western dominions, and amount to more than five thousand men. There are two con- vents near this town, one of men and the other of women, separated by a river. I observe in Siberia, that in all the cities there is one great burying place, and that wherever this is (and it is commonly out of the town), there is likewise a church, and the best church of the place. This is but another kind of pyramid, a large mound, or a mound modified. " August 25th. This morning I leave tow^n. The land is well cultivated on the borders of the river, and is good. Among the Buretti, or Kalmuks, I observe the American moccasin, the common moccasin, like the Finland moccasin. The houses of the Buretti have octagonal sides, covered with turf, with a fireplace in the centre, and an aperture for smoke ; the true American wigwam, and like the first Tartar house I saw in this country, which was near Kazan. Mr Karamyscheff says they have the wild horse on their Chinese frontiers. The Buretti here ride and work the horned cattle ; they perforate the cartilage of the nose, and put a cord through it to guide them by. This 28 218 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. is to be wondered at, as the country is level, and they have vast droves of horses. " August 26th. Hard white frost last night, and very cold. Run away with by these furious unbroke Tartar horses, and saved myself each time by jump- ing out of the kibitka. Thank Heaven, ninety versts more will probably put an end to my kibitka journey- ing for ever." Such are some of the brief notes entered in his journal, while he was at Irkutsk. He was detained on account of the delay of the post, and made the best use of his time in collecting such information, as he supposed would be serviceable to him in his future travels. The inquiries, of which he was peculiarly fond, respecting the different races of men, their ori- gin, classification, and distinctions, were here pursued with his customary diligence and discrimination. But it should always be borne in mind, that he did not intend his journal for anything more than a repository of loose hints, which might assist his recollection, when the occasion for using them should occur. They were never afterwards revised, or altered, but have been preserved in the original form, in which he recorded them on his journey. This fact should claim for them all the indulgence, which their incohe- rency, or want of maturity, may seem to require. The Lake Baikal in some respects is one of the most remarkable bodies of water on the globe. Other travellers have given its dimensions somewhat differ- ently from Ledyard, varying from three hundred to six hundred miles in length, and from fortyfive to sixty miles in width where it is the broadest. Ledyard LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 219 probably measured it on the chart just mentioned. All travellers agree, however, that the scenery around this lake is the most picturesque, bold, and imposing im- aginable. The Angara bursts out from the lake, be- tween immense battlements of perpendicular rocks, which, if we may judge from Bell's description of them, surpass in grandeur the famous passage of the Poto- mac through the Blue Ridge at Harper's Ferry. For about a mile after leaving the lake, there is a continu- ed rapid, extending across the whole breadth of the stream, and admitting of no boat communication, ex- cept by a narrow channel on the east side, up which boats are towed, and propelled wdth poles, from the village of St Nicholas into the lake. Around the en- tire circumference of the lake, and particularly on the north, lofty and craggy mountains are seen piled one above another, in the wildest confusion, and masses of rock rising like towers from the very margin of the water. Down the ravines and precipices thus formed, the numerous tributary streams pour themselves into this great reservoir. Pallas was inclined to believe, that the enormous gulf, which forms the basin of the Baikal, was caused by a violent disruption of the earth, at some very remote period. The Selinga, a river which empties itself into this lake from the south, is larger at its mouth than the Angara, where it issues from the lake. It has its source in the Chinese dominions, and is navigable for many miles into the interior. Another river, called the eastern Angara, and probably larger than the Selinga, comes in from the north. To these must be added the contributions of more than a hundred and 220 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. sixty Other streams of various sizes. It is difficult to imagine, what becomes of the immense quantity of water thus poured into the lake, when it is considered that there is but a single outlet. The width of this outlet Ledyard states at a quarter of a mile, but Bell says it appeared to him a mile. In either case the water discharged by it would be in no proportion to the quantity, which falls into the lake. In a warmer region, as in that where the lake Tsad is situate in Africa, the surplus might be easily disposed of by evaporation, but in so cold a climate as that of Irkutsk, this is hardly possible. The conjecture of an internal communication with the great ocean, would seem to afford the only plausible solution of the diffi- culty. Lake Superior contains a larger body of water, has a small outlet, and is in a climate perhaps as cold, but it receives comparatively slender contributions from rivers. A similar remark may be made as to the Caspian Sea, and the Sea of Aral. The water of the Baikal is fresh. No bottom has ever yet been reached by the sounding line. When Bell crossed it, a hun- dred years ago, with the Russian ambassador on his way to Pekin, a line of more than nine hundred feet in length was let down, without touching the bottom. The report of Professor Pallas on this point is not so explicit, as might have been expected from a scientific traveller. He says, that a ball of packthread, iveigli- ing more than an ounce, had been used as a sounding line, but no bottom was found.* What length he * " Le Baikal a une si grande profondeur dans le milieu, et sur les cotes septentrionales, qu'on a deroule un peloton de ficelle pesant plus d'une once, pour sonder, sans trouver de fond." Voyages du Profes- seur Pallas, Tom. VI. p. 118. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 221 would assign to an ounce of packthread is not revealed to his readers. We have seen, that one hundred feet from the shore, Ledyard's line of three hundred feet met with no obstruction. On all sides the shore is bold and dangerous, with hardly an anchoring place, except at the mouths of the large rivers. If the water could be removed, there would probably be exposed a cavity, or fissure, equal to the present dimensions of the lake, and extending to a great depth into the earth. Professor Pallas thinks the ordinary level of the lake was once higher, and that it flowed over the low country at the mouth of the Selinga, which is now inhabited. No lava, or volcanic appearances, have been noticed in the regions about the lake. It is considered very remarkable, that the fish called Chien de mer is found in the Baikal. This is men- tioned by Pallas and Ledyard. The natural element of this fish is the ocean, and it is very rarely known, as the Professor says, to enter rivers even for a small distance. How it should get into the Baikal, a fresh water lake at least three thousand miles from the ocean, taking the windings of the river into the ac- count, is deemed a problem of no easy solution, espe- cially as this fish has never been known either in the Yenissey, or Angara, by which the waters of the lake pass into the Northern Sea.* He is not satisfied with this course of migration, and would look for a more extraordinary cause, but does not venture an opinion on the subject. The Baikal contains seals, also, whose usual residence is in the salt water. Whether they * The Angara falls into the Yenissey on its way to the ocean. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. came up the Yenissey and Angara, is another ques- tion to be settled. Bell thinks they did. Pallas is silent on the subject, and so is Ledyard. The skins of these seals are preferred to those of salt water seals. The inhabitants have a treacherous mode of taking these animals. In winter the seals are obliged occasionally to come up through holes in the ice for respiration ; over these holes the seal-catcher spreads nets, in which the unwary animal is entangled, when he escapes from his nether element. In the part of the journal to which we have now come, are contained some curious speculations respect- ing the number of rivers in Siberia, and the quantity of water, which is continually disembogued by them into the Northern Ocean. On his route from Moscow to Irkutsk, Ledyard had crossed twentyfive large navi- gable rivers, whose courses were north. The Yenis- sey, where he passed it, runs at the rate of about five miles an hour, and generally the rivers on the east of the Yenissey run tw o or three miles in an hour swifter than the western ones, between the Yenissey and Moscow. He thinks these twentyfive rivers, taken together, had an average width of half a mile where he crossed them. He, also, ascertained that there were twelve rivers of a similar description between Irkutsk and Kamtschatka, making in all thirtyseven. Allowing these rivers to be twice as wide at their mouths, as at these interior points, which is evidently a moderate estimate, we shall have a column of water thirtyseven miles wide, and of the average depth of rivers a mile in width, constantly flowing into the Frozen Ocean, with a velocity of at least three or four miles an hour. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. His inference from the whole is, that such an im- mense body of fresh water incessantly discharged, at points so near each other and so near the pole, must have a sensible effect in creating and perpetuating the ice in those latitudes. Whatever may be thought of this theory, it is an unquestionable fact, that a much larger quantity of water is conveyed by rivers from Siberia into the Frozen Ocean, than runs into the sea in any other part of the globe, within the same compass. Whether these streams are mainly fed by native springs, or by the melting of snows, and whether the superabundance of these snows is pro- duced by vapors wafted from warmer climes, are topics of inquiry that must be left to those, who are inclined to pursue them. Snow cannot be formed without moisture, but where the surface of the earth is bound in frost six or eight months in a year, there can be little evaporation or moisture. If snow still continues to fall and accumulate, whence is it that the atmosphere is surcharged with the vapors necessary for this operation ? We left our traveller with his kibitka, on his first day's journey from Irkutsk northward. It was now the twentysixth of August, and the forest trees had begun to drop their foliage, and put on the garb of autumn. The country in the environs of Irkutsk was well cultivated, containing fine fields of wheat, rye, barley, extensive pasture lands, and a good breed of cattle. The sheep were of the large-tailed kind, such as are found at the Cape of Good Hope, but the mut- ton was not well flavored. 224 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. In company with Lieutenant Laxman, a Swedish officer, Ledjard embarked on the river Lena, at a point one hundred and fifty miles distant from Irkutsk, with the intention of floating down its current to Yakutsk. This river navigation was fourteen hundred miles. Where they entered their boat, the stream was no more than twenty yards broad, with here and there gentle rapids, and high, rugged mountains on each side. They were carried along from eighty to a hundred miles a day, the river gradually increasing in size, and the mountain scenery putting on an infinite variety of forms, alternately sublime and picturesque, bold and fantastic, with craggy rocks and jutting headlands, bearing on their brows the verdure of pines, firs, larches, and other evergreens, and Alpine shrubs. All the way to Yakutsk, the river was studded with islands, recurring at short intervals, which added to the romantic effect of the scenery, and made a voyage down the Lena, not- withstanding its many privations, by no means an un- pleasant trip to a true lover of nature, and a hardy, veteran traveller. The weather was growing cold, and heavy fogs hung about the river till a late hour in the morning. They daily passed small towns and villages, where they went ashore for provisions, or re- freshment, as occasion required. " August 30th. We stopped at a village this morning to procure a few stores. They killed for us a sheep, gave us three quarts of milk, two loaves of bread, cakes with carrots and radishes baked in them, onions, one dozen of fresh and two dozen of salt fish, straw and bark to mend the covering of our boat; LIFE OF JOHN LEDTARD. 225 and all for the value of about fourteen pence sterling. The poor creatures brought us the straw, to show us how then- grain was blasted by the cruel frost, although it had been reaped before the twentjfirst of August. The peasants say the mountains here are full of bears and wolves. We have seen a plenty of wild fowl, which we shoot as we please. In the river is the salmon-trout. The people fish with seines, and also with spears by torchlight. This latter custom is a very universal one ; they fish with a torch at Otaheite. The double headed or Esquimaux paddle is used here. " September 2d. My rascal of a soldier stole our brandy, and got drunk, and was impertinent. I was obliged to handle him roughly to preserve order. — Fixed a little sail to our boat. " September 4th. Arrived at the town of Keringa at daylight, and stayed with the commandant till noon, and was treated very hospitably. Some merchants sent us stores. It is the custom here, if they hear of the arrival of a foreigner, to load him with their little services. It is almost impossible to pass a town of any kind, without being arrested by them. They have the earnestness of hospitality ; they crowd their tables with everything they have to eat and drink, and, not content with that, they fill your wallet. I wish I could think them as honest, as they are hospitable. The reason why the commandant did not show his wife, was because he was jealous of her. I have observed this to be a prevailing passion here. The river on each side as we pass is bounded by vast rocky cliffs, the highest mass of rocks I ever saw. 29 226 LIFE OF JOHN LED YARD. " September 15th. Snow squalls with fresh gales ; up all night at the helm mjself. ^'■September 17th. Ninety versts from Yakutsk. Passed yesterday a very odd arrangement of rocks, which line the margin of the river for sixty versts. They are of talc, and appear formerly to have been covered with earth, but are now entirely bare. They are all of a pyramidal form, and about one hundred and fifty feet in height ; detached at their bases, and disposed with extraordinary regularity. These rocky pyramids appear to terminate the long mountainous south and east banks of the Lena, which have uni- formly continued from Katchuga, where 1 first em- barked on the river." On the eighteenth of September he arrived at Ya- kutsk, after a fatiguing voyage of twentytwo days, in a small bateau on the Lena. During this period, he had passed from a summer climate to one of rigorous cold. When he left Irkutsk, it was just in the midst of harvest time, and the reapers were in the fields ; but when he entered Yakutsk, the snow was six inches deep, and the boys were whipping their tops on the ice. He debarked from his bateau two miles above the town, and there mounted a sledge, drawn by an ox, with a Yakuti Indian on his back, and guided by a cord passing through the cartilage of his nose. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 227 CHAPTER X. Interview with the Commandant of Yakutsk. — Stopped at this place on account of the advanced state of the season. — His severe disappointment at this event. — Detained under false pretences. — Takes up his residence in Yakutsk for the winter. — Elephant's bones on the banks of the Lena, and in other parts of the country. — General remarks on the various tribes of Tartars in Siberia. — Characteristics of savages in cold and warm climates. — Kalmuks have two modes of writing. — Their manner of living. — The Yakuti Tartars. — Influence of religion upon them. — The love of freedom common to all the Tartars. — Their dwellings. — Intermarriages between the Russians and Tar- tars. — In what degree the color of descendants is affected by such intermar- riages. — Peculiarities of features in the Tartar countenance. — Form and use of the Tartar pipe. — Dress. — Difficulty of taking vocabularies of unknown lan- guages. — Marriage ceremonies. — Notions of theology. — Practice of scalping. — Wampum. — Classification of the Tartars and North American Indians. — Language a criterion for judging of the affinity between the different races of men. — Causes of the difference of color in the human race. — Tartars and American Indians the same people. Ledyard immediately waited on the commandant, delivered his letter from the Governor General, and made known his situation and designs. It was his wish to press forward with as much expedition as pos- sible to Okotsk, lest the winter should shut in before he could reach that town, where he hoped to seize upon the first opportunity in the spring, to secure a passage to the American continent. The distance from Yakutsk was between six and seven hundred miles. Lodgings were provided for him by order of the Commandant, with whom he had already dined, and who soon after came to sec him. Imagine his dismay, when the Commandant assured him, that the season was already so far advanced as to render a Journey to Okhotsk impossible. 228 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYAKD, " What, alas, shall I do," exclaims he in his journal, " for I am miserably prepared for this unlooked for de- lay. By remaining here through the winter, I cannot expect to resume my march until May, which will be eight months. My funds ! I have but two long fro- zen stages more, and I shall be beyond the want, or aid of money, until, emerging from the deep deserts, I gain the American Atlantic States ; and then, thy glowing climates, Africa, explored, I will lay me down, and claim my little portion of the globe I have view- ed ; may it not be before. How many of the noble minded have been subsidiary to me, or to my enter- prises ; yet that meagre demon, Poverty, has travelled with me hand in hand over half the globe, and wit- nessed what — the tale I will not unfold ! Ye children of wealth and idleness, what a profitable commerce might be made between us. A little of my toil might better brace your bodies, give spring to mind and zest to enjoyment ; and a very little of that wealth, which you scatter around you, would put it beyond the power of anything but death to oppose my kindred greetings vi'ith all on earth, that bear the stamp of map. This is the third time, that I have been over- taken and arrested by winter ; and both the others, by giving time for my evil genius to rally his hosts about me, have defeated the enterprise. Fortune, thou hast humbled me at last, for I am this moment the slave of cowardly solicitude, lest in the heart of this dread winter, there lurk the seeds of disappointment to my ardent desire of gaining the opposite continent. But I submit." LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 229 These melancholy forebodings were but too literally verified, as the issue will prove. In a letter to Colonel Smith from Yakutsk, he speaks again of this disappointment in the following manner. " The Commandanl assured me, that he had orders from the Governor General to render me all possible kindness and service ; 'But, Sir,' continued he, ' the first service I am bound to render you is, to beseech you not to attempt to reach Okotsk this winter.' He spoke to me in French. I almost rudely insisted on being permitted to depart immediately, and expressed surprise that a Yakuti Indian, and a Tartar horse, should be thought incapable of following a man, born and educated in the latitude of forty. He declared upon his honor, that the journey was impracticable. The contest lasted two or three days, in which inter- val, being still fixed in my opinion, I was preparing for the journey. The Commandant at length waited on me, and brought with him a trader, a very good, respectable looking man of about fifty, as a witness to the truth and propriety of his advice to me. This trader, for ten or twelve years, had passed and repassed often from Yakutsk to Okotsk. I was obliged, how- ever severely I might lament the misfortune, to yield to two such advocates for my happiness. The trader held out to me all the horrors of the winter, and the severity of the journey at the best season ; and the Commandant, the goodness of his house and the soci- ety here, all of which would be at my service. The difficulty of the journey I was aware of; but when 1 assented to its impracticability, it was a compliment ; for I do not believe it is so, nor hardly anything else. 230 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. " It is certainly bad in theory to suppose the seasons can triumph over the efforts of an honest man. The proifered hospitality of the Commandant I have no doulDt was sincere, because in Russia generally, and particularly in Siberia, it is the fashion to be hospita- ble. It is probable, also, that it is a natural principle. I should, however, have said less to them about the matter, held 1 not been without clothes, and w^ith only a guinea and one fourth in my purse ; and in a place where the necessaries of life are dearer than in Eu- rope, and clothing still dearer by the same comparison. And, besides, the people of all descriptions here, as far as they are able, live in all the excess of Asiatic luxu- ry, joined with such European excesses, as have migrated hither. Add to all these, that they are uni- versally and extremely ignorant, and adverse to every species of intellectual enjoyment, and I will declare to you, that I was never before so totally at a loss how to accommodate myself to my situation. The only con- solation I have, of the argumentative kind, is to reflect, that he who travels for information must be supposed to want it. By being here eight months, I shall be able to make my observations much more extensive, respecting the country and its inhabitants, than if I had passed directly through it ; and this also is a satisfaction." It being thus determined, against his opinion and wishes, that he should not proceed, he resolved to reconcile himself to his fate, and to make the best use of his time, which circumstances would allow. He had entered the following memorandum in his journal, while coming down the Lena. " Yakutsk is the last LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 231 place where I shall be able to make any inquiries, therefore let them be extensive." He now set him- self earnestly to the task of complying with this in- junction, and of collecting as much information as possible. The facts and reflections, which he thought worth preserving, are recorded in his diary without method or connexion. It was his manner, as we have already seen, to write down only hints, to state facts briefly, and throw out his own remarks upon them in language concise and unstudied. These particulars, as heretofore, must be remembered in reading the free extracts, which will be made from the part of his journal written at Yakutsk. There is some room for doubt, whether the Com- mandant was perfectly honest, in advising and per- suading Ledyard to desist from his purpose of pro- ceeding immediately to Okotsk. In the first place, it was certainly not an uncommon thing to perform that journey in the winter, and the Commandant's tender concern for the sufferings of the traveller, who knew what was before him, and was eager to grapple with every hardship in the way, could scarcely be such as to induce him, from this motive alone, to urge his delay for eight months in Yakutsk. His bringing in the trader to strengthen his argument, on the same benev- olent grounds, is moreover a suspicious circumstance. Ledyard yielded to their persuasions, against his will and his judgment, and was only surprised that he should meet two men in Siberia, entire strangers to him, who should have his happiness so much at heart. Again, the original letter of recommendation from Jacobi, the Governor General of Irkutsk, to the Com- 232 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. mandant of Yakutsk, has been preserved amongst Ledyard's papers. It is written in the Russian lan- guage and character.