LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN IN MEMORY OF STEWART S. HOWE JOURNALISM CLASS OF 1928 STEW^ART S. HOWE FOUNDATION BOOKSTACKS CENTRAL CIRCULATION BOOKSTACKS The person charging this material is re- sponsible for its return to the library from which it was borrowed on or before the Latest Date stamped below. Theft, mutilatioiv and underlining of i»ooks ore reasons for discipiincry action and may result in dismissal from the University. TO RENEW CALL TELEPHONE CENTER, 333-8400 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY AT URBANA-CHAMPAIGN ^AR 2 3 1993 AUG 1 1 1993 SEP 2 7 1994 SEP 2 ^ 1994 mi When renewing by phone, write new due date below previous due date. 79521 L162 A True Picture of Emigration mmmammBsaaoBm REBECCA BURLEND 2Cf)e Hafeegibe Cla^^it^ A True Picture of Emigration EDITED BY MiLo Milton Quaife SECRETARY OF THE BURTON HISTORICAL COLLECTION CHICAGO R. R. Donnelley & Sons Co. Christmas y 1936 s (^ a^wtilisifjersi' preface THE contents of this year's volume of The Lakeside Classics is not another song of "arms and men." The many- preceding volumes relating hair-raising con- flicts with the Indians and the fortitude of the frontiersmen in the face of death from starvation and thirst have established an expectancy that the subject matter of the series must have a wild west flavor. This volume, however, moves in a more quiet tempo. It is the story of a woman, who, with her husband and three children, emigrated from England in 1831 to settle in the wilds of western Illinois. It is probably typical of the story of hundreds of thousands of other women who likewise followed their hus- bands to the new world in order that they might improve their own condition and that of their children; women who accepted the privations and difficulties of the joint ven- ture valiantly and who, when crushing disap- pointments came, with brave hearts brought renewed courage to their husbands to fight through. One cannot read this simple story without realizing that these pioneer women ^ublis^fjers;' preface did their full share in conquering the new world, nor can the thought escape one that these early farmers were of that sturdy stuff that accepted the challenge of Nature and conquered her, without the help of modern machinery, transportation, and markets, and the coddling of an indulgent government. "A True Picture of Emigration, or Four- teen Years in the Interior of North Amer- ica" was published in England in 1848. It was an insignificant pamphlet of four by seven inches, of 62 pages, printed in small type, bound in paper, and selling for 6d. It has been included for many years in the vari- ous bibliographies of early American history, but being published anonymously it was so described. The pamphlet was recommended to the publishers by Mr. Oliver R. Barrett of Kenilworth, Illinois, a life-time collector of rare books, to whom it had long been a favor- ite. The publishers are also indebted to Mr. Barrett for the identity of the author, the discovery of which is a pleasant story of a book collector's enthusiasm. Born in Pike County, Illinois, Mr. Barrett was familiar with the scene of this narrative and thought it possible by the study of land titles and transfers to find the name of the author. The story can best be told by the two following letters: VI ^Publisffjetfi;' preface March 9, 1936 Mr. Jesse M. Thompson, Pittsfield, Illinois. Dear Mr. Thompson: I read your series of articles on Early Pike County with a great deal of interest. I hope they will continue for a long time to come. When your present material is exhausted, I think it would be worth while to reprint a part, at least, of the well written and in- teresting narrative of pioneer life in Pike County, Illinois, in 1 831-1845. The title of this rare little item of Americana is: A TRUE PICTURE OF E MI G RATI ox OR FOURTEEN YEARS IN THE INTERIOR OF NORTH AMERICA BEING A FULL AND IMPARTIAL ACCOUNT OF THE VARIOUS DIFFICULTIES AND ULTIMATE SUCCESS OF AN ENGLISH FAMILY WHO EMIGRATED FROM BARWICK-IN-ELMET, NEAR LEEDS, IN THE YEAR 1 83 1. It was published anonymously in London about 1848, and the name of the lady author vii ^uhli&f}tt^* preface has never been discovered, although I think you will be able to identify her. She came from Yorkshire to Pike County with her husband and five children, the eldest nine years of age. (A son and daughter, both em- ployed, were left in England.) They landed in the fall of 1831 at Philips Ferry, then a wooded shore. A little inland, they found Mr. Phillips, with whom they lived for a short period, after which they bought an 80- acre tract, which Mr. Oakes had preempted, and they registered this land in the Quincy Land Office. From the book it appears that this land was a few miles from Philips Ferry and fifty miles from Quincy. Among the neighbors mentioned are Mr. Paddock, Mr. Burns, Mr. Knowles, each living about two miles from the author, and Mr. Varley, the store- keeper. As far as I have noticed, the only settlers in that neighborhood who came from Eng- land in 1 83 1 were James Crawford, who set- tled in section 19, Flint tp., and John Bur- lend, who came from Yorkshire (Leeds is in Yorkshire), and settled either in Flint or Detroit tp. in 1831. The facts mentioned in the book seem to indicate that the author of the book was the wife of the latter. In the book her given name is mentioned as vni ^ublis^fjers;* preface "Rebecca" and that was also the name of John Burlend's wife. From the book it appears that the author left a grown daughter in England, and that in the 40's she returned for a visit to England and when she came back from England, her daughter and her daughter's husband came with her. That daughter may have been the Mary Burlend who married Luke Yelliott, in Yorkshire, in 1840, and soon after came to Detroit tp., where her parents lived. (See History of Pike County.) In their old age, John and Rebecca Bur- lend lived with the Yelliotts and died aged, respectively, 87 and 77 years. In the book it is mentioned that after coming to this country, the author had twins. If there is anything in heredity, it may be noted that the Yelliotts had two pair of twins. Another child of the Burlends was Sarah Allen, whose daughter married Sylvester Thompson. Sarah lived near De- troit and Thompson lived near Pittsfield at the time the History of Pike County was printed. Daniel Burns, who formerly lived near Big Blue in Detroit tp., or one of his an- cestors, may have been the Burns mentioned in the book as a neighbor of the author. It may be possible to definitely establish ix ]l^nblisil)tx^* preface the identity of the author from the records of the real estate purchases of the husband of the pioneer author. He first bought eighty acres from a man named Oakes, which was registered in Quincy in Novem- ber, 1 83 1. That may have been the eighty that extended to the south Hne of Flint tp. and was later owned by William Bur- lend. Afterwards the husband of the author purchased a larger tract nearby from Mr. Paddock. This, she says, had been reg- istered at the Land Office in Pittsfield. Later a man named Carr wrongfully pre- empted the same piece and registered it at Quincy, Illinois. This piece may have been the tract standing on the north line of Detroit tp. and later owned by William Burlend. If the old record books are still in exist- ence, they will probably settle the question of authorship, but if not, information may be obtained from the Yelliott descendants, or perhaps Mr. Jack Murphy, of Detroit, may know something about it. If you are interested and do discover the name of the author, it would be well to advise the British Museum and the Library of Congress so they can enter it on their lists. Yours very truly, Oliver R. Barrett X ^uf)lisfl)er£f* preface May 28, 1936 INIr. Guy Littell, 350 East Cermak Road, Chicago, Illinois. Dear Guy: I think you may safely enter the name of the author in your copy of "A True Picture of Emigration," etc., as Rebecca Burlend. I sifted the facts from the book that might indicate the identity of the author and I searched the histories and atlases of Pike County and came to the conclusion that Re- becca Burlend was the author. I thereupon wrote Jess M. Thompson, of Pittsfield, Illi- nois, and suggested that he pursue the in- vestigation and verify it if possible. Curi- ously enough, Mr. Thompson happened to be the great grandson of the author of the book. ^Ir. Thompson wrote me as follows: "Dear Mr. Barrett: I have a letter here which reached me at the time when I was having a siege of flu, and which, it appears, has not been answered — a letter which, by the way, I read with a great deal of interest. The little volume to which you reter, which was pub- lished anonymously in London, was, as you guessed, the recorded experences here in the New World of my maternal great-grandmother, Rebecca Burlend, who with her husband, John Burlend, and their five children, landed at Phillips Ferry in the year 1831, after a long xi S^nUi&f^tv^* preface and harrowing trip from Yorkshire to New Orleans, and thence up the Mississippi and IlHnois rivers. Her son, Edward Burlend, who remained in England, was a schoolmaster and the author of several volumes of both prose and poetry. His most important contri- bution to Yorkshire literature was the novel 'Amy Thornton.' Rebecca Burlend's daughter, Sarah Allen, was my grandmother. Her daughter, Charlotte, married Syl- vester Thompson, they being my parents." All of which goes to show that inves- tigation of literary problems is not only extremely interesting as a diversion but sometimes brings results. Yours very truly, Oliver R. Barrett While this bit of early western history lacks the dramatic character of many of its predecessors, it depicts the same spirit of courage and self-reliance that permeates them all. The Publishers Christmas, 1936. xn Contents PAGE Historical Introduction . . . xvii Reproduction of the Original Title Page 3 Prefatory Remarks 5 Chapter i 7 Chapter 2 15 Chapter 3 ^3 Chapter 4 58 Chapter 5 89 Index 161 List of Lakeside Classics . . . 169 Xlll Historical Introduction JOHN BURLEND Jligtorical Sntrobuction PUBLICATION of The Lakeside Classics was begun in 1903, and the current volume (number thirty-four in the series) is the twenty-first prepared by the present Editor. Since 191 1, the annual volumes have been devoted to the field of western history, and with but two exceptions the nar- ratives reprinted have been written by men. The reason for this masculine preponderance is obvious. The careers of women commonly afford but little material for the pen of the biographer, and comparatively seldom do women themselves undertake to record their life-stories. The two narratives by feminine authors we have published hitherto are Mrs. Chris- tiana Tillson's A Woman s Story of Pioneer Illinois^ issued in 1919, and Mrs. Juliette A. Kinzie's Wau-Bun^ The ''Early Day' in the North-West^ issued in 1932. Both authors were unusual women, and their narratives are among the finest in the entire series of The Lakeside Classics. Both were women of New England birth and breeding who came as brides to the region west of Lake Michigan. xvii J^isftorical Sntrotruction Here the parallel ends, however, for Mrs. Kinzie's highly individual story deals with the world of the red man and the fur trader, while Mrs. Tillson's story is the more com- mon one of the pioneer life of an American woman settler in the West. The narrative of Rebecca Burlend, now presented to the reader, differs in certain marked respects from both the Tillson and the Kinzie recitals. Compared with Mrs. Burlend, the other women occupied a dis- tinctly higher station in life. Both were New England gentlewomen, and both were city dwellers who moved in the best society of their time and place. Rebecca Burlend, on the contrary, sprang from the peasantry of rural Yorkshire, and from infancy was inured to a life of toil and hardship. She came to America, as millions of others have done, to improve her material lot in life. In this, she succeeded, ultimately, although the present- day reader of her narrative may perhaps wonder whether the result was worth the effort expended in achieving it. In America, as in England, she remained the hard-work- ing wife of a hard-worked farmer. Only in the evening of her days did she enjoy the leisure which comes with assured prosperity; and only through the chance possession of a son imbued with literary talent and training xvni Ilisftorical Sntrobuction did she succeed in recording her story for posterity, instead of becoming merely one of the unsung millions of nineteenth-century immigrants to America. Mrs. Burlend's narrative was written primarily for the information of people of her own class in England who might be weighing the question of migration to America. For their benefit, she related the story of her own prior experience in this respect. It is clear that she was a woman of more than ordinary will power and native force of character. She tells her story simply, and as truthfully, probably, as any recital of one's own experiences can be told. Between the Burlends (and their followers) of a century ago and the Matanuska emigrants of current memory lies a wide gulf. The emigrants of 1935, spoon-fed at every step in their prog- ress by the agents of an all-compassionate government, would have understood as little the native resourcefulness of those of 1831, as the latter would have comprehended the lot of the present-day emigrants. Whether the emigrants of 1831 or those of 1935 will prove more fortunate in the long run, must remain for the future to disclose. Mrs. Burlend's story begins with the rea- sons for the New-World migration in the summer of 183 1, and continues until success XIX ^Movital Sntrobuction in the momentous venture of transplanting the family to a distant and alien wilderness had been achieved. We have here the task of supplying the reader with such additional pertinent information as will aid in promot- ing his appreciation of the story she presents. Rebecca Burton was born in Yorkshire, of humble parentage, May i8, 1793. Although we lack the date of her marriage to John Burlend, it must have been at a compara- tively early age, for Edward, the eldest son, was a schoolteacher when the migration to America in 1831, took place. The hard circumstances of her married life in England are briefly hinted at in the opening pages of her narrative. Further Hght on this point is afforded by the statements concerning the life of Edward Burlend. In his Village Rhymes^ a book of poems published in 1858, he states that the poems were chiefly composed in periods of illness: "Brought up at the plough till I was eighteen years of age, and then thrown upon my own resources, to make my way as a teacher, it will be easily understood that for many years I had to devote my leisure time to strictly laborious study." Edward Burlend spent his mature life as a schoolmaster in his native Yorkshire, dying at Swillington, April 6, 1875. ^^^ tomb- stone inscription in Swillington Churchyard XX W^tovml SntrotiuctiDn recites that "under many social disadvan- tages, and under extreme delicacy of consti- tution, he taught, with marked success, a competent knowledge of the classics, mathe- matics, and other branches of science and literature. As an original thinker, his prose works, and as an elegant writer, his poetry, will long remain evidences of his powers and ability. Courteous, peaceful, and retiring, he lived respected to his end, truly deserving the character of a 'just man'." Tombstone inscriptions are ever kind, and the writer of Edward's obituary may not have been a competent critic of his literary output. The great Library of Con- gress contains none of his writings, and its bibliographer reports that an "extensive search" of English book catalogs, diction- aries of authors, and Yorkshire local his- tories discloses no evidence either of his writings or of his existence. Perhaps this report merely indicates anew the fleeting character of all earthly fame. The British Museum catalog lists two of Edward Bur- lend's books, one, ^ Catechism of English History, published at London in 1 855, and an- other. Amy Thornton; or the Curate's Daugh- ter, published at London and Leeds in 1862. Jess M. Thompson of Pittsfield, Illinois, possesses a copy of his book of poems, a XXI ilis^torical Sntrobuction small volume of about 200 pages, whose title page, for bibliographical reasons, we copy in full: ''Village Rhymes; or Poems on Various Subjects, Principally Appertaining to Incidents in Village Life. By Edward Burlend. Leeds, Printed by David Green, Boar-Lane, 1858." To say that the poems are Mid- Victorian in character would be trite and meaningless. Through them runs a recurrent vein of melancholy, whose cause is perhaps adequately suggested by the tomb- stone obituary of the author, which we have already quoted. To complete the roll of Edward Burlend's literary output, we must add to the foregoing his rendition of his mother's American narra- tive, which quite probably became the most important of all his publications. Although Rebecca Burlend was not illiterate, it is ob- vious that she could scarcely have put her story into the finished literary form in which it appears in print. Although the narrative is undoubtedly the story of Rebecca, the form in which it is cast is equally undoubt- edly the handiwork of her schoolmaster-poet son, Edward. He proved a capable editor, and produced a faithful factual narrative, in the main; but the precise language, and some of the reflections embodied in it (for example, the comment, in the concluding xxii J^isJtorical Sntrobuction pages, upon the causes of England's great- ness) are the product of Edward Burlend's brain and pen. In short, mother and son stand as co-authors of the narrative. The mother related her story to her son; and the latter transformed it into the book, which was published at London in the summer of 1848 as a paper-bound pamphlet of 62 pages, entitled A True Picture of Emigra^ tion: Or Fourteen Years in the Interior of North America; Being a Full and Impartial Account of the Various Difficulties and Ulti- mate Success of an English Family Who Emigrated from Barivick-In-Elmet^ Near Leeds, in the Year i8ji. For some reason, the pamphlet was issued anonymously (perhaps the intimacy of the story caused the authors to shrink from* dis- closing their identity), thereby entailing upon future American bibliographers and historians a considerable burden of trouble. Prof. S. J. Buck in his fine Illinois bibliogra- phy of Travel and Description iy6j-i86§ {Illinois Historical Collections, Vol. IX) pub- lished in 1914, affords no indication of the identity of the authors, and the bibliogra- phers of the Library of Congress have been likewise ignorant concerning it until the present day. But to Jess M. Thompson of Pittsfield, Illinois, a descendant of Rebecca xxui ^i^tovkal Sntrobuttion Burlend, as well as to other descendants (and their neighbors) the identity of the authors has never been a secret. Herein, for the first time in print, the story is told, based upon information chiefly supplied the pres- ent Editor by Mr. Thompson. The struggle for economic security so valiantly waged by John and Rebecca Bur- lend met with its appropriate reward. By 1846, when Rebecca made the visit to her former English home which is described in the closing pages of her narrative, the ob- jective forevisioned a decade and a half earlier had been achieved. From the de- spairing, beaten, tenant family which fled from Yorkshire in 1831, the Burlends had become transformed into the confident pos- sessors in fee simple of an extensive acreage in an agricultural region as fine as any in Amer- ica. Already they were landlords, receiv- ing the rental from their surplus acres, while around them were their children, the elder ones already arrived at manhood's estate. Under the circumstances, Rebecca's visit home must have been for her a proud and gratifying occasion. How eagerly her old neighbors listened to her recital of her ex- periences in the far-away world of Pike County, Illinois, can best be understood by those readers who have themselves known XXIV li^Movml Sntrobuction lives of toil and poverty, and the incessant seeking for an escape into a securer and more gracious condition. The Editor has found no contemporary record of the date of this return journey, and the dates supplied by descendants, based on family tradition and belief, are conflicting. The evidence supplied by the concluding pages of the narrative it- self seems to establish the year, with a high degree of probability, as 1846. Probably this detail could be certainly established, if ade- quate time to investigate it were available, but circumstances beyond the Editor's con- trol have denied him the opportunity of pur- suing the matter further. By rare good fortune, however, almost in the closing hours of the preparation of the volume for the printer, contact was estab- lished with Miss Hazel Whalen of Chicago, a great-granddaughter of John and Rebecca Burlend, who supplemented most usefully the information already supplied by Jess M. Thompson concerning a second edition of the Burlend family saga. Mr. Thompson him- self has never seen this edition, but James Farrand of Griggsville, who visited England many years ago, relates that he some- where saw a copy, and that it contained the names of a number of families who had migrated to Pike County in consequence XXV W^tovital Sntrobuction of Mrs. Burlend's visit home and of the pub- Hcation of her story in 1848. Miss Whalen relates that about four years ago she saw, and had temporary possession of a copy, whose owner desires to remain unknown. Miss Whalen, however, copied certain data, which disclose some interesting facts. The new edition was issued either in 1856 or 1857 (both dates being given) with a com- plete change of title, and with Edward Burlend's name as the author. On the fly- leaf appears "The tVesleyan Emigrants y by Edward Burlend (London. Longman, Brown, Green, and Longman; Simpkin, Marshall, and Co. 1857)." On the title-page proper, with the same publishers but with the date 1856 instead of 1857, is this amplified title: Wesley an Christianity Tested and Exemplified being an Authentic Narrative of Striking Events in the History of a Wesley an Family of Yorkshire Emigrants in the Back Woods of America by Edward Burlend xxvi J^i&toxital Jfntrobuction The foreword to the edition stated that the book had first been published in 1848, and that over 2000 copies had been sold in the city of Leeds alone. Because of this demand, the second edition was being pub- lished. The lay reader will perhaps marvel that a narrative which aroused such wide- spread interest, and which affected so deeply the lives of a number of English families, should prove so difficult to trace at the present time. The historian, however, sadly familiar with the neglect and oblivion which sooner or later overtakes all ordinary records, will feel gratified, rather, over the fact that a number of American libraries have copies of the first edition, which now obtains renewed publicity and distribution by being included in The Lakeside Classics. The reader will observe, in the concluding *'Note" to the narrative, the statement by Edward Burlend that several families had already departed for America, moved by Rebecca Burlend's recital of her experiences there. Still others followed, finding homes in Pike County, where their descendants are still numerously represented. Bethel Ceme- tery, a beautiful country churchyard, is chiefly populated by these English families. Here John and Rebecca Burlend rest from their labors, in the midst of relatives and xxvii I^fetorical Sntrobuction neighbors for whose presence in America they were directly responsible. The present church, erected over half a century ago, re- places an earlier structure on the same site. Two or three miles away across the lush and fertile Illinois River Valley lies the site of the Burlend homestead. To the simple House of God Rebecca was wont to trudge across the intervening fields, carrying her shoes and stockings in her hand, to be donned, upon arrival, before entering the church. The loghouse which became the first home of the Burlends in America stood "in the center" of the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of section 6, Detroit Town- ship, about three miles north of Detroit vil- lage, and about the same distance southwest of Valley City. The cabin stood on a hill- side, overlooking the adjacent level valley, and distant but a few rods from a beautiful spring, whose delicious water still pours forth from the rocky slope. The presence of this spring no doubt determined the location of the cabin by Squatter Oakes, who built it. When the Burlends arrived at a state of prosperity sufficient to permit the erec- tion of a better home, they located it on the same hill-slope, a few rods farther away from the spring. Both cabins have long since xxviii W^tovital Sntrobuction vanished from earth, and the casual passer- by would be unlikely to observe any trace of their former existence. Mr. Francis Allen of Pittsfield, octogenarian grandson of Re- becca Burlend, remembers the second cabin, and in August, 1936, he and Jess M. Thomp- son of Pittsfield conducted the writer to the farm and identified the now-forgotten homesites. Upon returning to America from her visit to England in 1846, Rebecca Burlend was accompanied to her Pike County home by her daughter (now Mary Yelliott) and her family. The Yelliotts located near the parental homestead, and in their declining years John and Rebecca Burlend found a safe haven with them. To the end of her life Rebecca remained the plain, sturdy woman whose character is so clearly depicted in her narrative — thrifty, hard-working, God-fearing. Her still-surviving grandchild, Francis Allen of Pittsfield, describes her as possessed of a pleasant disposition. She never complained of her hardships; instead, when speaking of early times she would say that although hard, they always managed to get along. In England she had learned some- thing of herbs and homely medical lore, and in Pike County she served for years, without money or other price, as the neighborhood xxix ^i^toxital Sntrobuction physician. Mr. Albert Rhodes of Griggs- ville, now an aged man, relates that when- ever anyone became ill, the family would send for her. She found great solace in her pipe, and in the years of her retirement from active labor she spent much of her time smoking before the Yelliott fireplace. Fran- cis Allen still possesses her favorite chair, whose rockers were worn out by the often- repeated process of drawing it forward to light her pipe from the coals and then slid- ing it back again to a comfortable position. Her old-age likeness may be seen in the portrait published in the present volume. Jess Thompson's mother, who died in 1933, related that Rebecca (her grandmother) was slight in figure, and had a command- ing expression. Francis Allen, on the con- trary, remembers her as a fairly tall and fairly heavy woman. He also recalls John Burlend as a tall, heavy man, fond of prac- tical jokes, and popular with the boys and young men. He died, April 9, 1871, in his eighty-eighth year. Rebecca survived but a few months longer, dying January 31, 1872. Four decades of life in the New- World home had been granted them, but the significant portion of the period lies in the fifteen years which the narrative covers. XXX W^totital Sntrobuction The passage of a century has wrought many changes in America's national prob- lems. In recent decades the welcome former- ly extended to aliens has been sharply cur- tailed, and no longer do we offer asylum to ambitious and discontented men and women from all the earth. However wise, or neces- sary, the present national policy may be, it seems clear that the Burlends and their Yorkshire neighbors who came to Pike Coun- ty a century ago made a distinct contribu- tion to the commonwealth of their adoption. To them and their children pioneer Illinois offered a new opportunity in life. They em- braced it eagerly, and in doing so became numbered among the builders of civilization in the region where they elected to settle. Happy the commonwealth which gains such immigrants; happy the settlers who found such an entrancing New- World home. M. M. QUAIFE Detroit Public Library Sept. 15, 1936 XXXI A True Picture of Emigration A TRUE PICTURE EMIGRATION : OP. FOURTEEN YEARS IN THE INTERIOR OF NORTH AMERICA BEING A FULL AND IMPARTIAL ACCOUNT OF THE VARIOUS DIFFICULTIES AND ULTIMATE SUCCESS OF AN ENGLISH FAMILY WHO EMIGRATED EROM BARWICK-IN-ELMET, NEAR LEEDS, IN THE YEAR 1831. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY G. BERGER, HOLYWELL-STREET ; LEEDS: DAVID GREEN: MANCHESTER: A. HEYWOOD ,* AND ALL OTHER BOOKSELLERS. ^refatorp Eemarfesi IN submitting the contents of this volume to the notice of the public, the writer begs to state that the materials and facts herein contained were delivered to him -civa voce by his mother, the principal agent in the narrative, during a late visit to this, her na- tive country. To him the account seemed interesting in the highest degree, an opinion in which such of his friends as have perused the manuscript have invariably concurred. The present state of the public mind in re- gard to emigration has suggested the pro- priety of immediately giving publicity to the narrative, which is what might be termed the Diary of a Yorkshire Emigrant in the United States of America. How far such a production is required the public will now determine. It is what it pro- fesses to be: 'a true picture;' the incidents are facts — not fiction; the language only in which they are described belongs to the author. Swillington, August ist, 1848. EDWARD BURLEND A True Picture of Emigration Chapter I WHATEVER may have been our suc- cess in America, I can attribute but little of it to myself; as I gave up the idea of ending my days in my own country- with the utmost reluctance, and should never have become an emigrant, if obedience to my husband's wishes had left me any alter- native. His motives, briefly stated, were these: — In the year 1817 we took a small farm at a village in Yorkshire on a lease for fourteen years, and as corn was at that time selling well, the rent was fixed at too high a rate for us to obtain a comfortable liveli- hood. We did indeed by dint of great indus- try and strict economy, maintain our credit to the end of the lease; but the severe strug- gles we had to endure to meet our payments, the gradual diminution of our little property, and the entire absence of any prospects of being able to supply the wants of a large 7 ^ tirue picture of Cmisration family had tended effectually to fix my hus- band's purpose of trying what could be done in the western world. We accordingly dis- posed of our little furniture, settled our pe- cuniary affairs, and ultimately began our long journey the last week in August 1831. The reader will now enquire to what part of America we were going, or whether we had any plans as to the locality of our future home. This is an important consideration for every emigrant, though little attended to by many. We were not, however, like the poor Northumbrian, who, on landing at New York a few years ago, required a person whom he met in the street, to direct him to the back settlements. My husband had travelled many miles to obtain a sight of private American letters, and after maturely considering all the intelligence he could col- lect, he determined to go to Pike County, Illinois, to a person named Mr. B — , who had settled there a year or two before, and written to a brother of his in this country.^ ^Charles Bickerdike, the first of his name to settle in Pike County, came to America (and Illinois) and set- tled in Flint Township, Pike County, about 1828. It was the reading of his letters to his brother in England which determined the migration of the Burlends. The Bickerdike family is still represented in Pike County, and the graves of earlier members of the line may be seen in Bethel Cemetery where Rebecca Burlend 8 S tirue picture of emigration Without further preface, we are therefore to be considered on our way from the centre of Yorkshire to Liverpool, self, husband, and five children, the eldest a boy about nine years old, two others we were leaving be- hind, the one my eldest son engaged as an under teacher in a boarding school, the other my eldest daughter serving also in a respect- able family.^ To persons such as we were, who had never been forty miles from home, a journey by waggon and railway, where every hour presents the eye with something new, does not afford the best opportunity for and her husband lie buried. Charles Bickerdike is also buried in Bethel Cemetery, according to family information, although no monument identifies his grave. ^The author and her husband had fourteen children in all. Four had died in England before the migration to America, and two more (Edward, the "eldest son" and Mary, the "eldest daughter" of the present sen- tence) remained behind. The five children who shared in the family migration were John, then nine years old, Hannah, eight years old, Sarah, three years old, Char- lotte, and William, an infant. John served in the Mexican War and was slain in a soldiers' brawl while returning to his Illinois home. Hannah married Thomas Dalby and lived to her ninetieth year, dying at Griggs- ville in 1913. Sarah married Francis Allen, and Char- lotte married Daniel Burns. William, the infant of 1 83 1 , died at Griggsville in 1900. Information taken from article by Jess M. Thompson in Pike County Repub- lican (Pittsfield), July 22, 1936. a Wvnt S^ittnvt of emigration reflection; we in consequence reached Liver- pool before we fully felt the importance of the step we were taking. Nature had indeed yielded a little as we gazed upon the scenes of our industry, which time had endeared, for the last time. But it was at Liverpool, when we had got our luggage to a boarding- house and were waiting the departure of a vessel, that the throes of leaving England and all its endearments put our courage to a test the most severe. Our minds were now undisturbed by surrounding objects; we oc- cupied a small apartment for which we paid two shillings a day, without even the indul- gence of a fire to cook our provisions. The dark smoky walls of the opposite buildings were the only prospect that the situation of our sojourn could afford. Predisposed to melancholy as we were, no one can be sur- prised when he is told that its effects were soon apparent. A stranger would have thought us a most unsocial family, as we sat in profound silence for an hour together, only now and then a sigh would escape us tending to vary but not to enliven this pain- ful monotony. Even our children partici- pated in our disquietude, and seemed to lose their wonted vivacity. My dear husband, who before had displayed nothing but hardi- hood, on this occasion had almost played the lo a QCrue picture of Emigration woman. After a deep silence I not unfre- quently observed his eyes suffused with tears, which though unnoticed by him, fell in quick succession down his sunbrowned cheeks. We were six days in this abode, and I may venture to assert that he did not spend six hours of the time in the forgetfulness of sleep. At last the day dawned on which we were to embark. We had already bespoke our berths and paid a deposit to secure them. It was a critical period: my husband ap- peared to feel as if all the responsibility was laid upon him. He doubtless felt for him- self; but his children and myself were the principal objects of his solicitude. Those he was leaving behind would be left to the wide world without any one to watch over them; and that at a time when the passions which actuate the human breast, are in the great- est need of parental authority and advice. The destiny of those he was taking with him appeared about to be consigned to a vague uncertain probability. The die was going to be cast. In twelve hours more we should be on the deep, where return would be impracti- cable. These considerations, — the perils of the sea the more dreaded because unknown, together with many other weighty considera- tions which a father and a husband in such a II ^ ®rue picture of emigration situation could not but feel, got the better of his natural prowess, and that morning he addressed me in the following manner: "O Rebecca, I cannot do it, I cannot do it! for myself I fear nothing; but the impenetrable gloom and uncertainty attending this step completely bewilders me. Should anything befall me, what will become of you and my children on the stormy ocean, or in a strange land and among pathless woods. Bad as our prospects are in England we must go back! Such another night as the last has been I cannot survive! this terrible suspense and anxiety tears me in pieces." Sentiments like these a few months ago would have been hailed with delight, and even then I must confess I felt a sort of in- ward satisfaction, although I knew them to be rather the effects of his feelings than his mental decisions. If we returned I knew he could not be satisfied with his condition, still less with his present conduct. I however ac- quiesced in silence, only replying, I would do what he thought best. We accordingly be- gan to remove our boxes back to the luggage waggon, whither I accompanied him; but all the time we were thus employed he appeared like one whose movements are coerced. The smile with which he usually accompanied his addresses no longer appeared. I saw it 12 ^ tirue picture of Cmi'sration would not do; we returned to our children like those who return from the interment of a near relative, in mournful silence. Never before had I felt so much to devolve on me, and perhaps never in my life did I so much feel it my duty to practise self-denial. My native land was as dear to me as ever: my two children, to whom I had bidden adieu, were strong ties. But the consciousness that it was my duty to bear up the sinking spirits of my partner, left me only one course to adopt. For a moment I raised my eyes to him "who sitteth above the water-floods,'* and with feelings I am not able to depict, broke silence as follows; — **I admit, my dear husband, that our situation is a very trying one; but remember how often and how long you have resolved to go to America; hitherto we have experi- enced nothing that we did not anticipate; and should any calamity befall us on our journey, you have adopted emigration only from a conviction that it would tend to the good of the family; and the Almighty is as able to preserve us and our children across the seas or in America as he is in England. Besides, if we return, we have broken up our home and sold our furniture, and should be worse situated than ever; let us even go, and look to Providence for success." The above 13 S ^rue picture of emigration advice on my part operated like a charm. All that has been said of the effects of mar- tial music was here realized. His answer was rather in deed than in word. In two hours more our luggage was removed from' the waggon, where it had just been placed with a view of returning home, to the ship in which we had taken our berths. The re- mainder of the day till four o'clock was spent in procuring stores, cooking utensils, &c., necessary for our voyage; and when the sun went down on the second of September, 1831, we were on the waters; having previously confided ourselves to the care of Him "whom earth and seas are ready to obey." 14 Cijapter 2 AFTER we had thus finally determined /-\ and put it out of our power to alter -^ -^ that decision, our minds were more at ease than before. There being no longer any doubt as to whether we should go to America, the suspense which had hitherto been so afflicting began in a great measure to subside. My husband resumed his wonted cheerfulness, and expressed his belief that the course we had ultimately adopted would prove the best in the end. We were nov/ passengers, in the steerage, on the vessel ''Home,'' bound for New Orleans. Our rea- sons for sailing to that port the most distant in North x^merica, and not in a direct course to the Illinois, were on account of the ready transit we should make thence into the in- terior up the Mississippi; whereas, by land- ing at New York, Boston, or Philadelphia, we should have had to cross the Alleghany mountains, and travel a great distance by land, which would have been both very troublesome on account of our luggage, and very expensive. The perplexed state of mind in which we were prior to embarking had prevented our 15 a 3Crue picture of (Emigration noticing or enjoying the fine sights which the port of Liverpool presents. I speak not of the magnitude of the town, nor of its archi- tectural decorations, but of the immense for- ests of ships, which on every hand strike the eye of the beholder as he sails out of the har- bour. Whatever might have been my ideas of the greatness and wealth of England be- fore, I am sure they were greatly enlarged when I beheld for the first time in my life those unwieldly instruments of commerce crowded like forest trees on the sea further than the eye could reach. As the wind was favourable we soon lost sight of the shore. Yet the eye with unwearied vigilance kept steadily fixed on the few eminences which remained visible, till they gradually waned into obscurity, and at last disappeared alto- gether. The reader may think me needlessly precise in naming this circumstance; but I assure him there were many on board, who, as well as myself, felt a gratification in gaz- ing at the naked rocks that projected from the land that had given us birth; and when it was finally announced that England was no longer visible, there was not a person in the ship who would not have heartily re- sponded amen to the prayer, 'God bless it.' For myself, I felt as if I was leaving all I had been wont to prize; and when I could no i6 a ®rue picture of emigration longer see the shore, I shall never forget how enviously I looked upon the vessels that were approaching the shores I was leaving. I fol- lowed them with my eye, one by one, till quite weary with looking I descended into the cabin, and endeavoured to be reconciled to my situation by exercising myself in some necessary employment. Although we were entire strangers to a sea-faring life, we found we had been judi- cious in the choice of our provisions: we were well supplied with oatmeal and flour, bacon, biscuits, tea and coffee, &c., and as we had to cook for ourselves at a fire which supplied all the steerage passengers, I found I should have something to do besides descrying dis- tant sails, and sighing a blessing to those bound for England. At home I had always been fond of regu- larity with regard to the dinner hour, but I soon found if I continued my punctual habits on board I should often be liable to be laughed at for my pains, and lose my dinner in the bargain. Imagine to yourself, kind reader, a small fire surrounded by half-a-dozen sturdy rustics, as busy boiling, roasting, and frying, as if their lives depended upon a single meal, and I will hazard an opinion you would be very hungry before you would venture among them. I do not say they would eat 17 ^ tICrue picture of Cmisration you; but either from the motion of the ship, or their uncouthness, your fortune would be better than mine if you got your meal pre- pared without being scalded. For the above reasons I soon forgot my punctuality, and through the remainder of the voyage our custom was to cook and eat when we could, for seasons are not unknown on ship-board when both must be dispensed with. During the first few days the weather was calm: we had sailed down the Irish channel before the much dreaded sea-sickness began to annoy us. I had even begun to think, that like many other evils, its terrors had been overrated; but before we had been a week on board a heavy gale began to blow from the north-west, the sky became dark and unsettled, when I began to be exceed- ingly sick; a disorder in which nearly all the passengers participated. Painfully afflictive as this malady was, it soon became of little consideration on account of a more alarming misfortune which threatened to befall us. The sea was beginning to be unusually rough, its huge foaming waves came dashing against the sides of the vessel, as if they had been let loose to destroy it. Sometimes we appeared about to leave the waters, and become inhabitants of serial regions; then again one might suppose the ship was instantaneously i8 a ©rue picture of emigration descending into the caverns of the deep, overwhelmed by the mass of waters which on all sides encompassed it, and at times came sweeping over the deck with irre- sistible fury. A thousand times I thought the ship would be upset by the force of the tempest, which, roaring tremendously, car- ried all before it, and often laid our masts nearly level with the main; when suddenly regaining her upright position, she seemed to be contending with the blast, and by a move- ment I can scarcely account for, obtruding her briny sails against the forces of the storm. The crew were all in action; their shoutings were vociferous; — louder even than the voice of the wind. Terror and dis- may were on every hand. The captain alone preserved his serenity; his orders were de- livered in a loud but unfaultering tone; he might have been a divinity of the waters so dignified and majestic was his deportment on this occasion. Not so the passengers, — they were indeed mortals, and suppliants too. Impiety was banished from the ship. You might have seen those, who yesterday could not conclude a sentence without the usual flourish of an oath, now on their knees serious enough. The night came on, — the passengers were ordered below: such a night I never witnessed. The storm was incessant. 19 3 tCrue ^^icture of (Emisration The timbers creaked alarmingly; and the sailors, hurrying to and fro on the deck, filled us with renewed consternation. Every mo- ment we expected the waters to rush in upon us. I shall never forget the horrors of that night, increased as they were by the heart- rending moanings of my despairing compan- ions. It was not the time for reflection: rea- son had little control over our actions; as our fears directed, so we conducted ourselves. Nature's bonds, however, were not entirely dissevered, for then even I found myself in a corner of the cabin, my husband at my right hand, which he often clasped in his, and our dear little children huddled around us, giving us their little hands to fondle over and caress. Art thou a mother, gentle reader, thou may- est in part conceive what my feelings were; but there are sensations which no description can embody; there are emotions which noth- ing but experience can explain: of this kind were mine. At length the morning began to dawn; we were all anxiety to see the day, and ascertain our real situation. Of all the emotions of which the human bosom is susceptible, sus- pense is the most intolerable. We desired to know the worst; but our orders were to keep within, and we feared to disobey. The little light we obtained from the semipellucid glass 20 Si ®rue picture of (Emigration at the top of our cabin, was of no avail. Our ears had caused us to think the storm was abating; but this only increased our anxiety, as we were afraid to hope, lest we should be deceived, when to our surprise the cabin door sprung open; it was the captain himself who had opened it. His appearance was like one of those celestial visitors, which the sacred pages have pourtrayed on errands of mercy. We hurried to meet him; but he desired us to be at ease, assuring us the danger was past. His expressive words "the danger is past," were repeated again and again through all the cabin; and now the scene was changed. In the place of lamentations and the voice of despair, w^ere immediately heard jocularity and the tumult of mirth. His. words had metamorphosed the room. Forgotten or dis- regarded were all the pious vows which had been made the preceding night. "They ate and they drank and they rose up to play;" but few could be seen in the attitude of praise. The storm had indeed abated; and, such is human nature, religion had vanished at the same time. The following day I learnt we had been driven considerably out of our course into the Bay of Biscay; but no further injury was sustained except a little to the cordage, which the sailors shortly put right, and before evening the sails were again 21 S ®rue picture of emigration unfurled, and our ship in good repair, majes- tically making head-way across the Atlantic. This was the only storm we encountered dur- ing our passage; it was a severe one; even the sailors spoke of it with concern, and seemed aware our danger had been great. A long sea-voyage is generally allowed to be a tedious time, and there is some founda- tion for the remark, when it is considered how little variety is there observable. The ship, your companions, the sky above you and the 'dark blue ocean' below, with occa- sionally a solitary sail gliding quietly along at a distance, constitute the principal ob- jects that come under the notice of ordinary travellers. There is nothing of that everlast- ing newness and beauty, — that pleasing va- riety of hill and dale, of trees whose foliage is varied by a thousand hues, meandering streams, village towers and spires that every- where meet the eye in an English landscape. Nor is the ear more favoured than the eye. The creaking of the cables and the mast, the coarse discordant notes of the seamen and the monotonous dashing of the waves against the vessel, are the most common and almost the entire sounds that a sea-breeze can boast. The melodious warbling of the grove are there unknown; and when the night- dews are falling, the mellow flute notes of 22 3 Vtxnt picture of emigration the swain breathing innocence and love, never once remind the passenger on the deep that the labours of the day are ended, and the star of evening appears. The sea, nevertheless, has its beauties and grandeur; but these are rather perceptible to the reflecting mind than the external sense. One evening I well remember when we were about half-way across the Atlantic, I was alone on the deck, pensively considering the peculiarity of my situation, and impatiently desirous to know what my future condition should be, when casting my eyes towards the east I beheld a most magnificent spec- tacle: the large full moon was just clearing the watery horizon. I always love to see the moon beginning her nocturnal rambles; her beam.s are the light in which meditation ap- pears the most lovely; but when on that de- lightful evening, in the midst of the great Atlantic, I beheld the same kind planet, beneath whose balmy light I had gamboled in my childhood and conversed on subjects the most endearing in maturer age, my whole soul was overpowered with ecstacy. Bear with me, kind reader, bear with a woman's weakness, if I tell thee I looked upon her as an old companion, and addressed her as a bosom friend, so forcibly did she remind me of the many delightful and happy hours I 23 a tICrue picture of emigration had spent under her auspicious beams in my native land. Independent of these interest- ing associations, her appearance at such a time and in such a place was highly impos- ing, and calculated in a remarkable degree to remind me of the insignificance of man and his noblest performances. Impressed in this manner I gazed upon her broad disk, and O how magnificently splendid! I next surveyed the deep, gilded on one side by her rays and on the other terminating the view by a dark half-visible horizon; and what a world of water seemed to surround me. I then considered the ship, — poor feeble bark, thought I, how insecure thou art! a single wave could undo thee. Lastly I looked at my- self: the contrast was sickening; human pride could not bear it; I cast my eyes once more upon the moon, and returned into the cabin. To proceed, — by the time we had well got half-way across the water, our impatience to see land daily increased; the hours began to pass more tardily along than before. Those that kept their minds most engaged were the most happy; a piece of philosophy this which will generally hold true. I am not going to describe my fellow-passengers as philoso- phers, the few traits I have already given prove they were not; but to do them justice, many of them were expert hands at dispelling 24 GTrue picture of €misration melancholy. This they did sometimes by cracking jokes at each other, sometimes by relating portions of their histories, or cele- brating the matchless heroism or strength of their kindred. Thus by degrees having sev- erally acquired an epitome of each other's lives, a sort of community was formed and neighbourhoods established, less regulated indeed by locality than peculiar likings. When first we set out each must cook for himself, or at most for his own family; now you might have seen three or four messing together, having previously agreed to throw their respective provisions into one common store. By this means there were fewer dishes to prepare, and consequently better accom- modation. We were too strict economists to adopt the joining system; and our solici- tude respecting our journey caused us rather to avoid intimacy with our companions than to court it. Yes, many a time when mirth and noise have been the prevailing order on deck, have I sought retirement to muse upon the past, and pry into the future. I own such conduct was unwise; I should have been happier if I could have mingled in the diver- sions of my companions: but, reader, know- est thou not when the heart is sick the very means which should be beneficial are often the most repulsive? 25 ^ tCrue picture of ©migration It was impossible, from the nature of things, that I could be happy, while as yet we were travelling we scarcely knew whither. On one occasion while thus alone on the deck, near the cook's cabin, I perceived an unusual quantity of smoke issuing from the door and chimney, and on looking down I perceived a person named Jack, who by the by had stolen on board at Liverpool and was working his passage, involved in a cloud of smoke and flame from a pan of pitch, which by accident he had spilled into the fire. I gave the alarm, and all hands were immedi- ately on the spot. The wood was beginning to ignite, and if it had not been attended to with the utmost promptitude our situation would soon have been awful. A mattress, which happened to be near, was instantly put upon the chimney to prevent the draught, and buckets of water were plentifully thrown in at the door, so that in a very short time the fire was extinguished. Poor Jack fared the worst: his right arm was almost roasted, which caused him to be, as an invalid, ex- empt from duty to the end of the voyage. His misfortune excited the compassion of many on board, some of whom presented him with wearing apparel, &c., of which he was in great need. For myself by being in the centre of the crowd, I became entangled 26 3 3urue picture of emigration in a rope near the mouth of the cabin, which subjected me to the stench and steam thence arising. I was however soon released from my accidental fetters, and laden with the grateful acknowledgments of all around. Another time while pacing upon the deck, I was almost struck dumb to see my son, the boy before alluded to, a fine youth, but un- commonly daring,^ fast asleep on the bow- sprit. The least accidental movement and he w^ould have lost his equilibrium, and been pre- cipitated into the water. Alarmed as I was, I did all that a mother could do in such a situa- tion to preserve the life of one so dear. My husband was just at hand. I made no noise, but all in agitation pointed out the cause of my distress. He soon understood me, — and, with all the concern of an affectionate father, hastened softly towards the lad, and rescued him from that imminent peril into which his daring spirit had unwittingly led him. The recital of these incidents brings me, through the order in which they occurred, towards the West Indies; and to another oc- currence which for a short time caused a greater alarm than any thing we met with during the voyage. The circumstances are ^The venturesome character of John Burlend, the child here alluded to, is still a matter ot family tradi- tion. Information supplied by Jess M. Thompson 27 ^ '^vnt picture of Emigration as fresh in my mind as if they had transpired only yesterday. I had been observing with interest and pity a number of flying fishes occasionally rise out of the water to avoid their pursuers, when several of the passen- gers came to the side on which I was stand- ing to behold a fine-looking vessel which had recently made its appearance. Various were the conjectures as to whither she was bound and to what country she belonged. It was every one's opinion she approached us, and no little pleasure was experienced at the idea of having a vessel so near us, after having been several days without one. The captain seemed alarmed, and kept continually look- ing at her with his glass, and shortly after- wards the sailors were seen all busy cleaning out the guns, and preparing them for action. By and by it became whispered on board that the vessel was a pirate, and the busy manner in which the seamen were employed at their guns tended to confirm the conjec- ture. The captain caused all to come on deck. His motives were immediately made out; meanwhile the vessel, which was a good sailer, kept growing nearer, and every thing betokened hostility. We were all in agita- tion; even the captain and the sailors turned pale with excitement. Every eye was intent on the vessel, and every muscle betokened 28 9 '^xnt picture of emigration alarm. She was now within the range of our guns, which were ready for action. At length she hoisted a colour, and immediately a large spreading flag was unfurled on our ship. A breathless silence succeeded; that moment was indescribable. The flags then flying were symbols of peace. Three cheers, spon- taneously given, immediately succeeded. A thrill of transport moved the ship, and not a few wept for joy. Our captain, with a trum- pet, asked their intentions; he was answered in English from the other ship that they were sailing to the West Indies, and having en- countered a storm, they had injured their time-keeper, and could not ascertain their longitude. We gave them all the information they required, and parted with cheerings which were responded to by the other ship, which we soon afterwards lost sight of.^ The following day a sailor on the mast announced the appearance of land, a declara- tion which was eagerly received; during the ^The author's recital serves vividly to remind the present-day reader of the fact that barely one hundred years ago the perils of piracy were braved by all who went down to the sea in ships. At least one famous pirate of the gulf region valiantly aided General Andrew Jackson in the defense of New Orleans against British attack in 1814, and for a decade thereafter piracy continued to flourish in the waters adjoining our eastern and southern seaboard. 