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THE

ADVENTURES

MT GRANDFATHER.

WITH EXTEACTS EBOM HIS lETTEES, AND OTHEB EAMILT DOCUMENTS,
PBEPABED EuB THE PBESS WITH NOTES AND BIOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES OE
HIMSELE AND HIS SON, JOHN HOWE PETTON, ESQ.

JOHN LEWIS PEYTON, L.L.B., F.R.G.S.
Author of '* The American Crisis" "^ Sistorieal and Statistical View of
the State of Illinois"
Late Chief of Staff to General Douglas B, Layne of Virginia.

LONDON:
JOHN WILSON, PTJBLISHEE,
93, GREAT EUSSBLL STEEET, W,C.
MDCCCLXVII.
[All rights reserved]

Cti9 xxo

SIR STAFFORD CAREY,
THE BAILIET OF GCTEENSET,
AN ABLE LAWYER AND UPRIGHT JUDGE,
Mm Volume
IS INSCRIBED,
WITH FEELINGS OF SINCERE ADMIRATION AND RESPECT,
BY
HIS FRIEND, J, LEWIS PEYTON.

Reform Club, Pall Mall,
October 28, 1867.

ADVERTISEMENT.

This voluiDe consists of three parts. The first com
prises the Life of my Grandfather, with a selected portion
of his Correspondence, detailing what may be termed his
adventures. Many of the Papers which came into my
hands as the executor of my father, including letters
written by himself, his father, and other members of the
family, having been burnt or mutilated during the Civil
War in America, T have had some difficulty in connecting
together in the form of a narrative the following imperfect
series of letters by ray grandfather. In order to do this
with tolerable success, T have been under the necessity,
in cases where the meaning appeared tolerably clear, of
supplying a few lines to fill the hiatus. If this should,
in any instance, have caused obscurity or anachronism, I
hope this will be a sufficient explanation, especially as it
has arisen from a strong wish to render the narrative not
only agreeable to my family, for whose gratification it is
specially designed, but interesting to the public. I am
far from being confident that much success has attended
my efibrts ; I trust, however, that too much will not be

vi Advertisement.
expected, in regard to literary execution, from one whose
life has been principally devoted to active pursuits and the
service of his country, and that this fact will compensate
for many blemishes in style and arrangement. I am in
debted to the courtesy of the Bailiff of Guernsey for the
perusal of an interesting manuscript account of the siege
of Carthagena, written by his kinsman, Captain John
Stafford, who left his residence in Virginia to take part
in that Expedition. This manuscript lias fortunately en
abled me to supply some names, dates, and items in the
three first letters of my grandfather. The second part of
this volume consists of a brief biographical sketch of my
father; and the third is a narrative of the circumstances
attending the settlement in Virginia of my maternal
ancestors, a family of Norman Huguenots, which took
refuge in Scotland from the persecutions to which Pro
testants were subjected in France after the Revocation of
the Edict of Nantes. The contents of each part are given
separately, and in the order which exhibits most naturally
the connection of the subjects.
J. L. P.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Preliminary Biographical Sketch of my Grandfather — His Birth,
Parentage and Early School Days. .... 1
CHAPTER II.
He commences his TJniversity Career. — Letter from his Father. —
His reception at Williamsburg.— Fashionable Customs in the
Capital. — His continued success as a Scholar. — Colonel Bland. 13
CHAPTER ni.
He visits New Tork. — Is Shipwrecked on the Return Voyage.
— His account of the Affair. — He commences the Study of Mili
tary Engineering and the Art of War under Colonel De Blois
in Richmond. ....... 23
CHAPTER IV.
He leaves Richmond and returns to Stoney Hill. — Sails for the
West Indies. — His account of the Voyage. — Sickness on Board
the Vessel. — Scarcity of Water. — Storm off the North Carolina
Coast. — Sight the French Keys. — Lands at Titchfield and dines
with the President. ...... 29

viii Contents.

CHAPTER V.

Page-

Some account of Scenery and Natural Productions of Jamaica. —
The Slaves.— A Sugar Plantation.— Bad Husbandry.— A
Negro Device for taking Fish.— Fruits and Flowers,— Mountain
Roads.— Captain Pelham, R,E.— Spanish Town.— Entertain
ment by the Governor. — Unexpected Meeting with a Party of
Virginians. — Society in Jamaica. . • • . o7
CHAPTER VI,
He visits Carthagena,— City and Bay.— Churches.— Popular Ig
norance and Superstition,— The Siege of 1741.— Death of his
Uncle.— A North Carolinian.— Returns to Jamaica. — Annie
Howe, the Bright Particular Star of Spanish Town.— Brief
account of Jamaica conceived in the Right Spirit, . • 46
CHAPTER VII.
He sails for New Orleans. — The Mississippi River. — New Orleans.
— The Inhabitants.— Historical Coup d'CBil. — General D'Uloa.
— Count O'Reilly. — Judicial Murders and Confiscations. — The
Governor and his Entertairaent, , , . , .55
CHAPTER VIII.
He sails for Florida but is captured by the Spaniards and carried
to New Mexico. — Marches eighty-nine days up the Rio del
Norte to Santa F6, where he is imprisoned and treated with
Inhuman Barbarity, . . . . . .63
CHAPTER IX.
Mr. Howe visits England in Pursuit of Legal Business. — Secures
a Great Success, — Forms the Acquaintance of an Amicus Curia.
— Jimmy Jones. — Returns to Jamaica to find his Wife furious
and his Daughter in Love. — The Family at Home on the
Occoquan in Virginia. ...... 82
OHAPTBB, X.
Absent but not forgotten. — A Rival in the Field. — Captain Pelham
in a New Character. ...... 96

Coidents. ix
Page.
CHAPTER XT,
He resumes his letter from St. Louis. — His Escape from the
Santa Fe Prison and Plight across the Rocky Mountains. — Tra
verses the Great Plains of the Interior of North America and
arrives in St. Louis guided by an Osage Warrior. . . 103
CHAPTER XII.
Third and Last Letter from St. Louis. — He meets a Virginian
who supplies his wants. — Marriage of his Valet with Annetta
Ximenes. — Indian Hostilities in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. —
Description of Santa F6 and the Plains. . . . 115
CHAPTER XIII.
He arrives at the Mouth of the Kentucky River. — Democratic
Sentiments in the Backwoods Settlement, — Visit to an Indian
Town. — Mammoth Bones. — Antiquities. — Aspect of the Coun
try. — Defeat of a French and Indian Force by the Chicka-
saws. ........

124

CHAPTER XIV,
He arrives on the Great Kenewha River, — Meets and joins the
Army of General Lewis. — Takes part in the Battle of Point
Pleasants. — Account of the Battle and Sketch of General Lewis
and of the Lamented Colonel Charles Lewis. — Is wounded
and removed to the Greenbrier, ..... 131
CHAPTER XV.
He leaves the Warm Springs.^Mountain Scenery.- Beautiful
Cascade,- Legend. — Arrives at Staunton and proceeds to
Norfolk,— The Political Agitations preceding the American
Revolution. ....••¦ 1^9
CHAPTER XVI.
Letter from John Peyton, Esq. to John Rowzee Peyton, Esq. . 160

X

Contents.

CHAPTER XVIL

Pa^e.

His return to Stoney Hill.— Political Agitation preceding the
American Revolution. ... . . 163
CHAPTER XVIIL
His Marriage. — The Festivities. — Captain Pelham Redivivus. —
Mr. Jimmy Jones in Character. — Death of the Venerable John
Peyton. — His Character, — Concluding Remarks. . . 167

Biographical Sketch of John Howe Peyton, Esq. of Montgomery
Hall, Augusta County, Virginia. .... 181
Sketch of a Distinguished Lawyer .... 205
Narrative of the Circumstances connected with the Settlement
of M. Jean Louis, or John Lewis, and his Family in Virginia . 215
APPENDIX.
John Peyton, Esq., to his cousin Henry Peyton, Esq. . . 227
John Peyton, Esq., to his cousin, Henry Peyton, Esq. . . 233
John Peyton, Esq., to his cousin, Henry Peyton, Esq. . . 236
Captain Francis Peyton to his Mother .... 240

THE
ADVENTURES OF MY GEANDFATHEE.

CHAPTER I.
PKELIMINAKY BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP MY GBANDPATHEK, — HIS BIETH,
PAKENTAGE AND BABLY SCHOOL DAYS.
The subject of this sketch, John Rowzee Peyton, was
born May 16th, 1752, at "Stoney Hill,"* Stafibrd
County, Virginia, and was the son of John Peyton,
Esquire, by his wife, Elizabeth Rowzee, of the County of
Essex. His father was a lineal descendant of Robert Peyton,
of Isleham, in the county of Mathews, Virginia, the first
of the family who emigrated to America. Robert was the
grandson of the Puritan and Cromwellian partizan, Sir
Edward Peyton, Knight and Baronet, the author of
a very curious, equally bitter, and, in all probability,
perfectly veracious history of the court and cabinet of
James I. At the Restoration, Robert Peyton settled in
Virginia, where he named his residence Isleham, in
* The family seat in Virginia,

2 The Adventures of my Grandfather .
memory of his ancestral English home, and where his
ofispring continue, after the lapse of two centuries, veri
fying, in their high position and worldly prosperity, the
words of the Psalmist, " I have been young and now am
old, yet never saw I the virtuous man forsaken, nor his
seed begging their bread." His mother belonged to a
Erench Protestant family, which fled from France to
Scotland after the revocation of the edict of Nantes.
From Scotland they removed to Oporto in Portugal, and,
finally, to North America. They, too, are among the
p,rincipal gentry of Virginia.
We have thought it not out of place to enter thus
briefly upon his pedigree, which, if traced, will be seen to
be not only conspicuous by rank and wealth, but by the
superior lustre of virtue.
He gave early tokens of more than ordinary promise,
both as to moral qualities and intellectual endowments.
His parents regarded him, therefore, with singular affec
tion, and determined to improve his natural parts by the
best education to be acquired in the colony at that early
day. As there were no schools nearer than Dumfries, they
engaged a private tutor. By the advice of a friend, they
secured the services, in this capacity, of Mr. Buchan, a
Scotch emigrant, at that time residing in the town of
Falmouth. Mr. Buchan was described as a man of exten
sive and varied erudition, of excellent judgment, and
unexceptionable manners and habits ; and, moreover,
thoroughly devoted to the task of educating and rearing
the young. This worthy man came to America some
years previous, as tutor toj/the sonjof Lord Fairfax.

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 3
Mr. Buchan took up his residence at Stoney Hill, May,
1760, and remained there in the discharge of his duties
for the next three years. During this period, the progress
of his pupil was entirely satisfactory, and his father deter
mined to enter him at a boarding school shortly to be
opened in the neighbouring town of Dumfries. He was
particularly inclined to take this course, as Mr. Buchan
had accepted a situation as junior head-master in the new
seminary. Dumfries was, at this period, the most flourishing town
in that section of Virginia, a port of entry where the
planters received their supplies, principally from England,
and from which they shipped their corn and tobacco — the
two most important staples of Virginia then as now. For
mutual benefit, the neighbouring gentry determined to
estabhsh, in this central point, the public school to which
we have just referred.
Dumfries has long ceased to be a place of the slightest
importance. The few houses now standing are strongly
expressive of poverty aud squalid wretchedness. It has
been completely engulfed in the prosperity of its rival,
Fredericksburg.* A few crumbling brick chimneys, some
scattered ruins, draped with ivy and the Virginia creeper,
and a half hundred tumble-down buildings, are all that
remain of the gay shops and comfortable residences, and
the long lines of wooden warehouses, where the crops of
the colonial planters were once stored. One can scarcely,
when viewing the present wreck, credit the accounts of its
early grandeur and opulence, but nothing is truer than
* Since so famous in the annals of the Civil War.
B 2

4 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
that Dumfries was anciently a most flourishing city. Its
present inferiority and decay is the result of departed
commerce — commerce, that fluctuating will-o'-the-wisp
that only leads states after it, to entrap them ultimately
into mires and precipices, and which, when caught, stays
till it extinguishes the spirit of liberty in a nation, refines
its people into feeble slaves, and there leaves them to
poverty and contempt.
Perhaps there is no subject that afi'ords an ampler field
for a speculative mind to expatiate upon, than the various,
and we may say, incongruous revolutions which have
chequered the progress of human society from the first
records of history down to the present time. It is, indeed,
a speculation which not only tends to improve the under
standing, by calling in experience to correct the illusions
of theory, but is highly instructive in a moral point of
view, by pointing out the instability of the very best
structures of human wisdom, and teaching us how little
reliance is to be placed upon human casualties or earthly
contingencies. It was due to this irresistible mutation of things, that
Dumfries sank from its high condition to its present low
estate. In the days of which we write, it boasted a to
bacco exchange, a chamber of commerce, a post-office, a
newspaper, a double row of shops, where the last English
importations were displayed to the best advantage. It was
also the head-quarters of the farmers and planters club,
which assembled in a room of the principal inn, a public-
house which had risen since the close of the last French
war, upon the ruins of the " Royal George."

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 5
In the club-room of this inn the county gentlemen as
sembled daily to interchange views upon agriculture and
politics, and to digest the gossip of the community. Dum
fries was, indeed, a kind of news mart, as well as com
mercial capital, where everything passing in the general
assembly at Williamsburg (the colonial capital) was sure
to be thoroughly canvassed over roast beef and Jamaica
rum. It was also an assize town, where the circuit judge
and public prosecutor made their periodical appearances to
the terror of evil doers ; and the seat of a number of pri
mary schools. It had now also become the distinguished
seat of a public academy. Those were the palmy days of
Dumfries, and Mr. Buchan, who was one of the two heads,
and by no means the least important, under which the
infant seat of academic learning was launched, was in his
glory also.
The subject of this sketch was entered as a pupil in
this academy. As may be imagined, it was a period of
great excitement with him, and anxiety to his parents ;
with him at the prospect of giving up the seclusion of an
old Virginia home, and his father's at Stoney Hill, which
was built, after the style of an English country mansion
of the Inigo Jones architectural school, of brick brought
from England, in combination with the native sand stone,
and surrounded with extensive grounds, improved after
the manner of the parks, for which the mother country is
so famous ; was the home of taste, refinement, and luxury,
where he had always been contented and happy. All the
associations of his youth were connected with this spot,
and his heart saddened at the prospect of leaving it — even

6 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
for the more active and exciting life of a public school.
His parents, too, were full of anxious solicitude lest he
might fall into temptation and stray from the paths of
temperance and virtue, of sobriety and study in this sink
of iniquity, as they pictured to themselves Dumfries with
its score of sea-going vessels, its few dozen fishing
smacks, and its occasional crowds of sailors and strangers.
Their apprehensions were great too, lest he should not
maintain upon this new theatre, and when brought in
competition with a select and numerous body of boys of
talent, the high reputation he had already acquired for
cleverness and progress.
Whatever were their feelings of anxiety, he was fetched
at the appointed time in the family chariot, and deposited
as a boarder at the house of the head-master. Here he
was left by his parents with many a fervent prayer, and
many a godly admonition to beware of the alluring temp
tations to which he should be exposed, and many an ex
hortation to be dutiful in his conduct to his superiors, and
assiduous in his studies. He was supplied with a bible,
and the scant stock of text books then in vogue in Vir
ginia, consisting of an elementary treatise on geography,
another on arithmetic, and the works for juniors in Latin
and Greek.
As regards the manner in which he was bred up by his
parents, previous to entering the school at Dumfries, he
was often heard in after years to speak in grateful terms,
to the effect that his infant reason no sooner dawned, than
they began to use every possible means to give that reason
a right bias towards its proper object ; that they daily ap-

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 7
proached the throne of grace with fervent prayer for their
helpless children, before these children knew how to pray
for themselves. He said he had often stood at the door,
while a rude unthinking boy, of his pious grandmother's
closet, and heard many heart-affecting groans and ardent
supphcations poured forth for himself. While many of
the neighbouring gentry seemed rather to inculcate in the
minds of their children the love of sinful pleasures and
perishing vanities, his endeavoured to persuade him to a
love of God and the pursuit of eternal things. A religious
education will not certainly always restrain the vicious
inclinations of youth, but it is, nevertheless, a means of
grace from which many have reaped the greatest advan
tage. Sooner or later the assiduous labours of such
parents will be rewarded, and he was an evidence of this
truth. Through life, he constantly gave proofs of the vir
tuous principles he had imbibed in his youth, and the pious
examples constantly set before his eyes. He often re
marked in after life that it was his careful home training
which gave him self-respect, when brought in contact with
the world, and preserved him from any taste for low and
vicious society or indulgences. One important feature of
his home infiuence was his father's habit of reading aloud.
Regarding reading as one great means of mental improve
ment, in connection with good literary training, it was his
custom to read aloud to his family several hours every
evening. It gave his children a relish for good books, and
was to them as to him, a constant source, of happiness and
cheerfulness through life. His remarks upon this subject
have vividly recalled the words of Herschel, " If I were to

8 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
pray for a taste which should stand me under every variety
of circumstances, it would be a taste for reading. I speak
of it, of course, only as a worldly advantage, and not in the
slightest degree derogating from the higher office, and
sure and stronger panoply of religious principles, but as a
taste, an instrument, and a mode of pleasurable gratifica
tion. Give a man this taste, and the means of gratifying
it, and you can hardly fail of making him a happy man,
unless, indeed, you put into his hands a most perverse
selection of books. You place him in contact with the
best society in every period of history, with the wisest, the
wittiest, with the tenderest, the bravest, and the purest
characters who have adorned humanity. You make him
a denizen of all nations, a contemporary of all ages. The
world has been created for him.
" It is hardly possible but the character should take a
higher and better tone from this constant habit of asso
ciating in thought with a class of thinkers, to say the least
of it, above the average of humanity. It is morally im
possible but that the manners should take a tinge of good
breeding and civiHzation, from having constantly before our
eyes the way in which the best bred and best informed
men have talked and conducted themselves in their inter
course with each other. There is a gentle but perfectly
irresistible coercion in a habit of reading, well directed,
over the whole tenor of a man's character and conduct,
which is not the least effectual because it works insensibly,
and because it is really the last thing he dreams of. It
cannot be better summed up than in the words of the
Latin poet : " Emollit mores, nee sinit esse feros I" It

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 9
civilizes the conduct of men, and suffers them not to
remain barbarous."
He thus acquired a tolerable knowledge of his
tory before he was twelve years of age, and asto
nished his school-fellows with his conversation about
Leonidas and Aristides, Cyrus and Xerxes, Alexander and
Hannibal, Scipio and C ito, and a host of other ancient
worthies, who stood before him, living, breathing men,
whom he loved and hated, whose conquests or defeats
made his heart glow with delight, or burn with indigna
tion 1 The result of his early and careful home training
was obvious in his whole career, and by friend and foe
ahke, (if he had enemies), down to the latest period of his
life, he was regarded as a man of perfect probity, of the
highest honour, an honour which amounted to a scruple,
and of an uprightness of heart which was proof against
corruption. Some remarkable evidences of this fact were
disclosed after his death by his private papers. Among
them was found a violent letter written to him from
Fredericksburg in 1790, by the late William Charles
Fenton of Roanoke, complaining that Mr. Peyton had di
rected an action at law to be instituted against him with
out having previously asked an explanation which might
have residted in an adjustment of the difficulty. Before
closing a long letter, setting forth his grievance, Mr.
Fenton added these remarkable words, " I do not wish to
be misunderstood. I do not intend to charge that you
have intentionally done me wrong, or I should rather say
had any intention of wronging me by this course — far be it
from me to assail your honour or integrity. Notwithstand-

10 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
ing the position you occupy in this affair, my unhand
some treatment, I believe you as honest a man as lives."
Some years after Mr. Peyton's death, his son met Mr.
Fenton in Fredericksburg, where he happened to be on a
casual visit, having, years before, migrated to the State of
Louisiana, and mentioned to him the fact of finding this
letter, and asked an explanation of the circumstances of
exasperation under which it seemed to have been written.
Mr. Fenton immediately smiled, and taking the young
man by the hand, said — " Think no more of the affair. I
was wrong from beginning to end, and wrote the letter in
a moment of petulance, and so told your father afterwards,
thus making the amende honorable ; and our old friend
ship was not disturbed."
Except during the annual school vacations, he passed
four years in Dumfries Academy, during which period he
acquired a thorough knowledge of Greek aud Latin,
and made astonishing progress in mathematics, for which
his talent was peculiar, intuitive, amounting to what may
be termed a genius for it. At this time he was withdrawn
from the school, to be entered at the University of " WiUiam
and Mary," situated near Williamsburg, the colonial capital
of Virginia. " William and Mary" was, at that period, the
most famous of all the American institutions of learning.
At the epoch of his transfer to the University, he was the
acknowledged leader of the Academy in every department
of knowledge comprised in the scholastic course of study,
having not only maintained the good opinion expressed of
his capacity by his tutor, but exceeded the most sanguine
expectations formed of his abilities. The following are

The Adventures of my Grandfather. ] 1
the circumstances under which he was about to proceed to
" William and Mary."
His father said to him upon one occasion, about this
period (1765), when on a visit to Stoney Hill —
" I am already the father of six children, and my young
family is growing. Though one of, what we call, the
wealthy planters of the country, I foresee that I shall not
be able to make any large settlement for my children.
They must, in a great measure, depend upon their own
exertions for success in life. You have already made some
progress in your education — quite enough to pass cur
rently among our Virginian planters, and make a figure in
the Legislature. If you are disposed now to go to work
in the direction of agriculture, I will settle upon you my
Clermont estate, with a sufficient force of slaves to enable
you to live in ease and independence, and to bring up a
family respectably; but if you wish to continue your
education at a university and to enter the Church, to
study physic, or follow the law, I am willing to supply you
with the means to any proper extent you may wish, but
these advances must be subtracted from the present value
of the property which I am willing and able to advance
you by way of settlement. You ought to know at once
what your mind is upon such a subject, but I wish you to
reflect over it, and give me your decision to-morrow."
He immediately said to his father —
" I do not require tiU to-morrow to give you answer. I
have a fixed choice and determination, and have arrived at
it after reflection : it is to continue my education at the
University, and to follow the profession of arms in the

12 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
service of my sovereign. It adds, however, to my affec
tionate veneration and respect for a kind parent that you
have spoken so candidly, and given me the option of two
courses, under such circumstances. I abandon all interest
in your estate, beyond a few hundreds a-year, in favour of
my brothers aud sisters, and only ask to be prepared by
academic and professional education to take my proper
place in society and in my profession."
It would hardly have been suspected that his inclina
tions were in the direction of the army, for at this period
he is known to have suffered from a constitutional reserve
and a delicate sensibility which was frequently offended
at the rudeness of the masters in speaking to his school
fellows. He often went so far as to say to Mr. Buchan
and others, that " it was not the way to do a boy good to
wound his feelings." It was a remarkable trait in his
character at this time, as indeed through life, that he
never expressed himself censoriously or contemptuously of
those who by conscientious investigation, were led to dif
ferent conclusions from himself Nevertheless, he fre
quently enlivened his conversation by a vein of wit
bordering on satire. His. individual character had been
gradually and silently developing amid these influences.
He had grown up into a tall, vigorous lad of sixteen, full
of animal spirits, and full, too, of the restlessness of a
boy's nature. This restless activity was chiefly expended
in the prosecution of his studies, in the acquisition of
knowledge. He felt within the stirrings of that mys
terious spirit which told him that God gave us not
" That capability and god-like reason
To rust in us unused."

CHAPTER II.
HE COMMENCES HIS UNIVEKSITY CAKEEK. — LETTER PllOM HIS PATHEB, — HIS '
RECEPTION AT WILLIAMSBUEG. — PASHIONABLE CUSTOMS IN THE CAPITAL.
 HIS CONTINUED SUCCESS AS A SCHOLAH. — COLONEL BLAND.
Having passed his vacation at home, he proceeded to
make his preparations to enter the University. These
needful arrangements concluded, in the spring of 1768,
dressed in knee-breeches, top-boots, a buff waistcoat, and
brown velvet cut-away coat, his hair powdered and tied in
a cue, and surmounted with a fur hat, he stepped ashore
at Williamsburg, from the vessel on which he had taken
passage from the banks of the Potomac,
He was now en route for the University of " William and
Mary," then under the presidency of the celebrated Doctors
Blair and Madison, the latter of whom subsequently
became Bishop of Virginia. At this time he was hand
some and graceful, and of that delicacy of soul which
produces instinctive propriety and gives an easy manner.
This facile and graceful manner was improved and finished
by his polite education and the familiar intercourse he had
enjoyed with the best society of Virginia. His features
were oval, his eyes deep blue and animated with sentiment,
forehead broad and expansive, nose straight, mouth small,

14 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
hps thin, chin round, and the whole countenance dignified
by a manly aspect. He had nothing of the world's
hardened look about him.
After despatching a hasty luncheon at his hotel in Old
Dominion Street, for which he had little appetite, his
digestive organs having been deranged by a discovery he
quickly made as to his toilette, he ordered a tailor to be
sent to his room. Thus early had he become conscious
that, dressed in the style of a Virginia country gentleman,
he was quite behind the age in the commercial capital of
the state. The picturesque costume of the Virginian
planter of the "olden time," was so decidedly antique and
out of fashion in Williamsburg, at least among the juvenile
community, that the handsome young stranger was stared
out of countenance by the " greedy and devouring "
glances cast upon him, not only by the belles who
thronged the side-walks, but the public generally. A
brief space sufficed to clothe him in the neat not gaudy
dress of the beau-monde of that day, and he was after
wards unnoticed in the throng. " Got up " after the
prevaihng style, he proceeded to deliver the following
letter from his father
John Peyton, Esq. to the Honourable Richard Bland.
" Stoney Hill, Virginia,
"March 16th, 1766.
" My dear Bland,
" This letter is entrusted for delivery to my son, John
Rowzee, who leaves home in a few days for WiUiamsburg
on his way to the University of 'William and Mary,'

The Adventures of m,y Grandfather. 1 5
where I have supplied him with means to enter himself
as a student. Having seen him at Stoney HUl several
times, you will have no difficulty iu recognizing him now,
though he has grown apace, and is much altered in ap
pearance. He is, as you'll see, over six feet high, and,
I think, as fine a specimen of the ' Northern neck' * as
was ever sent from home to acquire, probably, a 'little
Latin and less Greek.' Excuse my vanity, but I think
you will agree with me that I have reason to be proud of
him, when I tell you he has stood at the head of his classes
at Dumfries Academy for the last three years, and that he
proceeds to the University with the good opinion and kind
wishes of Mr. Buchan, his old tutor, and the entire staff
of preceptors. Besides this, he handles a cudgel, sits a
horse, and rows a boat, equal to any boy in our county.
He remains in Williamsburg a few days to procure a
supply of books and clothing, and will, probably," need
some advice and assistance, so young and inexperienced is
he in the ways of the world. He has never been beyond
the limits of his native state, except to fish and shoot
across the river with our friends in Maryland. I have
instructed him to call upon my old friend. Colonel Bland,
whose public duties wiU not, I am persuaded, prevent his
giving him any assistance he may require.
" My wife begs me to present her kind compliments to
Colonel and Mrs. Bland, and to ask Mrs. B. to fetch her
on her return, forty yards of the best black silk for a
gown, to which I would be glad you would add ten yards
of blue broadcloth for myself. My son wUl hand you the
amount of these purchases in cash. You see, my dear
Bland, that we regard you public gentlemen literally in
the hght of ' public servants,'
"I have nothing to remark upon the subject of your
* That portion of Virginia lying between the Rappahannock and
Potomac rivers. A high and undulating district, while that south of
the Rappahannock is flat. In the northern neck Lord Fairfax had,
previous to the American revolution, certain proprietary rights, which
yielded him an annual revenue of £16,000,

16 The Adve7itures of my Grandfather.
proceedings in the House of Burgesses, further than that I
cordially approve your own course, while I think, as a
body, you are disposed to legislate too much. I fear a
majority of your honourable body have forgotten our
popular aphorism, that ' the least governed are the best
governed.' I think, therefore, the sooner your delibera
tions are concluded, the better you'U deserve the thanks of
your country. In common with your old friends in
Stafford I am anxious to see you back, not, however,
altogether upon public grounds.
" Mrs. Peyton joins me in most kind regards and re
membrances to Mrs. Bland and the young ladies. Be
lieve me, " Yours truly,
" John Peyton."
" Colonel Richard Bland, AVilliamsburg."
Colonel Bland immediately recognised the young gen
tleman. His memory had been aided by a letter pre
viously received from the young gentleman's father,
through the post-office, which had gone by land, and
arrived in Williamsburg several days in advance of the
vessel which carried him.
Colonel Bland was exceedingly kind and attentive, but
rallied his young friend upon the incongruity of his
cavalier cue and student's habit. It does not appear,
however, that he was successful in causing any abridge
ment of this venerable relic of the past, as, in a hkeness
taken fifteen years later, the young gentleman appears
with the inevitable pig-tail.
From Williamsburg, he addressed the following letter
to his father.

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 17

" Old Dominion Hotel, Williamsburg,
"April 10th, 1768.
" My dear father,
" I hasten to inform you of my safe arrival in this
city, after a protracted and exceedingly disagreeable voy
age. From the time we lost sight of the Potomac until
we entered James River, we experienced adverse gales,
rain, and aU the concomitants that make up what sailors
denominate ' dirty weather.' I did not suffer from sea
sickness, but very much from cold and the discomforts
inseparable from a sea voyage. I do not know what I
should have done without the flannel waistcoats and yarn
stockings my dear inother insisted on my taking, and
which, during the warm days just preceding my departure,
I was disposed to reject as unnecessary, if not effeminating.
I found my heavy top-boots of immense service also.
With them and an oiled overcoat, the use of which I
obtained from a saUor for a few shUlings, I braved the
worst weather on deck, and found some occupation in
watching the shore, in looking out for sails, and gazing
upon the ocean ' tempest-tost.'
" I did not, as you directed, proceed immediately on
landing to Colonel Bland's, but engaged a tailor to make
me a suit of clothes, such as are worn by the gentry here.
My own were so behind the fashion, that I was quite an
object of curiosity to the people, and took atofle/ifrom the
vessel to the hotel to prevent annoyance.
" After being renovated by my tailor, I proceeded to
Colonel Bland's, and was glad to find him at home, and
both astonished and delighted that he recognized me at
once from my strong likeness to yourself, for I have always
been told that I resembled my mother's family more than
yours. He invited me to dinner next day to meet the
Honourable Mr. Randolph, Mr. Patrick Henry, Mr. Lewis
and a few other public men, aU members of the House of
Burgesses, and all distinguished for their zeal and public
spirit. Of course I accepted his invitation, glad of the
c

18 The Advent/wres of nvy Grandfather.
opportunity to meet so many of our eminent men with
whose names I had long been famihar, and about whom I
naturally felt much curiosity The dinner was given at
eight o'clock, which I know will be considered preposterous
at Stoney HiU, where we lake our tea before this hour, and
was served up in courses, which T understood from Miss
Bland is the French style, and universal in the WUliamsburg
world of fashion. I will not undertake to give a descrip
tion of it. Though an exceUent repast, I have seen as
good, if not better, prepared by my dear mother at old
Stoney HiU, only served up in a more homely way, and the
food matured with a less infusion of spices, &c.
"Colonel Bland did the honours in an urbane and
accomplished manner, but did not shine so much in con
versation as Mr. Lewis or Mr. Randolph, nor was he so
witty as a Mr. Franklin, of Pennsylvania, who is here on a
visit, but on the whole I was proud of him as a repre
sentative of old Staffordshire. He is listened to with the
greatest respect, and seems to enjoy the confidence and
esteem of all. I love the society of men of inteUect,
extensive information, and honour. I listened to them
with dehght and sometimes joined in the conversation,
(which was free, unreserved, and occasionally animated,
almost to the point of discussion), for the purpose of
getting explanations upon points which were not always
clear to my mind.
"After dinner there was a general party, at which I was
presented to many of the reigning beauties, and danced
several minuets, but I fear acquitted myself in the midst
of such grace, elegance and fashion rather awkwardly.
The young ladies were, without exception, splendidly attired,
many of them pretty, and in their manners and conversa
tion, I regret to say, much in advance of my sisters and
generally of our country girls of the same age — they seem
to have quite a fund of information on certain subjects,
and are more sprightly and ready in conversation than
country belles. One of the most striking of these young

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 19
ladies was a Miss Harrison, and she was particularly
agreeable to me, because of her kind remarks about the
country folks, whom she admires more than she dees the
inhabitants of cities, thinking they are far more sincere
and natural. I do not know how it happened, but I
chanced to be by her side at the conclusion of the enter
tainment, and accompanied her home which was in the
same street with my hotel. During this short walk, I was
with her long enough to make a foolish promise about a
visit to her. Nothing is further from my wishes than en
tering upon a career of fashionable dissipation. I shall
avoid rather than court the blandishments of society. In
an unguarded moment, however, I made this rash promise.
I rather think now, the young lady asked me to call
to tell her something about our style of life on the
plantations. " Colonel Bland has done everything in his power to
render my visit agreeable, and has placed me under many,
very many obligations.
" I shall matriculate at the University to-morrow.
" Give my love to my dear mother, to whom I have
written briefly and sent a small package by the ' Flying
Dutchman' (the mail coach), and believe me your affec
tionate son, "John R. Peyton."

After delaying a week in WUliamsburg, during which
he made the acquaintance of many agreeable people, whose
friendship he retained through life, he proceeded to
" William and Mary" aud entered the University, though
he did not commence his regular academic studies till the
Ist of September following.
He was soon remarked at " WUliam and Mary" by his
fellow-students and companions for his superior manliness
and gravity of demeanour. He not only passed the usual
c 2

20 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
hours of study over his books, but whUe others were at
play was either engaged with his text or other books. His
thirst for knowledge was at this time insatiable. It was
during the hours of recreation, that, often in after years he
said, he had re-read RoUin's Roman History, 12 vols. —
which he regarded as a romance founded upon facts —
Herodotus, the History of England, Shakespeare, Gil
Bias, and Don Quixote, among a host of other books,
useful and entertaining. Notwithstanding these literary
studies and occupations, his time was so systematized that
he took necessary exercise for the preservation of health,
and was trained in all the arts and accompHshments which
were regarded as necessary for a gentleman. He was a
good fencer and no one sat a horse better.
He early exhibited a strong taste for ethics and meta
physics, and left among his papers several essays or com
positions, of unusual interest and abihty having reference
to these recondite subjects.
In his twentieth year, in 1772, he was graduated as
M.A. of the University of WUliam and Mary, and was
considered one, if not the most, accomphshed scholar ever
sent forth from its classic shades. Mr. Macon, (afterwards
a distinguished southern jurist,) and himself were regarded
as at the head of the university in classical attainments.
In mathematics and the natural sciences he was far
in advance of aU competitors. On entering coUege, he
became a member of a society formed among the students
for mutual improvement in the art of public speaking,
styled the " Whig Society," and acquired a high reputa
tion among its members for oratorical powers.

