Ia3 
 
 ,J6T 
 
JOURNAL OF AN EXCURSION 
 
 UNITED STATES AND CANADA. 
 

JOURNAL 
 
 OF AN EXCURSION TO THE 
 
 UNITED STATES AND CANADA 
 
 IN THE YEAR 1834: 
 
 WITH 
 
 HINTS TO EMIGRANTS; 
 
 AND 
 
 A FAIR AND IMPARTIAL EXPOSITION OF THE 
 
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES 
 
 ATTENDING EMIGRATION. 
 
 BY A 
 
 CITIZEN OF EDINBURGH. 
 
 EDINBURGH; 
 
 JOHN ANDERSON Jun., EDINBURGH, 
 
 55. North Bridge Street ; 
 
 SOLD ALSO BY JOHN m'lEOD, GLASGOW; W. GRAPEL, LIVERPOOL 
 AND SIMPKIN AND MARSHJi<L, LONDON. 
 
 1835. 
 
J 'ST 
 
 fRINTED HV NEILL & <X1. OI.I) FISHMARKET. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The Books printed in a cheap form for 
 he use of Emigrants, have been hitherto 
 chiefly written by persons who have had a 
 direct interest in advising people to emi- 
 grate. A portion of this class consist of 
 those who have bought a large tract of 
 land in America on speculation, and retail 
 it to the newly arrived settlers, at a great 
 advance of price. These genuine philan- 
 thropists exclaim from the wilds of America, 
 " This is the land flowing with milk and 
 honey ; come out here all you that have 
 money, come and buy C and they might 
 add, and give us 100 per cent, profit on our 
 land, and we will sell it unto you. Verily 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 their object is gain, and the prospects they 
 hold out a delusion. 
 
 I have been told, and I believe it, that 
 there are land companies in America, who 
 pay certain individuals in the mother coun- 
 try considerable sums of money to write 
 flattering accounts about the country, on 
 the same principle as Day and Martin, and 
 other equally shining characters, keep in 
 their employ a poet to celebrate the praise 
 of the article in which they deal. 
 
 Another class to which I allude, are those 
 who are connected with the transportation 
 of emigrants — ship-brokers, ship-owners, 
 and ship-masters ; as they make a trade of 
 transporting their fellow-creatures, their 
 evidence on the subject cannot be relied on. 
 But I may be told that this cannot influ- 
 ence wealthy and respectable persons, as 
 they will naturally consult Mr Stuart's 
 expensive work on America, which was so 
 
PREFACE. Vlt 
 
 much lauded by a portion of the press. I 
 reply, that Mr Stuart has written by far 
 too favourable an account of the country. 
 I heard many emigrants exclaim bitterly 
 against him for deceiving them. The Ame- 
 ricans are extremely fond of flattery, and 
 so it has been alleged that Mr Stuart, 
 from motives of conciliating the Americans, 
 and pleasing the government at home, wrote 
 a book, which many thousands have al- 
 ready, to their cost, regretted was ever 
 written. 
 
 To conclude ; my sole object in giving 
 publicity to my Journal, is to guard my 
 countrymen against the delusive and exag- 
 gerated statements which have already ap- 
 peared about America. I have no interest 
 on one side or the other. My Tour was 
 one solely of pleasure and curiosity, totally 
 unconnected with business or profit. 
 
 I have written a plain and impartial ac- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 count of what I saw, and what I heard, 
 when among them. I have withheld no 
 unwelcome truth for fear of giving offence. 
 " Nothing extenuate, nor set down aught 
 in malice," has been my motto in the re- 
 marks I have made, and which are now 
 most respectfully submitted to the indul- 
 gent reader. 
 
 Edinburgh, bth March 1835. 
 
JOURNAL OF AN EXCURSION 
 
 UNITED STATES AND CANADA. 
 
 I LEFT Edinburgh on the 21st March 1834, 
 for New York, by the way of Glasgow and 
 Liverpool. At Glasgow I found that the John 
 Wood Steamer sailed at 10 a. m. next morn- 
 ing, and accordingly I took my passage in her 
 for Liverpool, where I arrived on Sunday 
 evening, at 8 p. m., after a rough passage of 
 thirty-four hours, including a stoppage of an 
 hour at Greenock to take in goods, — the wind 
 blowing strong from the westward, with a high 
 sea, and most of the passengers were sea-sick. 
 
 The passage-money in the cabin from Glas- 
 gow to Liverpool is L. 1, 5s., besides 2s. to the 
 steward; the deck-passage is 10s., both exclu- 
 sive of provisions, which are charged at the 
 rate of 2s. for dinner, and 1 s. 6d. for breakfast. 
 
2 HINTS TO EMIGRANTS. 
 
 On Monday the 24th March I took lodgings 
 at an Inn near Clarence Docks, and then went 
 to make the necessary inquiries regarding the 
 ships that were lying in the berth for New 
 York. I found that five or six ships were to 
 sail in a few days, and I ultimately agreed 
 with Messrs Fitzhugh and Grimshaw, ship- 
 brokers. No. 10, Goree Piazzas, for a berth in 
 a state room, containing two beds, one above 
 the other, in the cabin of one of the transient 
 vessels. The ship was not to leave the dock 
 before the 29th, and I had thus some days to 
 spend at Liverpool, where I received some 
 hints which may be useful to those preparing 
 to leave the old country. 
 
 I consider it necessary to be very concise 
 in my directions, as the emigrant has much to 
 confuse his head when on the eve of setting 
 out upon a long voyage. After having come 
 to the resolution to emigrate, the two first 
 things to be considered are, the time of sailing 
 and the port to ship from. I recommend the 
 first week in April as the most advisable time 
 of the year to emigrate to America : if he sail 
 sooner he runs a chance of being overtaken by 
 
HINTS TO EMIGRANTS. o 
 
 the equinoctial gales ; and if he defer his de- 
 parture much later, he loses the valuable op- 
 portunity for advancing his agricultural ope- 
 rations before the winter sets in. Those who 
 sail in January, February, and March, gene- 
 rally meet with a boisterous and tedious voy- 
 age ; the nights are short and the icebergs dan- 
 gerous, if ran foul of, all of which may be avoid- 
 ed by sailing in the beginning of April. 
 
 Emigrants who prefer sailing from Scotland, 
 from motives of economy or local convenience, 
 ought always to sail from a port in the west of 
 Scotland, as they thereby shorten the voyage 
 considerably, and escape what often proves to 
 be the most disagreeable and dangerous part 
 of it, the passage round the north of Scotland. 
 It would be about as absurd for a person wish- 
 ing to go from Edinburgh to Belfast, to ship 
 at Leith instead of Greenock, as it is to ship 
 from Leith for New York. Another advan- 
 tage in sailing from Greenock is, that there are 
 a greater choice of vessels than in the east 
 coast. Still I am decidedly of opinion, that the 
 steerage of the regular line of packets from 
 Liverpool is the best conveyance for emigrants 
 
4 HINTS TO EMIGRANTS. 
 
 in middling circumstances. They may go in 
 the steerage for L. 4 to L. 5, 1 Os. each, fur- 
 nishing their own provisions ; and they are al- 
 most certain of making a short passage and of 
 having a gentleman for a captain ; and as these 
 vessels carry only a few steerage passengers, 
 they escape mixing with the Irish emigrants, 
 who generally go in the steerage of the tran- 
 sient vessels. The charge made in the steer- 
 age for a passage to New York, in the tran- 
 sient vessels from Greenock or Liverpool, va- 
 ries from L.3, .5s. to L. 4, the ship finding wa- 
 ter, fuel, and bed-place only. 
 
 In the cabin of transient vessels the custo- 
 mary charge is from L. 14 to L. 20, for which 
 you are found in provisions and spirits, but 
 not wines. In the regular linars or packet- 
 ships, which sail every eight days from Liver- 
 pool, the passage in the cabin is as high as 
 L. 35 ; but certainly the accommodations are 
 splendid, the dinners superb, and the attend- 
 ance excellent. To those of limited means 
 who furnish their own provisions, I would re- 
 commend the following as a sea-stock, which 
 will be found sufficient for the voyage : 
 
PROVISIONS, &C. 
 
 28 lb. Biscuit, finest, @ 
 
 22s. 
 
 . L.0 5 
 
 G 
 
 6 lb. Raw Sugar, @ 6d. 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 I lb. Tea, @ 5s. . 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 1 lb. Coffee, @ 2s. 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 1 Bottle mixed Pickles, @ 1 
 
 3. . 1 
 
 
 
 5 lb. Butter, @ lOd. 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 1 lb. Raisins, @ 6d. 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 Half hundred Eggs (packed i 
 
 nsalt), 3 
 
 6 
 
 1 Pot prepared Mustard, 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 2 oz. Ground Pepper, . 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 2 Gallons Ale, @ Is. 6d. 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 A Jar to hold it, . 
 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 2 Bushels Potatoes, 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 Turnips, Onions, and Carrots 
 
 , . 1 
 
 
 
 3 lb. Rice, . 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 6 lb. Flour, . 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 7 lb. Oatmeal, 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 Beef or Pork, about 20 lb. 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 2 Dozen Red Herrings, 
 
 1 
 
 8 
 
 2 Lemons, 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 A Tin Tea-Pot, . 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 A Tin Chamber-Pot, 
 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 A Boiler, tin. 
 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 A Wash-hand Basin, 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 Tin Plate, . 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 1 Pannican, . 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 A Tin Pudding Dish, 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 A Brander, 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 A Knife and Fork, 
 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 A Tin Water Barrel, 
 
 
 1 
 
 9 
 
 1 Spoon, 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 Carry forwa 
 
 rd, L.3 
 
 7 
 
HlxNTS TO EMIGRANTS. 
 
 Brought forward, L.3 7 
 
 1 Tea-spoon 1 
 
 Bedding, cost about 15s., including 
 Matress, Pillows, 1 pair Blankets, 
 and Coverled, . . . . 15 
 
 Total, L.3 15 8 
 If any brandy or hollands is required, it will 
 be best for several passengers to club together, 
 and take a case of brandy or hollands out of 
 bond. A case contains three dozen quart bot- 
 tles ; the gin costs L. 2, and the brandy L. 3, 3s. 
 per case. 
 
 I would advise a sleeping place near the 
 midships, the motion of the vessel being least 
 there, and the situation being close to the 
 hatchway, both the light and air are good. 
 In entering into engagements about the pass- 
 age, it is advisable to have the engagement in 
 writing, and also a special clause, that you 
 may be received on board, and allowed fuel 
 and water for cooking, from the day the vessel 
 is advertised to sail, or an allowance for every 
 day the ship is detained after the appointed 
 time. 
 
 On the 2f)th March, the day on which the 
 ^h'q) was advertised to sail, I went on board. 
 
EMBARKATION. 7 
 
 but learned that the vessel could not be ready- 
 before the 2d April, as she had part of her 
 cargo to take in, besides her water-casks. 
 However, it was some consolation, that as the 
 wind was against us, we could not have got 
 away, even if she had been ready for sea. 
 
 The steerage passengers, with their luggage 
 and provisions, were taken on board on Satur- 
 day the 30th, after 2 p. m., and certainly such 
 a miserable looking set of men I never saw 
 before. They were principally from the Eme- 
 rald Isle ; tall, pale, lean fellows, with igno- 
 rance strongly expressed on their vacant coun- 
 tenances, which betrayed no regret at leaving 
 their native country. Indeed I suspected 
 they were so miserable at home, that any 
 change must be for the better. 
 
 The accommodation in that part of the. 
 vessel called the Second Cabin, which is 
 charged about 20s. more than the steerage, is 
 very little different from the latter. It is 
 merely the after-part of the vessel separated 
 from the fore-part, by boards about an inch 
 thick. Families of four persons, going in the 
 second cabin, may have a separate room erect- 
 
8 EMBARKATION 
 
 ed, with a door to lock, for their exclusive use, 
 by paying about L, 2 additional, or 10s. each, 
 to defray the expense of putting it up, which 
 is often done by those who wish to keep them- 
 selves separate from the other steerage passen- 
 gers. The ship was ready for sea on Tuesday 
 evening the 2d April. She left the dock next 
 morning, and was towed by a steamer down the 
 Mersey, nearly as far as the battery, when she 
 brought up, as the wind was still against her. 
 We had on board in all 245 souls, whereof 
 222 were passengers, the remainder consisted 
 of the captain, two mates, and the crew. 
 
 After dinner on Wednesday, most of the 
 cabin passengers joined the ship. We hired a 
 steamer to take us on board, which, when there 
 are several passengers going off, is by far the 
 best way, as the men belonging to the small 
 boats are very apt to take advantage of pas- 
 sengers going oii' singly. They demanded 
 from me 7s. 6d. to be taken to the ship, a dis- 
 tance of about two miles, whereas the steamer 
 took us for 6d. a-head. I learned on gohig 
 on board that two of the second cabin passen- 
 gers, who had neglected to make a bargain 
 
FROM LIVERPOOL. 'J 
 
 with the boatmen, were forced to pay a sove- 
 reign for being taken on board. If the boat- 
 men see passengers simple, and very anxious, 
 and afraid of losing their passage, they are sure 
 to take advantage, and overcharge them. 
 
 On Thursday the wind was blowing fresh 
 from the N. N. W. On Friday I witnessed a 
 regular Irish row. Two of the steerage pas- 
 sengers quarrelled and came to blows. The 
 friends of each interfered. Shillelahs, billets 
 of wood, and pokers were flourished in the air. 
 Their Irish blood was fairly up. Several of 
 them got broken heads. The quarter-deck was 
 stained with their blood, and at one time it 
 rather had an alarming appearance ; but the 
 mate, with the assistance of the crew, at last 
 succeeded in quelling them. The behaviour 
 of the Irish on this occasion impressed me with 
 a very unfavourable opinion of them. I saw 
 one defenceless man knocked down by another 
 with a heavy bludgeon, in a most cowardly 
 and savage manner. He took three different 
 aims before he could get the man's head into a 
 position to get a fair blow at it. The expression 
 
10 VOYAGE. 
 
 of fury on their faces during the row shewed how 
 little command they have over their passions. 
 
 The Captain having engaged a steamer to 
 tow us out five miles beyond the floating 
 light, which lies about sixteen miles from 
 Liverpool, we were taken in tow at 11 a. m. 
 on Sunday the 6th April. The wind in the 
 morning was from the N.W., but about mid- 
 day it fell calm. About one hundred vessels 
 left Liverpool the same day ; they had, like 
 ourselves, been wind-bound for some days in 
 the Mersey. As many of the large ships as could 
 procure steamers were dragged out by steam 
 power, the others made sail and worked out. 
 We soon left the latter far behind us. We passed 
 within a mile of the wreck of a vessel, lying 
 on her beam ends on the sands. It proved to 
 be the brig Speedy from the coast of Africa, 
 laden with palm-oil. Saw several casks of the 
 palm-oil floating past. She was lost through 
 the carelessness of the pilot, who was intoxi- 
 cated : the crew were all saved. 
 
 It may be interesting to mention how the 
 passengers pass their time on board. A ship 
 
AMUSEMENTS, &C. 1 1 
 
 lias been compared to a prison, with the chance 
 of being drowned ; but I do not think the com- 
 parison correct in some respects. The air of a 
 prison is not so free as it is upon the open 
 sea, the company not so select, the wonders of 
 the deep, and the sublime raging of the sea, 
 are not to be seen in a jail. Still the resem- 
 blance holds true in one particular of import- 
 ance, for the sailor and the prisoner may both 
 exclaim with the bird in the cage, " I can't get 
 out, I can't get out." 
 
 The common amusements are, walking on 
 deck, — standing or sittingin groups telling long 
 stories, — shooting at sea gulls, or any other 
 sea birds that venture within shot, — splaying at 
 cards, draughts, or backgammon, — and, if a 
 fine evening, dancing on the quarter deck and 
 poop. Sometimes a strange diversity of oc- 
 cupations may be seen, 
 
 " We have dancing on the main deck, 
 And preaching down below, 
 We have swearing in the fore top 
 As through the waves we go." 
 
 Among the passengers in the second cabin, 
 there is a clergyman who performs family 
 
12 VOYAGE ACROSS 
 
 worship every evening to all who choose to 
 attend ; but the Irish Roman Catholics take a 
 great pleasure in dancing Irish jigs over his 
 head during the service, to prevent, I suppose, 
 what they consider the growth of heretical 
 principles. After the steamer left us on Sun- 
 day afternoon, we made very little progress, 
 the weather being calm, with light airs from 
 the northward, until late on Monday night a 
 fair wind sprung up from the S.E. which car- 
 ried us along about seven miles an hour. On 
 Tuesday the 8th, at 4 p. m. we were abreast 
 of Tuscar light, and about twenty miles dis- 
 tant from the rock situated on the Wexford 
 coast in Ireland. 
 
 Wednesday the 9th April. Blowing fresh 
 from the S. E. ; ship steering W. by S. rolling 
 and pitching a good deal. Most of the passen- 
 gers sea-sick : the ship's buckets in great re- 
 quest as reservoirs to the stomach-pumps, 
 which were in full play all day. A great fall- 
 ing off in the consumption of provisions. A 
 tumbler of sea-water is the best specific for 
 sea sickness ; it acts as an emetic, and, by 
 thoroughly cleaning the stomach, is the means 
 
THE ArL ANTIC. 13 
 
 of sooner restoring the stomach to a healthy 
 state than any thing else that can be taken. 
 
 April 10 A fresh breeze from the S. E. 
 
 Running nine miles an hour. At 4 a. m, the til- 
 ler rope broke ; replaced it with another ; the 
 passengers in the steerage all below, and sea 
 sick. The mess they are in beggars all descrip- 
 tion. About 180 men, women, and children all 
 confined in a space not larger than a large 
 drawing room, with no air or light but what 
 comes down the hatchway. I popped my 
 head down for a minute or two, but the smell 
 was too powerful for my olfactory nerves — 
 children crying, women screaming, and all 
 tossing about from side to side as the vessel 
 pitched ; butter, biscuit, treacle, herrings, 
 beef, and potatoes all lying higgildy-piggildy, 
 and rolling from side to side, altogether made 
 up a scene of misery and confusion such as I 
 never saw before. 
 
 April 11 A strong breeze from the S.E. 
 
 with cloudy weather and squalls at times. We 
 are walking through the water in style, having 
 gone by log 205 miles in the last twenty-four 
 hours ; steering W. N. W. This course may 
 
 B 
 
14 VOYAGE ACROSS 
 
 seem strange, but when it is explained that 
 the variation of the compass is 2^ points to 
 the westward, it will appear that the course 
 we are steering is W. ^ S. ; Latitude by obser- 
 vation at noon 49^ 5' N. ; Longitude by chro- 
 nometer 20° 10' W. A few of the passengers 
 are beginning to appear on deck again. I 
 have noticed an interesting young female 
 among the steerage passengers often sitting 
 upon a hen-coop on the deck and musing. I 
 felt a curiosity to know the particulars that 
 had caused her to leave her native land. She 
 told me she belonged to Dalkeith, and had 
 been in service in Edinburgh, where she got 
 acquainted with a young man, who fell in love 
 with her, and offered her marriage if she would 
 accompany him to New York. She said that 
 she would prefer coming out to him in two 
 years if he succeeded in business. He had kept 
 up a correspondence with her, and finally pre- 
 vailed upon her to come out, and she is now 
 on her way to join him. I observed her to- 
 day writing something with a pencil on the 
 white leaf of a book ; and, by a little coaxing, 
 I got her to shew it to me. It ran thus : — 
 
THE ATLANTIC. 15 
 
 ** Sailing across the Atlantic 
 To him whom I adore, 
 I muse upon my lonely state, 
 Amid the billows roar. 
 
 I think upon the land I left. 
 
 And all my friends so dear, 
 Which makes my trembling heart to swell, 
 
 While I let fall a tear. 
 
 But there is one more dear to me 
 
 Than all I left at home ; 
 And for his sake I'll plough the waves, 
 
 And ride upon the foam." 
 
 Poor creature ! She seemed deserving of a 
 berth in the cabin. I gave her a couple of 
 oranges, which she accepted ; and I offered 
 her a glass of brandy toddy to comfort her 
 poor sea-sick and love-sick soul ; but she de- 
 clined it with many thanks. 
 
 April 12 Blowing a gale of wind; the 
 
 ship rolling so much, that we were often carried 
 on our seats from one end of the cabin to the 
 other. At dinner one of the passengers receiv- 
 ed a plateful of pease-soup into his breast, 
 which he intended to have gone down by his 
 mouth into his stomach. When the ship gives 
 a heavy lee-lurch, every thing, animate or inani- 
 mate, that is not lashed, flies away to leeward. 
 
16 VOYAGE ACROSS 
 
 Among our cabin passengers we have a young 
 couple, who were only married about two 
 weeks before we sailed. They came from an in- 
 land county in England, and had never seen 
 the sea before. I was amused with the lady : 
 she seemed so pleased that she was soon to see 
 the beautiful large waves. " O," says she, " how 
 I shall love to look at them : dear me, I shall 
 be so delighted. I do so much wish we may 
 have a storm ; you cannot conceive how I long 
 to see all them sort of fine sights. I once saw 
 a storm acted in the theatre in our county 
 town : it was so fine, — but a real storm, you 
 know, must be a great deal finer. We lost the 
 pitching of the ship, and the roaring of the 
 wind and waves, and the smell of the tar. I do 
 like the smell of tar so much." What a happy 
 couple, they were so loving and so lovely. 
 " They were all in all to each other," the first 
 night they came on boai'd the ship when she lay 
 in the river. They were very happy indeed ; 
 in the words of the poet, 
 
 '* They look'd up to the sky, whose floating glow 
 Spread like a rosy ocean, vast and bright, 
 They ga/ed upon the glittering sea below, 
 Whence tlie broad moon rose circling into sight. 
 
THE ATLANTIC. 17 
 
 They heard the waves splash, and the wind so low, 
 And saw each other's dark eyes darting light 
 Into each other, and beholding this 
 Their lips drew near, and clung into a kiss." 
 
 Alas that so much happiness should be so soon 
 clouded. Scarcely had we got into blue wa- 
 ter, when the happy couple were laid prostrate 
 before father Neptune. I saw nothing of them 
 for some days. This afternoon, when the gale 
 had abated, I paid a visit to the lady. I found 
 her in bed, very pale and dejected. I asked 
 her how she was. " O," says she, " I am so bad, 
 you have no idea. I have done nothing but 
 vomit these four days past, and have suffered 
 dreadfully. That nasty rude sea, I do detest 
 it so. You cannot imagine how it used me last 
 night. It threw me out of the bed right over 
 Mr D., and I fell upon the deck ; the wrist of 
 my right arm is all sprained, and my body is all 
 in a jelly with the vessel knocking me about 
 so. I hope, in the name of heaven, we wont 
 have no more storms ; I am sure I will die if 
 we do." 
 
 Latitude at noon 48° 5' N. 
 
 Longitude ditto 23° 40' W. 
 