29 ^ ^xnt picture of emigration remainder of the day the passengers were constantly on the look-out, and before night we had the unspeakable pleasure of knowing for ourselves that land was visible. The next day we passed several small islands clad in all the beauty of summer; we were suffi- ciently near some of them to discover ne- groes at work besides their little huts, cocoa- nut trees and many other kinds, the names of which I cannot give, being not very near them, and but imperfectly conversant with the productions of tropical regions. The weather was here excessively hot: but a large sail-cloth being put up to shade us from the sun, we almost invariably remained on deck, feasting our eyes with the luxuriant and beautiful appearance of the numerous little islands we were continually passing. I am not aware that the West Indian islands sur- pass others in beauty, but on account of the length of time we had been without seeing land, we were incessant in our encomiums upon them. Never, thought I, had I seen anything so lovely; I could have wished this the situation of our future abode, this the America so long in anticipation. The two following days no land was visible, a circum- stance attended with considerable uneasi- ness, as we had begun to consider our voy- age at an end. On the morning of the third, 30 a ®rue picture of emigration however, land was again visible, and this was America. A sort of melancholy came creeping over me as I gazed upon it; porten- tous, perhaps, of the many hardships I was destined there to endure. We were now in the mouth of the Mississippi; that night a large lantern was suspended on the mast, as a signal for the pilot to come on board and take charge of the ship. Early the next morning, while it was yet dark, my husband, who had been on deck most of the night, came to invite me thither. I followed him shortly afterwards, and beheld a fine large city lighted in a most splendid manner: its appearance was really brilliant, and gave me more exalted ideas of the country to which we were hastening. That morning, by break of day, a small boat came cutting the water almost with the speed of the wind; it was rowed along by four black sailors on each side; a dignified person was seated in the midst of them; it was the pilot; he came alongside the ship, and was taken on board with his boat and men. After respectful compliments had passed between him and the captain, he undertook the management of the ship, his own sailors obeying his com- mands, while ours were relieved from duty to enjoy themselves in chaunting their na- tive melodies, which they did most heartily, 31 a ®rue picture of emigration almost to the annoyance of the pilot and his men. This was Sunday morning, the first in November; we had been on board two months and a few days — a period on which I never look back without emotion, as it re- minds me of the anxieties I then endured, and of the consequences which that voyage involved. 32 chapter 3 AS I intimated in the preceding chap- /-\ ter, we reached New Orleans on Sun- -^ -^ day morning; but when I came to survey the town more leisurely, I could scarcely believe it was the Lord's day. I remembered that frequently on our passage I had heard it remarked that the time varied with the time in England a few hours, and for a moment I supposed that the Sabbath varied also. The reader will perceiv^e the cause of my surprise, when he is told that the shops were every where open, stalls set out in all directions, and the streets thronged with lookers-on more in the manner of a fair than a Christian Sabbath. This I was told was the general method of spending that day in New Orleans. With regard to the inhabi- tants, their appearance was exceedingly pe- culiar, their complexions varying almost as much as their features; from the deep black of the flat-nosed negro to the sickly pale hue of the American shopman. This city is a regular rendezvous for merchants and trades- men of every kind, from all quarters of the globe. Slavery is here tolerated in its gross- est forms. I observed several groups of 33 S QErue picture of Emigration slaves linked together in chains, and driven about the streets like oxen under the yoke. The river, which is of immense width, affords a sight not less unique than the city. No one, except eye-witnesses, can form an ade- quate idea of the number and variety of ves- sels there collected, and lining the river for miles in length. New Orleans being the pro- vision market for the West Indies and some of the Southern States, its port is frequented not merely by foreign traders, but by thou- sands of small craft, often of the rudest con- struction, on which the settlers in the inte- rior bring down the various produce of their climate and industry.^ The town itself, from its low marshy situation, is very unhealthy; the yellow fever is an everlasting scourge to its inhabitants, annually carrying off great num- bers. As a trading port. New Orleans is the most famous and the best situated of any in America; but whoever values a comfortable ^The flatboat commerce by which the surplus prod- uce of the upper Mississippi Valley was brought to New Orleans flourished for a generation or more, until the era of railroad construction which immediately pre- ceded the Civil War. An Illinois youth of recent adop- tion who made the long journey to New Orleans the year preceding Mrs. Burlend's arrival in America bore the name of Abraham Lincoln. The journey he made was typical of thousands of similar ones performed in the period here alluded to. 34 a ®rue picture of emigration climate or a healthy situation, will not, I am sure, choose to reside there. But to resume my narrative: having ar- rived at the port, it was our intention to pro- ceed immediately up the river to St. Louis; but as no steam vessel left till the next day, we remained on board in front of the town. The custom-house officers had not yet been on board to examine the ship, but as we had nothing for which duty would be required, our captain gave my husband a document to present to the inspectors, by which we were allowed to pass early the next morning. Be- fore entering the steam vessel, we got the remainder of our money, all in English sov- ereigns, exchanged into American dollars. We found that our expenses, since leaving home, amounted to about twenty-three pounds. On leaving the ship I felt a renewal of my home-sickness, to use a quaint expres- sion; it seemed to be the only remaining link between me and England. I was now going to be an alien among strangers. Hitherto I had been accompanied by persons, who when my pain on leaving home manifested itself, could sympathize with me. I should have preferred the meanest passenger on the ship to any I saw on the packet. As, however, we were all in haste to be on our way, I had little time to spend on those tender associations. 35 a ®rue picture of emigration I certainly left the ship with an aching heart; the captain and cabin passengers had been very kind to us during the voyage, and on going away my children were severally pre- sented with small tokens of approbation, of which they were not a little proud. I must now leave the ship to pursue my route up the stream of the Mississippi to St. Louis, a distance of not less than thirteen hundred miles. The country on each side of the river is of a dead level, but to all appear- ance exceedingly productive, and cultivated with considerable pains. On account of the heat which prevails in these districts, the productions of tropical regions are here grown in great abundance. The extensive plantations, notwithstanding their flat ap- pearance, are exceedingly beautiful; and if any thing could have made me forget that I was an unsettled exile, the scenery of the country bordering this river must have done it. There was, nevertheless, one drawback: these beautiful plantations are cultivated by slaves, many of whom we saw as we passed along. As we had regularly to stop by the way to obtain timber for our fires, that being the fuel invariably used by the steamers on this river, we had frequent opportunities of stepping ashore. On one occasion a passen- ger seeing a negro smoking his pipe by his 36 a Crue picture of Emigration little cabin, which was just at hand, took the liberty of going up to him for the purpose of begging a little fruit, which hung in plenty on the trees around. The negro, without hesitation, granted his request; and our hero immediately mounted a tree, which he par- tially stripped of its juicy burden. This little incident might have passed unnoticed, had not the intruder on descending from the tree made use of a kind of box, which was under- neath, to break his fall; its structure was too slender for so unusual a load, and in conse- quence he burst in the top to the terror of the negro, who immediately darted across the orchard, leaving our companion to make the best of his misfortune. The latter was soon convinced that he had committed a blunder, as the box was a bee-hive, and its occupants, aware they had been insulted, would accept no apology, but drawing their sabres at- tacked their foe with tremendous fury. Poor Yankee was no Leonidas; but with all the speed his heels could muster betook himself to the packet, where he was greeted with roars of laughter by his less enterprising as- sociates. As we proceeded up the river the country assumed a more rude and uncultivated ap- pearance: the date and plantain tree of the lower regions were exchanged for majestic 37 ^ ®rue picture of emigration forest trees and untrodden wilds. Further down it was delightfully pleasant; here mag- nificently grand eternal forests, in appear- ance as interminable as the universe, with here and there a patch of ground rudely cul- tivated by the hand of a lonely settler, con- stitute the scenery for thousands of miles contiguous to this matchless stream. As to the river itself, I shall not attempt a descrip- tion of it; what has already been said proves its magnitude to be immensely great; even some of its branches, as the Ohio and the Missouri, are to be classed among the largest rivers in the world. The former^ is noted for being very muddy, and hurrying in its un- governable career vast quantities of floating timber, which, decayed by age or other causes, fall into it so as often to render it dangerous for the steamers to pass along. Of these the Mississippi contains acres, that coming from above, have in the lapse of years gradually settled together in places where the current is least active. Proceeding with my narrative, I must con- fess I liked the packet much better than I expected. We had engaged to find our own provisions, but on account of their cheap- ness, or partly because I acted the part of ^The river here alluded to is obviously the Missouri, rather than the Ohio. 38 a ®rue picture of emigration matron to such as needed my assistance, we were frequently presented with young fowls, coffee, rice, &c., so that our food cost us very little on the river. During this transit we obtained considerable information respect- ing Illinois, which tended in some degree to lessen our disquietude. We were neverthe- less very far from being at ease; our unset- tled condition was ever the uppermost in our thoughts, and shed a settled gravity over our conduct. Whilst thus the subjects of painful uncertainty, we were one night much alarmed by the following attempt to rob us: my husband and I were in our berths; I was fast asleep, but he was awake, musing upon our situation, when a black man, one of the crew, knowing we were going to settle in the country, and thinking no doubt we should have money with us, came to the side of our berths and began to search under my pillow, so softly indeed as not to awake me; he was going to examine under my husband's like- wise, but as he was awake, he told him he could get him anything he wanted; such un- expected kindness was immediately under- stood, and the villain disappeared in a mo- ment. Although this attempt proved a com- plete failure, we were induced to give up our money to the captain the following day, which he kept till we arrived at St. Louis. 39 S Wvnt picture of emigration As my husband kept the money under his pillow, I have never looked back on this cir- cumstance but with feelings of gratitude to Almighty God for his protecting providence, for had he succeeded, we should have been in a most miserable situation, not even able to reach the end of our journey; — destitute and penniless in a strangt land, without friends and without home. The time occupied in passing from New Orleans to St. Louis was about twelve days. We reached the latter place about noon, and found another steamer ready to convey us forward to the situation at which we pur- posed to remain. I had little opportunity of surveying the town, and therefore can say little respecting it; but was somewhat sur- prised to find that this noted city should be built principally of wood; its situation is not the most eligible as it regards health, being near the confluence of the Missouri and the Illinois. It is however on that very account likely to become a large and wealthy city, and is indeed by some described as such already.^ On entering the second steamer I found I had made a poor exchange; the 1 Although St. Louis dates from 1764, the increase in population was extremely slow for several decades. Upon incorporation as a city in 1823, there were only a few hundred inhabitants. By 1830, the year prior to 40 a GDrue picture of emigration weather was beginning to feel uncommonly chill, and our accommodation was here very- inferior, so that we felt exceedingly anxious to be at our journey's end. The place at which we intended to leave the river was not more than one hundred and twenty miles from St. Louis; we therefore comforted ourselves with the idea that we should soon be there. We were finally to dis- embark at Phillip's Ferry, according to the directions sent by the aforementioned Mr. B. to his brother. We should then be within two miles of his residence. Mr. B., therefore, and Phillip's Ferry, occupied our thoughts almost to the exclusion of every other sub- ject. W^e had already travelled nearly seven thousand miles. Our food had been princi- pally dried provisions. For many long weeks we had been oppressed with anxious sus- pense; there is therefore no cause for wonder, that, jaded and worn out as we were, we felt anxious to be at our destined situation. Our enquiries of the sailors 'how much further we had to go,' almost exhausted their pa- tience. Already we had been on the vessel twenty-four hours, when just at nightfall the Mrs. Burlend's visit, the number had increased to almost 5,000. One hundred years later (1930) the U. S. census revealed a population of 821,960, amply fulfilling the forecast of the humble English immigrant of i8ji. 41 S ®rue picture of Emigration packet stopped: a little boat was lowered into the water, and we were invited to collect our luggage and descend into it, as we were at Phillip's Ferry;^ we were utterly con- founded: there was no appearance of a land- ing place, no luggage yard, nor even a build- ing of any kind within sight; we, however, ^Philips Ferry is still conducted, on or near the origi- nal site, at Valley City, where the present Editor util- ized it late in the month of August, 1936. The ferry was established by Garret Van Dusen in 1822, who two years later transferred it to Nimrod Philips. The latter had come from Kentucky to Pike County about 1 821; he died here a decade later. By his will, made in 1826, he bequeathed the ferry to his son, Andrew. This document, still on file in the Court House at Pittsfield, we copy in full for the entertain- ment of the reader: "Illinois pike County in the name of God Amen I Nimrod Philips of the State and County aforesaid inten to travel and Not knowing but I may die be- fore I return do make this my last will and testa- ment first I give to Zerrelda Jean my youngest child five head of Cattle a cow cald Cherry and her Caves a horse Cald Jack three beds and furniture and all the kitchen furniture and utensils this I give to my youngest child by Nancy Philips onst Nancy Norris Zerrelda Jean Philips is her name I give to Nancy Philips my wife one loom and its furniture 3 breeding Sows and their pigs six bar- rows for her meat She is to have her choise of the above named Hoggs She is to live where I now live at the ferry My part of the crop of corn that has been on the place this year to be hers 42 ^i -Tittifiekt ■; tniles Dettv THE BURLEND HOMESTEAD AND VICINITY From Map Prepared by Jess M. Thompson a GCrue picture of emigration attended to our directions, and in a few min- utes saw ourselves standing by the brink of the river, bordered by a dark wood, with no one near to notice us or tell us where we might procure accommodation or find har- bour. This happened, as before intimated, as the evening shades were rapidly settling on the earth, and the stars through the clear blue atmosphere were beginning to twinkle. It was in the middle of November, and already very frosty. My husband and I looked at each other till we burst into tears, and our children observing our disquietude began to cry bitterly. Is this America, thought I, is this the reception I meet with after my long, painfully anxious and bereav- ing voyage? In vain did we look around us, hoping to see a light in some distant cabin. It was not, however, the time to weep: my husband determined to leave us with our luggage in search of a habitation, and She is to live on the place until Zerrelda is of age and have the benefit of the improved land Zerrelda is to have six dolers for 3 years Scholling 18 dollers I give to Elizabeth Elledge my oldest daughter one doller the rest of my estate and property is to be equaly divided between my 3 children Andrew Philips, Selah Philips, Asa Philips except Andrew is to have the ferry this is my last will and testa- ment 43 S aCrue picture of emigration wished us to remain where we then stood till he returned. Such a step I saw to be necessary, but how trying! Should he lose himself in the wood, thought I, what will become of me and my helpless offspring? He departed: I was left with five young children, the youngest at my breast. When I survey this portion of my history, it looks more like fiction than reality; yet it is the precise situation in which I was then placed. After my husband was gone I caused my four eldest children to sit together on one of our beds, covered them from the cold as well as I could, and endeavoured to pacify them. I then knelt down on the bare ground, and committed myself and little ones to the Father of mercies, beseeching him 'to be a lantern to my feet, a light unto my path, and to establish my goings.' I rose from my knees considerably comforted, and endeav- oured to wait with patience the return of my husband. Above me was the chill blue can- opy of heaven, a wide river before me, and a dark wood behind. The first sound we heard was that of two dogs that came bark- ing towards us, so as greatly to increase our alarm; the dogs came up to us, but did us no harm, and very soon after I beheld my dear husband, accompanied by a stranger, who 44 a tirue picture of (Emigration conducted us to his habitation, whither our luggage was shortly afterwards removed in a waggon. My husband had followed a sort of cattle track, which led him to the house, which had been concealed by trees and underwood growing around it. And now, for the first time in my life, did I fairly see the interior of a log-house, which, however rude I might think it, I felt, as the reader will readily be- lieve, most happy to enter. It was much more comfortable to sleep on a bed laid on the floor before a fire of glowing embers, than it would have been on the cold ground, which a short time before I feared would be my lodging. The following morning, after a comfortable night's repose, we felt our health and spirits improved. My husband began to examine the soils and produce of the coun- try, and I to collect what information I could respecting American housewifery, manners, religion, &c. Our hostess was a little woman, exceedingly fond of smoking, as the Ameri- cans generally are, particularly the females. Before leaving England I had heard a great deal said in behalf of American hospitality, but these encomiums certainly require to be qualified: they are exceedingly hospitable to gentlemen who may be making a tour, likewise amongst themselves as neighbours; 45 ^ ®rue picture of (Emigration but when they know a person really must trouble them, they appear to be aware they are conferring a favour, and expect an equiv- alent. The little lady I have been describing knew little of generosity; we understood very soon that we should be expected to pay for our harbour, although we used our own pro- visions. I am forgetting that on one occa- sion she generously told me I might give my children the broth in which she had boiled some cabbage, if I thought they would drink it; I told her they had not been accustomed to such fare. We remained here three days, during which I became tolerably conversant in the theory of American housekeeping, and as Mrs. Phillips^ (that was the name of our hostess) was very loquacious, she in- itiated me into the peculiarities of Illinois politeness. No person, however slender his pretensions to knighthood, or how long so- ever the time since his small-clothes were new, is addressed without the courteous ^The willof Nimrod Philips seems to indicate that the Mrs. Philips whom Mrs. Burlend knew was a second wife of Nimrod, whose maiden name was Nancy Nor- ris. Of her we have learned nothing apart from the vivacious picture limned by our author. An earlier wife of Philips who was' a member of the EUedge family in- termarried with the Boones, and on coming to Illinois settled in Scott County on the east side of the Illinois River from Pike. 46 a GDrue picture of emigration epithet of 'Sir;' and this practice is ob- served by the members of the same family in their intercourse with each other; of course the females are in like manner hon- oured with 'Madam,' Ubi tu Cuius ^ ego Caia. It is not etiquette in Illinois to sit at the table after you have done eating; to remain after you have finished your meal implies that you have not had sufficient. This custom I subsequently found a very convenient one. But I am forgetting the house. It was a fair specimen of a log-house, and therefore a description of it will give the reader a pretty correct idea of the American peasantry. There were two rooms, both on the ground floor, separated from each other with boards so badly joined, that crevices were in many places observable. The rooms were nearly square, and might contain from thirty to forty square yards each; beneath one of the rooms was a cellar, the floor and sides of which were mud and clay, as left when first dug out; the walls of the house consisted of layers of strong blocks of timber, roughly squared and notched into each other at the corners; the joints filled up with clay. The house had two doors, one of which is always closed in winter, and open in summer to cause a draught. The fire was on the floor at 47 S ®rue picture of emigration the end of the building, where a very gro- tesque chimney had been constructed of stones gathered out of the land, and walled together with clay and mud instead of ce- ment. It was necessarily a great width, to prevent the fire from communicating with the building. The house was covered with oak shingles; that is to say, thin riven boards nailed upon each other, so as just to over-reach. The floors of the house were covered with the same material, except a large piece near the fire, which was paved with small stones, also gathered from the land. There was no window to the house I am describing, although many log-houses may now be found having glas^ windows. This inconvenience I pointed out to my host- ess, who replied, 'upon the whole it was as well without, for in winter the house was warmer and in summer they had always the door open, which was better than any win- dow.' It is in reality true, that the want of light is felt very little in a log-house; in winter they are obliged to keep fine blazing fires, which, in addition to the light ob- tained from their low wide chimneys, enable the inmates to perform any business that is requisite. It is however by no means to be under- stood that an American log house equals in 48 S ®rue picture of (Emigration comfort and convenience a snug English cot- tage. It is quite common to see, at least, one bed in the same room as that in which the fire is kept; a practice which invariably gives both the bed and house a filthy appearance. There was no chamber, only a sort of loft, constructed rather with a view to make the house warmer, than to afford additional room, x^djoining one side were a few boards nailed together in the form of a table, and supported principally by the timber in the wall. This was dignified with the name ' side- board.' In the centre of the room, stood another small table, covered with a piece of coarse brown calico; this w^as the dining table. The chairs, four in number, were the most respectable furniture in the house, hav- ing bark of ichory platted for bottoms. Be- sides these there were two stools and a bench for common use, — a candlestick made from an ear of Indian corn, two or three trenchers and a few tin drinking vessels. One corner of the house was occupied with agricultural im- plements, consisting of large hoes, axes, &c., for stubbing, called in America grubbing, flails and wooden forks, all exhibiting speci- mens of workmanship rather homely. Vari- ous herbs were suspended from the roof with a view of being medicinally serviceable, also two guns, one of them a rifle. There were 49 S ®rue picture of emigration also several hams and sides of bacon, smoked almost till they were black; two or three pieces of beef, &c. Under one of the beds were three or four large pots filled with honey, of which Mrs. P. was not a little lav- ish, as she used it to every meal along with coffee. The furniture in the other room con- sisted of two beds and a hand-loom, with which the family wove the greater part of their own clothes. In the cellar I observed two or three large hewn tubs, full of lard, and a lump of tobacco, the produce of their own land, in appearance sufficient to serve an ordinary smoker his life. During our sojourn at Mr. Phillips', my husband found Mr. B., and on the third day after our arrival, brought that gentleman's team, two stiff oxen yoked to a clumsy sledge; on which we placed our beds, boxes, &c. and bid good by to Mrs. P., who, as we paid her for our harbour, contrived to shed a tear or two at the thoughts of parting. After arriving at Mr. B.'s house, I certainly felt I had been a little cajoled. My husband had seen him the day before, but had made no mention of his condition. He was in the fields when we arrived; but as the door was unlocked, or rather lockless, we took the liberty of introducing ourselves and luggage. Mr. B. was at once a bachelor and solitaire. 50 ®rue picture of (Emigration He had left England precipitately, and what is more unusual, a great part of his money, which at this time he was daily expecting by a remittance. The property he had taken with him was all expended in land and cattle, so that a little money was a desideratum. Shortly after our arrival, Mr. B. made his appearance, which, as I before intimated, was rather mysterious. In his letters sent to England, he had spoken of his situation as *a land flowing with milk and honey'; but I assure you patient reader, his appearance would have led any one to suppose that he gathered his honey rather from thorns than flowers. He was verily as ragged as a sheep: too much so for decency to describe. And his house was more like the cell of a hermit who aims at super-excellence by enduring privations than the cottage of an industrious peasant. The bed on which he slept was only like a bolster which he had used on ship- board, and laid upon a kind of shelf of his own constructing. Then again the walls of his house were of hewn timber as others, but the joinings or interstices were left quite open. The first night I passed in this miser- able abode I was almost perished. My hus- band was obliged to heat a flat iron, and after wrapping it in flannel, apply it to my feet, so little were we protected from the 51 ^ ®rue picture of (Emigration inclemency of the weather. Finding our com- forts here so few, we determined to have a home of our own as soon as possible. Mr. B. was too busy in his farm to render my hus- band much assistance in selecting a piece of ground. Besides the condition of his haut-de- chausse^ rendered it almost imperative upon him to keep near home, especially as he was a bachelor. Before I proceed any further with my nar- rative, perhaps it will be of advantage to the reader to explain the method of purchasing land in the United States. The land in the various states has all been surveyed by direc- tion of the government, and divided into portions of eighty acres each. For the sale of the land thus surveyed and laid down on large plans, a land-office is established in various central situations, where all the allotments of a certain district are sold, and the purchasers' names registered. Any per- son, therefore, who wishes to purchase one or more of these subsections, can see the plan, and select any that are unsold. They will even sell as small a quantity as forty acres; but as they do this merely to accom- modate new settlers, no person already pos- sessing eighty acres, can purchase a smaller quantity than that at a time. In some of the ^Meaning, his trousers. 