* After recommending the bearer in general terms, and stating that he wished to pass through to the American continent, with a view of acquiring a knowledge of that country, Jacobi adds ; " His object seems to be, that of joining a certain secret naval expedition ; I earnestly request you, therefore, to receive Mr Ledyard most kindly, and to assist him every possible way in all his wishes, and to forward him without the least delay to the above men- tioned expedition." The passage in this letter de- manding particular attention, is that in which the Governor General enjoins it on the Commandant, with marked emphasis, to treat him kindly, and send him forward according to his wishes without delay. Now if he had given this order seriously, it would not have been done, unless it was intended to be obeyed, and Jacobi knew very well whether the journey was prac- ticable at the season, when the letter would arrive ; and if it was in fact a serious and positive order, it is not likely that the Commandant would have hesitated to carry it instantly into effect. My inference is, that there were secret instructions sent at the same time to detain Ledyard in Yakutsk, and that the Comman- dant for this purpose resorted to the artifice of a pre- tended concern for his health and comfort, that all suspicions of any designed interference might be lulled * A translation of tliis letter was procured from the Russian Lega- tion, through the politeness of Mr Poletica, while he was minister from the court of Petersburg to the United States. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 233 to sleep. It is remarkable, too, that the letter of recommendation was sent open, and was returned to Ledyard after having been read by the Commandant. This manceuvre was artfully contrived to quiet his ap- prehensions, and cause him to believe, that the Gov- ernor General had taken a lively interest in his suc- cess, and was disposed to render him efficient aid. To this subject I shall have occasion to recur. Meantime let us return to the occupations of the traveller, while he was thus unconsciously a prisoner at Yakutsk. He pursued with diligence his inquiries, and lost no opportunity of seeking knowledge wher- ever he could find it, particularly on those topics, which he was fond of contemplating. In the letter to Colonel Smith, mentioned above, are contained some observations, besides those already quoted, which are in harmony with the writer's usual turn of mind, and mode of expressing his thoughts. " I cannot say, that my voyage on the Lena has furnished me with anything new, and yet no traveller ever passed by scenes, that more constantly engage the heart and the imagination. I suppose no two philosophers would think alike about them. A painter and a poet would be much more likely to agree. There are some things, however, not unworthy of a philosophical inquiry. The Lena is very indifferent for navigation, from this place towards Irkutsk. In some mountains near the river are large salt, mines, which afford a supply to all the adjacent country. It is pure, solid, transparent, mineral salt, and found in veins. The pieces that I have seen, with the Com- mandant here, are six and nine inches square. When 30 234 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. pulverized for the table, it is much the most delicate salt I ever saw, of a perfect white, and an agreeable taste, but I imagine not so strong by one third, as our West India salt. There are also upon the banks of the Lena, and indeed all over this country, great quantities of elephants' bones. The Commandant possesses some of the teeth of that animal, larger than any I saw in the royal museum at Petersburg, and they are as sound as they ever were. The hafts of knives, spoons, and a variety of other things are here made of them, and they equal any ivory I have seen from Africa. If I can, I will send you a specimen of this fine bone, and of the salt likewise. Indeed, I want to send you many things, but it is an embarrass- ing circumstance, when one has correspondents in the antipodes. And though no man could show more kindness, or render more service to a traveller, than Dr Pallas has done to me, yet I am reserved in asking them upon all occasions. Brown and Porter, too ; — I wonder their patience is not exhausted. It has been as thoroughly tried, as yours was while I was at Pe- tersburg. " The fact is, I am a bankrupt to the world, but I hope it will consider well the occasion of my being such. I believe it will. My English creditors are the most numerous, and I have great consolation on that account, because they think and act with such heavenly propriety. In most parts of the world, and as much in Russia as anywhere, and in Siberia most of all, it is the custom not to think at all. In this case it is difficult to liquidate, rationally, a receipt and expenditure of three dinners and a bow. For the LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD, 235 same reason, when I left France my accounts were not closed, and from that day to this I know not whether I owe France, or France ow^es me. But here at Yakutsk it will be infinitely worse, and without nnj violence to the metaphor, or pedantic affectation, I declare to you, that, to leave Yakutsk with respecta- bility and reach Okotsk alive, will be to pass a Scylla and Chary bdis, which I have never yet encountered. Both you, myself, and my friends, had formed at London very erroneous opinions of the equipment necessary to pass through this country, and particu- larly as to the manner of travelling. It has been the source of all my troubles. They have been many, and I have done Wrong to feel them so severely. 1 owe the world some services, which I shall make great efforts to perform. Make my best compliments to my friends, and tell them that I have a heart as big as St Paul's Church in such service as theirs." The mistake here alluded to, in regard to the mode of travelling, was the plan formed by himself and his friends in London, that he should walk, as being more economical. By experiment he proved this to have been an ill advised scheme, for walking not only con- sumed a great deal more time, but the expenses in the aggregate w^ere higher, than by the usual mode of travelling post through those countries. In a letter from Irkutsk he says, " It has been to this moment a source of misfortune to me, that I did not begin to ride post from Hamburg. I have footed it at a great expense, besides the loss of my baggage, which I severely feel. Never did I adopt an idea so fatal to my happiness." The reason why he viewed this 236 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. oversight in so serious an aspect was, that it would inevitably be the cause of keeping him back, a full season, from his passage across the sea to the Ameri- can continent, and thus in the end a whole year would be lost. Add to this the innumerable accidents, that might intervene to defeat his purpose altogether. Whereas, had he proceeded by the shortest conveyance from Hamburg to the Russian capital, he might with great ease have reached Kamtschatka the same sea- son. The origin of his disasters may chiefly be re- ferred, however, to his fit of romantic benevolence in seeking out Major Langborn; wasting his precious time in Copenhagen, and sharing with his erratic countryman his scanty means, which, in their whole amount, were scarcely enough to keep himself alone from beggary. I shall now bring together, in as connected a form as the nature of the particulars will admit, Ledyard's observations on various tribes of Tartars, with whom he became more or less acquainted in Siberia. His researches were desultory, but pursued with inquisi- tiveness ; his statements are often curious, sometimes important ; they will afford amusement to the general reader, as well as information to the philosophical inquirer. ^' Of all the gradations of men, the savage is the most formal and ceremonious, notwithstanding his wants and occupations are few, and he can with happy indifference endure privation. His heaven is peace and leisure. Ceremonials, like the uninterrupted tenor of his mind, may be supposed to be transmitted unchanged through many generations. Hence many LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 237 things, which marked the earliest period of history, and which have left no vestige with civilized man, show themselves at this day among savages. Their luxuries, if such they may be called, are of that kind which nature suggests. Dress, which in hot climates is an inconvenience, does not become so much the ob- ject of attention and delight ; and here, therefore, the savage is more nice in the indulgence of his appetites. On the contrary, in cold climates, bodily covering being all important, ingenuity is directed to that point. A feeble kind of infant fancy grows out of the efforts of necessity, and displays its little arts in adorning the person with awkward and fantastic decorations. But here the appetites are less lively and distinguish- ing. With respect to food, the vilest, and that totally unprepared, does not come amiss, and the most deli- cate is not seized with eagerness. Give a cake to a Swedish Laplander, Finlander, or northern Tartar, and he eats it leisurely ; do the same to an Otaheitan, Italian peasant, or Spanish fisherman, and he will put the whole cake into his mouth if he can. The Em- press has caused houses to be built in the Russian manner, at the expense of government, and ordered them to be offered to the Yakuti, upon the single con- dition of their dwelling in them ; but they have univer- sally refused, preferring their apparently more uncom- fortable Yourtes or Wigwams. "The Tongusians are a wandering people, living solely by the chase. They rarely stop above two or three days in a place. They have tents or yourtes, made of bark, which they leave on the spot where they have encamped. When they march they tell LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. their women that they are going to such a mountain, river, lake, or forest, and leave them to bring the bag- gage. They are extremely active in the chase, and instances have occurred in which they were found dead, having pursued their game down some precipice. " The Kalmuks, or Buretti, write their language in columns, like the Chinese ; the Kazan Tartars from right to left, like the Hebrews.* The reason why the Buretti have the art of writing is, that they last mi- grated from the borders of Thibet. There is not another Asiatic tribe in all Siberia, that write their language, or have any remains of writing among them.f The sound of the Yakuti language very closely resembles that of the Chinese ; and the same, indeed, may be said of the languages of all the Asiatic Tartars. I have already observed, that the Yakuti is supposed to be the oldest language, and that other tribes have some knowledge of it. *^ The Kaimuks live mostly by their flocks, which consist of horses, sheep, goats, and cows. In summer they dwell in the plains, in winter retreat to the * Dr Clarke mentions having procured at Taganrog, on the sea of Azof, a specimen of writing from the Kalmuk priests. The characters were arranged in columns on scarlet linen, and read from the top to the bottom. After returning to England he was informed, that this writing was Sanscrit. He adds, that the Kalmuks in that part of Asia had two modes of writing, one with the vulgar character, so called, and the other with the sacred. This latter is read from left to right, like the European languages ; the former in columns, and would seem to be Sanscrit. Clarke's Travels, Vol. I. c. 15. f It must be observed, that Ledyard everywhere speaks of the Buretti as the same people with the Kalmuks, and both as direct descendants of the Mongul Tartars. What he says of either, there- fore, may coniraonly be applied to the other. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 239 mountains, where their flocks feed oo buds, twigs of trees, and moss. They have much milk, which serves them for food, and of which they also make a kind of brandy.* They likewise hunt. When any of their flock are sick, or lame, they kill and eat them. " I observe there is one continual flow of good na- ture and cheerfulness among the Tartars. They never abuse each other by words, but, when provoked, look for revenge, either secret or open. The Tongu- sians fight duels with their bows, and with knives. They, and the other roving Tartars, have the limits of their hunting grounds ascertained and marked, like the aborigines of North America. " The Yakuti here take their children out in the evening, and teach them the names of the principal stars, how to direct their march by them, and how to judge of the weather. Astronomy must have been an early science. The Russ and Yakuti appear to live together here in harmony and peace, without any dis- tinction as to national difference, or superiority and in- feriority. I know of but one circumstance, (but, alas ! it is an important one,) in which the Yakuti are not on an equal footing with the Russ, They hold no offices, civil or military. The Russians have been here two hundred and fifty years, and the Yakuti * The manner of extracting this spirituous liquor from milk is large- ly described by Pallas. The milk is first fermented, in which state it contains a vinous acid. It is then subjected to the usual process of distillation, and the result is a species of liquor, which has intoxicating qualities, and of which the Kalmuks are very fond. Mare's milk is considered the best for this purpose, and cow's milk the next. The milk of sheep is seldom distilled, as it contains but a small quantity of the spirituous principle. Voyages du Professeur Pallas, Tom. 11. pp. 168—175. 240 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. Tartars have been under the Russian government ever since, yet have they made no alteration in their dress or manners in general ; but the Russians have con- formed to the dress of the Yakuti. Very few of them have embraced the Christian religion, and those, who have, perform its duties with great indifference. In this respect, also, the Tartar, whether in Asia or America, acts up to that sui generis character, which distinguishes him from other branches of the human family. Religion of any kind, professed by any other people, is usually a serious, contemplative, and important concern, and forms at least as reniarkable a trait in their character, as any circumstance of fashion or habit ; but it forms no part of the character of a Tartar. I have not in my mind the Christian system particularly; its doctrines are indeed mysterious to the greatest minds and best hearts. To a Tartar they, must surely be so. The surprise is therefore the less, why they should so feebly affect the Tartar character. But the Mahometan system, which courts the senses, and appeals to the passions, has operated no farther on the Tartar, than to shave his head. There it stops ; it does not enter it, nor his heart. " The Tartar is a man of nature, not of art. His philosophy is therefore very simple, but sometimes sublime. Let us enumerate some ol his virtues. He is a lover of peace. No lawyer here, perplexing natural rights of property. No wanton Helen, dis- playing fatal charms. No priest with his outrageous zeal has ever disturbed the peace. Never, I believe, did a Tartar speak ill of the Deity, or envy his fellow creatures. He is contented to be what he is. Hospit- LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 241 able and humane, he is uniformly tranquil and cheer- ful, laconic in thought, word, and action. This is one great reason, and I think the greatest, why they have been constantly persecuted by nations of a different disposition, and why they have always fled before them, and been content to live anywhere, if they could only live in peace. Some have attributed this conduct to a love of liberty. True ; but their ideas, both of peace and liberty, are different from ours. The Tartar holds in equal estimation his dear otium, and his libertas. They talk much of liberty in Eng- land, for example, but I think it would be less agree- able for a Tartar to live there, than in Russian Siberia, where there is less liberty. The Tartars, indeed, think differently from most people of Europe, and, I believe, of Africa. If the Virginia planters were to give their Negroes more commodious houses to inhabit, instead of their poor huts, and encourage them other- wise to live in them, I believe the African would be of the same mind as the planter, and gladly accept the proposal. The same thing exactly has been offered here to the Yakuti by the crown ; they have much stronger inducements to accept the offer than the African ; but they have not, and they will not, though no condition accompanies the offer. They will in- habit the yourte. " The yourte, or, as the American Tartars call it pretty generally, wigwam, is in this country a substi- tute for a tent. In milder climates it is made either of skins or bark of trees, of sedge or some other kind of grass. It is always of a conical form, not divided into apartments, having an aperture at the top, and 31 242 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. the fire made on the ground under it. Around the sides of the yourte, if it is only temporary, are placed the baggage and furniture ; if it is not temporary, seats for sitting and sleeping upon are ranged around the sides. The yourtes in the neighborhood of Rus- sian towns and settlements are made a little different- ly ; they are sunk two or three feet in the ground, square, and divided into apartments, the frame of wood, the sides plastered with mud, and a Hat roof covered with earth. The fire is in the centre, with a slight little chimney. They have two or three little windows ; in summer, of talc ; in winter, of ice. One apartment of the yourte is for the cow, ox, or horse, if the owner should possess any. These yourtes re- semble not a tent; but remote from towns all the Tar- tars have tents either of skins, bark, or grass. " The people in this country, that are born half Russ and half Tartar, are very different from the Tar- tars or Russ, and much superior to either of them. The European nations, that intermarry most with other nations, are the handsomest. How far may this . cause be supposed to have made the Negro, and the Tartar, so different from the European ; or, which is more probable, have made the European so different from the Tartar and Negro? The Commandant showed me recently a man descended from a Yakuti father and Russian mother, and the son of this man. The color of the first descendant is as fair as the second, and both as fair as the Russian mother and grandmother. After the first descent, intermarriage has a less perceptible effect on the color. This change of the color by intermarriage is generally from LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 243 the darker to the lighter. The color of the hair and, eyes also inclines to be light, but does not always ac- company the change of color in the skin. Upon the whole, as I have said before, with respect to difference of color with the Indian and European, they appear to me to be the effect of natural causes. I have given much attention to the subject on this continent. Tts vast extent, and the variety of its inhabitants, afford the best field in the world in which to examine it. By the same gentle gradation, by which I passed from the height of civilization at Petersburg to incivi- lization in Siberiay I also passed from the fair Euro- pean to the copper colored Tartar ; I say the copper colored Tartar, but there is the same variety of color among the Tartars in Siberia, as among the other nations of the earth. The journal of a Russian offi- cer, which I have seen, informs me that the Samoi- edes, among whom he lived two years, are fairer than the Yakuti, who are of a light olive, and fairer than the Tongusians, or the Buretti, who are copper color- ed. Yet the three last mentioned tribes are all Mon- gul Tartars. The greater part of mankind, compared with European civilization, are uncivilized, and this part are all darker than the other. There are no white savages, and few barbarous people, that are not brown or black. "The equally distinguishing characteristic of fea- ture, in the Tartar face, invites me into a field of obser- vation, which 1 am not able at present to give bounds to. I must therefore resign it to those, who have leisure and a taste for such inquiries, contenting myself with furnishing a few facts, and describing this strange dis- 244 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. similarity in the human face, according to the observa- tions I have made. This I should be able to do ana- tomically, but I am not. The Tartar face, in the first impression it gives, approaches nearer to the African than the European ; and this impression is strengthen- ed, on a more deliberate examination of the individual features, and whole compages of the countenance ; yet it is very different from an African face. The nose forms a strong feature in the human face. I have seen instances among the Kalmuks, where the nose between the eyes has been much flatter and broader, than I have ever witnessed in Negroes ; and some few instances where it has been as broad over the nos- trils quite to the end ; but the nostrils in any case are much smaller than in Negroes. Where I have seen those noses, they were accompanied with a large mouth and thick lips ; and these people were genuine Kalmuk Tartars. The nose protuberates but little from the face, and is shorter than that of the Euro- pean. The eyes universally are at a great distance from each other, and very small ; at each corner of the eye the skin projects over the ball ; the part appears swelled ; the eyelids go in nearly a strait line from corner to corner. When open, the eye appears as in a square frame. The mouth generally, however, is of a middling size, and the lips thin. The next re- markable features are the cheek bones. These, like the eyes, are very remote from each other, high,, broad, and withal project a little forward. The face is flat. When I look at a Tartar en profile, I can hardly see the nose between the eyes, and if he blow a coal of fire, I cannot see the nose at all. The face is then LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 245 like an inflated bladder. The forehead is narrow and low. The face has a fresh color, and on the cheek bones there is commonly a good ruddy hue. " The faces of Tartars have not a variety of ex- pression. 