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 21
Some years subsequent to this period, the Honourable
William Dade, a friend and fellow-student at " WiUiam
and Mary," said of him in a letter addressed to a common
friend, " I regard Peyton as in many respects, the most
extraordinary speaker I have ever heard. While he is not
what you or I would term an orator in the popular sense
and acceptation, never addressing himself ad captandum
vulgus, and seeking to stir the passions of his auditors ; he
produces an effect on the understanding and heart of
those he addresses, which no oratory could surpass. His
logic is clear and irresistible, his ideas quick and just, his
manner and style fascinating to such an extent that you
can scarcely listen without being carried away."
These opinions of competent judges among his contem
poraries are introduced, lest it may be supposed that
natural partiahty and affection have betrayed the writer
into undistinguished praise, which he seeks to avoid as
being weak, as it is unjust, reflecting neither credit upon
the encomiast nor the person commended. It is not pre
tended that the young gentleman was a prodigy, combining
the character of the poet, the orator and hero — providence
is very rarely so lavish of its gifts to one man. But that
his moral and intellectual qualities were of a very high
order is incontestible. Method requires, that, in this brief
sketch, the character of the youthful author of the mass of
letters herein incorporated and made part of this narrative,
should be explained at the outset.
The heart warms towards the young when they are seen
starting joyfully forth on the journey of life ; for, in the
words of a quaint Scotch writer, " It is a troublous water,

22 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
the water of life ; and it has often given me a sore heart
to see the young things launched upon it like bairns' boats,
saihng hither and thither in an unpurposelike manner,
having no thought of who it is that sends both the soft
wind and the storm ; and, if they have need of various in
struments and a right pilot man to guide ships over that
constant uncertainty, the sea, I think not but there is far
greater need of all manner of helps to pass safely through
that greater uncertainty — life."

CHAPTER III.
HE VISITS NEW YOKE. — IS SHIPWKEOKED ON THE EETURN VOYAGE. — HIS
ACCOUNT OP THE AFFAIR. — HE COMMENCES THE STUDY OP MILITARY EN-
GINEEKING AND THE AB,T OP WAR UNDER COLONEL DE BLOIS IN RICHMOND.
After the close of his university career, as mentioned in
the previous chapter, he returned to the home of his boy
hood, from which he had gone forth eight years before,
and which he had since visited only during the usual
school and college vacations. One may imagine the affec
tionate pride with which he was welcomed back by his
family and friends, upon whom he had reflected so much
credit. The following letter which he addressed to one of his
intimate collegiate friends, Mr. WiUiams, supplies some
interesting information of himself at this period, and
carries forward the narrative.
¦ " Stoney Hill, Virginia, September 20th, 1772.
" Dear WiUiams,
" After our adieux in Philadelphia, I met Gaston and
Ingersol,* who accompanied me to New York, according
to previous arrangements, where, after two days, we left
Ingersol discussing democracy with his radical friends.
Taking the ' Blue Belle' for Alexandria, Gaston and I
arrived there, after a disagreeable and dangerous voyage.
We were overtaken by a storm off the northern capes of
* Two of his fellow students.

24 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
Virginia, and but for a painful accident, resulting in the
destruction of a boat, and the death of seven of her freight
of human beings, should have been lost ; in other words,
their loss was our gain. To the chapter of accidents alone,
are you indebted for this letter.
"On the first day of the storm the sky was obscured by
immense masses of clouds, surcharged with inflammable
matter ; and in the evening the rain fell in torrents, the
firmament darkened apace, sudden night came on, and the
horrors of extreme darkness were rendered still more hor
rible by the peals of thunder which rent the air, and the
frequent flashes of lightning, which served only to show us
the terrors of our situation, and leave us in greater
darkness. " On the next morning, the gale increased to a hurricane,
and the sea ran mountain high. Our rigging was so
strained with the work, and the wind blew so persistently
towards the coast, that the captain and officers became
seriously alarmed lest we should not be able to weather
the coast. During the morning, many of the sails flew
into ribbons, and some of the rigging was carried away —
soon every remaining sail in the vessel was gone, and the
whole ship presented a dreadful and mortifying spectacle.
Fear and despondency reduced the crew to helplessness.
The captain raved liked a madman, while many of the men
were cast upon their knees, clapping their hands, and
praying with all the extravagance of horror painted in
their faces. The only undismayed persons were two ladies
and a party of half-drunken ruffians, who had taken pos
session of the deck, and were preparing to launch a boat.
Both Gaston and myself sought to biing the captain back
to reason, and to a sense of what he ov\'ed to his duty as a
commander, and to his dignity as a man ; we exhorted
him to encourage the sailors by his example, and sought
to reassure him by declaring that though the vessel might
be lost, the passengers could be saved. That though the
storm was terrific, we had seen the sea more furious. Our

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 25
exertions had the happiest effect, and in a short time a
number of the crew were working at the pumps and
throwing overboard our freight. At mid-day the weather
cleared up a little, and the wind and the sea seemed to
have abated. As the weather grew better, and the sea
less furious, the senses of the people returned, and the
general stupification began to decrease. The captain now
determined to make an effort to land the passengers in
smaU boats on a point of land two mUes distant. The
first boat was made ready, in which he directed, among
others, Gaston, myself, and three ladies to proceed, if
possible, ashore. We went below at this time to secure
our money and a few valuables, principally jewels, in
tended as presents to our sisters, expecting, of course, to
lose our luggage. Remounting to the deck, we found
the boat launched, but in custody of a party of ruffians
— who had taken possession of the deck, and now defied
the captain's authority. Both Gaston and myself ex
pressed our willingness to the captain to aid in an attempt
to rescue the boat before they could shove off, but Cap
tain Villiers declined making the effort, as from the size
of their party, and the confusion resulting from the
storm, the issue of such a step was doubtful. He pre
ferred, indeed, to allow them to leave the ship, thinking
he could save us in the remaining boat. One by one the
mutineers hurried into the boat, as well as they could,
in the midst of the storm, leaving the ladies on deck. All
being aboard, they pushed off and endeavoured to make
the shore. We now set to work to launch a second craft.
While thus occupied, shrieks were heard proceeding from
the water, and it was observed with horror that the boat
had swamped, and the men were struggling in the angry
waters. At the time, the wind was driving us ahead with
frightful rapidity, and there was little prospect that we
could be of service to the unfortunate creatures ; but
humanity triumphed over every other consideration, and
Captain ViUiers, notwithstanding their infamous conduct,

26 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
and his own eminent danger, used his best efforts to aid
them, by casting overboard spars, deal boards and other
articles, hoping that some at least might save themselves.
Through these humane exertions of our amiable, but weak
commander, five of them were rescued, having been
thrown ashore during the night, while seven perished.
" At a favourable moment the second boat was sent
adrift with the ladies, Gaston, myself, and the crew,
Villiers being in command. We had scarcely abandoned
the ship before she struck the ground. Next morning
we could see nothing of her — she had disappeared, and
had evidently broken up, as the main-mast was already
washed ashore. A few hours later, we safely made the
shore, and on the next day arrived in Norfolk, from which
point we crossed to Gloucester county, and thence reached
home. Such in brief is the account of our wreck, which
I might exhaust pages in describing, without giving you
an adequate idea of its horrors.
" Occurrences such as that I have described, of the men
seizing the boat, and, disregarding the claims of the weak
and defenceless — I mean, of the ladies — and afterwards
reaping the reward of their cruel and cowardly conduct,
may be thought by some too trivial to be mentioned ; but
I trust that I shall ever be enabled to look upon the
dehverance of these poor ladies, myself and friend, from
the danger of entering the first boat, as of every other
kind of danger, as the secret, but certain effects of that
over-ruling Providence, to whose care I thankfully acknow
ledge myself indebted for ray present safety. At sea, our
immediate dependence on the Almighty strikes us in a
solemn manner. Happy is he who knows Him as a friend
and father, and can place his confidence in Him whilst on
that dreadful element !" *****
" Gaston came with me and remained a week, then
leaving for Alexandria, where he has many friends and
acquaintances. He is a Roman Catholic in faith, and my
sister, Lucy, told him yesterday she thought he must be

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 27
going to Alexandwa, -where there is a Catholic church, to
make confession. While he was staying with me, we
made two interesting visits ; one to the Pembrokes, in
Maryland, where there are some pretty young ladies, to
whom I think there is a greater probability of his confess
ing than to any of the priesthood. The other was to
Richmond, to make arrangements for studying military
engineering under Colonel de Blois, formerly a distin
guished officer in the French service, but now living in
exile at Richmond. But more upon this subject at another
time." *****
As intimated in this letter, he shortly afterwards pro
ceeded to Richmond, and entered zealously upon his
professional studies. WhUe thus occupied, he received
the following letter from his father, which called hira
home, and gave a new direction to his plans, and a totally
different result to his life than any that could, at this
period, have been reasonably anticipated.
" Stoney Hill, May 6th, 1773.
"I hasten to advise my dear John that I have made
arrangements with Mr., commonly called, Captain John
Skinner, of the brig ' Frohc,' lying at Alexandria, to ship
my crop of tobacco to the West Indies. Captain Skinner
has also been informed that you are to accompany him on
this voyage, to execute numerous commissions for and on
my behalf. I shaU confide the sale of my tobacco and
other articles I purpose shipping, to my agents in Jamaica,
as also the task of purchasing such supphes as I require
on my plantation, with a list of which they wiU be duly
furnished. It is upon different matters altogether that I
wish you to proceed to the West Indies. These I shall
explain when you reach home. My object in writing this
hurried note is to say that I wish you to return at the
earliest possible moment. You will immediately, there
fore, upon the receipt of this writing, make your arrange-

28 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
ments to quit Richmond, and after .-)ra>^ng your j-€J3iV^
Qpvn such kind friends as you may desire to bid adieu,
repair hither with the utmost diligence.
" I regret exceedingly the interruption it will occasion
in your studies, but I think you wiU agree with me in the
propriety and advantages of the trip, when I shall have
explained its nature. You must have already perceived,
that the well-being of my chUdren is my first, I might,
perhaps, without trespassing much upon truth, say, my
only object in life ; that to the care of their education, and
the cultivation of their minds and hearts I exclusively de
vote my time and my thoughts ; and that to ensure their
future happiness, I would sacrifice everything I have a
right to dispose of, and risk even life itself I trust you
are not unmindful of the obligations, tbe important duty
it enforces on you, and that your only emulation wiU be
how most abundantly to reward my labours, which, in the
end, will be to reward yourself.
" Pray obtain from Mr. Dennison a copy of the deed for
the land purchased of him, and a box of books and papers
which I left with Mr. John Randolph. Fetch these in
your 'trap.' The box will not be too bulky to be strapped
behind your fhai^tl. Call upon Henry WatSon, in
Fredericksburg, and collect £175 he owes me for turpen
tine. I send you herein his '10 U.' You may find the
money convenient in making your preparations for the
journey. " Captain Skinner desires me to say that it is necessary
you should be in Alexandria against the 16th, as he de
signs, wind and weather permitting, to set saU on that
day. " Give yourself no concern about procuring an outfit for
the voyage, in Richmond. You can purchase every requi
site article, tout-^fait, in Alexandria. Your mother joins
me in much love to our dear son, and I am, though in
great haste, " Your affectionate father,
" John Peyton."
" John Rowzdo Peyton, Esq, Church Hill, Richmond,"

CHAPTER IV.
HE LEAVES RICHMOND AND RETURNS TO STONEY HILL. — SAILS FOR IHE "WEST
INDIES. — HIS ACCOUNT OP THE VOYAGE. — SICKNESS ON BOARD THE VESSEL.
 SCARCITY OP WATER. — STORM OFF THE NORTH CAROLINA COAST. — SIGHT
THE FRENCH KEYS. — ^LANDS AT TICHPIELD AND DINES WITH THE PRESIDENT.
Without a moment's hesitation, he proceeded, imme
diately upon the receipt of the letter which concludes the
last preceding chapter, to make his preparations to leave
Richmond. He saw, not without pain, his plans of study
thus frustrated at a most interesting period — he hoped it
would be only for a brief season — but such were his ideas
of duty, and such his filial piety and the natural warmth
of his affection for his parents,- there was no sacrifice he
was unwilling to make in their behalf.
Arrived at Stoney HiU, he entered energetically upon
his preparations for the journey, and, these completed,
proceeded to Alexandria and went aboard the " Frohc,"
May the 20th, 1773. It appears, from the following
letter addressed to his father, and dated upon that vessel,
nine days subsequently (May 29th, 1773), when at sea,
that the brig was detained three days longer at Alexandria
than he anticipated.
" We were unable to sail before the 23rd, having been

30 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
unexpectedly, and I may add unaccountably, delayed in
getting a portion of our cargo aboard. The task, however,
was completed on that day, and we dropped down the
river, and came to opposite the mouth of the Rappa
hannock. Here, to our infinite annoyance, we tailed on
the ground, and quietly settled in the mud, against the
rising of the next tide. This misadventure was, according
to the assertions of the pUot, unavoidable. There was
much doubt, however, in which I participated, whether he
had dihgently and faithfully discharged his duty. During
the night the wind shifted to the west, and we warped
into the channel, and were out of danger, and in a
fair way to saU, without any thanks to the pUot, when
sufficiently light. Being now in the current, it was
necessary to drop an anchor. The hedge anchor was
carried out twice, but, the ground being soft, it came
home both times. Dropping down the river a half mile
with the current, our anchor caught and held in the oyster
shoals. Our pilot was now apparently on the other
extreme, and suffering from an excess of caution. He
proceeded slowly, seemed averse to anything hke speed,
and altogether impressed me as being a worthless fellow,
as belonging, indeed, to that numerous class of inefficients
so happily characterized as the ' easy-going, good for
nothing.' " The morning of the 26th was bright and pleasant,
with an easy gale. We set sail about sunrise, and made
rapid headway, assisted by the current. The weather
continued mUd and agreeable, and the wind favourable
throughout the day. About 3 p.m. we passed out of the
river into the broad and magnificent Chesapeake Bay, and
sighted hghts from fishermen's huts off the northern capes
at three o'clock in the morning. Leaving the first buoy at
the entrance into the Sound on our port side, and hauling
up aU we could to weather the next, we left it on the
starboard quarter. The wind freshened considerably
during the night, and shifting to an adverse quarter, we

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 31
were detained off the Virginia Capes tiU the 28th. On
the forenoon of this day, the wind becoming favourable,
we parted with our pilot, and made saU for Tichfield,
Jamaica. The captain proposed going the windward
passage, and for this reason to make the French Keys.
The favourable weather of the 28th continued to the 30th,
when, just before day, whUe off Cape Hatteras, it blew
half a gale. Everything was rolled and tossed about the
deck in wUd disorder. Most negligently, nothing had
hitherto been secured against such an accident. Order
scarcely yet reigned in our craft, and no precautions were
taken against the likehest contingencies. During the
' blow' I was sea-sick — very, but soon recovered when the
winds abated. On the 31st we haUed a schooner from
Salem, Massachusetts, whence she had been forty days,
having put into the Bermudas. She was freighted with
rum, and bound for Pimlico River, to load with tar for
London. The wind continuing to blow hard on the 1st of
June, we were driven from our course. Captain Skinner
was ill to-day with fever and ague. We found the chief
mate an ignorant and idle fellow. I feared with bad
weather and worse management, disabled and inferior
officers, we were not likely to have a ' good time gene
rally' in the 'Frohc' I consoled myself, however, with
nous verrons, and certainly the result has been more satis
factory than I anticipated.
" On the 2nd of June we had reached the 29th degree
of latitude, the weather continuing moderate. In order to
elevate the spirits of the crew, the captain, who had
shaken off his ague, ordered a sheep and pig to be divided
among them, and a half dozen bottles of rum to be sent
to the mess. Several of the men were now ill with
dysentery and fever. Proper care was not taken to keep
the vessel clean, and our water was sadly squandered. I
hoped we should not suffer for the want of it before the
voyage was over. For seven days succeeding the 2nd,
nothing special occurred, the winds were prosperous and

32 The Adventwres of my Grandfather.
the skies bright and serene. On the 9th of June we had
reached the 27th degree of latitude, but the ship was badly
steered, and we were much out of our course. Such at
least was the reported result of this day's observations.
Captain Skinner informed me that he had some thought of
making the Cape, east of Hispaniola. Of course I was too
ignorant of navigation to be able to advise him how to sail
his vessel most advantageously. The weather was now
beginning to be very much warmer, and the captain
ordered the brig to be cleansed and purified. It thus
became more comfortable. This course, indeed, alone
prevented some distemper from being bred amongst the
men. Having taken a severe cold, and not knowing what
else to do, I bled myself this day, understanding from an
old sailor, accustomed to the Indies, that it is esteemed
conducive to the health under the tropics. While engaged
in the operation, I could not help having ludicrous ideas
recurring to memory of our friend Dr. Sangrado. The
fine weather at this period and better health of the crew,
with the prospect of a short and prosperous voyage, gave
an air of cheerfulness to all on board. Several also of
those who had been confined with fever, reappeared upon
deck. Our stock of provisions was good and proved more
than ample for our wants, but we were throughout sadly
in want of good liquors. Our beer spoUed, and our cider
proved indifferent. Rum and whiskey seem to be too
fiery for the climate, which day by day, waxed hotter and
hotter. I used them but gingerly myself, thinking it
rather unphilosophic while reducing the fever of the
system by blood letting, to keep up the fires with inferior
rum. "During the twenty-four hours, preceding the 12th of
June, the weather was deliciously bright and genial. The
captain availed himself of this excellent opportunity to
take an account of the provisions and water already
expended. Disagreeably enough it proved to be half our
stock. This result confirmed my views, as to the extra-

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 33
vagant and wasteful use we had been making of it. And
I conjectured that we should be cut off of our supply when
we most needed it. The warm weather greatly increased
our thirst and the neces.sity for a full supply of water.
To husband what remained, I suggested to the captain
that no one should take water from the barrels except in
presence of an officer, and then be required to suck it
through a reed. No one could thereby take more than he
could drink, and if it were only so used, our supply I
thought would be ample. He agreed to this, and a sentry
was placed over the cask on deck. WhUe on deck that day, I
saw a shoal of porpoise disporting themselves in the water,
and in the air many of the feathered trilie peculiar to these
latitudes. The wind sprung up a fine easy gale this fore
noon, and we got up our top gallant masts and yards.
On the 13th of June, we made land, which we supposed
was the French Keys, distance about six leagues. At seven
o'clock we stood off under our foresail and reefed topsails,
and during the day arrived off Acklin Island and steered
directly for Great Magna, intending to pass between it and
the Island of Cuba. In passing we obtained a very good
view. On the coast and to the east the land is low, but
rises towards the interior. In the west, the land rises higher
than elsewhere, and on the coast there are some steep rugged
cliffs. " The moderation and serenity of the atmosphere since our
arrival in the West Indies has excited general remark.
The heat has not been oppressive, from the frequency of
showers of rain, and the prevalence of breezes. Passing
between Cuba and Hispaniola, we sighted the northern
shores of Jamaica on the 17th of June. The bold and
rugged features of the coast struck us with delight.
During the forenoon the captain hauled up and stood to
the windward, expecting a pilot, though at so great a dis
tance. He was not satisfied that we were before Tichfield.
though from the mast-head I saw buildings and smoke
from the land, as well as a boat with saUs lying in front of
D

34 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
what I took to be the harbour. We were stiU three leagues
distant, and the captain thought the harbour could not be
seen at a greater distance than one league ahead. He
stood in to shore however, and after an hour's sailing, was
himself convinced that we were opposite the town, but the
sea running high he would not stand in for it, until a pilot
came aboard. I determined, however, to go ashore in the
yawl, with two seamen whom the captain ordered to accom
pany me, though we were still nearly two leagues distant.
Notwithstanding the high sea we arrived safely. I found
the experience I had acquired in boating on the Potomac,
of no little value on this occasion. As we entered the
harbour we found a boat going off to the brig with a pilot.
This boat had attempted to reach us before, but was forced
to put back by the heavy sea. I waited upon the President
and authorities, who treated me with great courtesy, and
promised us any and every assistance we might require.
The President was kind enough to insist upon my dining
with him the next day.
" From his residence I proceeded to call upon your cor
respondents, Messrs. HoweU, Williams, and Holton, and
explained to them the nature of my visit, delivering to them
your letters. While thus occupied, the ' Frolic ' stood in to
shore, and in 'less than two hours after I had established
myself at the inn, was at anchor in the harbour.
" A word as to the harbour and town will not be mis
placed at this point. On either side of the town there are
two prominent rocks or points of land, one to the eastward,
and the other opposite on the extremity of Navy Island.
Between these two points and commanding them both lies
the fort, on what is called the northern isthmus. It effec
tually guards the entrance and covers the town of Tichfield,
which lies to the rear. There are now in port a Newcastle
brig, with coals which have been sold at Kingston, where
the brig takes in a return cargo of rum and sugar for
London. Also four other vessels — one loading with maho
gany and lignum vita? for New England, and the others

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 35
with sugar and ginger for Liverpool. You will conclude
from this that Tichfield is a place of thriving business,
especiaUy when I inform you that fewer vessels than usual
are now in port. The town is well situated on rising
ground. The lots are generally 70 feet front by 150 feet
in depth and are valued at from £200 to £300 according
to situation. The buildings are almost without exception
of wood, are buUt without taste or ornament, are generaUy
dilapidated and many of them unoccupied. I was informed
in explanation of this condition of affairs that since the
conclusion of the peace with the wild negroes inhabiting
the mountainous districts of the inteiior, many famiUes,
who had been driven to the town for safety during the
continuance of hostilities, had returned to the country to
engage again in agriculture.
" There is something quaint and foreign in every thing
which meets the eye in this portion of His Majesty's widely
extended dominions. This alone invests Jamaica with
peculiar interest to myself. CivUization, or what we call
by that ambitious name, is making such strides that I
suppose we shall soon be able to travel through every land
without observing anything in the edifices, the people,
their dress, manners, or customs, to distinguish one
nation from another. The grey or bright sky, the cold or
warm atmosphere, the stunted or luxuriant vegetation will
alone indicate change of place. Alas ! that this seems
inevitable ; that the picturesque costumes, the local habits
and customs of the past, which lent a kind of ]cho.'y\je ft^h
grace to every fresh town or province of a new country,
awakening in the traveller poetic thoughts and bright
fancies, should disappear before the stern touch of our
UtiUtarian philosophy 1 Here in Jamaica every thing still
bears the impress of foreign upon it, and it elates and
gladdens my heart.
" The day following 1 dined with the President accord
ing to invitation, and met with much kindness and civility.
The dinner was substantial and good. We had boiled
D 2

36 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
beef and greens, a fine turkey and saddle of exceUent
mutton, a goose with ' papau' sauce, which much resembles,
but is superior to, apple sauce, a boUed pudding and a
baked pumpkin. For drink we had French and Madeira
wines, strong beer and punch made with fresh fruit, with
which the island abounds. The company consisted of
sixteen persons, besides the President and his wife, most
of whom were officers from the fort, and strangers of
distinction in the town. The entertainment passed off
pleasantly, though several of the guests followed their legs
under the President's mahogany before the punch was
exhausted. The guests called upon me next day, without
exception, and none complained of headache, which is no
small compHment to the excellence of the wines in Jamaica.
" You wUl observe that I am concluding upon dry land
this letter which I commenced whUe at sea. I need
scarcely add that I am doing so under circumstances
more comfortable than those surrounding me when off
Cape Hatteras, so unenviably notorious for its storms. As
it is to be confided to a Mr. Green, who leaves on the
' Venus' to-night, bound for Charleston, S.C, where he
has promised me to drop it in the post, I must needs be
brief, and am somewhat hurried. So far I can commu
nicate nothing more definite upon matters of business than
that your merchants and agents inform me that there wiU
be fair sale for your tobacco, which will be re-shipped to
England, and no difficulty in filling your orders for pur
chases. I have transferred along with your letters the list
you gave me to Messrs. HoweU and WUliams, and as they
understand such matters better than myself, leave it to
them to be executed. Upon other interesting matters I
will write at another time, and without delay. To-morrow
I leave on a tour of the principal objects of interest in the
eastern end of the island, and upon my return within a
fortnight wUI report the progress your agents have made.
There is no probability that we will be able to set sail on
our return before the 15th of August, as the brig requires
repairs."

CHAPTER V.
SOME ACCOUNT OP SCENERY AND NATURAL PRODUCTIONS OF JAMAICA. — THE
SLATES.  A SUGAR PLANTATION. — BAD HUSBANDRY. — A NEGRO DEVICE FOR
TAKING PISH. — FRUITS AND FLOWERS. — MOUNTAIN ROADS. — CAPTAIN
PELHAM, R.E. — SPANISH TOWN. — ENTERTAINMENT BY THE GOVERNOR. —
UNEXPECTED MEETING WITH A PARTY OF VIRGINIANS. — SOCIETY IN
tTAMAICA. The particular object of his visit to Jamaica nowhere
appears in this correspondence. Whatever it may have
been, it does not seem to have made serious demands upon
his time and energies. Shortly after the date of the fore
going letter, giving an account of his outward journey, he
wrote the one next succeeding, dated " Spanish Town,
Jamaica, June 2yth, 1773," from which it is seen that his
visit to Tichfield was as brief as pleasant.
" Feeling much anxiety to visit some of the objects of
interest in the island during my sojourn, especiaUy as my
presence in Tichfield was not required in connection with
your affairs, I left ten days ago for Spanish Town. Of
this place, which is the seat of government, I shall have
more to say anon. Captain Pelham accompanies me, and
will most probably continue my compagnon du voyage
throughout. For making the journey we procured three
inferior saddle horses in Tichfield, and a guide, agreeing to
pay for aU £17 6s. to and from Spanish Town. If the

38 The Adventures of my Graiidfather.
guide and horses were detained, it was further agreed we
should pay for additional delay in like proportion. The
charge is exorbitant ; but — there is always a ' but' in
everything — no better arrangement was possible, and
neither Captain Pelham nor myself were disposed to
abandon the project of seeing a considerable part of the
island from ill-advised considerations of economy. After
travelling five mUes over a rocky and uneven road, running
through a fertile country covered with a luxuriant vegeta
tion, where many delicious fruits were growing sponta
neously, we reached the River Grande. At this point we
bid adieu to Mr. Roberts and Major Ogilvy, who accom
panied us to this point merely for the pleasure of a ride.
" On either side of the road there were cultivated crops
of cotton, sugar, indigo, corn and ginger ; but the hus
bandry was careless and the enclosures neglected. We
forded the river on horseback, the water reaching to our
saddle skirts. The current is swift, and the bottom
smooth and pebbly. Where the stream spreads out and
becomes shallow, stones are thrown out upon either side
in the water, forming a narrow ' chute,' at the mouth of
which a trap of wncker work is ' set' for the purpose of
taking fish This is a negro contrivance, and answers a
good purpose. On the south side of the river the hills are
high and steep, but the vallies between them green and
fertile. A stream gurgles through every valley, or falls in
spray from every hill side. Indeed it is one of the most
admirably and conveniently watered countries imaginable.
Having its source in the mountains the water can be
readily and inexpensively used for purposes of irrigation.
Passing a small stream called Spanish river, and some
lagoons of salt water, only separated from the sea by a
narrow strip of beach, through which the sea water per
colates, we arrived at Bluff Bay, where there are a few
dwellings and some sugar works. Here we remained the
night, in the house of a planter, Mr. Johnson, to whom
wc were rccoUiUiended. He treated us with much civility.

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 39
and entertained us in sumptuous style. Mr. Johnson is a
large land and slave owner, having between 70 and 100
working or field hands. His sugar works are extensive,
and the plantation well supplied with horses, oxen and
farming implements of every description. The morning
f )llowing our arrival we rode over his estate, and were
much gratified. We saw twenty yoke of oxen ploughing,
and a party of fifty slaves labouring in one field. The
land is securely enclosed, well cultivated, and in high
tilth and condition. Though Mr. Johnson relies princi
pally for income upon sugar, he grows small quantities of
cotton, coffee and rice. His slaves were well, though
lightly clad, comfortably lodged, and apparently con
tented and happy.
" Bidding this hospitable planter adieu about noon, we
proceeded upon our journey. Turning from the sea-board,
we pursued a deep vaUey, through which water was
trickling from every rock, leading to the mountains. The
ascent of these was steep and difficult, the road being
infamous. To prevent our saddles sliding over the
horses' taUs, we had one of the girths carried around their
breasts. On either side of us, above and below, there
was much grand and beautiful scenery. Many of the
trees are of prodigious size, and of the most valuable
species of timber, such as mahogany, teak and cedar.
One of the indigenous fruits is the banana, which is of a
peculiarly delicate flavour. We also saw plantains,
yams, eddoes, cassavi, and sweet potatoes. I must not
forget to mention that one of their trees most prized is the
log-wood, which seems to have come largely into use in
this town as a colouring matter for wines. Some of the
wines we have sipped seem, indeed, to be composed of
one half logwood and the other catsup. The Blue
Mountains we crossed, extend from one extremity of the
island to the other, rising in some parts nearly 8,500 feet
above the level of the sea. Unlike Virginian mountains
they are generally conical in shape, the three highest being

40 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
respectively 7,500, 7,600 and 8,200 feet high. The
ravines between these lofty peaks are commonly denom
inated, for what reason I am unadvised, ' cock-pits.'
There are many varieties of soU, and all are fertile. In the
high mountains the productions differ from those in the
vallies. Only in the vaUies and plains are cotton, pimento
and coffee cultivated. In the loftier regions, crops are
grown which require less warmth and sunshine.
" One night we stopped at Oakenwold, a very neat and
pretty timber house, belonging to a Mr. Pryor. It stands
in a wide valley, where there are extensive sugar works.
The prospect of the country from the mountains to the
south, over the broad and fertile plain which lies between
them and the sea, is exceedingly beautiful. It is dotted
over with towns and villages, country seats, farm build
ings, sugar works and negro huts. Approaching the town
of Kingston we met a multitude of negroes, principally
women, returning from the place where they had gone to
sell their garden produce and fetch back their purchases.
In their white gowns, coloured turbans, with baskets of
golden fruit upon their heads, they formed picturesque
groups strongly suggestive of the Oriental. Turning from
the road leading directly to Kingston we foUowed another
which conducted us to Spanish Town. Upon our arrival
the streets were filled with a curious crowd of people of
many colours. This piebald collection was atti acted by
the assizes, which are held quarterly by the Chief Justice
and two associate justices These insular judges are not
esteemed learned in the law, but their judgments at which
they arrive by a common sense process of reasoning, are
less frequently reversed than those of the higher court,
which is presided over by a professional lawyer. Thus it
seems that in the Jamaica courts "a littld learning' has
ceased to be ' a dangerous thing.'
" We were much fatigued by our journey ; the latter
part of the time finding it difficult to spur on the horses,
who were much jaded and very lame. The custom of

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 41
shoeing horses has not found its way to this isknd, and
ours had their hoofs so broken and worn away that they
could scarcely shuffle along after the first day.
" After establishing ourselves in the principal inn, we
proceeded to saunter through the town. It was built by
the Spaniards, and hence its name. The houses are low,
and without grace or beauty. Built in every style of
architecture, notwithstanding their inferiority, the appear
ance of the whole is quaint and picturesque.
"The Governor is spending the sunmier three mUes in
the country, but is daily for two hours in his town office.
Here we called upon His Excellency, and were received
with great civility. He seemed much interested in
Virginia, and made many inquiries about our habits and
customs, climate, soU and productions. He invited us to
dinner next day, and hearing that we were travelling on
horseback, proposed to send his chariot to fetch us.
Thanking him warmly, we declined putting him to such
trouble. He now insisted with so much pertinacity, that
we could but let him have his own way. He gave us a
handsome and substantial dinner, at which his wife pre
sided, and which was graced by the presence of his two
daughters. We were charmed with their pleasant
manners and sprightly conversation. Both the Madeira
and the French wines were of excellent quality and fine
flavour. The Madeira, however, does not ripen so well in
this as in our Virginian climate. I know you will smile
at my undertaking to have opinions of my own upon the
subject of wines, that wine against which you have
inveighed so strongly, as certain in the end to ' bite like a
serpent and sting hke an adder.' My opinion may be of
very little value to others, but is of importance, as you'll
allow, to myself; so much so, that 1 may say with
Solomon ' whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.' In
regard to what I eat and drink, I praise that which
pleases me. Chacun a son gout. 1 hope I may say this
much without the fear of your classing me among ' wine-
bibbers ; among riotous eaters of flesh.'