 April 13. — A moderate breeze from the 
 
18 VOYAGE ACROSS 
 
 S.E., with thick cloudy weather, and rain in 
 fore part of the day. Sailing, during the night, 
 nine miles an hour. Dr Johnson remarked, 
 that he thought the greatest pleasure on earth 
 was attained by rolling rapidly along in a coach. 
 For my part, I think the pleasure is greater in 
 sailing along with a fine spanking breeze to 
 your desired haven. Nothing tends to raise the 
 spirits more. As the breeze freshens, your hopes 
 brighten : you imagine you see the long-wished 
 for shore, and are greeted by your friends and 
 acquaintances, in a land where every thing is 
 new and strange to you ; and where, if you have 
 few friends, you have no enemies. I am sensible 
 to-day of an alteration in the weather ; it is 
 considerably warmer. I spend much of my 
 time on deck, either in walking, or in lolling 
 on a hen-coop, and conversing with one or 
 other of the passengers about their prospects 
 in America. 
 
 This day, being Sunday, the captain pro- 
 posed that we should have the parson on deck 
 to give us a word, to keep the crew and the 
 low Irish in order. " I am not against reli- 
 gion," says he, " if you keep it in its proper 
 
THE ATLANTIC. 19 
 
 place ; but catch me on the banks of New- 
 foundland, in a calm, on a Sunday, and see if 
 I don't catch fish, although I had a whole cargo 
 of parsons on board." Accordingly the minis- 
 ter was ushered up in form ; he was placed 
 with his back to the capstan, with a large bar- 
 rel containing salt beef, before him for a cu- 
 shion. The genteel passengers sat on stools in 
 front of him, and the Irish rag-tag-and-bobtail 
 made up the back ground of the congregation. 
 I have seen the Hindoos on the banks of the 
 Ganges, worshipping the golden images of 
 their fathers ; I have looked on while the 
 Parsee offered up his homage to the rising sun ; 
 I have been present at the setting of the sun 
 on the coast of Coromandel, and heard the 
 Moor offer up his evening prayer to the Pro- 
 phet Mahomet ; and I have been at Seceder 
 meetings in my native land ; but divine service 
 in a ship in the middle of the ocean, is calcu- 
 lated to impress the mind with holier thoughts, 
 and more devout feelings, than all the others 
 put together. There we need no monitor to tell 
 us of the omnipotence of God. The mountain 
 waves declare his power ; the immense abyss 
 
20 VOYAGE ACROSS 
 
 of waters remind us of eternity ; while the 
 stormy winds fulfil his decrees. The subject 
 chosen by the clergyman was appropriate, al- 
 though I cannot say that his sermon was in 
 the first style of oratory. Towards the con- 
 clusion an accident occurred, which nearly up- 
 set ray gravity ; the rolling of the ship caused 
 the parson to lose his balance, and he fell for- 
 ward, knocked over the cask of beef in his 
 front, and both were deposited in the lee-scup- 
 pers. 
 
 April 14 The wind veered round in the 
 
 night to W.S.W., and blew fresh, with squalls. 
 About four in the morning, the jib-boom was 
 carried away in a hard squall, the ship heeled 
 over nearly on her beam-ends, and presented 
 an alarming appearance. The ship has been 
 rolling to-day to such an extent, that it is im- 
 possible to stand or sit. One woman was 
 knocked over, and nearly got her arm broke. 
 An elderly gentleman, in ascending the poop- 
 ladder, fell, and the ladder falling upon him, 
 bruised his arm severely. This arose from the 
 ladder not being lashed to the poop, which it 
 ought to have been. In the forenoon we ship- 
 
THE ATLANTIC. 21 
 
 ped a heavy sea, part of which poured down 
 into the steerage, and made the poor wretches 
 there believe that the ship was going down. 
 Some were praying, others cursing, and all 
 wishing themselves anywhere but in their pre- 
 sent situation. To add to the whole, the mas- 
 ter had ordered the after and main hatches to 
 be battened down ; so that they were shut up 
 in total darkness, where they were left in a 
 state not to be envied. The clergyman is very 
 unwell, and confined to bed ; he thinks if there 
 is such a place as purgatory, it must be the 
 passage from Liverpool to New York. As a 
 close to the catastrophes of this eventful day, 
 the heaving and straining of the ship brought 
 premature labour on one of the females in the 
 steerage. By the assistance of the doctor, she 
 was safely delivered of an ocean child, before 
 as large a company as ever was present at a 
 ceremony of the kind. 
 
 April 15 Blowing fresh all night; ship 
 
 rolling very much. At half-past 6 a.m., in a 
 hard squall, the ship was twice struck with 
 lightning, which carried away her fore and 
 main top-masts. The scene during the squall 
 
22 VOYAGE. 
 
 was awfully sublime ; the wind blew very hard, 
 the rain descended in bucketfuls, the thun- 
 derbolts could be seen in all directions darting 
 through the air, and then plunging into the 
 sea. When the first bolt struck the ship, it 
 knocked down the master and one of the pigs,, 
 but what part of the ship it struck, was not 
 ascertained, — most likely one of the anchors. 
 After about two minutes the master recovered 
 his legs, and was again giving orders to the 
 men, when a most tremendous thunderbolt 
 struck the main top-mast, and shivered it and 
 also the fore top-mast into splinters. The bolt 
 then flew down the fore-mast into the steerage 
 among the passengers, and took a direction at 
 right-angles with the mast for the ship's side, 
 and escaped into the sea, by staving a large 
 hole in the side of the vessel. After the se- 
 cond bolt struck the ship, there was a death- 
 like silence for the space of a minute. The deck 
 appeared a sheet of fire. The master and crew 
 were all struck down, apparently dead, on the 
 deck. As soon as the crew recovered, some 
 six or seven ran into the cabin, and threw 
 themselves on their faces, declared they could 
 
STORM AT SEA. 23 
 
 do no more, — that the fore-mast was gone, — 
 that the bolt had gone through the ship's bot- 
 tom, and set her on fire. They lay in the ca- 
 bin for some minutes, till the master had re- 
 covered from the effects of the last thunder- 
 bolt, and got upon his legs again, when he 
 came to the cabin-door and called out to his 
 men, " Are ye men, or are ye children ! Come 
 along with me, and help to stop up the hole in 
 the ship's side, and extinguish the fire in the 
 steerage !" At the well-known voice of their 
 commander, whom they supposed dead, they 
 went forward to their duty, and succeeded in 
 extinguishing the fire, and in stopping up the 
 leak. At the time when the ship was last 
 struck, there were no less than two water- 
 spouts on our starboard beam. One of them 
 came so near, that it threatened to break over 
 us, and send us to the bottom. Indeed, it ap- 
 peared as if we were doomed to destruction. 
 It takes danger of no ordinary description to 
 appal British seamen, but the combined terrors 
 of the winds and waves, thunderbolts, light- 
 ning, water-spouts, and fire, had caused them 
 to despair. 
 
24 VOYAGE ACROSS 
 
 The passengers were dreadfully alarmed ; 
 delicate females were seen, half frantic, stag- 
 gering about in their chemises ; all delicacy- 
 was at an end for the time. As soon as the ex- 
 tent of our misfortune was ascertained, — ^for 
 the sailors, in their terror, had overestimated the 
 danger, — there was a general feeling of grati- 
 tude to God, that we had escaped with such a 
 trifling loss, compared with the apparent mag- 
 nitude of the danger. Notwithstanding that 
 the bolt had gone into the steerage among the 
 passengers, no person had been killed, and on- 
 ly one slightly wounded or burned by the bolt, 
 as he lay in his bed below the place where the 
 lightning had escaped into the sea. It is but 
 justice to mention, that the captain, under 
 such trying circumstances, stood to his post, 
 and did his duty to the satisfaction of all on 
 board. The escape of a part of the crew was 
 most providential. They had been ordered up 
 to close-reef the fore top«sail, and when half- 
 way up the fore shrouds, they were called 
 down again by the captain, to defer reefing 
 until the severity of the squall had passed over. 
 Had they been on the top-sail yard at the time 
 
THE ATLANTIC. 25 
 
 the lightning struck the fore top-mast, and car- 
 ried the mast and yard away, they must all 
 have been precipitated into the sea. After the 
 accident occurred, we bore away before the 
 wind ; the men were served out a glass of 
 brandy ; they were employed the rest of the 
 day in clearing away the wreck, getting down 
 the masts, yards, rigging, and sails, and saving 
 as much as they could from falling into the sea. 
 The captain proposed running for the nearest 
 port to refit the ship ; but as the accident oc- 
 curred in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, 
 about 1300 miles from land, we had but a 
 gloomy prospect before us. The nearest port 
 we could make, with our present wind, was St 
 John's, Newfoundland, which, in our present 
 crippled situation, would take several weeks 
 to accomplish. The next nearest port was 
 Halifax, in Nova Scotia, which, as it afforded 
 superior advantages to St John's, we resolved, 
 in the event of not falling in with vessels to 
 assist us, to steer for. 
 
 April 16 — The wind having moderated 
 during the night, we steered our course again 
 W.N.W.; wind at S.S.W. Saw at daylight, 
 
26 VOYAGE ACROSS 
 
 much to our satisfaction, three vessels in sight ; 
 hoisted a signal of distress. The first vessel 
 that came up with us, bore down and came un- 
 der our stern. She proved to be the brig Pro- 
 mise, of and from Liverpool, bound for Que- 
 bec for timber. We informed her of our situ- 
 ation, and craved her to give us a spar to 
 make a top-mast of; but the master replied, 
 he was sorry that he had none to spare. The 
 next vessel that saw our signal, and bore down 
 to our assistance, was the bark Admiral Ben- 
 bow, from Liverpool for Quebec. The captain 
 hailed us, and told us to send a boat on board, 
 and he would give us a top- mast ; which we 
 did, and were thus relieved in some degree 
 from our helpless state. We observed, a long 
 way to windward, a bark in great distress ; 
 she had lost her fore top-mast, and seemingly 
 sprung her main-mast. She was bearing down 
 upon us, but it fell calm in the afternoon, and 
 prevented us giving her any assistance, or 
 heai'ing the extent of her calamity ; very likely 
 she had been struck with a thunderbolt in the 
 same squall that dismasted us. 
 
 April 17 A breeze sprung up early this 
 
THE ATLANTIC. 27 
 
 morning from the N.E., and being a fair wind, 
 we made all the sail we could, and steered 
 our course for New York. As the wind had 
 changed at the second quarter of the moon, 
 we hoped it might last for a few days, and waft 
 us to the banks of Newfoundland. 
 
 I understand that, at this season of the year, 
 it is usual to find the wind in the Atlantic 
 from the N.E. The months of April and May 
 are the most favourable for making a short 
 passage to North America, the wind being 
 then chiefly from the N.E. ; and October is 
 the month that the shortest and pleasantest 
 voyages are made to England from America. 
 
 Latitude at noon, by observation, 49° 1 4' N. 
 
 Longitude, by chronometer, 34° 10' W. 
 
 April 18 — Wind and weather much the 
 same as yesterday, but in the afternoon the 
 breeze declined. Sailors are said to be very 
 superstitious ; our late calamity gave me an 
 opportunity of observing this point in their 
 character. The cook attributed it to the ship 
 having some Irish murderers onboard. The ship 
 was searched for such characters before we sail- 
 ed ; and he concluded they must be on board still. 
 
28 VOYAGE ACROSS 
 
 If they were, I should have liked to have exa- 
 mined their faces by the glare of the light- 
 ning ; their feelings at that moment, when thej'^ 
 saw the judgments of God coming down upon 
 them, must have given them such a look of 
 horror as the damned may be supposed to have 
 amid the tortures of eternal punishment. I 
 am surprised that the ship had no conductors 
 for the lightning at her mast-heads. No ships 
 on foreign voyages ought to sail without them. 
 Had we been provided with this safeguard, the 
 calamity in all likelihood would have been 
 averted. I think it would be good policy if 
 Lloyd's refused insuring all ships, the masters 
 of which did not provide themselves with con- 
 ductors ; the expense of them is a mere trifle, 
 and I believe their efficacy is undoubted. No- 
 body can tell how many fine ships lie buried 
 in the ocean, having been sunk by a thunder- 
 bolt, and not a soul left to tell the sad tale. 
 
 April 19. — The fickle wind has changed to 
 S.S.W., a stiff breeze ship-steering W. by N., 
 and going at noon eight miles an hour. A 
 strange sail in sight, about two miles on the 
 weather-beam. Saw for the first time a Mother 
 
THE ATLANTIC. 29 
 
 Carey's bird, skimming along the waves, not 
 unlike a large martin. 
 
 In sailing along the dreary waste of waters, 
 there is little to attract attention. Man is no- 
 where taught his insignificance more than on 
 the ocean. The meanest peasant and the great- 
 est monarch are there upon a level ; the sea 
 pays no respect to persons. His Atlantic ma- 
 jesty in a rage is above all crowned heads. 
 King William the Fourth may reign on shore 
 and command, but on the sea, at the command 
 of his oceanic majesty, he must stoop his royal 
 head, and give up his dinner to the fishes. 
 
 Sunday^ April 20. — Wind the same as yes- 
 terday, with hazy weather and rain ; running 
 six miles an hour. We are now half-way 
 across the Atlantic. The rain prevented the 
 performance of divine worship. The barome- 
 ter is now between change and rain ; the ba- 
 rometer, which, in a town, is only useful to in- 
 dicate to the citizens whether or not it is ne- 
 cessary to carry an umbrella, is at sea of the 
 greatest importance. When the barometer falls 
 suddenly, the mariner is forewarned of a gale ; 
 he immediately prepares for it, by taking in 
 
30 VOYAGE ACROSS 
 
 sail, and making his vessel snug, before it over- 
 takes him. Sometimes a tempest comes on 
 suddenly, the sky gives no signs of its ap- 
 proach, and without that useful instrument — 
 the barometer — many more ships would be lost 
 or dismasted than now are. 
 
 April 21. — When I went on deck this morn- 
 ing, I found we had an Irishman's hurricane — 
 the wind right up and down ; that is, a dead 
 calm ; but a gentle breeze soon sprung up from 
 the E.S.E. At 11 a. m., a large fish was ob- 
 served, about twelve yards astern, swimming 
 after the ship : the top fin alone was seen : it 
 came nearer, and raised its head a little out of 
 the water, as if it were smelling at the ship : 
 it was a large blue shark, and seemed very 
 hungry. We got a shark hook, and baited it 
 with about six lb. of pork, and threw it over 
 the stern, taking care to make fast the other 
 end to a bolt in the ship. The bait had not 
 been in the water over two minutes, when the 
 shark got his eye upon it ; he came swimming 
 slowly up, turned half over on his back, and, 
 making a grab at it, he fairly swallowed hook 
 and all. As soon as he found himself in limbo, 
 
THE ATLANTIC. 31 
 
 he became furious, lashed the water with his 
 tail, and struggled so, that I expected the rope 
 every moment to give way. We run out all 
 the rope we could ; gradually his struggles be- 
 came less. We succeeded in hauling it on 
 board, but even then what a row it kicked up 
 on the quarter-deck : it lashed the deck with 
 its tail so, that it was dangerous to go near it. 
 The captain called for the carpenter's axe, and 
 cut off the tail, and then the head, which some- 
 what quieted him ; still, although decapitated, 
 had the head of any unfortunate wight come 
 in its way, it would most certainly have shared 
 the same fate, for a shark can bite even after its 
 head has been severed from the body ; indeed, 
 so tenacious are they of life, that I am told that 
 the heart of a shark, which was cut out and 
 laid upon the deck, actually contracted and 
 dilated for two hours and twenty minutes after- 
 wards. 
 
 The shark we caught measured twelve feet 
 three inches long. It had three rows of 
 teeth ; each tooth was in the form of, and as 
 sharp as a lancet. Its jaws, when extended, 
 could easily have taken in any man on board. 
 
32 VOYAGE ACROSS 
 
 On cutting it up, we found five young sharks 
 in her inside, about a foot long ; and we took 
 out of the stomach a shoe and a hairy cap, 
 that had been lost overboard the night before. 
 
 April 22. — The wind changed during the 
 night to N.W., which forces us to steer three 
 points more to the southward than our course 
 lies. We are now on the outer edge of the 
 banks of Newfoundland : we are surrounded 
 by fog, and the weather feels very chilly and 
 disagreeable : the fog is more piercing than a 
 Scotch mist. The temperature of the sea was 
 tried, and found to be 37° of Fahrenheit's ther- 
 mometer. Passengers ought to be cautious 
 not to expose themselves unnecessarily to the 
 fog in this latitude, as severe colds are often 
 the consequence, which are difficult to be got 
 rid off. That the banks of Newfoundland are 
 almost always covered with fogs, appears 
 strange : the natural causes which produce 
 this effect, I believe, consist in the vapours from 
 the deep sea being condensed on the banks of 
 Newfoundland. 
 
 April 23. — Blowing a gale of wind right in 
 our teeth, and so cold, that we suspect there 
 
THE ATLANTIC. 33 
 
 must be icebergs in the neighbourhood ; ship 
 pitching and rolling so much, that it is dan- 
 gerous to get out of bed. I ventured up to 
 the breakfast-table, and was hardly sat down, 
 when the ship commenced a fit of rolling. In 
 two rolls, there was hardly any thing upon the 
 table ; every article had vanished. I sat upon 
 a stool, which happened not to be lashed to the 
 deck, — I went slap-bang, stool and all, to the 
 starboard side. My head came against the 
 state-room door ; and if it had not, by good 
 luck, been a thick one, I should have given 
 ocular demonstration to all on board that I was 
 possessed of brains. 
 
 It is of importance to the comfort of pas- 
 sengers going to America, (but too seldom 
 thought of till too late to be remedied,) that 
 they make themselves acquainted with the 
 kind of goods the vessel is laden with. If a 
 ship has in her bottom much iron, lead, block- 
 tin, or other heavy goods, she is sure to roll 
 very much in the sea, as the iron acts upon the 
 same principle as the weight attached to the 
 pendulum of a clock. Our vessel has a great 
 deal of pig-iron in her hold, and, in conse- 
 
31 VOYAGE ACROSS 
 
 quence, she rolls so, that many a night I get 
 no sleep, but lie tossing about in my bed, 
 sometimes expecting her to roll the masts over 
 her side. A great part of our loading consists 
 of salt, which is a very unsafe cargo, as, in the 
 case of springing a leak, the salt will melt, and 
 the ship, for want of ballast, turn bottom-up. 
 The best cargo is what is called a lively one, 
 such as spirits, molasses, flour, bale-goods, and 
 such like ; they move with the ship, strain her 
 less, and assist her sailing. 
 
 April 24 Wind right a-head, making no 
 
 progress to the west. The weather is clear. 
 At 4 p. M. a very large shoal of porpoises were 
 seen sporting all around the vessel : we fired 
 some balls at them, and shot two or three ; 
 nevertheless, they continued their gambols till 
 after 6 o'clock. They seem to be very full of 
 blood, as those wounded dyed the water red in 
 their track for a good while after they were 
 shot. At half-past 6 o'clock, we hove to and 
 put out a line, in hopes of catching cod ; but 
 got none, as we were in too deep water. 
 
 Latitude by observation, 43° 12' N. 
 
 Longitude by chronometer, 49° 49' W. 
 
THE ATLANTIC. 35 
 
 April 25 — Nearly calm in the morning, and 
 fine clear weather, which is very uncommon on 
 the banks of Newfoundland. At half-past 10 
 A. M., a breeze sprung up due north. The 
 ship can barely lie to her course (W.N.W.) ; 
 it is still very cold ; ship running about four 
 miles an hour. We have engaged an Irishman 
 to assist the cook, as he had more than enough 
 to do. I suppose his abilities only extend to 
 boiling a murphy, as, from his appearance, he 
 cannot have been caught above three months ; 
 yet, by the assistance of the new married lady, 
 who is now seasoned to the hardships of the 
 sea, we managed to have a plum-pudding to 
 dinner to-day, which would have done honour 
 to a restaurateur in Paris, and a comfortable 
 glass of hot brandy-toddy after it. The wind 
 headed us again in the afternoon, and it be- 
 came piercing cold. At 5 p. m. we saw two 
 icebergs to leeward ; they were at a great dis- 
 tance, and appeared very like the engravings 
 I have seen of them in Scotland. I have no 
 doubt, from the intensity of the cold, that we 
 have plenty more of them to windward. At 
 half-past 6 wc spoke the Donn, a bark from 
 
36 VOYAGE ACROSS 
 
 Hull for Quebec, out thirty -one days. The 
 master stated that he had seen a deal of ice. 
 I hope it will keep at a distance from our ship, 
 as I would be sorry to see her locked in the 
 embraces of such a cold-hearted paramour. 
 
 April 26 Wind right in our teeth, and 
 
 cold weather. Spoke a bark from London for 
 Quebec, twenty-one days out. In the after- 
 noon we hove the ship too, and set up our 
 main and mizen-rigging. Two lines were put 
 over the side to catch cod ; but we had no 
 success. 
 
 At 6 p. M., the wind shifted to the S.S.E., 
 which raised our spirits much. We set all 
 sail, and were dashing merrily along, when, 
 about 8 o'clock, the wind chopped round to 
 the old point, W.N.W., and blew a hard gale 
 of wind. We furled our sails, and hove the 
 ship too under a close-reefed main top-sail. 
 The captain was upon deck a great part of the 
 night, and was most attentive to his duty. 
 
 Sunday^ April 27 — Still blowing a gale, 
 sea running very high ; but the ship is very 
 easy under it. 
 
 April 28. — At 3 a. m. a breeze sprung up 
 
THE ATLANTIC. 37 
 
 from the S.E. Dull hazy weather, with rain at 
 times. At noon the wind died nearly away ; 
 and at 4 p. m. it changed to the S.S.E., with 
 clear weather and sunshine. Three vessels in 
 sight. Between 8 and 10 p. m. we had a great 
 deal of lightning to windward. I took my 
 cigar and walked the deck for about an hour, 
 admiring the electric fluid darting among the 
 clouds. At 10 p. M. the wind shifted again to 
 the W.N.W, and blew a gale. The wind has 
 been rather coquettish for two days past ; it 
 comes fair for two or three hours and woos our 
 outstretched sails, then turns round upon us, 
 and roars and rages for the rest of the twenty- 
 four hours. 
 
 April 29. — Wind dead against us ; ship 
 pitching very much. 
 
 April 30. — Wind still against us. The moon 
 went into her last quarter at 4 a. m. We look- 
 ed for this event with anxiety, anticipating that 
 a change would thereby be produced in the 
 wind, but it passed away without any altera- 
 tion. 
 
 This day has been one of the most mono- 
 tonous in my existence. I have lain the best 
 
 D 
 
38 DEATH OF A CHILD. 
 
 part of it in bed, reading. The spirits of all 
 the passengers are much depressed, owing 
 to the continuance of adverse winds. One of 
 the children in the second cabin is very ill : 
 by the advice of the doctor, he was removed 
 into our cabin, and placed on a matress in 
 front of the fire. I heard the poor child moan- 
 ing all night. 
 
 At 7 P. M. a breeze sprung up from E.S.E., 
 and we made all sail, going during the night 
 about five miles an hour. 
 
 May 1. — I rose early this morning, and 
 walked the deck. I gathered no May-dew, 
 but my cap was thickly covered with bank fog. 
 The breeze continued favourable till 10 a. m., 
 when it fell nearly calm, and continued so till 
 about 5 p. M., when it blew again from the old 
 point (right against us). At 9 a. m. the poor 
 child departed this life, just as we were sitting 
 down to breakfast. At 6 p. m. we committed 
 the body of the little innocent to tlie rude 
 waves of the Atlantic. We all assembled on 
 deck, and the clergyman gave us a suitable 
 prayer on the occasion. It was a peculiarly 
 affecting ceremony. There were no outward 
 
 J 
 
AN OCEAN FUNERAL. 39 
 
 symbols of woe, — ^no crape, no weepers, — but 
 the hearts of all were affected. The bustle of 
 the busy world, with all its thoughts and cares, 
 were effectually excluded, and every thing we 
 saw around, reminded us of our own nothing- 
 ness, and of the omnipotence of the great Ruler 
 of the Universe. 
 