1 think the predominating one is pride ; but whenever I have viewed them, they have seen a stranger. The intermixture by marriage does not operate so powerfully in producing a change of fea- tures, as of complexion, in favor of Europeans. I have seen the third in descent, and the Tartar prevailed over the European features. The Tartars from time immemorial (I mean the Asiatic Tartars) have be^n a people of a wandering disposition. Their converse has been more among beasts of the forest, than among men ; and when among men, it has only been those of their own nation. They have ever been savages, averse to civilization, and have never until very lately mingled with other nations, and now rarely. What- ever cause may have originated their peculiarities of features, the reason why they still continue is their secluded way of life, which has preserved them from mixing with other people. I am ignorant, how far a constant society with beasts may operate in changing the features, but I am persuaded that this circum- stance, together with an uncultivated state of mind, if we consider a long and uninterrupted succession of ages, must account in some degree for this remarkable singularity. " Mr John Hunter of London has made, or is mak- ing, some anatomical examinations of the head of a Negro, which is said externally at least to resemble that of a monkey. If I could do it, I would send 246 LIFE OF JOHN LEUYARD. him the head of a Tartar, who lives by the chase, and is constantly in the society of animals, which have high cheek bones ; and perhaps, on examining such a head, he would find an anatomical resemblance to the fox, the wolf, the bear, or the dog. I have thought, that even in Europe mechanical employments, having been continued for a long time among the same peo- ple, have had a considerable influence in giving a uni- form character to their features. I know of no people, among whom there is such a uniformity of features, (except the Chinese, the Jews, and the Negroes) as among the Asiatic Tartars. They are distinguished, indeed, by different tribes, but this is only nominal. Nature has not acknowledged the distinction, but, on the contrary, marked them, wherever found, with the indisputable stamp of Tartars. Whether in Nova Zembla, Mongolia, Greenland, or on the banks of the Mississippi, they are the same people, forming the most numerous, and, if we must except the Chinese, the most ancient nation of the globe. But I, for myself, do not except the Chinese, because I have no doubt of their being of the same family. " The Tongusians, the Tchuktchi, the Kuriles, and the Nova Zembleans are tattooed. The Mohegan tribe of Indians in America practised tattooing. I find as yet nothing analagous to the American calumet, except in the use of it. The Tartars here, when they smoke the pipe, give it round to every one in the company. The form of the pipe is universally the identical form of the Chinese pipe. I expect to find it in America, since the form of the pipe on the tomahock resembles it. This form intimates economy, and that the origi- LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 247 nal custom of smoking the pipe was a mere luxury. It holds but a very little. The manner, in which the Tartars and Chinese use it, corroborates that idea. They make but one or two drafts from the pipe, and those they swallow, or discharge through the nose, and then put the pipe by. They say that the smoke thus taken is exhilarating. As the Chinese pipe is found universally among the Siberian Tartars, I think it probable that the custom of smoking migrated with them to America, and thence by Sir Walter Raleigh made its way east to England. If so, the custom has travelled in a singular manner. Why did it not come from the Tartars west to England ? " The Asiatic Tartars never change their dress ; it is the same on all occasions ; in the field, in the house, on a visit, on a holiday. They never have but one dress, and that is as fine as they can make it. Those that live with the Russians in their villages are above mediocrity as to riches, but discover the same indiffer- ence about accumulating more, and for the concerns of tomorrow, that a North American Indian does. They stroll about the village, and, if they can, get drunk, smoke their pipe, or go to sleep. The gardens of the Russians are cultivated more or less, but theirs lie undisturbed. The house of the Russian is a scene of busy occupation, filled with furniture, provisions, women, children, dirt, and noise ; that of the Tartar is as silent and as clean as a mosque. If the season admits, the residents are all abroad, unless perhaps an old woman or man. There is very little furniture, and that rolled up and bound in parcels in a corner of the house, and no appearance of provisions. If it 248 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. happen, that they profess the Russian religion, they treat it with strange indifference, not thinkingly, but because they do not think at all about it. " I have not as yet taken any vocabularies of the Tartar languages. If I take any, they will be very short ones. Nothing is more apt to deceive than vo- cabularies, when taken by an entire stranger. Men of scientific curiosity make use of them in investigat- ing questions of philosophy, as well as history, and I think often with too much confidence, since nothing is more difficult, than to take a vocabulary, that shall answer any good ends for such a purpose. The dif- ferent sounds of the same letters, and of the same combinations of letters, in the languages of Europe, present an insurmountable obstacle to making a vocabulary, which shall be of general use. The dif- ferent manner, also, in which persons of the same language would write the words of a new language, would be such, that a stranger might suppose them to be two languages. Most uncultivated languages are very difficult to be ortJiographized in another language. They are generally guttural ; but when not so, the ear of a foreigner cannot accommodate itself to the inflection of the speaker's voice, soon enough to catch the true sound. This must be done instantaneously ; and even in a language with which we are acquainted, we are not able to do it for several years. I seize, for instance, the accidental moment, when a savage is inclined to give me the names of things. The me- dium of this conversation is only signs. The savage may wish to give me the word for head, and lays his hand on the top of his head. I am not certain LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 249 whether he means the head, or the top of the head, or perhaps the hair of the head. He may wish to say leg, and puts his hand to the calf. I cannot tell whether he means the leg, or the calf, oy flesh, or the flesh. There are other difficulties. The island of Onalaska is on the coast of America opposite to Asia. There are a few Russian traders on it. Being there with Captain Cook, I was walking one day on the shore in company with a native, who spoke the Rus- sian language. I did not understand it. I was writ- ing the names of several things, and pointed to the ship, supposing he would miderstand that I wanted the name of it. He answered me in a phrase, which in Russ meant, / know. I wrote down, a ship. I gave him some snuff, which he took, and held out his hand for more, making use of a word, which signified in Russ, a little. I wrote, more. " The Asiatic Tartars have different methods of hunting the moose, and such kind of game, but the most prevalent is like that of American Indians by stratagem. So they catch ducks at the mouth of the river Kolyma ; so the Otaheitans catch fish some- times ; and so the uncivilized parts of mankind war against each other. " I understand from Captain Billings's Journal, that the universal method among the Tchuktchi Indians, in the ceremony of marriage, is for the man to pur- chase the woman, or make presents to her parents. It is also customary for the young man to serve a stipu- lated time with the parents of the bride. In case of disunion afterwards, Vi^hich happens without passion, the presents that have been made are returned. If 32 250 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. either party dies, the other marries again as soon as convenient ; and the sooner the better, they say, be- cause they ought not to lament what can be repaired. I suppose the love in this case below that, which ex- isted in the bosoms of Eloise and Abelard, and I sup- pose the philosophy as much above theirs, as the love is below.* " All the Asiatic Tartars, like the aborigines of America, entertain the same general notions of theo- logy, namely, that there is one great and good God, and that he is so good that they have no occasion to address him for the bestowment of any favors ; and, being good, he will certainly do them no injury. But they suffer many calamities ; so they say there is another being, the source of eyil ; and that he must be very powerful, because the evils inflicted on them are numerous. To this mischievous deity, therefore, they sacrifice. From him they expect no favors, and do not ask any, but deprecate his wrath. Their * The following description from Dr Clarke's Travels, is applied to the Kalrauks where he travelled on the borders of Persia, in the coun- try of the Cossacs. " The ceremony of marriag-e," says he, " among the Kaliniiks is performed on horseback. A girl is first mounted, who rides oif in full speed. Her lover pursues ; if lie overtakes her, she be- comes his wife, and the marriage is consummated upon the spot. After this she returns with him to his tent. But it sometimes happens, that the woman does not wish to marry the person by whom she is pursued ; in this case she will not suffer him to overtake her. We were assured, that no instance occurs of a Kalmuk girl being thus caught, unless she have a partiality for her pursuer. If she dislikes him, she rides, to use the language of English sportsmen, neck or nothing, until she has com- pletely effected her escape, or until the pursuer's horse becomes ex- hausted, leaving her at liberty to return, and to be afterwards chased by some more favored admirer." Vol. I. c. 15. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 251 Shamants, or priests, have therefore nothmg to do with the good God ; their business is solely with the other, whom they make free to parcel out into a great variety of characters, assigning to each evil a presid- ing subordinate spirit. This affords the Shamant an opportunity of playing his tricks in an extraordinary manner. " Mr Pennant observes, that the Scythians scalped their enemies. I have ever thought, since my voyage with Captain Cook, that the same custom under dif- ferent forms exists throughout the islands in the Paci- fic Ocean. It is worthy of remark, that though the Indians at Owhyhee brought a part of Captain Cook's head, yet they had cut all the hair off, which they did not return to us. I have also frequently observed the islanders to wear great quantities of false human hair. All savage nations are fond of preserving some badge or testimonial of the victory over their enemies, of this kind. The ancient Scythians and North American Indians have preferred the scalp, and, among the South Sea Islanders, teeth and hair are in repute ; all of them giving preference to some part of the head. " The ivampum, so universally in use among the Tartars apparently as an ornament, I cannot but sus- pect is used as a substitute for letters in representing their language, by a kind of hieroglyphic record. I intended to make this a subject of attention, and to have drawings taken of the Asiatic and American wampum, with the view of comparing them, but have not been able to do it. I have seen the initials of a Tartar's name worked in the wampum, on the borders of his garment. A people having such great respect 252 LIFE OF JOHiXLEDYARD. for their ancestors, as the Tartars have, would natu- rally endeavor to preserve some memorials of them." Such are the observations of our traveller, on the aboriginal inhabitants of Siberian Asia. In consider- ing the Kalmuks, Buretti, Tongusians, and Yakuti, as descendants of the Monguls, he accords with other writers, but he advances a bold and novel opinion in classifying all these races with the North American Indians, Greenlanders, and the Chinese. It is true, the point seems never to have been established, how " far the affinities between different tribes, or nations of men, must be carried, in order to bring them within the same general class. Traditions, ceremonies, bodi- ly form and features, habits, laws, religion, and re- semblance of languages, must all be taken into the account. Where there is a similarity in many of these particulars, it may be safely inferred, that the people among whom they exist, although inhabiting regions remote from each other, have sprung from a common origin ; but it does not follow with equal probability, that where this similarity is least observa- ble, or perhaps unperceived, they are to be set down as radically distinct races of men. So innumerable are the causes of change, in all these respects, that no rule of this sort can be assumed, as applicable to any individual case whatever. Customs, laws, pursuits, dress, modes of life, vary with the climate and the productions of the soil. People, who live by the chase and by fishing, will have few of the habits of agriculturists. Approaches to civilization will gradu- ally introduce a thousand new customs. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 253 Language has been thought the best criterion, by which to judge of the affinity between different races, and doubtless it is. That two nations should speak languages closely resembling each other, is hardly pos- sible, unless they originated from the same stock ; yet it can by no means be inferred with as much certainty, that, because there is a wide dissimilarity in their lan- guages, the sources whence they sprung were as wide- ly dissimilar. The same causes, which change the habits of men under new circumstances will change their language. New words, and new combinations of words, will be required to express ideas not known before. The intermingling of migratory tribes, speak- ing different languages, must also introduce total con- fusion, out of which would most likely grow up a dialect, bearing little analogy to either of the primitive tongues. Let such a process be carried on for many generations, by a succession of intermixtures, and what clue would there be to guide the inquirer through this labyrinth of mutations back to the»first fountain? When it is considered, moreover, that all these tongues are unwritten and without any recognised principles, the perplexity is increased a hundred fold. According to recent discoveries, the Tschukchi, the natives inhabit- ing the American side of Bering's Strait, the Eski- maux, and the Greenlanders, speak languages which have many marks of afunity. Their common origin is a very natural inference. Ov^'ing to a more recent separation, or fewer intermixtures, their language has been preserved with something of its primitive form. Had the same favorable circumstances attended the migrations of other tribes, we might perhaps now trace 254 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. them to the same source, with as much appearance of probability. We might possibly detect similar re- semblances between the Iroquois and the Yakuti, the Mohegans and the Kamtschadales, and even the Poly- nesians and the Kalmuks. In short, the state of the question is simply this. Where obvious analogies exist, we may affirm a connexion between the tribes in which they prevail, at some remote or proximate period ; but where they do not exist, we can say nothing on the subject. In the latter case we have no warrant for deciding one way or the other. Taken in this view, no w^ell founded objection can be advanced against Ledyard's opinion, although it would not be easy to establish it by a consecutive series of proofs. It was the result of a long observa- tion of general appearances, rather than of a minute and methodical research. It was not with him an idle speculation, indulged for the moment, and then dis- missed. After his return from Siberia, he reiterated the same sentiments. In connexion with a short ac- count of his travels, he writes to a friend in these emphatic words. " You will please to accept these two observations, as the result of extensive and assiduous inquiry. They are with me well ascertained facts. ,The first is, that the difference of color in the human species (as the observation applies to all but the Negroes, whom I have not visited) originates from natural causes. The second is, that all the Asiatic Indians, called Tartars, and all the Tartars, who formed the later armies of Genghis Khan, together wath the Chinese, are the same people, and that the American LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 255 Tartar is also of the same family ; the most ancient and numerous people on earth, and the most uniformly alike." In this place may be inserted, also, his remarks to Mr Jefferson, in a letter written nearly at the same time with the above. After reiterating his opinion, in regard to the causes of the difference of color in the human race, he continues ; "I am certain, that all the people you call red people on the continent of America, and on the conti- nents of Europe and Asia, as far south as the southern parts of China, are all one people, by whatever names distinguished, and that the best general name would be Tartar. I suspect that all red people are of the same family. T am satisfied, that America was peo- pled from Asia, and had some, if not all, its animals from thence. " I am satisfied, that the great general analogy in the customs of men can only be accounted for, by supposing them all to compose one family ; and, by extending the idea, and uniting customs, traditions, and history, I am satisfied, that this common origin was such, or nearly, as related by Moses, and com- monly believed among the nations of the earth. There is, also, a transposition of things on the globe, that must have been produced by some cause equal to the effect, which is vast and curious. Whether I re- pose on arguments drawn from facts observed by my- self, or send imagination forth to find a cause, they both declare to me a general deluge." It will be perceived, that he uses the word Tartar in a broader sense, than is commonly given to it, em- 256 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. bracing not only all the northern Asiatic races and the Chinese, but likewise the aborigines of North Ameri- ca. Pallas says, that even the Monguls and Kalmuks are not rightly called Tartars, and that these latter people are different from the former in their origin, customs, political establishments, and the lineaments of their features. They inhabit the northern regions of Thibet, and western Siberia, never mingling with the Kalmuks. These facts in no degree affect Led- yard's use of the word. He employs it as a general term, and in a definite manner, without regard to its original meaning. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. '251 CHAPTER XI. Climate in Siberia. — Extreme cold.— Congelation of quicksilver. — Images in Russian houses.— Attention paid to dogs.— Ice windows.