42 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
"The day following this entertainment. Captain Pelham
and myself hired a chariot and four, (for which we paid
tw^o pistoles) and invited the Governor's lady and
daughters to drive. They were pleased to accept, and we
drove to the port, a distance of six miles. Returning, we
proceeded to the Governor's town house, situated on the
Parade, an unpretending looking building on the exterior,
but containing many good and well furnished apartments
within. After taking a glass of • wine and looking at his
extensive variety of flowers, we proceeded to the Course.
Here were assembled the elite or ' quality,' as the negroes
call the fashionables, riding, driving, or promenading for
the benefit of air and exercise.
" Spanish Town was now rife with a rumour that two
Virginians had arrived,andwere the guestsof His Excellency,
that they were of distinguished birth and enormous wealth,
and that they were unmarried, and if not in quest of, had
no particular objection to taking wives. The latter fact
created intense excitement among managing mammas, look
ing, after eligible connections for their daughters. During
our drive all eyes were turned upon us, and though neither
Pelham nor myself are particularly sensitive, we were some
what disconcerted. His Excellency's daughters were quite
facetious over the sensation we had so innocently created,
and declared that we should not leave town without having
a better opportunity of seeing those who took so much
interest in us. They therefore gave us invitations to an
evening entertainment to take place two days later.
Though our time was running short we could not refuse
this kind and polite invitation, and we accordingly made
our preparations to attend. The item you will discover in
my list of expenses of £30 paid for a new suit of clothes
will require no further explanation. It iUustrates the imme
diate connection between business and pleasure.
The Governor's baU, for it turned out to be such, though
prepared hurriedly and on short notice, was gay and
brilliant. All the most distinguished for rank, wealth, and

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 43
station in this part of the island to the number of 150 were
present. There was dancing for the young and cards for
the old — supper and wine for all. The supper was such
as only Jamaica can supply — such a profusion and variety
of delicious fruits 1 never saw.
" You may imagine my surprise on finding one of the
most distinguished bef.uties and accomplished ladies at this
entertainment. Miss Annie Howe of the Occoquan in
Virginia. She is the daughter of Howson Howe, Esq., of
Belleville, whose name I have often heard and with which
you must be famihar. Miss Howe, who has been in deli
cate health, came here last autumn, accompanied by her
mother, and though she has entirely recovered, will remain
the next winter, in order to consolidate her strength.
Mrs. Howe informs me that her husband, who is now in
London, having saUed thence from Kingston, will return
early in November. The family will pass the winter
between Spanish Town and Kingston, and sail for Virginia
the following May. I have formed a pleasant acquaintance
with them, and we have had many interesting conversations
concerning our friends and affairs in Virginia. Mrs. Howe
has twice been in your company without, however, making
your acquaintance — once at Mr. R. Goods, in Chesterfield,
and again at Tuckahoe, the seat of Mr. Mann Randolph.
Miss Howe is most accomplished, amiable, and intelligent,
possessing, so far as I can judge, every good quality in an
eminent degree. Young, wise, fair, she is the acknowledged
belle of Spanish Town, and is yet so unaffected by the admi
ration she creates, so thoroughly good tempered, so affable
and agreeable, that she has excited not the shghtest enmity
or jealousy among her less gifted female friends. Though
the brightest ornament of this society, beloved and admired
by all, she does not surrender herself altogether to the
blandishments of fashionable life. Frequently, when her
companions are pleasure seeking, she from choice remains
at home, to put the finishing touch to a drawing or piece
of embroidery. But the honest pride 1 feel in this fair

44 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
representative of our colony will be mistaken for another
sentiment, if I allow myself to dweU longer upon this inter
esting subject.
- " The society of Spanish Town, though small is exceUent.
The pleasure of a residence here is considerably marred
however by the arbitrary lines of distinction which are
drawn between the different classes. The old families,
who alone belong to what are called the pur sang, are the
descendants of the first colonists, and many of these trace
their descent from the Norman invaders of England; others
penetrating beyond that period known as ' time whereof
the memory of man runneth not to the contrary,' produce
their genealogies and pedigrees, bringing down their descent
through the Scandinavians from the Asiatics. Those who
indulge in this weak ambition affect sovereign contempt
for the middle classes, for all, indeed, who have risen to
dignities through trade, or ' dirt,' as they express it, more
forcibly than elegantly ; and hence the community, which
should be united and harmonious, for the common happi
ness of all, is rent in factions and embittered by feuds. It
really seems to me, much as I have heard in Virginia upon
this subject of old families, that of aU vanity it is the most
extravagant ; for if antiquity be the object, all are equally
high, since all must have originated from the same stock.
If the pride be to belong to a particular famUy who were
distinguished for valour or virtue, it cannot apply to a
whole community. To such an extent is this upstart feeling
carried in Jamaica, that the favourite study is heraldry and
genealogy. Many who have risen to wealth by cultivating
coffee and distilling rum, have immediately turned their
backs upon those interesting and useful articles, and
employed themselves in manufacturing a pedigree. The
ablest members of the College of Heralds in London, how
ever, have been uniformly unable to send these forth, except
with wanting links, bars sinister and great gaps, rents and
fissures, which remind one of a book with pages here and
there torn from it. Still they pride themselves on this

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 45
' open work ' style of genealogy : have these fancy docu
ments recorded with their arms, newly invented, and at
the end of fifty years assume what they suppose to be the
airs of patricians. While genuine aristocrats hold them
in contempt, the middle classes treat with the bitterest
ridicule their spurious superiority."

CHAPTER VI.
HE VISITS CARTHAGENA. — CITY AND BAY. — CHURCHES. — POPULAR IGNORANCE
AND SUPERSTITION. — THE SIEGE OF 1741. — DEATH OP HIS UNCLE. — A
NORTH CAROLINIAN. — RETURNS TO JAMAICA. — ANNIE HOWE, THE BRIGHT
PARTICULAR STAR OF SPANISH TOWN. — BRIEF ACCOUNT OP JAilAICA CON
CEIVED IN THE RIGHT SPIRIT.
Notwithstanding the business engagements which
carried him to Jamaica, as we must infer from his father's
letter, addressed to him in Richmond ; the blandishments
of society in Spanish Town ; and last though not least, the
charms of his fair countrywoman, Annie Howe ; we find
from the succeeding letter that he tore himself from the
island, to drop a tear upon the grave of a gallant and dis
tinguished relative. This uncle left Virginia more than
thirty years anterior to this date, to take part in the
English expedition against Carthagena in 1741, and
perished in that abortive enterprise. He gives so full an
account of this excursion, that his next letter, dated at
Carthagena, July, 1773, requires no further introduction,
but is left to tell its own story.
" My principal object in visiting this particular place, as
you may readily imagine, was to look upon the scene of

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 47
my uncle Robert's exploits in 1741, and stand by his
honoured tomb. Never can I forget the impression made
upon my imagination, while yet a chUd, by the history of
his adventures, so often related by my dear mother and
yourself. " Setting sad from Kingston with a light land breeze,
we proceeded a short distance to sea, when the wind veered
and was directly in ' our teeth.' For the next three days
we continued much in the same manner, but soon more
favourable weather prevaihng, we made the harbour of
Carthagena. The appearance of this fortified place from
the water, is, in a scenic point of view, attractive, but the
fortifications on all sides convey the most disagreeable
sensations, reminding one of war — the first misery of
mankind. "Though trained, and for some time past accustomed to
mihtary habits, as Colonel de Blois would say, the ' dread
ful note of preparation ' in these strong and numerous
fortifications was most unpleasing. The feehngs of man
and citizen claim a paramount right to my heart. What
do all these guns and fortresses mean, but the disposition
of man to violate the rights of his fellow-creatures, and the
tyrannic abuse of power?
"The city is situated upon a low piece of marsh land,
close upon the sea-side. It is surrounded by canals,
natural and artificial. The climate is hot, and the lakes
and salt marshes give forth a deadly malaria, during the
autumn causing great mortality among strangers. The
natives, however, seem to enjoy an exemption from disease.
Though much oppressed at times by the heat, my health
and strength are unaffected. I attribute this to the even
tenor of my hfe, to regular exercise, and my free use of the
cold bath, which seems also to have its influence upon the
mind, or as the inimitable poet Thomson expresses it,
¦ from the body's purity, the mind

Receives a secret sympathetic aid.'

48 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
" I have had sufficient experience of the effect of climate
and change of season upon the constitution, especially with
reference to those whose frames are delicate and whose
sensibility is acute, to totally dissent from the remarks of
Mr. Samuel Johnson, that "' distinction of season is pro
duced only by imagination, operating on luxury.' This
giant of the pen never uttered, so far as my experience and
observations extend, a greater faUacy, more sententiously,
when he continues 'To temperance every day is bright,
and every hour is propitious to diligence. He that shall
resolutely excite his faculties, or exert his virtues, will soon
make himself superior to the seasons ; and may set at
defiance the morning mist and evening damp, the blasts of
the east, and the clouds of the south.'
" I make daily excursions on horseback, as weU for
exercise, as to enjoy the magnificent scenery which sur
rounds us. Yesterday I looked with rapture upon a fine
prospect from La Papa. Far as the eye could reach,
extended a gentle, undulating plain, occasionally varied
with patches of brush or underwood, and scattered chimps
of trees ; while in the extreme distance loomed mountains
whose indistinct outhne mingled with the haze that floated
round. Above was a cloudless sky, which is far more
pleasant in imagination than in reality, and except in town
there was scarcely a human habitation anywhere to be
seen. Carthagena is in some sort a city of convents and
churches; and these edifices are remarkable for their size
and noble style of architecture. Entering next day one of
the most noted of them, I found the contents in unison
with its external appearance, being enriched and beautified
with a vast variety of sacerdotal trinkets, fine tombs aud
monuments. It is almost impossible to imagine the human
intellect sunk so low as to credit the stories of the monks
as to the curiosities deposited in the churches, yet the
holy fathers have so completely enslaved the minds of the
people, that they implicitly believe that they have here a
portion of the true cross, some of Christ's garments for

Tlie Adventures of my Grandfather. 49
which lots were cast, and one of the dice used upon the
occasion. O monstrous credulity I wicked imposition !
abominable lies !
" Arrived at the quarters of the guide who was to con
duct me to my uncle's tomb, I was confronted by a vener
able and respectable old man, by whose dignified manner
and soldierly bearing I was much impressed. His white
beard descended to his waist, and he supported himself
upon a staff. Accosting me in English, he stated that he
was a native of North Carolina — that his name was Martin,
which the inhabitants of Carthagena had converted into
Don Martino. When T mentioned the object of my visit,
his aged face brightened and his eye sparkled with delight.
He said he left North Carolina, October, 1740, with
between 200 and 300 American soldiers recruited to take
part in the operations against this place. He perfectly
recollected my uncle, who had brought his own company
eighty-eight strong. The first attack they made on the forts
was March 5th, on which day three redoubts were captured,
but no further success was obtained and the fleet set saU,
the expedition having failed, on the 28th of April.
" The account he gave of my uncle's participation in these
operations was this : — On the 5th of April, 1500 men were
landed from the fleet, which was commanded by Commodore
Dent, and marched around Fort MoncinUla, up a narrow
valley, to a house called Grave, to attack La Papa — a half
fort — half monastery on the highest hill hereabouts. This
force was provided with small arms only. Near La Quinta
they came upon a considerable body of the enemy fortified
in a defile. These were quickly driven from their works
and before our victorious troops, to the monastery of La
Papa. Before this fort our men remained all night exposed
to the miasma and dews which render the country so fatal
to the European constitution. Next morning at four
o'clock the entire American force advanced, under my
uncle, to attack this strong work, which, had it been
properly defended, might have resisted our entire army.
B

50 The Adventures > f my Grandfather.
Uncle Robert found it abandoned. Mounting the parapet
o tear down a Spanish flag, he was mortally wounded by
shot fired by a monk who lingered in a cell. From this
vound he died in three hours. Our infuriated soldiers
tore the fanatical wretch to pieces, and cast his remains
from the ramparts. These are the few simple facts con
nected with his death, which have been so enlarged and
embeUished in our domestic traditions.
Martin conducted me to the spot where my uncle lies
buried, in the midst of the brave men who perished in this
unfortunate expedition. Uncle Robert did not gasp his
last breath in a foreign land, " unhousel'd, disappoint'd,
unanel'd," as our tradition relates, but was interred with
mUitary honours, and his final resting place was marked by
a rough stone prepared by the army. This still stands in
perfect preservation, guarded by an iron railing — the same
placed there by the family. Upon the lower part of the
slab I caused these words to be inscribed : —
" This spot was visited by J. R. P., of Virginia, a nephew
of the deceased, July, 1773. Light lie the ashes of the
dead, and hallowed be the turf that pillows the head of a
soldier." " Spanish Town, August, 1773.
" This visit to the last resting place of my lamented uncle
cast a gloom over my spirits, from which I did not recover
during my stay, and I was glad to leave. The return
voyage was soon over and my return known. Among the
first who called was Captain Hull, who drove me in his
chaise to the course, where I met the world of fashion,
including Mrs. and Miss Howe, taking the air. Mrs. Howe
informed me that she had issued, some days since, invita
tions for a soirfe, and asked me to excuse a short notice,
and give her the pleasure of my company on the next
evening. Need I say that I enjoyed the festivities? My
favourable impressions of Miss Howe were strengthened.
She is a thorough bred, weU informed woman, with the

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 51
instinct, courtesy, and innate grace of a young gentlewoman.
Though a little timid and reserved, as what high-bred woman
is not at eighteen ? she has none of the awkwardness which
belongs to the ill-informed, half-bred and vulgar, who in
insular communities frequently manage to get into the beau
monde. She is quite remarkable in the society here for her
ready wit, repartee and wonderful talent for mimicry. She
is never, however, betrayed by her wit into sarcasm, nor by
her talent for repartee into impertinence. On the contrary,
she seems to remember the excellent advice of Lord Lyttleton
to the woman he loved and wedded.
" ' Nor make to dangerous wit a vain pretence,
But simply rest content with common sense ;
For wit, like wine, intoxicates the brain.
Too strong for feeble woman to sustain.
Of those who claim it, more than half have none,
And half of those who have it are undone.'
" Indeed, so far from showing any such propensities, she
is, as I am informed by every one; all humUity, charity,
gentleness, and patient self-control.
" My visit occurs, during what is regarded as the worst
season, but I have found the heat mitigated by the breezes
that play here, from both land and sea. These blow alter
nately, the sea breeze during the day, and the land breeze
at night. The average of the thermometer is eighty degrees,
from'july to November. Sometimes it rises in the towns
and low lands to ninety degrees, and occasionally in the
mountains falls to forty-five degrees. The most pleasant
part of the twenty-four hours is at day dawn, before the
sun has begun to pour his effulgence over the earth, and
before the land breeze has died away. The sea breeze now
sets in, coming invariably from the south-east, or from some
point ranging from south to east. At first it is very gentle,
only slightly ripphng the surface of the ocean, and increas
ing graduaUy, untU it often assumes the strength of a
temporary hurricane. The panting and mehing inhabitants
hail it with a sensation of relief and thankfulness, which
B 2

52 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
can only be known to those whose lot it has been to breathe
the oppressive and suffocating atmosphere of southern
climes In the afternoon the sea breeze graduaUy dies
away, when both sea and land are locked in the stillness
of repose. Were it not for the alternation of trade winds
and inland breezes, the West Indies would be wholly unsuit
ed for the European constitution. You are so weU informed
as to the natural productions that I need only say that
every species of fruit and plant flourishes here, as they only
do in a tropical climate. The ground is so overloaded that
there is scarcely room for the development of the plants.
The noble stems of the older trees are almost concealed by
the thick drapery of ferns, mosses and orchideous plants,
which diffuse through the air the richest odours. The
growth of these lovely parasites is encouraged by the
moisture of the atmosphere and the shade above, which
{)rotects them from the direct rays of the sun. The borders
of the numerous streams which descend from the mountains
are ornamented with rich verdure and lovely flowers, which
blush and bloom under shelter of the wide spreading
branches of the mango, mahogany, teak, mimosa, and log-
woo'd. The rocks even are covered with creeping plants
of every form and colour, yellow, green, and crimson. Indeed
the natural endowments of this country are such that it
can only be regarded as a terrestrial paradise.
" I must not neglect to add that one of the greatest
annoyances is the myriads of ants that everywhere swarm
as well within as without doors. The only redeeming feature
connected with their presence is the fact that they act as
scavengers. Far more disagreeable, however, are the mus-
quitoes, though they are not so large and formidable as those
of Carthagena. In that place they are a frightful nuisance,
no part of the body indeed is free from their venomous
probosces. After a residence of several years in the
country they no longer disturb the stranger. As for the
blacks they never annoy them here any more than in
Virginia ; the negro's oily skin seems impervious to their

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 53
sting. Some of the hzards I have seen frisking across the
country roads are two feet long, and resemble young
aUigators. They are not venomous, and the negroes
consider their flesh a delicacy ; it is white and resembles
that of the chicken. There are many other insects,
reptiles, birds and animals ; but this is no place, were it
possible to me, even to give a hst of them. I shaU content
inyself with what I have said of the country, its produc
tions, &c., from which you will observe that I have con
sulted my senses and not my imagination, and sought to
describe things as I have seen them. I have met with no
' basihsks that destroy with their eyes, nor crocodiles who
shed tears while devouring their prey,' and my cataracts
fall from rocks without deafening the neighbouring in
habitants. In what I have said I have endeavoured indeed
to follow the course of the Portuguese traveUer, who says
in the Preface to his travels.*
" ' The reader wUl here find no regions cursed with irre
mediable barrenness, or blest with spontaneous fecundity ;
no perpetual gloom, or unceasing sunshine; nor are the
nations here described either devoid of all sense of humanity,
or consummate in all private or social virtues. Here are
no Hottentots without religious policy or articulate lan
guage ; no Chinese perfectly polite, and completely skiUed
in all sciences ; he wUl discover, what wUl always be dis
covered by a diligent and impartial inquirer, that wherever
human nature is to be found, there is a mixture of vice and
virtue, a contest of passion and reason ; and that the
Creator doth not appear partial in his distribution, but has
balanced in most countries, their particular inconveniences
by particular favours.' "
Annie Howe, to whom he refers so enthusiasticaUy in
this epistle, was then eighteen and among all the beautiful
women of Spanish Town, the palm of beauty was readily
* This preface was written by Dr. Johnson.

54 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
yielded to her. Her features were faultlessly regular,
and the sparkle of diamond brightness in her eyes,
sufficed to iUumine "a boundless contiguity of shade."
Her studies had been directed with such care that
they imparted to her mind a masculine strength, which
elevated her above all the common dangers of that period,
when a woman enters society. She was noble in her senti
ments, frank and unaffected in her manners.
In a subsequent page the reader will hear more of this
interesting young lady and her family, which was, indeed,
one of the most respectable and influential in the colony.

CHAPTER VII.
HE SAILS FOR NEW ORLEANS, — THE MISSISSIPPI RIVEE.  NEW ORLEANS. —
THE INHABITANTS. — HISTORICAL COUP'd'cEIL. — GENERAL d'ULOA. — COUNT
O'REILLY.  JUDICIAL MURDERS AND CONFISCATIONS. — THE GOVERNOR AND
HIS ENTERTAINMENT.
It wUl be quite obvious to the reader, from the contents
as well as the date of the foUowing letter to his father,
that several are missing between it and that contained in
the last preceding chapter. The missing letters refer, how
ever, exclusively to commercial matters, and their loss can,
therefore, be better borne, unpleasant as it is nevertheless.
The letter incorporated herein, is dated at Tichfield,
Jamaica, August 20th, 1773, but was concluded in New
Orleans, on the 25th of the following month. It contains
an interesting account of his voyage from Jamaica ; and of
the capital of Lower Louisiana ; and is followed by a hiatus
of nine months in the correspondence. During which
stirring period, the most exciting events in this history
occur, as wUl appear from the sequel.
" I secured passage for New Orleans for myself and man
servant, Charies Lucas, whom I have thought it prudent to
engage, as in case of iUness, or other misadventure, his
services may be of great value. He is what is called a

58 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
Mestizoes, or the son of an Enghshman, by a native
Maroon, or Indian, and possesses, in a modified form, the
physical peculiarities of the North American savage. Having
the copper skin, small, fierce black, penetrating eyes, barely
separated by the nose, round forehead, high cheek bones,
prominent sharp hooked nose, elongated skull, small mouth,
and thin compressed lips of the Virginia Catawbas, His
countenance bespeaks shrewdness, ingenuity and. resolution.
Though, by no means, a physical beauty, he possesses many
fine points — is tall, muscular and bony, has a good figure
indicative of great hardihood, strength and activity. His
shoulders are expanded to an enormous breadth, he is
entirely unencumbered with flesh, and the texture of his
limbs is Herculean. He has, however, many other good
qualities of far greater value than good looks, among them
honesty and fidelity, and comes to me with the highest
recommendations from two Tichfield gentlemen as a man
on whose fidelity the utmost reliance can be placed. With
a Jamaica gentleman he visited England, in his capacity of
valet, five years since. He seemed exceedingly anxious too,
to visit Virginia, where some of his friends, relations indeed,
reside in the Chotank settlement. When he reaches the
Colony, I think it most probable he wUI remain, for reasons,
I will hereafter explain. If he turns out as weU as I hope
and as I am induced to believe he will, he may become a
valuable acquisition to you, and be made very useful at
Stoney Hill, as a kind of sub-overseer, to look after the
affairs of the plantation. It was with some reference to
this ulterior object, that I engaged him, or I should rather
say his anxiety to go, and my impression that he might be
made of service to you after his brief engagement with
myself, induced me to discard any objections which occurred
to me against taking him, and to engage his services.
Among his other accomplishments, he has an accurate
knowledge of the Spanish language, which will be of much
assistance to me whUe in Louisiana and Florida. I have
indulged in a more lengthy description of my valet than

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 57
probably, the inferior merit of the matter deserves, espe
cially as I am in the midst of objects of greater interest.
But I have always thought, however personal appearance may
be in the eye of moral phUosophy a very inferior considera
tion, and mind the proper study of man ; yet in describing
a person or people, I cannot think it altogether unnecessary
to include his, or their personal appearance, as I think
there exists a stronger analogy between the person and the
mind of man, than is generally perceived.
"But we are about to be off, to turn our backs upon this
lovely isle, where I have received so much kindness,
and passed so many hapyjy hours. I shaU probably never
see it again. Sad thought ! One of my greatest pleasures
through life wiU be that I have visited it, one of my pro
foundest sorrows, that I shaU never see it again. I shaU
never forget its beautiful plantations of cane, its orange
groves, its native vineyards, its green vallies, and lofty
mountains, the hospitable men and lovely women of this
vrai land of love and romance !"

" On board the ' Ocean Wave,' off the mouth of the Mississippi,
September 1st, 1773.
"This letter was commenced a few hours previous to
saUing, with a view to continuing it on ship board and
posting from New Orleans. Our voyage thus far has been
without incident We came in sight of land this forenoon,
the day fine, with a clear, serene sky. The shore lies flat
and presents no interesting features. As we approach, the
land seems to rise higher on the surface of the water. Much
sand and mud is deposited near the mouth of the river,
occasionaUy obstructing the passage, not, however, for
any length of time, as the rapid current of this mighty
river soon forces a new channel to the sea. Our progress
however, is delayed, as we are forced to take frequent
soundings. As there are no light-houses on the coast, we
necessarily proceed with the utmost caution."

58 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
" New Orleans, September 25th, 1773.
"We arrived off the mouth of the Mississippi the night
of the 21st, and passing Mud Cape, proceeded up the river
with a favourable wind, reaching New Orieans the same
day. To my surprise, I found almost all the inhabitants
French — few of them even speaking Spanish, and all enter
taining a prejudice against the Castihan race. I was
equally surprised to find that though French, all their
feelings were kind towards the English. No better
evidence can be given of this than the fact that there is a
penalty of 5''0 dollars for admitting a British subject into
their houses, unless the government is immediately advised
of the fact. Notwithstanding this heavy penalty, the
people receive the English colonists warmly to their habita
tions, extending to them every hospitality. New Orleans
contains 12,00(5 inhabitants and is the seat of government
of Lower Louisiana, and garrisoned by Spanish troops.
From the period when France ceded the territory to Spain,
no friendship has existed between the French and Spanish
inhabitants, and at one time it was manifested in open
rebeUion. When the Spanish, about the year 1765, shortly
after the cession of the territory from France, sought to
introduce their commercial regulations, the French inhabit
ants rose in mass, seized Monsieur Aubry, who was then
commandant under the French Government, but had
accepted office with the Spaniards, and threw him into
prison. On the 3Gth of October, 1768, they expelled the
Governor, Don Antonio d'-Uloa, and aU the Spanish officers.
These set sail, and shortly after arrived at the Havannah.
Only one Spanish vessel now remained in the port of New
Orleans and this was unfit for sea. Heavily armed, she
continued at her moorings, prepared to resist any attack
from the shore. She was unmolested by the insurgents,
who met in public meeting, and after taking counsel as to
their present condition and future prospects, decided to
despatch four agents to Paris, to ask the protection and

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 59
intercession of the French government, for a redress of
their grievances. Before tidings were received of the
reception of these diplomatic agents, a Spanish expedition,
which was fitted out at the Havannah, consisting of four
men of war and several transports, with 3,000 troops under
command of General Count O'Reilly arrived in the
Mississippi and took up its position opposite the city.
The " City fathers," to prevent unnecessary effusion of blood,
immediately and unconditionally surrendered the place.
O'Reilly took posses.sion and promised to aduiinister sum
mary punishment upon the most guilty. Thirty of the
leading citizens were seized, tried by court martial and shot
the same day. The estates of these and 200 others were
confiscated. Such was the terror inspired by these acts,
that the inhabitants gave in their unconditional submission.
Their outward acquiescence to Spanish authority was thus
secured, but hatred of their conquerors rankled in their
bosoms and continues to the present time. The French
detest nothing so much as their Spanish rulers, and daily
become more bold in expressing their desire of re-union
with France. If this is impossible, they would prefer British
authority to Spanish tyranny. So deep and general is
this feeling, that I am satisfied, a single company of English
troops, aid^d by the French population, could throw oft"
the Spanish yoke. Much the larger portion of the inhabit
ants of Lower Louisiana are French. The only Spaniards
are proud, lazy officials and miserable troops, who constitute
the garrison. These indolent officials and drunken troops
affect the greatest airs of superiority, and look down with
contempt upon the French inhabitants.
" The streets of the city are laid out at right angles,
and the houses are generally one storey high, yet many of
them are handsome and substantial, and surrounded by
pleasant flower gardens. The banks of the river are steep,
almost perpendicular, and the river so deep that the largest
vessels lie broadside to the shore, where they are secured by
cables fastened to the trees. Opposite the city the river is

60 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
about 1,000 yards wide. There is but one current, that
downward, to the sea. The ocean tide does not reach the
city. Indeed the force of the current of this mighty river
is so extraordinary, that there is scarcely any tide at its
mouth, and its turbid waters may be detected for many
leagues in the gulf. One striking peculiarity of the river
is that its depth increases as you ascend ; another, that
when its waters overflow their banks below the river
IbberviUe, they never return again within them. These
peculiarities distinguish it from every other known river in
the world.
" The land on the river banks is of extraordinary fer
tility, so much so, that reeds grow upon the high lands.
This, I think, is unexampled , at least, I have nowhere
seen reeds growing, save on the Mississippi, unless in low,
marshy ground. The annual overflow leaves upon the
shores a shme, similar to the deposits of the Nile, which
insures the fertility of. Egypt. The principal crop is
indigo, which is the staple production of the territory;
aud I am told that it is produced in larger quantities from
the same extent of land than anywhere else in the world.
Its good qualities are also increased by the amazing
fertility of the soil. The ' richer the land, the better the
indigo,' is a Louisiana proverb. The climate and soil are
equally well adapted to the growth of the sugar cane.
The manufacture of sugar, however, requiring many la
bourers and much expensive machinery, has not been largely
engaged in. The sugar they have already manufactured in
small quantities is excellent, indeed is unsurpassed, as I
have had, since my arrival, every opportunity of knowing,
having used none other. Indian corn, wheat, tobacco,
and, in fact, all the ordinary products of Virginia flourish
on the Lower Mississippi. I am satisfied if this territory
belonged to His Majesty's dominions, there would be a
large emigration to it from the northern colonies. Holding
the upper waters or tributaries of the river, and having
no other outlet to the sea, it is of the first importance that

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 61
we should acquire Louisiana. It is the key to the north
western part of the continent — the-only channel by which
that extensive region communicates with the sea. I am
so impressed with the value and importance — indeed, the
necessity— of this acquisition, that I think England's motto
in reference to it should be 'Peaceably, if 1 can — forcibly,
if I must.' 1 apprehend there is some danger, from my
warmth on this subject, of your voting me a land pirate,
per se, a wUful violator of the seventh commandment.
Perhaps I may be but I view it in the light of a necessity,
as something not only essential to the prosperity of His
Majesty's colonies, but as absolutely necessary to our
defence. An enemy entering the Mississippi and ascending
the Ohio, would cut our country in twain — separate the
east and west, and take us front and rear. Can we ever
allow this ? My instincts and reason respond never. I
am satisfied, at some future time, Louisiana must belong
to those who own the country bathed by the Upper
Mississippi, and enriched by the numberless streams it
receives ; Providence seems, by the system of rivers, lakes,
mountains, &c., to have designed the vast region lying
between the Canadian lakes and the Mexican Gulf for one
country. If I be not mistaken in this view, sooner or
later, it will come under one authority, either that of His
Majesty and his successors, or as constituting one grand
Anglo-American empire.
" Shortly after my arrival, I delivered a letter I bore to
Messrs. WiUing and Morris, the most important mer
chants of the city, and through whom it is supplied with
flour, principally imported from Philadelphia. They enjoy
a monopoly of this trade, or the exclusive privilege of
importing flour from the King of Spain. Every hos-
pUahty and attention has been shown me by these
excellent and enterprising gentlemen. They informed me
that it was the etiquette of the place to call upon the
Governor, and one of them, when I signified my purpose
to go through this form, proposed accompanying me. We

62 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
accordingly called the following day upon His Excellency,
who kept us some time ' dancing attendance in his ante
room.' I felt indignant at his conduct, but Mr. Morris
took it very coolly. He told me it resulted first from the
inflated pride of the Spaniards, and, secondly, from their
jealousy of strangers, whom they had always sought in the
most narrow-minded, Uliberal, and jealous spirit to exclude
from and keep in ignorance of their American settlements.
It was this spirit which induced them to place many
vexatious restrictions upon trade and commerce, by which
the price of European goods was so much enhanced that
none but the wealthy could use them — unless, as was
some time the case, they were obtained through French
and Dutch smugglers, who drove a prosperous, though
Uhcit trade. The Governor is not, like Caesar's wife,
above suspicion, and he is thought to gain 30,000 dollars
a-year by conniving at various abuses — these are here
called his perquisites of office. While Mr. Morris - was
proceeding with his narrative, a servant appeared and
conducted us to the Governor's presence. He received us
quite differently from what I had anticipated. I expected
hauteur and formality, but received only civility an.i kind
ness. If he entertained any distrust of me as a British
subject, he disguised it effecUially, seeming to grow more
friendly as our interview continued. He inquired for my
lodgings, where he called the next day, and left an
invitation to dinner. Mr. Morris having also been
invited, we subsequently attended, and though it was
somewhat stiff and formal, it was not His ExceUency's
fault. He has given me so many proofs of kindness by
his generous attentions, that I think him one of the most
amiable and excellent of men — the best of Spaniards."

CHAPTER VIII.
HE SAILS FOR FLORIDA BUT IS CAPTURED BY THE SPANIARDS AND CAR
RIED TO NEW MEXICO. — MARCHES EIGHTY-NINE DAYS UP THE RIO DEL
NORTE TO SANTA PE, WHERE HE IS IMPRISONED AND TREATED WITH
INHUMAN BARBARITY.
I SHALL not anticipate my grandfather by making any
lengthy reference to a series of remarkable adventures,
V, hich finaUy terminated by his arrival in St. Louis, but allow
him to relate his own story, which he does in the three
next letters, dated at that place on the 10th, 12th, and
13th of May, 1774. St. Louis was at that period in the
occupancy of the French, and was a simple mUitary
station and outpost of the fur-traders, whose operations
extended almost to the eastern base of the Rocky Moun
tains. The head-quarters of these adventurous and
enterprising men was at Detroit, the present capital of
the State of Michigan. A chain of stockade forts* con-
* These stockade forts were thus constructed: The plan having been
marked out, a trench three feet in depth was dug, within which the
trunks of trees, or palisades, each generally about a foot in diameter
and eighteen feet high, were firmly planted, a platform of boards
about six feet high being built all round the interior for the men to
stand on when firing through loop holes out in the palisades. Cannon if
used were mounted on the angles. These little forts — generally square
and the sides rarely more than two hundred feet long — not only furnished
their garrisons with sufiioient protection against the savages who pos
sessed no artillery, but when strengthened by earthen embankments

64 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
nected the French settlements in Canada with Louisiana,
by way of Detroit and St. Louis.
" I hasten, upon my arrival here, en route for Virginia,
from a long captivity among the Spaniards in New
Mexico, and an extraordinary journey through the wilder
ness to this place, to inform you of my safety. I would
content myself with this simple announcement, if I could
thereby place this letter the sooner in your hands. As
this is impossible, I shall employ my leisure while recruit
ing my health and strength, by writing you an accurate
and faithful narrative of the leading incidents and extra
ordinary vicissitudes of fortune which have chequered the
whole series of adventures which have befallen me since
my letters of August, 1773. Under the pressure of
accumulated afflictions, my mind has been ceaselessly
goaded by the thought of the gloomy depression, the
harrowing grief my absence and supposed death must
have inflicted upon my dear mother and yourself. My
and surrounded by a fosse, as was usually the case, were proof against
the small and inferior guns used at that time in the interior, by the
English. The North American Indians are not only very ingenious in
their plans for surprising an enemy, but are equally so in the art of
concealing their own presence from their foes. One of their contrivances
is worth describing. During the winter, when artificial warmth is ne
cessary to them, yet when a fire upon the surface of the ground would
by its light discover their position at a distance, they dig holes in the
ground, from four to six feet in diameter and somewhat deeper. In the
bottom of these they make a fire of charcoal cut from the burnt logs
lying in the forest — of which there is always a supply as the Indians an
nually burn the woods to frighten the game from their recesses, and to
promote the growth of grass — and this charcoal, while it warms, does
not discover them by its smoke, light, flame, or sparks. At night they
sleep round these fire-pits, lying upon their backs with their legs hang
ing down in the holes, as it is an essential point with the savages to
keep their feet warm, and their heads cool. They thus secure strength
of body for the combat, and clear wits for the council ; in fact, without
being acquainted with the works of the celebrated physician Arbuth-
not, these untutored Indians have, by a process of their own, arrived at
what the Scottish .i33sculapius deemed the sum and substance of all
medical knowledge, and condensed in his own pithy apothegm " keep
the head cool, the feet warm, and the bowels open."