 He died far, far from home and friends, 
 
 Upon the Atlantic wave ; 
 The shark swims by, the wild sea-gull 
 
 Is hovering o'er his grave. 
 
 May 2. — At 1 a. m. we were favoured with 
 a wind from N.by E., which was worth a Jew's 
 eye. We made all sail, and, as it blew fresh, 
 we went rattling along until 11a. m., when 
 it headed us again. Patience is a useful vir- 
 tue to possess any where, but it becomes of 
 double value at sea. If a person cheerfully 
 submits to the hardships and privations of a 
 sea life, he hardly feels them ; but if he gives 
 way to a spirit of discontent, fretfulness, and 
 impatience, he makes himself miserable. I have 
 found the truth of this observation during my 
 sojourn aboard of ship. That I have met with 
 
40 VOYAGE ACROSS 
 
 many hardships and annoyances, cannot be de- 
 nied, but I laugh at them all; I have even 
 made them a source of amusement. It has 
 been remarked, that God sends meat, and the 
 devil sends cooks ; and my experience verifies 
 the proverb. It is no uncommon occurrence 
 to have the tea made with half salt water. 
 
 Many a night the rolling of the ship excludes 
 all hope of sleep, and as the body rolls with 
 the vessel, the cheek on which I lie is some- 
 times chafed with the friction of the pillow 
 during the night, and I am in danger of a con- 
 cussion of the brain against the bed-post, from 
 a sudden pitch of the vessel. But still these 
 petty miseries, when borne in a spirit of cheer- 
 fulness are as nothing. I have been accus- 
 tomed at home to all the comforts of life, yet 
 I have laughed more, and been as happy, un- 
 der my present circumstances, as ever I was in 
 my life. 
 
 Latitude, by observation, at noon, 43° 35' N. 
 
 Longitude, by chronometer, 55° 38' W. 
 
 May 3. — They say no wind at all is half a fair 
 wind. We were in this situation until noon, 
 
 { 
 
THE ATLANTIC. 41 
 
 when a gentle breeze sprung up from N.N.E., 
 and wooed the swelling sails. 
 
 Early this morning another of the children 
 in the steerage departed this life. I did not 
 ascertain the name of the child. At 4 p. m. 
 we committed the body of the deceased to the 
 deep, having previously sewed it up in canvas, 
 with about thirty pounds of iron attached to 
 it, to sink it. The boisterous weather we have 
 had lately, has been very severe upon the chil- 
 dren. Their tender frames are ill fitted to en- 
 dure the sudden changes of temperature we 
 have met with since we left Liverpool. 
 
 May 4. (^Sunday.) — The breeze continues 
 steady from the N.N.E. ; ship going five miles 
 an hour. About 2 a. m. I was awakened by a 
 great noise. It proceeded from the second 
 cabin, and seemed to me as if the people there 
 were fighting and quarrelling. At breakfast- 
 time I learned that it proceeded from a drunk- 
 en frolic. Several of the passengers in that 
 part of the ship had been drinking together 
 till a late hour. One of them, a Scotsman, had 
 been asked to furnish a bottle of brandy to the 
 others. He said he had none. As they knew 
 D 2 
 
42 VOYAGE ACROSS 
 
 to the contrary, however, having seen two bot- 
 tles of liquor in his chest, they said nothing 
 more at the time, but procured more liquor 
 from another quarter ; and, when the debauch 
 was at an end, they planned an attack upon 
 the Scotsman, who had retired to his bed. 
 They extinguished the light, put on the hatches, 
 to prevent the cries ascending, and alarm- 
 ing those on deck ; seized the poor wretch by 
 the head and foot, and dragged him out of 
 bed. He roared like a stuck pig. They clap- 
 ped his own hands upon his mouth to silence 
 him, and he, being the worse of liquor, and in 
 total darkness, mistook his own hand for that 
 of his antagonist, and actually bit his own 
 thumb half off before he found out his error. 
 They then took the key from him, opened his 
 chest, took out a bottle of hollands and a bottle 
 of brandy, and shared both among all who 
 chose to partake. While this was going for- 
 ward, the man, who thought he was to be rob- 
 bed and murdered, roared long and loud ; and 
 the noise of so many tipsy people speaking all 
 together, formed no unapt resemblance to what 
 we conceive of pandemonium. 
 
THE ATLANTIC. 43 
 
 A bark in sight to windward, about ten 
 miles distance, standing on the same course 
 with ourselves. 
 
 Latitude observed, 42° 20' W. 
 
 Longitude, by chronometer, 57° 40' N. 
 
 Mmj 5 A steady breeze from the N.N.E., 
 
 and fine clear weather. At daylight saw three 
 small vessels steering to the eastward. At 9 a. m. 
 we spoke them : they had left Boston five days 
 ago, and were bound for the banks of New- 
 foundland for fish. We learned from one of 
 them, that sixteen vessels from Britain had ar- 
 rived at Boston this spring. 
 
 The new married lady has been complaining 
 for two days past, and to-day is very unwell. 
 She was quite delirious last night. She raved 
 about drowning, storms, sharks, and lightning, 
 all night. I gave her some cooling powders, 
 and she is rather easier this afternoon. 
 
 Ma?/ 6. — The wind shifted at midnight to 
 E.S.E., and is now quite fair. We have our 
 studding-sails set on both sides, which look 
 like wings, and make us skim through the 
 water like an eagle winging its way through 
 
44 A SAILOR OVERBOARD. 
 
 the sky. If the breeze holds, we will be at 
 New York by Saturday. 
 
 I was hardly risen from breakfast this morn- 
 ing, when I heard the alarm given of a man 
 overboard. The deck was covered in a mi- 
 nute, all exclaiming, where is he, who is it ! 
 The helm was put hard a-starboard, which 
 brought the ship's head up to the wind, and 
 stopped her way through the water. The boat 
 was about to be lowered down, when we dis- 
 covered the unfortunate man about twelve 
 yards astern, holding on like grim death to a 
 rope. The men were hauling him on board 
 half-drowned, when, to my utter astonishment, 
 whom should I see emerging from the waves, 
 but our assistant-cook and valet de chambre. 
 The poor devil had been drawing a bucketful 
 of salt-water, to wash the potatoes for dinner : 
 he had leaned too far over the ship's side, and 
 lost his balance, and fell headlong into the sea : 
 luckily the rope he had in his hand was at- 
 tached to one of the sails, which, when the 
 slack ran out, brought him up. Had he let go 
 the rope, his fate would have been sealed. I 
 •shall never forget his appearance when he got 
 
THE GULF STREAM. 45 
 
 on board, " Och ! your honour/' says he, " I 
 was after cleaning the taters, but sure, and I 
 have cleaned myself instead." I took him into 
 the cabin, and gave him a stiff glass of Hol- 
 lands to warm him after his cold bath. 
 
 We have seen a great deal of gulf weed 
 to-day. We are now on the edge of the gulf 
 stream ; it flows from Florida, and it takes a 
 kind of circular course, first to the northward 
 and eastward, and then to the southward and 
 westward, round by the Azores and Madeira to 
 the coast of South America, then up the Car- 
 ribbean Sea to Florida. The current near this 
 part, runs about two miles an hour to the east- 
 ward, so we are keeping to the north to avoid 
 it. The high temperature of the water in the 
 gulf stream, ranging from 65° to 75° Fahren< 
 heit, is very remarkable ; and from this fact ma- 
 riners are enabled to know when they are in the 
 gulf stream. 
 
 May 7. — The breeze died away at 2 a. m., 
 and remained calm until 5 p. m., when it blew 
 fresh for about three hours from S. by E., with 
 some heavy showers, and foggy weather. 
 
 It is difficult for any but those who have 
 
46 VOYAGE ACROSS 
 
 spent several weeks pent up in a ship, to ima- 
 gine what interest we take in any change of 
 the winds, which acts as a kind of spirit baro- 
 meter upon all of us. I could almost tell if 
 the wind is fair by looking at their counte- 
 nances. They say " hope deferred maketh the 
 soul sick." We expected to be in New York 
 on Saturday the 10th current; but now we 
 have lost all confidence in the fickle wind, and 
 in proportion as our spirits were elated, so is 
 now the depression. 
 
 May 10. — When 1 awoke this morning, I 
 learned that the new married lady was danger- 
 ously ill. She had been in a burning fever 
 for some days before ; and had tasted no food 
 for forty-eight hours. She raved wildly about 
 her dear mother ; talked of taking a walk in 
 the front of the house ; and begged her hus- 
 band, by the love he bore her, to bring her a 
 drink of new milk. The poor man looked 
 quite bewildered, and no wonder. " O, Sarah," 
 says he, " you know, my dear, you are on 
 
 board the ." These words immediately 
 
 gave birth to a train of the most painfnl ideas 
 in the poor lady's mind. " O take me out of 
 
THE ATLANTIC. 47 
 
 this horrible ship !" she cried ; " and put me 
 upon any shore you please. O take away that 
 monstrous shark ! I see it follows the s]iip ! 
 I know it is waiting for me ! I am so afraid '• 
 O do, for God's sake, captain, turn back the 
 ship, and take me home to my mother !" After 
 raving for some time, she at length fell back in 
 a faint in her husband's arms. 
 
 The weather is very gloomy to day. We 
 are surrounded with dark clouds, which, as they 
 pass over us, inundate our decks with rain. 
 It is very warm and close ; and the air appears 
 loaded with electric fluid. The spirit barome- 
 ter is uncommonly low ; and the wind seems 
 to be seeking a point to blow from, and is 
 changing every ten minutes. I hope, when it 
 makes up its mind on the subject, it will blow 
 in our favour. 
 
 May 12 About half-an-hour after mid- 
 night, I was aroused from sleep by a thunder 
 storm, accompanied by very vivid flashes. The 
 master came into the cabin to tell the doctor 
 that a fire-ball had settled on the cross-jack- 
 yard. I arose, went out upon deck, and saw 
 a fire-ball on the yard ; it was stationary, and 
 
48 VOYAGE ACROSS 
 
 had a very unearthly and supernatural ap- 
 pearance. One of the sailors called it a blue 
 devil. While I was on deck, a dreadfully 
 vivid flash of lightning illuminated the whole 
 sky, and made the sea appear like an ocean of 
 liquid fire. I had hardly returned to bed, ere 
 I was called up again to see another fire-ball 
 on the fore-yard-arm. I suppose these balls are 
 neither more nor less than ignis fatuus, what- 
 ever the sailors may say to the contrary. Had 
 it not been raining so hard, I would have gone 
 up to the yard-arm and taken a nearer inspec- 
 tion of them. It blew very hard while the 
 lightning lasted, but moderated towards day- 
 light. 
 
 May 13. — Blowing a gale of wind due west ; 
 making no progress. It is with difficulty we 
 can hold our own. 
 
 Many of the steerage passengers are out of 
 provisions, which is a great misfortune at sea, 
 where they cannot get a fresh supply. 
 
 The water is so bad that it is a punishment 
 to drink it ; and the stench so great, that I am 
 obliged to hold my nose with one hand whilst 
 
THE ATLANTIC. 49 
 
 I bolt it. I would give a handsome price for 
 good pure water, if it was to be had. 
 
 " When men at sea have had a six weeks' spell, 
 They wish they were where truth is, in a well." 
 
 May 14. — Nearly calm all day. About 5 
 p. M. a fair wind sprung up from the S.S.W., 
 which increased after the sun set. The pas- 
 sengers were all in the best spirits. At 9 p. m. 
 we had a dancing party on the deck, which 
 was kept up until half-past 10 o'clock, when 
 they were desired by the captain to give up, 
 which led to refusal on the part of a gentleman 
 from Dublin, of high and respectable connec- 
 tions ; but who, being unused to be treated in 
 such a tyrannical manner, and not acquainted 
 with the power delegated to a captain at sea, 
 foolishly refused to obey the master. The 
 consequence was, that the master went into his 
 cabin for the irons, which he brought out to 
 put upon him. The gentleman's wife, who 
 had just gone to bed, rushed up in her night- 
 gown to save him ; clasped him round the 
 neck, and cried herself into hysterics. The 
 Irish, when they heard the row, came on deck 
 in crowds, with their shillelahs under their 
 
50 VOYAGE. 
 
 coats, and, as the gentleman was a great fa- 
 vourite among them, having been very gene- 
 rous and kind to many of them when sick, and 
 in want of provisions, I am afraid, had the 
 master followed up his intentions, the conse- 
 quences might have been very serious. 
 
 May 17 The wind is still against us ; and 
 
 what makes this the more to be lamented, is 
 that several of the steerage passengers are en- 
 tirely out of provisions ; two of them have 
 had no food for the last 24 hours. If we are 
 many more days at sea, not oiie of them will 
 have a morsel to eat. At noon, I saw two 
 whales on the larboard bow, about two miles 
 off, spouting water to a great height. 
 
 Sunday, May 18. — A dead calm in the fore 
 part of the day, Weather very agreeably 
 warm. About 10 a. m. while I was in my 
 cabin dressing, I heard those on deck running 
 hurriedly about, speaking all at once. I went 
 out half-dressed to see what was the matter, 
 when I found one of the cabin passengers was 
 overboard, and fast drowning. Tempted by 
 the fine day, he resolved to have a bath in 
 the open sea ; and, having undressed himself. 
 
A PASSENGER OVERBOARD. 51 
 
 he laid hold of a rope ; he slipped down the 
 side of the vessel by it into the Atlantic. It 
 never struck him that it was not so easy to 
 get up again, and that the strain upon his 
 arms, when the vessel rolled, would in a few 
 minutes tire his arms out, and make him un- 
 able to hold on, and he soon found his situa- 
 tion a critical one. Luckily he was observed 
 by some one on board, and the alarm given. 
 An attempt was made to haul him up by the 
 rope, to which he held on ; but, when he was 
 half way up, his strength failed, and he was 
 precipitated into the sea. The ship had a 
 very little headway, so it was leaving him as- 
 tern. However, he swam for his life, and 
 reached the rope again. By this time a ladder 
 had been lowered down to the water's edge, 
 upon which he got, and was delivered from his 
 dangerous situation. 
 
 The minister proposed preaching as usual 
 this afternoon ; but the ignorant Irish and the 
 superstitious sailors were so opposed to it, 
 that they declared they would stop him if he 
 attempted. He wisely gave way to the tide 
 which had set in against him. No sooner was 
 
52 LAND. 
 
 his resolution known, than the sailors assured 
 us we should have a fair wind ; and certainly, 
 about 5 p. M. a fair wind sprung up, and never 
 left us till we anchored in New York bay. 
 
 Motiday, May 19 — A steady breeze car- 
 rying us gently along. Saw a great many 
 vessels all steering for one point. Passed a 
 number of fishing sloops at anchor, fishing for 
 mackerel. At 10 a. m. I went out to the jib 
 boom-end, and sat there watching for the first 
 glimpse of the land, which we expected to 
 make about 12 or 1 o'clock. I had just gone 
 on deck, and was conversing with a lady, when 
 I saw tlie land about two points on the weather 
 bow ; but as fog-banks are sometimes mistaken 
 for land, I resolved to wait till my opinion 
 was confirmed by others. In about three mi- 
 nutes the cook, who had likewise seen it, gave 
 out the joyful tidings, and " land, land, land," 
 resounded from every tongue, and joy was dif- 
 fused over every face. I ran forward again 
 to my station at the jib boom-end, and sat 
 feasting my eyes on the land as it gradually 
 became more and more distinct. At length I 
 could distinguish the trees and the houses. 
 
ARRIVAL AT NEW YORK. 53 
 
 The wind from the land was very warm. I 
 was sensible of it whenever we got fairly under 
 the lee of the land. A pilot came on board 
 about 4 p. M. and took charge of the ship. We 
 passed the lighthouse at Sandy Hook about 
 half-past 6 p. m., and, in other two hours, got 
 through the Narrows formed by Staten Island 
 and Long Island, and anchored abreast of the 
 city of New York between 9 and 10 p. m. 
 
 The view in sailing up between the light- 
 house and the city, a distance of 18 miles, is 
 very grand. Any attempt at description would 
 utterly fail. I will only say that I have sailed 
 into many harbours in all quarters of the globe, 
 and I never saw any thing finer than the en- 
 trance into New York harbour. 
 
 Tuesday, May 20. 1834.— At 2 p. m. I 
 landed at New York, after spending forty -nine 
 days on board the ship, and found the heat 
 most oppressive. I went in search of a board- 
 ing house, and, after calling at one or two, I 
 resolved to take up my lodgings at one kept 
 by a widow lady in Pearl Street, the terms, 
 four dollars a- week. As this concludes my sea 
 narrative, I shall discontinue the form of a 
 journal during my residence here. 
 E 2 
 
54' 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 New York, which at some future period is 
 destined to be perhaps tbe greatest city in the 
 world, is built upon an island bearing the same 
 name. It was formerly called Manhattan Island, 
 but it was afterwards changed to New York, 
 in honour of the then Duke of York. The 
 city was founded by the Dutch in 1615, under 
 the name of New Amsterdam. The island on 
 which the city stands, according to the au- 
 thorities,* which I have here access to, is fif- 
 teen miles long, and from one to three miles 
 broad. It is bounded on the east by East 
 River, on the south by the harbour, on the 
 north by Hai'laem River, and on the west by 
 the Hudson River. The harbour, which is 
 large, being about twenty-five miles in circum- 
 ference, can receive the largest ships. They 
 can go close up to the wharfs to load and un- 
 
 • For the statistical notices of the City of New York, 
 and tlie other towns through which I passed in my 
 tour, I am indebted to several works published in 
 America, among others, to " The Tourist for 1834," 
 " New York as it is," and " The Traveller's Guide." 
 
NEW YORK. 55 
 
 load. The wharfs are built on both sides of 
 the city ; but the most of the shipping lies on 
 the east side. The mouth of the harbour is 
 called the Narrows. It is eight miles from the 
 city. A fortification of great strength is built 
 on both sides at this place, where all ships 
 bound for New York must necessarily pass. 
 The battery lies on the S.W. point of the city. 
 It is a fashionable promenade. In the evenings 
 the view of the bay, and the cool sea breeze, 
 render it both pleasing and refreshing. 
 
 To a person who has seen London and Pa- 
 ris, there is nothing to attract particular atten- 
 tion in New York. Broad-way is decidedly 
 the finest street in the city. It extends about 
 three miles in length, and is eighty feet wide. 
 The shops are many of them got up in the first 
 style, with marble fronts ; and the hotels would 
 do credit to any city in the world. The baths 
 are superb, and the boarding-houses, of which 
 there are a great number, are convenient, and 
 also reasonable in their charges. 
 
 Broad-way and most of the principal streets 
 run north and south, and these are crossed by 
 others running to the rivers on each side. The 
 
56 NEW YORK. 
 
 northern part of the city is of modern date, 
 and is erected in a style of great elegance. 
 Many of the houses have granite and marble 
 fronts, with silver name-plates, door handles, 
 and bell-pulls. The houses in the centre of 
 the city are mostly built of brick, but there 
 are in the suburbs a great many wooden houses ; 
 the pavement is composed in many parts of 
 stone, but in other parts of brick, and both are 
 allowed to go into a very bad state of repair. 
 The City Hall is, I think, the finest building 
 here. The front and sides are built of white 
 marble, with the exception of the ground flat, 
 which is stone, and which, I think, is a great 
 pity, as it spoils the look of the rest, and was 
 but a paltry saving. The back is built of free- 
 stone : it is 216 feet in length, 105 feet in 
 width, and 65 feet high. It consists of a centre 
 and two wings, with columns of the different 
 orders of architecture. It cost 538,734 dollars. 
 The city abounds with literarj'^, scientific, and 
 charitable societies. There is the American 
 Academy of the Fine Arts — the New York 
 Historical Society — the Literary and Philoso- 
 phical Society — American Tract Society — 
 
TEMPERANCE SOCIETIES. 5? 
 
 Home Missionary Society — the Sunday School 
 Union — Seamen's Friend Society — Deaf and 
 Dumb Institution — Orphan Asylum — Temper- 
 ance Societies, and many others, too numerous 
 to mention. The last mentioned societies, how- 
 ever, from the hold these institutions have 
 taken of the people, and from the good they 
 are allowed to have done, deserve particular 
 notice. In the State of New York alone, there 
 are about 2500 temperance societies, and up- 
 wards of 350,000 members. Many distilleries 
 have given up working, and many hundred 
 stores have discontinued the sale of ardent 
 spirits. The number of temperance societies 
 in the United States exceed 10,000, with more 
 than a million of members. Some of the mem- 
 bers go so far as to abstain totally from wine, 
 cider, and beer, and have even gone the length 
 of excluding wine from the Sacrament, and 
 substituting v/ater in its place. This appears 
 contrary to Scripture in both cases ; in the 
 one, where we are enjoined to use wine at the 
 Lord's Supper, and in the other, where we are 
 told to take a little wine for the stomach's sake. 
 An immense deal of business is done at New 
 
58 NEW YORK. 
 
 York. It has the carrying trade of a great 
 part of the goods consumed in the northern 
 and western parts of the United States. Some 
 thousands of strangers are landing daily, but 
 more particularly in the spring months, from 
 all parts of the old world, and from many parts 
 in the interior of the new. People from every 
 nation may be seen walking in Broad-way, 
 and heard speaking in every tongue on the 
 face of the earth. New York may be said to 
 be a miniature of London. The air, however, 
 is very different, as it is here pure and clear. 
 I do not consider New York a very healthy 
 place ; the variations in the temperature are 
 very great, and sometimes sudden, and, in con- 
 sequence, colds prevail to a great extent, which 
 too often end in consumption. Indeed, it has 
 been said that consumption destroys as many 
 persons in New York, taking the average of a 
 few years together, as the yellow fever does in 
 New Orleans. The inhabitants are pale, and 
 look sickly, and just as if they had been par- 
 boiled. 
 
 I would advise strangers and emigrants to 
 be very cautious how they expose themselves 
 
DEMAND FOR SERVANTS. 59 
 
 to the heat of the sun in the middle of the day, 
 and also to avoid exposure to the fogs at night. 
 I have heard it said that the second summer 
 of a stranger's sojourn here is the most trying 
 to the constitution. 
 
 During the months of July and August, the 
 heat is most intolerable. About this time the 
 better classes generally remove for their health 
 to Saratoga Springs, or some other watering- 
 place. 
 
 I have conversed with some gentlemen from 
 Scotland. They speak in a desponding way, 
 and are evidently unhappy. They say store 
 or shop keeping is quite overdone here ; many 
 failures are taking place. It is next to an im- 
 possibility for a clerk of any kind from the old 
 country to get into a situation without some 
 extraordinary merits. 
 