52 S ®rue picture of Emigration older states the government lands are all sold off. It must there be bought of private owners; but in Illinois and other new states there is plenty unsold. The government price everywhere is one hundred dollars for eighty acres. As there are myriads of acres yet in its native luxuriant wildness, any per- son may with impunity cultivate as much as he chooses without paying anything; and, as a further inducement, when a person be- gins thus to cultivate, no other person can legally purchase that land, till four years have expired from the time of his beginning to cultivate. By obtaining what is termed a pre-emption the improvement arising from his own industry is as secure to him for four years as if he was the actual owner. Should, however, he fail to pay for the land before the term expires, an indifferent per- son may then purchase it; but this seldom happens. Every person purchasing land at the office, must declare upon oath, if re- quired, that no other party has an improve- ment on it. And, if it be proved to be other- wise, such purchase is in every case invalid; and the fraudulent party liable to a heavy fine. An improved eighty acres was the first land we purchased: we obtained it in the following manner: — A person named Mr. 53 S 2true picture of emigration Oakes^ having heard that a family about to settle was sojourning at Mr. B.'s came to invite my husband to buy some venison, which he had killed with his rifle just before. My husband went with him, and in conver- sation found he was disposed to sell his im- provement right; for the four years were not expired, and he had not entered it at the land ofiice. For this right he wanted sixty dollars. My husband told him he would call upon him the next day, and returned to Mr. B.'s after buying a quantity of nice venison at a halfpenny per pound. The following day, my husband and I visited at Mr. Oakes's, who took us round the estate, ^ There were, commonly, three waves of migration in the settlement of any given portion of the frontier. First of all came the traders, hunters, and trappers, with no particular intention of improving the country. Second came the "squatters," who occupied (without troubhng to buy legal title) a tract of land and made some slight improvements on it, frequently building a cabin and reducing one or more acres to cultivation, but relying largely upon hunting and on the natural products of the forest for their support. In the wake of the squatter came the permanent settler, who acquired legal title to the soil and developed a home with the in- tention of passing it on to his children. Oakes, the individual here noted, was evidently a squatter, who has left no record of his sojourn in the community. Of him and his kind, Mr. Jess M. Thompson, local his- torian, observes, "All seem to have vanished from the community at an early day." 54 S Crue picture of Emigration shewed us the boundaries, which were marked out by large stones set at each cor- ner, termed the corner stones. On the land there were about four hun- dred sugar maples which Mr. Oakes had tapped the preceding year. These trees grow plentifully in the United States, and promise with proper culture to supersede the use of West Indian sugar in America. They like a low situation and a deep soil, and grow to a larger size than any trees in this country. They are said to thrive the better the oftener they are pierced. The method of obtaining sugar from them is very simple. A small cabin, or, as it is there termed, camp, is built in the midst of the trees; two or three large coppers, holding from five to ten gallons each, are set within it, to boil the liquor, which being drained from the trees into hewn wooden troughs, is carried into the camp. The incisions are made with an auger in the beginning of March, when the sap is beginning to rise. Into each of these holes a tube is inserted, about an inch in diameter, so as just to fill the hole, through this the liquor flows as through a spout. The tree from which these tubes are made, is admi- rably adapted for the purpose, growing somewhat like the elder, only its branches are straighter and contain more pith. It is 55 Si ®rue picture of emigration usually called in Illinois the shoemaker's tree,^ its botanical name I do not know. The most suitable weather for the discharge of this liquor is when the days are fine and the nights frosty. After the liquor is thus collected, it is boiled down to the consistency of thin treacle. It is then strained through a coarse woollen cloth, and afterwards boiled again at a slower fire till it becomes hard and firm like raw sugar. It is at present much used in the United States, and always sells at a higher rate than that from the West Indies. On the land now under considera- tion, Mr. Oakes had broken up about twelve acres, three of which were sown with wheat, and the remaining nine ready to be sown with Indian corn, oats, &c. the following spring. As we liked the situation and land very much and were wishful to be settled, the agreement was completed that evening, and the money paid and possession obtained the following day. The reader is aware that the sixty dollars given to Mr. Oakes, were only for his house, improvement right, sugar- making utensils, &c. One hundred more we paid at the land office, at Quincy, and we ob- tained the usual certificate or title deeds; and thus by the first of December, having spent ^Apparently the co-author of Mrs. Burlend's narra- tive nodded here. The tree in question is the sumac. 56 S {Erue picture of emigration about thirty pounds in travelling, thirty-five more in land, &c. we were the rightful owners of a farm of eighty acres, with a log house in the centre of it.^ What more could we re- quire? The reader will perceive in the next chapter. ^The farm which the immigrants thus obtained for their home is legally known as the northeast ^ of the northeast >^ of Section 6, Twp. 5 S, R. 2 W. of the Fourth P. M. It lies about two miles east of Bethel Cemetery, and about three miles north of the village of Detroit, in northwestern Detroit Township. Three miles to the northeast lies Valley City, formerly Philips Ferry. The approach of the Burlends to the farm site was, of course, by way of Philips Ferry. The original cabin site was on the face of a sloping hillside, a few rods from a spring which still gives forth a stream of clear, cool water. 57 Cljapter 4 DURING the time we were at lodgings we had felt ourselves dependent, and looked forward with anxious expec- tation to the time when we might again taste the sweets and independence of home, and those enjoyments which are only to be ex- pected at one's own fireside. That period had now arrived. We had indeed a house such as I have already described, but we had no furniture except two large boxes, two beds, and a few pots and cooking utensils; besides, our provisions were just finished. Till this time we had been using principally the remains of biscuits, &c., purchased at New Orleans. The first wants of nature must be first attended to: whether we had a chair to sit on or not, something to eat we must have. Our nearest neighbour lived about half-a-mile from us, and we were at least two miles and a-half from any place at which fiour was sold; thither, however, my husband went, and as our money was grow- ing scarce, he bought a bushel of ground In- dian corn, which was only one-third the price of wheaten fiour; it was there sold for thirty cents a bushel. Its taste is not pleasant to 58 S ®rue picture of emigration persons unaccustomed to it; but as it is wholesome food, it is much used for mak- ing bread. We had now some meal, but no yeast, nor an oven; we were therefore obliged to make sad paste, and bake it in our frying pan on some hot ashes. We procured a little milk of our nearest neighbour, Mr. Paddock, which, on account of the severe frosts that prevail in Illinois, we generally received in lumps of ice. Thus we lived the first few weeks at our new estate. Hasty pudding, sad bread, and a little venison which we had left, were our ordinary food. The greater part of my hus- band's time was spent in cutting and pre- paring wood for our fires. About this time we made further purchases of a cow and calf, for which we paid fourteen dollars, a young mare, which cost us twenty dollars, two pigs, and a shallow flat-bottomed iron pan, with a cover to it, to bake in. This is the common, and indeed almost the only kind of oven used in Illinois. It is vulgarly called a skellit. To make it hot it is im- mersed in glowing embers, the lid is then removed till the dough is put in; it is then replaced and ashes again thrown over it, till the cake is baked. Hence it will be perceived that a quantity of bread beforehand is un- known in Illinois: their custom is to bake a 59 S ®rue picture of emigration cake to each meal, which is generally very good; eggs and milk being so plentiful, are regularly used in their bread, along with a little celeratus to lighten it, whereby it be- comes very rich and nutritive. The Illinois settlers live somewhat differ- ently from the English peasantry; the former have only three meals a-day, and not much variety in them: bread, butter, coffee, and bacon, are always brought to the table, but fresh meat is a rarity, and is never obtained as in England by going to a butcher for it. In Illinois the farmers all kill their own cat- tle, and salt what is not used immediately; sometimes, however, they distribute por- tions among their neighbours, with the view of receiving as much again when they kill theirs. It is by no means uncommon for an old settler to have a couple of fowls, ducks, a goose, or a turkey to dinner; and, generally speaking, everybody has plenty of plain good food. [The object contemplated in this work requires that I should occasionally leave my own history, to render more complete the information I have to impart; I hope, there- fore, the reader will not think me incoherent. To proceed:] we bought the live stock above described of Mr. Oakes, and as it was winter, we wanted something with which to feed them. Indian corn is nearly the only winter 60 a tKrue picture of (Emigration food used in Illinois; and as the culture and management of it occupy a great portion of the farmer's time and industry, it may be not out of place to explain the method of cultivating it: the land intended for Indian corn should be ploughed and harrowed once or twice to make the earth loose and mellow, that the roots may strike with greater free- dom; furrows are then made at the distance of about a yard from each other: these are afterwards crossed by other furrows made at right angles to the first, and about the same distance apart; by this means the field appears divided into numberless little square portions, each somewhat less than a square yard as if hollowed at the centre; into each of these crossings four seeds are thrown, and slightly covered with a hoe; this is done in the beginning of March, and after the young blades make their appearance the plough is occasionally drawn along between the rows, for the purpose of checking weeds and keep- ing the mould as light as possible; as these groups of plants are so far apart, kidney beans, melons, and pumpkins are frequently sown among them, for which the strong stems of the corn are excellent supports. Indian corn usually ripens about the be- ginning of October, and is of an immense produce. There are commonly four or five 6i a ®rue picture of emigration ears to each stem, each ear having from five hundred to a thousand grains in it.^ As the ears ripen they gradually assume a pendent form, and are in that position severally over- hung with the leaves of the plant, which form a sort of sheath, securely protecting them from rain; in this manner, when prop- erly ripened, it will remain in perfect safety all winter uncut; and it is by no means un- common to sow the land with wheat before the corn crop is all removed. It is not always allowed to ripen; part of the crop is often cut, when the corn is about half-fed, which being dried in the sun, the stem and leaves make excellent hay; in this state it is both hay and corn, and is in fact the only hay the farmer preserves for winter, of which he makes small stacks of a peculiar construc- tion, so as not to require thatching. Noth- ing can be more beautiful than a field of Indian corn in full blossom, and perhaps ^It seems probable that Edward Burlend, who never saw America, misunderstood what his mother actually told him concerning the corn crop. A yield of four or five ears of corn to a single stalk is so uncommon that the Editor, who grew up on an Iowa farm cannot re- member ever having seen a single example. The Illinois River bottom land is very rich and still produces splen- did crops of corn, but the statement that a yield of four or five ears to the stalk was common, even a century ago, is evidently erroneous. 62 S tCrue picture of emigration nothing in nature displays the munificence of Providence more strikingly than this match- less plant. In order to supply our cattle with winter meat, we applied to Mr. Paddock, our nearest neighbour, who sold us part of a field unreaped; some of it we cut down and took home, the rest we allowed to stand and turned our cattle to it. The reader may think it strange that we should turn cattle into the fields in the depth of winter, especially as the winters are there more severe than in England; it is however the regular custom: the cattle are inured to it, as they are never kept up any part of the year, either day or night. The two pigs we had bought we were obliged to kill shortly after we purchased them, as we wanted them for our own use, and we wished to spare the small stock of Indian corn we had on hand. The reader must also know our money was nearly done: I believe we had not more than four or five dollars re- maining; part of it we were obliged to spend in sulphur, to cure what is called the Illinois mange, from which we were all suffering. This complaint invariably attacks new set- tlers, shortly after their arrival, and is a com- plete scourge until it is removed. The body breaks out all over in little spots, attended with intolerable itching. It is generally at- tributed to the change of water, but as theirs 63 a 3Crue picture of ©migration possesses no peculiarity of taste, I cannot understand how that can be the cause. We were soon cured after using the sulphur, and never felt anything more of it.^ It has already been said that when we en- tered our house we had no furniture; this in- convenience my husband, although no joiner, had undertaken to remove, by making for himself and me each a stool, and a low bench for our children, or more properly a log of wood, squared and laid across the hearth for a seat. He had also contrived to make a table, which if not as neat as those used in England, was quite as substantial: having met with a section of a strong tree about two feet long, he rolled it into the house, and set it upon its end; had it been a little longer, its ^The "Illinois Mange," a well-known pioneer afflic- tion, as the name itself indicates, seems not to trouble present-day denizens of Pike County. Mr. Francis Allen, a grandson of our author and now eighty years of age, who has lived his entire life in the county, in- formed the Editor that he had never heard of the dis- ease. Jess M.Thompson, however, local historian (and a great-grandson of Mrs. Burlend) is familiar with its early-day prevalence in the county. He relates that local opinion attributed its occurrence to the rotting of plowed-under vegetation. Another theory attributed its ravages to the decayed fish which perished with the drying-up of ponds along the river bottoms. At Atlas, Pike County, the disease assumed the proportions of an epidemic in 1 821, when many of the settlers died from it. 64 S ®rue picture of Emigration upper surface would have been just what we wanted; we however nailed a few boards upon it, making them fit as well as we could, and having covered it with a cloth to conceal its roughness, it was far from being con- temptible, at least for persons like us, who had been some days without any. As to bedsteads, we were a few weeks before we got any; of course we had them to make our- selves, and as we were ill furnished with tools and unaccustomed to such employ- ment, when they were finished they served rather to shew how little ornament is abso- lutely necessary, than our skill as expert car- penters. Hitherto the light of the fire had served us instead of a candle, which was very incon- venient, as I wished to sew a little in the eve- nings. It is certainly true that days are never so short as in England, nevertheless we were very wishful to have some candles. The inhabitants commonly make their own, in tin moulds; but as we had neither moulds nor tallow, we were obliged to put a little lard into a saucer, and light a piece of rag previously inserted in it; by this we could see to sew and read pretty well; but as the rag frequently got immersed in the melted lard it was very troublesome, and by constant use we had three or four saucers broken with 6s ^ ®rue picture of (Emigration the heat, a circumstance much to be re- gretted, as pots of all kinds are dear in Illi- nois. To prevent a recurrence of this misfor- tune we ultimately made use of our kettle lid, inserting the knob or holder into a piece of board to make it stand. Our next great inconvenience was want of soap: having however learnt from Mrs. Phil- lips the method of making it, we were by this time in a state of readiness for supplying our- selves. The reader will remember we had before this time killed two pigs, the entrails of which we had cleaned and preserved, along with the bits of offal, rendering, scraps, &c., and now the finest of our ashes were collected and put into a large wooden trough, and boiling water poured over them, whence we obtained a strong solution of potash, which we poured off and boiled down; fresh ashes were then used as before, and a fresh solution obtained; the whole was next boiled down to about one third of the original quan- tity, by which means the solution became so caustic, that it would have taken the skin off one's fingers in a moment. In this state the waste meat and entrails were mixed with it, which it very soon assimilated. After it had obtained the consistency of soft soap, it was poured into a vessel appropriated for the purpose, to be ready for use. 66 3 tKrue picture of emigration This is the manner the American peas- antry supply themselves with soap. Their practice of burning wood furnishes them with potash, which they saturate with other ingredients as above described. Since we were thus obliged to provide necessaries for ourselves in a manner very different from that to which we had been accustomed in England, it may be asked if there are no shops in that country. Illinois, it must be known, is very thinly populated, and on that account it is not the situation for shopkeep- ers. There are, however, in various places, what are termed store keepers, who supply the settlers with articles the most needed, such as food, clothing, implements of hus- bandry, medicine, and spirituous liquors: for which they receive in exchange the produce of their farms, consisting of wheat, Indian corn, sugar, beef, bacon, &c. As these store- keepers exercise a sort of monopoly over a certain district, their profits are great, and they often become wealthy. Besides their store, they often have a saw-mill and a corn- mill, at which they grind the corn they ob- tain from the farmers, for the purpose of sending it to New Orleans, or some other place where it can be readily sold. Stores therefore are in Illinois, nearly what markets are in England, only there is more barter in 67 ^ Crue picture of emigration the former country. The mills in that neigh- bourhood are chiefly turned by water. We were destined to be unfortunate with the young mare we had purchased of Mr. Oakes. Having been accustomed to run in the fields with other horses, she would not settle with our cow and calf. Every day she was lost; no fences could turn her. We were therefore obliged to sell her, or rather ex- change for one not near so good; only she was expected to have a foal the following spring. Shortly after we had parted with the young mare, my husband found two strange horses in the field feeding upon our corn, he turned them out and returned home. On going to the field again they were there a second time; he felt assured some one had turned them in, as the fences were all good. The next morning explained the circum- stance, for the horses being in the field as before, he was about to drive them out, when a tall man hastened towards him, and bade him desist, telling him that the horses were his and he intended them to be there. My husband remonstrated with him on the in- justice of such behaviour, and persevered in his attempts to drive them out; at which the person, whose name was Brevet, went up to him, and struck him a blow on the forehead with his fist, and threatened further violence 68 S tCrue picture of €misration if he did not allow them to remain. Seeing that physical force was the only available argument, my husband began to prepare for resistance; but calling to mind the situation of his family, and not knowing what perfidy might be resorted to, he wisely concluded to leave the man and his horses where they were. I mention this circumstance princi- pally to shew how much we were indebted to an over-ruling Providence for the preserva- tion of my husband's life on this occasion. We afterwards learnt that Brevet was a pest to the neighbourhood, and that he had told one of his acquaintances of this interview, and declared he would have stabbed my partner with a large dirk which he always carried with him, if he had resisted. In a short time afterwards he left the neighbour- hood, dreaded or detested by all who knew him. We have already seen that considerable labour is required to prepare fuel, as a good fire in America is essential during the winter season. The frosts are intensely keen, a wide river is sometimes iced over in a single night, so as to be unnavigable. Every thing of a fluid nature, exposed to the weather, is formed into a solid. For two or three months the milk freezing as soon as it is taken from the cows, affords no cream, consequently no 69 S ®rue picture of emigration butter. It is nevertheless possible to obtain butter, by keeping the churn near the fire, and churning cream and milk both together; but as this method is exceedingly trouble- some it is seldom practised. The nights in winter are at once inexpressibly cold, and poetically fine. The sky is almost invariably clear, and the stars shine with a brilliancy entirely unknown in the humid atmosphere of England. Cold as it was, often did I, dur- ing the first winter, stand at the door of our cabin, admiring their lustre and listening to the wolves, whose bowlings, among the leaf- less woods at this season, are almost unceas- ing. These animals are numerous in Amer- ica; and, unless the sheep be regularly folded, their depredations are extensively injurious, as they lacerate the throats of nearly all the flock; sometimes also they will seize young pigs, but as they fear the old ones, unless they are impelled by hunger, these animals are not in much danger. The timid submis- sive sheep is always their favourite prey. The reader will perceive we had not much intercourse with the rest of the world. For a while no one seemed to notice us, except Mr. B., our neighbour Mr. Paddock, and one Mr. Burns, who lived about two miles off, (all are Misters in America.) But indeed the villainous conduct of Mr. Brevet had 70 9 tErue picture of emigration made us so suspicious, that we scarcely knew whether to wish for an increased circle of acquaintance, or entire seclusion. One thing was very afflictive, our being deprived of Christian Sabbath ordinances. We always honoured that day, by abstaining from our accustomed labour; we read our Bible, and meditated thereon: but Sabbath after Sab- bath passed away without our once being able to assemble with those who 'keep holy day,' or in the great congregation to unite our tribute of praise, with the aspirations of those whose sentiments are 'how amiable are thy tabernacles O Lord of Hosts!' At this time we were five miles from any place where public worship was regularly con- ducted; subsequently preaching-houses much nearer were opened, the character of which will be noticed in its proper place. The motives which occasioned this work to be written require that a strict regard to truth be maintained; and, in matters of fact, that nothing be introduced calculated to mislead, either by deterring or alluring; this rule has hitherto been carefully observed. Am I then asked if we thus far were satisfied with the step we had taken, my answer is, we regretted it very much. We had indeed plenty of corn-bread and milk, but neither beer nor tea; coffee was our chief beverage, 71 S Wvnt picture of Emigration which we used very sparingly, for want of money. All the water we wanted we had to thaw, and during the nights, on account of the severe frosts, we were very cold indeed; although we always kept the fire burning. Our bed-clothes we had taken with us from England, and we were unable to procure any more, as they were dear, and our means almost exhausted. We had indeed some good land, but it was nearly all uncultivated, and we had nothing to sell except our cattle,, which we wanted. The only ground of hope we had was in our industry and persever- ance. My husband worked very hard; the little time we had to spare, after feeding the cattle and procuring fuel, was spent in split- ting trees to make rails. All the fences here are made of rails, there are no thorns in the neighbourhood. The method of fencing is peculiar: they use no posts; but having pre- pared their rails, they lay one down on the ground, where they wish to make a fence; not precisely in the same direction as the line of their intended fence, but making a small angle with it. Another rail is then laid down with its end overreaching the first, with which it forms a cross like the letter X, only instead of the crossing being at the centre, it is near the end of each rail. A third is then made to cross the second as before, and so on 72 3 tErue picture of €misration to an indefinite length. On each side of these several crossings a stake is driven into the ground to prevent their being removed. Other rails are then placed upon these, cross- ing each other in a similar manner, till the fence is as high as it is required. Generally they are about nine rails high. From the description here given, the reader will per- ceive that the fences are not straight as in England, but in a continued zig-zag. The reason for this difference is, timber and land are of comparatively little value in America, while their method requires less labour than ours. In this manner we spent our first winter; we had plenty of work; our amusements even tended to advantage. Great numbers of quails frequented our home-stead to feed on our small stock of Indian corn; we caught several of them with snares, which were ex- cellent eating. My husband also shot a few rabbits, of which there are vast numbers in America. We likewise saw several deer, but as we had no rifle, we could not kill any. We observed several kinds of birds, which we had not before seen, one in particular, which we took to be a species of turkey, engaged our attention; my husband tried several times to kill one, without effect. One Satur- day, however, he was successful, and brought 73 tirue picture of emigration home his game with as much apparent con- sciousness of triumph, as if he had slain some champion hydra of the forest. The following day we expected Mr. B., who by this time had received his money, to dine with us. We accordingly dressed our bird, and congratu- lated ourselves with the idea of having our countryman to dine with us on a fine boiled turkey. Sunday morning arrived, and in due time our turkey was in the pot boiling for dinner. Mr. B. came; we told him how happy we were on account of the treat we were going to give him. He was surprised at our story, as those birds are difficult to obtain with a common fowling-piece, and de- sired to see the feet and head. But the mo- ment he saw them, he exclaimed 'it's a buz- zard,' a bird which, we subsequently learnt, gormandizes any kind of filth or carrion, and consequently is not fit to be eaten. We were sorely disappointed; our turkey was hoisted into the yard, and we were obliged to be con- tented with a little bacon, and a coarse In- dian corn pudding, for which our stomachs were not altogether unprepared, although recently in anticipation of more sumptuous fare. The reader may think we were stupid not to know a turkey; the bird in question is very much like one, and indeed on that ac- count is called in Illinois a turkey-buzzard. 