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 65
very heart has been wrung by this sorrow. All is well,
however, that ends well, and now that I have emerged
from the ' sea of trouble' which threatened to overwhelm me
and am approaching home, my spirits are elastic and ray
mind and body re-invigorated. Insensibly I am recovering
from, if not forgetting the barbarities and cruelties I have
suffered. " Immediately upon my arrival at this place I was met
by a Mr. Malet, an Enghsh gentieman residing here, who
had heard of my coming from an Osage warrior, who
preceded our canoe down the river. In the most kind
and hospitable manner, he insisted upon my living at his
house, instead of the inn, where I was proceeding to take
up my quarters. His manner of asking was so engaging,
interesting, and impressive, that' I found it impossible to
refuse him. Under his hospitable roof I shaU remain while
here, and from its shelter I write you this letter. It is a
plain house, erected of timber, but the most unaffected ,'
hospitality and generous benevolence invites and spreads '
the board, and politeness and affabihty preside over all./
Never shall I forget it — never shall I think of it without
gratitude and esteem.
" The day after last writing from New Orleans we set
sail from that place, bound for St. Augustine in East
Florida. Our vessel was the ' Swan,' Captain Jones. No
adventure overtook us worth mentioning till five days
thereafter, when in the Gulf of Mexico. Here, the winds
becoming adverse, we were driven from our course.
These gales soon increased to the fury of a hurricane,
during which our sails were split in shreds, and our main
mast went overboard. Had we been left to ourselves, we
must have perished. When, however, our destruction
seemed impending we were descried by a Spanish vessel
which hove in sight, bound from Havannah to the Rio
Grande or Rio del Norte, in the province of New Mexico.
We hailed this vessel as a deliverance, a special mark of
the favour of Providence to rescue us from a watery grave.

66 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
and made every signal of distress to attract her attention.
The Spaniard bore down upon us, and, sending hands on
board, succeeded in saving crew and vessel. We soon
learned that we had been snatched from the jaws of death
only for a probably more terrible fate. The Spaniards, to
cover their piratical designs, now charged that we were
French enemies, and, without more ado, the vessel and
everything in it was declared confiscated to the use of the
King of Spain. With the rest, I was robbed of every
valuable. Putting a few hands upon the ' Swan,' they
soon repaired the damage she sustained from the tempest.
This was easily done now, as the storm had partially sub
sided, and, when completed, the two ships proceeded
together towards the Rio del Norte. The captain of the
Spanish ship, pretending he was short of provisions,
scarcely supphed us with sufficient food to sustain life.
To every protestation which was made as to our true
character as British subjects, they turned a deaf ear, and
that they might not be annoyed by importunities, they
placed us below in irons. To every complaint we made
for food, they replied that the stock on the ' Swan' was
damaged and had been thrown overboard. Several days
after this event we arrived at the mouth of the Rio del
Norte, and were landed. Three of the crew of the ' Swan'
were so reduced by disease and starvation, that they died
within five hours of our arrival. We were here placed in
the hands of the Spanish authorities, who imprisoned us
in forts made of bricks dried in the sun, while the vessels
proceeded up the river. The food here doled out to us in
insufficient quantities, consisted only of a small measure of
parched corn and a little fruit. The officials had the
grace to intimate, as they were scarce of meat, if we chose
to butcher, we might eat a lame mule, which broke down
on a journey from the interior, and was left there to die
by its owner, a fur-trader. In our emaciated and starving
condition we felt there was no alternative and accepted
their bounty. The mule was soon slaughtered and some

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 67
of its tough flesh dressed. In my then famished condition,
however, I thought I had never eaten anything so savoury
and delicious. Strange as it may seem, the flesh of this
animal, though only seasoned with coarse salt, agreed with
us and appeared to infuse into our frames new strength
and vigour.* We were confined at this point a fortnight,
our party of nine hving the whUe upon the flesh of the
animal. The preparations of our captors to conduct us to
the interior were then completed. For the first time we
were informed that we must proceed on foot a journey of
eighty-nine days to Santa Fe, the capital of the province
of New Mexico. The longer I knew and the more
familiarized I became to my Indian servant, the more
satisfied was I of my good fortune in having engaged his
services. His character disclosed much better traits than
his first appearance oespoke, and I began to have perfect
confidence in him.
" Up to this period my travels had laid through coun
tries under the authority of Europeans, their laws and
customs ; and consequently little presented itself respecting
human nature of such novelty, as to excite admiration, or
awaken curiosity. In Jamaica, at Carthagena, in Louisiana,
in fact, in all the various places through which I had
passed, a certain parity of sentiment, arising from the one
great substratum, Christianity, gave the same general
colouring to all the scenes, however they might differ from
each other in their various shadings. I was now, how
ever, about to enter an almost unexplored region, and to
contemplate man under a variety of forms and complica
tions entirely different from those to wdiich habit had fami
liarized my mind. I therefore contemplated with pleasant
* The exertions of the Society in Paris for encouraging hippophagy;
or the use of horse flesh, have proved that it is highly nutritious ; and
in the hands of a French cook, has a delicate and delicious gout or
flavour. There are now (1867) in Paris eighteen establishments for the
sale of horse flesh, the two largest being in the Rue de Navarin, and
the Rue du Commerce. Sausages and horse-steaks omx pommes de
terre are greatly patronized by the poor.
F 2

68 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
excitement, the prospect of traveUing, notwithstanding the
terrible circumstances under which I should accoraphsh it,
as a prisoner in chains, hundreds of miles through the im
mense and almost trackless wilds of a country inhabited
by savage tribes, and semi-civihzed Spanish half-breeds,
without the consolation of any other companions in my
journey, than a few miserable partners of my imprison
ment, fatigues, and perils.
" The following morning we set forth upon this long
journey, under an escort of twenty wild bandit-looking
Mexican horsemen. Manacled and ironed together, two and
two, we made the first day in the scorching sun twenty-
six mUes through a sandy desert, covered with cactus,
endemis, yuccas, helianthoides and wormwood. My feel
ings, which were altogether of the most unpleasant kind,
served as a stimulus to my mind, and increased my anxiety
to get forward. I therefore pushed on as rapidly as if I
anticipated life and liberty, instead of assassination at the
end of my journey. To my no small satisfaction I was
bound to my servant Charles. I preferred the society of
this faithful half-breed, to the coarse companionship of a
filthy French sailor. My mind was under the dominion
of a gloomy presentiment, was, as Shakspeare emphatically
says, " A phantasm, or a hideous dream — and my httle
state of man suffered, as it were, the nature of an insur
rection." Such was the chaos within me, that I seemed
beyond the power of discriminate reflection. I found in
my case, as I believe it is universal, that human sufferings,
like all other things, find their vital principal exhausted,
and their extinction accelerated by overgrowth; and that,
at the moment when man thinks himself most miserable,
a benignant Providence is preparing relief in some form
or other for him. So it was with me, and I found the
labour and fatigue of the journey something which be
guiled me insensibly of the gloomy contemplations in which
I was previously absorbed, and afforded my tortured mind
a temporary suspension of pain.

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 69
" At night, we were confined in the stable of a small
farmer, and guarded by sentinels. The Mexicans know
ing we could not continue our journey without proper
food, supphed us freely with Indian corn meal, from which
we baked bread in the hot ashes, and jerked beef. Tra
velling in this way, we proceeded up the river for three
weeks. About this time, two of our party, overcome by
fatigue and sickness, (for they had been suffering with
fever and dysentery,) fell insensible on the ground from sun
stroke. Here they were left to expire in the broihng sun.
Fearing, no doubt, that all of us would die in this way,
and that they would thus lose the reward promised for
safely conducting us to the capital, they hired, this day,
seven pack-horses for our use. We were each set upon a
horse, on a wooden pack-saddle, and our arms tied behind
us, and our legs under the horses' belly. Then placing a
bell around the horses' neck, and taking the bridle, they
drove us before them for ten days. We were thus pre
served from slow death, as we were from immediate
slaughter at the hands of these bandits, by the hope of
reward for our safe delivery in Santa Fe. During this
time they did not fail to insult us in the most wanton
manner, and visit upon us the greatest ignominies and
most unaccountable cruelties. There was no restriction to
deter them from indulging their bad passions in this
manner. As they had only engaged our horses for ten
days, they determined to make the most of them, and w^e
only halted for their necessary refreshment — I mean the
refreshment of the bandits and horses — for they gave us
nothing beyond our allowance of bread and dried beef.
Every night we were compelled to he upon the bare
ground, but fortunately the wet season had not set in,
and we only suffered from the heavy dews. In this in
human, barbarous manner, we travelled 350 miles, pass
ing many places, where, with the utmost difficulty, our
guard prevented the savage inhabitants from murdering
us in cold blood. Though they preserved our lives for

70 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
the sake of the reward, they made no effort to protect us
from the most cruel and mortifying insults and maltreat
ment at every inhabited place where we halted. Several
times we were actually exhibited to the people, men,
women, and chUdren, as a public show, and as if belonging
to a different species of animal from the genus homo. The
most inveterate hatred of and prejudice existed against
the French, who were supposed to cherish designs of
conquest, and a disposition to exterminate the Spanish
race. Besides hearing that some of our party were Pro
testants, their religious hatred was aroused against these,
and everywhere we were called ' hogs ;' they sneered at
and abused us ad libitum and ad nauseum. They hissed
at us ' Crees in Dlos I' ' Crees en este .'' ' Crees en este /'
' No ! no !' ' Ah Judio /' ' Barbara, Brulo !' ' Protes-
tante !' ' Puerco !' ' Voia al los infernos !' which is in
English : ' Do you beheve in God ?' ' Do you believe in
this ?' ' Do you beheve in this !' ' No ! no !' ' Ah Jew !'
' Barbarian Protestant !' ' Hog !' ' Go to heU !' Often they
approached near, seeking an opportunity to stab us with
their daggers por amor de Dios. Our mercenary guides
alone preserved us from the stilettos of the mob, but I
already entertained apprehensions that the pious fathers
of the church would, when a favourable occasion presented,
conscientiously consign us to the inquisition, and then to
the flames. How different was the end ! Those we ex
pected to ruin became our deliverers. ;¦.
Giving up the pack horses at the end of ten days, we
continued our journey on foot, for sixteen more, until the
29th of November, 1774, when we arrived at a kind of
fort or settlement on the river, six days' march from Santa
Fe. Our shoes, with the exception of a single pair, w-ere
gone several days previous to this — one pair after another
disappearing, until no one possessed any but my servant
Charles, who continued to bear up, in the midst of our
sufferings, with the indomitable pluck and spirit of the
American Indian. He often insisted on my using his

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 71
shoes, going the length of taking them off and walking
in his naked feet, saying he would not use them while I
had none. I refused persistently to appropriate them,
being unwilling in our then miserable condition, to accept
such a favour from a human being, in no better condition
than myself. When we marched in the Spanish fort bare
footed and ragged, Charles still carried his shoes, to the
no small surprise of the Spaniards, who were ignorant of
the noble motive which caused this singular conduct.
This simple act of a poor, uninformed, half-breed, had
more of the true and essential spirit of Christianity in it,
than half the ostentatious charity of the world. It was
based upon kindness, disinterestedness and delicacy, and
struck me more forcibly than all the acts of benificence
that I ever met with.
" For some reason, which I never understood, we delayed
at this place seven days. We were all confined in one
room, under a strong guard, suffering daily every species
of insult, and in danger and dread of being murdered
every night. Crowds of half-savage Spaniards assembled
daily about our prison to denounce vengeance against us,
and to launch at us every bitter reproach, every filthy
epithet and every horrible imprecation in their vocabulary.
They boasted too of their patience and forbearance, which
fortunately enabled them to refrain from annihilating us at
once. After this delay, we resumed our journey, and
though I was suffering from dysentery and consequent
weakness, and my whole body was lacerated with pain,
and my mind distracted with doubts and difficulties, ar
rived with the residue of our dispirited party in Santa Fe.
The last 300 miles of our journey was through a beautiful
and fertile country, to the charms of which, however, the
agony of my feelings rendered mq almost insensible. In
Santa Fe we were delivered to the authorities, who sub
jected us to a rigid and barbarous imprisonment. My feet
were swollen, blistered, and bleeding, and gave me such
intolerable pain, that for nights together I could not sleep.

72 The Ad/ventures of my Grandfather.
My prostration was such that I could not have gone
another day's journey, though life and liberty had been
my reward. My dysentery continued, and I found myself
seized with a violent bilious fever, here called a seasoning
or acclimatizing fever, which brought me to the verge of
death. I had no nurse but my faithful Charles, no food
fit for a sick person. Nature and a good constitution were
my only physicians and medicines, save a few simple
drugs, which were clandestinely conveyed to tne with di
rections for their use by Father Lopez, a Catholic priest,
whom Charles (who, by-the-bye, is a Roman Catholic in
faith,) had managed, during the priest's visit to the prison,
to interest in my fate. My illness made me quite delirious
and helpless for ten days, and it was five weeks before
I was out of danger. For some time after this I was so
weak and low, that I had scarcely strength to walk across
the room. The jailor's daughter, Annetta, who was now
much interested in our behalf, by the intercession of the
priest, privately furnished me with suitable food for a con
valescent — such as broths, fruit and the like, and I re
gained my strength with rapidity. You can scarcely be
lieve this possible, when I tell you that the iron and
wooden doors of our cell were constantly locked and
chained, no one even in the prison being allowed to speak
to Charles or myself — (we were alone in the ward,) — nor
to answer any question if we called to them ; that I was on
my recovery, restricted from the use of pen, ink, and
paper, and allowed not the smallest communication with
any human being but my poor servant ; that I had no
chair, table, bed, blanket or straw, and was obliged to lie
upon the bare fioor with a billet of wood under my head.
Sometimes we were left by the jailor two or three days to
gether without food or drink. But for the good priest
and his young female confederate, who came to our cell in
the midst of night, carrying her jar of water aud her
basket of supplies, we. must have perished. For eight
weeks I remained extremely lame and ill, without having

The Adventures- of my Grandfather. 73
changed my linen or clothes, save on one occasion, when I
was supplied by Father Lopez. Indeed, it is strange how
human nature could support aU I endured. The climate,
however, aided greatly in my recovery — the air of Santa
Fe being dry, pure, and bracing. The heat in summer is
not so intense as on the gulf, or in the same latitude on
the Atlantic, and is generally not greater than in the upper
districts of Virginia, nor is the cold so great in winter, as
in Virginia. The mornings and evenings, even in the
hottest weather, are always cool and pleasant. During
the winter, snow lies upon the high peaks of the Rocky
mountains, but seldom remains longer than a few hours in
the valleys and lower districts. No diseases have appeared
since the settlement of the province by Spaniards, which
can be said to be pecuhar to the climate and country. The
seasoning or bUious fever is only known in the country
south cf the 30th degree of latitude. My recovery from
it is doubtless, in great measure, due to the rapidity with
which we travelled north from the unhealthy districts on
the Lower Rio del Norte. I feel, from my experience at
Santa Fe, that the chances of life are considerably more in
our favour there than in the most healthy parts of the con
tinent east of the Rocky mountains. Colds, which are
sometimes taken during the winter, never prove fatal with
out the greatest neglect. The seasons are mild and agree
able, the atmosphere constantly pure and elastic ; and the
sky clear, unclouded and brilliant.
"But I must proceed with my narrative. Every night
of my confinement in that dreary mansion of wretchedness
and misery at Santa Fe, my sleep was disturbed with the
most dreadful sounds and horrible noises. These proceeded
from the clanking of chains, the rattling of massy keys,
the creaking of iron doors upon their rusty hinges, the
resounding of bolts and bars, and above all the shocking
screams and bowlings of the unhappy wretches confined in
this frightful den. If the racking pain and parching thirst
of my fever had allowed me any sleep, I could not have

74 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
enjoyed it for the frightful noises, which constantly broke
upon the stillness of the night. I was much agitated too
at this moment by learning that Captain Jones, who was
confined in an adjoining ward, had committed suicide. I
attributed this horrible act to his protracted sufferings of
mind and body, but could find no excuse, but insanity, for
such a deed. If ever despair approached me, it was during
my prostration in this cruel situation. I felt my life
departing from me inch by inch, and even if spared by
disease, could we hope to escape assassination. I tho
roughly comprehended the blood-thirsty dispositions, the
vindictive barbarity of our captors. The reward once paid
for our safe delivery in Santa Fe, I knew our lives depended
entirely upon their whims and caprices. Nevertheless my
resolution did not abandon me. I summoned to my aid
rehgion and phUosophy, and while I could not underst^d
why I was so much afflicted, firmly believed that all my
calamities were brought upon me by an allwise and merciful
providence as a beneficial trial, as it were as an exercise of
my virtue. Composing myself as far as was possible, I
determined to await the result with patient fortitude. My
efforts to bear myself with a steady and perpetual serenity,
exercised the most beneficial infiuence upon my faithful
servant, Charles, who was so far overcome, that he occasion
ally gave way to something like despair. The vague hints
of our escape or receiving succour, wdiich I occasionaUy let
fall, merely for the purpose of reviving his strength and
hopes, broke like fiashes of lightning through the gloomy
clouds which envelopeil his soul, and kept up a kind of
daylight in his mind. Still further to benefit him, I spoke
of Captain Jones' suicide as the act of a coward, with no
dependence upon himself and no faith in God. I sought
to elevate Charles' sentiments, to so regulate his mind that
trust and hopefulness might become permanent parts of
his disposition. I asked him to remember what obhgations
we were under to Providence for the incalculable blessings
we enjoyed, and not to forget that the visitations, which

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 75
sometimes overtook and almost crushed us to the earth,
are often dispensations of mercy, sent to try and purify us.
I said we should meet thera with composure, and thus
co-operate with providence in its designs, and not
provoke further displeasure by querulous discontent
and presumptuous doubts. In other words, dear father, I
sought to impress in my poor way upon my excellent
Charles some of the moral lessons you have so often incul
cated by your teachings and example, and which my
experience has taught me to be founded in wisdom — that
wisdom whose " ways are ways of pleasantness, and all
whose paths are peace."
" After several weeks' illness, I felt my fever abate and
the worst symptoms of the disorder disappear. As I slowly
regained my bodily strength, 1 recovered the fuU tone and
vigour of my mind ; I felt my spirits increase, my resolution
become more firm, my hopes more sanguine, and while
scarcely able to make on foot the tour of my chamber,
commenced revolving plans for extricating myself from
prison. There is a spring, an elasticity in every man's mind,
of which the owner is rarely, very rarely conscious, because
fortunately the occasions seldom occur in which it can be
brought to the proof. My deplorable condition even now,
and the earnest intercession in my behalf of Father Lopez
and the jailor's daughter, moved the iron heart of that
terrible man to pity ; and Ximines said if I would make
apphcation to the Governor for the privilege of walking
during certain hours in the grounds, he would see that His
Excellency received the petition. He observed that though
ordered not to allow me pen, ink, or paper, he would send
me a pencil and card. Accordingly I made my application
to the Governor for this privilege for myself and my feUow
prisoners, in Spanish, dictated by my servant and inscribed
upon the back of the ace of diamonds. Much to my sur
prise the Governor ordered me to be brought before him,
and to my greater surprise behaved towards me very
politely. He made me many apologies, through his inter-

76 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
prefer, for the past, and promised me better treatment for
the future. He requested me to give a full account of
inyself and my connection with the ' Swan.' This I did,
claiming that I was unjustly imprisoned, whatever might
have been the character of the vessel on which I was taken.
I declared, however, my perfect conviction — in fact my
positive knowledge — that the vessel was the bond fide pro
perty of British subjects trading to and from New Orleans,
and was not the property of French enemies of the King of
Spain. In consideration of which facts I asked that the
whole of us should be liberated, and as we were in a distant
and almost uninhabited country, without money, friends,
or resources, that we should be supplied with the means of
reaching our homes. I further added that if so disposed
of by His Excellency, we would abandon any claim we had
against the King of Spain for damages resulting from illegal
seizure and false imprisonment, for robbery and ill-treat
ment. I made bold to add further that our fate could not
be always concealed, and that wdien known would lead to
the summary punishment of all those by vvhom we had
suffered. That dead or alive we would be avenged by our
government, and I suggested that all who had injured us
ought to prepare for the wrath against the day of wrath.
When I had proceeded thus far, His Excellency seemed
fatigued and terminated the interview. I was reconducted
to prison, and notwithstanding all the fair promises of the
Governor, left in the same situation as formerly. The
gaoler in fact told me, some days later, through Charles,
that my speech to His Excellency had greatly offended
that august dignitary. Annetta, the daughter, however,
continued her hospitalities to us, and I now learned from
Charles that though only fifteen years of age, she cherished
a secret passion for him, which he returned : that during
my absence at the Governor's they had a conversation and
had sworn eternal fidelity to each other, and that Annetta
had promised if we could effect our escape from prison to
fly with us to ' other lands.'

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 77
" Three days after my interview with the Governor, the
gaoler produced a paper, which he said was sent to me to
sign, after which I would be permUted to go at large in
the grounds, attended by my servant. He further said
His Excellency had held a conversation with Father Lopez,
who actively iriterested himself in my behalf, and that His
Excellency was anxious to atone for the former severity of
my imprisonment, by granting me any ameliorations not
inconsistent with his duty to government. Upon having
the paper translated to me by Charles, I ascertained that
it contained an acknowledgment that the ' Swan ' was a
French vessel, engaged in Ulegal traffic, and that I was
upon her in defiance of the laws of His Catholic Majesty
the King of Spain, as also that we W'cre properly or legally
imprisoned, and had been treated with tenderness and
humanity during our captivity. Made acquainted with
the contents of the paper, I refused to sign it upon any
terms. For three days it was presented to me for signature,
and several threats used to induce me to subscribe my
name. I persisted in my refusal, whereupon they recom
menced their barbarities. Wooden doors were put np
against our windows to exclude the light and so as not to
admit fresh air, we were not allowed the use of pen, ink
and paper, which was furnished me during the time they
were endeavouring to get me to sign the paper ; no one
whatever was permifted to see or speak to us, and for a
week we were as effectuaUy excluded from the whole world
as if we had been in our graves. At this very time, how
ever, a kind Providence was preparing relief for us, thus
verifying the old adage ' When distress is greatest, God is
nearest.' • At the end of the seventh day Annetta managed
to fetch us at midnight a jug of water and some coarse-
provisions, but for which we must have perished. Next
day the good priest visited us, and seeing the wretched
condition to which we were reduced, and despairing of our
lives if we continued longer in this confinement, he induced
Charies, who was a Jesuit, to sign the paper. Charles also,
without my knowledge, appended my name.

78 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
Our windows were now opened, and we were allowed
the free use of the grounds for two hours during the day ;
these were hot, nasty and suffocating, and under the con
stant inspection of two sentinels. The indulgence, however,
was so grateful to me, after my prison life, that I rapidly
improved in strength. About this time the gaoler brought
in an enormous bill against me for diet, candles, attendance,
&c. I refused to pay the account, teUing him with great
truth, that I had no money ; but that if his biU were reduced
one. half I would give him a draft on Alexandria which
would be cashed in the Havannah, provided he procured
me a substantial suit of clothes, linen, boots, and so forth for
Charles and myself. I was exceedingly anxious to draw
such a check upon your agents in Alexandria, as I thought
it the only possible way to advise you of my existence and
whereabouts. At first he refused to abate a tittle of his
biU, but finally consented when I agreed to pay five
hundred Mexican dollars for the outfit for myself and
servant. Charles had spread exaggerated reports of my
wealth through the community by means of the priest, who
from the most benevolent reasons determined to relieve us
from captivity ; and a Jew by the name of Paul Levi,
" ' A hungry lean-faced villain,'
who agreed to furnish us the outfit upon the sum being
included in the gaoler's order. A bargain was thus struck,
and we were soon comfortably clothed for the first time in
many months. Projects and hopes of a new kind now
began to intrude themselves on my thoughts, and I con
ceived a design to affect an escape and mentioned it to
Charles, who was roused into new life by the prospect.
After many conversations we determined to consult Annetta.
Of course she became our accomplice, so ardent is the
flame of liberty in every breast, such is the detestation of
every human being to slavery. After a consultation con
ducted, as to Annetta, hurriedly, and from time to time,
as she found opportunity to speak to us, when fetching

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 79
our supphes of food, upon the quo modo of our escape, it
was determined, if possible, to gain the co-operation of the
Jew. Annetta was instructed to oft'er him a bribe of £500
to furnish us three good horses, a pair of pistols and the
tools necessary to break from prison. After much discussion
and delay Levi was secured. My heart beat high with
hope, and I began to flatter myself that the day was not
distant when we should bid onr tyrants adieu. To prevent
suspicion, Levi purchased our horses at once, pretending
they were for a journey he would soon take into the Southern
country. I did not afterwards regret the delay of two
weeks, which now occurred, as my strength daily increased.
Annetta was made acquainted with the spot where these
animals were kept, constantly ready against such time as we
might effect our escape. It was near the Jew's house, but
far enough to enable him to hatch a plausible lie to the effect
that they were stolen after we left. Annetta now brought
us from the Jew some tools for breaking out, and we went
to work nightly. With incredible danger, difficulty, and
labour, we made way through the solid wall, cutting
through a four inch oak plank. This brought us into the
prison yard, but until we could mature a plan for passing
the sentinels, we aUowed the outer row of stone and its
covering of plaster to remain intact. The principal part
of this work was done by Charles, whUe I kept guard at
the door to prevent detection. When, however, he was
exhausted and took his turn at the door, I worked with all
my strength and wUl, and greatly to his admiration. He
often said ' I hab no ideum Massa Peyton hab sich slight
ob hand, sich strength — white man hard to beat.' While
this work was occupying us, both our health and spirits
improved, and I often thought of your remark, ' that the
busiest and most laborious are generally the happiest and
most successful.'
" As a Monsieur Blicq leaves here to-day, for Detroit,
intending to travel thence to New York, I entrust this to
him to be there posted. You wiU thus be relieved of all

80 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
anxiety as to myself, and wiU understand the cause of my
drafts upon your agents in Alexandriai, should they be pre
sented for payment before my return. I am exceedingly
anxious to proceed upon my homeward journey, and am
only detained by the necessity of recruiting my health
before I set forth again. I shaU proceed hence this day
week, and make my way through the new settieraents in
Kentucky to Western Virginia and thence by the Greenbrier
to Staunton and Charlottesville.
" If the Howes have returned to Virginia, I hope you
will immediately make their acquaintance and give them
my kind regards and remembrances, and a brief account
of my adventures since I had the pleasure to meet them in
Jamaica. " It may be proper for me to say here that the attach
ment which I formed in Jamaica for Miss Howe has in
creased in strength and intensity, notwithstanding our
separation, and I am satisfied is based upon genuine affec
tion. I did not know so much when in that lovely island,
where the very air breathes nothing but transport and
delight, nor did I believe so much — I rather attributed
my feelings to the warmth of ray temper and the ardent
sensibility of my mind. To have met a young country
woman in that distant corner of the world must, under any
circumstances, have filled me with joy, but when she was
exceedingly pretty, highly accomplished, and captivating
in the extreme, it is not to be wondered at that the syren
enticed me unconsciously into her snares. She expressed
her satisfaction at meeting with a Virginian so very unex
pectedly, and to a considerable extent reserve was thrown
off on both sides. Expecting, however, to see her in the
spring, I steeled my heart by timely reflection against
premature advances However interesting our conversa
tions, none of thera were confidential or upon the immediate
subject of love. I have been subsequently racked by
torture, when reflecting over my coolness and reserve on
these occasions. On ray neglect to declare ray passion,

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 81
from an apprehension that it might be a mere temporary
ebullition, and that I might be repulsed, lest this neglect
to seize a golden opportunity may not have deprived me
for ever of the society of the most incomparable woman in
the world. I must beg you, therefore, my dear father, as
you value my happiness, to advise Miss Howe's family
somewhat of my feelings."

CHAPTER IX.
MR. HOWE VISITS ENGLAND IN PURSUIT OP LEGAL BUSINESS. — SECURES A
GREAT SUCCESS. — FORMS THE ACQUAINTANCE OF AN AMICUS CURIA, —
JIMMY JONES. — RETURNS TO JAMAICA TO FIND HIS WIPE FURIOUS AND
HIS DAUGHTER IN LOVE. — THE FAMILY AT HOME ON THE OCCOQUAN IN
VIRGINIA. As the Howe family subsequently become mixed up in
the affairs of my grandfather playing a more or less inter
esting part in the melange according to the taste of the
reader, he will not probably object if we pause for a
moment, to introduce them more fully to his knowledge.
While the events as related in the last chapter were
transpiring, Mr. Howe, father of the fair enchantress, who
had so rapidly excited the enthusiasm, and gained the
affections of the young Virginian, was busily occupied
with legal affairs in England. For many years previous
to crossing the Atlantic, Mr. Howe had prosecuted a law
suit in London for the recovery of an estate, which his
legal advisers in the purlieus of the Temple, assured him
was the rightful property of himself, as the eldest surviving
representative of the late Grubham Howe, Esq., of Cold
Barwick, in the county of Wiltshire. For ten years he
had followed this matter with no further result than to see

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 83
his ten successive crops of tobacco swallowed up by the
costs, which included exorbitant fees to the rapacious legal
reptile, who championed his cause. Worn out by the
law's delay a,nd expenses, he determined to visit our old
home, (as England is affectionately styled by the cultivated
people of Virginia) hoping to find a solution of this wasting
controversy. Availing himself of the period when his wife
and daughter must visit Jamaica, he accompanied them to
that island, and after seeing them comfortably established
in their temporary home, proceeded to England, where he
arrived late in the autumn of 1772.
Much to his gratification he found on his arrival, that
his case, after innumerable difficulties and delays, was at
last about to be tried. Estabhshing himself in the neigh
bourhood of Westminster, he determined, notwithstanding
the numerous calls upon his time, to watch the progress of
his suit with the closest scrutiny. Fortunately the matter
now required little pushing. The pleadings were com
pleted, the testimony taken, the depositions filed, and the
case set down for trial at the next term.
At the term of the Court, which was held according to
custom at Westminster, within a few weeks of his arrival,
the cause of Howe v. Howe came on to be heard.
The ablest counsel were employed on either side, and the
case was argued at great length, with zeal, earnestness, and
abihty, and an amount of legal learning perfectiy astonish
ing to the Virginian planter. Day after day he attended the
Hall of justice with paper and pencU, taking notes of
the salient points and making comments upon the forensic
arguments of his own and the opposing counsel. At the
G 2

84 The Adventures of rruy Grandfather.
end of which time he declared that, whereas when he left
Virginia he understood something of the matter at issue ;
but now, so many were the new points raised, and so
entangled had the case become under professional manipu
lation, so buried in a mass of legal learning, that he was
completely bewUdered and totally at fault how to determine
which was the better cause. Not so his counsel, who cried
" bravo !" and pronounced the progress of the case all
that could be desired.
A fortnight was consumed over this important cause,
and the learned judges were finally considering of their
judgment. The impression made upon the minds of the
barristers who had been unengaged, and were, therefore,
impartial spectators, was now very freely expressed, and
was to the effect that Mr. Howe had no just cause of
action, no conclusive testimony in his behalf, and, conse
quently, no prospect of success — not the slightest shadow
of a chance : that his case, in a word, so far from having
been made out, had utterly failed; that he and his
family were neither entitled by law nor equity to the
property in dispute, nor any part of it, but that it belonged
either to the present occcupiers, or in default of their title,
to a branch of the family which had emigrated some years
previous to Cape Colony, and were supposed, or, at least,
were reported to be, extinct.
One of Mr. Howe's. court friends had, at an early day,
informed him that, in his opinion, he, Mr. Howe, had no
prospect whatever of success. This friend, commonly
called Mr. Jimmy Jones — his real name was James
Scroggin Jones — was one of those persons of singular

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 85
taste and habits, who attend the courts as spectators, at
every term, through years, with the punctuality and regu
larity of the bench and the bar, a man who had thus
acquired a vast fund of confused and disjointed legal
knowledge, impossible however to be applied. Mr, Jones,
who was now much in Mr. Howe's company, going often,
on the invitation of the Virginian, to partake of his quiet
dinner and bottle of crusty port, as well as to talk over
the matter " in re " while blowing a comfortable cloud,
informed him, almost with tears in his eyes, for he had
acquired a fraternal affection for Mr. Howe, that his
case was hopeless.
" So bad a show 'ave you made of it," said Mr. Jones,
upon the evening the case closed, " that no 'ope is left
you, my friend, even in that fruitful source of 'ope with
hall litigants, the glorious uncertainty of the law."
" I fully believe you," said the planter, " I once had
hope when reading my lawyer's sanguine letters in Virginia,
Since I have heard the argument, that hope is lost. I am
lost — my head's gone — such a jumble, such a muddle have
the legal cooks made of the broth ! I am sure if they
understand the case, what it depends upon, where the gist
of it hes, it is more than any unprofessional human being
can conscientiously declare."
" I beg your pardon," said Mr. Jimmy Jones, " it is
very simple, if you will honly look hat it disinterestedly."
" But how can I ?" broke in the unfortunate planter.
" Have I not lost ten crops of tobacco in the expenses, and
more besides. Have I not been buoyed up with false
and delusive hopes for years — for years been harassed with

86 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
doubts, weighed down with anxinty and care, and been led
even to crossing the Atiantic to look after this affair, and
now you talk to me of being disinterested ?"
'"Old, be calm, ray worthy friend," said Mr. Jones,
" you misunderstand ray drift. I only mean if you
look hat the matter in a purely legal and equitable
point of view, you must see that your counsel
has been mistaken from the comraencement, and has
hintentionally or hinnocently, as the case may be, led you
into herror. It pains me deeply, but I must prevent your
hentertaining false 'opes, it is not your branch, but the
'Owes of South Africa who hare entitied to the property,
if those in England hare not."
With a heavy groan, the disappointed planter ejaculated,
" I fear it must be so."
The evening wore away in this kind of desultory con
versation, Mr. Jones endeavouring from time to time to
administer some consolation to him, but in vain. Next
morning the planter's chagrin was heightened by learning
from several solicitors whose acquaintance he had made
pending the suit, gentlemen of acknowledged learning,
experience and abUity, that his cause was hopeless.
During the whole of the day he sauntered through the
West-end parks, endeavouring to walk off the effects of his
disappointment and ruminating upon his faraUy and home
ill dear old Virginia, which he cursed himself a thousand
times for having abandoned in the wretched greed of gain.
" Let me once get back and I'll defy the world to make
me leave again !" he cried so loudly as he paced Rptten
Row, in gloomy abstraction that he caused the horse of an