 Maid-servants are in demand, if they can 
 produce good characters, and their appearance 
 corroborates their character. Their wages 
 may be from L. 15 to L. 25 a-year, and they are 
 more respected here than they are at home ; but 
 I must also injustice say that they are worked 
 much harder. Tradesmen and labourers ge- 
 
60 HINTS TO EMIGRANTS. 
 
 nerally may expect to find work either in New 
 York or neighbouring cities in ordinary times. 
 Latelj^, the pressure for money has been so 
 great that work has been very scarce. 
 
 A tradesman lives better here than at home, 
 and may board and lodge in New York for 
 about 9s. Sterling a-week, in a style verj^ dif- 
 ferent, indeed, from any thing he was accus- 
 tomed to at home ; — fish, roast-beef, and pud- 
 ding for dinner every day. Still he is expected 
 to work very hard, and that in a climate un- 
 congenial to his constitution, and in a land of 
 strangers said to be prejudiced against people 
 from the mother country. My opinion is, if 
 a man can do well, or even tolerable, at home, 
 let him remain where he is ; but to those who 
 are borne down by want — who can work, but 
 who can get no employment — who see the 
 work-house staring them in the face — who have 
 a large family and no means to keep them, — 
 to all such I would say, come over here, and 
 you will never regret it. I speak only of those 
 inured to labour. As for the quill-driving 
 tribe, to them I hold out no hopes. If a man 
 is given to dissipation, his friends should on 
 
 vj 
 
NEW YORK. 61 
 
 no account send him here, expecting him 
 to reform, for they generally get ten times 
 worse, and either die in an hospital, or are 
 found (if in winter) frozen to death in the 
 streets. 
 
 A man is judged of greatly by his appear- 
 ance. If he looks like one given to intem- 
 perance, nobody will trust him or employ him ; 
 and if he has not funds to carry him home 
 again, he is worse off than he was before. 
 
 The first night I slept here I was reminded 
 I was in a strange land by the landlady telling 
 me that other two foreigners slept in the bed- 
 room, a part of which I was to occupy. 
 
 Shop-keepers do not hesitate to overcharge 
 a customer, if they know him to be a stranger. 
 
 The theatre at the park is an elegant house, 
 equal to the Edinburgh theatre. I thought 
 the actors very indifferent. The night I was 
 there, Mr and Mrs Wood, two stars from our 
 hemisphere, were the great attraction. 
 
 I observed the gallery was divided by a 
 railing through the centre ; one-half was set 
 apart for whites, and the other half for coloured 
 people, who are much despised here. During 
 
 F 
 
62 CHARACTER 
 
 the farce I was much amused seeing so many 
 faces as black as Day and Martin's blacking, 
 all grinning at the same time. Their white 
 teeth made a curious contrast with their jet 
 black physiognomies. However, they seemed 
 as happy as their oppressors. If I may be bold 
 enough to give an opinion of the citizens of 
 New York, I would say that their grand cha- 
 racteristic is national vanity. They also seem to 
 be deficient in feeling. They appear cold and 
 heartless. Children do not seem to have much 
 affection for their parents. They have little 
 attachment to their native soil, and will move 
 with unconcern from one part of the Union to 
 another. They are an amazingly cool, calculat- 
 ing people, and have a great command over 
 their passions, more so than any people I ever 
 knew. They are civil and polite, but they 
 seem to put little trust in what strangers tell 
 them. It is easy to perceive from their eyes 
 that they do not believe and have no confidence 
 in what is told Ihem. Next to their national 
 vanity is their love of dress. Both ladies and 
 gentlemen carry this to a great height. A 
 tailor or a milliner, Avho is a first-rate hand, is 
 
OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 63 
 
 sure to succeed in New York, as they will 
 give any money to have their clothes cut in 
 the first style. But they neglect the more so- 
 lid and useful branches of education, and are 
 woefully ignorant on many subjects. The 
 great mass of the citizens of New York hardly 
 ever read any thing but the newspapers. Even 
 on Sundays they have religious newspapers. 
 The New York citizen is grave, and seldom 
 gives a hearty laugh, or unburdens his mind 
 to others. These remarks, hastily put toge 
 ther, are merely my first impressions of the 
 inhabitants of New York, and of course it 
 would be as improper to judge of a nation by 
 the peculiarities of the citizens of New York 
 as it would be to judge of the English charac- 
 ter by the Cockneys, On my return to New 
 York, I shall attempt a description of the New 
 York ladies, and make any farther remarks 
 that may occur. 
 
 May 24. — Being anxious to proceed to 
 York (now called Toronto) with as little de- 
 lay as possible, I left New York on my way 
 to Upper Canada, on Saturday afternoon, the 
 24th May, at 5 p. m. I had my choice of go- 
 
64 STEAM-BOAT FROM 
 
 ing to Albany in one of those splendid steam- 
 boats which are the pride of the Americans, 
 and the wonder of strangers, and make a pas- 
 sage in about ten hours, or proceed in an infe- 
 rior class of steam-boats, which, in addition to 
 carrying passengers, drag up large boats load- 
 ed with goods, and on that account take more 
 time and are cheaper. I preferred the latter, 
 because I had a quantity of heavy luggage 
 which I could not take in the best boats, 
 without being put to considerable expense for 
 freight. 
 
 I went in the steam-boat called the Fanny. 
 The charge from New York to Albany, includ- 
 ing provisions and bed, is only two dollars, 
 or 9s. Sterling, The distance is 144 miles. 
 There is great regularity observed in the boat. 
 A person called the Second Captain collects 
 the fare, goes personally and sees to the com- 
 fort of the passengers. The waiters are active 
 and attentive. Every thing seems to be re- 
 gulated like clock-work. A bell rings at every 
 meal. The breakfast hour is 8 p. m., dinner 
 hour 1, and tea 6 p. m. The custom of eating 
 rapidly, which is general in this country, is 
 
NEW YORK TO ALBANY. 65 
 
 kept up even in the boat, where they have no 
 occasion to do it, as. here the passengers are idle 
 and time of little value. The gentlemen's ca- 
 bin is large, and contains twenty beds. The 
 dinner-table (the top of which is not connect- 
 ed with the feet, but only composed of long 
 boards), is taken down after every meal, and 
 the feet, which are made exactly like tresses, 
 are also removed, so that the cabin is clear 
 and roomy. A handsome stove stands in the 
 centre of the cabin. The stools are square 
 and made with rattan bottoms. By placing 
 eight of them together, they answer the pur- 
 pose of a bed, and are used as such when the 
 boat is crowded with passengers. Between 
 7 and 8 in the evening, the sky became sud- 
 denly overcast, the forerunner of a squall. It 
 continued for some hours, during which the 
 lightning was so very vivid, that my eyes were 
 much affected by it. Each flash illuminated 
 the whole sky, as well as the river and the 
 banks ; and had it been a little hotter, would 
 have resembled what my imagination has 
 painted the infernal regions to be. 
 
 Sunday, l^atlt May — When coming upon 
 F 2 
 
66 SCENERY OF THE HUDSON. 
 
 deck this morning at 6 o'clock, I was perfectly 
 astonished with the beauty of the scenery on 
 both sides of the Hudson. I have read in no- 
 vels and romances of such places, but until 
 this morning I never believed such scenes 
 existed. The only place I know that has any 
 resemblance to it is the Trosachs in the west- 
 ern Highlands of Scotland. The landscape 
 here is certainly not so wild nor the hills so 
 high, but still when you behold the noble river 
 studded on both sides of its banks, with splen- 
 did mansions, and the Highland or Fiskhill 
 Mountains in the back ground, extending 
 twenty miles on both sides of the Hudson, and 
 towering 1400 feet above the river, you can- 
 not fail to be delighted. The beautiful and 
 the sublime are here contrasted. Mountains 
 covered with a forest of trees, impenetrable 
 even to the footsteps of the wild Indian. 
 Lawns, mansions, farm-houses, and villages 
 altogether make up, as the vessel glides through 
 the water, a moving panorama, which is quite 
 enchanting. 
 
 Little regard is paid to the Sabbath on 
 board the Fanny. The second captain and 
 
HUDSON TOWN. 67 
 
 another American are playing on the flute, 
 and the captain is shooting at the eagles with 
 a rifle loaded with ball. The Hudson river is 
 called after Henry Hudson, the person who, 
 about 200 hundred years ago, first discovered 
 it. Its source is in a mountainous country, 
 between Lakes Ontario and Lake Champlain, 
 near Canada. It runs about 250 miles South, 
 and empties itself into the sea at New York. 
 We passed the Hudson Town at six in the 
 evening. This place is said to contain 6000 
 inhabitants, and is dignified by the Americans 
 by being called a city. It is built upon an 
 elevation, and as it is a manufacturing place, 
 having a command of water power, it is ex- 
 pected to rise into importance. 
 
 New Lebanon springs, a Shaker settlement, 
 is in this neighbourhood. It lies on the road 
 from Albany to Boston, about twenty-five 
 miles from the city of Albany, and thirty miles 
 from Hudson Town. The owners of the Fanny 
 are members of a total abstinence society, and 
 in consequence no liquor stronger than water 
 can be had on board. 
 
 These temperance societies have doubtless 
 
68 POLISH REFUGEES. 
 
 done an immense deal of good in America. 
 Before they were established dissipation was 
 carried to a great height all over the Union, 
 but now they are much reformed. During my 
 stay at New York, I did see several people in- 
 toxicated, but they belonged to the lowest class, 
 and I have reason to believe weie foreigners. 
 In the boarding-house where I resided, about 
 twenty-five persons boarded, and to the best of 
 my knowledge not one of them (myself and other 
 foreigners excepted), drank any thing but wa- 
 ter. Among the passengers were several Po- 
 lish refugees proceeding to the interior. This 
 poor unfortunate race seem to be dispersed 
 over all the world. I could not for some time 
 learn who they were. I spoke to them in Eng- 
 lish, they shook their heads. I then addressed 
 them in French with the same success, but I 
 ultimately was informed who they were. In 
 travelling on the rivers in America one meets 
 with people from every nation, all hastening 
 to settle in this great country — the land of 
 promise to the poor hard-working man. 
 
 We arrived at Albany at half-past 9 p. m., 
 
ALBANY. 69 
 
 having taken 28 J hours to sail 144 miles. As 
 it was inconvenient to be seeking after lodg- 
 ings at that late hour, I preferred sleeping in 
 the boat all night, which accommodation was 
 most politely tendered me, free of any expense, 
 by the second captain. 
 
 May 26. — I rose at half-past 4 in the morn- 
 ing, and took a long ramble through Albany, 
 to see the public buildings and principal streets. 
 This city being the next to New York in size 
 in the State of New York, and being the capi- 
 tal of the State, is a place of great consequence ; 
 and, as the Erie canal terminates here, the 
 commerce carried on with the interior of the 
 country is very great. Strangers are daily 
 arriving here on their way to the northern and 
 western parts of the State, and also to Canada. 
 It contains about 30,000 inhabitants. 
 
 The capital where the Legislature sits, and 
 where the state courts are held, is a noble 
 building. It extends 115 feet in front, with a 
 portico supported by four Ionic marble columns, 
 each 33 feet in height. This city has changed 
 its name several times since its first founda- 
 tion. It was finally called Albany, after the 
 
/U THE SHAKERS. 
 
 Duke of York and Albany ; and it appears to 
 nie wonderful that the Americans did not 
 change the name once more, when they gained 
 their independence. 
 
 There is a Shaker settlement eight miles 
 from Albany, at a place called Niskayuna. 
 This religious sect are followers of an enthu- 
 siast of the name of Ann Lee, originally from 
 England. She, like many other fanatics, laid 
 claim to miracles and visions from heaven. 
 She was a great enemy to matrimony, her chief 
 and leading doctrine being celibacy. I feel 
 regret that my time prevented me paying a 
 visit to this settlement. The Shakers, I am 
 told, may be known by their walk, which is 
 any thing but graceful. When they perform 
 their religious services, it is accompanied with 
 a peculiar motion, between dancing and sha- 
 king, to which they add a monotonous song. 
 They hold their goods in common, and all 
 work for the general behoof. A love affair 
 took place not long ago, which ended in a mar- 
 riage, and the consequent exclusion of the 
 happy couple. O tempora ! O mores ! 
 
 I procured a car, to carry my luggage from 
 
SCHENECTADY. 71 
 
 the steam-boat to the Mohawk and Hudson 
 Railroad Company's Office, in State Street, for 
 which I paid about Is. Sterling. I took my 
 seat in the railroad coach, to start at half-past 
 six o'clock, distant from Albany about fifteen 
 miles. The coach was impelled by steam, and 
 went to Schenectady in about an hour. The 
 country through which I passed was uninterest- 
 ing, great part of it being covered with young 
 trees. The black stump of the old ones were 
 still to be seen. The fences are all made of 
 wood, and not so pleasant to the eye as the 
 hedges in the old country. 
 
 I breakfasted at a hotel at Schenectady, for 
 which I paid 37^ cents, or about Is. 6d. Ster- 
 ling ; and, as the canal boat for Buffalo was 
 not to start till half- past 11a. m., I had time 
 to take a walk through the town ; but I saw 
 nothing worthy of particular notice. The town 
 supports two newspapers, and contains two 
 banks, and a population of about 5000. It was 
 formerly a place of considerable business ; but, 
 since the formation of the Erie canal, it has 
 fallen very much off, as goods are now for- 
 warded direct to Albany, without stopping at 
 3 
 
72 THE ERIE CANAL. 
 
 Schenectady. This shows the uncertain value 
 of property in this new world. The making 
 of a canal or a railroad ruins some towns, while 
 it enriches others. 
 
 Precisely at 1 2 noon, I started from Schenec- 
 tady, on board the Erie canal traders' line- 
 boat, the Saranac, on my way to Toronto. 
 The charge by this boat is 2^ cents per mile 
 (about IJd. Sterling), which includes provi- 
 sions, and is surely cheap. The distance from 
 Schenectady to Buffalo is 342 miles, and the 
 charge is only 8 J dollars, or about L. 1, 17s. 
 Sterling, and includes excellent fare all the 
 way. The Erie canal, an undertaking which 
 was begun under the patronage of the State, 
 on the 4th day of July 1817 (the anniversary 
 of the declaration of independence), was finish- 
 ed in 1825, at an expense of seven millions of 
 dollars. The length of the canal is 363 miles, 
 commencing at Albany, and terminating at 
 Buffalo ; thus uniting the waters of the Hud- 
 son and Erie. The canal is 40 feet wide at 
 the top, and 28 at the bottom : the water in 
 the canal is 4 feet deep, and the tow path is 
 4 feet above the surface of the water, and 10 
 
THE ERIE CANAL. 73 
 
 feet wide. There are 83 locks, and 1 8 aque- 
 ducts, in the whole line ; and the rise and fall 
 of the locks is 688 feet. Lake Erie is 568 feet 
 liigher than the Hudson River. There are a 
 great many wooden bridges across the canal, 
 and they are made so low, that when the boat 
 passes under them, the top or roof of the boat 
 comes sometimes within about a foot of the 
 arch of the bridge, which causes the passengers 
 to descend every time they pass through a 
 bridge. This is not only troublesome, but 
 sometimes accidents occur, and lives are lost 
 through neglect. The heat is to me to-day 
 very oppressive. I am sitting in the cabin 
 without my coat, waistcoat, and shoes, and yet 
 I am almost overcome by it. My fellow-tra- 
 vellers tell me this is nothing to what they 
 often have it here ; perhaps by time I may l)e- 
 come more accustomed to it, if not, I do not 
 think any thing would tempt me to reside per- 
 manently here. 
 
 The canal boat moves along about 2^ miles 
 an hour. It is dragged by two horses. The 
 driver sits on the hind one. The captain is a 
 civil, obliging man. 
 
 G 
 
74 PASSENGERS IN CANAL-BOAT. 
 
 We have in the boat a family of Yankees, 
 consisting of a father, mother, a pretty daugh- 
 ter, and three sons, who are removing. The 
 place they are going to is Montezuma, 96 miles 
 from Utica. They are removing between 200 
 and 300 miles from their former abode, and 
 yet they seem to think no more of it, than I 
 would of removing from one street to another 
 in Edinburgh ; the Jews were proverbially a 
 wandering race ; but I think the Americans 
 bid fair to match them. I have remarked often 
 the peculiar easy independence of manner the 
 young people assume towards their parents 
 and superiors. 
 
 4 p. M. I have just lent my album to the 
 Yankee's fair daughter, and she is quite de- 
 lighted with it. While she is perusing it, I 
 am jotting down her remarks, as they pop out 
 of her pretty little mouth, viz " It is dread- 
 ful pretty, I guess. There, see to her eyes, 
 how pretty ! Dear ma, there that is the pret- 
 tiest of all ! There, that looks just like an 
 angel ! There, that is the beauty of the whole ! 
 Well, I expect the book is not half through 
 
AMSTERDAM. 75 
 
 yet ! I am dreadful glad of it ! Lord help me, 
 see how he is grinning !" 
 
 At this exclamation, I felt an irresistible im- 
 pulse to smile. I could not refrain ; and my 
 sly piece of womankind imagined, not without 
 cause, that I was smiling at her : so she drop- 
 ped her notes of admiration, and looked over 
 the remainder of the pictures in silence. When 
 she ceased admiring the pictures, I requested 
 her for a song, and she sung me a favourite Scotch 
 song, " Ye banks and braes of bonny Doon." 
 When I looked around, and saw the Mohawk 
 river winding beneath, and the mountains of the 
 Mohawk towering above, I remembered I was 
 far from the Land of Cakes ; and the words of 
 the song recalled a thousand pleasing lecoUec- 
 tions of home. 
 
 By sunset we got the length of Amsterdam, 
 which lies low, and close to the banks of the 
 Mohawk river. The village contains about 
 100 houses. A creek passes through it, and 
 there are some beautiful natural cascades in 
 the neighbourhood, which will in the course of 
 time be valuable for manufactures. 
 
 The country through which I have passed 
 
76 THE COUNTRY. 
 
 since leaving Schenectady, is not very pictu- 
 resque ; still it is well diversified with hill and 
 dale. The verdure in some places is beauti- 
 fully green. There are, it is true, very few 
 fine mansions to be seen, but farm-houses are 
 thickly planted all along the line of the canal. 
 Most of these houses are of wood, with wooden 
 roofs, made to resemble slates. The land is in 
 general a light soil. Here and there may be 
 seen rich land, and sometimes banks of sand, 
 where nothing grows. But altogether I am 
 pleased with the appearance of the country ; 
 and the people have an air of independence 
 about them, and appear to enjoy a degree of 
 comfort, which could hardly be anticipated in 
 the short period that has elapsed since it was 
 first settled. 
 
 May 27 The Americans are early risers. 
 
 We had sixteen beds made up in the gentle- 
 men's cabin, which were all occupied ; and 
 when I awoke at half-past four, the passengers 
 were all up and dressed but myself. The 
 chamber-maid was removing the beds, so I 
 took the hint, and rose too. 
 
 The air on deck was raw and damp. The 
 
PROJECTED RAILROAD. 77 
 
 fogs were waiting the rising sun to dry them 
 up. By half-past five, the sun had made it 
 quite agreeable to be in the open air ; but be- 
 fore ten, the heat of the sun was so great, that 
 I preferred lounging on a sofa in the cabin, 
 and admiring the scenery from the cabin -win- 
 dow. Boats are passing us on the canal every 
 two or three minutes. I am told that not less 
 than 3000 boats ply on this canal. 
 
 A railroad from Schenectady to Utica, a 
 distance of 80 miles, is projected, and is on the 
 point of being made. If ever the railroad is 
 continued forward to Syracuse (61 miles), and 
 from thence to Oswego (37 miles more), where 
 steam-boats on Lake Ontario traverse to all 
 the towns on both sides of the lake, the whole 
 distance from New York to Toronto in Upper 
 Canada may then be performed in forty-five 
 hours. 
 
 My ears were regaled this morning by the 
 warbling of birds. I distinguished the robin, 
 the thrush, and the blackbird. The robin is 
 much larger here than at home. I have no- 
 ticed a great abundance of tame geese all 
 along the sides of the canal. They are sold 
 at about Is. sterling each, 
 G 2 
 
78 CANAL TEMPERANCE 
 
 I saw in a field a number of scarecrows. 
 With us they generally make them with coats 
 to resemble men ; but here they are dressed 
 with flaming red gowns, and bonnets on their 
 heads, to resemble M^omen, and are, I supposed, 
 meant to represent the scarlet lady we read of 
 in the Bible. 
 
 The captain of the boat has just put into 
 my hands a circular addressed to him from the 
 Canal Temperance Society for the State of 
 New York. It states, that " its object is to 
 promote the entire disuse of ardent spirits by 
 those engaged in navigating the canals of this 
 state." It goes on to say, " We seek this object 
 because, from evidence which appears to our 
 minds irresistible, we believe, 1st, That ardent 
 spirit, as a drink, is useless under any circum- 
 stances of labour, fatigue, or exposure. 2d, That 
 it is injurious to health, to character, to the mind, 
 to the morals, and to property. The proof of 
 this meets us on every side, flows upon us in 
 an irresistible torrent ; we have seen it. The 
 use of ardent spirits even moderately as a drink, 
 very often ends in drunkenness and its at- 
 tendant vices. Of all the drunken canal men, 
 and of all the drunkards we have ever seen. 
 
SOCIETY. 79 
 
 not one became intemperate at once. There 
 were degrees in his career downwards ; first a 
 moderate drinker, then a free drinker, then a 
 tippler, and finally a sot. 4th, The only per- 
 fectly safe path is the path of total abstinence 
 from strong drink. No man will ever become 
 a drunkard upon water, the original beverage 
 given us by our Maker. The canals are justly 
 the boast and the pride of the State ; so those 
 who navigate them ought to seek and cherish 
 a reputation which shall wipe from the calling 
 all reproach, and make the opening of naviga- 
 tion a welcome rather than a dreaded event. 
 The character of canal men is as precious as 
 the character of any other class of citizens. 
 Certainly the occupation is as useful as any ; 
 and you have the power to make it respectable 
 and honourable, but to do it, you must remove 
 fromit the reproach of intemperance — Albany, 
 21 St April, 1834." 
 
 It appears from this circular that intemper- 
 ance is, or at least has been, a common vice 
 of the Canal men ; but, for my part, I have 
 seen none of it. Ever since I left New York, 
 I have observed that the men, both in the 
 
80 LITTLE FALLS. 
 
 steam-boats and Canal-boats, M^ere remarkably 
 sober. 
 
 At noon, we came in sight of Little Falls, a 
 pretty little village most romanticly situated. 
 It takes its name from a fall close by, which is 
 little enough, for there is hardly any fall at all, 
 not more than a few feet. They are called 
 the Little Falls to distinguish them from the 
 falls of the Cahoes on the Mohawk, which are 
 said to be large. At this village a chain of 
 the Catsberg hills crosses the river. On one 
 side of the town is seen the waters dashing 
 among the rocks, and, on the other, stupendous 
 and rugged cliffs. A little higher up, the river 
 is moving smoothly along, and the view is 
 filled up by the vale of the Mohawk with its 
 fruitful fields and farm-houses, all conspiring 
 to give to the place a romantic appearance. 
 We have met with five locks in going a dis- 
 tance of one mile. At 8 o'clock in the even- 
 ing I arrived at Utica, where I left the boat, 
 having resolved to travel from Utica to Os- 
 wego by the mail-coach. When I parted with 
 the captain of the boat, he, in a very polite 
 manner, expressed his regret at losing my 
 
81 
 
 company. He attended personally, and saw 
 my luggage safely removed from the boat to 
 the hotel, which was close adjoining. On in- 
 quiry, I found that the mail-coach started at 
 4 next morning, and, having secured a seat, I 
 took a walk through the town, which lies on 
 the banks of the Mohawk River, and appears to 
 be a flourishing city. Like most of the cities 
 in America, it is of recent origin, having re- 
 ceived a village charter so late as 1784. In 
 1813, it contained 1700 inhabitants. It now 
 contains from 10 to 1 2,000. About two years 
 ago, the town was incorporated into a city. 
 From its central situation, and from the Erie 
 canal passing through it, it may be expected 
 to prosper. 
 