74 S ®rue picture of emigration As spring approached we felt some symp- toms of those hopes which had animated us in England with reference to our success as emigrants. Man's career in prospective is always brilliant; and it is providentially or- dered that it should be so. Could we have foreseen our destiny, the prospect would have thrown us into despair. It would have robbed us of much present enjoyment, and unfitted our minds for the difficulties with which we had to struggle. I am, however, anticipating my history. The symptoms to which I referred originated with the idea of being the cultivators of our own land. How those prospects were realized, the sequel will explain. By the beginning of March our Indian corn was done, and it had served so long only through the greatest care. There was however by this time a little fresh grass in the woods, to which we were very glad to turn our little stock, consisting as before stated of a cow and calf, and a mare near foaling. As this method of summering cattle in America is peculiar to that country, and affords to the farmer considerable advan- tages, I shall endeavour to be explicit in the account of it, which I am about to give. I must then premise that all unenclosed lands, whether purchased of government or other- wise, are considered common pasturage; and 75 Si WvvLt picture of Emigration as there are in Illinois thousands of acres in that state, any person can keep as many cattle during summer as he chooses. They are turned out at spring, and thus run where they please. A person unacquainted with these habits would naturally be afraid of losing them in such immeasurable regions. This, however, seldom happens. There are few animals having a sufficiency of food that are fond of ranging over strange domains. Even in this country we observe foxes and hares to have their favourite haunts, from which it is difficult to break them. Domesti- cated animals manifest this principle of at- tachment still more strongly. Hence no American farmer, having his cattle on the range, would fear being able to find them in a few hours; and indeed a person unac- quainted with the haunts of any certain herd, would most probably go directly to- wards them. Rivers and smaller streams have certainly some confining influence, but independent of that, their habits are to fre- quent those situations only to which they are accustomed. In that country cattle have a great liking for salt, and indeed it seems essential to their health, particularly in sum- mer. An English farmer would smile to see a herd of cattle contending with each other over a few handfuls of dry salt which had 76 ^ tlrue picture of emigration been thrown on the floor for them. This is seen every day in America. The milch cows require more of it than the rest, and unless they are regularly served with it, their milk becomes unpleasant. This induces them to come to their stand to be milked twice-a- day. Oxen and heifers will take no harm if they have a little twice-a-week, or even not so often. Where so many different herds of cattle run at large, there is a greater danger of their intermixing than of their being lost. To prevent this, great care is taken by each grazier at the spring to mark his own. Some cut their ears in various ways. Others burn certain marks on their horns with a hot iron. There is not, however, much confusion. The cattle which have been fed together during winter, most generally associate with each other in summer; all having an unaccount- able attachment to the master beast of the herd, apparently considering his presence a source of protection or honour. For this rea- son the owner usually suspends a bell round this animal's neck, which enables him to find his cattle with greater ease. Hence the phrase, 'bear the bell,' is common even in this country. In this manner the cattle graze during summer, and when the pastur- age fails, they cease to range; but besetting their master's cabin with incessant lowings 77 a ®rue picture of Cmi'station remind him that winter is approaching, and that their claims to his bounty deserve at- tention, and must have it. At this time if any strange cattle have joined the herd, the law requires that the farmer cause them to be valued, and their mark to be taken down and sent to four of the nearest mills for pub- licity; if they are not owned within a year they belong to the herd. I must now leave our small herd of cattle running in the woods, to acquaint the reader with our first summer's performances and success. The first fruits of our industry were derived from our sugar orchard, the care of which devolved principally on me. We were in want of nearly all kinds of implements of husbandry, without the means of procuring them, except by running into debt, a prac- tice which we felt reluctant to adopt. Our sugar trees therefore at this time afforded us a seasonable boon. The weather was favour- able, and by hard working we made nearly three hundred weight, besides a barrel of molasses. We disposed of the greater part of it to a store-keeper named Mr. Varley, at the rate of seven or eight cents per pound. It must not be understood that we got money for it. Business is seldom transacted after that manner in Illinois. My meaning is we were allowed to take anything we wanted 78 ^ tCrue picture of emigration from the store by paying for it with sugar at the above rate. Our first care was to have some Indian corn for seed, and some more meal for our own use, which at that time we wanted. We likewise obtained a little coffee, two or three hoes, and a Yankee axe, which is much larger and broader than the one used in this country, and better adapted for the every-day business of hewing large blocks of timber for fuel and other purposes. And now, kind reader, if thou hast any in- tentions of being an emigrant, I cordially wish thee success; but before thou forsakest the endearments of thy present home, con- sider the situation in which we were placed with a helpless family dependent upon us. Thou hast seen us expend our little money with the utmost frugality; thou art ac- quainted with our possessions, real and per- sonal. It was now the middle of March, when Indian corn, the most useful produce of that country, must be sown, or the season would be past. We had land and seed, but no plough, nor any team, except an old mare, that we feared would scarcely live while she foaled, and consequently we could not yoke her. What could we do? If we did not sow we could not reap; we should have nothing to feed our cattle with the ensuing winter. Labor omnia vincit was our motto. We set 79 a tKrue picture of emigration to work with our hoes; I, husband, and son, the latter under ten years of age, and day after day, for three successive weeks, did we toil with unwearied diligence till we had sown and covered in nearly four acres. We should probably have sown more, had not the rains which fall in torrents at this season prevented us. Whilst referring to the weather, it will be proper to observe that during the month of April in Illinois, a great quantity of rain usually falls, accompanied almost invariably with thunder storms of a most awful character. A person who has lived only in England can have but an im- perfect conception of these electrical phe- nomena. They happen most frequently in the night, which considerably increases their power of striking terror through the most intrepid bosom. The weather is at this time close and sultry, and as the sun declines the sky becomes gradually overcast; midnight arrives, a pitchy darkness overhangs the earth; by and by the wind begins to roar in the trees, and the hoarse thunder in the dis- tance announces the coming of the storm. As it approaches the thunder claps wax louder and louder, while the lightning be- gins to play across the gloomy firmament, in a most awful and terrific manner. Every moment the voice of the thunder acquires 80 ^ 3Crue picture of emigration additional compass, never ceasing even for a moment; but before one peal has well broken on the ear, it is drowned by another still more tremendous and loud. The lightning is even more overpowering than the thunder. One moment all is in obscurity, a second the heavens seem rent asunder, the bright blue lightning dancing in all directions with a frightful and deadly velocity; meanwhile the rain descends in torrents, threatening to sweep away the foundation of the dwelling. The length of time these storms continue is generally about an hour. The first I wit- nessed made an impression on my mind that will never be forgotten; my senses were com- pletely disordered: I became alarmed at the slightest noise, and for a while felt more afraid of a thunder storm than of any calam- ity which appeared in the power of misfor- tune to inflict upon me. Probably my late anxieties and bereavement preying on my mind had indisposed my nerves for such phenomena, at once terrific, awful, and sub- lime. But whatever was the cause, I have great pleasure in stating that I soon got the better of my timidity. Trees have frequently been struck near our house, but hitherto no accident has befallen us. We now con- sider these storms rather as annoying than dangerous; one reason perhaps is that a 8i ^ tBxnt picture of emigration dry log house is a bad conductor of the electric fluid. About this time we were sorely tormented with another scourge, which unlike the one just noticed, possessed exceedingly little of a poetical or sublime character. It certainly operated on the nerves powerfully enough, but that in a manner rather calculated to move the lower than the more elevated pas- sions of our nature. I refer to the musqui- toes; swarms of which infest that country during spring and autumn, much to the annoyance of its inhabitants. This trouble- some insect is not unlike the gnat, which in this country so often terminates its existence by flying into the candle. Its bite is slightly venomous, causing small blisters somewhat like those occasioned by the sting of a nettle, only the pain attending it is more acute. They are the most numerous in low situa- tions, or among thick woods where the heat is less oppressive. This insect cannot bear great heats, and on that account is never seen during the hottest weather, except in very shady places. It is always most trouble- some in the nights; and as it makes a con- stant humming when it flies, it is a most noisy as well as a most unwelcome guest in a lodging room. I do assure the reader I have lain for hours together with a handkerchief 82 3 ®rue picture of emigration in my hand, fanning them from my face, when a little sleep would have been a more seasonable relaxation. Various methods are practised to drive them off or avoid them. We frequently made a fire at the door, and covered it with green leaves to make as much smoke as possible, and thereby to banish them from the neighbourhood; but the mo- ment the smoke was dissipated they again made their appearance as numerous as flies in England on a summer day. Many persons make what are termed musquito hangings for their beds; these are constructed of laths strung together so closely as not to allow a space for them to pass through. They sel- dom are seen on the prairies, or indeed in any place remote from thick shady woods; thus some of our neighbours have been quite free from them, while we were tor- tured incessantly. We however had the ad- vantage of being near fuel, a consideration of great importance in that country, espe- cially as the soil of wood land is always more valuable than that of the prairies, and when cleared is likewise free from mus- quitoes. Having referred to the prairies, it may perhaps be necessary to be a little more ex- plicit. Many persons in England have a wrong idea of the uncultivated lands in 83 ^ ®rue picture of (Emigration America, imagining they are all wood. This is by no means the case. In Illinois there are thousands of acres with not a tree upon it, but covered with a sort of strong wild grass, growing sometimes three or four feet high. These lands are termed prairies, and require only to be broken up with a prairie plough, and they become at once fine arable land. As I before intimated, this kind of land, though the soonest cultivated, is not the most productive being, as the farmers term it, of a stronger quality than the other. The soil of both prairies and woodland is quite black, probably owing to the vegetable mat- ter, which for ages has decayed thereon. At the season of the year now under notice, these prairies present to the eye a most charming appearance. Let the reader im- agine himself by the side of a rich meadow, or fine grass plain several miles in diameter, decked with myriads of flowers of a most gorgeous and varied description, and he will have before his mind a pretty correct rep- resentation of one of these prairies. Noth- ing can surpass in richness of colour, or beauty of formation many of the flowers which are found in the most liberal profu- sion on these extensive and untrodden wilds. The naturalist would here meet with abun- dance of materials for his genius to arrange, 84 ^ ®rue picture of Emigration while the poet, reminded of his elegies, would perceive how — "Many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air." In contrasting the hues of flowers grown in America with those in England, I must ac- knowledge that the former country presents the more splendid; but if they are superior in colour, they are much inferior in odour. Per- haps the superabundance of light and heat, which produces such fine colour, is prejudi- cial to the production of odoriferous plants, as any thing at all approaching the fragrance of the honey suckle or sweet briar, I never witnessed in America. In the woody dis- tricts, the trees most commonly met with are the oak, ichory, walnut and sugar maple, besides a great deal of underwood and wild fruit trees of the plum family. i\s all these grow in a wild state, it is not to be supposed that the trees are as numerous as they are in the plantations of this country. The strong timber trees grow at various distances from each other, sometimes being as near to each other as they can possibly grow, at others twenty or thirty yards apart. They not only vary considerably in this respect, but also in magnitude and age. Not a few are to be found in the last stage of decay, their patri- archal dignity gradually submitting to the 8s S Wxnt picture of Cmisration all-subduing influence of time. Numbers more are quite hollow, in which bees, owls, and rabbits severally find shelter and propa- gate their species. Every thing here bears the mark of ancient undisturbed repose. The golden age still appears, and when the woodman with his axe enters these territories for the first time, he cannot resist the impres- sion that he is about to commit a trespass on the virgin loveliness of nature, that he is go- ing to bring into captivity what has been free for centuries. In resuming the thread of my narrative, I have to state, that as soon as we had sown our Indian corn, and planted a few potatoes, we began to prepare for taking in more land, although we had four or five acres unsown of that which Mr. Oakes had broken up. We hoped, nevertheless, that before another sea- son we should be able to plough and sow in a regular manner. Accordingly my husband worked hard every day with his grubbing hoe and axe, tearing up the roots of under- wood and cutting down some of the largest trees. When trees are cut down in America, as little regard is paid to the timber, they do not cut them off level with the ground as in England, but about three feet from it. The remaining part is burnt after it has been ex- posed to the sun's rays a few months. Many 86 S Wvnt picture of emigration trees however are allowed to remain stand- ing, after the bark has been cut, to cause them to die. In this state they remain even after the land is sown, for, being destitute of foliage, they do no harm to the crop. While my husband was thus engaged I frequently went to him, and, assisted by our little boy, gathered the most portable pieces of brushwood, and took them to our cabin to be ready for fuel; thus, by continued exer- tions, we had cleared three or four acres by the end of May, and made a fence half round the piece we intended to enclose as our next field, consisting of about eight acres. Before this time our old mare had foaled, and as we partly expected, only survived that event a few weeks. Near our house there is a sort of rivulet, termed in lUinois a branch, in which one Sunday evening, after we had walked ten miles in going to and from the chapel, we found her laid; we got her out with the help of a rope, and after a while she appeared little worse; a week or two afterwards, how- ever, her foal came by itself neighing to our door; we were immediately assured that something had befallen its mother, and set out in search of her, whither the foal, going before, led us as naturally as if it had been endowed with reason; she had again fallen into the branch, and was quite dead. The 87 ^ Wvnt picture of emigration foal, notwithstanding its loss, throve very- well, and subsequently became a very valu- able brood mare. In the month of June, notwithstanding our economy, we were obliged to purchase some meal on credit. Mr. Varley, the store- keeper, very willingly allowed us to have as much as we wanted, and indeed offered to sell us anything else on the same terms. His miller, however, as soon as he knew we were not giving ready money, only partly filled the bushel, thereby making it dearer to us than before, and we dared not complain to his master for fear he should refuse it alto- gether. The debt we contracted was very small, — not a dollar — for which we had bread for the family not less than six weeks; the expiration of which brings us to the end of our first wheat harvest, a season conspicu- ous in my history on account of the severe trials I then experienced. 88 CJjapter 5 TOWARDS the end of June our three acres of wheat began to look ripe, and we consequently had to consider how we should reap it; we had no sickles, nor were any to be had under a dollar each; we there- fore, self and husband, resolved to go to our friend Mr. B., who lent us two, for which we were thankful enough, although they were poor ones. As we were returning home, my husband had the misfortune to stumble over a log of wood, and having a sickle in his hand, he pitched upon the edge of it with his knee, and cut it severely. We were then a mile from home, and the wound bled pro- fusely. I bound it up with a handkerchief, and after a little faintness he was able to pro- ceed. The next day, on examining the cut, we found it to be more serious than we had imagined: the symptoms were also bad; in- stead of being warm and irritable, it was cold and numb. In vain did we apply lotions, it kept growing worse and worse. The follow- ing day it began to swell very much, and to be exceedingly painful at a distance from the cut. The pain took away his appetite for food, and symptoms of inflammation and 89 S ®rue picture of emigration fever became rapidly apparent. My situa- tion requires no comment: I could not but perceive I was likely to lose my dearest earthly friend, and with him all visible means of supporting myself, or maintaining my family. I was almost driven to frenzy. Despair began to lay hold of me with his iron sinews; I longed to exchange situations with my husband; there was no one near to assist or encourage me. My eldest child alone manifested any signs of sympathy: the poor boy went up to his father's bed, and with affectionate and child-like simplicity said, 'don't die, father, don't die.' Meanwhile the swelling increased; my husband had taken nothing but a little coffee for two days. Here was a crisis: I saw a short time would determine whether I was to be reduced to a situation the most wretched imaginable, or see my husband restored to me again. The latter idea seemed to contain all I had in this world to cling to. I could not give it up. I fomented the swelling with increased dili- gence, till at length he began to perspire, and his leg to possess its wonted sensibility. A change for the better had evidently taken place, and by degrees all the bad symptoms disappeared. On perceiving this, I felt myself the hap- piest woman on earth, although my situation 90 a tKrue picture of emigration was still embarrassing. Our wheat was quite ripe, indeed almost ready to shake, and if not cut soon, would be lost. We had no means of hiring reapers, and my husband could not stir out. I was therefore obliged to begin myself; I took my eldest child into the field to assist me, and left the next in age to attend to their father and take care of the youngest, which was still unweaned. I worked as hard as my strength would allow; the weather was intolerably hot, so that I was almost melted. In little more than a week, however, we had it all cut down. Meanwhile my husband had continued to mend, and was now able to leave his bed and sit in a chair, or rather on a stool placed near the wall for support to his back, and made further comfortable with the help of a pillow or two. The wheat was still unhoused, and exposed to the rays of the burning sun, by which it was in danger of being dried so as to waste on the slightest movement. It was absolutely necessary that it should be gath- ered together forthwith. Having neither horses nor waggon, we here encountered another difficulty. The work, however, could not be postponed. With a little trouble I got two strong rods, upon which I placed a num- ber of sheaves near one end of them; I then caused my little son to take hold of the 91 S ®rue picture of emigration lighter end, and in this manner we gathered together the whole of the three acres. My partner had by this time so far recovered as to be able to move about with the help of a strong staff, or crutch, and thus he came to the door to shew me how to place the sheaves in forming the stack. The reader may prob- ably suppose I am endeavouring to magnify my own labours, when I tell him I reaped, carried home, and stacked our whole crop of wheat, consisting, as before stated, of three acres, with no other assistance than that of my little boy under ten years of age. My statements are nevertheless uncol- oured facts, and what renders them still less credible, the work was performed in addition to the attendance necessarily required by my young family and sick husband, and dur- ing the hottest part of the year, in a climate notorious for excessive heat. I would not be understood to represent the climate of Illi- nois as greatly prejudicial to the health of English emigrants. My health had hitherto been much better there than in England, a circumstance which I attribute in part to the beneficial effects of the voyage, but still more to the difference in the state of the atmos- phere between America and England. The reader must know that previous to leaving this country I was slightly affected with 92 S ®rue picture of (Emigration asthmatic symptoms, which entirely left me for a number of years after my arrival in America. A dry air is always allowed to be favourable to persons troubled with the above disease; and it is no less notorious that the atmosphere of England is comparatively moist and humid, its insular situation being probably a principal cause. Physical causes, however, I pretend not to understand; I merely refer to them because they seem to bear upon the facts I have to narrate, and because I deem it necessary to be precise and perspicuous on a subject of such importance to the emigrant as is the climate of the coun- try to which his capabilities may be invited. The atmosphere of Illinois then is much drier than that of the British islands. This is ap- parent from the comparatively few rainy days that occur in that country: in summer the droughts are excessive and long, from which the corn crops sometimes suffer se- verely; and in winter, during the two coldest months, scarcely any rain falls. Spring and autumn are often very rainy; but, even then, the number of fine days is not less than those in England during the same season. When it does rain it falls in torrents, and is gener- ally accompanied with thunder and light- ning, as before stated; a circumstance which corroborates the statements above-named 93 ^ tirue picture of emigration relative to the dryness of the air. A conti- nental situation like that of Illinois must necessarily be affected with greater extremes of heat and cold than a country surrounded by water like Britain. The influence of the sun's rays in the latter place is considerably diminished by the process of evaporation, for which such facilities are offered where water abounds; while on the other hand the cold is less intense on account of the abun- dance of caloric given out by water to the superincumbent air, when the temperature of the latter descends below the freezing point. The striking difference between the cli- mate of America and England therefore is, that the extremes of heat and cold are con- siderably greater in that country than in this; hence tobacco and cotton may be culti- vated with success, though the climate in Illinois is scarcely hot enough for the latter; every farmer, however, cultivates tobacco for his own use, in the same manner as the peasants in this country grow cabbages and potatoes; it is sown in beds like onions, at the spring of the year, and though of all seeds apparently the slowest to manifest the vege- tative principles, when it has begun to put forth its leaves it grows with unaccountable rapidity. At this period of its growth it is 94 S Crue picture of emigration much infested with a species of green cater- pillar of an enormous size, from whose rav- ages the plants require to be daily protected, or they would shortly disappear. When ripe its appearance is very much like that of the rhubarb cultivated in our cottage gardens in England after it has seeded, only the leaves of the tobacco plant are larger and not so heavy. In this state they are cut and dried in the sun a day or two, and afterwards gathered together to cause them to sweat, which gives them that peculiar fragrance common to tobacco. As a further illustration of the tempera- ture of the climate, it may be remarked that melons, pumpkins, cucumbers and peaches ripen early without any assistance from art. The woods abound with wild plum-trees, for which the climate is nevertheless too hot, as they frequently wither on the trees before they are fully ripe, and are eaten by pigs, or remain to decay and fertilize the ground. Grapes, strawberries and raspberries like- wise grow wild in great abundance; the set- tlers gather them near their houses, in order to make wine of them; but there are thou- sands of bushels left to decay where they grew, after birds and insects have devoured as many of them as they choose. The rasp- berries are of a different species from those 95 ^ 2Crue picture of Emigration grown in England; the bushes themselves are quite similar in appearance, and the flavour of the fruit not much different; but when the berries are ripe they are quite black like the fruit of the bramble. Of all the fruits that are met with in the woods, nuts are the most plentiful; hazels and filberts are found in all directions. During the first two years of our residence in that country my children gath- ered bushels of them, and even recently I have often been surprised that no bad con- sequences have ensued from the quantities they have eaten. There are two different kinds of walnut, termed the black and the white walnut, and indeed the ichory is con- sidered as belonging to the same genus, but its fruit is different. Notwithstanding the beauty and luxuri- ance of the vegetable productions of Illinois, the summary account here given being a mere sketch, the animal kingdom is still more remarkable for numbers and variety. The naturalist must not search for entertain- ment in the description about to be given: as a common and unscientific observer I saw and admired them, and as such alone I am able to describe them. America is certainly and emphatically the country for the feathered tribe, whether numbers, variety, or beauty be the subject 96 S ®rue picture of emigration of special consideration; nor will any one wonder that they are so numerous when he considers the comparative safety with which they rear their young, and the abundance of food that must be found in a country highly productive, whose seeds and fruits are the undisputed property of the first finder. Dur- ing the breeding season, their noise, I cannot call it music, is, in the woods, one continued gabble; as their species are so numerous, their tones possess every degree of hoarse- ness, chatter and chirp, that can possibly be conceived. To represent their performances in writing is a thing absolutely impossible, especially to persons accustomed to identify their vocal powers with something like mu- sic. Some idea of their noise may be gath- ered by imagining an assembly consisting of magpies, jays, and turkeys, together with a few of the minor species as the gold-finch, the spink, and the sparrow, all giving full play to their vocal energies, and each en- deavouring to make his own favorite note as significant as possible; there is nothing of that fine flowing sweetness with which the "early lark" and "sooty blackbird" an- nounce the approach of summer in this coun- try. But if their voices like that of the peacock are offensive to the ear; like that majestic bird's their plumage is exceedingly 97 S tErue picture of emigration beautiful. I must not be understood to In- clude all kinds of birds met with in Illinois, in the description now given; one kind is completely black like the rook, and this sort is a downright pest to the ripe and ripening crops; assembling in flocks almost like a cloud, they require all the farmer's vigilance to prevent their flying away with the fruits of his industry. Of the parrot, the owl, and the jay families there are great numbers, but the humming bird is the most interest- ing little bird of any I notice, of which there are hundreds buzzing about during the sum- mer season. As it would be out of keeping with the character of this work to describe the peculiar habits of the various classes of birds seen in America, I deem it unnecessary to give the names by which they are known among the unlettered inhabitants of Illi- nois, especially as those names are mostly provincial terms; notwithstanding they are so numerous there are very few that I could recognize as species common in my own country. In vain did I listen for the cuckoo at the spring of the year, and happy should I have been to see the tame confiding red- breast hopping about our