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 87
equestrian to bolt, and was thought by the loungers in that
fashionable haunt to be a dangerous madman at large.
On returning in the evening to his lodgings, he heard
from the pertinacious Mr. Jones, who would not even go
to the parks to scent the breezes during term time that the
Chief Justice had announced that their decision in the
case of Howe v. Howe would be pronounced on the
following morning.
Early the next day the court was crowded to excess.
Howe v. Howe was a cause ce'lebre, a vast amount of pro
perty depended upon it, the friends, relatives, and, for all
that, the enemies, of both parties were assembled. In due
season the court opened, and " my Lord " proceeded at
learned length to pronounce the decision of two of the
judges in favour of the claim of the Virginian, on every
point and in every particular. Intense excitement, but a
restrained silence, followed this announcement. Those
legal gentlemen who had advised Mr. Howe of his want of
action stood confounded— seemed stunned — his friend Mr.
Jones was overcome with unexpected joy, and retired to the
lobby for fresh air. His Lordship hurriedly recapitulated
the opinions of the dissenting judges, who pronounced
against the claim of Mr. Howe as decidedly as the others
pronounced in his favour. Here was a muddle, a lock, a
legal knot. While people were thinking what will be done
— the knot was severed. A judge was withdrawn. Happy
expedient 1 And this left the decision in favour of the
plaintiff. Mr. Howe had gained. Jimmy Jones was in
the act of cheering when he was silenced by his Lordship,
who gave the defendant against the next term to take an

88 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
appeal, and, until then, ordered all matters of costs to
remain in abeyance, suspended. Here was a " hitch " at
the pinch of the hill, and Mr. Jones gave over his cheer to
ruminate upon " the point."
As may be imagined, Mr. Howe returned to his lodgings
in a somewhat different frame of mind frora that in which he
left thera in the morning. Soon he was overwhelmed with
visits from the friends, counsel, attorneys and legal re
tainers of the other side. These sought, from day to day,
to arouse his fears by speaking largely of the appeal, and of
the stupendous costs which it would entaU upon him and
the certainty of their success. After a vast amount of this
kind of maiiceuveringa distinct proposition for compromise
came from the opposite side. Mr. Howe's legal adviser,
who delighted in the fray and spoils of battle, protested
against such a pitiful termination of the proceedings. The
Virginian, however, was sufficiently amused, after twelve
years, with the " forensic fight," and listened with
favourable ears to these propositions, and, to make a long
story short, the contested case was finally compromised by
Mr. Howe's receiving the estimated value of the ten crops
of tobacco expended in the litigation, his entire costs, and
the round sum of £36,000, The defendant was thus left
with the landed property, and the mesne profits.
This successful termination of a " most harassing
business " as the Virginian planter afterwards complacently
termed it, left him free to make his preparations to rejoin his
family in the West Indies Divesting himsilf immediately
of the large sum received on the compromise, he placed the
whole in the 3 per cents, for the sole use and benefit of his

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 89
only daughter. Having no other chUdren, he afterwards
declared that he sunk the money in the funds as well to
provide a certain support for his daughter Annie, as to
rid himself of all trouble in connection with it. His
estates in Virginia gave him quite enough trouble of them
selves. He was closely occupied with these matters and in
making purchases for the use of his colonial estates, when he
received a letter from his wife, from which we make the
foUowing extract. It gave him the first intelligence of my
grandfather's arrival in the Antilles.
From Mrs. Howe's letter of September, 1773.
" I must not neglect to inform yon that we have had for
some weeks past a pleasant addition to our society, in the
son of Mr. John Peyton, of Stoney Hill. The young
gentleman came out to adjust some important affairs for
his father, which I hear he has successfully concluded. He
is highly cultivated and most amiable, is easy, civil, and
respectful in his behaviour, is what may be termed a
gentieman of thorough good breeding. I have felt less
solitary and more contented since his arrival, and have had
with him many agreeable conversations about Virginia and
our friends there, with numbers of whom he is acquainted.
He returns within a few days to Virginia, and has promised
to make a visit to BeUeville immediately upon our arrival.
This I do not doubt he wUl do, for, with all his partiahties
for my society, I think he prefers that of our dear Annie.
I must not neglect to say that he carries what Lord Bacon
styles ' a perpetual letter of recommendation,' a pleasing
figure, being of comely presence and engaging manners."
Having finaUy arranged his affairs, Mr. Howe saUed for
the West Indies, having in company Mr. Jimmy Jones.
During the progress of his vexatious but successfully ter-

90 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
minated suit and their long evening conferences upon
knotty points of law, a warm friendship sprung up between
them, and when Mr. Howe was about to take his departure.
Mr. Jones expressed a wish to accompany hira. The
Virginian was delighted and the matter was soon arranged.
]\Ir. Jones informed him that he was alone in the world,
had neither business nor cares, in other words, no family
or friends, and had fallen into the inveterate habit of
attending the courts from having nothing to occupy his
time. That he was fond of fishing as much so as of the
law, and would find ample amusement to fiU up his time
throwing a line in the Occoquan.
"Then, my dear sir," said Mr. Howe, "go with me to
BellevUle and make it your home. You're the best com
pany in the world, and will have it all your own way among
our colonial lawyers. Nothing will make me happier,
my dear Jones. We wiU live and- die together in old
Virginny." So the matter was arranged, and Mr. Jimmy Jones for
the first time in his life had something to do, preparing
for the voyage, and for the first time in thirty years
was missed from the benches of the law court. The two
gentlemen left England in December, and arrived in
Jamaica in the month of February 1774.
Mr. Howe was much concerned to find that though his
daughter's health was greatly improved, she seemed a prey
to melancholy. Little, however, did he divine the cause,
for — " She never told her love,
But let concealment, like a worm i' the bud ;
Feed on her damask cheek,"

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 91
It may be easily imagined that a noble and gallant spirit
like that of the young Virginian could not be long in the
society of a susceptible lady, without making an impression
upon her heart. Such was the case. Annie Howe, with a
quick perception of true nobUity of character, had silently
observed the handsome and accomplished Virginian during
his stay in Spanish Town, and her love for hira was a
secret, " the only jewel of her speechless thought." How
strange is the birth, how quick is the growth of this
mysterious passion !
Mr. Howe communicated, for the first time, to his wife,
his disposition of the £36,000 received on compromising
the law suit. He heard from his wife, too, more of the
young gentleman, to wdiom she alluded, in the extract
taken from her letter the previous autumn, and what she
supposed was his heartless conduct
After paying marked attention to Annie during his
visit, thereby creating the deepest interest in himself on
her part, and giving rise to no small amount of gossip in
the community, ill-natured people saying "if they were
not engaged they ought to be," and so forth ; after
having almost told his love, but stUl refrained from doing
so, and making no formal offer of his hand, but leaving the
impression upon the poor girl's mind that he would keep
up a correspondence till their return to Virginia, he had
gone off to New Orleans, the wicked creature! and they had
not heard of him since.
" The duplicity and cruelty of some men is above com
prehension," said the excited lady. "And to think of
such blackness of heart, such refinement of cruelty, such

92 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
desperate wickedness under cover of those blue eyes,
that frank countenance, and those flaxen locks ! Sir,"
cried she to her listening husband, " never believe in
appearances, nothing is more deceitful."
" But," said Mr. Howe, " may there not be some expla
nation of this disagreeable business consistent with the
young man's honour?"
" No, sir ; none ! " said his wife. " We know he
arrived in New Orleans from this note, (holding up a letter)
in which he seems to laugh at us, and he must have arrived
in Virginia months and months ago. There can be
no explanation of his conduct. I wish to hear none.
No——" She stopped here to recover her breath, a pause which
the phlegmatical husband embraced to cast his eyes over
the following epistle, to which his wife referred as " this

note."

" New Orleans.
" My Dear Mrs. How^e,
" 1 have only a moment to write to announce my arrival
here. There are few opportunities of sending letters
directly to Jamaica, and I avaU myself of the present, the
more eagerly, to thank you for all the kindness and
hospitahty extended to me by yourself and family during
my recent visit to the island. I shaU always treasure the
recoUection of it with the greatest sensibility, and shall
never cease to felicitate myself upon my good luck in
meeting yourself and Miss Howe. My sojourn here wUl
be brief, when I proceed to St. Augustine, from whence I
shall post to Miss Howe a copy of my diary since leaving
Jamaica, brought down to that date. She flattered me by
asking me to give her some account of the remarkable

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 93
places I am visiting, on my return to Virginia. I trust she
wiU pardon the liberty I shall take in anticipating that time,
by sending to Jamaica some excerpts from my note book.
They wUl probably serve to amuse her during the ap
proaching winter season, if such a thing as winter exists in
your sunny isle.
" Make my respectful compliments to Miss Howe, and
with many, many wishes for her entire restoration to health,
and many anticipations of the great pleasure it wiU give
me to renew my friendship with her and yourself in the
spring. " I am, believe me, dear Mrs. Howe,
" Faithfully your friend,
" J. R. Peyton."
When the worthy planter finished the perusal of this
epistle, he was impressed with the shicere and straight
forward character of the writer and so said to his wife.
" You may rest sure of one thing," said he, " there are
good reasons for not hearing from him, suspend your
judgment, at least until something further is known. I am
ignorant certainly of the young man's character, though I
am pleased with the way in which he writes, but if he
be a chip of the old block — I know his father's character
well — ugly as the matter now looks, it will come right in
the end. Courage ! "
At this juncture Mr. Jimmy Jones entered the room,
and, as he now stood in the position of a friend of the
family, was made acquainted with the domestic trouble,
and consulted on the subject.
" My dear madam, from what you tell me of the young
man, I take the impression," said Mr. Jones, " that he is a
gay deceiver, a 'eartless viUain. What we caU in London

94 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
a box-lobby lounger, one of your hupstart cubs who spend
the best part of the day in PaU MaU, St. James' and
RoTiid Streets ; who, without any parts, fancy themselves
fine fellows, and strive by loose morals to acquire a reputa
tion for gallantry, and who hassume fierce airs to conceal
their want of spirit. Bucks who will ruin an innocent
girl, but take very good care never to endanger their
carcases by meddling with villanous saltpetre nor cold
iron. There may be characters "more wicked, though I
doubt it ; certainly there are none more contemptible.
My friend Mr. Howe is of too easy a nature."
" Come, come, Jimmy," said Mr. Howe, " don't make
an ass of yourself. I know our people better than you. I
have a presentiment it will all end weU." Turning to his
wife he said : —
" Comfort, dear mother, God is much displeased
That you take with unthankfulness his doing."
On occasions Mr. Howe was a stern imperious man,
notwithstanding his amiable temper, and his manner now
forbade another word from wife or friend. Mr. Jones
rubbed his hands, smiled, and was silent. Mrs. Howe left
the room in tears.
Two months after this conversation in Jamaica,
Mr. Howe and his family, which included Mr. Jimmy
Jones, were re-established in their old quarters at BelleviUe,
in Virginia. The news was now rife in the neighbourhood
of the loss of their young countyman Peyton. No one
could explain his absence, the family at " Stoney Hall "
were plunged in the depths of grief, though kind friends

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 95
sought to sustain their spirits, to keep alive their hopes
by suggesting every sanguine view of the situation.
Everything, however, connected with his fate was left
in painful suspense. To the Howes there was one, and
but one pleasant feature in the case ; Mrs. Howe and
Jimmy Jones had grossly wronged and defamed the
character of the missing gentleman. This was now clear
as the noonday sun. The good lady endeavoured to
make amends for what she had previously said, and was
now as indiscreetly lavish in her encomiums on my grand
father as she had before been in her censures.
" The indiscreet with blind aversion run
Into one fault, when they another shun."
Pale was the visage, and quick came and went the breath
of the unhappy girl whose soul sickened at these praises of.
one whom she loved, and of whose society she feared
death had for ever robbed her.

CHAPTER X.
ABSENT BUT NOT FORGOTTEN. — A RIVAL IN THE FIELD. — CAPTAIN
PELHAM IN A NEW CHARACTER.
This history would be incomplete were it not mentioned
that in the society of Jamaica there was no more general
favourite with the fair sex than Captain Pelham, R.E., who
had accompanied my grandfather on his first excursion
across the island. Captain Pelham was the younger son of
an ancient English family which had fallen into moderate
circumstances, or " decay," as it was sarcastically termed,
since they were under the necessity of gaining a livelihood
by the " sweat of the brow." He was six feet two inches
high, of pleasing countenance, good manners, and exceUent
sense. Full of life and spirit, he entered the mihtary
service determined to hew his way to fortune. Whatever
justification there may have been in the depleted exchequer
of his family for applying to them the word " decay," there
were no signs or symptoms of feebleness or decline about
the young heutenant's physique. He was indeed a young
giant, mettlesome, and full of pluck and spirit. Possess
ing nothing beyond his pay and an occasional fifty pound
note, presented by a maiden gentlewoman, an aunt residing
in Dorset, he early made up his mind to steer clear of

T^e Adventures of my Grandfather. 97
matrimonial alliances, at least, as he said, in the days of
his juvenescence. This was a luxury with which he hoped to
crown his honours as a general officer. In vain, therefore,
was it that managing maraas and sentimental and romantic
young ladies conspired against his- liberty and peace of
mind. He was not to be so " done for." He was, of
course, at every party, baU, pic-nic, or other social gathering,
because he considered it part of his duty to contribute his
share to the amusement of society ; besides, he was fond of
dancing, and, in a general way was not averse to the
society of pretty young ladies. On the contrary, so far
from it, he delighted to be in their company. The
failure of the belles, however, to captivate the gallant
officer gave rise to much comment. Mothers said he was a
heartless fortune hunter, the girls said he had no soul, no
sympathy, was dead to gentle and generous emotions.
Sensible and disinterested people knew it was because,
having scarcely enough to keep soul and body together,
he shrank from assuming the responsibility of a wife and
family. Notwithstanding, however, the unfavourable light in
which he was professedly viewed by ladies, old and young,
he was always welcomed by them, and the young damsels
relaxed none of their seductive arts in a continued effort to
entrap his heart. Between the strategy of the mothers, and
their skill was Napoleonic, and the graces of the daughters,
and these were really pretty and engaging girls, not without
certain tactics, Pelham was like a strong fortress closely
besieged. He bore himself, however, like a hero, showed
no signs of weakness, gave no symptoms of capitulation to
H

98 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
the enemies forces. Affairs proceeded thus tiU both old and
young ladies began to despair of securing the Pelham
alliance, though it had been lisped by many a promising
young tactician, when it was thought it would be reported
to him, that " no one knew how economical she could be,
on how little she could live. It was all a mistake supposing
young ladies extravagant, that they required anything con
siderable on which to dress ; that, for herself, whatever
might be the case with other girls, she was not fond of
silks and jewels, and could live and love in a cottage. Aye,
and would prefer it, to love in the most sumptuous
palace. The simple idea was enchanting."
The gallant lieutenant heard all this, and was stiU
inflexible. Conscious that he required daily so much beef
and pudding, so much brandy and soda, so much tobacco
and so many cigars, for personal comfort and consumption ;
he strongly suspected, after the knot matrimonial was tied,
his lovely Juliana would demand for her peculiar feminine
wants a simUar supply. Yes, this young man resolutely
resisted every appeal made to his understanding and to his
heart, went to parties and indulged in the dtfftn uiade
fashionable calls, and took the ladies on pleasure excursions.
Sent them flowers with his compliments, assisted them
at the street crossings, sang for them at soirles, presented
them with books, walked with them through the lanes, and
risked his hfe on the cliffs to assist and amuse them, and
when the day was over, racked his burning brain writing
verses to their " eye-brows," and yet the insensible,
obdurate, unprincipled fellow would not go a step further
(as said the general ferainine voice, he was in honour bound

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 99
after his attentions) and make one of them his wife.
Flinty and cruel-hearted wretch, were some of the numerous
choice epithets now lavished upon poor Pelham. One
spinster, Edith Splutter, said he had been long enough
in the Island, it was time he was going ; another wished
he had already gone ; some that they had never seen him.
One hysterical young lady of thirty-six, declared he had
forced her to fall in love with him, by practising his
seductive arts of fascination ; that he was a refined villain,
and merely charmed her to amuse himself ; that now he
was gay and light-hearted, while she was in a rapid de
cline — a galloping consumption. Should never recover !
no, never 1
While the young officer was thus defying all attacks,
standing out like a grey old fortress against every assault,
and frowning from its heights upon the enemies below, a
foe stole within the citadel, and sapped the foundations
of its strength. The indifferent young gentleman who
had so long defied the arts of love, suddenly re-appeared
after his visit to Spanish Town, with a lean cheek, sunken
eye, and neglected beard 1 His gay companions in the
Titchfield Fort could scarcely credit the evidences of their
senses. What change had come o'er the spirit of his
dream, that the gaUant Pelham should wander about,
"his hose ungartered, his bonnet unhanded, his sleeve
unbuttoned, his shoe untied, and everything about him de
monstrating a careless desolation ?"
The truth is, on his journey he had faUen in love !
No one among the numerous admirers of Annie Howe
in Jamaica felt for her a deeper, purer admiration and
H 2

100 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
affection than the young officer. He had succumbed to
her charms on first sight ; the longer he knew her, the
more he loved her. He thought, however, that, 'My
Grandfather' (they both made her acquaintance at the
same time), was pleased with her, and that she gave some
— the faintest possible kind of preference — for his society.
Consequently, he hesitated to say to her a word of the tu
multuous feehngs which raged within his breast. When,
however, his Virginian friend saUed for New Orleans with
out making any special advance to Miss Howe, or aUuding
to her in conversation with hira, feeling for her only, as Pel
ham thought, the admiration and affection of a friend, he
could no longer restrain his feehngs ; forgot all his pru
dence, and determined to make an avowal of his love. He
accordingly commenced his preparations to return to the
southern side of the island as the first land breeze was
bellying the saUs of the vessel which bore his Virginian
friend to " other shores." Never before had the gallant
fellow been entangled by the sUken cords and flowery
chains of love. His fancy had not been aUured, nor his
tastes effeminated by the softness of pleasure. He was
a bold, hardy, handsome soldier, of masculine mind, su
perior to low sensual enjoyments and vulgar voluptuous
ness. He arrived in Spanish Town as if he travelled
with the wind for his companion, and the tempest for his
comrade. He rode across the highest peaks and the
deepest cock-pits of Jamaica, with the reckless speed of
John Gilpin. Arrived, he rested a day to compose his
nerves, and then with his previous impatience and im
petuosity sought the presence of Annie How^e, and de-

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 101
clared his love with passionate warmth. There was no
wooing, no diplomacy — nothing but the ardour, the
unthinking enthusiasm of the soldier. Of course, the
gallant knight was unhorsed, prostrated in the dust,
repulsed, defeated.
" Annie ! oh 1 dear Annie !" he exclaimed.
But hold ! We must not withdraw the curtain which
covers this painful episode in the lives of two noble
creatures. To make a long story short. Captain Pelham, finding
all hope of success vain and futUe, at least for the present,
returned to Tichfield. He now travelled at a snail's pace :
his head hung down, his eyes upon the ground. " Like
a wounded snake, he drew his slow length along." He
was not, however, in despair. It gave him inexpressible
happiness to know that while Annie Howe did not love
him, she was not the affianced of another. This single
ray of sunshine kept up daylight in his heart. She might
still be won. He would make the effort. By constancy,
by every act of devotion, by demonstrating his sincerity,
he might succeed. Clinging to this hope, he kept up
his acquaintance with the family, making repeated visits
to Tichfield, though he received not the shghtest en
couragement from Annie Howe. Mrs. Howe, who was
under the impression that my grandfather had trifled wUh
the affections of her daughter, encouraged Captain Pelham,
and endeavoured to create an interest on his behalf in
the mind of her daughter, hoping thus to divert her
attention from the absorbing subject of her first love.
Affairs were in this condition when Mr. Howe returned

102 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
from England with his legal friend, Mr. Jimmy Jones.
That gentleman, as we have seen in the previous chapter,
took a different view of affairs from his wife, and all
encouragement from Mrs. Howe to young Pelham was
discontinued. When bidding him adieu, on their return
to Virginia, Annie Howe, and indeed, the family said,
if Captain Pelham should ever carry out his purpose of
visiting Virginia, it would give them much pleasure to
see him, as a friend, at Belleville. Annie Howe closed
the door to hope, by saying to him when alone, " I can
never see you, save as a friend."

CHAPTER XI.
HE RESUMES HIS LETTER FROM ST. LOUIS. — HIS ESCAPE PROM THE SANTA
FE PRISON AND FLIGHT ACROSS THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. — TRAVERSES THE
GREAT PLAINS OP THE INTERIOR OF NORTH AMERICA AND ARRIVES IN
ST. LOUIS GUIDED BY AN OSAGE WARRIOR.
" Having provided a means of escape from our ceU, we
were now to consider a plan for passing the sentinels, who
constantly kept guard over the outer gate. While weigh
ing first one plan and then another, we were informed by
Annetta that her parents would attend the wedding of a
young friend on the 10th of March. On that night no
one would be on the premises but herself, and two young
brothers and the sentinels. Charles immediately proposed
that we should enter the court-yard through the opening
in the prison wall on that occasion, and take our chance
of escape by falling upon and murdering the guard.
This plan, however, being too uncertain of execution, and
sure from the noise it would create to caU forth the rest
of the guard, and alarm the town. I dismissed it as not
feasible. I had now become wonderfully prudent, for I
saw that it was a crisis of more importance than any
other of my life — a crisis in which haste, or too much
delay, irresolution, or yielding to the Ul-considered expe
dient of Charles, would be fatal. Having dismissed his
proposition, it was suggested by Annetta that she should
poison the sentinels in a cup of hot coffee, which she said
they would be glad to get about midnight, especially as

104 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
the weather was now quite cold. Charies was dehghted
with this proposition, and strongly urged me to agree to
it. Upon reflection I rejected this scheme also, and sug
gested that instead of poisoning the sentinels, Annetta
should content herself with drugging them, by putting
laudanum in their coffee. This, I imagined, would answer
our purposes equaUy well, and preserve us from the stain
of blood. Both were -enraptured at, my proposition, ac
cordingly it was immediately determined upon, and An
netta instructed to prepare for its execution. Next day
she obtained the opiate through the Jew, who pretended
that it was to drench a sick horse. She was further di
rected to provide some jerked beef, a few bottles of spirits,
and to advise the Jew of the night upon which we ex
pected to escape. She executed every commission with
which she was entrusted with prudence, and a skiU be
yond her years. When, since thinking of the discretion
she displayed in these delicate matters, my mind has re
curred to the words of Prospero, who says of Miranda —
She will outstrip all praise,

And make it halt behind her.'
The wedding night arrived, and luckily for the execution of
our enterprise, we heard the ceremony of marriage was
to be followed by a dance or fandango, as the Spaniards
call it. The night was dark, and we awaited with breath
less impatience the hour when the jailor and his wife
would depart. As the clock struck eight, the turnkey
made his usual circuit of the wards. He then informed
the sentinels, since there was no occasion to open the cells
during his absence, the prisoners having received their
evening supply of bread and water, he should retahi the
keys in his custody. Annetta, however, said the turnkey,
would remain in charge of his apartment, and ih case his
presence was required, he directed that she might be des
patched to him at the fandango. With this the jailor,
whose name was Ximenes, aud who was as tyrannical,

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 105
cruel, and infamous a villain as ever disgraced human
nature, a wretch who could smile and murder whUst he
smiled, saUied forth with his wife, who was his worthy
companion in meanness and cruelty. It was now nearly
nine o'clock, and Annetta came to our cell to whisper that
all was ready ; that she had provided provisions, spirits,
&c., and only wished to know the least suspicious way
to offer the sentinels coffee. While talking, one of these
feUows advancing, asked in a loud voice —
" ' What are you doing here?'
" Annetta : ' I was merely looking at these poor pri
soners and wondering how long they could live under such
cruel treatment.'
" Sentinel : ' That's none of your business. They are
French pirates, and had they met their deserts would
have been hang longed ago. They are the worst kind
of pirates, they wish to steal our land, to upset our autho
rity, and to make themselves masters of this country, eh !
my boys, (leering at us,) you've undertaken ' a big job.'"
" By this time the second sentinel arrived on the spot
and inquired,
" ' What's up among ye ?'
" ' Oh,' said Annetta, 'I was merely asking these poor
feUows, as this was a wedding night, whether they
would not like to have a cup of hot coffee and a piece of
sweet-bread, do permit me to give it them for the sake of
our Redeemer.'
" ' You little rogue,' said the sentinel, ' are you siding
with our enemies ?'
" ' Naughty man,' said Annetta, ' don't talk that way,
what harm have the poor fellows done us. They are our
brother human beings, let us for the love of the Holy
Virgin sooth their misery for a moment, by a little sup
per. If you will let me give them some, each of you shall
have a cup of coffee, a nice roll and a glass of rum to
boot.' " ' Good, it's a bargain,' said the sentinels, ' be in a

106 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
hurry, my pretty one, get it ready, and let both coffee
and rum be strong.'
" Annetta disappeared, and in a half hour brought
us coffee, having upon the same platter two cups heavily
drugged for the guard. These fellows no sooner snuffed
the delicious aroma of the fragrant berry than they ad
vanced and helping themselves to a buttered roll, quickly
gulped down, both roll and coffee. Not satisfied, they
asked for more, which Annetta quickly brought, after
having drugged the second cup as heavily as the first.
The lazy sentinels then returned to their post, saying pray
don't forget the rum.
" ' Remember,' said one, ' you promised rum and strong
to boot.'
" About five minutes after, one called —
" ' Annetta, hurry with that rum, our supper has made
us drowsy. Some rum to wake us up.'
" ' Yes, Signors, ready in a moment,' said Annetta
advancing with two glasses of drugged spirits,
A few moments after this, both sentinels sank upon the
ground in lethargic slumbers. In a few minutes the outer
covering which had concealed the opening we had made
in the prison wall was demohshed, and we were in the
court. Annetta, who had tied the ribbon of her bonnet
under her chin, carried a heavy Spanish cloak and a sack
with provisions. Charles took charge of the cloak and
sack, and avaihng ourselves of the condition of the guard,
we each appropriated a musket and ammunition from the
sleeping enemy — indirectly from the stores of His Majesty
the King of Spain — finis coronat opus. Thus armed and
equipped, we groped our way through the streets, there
were no lights in Santa Fe, to the outskirts of the
town, and were conducted by Annetta to the Jew's
stable. In this buUding we found Levi on guard, with a
dark lanthorn, paper, writing materials, &c. When about
to draw him a draft upon Havannah for the £500, he
agreed to accept as full compensation for the horses and

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 107
equipment, and the aid thus far extended to us, he refused
to receive the sum, and quick as thought gliding out of the
stable, closed the door and turned the key upon us. For
an instant we were confounded by this manoeuvre, not
knowing what it meant, I had only a moment to restrain
Charles, who was about to fling himself against the door
saying. ' Hold 1 to all the living there is hope ; a living
dog is better than a dead lion,' when we heard Levi clear
ing his villanous throat preparatory to a speech :
Now,' said the Jew% speaking from the outside,
' keep quiet, or you will alarm the town, or I will alarm
it for you. I have dealt fahly and squarely up to this time,
and will do so to the end, only you must be reasonable,
and deal fairly and squarely with me. For the great risk
I run, for the horses, bridles and saddles, the pistols and
food I have provided at great expense of time and money
for your use, £500 is no fair equivalent — is not the right
figure. Draw the check for a thousand, and hand it
through this crevice, and you are at liberty to depart in-
stanter. Refuse compliance, and I shaU raise the alarm,
and you'U return to prison, and before to-morrow's sun goes
down you'll dangle from a tree ; make the acquaintance
of hemp cord.'
" After a few moments' hurried consultation, seeing
the wretch had us ' upon the hip,' I promised to draw the
check as he desired. I only asked that he would open the
door first and let us prepare to move, and to show that he
was honest and wUling to confide in us.
" ' No, Sir,' said the Jew, with a smiling cheek. ' It is
better to do well, than to say weU. Time is shortening
too, say at once, wUl you write the check for £1,000 or
not?' " I thought if the mountain wUl not come to Mahomet,
Mahomet must go to the mountain, in other words, no
alternative being open to acceptance, I agreed to his ex
tortion, and while writing the check, Charles got the
horses ready, as if not doubting the Jew's integrity. Mean-

1 08 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
while Annetta threatened him with the dire vengeance of
her family, in case of failure in the issue of our ex
ploit. " Levi examining my check, and seeing it was in due
form, and for £1,000, at sight, and without grace, placed
it in the innermost recess of his pocket-book, and opened
the door. Ten minutes after I " did void my rheum upon
his beard," we were half a mile from the town in a
canter, towards the lofty peaks of the Rocky Mountains.
Among the articles provided me by the Jew, was a smaU
pocket compass, for which I had specially stipulated. It
was by means of this tiny instruraent I intended making
my way across the Great Western plains, to the mouth
of the Pohitenous or Missouri river, which I knew to be
in latitude 36° 10' longitude 90° 5'. Urging our horses on
at the top of their speed till morning, we were with the
first blushes of Aurora, about forty miles from Santa Fe,
in the midst of the Rocky Mountains, perfectly safe from
any pursuit or any apprehensions of pursuit.
" Our direction was towards an unexplored region ; the
roving tribes of savages who inhabited it, were hostile to
the Spaniards, and in the depths of winter, few would
think of attempting to cross the mountains without a guide
or pathway — such were the grounds of our fancied se
curity. Finding at dawn that we were involved in the
mountains, we rested four hours, during which we made an
excellent breakfast from Annetta's supplies ; afterwards
tethered the horses on the grassy banks of a stream, and
set out on foot in search of a feasible route, across these
high and rugged mountains. For three days we were en
gaged in this arduous undertaking, and finally succeeded ;
principally through the energy and activity of Charles, who
is by the way as active as a kid, and as strong, patient
and enduring as a donkey.
" Setting out from our first camping ground on the
Oth of February 1774, we made our way to the heights
of the mountains, and on the llth, were at their eastern

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 109
base. As well as I could form an idea of the height, we
were 6,000 feet above the level of the sea, but there was
little snow, and what there was lay upon the peaks above
us. ^ The air from the west during the day was mUd, and
during the night, not intensely cold. I attributed this
fact to the remarkable mildness of the climate west of the
mountains. Only after receding from the mountains tra
velling N.E., did we experience severe cold. During this
time we saw no Indians — at this season they migrate to a
softer chmate, and better hunting grounds. The abun
dance of game, however, was truly surprising Among
the W'Ud animals is a goat which is very shy, and keeps
upon the highest spots. We saw daily the bear, (of a
huge size too, are the bears of these regions), the wolf,
the bison, elk, deer, beaver, racoon and other species of
wild beasts. We were too anxious, however, to get to the
plains east of the mountains to take any heed of these.
None made any attack upon us ; all fied at our approach,
such is the terror inspired among the beasts of the field,
by the face of him, whom God has given ' dominion over
the fish of the sea, the fowl of the air, and over the cattle,
and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that
creepeth upon the earth.'
" It was our singular good fortune, too, not to have
had up to this time any snow or rain, but we now saw
clouds gathering in the sky, and were brought to con
sider the necessity of providing shelter. I observed also
that pur provisions were rapidly diminishing, and that
there was urgent necessity for a renewal of our supply.
I accordingly determined to halt in a cavern which was
discovered iu the side of the mountain, until such time
as we could make provision against these contingencies.
The same day (llth of February) we shot two large deer,
and, taking off their skins, stretched them upon poles to dry.
The 12th and 13th it rained incessantly, but we cared
little for this, remaining in the cavern engaged in half-
cooking, by a huge wood fire, the venison we were to take

110 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
on the journey. Annetta was very expert in this opera
tion, and by the evening of the second day we had
nearly a hundred pounds of dried and charred meat
ready to be packed for future use. The skins of the
deer were also 'cured' by the fire, and the two sewed
together, making a kind of tent, sufficient to protect us,
with our blankets and the Spanish cloak, from rain. We
determined, however, the next day, to secure two more
bucks, and thus provide ourselves a more commo
dious tent. During the three days we remained here
in these preparations, our horses, who found an ample
supply of succulent grass in the ravines and on the banks
of the streams, improved in flesh and spirits. On the
morning of the 1 5th we set forth, determined to make, as
near as we could guess, thirty mUes a-day, and not more,
to prevent breaking down the horses, which we estimated
would bring us in forty days to St. Louis. We proceeded
for twenty-one days without the slightest accident, and
without meeting a human being, crossing one great river,
which I presumed was the Rio Rouge of Arkansas, We
estimated, when we had reached the golden sands of the
Rio Rouge that we had made quite one-half of our journey,
and could not be more than 600 miles from our destina
tion at this point. Our route had been as near as possible
in a straight line, uphUl and downhill, following the
sinuosities of the country like the Chinese waU. There
were few difficulties to be encountered, as the country is
generally a level, fertile plain, stretching down from the
mountains to the Mississippi. The principal chain of the
Rocky Mountains throws out numerous ramifications of
greater or less proportions, east and west. In the great
water-shed or basin between these mountains and the
Mississippi vast quantities of water are accumulated from
rain and the melting snow of the mountains, which roll on
in mighty rivers to the Gulf. The largest of these rivers
is the Missouri, Pohitenous, or mud river, whose course
has not been discovered, and the second the one we passed

The Adventures of my Grandfather. Ill
in our journey hither, the Rio Rouge, or Red River, of
Arkansas, which is of vast extent, placid and beautiful
beyond description, where we saw it.
During these three weeks we slept in our tent com
fortably, and subsisted almost entirely upon dried venison,
without salt, taking only occasionally at night a giU each
of brandy." Living after this manner, and riding thirty miles
a-day, one would have supposed our strength failing, but
on the contrary, I felt my health and vigour constantly
improving, and I never saw Charles and Annetta in higher
spirits. Our horses were tethered at night near our tent,
and large fires kept burning round the spot to frighten off
wild beast, who abound to such an extent in this terra in
cognita, that we passed no night which was not rendered
hideous by their screamings and bowlings. The weather
was now much colder, and I saw indications of an ap
proaching snow storm. I determined, therefore, as our
supply of provisions needed to be replenished, to call a
halt. This was upon the 10th of March, and as near as I
could determine our position, from an old French map, which
I carried, we were upon the upper waters of the Missouri.
Selecting a weU-sheltered spot on the side of a hUl covered
with trees, we soon excavated, with our bayonets, a kind
of chamber in the cliff, the front of which was covered
with our deer skins. We were not an hour too soon, for
a furious north wind and snow storm set in, and lasted
two days, when the ground was covered two feet deep.
We were now in a terrible position, for which we had
scarcely provided. Our horses almost without food, we
feared must perish. UnwiUing, however, to part with
them till obliged, we turned them loose to seek a subsist-
ance among the shrubs, twigs, and mosses of the forest.
The day after the storra subsided, the sun appeared in un
clouded majesty. I sallied forth, attended by Charles, in
search of game. This we found without stint, many deer
and other wild animals having sought shelter in the same

112 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
skirt of timber with ourselves. This was a great blessing,
and we fervently returned thanks to Providence for thus
providing us with the means of subsistence. We shot two
deer and a young buffalo, the butchering and drying of
whose flesh occupied us a week.
During this time we nightly caUed up oui horses, who
managed to subsist in the forest. We were dehghted, too,
to discover about this time a great abatement in the cold.
I still thought, however, as we were in a dry spot, with a
stock of provisions — such as it was — it was better to con
tinue for the present where we were. We did not move
tiU the 21st of March, when the snow had almost disap
peared. Then, setting forth again, we found our horses so
enfeebled by their scanty fare, that we could scarcely make
twenty miles a day. They were only enabled to do this
by reason of the trouble we took to find for them sheltered
spots every night on the banks of streams, where there
was green grass and young pea vines for their nourish
ment. On the 2iid of April, when, as we supposed, about four
hundred miles from St. Louis, in attempting to ford a
stream, which was much swollen by the melting snow,
Annetta's horse was suddenly tripped up and swept away
by the current. The courageous girl, who was a good
swimmer, rose on the waters like a duck, and after some
trouble, was rescued. Charles could render no aid, as he
had gone to the opposite shore. Our custom had been for
him or myself to first cross a stream, then Annetta, to be
followed by the third. Placing Annetta upon my horse,
she now passed safely, I holding the while by the horse's
mane, and wading or swimming according to the depth of
the water. From this point we proceeded on our way,
alternately having Annetta behind on the crupper of our
horses. We were now following the course of the stream,
which I was sure must be a tributary of the Pohitenous.
We had also come into a country where there were many
Indian settlements, though at long distances. Whenever

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 113
we descried these, we gave them in the language of navi
gators, "a wide birth." On the ISth of April, we lost a
second horse from exhaustion, and surrendering our last to
Annetta, continued the journey on foot, till we reached
the Pohitenous, on the 2 Sth of AprU, after a journey of
1 ,300 niUes, as near as we could estimate it. Here the last
horse was so completely jaded that we abandoned him, deter
mining to make the residue of the journey as best we could.
"The number of Indians had now so much increased,
or rather, we had come so much nearer the towns and
vUlages of those inhabiting the Pohitenous country, that
without horses it was impossible to avoid them. Indeed,
on horseback, I do not think we could have done so. The
next day we entered a village, where we found only old
men, women and children. The men had already gone
forth to wage war against a tribe known as the Ajoues.
The tribe among whom we now found ourselves was the
Osage, above them were the Causes and Grandes Eaux
tribes. Those over whose territory we had passed, were
the Piantias, a wandering tribe, and the Arkansaws. We
were hospitably treated by the Osages, and exchanged
one of our muskets for a bark canoe, in which I deter
mined to float down the river to St. Louis, and we also
procured some provisions consisting of hominy and bison's
tongue. I found it not only desirable but indispensable
to adopt this plan of reaching St. Louis, as I was now
almost helpless from an attack of rheumatism brought on
by cold, damp clothes, exposure, and want of suitable
nourishment. An old Osage Indian agreed to accompany
us to St. Louis for a case of rum, which I was glad to
promise hira, as his presence would save us from anno}-
ance by the savages. We embarked in our little canoe
upon the Pohitenous, which is the most turbid river, 1
suppose, in the whole world, but by skilful navigation
kept clear of all obstacles, and safely arrived here in a foit-
night. The land on the river is very fertile, and stretches
I

114 The Adventures of mnj Grandfather.
away in boundless plains, covered in summer with the
most luxuriant growth of grass.
" St. Louis, the post where we remain, and of which
I must say a word before closing, is, as you know, the
capital of Upper Louisiana. It was founded about the
year 1763, by a company of fur traders from New Or
leans, Thirty-one years before this (in 1732) the French
established a colony in Illinois with the ultimate design
of uniting, by an extensive line of mUitary posts, Canada
and Louisiana. In this year, however, (1763) Louis XV
ceded the French North American possessions (or rather
the remainder of them) to Spain. It was not tUl 1768,
however, that Upper Louisiana fell into the hands of the
Spanish, between four and five years after the tragical
events I mentioned in connection with the operations of
General the Count O'Reilly at New Orleans. Pardon me
for indulging in this historical recital of events with which
you are doubtless far more famUiar than myself
" It is situated upon a fine table-land lying high above
the Mississippi, originaUy covered, as much of it still is,
with forest. It has received a large accession to its popu
lation from French Creole and Illinois emigrants, and is
now rapidly becoming a place of importance. It is sixty
mUes above another settlement called St. Genevieve, which
is the only French post on the right bank of the river,
until Lower Louisiana, a thousand mUes off. is reached.
When I leave here, it will be for St. Genevieve, en route
for the Kentucky settiement."