— Jealousy of the Russians. — Moral condition of the Russians in Siberia. — Ledyard's celebrated eulogy on women. — Captain Billings meets him at Yakutsk, on his return from the Frozen Ocean. — Bering's discovery of the strait called after his name. — Russian voyages of discovery. — Bering's death. — Russian fur trade. — Billings's expedition. — His incompetency to the undertaking. — His insti-uc- tions nearly the same as those drawn up by Peter the Great for Bering. — Some of their principal features enumerated. A FEW Other selections on miscellaneous topics will now be made from that part of the journal, which was written at Yakutsk. " At Kazan there is abundance of snow ; at Irkutsk, which is in about the same latitude, very little. Here at Yakutsk the atmosphere is constantly charged with snow; it sometimes falls, but very sparingly, and that in the daytime ; rarely, if ever, at night. The air is much like that which we experienced with Captain Cook in mare glaciali, between the latitudes of seventy and seventytwo ; seldom a serene sky, or de- tached clouds ; the upper region is a dark, still, ex- panded vapor, with few openings in it. The lower atmosphere contains clouds floating over head, resem- bling fog-banks. In general the motion of everything above and below is languid. The summers are said to be dry ; the days very hot, nights cold, and the weather exceedingly changeable, subject to high winds generally from the north, and soiietimes heavy snows in August. I have seen but one aurora borealis, and that not an extraordinary one. 33 258 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. " The people in Yakutsk have no wells. They have tried them to a very great depth, but they freeze even in summer ; consequently they have all their water from the river. But in winter they cannot bring water in its fluid state ; it freezes on the way. It is then brought in large cakes of ice to their houses, and piled up in their yards. As water is wanted,' they bring these pieces of ice into the warm rooms where they thaw, and become fit for use. Milk is brought to market in the same way. A Yakuti came into our house today with a bag full of ice. * What,' said I to Laxman, ' has the man brought ice to sell in Siberia ? ' It was milk. Clean mercury exposed to the air is now constantly frozen. By repeated observations 1 have found in December, that two ounces of quicksilver openly exposed have frozen hard in fifteen minutes. It may be cut with a knife, like lead. Strong cogniac brandy coagulated. A ther- mometer, filled with rectified spirits of wine, indicated thirtynine and a half degrees on Reaumur's scale. Captain Billings had, on the borders of the Frozen Ocean the winter before last, fortythree degrees and ,three fourths by the same thermometer. In these severe frosts the air is condensed, like a thick fog. The atmosphere itself is frozen ; respiration is fatigu- ing ; all exercise must be as moderate as possible ; one's confidence is in his fur dress. It is a happy provision of nature, that in such intense colds there is seldom any wind ; when there is, it is dangerous to be abroad. In these seasons, there is no chase ; the animals submit themselves to hunger and security, and LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 259 SO does man. All nature groans beneath the rigorous winter.* " The first settlers here [Russians] came round by the North Sea, about two hundred and fifty years ago. A gentleman showed me today a copy of a marriage contract done at Moscow, two hundred and five years ago. It is a folio page, and there are only sixteen words intelligible to. an ordinary reader, which corre- spond to the orthography of the present day. Many instances of longevity occur in this place. There is a man one hundred and ten years old, who is in per- fect health, and labors daily. The images in the Russian houses, which I should take for a kind of household gods, are very expensive. The principal ones have a great deal of silver lavished on them. To furnish out a house properly with these Dii Mino- res, would cost a large sura. When burnt out, as I have witnessed several times, the people have appear- ed more anxious for these, than for anything else. * The following is the statement of Captain Cochrane, respecting the degree of cold at the river Kolyma, which he visited in the winter of 1820-91. " The weather proved exceedingly cold in January and February, but never so severe as to prevent our walks, except during those times when the wind was high ; it then became insupportable out of doors, and we were obliged to remain at home. Forty degrees of frost of Fahrenheit never appear to affect us in calm weather, so much as ten or fifteen during the time of a breeze. Fortythree of Reaumur, or seventyseven of Fahrenheit, have been repeatedly known. I will, also, add my testimony from experiment to the extent o£ fortytwo. I have also seen the minute book of a gentleman at Yakutsk, where fortyseven of Reaumur were registered, equal to eightyfour of Fahren- heit." By various experiments it has been proved, that mercury congeals at fhirtytivo degrees below zero of Reaumur's scale, and forty of Fahren- heit's. 260 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. The images form almost the whole decoration of the churches, and those melted in one of them just burnt down, are estimated to have been worth at least thirty thousand roubles. The warm bath is used by the peasantry here early in liie, from which it is common for them to plunge into the river, and if there happens to be new fallen snow, they come naked from the bath and wallow therein. Dances are accompanied, or rather performed, by the same odd twisting and writhing of the hi}3s, as at Otaheite. " Dogs are here esteemed nearly in the same de- gree, that horses are in England ; for besides answer- ing the same purpose in travelling, they aid the people in the chase, and, after toiling for them the whole day, become their safeguard at night. Indeed they command the greatest attention. There are dog far- riers to attend them in sickness, who are no despicable rivals in ait, at least in pretension, to the horse doc- tors of civilized Europe. Dogs also command a high price. What they call a leading dog of prime charac- ter will sell for three or four hundred roubles. " Every body in Yakutsk has two kinds of win- dows, the one for summer, and the other for winter. Those for the latter season are of many different forms and materials; but all are so covered with ice on the inside, that the}' are not transparent, and are so far useless. You can see nothing without, not even the body of the sun at noon. Ice is most commonly used for windows in winter, and talc in summer. These afford a gloomy kind of light within, that serves for orduiary purposes. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 261 " The Russ dress in this region is Asiatic ; long, loose, and of the mantle kind, covering almost every part of the body. It is a dress not originally calcu- lated for the latitude they inhabit. Within doors the Russian is Asiatic ; without, European. The Em- press gives three ranks to officers that come into Sibe- ria, and serve six years ; two while out from Peters- burg, and one on their return. It has two important effects, one to civilize Siberia, and the other to prosti- tute rank. I have before my eyes the most consum- mate scoundrels in the universe, of a rank that in any civilized country would be a signal of the best virtues of the heart and the head, or at least of common honesty and common decency. The succession of these characters is every six years. " So strong is the propensity of the Russians to jealousy, that they are guilty of the lowest offences on that account. The observation may appear trivial, but an ordinary Russian will be displeased, if one even endeavors to gain the good will of his dog. I affronted the Commandant of this town very highly, by permitting his dog to walk with me one afternoon. He expostulated with me very seriously about it. This is not the only instance. I live with a young Russian officer, with whom 1 came from Irkutsk. No circumstance has ever interrupted the harmony between us, but his dogs. They have done it twice. A pretty little puppy he has, came to me one day, and jumped upon my knee. I patted his head, and gave him some bread. The man flew at the dog in the utmost rage, and gave him a blow, which broke his leg. The lesson I gave him on the occasion has almost 262 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. cured him, for I bid him beware how he disturbed my peace a third time by this rascally passion. " 1 have observed from Petersburg to this place, that the Russians in general have few moral virtues. The bulk of the people are almost without any. The laws of the country are mostly penal laws ; but all laws of this kind are little else than negative instructers. They inform the people what they shall not do, and affix the penalty to the transgression ; but they do not inform people what they ought to do, and affix the re- ward to virtue. Untaught in the sublime of morality, the Russian has not that glorious basis on which to exalt his nature. This, in some countries, is made the business of religion ; and, in others, of the civil laws. In this unfortunate country, it is the business of neither civil nor ecclesiastical concernment. A citizen here fulfils his duty to the laws, if, like a base Asiatic, he licks the feet of his superior in rank ; and his duty to his God, if he fills his house with a set of ill looking brass and silver saints, and worships them. It is for these reasons, that the peasantry in particular are the most unprincipled in Christendom. I hav-e looked for certain virtues of the heart, that are called natural. I find them not in the most obscure villages of the empire. On the contrary, I find the rankest vices to abound there, as much as in the capital itself." A few isolated facts will now be added, which he collected chiefly from the information of others, but which he deemed worthy of a place in his journal. " The Tongusians are tattooed. The Samoiedes have the double headed paddle. They fish with nets LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 263 under the ice. The Biiietti have the Mahometan lock of hair. The Kuriles are tattooed. A journal of a Russian officer says they are very hairy. They traffic with the Japanese in feathers and fish. The islands have little vegetation. The people are reserv- ed in conversation ; they are comely ; have their materials for boat and house building from the conti- nent, or from the Japanese. They are very wild, and receive strangers with the most threatening and formal appearance, but afterwards they are kind and hospita- ble. The coast of the Frozen Ocean is full of trees and driftwood for five versts out. It is remarked by the Russians, that since their knowledge of those regions, the land has increased towards the sea, and driven it northwards, a circumstance attributable per- haps to the large rivers, that empty themselves there. — Informed that the custom of staining the nails of the fingers of a scarlet color, is common near the Cas- pian and Black seas. I saw one instance of it in the neighborhood of Kazan. It is likewise a custom among the Cochin Chinese. I saw it at the island of Perlo Condor. The custom of calling John the son of John, Alexander the son of Alexander, prevails among the Russians." The preceding selections embrace nearly all that is contained in the journal, under the dates of his resi- dence at Yakutsk, except the celebrated eulogy on women, which was likewise written at that place. This beautiful and touching tribute to the superiority of the female character, is the more to be valued, as coming from one whose sphere of observation and experience had been such, as to enable him to speak 264 LIFE OF JOHN LED YARD. with confidence, and whose smcerity cannot be sus- pected. It is the simple effusion of a grateful heart, recorded in his private journal, not intended for the public eye, and obviously written, like the rest of the manuscript compositions left behind him, without any other design, than to quicken his own recollections, or perhaps amuse his intimate friends in a vacant hour. This eulogy was first printed, shortly after the author's death, in the Transactions of the African Association, in which it was inserted by Mr Beaufoy, secretary to that body, who then had the Siberian journal in his possession. It has often been reprinted, and univer- sally admired, not more for the sentiments it contains, and the genuine feeling that pervades it, than for its terse and appropriate language. The original has been altered in some of the transcripts. It is here introduced as found in the journal. " I have observed among all nations, that the women ornament themselves more than the men ; that, wherever found, they are the same kind, civil, obliging, humane, tender beings ; that they are ever inclined to be gay and cheeiful, timorous and modest. They do not hesitate, like man, to perform a hospita- ble or generous action ; not haughty, nor arrogant, nor supercilious, but full of courtesy and fond of society ; industrious, economical, ingenuous ; more liable in general to err than man, but in general, also, more virtuous, and performing more good actions than he. I never addressed myself in the language of decency and friendship to a w oman, whether civi- lized or savage, without receiving a decent and friend- ly answer. With man it has often been otherwise. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 265 In wandering *over the barren plains of inhospitable Denmark, through honest Sweden, frozen Lapland, rude and churlish Fhiland, unprincipled Russia, and the wide spread regions of the wandering Tartar, if hungry, dry, cold, wet, or sick, woman has ever been friendly to me, and uniformly so ; and to add to this virtue, so worthy of the appellation of benevolence, these actions have been performed in so free and so kind a manner, that, if I was dry, I drank the sweet draught, and, if hungry, ate the coarse morsel, with a double relish." By these specimens of his journal, we may judge how the traveller employed himself at Yakutsk, dur- ing the weary days of his compulsory residence there. He had not been quite two months in this town, when Captain Billings arrived from his expedition to the river Kolyma, and the frozen ocean. An intimate ac- quaintance had formerly subsisted between Ledyard and Billings. The latter had been an assistant to the Astronomer Bayly, during the whole of Cook's last voyage. He was now employed under the orders of the Empress of Russia, on a mission for exploring the northeastern regions of her territories, and for prose- cuting discoveries in geography and natural science, Billings was much surprised at meeting his old ac- quaintance in the heart of Siberia, not having heard from him since their separation at the close of the vovage. Meantime he had entered the Russian ser- vice, and by a concurrence of favorable circumstances, not easy to be accounted for, had obtained the com- mand of a very important expedition. Ledyard was no doubt glad to meet a person, in this rude quarter of 34 266 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. the world, who could speak his own language, and who had some recollections in common with himself; but, in other respects, the companionship was not such, as to promote his advantage, or his enjoyment. Bil- lings gave no proof, that he was competent to the high trust reposed in him by the Russian government, or that he possessed qualities suited to win the esteem of his associates. A few remarks, relating to the purposes of the ex- pedition just alluded to, may very well be introduced in this place, as in some of its parts it was more or less in unison with the designs of the American trav- eller. Russian enterprise had by no means been back- ward in pushing discoveries to the east and north, even at a comparatively early period. About the middle of the seventeenth century, Deschneff and his companions passed down the Kolyma, sailed along the coast of the Tchuktchi country in the Icy Sea, and thence discovered a route by land from this coast to Anadir. Other adventures were undertaken, and dis- coveries made at successive periods, by Staduchin, Markoff, Willegin, and Amossoff. But the journeys and voyages of these persons had extended only to the Tchuktchi territory, Anadir, Kamtschatka, the Kurile Islands, and to the neighboring seas. Neither the Strait, which separates Asia from America, nor any part of the American coast on the northwest, nor the Aleutian Islands, had been visited before the year 1728, when Captain Bering made his voyage of discovery. This voyage was planned by Peter the Great, who Avrote out with his own hand the instructions for the commander. He died before they were put in exe- LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 267 cution, but the Empress, who succeeded him, car- ried the original design into effect. Captain Bering was despatched to Kamtschatka, with orders to con- struct two vessels there, and to sail in them for the purpose of examining the coast towards the east and north, and of ascertaining, if possible, whether Asia and America were separated by the ocean. In the year abovementioned he made this voyage, and dis- covered the strait, to which his name has been given. He kept so close to the x'Vsiatic shore, that he did not see the American coast, but he sailed northward till, on doubling a cape, he saw an open sea before him, which presented a boundless horizon to the north and west, and convinced him that the two continents nowhere came in contact with each other. The sea- son was far advanced, and he returned to the river of Kamtschatka, where he wintered. The success of this voyage was such, as to encour- age the government to undertake others. A plan was formed for navigating the whole northern coast of Russia, from Archangel to Kamtschatka. Several expeditions were fitted out for this purpose from Arch- angel, the mouths of the Ob, Yenissey, Lena, and Kolyma, and after incredible sufferings by (he officers and men engaged in them, and the loss of a great many lives in those terrific regions of cold and priva- tion, all further attempts were abandoned. Some new portions of the coast were examined, but much remained unexplored, and has continued so to this day. No passage has been effected entirely round the north coast of Asia, any more than round that of America* 268 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. Twelve jears after his first discovery, Bering made another voyage, fell in with the Aleutian Islands, ex- plored the American coast for a considerable distance, and discovered and named Mount Saint Elias. In returning to Kamtschatka at the beginning of winter, he was driven in distress upon an island near the Asiatic coast, where he and several of his men died. The island has since borne his name. The remnant of his crew arrived in the spring at Kamtschatka. From this period the Russians kept up an active fur trade, from Okotsk and Kamtschatka, with the natives of the Aleutian Islands, but voyages of dis- covery ceased for a long time. A tribute in furs was collected for the Russian government from tlie natives, by the traders who went among them, and authentic accounts are related of barbarities practised by the latter against the former, in their exactions of labor in procuring furs, equalling in cruelty the servitude of the mitas, inflicted by the Spaniards in South America on the Indians, whom they compelled to work in the mines. The party of traders, whom Ledyard visited at Onalaska, however, cannot be brought under this imputation in its full extent, for he describes them as kind to the natives, whom he saw^ with them. It is to be considered, nevertheless, that the cruelties were principally suifered by those, who were sent abroad to hunt and trap, and made to endure cold, and hunger, and all the severities of the climate. These sufferers would not come under the traveller's observation, in the short time that he remained with the traders at Onalaska. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 269 Such was the state of the Russian fur trade on the American coast, from the date of Bering's last discov- eries, till that of Cook's voyage to the northern polar seas, a period of about forty years. During that space the government appears to have paid no atten- tion to the subject, except to take care that its agents at Okotsk and Kamtschatka gathered tribute fiom the islands. But when Cook's last voyage began to make a noise in Europe, and his discoveries on the Northwest Coast of America and in the adjoining seas to be known, the sagacious Catherine was quick to perceive, that her interests were in- volved in the affair, and that it was time for her to look to these remote and hitherto neglected parts of her dominions. In short, an expedition was planned on a large and liberal scale, and it was resolved, that, in preparing for it, nothing shojdd be spared, which w'as necessary to combine in it all possible facilities for prosecuting discoveries, both by land and by sea. Professor Pallas, who was a favorite with the Em- press, and who had travelled in Siberia under her patronage, was particularly instrumental in suggesting and maturing this plan. The choice of a commander was an important consideration, and this was at last effected wholly through the interest of the Professor. Mr Billings, who had recently obtained a lieutenancy in the Russian service, had found means to insinuate himself into the favor of Pallas, and to impress him with a high opinion of his understanding and knowl- edge ; in which he discovered, however, after it was too late, that he was unfortunately mistaken. The 270 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. circumstance of this lieutenant having been with Cook, in the regions that were to be explored, filling a station which gave him some pretensions to a science, was thought to be a strong recommendation ; and so it would have been, if in more important respects he had possessed the qualities of a com- mander, and a man of enterprise. In these he was singularly deficient ; as was fully demonstrated in the sequel of the expedition. He was appointed to the command, and left Petersburg for Siberia in October, 1785, about eighteen months before Ledyard arrived in the Russian capital. The instructions to Billings were so well drawn up, that they deserve a passing notice. They were pre- pared on the basis of those, which had been written by Peter the Great for Captain Bering. Every pro- vision was made for the advancement of science and geographical knowledge, as well as for extending the influence of the Russian government in remote and unknown parts. The great specific objects were, to determine the latitude and longitude of the mouth of the river Kolyma, and the line of coast from that point to the East Cape in Bering's Strait ; the con- struction of an exact chart of the Eastern Ocean, and the islands between Asia and America ; and the at- tainment of all such knowledge of those regions as might serve to illustrate the reign of her Imperial Majesty, by improving the condition and promoting the happiness of the natives inhabiting those distant lands, and by collecting and diffusing new truths of science, for the general benefit of mankind. The instructions for scientific researches were mi- nute, perspicuous, and explicit. Professor Pallas was LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 271 much consulted in preparing them. And, indeed, the separate articles for the naturalist, drawn up with admirable precision and method, were entirely from his pen, and issued with his signature. Observations in geography and meteorology, exact delineations of charts, and notes of electrical phenopiena, variations of the needle, and of barometrical and thermometrical changes, were expressly required. The various de- partments of the animal, vegetable, and mineral king- doms were also particularized, and the utmost care enjoined in collecting specimens, and forwarding them to Petersburg. Drawings were to be made of curious and extraordinary objects. The manners, dis- position, and occupations of the natives were to be described, and also their modes of living, government, religions, their dresses, arms, and manufactures. Moreover, vocabularies of their languages were order- ed to be made, according to a model previously fur- nished. The commander, the naturalist, and all the principal officers, were directed to keep journals for the future inspection of the Admiralty. Another feature in these instructions deserves to be mentioned. In case any savage tribes should be dis- covered, who had not been acquainted w ith civilized people, it w^as positivi^ly ordered, that they should be treated with kindness, and that the best means should be used to conciliate their good opinion. They were never to be approached in a hostile way, unless such a step should appear absolutely necessary for self defence. On this point the instructions are as full and definite as on others, and breathe a spirit of humanity, which, if it had been uniformly felt and 272 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. acted upon by discoverers, would have prevented in- numerable scenes of bloodshed and misery, which have marked the early intercourse between civilized and savage men. Captain Billings was allowed to select his own offi- cers and privates, and, as an encouragement to all the persons engaged, much higher pay was granted, than was usual in the regular service, with the promise of additional rewards. The officers were to be promoted as the enterprise advanced, and particularly at its con- clusion. The Governor General of Irkutsk was or- dered to render all needful assistance, and unite his best efforts with those of the commander to execute the designs of the Empress. No expedition was ever more liberally provided, and none ever commenced under better auspices. When Ledyard met Billings at Yakutsk, he had been more than two years absent from Petersburg, and had spent the preceding season at the mouth of the river Kolyma, attempting to pass along the coast in boats constructed for the purpose. The ice threat- ened him, and he accomplished nothino;, though his lieutenant was extremely desirous to push forward, at a time when, to all but the commander, there seemed a prospect of success. He had now returned, with the intention of going to Irkutsk, and there superin- tending the transportation of various articles to Okotsk, where they were wanted for preparing the vessels, in which he expected to make a voyage to the American coast in the following summer. This was the opportunity, which Ledyard hoped to em- brace for securing his passage from one continent to the other. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 273 CHAPTER XII. Ledyard departs from Yakutsk, and returns to Irkutsk up the Lena on the ice . — Is seized by order of the Empress, and hurried off in the charge of two guards. — Returns through Siberia to Kazan. — His remarks on the peculiarity of his fate. — Further observations on the Tartars. — No good account of them has ever been written. — Passes Moscow and arrives in Poland. — Left by his guards, with an injunction never to appear again in Russia. — Health much impaired by his sufferings. — Proceeds to Konigsberg, and thence to London. — Inquiry into the motives of the Empress for her cruel treatment of him. — Her pretences of humanity not to be credited. — Her declaration to Count Segur on the subject. — Dr Clarke's explanation incorrect. — The tme cause was the jealousy of the Russian American Fur Company, by whose influence his recall was procured from the Empress. — Lafayette's remark on her conduct in this particular. That we may not anticipate events, we will again take up our traveller at Yakutsk, where we left him with Captain Billings, then just returned from the Kolyma, near the end of November. Here they lived together about five weeks. Meantime Billings was making preparation for his journey to Irkutsk, and in- vited Ledyard to accompany him thither. This invi- tation he readily accepted, since it was impossible for him to proceed to Okotsk before spring ; nor indeed would any object be gained by such a journey, till Captain Billings himself should return to that place, and his vessels be got in readiness, for no chance of a passage was likely to offer at an earlier date. Ac- cordingly he joined Captain Billings's party, which left Yakutsk on the twentyninth of December, and travelled in sledges up the river Lena on the ice. With such speed did they move forward by this mode of conveyance, that they reached Irkutsk in seventeen 35 274 LIFE OF JOHxN LEDYARD. clays, having passed over a distance of fifteen hundred miles. Ledjard's voyage down the river in a canoe had taken up tvventytwo days. Nothing is found recorded in his journal, during this second visit to Irkutsk. In Sauer's account of Bil- lings's expedition, the fate which overtook him there is made known to us, and the manner in which he sub- mitted to it. " In the evening of the twentyfourth of February," says Saner, " while I was playing at cards with the brigadier and som« company of his, a secretary be- longing to one of the courts of justice came in, and told us with great concern, that the Governor General had received positive orders from the Empress, imme- diately to send one of the expedition, an Englishman, under guard to the private Inquisition at Moscow^ but that he did not know the name of the person, and that Captain Billings was with a private party at the Governor General's. Now, as Ledyard and I were the only Englishmen here, I could not help smil- ing at the news, when two hussars came into the room, and told me, that the Commandant wished to speak to me immediately. The consternation into which the visitors were thrown is not to be described. I assured them, that it must be a mistake, and went with the guards to the Commandant. " There I found Mr Ledyard under arrest. He told me, that he had sent to Captain Billings, but he would not come to him. He then began to explain his situation, and said he was taken up as a French spy, whereas Captain Billings could prove the contrary, but he supposed that he knew nothing of the matter, LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 275 and requested that I would inform him. I did so, but the Captain assured me, that it was an absolute order from the Empress, and that he could not help him. He, however, sent him a few roubles, and gave him a pelisse ; and I procured him his linen quite wet from the wash-tub. Ledjard took a friendly leave of me, desired his remembrance to his friends, and with as- tonishing composure leaped into the kibitka, and drove off, with two guards, one on each side. I wished to travel with him a little way, but was not permitted. I therefore returned to my company, and explained the matter to them ; but though this eased their minds with regard to my fate, it did not restore I heir har- mony." * One w^ord more only needs be added respecting Billings. He went to Okotsk in the summer, made a voyage to the Aleutian Islands, and thence to Be- ring's Strait. From the bay of St Lawrence he passed across the Tchuktchi country to the river Koly- ma by land, whence he proceeded to Yakutsk, and at length returned to Petersburg, after an absence of seven or eight years. No evidence exists, that his labors were of any service to Russia or to the world, either in the field of discovery, or the departments of science. Sauer's book has made his incompetency notorious. The misfortune was, that this should have been found out so late. Captain Burney, who was well acquainted with Billings while on Cook's voyage, observes, in alluding to Ledyard's arrest, " If the Em- * See Sauer's Account of a Geographical and Astronomical Expedi- tion to the Northern Parts of Russia, &c. p. 100. 276 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. press had understood the characters of the two men, the commander of the expedition would probably have been ordered to Moscow, and Ledyard, instead of being denied entertainment in her service, have been appointed to supply his place." * Being now a prisoner, Ledyard was under the entire control of his two guards, who conducted him, with all the speed with which horses and sledges could convey them, towards Moscow, exposed to the ex- treme rigors of a Siberian winter. In such a situa- tion, it cannot be presumed, that he would have either the heart or leisure to write in his journal. A few particulars only are recorded, and to these a place will now be given. Dates are rarely noted. The follow- ing was apparently written soon after he left Irkutsk. " My ardent hopes are once more blasted, — the almost half accomplished wish. What secret machi- nations have been at work ? What motive ? But so it suits her royal Majesty of all the Russias, and she has riothing but her pleasure to consult ; she has no nation's resentment to apprehend, for I am the minis- ter of no state, no monarch. I travel under the com- mon flag of humanity, commissioned by myself to serve the world at large ; and so the poor, the unpro- tected wanderer must go where sovereign will or- dains; if to death, why then my journeying will be over sooner, and rather differently from what I con- terrplated ; if otherwise, why then the royal dame has taken me much out of my way. But I may pur- * Burney's Chronological History of the Northeastern Voyages of Discovery, p. 279. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 277 sue another route. The rest of the world lies uuin- terdicted. Though born hi the freest of the civilized countries, yet, io the present state of privation, I have a more exquisite sense of the amiable, the immortal nature of liberty, than I ever had before. It would be excellently qualifying, if every man, who is called to preside over the liberties of a people, should once — it would be enough — actually be deprived of his lib- erty unjustly. He would be avaricious of it, more than of any other earthly possession. I could love a country and its inhabitants, if it were a country of freedom. There are two kinds of people I could anathematize, with a better weapon than St Peter's ; those who dare deprive others of their liberty, and those who suffer others to do it." Again he writes, some days after the above, having escaped from Siberia ; " I am now at Kazan ; it is nine months since I left this place on my tour eastward, and I am nine times more fully satisfied, than I was before, of some circumstances mentioned in my diary in June last. As I was fond of the subjects I have been in pursuit of, I was apprehensive that I might have been rash and premature in some of my opinions, but I certainly have not been. I am now fully convinced, that the difference of color in man is solely the effect of natural causes, and that a mixture by intermarriage and habits would in time make the species in this respect uni- form. I have never extended my opinion, and do not now, to the Negroes ; but should I live to visit them, I shall expect to find the same data, leading to the same conclusion, namely, that they are like the other 278 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. two classes of" man, which I call by the general terms of white people and Indians. There are many rea- sons, that rise naturally from the observations on my present voyage, which induce me to think so, yet I still wish to have better. I expect, however, the re- sult will be, that I shall find the same causes existing in Africa to render the Negro blacker than the Indian, as in Asia to render the Indian darker than the Euro- pean. " With respect to the national, or genealogical con- nexion, which the remarkable affinity of person and manners bespeaks between the Indians on this, and on the American continent, I declare my opinion to be, without the least scruple, and with the most abso- lute conviction, that the Indians on the one and on the other are the same people. As to the origin and his- tory of the great Tartar Nation^ little has been essay- ed ; very little is known even of the extent of their country. Albugassi, himself a noble Tartar, has said much the most and best of their origin, and something of their extent ; but very unsatisfactorily as to this latter, for in truth he knew but little about it. Like a soldier, he has written a kind of muster roll of his countrymen. I do not remember anything like philo- sophical research in his history, though I read him with avidity. Among the voyagers in this country, even the most modern, I have, instead of more, still less information. A few vocabularies to lead astray those, who would wish to find real knowledge, and an account of a few customs, without any remarks on them, constitute nearly the amount of the whole. There is, indeed, very little of value said about this LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 279 great people by any writers. The late contest about the contiguity, or junction, of Asia and America, has accidentally struck out a few observations, and one now and then finds something philosophically said of them, but very unphilosophically placed among quad- rupeds, fish, fowls, plants, minerals, and fossils. When the history of Asia, and I add of America, be- cause there is an intimate connexion between them, shall be as well known as that of Europe, it will be found, that those, who have written the history of man, have begun at the wrong end." What passed at the private Inquisition of Moscow, when Ledyard and his guards arrived in that city, there is no record to explain. Since nothing is said of the matter, it is probable, that, if he was taken at all before that body, no specific charges were substan- tiated, or even preferred, as in truth none could exist. The idea of a French spy in Siberia was an absurdity too gross, to be formally urged as a reason for his ar- rest, although this had been given out at Irkutsk. What was there in Siberia, either for a Frenchman, or a native of any other country to spy ? Was the Em- press afraid, that the French were plotting a crusade into those frozen and sterile regions, to rescue her miserable exiles, who were suffering there the penal- ties of their crimes, or the effects of imperial indig- nation for their projects of ambition and aggran- dizement in Petersburg ? It was not likely that France, or any other nation, would covet the control of such subjects, or of such a land. This pretence of a French spy originated at Irkutsk, where it was con- venient that some false report should be circulated 280 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. respecting the cause of Wis arrest, as will shortl}^ be made manifest. Ledyard again writes, " I am now two hundred and twenty versts from Moscow, on the road to Poland. Thank Heaven, petticoats appear, and the glimmerings of other fea- tures. Women are the sure harbingers of an altera- tion in manners, in approaching a country where their influence is felt. But wampum, or, if you will, beads, tassels, rings, fringes, and eastern gewgaws, prevail as much here as in Siberia. " I am at the city of Neeshna, in a vile, dark, dirty, gloomy, damp room ; it is called quarters, but it is a miserable prison. The soldiers, who guard me, are doubly watchful over me when in a town, though at no time properly so, through their consummate indo- lence and ignorance. Every day I have it in my power to escape them, but, though treated like- a felon, I will not appear like one by flight. I was very ill yesterday ; I am emaciated ; it is more than twenty days since I have eat anything, that may be called food, and during that time have been dragged along from day to day in some wretched open kibitka. Thus am I treated in all respects (except that I am obliged to support myself with my own money) like a con- vict, and presented by my snuff'box of a sergeant as a raree-show, at every town through which we pass. Were I charged, or chargeable, with any injury done or thought of, either to this, or any other country, it might not make me contented, indeed, yet, I suppose, it would make me resigned. But to be arrested in my travels at the last stage but one, in those domi- nions where the severe laws of the climate unhappily LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 281 detained me, which, however, I should have braved, had it not been for the restraining courtesy of the Commandant at Yakutsk ; to be seized, imprisoned, and transported in this dark and silent manner, with- out cause, or accusation, except what appears in the mysterious wisdom depicted in the face of my ser- geant, and of course without even a guess as to my destination ; treated, in short, like a subject of — this country ; — under such circumstances, resignation would be a crime against my dear native land." Here the Siberian journal abruptly comes to a close, and little is known of what befell him on his way to England, from the frontiers of Poland. In a letter to a friend, written after his arrival in London, he touches again upon the subject, and adds a few par- ticulars, which may with propriety be inserted in the present connexion. " I had penetrated," he says, " through Europe and Asia, almost to the Pacific Ocean, but, in the midst of my career, was arrested a prisoner to the Empress of Russia, by an express sent after me for that purpose. I passed under a guard part of last winter and spring ; was banished the empire, and conveyed to the fron- tiers of Poland, six thousand versts from the place where I was arrested, and this journey was performed in six weeks. Cruelties and hardships are tales I leave untold. I was disappointed in the pursuit of an object, on which my future fortune entirely depended. I know not how I passed through the kingdoms of Poland and Prussia, or from thence to London, where I arrived in the beginning of May, disappointed, rag- ged, penniless ; and yet so accustomed am I to such 36 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. things, that 1 declare my heart was whole. My health for the first time had suffered from my confinement, and the amazing rapidity with which I had been car- ried through the illimitable wilds of Tartary and Rus- sia. But my liberty regained, and a few days' rest among the beautiful daughters of Israel in Poland, reestablished it, and I am now in as full bloom and vigor, as thirtyseven years will afford any man. Jarvis says I look much older, than when he saw me three summers ago at Paris, which I can readily be- lieve. An American face does not wear well, like an American heart." When the soldiers, who were his guards, had arriv- ed with him in Poland, they gave him to understand that he might go where he pleased, but if he returned again to the dominions of the Empress, he would cer- tainly be hanged. Having no longer any motive for making such an experiment, he took the shortest route to Konigsberg. Here he was in a destitute situation, without friends or means, his hopes blasted, and his health enfeebled. In this state of despondency and suffering, he bethought himself again of the benevolence of Sir Joseph Banks, which had on more occasions than one administered relief to him, and served as a balm to his wounded spirit. He was lucky enough to dispose of a draft for five guineas on his old benefactor, and by this expedient was enabled to pursue his journey to London, where he arrived after an absence of one year and five months, and where he was received with much cordiality by Sir Joseph Banks and his other friends. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 283 It remains to inquire a little further into the rea- sons, which induced the Empress to recall him by a mandate so positive, after she had given him a royal passport for proceeding unmolested to Kamtschat- ka. Various conjectures, as to her motives, have existed, but the tale of the French spy has been the one most generally received, probably because it was credited by Sauer, who was on the spot at the time he was seized. On that topic enough has been said. The avowed pretence of the Empress has been as- certained, from the authority of Count Segur, who was then, as heretofore stated, ambassador from France to the court of Petersburg, and was instru- mental in procuring Ledyard's passport. In August, 1823, he wrote the following note to Lafayette, in reply to an inquiry on the subject. " I have no longer any letters in my possession," says Count Segur, " relative to the celebrated travel- ler, Mr Ledyard. I remember only, that in compliance with your request, I furnished him with the best re- commendations at the court of Russia. He was at first very well received, but the Empress, who spoke to me on the subject herself, observed that she would not render herself guilty of the death of this courageous American, by furthering a journey so fraught with danger, as that he proposed to undertake alone, across the unknown and savage regions of Northwestern America. She consequently issued her prohibition. Possibly this pretext of humanity, advanced by Cath- erine, only disguised her unwillingness to have the new possessions of Russia, on the western coast of 284 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. America, seen by an enlightened citizen of the United States. The above, however, were the reasons she advanced to me." Few will doubt, probably, that the closing conjec- ture of Count Segur is much more plausible, than the alleged humanity of the Empress. It is clothing this virtue in the royal breast with an air a little too roman- tic, to suppose that she was prompted by such a mo- tive to send an express four thousand miles, with an order to arrest and preserve from his own temerity and self-devotedness an individual, in whose personal safety she could not possibly feel any other interest, than what the sovereign of all the Russias would natur- ally extend to the whole human family. And, more- over, this plea of humanity sounds strangely enough, when contrasted with the barbarous manner, in which Ledyard was transported across the frightful deserts of her Imperial Majesty's domains. Such evidences of tenderheartedness he would very gladly have dis- pensed with, and taken in exchange for them any treatment he might receive from the savages of North- western America. This pretence of humanity, there- fore, has no better foundation than the story of the French spy. Another explanation is afforded in Dr Clarke's Travels in Russia, who had the account from Profes- sor Pallas himself. After relating an anecdote, re- specting the manner in which Billings obtained his appointment, Dr Clarke adds ; " That the expedition might have been confided to better hands, the public have been since informed hy the secretary Sauer. This, Professor Pallas lamented LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD, 285 to have discovered, when it was too late. But the loss sustained by any incapacity in the persons em- ployed to conduct that expedition, is not equal to that which the public suffered by the sudden recall of the unfortunate Ledyard. This, it is said, would never have happened, but through the jealousy of his own countrymen, whom he chanced to encounter as he was upon the point of quitting the eastern continent for America, and who caused the information to be sent to Petersburg, which occasioned the order for his arrest." * This account of the affair labors under one serious difficulty, which is, that Ledyard did not meet a single countryman of his own in Siberia. It could only be by a vague rumor, originally intended to deceive, that Professor Pallas was led into such a mistake. As Billings and Sauer were Englishmen, and spoke the same language as Ledyard, these persons may have been alluded to ; yet no proof exists of their hostility to him, or that they could have any reasons for thwart- ing his designs. Since all these explanations of the matter are falla- cious, we must look for other causes, and these, in my opinion, have been partly anticipated in the remarks already made on the conduct of the Com- mandant at Yakutsk. From all the circumstances, which have come to my knowledge in the course of this investigation, I am convinced, that a plan was concerted at Irkutsk to send him back, very soon after his arrival in that place. Irkutsk was the residence * Clarke's Travels in Russia, Cliap. II. 286 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. of the Governor General of all the eastern parts of Siberia, and of the principal persons engaged in the fur trade at the Aleutian Islands. Two je^rs before this period, the Russian American Company had been formed, for the express purpose of establishing a regular commercial intercourse with the natives of the islands, and of the American coast. Operations were already commenced by occupying new posts, erecting factories, building fortifications to protect them, and making other needful provisions to secure a complete monopoly of the trade. Now the headquarters of this company w^ere at Irkutsk, and it could not have escaped the sagacity of its conductors, that a foreigner, visiting their stations at the islands, would make discoveries, w^hich might be published to their disadvantage, both in regard to the resources of traffic, and to the cruel m^anner in which the traders habitually treated the natives, in extorting from them the fruits of their severe and in- cessant labors. To obviate such a consequence, it was necessary to cut short the traveller's career, be- fore he had penetrated to the eastern shores of Asia. In effecting this point, some management was neces- sary, as he had a passport from the Empress, with a positive order to the Governor General to aid him on his way. This order could not be countermanded, nor the passport of the Empress treated with disre- spect, till intelligence could be sent to Petersburg, and influence there used with the Empress to procure the annulment of her grant of protection, and Led- yard's immediate recall. Time w^as requisite to' bring this scheme to an issue, and the first thing to be done, LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 287 in the train of manoeuvres, was to throw obstacles in his path, and retard his progress. This was begun in good earnest at Irkutsk, where he was detained sev- eral days longer than he desired, waiting, as he was told, for the post. The manner in which he was received by the Com- mandant of Yakutsk has already been stated. The extraordinary concern, which the Commandant pro- fessed to feel for his welfare, the arguments he used to dissuade him from going to Okotsk at that inclem- ent season, and his returning Jacobi's letter open, are all reasons for strong suspicions. And these reasons are confirmed, when it is known, that the journey to Okotsk was frequently undertaken in the winter. More than a month after Ledyard arrived in Yakutsk, Captain Billings returned from the Kolyma, which was at least quite as difficult a journey ; and the next year, Billings passed from Okotsk to Yakutsk in October and November, precisely the same months in which Ledyard wished to perform the tour. These facts are enough to prove, that the Commandant's pretended concern for his health and comfort was only a cloak to cover other designs, and to render it more than probable, that he had secret instructions to cause his delay. This point was gained, and the plot farther matured by inducing him to go back to Irkutsk with Billings. Six months elapsed between the date of his first leaving Irkutsk, on his voyage down the Lena, and that of his arrest. This afforded ample time to send to Petersburg, and receive returns, even through the common channel of the post, or mail, which then 288 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. passed with tolerable regularity and expedition from the Russian capital to Irkutsk. Thus were all our traveller's hopes blasted, and all his noble designs for making new discoveries and benefiting mankind frus- trated, by the jealousy and pitiful intrigues of a few fur dealers at Irkutsk. The Empress was duped by their representations, and she deserted on this occa- sion the judicious policy, by which she was usually guided, in whatever pertained to the advancement of science, or the encouragement of enterprise. Well might Lafayette say, as he did, that " her conduct in this instance was very illiberal and narrow minded, and that her measures were particularly ungenerous." The conclusion to which I have thus been led, in ex- plaining an apparent enigma in Ledyard's Siberian adventures, is mainly founded, it is true, on circum- stantial evidence ; but this evidence is so strong, that I know not how it can be resisted. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 289 CHAPTER XIII. Interview with Sir Joseph Banks in London. — Engages to travel in Africa under the auspices of the African Association. — Remarkable instance of decision of character. — Letter to Dr Ledyard, containing miscellaneous particulars respecting his travels and circumstances. — Description of his Siberian dresses. — Origin and purposes of the African Association. — Ancient and present state of Africa. — Benefits of discoveries in that continent. — Letter flom Ledyard to his mother. — His remarks to Mr Beaufoy on his departure for Egypt. — Visits Mr Jefferson and Lafayette in Paris. — Sails from Mar- seiles to Alexandria in Egj'pt. — Description of Alexandria, in a letter to Mr Jefferson. — Arrives in Cairo. — Description of the city, and of his passage up the Nile. No sooner was he arrived in London, than he called on his worthy patron and friend, Sir Joseph Banks, to express his gratitude for the many substantial favors received from him. Sir Joseph, after questioning him with a lively interest concerning his travels, and expressing sympathy for his past misfortunes, inquired what were his future intentions. Ledyard frankly confessed, that he had nothing in prospect ; that, after having struggled against a tide of difficulties to ac- complish an object, which he had much at heart, but in pursuing which he had been baffled in every attempt, he felt himself at this moment in a state of perfect uncertainty, as to the step next to be taken ; time and circumstances would decide his fortune. What followed will be best related in the language of Mr Beaufoy, then secretary of the African Asso- ciation. " Sir Joseph Banks, who knew his temper, told him, that he believed he could recommend him to an 37 290 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. adventure almost as perilous as the one from which he had returned ; and then communicated to him the wishes of the Association for discovering the inland countries of Africa. Ledjard replied, that he had always determined to traverse the Continent of Africa, as soon as he had explored the interior of North America ; and as Sir Joseph had offered him a letter of introduction, he came directly to the writer of these Memoirs. Before I had learnt from the note the name and business of my visitor, I was struck with the manliness of his person, the breadth of his chest, the openness of his countenance, and the in- quietude of his eye. I spread the map of Africa before him, and tracing a line from Cairo to Sennar, and from thence westward in the latitude and suppos- ed direction of the Niger, I told him, that was the route, by which T was anxious that Africa might, if possible, be explored. He said, he should think him- self singularly fortunate to be trusted with the ad- venture. I asked him when he would set out. ' To- morrow morning,' was his answer. I told him I was afraid that we should not be able, in so short a time, to prepare his instructions, and to procure for him the letters that were requisite ; but that if the Commit- tee should approve of his proposal, all expedition should be used." * This interview affords one of the most extraordinary instances of decision of character, which is to be found on record. When we consider his recent bitter * Proceedings of the African Association, Vol. I. p. 18. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 291 experience of the past, his labors and sufferings, which had been so intense and so long continued, that a painful reality had more than checked the excesses of romantic enthusiasm, which might be kindled in a less disciplined imagination ; and when we witness the promptitude, with which he is ready to encounter new perils in the heart of Africa, where hardships of the severest kind must inevitably be endured, and where death would stare him in the face at every stage; we cannot but admire the superiority of mind over the accidents of human life, the rapidity of com- bination, quickness of decision, and fearlessness of consequences, which Ledyard's reply indicates. It w^as the spontaneous triumph of an elevated spirit over the whole catalogue of selfish considerations, wavering motives, and half subdued doubts, which would have contended for days in the breast of most men, before they would have adopted a firm resolution to jeopard their lives, in an undertaking so manifestly beset with dangers, and which in its best aspect threatened to be a scene of toils, privations, and endurance. It is needless to say, that the committee of the Associa- tion immediately closed an agreement with a man, who presented himself with such a temper, and with numerous other qualities, which fitted him in a pecu- liar manner for their service. Preparations for his departure were commenced without delay. While these movements were going on, he wrote a long letter to Dr Ledyard. It was composed at dif- ferent times, and is without date. A few extracts from it will give an insight into his pursuits, and ex- hibit some traits of his character in a favorable light. 292 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. " I was last evening in company with Mr Jarvis of New York, whom I accidentally met in the city, and invited to my lodgings. When I was in Paris in dis- tress, he behaved very generously to me, and, as I do not want money at present, I had a double satisfaction in our meeting, being equally happy to see him, and to pay him one hundred livres, which I never expected to be able to do, and I suppose he did not think I should. If he goes to New York as soon as he men- tioned, I shall trouble him with this letter to you, and with some others to your address for my other friends. I wrote you last from this place, nearly two years ago, but I suppose you heard from me at Petersburg, by Mr Franklin of New York. I promised to write you from the remote parts of Siberia. I promise everything to those I love ; and so does fortune to me sometimes, but we reciprocally prevent each other from fulfilling our engagements. She left me so poor in Siberia, that I could not write you, because I could not frank the letter. You are already acquainted with the intent of the voyage, which 1 have been two years engaged in. The history of it I cannot give you, nor indeed the world. Parts of it you would comprehend, approve, and, I believe, admire ; parts are incomprehensible, because not to be described. I have seen and suffered a great deal, but I now have my health and spirits in perfection. " By my acquaintances in London my arrival was announced to a society of noblemen and gentlemen, who liad for some time been fruitlessly inquiring for some person to travel through the continent of Africa. I was asked, and consented to undertake the tour. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 293 The society have appropriated a sum of money to de- fray the expenses. I dine with them collectively this day week, finish the affair, and within the month shall be on the move. My route will be from here to Paris, thence to Marseilles, across the Mediterranean to Alexandria in Egypt, and then to Grand Cairo. Be- yond is unknown, and my discoveries begin. Where they will terminate, and how, you shall know, if I sur- vive. As we have now no minister from the United States in London, and as I know of no certain me- dium of conveyance, I cannot certainly promise you letters from Africa. I can only say, that I will write you from Grand Cairo, if I can find an opportunity. " Before I leave town I intend to send you some Tartar curiosities, and, if possible, also, a transcript of the few rude remarks I made on my last tour. The hints I have given respecting the history of man, from circumstances and facts that have come within my personal knowledge, you will find new and inter- esting. They form data for investigation, but they are better in my hands than in any other's, because no other person has seen so much of Asia and America. They might amuse you in the happy retirement, which Mr Jarvis tells me you enjoy on Long Island. My seeing this gentleman has been almost as good as a visit to New York. Nothing in his account of our family and friends has affected me so much, as the mercantile misfortunes of your worthy brother. Sure- ly the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. Did the pyramids of Egypt, which I shall soon see, cover hearts as worthy as his, I should no more style them monuments of human imbecility ; I 294 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. should worship before them. Mr Jarvis has not been able to give me an exact account of his situation. He only tells me, that he has failed in business and retired to Jersey, where I think he ought to stay, for the world is absolutely unworthy of him. I do not say this, because he is my cousin, and shared with you the earliest attachment of my heart. These are things that I feel, and that the world has nothing to do with, any more than it ought to have with him. They are compliments, which his enemies would make him, if he had any. I never knew so much merit so unfortunate. I cannot reflect on his fate un- impassioned. He should retire; if barely comfortable it will be enough, for he cannot go from dignity. My heart is on your side of the Atlantic. I know the charms on Long Island, the additional ones of your residence there, and the sweet accordance of recuhans sub tegmine fagi. Do not think, because I have seen much of the world, and must see more, that I have forgotten America. I could as soon forget you, my- self, my God. " My travels have brought upon me a numerous correspondence, which, added to the employments of my new enterprise, leaves me little leisure. I am alone in everything, and in most things so, because nobody has been accustomed to think and act in trav- elling matters as I do. I am sorry Mr Jarvis will go so soon. Today is Saturday, and he will call on Tuesday, to receive the things for you, and (.ake leave of me. My time is wholly occupied, and it happens that just at this moment I am the busiest with the African Society. Among other things, I wish to send LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 295 you a copy of my Swedish portrait at Somerset House. I have one by me, but it is a stupid thing. It was taken by a boy, who is as dumb and deaf as the portrait itself. He is, however, under the patron- age of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the English Raphael. The boy was sent to me by a country squire, who ac- cidentally got acquainted with me at an inn, where I lodged in London, and who has taken a wonderful fancy to me, and begs to hang me up in his hall. This one is still unfinished, and so is the one for the squire. They are mere daubings. Jarvis says our Trumbull is clever, and advises me to get him to copy the Swedish drawing, which is not only a perfect likeness, but a good painting. If I do according to his advice, it cannot be soon ; and, indeed, I should not trouble you, or myself, about this shadow of your friend, were I sure of presenting him to you hereafter in substance. I shall not have time to settle my affairs before Jarvis goes, if it is tomorrow, for tomorrow I must be with the African committee. " Jarvis is this moment going. Adieu. — He will not take the one hundred livres." It may be well to add here, rather as a matter of curiosity, than for any other purpose, his description of the Siberian articles of clothing, which he sent to Dr Ledyard by Mr Jarvis. He was. now going to a climate, where he would have no occasion for a dress, suited to the winters of Siberia. " The dresses I send you," he writes, " are such as I have worn through many a scene, and was glad to get them. The surtout coat is made of reindeer skin, and edged with the dewlap of the moose. Per- 296 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. haps you will wear this yourself in winter. It was made for a riding coat, and I have rode both horses and deer with it. The first cap is of the Siberian red fox ; it is a travelling cap, and the form is entirely Tartar. The second cap is Russian, consisting of white ermine, and bordered with blue fox skin ; it cost me at Yakutsk twentyfive roubles, which is four guineas and one rouble. The surtout coat cost seven- ty roubles ; the fox skin cap six roubles. The gloves are made of the feet of the fox, and lined with the Tartar hare, and cost five roubles. The frock is in form and style truly Tartar. It was presented to me, and came from the borders of the Frozen Ocean, at the mouth of the river Kolyma. It is made of a spotted reindeer calf ; the edging is the same as that on the surtout. You will see, on the inside of the skin, a number of spots ; these were occasioned by a small insect bred there from the eggs of a species of fly, which, together with the vast numbers of musqui- tos, obliges this charming animal to migrate annually north and south, as the seasons change. " The boots are made also of reindeer skin, and ornamented with European cloth ; the form is Tartar ; they cost eight roubles. The socks for the boots are made of the skin of an old reindeer. They are worn on the inside of the boots, with the hair to the feet, with or without stockings. These were presented to me, and came from the borders of the Frozen Ocean. The cloak, which they are wrapped up in, was made in London. I travelled on foot with it in Denmark, Sweden, Lapland, Finland, and the Lord knows where. I have slept in it, eat in it, drank in it, fought LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 29? in it, negotiated in it. Through every scene it has been mj constant and hardy servant, from my depar- ture til] my return to London. And now to give it an asylum (for I have none), I send it to you. Lay it up ; as soon as I can, I will call and lay myself up with it. I have mentioned the prices of the above articles, to give you a notion how dear fur dresses are, even in the remotest parts of the vast dominions of Russia. These clothes were not all that I wore last winter ; I wore many others, and froze my nose and ears after all. You have no idea of the excessive cold in those regions." The Society, in w^hose service Ledyard was novr engaged, had its origin with a few individuals in Lon- don, but the number of its members soon increased to about two hundred, among whom were some of the most eminent men in the kingdom. Their imme- diate object was to promote discoveries in the inte- rior of Africa, and a fund was raised by a sub- scription from each member, for the purpose of effecting that object. The Society was denominated the African Association^ and was patronized by the king. A committee was to be annually chosen by ballot, whose duty it was to transact the affairs of the Society, by taking charge of the funds, employing persons to travel, collecting intelligence, and keeping up a correspondence with various parts of Africa. The first committee appointed, and that with which Ledyard made his arrangements, consisted of Lord Rawdon, the Bishop of Landaff", Sir Joseph Banks, Mr Beaufoy, and Mr Steuart. Among the other mem- bers, who joined the Society at the beginning, were 38 298 LIFE OF JOHN LED YARD. Mr Addington, the Earl of Bute, General Conway, the Duke of Grafton, Edward Gibbon, John Hunter, Dr Lettsom, the Earl of Moira, the Duke of North- umberland, Lord Sheffield, Benjamin Vaughan, and Mr Wilberforce. An institution, supported bv names of such weight and respectability, would naturally attract public attention, and ensure all the success of which the nature of its designs was susceptible. For many ages the continent of Africa had been a neglected portion of the globe, of which the rest of the world had taken little account. The learning, and splendor, and prowess of Egypt were