 I stopped for the night at a very extensive 
 establishment, the Canal Coffee-house, kept by 
 Mr Sheppard. There is a regularity and ci- 
 vility to travellers generally in the hotels which 
 reflect credit on the Americans. They seem 
 to be anxious to appear to advantage in the 
 eyes of strangers, and to impress them with a 
 favourable opinion of the national character. 
 They are a cool grave people ; at least, if they 
 
62 AMERICAN MAIL-COACH. 
 
 have lively feelings, they seldom display them. 
 I have not seen, since I came among them, any 
 exuberance of anger, joy, or sorrow, mani- 
 fested by any American. When I returned 
 from my ramble, it was near 10 o'clock. I 
 asked for a bed, and I was shewn to a book- 
 ing-office, where my name was put down, and 
 I was told the number of the bed that was al- 
 lotted to me. The charge made was 25 cents, 
 (about Is. Sterling). I Mas put in a double- 
 bedded room : the other bed was occupied . 
 This is common in America, and is one of 
 those customs which old countrymen do not 
 approve of. 
 
 May 28. 1834 At 4 a. m. I set off by the 
 
 mail for Oswego, and although it is seated for 
 nine persons inside (no passengers are carried 
 outside). I was the only passenger. It dif- 
 fers from the coaches in Britain, in having a 
 seat in the middle of the coach, which holds 
 three persons. A leather belt, about five inches 
 broad, is placed across the inside of the coach, 
 to support their backs. I had not gone far be- 
 fore I found land travelling in America to be 
 not very agreeable. If I say the roads are 
 
BAD ROADS. 83 
 
 bad, I would not use strong enough language, 
 for certainly they are most execrable. The 
 jolting is dreadful. When the driver comes 
 to a hole in the road, where he might pos- 
 sibly stick, he drives faster than usual, in 
 order that the rebound may jerk the coach out 
 again. If I get to Oswego with only two or 
 three of my bones broken, it is as little as I 
 can expect. A sudden jolt nearly caused me 
 to bite off part of my tongue, so I am obliged 
 to keep my teeth clenched to prevent the same 
 happening again. The first stage I came to 
 was Rome, where I breakfasted, for which I 
 paid 25 cents (Is. Sterling). I observed, hang- 
 ing in the breakfast room, neatly framed and 
 glazed, an engraved copy of the celebrated 
 " Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen 
 United States of America." There were about 
 fifty signatures attached to it, all fac-similes. 
 The signature of Benjamin Franklin was as 
 fine a specimen of handwriting as I have ever 
 seen. 
 
 I bought a newspaper at Rome called the 
 Rome Telegraph ; in reading it over the fol- 
 lowing advertisement from the proprietors of 
 
84 ROME, WILLIAMSTON, &C. 
 
 the paper struck me as a novel mode of crav- 
 ing. 
 
 " ATTENTION ! ! ! 
 " If the following named persons will call and 
 settle their accounts with the subscriber, they 
 will save themselves some trouble. 
 
 Amos Bull. J. N. H. 
 
 Zebalon Lord, &c. &c. &c. &c." 
 
 On leaving Rome two gentlemen took their 
 seats in the coach. They were very commu- 
 nicative, and gave me much information about 
 the country. They were bitterly opposed to 
 the politics of General Jackson. 
 
 After we had travelled a considerable way, 
 we came to a narrow pass not more than four 
 or five feet broader than the coach, with deep 
 ravines on each side, so deep that I could not 
 see the bottom, but only the upper part of the 
 tall trees which grew in the abyss beneath. 
 
 The land between Home and Williamston 
 is not very good ; a great part of it is covered 
 with pine, which is a sign of inferior land. I 
 arrived at Williamston about 2 p. m., where I 
 dined, and where my fellow travellers left me 
 alone once more. For the next twenty miles 
 
■ AMERICAN FOREST. 85 
 
 I had to pass through the forest ; the trees 
 were felled on each side the road, and lay 
 where they had fallen ; in some cases they had 
 fallen across the road, and then that part which 
 was on the road was sawed off, and the stumps 
 stood about three feet from the ground. Here 
 and there a partial attempt had been made to 
 burn the timber, and the black appearance of 
 the half-burnt wood, threw a gloom around, 
 which the dark forest tended to increase. In 
 one place, the fallen timber was on fire ; the 
 smoke from the flames ; the heat of the sun 
 right over my head ; the hot dust raised by 
 the wheels of the coach; and the close confin- 
 ed state of the air from the thick forest around, 
 together with the dreadful jolting, almost suf- 
 focated me. 
 
 I think it requires a stout heart and a strong 
 arm, for a man with nothing but an axe, and a 
 few other necessary tools and provisions for 
 nine months, to settle down in these woods. 
 The first sight of the forest, and the hardships 
 to be endured, are calculated to appal even the 
 stoutest hearts. 
 
86 OSWEGO. 
 
 I passed several log houses, where I saw the 
 settlers, with their patches of cleared land, the 
 stumps standing, and a few sheep, pigs, &c. &c. 
 feeding hard by ; the fences are of wood placed 
 zig-zag. 
 
 When I arrived within about twenty miles 
 of Oswego, the land along the road-side was 
 well cleared ; but the stumps of the trees were, 
 in many places, still standing. It takes seven 
 years before the roots become rotten, and the 
 stumps in a fit state to be removed from the 
 soil. It was 9 P. M. before I reached Oswego, 
 thus taking seventeen hours to travel seventy- 
 five miles. The steam-boat for Toronto had 
 sailed half-an-hour before my arrival ; and the 
 Oswego steamer, which ought to have sailed 
 next day, was so much damaged, by being 
 driven on shore in a late gale, that she was under 
 repair, so the earliest conveyance I could have 
 to Toronto, was the steam-boat on Friday 
 evening, for which 1 resolved to wait. I took 
 up my lodgings at the Welland House or Hotel, 
 kept by Mr Spencer; it is situated on the 
 banks of the Oswego river, which runs through 
 the town, and is near the wharf, where the 
 
SCENE AT AN INN. 87 
 
 steam-boats sail from, and on that account pe- 
 culiarly well adapted for travellers. 
 
 May 29 — I was roused this morning at 
 half-past six o'clock by the ringing of the first 
 bell for breakfast. I would fain have lain still ; 
 but whether it were better to sleep on and lose a 
 meal, or rise at once, " that was the question." — 
 My appetite was bad, and said unto me, sleep 
 on, and so I turned myself upon the feather- 
 bed, and would have dozed away heaven knows 
 how long. My aching bones, and bruised body, 
 called out for rest ; and my appetite, gone with 
 the heat and the fatigue of the past day, made 
 no opposition. About 10 a. m. the chamber- 
 maid makes up the beds ; my room was No. 23; 
 the girl who did not know, and could not sus- 
 pect, any person lying in bed till that hour, 
 came into my bed-room, and not seeing my 
 head, which happened to be off the pillow, 
 with one pull at the blankets, hauled all the 
 bed-clothes to the floor ; judge of the aston- 
 ishment of both parties ; the wench went off 
 like a flash of lightning, and was seen no more. 
 I rose and took a turn through the town ; in 
 passing through one of the streets, I saw on a 
 
88 A COFFIN WAREHOUSE. 
 
 sign " Ready made coffin warehouse." I stood 
 gazing for a minute ; the shopkeeper stepped 
 forward, and handed me a bill of his coffins, 
 wherein he requests the public to call and ex- 
 amine the article for themselves ; and farther 
 states, that he is ready to preserve his cus- 
 tomers, when dead, from all smell and putrefac- 
 tion in the warmest weather for any reasonable 
 time, say from one to ten days : a respectable 
 person will always be ready to lay out the dead. 
 I wondered if the man saw any thing in my face 
 that marked me out for his official interference ; 
 perhaps my gazing at the sign-board had been 
 the cause of his unwelcome intrusion. 
 
 Oswego is a small town, containing about 
 4000 inhabitants. The river of the same name, 
 which here falls into Lake Ontario, runs 
 through it. The river is about 150 yards wide, 
 and is crossed by a bridge, which is supported 
 by seven wooden arches. A charge is made of 
 one cent (Id. Sterling) for each foot passenger 
 who passes along. The town supports no less 
 than two newspapers, and is a thriving place. 
 The Welland House, where I stopped in Os- 
 wego, is an excellent house, f had a single 
 
CIVILITY OF THE AMERICANS. 89 
 
 bedded-room (a luxury I had not enjoyed since 
 I left home) ; my shoes were cleaned by a man 
 of colour ; the board is excellent, and includes 
 brandy, beer, and cyder ; the charge by the 
 day is one dollar (4s. 2d. Sterling) ; no extra 
 charge for servants ; and the master of the 
 house waits upon us during dinner, along with 
 the other waiters. When I left the house, he 
 sent my luggage on board the steam-boat with 
 his own cart, and drove me down himself in his 
 own carriage to the boat, free of all expense. 
 
 Now that I am about to leave the United 
 States for Canada, I consider it my duty to 
 mention, that I have experienced great civility 
 from every American whom chance threw in 
 my way ; and all those gentlemen whom I met 
 from the old country, in my travels to Upper 
 Canada, spoke in the same terms of the civil 
 treatment they received while travelling through 
 the State of New York. The only time I got 
 a smart answer from a Yankee, was in travel- 
 ling by the mail from Utica to Oswego. When 
 I reached Rome I called for the master of the 
 hotel, and desired him to give me breakfast 
 immediately; he made answer, you will get 
 h2 
 
90 LAKE ONTARIO. 
 
 breakfast if you wait until it is ready. It is 
 the general custom for all the boarders and 
 strangers to breakfast together, and the master 
 of the house supposed I wished to breakfast 
 alone, which, as it would have given him a 
 great deal of extra trouble, he most likely would 
 not have agreed to. The steam-boat expected 
 on Friday evening did not arrive, which de- 
 tained me at Oswego till Saturday evening, 
 when I sailed on board the St George steam- 
 boat for Toronto at nine in the evening. The 
 charge from Oswego to Toronto in the cabin 
 is 6 dollars, or L. I, 7s. Sterling, and provi- 
 sions furnished ; and in the second cabin 1 Is. 3d. 
 without provisions ; the deck passage is 2 dol- 
 lars, or 8s. 4d. Sterling, and not found either 
 in bed or board. 
 
 Sunday^ June I — When I got upon deck 
 this morning, I found myself out of sight of 
 land. I could hardly believe I was sailing on 
 a fresh-water lake, it was so different from the 
 lakes at home. 
 
 Lake Ontario is 180 miles in length, and 
 varies from 30 to 60 miles in breadth. The 
 water is pure, and is said to be very deep. It 
 
STEAM-BOAT TO TORONTO. 91 
 
 abounds with salmon, sturgeon, and various 
 other kinds of fish. 
 
 We had a great many deck passengers in 
 the steam-boat, many of whom were emigrants. 
 I met in with a family from Edinburgh, con- 
 sisting of about twenty-five persons, all related 
 to one another, either by blood or marriage. 
 They were proceeding to a settlement in Upper 
 Canada. I had a long conversation with them. 
 They all seemed to regret leaving home, and 
 were quite dissatisfied with the climate, the 
 country, and the people. I tried to comfort 
 them, by telling them they would like it better 
 when they got accustomed to it ; but it would 
 not do. I saw they were all home-sick, as too 
 many of their countrymen are when they first 
 come here. This feeling of love for their na- 
 tive country is more strongly implanted in the 
 Scotch, than either in the English or Irish, 
 and, consequently, they feel the pang of sepa- 
 ration more keenly. It is certainly a trait in 
 their character, which does them honour ; but 
 it is the cause of much unhappiness to them, 
 and too often paralyses their exertions ; causes 
 them to despond, and even brings on disease. 
 
92 AMERICAN COURTSHIPS. 
 
 It is but right to mention this fact, as it is too 
 much overlooked by those leaving home, and, 
 in my opinion, is a point of the greatest im- 
 portance ; as, what avails even plenty in a 
 strange land, to those who are pining for home, 
 for friends, and for all the thousand endear- 
 ments they have left behind them ? If the emi- 
 grant expects to find himself at home here, I 
 must tell him, before he conies, he will be bit- 
 terly disappointed. 
 
 In a conversation I had in the steam-boat, 
 on Lake Ontario, with two respectable-look- 
 ing farmers, from the State of New York, they 
 mentioned (and they pledged their words for 
 its accuracy) a peculiar trait in the manners of 
 the farmers, or land proprietors, in the United 
 States, (for most of them cultivate their own 
 lands,) in regard to the way courtships are 
 conducted among them. When a loving swain 
 pays a visit to a neighbouring log or frame 
 house, where there is a marriageable daughter, 
 if the young lady feels disposed to encourage 
 him, she detains him after the usual hour at 
 which the family retire to rest (for the parents 
 leave the daughter to manage the affair in her 
 
COBOURG. 93 
 
 own way). Thus the happy couple are left to 
 themselves. They can sit chatting and making 
 love all night. There is a good bed in the 
 room, and, if the young lady's charms prove 
 irresistible, such consequences follow, as make 
 it almost imperative upon him to marry her. 
 The laws in the United States being very se- 
 vere in all cases of refractory gallants, heavy 
 damages, long imprisonment, or marriage, are 
 the alternatives. This is what is called spark- 
 ing in America. When the poor wight is fined 
 in such heavy damages as he has no means of 
 paying, he is put in prison ; and it is a com- 
 mon thing for his fair antagonist to visit him 
 in jail, to see if he is willing to recover his 
 liberty, by changing his situation ; and if he 
 at last consents, she proceeds to the prison in 
 company with a parson, who rivets the matri- 
 monial chains before she trusts him with his 
 liberty. 
 
 We touched at Cobourg, a town on the 
 Canada side of Lake Ontario, to land and re- 
 ceive passengers, at 11 a.m.; and at 1 p.m. 
 we called at another town, Port Hope, for the 
 same purpose. As the wind was fair, we 
 
94 TRAVELLING EXPENSES. 
 
 hoisted our sails in addition to the steam, which 
 propelled us along in fine style ; and by 6 p. m. 
 we had arrived alongside of the wharf at To- 
 ronto, when I landed, and took up my lodgings 
 at the British Coffee-House, kept by Mr Keat- 
 ing. 
 
 I shall here subjoin a note of my travelling 
 expenses from New York to Toronto : — 
 
 Steam-boat from New York to Albany, in- 
 cluding provisions, 
 
 Car to carry my Luggage to the Railroad in 
 Albany, 
 
 Fare in Railroad Coach, from Albany to 
 Schenectady, 
 
 Breakfast at Schenectady, 
 
 Passage-money from Schenectady to Utica, 
 seventy-nine miles, by the Traders' line- 
 boat, including provisions. 
 
 Bed at Utica, 
 
 Mail-coach from Utica to Oswego, seventy- 
 five miles, 
 
 Breakfast, Dinner, and Tea, on the jour- 
 ney, 
 
 Three days' Board and Lodging at Oswego, 
 
 Passage-money in the Steam-boat from Os- 
 wego to York, .... 
 
 Dolls. 
 
 Cnts 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 
 m 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 37.i 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 75 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 18 
 
 Which, reckoning 4s. 6d. to the dollar, is L. 4 : 1 : 2.^ 
 Sterling. 
 
AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS. 95 
 
 When passing through the different towns 
 in the United States, I made a point of pur- 
 chasing a newspaper at each place I came to, 
 from which a good deal of the peculiarities of 
 the people may be learned ; and, since my 
 arrival at Toronto, I have had time to look 
 over them, and I find that the system of puff- 
 ing is practised all over America, with as much 
 effrontery as ever it was in Edinburgh. I 
 shall here insert a few of them. 
 
 A HAIR-DRESSER'S PUFF. 
 
 All kinds of Hair-work dressed over in a 
 
 superior style. Gentlemen's Wigs from 7 to 
 
 10 dollars ; Ladies' Wigs from 7 to 15 dollars. 
 
 " Can glittering pearls sufficiently impart 
 That gorgeous aspect to the head as art ? 
 Can Nature, Avith her fairest fair, 
 Presume complete, while destitute of hair ? 
 How needful then it is for to supply 
 The head with hair, so that the gazing eye 
 Could then behold it, and the cheat not see — 
 So false are wigs, yet natural seem to be." 
 
 A DYER'S PUFF. 
 Always Dyeing, and yet living, at the Steara- 
 3 
 
96 AMERICAN NEWSPAPERS. 
 
 Dressing and Dyeing Establishment, No. 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 A QUACK DOCTOR'S PUFF. 
 A word to the wise is sufficient. Twenty 
 years experience in the various climates ; twelve 
 years in extensive hospitals. 
 
 Salus populi suprema lex. 
 
 A. B. C. continues, as usual, to be consult- 
 ed at his counselling official Departments, No. 
 — , — , — . His experience is very great ; his 
 success astonishing, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 BLACK-FACED MUTTON.* 
 One hundred dollars reward, for the appre- 
 hension and delivery of Negro girl Louisa, 
 aged about seventeen ; she is low in stature, 
 well made, and inclined to be fat ; neat in her 
 appearance ; smooth brown skin ; round face, 
 with features peculiar to the Negro, but quite 
 likely ; wears her hair neatly combed, tied up 
 
 * Copied from a paper published in one of the 
 Southern States. 
 
PUFFS. 97 
 
 with a black ribbon, and parted on her fore- 
 head. 
 
 A DUN. 
 
 All persons indebted to the Subscriber are 
 hereby informed, that he is in want of cash 
 about these days ; and that unless they hand 
 over immediately, their notes and accounts 
 will be handed over to a Magistrate for collec- 
 tion. " Delays are dangerous." A. P. 
 
 A NEGRO-DEALER S PUFF. 
 Negroes for Sivap.* 
 
 I have on hand a few Negroes of superior 
 quality, taken to this place for the purpose of 
 selling to the inhabitants of Mobile. Negroes 
 of that kind appear not to be in demand, and, 
 as I intend leaving shortly, I feel disposed to 
 change a few of them for Negroes of less cha- 
 racter, that may suit the Louisiana market. 
 
 The bigger the rascal the better, provided 
 the owners are willing to make up in cash 
 what is wanting in good qualities. A. P. 
 * From a Mobile paper. 
 
98 MANNERS OF THE AMERICANS. 
 
 I was SO much engaged, during my journey 
 from New York to Albany, that I had no time 
 to note down any thing that struck me as pe- 
 culiar among the people through the country 
 I passed ; but, now that I have got a leisure 
 moment, I will endeavour to do so candidly. 
 1 have no interest to serve in praising or con- 
 demning the people or their country. I came 
 here solely out of curiosity, without the slight- 
 est intention ever to settle in it. In travelling 
 through the country, I have desired the drivers 
 of the coaches, and the captains of the steam 
 and canal boats, to direct me to the best hotels 
 in the towns, where I have had occasion to 
 stop ; and there I must have fallen in with 
 many American gentlemen at the public 
 dining-tables, and yet, to the credit of the 
 American character, I have not met with an 
 individual who has attempted to arrogate a 
 superiority over me in one way or another. 
 In America, so long as you behave yourself 
 like a gentleman, you are treated on all occa- 
 sions as an equal. I have already spoken of 
 the treatment of travellers by hotel-keepers, 
 coach-proprietors, steam and canal captains, as 
 
WORSHIP OF MAMMON. 99 
 
 very praiseworthy. Americans may justly 
 aspire to be regarded as equal to any other na- 
 tion in this department. 
 
 I have now stated what I consider admira- 
 ble in the country. I may, I hope, without 
 giving offence, speak of what I dislilie in the 
 habits and manners of the people. It has been 
 said, that gold is worshipped in all climates, 
 without a single temple, and by all classes, 
 without a single hypocrite. I believe this is 
 pretty correct ; but, if there is one people in 
 the universe who sacrifice more time to the 
 amassing of money than the rest, it is the 
 American nation. They rise early, and toil 
 hard ; they give up no time to the social en- 
 joyments of life ; they take their meals at the 
 ringing of a bell, and hurry through it more 
 like beasts feeding, than Christians dining. 
 There is no interchange of friendly sentiment 
 or humorous joke ; all is planning, speculating, 
 and calculating. 
 
 When they get a glass, and, notwithstanding 
 the Temperance Societies, they sometimes do, 
 their boasting, one of their greatest national 
 peculiarities, begins to shew itself. A good 
 
100 CHARACTER OF 
 
 story is told of a major and another Yankee. 
 A Yankee says to a major, " Can j^oii shoot a 
 rifle, major?" — " Pretty considerable," says 
 he ; "I can hit a chip in the air," says the 
 Yankee, " five times out of six shots." The 
 major replies, " Well, I can beat that, I guess, 
 for I can hit one seven times in four shots" — 
 " Well," says the other, " that's enough ; we 
 wont waste powder, and I knock under." The 
 Yankees who live in the country in America 
 have none of that boorish awkwardness which 
 is a distinguishing feature of the country people 
 in Scotland. On the contrary, they are sharp 
 and intelligent, and quite alive to their own 
 interest. " Friend, mind thyself," is the com- 
 mandment, of all others, they most scrupulously 
 attend to. If you get into conversation with 
 any of them in the course of travelling, two to 
 one but he will be for selling you his watch, 
 his gun, or some of his property. A simple 
 man has no chance with them. They consider 
 all such as fair plunder ; and how they can 
 reconcile this line of conduct with the prin- 
 ciples either of religion or humanity, I am at 
 loss to discover. I am sorry to say, that the 
 
THE AMERICANS. 101 
 
 standai'd of morality established in America 
 by the middling class, who constitute three- 
 fourths of the community, is much below what 
 it is in the old country. Here one of the first 
 cautions you receive is, to put no trust in any 
 one's word, if he has, or by possibility can 
 have, any interest in deceiving you. The pu- 
 nishment by solitary confinement, combined 
 with hard labour, is so severe, that it deters 
 from a direct breach of the laws in cases where, 
 were it not for this salutary check, crime would 
 be committed. Still the love of money is so 
 strong in the breast of a genuine Yankee, that 
 it would not be safe to trust to his honour 
 alone. They are too greedy to be honest be- 
 yond the limits of the law. They all cut their 
 eye-teeth at a very early age in this country. 
 They are not easily roused to anger ; but 
 when their spirit is up, I am told they are very 
 blood-thirsty and revengeful. They resemble 
 the American Indian in the worst feature of 
 his character — revengefulness, for they never 
 forgive or forget an injury. They are fond of 
 good living, which a bountiful country enables 
 them to gratify. They eat butcher-meat three 
 I 2 
 
102 INQUISITIVENESS. 
 
 times a-day, and this, I presume, is the cause 
 why so many of them are troubled with sto- 
 mach complaints. They are proud, but the 
 equality principles of their government pre- 
 vent them ever attempting to assume any 
 tone of superiority. They are very inquisi- 
 tive. I have often been pestered with such 
 questions as, " I guess you be from the old 
 country. — I guess this is a fine country : your 
 poor can get along when they come here : I 
 wish they would stay at home and take from 
 your nobles a share of what belongs to them — 
 I guess you are going to settle here : are you 
 buying land ?" and so on, are the questions I 
 have had put to me fifty times since I came 
 here. 
 