door, but it never appeared. Proceed we next to notice another class of animals, which, though not as numerous as 98 a Wvnt picture of (Emigration the one just described, are now by no means rare during warm weather in IlHnois: snakes are the creatures now referred to, of which there are not only a great variety, but vast numbers of each species, many of which are exceedingly venomous. One kind called the black snake, alias the racer, is noticed for pursuing people who may chance to come near them during the breeding season; it is large and completely black, its bite is not venomous, nor does it attempt to pursue in- truders, unless they shrink from its intimi- dating appearance, and even then it generally returns to its post as soon as it fancies it has driven them off; sometimes however, it will wrap round a person's legs, and if the in- dividual in that situation attempts to fly, he is almost sure to fall; he may however, soon release himself with a small stick or a knife; as it is the only snake in America that will approach man without being previously irri- tated, it is fortunate that its bite is not ven- omous: one kind about the size of a small eel is able to raise itself nearly in a perpendicu- lar direction; when struck it immediately appears to be broken or disjointed into three or four pieces not unlike the herb or weed termed foxtail, when its joints are disunited; a third called the copperhead has a most angry appearance, and its bite is venomous, 99 a 3Drue picture of emigration but it usually endeavours to get away on the approach of man. The species are too nu- merous for me to attempt to enumerate them here; it seldom happens that any one is in- jured by them, but as they are known to lurk in concealed situations, hollow trees, and some even among the branches, they cause people to be constantly on their guard when they have to enter situations favorable for them to lie in. The rattlesnake, however, is not to be de- spised, for although it is not so numerous as some of the other kinds, it is more dreaded than them all; this formidable foe never at- tacks man except in self-defence, and then its bite, if no antidote be taken, is speedily fatal. The usual medicine given to a person thus bitten, is a strong infusion of a herb called the rattlesnake's master. The rattle from which the reptile has its name, is situ- ated at the end of its tail, and composed of thin hollow bones articulated so as to make a rattling noise when the animal moves, thereby warning other animals of its ap- proach; the number of bones contained in the rattle varies according to its age, one being added every year, from which it ap- pears to live about twelve years, as snakes are sometimes killed with that number of bones in the rattle; when about to strike an lOO a ®rue picture of emigration animal it coils itself up like the contraction, (&) to enable it to dart forward its head with greater rapidity, and without any part of its body touching the ground, except the tail, on which it supports itself during the time. This reptile is becoming less and less numer- ous, as none are allowed to escape when once observed. They are usually found in pairs, and often among the growing corn. A neigh- bour of ours was once bitten with one on which he had accidentally trodden. He killed it immediately afterwards, and then hastened to the nearest house, but before he could reach it he was obliged to hollow to make the occupiers know what was his mis- fortune, as he felt his tongue and limbs be- ginning to grow stiff; the antidote was imme- diately administered, but not before he had become insensible; he however, recovered. When an individual attacks these reptiles he should be cautious how he approaches them when in their favourite coiled position. When they are extended at length on the ground, they may be approached with safety, as they are then not able to dart forward their heads as they do when they attempt to inflict a wound. Insects are likewise numerous in America, and many of them of a larger size than any to be met with in England. There is a species lOI S ®rue picture of Emigration of ant found on the prairies, about half the size of a working bee. In traversing these grounds, particularly in summer, a person will naturally feel inclined to rest himself occasionally, and may probably select for himself, as a seat, some little hillock, of which there are many. If he does, however, I will venture to assert he will be caught trespassing, and have to pay the smart too. The butterflies in America are really splen- did, nothing can surpass them in design, depth of colouring, or in the delicacy with which their finely powdered wings are fin- ished. I have sometimes observed in very hot weather, when I happened to throw to the door a little greasy or soapy water, that the place thus moistened has been covered in a few minutes with butterflies of the rich- est and most brilliant dress. All the hues that the prism can elicit from the ''parent of colours," have been there manifested, and that with such a beautifully variegated com- bination, as to render imitation utterly im- practicable. The plan proposed in this narrative re- quires that mention be made only of such objects as would come under the notice of common observers, whereby a tolerably cor- rect idea of the general state of the country may be obtained. I cannot however close 1 02 S 3Drue picture of emigration these succinct observations on insects, with- out noticing one which flies about during the evenings in summer, and emits a light con- siderably brighter than that of the glow worm. When I first beheld it, I was not aware of its existence. It was one evening as husband and I were returning from the chapel, on a road that was principally- through an uncultivated piece of wooded land. As we were passing along, we ob- served in many places what we took to be sparks of fire dancing about most mysteri- ously. Our curiosity was excited not a little, but not knowing what to think, we dared not approach them, for fear they were connected with something super-human. Superstition certainly got hold of us, and we hastened home imagining some strange catastrophe was about to occur. On reaching home we found a neighbour waiting our arrival, to whom we related what we had witnessed. He smiled at our simplicity, and told us they were light bugs, the name they are known by in Illinois; fire-flies I believe is a more gen- eral term, which gave us no small satisfac- tion, as we had been much disturbed to know what such a prodigy could imply. A few pages back I attempted to describe the appearance of a winter night. I may now be allowed to make a few remarks on 103 S ®rue ^itiuvt of emigration the peculiarities of a night in summer. As our situation in America is about fourteen degrees further south than Yorkshire, I scarcely need say that the shortest summer night there is longer than the shortest in England by two or three hours. In this country, as the shades of twilight gradually usher in the more sombre aspect of night, a delightful silence seems to repose on the bosom of nature. Hence Milton: "Now came still evening on and twilight grey," &c. The reverse of this is nearer the truth in Illi- nois. It would be a burlesque on language for any one during a night in summer, to repeat Grey's admired line, — "All the air a solemn stillness holds." I have already stated that owls are very numerous, they are also very noisy during the night. There is another bird, however, that outdoes them in this respect. It is about the size of a lark, and has a loud voice, but only three notes, which it keeps continually repeating. It thus appears to keep crying: "Whip away," or "Whip poor Will," as some will have it. Hence one or other of these terms is the name of the bird, which I believe is common through all North America. Unceasing as are the noises made by these nocturnal per- formers, there is a species of frog, known as the bull-frog, whose voice completely drowns 104 S 3true picture of (Emigration the preceding; it abounds in small creeks and ponds, of which there are many in some districts, though none near our farm. The moment this animal observes darkness ap- proaching, it begins its tremendous croak- ings, which, as its name suggests, are more like the bellowing of a bull than the voice of a frog. Other animals might be mentioned with propriety, as being peculiar to that country, as the mink, the opossum, and the raccoon; but as these are fully described in works on natural history, I forbear to enlarge, after I have related the following little incident. The foot-print of the last-named animal is precisely like that which a little child, just able to walk, would make. There is the rounded heel, the hollow under the rise of the metatarsus, the toes, and toe nails, as exactly delineated as if it had been actually made with the foot of a child. This impres- sion we observed before we knew anything about it. My husband's curiosity led him to trace it across a ploughed field, as he really thought these prints had been made either by fairies or the diminutive offspring of some concealed Indians, and was a long time be- fore he could be persuaded they were made by a quadruped. If the reader consults a volume on natural history, he will find this 105 Wvnt picture of Cmisration animal classed among the plantigrada, which will partly account for the above circum- stance. The continuation of my narrative presents my partner recovered from his lameness, and busy thrashing our wheat in the open air: we had a small barn, but as the ground is almost as hard as a boarded floor at the season I am now speaking of, the corn is often thrashed in the open air. Many farmers thrash as soon as harvest is over, and, without win- nowing it, place it on a large heap, and cover it with a thick coat of straw and another of earth, as farmers preserve potatoes in Eng- land. In this state it will keep very well for several months if required. As the cattle lie out all the year round, the straw is of no use, they therefore burn it out of their way. The time had not yet arrived for us to practise this system of preserving corn; we wanted the full worth of our wheat, and that as soon as we could get. As we had no winnowing machine we were obliged to winnow with the wind, which, though a troublesome method, is frequently practised in Illinois, for the same reason as that which induced us to practise it on this occasion. The farmers in that country are much troubled with a weed that grows amongst the wheat, and of which it is next to an impossibility to clear it. This 1 06 S ®rue picture of Emigration was the first time we had anything to do with it. Its appearance when growing can scarcely be distinguished from wheat till it begins to ear; on this account it is called 'cheat,' and not undeservedly, as it some- times stands on the ground as abundant as the crop itself, and yet it is so valueless, that even the poultry will not eat it. I have not seen anything in England that resembles it more nearly than the weeds termed by York- shire farmers droke and darnel. It is more like the former than the latter. Having thrashed and winnowed our wheat in the manner above described, our next con- sideration was how we were to sell it. The produce of the three acres might be about eighty bushels, one-fourth of which was but imperfectly cleared of cheat, and was there- fore unsaleable. We had only five sacks, which we had taken with us from England, but these even we did not require, as we subsequently learnt the store-keepers were accustomed to furnish the settlers with bags for their corn. My husband took a specimen of wheat, which as it had been sown too spar- ingly on the ground was a fine sample. Mr. Varley offered half a dollar per bushel in money, or a few cents more in barter. We borrowed a waggon and a yoke of oxen of one of our neighbours, and carried to the store 107 S tCrue picture of ©migration fifty bushels. The first thing we did was to settle our meal account; we next bought two pairs of shoes for self and husband, which by this time we wanted as we did other articles of apparel, which we knew we could con- veniently procure. The truth is, we had in- tended to have a little more clothing, but finding the prices so extravagant, we felt compelled to abandon that intention. For a yard of common printed calico, they asked half a dollar, or a bushel of wheat, and pro- portionate prices for other goods. We gave ten bushels of wheat for the shoes. I may just remark that the prices are considerably lower at the present time for all kinds of wearables than they were then. Our next purchase was a plough, bought in hopes that we should, at some time, have cattle to draw it, as we were tired of the hoeing system. We also bought two tin milk bowls; these and the plough cost about twenty bushels. We obtained further a few pounds of coffee, and a little meal; the coffee cost us at the rate of a dollar for four pounds; and thus we laid out the greater part of our first crop of wheat. We had only reserved about twenty bushels for seed, besides a quantity imper- fectly cleared of cheat, which was unfit either for sale or making bread. On balancing our account with Mr. Varley, we found we had 1 08 ^ ®rue picture of emigration to take about five dollars, which we received in paper money, specie being exceedingly- scarce in Illinois. The interval between this time and the latter part of September, was spent in fur- ther clearing the field which we had before fenced somewhat more than half round. Our Indian corn was likely to be a failing crop, partly because it had been sown late, and partly for want of a plough it had been but imperfectly cultivated. The autumnal rains had now begun to fall, and while other peo- ple's corn was ripe, a great part of ours was quite green, and not likely to ripen before the frosts. The little that was ready, we cut, and made it into small stacks, to be ready for seed the ensuing spring. October arrived; it was the season for sowing wheat, and we were little better prepared than we had been the preceding spring; for although we had a plough we had no team. We could readily have hired one had we possessed the means. Five or six dollars were all the money we had, and we fully purposed to buy a pig or two with them, as we had been some Vv^eks without any animal food, except a few fowls for which we had bartered one of our china tea-cups. Our inability to raise a team and sow our wheat, was a source of very great anxiety. The hoeing system had answered 109 ^ tCrue picture of emigration so indifferently that we felt determined, if possible to have it ploughed. We knew a Mr. Knowles who ploughed for hire; his house was about two miles from ours. My husband waited upon him and offered him one-fifth of the produce of eight acres for ploughing and harrowing it. Reward, it is said, sweetens labour: of this Mr. Knowles was conscious; but the idea of waiting for the reward till the ensuing harvest did not suit his genius: in short, he declined undertaking the work on any such terms. My husband was coming away almost in despair; but hap- pening to look at his watch, Mr. Knowles accosted him in a tone of surprise that he should want any one to work on credit while he possessed such a watch as that, telling him at the same time, that he would plough and harrow the whole eight acres for it. I need scarcely say they immediately agreed, as the watch had been bought in England a year or two before for something less than a sovereign. We were thus relieved from our distressing anxiety, and got the wheat sown as conveniently as we could possibly wish. This acquaintance with Mr. Knowles led to a further bargain between him and my husband for three young pigs just taken in from the range; for which we paid him the small sum of three dollars. They were no ^ 5Drue picture of emigration scarcely fat enough to kill; we therefore gave them a little unsaleable wheat which fed them very rapidly, so that in about a month's time they became nice pork, weighing be- tween nine and ten stones each. By this time our little stock of cattle required to be fed daily with Indian corn, part of which was uncut, and what is worse some of it was unripe. That which had ripened was excel- lent fodder, the greater part of which we had cut: the little that remained in the field, be- ing ripe, suffered no harm; whereas, the last sown, not ripening before the frosts came on, was much injured, the cattle would scarcely touch it. There is nothing peculiar in this: water, it is well known, expands when it is frozen. Hence, all sorts of succulent plants or soft grain, having their vessels filled with a watery or juicy substance, must of neces- sity, when frozen, experience a disarrange- ment of their parts, and have their vascular structure destroyed, and consequently be liable to putrefaction and mould. In the various transactions I have had to enumerate, I have overlooked our potato crop which was abundant; for although we had only planted half a rood, we had more than sufficient for our own use. The reader must be aware that no manure is used for any thing that is grown: the land is as fat as III ^ Wvut picture of emigration nature requires, and tillage would, in its present state, rather injure it than other- wise. We had not sown any turnips this year; they are generally sown in July, imme- diately after the wheat crop is reaped, and often on the land on which it has grown. In all probability we should have endeavoured to sow some, had not my husband at this time been an invalid. The first Sunday in November was the an- niversary of our landing in America, for we have now gone through the principal events of our first year's residence in that country. It was further distinguished as being the day on which the yearly feast is held at the little village where we had lived in England. This circumstance, trifling as it is, had a tendency to bring to our recollection in a most vivid manner, bygone associations and endear- ments, the value of which we only discovered when they were lost. Does the reader ask for an explanation? Let him consider for a while our condition; and if experience has taught him anything of the nature of those feelings which the love of one's country inspires; if he knows even what emotions are kindled by being removed from old and congenial at- tachments, he will perceive we had reasons for being sad on the occasion here referred to. The difficulties and privations we had 112 3 2Crue picture of emigration already endured were not forgotten. The tattered appearance of our children's clothes, compared with what they had worn in Eng- land, made an impression on our minds, which even patient endurance could not re- sist. We were again on the eve of a hard win- ter with less warm clothing to meet it, than we had the preceding winter by the wear of a twelvemonth. This was one of the gloomy days in our history. The previous winter we had been prevented from attending religious worship on account of distance, we were now prevented from another cause, — want of de- cent clothing. It was on this occasion that we perceived something more than poetry in the lines of Cowper: "When I think of my own native land, In a moment I seem to be there; But alas! recollection at hand Soon hurries me back to despair." There was however one cheering consider- ation: in all respects except clothing, we were better situated than we had been the forego- ing season. We had four acres more of wheat sown this year than the year before; we were now in possession of a plough; our cattle had likewise increased in value; the cow had calved again, and the former calf had grown a fine-looking heifer, we therefore saw, after all, we were gaining ground. 113 a 5Crue ^itiuxt of emigration In accordance with my pretensions, I ought here to state that both I and husband had the ague very bad this month; happily not both at the same time. This complaint is too well known to require any description of it from me. It generally attacks new set- tlers at the end of their first summer, and, even afterwards. At the fall of the leaf it is by no means an uncommon complaint. As land becomes better cultivated and drained, this disease is less frequent. At the present time, notwithstanding its prevalence in autumn, it rarely proves fatal, except in instances where the constitution has mani- fested previous symptoms of decline, and like a withered leaf is ready to be blown down by the first fresh breeze that blows. The inhabitants have various specifics, real and imaginary: a weak infusion of common pot-herbs drunk hot appears to be as effica- cious as anything. When the patient ceases to shake, the ague is said to be broken, and un- less fever ensue, as it sometimes happens, he is in a short time quite well. After we had recovered, for a while nothing occurred worthy of note. As, in the winter previous, our chief employment consisted in attending to the cattle, preparing fire- wood, and splitting rails. As before, our cat- tle remained out day and night, generally 114 ^ ®rue picture of emigration resorting, during the latter, to some shel- tered situation. About Christmas, a person with whom we had had several interviews, named Mr. Vanderoozen,^ came to our house and wished us to buy two young steers and a milch cow. We replied we could not pur- chase them for want of money. "That rea- son," said he, ''shall not prevent you: I am going to keep a shop at St. Louis, and shall often have to come up into the country, you may pay for them when it is convenient, meanwhile I shall expect interest for my money." At the time I am now speaking of, the usual interest paid for the loan of money was twenty-five per cent per annum. It has since very properly declined to twelve per cent. Having considered Mr. Vanderoozen's proposal, we felt inclined to accept it; the only impediment was in the failure of our Indian corn crop. By using the remainder of our unsaleable wheat, however, we presumed we should be able to winter them, and felt assured that when spring arrived they would be able to do well, and greatly add to our advantages. The bargain was accordingly ^ Garret Van Dusen, a resident of Pike County from 1 821 to about 1850. He was a Kentuckian and an early- commissioner of Pike County, a farmer, and a stock trader. Nothing further is known concerning him, or his family. Information supplied by Jess M. Thompson. a titrue picture of emigration struck: my husband gave him a promis- sory note for thirty dollars, with interest for the same at the same rate. We thus ap- peared to have increased our possessions, and endeavoured to brave our privations and the severity of the weather as well as we could. We were obliged, nevertheless, to economize our winter fodder, which was seen in the condition of our cattle; by degrees they began to lose their ifiesh, a circumstance which made us doubly anxious for the return of spring. After much anxiety and unceasing dili- gence to preserve the health of our stock, the first of March arrived. In a fortnight more we expected there would be plenty of fresh grass in the wilds, and we consequently looked forward to the time with pleasure, little anticipating how sudden a check to our satisfaction we were about to receive. On the third of March, who should darken our door but Mr. Vanderoozen, who had, as he expressed himself, called upon us for the money we owed him; that is to say, the thirty dollars we had agreed to give him for the steers and cow. Thunderstruck at a re- quest so unexpected and unreasonable, we expostulated with him on the terms of the agreement, and explained our inability to answer his demands. Unfortunately the note ii6 a 3true picture of (Emigration we had given him contained no intimation as to the time our creditor had allowed us. All our expostulations were unheeded; he with- drew, assuring us he would immediately make use of the means the law allowed him for obtaining his money. He was as good as his word; the following day an Esquire* waited upon us with a writ, which allowed us only a few days to prepare for its de- mands. Our only method of preventing the seizure of our property forthwith was either to replevin or pay the money. The idea of a law-suit was neither adapted to our feelings nor circumstances; but how were we to raise the money? It is not so easy to raise money for cattle in Illinois as in England; besides ours were at that time looking ill, and would consequently be undervalued. Should an execution be issued our cattle would be driven to the appointed place for the sale of distrained goods, and sold by auction, be the price what it would. In all probability our whole stock thus sacrificed would be inade- quate to the debt and expenses, which would place our very land in jeopardy. Now it was that we regretted having bought them on credit. Remorse the most pungent preyed on our heart-strings. The emaciated appearance *A legal officer, so named, whose duties embody both those of attorney and policeman. Si ®rue picture of CmiQtation of our cattle condemned our cupidity, and upbraided us with all our contrivances to economize their provender. Meanwhile the time approached for us to answer the demands of our creditor, or sub- mit to the process of the law. We had only- one plan in view which appeared at all likely to avert the threatened calamity. Our friend Mr. B. had been privy to this specu- lation, and had commended our resolves. He had plenty of money in his possession, as he had made no heavy purchases since he obtained the remittance, and he was natu- rally thrifty. Two days before the time expired, my husband went to him and explained the conduct of Vanderoozen, re- questing him either to buy some of our cattle or lend the money, for which ample interest should be paid. It is unpleasant to record this part of the conduct of our countryman, yet truth demands that I should say he re- fused to do either, alleging that he did not want any more cattle, nor did he like to lend his money. This refusal rendered our wretch- edness complete. After my husband had heard his denial his feelings were too heavily laden for him to urge any more. He came home melancholy enough, without having made any reply to his refusal. I shall never forget his return that evening. During his ii8 a tCrue picture of emigration absence my mind had been in a state of vac- illation between hope and fear; but the mo- ment I saw his countenance hope entirely fled. What kind of a night we experienced, those alone can conceive who have struggled earnestly and perseveringly with adversity without success. In vain did we extend our languid limbs on our homely couch. Spirits so disordered as ours, were beyond the pow- ers of sleep to lull into forgetfulness. The entire labours of a twelve month were doomed to disappear. On other occasions when my spirits had been depressed, I had laid my cause before the Supreme Ruler, and found relief; but at this time I felt no dispo- sition to look upward. We seemed despised and forsaken by all. In this state of mind we continued until morning, when a knock was heard at the door, to which my husband attended. Will the reader here believe my story? Shall I not rather be charged with fabrication? I can, however, tax no one with incredulity, inasmuch as I doubted my hus- band's assertion myself, when, returning from the door, he told me that Mr. B. had brought us the money, and gone away say- ing he could not rest any longer without lending it. This account I am aware has too much of the air of fiction, appears too nearly allied to 119 ^ 3Crue picture of Emigration the marvellous to obtain general credit. It might have been suppressed, but as I am prompted to regard it as an instance of the over-ruling power of that being "who maketh the wrath of man to praise him," I deem it to be my duty to record it as it oc- curred, and where it is now placed. The story is now easy to conclude: the following day, to the surprise of our creditor, we paid the money, and thereby put an end to the proceedings. We had no sooner settled this affair than we turned out our cattle into the woods, having previously marked them on the right ear. The sugar trees were now ready for tapping, and as we were anxious to pay Mr. B. as soon as we could, we re- solved to make the best of them, especially as sugar is an article for which money can be easily obtained. We made incisions into a great many trees, and shortly had our large kettles boiling down the liquor; the greatest difficulty we experienced arose from an in- sufficiency of troughs to place at the bottom of the trees. We were obliged to cork up the holes of the greater part to prevent the liquor from wasting, while the rest alter- nately were running into the troughs. Not- withstanding this hindrance, we made at least three hundred and fifty pounds of sugar, which enabled us to return our friend 1 20 9 Wxnt picture of emigration fifteen dollars, half the sum we had bor- rowed. For the loan of the remainder my husband agreed to work for him five days in the year, till we could return it. The sugar this year did exceedingly well; for besides raising the above sum, we exchanged about forty pounds of it for a sow and a litter of pigs, which we kept near home till they knew the premises, and afterwards allowed them to run at large till autumn. Thus, the reader will perceive our circum- stances kept improving, as ^ve had now two milch cows, two steers almost ready for the yoke, one young heifer, a calf, a fine young mare, and the family of pigs just named. In agricultural pursuits every season pre- sents its peculiar task to the husbandman, and situated as we were that task was not a small one; the season for sowing Indian corn had again arrived, and again we were