departed ; Carthage, with all its glory, had sunk into the dust ; the proud monuments of Numidian greatness had been blotted from the face of the earth, and almost from the memory of man. The gloom of this scene was heightened, not more by the ravages of time in destroying what had been, than by the contrasts, which succeeding changes had produced. A semibar- barous population, gathered from the wrecks of fallen nations, enemies to the arts and to the best social in- terests of man, had gradually spread themselves over the whole northern borders of Africa, and presented a barrier to the hazards of enterprise, no less than to the inroads of civilization. Whatever might be the ardor for discovery and the disregard of danger, no- body cared to penetrate into these regions, where all was uncertainty, and were the chance of success bore no proportion to the perils that must be encountered. There is no question, that the northern half of Africa was better known to the Romans, at the time of Julius Caesar, than to the Europeans in the middle LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 299 of the eighteenth century. A few scattered names of rivers, towns, and nations, occupied the map of the interior, traced there by a hesitating hand, on the du- bious authority of the Nubian geographer, Edrissi, and the Spanish traveller, Leo Africanus. The rhymes of Swift on this subject were not more witty than true. " Geographers, in Afric maps, With savage pictures fill their gaps, And o'er unhabitable downs Place elephants for want of towns." At the beginning of the sixteenth century, Leo pene- trated as far as Timbuctoo and the Niger, but so im- perfect were his descriptions even of what he saw, that very little geographical knowledge was communi- cated by them. He was on the banks of the Niger, but it could not be ascertained from his account, whether this river ran to the east or west, nor indeed, whether it existed as a separate stream. In short, down to the time when the African Association was formed, almost the whole of this vast continent, its geography and physical resources, its inhabitants, governments, languages, were a desideratum in the his- tory of nature and of man. It could not be doubted, that many millions of human beings inhabited these hidden regions. Nor were the character and condition of these people, their institutions and social advance- ment, mere matters of curiosity ; they had a relation to the people of other parts of the globe, and, when discovered and understood, might be turned to the common advantage of the great human family. There 300 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. are no nations, that may not profit by an intercourse between each other, either by an exchange of pro- ducts peculiar to each, or by a reciprocal moral influ- ence, or by both. On these broad and benevolent principles the Socie- ty for promotirsg discoveries in Africa was instituted, and the scheme was worthy of the enlightened philan- thropists, by whom it w^as devised. Ledyird's instruc- tions were few, simple, and direct. He wrs to repair first to Egypt, travel thence across the continent, make such observations as he could, and report the results to the Association. Everything was left to his discretion. His past experience, the extraordinary energy of his character, his disinterestedness, and the enthusiasm with which he engaged in the present undertaking, were all such as to ensure the confidence of his em- ployers, and inspire them w^ith sanguine hopes. As for himself, at no period of his life had he re- flected with so much satisfaction on his condition, or his prospects. Heretofore he had always been alone, oppressed with poverty, and contending with an ad- verse fate. But now he was free from want, patron- ized by the first men in Great Britain, and engaged at their solicitation, and under their auspices, in an enterprise, fraught, it is true, w^ith many dangers, but promising the glory of which he had ever been ambi- tious, and opening to him a field of adventure, which his imagination had pictured to him as the first to be chosen, after he had discharged what he deemed a paramount duty, in exploring the unknown parts of the continent to which he owed his birth. When he was departing from London for Egypt, he may be LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 301 said to have been, for the first time in his life, at the summit of his wishes. All previous cares, defeats, and disasters appear to have been forgotten, or swal- lowed up in the deep interests of the present, and the cherished anticipations of the future. A letter writ- ten to his mother at this time will indicate the tone of his spirits. " Truly is it written, that the ways of God are past finding out, and his decrees unsearchable. Is the Lord thus great ? So also is he good. I am an instance of it. I have trampled the world under my feet, laughed at fear, and derided danger. Through millions of fierce savages, over parching deserts, the freezing north, the everlasting ice, and stormy seas, have I passed without harm. How good is my God ! What rich subjects have I for praise, love, and adora- tion ! " I am but just returned to England from my trav- els of two years, and am going away into Africa to examine that continent. I expect to be absent three years. I shall be in Egypt as soon as I can get there, and after that go into unknown parts. I have full and perfect health. Remember me to my brothers and sisters. Desire them to remember me, for, if Heaven permits, I shall see them again. I pray God to bless and comfort you all. Farewell." At length the preparations for his departure were completed. He had become well acquainted with the views of the committee ; and a sufficient .amount of money had been raised, by the subscriptions, to pro- vide for the expenses of his journey to Egypt, and to purchase such articles of merchandise as might 302 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. be found necessaiy to enable him to assume the char- acter of a trader in a caravan to the interior, or for travelling in anj other manner, which he should deem most expedient when on the spot. The last letter he wrote to America was a short one, dated at London, on the twentyninth of June. " I suppose that my letter and curiosities, sent by Mr Jarvis, are now halfway over the Atlantic. Here you have a little portrait, which I leave to the care of his brother in town. Enclosed with it is a poor por- trait of me, taken by the dumb boy mentioned in my other letter. If it were anything like painting, I would desire you to keep it. As it is, I beg you will send it to ray mother. She will be as fond of it, as if done by Guido. I would have sent it framed, if the opportunity would have permitted. Tomorrow morn- ing I set out for France. Adieu." Accordingly he left London on the thirtieth of June. Mr Beaufoy speaks of the interview he had with him, just as he was setting off, and adds these affecting remarks, as given in Ledyard's own words. " ' I am accustomed,' said he, in our last conversa- tion, ('twas on the morning of his departure for Afri- ca), ' I am accustomed to hardships. I have known both hune;er and nakedness to the utmost extremitv of human suffering. I have known what it is to have food given me as charity to a madman ; and 1 have at times been obliged to shelter myself under the mise- ries of that character, to avoid a heavier calamity. My distresses have been greater than I have ever owned, or ever will own to any man. Such evils are terrible to bear ; but they never yet had power to LIFE OF JOHxN LEDYARD. 303 turn me from my purpose. If 1 live, I will faithfully perform, in its utmost extent, my engagement to the society ; and if 1 perish in the attempt, my honor will still be safe, for death cancels all bonds.' " In Paris he met with Mr Jefferson, Lafayette, and several others of his old friends, whom he had left there three years before, and towards whom he enter- tained sentiments of the warmest gratitude. He continued at Paris seven or eight days, and then pro- ceeded to Marseilles, where he took ship for Alexan- dria. From this place he wrote to Mr Jefferson the following letter. " As 1 shall go to Cairo in a few days, from whence it may be difficult for me to write to you, I do it here, though unprepared. I am in good health and spirits, and the prospects before me are flattering. This in- telligence, with my wishes for your happiness and an eternal remembrance of your goodness to me, must form the only part of my letter of any consequence ; except that I desire to be remembered to the Marquis de la Fayette, his lady, Mr Short, and other friends. Deducting the week I stayed at Paris, and two days at Marseilles, I was only thirtyfour days from London to this place. " I am sorry to inform you, that I regret having visited the gentleman you mentioned, and of haying made use of your name. I shall ever think, though he was extremely polite, that he rather strove to pre- vent my embarking at Marseilles, than to facilitate it; for, by bandying me about among the members of the Chamber of Commerce, he had nearly, and very nearly, lost me my passage ; and in the last ship from Mar- 504 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. seilles for the season. He knew better ; he knew that the Chamber of Commerce had no business with me ; and, besides, I only asked him if he could with- out trouble address me to the captain of a ship bound to Alexandria ; nothing more. " Alexandria at large presents a scene more wretch- ed, than I have witnessed. Poverty, rapine, murder, tumult, blind bigotry, cruel persecution, pestilence ! A small town built on the ruins of antiquity, a"s re- markable for its miserable architecture, as I suppose the place once was for its good and great works of that kind. Pompey's Pillar and Cleopatra's Obelisk are now almost the only remains of remote antiquity. They are both, and particularly the former, noble ob- jects to contemplate, and are certainly more captivat- ing from the contrast of the deserts and forlorn prospects around them. No man of whatever turn of mind can see the whole, without retiring from the scene with a Sic transit gloria mundi.''^ Having passed ten days only at Alexandria, he pur- sued his journey up the Nile to Cairo, where he arrived on the nineteenth of August. Here again he wrote to Mr Jefferson. " I sent you a short letter from Alexandria. I be- gin this without knowing where I shall close it, or when I shall send it, or, indeed, whether I shall ever send it. But I will have it ready, in case an opportu- nity shall offer. Having been in Cairo only four days, I have not seen much of particular interest for you ; and, indeed, you will not expect much of this kind from me. My business is in another quarter, and the information I seek totally new. Anything from this place would not be so. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 305 " At all events I shall never want a subject, when it is to you I write. I shall never think my letter an indifferent one, when it contains the declaration of my gratitude and my affection for you ; and this, not- withstanding you thought haili of me for being em- ployed by an English Association, which hurt me much while I was at Paris. You know your own heart, and if my suspicions are groundless, forgive them, since they proceed from the jealousy I have, not to lose the regard you have in times past been pleased to honor me with. You are not obliged to esteem me, but I am obliged to esteem you, or to take leave of my senses, and confront the opinions of the greatest and best characters I know. If I cannot, therefore, address myself to you as a man you regard, I must do it as one that regards you for your own sake, and for the sake of my country, which has set me the example. " I made my tour from Alexandria hy vv^ater, and entered the Nile by the western branch of the mouths of the river. I was five days coming to Cairo, but this passage is generally made in four, and sometimes in three days. You have heard and read much of the Nile, and so had I, but when I saw it, I could not conceive it to be the same. What eyes do travellers see with ? Are they fools or rogues ? For Heaven's sake, hear the plain truth about it. First, in regard to its size. Obvious comparisons in such cases are good. Do you know the river Connecticut ? Of all the rivers I have seen, it most resembles that in size. It is a little wider, and may on that account better compare with the Thames. This is the mighty, the 39 306 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. sovereign of rivers, the vast Nile, that has been meta- morphosed into one of the wonders of the world. Let me be careful how I read, and above all how I read ancient history. You have heard and read, too, much of its inmidations. If the thousands of large and small canals from it, and the thousands of men and machines employed to transfer by artificial means the water of the Nile to the meadows on its banks, if this be the inundation that is meant, it is true ; any other is false. It is not an inundating river. I came up the river from the fifteenth to the twentieth of August, and about the thirtieth the water will be at the height of the freshet. When I left the river, its banks were four, five, and six feet, above the water, and here in town I am told they expect the Nile to be only one or two feet higher at the most. This is a proof, if any were wanted, that the river does not overflow its banks. " I saw the pyramids as I passed up the river, but they were four or five leagues off. It is warm weather here at present, and were it not for the north winds, that cool themselves in their passage over the Medi- terranean, and blow upon us, we should be in a sad situation. As it is, I think I have felt it hotter at Philadelphia in the same month. The city of Cairo is about half as large in size as Paris, and is said to contain seven hundred thousand inhabitants. You will therefore anticipate the fact of its narrow streets and high houses. In this number are contained one hundred thousand Copts, or descendants of the an- cient Egyptians. There are likewise Christians, and those of different sects from Jerusalem, Damascus, Aleppo, and other parts of Syria. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 307 " With regard to my journey, I can only tell you with any certainty, that I shall be able to pass as far as the western boundaries of what is called Turkish Nubia to the town of Sennaar. I expect to get there with some surety. Beyond that all is dark before me. My wishes and designs are to pass in that parallel across the continent. I will write from Sennaar if I can. " You know the disturbances in this unhappy coun- try, and the nature of them. The Beys, revolted from the Bashaw, have possession of Upper Egypt, and are now encamped with an army, pitiful enough indeed, about three miles south of Cairo. They say to the Bashaw, ' Come out of your city and fight us ; ' and the Bashaw says, ' Come out of your entrench- ments and fight me.' You know this revolt is a stroke in Russian politics. Nothing merits more the whole force of burlesque, than both the poetic and prosaic legends of this country. Sweet are the songs of Egypt on paper. Who is not ravished with gums, balms, dates, figs, pomegranates, circassia, and syca- mores, without recollecting that amidst these are dust, hot and fainting winds, bugs, musquitoes, spiders, flies, leprosy, fevers, and almost universal blindness ? I am in perfect health. Adieu for the present, and believe me to be, with all possible esteem and regard, your sincere friend." 308 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. CHAPTER XIV. Remarks on the appearance of the country in passing up the NUe. — Condition of a Christian at Cairo. — Interview with the Aga. — Miscellaneous observations on the customs of the Arabs, and other races of people found in Cairo. — In- formation respecting the interior of Africa. — Visit to the caravans and slave markets. — The traveller's reflections on his condition and prospects. — His last letter to Mr Jefferson. — ^Joins a caravan and prepares to depart for Sennaar. — He is taken suddenly iU. — His death. — Account of his person and character. As he was furnished with letters of recommenda- tion to the British Consul at Cairo, he found little difficulty in procuring such accommodations as he de- sired, and such information as enabled him to direct his attention immediately to the great object of his mission. His intention was to join a caravan, bound to the interior, and to continue with it to the end of its route. Beyond this he must be guided by circum- stances, which could not be foreseen, and concerning which no calculation was to be made. He adopted a a dress suited to the character he was to assume, and began in earnest to study the manners of the people around him, and particularly of the traders in the caravans, which were then at Cairo. Three months were passed in this occupation. He kept a journal of whatever he deemed most worthy of record, which was afterwards transmitted to the African Association. Such parts of the journal, as are contained in the Proceedings of that body, will here be added. They bear the peculiar marks of the author's mind, his habits of observation, his boldness of thought and opinion, and his quick perception of resemblance and contrast in the various races of men. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 309 '■''August 14th. — I left Alexandria at midnight, with a pleasant breeze north ; and was, at sunrise next morning, at the mouth of the Nile, which has a bar of sand across it, and soundings as irregular as the sea, which is raised upon it by the contentions of counter currents and winds. " The view in sailing up the Nile is very confined, unless from the top of the mast, or some other emi- nence, and then it is an unbounded plain of excellent land, miserably cultivated, and yet interspersed with a great number of villages, both on its banks and as far along the meadows as one can see in any direc- tion. The river is also filled with boats passing and repassing — boats all of one kind, and navigated in one manner ; nearly also of one size, the largest carrying ten or fifteen tons. On board of these boats are seen onions, watermelons, dates, sometimes a horse, a camel (which lies down in the boat), sheep, goats, dogs, men, and women. Towards evening and morn- ing they have music. " Whenever we stopped at a village, I used to walk into it with my conductor, who, being a Musselman, and a descendant from Mahomet, wore a green tur- ban, and was therefore respected, and 1 was sure of safety ; but, in truth, dressed as I was in a common Turkish habit, I believe I should have walked as safe- ly without him. I saw no propensity among the in- habitants to incivility. The villages are most misera- ble assemblages of poor little mod huts, flung very close together without any kind of order, full of dust, lice, fleas, bugs, flies, and all the curses of Moses ; people poorly clad, the youths naked ; in such respects, they rank infinitely below any savages I ever saw. 310 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. " The common people wear nothing but a shirt and drawers, and they are always blue. Green is the royal, or holy color ; none but the descendants of Mahomet, if I am rightly informed, being permitted to wear it. ^^ August 19th. — From the little town where we landed, the distance to Cairo is about a mile and a half, which we rode on asses ; for the ass in this coun- try is the Christian's horse, as he is allowed no other animal to ride upon. Indeed I find the situation of a Christian, or, what they more commonly call here, a Frank, to be very, very humiliating, ignominious, and distressing. No one, by a combination of any causes, can reason down to such effects as experience teaches us do exist here ; it being impossible to conceive, that the enmity I have alluded to could exist between men; or, in fact, that the same species of beings, from any causes whatever, should ever think and act so differently as the Egyptians and the English do. " I arrived at Cairo early in the morning, on the nineteenth of August, and went to the house of the Venetian Consul, Mr Rosetti, charge d'affaires for the English Consul here. After dinner, not being able to find any other lodging, and receiving no very pressing invitation from Mr Rosetti, to lodge with him, I went to a convent. This convent consists of missionaries, sent by the Pope to propagate the Christian faith, or at least to give shelter to Christians. The Christians here are principally from Damascus ; the convent is governed by the order of Recollets ; a number of English, as well as other European travellers, have lodged there. LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 311 " August 26th. — This day I was introduced by Rosetti to the Aga Mahommed, the confidential minis- ter of Ismael, the most powerful of the four ruling Beys. He gave me his hand to kiss, and with it the promise of letters, protection, and support, through Turkish Nubia, and also to some chiefs far inland. In a subsequent conversation, he told me I should see in my travels a people, who had power to transmute themselves into the forms of different animals. He asked me what I thought of the affair. I did not like to render the ignorance, simplicity, and credulity of the Turk apparent. I told him, that it formed a part of the character of all savages to be great necroman- cers ; but that I had never before heard of any so great, as those which he had done me the honor to describe ; that it had rendered me more anxious to be on my voyage, and if I passed among them, I would, in the letter I promised to write to him, give him a more particular account of them, than he had hitherto had. He asked me how I could travel, without the language of the people where I should pass ? I told him, with vocabularies. I might as well have read to him a page of Newton's Principia. He returned to his fables again. Is it not curious, that the Egyptians (for I speak of the natives of the country, as well as of him, when I make the observation), are still such dupes to the arts of sorcery ? Was it the same peo- ple who built the pyramids ? " I cannot understand that the Turks have a better opinion of our mental powers, than we have of theirs ; but they say of us, that we are ' a people who carry our minds on our fingers'' eiids ; ' meaning, that we 312 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. put them in exercise constantly, and render them sub- servient to all manner of purposes, and with celerity, despatch, and ease, do what we do. " I suspect the Copts to have been the origin of the Negro race ; the nose and lips correspond with those of the Negro. The hair, whenever I can see it among the people here (the Copts), is curled ; not close like the Negroes, but like the Mulattoes. I ob- serve a greater variety of color among the human species here, than in any other country ; and a greater variety of feature, than in any other country not pos- sessing a greater degree of civilization. 