CHAPTER XII.
THIRD AND LAST LETTER FROM ST. LOUIS. — HE MEETS A VIRGINIAN WHO
SUPPLIES HIS WANTS. — MARRIAGE OF HIS VALET WITH ANNETTA XIMENES.
— INDIAN HOSTILITIES IN ILLINOIS, INDIANA AND OHIO, — DESCRIPTION OF
SANTA FE AND THE PLAINS.
" I HAD scarcely been an hour in St. Louis, before, to
my great surprise, I met Mr. Thomas Brent, of Alexandria,
who had arrived several days before by way of Detroit,
with a party of French fur dealers. He was as much sur
prised to meet me as I to encounter him ; and more so to
hear of my adventures since leaving Virginia. From him
I have procured a loan to cover my expenses homeward.
He has given me much valuable information, which will
doubtless be of service on the journey, and one of his St.
Louis friends, Mr. Choteaue, wUl travel part of the way
with me.
"The Indians in Ohio are preparing to open hostilities
against the whites in Virginia, and he thinks it a hazardous
undertaking, that of crossing the country. Everywhere in
Ohio the savages are making ready to take up the toma
hawk, and he advises me — as the only means of getting
forward — to keep south of the Ohio, which I have, from
the beginning, thought of doing. On my return, I shah
join such forces as Governor Dunmore may raise for a
campaign against the Red Skins.
" Shortiy after reaching St. Louis, Charies informed me
of his wish to marry Annetta. This communication did
I 2

116 The Adventu/res of my Grandfather.
not surprise me, I suggested, however, that the nuptials
might be conveniently postponed till our arrival in Vir
ginia. Both parties, however, seemed so anxious to con
clude the affair, that I yielded to their wishes. I am
under too many obligations to them to refuse any reason
able request they may make of me. Their conduct
throughout the journey convinced me that man is not
naturally so debased as our prejudices make him; and
when left to its own operations, the human heart is uni
formly, kindly, affectionate, and sympathetic. It is only
in seasons of trial that the sterling qualities of the human
heart are often brought to view, and I frequentiy feel the
truth of Shakspeare's lines, when witnessing the conduct
and unerring fidehty of these two persons to each other
and to myself — " ' Sweet are the uses of adversity.'
" A French Priest was procured, and the marriage cere
mony took place on the evening of the eleventh. Charles
and Annetta regarding me, on this interesting occasion, as
standing towards them somewhat in loco parentis, I gave
her away, and after the marriage, requested their attend
ance in my dining-room, where I proceeded to admonish
them after the following parental manner. Such is their
youth, inexperience, and ignorance, I thought it indis
pensable to their happiness that 1 should give them a little
wholesome advice. I may add par parenthese, I should
scarcely have had gravity to act my part as pater familias,
but for the vast fund of experience I have acquired the
past year, and the scenes of trial and suffering endured
with these two companions of my misfortunes, whom I
now regard more in the hght of humble friends than as
servants. " In presence of each other, I proceeded substantially as
foUows :
" I said to Charles, that in order to feel a reasonable
hope of being happy in his new condition, he must

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 117
always look upon his wife as his equal and treat her
with kindness, respect and attention: cheerfully comply
with all her reasonable demands; consult her upon all
matters affecting his interests, as she was more deeply in
terested than any one else in his success, and never if in
trouble or embarrassment to conceal it from her ; but to
make her the repositorium of his innermost thoughts and
feelings. " To Annetta, I said, ' it was her duty to leave nothing
undone to render Charles and his home, (when he got
one), happy and to gratefully reciprocate his kindness and
attention, and always on his return to receive him with a
pleasant smile and happy countenance. That it was her
duty to gratify his tastes and inclinations in the manage
ment of their domestic affairs, as also in her dress, man
ners and deportment. Never to attempt to obtain the
mastery over or to rule him, as if she succeeded, it would
only degrade hira and herself. Not only to coraply cheer
fully with his wishes, but to seek to anticipate them, to
avoid all disputations and quarrels, or subjects likely to
lead to them, especially in company. Never interfere
with his business, still less to attempt to interfere in its
management. Never under any circumstances to attempt
to speak to friends or acquaintances of the failings or im
perfections of her husband, that whatever pledge of
secrecy she might exact, if she spoke of such matters,
sooner or later they would become subjects of discussion
among the neighbouring gossips. That if UI luck attend
him, she must be prepared to share his misfortunes, as
cheerfully as if lucky she would partake of his fortunes.
That unless their union was based upon real and devoted
affection, they would find marriage a weary bondage, and
the ' silken cords' a grating chain, a chain which passion
may have wreathed with roses, but which when passion's
roses had withered, would betray the iron links, an iron
too that would enter the soul.'
" I concluded by advising them that marriage was the

118 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
foundation of one of the most sacred and important insti
tutions in society — that of a famUy — which was nothing
more or less than a little commonwealth, jointly governed
by the parents, but more especially by the husband, who
was the legal and responsible head of the house. That it
imposed upon the father the duty and responsibihty of pro
perly rearing his children, of giving them a certain education
and trade, or profession by which they would be enabled,
at the proper age, to procure a subsistance. Dilating
upon these matters at considerable length, I finally dis
missed them with the present of a sovereign each to make
merry against the 15th instant, when we should leave
for Kentucky. They seemed very happy at the conclu
sion of their marriage ceremony, and not less so at the
termination of my half-sermonizing remarks.
" Not wishing to break the continuity of my narrative
since leaving New Orleans, by any particular description of
the country through which I passed, what I have to say
upon this subject is reserved for a paper herewith enclosed."
SOME DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INTERIOR
Enclosed in the preceding letter.
" Of the valley of the Rio de Norte, I shall have httle
to say. This country has been visited and described by
numerous French and Spanish travellers. My brief space
must be given to a hurried description of those vast soli
tudes lying between the Rocky Mountains and the Missis
sippi. Of the vaUey of the Rio Grande, I may say briefly
I was much pleased with its fertile appearance, and de
lighted with the serenity of the air. The soU is a sandy-
loam, very hght, and highly productive.
When irrigated, it produces two crops a year. Yet, not
withstanding the extreme fertility of the soU, the bad ad
ministration of government, conspiring with the indolence
of the inhabitants, leaves it unpopulous and uncultivated.

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 119
Producing corn, wine, oU, fruits, cotton, and all the ne
cessaries of life, under a proper system of agriculture and
of laws it would become an earthly paradise.
" Advancing up this valley I saw many horses, mules,
oxen, sheep and goats feeding in the open air. These
herds constitute the chief source of wealth of the inhabi
tants ; more interesting were several ruins at Quivira,
where we remained the night indicating, as they do, a former
civilization. I was permitted to make a short examination
of them, on promising to pay 5 dollars at Santa Fe, where
I hoped to raise a loan. I was informed that they were the
ruins of the Aborigines, but I do not think so. The
slight view I had of them was enough to convince me that
they were of Spanish origin. On the journey we suffered
greatly from the heat, which was sometimes in the day,
100° F. in the sun. The temperature of this province
varies, however, with the latitude and the nature and
height of the table-lands.
"As I approached the post of .Santa Fe, I was struck
with a mixed sensation of surprise and delight at its ap
pearance. The first view is really enchanting. It is
situated upon the slopes of hiUs, and the green fields and
luxuriant foliage in which it is embosomed, even at the
advanced season of our arrival, gave it a raost lovely and
picturesque aspect. The surrounding meadows, which are
green and beautiful, even in winter, are ornamented with
many magnificent flowers, crimson, scarlet, white, pink,
and purple. A nearer approach to the town destroyed the
charming vision, the houses are low and inferior, con
structed of adaube, (bricks dried in the sun), the streets
filthy and loathsome, and the population indolent and in
different, a miserable lot of emaciated, sun-burnt and de
jected-looking Spaniards. Though a place of inconsider
able size, Santa Fe has been laid out on a grand scale. I
have said enough of our imprisonment there to give you
every assurance of the sincere pleasure with which we
turned our backs upon it, to enter the wild, solitary, and

120 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
unexplored regions, which separate the Rocky Mountains
from the Mississippi. This region is so vast that a descrip
tion of it is no easy matter. I shall only give you a sketch
of its general characteristics, and a few details concerning
those striking points which came under my observation,
and which modify those characteristics. This country is
watered by many streams, such as the Canadian, the Rio
Rouge, the White, the Cansas, the Arkansas, the Nio-
brarah, the Keha-Pahah, the Pohitenous, and other rivers,
whose names, if they have any, are unknown to civihzed
man. The whole is a vast plain stretching down from the
lofty summits of the Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi,
and until the traveller arrives within three hundred miles
of the river, is devoid of trees, except on the borders of
rivers and water courses. The country is a series of ex
tensive prairies, slightly undulating and rising considerably
as you approach the mountains. The absence of trees is
not due, in my opinion, to high winds, as is supposed, in
this place and the western country generally, but to the
devastation which results from the savage custom of an
nually setting fire to the prairies. This is evident from
the fact that many trunks of trees are now seen in a pe
trified state. Immediately east of the mountains the plains
are generally covered with a meagre and hard herbage, as
also with heaths, wormwood, and artemis.
" However far he may proceed, the traveUer always
finds himself in the middle of an immense circuit — aU
around is the same landscape, the same weeds, and the
same flowers, and at night he seems to sleep on the same
s[)ot where he passed the previous night. The plains are
intercepted by rivers and sloughs, and the necessity of
crossing these, add to the inconvenience and dangers of
the journey. The undulations are formed by sand hUls
or different kinds of rock, and vary iii height from 50 to
4, or 500 feet. The ground falls gradually to the East.
The uniformity of these vast solitudes is only broken by a
few sandy mountains, united in confused masses, a few

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 121
rocky heights or frightful ravines wdiich cut across them.
The trees commonly seen on the streams are wUlows,
poplars, cotton trees, elm, oaks, wUd plum trees, and a few
fruit bushes, wormwood and artemis are the predominant
productions of the great plains, but in the vaUeys of the
rivers are alsochesnuts, ash, Chinese lUacs, mesquites and
wiUows, under the trees there grow neither bush nor
thicket, and the ground is overgrown with long grass and
verdant moss. Such are the general features of this wild,
solitary region, wdiich may be compared to the steppes of
Asia, and in which everything makes a deep impression on
man and strikes him with awe Buffaloes, panthers, ante
lopes, otters, beavers, turkeys, grouse, quad, and part
ridges inhabit these plains. In all that portion south of
30 degrees of latitude, the air is pure and sweet, and the
climate deliciously mild. The sky is as blue as an oriental
sapphire, and a gentle breeze ever plays over it, bearing
upon its wings the fragrance of flowers. In passing over
the plain, the geological configuration of the soil changes
completely. From the Rio Grande to the Rio Rouge are
seen Ivrgt^rot^ oi lime and gypsum from the common
plaster of Paris to the purest selenite — then granite re
places these, then quartz, felspar and mica are seen, as
well as quantities of petrifactions.
" One of the singular and interesting sights on my route
was the villages of the Prairie dogs. These were always
found in elevated and uncovered spots. Some of them
were twenty miles across. The Prairie dog resembles a
squirrel in shape, size, and physiognomy. His bark, which
is the only thing he has in common with the real dog, has
given him his name. He burrows in the ground, excavat
ing to the depth of frora eight to ten feet, the earth it
throws up being afterwards built in the forra of a cone
over his subterraneous abode. A large part of the day,
during pleasant weather, the dogs sit on the summit of
these dwellings apparently chattering together. A few
sentinels are posted to give warning of approaching danger.

122 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
When an enemy is seen advancing, they bark in a peculiar
way, and the entire community of dogs disappear under
the earth. The Prairie dog hves apparently without water,
always selecting dry situations for the towns. They close
the entrance to their dwellings with dry grass at the
beginning of winter, and fall to sleep till the return of
spring. " The interest created by the natural beauties, the land
scapes, and the wUd poesy of these immense plains, was
small compared to that aroused by the numerous evidences
on the route of a previous and extinct civilization. Of
course, 1 can forra very little idea as to the people to
whom these antiquities ought to be attributed ; but they
are evidently the work of different nations, at different
epochs. These tumuli consist of conical shaped mounds
and pyramidal hillocks. Though it was important that I
should proceed with every despatch upon my hazardous
journey towards the east, 1 delayed two hours to make an
excavation, with the assistance of Charles, into one of
these rare mounds near the Rio Rouge. I took from this
fumuli/jsome bones, sheUs, and pieces of pottery, which
indicate in those by whom they were manufactured a cer
tain knowledge of art. The shells, curious to say, are
marine, and unlike any 1 have ever seen in America or the
West Indies ; are similar to those brought you from China
by Dr. Peyton. The mounds are evidentiy the sepulchral
tombs or burial places of former generations. Built of
earth, and covered with grass and trees, they much more
readily resist the ravages of time, than monuments built
of stone. I am much mistaken if antiquarian research
does not show that ages previous to the discovery of
America by Columbus, this continent was inhabited by
people of an advanced civilization, as compared with the
Red Skins of to-day. ' I shall not, however, enter upon a
question so arduous in these hurried letters, but reserve
much that I have to say in this connection till my return.
The discovery of these things had a powerful and pleasing

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 123
effect upon my mind. Something, (when I considered that
I might be traversing the oldest rather than the newest
world,) of the same kind of feeling with which one might
be supposed to tread the ground which Abraham trod ;
where Nahor the father of Rebecca lived ; and of Laban, to
whom Jacob fled to avoid his brother Esau's resentment,
and whom he served fourteen years for the love he bore
Rachael. " In the few hnes I have dashed off on this subject, I
have not undertaken to describe even generally, still less,
step by step, those vast solitudes over which I have just
come. To describe nature in such boundless regions,
where nature changes its aspect at every moment, and
where the traveller is struck alternately with admiration
and awe at the extraordinary phenomena, would be as la
borious and fatiguing as a journey across them. For the
present I content myself with this rapid glance."

CHAPTER XIII.
HE ARRIVES AT THE MOUTH OP THE KENTUCKY RIVER. — DEMOCRATIC SEN
TIMENTS IN THE BACKWOODS SETTLEMENT, — VISIT TO AN INDIAN TOWN.
—MAMMOTH BONES, — ANTIQUITIES. — ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY.— DEFEAT
OF A FRENCH AND INDIAN FORCE BY THE CHIOKASAWS.
Nearly two months transpire between the date of the
last of the St. Louis letters, and that which foUows, written
in Kentucky on the 21st of July, and the 12th and 18th
of August, 1774. The conclusion of this letter is des
troyed ; but as it doubtless referred to the Indian tribes
of the Ohio, who are better known now than then, its
loss is comparatively of little importance. During this
period, my grandfather was making his way through the
Wilderness, in the direction of Virginia.
" A journey of twenty-eight days brought me from the
south-western part of the province of Kentucky, where I
was delayed by an attack of fever and ague, of which I
gave you an account in my letter of the 2nd inst.* to
this place. Having been directed to the house of Mr.
Henderson, he received and entertained us in the most
hospitable manner. He is the owner of a large and fertile
plantation on the Kentucky river, and lives in the midst
* This letter is missing.

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 125
of plenty, if not of peace. During my sojourn, we have
visited together the different settieraents in the vicinity,
which present every evidence of prosperity and happiness.
The Kentuckians, however, anticipate at an eariy day an
Indian war, and are already making extensive defensive
preparations. They have erected three stockade forts to
protect themselves and families. I was surprised to find,
however, that these forts were not in supporting distance
of each other, and not to be held against a numerous and
determined enemy in possession of the open country : that
such an army might completely invest them, and thus
compel their capitulation. At the instance of a committee
of the inhabitants, I made a reconnaissance of the country,
and soon found admirable spots for the erection of forts ;
and by means of three, I imagined a section lying between
the Ohio and Kentucky rivers, of 1,500 acres, could be
easily defended. The country covered by these forts ;
would also enable the inhabitants to protect from capture
their herds of horses, cattle, sheep and swine. The plans
I furnished thera for these works, were selected from a
number, the peculiar value of which, for defence against
the Indians, Colonel de Blois had pointed out to me.
They are very simple, but I am persuaded will answer the
purposes of defence against the savages, especiaUy if they
are constructed of stone and earth, which will render them
fire-proof, as I earnestly represented to the authorities they
should be. Every dweUing-house and out-buUding in this
settlement is built of logs covered with boards. These
houses are proof against Indian bullets, but the savages
have learned to destroy them by means of arrows wrapped
with dried grass, and steeped in the resinous exudations of
the pine tree. Firing these arrows, they shoot them
upon the roofs of the buildings, which are quickly in
flames. " No sooner were the spots for the forts indicated, and
the committee supplied with plans and instructions for their
building, &c., than they devised a scheme for their im-

126 The Adventu/res of my Grandfather.
mediate erection. No one in tiie settiement had ever seen
fl regularly constructed fortification, nor was there any one
among them with the slightest pretensions to military
knowledge. Comprehending at once, however, the ad
vantages of such works as 'those suggested, they set to
work to build them with the greatest zeal, energy and
public spirit. I hope they wiU meet with entire success,
though in every undertaking they are obstructed by the
prevalent western want of subordination to authority.
Absolute equality prevaUs in aU ranks in the backwoods.
No deference is paid except from the weaker to the stronger,
from the timid to the bold. Every public work proce'eds
slowly, and is constantly in danger of being abandoned
from a misunderstanding among the workmen. In times
of public peril, there is great reason too to apprehend from
this cause anarchy and confusion.
" For mutual protection and convenience, the inhabitants
of this particular settlement have voluntarily adopted a
code of laws for the government of their community. This
code was pre|)ared by my worthy host, who is possessed
of considerable learning, and is moreover skilled in the
law. Having a copy of the Virginia statutes, he has epi
tomized, simplified and adapted them to the use and police
of the community The people have chosen him their
chief magistrate, and given hiin extensive powers. Thus
no one elected to office, even by the people, can serve
without the sanction and approval of the chief magistrate.
By these modified statutes all officers are elected by the
people, who vote mj;a voce. Three magistrates are chosen
to serve with the chief magistrate, and all disputes which
are not settled by them are submitted to a jury of eighteen,
chosen from the elders by the people, to serve twelve
months. If the decision of the jury is distasteful to
either litigant, an appeal lies to the chief magistrate whose
judgment is final in cases of this kind. From these fiicts,
it is evident that while the republican ideas of these Ken
tuckians is such, that they will not acknowledge an ab-

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 127
solute ruler, alleging that they have left the eastern and
southern colonies to free themselves frora the tyrannical
power of His Majesty George III. ; the every day neces
sities of their situations {necessitas non habet leges) have
driven them to elevate from among their own number,
one whose authority is somewhat despotic. With few ex
ceptions, the inhabitants are Virginians, recruited frora the
raost adventurous, spirited and energetic of our popula
tion. They do no discredit to the old dominion. All
manly virtues are cultivated by thera, and pusillanimity,
cowardice and mean spirit is unknown.
" During one of the many horseback excursions taken
with Mr. Henderson, we visited the confluence of the
Kentucky and Ohio rivers. At that point the Ohio is
nine hundred yards wide, and the Kentucky four hun
dred. The soil on both rivers is dark brown, almost
black and very fertUe, the soU of the hUls is of a reddish
brown colour and is covered with a lofty growth of straight
trees. The forest of Kentucky consists of yellow and
white poplar, walnut, red bud, hiccory, oaks of many
different kinds, gum, sycamore, maple, horn-beam, dog
wood, pine, chesnut, beach, holly, cedar, sassafras, wild
cherry and many other descriptions peculiar to the coun
try, and all of extraordinary size. Our chief object in
visiting the confluence of the rivers was to examine some
skeletons, which a party of hunters had discovered there,
and which were reputed to be the skeletons of elephants.
Upon examining the bones, we were both of the opinion
that they belonged to some gigantic animal now extinct,
and not of the elephant species. For no elephants have
ever been discovered in either North or Soutii America,
nor in any part of the world of a size and magnitude
which these bones indicate. Neither are the bones of
the feet, in the monster skeletons here found, so flat as in
the foot of the elephant, and the vertebrae of the neck
much longer. To what gigantic species of quadrupeds
they belong, I am at a loss to imagine. Their discovery

1 28 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
opens an interesting field of investigation for the naturalist
and philosopher.
" The Ohio which is ranch the larger stream, is confined
to its channel by two banks, the upper and lower, on
either side. When the river is low during the compara
tively dry season of summer, the water is confined within
the lower banks, during which period the current being
smooth and gentle, canoes, barges and batteaux ascend
the stream during the spring and autumn floods ; when
the river is swollen to the edge of the upper bank and the
current is strong and rapid, boats, barges and so forth
descend, sometimes travelling one hundred and fifty miles
a day. At this season it is common for boats to descend
frora Pittsburg to New Orieans, finding the channel no
where in a distance, not far from 2,500 miles, less than
twenty-five feet in depth. Vessels of heavy draught may
therefore navigate the interior of the continent, and the
industrial and commercial importance of this fact cannot
be overestimated. The valley of the Mississippi is des.
fined to become the home of miUions, probably hundreds
of millions of human beings, and the seat of possibly the
grandest empire the world has ever seen.
" These rivers, as indeed aU I have crossed east of the
Rocky Mountains, abound in fish. Many of these fish are
very fat and of extraordinary size, such as the cat-fish,
which not uncommonly weighs between one and two hun
dred pounds. Throughout Kentucky, game abounds
and the deer are merely killed for their skins. Elk are
also numerous, and buffaloes, wolves, bears, foxes, racoons,
and opossums. On the rivers almost every variety of
water-fowl is to be found. Sometiraes in the savannahs
as many as six thousand turkeys have been seen in a
single flock." "August 12th.
" I have now been with my kind Kentucky friend three

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 129
weeks, during which period my health has much im
proved. I leave to-morrow morning for Virginia. My
excellent friend insists upon my remaining longer, for the
Kentuckians are as hospitable as Arabs ; but I am deaf to
all importunities, remembering the trite adage, ' withdraw
thy foot from thy neighbour's house, lest he be weary of
thee.' My impatience to see my dear inother and your
self increases also, if this be possible, as I approach home.
" During my visit here I have made many excursions up
and down the river, and find everything in tranquillity,
and the Indians quiet and friendly. Nevertheless, appre
hensions still exist among the whites, of a war. Mr.
Henderson, Mr. MacGowan and myself have visited se
veral Indian towns, one belonging to the Miniamis or
Tweetwees, and another to the Shawncse. Nothing pecu
liar was discovered in their manners and customs, and all
seemed friendly. The Indians who have come in contact
with Europeans, however,* are so crafty, suspicious, vin
dictive and withall so full of courage and duplicity, that
the whites do not readily trust to friendly appearances.
1 mention where they have come in contact with the
whites designedly, for it is adraitted by aU traveUers araong
thera, yourself, dear father, among the number, that
where uncorrupted by this association, they are kind, hos
pitable and inspired by just and noble sentiments. They
have been so often deceived ; treated with such treachery
and barbarity, that their souls thirst for revenge, and
there is nothing which the savage wiU neglect to gratify
this passion. He has been known to travel 500 miles on
foot, through the forest, in the darkness of night, conceal
ing himself by day, to avenge a wrong. This deep-rooted
determination to revenge his injuries, has led to his great
caution and his rare powers of dissimulation. And here
on the frontier he has greater opportunities for displaying
these qualities. I must not forget to say, however, what
I have discovered from personal observation, that the In
dian when a friend, is a steady and warm friend. We
K

130 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
know this to be true among those in Virginnia, and it is
confirmed by the whites of those in the West."
"August 18th.
" Having made my preparations to leave Kentucky and
proceed by the river in a batteau, secured through Mr.
MacGowan from a Chickasaw Indian, who agreed to ac
company me and act as boatman, I bid adieu to my kind and
excellent friends and went aboard the 15th of August 1774.
My Chickasaw boatman soon proved a truly valuable ac
quisition, knowing the river weU and speaking the language
of the wUd hoardes on either shore. The Chickasaws are
a brave tribe, distinguished throughout this country for
their virtue and indomitable spirit. They are tall and well
formed, very strong and active, with handsome features,
expressive countenances and generous souls. Our allies,
no arts of the French have ever seduced them frora their
duty and allegiance. On one occasion to bring thera to
terms, the French dispatched from Canada a thousand of
their best troops, supported by 2,500 Indians ; but not
withstanding the disparity in numbers, they met such de
termined resistance from this heroic race, that they were
totally defeated. Not more than 100 French found their
way back to Canada."
(The end of this letter is missing.)

CHAPTER XIV.
HE ARRIVES ON THE GREAT KENEWHA RIVER. — MEETS AND JOINS THE
ARMY OF GENERAL LEWIS. — TAKES PART IN THE BATTLE OP POINT
PLEASANTS. — ACCOUNT OP THE BATTLE AND SKETCH OF GENERAL LEWIS
AND OP THE LAMENTED COLONEL CHARLES LEWIS. — IS WOUNDED AND RE
MOVED TO THE GREENBRIER.
The foUowing letter dated at the residence of his friend,
Colonel Andrew Lewis, on the Greenbrier River, October
30, 1774, is one of a number addressed to his father sub
sequent to his departure from the Kentucky settlement.
The others are lost. This is greatiy to be regretted. They
were doubtless letters detailing, in full, the events connected
with the operations of the army, under General Lewis,
which culminated in the magnificent victory of Point Plea
sants, on the 10th of October, 1774, of which a meagre
account is contained in this chapter. As such, they could
have possessed no ordinary interest.
" You will understand fully the causes of my disap
pointment and delay, in proceeding up the Kenewha from
my letters of the 20th and 25th of August, and the 15th
and 20th of September, forwarded by JMr. Samuel Green.*
* These letters are missing.
K 2

132 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
1 hasten now to give you some account of myself since the
date of the last letter. Providing myself, Charles and
Annetta with good rifles in exchange for our Spanish
muskets, which we lost in the manner mentioned ; am
munition and Indian dresses, consisting of hunting shirts,
buckskin leggins and moccasins, which are the most
convenient for traveUing ; as also blankets to sleep on
and to cover us, during the time we should have to sleep
in the woods, also horses with bells suspended frora
their necks to enable us to hear thera at a distance, when
they were turned loose to feed, and hobbles made of strong
thongs of leather to prevent their wandering, we struck
off in the direction of the head waters of the Kenewha,
traveUing the war path which has been iraraeraorially used
by the Indians. The savages who had recently come down
this way, reporting to their confederates, the Shawnees,
Mingos and Delawares, north of the Ohio, the prepara
tions of the Virginians to send a force against them ; left
the road open to us. The great and lasting services ren
dered by ray faithful Chickasaw, in ascertaining the situa
tion of these Indians and their intentions, I shall never he
able properly to recompense. I parted with him, with no
small regretj but his engagements required that he should
return, having agreed to accompany a gentieman to New
Orleans. Two such faithful, intelligent, and courageous
attendants as Charles and himself, it would be difficult to
find. They belong to the class of men who are not in
appropriately styled nature's noblemen. Annetta, too, has
proved worthy of her husband, and during my illness has
watched and tended me, as she is now doing with the care
and tenderness of a mother. Though dowerless when she
married Charles, except in her beauty, her virtues and
her gentleness, she will prove a prize beyond value to hira.
' A virtuous woman, her price is far above rubies.' It
seems almost incredible that one so young and apparently
fragile, who had never been from home longer than a day
tiU she set out with us, could have had strength and spirit to

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 133
make the wonderful journey of between two and three
thousand miles, we have accomplished. A journey through
a wUderness without adequate supplies, with no sufficient
protection against the weather and a considerable part of
which was on foot.
" She not only did this, but without a day's iUness, or
any perceptible effect upon her health. Her thin aquUine
features may have gained an additional degree of sharp
ness, her yellow skin may have become a trifle more saUow,
but if so, this was all. Her spirits were uniformly cheerful,
and no murmur escaped her lips. While she bore the
journey thus, I was repeatedly ill with fever and rheuma
tism, and Charles was twice unable to proceed for five
days together. She had made up her mind, however, to
accompany us at every hazard, impelled by her devoted
affection for Charles, and her warm attachment to myself,
as weU as by a determination to desert the household of a
brutal father and a cruel step-mother. She has never
once, in the midst of the desert, of night and the storm,
expressed a regret at her course, but having turned her
back upon her degraded family and distant country, has
resolved to follow after him in the spirit of Ruth :
' whither thou goest, I will go ; and where thou lodgest I
wUl lodge ; thy people shall be my people, and thy God
my God.' She wishes him, however, instead of returning
to Jamaica, to continue in my service, and make Virginia
his home. Nothing would please me more, but whatever
course they pursue, I shall charge myself through hfe with
their protection, and if necessary, their support. I owe
more than this to them — in fact everything — my life in
deed. In no case can I adequately repay the deep debt
of gratitude and obligation I owe them. The motive which
induced Charles to enter Santa Fe with naked feet, because
his master was without shoes, ha,s actuated him and An
netta in every act towards myself since we left that town —
may I always be as constant to my resolution as they have
been steady to their duty, Basis virtutis constantia.

184 J'/ie Adventures of my Grandfather.
" We kept on our course several days, travelling through
an exceedingly rough country, and over the war path,
which was very bad, crossing many deep streams and
water courses, when we found ourselves finally beginning -
to ascend some of the western spurs of the great Apa-
lachian chain of mountains. After the first night spent
among them, I found my strength and spirits improving iu
a remarkable manner. This was obviously attributable to
the salubrity and elasticity of the air. Charles and An
netta experienced the same pleasant and beneficial effects.
The ascent of the mountains was exceedingly difficult and
troublesome. We had often to alight from our horses.
The ascent of the mountain by the war path is eight mUes,
and the latter part so steep as to be almost impracticable.
I was repaid however for my fatigue by the prospect spread
before us on attaining the sumrait — the perspective being
wonderful and almost unbounded. No language can ade
quately describe the scene, which expanded the soul and
filled the mind with reverential awe. Our own littleness
did not, however, diminish our inteUectual faculties, and
the mind boldly soared over the vast extent of earth and
water around, and even above the globe itself, to con
template and admire the amazing works and mighty power
of Him who had created aU.
" From our elevation, we could plainly see for miles the
course of the great Kenewha, up which we had travelled,
and the Holston or New river where it breaks through the
mountains, forming awful chasms. Also the Chnche river,
or some other stream I took to be it, and the Elk. In no
direction over the wide circuit where the eye wandered,
was there the slightest trace of art or improvement. The
entire effect was produced by nature alone, and in her
sublimest forms. The scene recalled the beautiful lines of
Thomson — " ' Plains immense
Lie Btretohed around; interminable meads.
And vast savannahs, where the wandering eye.
Unfixed, is in a verdant ocean lost.'