 These remarks apj)ly to that class of people 
 who may be on an equality with the small far- 
 mers and small shopkeepers in the old country, 
 and to those beneath them. 
 
 Toronto, where I arrived on the 1st June, 
 is the capital of Upper Canada, and is situated 
 near the head of Lake Ontario, on the north 
 side of the harbour, which is formed by a long 
 sandy peninsula, stretching from the land cast 
 
TORONTO. 103 
 
 of the town to a point called Gibraltar Point, 
 abreast of the present fort. The streets cross 
 each other at right angles. The principal 
 street is King Street, which runs through the 
 centre of the town from east to west, and is 
 about a mile and a half long. Most of the 
 houses are built of wood, but some of them are 
 of brick and stone. This place has the usual 
 number of public buildings, which it is quite 
 unnecessary here to enumerate. I learned 
 that store-keeping has been quite overdone. 
 Goods are sold every night by auction, which 
 hurts the store-keepers by interfering with their 
 profits. On the whole, it is as dull a hole as 
 I have been in. 
 
 A number of half-pay officers, with their 
 noses in red uniform, may be seen strutting 
 about the town and lounging about the hotels. 
 They are chiefly from Ireland, and talk about 
 their cousin Lord this, and their uncle Lord 
 that. 
 
 There are another class of men who also 
 frequent the wharfs, the hotels, and the coffee- 
 houses for their victims. This class prey upon 
 the poor unhappy emigrants on their arrival. 
 
104 CAUTION TO SETTLERS. 
 
 They are up to all sorts of tricks to defraud 
 the new-comer out of his dollars ; and so sure 
 as a settler has any transactions with them, so 
 sure is he taken in. Perhaps the titles to the 
 land turn out bad, or the land is useless, or 
 they have no right to sell. Something is sure 
 to be wrong. All emigrants ought to avoid 
 them. Let them go to the government agents 
 and responsible men for information, and make 
 their purchases of land, and then they will be 
 safe. One or two of these land sharks, who 
 are mostly old countrymen too idle and dissi- 
 pated to work themselves, made an attempt 
 upon me ; but as soon as they found my object 
 was merely information about the country, 
 they went off, and troubled me no more. 
 
 The appearance of many of the inhabitants 
 of Toronto would lead me to think that it is 
 rather a dissipated place. The town of To- 
 ronto contains about 8000 inhabitants, com- 
 posed of Scotch, English, and Irish, native- 
 born Canadians, and a few French Canadians 
 and Negroes. There is wanting that spirit 
 of enterprise which you see in the States. I 
 was struck with the change. They reckon the 
 
EMIGRATION. 105 
 
 importation of emigrants, which takes place 
 every spring, as their harvest ; and I guess 
 they do with them as the Yankee young ladies 
 do with their live geese — they pluck the fea- 
 thers off them every spring. What they call 
 out for at Toronto is, for men of capital to 
 come out to them. Now, the question comes 
 to be, is it advisable for men of capital, who 
 can live comfortably at home, to go there. If 
 you read the statements of those interested — 
 if you trust to the letters sent home by resi- 
 dents here — you are too apt to be deceived. 
 They have a direct interest in getting out 
 wealthy settlers to the colony. They describe 
 the country as immensely fertile, the climate 
 delightfully salubrious, bracing and invigorat- 
 ing the human frame, and stimulating to and 
 sweetening labour with the prospect of pros- 
 perity to a wealthy settler, to which it would 
 be difficult to assign bounds. Now, my con- 
 scientious opinion is, that this statement is not 
 consistent with facts ; and I would advise no 
 one who has capital, and can live at home, ever 
 to come here. I shall give my reasons as 
 briefly as I can. In the first place, I consider 
 
106 DISADVAKTAGES OF 
 
 the climate decidedly injurious to the consti- 
 tutions of people from the old country : a re- 
 sidence of two years here sometimes makes a 
 person look fifteen years older than he did 
 before. Instances of this kind have come 
 under my own observation ; and it is allowed 
 to be an established fact, that the sudden 
 changes of the climate, the extreme heat and 
 cold, the liability to fever and ague, and the 
 frequency of diseases of the lungs, are very 
 trying to Europeans, and tend materially to 
 shorten life. In the second place, a wealthy 
 settler from Europe rarely ever finds himself 
 at home here. He deprives himself of many 
 of the comforts which added to his happiness 
 there which he can never find here, and too 
 often the sweets of home are not known or 
 little valued, till they are sacrificed for ever. 
 He who has seen the settlers in the woods, as 
 I have done, and has questioned them about 
 their feelings, will tell you that they are often 
 discontented and unhappy, and nothing but 
 necessity makes them stay. I do not doubt 
 there are many exceptions, but as a general 
 rule it will hold good. The next and last 
 
EMIGRATION. 107 
 
 reason I will give is, that a large capital in- 
 vested in farming in America does not pay a 
 remunerating profit. It is allowed by all the 
 farmers, both in the States and Canada, whom 
 I spoke to on the subject, that farms do not 
 yield a fair profit for the amount of capital 
 embarked. This is owing partly to the low 
 value of produce, and partly to the high price 
 of wages, and partly to the system of bartering 
 they carry on, which makes it very difficult 
 to realise the cash. 
 
 Provisions of most kinds are dearer at To- 
 ronto than they are in the States ; indeed a 
 great part of what is consumed in that town is 
 brought over from the States. But clothes 
 are cheaper. I paid a dollar per day for my 
 board and lodging at the British Cofiee-house. 
 We breakfasted at 8 a.m., had luncheon at 1, 
 dined at 5 p. m., and drank tea at 8. After 
 dinner it was customary to sit and drink wine, 
 and talk over the news and politics of the day. 
 During my stay at Toronto, I took an excur- 
 sion thirty miles into the interior of the coun- 
 try. After visiting several of the farmers in 
 their log houses, I went into the woods to 
 
108 INTERIOR OF THE COUNTRY. 
 
 shoot pigeons. I was not gone long (I had 
 shot three pigeons and a black squirrel), when 
 I thought of returning ; but I found, as the 
 mouse in the trap did, that it was much easier 
 getting into the woods than getting out of 
 them again. I walked in a direction which I 
 thought the right one, till I was sure I must 
 have got to the clearing ; but always the more 
 I walked the less likelihood I saw of getting 
 out. I hallood till the birds rose from their 
 resting places, wondering what strange animal 
 this was that had come among them. Well, 
 what was to be done ? My legs were fairly 
 tired out. I sat down on the stump of a tree 
 to take a rest ; but I had not been seated five 
 minutes ere I saw a snake about three feet 
 long, creeping as sly as you please through 
 among the underwood in the direction where 
 I sat. I could not make out from his hissing 
 to what tribe he belonged ; but I thought his 
 eye by far too sly for me : so I walked off as 
 fast as I could to give my gentleman a wide 
 berth. 
 
 I now walked any way, for I thought chance 
 might do for me what I could not do for my- 
 
A CANADIAN FOREST. 109 
 
 self, that was to take me out again. But no ; 
 I walked on till I was like to drop down. It 
 was now between 7 and 8 p. m. ; the sun 
 set or setting, and the woods threw a gloom 
 around, which made me feel something like 
 Eve, after her fatal intercourse with the Ser- 
 pent. I had been told that the wolves were 
 sometimes heard howling in the forest ; and I 
 recollected of hearing of a Canadian, who, 
 when out shooting deer, was devoured by 
 them; all which was no consolation to me. I 
 was now fain to scramble up a tree, and nestle 
 there for the night; but the trees were all 
 straight, and without any branches, except 
 near to the top, so it was impossible to ascend 
 any of them. I was startled when I heard any 
 thing move. At one time a frog as large as a 
 cat, with a voice strong enough to lead in the 
 100th Psalm at a Burgher meeting, looked up 
 in my face ; as much as to say, " Don't harm 
 me ;" but by this time I was willing to let 
 alone for let alone, and, acting on this principle, 
 I spared a large grey squirrel within six yards 
 of me. At last, when nature was nearly ex- 
 hausted, I came to a tree that had been felled 
 
 K 
 
no A NIGHT IN A FOREST. 
 
 either by the lightning or the wind, and in 
 falling had come in contact with the tree n^xt 
 to it, and thus hung half way to the ground, 
 forming a kind of bridge, by which I could as- 
 cend to the adjacent tree. I climbed up and 
 took possession, quite happy to escape from 
 the dangers below. But I had no easy job in 
 getting myself and gun to the top of the tree, 
 and then to prevent myself from falling down 
 again I had to tie myself with my handker- 
 chief to the tree, but still I did not feel quite 
 at home. Perched up like a baboon in a fo- 
 rest, about midnight a storm of wind and 
 rain, thunder and lightning, came on ; I was 
 fairly drenched through and I shook as if I was 
 in a fit of the North Carolina ague. The 
 storm lasted, I think, about three-quarters of 
 an hour. When it abated, I was so overpow- 
 ered with sleep that I could hardly keep awake. 
 I dropped my gun at this time, which shews 
 I must have been napping. But the longest 
 night will have an end. Daylight came at 
 last, when I descended from my airy habita- 
 tion, and went again in search of the civilized 
 world. About 5 in the morning I heard a 
 
FORT NIAGARA. Ill 
 
 bell ringing at a great distance. I followed in 
 the direction the sound came from, hallooing 
 as loud as I could. The sound came nearer 
 and nearer, till at last I saw the settler whose 
 house I had just left before I went into the 
 woods. He had come into the woods to seek 
 me. He told me I was not above a mile from 
 his log house. He had taken the precaution 
 to bring a pocket compass with him ; so in a 
 short time I was safely sitting in his house at 
 breakfast, which I did ample justice to, as I 
 had not tasted food for eighteen hours. 
 
 As I soon saw every thing remarkable in 
 and about Toronto, I took my departure on 
 the morning of the 4th June, in the steam- 
 boat the Canada, for Niagara. I started at 7 in 
 the morning to cross Lake Ontario, and ar- 
 rived at a small town, called Fort Niagara, by 
 half-past 11 A, M. The passage in the cabin 
 is two dollars, with provisions, and on the deck 
 one dollar, without provisions. The day was 
 cool and clear. At Fort Niagara, I found 
 stages waiting to carry the passengers by the 
 steam-boat forward to the Falls of Niagara ; so 
 I lost no time there, but took my seat in the 
 
112 FALLS OF NIAGARA. 
 
 stage to tlie Falls ; fare one dollar. The road 
 was close to the Niagara river, and considering 
 that it was a Canadian road, was tolerably good. 
 When I came within six miles of the Falls I 
 heard the roaring of the cataract, which im- 
 pressed me with feelings of awe, when 1 thought 
 of the mighty spectacle I was so soon to be- 
 hold. I took up my lodgings at Mr Slater's 
 National Hotel, and then sallied forth to con- 
 template the vast scene. I had a quarter of 
 a mile to walk before I reached them. They 
 burst upon my sight as soon as I reached a 
 certain point of the road, and although they 
 were certainly grand, yet I must, in truth, say, 
 that they did not come up to the descriptions 
 I had read of them. I had heard them com- 
 pared to a sea descending from the moon, 
 which is comparing a mole-hill to a mountain. 
 These overdrawn descriptions do much ill, as 
 they lead the mind to form too great expecta- 
 tions, which are sure to be afterwards disap- 
 })ointed. The roaring of the falling waters 
 was not so loud either as 1 expected. The 
 sound was something similar to that made by 
 the wind in a storm, when passing through a 
 
FALLS OF NIAGARA. 113 
 
 forest of tall trees ; while the abyss below, into 
 which the foaming torrent is hurled, resembled 
 an immense caldron, where the foam, white as 
 the driven snow, is lashed to and fro by the 
 sheet of water pouring over the rocks into the 
 gulf. 
 
 After I had gazed for a couple of hours 
 from the Table Rock, I thought of returning 
 to my hotel ; but I found the longer I gazed 
 the more I was fascinated with the sight. 1 
 was so intent, indeed, that I did not perceive the 
 approach of a thunder-storm, till I was awoke 
 from my reverie by a peal of thunder close by. 
 Although I was within a few yards of the 
 Great Horse Shoe Fall when the thunder- 
 storm came on, I heard distinctly every peal, 
 which proves that the roaring of the Falls is 
 not so wonderfully great as some people would 
 make us believe. 
 
 The Falls of Niagara are situated on the ri- 
 ver of the same name, which connects Lake 
 Erie with Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence. 
 Niagara River is thirty -five miles in length, 
 and varies from about half a mile to five or six 
 miles in width. The Falls are situated about 
 
114 HORSE-SIIOE FALL. 
 
 twenty miles distant from Lake Erie and four- 
 teen from Lake Ontario. At Chippewa Creek 
 (two miles above the Falls), the width of the 
 river is nearh^ two miles, and its current ex- 
 tremely rapid. From thence to tlie Falls it 
 gradually narrows to about a mile in width. 
 The descent of the rapids has been estimated 
 at 58 feet. The cataract pours over a summit 
 in the form of a crescent, extending some dis- 
 tance up the stream. The sheet of water is 
 separated by Goat Island, leaving the grand 
 fall on tlie Canada side about 600 yards wide, 
 and the high fall on the American side about 
 300. 
 
 The fall on the American side drops almost 
 perpendicularly to the distance of 164 feet. 
 The grand or Horse-shoe Fall, on the Canada 
 side, descends to the river below, in the form 
 of a curve, 158 feet. The whole height, in- 
 cluding the descent of the rapids above, is 216 
 feet. When evening began to set in, I forced 
 myself away from Table Rock ; and when I 
 got back to my hotel, I found that this was 
 the review day of the Canada Militia, and that 
 inv landh)rd had nil the officers in his house at 
 
THE CANADA MILITIA. 115 
 
 dinner. They sat till about ten or eleven at 
 night, when most of them were more than half- 
 seas .over. They were exceeding noisy. Not 
 content with thumping on the table with their 
 hands, they also knocked on the floor with 
 their heels, and bellowed at a great rate : 
 which, as I was sitting in the next room, in 
 company with a gentleman from Scotland, was 
 very annoying. One of the officers, who, I 
 suppose, had been unable to sit longer at the 
 table, had lain down in the sofa, before I came 
 into the room, unperceived by me. I remark- 
 ed to my companion, alluding to these officers, 
 that there were plenty of wild beasts in this 
 country. My drunken specimen of bestiality 
 put his hand on his word, and hiccupped up, 
 " Beasts, — aye, beasts, — damn you, I'll beast 
 you !" But fortunately for me, he was too far 
 gone to be able to rise, and I escaped from his 
 martial fury. 
 
 Another of these warriors of a day, after he 
 had mounted his charger at the door of the 
 hotel, had great difficulty in balancing him- 
 self. Before leaving, he bawls out, " I say, 
 John, mind you clip the sheep to-morrow, or 
 
116 THE SPIRAL STAIR. 
 
 else I'll knock you down ; as for me, 1 fear no 
 danger, I go right ahead ;" and then off he set 
 to his settlement in the woods. 
 
 On the 5th, 6th, and 7th of June, I paid 
 morning and evening visits to the Falls, to con- 
 template the sublime cataract ; and every day 
 I felt more and more reluctance to leave. On 
 the morning of the 9th of June, I visited them 
 for the last time ; and on that occasion I sum- 
 moned up resolution to venture behind the 
 great sheet of water. Before descending the 
 spiral stair which leads to the waters below the 
 Falls, I was shewn into a room to undress, 
 and I was supplied with a complete suit from 
 the keeper's wardrobe, which I put on ; and 
 then the guide conducted me down the stair, 
 and along a rough path which winds along the 
 bottom of the precipice, and leads along the 
 excavated bank, which overhangs about thirty 
 or forty feet. The path was very slippery 
 from the water, and just as I had passed the en- 
 trance into the cavern behind the Falls, 1 made 
 a stumble, but did not fall. Before I had 
 gone three yards more, I was completely 
 drenched with the spray, and 1 felt a sensation 
 
TERMINATION ROCK. 117 
 
 similar to what is felt by the shock of a shower- 
 bath. It took away my breath for a few mo- 
 ments, and, to avoid falling, I leaned against 
 the rock. My guide, not thinking but that I 
 followed, went forward, and left me standing 
 alone. He soon returned to me. I saw his 
 lips moving, but if the tongues of a thousand 
 archangels had been given to him, the mighty 
 roaring of the waters from above would have 
 silenced them all. However, I guessed he was 
 urging me on, and I involuntarily exclaimed, 
 " Whero the devil are you taking me to ?" and 
 followed him close up, till I reached as far 
 as I could go. This point is called Termina- 
 tion Rock, and is said to be 153 feet from the 
 commencement of the volume of water at Table 
 Rock. At times there was a whirl of wind, 
 which brought some of the falling water down 
 upon me, with a force that made me almost 
 fall. Whether the wind being in a direction 
 to blow against the Falls caused this, I cannot 
 say ; however, after standing about two mi- 
 nutes, I found my situation so disagreeable, if 
 not dangerous, that I retraced my steps as fast as 
 possible, and came out as completely drenched 
 
118 FALLS OF NIAGARA. 
 
 as if I had been immersed in the foaming cal- 
 dron beneath. 
 
 A cloud-like smoke overhangs the Falls, and 
 gives to the white foam below the appearance 
 of an immense boiling caldron. The amount 
 of water which passes over the Falls is estima- 
 ted at 100 millions of tons in an hour. The 
 depth of water at the principal Fall cannot be 
 ascertained. It is supposed by some to be 600 
 feet, but I should not think it was the quarter 
 of that depth. It is said that when a boat ap- 
 proaches within a certain distance of the Falls, 
 it is difficult to arrest it, by reason of a mag- 
 netic attraction towards the precipice. Hence 
 the tradition of the Indian, who, finding his 
 canoe within the influence of this attraction, 
 gave up all hope, laid down his paddle, swal- 
 lowed the last drop in his flask, shrouded him- 
 self in his blanket, and was precipitated over 
 the fall. 
 
 I was charged for the use of the amphibious 
 suit of clothes, and for the guide, half a dollar. 
 My name was inserted in the book for regis- 
 tering the names of those who have passed 
 behind the great falling sheet of water to Tei - 
 
FALLS OF NIAGARA. 119 
 
 mination Rock ; and I received the following 
 certificate : 
 
 " This may certify, that Mr 
 
 has passed behind the great falling sheet of 
 water to Termination Rock. Given under my 
 hand, at the Office of the General Register of 
 the Names of Visitors at the Table Rock, this 
 9th day of June 1834. 
 
 (Signed) Jea. Graskey." 
 
 While I staid at Lundy's Lane, in Mr Sla- 
 ter's, I found the weather excessively hot, 
 which confined me to the house from six in the 
 morning till six in the evening. Mr Slater, 
 his wife, and family, had come out from Eng- 
 land about two years ago. He spoke by no 
 means favourably of his prospects here. He 
 complained of the scarcity of money. There 
 was little or no money to be seen, it was most- 
 ly all barter. Mrs Slater said she never felt 
 this place as her home till her eldest daughter, 
 who died last summer, was buried here ; and 
 since that, her ties to the land which incloses 
 one so dear to her have become stronger. Still 
 I saw they were both depressed, and far from 
 being happy. They told me that the masters 
 
120 NIAGARA RIVER. 
 
 in this country are slaves to their servants. 
 They dare not admonish them if they do wrong, 
 and if they are impertinent, they must submit 
 to it. 
 
 I left Mr Slater's, on Monday the 9th of 
 June, at 3 p. m., for Buffalo, by the stage 
 which runs between the two places ; fare one 
 dollar. The road was pretty fair, considering ; 
 and, as it stretched along the windings of the 
 Niagara river, the cool breeze from the water 
 was quite refreshing. In the coach there was 
 an old country man, who had been three years 
 in the country ; and resided at Detroit, a city 
 in the Michigan territory. I asked him how 
 he liked the country. " Why," says he, " I 
 don't like it at all. I am roasted alive for part 
 of the year with the heat, and frozen to death 
 at another time with the cold. It was not for 
 a person of my age (fifty -two) to come here ; 
 but I made the sacrifice for the sake of my 
 children. They will become naturalized to 
 this climate, which I never can. I am think- 
 ing, as soon as they grow up to be able to do 
 for themselves, to leave them here, and return 
 again to England." 
 
BLACK ROCK. 121 
 
 When the stage reached a small village call- 
 ed Waterloo we alighted, as here we were to 
 cross over to the American side. We were 
 taken across by a ferry-boat, propelled by two 
 horses ; the horses were made fast so that they 
 could not advance ; but the power of their 
 limbs in the attempt, moved round the frame 
 where they stood, which, being connected to the 
 paddles of the boat, propelled her through the 
 water. I was charged Is. York, or 6d. Ster- 
 ling, for my passage over. The place where 
 we landed is Black Rock, a village, containing 
 about 700 inhabitants. The Erie Canal passes 
 close to it. The stage was in waiting to carry 
 us forward to Buffalo, three miles farther, where 
 
 I arrived at 7 p. m., and put up at the 
 
 Hotel, one of the largest establishments in 
 Buffalo. 
 
 Buffalo is perhaps the most flourishing city 
 in the States. It has natural and artificial ad- 
 vantages, which point it out as likely to be- 
 come a great city ; at present it is just in its 
 infancy ; but situated as it is, in the midst of 
 the enterprise and business of this new world, 
 
122 BUFFALO. 
 
 where the produce of the west, coming from 
 the shores all along Lake Erie, and the other 
 lakes to the westward, here find an outlet by 
 the canal to the eastward and by Lake Ontario 
 and the St Lawrence to the Atlantic, it is 
 destined to increase rapidly in size and popu- 
 lation. The streets are broad, and many of 
 the shops are very splendid. 
 
 Buffalo was burned by our troops during 
 the last war, in retaliation for similar outrages 
 committed by the Americans in Canada ; and 
 there was but one house left standing. 
 
 It was not rebuilt until the Erie Canal was 
 opened, when it rose like the Phcenix from its 
 ashes with renewed splendour. After tea I took 
 a stroll through the town. 
 
 I met a great many of the Indians on the 
 streets, the first I had ever seen. I could not 
 but feel a deep sympathy for these poor un- 
 fortunate beings, who were the original pro- 
 prietors of the soil, and yet seem destined in 
 a century or two more to be extinct. 
 
 I observed two women, one apparently the 
 mother, and the other the daughter, both ^^ pretty 
 
THE THEATRE. 123 
 
 considerable" drunk ; they were staggering about 
 the streets, and every now and then uttering 
 a strange savage yell, something very similar 
 to the cry of the milkmen in New York, when 
 they arrive in their spring-cart at the doors of 
 their customers. About nine o'clock I popped 
 into the theatre, where I saw the worst acting, 
 and the ugliest female performers, I had ever 
 witnessed. The place was full, yet there were 
 not above four females present. I only re- 
 mained half-an-hour : and, on my return to my 
 hotel, I again met the two Indian women ; 
 they were lying on the pavement, and rolling 
 about in the last stage of intoxication. 
 