unpre- pared with a team. In the whole round of our agricultural labours nothing so much perplexed us as the sowing of our corn; we had only four acres this spring as we had sown eight with wheat, and all our other land was unbroken up; having no fixed plan in view and not knowing what means to adopt to get in the seed, we were agreeably surprised one morning to behold a person in the field busy ploughing; this was Mr. Burns, 121 9 3Crue picture of emigration the person named on a previous occasion, with whom we had formed an intimacy, or rather a friendship, which up to the time I am writing has only increased in degree and in value; in any country such a per- son as he would be valuable as a friend, but in the thinly inhabited regions of the "far west," his worth cannot be fully set forth; his kindness towards us at this time is, however, a specimen; he and his wife had been at our house the previous week, and perceiving our coming difficulty, gave us the above seasonable boon; we thus saw the whole of the twelve acres systematically sown: the wheat was a fine thriving crop, we therefore began to feel ourselves more com- posed, and to use a good old English phrase "more at home." Hitherto we had no garden, my husband therefore dug up about a rood of fine dry land, and fenced it round with brush-work after the Yorkshire style of dead fencing; the greater part of it we planted with potatoes, and the rest with other kinds of vegetables, obtaining the seeds and plants from older set- tlers; before our wheat crop was ripe we had finished the fence round the new field, and rooted up the greater part of the underwood growing thereon; most of the stronger tim- bers we allowed to stand, having previously 122 ^ ®rue picture of emigration cut the bark on the trunk to prevent their growing; the rest we decapitated, and kin- dled fires round their stems to burn them away; this employment and the attending to our cattle, employed the whole of our time till the wheat harvest, and I assure the reader we were not idle: at the usual time, about the end of June, we began to cut our wheat, retaining the old sickles which we had borrowed the year before. Mr. B., who by this time had got married, intimated to my husband that he should re- quire his help a few days, according to agree- ment for the loan of the money. As our corn^ was ripe and in that state requiring immediate attention, my husband tried to mow some of it down with an old scythe we had taken with us from England; this was tremendous heavy work, as the crop was abundant. Scarcely anything that occurred to us, taking into account the comparative insignificance of the article was more vexa- tious than the want of something with which to sharpen our tools; I have heard my husband say he would cheerfully work a fortnight for a good Yorkshire scythe-stone and a wrag-whetstone; the stone we used for that purpose was a very poor one, being a ^The allusion is to the wheat crop, not the Indian corn. 123 ^ tCrue picture of Emigration sort of flinty limestone which we found on the land; subsequently we met with another, much superior, apparently a piece of sand- stone, but so fine as not to appear granular. Not knowing how soon Mr. B. might require assistance, my husband continued mowing, while I and our son used the sickles, thus cutting down in the whole about an acre per day, leaving from necessity the mown part abroad on the ground, to be taken up and bound into sheaves afterwards; we had fin- ished within a day's work before Mr. B. re- quired my husband's help; my son and I, therefore, were left to cut the remainder, which we did in two days; we then proceeded to take up the remainder and bind it into sheaves. While thus employed a circumstance oc- curred, which at the time was quite alarm- ing; the excessive heat of the sun, added to another cause which the reader will under- stand when he is told that the September fol- lowing I was confined of twins, made me feel much fatigued, and caused me to rest on a sheaf several times during a day: one time while thus seated, a large full-grown rattle- snake crawled idly out of the sheaf on which I was sitting; horrified with the sight, and scarcely knowing what I did, I seized my rake and struck it on the head several times, 124 ^ tCrue picture of dCmigration whereby it soon died; this event, although not of two minutes continuance, proved a lasting warning to me to be cautious, and even to this moment I never call it to mind without feelings of peculiar uneasiness; the sudden start made me so feeble for a while that I could not proceed with my labour. I however took care not to rest on a sheaf: shortly after, as we expected, we saw an- other, apparently in search of its mate, which I destroyed in like manner; when they were dead, my children took them home as trophies of triumph, to shew to their father in the evening, who at the recital of my story, joined with me in thanks to Heaven for preservation in such imminent danger. The following day my husband being with us, we expected to get through this part of our business in the harvest field; having nearly finished before dinner he took one of the children with him, during the noontide recess, to look at the fires kindled around the trees as before explained; trivial as this cir- cumstance appears, its consequences were dreadful; by some means the little child set fire to her dress, which frightened her so much that she immediately ran among the sheaves which were lying on the ground just at hand; my husband, all intent to the situa- tion of the girl, did not perceive that the 125 3 tlTrue picture of emigration sheaves were on a blaze till he had put out the fire on the child's clothes; he immedi- ately gave an alarm, I ran to the door, but who can depict my feelings when I beheld our fine crop of wheat, the greatest treasure we possessed, and that on which our hopes principally rested for the speedy supplying of our various pressing necessities, blazing and cracking with prodigious vehemence. I need scarcely say every nerve was strained to its utmost to extinguish it; a small stream or branch ran at a short distance; guided by the first impulse of reason, we hastened thither immediately with the first vessels we could lay hold of, but although we ran both ways to the utmost of our strength, the flames spread further and further, we soon perceived this method would be unavailing. Here was a trial for all our powers, mental and bodily. To extinguish the flames was im- possible, the straw was so dry, and the heat became intolerable. There is generally a time for consideration, and a time for active labour. It was not so here, while we were considering our property was burning, and that with a speed indescribable. Directed, I cannot but think by Providence, we hit upon a plan which promised success. This was to make a separation between the side that was on fire and the other. It was no 126 Si ®rue picture of emigration sooner conceived than we began to effect it. We removed the sheaves with all the expedi- tion in our power to cut off all communica- tion with the bulk of the crop. As much as we were able, we removed to the further side: but to save the side in question, we were obliged, from want of strength, to throw some to the devouring element. A division was at last happily completed, and the vacant space was too wide for the flames to cross, although in some instances they appeared to bound from one sheaf to an- other. Want of additional fuel alone extin- guished the flames. Not a particle of com- bustible matter was left unconsumed where the fire had raged; it was one entire plain of smouldering black ashes, we thus lost about an acre and had it not been for one appar- ently insignificant circumstance, the whole would have been inevitably lost: the fire pre- vailed only where the wheat had been mown, had it once obtained possession of the long shorn stubble, all our attempts would have ended in woeful disappointment, as it was, in our situation the loss was no trifle, yet the uppermost emotions in our minds were rather those of pleasure than of pain, and with sufficient reason; we had seven acres remaining, whereas, half-an-hour before we had feared it was all lost. 127 S tCrue picture of (Emigration After we were fully assured the fire was out we sat down and wept; but our tears were, if I may use the expression, tears of thanksgiving. We called to mind the vari- ous difficulties through which we had suc- cessfully struggled, and we looked upon this as another pledge of ultimate success. We may indeed date the commencement of a moderately comfortable existence from this occurrence. The wheat was very fine indeed, but, as before, mixed with cheat; we had about two hundred and twenty bushels, forty of which were unsaleable on account of this troublesome weed. It is unnecessary to trouble the reader with all the particulars of our future proceedings, as it would be a repetition of customs and exercises I have already described. Having been tolerably minute in detailing our various transactions and difficulties for nearly two years, till, as the reader has seen, our narrative begins to wear a brighter as- pect, it will now be sufficient for the purpose here contemplated to give a sketch of the most prominent features of our future pro- ceedings: we purchased several articles of wearing apparel with our wheat, paid off a small account for salt, and obtained gearing for a yoke of oxen, purposing to plough our land this fall with young oxen bought of 128 Si ®rue picture of Emigration Vanderoozen, besides supplying our imme- diate wants in clothing, which we did only sparingly, we were enabled to leave in the hands of Mr. Varley, forty dollars, for which he agreed to pay us interest if we allowed it to remain in his hands six months. We should have paid Mr. B., but as my husband had worked for him five days we considered it as our own to the end of the year. There was one trivial advantage in our wheat tak- ing fire; we intended to sow an acre of tur- nips, and this part having no stubble on, it was the part we selected as being the most ready for the plough. We engaged Mr. Knowles to plough the land, giving him three dollars for his labour. We made a fur- ther arrangement with this gentleman to plough our late enclosed field with his prairie plough at the fall of the leaf, and in the mean- time we endeavoured to cleanse of roots the part unfinished; it is exceedingly heavy work to break up the land with this plough, re- quiring four yoke of oxen to draw it; we paid him four dollars per acre for doing it. Ac- cording to our intentions we yoked our two young steers to plough the land for wheat, our kind friend ^lr. Burns, voluntarily spend- ing the first day with us to give my husband a little instruction relative to driving and gearing them. They served our purpose very 129 S ^rue picture of emigration well, which gave us unspeakable pleasure and satisfaction; nor did we value this advantage unduly, considering the anxieties we had felt on former occasions for want of it. During the summer, our cattle throve very well; the cow we purchased of Vanderoozen had calved again, and our other cow and the heifer were both near calving. Cattle begin to breed much sooner in Illinois than in Eng- land; this may partly be attributed to the climate, which causes them to grow to ma- turity sooner in that country than in this; another reason is, being allowed to range at large during summer, where cattle of both sexes abound, the farmer has no means of preventing this circumstance. We have be- fore noticed that it is customary for the farmers to kill as many of their hogs and horned cattle at the fall of the leaf, as they do not intend to keep over winter. They are often in excellent condition when they come up, not exactly what an English butcher would call prime beef. Hogs are scarcely fat enough to be killed, they are usually served with a little corn a few weeks after they have ceased to range, and thereby become very good bacon. Fat cattle is a source of income to the farmer, from which we had hitherto derived no benefit, nor at present had we aught but our pigs which we purposed to 130 3 3Crue picture of emigration kill, and of these we had not sufficient to offer any for sale, as we wished to keep some over winter to breed the ensuing season. The interval between this and the follow- ing autumn contained nothing deserving particular note. We sowed the new field with Indian corn. It was readily ploughed, having been broken up as before stated the previous fall, and exposed to the frosts dur- ing winter. The weather was too hot during the sugar season, which prevented our realiz- ing as much from that article as we had done the foregoing year. It however enabled us to pay Mr. B. the money we owed him with- out entirely exhausting our little fund of reserve. After reaping our wheat this sea- son, our neighbour, Mr. Paddock, expressed a wish to sell us the pre-emption right to his land. Like many persons in Illinois, this individual wanted industry, as he rarely worked more than half of his time. He had been more than three years on it, and would consequently lose all right to it in a short time, unless he paid the government de- mands — one hundred dollars, before the pe- riod expired. Notwithstanding his love of ease, he was not without the means to pay for it; but preferred, as he said, a change, and intended to migrate to another unimproved situation, and there spend four years, or ^ 3frue picture of emigration perhaps longer, if no one thwarted his inter- ests. As his land was contiguous to ours on one point, we thought it would be a good speculation to purchase it, especially as the price he set upon the improvement was very moderate. He had fourteen or fifteen acres broken up, besides the house, which was a tolerably good one of the kind. He valued his labour at fifty dollars, and offered to re- ceive payment in either cattle or wheat at a fair price. We hesitated a long time before we decided, foreseeing that unless we paid for it at the land office the succeeding spring, we should be liable to lose it. We however finally determined to have it, and as our cat- tle had again done well, we gave him a good cow, a heifer, and seventy bushels of wheat, which he disposed of at his pleasure. Mr. Paddock, after this, speedily vacated the house, wishing to erect another before the frosts should set in. The only instrument we received as a proof of the bargain, was the pre-emption certificate, which Mr. Paddock had obtained from the recording office, en- dorsed with his name, ratifying the agree- ment. This was, however, sufficient testi- mony. One day shortly after, a Mr. Carr, hearing that Paddock had removed, came to his late possessions and found my husband repairing a fence. He seemed to interest 132 a tBvnt picture of (Emigration himself very much in the situation, and asked several questions respecting the pre-emption right, &c. His questions were evaded as well as civility would allow. They, however, served to premonish us that Mr. Carr had some sinister plans affecting that property, and we knew that if he took possession of the house it would be a very troublesome affair. Though these considerations were based only on conjecture, the disreputable charac- ter of Mr. Carr, added to his suspicious man- ner, gave them much of the force of reality. Perplexed with these ideas, we scarcely knew what course to adopt. At one time we thought it advisable to set fire to the house and burn it down; then again we wished it not to be known that we feared for its safety; besides it would be very useful to keep farm- ing implements in, or it would serve as a pig- gery or sheep cot if we wanted. We would have gone immediately to the land office and paid for it, if we had possessed sufficient money; we expected, however, our sugar- orchard would make up the deficit the fol- lowing spring. To quiet our apprehensions in the present instance, our only feasible method appeared to be, that we should take possession of the house ourselves. But here was another obstacle: it was impossible that we could leave our present establishment, on '^33 S ®rue picture of emigration account of our cattle and dairy being kept there. We found we should be obliged to di- vide our family, and have one part at Mr. Paddock's late residence and the other at our own. My husband would have cheerfully gone to the newly purchased situation, had not his presence and services at home among the cattle been indispensable. It evidently therefore became my duty to undertake the unpleasant task of leaving home, to occupy a house which we feared an unprincipled intruder wished to inhabit. I had however grown accustomed to hardships even more severe than this. I took with me our two youngest children, something with which to warm our food, and a bed. As the house was only half a mile from our own, I frequently saw the other parts of the family during the day; but the nights seemed dreary and long. For a few days nobody came near us, and I would have gladly hoped our fears were groundless. They eventually proved but too true, as the following account sufficiently manifests. One afternoon, after I had been living in this manner about a week, a person drove a clumsy waggon to the door, containing a little furniture, a woman, and two children. I shut the door, and endeavoured to fasten the latch, there being no lock. But the man, who I afterwards learnt was Mr. Carr, 134 S tCrue picture of emigration quickly forced it open, and bidding his wife walk in, said to her, — well, my dear, this is our house: how do you like it? without seem- ing to notice me in the least. He then car- ried in their furniture, and then, for the first time, found leisure to speak to me. He told me they could do without my company pretty well, and wished me to be a good neighbour and go home. There were two rooms; I took my bed and other articles into the other which was unoccupied, and felt very anxious to see my husband. He came in the evening, and saw what had occurred. Mr. Carr held up a paper as a defiance, and told him that it was the certificate obtained at the land office, Quincy, as a title to the es- tate. We were assured he could not have purchased it legally; and we even doubted that he had paid for it at all. When my hus- band attempted to enter the house, Mr. Carr shut the door, and resisted with all his force; but being inferior in strength, admittance was obtained. On perceiving us engaged in a whispered conversation, he intimated that if we intended to spend the night in his house, he would go and make use of ours, to which we made no reply. The result of our deliberation was, that my husband should ride over to Ouincy, a distance of fifty miles, take the pre-emption a ®rue picture of emigration certificate with him, and ascertain whether through perjury he had purchased the land. Shortly after, my husband went home, and on his arrival found Mr. Carr, whom, as I afterwards learnt, he quickly made scamper. Next morning he called with a quantity of provisions, and took leave of me for his jour- ney, which would take him three days; no one but myself knowing the purport of his leaving home. It was most uncomfortable for me to be thus left with only two little children under the same roof with a family whose sentiments towards me were the most unfriendly imaginable, and whose character stood assuredly not very high for probity. In the fullest and worst sense of the word, I was a prisoner, not daring to leave the room, and exposed to the jeers and taunts of a ma- licious man who left no means untried, short of personal violence, to expel me from the house; telling me my husband had sent me there to get rid of me, with a thousand other fabricated and tantalizing remarks. The third day, which was the Sabbath, having sent for my Bible, I endeavoured to solace myself by perusing its sacred pages. This made him more furious than ever; ut- tering the most blasphemous imprecations, he vowed *he would be both rid of me, and my cursed religion before long.' About ten 136 S l^rue picture of emigration in the forenoon, two or three of his friends came to see him, who, finding or knowing how matters stood, assisted him in his at- tempts to deride me. I really thought I now must surrender, and had it not been for the man's wife, who checked their scorn, I am apt to think I should have been obliged to withdraw. After dinner my situation took a favourable turn. By some means or other many of our neighbours having learnt where I was and on what account, came to the house to see me. For a while my keeper refused ad- mittance to all, till by and by there was quite a crowd at the door. I conversed with some females whom I knew through an aperture in the wall, which served for a window; and as many of them wished to enter, a number of men favourable to our interests told my dis- appointed persecutor if he did not allow the females to visit me, they would convince him he was no master. Awed by this declaration, he opened the door and the house was imme- diately filled, Mr. Carr and his party appear- ing completely nonplused. And, so strangely had matters changed, that religious worship was held in the place that evening, suggested by a few pious friends, who seeing my Bible, had thought it their duty to propose it. This was too much for Mr. Carr; he entirely left the premises during service. Towards 137 ^ Crue picture of emigration nightfall the arrival of my husband was an- nounced, who was much surprised to find me so well attended. He told Mr. Carr, in the presence of the persons congregated, where he had been, and how his perjury was detected. He likewise gave him to under- stand that he would probably find he had acted imprudently as well as wickedly. But the most agreeable part of the intelligence to me was, that there was no necessity for me to remain any longer in the house. I there- fore very willingly left it and accompanied my husband to our own habitation, having first thanked my friends for their kind inter- ference and regard. The sum of the particu- lars is, that Mr. Carr had paid for the land, having previously sworn there was no im- provement on it; although a pre-emption certificate had been obtained at the record- ing office, Pittsfield. Of course the purchase was illegal, and Carr liable to a heavy pen- alty. The following morning, we learnt our firmness had acted powerfully on the mind of our opponent, as his wife called upon us to say that her husband was willing to make a compromise, and would either pay us for our claims on the estate or sell his certificate. This proposal required some consideration; we therefore gave her no definite answer, but told her if her husband wished to have an Si tCrue picture of dtmigration interview with us, notwithstanding his base conduct, we would treat him with civihty. In the meantime, we considered it best to sell our pre-emption right, if he would pro- duce the money, as we knew we could not buy his certificate at that time. In a day or two our opponent waited upon us wishing to have us pacified, as he knew he had acted criminally. We told him we would allow him peaceable possession on the payment of eighty dollars for the improvement, which he agreed to pay, and shortly afterwards the affair was settled, eventually to our advan- tage, though it cost us some anguish of mind. The peculiarity of the American law respect- ing the purchase of land, although framed originally with the view of assisting new set- tlers, is not infrequently a source of strife; at the present time there are many persons who have cultivated land for numbers of years, without paying anything for it; and there is no means of knowing, except by ap- plying at the land office. Should, however, this counsel escape them, some one would be sure to go and purchase it, or even reap some of the corn when ripe, the original cultivator having no legal power to prevent them. There is another peculiar clause in these laws respecting original rights; I refer to the erection of mills. I have before stated that 139 S 3Drue picture of emigration water mills are the most common; the reason of this is obvious. When, therefore, a person purchases a section of land, it is his interest to examine whether there is a mill-seat on any stream that may run through it; if there is, he must apply to the recording office to have it "condemned." This prevents any other person from erecting a mill within a certain distance; I believe two miles. If, however, after two years the site is not built upon, the owner loses his prerogative. This law caused a piece of knavery to be prac- tised upon us; the branch running through our farm had a very good site on it for a mill; some of our friends advised us to get it con- demned; we did so, rather with a view of selling the site than of erecting a mill our- selves. About a year and a half afterwards, a person called upon us named Phillips, the identical person at whose house we had spent the first night in Illinois, with a view of buy- ing it; after a little deliberation we sold it to him for one hundred and fifty dollars; not having cash by him, as he said, he would call again in a short time and pay for it; my hus- band desired to have the agreement drawn up in a proper form, but as Mr. Phillips averred his word was his surest bond it was omitted. He, however, proved a villain and the tool of another; for, by continuing to 140 S tirue picture of emigration evade payment by specious promises, he con- trived to keep us in suspense till the two years had expired, when another person, his employer, immediately began to erect a mill very near our farm; thus were we defrauded of our right to be millers. Perhaps the foregoing incidents may place the inhabitants of the western world in an unfavourable light; as a few remarks appear, therefore, to be called for, not indeed to un- say what has been said, "facts are stubborn things;" but to serve as an explanation of the occurrences above narrated. It must be borne in mind that ignorance is a predomi- nant feature in their character, indeed it can hardly be otherwise; not that they are less gifted than the Europeans from whom they have originated, but because their opportu- nities for cultivating their minds are so lim- ited; besides, their pursuits and manner of living do not require much intellectual train- ing; a really learned man would be in soli- tude amongst them, and his talents, like the vaticinating genius of an ill-fated Cassandra, unappreciated or unperceived. The Ameri- can government has, indeed, very humanely appropriated a certain portion of land for the maintenance of schools through the length and breadth of the country; this endowment naturally varies with the value of the land. 141 S tCrue picture of Emigration In the States where the land has become more valuable by an increased population, it is pretty good, and consequently commands men of talent; but in the remoter regions there are numberless school allotments for which no candidate could be found. In Illi- nois the teachers of these endowed schools, and there are few of any other class, except in large towns, do not assuredly make great pretensions to literary distinction. Happen- ing to be one of a party at the examination of a candidate for the school-land near our house, I was surprised to see how easily the bonus was obtained; the reader will perhaps smile when he is told that the spelling book was the only standard by which his qualifica- tions were tested; what may be expected from the pupils of such masters is left for the arithmetical capabilities of the reader to de- termine. I may, however, remark, that were it not for the influx of European emigrants and settlers from the more eastern states, all traces of a scientific nature would very soon disappear. I have introduced this trait of character with a view to qualify the opinions which some of the foregoing facts might give rise to. In human nature, all the world over, there are certain bold mental and moral features, which, under similar training, seldom fail to 142 S ®rue picture of Emigration shew themselves. I would by no means be understood to imply that ignorance and dis- honesty are synonymous terms, or that an acquaintance with the arts and sciences pre- vents a person from being a knave. x-\ll that is here meant is included in the well-known sta- tistical fact, that crime is the most prevalent where the attainments of society are of the lowest order. This is a truth which modern investigation has fully established, although the ancients were not ignorant concerning it. "Ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes Emollet mores^ nee sinit esseferos" The influence of Christianity on the mor- als of mankind is considered sufficient with- out the aid of education to restrain vicious propensities. True Christianity practically enjoyed, must, I am persuaded, make its pos- sessor a good man and a good citizen. But I am equally certain that the blessings that accrue to society thence arising, bear a direct proportion to the state, as to intelligence, in which that society is found. For proofs of this assertion, I refer not to the experience of times gone by, when "A second deluge learning over-ran, And the monks finished what the Goths began." I intend rather to make good my position by a short account of the religious peculiarities 143 ^ 3true picture of Emigration of the people whose character I am attempt- ing to pourtray. Prior to leaving England, I had been for nearly twenty years a member of the Wes- leyan Methodist Society, and consequently felt wishful, as soon as our circumstances would allow, to join the religious body called the Methodists in that country. I attended a class meeting held in a house