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 135
" After contemplating with extasy this magnificent scene,
which seemed to engross the mind and enlarge the soul
we commenced the descent, and towards evening, having
arrived on the border of a beautiful stream, meandering
through a green savannah, stopped for the night. Turn
ing the horses loose among the succulent grass, we kindled
a fire, and proceeded to roast a wUd turkey, which Charles
shot a few minutes before, and upon it and some dried
venison, made a delicious repast, which we washed down
with Kentucky whiskey, for we had brought from the
Sandy a considerable stock of this excellent liquor. Wrap
ping ourselves in blankets, and lying down under a large
tree, with our feet to the fire, we were soon asleep. In the
morning we arose without the slightest dejection or op
pression of spirits, but light and gay-hearted. Despatching
our matutinal meal of cold turkey and venison, we pro
ceeded down the rivulet, and coming to a deep stream
near nightfall, about forty miles from our starting point,
stopped on its banks for the night.
" Our supper again consisted of a roast wild turkey.
These birds were now so numerous that we could easily
have subsisted a hundred men upon them. We might
have kiUed any number we chose, but having no disposi
tion to delay our journey, or indeed to destroy them, we
only shot those we required for food.
"Next morning while breakfasting, preparatory to re
commencing our journey, we were startled by the report
of a rifle, the bullet of which cut through Charles' hat,
and had it passed an inch lower, must have cleaved his
skull. The shot proceeded from a white scout on the
opposite bank of the stream, who had mistaken ours for a
party of Indians. This was, indeed, easily done, from our
dress, and the tawny skins of Charles and his wife.
Startitig up and baihng the scout, I explained our true
character. MeanwhUe, the scout was joined by twenty
others, who, apprehending we might be enemies, seeking
to decoy them into an ambush, invited us to cross the

136 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
stream to them, which we proceeded to do Scarcely had
we arrived upon the opposite shore, when an officer ap
proaching, to our mutual surprise and dehght, we proved
to be old friends. This officer was, indeed, ray old and
much esteemed friend, Major Charies Lewis, of Augusta
County, Esquire. Hurriedly explaining to Major Lewis
the nature of my adventures since leaving Virginia, and
the manner in which I had arrived at this point on ray
return, I was greatly pleased to learn that you had received
inteUigence of my arrival at St. Louis, Major Lewis said
he had not seen you, but had heard the fact from Dr.
Mercer, of Fredericksburg. He also informed me that
my adventures had become the subject of conversation
araong friends and relations, and the people generally, and
that you were daily expecting my re-appearance at home.
He then informed me, that the force iu which he held His
Majesty's commission as major, was composed principally
of the militia of Greenbrier and border country generally,
which had been raised under orders from the Earl of Dun
more,* by his brother. Colonel Andrew Lewis, who was
commander-in-chief. That the Governor had marched in
person at the head of another force, against the Indians in
the vicinity of Pittsburg, while Colonel Lewis had been
ordered to march against the enemy in this direction, far
as the Ohio river, and there without crossing, to await
further orders. While these explanations were going for
ward, I was surprised and pleased at the approach of two
old friends. Major Fields, at whose house I had often been,
and Captain Stewart. They were exceedingly glad to
meet me, and as I was now somewhat relieved of ray
anxiety to push on, learning that you had received my
letters, I determined, at the instance of my friends, to
join their force, and serve the campaign against the
savages. " Notwithstanding the great anxiety which I know you
* Then the Governor of Virginia,

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 137
feel to see me, I was conscious it would give you pleasure
to know I was unwUling to lose an opportunity of serving
my country. That you would readily excuse additional
delay in my return when you understood its cause. Al
though by no means applying the hnes of the immortal
bard of Avon to myself in their full force and significance,
they recurred to memory at this moment, and were not
without their influence in determining my course. ' If
killeil, it is but one dead that is willing to be so ; 1 shaU
do my friends no wrong, for 1 have few to lament me ; the
world no injury, for in it I have nothing; only in the
world I fill up a place, which may be better supplied when
I have made it empty.'
" Soon afterwards I met Colonel Lewis himself, who
informed me that his son. Captain John Lewis, who had
been married a short time before, was too ill to accompany
the expedition, notwithstanding his strong desire to do so.
His company was present, but badly officered, and he
said, as 1 was determined to join the expedition, he would
give me a command in it. I gladly accepted the position
of first lieutenant, and being introduced to the company,
assumed the command, at the instance of the nominal
captain, who had no knowledge of military matters. So
much had a day brought forth, though it was now only
ten of the clock, a.m.
" Colonel Lewis is, every way, an extraordinary man.
His stature is gigantic, his countenance stern, aud his bear
ing commanding, almost haughty. But ' his pride is
rather on him than in him — not sinking in his heart,
though ceaselessly condemned for a proud man ; and far
more beneficent than he appeareth.' He is an old and
distinguished soldier, having been present with Washing
ton at the battle of Braddock's defeat in 1755,* and three
years later in 1758, comraanded the Colonial forces on the
celebrated Shawanoc or Sandy Creek expedition. In fact,
* See Appendix A.

138 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
having been an Indian fighter from his boyhood, and a
participator in every border war since.
" He is a man of great genius, and of invincible courage,
perfectly acquainted with ludian warfare. He is indeed
the life and soul of the troops, by whom he is esteemed,
respected and beloved. To his wonderful activity and
enterprise, ho unites good-nature and the utmost generosity,
possessing in the highest degrees that rare, I may say hea
venly, turn of mind, which at peace with itself diffuses har
mony and cheerfulness to all around. In the greatest ex
citement he is perfectly composed. No business, however
urgent or difficult, no event however unexpected, no ac
cident however sinister, ever suspended the cool tenor of
his thought, deranged the presence of his mind, or ruffled
the serenity of his temper. In all situations and under aU
circumstances, he has full dominion of himself, and no
where does it give him more decided superiority than in
the field. This felicity of nature is not confined to his
public conduct, but attends hira at the doraestic hearth
and the social board — everywhere the sarae habit of soul,
which, in his public duties render him valuable to his
country and formidable to his enemies, gain him the ad
miration and esteem of his friends and the unbounded
affection of his family, and those brought in intimate as
sociation with him.
" Captain Thomas Lewis, his son, was also on the expedi
tion, with his company. After taking command of my
company, we rapidly proceeded down the Kenewha, re
crossing the mountain towards the mouth of the river. Every
day, however, it was evident that we were approaching
nearer and nearer an Indian force. Their scouts were fre
quently seen at a distance, as also the sraoke of their camp
fires. We knew from this that they were not in large
bodies, for they never allow smoke to rise from their fires,
when they wish to conceal their presence, using charcoal
for fuel and other devices, of which they have not a few.
" We now found that we were somewhat embarrassed

The Adventu/res of my Grandfather. 139
by having Annetta en suite, and Colonel Lewis determined
to form a small camp in his rear for the sick and disabled,
and to leave her there. Accordingly this was done, at a
point on the Kenewha about twenty miles from its confiu-
ence with the Ohio. The wretched condition in which our
camp was ordinarUy kept, and the want of skill in the
selection of proper spots for them, had often annoyed Co
lonel Lewis, and he now ordered Major Lewis and myself
to select a spot for this invalid encampment. We did this
after a very brief examination of the ground. The site
was upon an elevated piece of ground, where there was
plenty of fresh air, good drainage and excellent spring
water. A heavy forest, too, protected it from the north
winds. After disposing of his heavy luggage in this spot,
which was formed into a kind of entrenched carap, by
means of timber and earth, the sick and disabled number
ing twenty, were placed in charge of it, reinforced by a
non-coniinissioned officer and six privates. None of the
enemy were yet in our rear, and it was not apprehended
that the sick would be in danger; but Colonel Lewis, who
is as much distinguished for prudence and forethought, as
for gallantry, thought proper to provide against accident,
such as might arise from small flank parties. Leaving
Annetta with the party in this fort, which was called Fort
Necessity, we resumed our march and proceeded ten miles
down the north banks of the Great Canaway, and arrived
at the junction of the two rivers, October 1, 1774. Co
lonel Lewis himself marked out the encampment on tbe
banks of the Canaway, having regard to the health, comfort
and convenience of the army, as well as the safety of the
command. With his flanks protected by the rivers Ohio
and Canaway, Colonel Lewis considered hiraself perfectly
secure. Our sense of security was increased by intelligence
received at this time, to the effect, that the Earl of Dun
more had crossed the Ohio with 9,000 men, and penetrated
the Indian territory as far as the river Hockhocking.
That he only waited reinforcements to penetrate into the

140 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
heart of the Shawnese country and destroy their towns.
When established in our camp, scouting parties were sent
across the Ohio to reconnoitre. Major Charles Lewis,
Captain Thomas Lewis and myself accompanied one of
these parties on the second day after going into camp,
scouring the country frora twelve to fifteen miles in every
direction, making a complete circuit of our position, with
out seeing any Indians, though there were many traces of
the recent presence of smaU parties.
" On the morning of the tenth day after going into
carap, we were startled by a report of musketry near the
spring, from which we drew our supply of water. As
our scouts had reported no enemy within fifteen miles the
evening before, and no attack or alarm occurred during
the night, we could not imagine the cause of this unex
pected firing. Frora whatever cause it proceeded, least of
all was it supposed to come frora enemies. Instead, how
ever, of slackening, it increased in rapidity. The alarm
was beaten ; trumpets and drums instantaneously broke
the stillness of the morning. Their martial notes rever
berated over the surrounding solitudes in enlivening
strains. The ill-omened birds of night flapped their
wings, and swooped through the unsteady lights of the
morning in utter dismay at this untimely invasion of their
prescriptive dominion. These sounds were quickly fol
lowed by the sharp discharge of musketry from the com
panies, as they formed in presence of Colonel Lewis, and
moved into action. As this was going on, our pickets
reported a large force of the enemy advancing upon us,
as if they had fallen from the clouds, or sprung from the
earth. The whole woods swarmed with painted warriors,
armed with rifles, tomahawks, war-clubs, and battle-axes.
The rapidity with which our troops prepared for battle,
alone saved us frora destruction, for we were taken com
pletely by surprise, in accordance with the designs of the
savages. These frontier troops, however, have been so
long accustomed to the presence of an enemy, and are so

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 141
skiUed in savage wUes, that they are neither panic-struck
by the war whoop of the ludian, nor the report of his rifle,
but immediately on an alarm seize their trusty rifles, and
sheltering themselves behind a tree, or rock, prepare to
sell their lives as dearly as possible. Colonel Lewis, being
advised of the approach of the enemy, immediately placed
himself where he could personally superintend the forma
tion of the line of battle, and moving in front of the regi
ments, addressed encouraging words to them in terse and
forcible language, as follows :
" 'Virginians ! behold, yonder sky glows with a blood-
red hue; it is your property rising in flames. What will
you look for, if you turn back and fly ? Your huts ? they
lie in ashes. Your wives? they are ill-treated. Your
chUdren? they are scalped and murdered. Your God?'
His altars are overthrown ! Virginians ! the day of ven
geance is come. Be men, and pray to Him there above,
who sends help in the hour of need.'
" These noble words wxre partly lost in the wild shouts
of the young warriors to whom they were addressed, as
their souls became excited by his lofty eloquence — just
as the monotonous din of battle was occasionally broken
through the day, by the shrill whoop of some young
savage, whose animal spirits were aroused by the sight of
blood. " The manner in which the Red Skins had arrived near
us, and the battle begun, was as follows : The Indians who
inhabit Ohio — the principal tribe being the Shawnese —
having heard faithful reports from their spies and emis
saries in Virginia, of the orders and moveraents of Earl
Dunraore and Colonel Lewis, deliberately prepared to
crush the force of ' Long Knives,' as they called the Vir
ginians under Lewis, by which means they supposed the
whole country, lying as far east as Staunton, in the vaUey
of the Shenandoah, would be at their mercy for plunder
during the winter. They did not so much care for Earl
Dunraore's movements so far north as Pittsburg, the early

142 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
approach of winter woiiLI, they supposed, put a stop to his
operations, and confine him in those hyperborean regions
till spring, when the warriors of the Ohio would have re
turned frora Central Virginia, to confront hira with their
entire allied forces. Their spies reported Lewis' exact
force, as it had arrived at the western base of the Alle
ghany mountains, and that he was without ' thunder guns,'
as they called cannon. They also reported that he had
passed beyond a point where he could receive reinforce
ments or supplies, and if defeated, his entire force must
perish in battle, or fall as prisoners into their hands. Here
was a splendid opportunity, and a grand war council was
called at Shawnese town, in the Ohio territory. At this
conference it was determined to invite the Delawares,
Mingoes, Wyandotts, and other tribes to join thera;
that the dreaded Lewis (for his fame was spread araong
thera since 1755), might be crushed at a single blow. To
carry out this design the more effectuaUy, it was deter
mined to withdraw all Indians from Virginia, that the
vigilance of the ' pale-face' chief might thereby be relaxed.
Then at the right moment they would surprise, and
butcher, or capture the whole force. Ail Indian warriors
were, in accordance with this plan, withdrawn from the
Canaway valley, and the aUied Indians, to the number of
12,500 fighting men, assembled at Shawnese town, sixty
mUes west of the Ohio. These 12,500 were chiefly
warriors of the Shawnese tribe, as may be supposed from
having assembled at their head-quarters. A tribe, as you
know, the most courageous and blood-thirsty of all within
our knowledge, and the same which has so often defeated
us, as in the case of Major Grant aud his Scotch High
landers at Fort Pitt, in 1758, and their defeat of the
Kentuckians at Blue Lick.* This force was kept in readi
ness to move at an instant's warning, their horses bridled,
and their rifles loaded. The utmost impatience was mani-
* In this engagement, the Indians killed Colonel John Todd, grand
father of Mrs. Lincoln, widow of the late President of the United States.

Tlie Adventures of my Grandfather. 143
fested among them to move, as spies reported the gradual
approach of Colonel Lewis ; and while he delayed to forra
his camp for invahds, some difficulty was experienced to
restrain their impatience, especially as the scouts reported
that there was little regularity, order, or discipline among
the white troops, or 'Long Knives,' who imagined no
enemy was near. When, however, the Indians were in
formed that Colonel Lewis had halted between the two
rivers, and was about to fortify that point, they moved
rapidly from Shawnese town east to a point on the Ohio
river, about twenty miles above our camp, from which
point their horses were sent back. Here they crossed a
river, more than two mUes wide, wdth a channel twenty-
five feet deep, without boats, canoes, ships, or bridges,
after the following manner. With their tomahawks they
constructed rafts frora the trees growing on the banks of
the stream, and thus transported themselves, their arms
and ammunition to the Virginia shore. When upon the
same side of the river with ourselves, each warrior carry
ing sufficient dried venison for a week's support, they
concealed themselves in the woods during one day. As
night approached, they coramenced their march towards
our camp by different routes, and conducted it in such
secrecy and skill, that the whole force was near daybreak
within one mile of our camp fires without its having been
discovered. Here the savages rested for breakfast, and
untU it was light enough to know how to conduct their
attack. At this time, some of our men who had gone to
the spring, seeing an object they supposed to be an Indian
lurking in the woods, fired upon him, and thus the alarm
was given. This was the morning of the 10th of October,
1774. Our men being hurriedly formed into companies.
Colonel Lewis ordered one company to reinforce the
pickets near the spring, by advancing in open order, and
from tree to tree. Then a second and a third company,
until our entire force was engaged on a circumference of
three miles and a-half. For the savages spread around in

144 The Adventures of my Gh-andfather.
such a manner, as almost to envelope us with their
murderous fire, at the sarae time intoning their war

*

songs, '• In this manner the battie waged the entire day, the
forces swaying to and fro like the ebbing and flowing tide.
There was no manoeuvring, no charging with the bayonets,
no out-flanking, and consequentiy very little opportunity
for a display of mUitary skiU. There was a constant fire
maintained however by each party, frora behind the trees
and rocks, and frora the ravines which swarmed withtliern.
The whites practising Indian tactics Fas est et ab hoste
doceri. Each party took deliberate aim whenever an op
portunity presented, by a man exposing hiraself, and the
Indians threw away httle ammunition. Our troops were
more prodigal. When the savages extended their lines,
there was a corresponding movement on our part, and
thus the battle proceeded with the greatest obstinacy.
The savages were under command of their favourite chief,
the intrepid and enterprising ' Cornstalk.' Through the
whole day we could hear him encouraging his men, with
the exclamation — ' be strong — -he strong.' A prisoner in
formed us next day, that he had killed one of his Indian
warriors, in the heat of battle for retreating. It is also
* The battle songs of the Red Skins are stamped with such vigour
of style, such choice of wild ideas and expressions, that appeal to all
the sentiments of bravery and honour, that one cannot refrain from
admiring them. The melody of the compound words, the brilliant
energy of thought, the skill and cleverness with which the improvi
sator handles his language, stir up, animate and excite the passions
of his auditory in a much more effectual manner than could bo obtained
by the finest modulations of a rhythmed music. The following are two
stanzas of one of these songs translated :
" Like the war-eagle, I shall traverse the lines of my enemies ;
My tomahawk and my lance shall be steeped in their blood.
Behold, my friends, what floats before my cabin.
It is the hair of the vanquished I have slain.
" 0 yon young warriors : look with fury at the battle-field,
Dash forward, strike, kill, it is the day of vengeance,
Fear not to be reckoned among tbe dead,
For even then your name will be covered with glory,"

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 145
thought that they were inspired with new courage, on this
memorable day, by another of their great and distinguished
chiefs, the well-known and dreaded Outacite, or ' the man-
killer,' king of the middle and lower branches of the Cherokee
nation ; but whether he was present or not is doubtful. One
of our men declared that he saw him during the engagement,
and that he knew hira well, having met Outacite when he
was in London with Sir Alexander Cummings to negotiate
a treaty with George II in 1730, and again served with
him twenty-eight years later under Colonel Lewis in the
Shawanoe expedition of 1758.
" So brave are these Shawnese, that several times during
the day, when wounded, they sallied forth from their con
cealment, rushed to a tree which they knew sheltered a
white, and fought hand to hand with him, both using
knives, tiU one or the other, or both fell dead.
" During the whole day Major Charles Lewis and myself
had been near together, and had observed a ravine which
seemed to be unoccupied by the savages, and of course
undefended. A slight examination of this ravine, induced
us to believe that it conducted to the rear of the Indians,
and if so, it was obvious that by pursuing it, and precipi
tating a force upon the Indians from that quarter, the day
must be ours. We determined, therefore, to represent the
matter to the coramander-in-chief, and to ask that an ade
quate force might be detailed for that duty. We accord
ingly raade our way to him.
" When his brother, Major Charles Lewis, made known
our wishes and volunteered to lead this detachment through
the ravine to the attack, the comraander-in~chief gave his
consent. No time was lost by Major Lewis, who placed
himself at the head of one hundred men, one half being of
my company, and proceeded at once into the ravine. He
had scarcely gone twenty yards, when he was shot dead*
by five Indians who were lying in ambush. Our men in
stantly pursued them, and so closely, that all five were
* Lewis County, Virginia, was named after this gallant officer.
L

14G The Adventures of my Grandfather.
killed. It then appeared that they were the only savage
warriors guarding this pass. Had any others been there
our design must have failed. Placing a corporal and two
men with Major Lewis's body, we pushed on with the ut
most expedition and gained, (as we had supposed we
should), the Indian rear. Here a sudden and heavy fire
was opened upon their left flank and rear. Our forces in
front hearing these cheering sounds, and thus knowing we
had arrived at our anticipated position, immediately re
doubled their exertions and rushed forward to engage the
Indians hand to hand. Our wily foes, taken by surprise,
gave way in somewhat of a panic, not however, without
retarding our advance by many a gallant struggle, and by
a steady and gaUing fire frora tree to tree. In the raidst
of this terrific struggle — in which the curses and blows of
the combatants were heard amid the screeches and groans
of the wounded and dying, a scene more resembling the
bloody contests of the gladiatorial arena, or the infuriated
and sanguinary encounters of a mob, than a battle field of
modern times — night came on, and both forces relaxed
their exertions, as if by mutual consent, and were drawn
off, the Virginians, who were the pursuers, slowly and
reluctantly, the Indians in hot haste. Thus terminated,
after the forces had been engaged, without relief or rest of
anykind, frora sunrise till dark, one of the most stubbornly
contested battie-fields known to the annals of our border
warfare.* " Next morning it was ascertained that the enemy had
retired across the river Ohio on their rafts, which a few war
riors previously brought down the river and guarded for
them, about eight miles above the battle-field.
" We had kUled during this battle, 46 officers and men,
* In grateful recognition of Colonel, afterwards General Andrew
Lewis' services on this occasion, and in many previous and subsequent
battles, during the Indian wars, and that of the American Revolution,
the General Assembly of Virginia decreed that his statue should be
erected in the grounds of the Capitol in Richmond, where it now (1867)
stands.

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 147
and 88 wounded — myself among the latter. Major
Charles Lewis, though less in rank than others that were
killed, is universally regarded as the principal officer slain
on our side. He was a man of the highest worth and ca
pacity, a gallant and enterprising officer, whose loss is
deservedly and sadly lamented. He was greatly esteemed
and the most popular raan in the army, having much
more suavity than his distinguished brother. Colonel
Lewis. " No one who had the opportunity of an acquaintance,
no matter how hmited, or how extensive in period, with
the lamented Lewis could faU to feel the force of Swift's
remark, " Good manners is the art of making those people
easy with whom we converse ; whoever makes the fewest
people uneasy is the best bred man in the company."
Gifted with the merits which entitled hira to the esteem of
the good and wise, no one possessed in a higher degree
the power of making, without the slightest effort, aU those
' feel easy' who came into his presence, whether upon pro
fessional business or for social intercourse. In personal
appearance, he was rather beyond the middle height, with
an exceedingly well-proportioned figure and strongly
buUt frame ; with features expressive of much animation,
frequently inclined to a refiective or studious aspect, until
lit up with a snule of pecuhar brightness from an eye
strongly beaming with inteUect and intelligence. I concur
entirely in the opinion of those who knew him best, that
had his life been spared he would have rendered impor
tant, probably illustrious, service to his country. Besides
Major Lewis, there was kiUed Lieutenant-Colonel Fleming
and Lieutenant-Colonel Morrow, Captains McClanahan,
Charles Cameron, WUson and Blueford.
" After gaining the rear of the Indians, and while closely
pressing them, a buUet striking a tree near me, glanced
and entered my side near the hip, and passing around
lodged near the spine. For some time I was paralyzed in
my lower extremities, but since the baU was extracted am
L 2

148 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
slowly regaining the use of my limbs. I now walk with
the aid of a cane, though it wUl be some time, if ever,
before I am an active man again.
" A few days after the battle, a messenger, named Girthy,
arrived with intelligence from the Earl of Dunmore, an
nouncing that he had overrun the Ohio territory, during
the absence of the force operating against Colonel Lewis,
burnt the towns and destroyed their crops. The Indians
were reduced to such a pitiable condition, that on receiv
ing the news of Lewds' victory, they sued for peace in abject
terms. " Though suffering excruciating pain from my wound, I
preferred the possibility of death, from being transported,
to remaining in camp. Colonel Lewis therefore detailed a
force to convey me in a kind of ambulance to the moun
tains. I was fetched across in a Utter and thence in a
waggon to this place, which is called the Greenbrier settle
ment. I do not think the journey did me any injury, on
the contrary, my general health is improved. Every one
showed the utmost attention to my comfort and conve«
nience, especially my servants, Charles and Annetta, wdio
are now watching by me. I have every attention that
could be desired here, and will soon be able to proceed
homewards."

CHAPTER XV.
HE LEAVES THE WARM SPRINGS. — MOUNTAIN SCENERT.— BEAUTIFUL CAS
CADE. — LEGEND, — ARRIVES AT STAUNTON AND PROCEEDS TO NORFOLK. 
THE POLITICAL AGITATIONS PRECEDING THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
In the two letters brought together iu this chapter, the
first dated at the Warm Springs, in Augusta County,*
November 1st, and the second at Norfolk, November
26th, 1774, my grandfather gives an interesting account
of the political agitations imraediately preceding the
Araerican Revolution. With the exception of a brief note
announcing his arrival in' Alexandria, these letters close
the series as to him.
"After a short sojourn in the Greenbrier settlement
(rendered necessary by the fatigues of the journey in my
enfeebled condition), from the mouth of the Canaway, I
proceed homeward, crossing the AUeghany mountains,
and descending into the vaUey of Jackson's river. Cross
ing this stream, we soon came upon the celebrated cascade
in the Falling Spring valley.* To visit this wonderful
spot gave us little trouble, as it hes "near the highway,
which is, however, nothing more than the Indian war
path, which has been immemorially used. This path
* Now Bath County.
* This is the cascade which has been known for the last half century
and more as Peyton Falls.

150 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
conducted us to the top of the mountains hereabouts,
wdiich are spurs of the AUeghanies, and after a variety of
turnings through peaks and chasms of stupendous height
and awful aspect, we began to descend, and entered the
most delightful valley I ever beheld, deep, long, and frora
a half to two railes in breadth, surrounded with enorraous
piles of mountains of savage wildness. The banks of the
streams were covered with all sorts of wUd flowers, the
perfume of which, especially the wUd thyme, was wafted
through the air by gentle breezes, making our progress all
the more agreeable. On the mountain sides there were
large patches of arbutis, and the lauristina and other
shrubs, and different kinds of flowers cherished in our
gardens at Stoney Hill.
" Turning from the road, we soon arrived in view of
the cascade, which is formed by a bold stream called the
FaUing Spring, which rushes over a ledge of hmestone
and tufa 250 feet high. It is the raost romantic and
beautiful sight 1 ever witnessed. Gazing upon it, I felt
my heart overwdielmed with sensations of transport, which
all the works of art could never inspire. Nature irresis-
tably seized upon and took my senses captive. I acknow
ledged the supremacy of nature. All hiiman associations
were forgotten, as 1 looked upon this wonderous scene
and the surrounding mountains in their marvellous magni
tude and grandeur, as the work of the Almighty architect
of the Universe, who can restrain the waters within their
limits, uphold the rocks upon their bases, and prescribe
the bounds of worlds of stars on their airy flight in the
heavens. So extensive are the mountains here, so broken
in varied and beautiful forms, they look down from their
dizzy height upon such a bright and luxuriant valley, and
assume such varied and charming tints, as they change
their colour and appearance under the shadow of each
])assing cloud, that 1 felt 1 had never looked upon the like
before. I viewed them with silent admiration, and with
that submission with which weak man depicts to himself
the Throne of the Almighty Creator.

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 151
" About a half-mile below the FaU, there is a powder-
miU, protected by two stockade forts, from which the
border country is supplied with araniunition. It is con
stantly in motion, and the powder is said to be of superior
quality. The nitre employed is procured from the numer
ous caverns close at hand.
"Of this spot the foUowing story is related by the
mountaineers :
LEGEND OF THE POWDER-MILL NEAR PEYTON PALLS.*
" A solitary man once hved near this beautiful cascade,
in a retired thatched cabin. He subsisted upon wild fruits
and berries, upon fish taken from the stream, and the
game which abounded in valley and forest. His venerable
appearance and mysterious character long protected him
from the red men, who left him in peace, contemptuously
caUing him squaw, whUe they sought in battie those with
arms in their hands,
" One night this lonely dweller, near the fountain of
sweet waters, had the good fortune, so runs the account,
to entertain an angelic visitor. They passed half the night
in delightful conversation. The visitor expatiated with
heavenly wisdom upon the value of virtue and confidence
in God. Before leaving the next morning, however, to
the consternation and surprise of the host, he seized a
flaming brand, and set fire to the thatch hut which was
corapletely devoured by the flames. The poor mountaineer
was inconsolable at his loss, and still more grieved at the
wanton cruelty and base ingratitude of one whom he had
entertained, and from whose lips he had heard such lessons
of wisdom and piety. He no longer believed hira a good
spirit, neither did he place trust in his beautiful stories.
His visitor gone and the ashes cool, he exclaimed :
' Courage, away with despair, I will buUd me a house
* This legend is evidently of German paternity, was no doubt
carried to the Apalachian wilds by some Teutonic exile from Fatherland.

152 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
with my own hands, though it be rough and rude, yet if I
have a roof I shall be content.' And "behold I as he began
the work, he discovered in the old foundation wall an
immense treasure, so that he could bring labourers from
afar, and build a substantial residence to protect himself
from the storms, and stUl have riches left to erect a mill
to supply the few feeble whites with powder to fight
against the powerful and savage hordes of blood-thirsty
Indians who swarraed around. He then recognized the
benefaction of his visitor, and believed in the wisdom and
goodness of God all the days of his life."
" Both Captain Lewis and myself are much improved by
the mineral waters. I think my health also would be
much benefitted by rest and the quiet of home. This is
my only hope of ever being an active man again.
"Besides, I am satisfied frora conversations I have
recently had with many intelligent gentlemen, that the
country is on the verge of civil war, and am anxious to
be where I can better watch the march of events. The
Ul-advised act of the Ministry last year, in placing a vessel
in the Narraganset, to enforce the collection of duties, and
the destruction of tea the past December on board three
English sloops at Boston ; the Boston Port bill of this
year, and Dr. Franklin's return to Europe, as well as
many other syraptorns, such as meetings of the people to
elect committees of public safety, to call conventions, con
gresses, and the like, indicate that we are approaching a
period of open hostilities. Even in this distant part of
the country, anonymous hand-bills have been distributed
and pasted against the walls in public places, caUing upon
the people to assemble and consider of the public danger.
" It is greatly to be regretted that Ministers have not
been taught wisdom by experience. When in 1765 they
sought most unjustly to throw a portion of the burden of
English taxation upon our shoulders by the stamp act, and
we refused to submit to it, thev ought to have had suffi-

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 153
cient wisdom, discernment and magnanimity to abandon a
dangerous policy. The people said plainly enough at that
time, that they were wiUing to pay the expenses of their
own government, but would not endure to be taxed by a
foreign body like the British Pariiament, situated 3,000
mUes across the ocean from us, in whose deliberations we had
no voice, and when the very taxes we paid (if we submitted
to such tyranny), might be used for hostile purposes
against our freedom and security. I repeat, when the
people of the Colonies showed so fully their feelings and
purposes in 1765, Ministers now have no excuse for their
obstinacy in adhering to and repeating such irritating de
mands. It only gives agitators an opportunity to inflarae
the public mind and widen the breach. If the Ministry
persist, the cry wiU resound throughout the colonies that
' resistance to tyrants is obedience to God.' It is most
unfortunate that the Ministry should have pertinaciously
adhered to their unpopular pohcy, with the lights of ex
perience before them, and laid a tax in 1767 upon tea,
paints, glass, &o., and stiU more singular, that they persist
now with aU the pregnant signs of the times before thera in
so suicidal a course. Matters have gone so far that IshaU
be surprised if war does not result."
"Norfolk, November 25th, 1774.
" Shortly after the date of ray last letter, I was much
pleased to have a call from our old friend Dr. Hugh Mercer
of Fredericksburg,* a physician of great merit and emin
ence, who has been some weeks in the mountains. He
has given me much advice and assistance, and took charge
of me from the Warm Springs to this point. To-morrow he
continues his journey, and wiU dehver this letter in person.
I shall not remain here to recover from my fatigues longer
than three days. Dr. Mercer wUl give you more satis-
* Dr. Mercer abandoned the healing art during the American Revo
lutionary war and rose to the rank of Brigadier- General in the Conti
nental Army. He was killed at the battle of Prineton, New Jersey,
January 3rd, 1777,

1 54 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
factorily than I can in a brief letter the details of my si
tuation since the battle at the Point, and what prospect, if
any there be, of my entire restoration.
" From the Springs to Staunton the road is exceedingly
rough and rocky, and notwithstanding the advanced period
of the year, the heat oppressive. Staunton is a consider
able town, which was founded about the year 1730 by
the father of Colonel Andrew Lewis, John Lewis Esq.,
who was the first European who penetrated into this coun
try. It is situated on ' Lewis Creek,' a smaU tributary
of the Shenandore. The valley is remarkably fertile be
tween the South Mountain or Blueridge and North Moun
tain, and is sometiraes called the Shenandore Valley. This
valley is almost entirely settled by people from Ireland.
Mr. Lewis, the founder, is not now living, having died here
in 1762, at an advanced age.*
"The people of Staunton carry on a large inland trade,
the principal parts of which is in the hands of two mer
chants, natives of Ireland, George Mathews, and Samson
Mathews. These gentlemen showed me many civilities.
" The rich variety of land and water, hUls and dales,
wood and fields in this valley is beautiful beyond descrip
tion. After crossing the Blueridge or South Mountain,
the country to the east is extremely hilly and broken, and
* John Lewis was buried on his estate now called Bellefontaine, and
the following is the inscription upon his tomb, which the writer has
seen within seven years. Here lie the remains of
JOHN LEWIS,
Who slew the Irish Lord, settled Augusta county,
Located the town of Staunton
And furnished five sons to fight the battle of the
AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
He was son of Andrew Lewis, Esq., and Mary Calhoun,
And was born iu Donegal county, Ireland, 1678
And died in Virginia, February 1st, 1762.
He was a brave man, a true patriot, and
A firm friend of liberty throughout
THE WORLD.
Mortalitate relicta, vivH imniortalitate inductus.