 June 10 — It is at all times unpleasant to 
 have to note down any occurrence unfavour- 
 able to the manners and customs of a people 
 among whom we are travelling, but perhaps it is 
 wrong entirely to pass over such things. I men- 
 tioned, I think, already, that I stopped at the 
 
 Hotel, in Buffalo, one of the largest 
 
 houses of the kind in the United States. When 
 I desired to be shown into my bed-room, I 
 was ushered by a black valet-de-chambre into 
 
124 AN AMERICAN BREAKFAST. 
 
 a large spacious apartment, containing four 
 beds, which were afterwards occupied by as 
 many different gentlemen. This practice 
 might do in the cabin of a steamer, but it 
 seems rude and indelicate in a great hotel ; 
 and I regret to have to add that I have every 
 reason to believe that the indelicacy is some- 
 times carried much farther. 
 
 The bell rung to breakfast at 8 o'clock, and 
 I followed the crowd of boarders into a long 
 room, where covers were set for about 120 
 people, althor.gh only about 80 sat down. 
 The ladies sat at the upper end of the table, 
 and took no notice of the gentlemen. The 
 tea and coffee cups were filled by the waiters 
 at side-tables, and handed to the company, who 
 put in sugar and milk to their taste. The 
 table was covered with a profusion of fried 
 fish, beefsteaks, mutton-chops, eggs, radishes, 
 raw onions, and cresses ; and the ladies seem- 
 ed to do as much justice to the good cheer as 
 the gentlemen. All seemed as if they were 
 eating for a wager ; and the moment they 
 had bolted the last morsel, they rose and left 
 
SENECA. 125 
 
 the room. I waited until they had all vanish- 
 ed, when the white attendants, becoming im- 
 patient at my delay, took their seats alongside 
 of me, and began fortifying their inner man. 
 
 About 10 a. m. I set off on an excursion, to 
 visit a tribe of Indians who are settled at the 
 village of Seneca, about three miles from Buf- 
 falo. The Indians, with their squaws and 
 papooses, were all new to me, and I felt a deep 
 interest in this singular people. 
 
 " Not many years ago, the Indians were the 
 sole possessors of the land ; the valleys and the 
 hills re-echoed with their shouts of victory ; the 
 lakes and the rivers were covered with canoes, 
 while the smoke from the birch-bark wigwams 
 ascended from the lakes to the ocean." 
 
 William Penn, who, from long intercourse, 
 had an excellent opportunity of knowing them, 
 observes that " the Indians, in their persons, 
 are generally tall and straight, well built, and 
 of singular proportion ; they tread strong and 
 clever, and mostly walk with a lofty chin. Of 
 complexion black, but by design, as the gipsies 
 in England. They grease themselves with 
 
 L 2 
 
126 THE INDIANS. 
 
 bear's fat clarified ; and, using no defence 
 against sun or weather, their skins must need 
 be swarthy. Their eye is little and black, not 
 unlike a straight-eyed Jew. The thick lip and 
 flat nose, so frequent with the Negroes, are 
 not common to them ; many of them have fine 
 Roman noses. Their language is lofty, yet 
 narrow, but, like the Hebrew, is in signification 
 full. Like short-hand in writing, one word 
 serveth in the place of three, and the rest are 
 supplied by the understanding of the hearer : 
 imperfect in their tenses, wanting in their 
 moods, participles, adverbs, conjunctions, and 
 interjections. 
 
 " Of their customs and manners there is 
 much to be said. I will begin with children. 
 So soon as they are born, they wash them in 
 water ; and, while very young, and in cold 
 weather, they plunge them in the rivers, to 
 harden and embolden them. The children 
 will go very young, at nine months commonly ; 
 if boys, they go a-fishing till ripe for the woods, 
 which is about fifteen ; then they hunt ; and 
 after having given some proofs of their man- 
 
THE INDIANS. 127 
 
 hood, by a good return of skins, they may 
 marry ; else it is considered a shame to think 
 of a wife. 
 
 " The girls stay with their mothers and help 
 to hoe the ground, plant corn, and carry bur- 
 dens ; and they do well to use them to that 
 when young, which they must do when they 
 are old, for the wives are the true servants of 
 the husbands ; otherwise the men are very 
 affectionate to them. 
 
 " When the young women are fit for mar- 
 riage, they wear something about their heads 
 for an advertisement, but so as their faces are 
 hardly to be seen but when they please. 
 
 " The age they marry at, if women, is about 
 thirteen and fourteen ; if men, seventeen and 
 eighteen : they are rarely older. 
 
 " Their houses are made of mats, or barks 
 of trees, set on poles, in the fashion of an Eng- 
 lish barn, but out of the power of the winds, 
 for they are rarely higher than a man : they 
 lie on reeds or grass. In travel, they lodge in 
 the woods, about a great fire, with the mantle 
 of duffels they wear by day wrapt about them, 
 
128 THE INDIANS. 
 
 and a few boughs stuck round them. Their 
 diet is maize or Indian corn, prepared in dif- 
 ferent ways ; sometimes roasted in the ashes ; 
 sometimes l)eaten and boiled with water, which 
 they call homine. They also make cakes, not 
 unpleasant to eat. They have likewise several 
 sorts of beans and pease that are good nourish- ' 
 ment ; and the woods and the rivers are their 
 larder. If an European comes to see them, or 
 calls for lodging at their house or wigwam, 
 they give him the best place, and first cut. If 
 they come to visit us, they salute us with an 
 itah ; which is as much as to say, good be to 
 you^ and set them down ; which is mostly on 
 the ground, close to their heels, their legs up- 
 right. It may be, they speak not a word, but 
 observe all passages. If you give them any 
 thing to eat or drink, well ; for they will not 
 ask ; and be it little or much, if it be with 
 kindness, they are well pleased, else they go 
 away sullen, but say nothing. They are great 
 concealers of their own resentments ; brought 
 to it, I believe, by the revenge that hath been 
 practised among them ; but in liberality they 
 
THE INDIANS. 129 
 
 excel. Nothing is too good for their friend. 
 Give them a fine gun, coat, or other thing, it 
 may pass twenty hands before it stops. Light 
 of heart, strong affections, but soon spent. The 
 most merry creatures that live ; feast and dance 
 perpetually. They never have much, nor want 
 much. Wealth circulateth like the blood ; all 
 parts partake ; and though none shall want 
 what another hath, yet exact observers of pro- 
 perty. They care for little, because they want 
 but little ; and the reason is, a little contents 
 them. In this they are sufficiently revenged 
 on us : if they are ignorant of our pleasures, 
 they are also free from our pains. We sweat 
 and toil to live : their pleasure feeds them. I 
 mean their hunting, fishing, and fowling ; and 
 this table is spread everywhere. They eat 
 twice a-day, morning and evening : their seats 
 and table are the ground. In sickness, impa- 
 tient to be cured, and for it give any thing, 
 especially for their children, to whom they are 
 extremely natural. Their mourning is black- 
 ing of their faces, which they continue for a 
 year. 
 
130 THE INDIANS. 
 
 " Their government is by kings, which they 
 call Sacharaa ; and those by succession, but 
 always of the mother's side. For instance, the 
 children of him that is now king will not suc- 
 ceed, but his brother by the mother, or the 
 children of his sister, whose sons (and after 
 them the children of her daughters) will reign ; 
 for no woman inherits. The reason they ren- 
 der for this way of descent is, that their issue 
 may not be spurious." 
 
 The Indians, since the days of William 
 Penn, are somewhat degenerated. Tlieir in- 
 tercourse with the whites has done them no 
 good. They have thereby added to their 
 other vices that of drunkenness, which, of all 
 others, is the sin which most easily besets an 
 Indian. Still I am told that an Indian and 
 his wife never get drunk together ; when the 
 one gets drunk, the other keeps sober, and so 
 they take turn and turn about. Drunkenness, 
 unfortunately, is not looked upon by them as 
 a crime. It would be well if it were so, as 
 public opinion is a law to them ; so much so, 
 that if any one among them commits a crime 
 
THE INDIANS. I3l 
 
 deserving of death, he seldom makes an at- 
 tempt to escape, but gives himself up, and suf- 
 fers death, preferring to die rather than to live 
 under the curse of public opinion. 
 
 The Indians are amazingly acute of sight. 
 If they see a person once, they will know him 
 always after. If you confer a favour on one 
 of them, he will remember it with gratitude as 
 long as he lives ; but if you do him an injury, 
 he never forgets or forgives it. Those In- 
 dians that I saw at Seneca were rather less in 
 stature than the Yankees. Their skin was 
 of a dark, smoky, copper colour; their hair 
 long, black, and coarse. Some of them wore 
 large ear-rings. The young papooses were 
 amusing themselves shooting with bows and 
 arrows. I asked one of them to take aim at 
 an orange which I placed on a stone at a con- 
 siderable distance, he hit it at once, and seem- 
 ingly almost without an effort : so expert are 
 they. In their traffic with the white skins, as 
 they call the Americans, they are sometimes 
 imposed upon ; but they have now learned 
 pretty well in what estimation to hold the 
 
132 SELLING A HORSE. 
 
 word of a genuine Yankee. A gentleman 
 whom I met at Seneca related a conversation 
 which passed between an Indian and a Yankee 
 in his presence, which shews that the Indians 
 do not want for shrewdness. The Yankee had 
 a horse to sell. It was old, broken in the 
 knees, and had many faults. He met an In- 
 dian, and calculated he would come Yankee 
 over him. So he commenced a long harangue 
 in praise of the horse, and finished by strongly 
 urging the Indian to barter some of his goods 
 for the animal. The Indian, with the greatest 
 patience and politeness, heard him to an end, 
 and replied, " You say very true — your horse 
 very tine horse ; you should not sell such a 
 fine animal, you should keep him to yourself." 
 The veracity of the Indians was held in 
 such esteem by the Dutch, that, in one of the 
 old laws in the State of New York, wherein 
 tavern-keepers were fined for giving the In- 
 dians too much liquor, the word of the Indian, 
 when sober, was good enough evidence in a 
 court of law against the white person who 
 made him drunk. 
 
THE INDIANS. 133 
 
 The race of the Indians are fast dwindling 
 away. No doubt, there is a kind of show of 
 mock justice observed towards them by the 
 Americans, who make treaties, and who pur- 
 chase their lands from them ; but, as the lands 
 reserved for the Indians become unfit for them 
 to live upon so soon as they are surrounded by 
 settlers, who clear the country round about, 
 and thereby drive away the game on which 
 the Indians subsist, they are thus forced to re- 
 linquish their lands for what the Americans 
 choose to give them, and to remove far away, 
 where the white skin has not yet intruded. 
 
 " It was once their highest gratification to be 
 accounted the white man's friend. And it has 
 been truly said, none ever entered the hut of 
 an Indian, and he gave him no meat, — or cold 
 and naked, and he gave him no clothes ; but 
 now, alas, these generous Indians are forced to 
 leave the home of their fathers. 
 
 ' Few and faint, yet fearless still !' 
 
 They shed no tears, they utter no cries, they 
 heave no groans. There is something in their 
 
 M 
 
134 LAKE ERIE. 
 
 hearts which surpasses speech : it is courage 
 absorbed by despair." 
 
 I took my leave of this interesting people 
 about 4 p. M., and reached Buffalo again in 
 time to tea at the Hotel, where I stop- 
 ped all night. 
 
 June 11 — After breakfast I walked out to 
 take a ramble through the town, nor did I 
 halt until I came to I^ake Erie, when I was 
 aroused from my reverie by the waves break- 
 ing on the shore. The wind was blowing 
 strong from the west, and I could hardly con- 
 vince myself that the lake before me was not 
 the sea. 
 
 A steam-boat for Detroit (the capital of the 
 Michigan Territory) was on the point of sail- 
 ing. I observed on deck about fifty emigrants 
 from the old country, who were proceeding 
 westward. The distance from Buffalo to De- 
 troit is about 300 miles. The intercourse be- 
 tween these two places is increasing every 
 year. This season I am told there are no less 
 than 30 steam-boats, and 150 sailing vessels, 
 navigating Lake Erie. The passage-money to 
 Detroit is eight dollars in the cabin, and four 
 
THE WELLAND CANAL. 135 
 
 dollars on the deck. The passage takes up 
 from 35 to 40 hours. 
 
 Lake Erie is 290 miles long, and in the 
 widest part 63 broad. It is only about 12 fa- 
 thoms deep. This lake receives into its bosom 
 the surplus waters of the upper lakes, besides 
 some tributary streams. Its waters appear 
 green, and it is frozen over every winter. It 
 lies 300 feet above the level of Lake Ontario. 
 
 A canal called the Welland canal, was made 
 some years ago, to connect these two lakes to- 
 gether, large enough to allow the vessels navi- 
 gating the lakes to pass through. The canal 
 is 42 miles in length, 58 feet wide at the top, 
 and 26 at the bottom. 
 
 I returned to the hotel at 1 1 a. m., paid my 
 bill, and set off in the first canal packet-boat, 
 on my way back to New York. The packet- 
 boats are exclusively fitted up for passengers 
 and their luggage. They carry no goods, and 
 go about five miles an hour. The company 
 met with in these boats is more select than in 
 the line boats. 
 
 During my travels I have experienced pain- 
 ful sensations in leaving the towns I had vi- 
 
136 AMERICAN LADIES. 
 
 sited, arising from the reflection that I was ne- 
 ver to see them again. It is painful to part 
 even with a Yankee town for the last time ; 
 and although I never met with a Yankee who 
 was open and generous, still, in parting with 
 the companions whom accident threw in my 
 way in canal-boats and steamers, and knowing 
 that I never should see one of them again, it 
 threw a temporary sadness over my mind, 
 which those who have wandered over distant 
 lands can easily conceive. 
 
 In the boat I found twelve passengers, four 
 of whom were ladies. The title lady is applied 
 in America to all females ; even a white ser- 
 vant would be affronted if she were not styled 
 a young lady. Her master terms the servant 
 a help, and she calls her master the Boss ; ser- 
 vant and master being titles the Americans 
 consider totally inconsistent with their notions 
 of liberty and equality. 
 
 I looked around among my fellow-travellers 
 
 for a sociable companion to converse with, 
 
 when I soon saw one to my mind — 
 
 " A right jolly old man, with a large round belly, 
 Which shook, when he laugh'd, like a bowl full of 
 jelly." 
 
TONNEWANTA. 13? 
 
 I made up to him, and broke the ice by 
 some casual remark or other. We were'soon 
 intimate. He was an old sea-captain, and had 
 sailed many hundred thousand miles. He 
 had been twice round the world. Like most 
 sailors, he liked a glass of grog, and hated 
 the Temperance Societies. He had been away 
 in the Michigan country, with a view of pur- 
 chasing an estate, intending to cast anchor 
 there for life ; but he had not made a pur- 
 chase, as he thought the country too new to 
 admit of the comforts and the society he wished 
 for. 
 
 At one o'clock we were summoned to din- 
 ner. The ladies sat at the upper part of the 
 table, as stiff and cold as ice ; they looked nei- 
 ther to the right nor to the left. The dinner 
 was over in ten minutes. Nothing but water 
 was drunk at the table; however, the jolly old 
 captain and I had a glass of brandy and water 
 on the deck, where wc smoked our cigars, 
 while he told some queer stories. About ten 
 miles from Buffalo we came to a creek called 
 Tonnewanta, which serves for twelve miles as 
 M 2 
 
138 LOCKPORT. 
 
 a natural canal, and has saved the expense of 
 cutting. At six o'clock we arrived at Lockport, 
 where I left the boat, and took leave of my 
 jolly companion. 
 
 Lockport, so called from its vicinity to a 
 number of locks, is another of those mushroom 
 villages, which the Erie Canal has raised into 
 existence. It is stated that, in 1821, there were 
 only two houses at this place; now, in 1834, 
 there are above 400. It may appear strange 
 that a village of this size should not contain 
 an inhabitant above fifteen years of age, born 
 in the village ; the inhabitants are strangers 
 from many parts of the world, have been, by 
 various causes, led to make this place their 
 adopted home. 
 
 When I landed, I was accosted by a youth, 
 wishing me to go to an inn only a few 
 yards off. He offered to conduct me there, 
 and to carry my luggage, which offer I accept- 
 ed. The landlord of this inn happened to be 
 from Edinburgh. He had come out, along 
 with his wife and family, four years ago. They 
 had been wrecked on the voyage from Liver- 
 pool to Quebec, and escaped with only their 
 
AN EDINBURGH LASS. 139 
 
 lives, having lost their all. After working, 
 as a wright, for two years in Upper Cana- 
 da, he removed into the States, and finally set- 
 tled down as an innkeeper here. He seemed 
 a kind-hearted man, for, when I told him from 
 whence I came, the feelings of the Scot over- 
 came all the coldness of his adopted country, 
 and he shot out his hand and exclaimed, " O 
 man, but I'm glad to see you !" He asked me 
 to take tea with his wife and family, and I 
 spent a most agreeable evening. 
 
 He had a daughter about twenty years of 
 age, a most amiable good-looking girl. She 
 had a sweet musical voice, and sung Scotch 
 airs with much feeling. After she had sung 
 several songs, I asked her if she would favour 
 me with " Home, sweet home." She complied; 
 but I was sorry after that I had asked her. 
 When she sung " there no place like home," 
 the tears started into her eyes, and trickled 
 down her cheeks ; and I saw that the poor las- 
 sie thought she was far from home. It is a 
 great luxury to make any one happy, and I 
 was almost tempted to tell her that I would 
 take her back again to Auld Reekie. 
 
140 A LIBERATED CONVICT. 
 
 June 12. — At Lockport there is a double 
 set of locks, which allow the boats passing west 
 to go by the one, while those going east pass 
 by the other, thereby saving a great deal of 
 time. I saw nothing else worthy of remark in 
 the village, so I took leave of mine host of the 
 inn, and his lovely daughter, at 10 a. m., and 
 leaped on board the first line-boat which pass- 
 ed on the canal, where I found all strange faces 
 again. I was not long on board ere I obser- 
 ved sitting in the fore-part of the boat, a half- 
 starved, half-clad human being. He had terror 
 and misery strongly marked on his counte- 
 nance ; all the social feelings seemed dead in 
 him forever. I found on inquiry he had lately 
 been an inmate of Sing-Sing Prison. He had 
 been sentenced for fourteen years, but I could 
 not learn his crime. 
 
 I was anxious to know some particulars of 
 this famous prison, where 1000 convicts are 
 kept at hard labour, and doomed to perpetual 
 silence, during the term of their confinement. 
 I got into conversation with the poor wretch, 
 and he certainly described the horrors and the 
 cruelties of that prison to be such as must 
 
SING-SING PRISON. 141 
 
 shock the feelings of humanity. The pri- 
 soners are worked hard, and allowed but a 
 scanty share of provisions. They never get 
 a meal full, so there is a constant craving for 
 food; and yet, if any of the prisoners, through 
 illness, have any of their provisions left over, 
 they are flogged severely if detected in giv- 
 ing it to another, and the receiver is also 
 flogged. This prohibition is so strictly en- 
 forced, that my informant declares he was once 
 flogged for picking up an old chew of tobacco 
 which one of the keepers had spat out of his 
 mouth. No wonder that such cruel treatment 
 breaks down the health and the spirits of those 
 unfortunate wretches. Some of them commit 
 suicide ; others are taken sick, and when 
 death comes to their relief, one would think 
 some sympathy might be shewn to the dy- 
 ing man ; but no, — with a refinement in cruelty 
 peculiar to the Yankees, no friend, not even a 
 father, a brother, or a wife, is allowed to sooth 
 his dying couch ; he sees before him the dark 
 valley of the shadow of death, and in that aw- 
 ful hour, he looks around for some one he loves 
 to sooth the agonies of his soul, but he looks in 
 vain. 
 
142 TREATMENT OF PRISONERS. 
 
 These prisoners, who have transgressed the 
 laws of their country, are still human beings ; 
 they are all more or less susceptible to kind 
 treatment ; they have a sense of natural justice 
 about them ; they feel that the punishment in- 
 flicted is far beyond even what is due to the 
 crimes they have committed ; a spirit of re- 
 venge is first cherished in their bosoms against 
 their keepers ; they next become dejected and 
 almost heart-broken under the merciless casti- 
 gations which they see inflicted every day 
 around them ; their constitutions fail, and if 
 they survive the term of their imprisonment, 
 they come out objects only for the charity work- 
 house. I sincerely trust that our free and 
 happy country may never be disgraced by the 
 adoption of such a system of brutal tyranny 
 and oppression. 
 
 While I listened to the narrative told me 
 by this man, I had occasion to put some 
 questions to him, and I noticed when I spoke 
 that he gave an involuntary shudder ; I asked 
 him the cause, and he said, that for four- 
 teen long years he had hardly ever heard a 
 human voice, except that of his keeper, and 
 
143 
 
 even that he had scarcely ever heard, but it 
 was to order him to strip to be flogged. I 
 felt deeply for this miserable outcast, and gave 
 him a trifle of money, and left him sitting 
 where I first saw him. I sat below the most 
 of the forenoon writing my journal ; however, 
 when we came to a village, I generally went up 
 on the roof of the boat to see anything worth 
 seeing, but the heat was so great that I could 
 not stop long there. 
 
 The country through which we passed was 
 level ; and in some places appeared wet and 
 marshy. When it grew dark, I was struck 
 with the myriads of fire-flies that were flying 
 about every where, which the Yankees call 
 lightning bugs ; they are very pretty, and give 
 an animated appearance to the scenery around. 
 
 At 9 P. M. the boat reached the village of 
 Albion, where I resolved to stay all night, pre- 
 ferring a bed in an inn, with perhaps only one 
 or two persons in the same room, to being shut 
 up in a cabin with two dozen or more. 
 
 June 13 I rose at 5 a.m. and walked 
 
 down to the canal, to take the first line-boat 
 passing eastward, being anxious to arrive at 
 3 
 
144 AMERICAN VILLAGES. 
 
 Rochester before dark ; fortunately I had not 
 to wait above ten minutes before a boat came up. 
 Every few miles we passed some village or 
 other, and all like one another. Each village 
 had at least one church, with a gaudy wooden 
 spire, covered with tin, glittering in the sun. 
 There were only six passengers in the boat ; 
 one appeared to me, from his manner, to be a 
 clergyman. When I noticed him first, he was 
 engaged with another passenger in an argu- 
 ment about the necessity of attending divine 
 service. His opponent denied that it was his 
 duty to do so, and argued that the Sabbath 
 was done away with, when our Saviour came 
 into the world. Both quoted Scripture to suit 
 their purpose ; and both, I doubt not, were 
 sincere in their belief; but the parson had the 
 best of the argument, he having the Bible at 
 his finger ends : however, the other put a stop 
 to the controversy, by telling the clergyman 
 he had a direct interest in advocating public 
 worship, as he made his bread by preaching. 
 
 During the forenoon I chatted in the cabin 
 with a young lady, and in the course of the 
 conversation, I happened to mention a place 
 
VOLUNTARY CHURCHES. 145 
 
 of punishment, vulgarly called Hell, vvhon my 
 lovely and frail sinner exclaimed — " Lord help 
 me ! You surely do not believe in any such 
 place ? Do you believe that a God of infinite 
 goodness and love would make human beings 
 to torment them for ever ? Impossible ! all men 
 are to be saved by Christ, who died for all 
 men." She run on in a rhapsody of this kind 
 for some minutes. 
 