1 have seen an Abyssinian woman, and a Bengal man ; the color is the same in both ; so are their features and persons. " I have seen a small mummy ; it has what I call wampum-work on it. It appears as common here as among the Tartars. Tattooing is as prevalent among the Arabs of this place, as among the South Sea Islanders. It is a little curious, that the women here are more generally than in any other part of the world tattooed on the chin, with perpendicular lines descend- ing from the under lip to the chin, like the women on the Northwest Coast of America. It is also a custom here to stain the nails red, like the Cochin Chinese, and the northern Tartars. The mask, or veil, that the women here wear, resembles exactly that worn by the priests at Otaheite, and those seen at the Sandwich Islands. " I have not yet seen the Arabs make use of a tool, like our axe or hatchet ; but what they use for such purposes, as we do our hatchet and axe, is in the form of an adze, and is a form we found most agreeable to LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 313 the South Sea islanders. I see no instance of a tool formed designedly for the use of the right or left hand particularly, as the cotogon is among the Yakut! Tartars. " There is certainly a very remarkable affinity be- tween the Russian and Greek dress. The fillet round the temples of the Greek and Russian women is a circumstance in dress, that perhaps would strike no- body as it does me ; and so of the wampura-work too, which is also found among them both. They spin here with the distaff and spindle only, like the French peasantry, and others in Europe ; and the common Arab loom is upon our principle, though rude. I saw today an Arab woman white, like the white Indians in the South Sea islands, and at the Isthmus of Darien« These kind of people all look alike. Among the Greek women here, I find the identical Archangel headdress. " Their music is instrumental, consisting of a drum and pipe, both which resemble those two instruments in the South Seas. The drum is exactly like the Otaheite drum ; the pipe is made of cane, and con- sists of a long and short tube joined ; the music re- sembles very much the bagpipe, and is pleasant. All their music is concluded, if not accompanied, by the clapping of hands. I think it singular, that the women here make a noise with their mouths like frogs, and that this frog music is always made at wed- dings ; and I believe on all other occasions of merri- ment, where there are women. " It is remarkable, that the dogs here are of just the same species found among the Otaheitaiis. It is also 40 314 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. remarkable, that in one village I saw exactly the same machines used for diversion as in Russia. I forget the Russian name for it. It is a large kind of wheel, on the extremities of which there are suspended seats, in which people are whirled round over and under each other. " The women dress their hair behind, exactly in the same manner in which the Avomen of the Kalmuk Tartars dress theirs. "In the history of the kingdom of Benin, in Guinea, the chiefs are called Aree Roee, or street kings. Among the islands in the South Sea, Ota- heite, and others, they call the chiefs Arees, and the great chiefs Aree le Hoi. I think this curious ; and so I do, that it is a custom of the Arabs to spread a blanket, when they would invite any one to eat or rest with them. The American Indians spread the beaver skins on such occasions. The Arabs of the deserts, like the Tartars, have an invincible attach- ment to liberty ; no arts will reconcile them to any other life, or form of government, however modified. This is a character given me here of the Arabs. It is singular, that the Arab language has no word for liberty, although it has for slaves. The Arabs, like the New Zealanders, engage with a long, strong spear. ^' I have made the best inquiries I have been able, since I have been here, of the nature of the country before me ; of Sennaar, Darfoor, Wangara, of Nubia, Abyssinia, of those named, or unknown by name. I should have been happy to have sent you better infor- mation of those places, than I am yet able to do. It LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 315 will appear very singular to you in England, that we in Egypt are so ignorant of countries, which we annu- ally visit. The Egyptians know as little of geogra- phy, as the generality of the French ; and, like them, sing, dance, and traffic without it. " I have the best assurances of a certain and safe conduct, by the return of the caravan that is arrived from Sennaar ; and Mr Rosetti tells me, that the letters 1 shall have from the Aga here, will insure me of being conveyed, from hand to hand, to my journey's end. The Mahometans in Africa are what the Rus- sians are in Siberia, a trading, enterprising, supersti- tious, warlike set of vagabonds, and wherever they are set upon going, they will and do go ; but they neither can nor do make voyages merely commercial, or merely religious, across Africa ; and where we do not find them in commerce, we find them not at all. They cannot, however vehemently pushed on by reli- gion, afford to cross the continent without trading by the way. " October 14th. — I went today to the marketplace, where they vend the black slaves, that come from to- wards the interior parts of Africa. There were two hundred of them together, dressed and ornamented as in their country. The appearance of a savage in every region is almost the same. There were very few men among them ; this indicates that they are prisoners of war. They have a great many beads, and other ornaments about them, that are from the East. I was told by one of them, that they came from the west of Sennaar, fifty five days' journey, which may be about four or five hundred miles. A Negro 316 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. chief said, the Nile had its source in his countr}'. In general they had their hair plaited in a great number of small detached plaits, none exceeding in length six or eight inches ; the hair was filled with grease and dirt, purposely daubed on. " October 16th. — I have renewed my visit today, and passed it more agreeably than yesterday ; for yes- terday I was rudely treated. The Franks are prohib- ited to purchase slaves, and therefore the Turks do not like to see them in the market. Mr Rosetti favored me with one of his running charge d'affaires to accom- pany me ; but having observed yesterday among the ornaments of the Negroes a variety of beads, and wanting to know from what country they came, I re- quested Mr Rosetti, previously to my second visit, to show me from his store samples of Venetian beads. He showed me samples of fifteen hundred different kinds ; after this I set out. " The name of the country these savages come from is Darfoor, and is well known on account of the slave trade, as well as of that in gum and elephants' teeth. The appearance of these Negroes declares them to be a people, in as savage a state as any people can be ; but not of so savage a temper, or of that species of countenance, that indicates savage intelligence. They appear a harmless wild people ; but they are mostly young women. " The beads they are ornamented with are Vene- tian ; and they have some Venetian brass medals, which the Venetians make for trade. The beads are worked wampum- wise. I know not where they got the marine shells they worked among their beads, nor LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 317 how they could have seen white men. I asked them if they would use me well in their country, if I should visit it ? They said, Yes ; and added, that they should make a king of me, and treat me with all the delicacies of their country. Like the Egyptian wo- men, and like most other savages, they stick on orna- ments wherever they can, and wear, like them, a great ring in the nose, either from the cartilage, or from the side ; they also rub on some black kind of paint round the eyes, like the Egyptian women. They are a sizeable, well-formed people, quite black, with what, I believe, we call the true Guinea face, and with curl- ed short hair ; but not more curled or shorter than I have seen it among the Egyptians ; but in general these savages plait it in tassels plastered with clay or paint. Among some of them the hair is a foot long, and curled, resembling exactly one of our mops. The prevailing color, where it can be seen, is a black and red mixed. I think it would make any hair curl, even Uncle Toby's wig, to be plaited and plastered as this is. This caravan, which I call the Darfoor caravan, is not very rich. The Sennaar is the rich caravan. " October 19th. — I went yesterday to see if more of the Darfoor caravan had arrived ; but they were not. I wonder why travellers to Cairo have not visited these slave markets, and conversed with the Jelabs, or travelling merchants of these caravans; both are certainly sources of great information. The eighth part of the money expended on other accounts, might here answer some good solid purpose. For my part, I have not expended a crown, and I have a better idea of the people of Africa, of its trade, of the posi- 318 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. tion of places, the nature of the country, and manner of travelling, than ever I had by any other means ; and, I believe, better than any other means would afford me. " October 25th. — I have been again to the slave market ; but neither the Jelabs (a name which in this country is given to all travelling merchants), nor the slaves are yet arrived in town ; they will be here to- morrow. I met two or three in the street, and one with a shield and spear. I have understood today, that the king of Sennaar is himself a merchant, and concerned in the Sennaar caravans. The merchant here, who contracts to convey me to Sennaar, is Pro- curer at Cairo to the King of Sennaar ; this is a good circumstance, and one I knew not of till today. Mr Rosetti informed me of it. He informed me also, that this year the importation of Negro slaves into Egypt will amount to tw^enty thousand. The caravans from the interior countries of Africa do not arrive here uniformly every year ; they are sometimes absent two or three years. " Among a dozen of Sennaar slaves, I saw three personable men of a good bright olive color, of viva- cious and intelligent countenances ; but they had all three (which first attracted my notice) heads uncom- monly formed ; the forehead was the narrowest, the longest, and most protuberant I ever saw. Many of these slaves speak a few words of the Arab language ; but whether they learned them before or since their captivity I cannot tell. " A caravan goes from here to Fezzan, which they call a journey of fifty days ; and from Fezzan to LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 319 Tombuctou, which they call a journey of ninety days. The caravans travel about twenty miles a day, which makes the distance on the road from here to Fezzan, one thousand miles ; and from Fezzan to Tombuctou, one thousand eight hundred miles. From here to Sennaar is reckoned six hundred miles. I have been waiting several days to have an interview with the Jelabs, who go from hence to Sennaar. I am told that they carry, in general, trinkets ; but among other things soap, antimony, red linen, razors, scissars, mir- rors, beads ; and, as far as I can yet learn, they bring from Sennaar elephants' teeth, the gum called here gum Sennaar, camels, ostrich feathers, and slaves. " Wan^ara is talked of here as a place producing much gold, and as a kingdom ; all accounts, and there are many, agree in this. The King of Wangara (whom I hope to see in about three months after leaving this) is said to dispose of just what quantity he pleases of his gold ; sometimes a great deal, and sometimes little or none ; and this, it is said, he does to prevent strangers knowing how rich he is, and that he may live in peace." In a letter to the Association are expressed his un- diminished zeal in their cause, the high motives which impelled him onward, and his utter indifference to everything but the success of his undertaking. " Money ! it is a vile slave ! I have at present an economy of a more exalted kind to observe. I have the eyes of of some of the first men of the first king- dom on earth turned upon me. I am engaged by those very men, in the most important object that any private individual can be engaged in. I have their 320 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. approbation to acquire or to lose ; and their esteem, also, which I prize beyond everything, except the in- dependent idea of serving mankind. Should rashness or desperation carry me through, whatever fame the vain and injudicious might bestow, I should not ac- cept of it ; it is the good and great I look too ; fame bestowed by them is altogether different, and is closely allied to a ' Well done ' from God ; but rashness will not be likely to carry me through, any more than timid caution. To find the necessary medium of conduct, to vary and apply it to contingencies, is the economy I allude to ; and if I succeed by such means, men of sense in any succeeding epoch will not blush to follow me, and perfect those discoveries, which I have only abilities to trace out roughly, or a dispositition to at- tempt. A Turkish sopha has no charms for me ; if it had, I could soon obtain one here. Believe me, a single ' Well done ' from your Association has more worth in it to me, than all the trappings of the East ; and what is still more precious, is, the pleasure I have in the justification of my own conduct at the tribunal of my own heart." On the fifteenth of November he again wrote to Mr Jefferson as follows. " This is my third letter to you from Egypt. I should certainly write to the Marquis de la Fayette, if I knew where to find him. I speak of him often among the French at Cairo. But if our news here, with respect to the affairs of France, be authentic, he would hardly find time to read my letter, if his active spirit is employed in the conflict in proportion to its powers. It is possible, however, that my compliments LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 321 may reach him, and 1 desire it may be through your means. Tell him that I love him, and that the French patriots in Cairo call on the name of Suffrein and La FayettCj the one for point-blank honesty, and the other as the soldier and the courtier. The old vete- ran in finance andtcivil economy, Mr Necker, is wel- comed to the helm. " I have novi^ been in Cairo three months, and it is within a few days only, that I have had any certainty of being able to proceed in the prosecution of my voyage. The difficulties, that have attended me, have occupied me day and night. I should otherwise not only have written to you oftener, but should have given you some little history of what I have heard and seen. My excuse now is, that I am doing up my baggage for my journey, and most curious baggage it is. I shall leave Cairo in two or three days, " Perhaps f should not have pleased you, if I had written much in detail. I think I know your taste for ancient history ; it does not comport with what experience teaches me. The enthusiastic avidity with which you search for treasures in Egypt, and I suppose all over with the East, ought injustice to the world, and your own generous propensities, to be modi- fied, corrected, and abated. I should have written you the truth. It is disagreeable to hear it, when habit has accustomed one to falsehood. You have the travels of Savary in this country. Burn them. Without entering into a discussion, that would be too long for a letter, I cannot tell you why I think most historians have written more to satisfy themselves, than to benefit others. I am certainly very angry 322 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. with those, who have written of the countries where I have travelled, and of this particularly. They have all more or less deceived me. In some cases perhaps it is difficult to determine, which does the most mis- chief, the self love of the historian, or the curiosity of the reader ; but both together have led us into errors, that it is now too late to rectify. You will think my head is turned to write you such a letter from Egypt, but the reason is, I do not intend it shall be turned. " I have passed my time disagreeably here. Reli- gion does more mischief in Egypt than all other things, and here it has always done more than in most other places. The humiliating situation of a Frank would be insupportable to me, except for my voyage. It is a shame to the sons of Europe, that they should suffer such arrogance at the hands of a banditti of ignorant fanatics. I assure myself, that even your curiosity and love of antiquity would not detain you in Egypt three months. " From Cairo I am to travel southwest about three hundred leagues to a black king. Then my present conductors will leave me to my fate. Beyond, I sup- pose I shall go alone. I expect to cut the continent across between the parallels of twelve and twenty degrees of north latitude. If possible, I shall write you from the kingdom of this black gentleman. If not, do not forget me in the interval of time, which may pass during my voyage from thence to Europe, and as likely to France as anywhere. I shall not forget you ; indeed, it will be a consolation to think of you in my last moments. Be happy." LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 323 This is the last letter, which Ledyard is known to have written, either to Mr Jefferson, or to any other person. He wrote to the secretary of the Association, probably by the same conveyance, stating that, after much vexations delay, all things were at last ready for his departure, and that his next communication might be expected from Sennaar. The Aga had given him letters of recommendation, his passage was en- gaged, the terms settled, and the day fixed, on which the caravan was to leave Cairo. He wrote in good spirits and apparent health, and the confidence of the Association had never been more firm, nor their hopes more sanguine, than at this juncture. Their extreme disappointment may well be imagined, therefore, when the next letters from Egypt brought the melancholy intelligence of his death. During his residence at Cairo, his pursuits had made it necessary for him to be much exposed to the heat of the sun, and to other deleterious influences of the climate, at the most unfavorable season of the year. The consequence was an attack of a bilious complaint, which he thought to remove by the common remedy of vitriolic acid. Whether this was administered by himself, or by some other person, is not related, but the quantity taken was so great, as to produce violent and burning pains, that threatened to be fatal, unless immediate relief could be procured. This was at- tempted by a powerful dose of tartar emetic. But all was in vain. The best medical skill in Cairo was called to his aid without effect, and he closed his life of vicissitude and toil, at the moment when he imagin- ed his severest cares were over, and the prospects 324 LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. before him were more flattering, than they had been at any former period. He was decently interred, and all suitable respect was paid to his obsequies by such friends, as he had found among the European residents in the capital of Egypt. The precise day of his death is not known, but the event is supposed to have happened towards the end of November, 1788., He was then in the thirtyeighth year of his age. {[_l1- ^^'''■n, /J^j, So much has been drawn from the traveller's own writings in the preceding narrative, that nothing can be added to make the reader better acquainted with, the constitution of his mind, the qualities of his heart, or the characteristics of his genius. Mr Beaufoy's de- scription of him is short, but descriminating, and the more worthy of regard, as having been founded on personal knowledge. "To those who have never seen Mr Ledyard it may not, perhaps, be uninteresting to know, that his person, though scarcely exceeding the middle size, was remarkably expressive of activity and strength ; and that his manners, though unpolished, were neither uncivil nor unpleasiog. Little attentive to difference of rank, he seemed to consider all men as his equals, and as such he respected them. His genius, though uncultivated and irregular, was original and compre- hensive. Ardent in his wishes, yet calm in his delib- e'rations ; daring in his purposes, but guarded in his measures ; impatient of control, yet capable of strong endurance; adventurous beyond the conception of ordinary men, yet wary and considerate, and attentive to all precautions, he appeared to be formed by Na- ture for achievements of hardihood and peril." LIFE OF JOHN LEDYARD. 326 His letters afford convincing proofs of his kind and amiable disposition, gratitude his to benefactors, hu- manity, and disinterestedness. This last virtue, in- deed, he practised to an excess. No man ever acted with less regard to self, or on a broader scale of philanthropy and general good. That he finally ac- complished little, compared with the magnitude of his designs, was his misfortune, but not his fault. Had he been less eccentric, however, in some of his pe- culiarities, more attentive to his immediate interests, more regardful of the force of circumstances, it is possible that his efforts would have been rewarded with better success. The acts of his life demand notice less on account of their results, than of the spirit with which they were performed, and the un- common traits of character which prompted to their execution. Such instances of decision, energy, perse- verance, fortitude, and enterprise, have rarely been witnessed in the same individual ; and in the exercise of these high attributes of mind, his example cannot be too much admired or imitated. THE END. d'^^ n J^t(Gi