about two miles from our residence; but the manner in which it was conducted was by no means congenial to my views and sentiments. The company being assembled and seated, the one acting as leader, rose from his seat, which was a signal for the others to do the same. A sort of circle or ring was then imme- diately formed, by the whole assembly tak- ing hold of hands, and capering about the house surprisingly. Their gesture could not be called dancing, and yet no term that I can employ describes it better. This done, wor- ship commenced with extempore prayer, not indeed in language or style the best selected, but with this I have nothing to do. I have no right to question the sincerity of the indi- vidual, and if his taste differed from mine, it is no proof that his was wrong. The follow- ing part of the service was exceedingly ex- ceptionable. All the persons present being again seated, an individual started from his 144 ^ tKrue picture of Emigration seat, exclaiming in a loud and frantic shriek, "I feel it," meaning what is commonly termed among them the power of God. His motions, which appeared half convulsive, were observed with animated joy by the rest, till he fell apparently stiff upon the floor, where he lay unmolested a short time, and then resumed his seat. Others were affected in a similar manner, only in some instances the power of speech was not suspended, as in this, by the vehemence of enthusiasm, for I cannot give it a more moderate name. Finding in this mode of worship little that I could really respect, I resolved not long afterwards to absent myself from them alto- gether. I found moreover that some of the most rapturous members were far from be- ing exemplary in their conduct, practically considered. As to their other forms of re- ligious worship I have few remarks to offer. The Americans are fond of the word liberty; it is indeed the burden of their song, their glory, and their pride. In some respects this is praiseworthy — an essential ingredient in national honour and national greatness; but in my opinion it is carried too far when it enters the sanctuary. It may be pleasant to hear of religious bodies worshipping under their own vine and fig tree, in the manner best adapted to their views and feelings. H5 ^ ®rue picture of emigration Views and feelings, it is well known, are de- pendent on educational precepts and original impressions. These therefore must vary, and experience shews they do vary proportion- ally to the endowments or discipline of the individual. And yet religion is only one, the gospel is only one; and consequently no two conflicting creeds can be both right. How far a person's private judgment ought to be at liberty to originate, select, or improve modes of faith and worship, I pretend not to determine. If it be a privilege which all classes of the community may claim with propriety, no consequences can be more nat- ural than those which have hitherto thence arisen, viz: the continual appearance of new sects or denominations. Either from consti- tutional peculiarity or educational bias, the minds of mankind possess faculties for think- ing and feeling too widely different for them ever to be consentaneous, especially in mat- ters where much is left imperfectly defined, probably as a test of obedience and faith. I have been led into this digression, be- cause, on hearing some of the preachers in Illinois, I have often thought them out of their place when they have been attempting to substantiate whimsies of their own, rather than truths fairly deduced from the Word of God. The fact is, too little regard is paid 146 a tCrue picture of emigration either to the fitness of the preacher or the sanctity of the office. If an individual's in- clinations prompt him to become a preacher, little or no further explanation is demanded. This, of course, can only be understood to refer to the thinly inhabited districts, where, I assure the reader, it is not necessary to be very fastidious, in order to find ample reason for doubting whether, under the name of re- ligious worship, there is not a mixture of superstition and unhallowed excitement. Be- sides the usual Sabbath observances, camp meetings are frequently held in the open air. These are commonly termed two-day meet- ings, though they are frequently kept up the greater part of the week. They are attended by persons of different denominations, and conducted in a very irregular manner; one part of the assembly being on their knees, while another is listening to an exhortation from one of the preachers. It is now requisite that I should once more resume my narrative. The reader is aware I do not pretend to preserve it unbroken to the present time. The greatest difficulties inci- dent to emigrants, commonly occur at the commencement of their enterprising career; what our beginning was, has been explained in detail; it remains, therefore, only to de- scribe our present condition. Before I can 147 ^ tlTrue picture of emigration properly effect this purpose, it will be neces- sary to state the particulars of that event which induced me, once more, to visit the shores of Old England; "my own sweet na- tive earth." Mr. B., the reader has been in- formed, got married about four years after our arrival; being an industrious and frugal man, his affairs kept continually improving; he put out, as loans, several hundred dollars, for which he received good interest: his cat- tle, also, was numerous, from which he ob- tained a good livelihood, by keeping under the plough as much land as grew them prov- ender for winter. He lived, however, only a few years; I shall never forget, poor man, the last time he was at our house. I was rather unwell; after seeing me he went round our farm with my husband, and then called in again to bid me good evening, saying, he hoped I should be better when he came again; but '* how frail at best is dying man;" that very night he began in the typhus fever, which terminated his earthly existence in a few days; he died childless and without will. Being in regular correspondence with my children in England, although I have till now felt it my duty to be silent on that subject, lest the reader should be entirely bewildered with the recital of anxieties arising from so many sources, I sent them an account of his 148 S tirue t^icture of emigration death, and wished them to name it to his brother; this being done, the latter, who has a large family in England, and is conse- quently anxious to better his condition, took it into his head to visit the deceased's widow in America, hoping to become entitled to some of his property; accordingly he left his fam- ily to take care of his home, and in company with another person wishful to emigrate, sailed for New Orleans early in the present year. Neither we, nor Mr. B.'s widow, were aware of his coming; we were all taken by surprise; well do I remember the first appear- ance of these two Yorkshiremen, who had agreed to introduce themselves as strangers. Little did we think when we saw them ram- bling in our farm like two incurious travel- lers, that they were objects of such interest to us as they proved to be; self and husband were in the fields when they found us. I fan- cied I perceived a likeness of the Mr. B., in one of them, and challenged him as his brother; I was right: silence confirmed the conjecture, and we immediately invited them into the house, and treated them with good Old English hospitality, eagerly devouring all the tidings we could elicit from them. I dare say we were thought tediously inquisi- tive, as we kept our guests in talk till after midnight, before we allowed them to retire. 149 tirue picture of €misration The following day was spent in looking over our farm, and as the reader has been made acquainted with our difficulties, it is but just that he should know how we were situated on this occasion. In the first in- stance I may state that the house we at pres- ent occupy has been recently erected, and though in externals there is nothing to boast of, it is much superior to the one we occupied during former years. The situation itself is more airy and open. Our furniture is also more in accordance with modern times than that we occupied at the commencement of our career. The three-footed stools which then served as our ordinary seats, have long since been banished the house, and desig- nated with the humble title of milking stools; and in short our house has been entirely re- furnished, and useful articles of various kinds have been procured. It is however not so much either in the house or its furniture that our success manifests itself: were these to be made the principal objects by which posses- sions are estimated, there are after all few cottagers in England that would not be on an equality with us, with this exception, theirs are generally rented, while ours is our own freehold. I may further observe, with refer- ence to the furniture of our house, that we have for many years had abundance, and I 150 ^ Wvnt picture of (Emigration might say a superabundance of those essen- tials of housekeeping, which, if not the most ornamental in a sitting room, are not the least valuable in a family; that is to say, we have known no lack of good food, such as beef, pork, butter, fowls, eggs, milk, flour, and fruits, all of which we have, as York- shire farmers say, within ourselves; but as I intimated before, our out-door possessions were the objects that chiefly engaged the at- tention of our guests. At this time we had at least twenty head of horned cattle, of which we kill or sell off" some at every autumn; we have seven horses, including one or two foals; besides pigs, sheep, and poultry, the number of which I am not able to state as they keep continually breeding, and are never to be seen altogether. Our land, which is of excellent quality and very productive, pleased our visitants very much, who went round the greater part of it, although it ex- tends to a great distance from our house, as we have by purchases made at sundry times three hundred and sixty acres, more than half of which is cultivated. Not wishing to manage the whole ourselves, we have two small farms let off, for which we receive as rent a dollar an acre. It is not difficult to let land broken up at the above rate. Many who do not possess the means for purchasing 151 ^ tCrue picture of emigration land, are glad to rent a few acres on which to grow provender for their cattle during win- ter, and food for themselves. I wish to make no boast of our possessions; but having told the difficulties we experi- enced at our commencement, I ought in fair- ness to state what our success has been; I do this and no more; the lapse of a dozen years has wonderfully changed the appearance of things. We have seen a neighbourhood rise around us; and in some situations, where at our first coming, everything appeared in its native wildness, small villages have now be- gun to rise. Means of comfort are now within our reach. We remember the time when we knew not where to apply for an article if at all out of daily use; but by the increase of population, we can now easily obtain any- thing we require, either as food, physic, or clothing, and were we disposed to give up labour, we could live very comfortably on the fruits of our former toil. One thing I would notice as a cause of our ultimate pros- perity, is, that having a family, we have been greatly assisted in the culture of our land, without having so much to hire as we should otherwise have been obliged. Were I asked what is my opinion respecting emigration, I would refer the enquirer to the foregoing narrative; here are facts, let him consider 152 S 3Crue picture of Emigration and judge for himself. If our success has been ultimately greater than at one time we anticipated, or even than that of many of our neighbours, as indeed it has, it must be borne in mind that our industry and perse- verance have been unremitting. If our cat- tle and lands have kept increasing, that increase is but the reward for the number- less anxieties we have experienced, and the privations we have undergone. Few would undertake the latter to secure the former. Before concluding my narrative, I beg to state that I do not sympathize with those who assert that to leave one's country and become an emigrant, implies a want of pa- triotism. There are a few facts bearing on this question which I may be allowed to mention. Is not, I would ask, the popula- tion of the United Kingdom as great at the present time as its means can comfortably support and employ, and if so, how would the mother country be able to maintain the millions now in America, that have sprung from her? The soil and mineral productions of Amer- ica are of the most valuable character: — rich in all that is calculated to make a commu- nity great, independent, and happy. The same all-bountiful parent that has given to Great Britain her vast resources, whereby ^ 2Crue picture of Emigration her densely peopled towns, and villages scat- tered over a thousand hills derive subsist- ence, has been at work in America. Looking at the question in its more enlarged and true character, assuming that the entire earth is under the dominion of man, how can we sup- pose that some parts of England, whose nat- ural character is sterility, should be brought under a barely remunerating culture, while there are millions of acres elsewhere, as pro- ductive as any soil on which the common orb of day has shone, still a wild uninhabited wilderness. These are questions to which time is giving and must give a proper an- swer, and in so doing the mother country it- self will be no loser. The greatness of England, it has been long understood, is dependent upon its manufac- tures and commerce, and if so, I would fur- ther ask what country has contributed so much to foster those manufactures and sup- port that commerce as the United States of America? Thinking and feeling like one that is proud of her relation to England and that loves her own country, I consider it no dis- grace to the British nation that I have trav- elled thousands of miles in America, from New Orleans to Illinois, and then thence on the Ohio by Cincinnati and Philadelphia to New York on my way home, that I have 154 a Crue picture of (Emigration visited cities, some of which already number hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, and never found a place where using my own English tongue, I had any difficulty in mak- ing myself understood or of comprehending all I heard spoken. But to complete my narrative. The object of one of our guests, as already explained, was to settle in the country. Not having sufficient money to establish himself as an occupier of land, he became a day-labourer with immediate employment. Being entirely unacquainted with the method of farming as practised in Illinois, his first wages were only fourteen dollars per month and his board. With this he appeared satisfied, and said he found things better than he anticipated. As to Mr. B.'s brother, his purpose was to ob- tain something from the widow of the de- ceased, to which he certainly had a legal claim. Finding that his share would be all in land (i6o acres) he soon manifested signs of impatience to be going back to England for his wife and family in order to occupy it. The idea of a person leaving us to go direct to the country, on which a large share of my affections will ever be placed, increased the desire, which I had never ceased to indulge, of visiting once more the shores of Old Eng- land. The purpose thus suggested was M tBxnt picture of emigration weighed over with feelings such as the sensi- tive reader will not require me to explain. No feeble motives could have prompted me to take the step I am here describing; con- nected with the thought of coming to Eng- land, dear as it was, I saw I should have to cross the Atlantic twice during the remain- der of the summer, besides much tedious in- land travelling. It required me to resist the entreaties of my children, who, with tears in their eyes, daily urged me not to leave them. But I will not go through these sad details. I will not repeat the arguments my neigh- bours employed to induce me to stay: how they reminded me that old age was begin- ning to number me among its victims; that it was in vain for me to think I could do as I had done. My decisive reply to these and many other obstacles which comfort, pru- dence, maternal and conjugal love suggested, was, "it must be now or never." Decided, therefore, to carry out the re- solve to which I had come, I prepared to accompany our guest, and finally left Illi- nois for England on the 20th of April, where we arrived after a prosperous voyage on the 19th of June; and thus am I again, for a few short summer weeks, in my own country. I will not trouble the reader further with my story. If the account I have given of our 156 91 ^rue picture of emigration proceedings, adverse and successful, does not allure his fancy with ideas of visionary pros- perity as the invariable result of crossing the seas, it may perchance tend to make him a little better satisfied with his present condi- tion, though it should only be a snug little cottage in the land where his childhood was reared. If it does this, it will be something — my purpose will be served — and thus, reader, I wish thee farewell. Note. — The writer^ feels it due to state that the subject of this narrative, as implied above, returned, after a stay in England of about three months, taking with her the daughter,- mentioned at the first outset as being left, the husband of the same, and their two children, besides a family or two of con- nections. Since their departure three or four other families from their own immediate neighbourhood have followed. ^Edward Burlend whose role in writing the narrative is recited in our Historical Introduction. ^Mary Burlend, the daughter alluded to on page 9 as remaining behind in England when the family mi- grated to America in 1831. On Feb. 10, 1840, she mar- ried, in her native Yorkshire, Luke Yelliott. In 1846 the YeUiotts followed the Burlends to Pike County, Illinois, where they established their permanent home, in which John and Rebecca Burlend were sheltered during their declining years. See History of Pike County y Illinois (Chicago, i88c), 444. Index Snbex A Catechism of English History ^ author of, xxi. Ague, afflicts settlers, 114. Allen, Francis, I, husband of Sarah Burlend, 9. Allen, Francis, II, aids editor, xxix-xxx, 64. Amy Thornton; or the Curate's Daughter y author of, xxi. Ants, of Illinois, described, 192. Atlantic Ocean, emigrants cross, 14-32, 156-57; tem- pest on, 18-22; tedium of voyage, 22; beauty, 23; pirates on, 28-29. Atlas, epidemic at, 64. A True Picture of Emigration, authorship of, xxii-xxvii. Barter, in pioneer Illinois, 78-79. Bay of Biscay, vessel driven to, 21. Bees, incident narrated, 37. Bethel Cemeten,', burial place of English emigrants, xxvii-xxviii, 8-9; Burlend home near, 57, Bethel church, Rebecca Burlend attends, xxviii, Bickerdike, Charles, leads English migration to Pike County, 8, 41, 149-50, 155; characterized, 50-52; deahngs with Burlends, 70, 74, 89, 11 8-1 9, 131; marriage, 123; death, 148. Birds, of Illinois, described, 96-98. Blacksnake, described, 99. Boone family, settles in Scott County, 46. Bread, Illinois method of making, 59-60. Brevet, , misconduct related, 68-71. British Museum, possesses works of Edward Burlend, xxi. Buck, Prof. S. J., bibliography cited, xxiii. Bull-frogs, described, 1 04-105. Burlend, Charlotte, career, 9. 161 Snbex Burlend, Edward, as author, xx-xxiv, 62, 157; intro- duces narrative, 5; remains in England, 9. Burlend, Hannah, career, 9. Burlend family, economic condition, 7; departure for America, 8-14; crosses Atlantic, 15-32; ascends Mississippi, 33-40; arrival in Pike County, 41-57; American career narrated, 58-157. See also the various members of the family. Burlend, John, I, husband of Rebecca Burlend, xx; characterized, xxx; attitude toward migration to America, 7-15; rescues son, 27; foils robber, 39; seeks family shelter, 43-45, 50; contest with squat- ter, 68-69; as hunter, 73-74; injured, 89-92; tracks raccoon, 105; sells watch, no; buys livestock, 1 15-19; plants garden, 122; fights fire, 125-27; pur- chases land, 131-32; fights land jumper, 132-40; old-age home, xxix, 157. Burlend, John, II, career, 9; daring, 27; aids parents, 80; sympathy for father, 90. Burlend (Yelliott), Mary, remains in England, 9; re- moval to America, xxix, 157; shelters parents, xxix-xxx, 157. Burlend, Rebecca, as author, xviii-xx; revisits England, xxiv-xxv, 148, 155-57; burial place, xxvii; character- ized, xxviii-xxxi; attitude toward leaving England, 7-15; farewell emotions, 16-17; describes tempests, 18-22, 80-81; moonlight reflections, 23-24; ad- venture with fire, 26-27, 126-27; fondness for ocean vessel, 35-36; harvests maple sugar, 78; plants corn, 80; clears land, 87; harvests wheat, 90-92; adventure with rattlesnake, 124-25; with land jumper, 134-38; religious views, 144-47; °^^' age home, xxix, 157. Burlend, Sarah, career, 9. Burland, William, career, 9. Burns, , neighbor of Burlends, 70; extends aid, 121-22, 129. 162 Snbex Burton, Rebecca, see Rebecca Burlend. Butterflies, of Illinois, described, 102. Buzzard, as food, 73-74. Camp-meetings, described, 147. Carr, , land jumper, 132-39. Cattle, method of rearing, 75-78, 130. Cemeteries, Bethel, xxvii-xxviii, 8-9, 57; Swillington, xx-xxi. Cheat-wheat, 106-107, 128. Climate, of Illinois, described, 69-70, 80-82, 92-95, 104. Commerce, of England, 16; of New Orleans, 34. Copperheads, described, 99-100. Corn meal, as food, 58-59. Dalby, Thomas, husband of Hannah Burlend, 9. Detroit, Burlend home near, xxviii, 57. Elledge, Elizabeth, inheritance of, 43; mother, 46. England, emigrants remove to Illinois, xxvii, 8-14; farewell to, 16-17; sources of national strength, 154-55- Farrand, James, reports second edition of Burlend narrative, xxv. Fences, rail, described, 72-73. Ferries, see Philips Ferry. Fire-flies, described, 103. Flatboats, in Mississippi River trade, 34. Flowers, of Illinois prairies, described, 84-85. Furniture, described, 49, 64-65, 150-51. Griggsville, residents of, xxv, 9. Gulf of Mexico, piracy in, 29. Home^ Burlends cross ocean on, 15-32, 35. Hospitality, of Americans, 45-46; of Burlends, 74, i49-56._ Illinois, bibliography of Travel and Description^ xxiii; houses of settlers, 47-52; land system, 52-55, 131-40; bread-making, 59-60; climate, 69-70, 80-82, 92-95, 104; cattle-rearing, 75-78, 130; 163 Sntrex mosquitoes, 82-83; prairies, 83-84; flowers, 85; trees, 85-86; birds, 96-98, 104; snakes, 99-101; insects, 101-102; animals, 104-106; threshing methods, 106-107; ague, 114; culture, 141-43; religious practices, 144-47. Illinois mange, described, 63-64. Illinois River, emigrants ascend, 40-42. Illinois River Valley, as home of Burlends, xxviii; fertility, 62. Indian corn, crop described, 60-63; planted, 79-80, 121-22; harvested, 109; damaged by freezing, in. Insects, of Illinois, described, 101-103. Irish Channel, emigrants traverse, 18. Jackson, General Andrew, defense of New Orleans, 29. KiNziE, Mrs. Juliette A., author of Lakeside Classics volume, xvii-xviii. Knowles, , dealings with Burlends, no, 129. Lakeside Classics , authors of, xvii; list of volumes pub- lished, 169. Land, system in Illinois, 52-55, 131-40; method of clearing, 86-87. Leeds, sale of Burlend narrative in, xxvii. Liberty, religious, abuse of, 145-47. Library of Congress, lacks Burlend data, xxi. Lighting, pioneer methods described, 65-66. Lightning, display of, in Illinois, 80-82. Lincoln, Abraham, visits New Orleans, 34. Liverpool, stay of Burlends in, 9-14. Log houses, described, 47-52. Maple trees, sugar-making described, 55; sugar harvested, 78, 120-21, 131. Matanuska, emigrants mentioned, xix. Medicine, Rebecca Burlend practices, xxix-xxx. Methodists, religious services of, 144-45. Mills, laws governing erection of, 139-41. Mississippi River, route via, 15, 35; emigrants ascend, 31, 35-41; fuel used by steamers, 36. 164 Snbex Missouri River, characterized, 38. Mosquitoes, among settlers, 82-83. Negroes, bee-hive incident, 36-37; thief, 39. See also Slavery. New Orleans, route via, 15; Andrew Jackson defends, 29; emigrants reach, 31-32; described, 33-34; as market for interior produce, 67. Noises, of Illinois nighttime, described, 104-105. Oakes, , Pike County squatter, xxviii; sells pre- emption right, 54-57; Hvestock, 59-60, 68. Ohio River characterized, 38. Paddock, , neighbor of Burlends, 59, 70; sells pre- emption right, 131-32. Philips, Andrew, owns ferry, 42-43. PhiHps, Asa, inheritance of, 43. Philips (Norris), Nancy, inheritance of, 42-43; char- acterized, 45-46. PhiUps, Nimrod, career, 42-43; defends Burlends, 140-41. Philips, Selah, inheritance of, 43. Philips, Zerrelda Jean, inheritance of, 42-43. Philips Ferry, arrival of Burlends at, 41-44. See also Valley City. Pike County, as home of Burlends, xxiv; English migration to, xxv-xxvii, xxxi, 8; epidemic in, 64. Pike County Republican ^ cited, 9. Piracy, encountered, 28-29. Pittsfield, home of Burlend descendants, xxi, xxiii-xxv, xxix. Potatoes, raised, iii. Prairies, described, 83-84. Preemptions, explained, 53; conflict over, 131-39. QuiNCY, land office at, 135. Raccoons, described, 105-106. Racer, see Blacksnake. Rattlesnakes, described, loo-ioi; encounter with, 124-25. 165 3nbex Religion, status of, in Pike County, 71; services de- scribed, 144-47. Rhodes, Albert, remembers Rebecca Burlend, xxx. Sabbath, disregard of in New Orleans, 23'^ Burlends observe, 71. St. Louis, route via, 35; growth, 40-41. Salt, fondness of cattle for, 76-77. Schools, government endows, 141-42. School teachers, educational standards, 142. Scott County, Boones settle in, 46. Sea-sickness, afflicts emigrants, 18. Skillet, use, described, 59. Slavery, at New Orleans, 33-34; on lower Mississippi, Snakes, of IlHnois, described, 99-101. Soap, pioneer method of making, 66-67. Squatters, in Illinois, mentioned, xxviii; role explained, 54; misconduct, 68-69. Stores, pioneer, described, 67-78; operations, 78-79, 88, 107-108, 129. Sugar, see Maple trees. Sulphur, as remedy for Illinois mange, 63-64. Sumac tree, described, 55-56. Swillington, home of Edward Burlend, xx. Tempests, described, 18-22, 80-81. The JVesleyan Emigrants, see y/ True Picture of Emi- gration. Thief, attempts robbery, 39. Thompson, Jess M., owns copy of Village Rhymes ^ xxi; on authorship of True Picture of Emigration, xxiii-xxiv; as source of information, xxv, 9, 54, 64, 115. _ Tillson, Mrs. Christiana H., author of Lakeside Classics volume, xvii-xviii. Trees, varieties encountered on Mississippi, 37-38; impede navigation, 38; of Illinois, described, 85-86; destroyed, 86-87, 122-23. 166 3fnbex Turkey buzzard, as food, 73-74. Valley City, Burlend home near, xxviii, 57. See also Philips Ferry. Van Dusen (Vanderoozen), Garret, establishes ferry, 42; sells livestock, 1 15-18, 129. Varley, — , pioneer storekeeper, 78-79, 88, 107-108, 129. Venison, as food, 54, 59. Village Rhymes, authorship of, xx-xxii. Weather, see climate. West Indies, emigrants traverse, 27-30. Whalen, Hazel, supplies information, xxv-xxvi. Wheat, harvested, 89-92, 123-24, 128, 131; threshed, 106-107; sold, 107-108; sowed, 109-110; field burned, 125-27. Whetstones, needed, 123. Whip-poor-wills, described, 104. Winters, of Illinois, described, 69-70. Wolves, prevalence of, 70. Women, as authors of Lakeside Classics, xvii-xviii. Yelliott, Luke, husband of Mary Burlend, 157; see also Mary Burlend. Yellow fever, afflicts New Orleans, 34. Yorkshire, home of Burlends, xviii-xx, 5, 7, 9; Rebecca Burlend revisits, xxiv-xxv, 155-57; faniilies migrate to Illinois, xxxi, 157. 167 NUMBER TITLE YEAR 1. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin 1903 2. Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States from Washington to Lincoln. . 1904 3. Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States from Johnson to Roosevelt.. . . 1905 4. Fruits of Solitude by William Penn 1906 5. Memorable American Speeches I. The Colonial Period 1907 6. Memorable American Speeches II. Democracy and Nationality 1908 7. Memorable American Speeches III. Slavery 1909 8. Memorable American Speeches IV. Secession. War, Reconstruction 1910 9. The Autobiography of Gurdon Saltonstall Hub- bard 1911 10. Reminiscences of Early Chicago 1912 11. Reminiscences of Chicago During the Forties and Fifties 1913 12. Reminiscences of Chicago During the Civil War 1914 13. Reminiscences of Chicago During the Great Fire 1915 14. Life of Black Hawk 1916 15. The Indian Captivity of O. M. Spencer 1917 16. Pictures of Illinois One Hundred Years Ago. . . 1918 17. A Woman's Story of Pioneer Illinois by Chris- tiana Holmes Tillson 1919 18. The Conquest of the Illinois by George Rogers Clark 1920 19. Alexander Henry's Travels and Adventures in the Years 1760-1776 1921 20. John Long's Voyages and Travels in the Years 1768-1788 1922 21. Adventures of the First Settlers on the Oregon or Columbia River by Alexander Ross 1923 22. The Fur Hunters of the Far West by Alexander Ross 1924 23. The Southwestern Expedition of Zebulon M. Pike 1925 24. Commerce of the Prairies by Josiah Gregg 1926 25. Death Valley in '49 by William L. Manly 1927 26. Bidwell's Echoes of the Past — Steele's In Camp and Cabin 1928 27. Kendall's Texan Santa Fe Expedition 1929 28. Pattie's Personed Narrative 1930 29. Alexander Mackenzie's Voyage to the Pacific Ocean in 1793 1931 30. Wau-Bun, The "Early Day" in the North-West by Mrs. John H. Kinzie 1932 31. Forty Years a Fur Trader by Charles Larpenteur 1933 32. Narrative of the Adventures of Zenas Leonard 1934 33. Kit Carson's Autobiography 1935 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 3 0112 004368392