 I heard my pretty preaclier vrith no little 
 astonishment, and, at the close, I told her she 
 had a most convenient and comfortable creed, 
 but one I was not inclined to put faith in. 
 
 It is w^ell known that in America there is no 
 Established Church. Every preacher, of what- 
 ever persuasion, being provided for by the 
 people who choose him for their pastor. It 
 has been a matter of much dispute, whether 
 this experiment of voluntary churches has suc- 
 ceeded in advancing the interest of true reli- 
 gion or not. One party say it has failed ; and 
 the other, that its success has been triumphant. 
 That there is no want of churches, wherever I 
 have been in the State of New York, is true. 
 That many of these charges have ministers 
 
\ 
 
 146 INFIDEL OPINIONS. 
 
 who preach pure religion, is also true. But 
 that many places of worship are filled by fana- 
 tics and religious enthusiasts of various deno- 
 minations, cannot be denied. No devotee, how- 
 ever wild in his ideas of a Supreme Being, but 
 will find followers in America ; even Fanny 
 Wright was not without her adherents. 
 
 Infidelity is openly advocated in the cities, 
 and in the fields ; and it is no uncommon 
 thing to hear the same openly defended in a 
 mixed company. Still this may not arise al- 
 together from the want of an Established 
 Church. I think it may be accounted for from 
 the constitution of the State. The Americans 
 are accustomed to reason on all subjects con- 
 nected with politics, and they are flattered by 
 those whom they support, till they believe that 
 their reason is infallible. It is easy changing 
 from politics to religion ; and they forget, in 
 the pride of their heai'ts, that the reason of 
 man is fallible, and that the mysteries of true 
 religion are beyond their comprehension. 
 
 At half-past 5 p. m. we came in sight of Ro- 
 chester, where I left the boat, and took up my 
 lodgings at an inn by the side of the canal. 
 
ROCHESTER. 117 
 
 The town is situated on the east and west 
 side of the Genesee river, which is here fifty 
 yards wide. It is only seven miles distant from 
 Lake Ontario. The falls of the Genesee river, 
 two of which are within the limits of the town, 
 mark this place out to be, at a future period, 
 a large manufacturing town. Already there 
 are no less than eleven flour mills erected, ca- 
 pable of manufacturing 2,500 bushels of flour 
 in twenty-four hours. 
 
 The population exceeds 13,000. 
 
 Twenty years ago this place was a wilder- 
 ness ; now it has two newspapers, two markets, 
 two banks, and eleven churches. 
 
 June 14. — I did not leave Rochester till 
 noon, my time being taken up in viewing the 
 lions. Instead of taking the line-boat as be- 
 fore, I travelled in the packet-boat, as I was 
 beginning to weary with travelling so slow. I 
 was well pleased that I did so, as I met with 
 several intelligent gentlemen in the packet. 
 
 In the afternoon I listened to an animated 
 controversy between a gentleman from South 
 Carolina and a New Englander;, the subject 
 was slavery. He of South Carolina, who was 
 
148 SLAVKRY. 
 
 himself a holder of six slaves, deprecated bit- 
 terly the interference of the other States, in 
 printing and distributing inflammatory placards 
 among their slaves. He acknowledged the 
 evils of slavery, and said, " he regretted and 
 detested the system as much as any man could 
 do ; still, until an equivalent or value was offer- 
 ed for them by the legislature, that it would be 
 mere robbery to make a law to emancipate 
 them." He said that the slave holders would 
 readily consent to give up twenty per cent, of 
 their value to meet any arrangement tliat might 
 be suggested ; but he very plainly hinted, that 
 the slave States would not allow themselves to 
 be dictated to in the matter by any other part 
 of the Union. 
 
 I slept on board the boat. Two tier of 
 beds were made up in the cabin. I went to 
 bed about 9 p. m., but the heat and the con- 
 fined air made me pass a restless night, and I 
 rose with the first dawn of day. As no spirits 
 were to be had on board, I had brought a pint 
 bottle of brandy for my own use at dinner. I 
 gave it in charge to the chamber-maid, who con- 
 trived, between dinner and supper^ nearly to 
 
SYRACUSE. 149 
 
 empty the bottle. As this young lady was a ^ 
 
 member of the Total Abstinence Society, and i^o-'-'-^'^^ 
 would have been insulted if I had offered her 
 even a glass of brandy, her behaviour appeared ' '"' 
 to me very unaccountable. However, I took ^\^% 
 no notice of it. /V' i 
 
 June 1 5 — The beds in the canal boats are 
 much infested with bugs ; the inns, also, and 
 the boarding-houses are not without them. 
 Fortunately I am one of those happy persons 
 whom they do not bite ; but still when I found 
 them dropping from the roof of the bed on my 
 cheek, I felt rather annoyed. We came to Sy- 
 racuse about noon, where I left the packet, 
 having resolved to wait a few hours there to 
 see the town, and pay a visit to the salt-works 
 in the vicinity. This town has the same busy, 
 bustling, commercial appearance as we meet 
 with generally in the States. The manufac- 
 ture of salt is the chief employment of the in- 
 habitants. A plain of 300 acres is covered 
 with vats for making salt by solar evaporation. 
 I walked to the place about half a mile off, and 
 examined the process. The salt water which 
 is used is brought from the great salt spring 
 
 N 2 
 
loO 
 
 SALT WORKS. 
 
 at Salina, about a mile distant, in wooden 
 pipes. Each vat has a light cover, which, 
 when the sun shines, is taken off; and in rainy 
 or damp weather the cover is put on. The 
 spring at Salina is said to have been first 
 found out by the Indians, who observed vast 
 numbers of deer and other wild animals re- 
 sorting to the place to drink the water. Forty 
 gallons of the water produces about a bushel 
 of salt. The salt-works and the springs of 
 salt water belong to the State of New York. 
 A barrel, containing five bushels of salt, pays 
 to the State 63 cents (2s. 7d.) of impost, and 
 every manufacturer pays two cents per bushel 
 for the use of the water. There are in the 
 neighbourhood many factories where the salt 
 is made by boiling. I could not learn what 
 revenue the State of New York received from 
 the salt-works, but it must be considerable. 
 When I got back to Syracuse, I found that 
 the next packet would not pass for some hours, 
 so I went and got my dinner at the Syracuse 
 house, and waited for the boat, which on its 
 arrival, I joined, as I had made up my mind 
 to remain on board all night, and in spite of \\\v 
 
CONCLUSION OF JOURNAL. 151 
 
 bugs and the heat, I managed to sleep pretty 
 well. 
 
 Jun^ 16. — Passed Utica early this morning, 
 and as I had already travelled between Albany 
 and Utica, on my way to Upper Canada, the 
 country had lost its novelty, and the time 
 hung heavy on my hands. To make it pass 
 more merrily away, I got my gun on deck, 
 and amused myself shooting at the birds on the 
 banks of the canal. The packet stopped at 
 Schenectady, between 7 and 8 p. m., and I 
 took up my abode for the night at an inn 
 close to the canal. 
 
 June 17. I started at 8 a. m. by the rail- 
 road, for Albany — found a steam-boat at Al- 
 bany ready to start — took my passage in her 
 (fare two dollars, including provisions), — and 
 by 6 p. M. on the following dajs I landed at 
 New York, and took up my residence at the 
 l)oarding-house kept by the widow in Pearl 
 Street, where I lived when I was in New York 
 before. This concludes the journal of my 
 tour through the country. 
 
152 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 I promised, on my return here, to give my 
 opinion of the ladies of New York. I wish I 
 had not undertaken the task, for assuredly it 
 is a difficult one. This country is said to be 
 the paradise of women. It is at least not 
 Mahomet's paradise. I think it is the paradise 
 of fools. The women in this country have 
 managed to assume an imposing attitude, 
 which has inverted the order of things. No 
 man wishes more than I do to see a proper 
 respect paid to the ladies. As the weaker vessels, 
 they are objects of our kindness and sympathy. 
 Their modest demeanour commands our es- 
 teem, and their delicate lovely forms and the 
 graces that surround them, make them the 
 object of our affections. The New York 
 gentlemen, however, in the spirit of overstrain- 
 ed gallantry, have given them more than all 
 this. They have bowed their necks beneath 
 the yoke of female supremacy. They have 
 overshot the mark, and the ladies love power 
 too well not to seize the proffered crown when 
 
FEMALE INFLUENCE. 153 
 
 within their reach. The females here do not 
 look up to man for his respect. They claim 
 it as an homage due to them. They look 
 like beings accustomed to command ; and let 
 you be as kind as ever you will to a female, she 
 thinks it no more than her due. If you are 
 riding in a coach, and a female of the lowest 
 class enters it, you must resign your seat to 
 her. It is demanded as her right. The Yan- 
 kees laugh at the English for allowing a queen 
 to reign over them, but they (poor hen-pecked 
 creatures) are subject, every one of them, to 
 the despotism of a petticoat government. It 
 is this circumstance which gives a key to the 
 character of the New- York ladies. The clergy, 
 who have long seen the influence of the ladies, 
 have joined their cause, which has, in the 
 mean time, strengthened it. If a political 
 change is to be brought about in the situation 
 of the Negroes, it is the combined forces of 
 the clergy and the ladies who eifect it. If in- 
 temperance is to be arrested, they are the 
 prime movers in it. If a Methodist minister 
 is to be acquitted, although believed guilty of 
 
154 NEW YORK LADIES. 
 
 murder, they can achieve it. In fact they are 
 omnipotent. 
 
 It will be asked, How does this new system 
 of things answer ? Do the ladies make good 
 housewives ? Are they loving and obedient 
 wives ? Is the moral character of the ladies 
 as high as it is in Scotland ? 
 
 I would that these questions had not occur- 
 red. It is painful for me to tell the true state 
 of affairs. Nevertheless, I suppose I must do 
 so. Well then, be it known that the genera- 
 lity of the ladies in New York are said to 
 make very bad wives. They neglect the 
 household duties ; and the time which ought 
 to be occupied in domestic affairs is spent at- 
 tending societies of different kinds. They are 
 also allowed to be very extravagant ; and se- 
 parations, inhibitions, and divorces are common 
 affairs. 
 
 The inhabitants of New York would fain 
 be thought a moral people. My observation 
 does not coincide with their wishes, and a 
 very worthy Christian in New York, who de- 
 plored the grievous depravity of the sex, pub- 
 
NEW YORK LADIES. 155 
 
 lished and circulated a report, wherein he 
 made out, that one half of the ladies in New 
 York were no better than they should be. In 
 their persons they are rather tall, thin and 
 lanky, with contracted chests. Their faces 
 when young are rather pretty, but want ex- 
 pression. They are pale and of a sickly hue, 
 but they call in art to assist nature, and they 
 bedaub their cheeks and necks with powdered 
 starch, over which they put a coat of red 
 paint. They are made up Avith hollow breast- 
 ed stays and other nameless articles of dress, 
 that defies you even to guess at their shapes ; 
 so that one of their own poets has very justly 
 remarked — 
 
 " Thus finish 'd in taste, while on her you gaze, 
 You may take the dear charmer for life ; 
 But never undress her, for out of her stays. 
 You'll find you have lost half your wife." 
 
 A stranger in New York is struck with the 
 great nnmber of coloured people he meets on 
 the streets. There are said to be not less 
 than 20,000 in the city, chiefly employed as 
 servants, in unloading ships, and other menial 
 occupations. They are said to be very de- 
 
156 THE NEGROES. 
 
 praved in their morals, wliich perhaps is owing 
 to their want of education. It is only a few 
 years (1828, I believe) since slavery was abo- 
 lished in the State of New York. 
 
 The Americans say that the Negroes are 
 inferior in their intellect to the whites, but 
 until they receive as good an education as 
 their former masters, and are allowed the pri- 
 vilege of mixing in society w ith the whites, a 
 true estimate of their abilities cannot be form- 
 ed. The Yankees have liberty and equality 
 constantly in their mouths, but their treatment 
 of the poor blacks proves that they have none 
 in their hearts. 
 
 I observed very few dogs on the streets of 
 New York. On inquiring the cause, I learned 
 that about three years ago some dogs had gone 
 mad, and a reward of a dollar was given, by 
 order of the Mayor, for tlie head of every dog 
 taken to the Police Office; and the Negroes 
 killed all they found loose for the sake of the 
 reward. 
 
 Whisky is very cheap. It is sold whole- 
 sale at lOd. per gallon. A man can get rea- 
 sonably drunk for l^d., and dead drunk for 
 
ARDENT SPIRITS. 15? 
 
 2d. I would recommend emigrants, particu- 
 larly those who have little command over 
 themselves, to join a Temperance Society on 
 their arrival. I am convinced these societies 
 have been the salvation of thousands. Drink- 
 ing ardent spirits is much more hurtful to the 
 constitution in America than it is in Europe, 
 and ought to be guarded against, as, after a 
 person has indulged to excess in the use of 
 spirits, it is very difficult indeed to reclaim 
 them. A preacher descanting on the impos- 
 sibility of the drunkard retracing his steps after 
 he had gone a certain length, made use of the 
 
 following strong simile " My brethren, it is 
 
 a very easy task to row a boat over the falls" 
 of Niagara, but an all sufficient job to row it 
 back again." 
 
 Rents are high in New York. Wages are 
 also high, and clothing dear, particularly wool- 
 len goods. The high duties levied on goods 
 imported into the states from Europe accounts 
 for it. Wearing apparel, ready made, is sub- 
 ject to a duty of .50 per cent. Blankets pay 
 25 per cent ; cotton shawls 25 per cent ; cut- 
 o 
 
158 IMPOST DUTIES. 
 
 lery 25 per cent ; carpeting 25 per cent ; and 
 shawls made of wool 50 per cent. Madeira 
 and sherry wine pay a duty of Is. per gallon ; 
 foreign spirits about 2s. 6d. per gallon, and 
 tea of all kinds is charged 10 cents (5d.) per 
 pound of duty. 
 
 The high duties on European goods are laid 
 on to protect the infant manufactories of 
 America, and although, from the high price of 
 labour, they will not for a long time be able, 
 on equal terms, to cope with Europe even in 
 their own markets ; still, in case of a war with 
 the mother country, the Americans judge it 
 prudent to encourage the growth of manufac- 
 ' tories at home, although it is done at a con- 
 siderable sacrifice, as the capital thus employed 
 might be more profitably invested. 
 
 It is very difficult to recover money from 
 persons who have left the old country in debt. 
 They either change their names or go into a 
 partnership. The only chance there is of get- 
 ting payment is to threaten to expose them, 
 and, if they are doing well, and the debt small, 
 perhaps they will pay to avoid exposure. 
 
YANKEEISMS. 159 
 
 The genuine Yankees have a vast number 
 of expressions peculiar to themselves. I shall, 
 as a kind of curiosity, note down a few of the 
 Yankeeisms. 
 
 I guess — get along — go a-head — pretty con- 
 siderable — stump'd — a tarnal lie — not as I 
 knows on — snorted and snikered — I tell you — 
 here I be — we had a great time on't you may 
 depend — that's right — my notion — dreadful 
 handsome galls — spunky looking critters — a 
 close shave — snaked — down east — wrathy — 
 lengthy, &c. &c. 
 
 A division of a street is called a block : a 
 married lady is not called Mistress, but Misses : 
 a Negro is nicknamed a darky, or a woolly 
 head ; a grocer's shop is designated a grocery 
 store : a baker's shop a bakery. 
 
 Fires are very frequent here. Hardly a 
 night passes without one. I was present at 
 two great fires, both of which took place in 
 Pearl Street. At the first fire, two of the fire- 
 men lost their lives by the floor falling in un- 
 expectedly. They were much lamented by 
 the citizens, and their remains were honoured 
 by a funeral procession. 
 
160 SHOPKEEPERS. 
 
 The fire-engine department is very effi- 
 cient ; the services of the engine men being 
 gratuitous. It is reckoned an honourable ser- 
 vice. The men are very daring, and often, I 
 am told, risk their lives in a needless and reck- 
 less manner. 
 
 I found the shopkeepers far from being 
 civil. Some of them were even insolent ; I 
 shall mention one case. — I had occasion to 
 change a few sovereigns for dollars. I went 
 to an office in Wall Street, where I learned 
 the exchange was 4 dollars and 54 cents ; but 
 it being only eight in the morning, I was told 
 that they did not open their coffers till nine or 
 ten, I forget which, and I was desired to call 
 back at that hour. In the mean time I took a 
 stroll along Broadway, and I observed, on my 
 way back, in a money broker's window, a ticket 
 up with the following notice : — " Sovereigns 
 exchanged at Wall Street prices." I stepped in 
 and asked what he gave for sovereigns; — 
 " Four dollars 50 cents," says he. I told him 
 I had just been at Wall Street, where they told 
 me the price was 4 dollars 54 cents, and if 
 
SHOPKEEPERS. 16 1 
 
 he would exchange them at the same rate, that 
 I would change with him. " Why," says he, 
 " I don't believe what every body tells me.'' 
 I said to him, " Do you not believe what I 
 say ?'■ " No, I don't," says he. This inso- 
 lent Yankee knew well I was telling him the 
 truth. He saw I was a foreigner, and he 
 wished to impose upon me. He failed in doing 
 that, and out of dislike to an old country man, 
 he insulted me. 
 
 I would recommend strangers, in all their 
 transactions with the New Yorkers, to make a 
 sure bargain. Trust not at all to their gener- 
 osity, for they know not what it is. Put no 
 faith in their gratitude, for they have not a 
 spark of it in their breasts. They may have 
 a goodwill towards your dollars, but depend 
 upon it they hate you in their hearts, and they 
 will lose no opportunity of legally defrauding 
 you. They reckon strangers fair plunder, 
 and, as a vast multitude of strangers pass 
 through New York, bound to all parts of the 
 interior, who never revisit it again, and who 
 have no opportunity of exposing their roguery, 
 
 o 2 
 
162 BOAllDIx-^G-HOUSE. 
 
 the shopkeepers in New York manage, / tell 
 you, to give their visitors a pretty considerable 
 close shave. 
 
 I shall mention how I was treated at a 
 boarding-house, where I thought the apparent 
 respectability of the old widow who kept it 
 would have insured me different treatment. 
 
 I had been the means of introducing about 
 a dozen of my fellow voyagers to her house, 
 and I bargained with her for four dollars a- 
 week. I promised to return to her house 
 when I got back to New York, but not feeling 
 comfortable, owing to all the other boarders 
 being genuine Yankees, I resolved to leave the 
 house after the first week. I asked the old 
 lady what I had to pay : — " Well, I guess,'' 
 says she, " it will be a dollar a-day." I was 
 surprised to hear her, and I asked her why 
 she charged me more than I paid before. 
 " Why," says she, " you made no bargain the 
 last time you came." 
 
 On or about the 9th, 10th, and 11th of July, 
 the heat became so intense that it was almo^it 
 insupportable. During three days many people 
 
EMIGRANTS. 163 
 
 dropped down dead from the heat ; others died 
 from the effects of drinking cold water. Fah- 
 renheit's thermometer stood, in the shade at 
 noon, from 94° to 100°. I saw several fine 
 horses lying dead in Broadway, having fallen 
 down while running on the streets. The very 
 Yankees called out that it was " dreadful hot." 
 On the 11th I took refuge on board the vessel 
 which I had taken my passage out in for Eng- 
 land, and there I felt somewhat cooler 
 
 While I remained in New York, I met a 
 great many of the lately arrived emigrants — 
 many had not been able to get employment, 
 and regretted leaving home : some of them 
 had got employment, but the hard work, joined 
 to the great heat, was so severe upon their 
 constitutions, that they said they did not think 
 they would remain long there. Some said 
 that they felt ashamed to go home immediately, 
 and therefore, they would try and weather it 
 out for one year, and then return to their own 
 country. 
 
 I met with only two people who spoke fa- 
 vourably of the change they had made. One 
 
164 ' EMIGRAI^TS. 
 
 was a tailor, a capital tradesman ; he had got 
 the situation of foreman to a large tailoring es- 
 tablishment, and received very good wages. 
 The other was a mason, also an excellent 
 tradesman ; but, I have no doubt, both these 
 men might have done well enough at home. 
 Here they certainly have a greater prospect of 
 rising in the world, as it cannot be denied that 
 the wages are better than at home for first-rate 
 hard working tradesmen ; but, still these ad- 
 vantages are more than counterbalanced by 
 the climate, and the manners of the people 
 among whom they live ; so that I would not 
 advise any one, who can make even a bare 
 living at home, to come here : far less should 
 any one, who has a business at home by which 
 he can keep himself comfortable, ever think 
 of coming to New York, and the man who has 
 a capital, and is comparatively independent, 
 would, in my opinion, be acting like a mad- 
 man to leave his home for America. 
 
 I sailed from New York on board the ship 
 
 F Captain G bound for Greenock, 
 
 on the 1 5th July. We had a most agreeable 
 
CONCLUSION. 165 
 
 passage of twenty -two days, and, on the 6th 
 August, I landed at Greenock, and went up 
 to Glasgow by the first steamer. 
 
 I stopped at the Argyle Hotel all night, and 
 took the coach at 10 a. m. for Edinburgh, hav- 
 ing been absent from home only four months 
 and seventeen days. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 STATISTICAL VIRW OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK, 
 
 Population of the C 
 periods, dur 
 
 hi 1731, 
 1756, 
 1773, 
 1790, 
 1800, 
 1810, 
 1820, 
 1825» 
 1830, 
 
 ty of New York, at different 
 ng the last 100 years. 
 
 8,628 
 
 10,381 
 
 21,876 
 
 33,131 
 
 60,489 
 
 96,373 
 
 123,706 
 
 166,086 
 
 202,589 
 
168 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 CENSUS OF 1830. 
 Taken from the Marshal's Returns. 
 
 Whites. 
 
 Males. 
 
 Females. 
 
 Under 5 years, 
 
 13,644 
 
 13,265 
 
 5 to 10, 
 
 10,357 
 
 10,665 
 
 10 to 15, 
 
 8,656 
 
 9,802 
 
 15 to 20, 
 
 9,918 
 
 11,556 
 
 20 to 30, 
 
 21,409 
 
 22,556 
 
 30 to 40, 
 
 13,659 
 
 12,916 
 
 40 to 50, 
 
 6,625 
 
 6,694 
 
 50 to 60, 
 
 3,207 
 
 3,702 
 
 60 to 70, 
 
 1,468 
 
 1,793 
 
 70 to 80, 
 
 449 
 
 m^ 
 
 80 to .90, 
 
 80 
 
 178 
 
 90 to 100, 
 
 14 
 
 31 
 
 100 and upwards, 7 
 
 2 
 
 Total, 
 
 89,523 
 
 93,826 
 
 Coloured. 
 
 Males. 
 
 Females. 
 
 Under 10 years, 
 
 1,261 
 
 1,431 
 
 10 to 20, 
 
 1,358 
 
 2,135 
 
 20 to 36, 
 
 1,774 
 
 2,495 
 
 36 to 55, 
 
 1,269 
 
 1,530 
 
 55 to 100, 
 
 371 
 
 449 
 
 100 and upw 
 
 ards, 5 
 
 5 
 
 Total, 6,038 
 
 Total person.s classed. 
 Persons returned not classed, 
 
 Grand Total, 
 
 ,045 
 
 197,432 
 5,525 
 
 202, 
 
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