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 155
the land generally lighter and less rich than in the valley.
Commonly of a bright red colour, it recalled the soil
in many parts of Jamaica, which it much resembles.
The three days I had allotted for my sojourn in Staunton
having passed, I proceeded (without stopping to see a
remarkable cavern near the town, and which is said to
penetrate a great way into the earth) ; to the mountain
and crossed over to Charlottsville, feeling less fatigued
than I expected. Though having much need of rest and
tranquillity, I only reraained in that viUage one night and
two days. The inn there, kept by a person bearing the
name of Sneed, is excellent. Political sentiment runs very
very high there, and the day after my arrival the populace
tarred and feathered one of the inhabitants who had
expressed what are now called treasonable opinions.
The general impression prevaUing that he was a
British spy. Already the public mind is so bent
upon resistance to the Ministry, that to defend
them is termed treason. The town is situated about two
miles from a very pretty river, though the water of it, in
stead of being bright and crystal, like that north of the
Blue Ridge, is yellow and turbid, taking its colour from
the soil. The weather now became wet, stormy and dis
agreeable, yet I determined to continue my journey. Find
ing a heavy snow lying on the ground twenty miles east of
Charlottsville, I turned from my course and proceeded to
wards Richraond. The only halt I made was one day at
Westham, a small town on the James, about seven miles
above Richmond, where the falls of the James commence.
The tobacco of the West country is floated down to West-
ham in hogsheads of 1,000 pounds weight each. Every
hogshead upon two canoes lashed together ; it is then con
veyed on land to Richmond, as for seven miles the fall
completely precludes all communication by water. Rich
mond is not however the principal centre of the tobacco
trade of America, but Petersburg or Boilings Point, as it
is generally called. You remember in the account I gave
you two years ago, of a visit 1 made to that very enterpris-

156 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
ing man Mr. Bannister, who lives in so palatial a resi
dence, and such royal style at Petersburg, I mentioned
the BoUings, who, as you know, are descended from King
Powhatten, through his daughter the Princess Poca
hontas. " The Indian king gave aU the land round Petersburg to
his daughter, as a marriage portion. The offspring of this
marriage are two of the raost respectable Virginia houses,
the Boilings' and Randolphs.
" Without stopping in Richraond to see any friends but
Colonel de Blois, I took a boat in which he sailed with
me for Norfolk. Language cannot describe the emotions
of pleasure it gave me to sail once raore after so long an
absence, upon the smooth bosom of our noble river
James. In my trip down, we delayed a short time at
Varina, the seat of Mr. Ryland Randolph, as also at Chats
worth to see Mr. WiUiam Randolph, and at Mr. Mayho's
where Colonel de Blois wished to see a friend. Everybody
was prodigiously astonished to see me, though they had
heard of my safe return to St. Louis.
" Leaving Mr. Mayho's we pursued our way dovvn the
river. How many happy memories were revived as we
passed successfully those splendid seats of hospitality and
refinement which fringe the banks of the James and at
many of which I had passed some of the happiest days of
my boyhood. Shirley Hundred, Brandon, Flower de
Hundred, Maycox, Swineyards, Westover, Barclay, Ber
muda Hundred, Osborns, Warwick Mills, &c. &c.*
" What memories too were awakened in passing the ivy
draped ruins of James Town. The ruins of tiiis sacred spot
are hallowed in my mind. It represents another world
of the past. Frora the powerful effect of the association of
ideas as I looked upon the vacant places, the departed
* These valuable mills and iron works were entirely destroyed
during the American revolutionary wai% in the year 1781 by the
traitor Benedict Arnold, who deserted from the American Army, and
was commissioned a General in the British service.

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 157
generations who flourished here in the early days of the
colony, flocked back upon rae. I saw thera hurrying to
and fro in all the activity of every day life, intent as men
ever are upon the little objects of the hour. A sort of
spiritual phantasmagoria swept on before my inward
vision, displaying to my wondering eyes the vicissitudes of
Time. Then came the solemn thought that those men and
the thousands that followed them have been swallowed up in
death. How these thoughts speak to us, if we would but
hsten in a language of earnest warning, whispering the
sage advice, ' whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it
with all thy might, for there is no knowledge or device in.
the grave whither we are all hastening.' Man lives his
brief span of life — dies and is forgotten. Oh I vanity of
vanities I aU is vanity !
" As I looked upon the site of James Town, and took
in review the history of its settlement, the prominent
figure and leading character, which rose before my mind,
was the redoubtable Captain Smith, that wonderful raan,
to whose courage and endurance we owe the settlement
of our colony, and whose honoured ashes repose in the
heart of our old home.*
* From Stowe's ' Survey of London,' printed in 1633, two years
after the death of Captain Smith, it appears that a tablet was erected
to his memory in St. Sepulchre Church, Skinner Street, London, where
Captain Smith was buried, inscribed with his motto, Vincere est vivere,
and the following verses :
"Here hes one conquer'd who conquer'd kings,
Subdu'd large territories and done things
Which to the world impossible would seeme,
But that the truth is held in more esteeme.
Shall I report his former service done
In honour of God and Christendome,
How that he did divide from Pagans three
Their heads and lives types of his chivalry,
For which great service in that climate done,
Brave Sigismundus (King of Hungarion),
Did give him a coat of arms to weare
Those conquer'd heads got by his sword and speare.
Or all I tell of his adventures since
Done in Virginia that large continence,
How that he subdu'd kings unto his yoke.

158 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
" On the Lower James, nearly opposite the WiUiams
burg landing, the seat of my venerable Alma Mater, I
fell in with a small saihng boat, in which was the Hon.
Peyton Randolph who left Williamsburg the same day
for Norfolk. We continued together tiU our arrival here,
he having come aboard my barge. He is greatly incensed
against the Ministry, and in the event of a breach, will
no doubt take the prominent part to be expected from
one of his acknowledged spirit and abUity.
" Public spirit and ardent love of liberty pervades all
classes of the people — seems to be a chief characteristic of
our society. So far as my observation extends, all shades
of character and opinion are rapidly assimilating and con
centrating against submission to the acts of the Ministry.
The most prominent characteristic of this feeling is an
unreserved reliance upon the cheerful and hearty co
operation of the whole body of the citizens in the public
welfare, derived frora a conviction of the intimate union of
all ranks and interests in the comraon weal. The different
interests wdiich divide other countries, and which are
united l)y no comraon and original tie do not exist here.
With us, every interest is bound together by a single cord,
and all feel if this were broken they should be involved
in a common ruin. This invisible moral power, which
extends to every class, will always be conspicuous in free
states, but nowhere, I am persuaded, does it exercise
such sovereign power, as in America. And it is this
And made those heathen flie as wind doth smoke,
And made their land, being so large a station
A habitation for our christian nation.
Where God is glorified, their wants suppli'd
Which else for necessaries might have di'd,
But what avails his conquests now he lies
Inter'd in earth a prey for worms and flyes,
0 may his soul in sweet elisium sleepe
Until the Keeper that all souls dothe keepe,
Eeturn to judgment and that after thence
With angels he may find his recompense."
The tablet was destroyed by the Great Fire in 1666, together with
most of the antiquities of the church.

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 159
power, which is stronger than cannon, than any mere
mechanical power, which the Ministry have arrayed against
thera, and must combat. There seeras to be a weU-
founded popular belief that the pohtical character of a
nation is the genuine offspring of its constitution, that a
powerful government operates to restrain the genius and
degenerate the spirit of the people. So true is this, say
many weU-informed gentlemen, that republican families
who have been transferred to a despotic soil, have lost
their ardour and energy, and in a few generations have
been debased by the general corruption, into the condi
tion of slaves. Whatever want of spirit or degeneracy to
be seen in a nation, they refer to a vicious constitution or
a vicious administration, of what may be in itself a good
constitution. In regard to our complications, the people
usually declare attachment to the British constitution
and loyalty to the throne, but are resolved to resist the
Ministry wdiatever it may cost, wherever it may lead.
" It would be well for England before involving herself
and the colonies in hostilities, (counting upon colonial
support and our financial embarrassments) ; to remember
the maxiras laid down by Machiavel, who among other
matters warns ministers not to form sanguine expectations
of the success of an invasion, frora the intestine divisions
of the invaded country, and never to ground their hopes
of victory on the disordered state of their adversaries
finances. " I shall be detained here several days longer, awaiting
the brigantine ' II Trovatore,' Captain Langlois, which is
discharging cargo, and taking in freight for Alexandria.
She arrived a few days ago frora Leghorn, bringing news
of a great Russian victory, and the total destruction of the
Turkish army, after which a peace was established be-
twe^en the Grand Turk and the Czar."

CHAPTER XVI.
The following letter, addressed by John Peyton, Esq.,
from CharlottsvUle, Alberaarle, under date of November
Sth, 1774, to his son, John Rowzee Peyton, and which
belongs to the collection, wiU be read with no small in
terest in this connection.
" My dear son,
"Such was my impatience to see you, when I heard
from Mr. Proctor that you were in the Greenbrier settle
ment, that I wrote you from Stoney Hill to meet me* in
Charlottsville about the 10th of this month. I accord
ingly set out, notwithstanding ray age and infirmities,
being now in my sixty-fouilh year, with your mother, who
is far from being weU, hoping we should meet you in this
viUage. We crossed the country in our traveUing chariot,
driven by Page. The roads being deep and miry, it was
difficult to get on, though I had harnessed in front of our
ordinary carriage horses, your pair of blood bays. A bag
gage waggon followed, to fetch home your curious attaches,
half friends, half servants, as you call them, and your
luggage, if you possess anything beyond your wearing
apparel in use. Our disappointment was sore indeed,
when on arriving here we were told by Mr. Sneed that
you had been gone two days. Your mother and myself
* This letter is missing.

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 161
fully expected to see you, and never in our lives did we
experience such transports as in the prospect of pressing
you to our bosoras. Mr. S. also inforraed us that he
had heard frora Mr. Carter that the snow and bad roads
had caused you, after leaving this place, to take the Green
Spring route to Richmond, thence to proceed home by the
river. Notwithstanding the inroads made upon my feel
ings by the hardships and affiictions of my journey here,
and my disappointment, if it pleases God to spare your
life, and strengthen your constitution, and bring us to
gether again at horae, I shall stiU be the happiest of
men. "Thinking it probable you may stop a day or two
in Richraond, I send this by my servant George, who sets
off immediately, accompanied by Wyanoke, an Indian
scout, entrusted by the Earl of Dunmore with despatches
for the Council at Williamsburg, and who travels so
rapidly that I am in hopes they will overtake you in Rich
mond. I trust, appreciating our very great anxiety to see
you, that you will lose no time in proceeding home, where
I return immediately.
" Your drafts in favour of my worthy friend Mr. Brent,
of the Santa Fe Jew, Levi, and your brutal jaUor, Ximines,
have been presented for payment, and duly honored.
Nothing but ray great confidence in, and affection for you,
induced me to cash such extravagant drafts, as I thought
those in favour of Levi and Ximines ; for they came
before your letters, or a word of explanation as to your
situation. Now that I know the circumstances under
which they were extorted from you, I can only say,
had they been ten times as large they would have been
met. ' " Early in the spring, we made the acquaintance of the
Howes, whom I have long known by reputation. Since
then, they have been upon a visit to Stoney HUl, and
your mother has spent some days with them on the
Occoquan. They are one of our old country families —
M

162 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
esteemed wherever known ; just the kind of sincere,
straightforward persons that one wishes to make friends of.
Annie, for whom you have formed so warm a friendship,
is not only a girl of great beauty and refinement, but of
varied accom plish raents, not the least of which, to my
mind, are those of being a thorough housewife. She is of
a very kind and considerate nature, and added much to
my comfort and enjoyment when at Stoney Hill by her
musical talents, and in reading the papers to me. I
should like to see you happily married, my son, and settled
near me. I need a prop in my old age. You have sown
a plentiful crop of wild oats, and gathered a bounteous
harvest of chaff — in a word, have seen more than enough
of the world, its ups and down. Are you not satisfied
with roving? I think it high time you should commence
the serious business of life, and if you agree with rae,
and should be inclined to follow your father's advice, and
commence a new career by marrying, I avail myself of this
writing to say you wUl not be opposed by him, cer
tainly not, if your choice for a wife should be Annie
Howe. " But I must close. Your mother warns me not to
fill your head even before you get horae with such pro
jects. She writes herewith, and will be more fuU and
particular about home matters.* I now find it very irk
some, indeed painful, to use the pen any length of time.
My hand trerables, and my sight is fast failing ; you'll
therefore excuse my brevity. With our sincerest love,
and continued fervent prayers for your safe and speedy
return, welfare and happiness,
" I am, my dear son,
"Your affectionate father,
" John Peyton.
" For Mr. J. Eowzte Peyton,
" now in Richmond,
" Care of Mr, James Randolph,
"119, Main Street," * This letter is missing.

CHAPTER XVII.
HIS RETURN TO STONEY HILL. — POLITICAL AGITATION PRECEDING THE
AMERICAN REVOLUTION.
The foUowing letter, dated at Alexandria, December
the 20th, 1774, is the last contained in this series, from
the pen of my grandfather. It is little more than the
simple announcement of his arrival in that place, after an
absence of eighteen months. In a few concluding re
marks, are contained the brief history of his subsequent
uneventful career, which was terminated by his untimely
death, at the early age of forty-five, 1798. Many of the
foregoing letters might doubtless have been omitted, as
containing nothing of special interest in themselves, as
others raight have been given alone for their intrinsic
value. Nor was it necessary to have woven them together
with a sketch which gives the entire history of the life of
their author, but it is believed that they cannot but be more
acceptable in their present form. Dr. Johnson remarks
that he who endeavours to recommend an author, by
selecting quotations, is like the pedant in Hierocles, who
when he wished to sell his house, exhibited a brick as a
specimen. We have thought it more judicious, recalling
M 2

164 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
the Doctor's sage remark, to give this coUeetion, so far as
it exists, in extenso, as a knowledge of the context cannot
fail as we imagine, to increase the pleasure which attaches
to them.
" I hasten to advise you of ray safe arrival in Alexan
dria. Not finding a vessel for Fredericksburg or Fal
mouth,* I was forced to continue to this point. This
note is despatched by courier, to ask you to send your
traveUing chariot to Alexandria, as I can procure no suit
able vehicle here in which to make the journey. I shall
await with impatience the messenger's return.
" Shortly after the date of ray last letter, I sailed frora
Norfolk in the ' II Trovatore,' bound for this place. The
wind and weather became unfavourable after we left the
Bay, and were ascending the river — so much so, indeed,
that we anchored off the Chotank settlement,* where we
were detained twenty-four hours. After which, the storm
abating, we continued up the majestic river, through a
^Ueee.s)(ia^oi the most beautiful scenery imaginable. Never
before did I know how to appreciate our noble Potomac.
On the Virginia side we had Colonel PhU. Lee's of No-
miny, Mr. McCarty's, Mrs. Blair's, Mr. Thacker Wash
ington's, Colonel Frank Thornton's on Marchodock, Mr.
Alexander's of Boydspole, Mr. Fitzhugh's, Mr. Mercer's,
Mr. Brent's, Colonel Mason's, Colonel Harry Peyton's,
Mr. Lawson's, near the Occoquan, Colonel Fairfax's,
Colonel Martin's, Colonel Washington's, and Mr. Alex
ander's ; and on the Maryland side, Mr. Wolstenholmes',
Mr. Clark's, Mr. Lewis', Mr. Sly's, a Catholic priest's,
Mr. Compton's, Mr. Lee's, Mr. PhU. Fendalo's, Colonel
Dent's, Father Hunter's, Mr. Harrison's, Colonel
* Falmouth is at the Falls of the Rappahannock river.
t Westmorland county, Virginia, the birth-place of the illustrious
Washington.

The Adventures of my Grandfathei . io5
Smallwood's, Mr. Digg's, Mr. Rosier's, Mr. Addison's,
and others, whose names I cannot even mention. To
describe these fine country places would require a volume,
and to you I would only be describing spots which you
know better than myself.
" My health has improved so rapidly, that I now walk
with the assistance of my cane. I hope, and I am en
couraged in this hope, by all the medical men I have
consulted, that from year to year I shall feel less incon
venience from the partial paralysis under which I now
labour. Still young, with a constitution originally vigorous,
and my general health unexceptionable, I trust I will not
always be so helpless as at present.
" The excitement which I have remarked in every part
of the Colony since my return, over our relations with the
mother- country, is as great in this town, if not greater, than
elsewdiere. Repeated meetings of the people have occurred
here, subscriptions been raised, and companies drilled and
equipped against the contingency of war. Among the
most active persons at these meetings have been Colonel
George Washington, so much distinguished in 1755 at
the defeat of Braddock,* and Mr. George Mason Both
have subscribed to the funds being raised more largely
than any others. Colonel Washington has also signified
his acceptance of the coraraand of the first corapany, and
suggested that the uniform should be that of his old regi
ment in the last war, viz , blue and buff. Of course,
this company has not been avowedly raised to resist the
authority of England, but for purposes of general defence.
It is perfectly understood, however, with what view it and
other companies are formed, and instructed in military
tactics. In Alexandria there are many gentlemen of loyal
sentiments, but how can they defend Ministers, a majority
of whom seem to have eaten of the insane root. I am
much concerned at these coming troubles, which a little
* See Appendix A.

166 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
diplomacy on the other side of the Atlantic, could so
easily have averted. " ' My soul aches,
To know, when two authorities are up,
Neither supreme, how soon confusion
May enter 'twixt the gap of both, and take
The one by the other.' "

CHAPTER XVIIL
HIS MARRIAGE, — THE FESTIVITIES. — CAPTAIN PELHAM REDIVIVUS. — MR.
JIMMY JONES IN CHARACTER. — DEATH OE THE VENERABLE JOHN
PEYTON. — HIS CHARACTER. — CONCLUDING REMARKS.
From the period when " my Grandfather" returned to
Stoney Hill, his health improved. Had he not been so
seriously wounded, his physical condition would have been
higher, and his constitution more vigorous, than at any
forraer period. His general health was, indeed, perfect.
It was now obvious, however, that he would suffer a per
manent spinal weakness and nervous irritabUity. This,
however, did not prevent his taking daily exercise on
horseback, nor did it depress his spirits, or prevent his
engaging with zest in the social amusements of the com
munity. He was unfitted, however, for active life, and,
of course, did not resume his mihtary studies under
Colonel de Blois. From this period he occupied himself
with legal studies, having in the spring of 1775 been
appointed a magistrate for the county, and with books
upon agriculture, to which he now turned his attention.
Imraediately after his return to Stoney HUl, he visited
BellevUle, and renewed his friendship with the Howes.

168 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
More fortunate than could have been expected, he returned
to the enjoyment of her constant affection, who had clung
to him through evU and good report. During all the
period of his silence and absence, Annie Howe had refused
to believe in his death or inconstancy. " Hope told a
flattering tale," and trusting her lover (though he had
never avowed his love), she would have been more or less
than mortal, and wise beyond her years, had she not
listened to it. They were soon affianced, with the consent
and approval of both families.
Three years after the date of his letter of December,
1774, their nuptials were consummated, with all the re
joicings surrounding such affairs in colonial days as now.
The ceremony was performed in BellevUle HaU, and not
in church, as is commonly the case in England. In those
days there were few churches in Virginia, and those scores,
sometimes hundreds of miles apart, and marriages were
necessarily performed under the parental roof.
A month before the auspicious event, invitations were
issued from BeUeviUe to the friends and relatives of both
families, and long before the wedding day j\Ir. Howe knew
that the size of the company would exceed the capacity of
BelleviUe, and those of the mansions of his immediate
friends and neighbours. The hospitality of all the gentry
within a radius of twenty miles, was, therefore, as was
usual, relied on for the entertainment of the guests.
In accordance with the custom of those days, the guests
were informed where they would be entertained, and were
quietly established against the wedding day. Mr. Howe,
anxious to trespass as little as possible upon his

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 169
friends, had ten or twelve timber houses buUt in his
grounds, but these were hardly made sufficiently com
fortable for the accommodation of ladies, and were princi
paUy occupied by young gentlemen. Upon the afternoon
preceding the wedding night, for in those halcyon days of
colonial existence weddings took place in the evening, and
not in the morning as at present, the company was seen
converging by every road upon Belleville. The ladies in
carriages and chaises, en grande toilette, for the ball, and
followed closely by gentlemen outriders and negro-servants
in livery. The young gentlemen who came en gargon,
approached on horseback from vaUey and hiU, and in the
dashing costume of the day, with their swords and pistols,
for every one then went armed, looked not unlUce the
scouts of a mUitary force. A few minutes after the com
pany had assembled in BellevUle Park, to the number of
several hundred, a cavalcade was seen approaching, con
sisting of four coaches and thirty outriders. The front
equipage was a stately old famUy carriage, in mourning,
containing Mrs. Peyton and her daughters frora Stoney
HiU (her venerable husband, John Peyton Esq., had now
been dead more than a year) the two next carriages fetched
the immediate friends of the faraily. A half mile in the
rear of these, a coach and four bore the groom and his best
man. As the carriages drove into the grounds, they were
received with cheers by the company, and with deafening
shouts by the negroes, old and young, who assembled in
greater force than the whites. At Belleville, as was usual
on these occasions, certain apartments were set aside for
the ladies, and others for the gentlemen, where they

1 70 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
could indulge in heightening their charms by any preli-
^nmary pimping they thought necessary. At the same time,
refreshments of every kind and description were served in
the grand banquetting hall.
The company having now arrived, the reader must be
indulged with a shght glance at its personelle. Though
large, it was almost entirely composed of relatives, friends
and neighbours, giving it, notwithstanding its size, the
character of a large family party, and all was mirth, fun
and cordiality. Aunts, grand-aunts, uncles, cousins, step
fathers and every degree of relationship and connection
was represented. Many too were the deviations frora
fashion and taste in the costum.e of some of the guests, but
the girls were very pretty, and with a sort of feminine
instinct, seemed to have discovered in most cases how to
dress to display their charms to the best advantage.
Amongst these lovely girls, Annie .Howe shone far, far
above them all, in the majesty of her ripened beauty.
The general voice awarded her the palm for grace, beauty
and attraction. Most mammas, it must be confessed, how
ever, in giving her the preference, made a secret reserva
tion in favour of their own daughters. The bride certainly
looked fair, modest and pretty, and was unexceptionally
dressed, but as she closely resembled a thousand other
brides, we wUl make no further description of her, and
we must say for the good breeding of the company she
attracted no particular attention, after the general judo--
ment pronounced her queen of beauty.
Graceful W.l.tluCS, Scotch reels or as they are some
times called " Old Virginia break downs," were the order

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 171
of the night. None of the modern innovations in the way
of dances were admitted, such as " flat foot waltzes" and
polkas, in which hUarious young gentlemen sometimes
" squeeze" their partners. The general cheerfulness was
partaken of by the old gentiemen, some of whom yielded
to the earnest solicitations of the youthful part of the com
pany, and joined in a dance or two. For the most part,
however, the gentlemen of the old school were holding
converse in a side room over their toddy and tobacco
pipes upon the favourite topic, among the old style in
Virginia, family traditions, legends, genealogy and so
forth. It should have been stated, however, before all this,
that the marriage procession having been formed in the
boudoir of Mrs. Howe, proceeded through the grand
corridor to the chapel, (for in these days in every old Vir
ginian mansion, a room was fitted up for private devotion,
caUed the chapel), where the ceremony was performed by
the rector of the Parish, according to Annie Howe's par
ticular request ; and not by the Rector from Stoney Hill,
as would have been the usual custom. The ceremony
over, which includes the subsequent congratulations, &c.,
the entire company proceeded to the baU room, adjoining
the banqueting hah, where we wiU leave them for the pre
sent " tripping the light fantastic toe."
The arrangements made for the comfort of the negro
servants, consisted of a sumptuous repast, laid in a tem
porary out-buUding, after partaking Of which, washed
down with heavy libations of the national drink — whiskey,
for which the blacks have as great partiality as the red, or

172 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
-indeed the white men, they danced on the green, in the
language of one of their own melodious songs, " all night,
tiU the broad day-light."
After a certain time the company dispersed, a portion
foUowing the bridal party to Stoney HUl, which became
for a season the scene of siraUar rejoicings, when the
bride and groora settled down to the prosaic routine of
every-day life on a Virginian plantation.
On the 27th day of AprU, 1778, the year following
the happy event we have just detaUed, the bride gave
birth to a son, christened John Howe Peyton, who sub
sequently became one of the most distinguished public
men in Virginia, and a brief sketch of whom, in the next
chapter, concludes this volume. Of his union with Annie
tlowe four sons were born.
Eight months after the return of the Howes to Belle
viUe frora Jamaica, when it was known that my grand
father had returned from New Mexico, and was Annie
Howe's accepted lover. Captain Pelham sold his commis
sion and returned to England, to take possession of a
handsome estate, devised him by his maiden aunt, who
died suddenly some months previous. Captain Pelham
subsequently married in England and removed to Vir
ginia, where he left a numerous offspring. The reader
wUl recall the distinguished career of the lamented Captain
Pelham of the Confederate Artillery, and the indomitable
pluck and spirit exhibited by him during the American
civil war. General (Stonewall) Jackson enthusiastically
said of this descendant of the English Pelharas, at the
battie of Fredericksburg, when he was holding in an

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 173
advanced position, 20,000 Federal troops at bay with
four guns, " With a Pelham upon either flank and my
brigade in the centre, the world could not drive me from
my position."
Before closing these pages, it must be mentioned that
Mr. Scroggin Jones became a great favourite in the neigh
bourhood of Belleville, where he was regarded quite as a
character. He divided his time between piscatory arause-
raents and the Virginia Court House, though after a long
attendance upon the latter, he held the Virginia judges in
prodigious contempt. He often said when ridicuhng their
decisions, " I wonder what ' my lud' or ' his ludship'
would say at that, or that, repeating certain remarks of
the Virginia jurists.
" I wonder what you know about law," said one day,
a crusty old planter, who didn't relish Jimmy's satire
upon the local magistracy, " or as for the matter of that,
about fish, except the eating of them, you blown up
cockney." " I beg you," said Mr. Jones, interposing, " to indulge in
no intemperate language, no angry declamation, no windy
effusions ! Have your own way about planting tobacco,
or growing corn, but as to the law, in this presence
'twere better to be sUent. Did I not five under the
shadow of Westminster over twenty years, and see ' his
ludship' go and return from court every day ? Sir, I
I don't like to be peremptory, but I must say don't con
trovert Scoggin Jones on a point of law."
Mr. Jones' heat, and the earnestness with which he
defended his dignity in his last stronghold, where he en-

174 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
trenched himself behind Westminster Hall and his ' lud
ship' was irresistably ludicrous, and whatever irritation his
contempt for Virginia justice may have momentarily excited
among the cavaliers, all was forgotten in a general burst
of laughter, amid loud cries of hear 1 hear ! and cheers.
Twelve months before the wedding, the venerable John
Peyton departed this hfe for a better, fuU of years and
full of honours, at the advanced age of sixty-nine years.
He was in many respects a remarkable man, and his faraily
and friends never wearied of speaking of his virtues.
Forty years after his death his character was a comraon
theme of conversation in the family circle. The late
Right Reverend Bishop of Virginia, who died in 1S58,
quite four score years of age, has often spoken to the
writer of the estimation in which he was held by his own
father, who told him that nothing but his want of ability
to do justice to the theme, prevented him from attempting
a biographical sketch. The Bishop's father said in a note
referring to him, it would require no common pencil to
depict the undeviating rectitude of his conduct, the un
shaken constancy of his friendship, the unwearied activity
of his benevolence, and invariable warmth of his affections,
the untarnished purity Of his habits, and the unabated
fervour of his piety. Often has the writer heard him
spoken of by those who remerabered hira, as by Annie
Howe, who died at Montgomery Hall, 1833, over eighty
years of age, as combining within himself every noble and
generous quality, as being the most perfect specin.en
that could be imagined of the upright man and thorough
christian gentleman.

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 175
He was for many years a magistrate for the county of
Stafford, and sat regulariy at the quarter sessions, with
great advantage to the public, and with perfect satisfaction
to the bar. The acuteness of his intellect, the power of
his memory, his devotion to the business of the court, and
his anxious desire to do complete justice, were long spoken
of in Stafford county with admiration and gratitude. To
his family, and all those who shared his private friendship,
it was well known that all these qualities were associated
with kind feelings, and an affectionate heart.
But it is not the writer's purpose to indulge in any
attempt at a description of him. He has heard enough of
him from his grandmother, Annie Howe Peyton, and frora
the late Mrs. Fanny Peyton Brown, widow of Judge John
Brown, of the Circuit Superior Court of Virginia, and
others, to enable hira to say that he was universally known
and acknowdedged as a man of gifted intellect, and pene
trating good sense. He lived, as had his father, Henry
Peyton, Esquire, and his grandfather, Benjamin John E.,
the son of Robert,' the first who emigrated from England,
in the seclusion of his country estate, devoted to rural life,
and the cultivation of social happiness. He took no part
in public affairs, further than his duties as magistrate of
the county required, and as vestryman of the church.
With his friends he enjoyed free intercourse — dehghted to
be surrounded by his family, and had little taste for
public life.
Charles Lucas left a numerous progeny in Virginia.
His chUdren's children continue to the present day in the
service of my grandfather's descendants. His eldest son,

176 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
Charles Lucas, Jun., died in Staunton in 1850, at the age
of seventy-five. Obedience, fidelity and industry charac
terized alike father and son. One of his daughters, Sarah
Craig, was the wet-nurse of the writer, and treated him in
infancy and manhood with the affection of a mother. This
kind and excellent woman died in 1865 from, doubtless,
the cruelties, privations and sufferings brought upon the
people of Virginia by the occupation of the Federal army.
In conclusion, it remains but to be said that my grand
father never recovered from the effects of his wound.
That all his hopes of being able to render active service to
his country thus perished, as the bright hopes of man
often perish in the bud. In the autumn of 1798, at
the early age of forty-five, he expired at Stoney Hill,
leaving a wife and six chUdren to mourn JffKf his untimely
end.,j7^- Tlie traveUer who may now wander in the historic re-
^ons of the northern, neck of Virginia, where the fiercest
battles of the Civil War were fought under Federal and
Confederate leaders, and to the quiet dells of Stoney Hill
Park, stretching down to the pure waters of the Acquia,
glittering in silvery lustre amongst the shadows of many
branches and thick fohage, will find the cypress planted
by Annie Howe upon the grave of my grandfather, im
mediately after his death. It was beneath the venerable
trees of this enchanting wilderness, which seems more like
a forest in a beautiful romance, than a reality, wdiere the
beautiful and the vast are blended together, that the
wounded officer reposed his withered and broken frame for
twenty years.

The Adventures of my Grandfather. 177
The friendly visitor to Stoney Hill might often during
this period have seen him repo.sing upon the mossy bank,
with no companion but his faithful wife. Here they passed
many an afternoon hour in sohtude and seclusion, engaged
in acts of pious devotion. His reason told hira, her
penetrating eye saw too clearly the progress of disease,
and the inevitably fatal re^nlt. He bore the truth with
christian fortitude, pious resignation, undisturbed by those
guilty agitations of mind, to which the wicked are ex
posed. Oppressed, almost overcome by her feelings,
Annie Howe always demeaned herself in his presence with
cheerfulness and composure. It was only when she had
assisted him to his fireside seat, and retired to her own
chamber, that the troubled sigh issued from her afflicted
breast, and the ^^qw of bitter tears descended down her
cheeks of sorrow. Under those venerable oaks he sheltered
himself during the long period when he was quietly pass
ing away ;* and under thera he now sleeps the sleep of
the just, side by side with his fathers. f
* His gun-shot wound was ascertained to have injured the vertebra,
and brought on a disease which proved fatal when he was in his forty-
flfth year.
t In the private burial ground of the family at Stoney Hill, are in-.
terred side by side,
Benjamin J. E. Peyton,(a) nascitur 1670, obit 1735.
Henry Peyton, nascitur 1690, obit 1760.
John Peyton, nascitur 1710, obit 1777.
John Rowzee Peyton, nascitur 1751, obit 1798.
Robert Peyton, father of Benjamin, is buried at Isleham, Virginia,
and John Howe Peyton, son of John Rowzee, in Trinity Church-yard,
Staunton. (a) B, J. E, Peyton was born in Virginia, but shortly thereafter was
N

1 78 The Adventures of my Grandfather.
It is irapossible to wander over the grassy lawns and
through the solemn groves of these lovely grounds, where
rare and exotic plants fill the air with their perfume, and
flourish in wanton and unpruued luxuriance, while far off
stretch the dark forests of oak and pine, without solemn
and interesting emotions ; to pensively muse, in the deep
sUence which is stUl reigning in vale and grove, upon
the lives of those who once lived here, and the manners
and costumes of other days, without being a better, wiser,
and happier man. Fie who casts his eyes from the portico
of the hoary and honoured hall, when the crimson light of
a summer's evening, falls upon the scene below, rich in
the loveliness of native grace, cannot but praise God,
who over land and ocean His blessing hand extends,
giving us this green earth, its goodly trees, living waters,
and countless blessings, without discovering in the un
changeable nature of these blessings the infinite love of
that Almighty Father, who is the same " yesterday, to-day,
and for ever."
sent to England for education, where having graduated at Cambridge,
he joined the English force in Holland under Marlborough, assisted at
the capture of Liege in 1702, and engaged in the battle won by the
British Fleet in the West Indies, over the French in 1703. Whilst at
Cambridge he made the acquaintance of the Czar, Peter the Great,
then (1698) in England, to acquire the art of ship-building, of whose
eccentricities and gross habits he related many characteristic anecdotes
on his return home, to the scandal of his Virginian relatives, who did
not believe the Muscovite Autoci-at to be anything but a polished and
accomplished gentleman.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

JOHN HOWE PEYTON, ESQ.

MONTGOMERY HALL,
AUGUSTA COUNTY, VIRGINIA,

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

JOHN HOWE PEYTON, ESQ.,

MONTGOMERY HALL, AUGUSTA COUNTY, VIEGINIA.

John Howe Peyton, the eldest son of the union of J.
Rowzee Peyton and Annie Howe, was born at Stoney
HiU, Stafford County, Virginia, on the 27th day of AprU
1778. Virginia was then an English colony, but America
in the throes of the Revolution, which terminated in her in
dependence at the conclusion of the peace with Great Britain
in 1783. UntU he attained his sixteenth year he pursued
a similar course of education with his father, having been
provided at an early period with a tutor. His father,
calling to mind his own youthful days, his retired temper,
which caused him to take little pleasure in the amusements
of his comrades, and his wonderful escape from shipwreck
when returning from New York, which had a powerful
effect in elevating his disposition and making him seem
under the especial care of Providence, entertained on all

182 Biographical Sketch of
these accounts, a watchful anxiety for the proper educa
tion and personal safety of his son, and exercised great
circumspection in the choice of a tutor.
He selected for this position, an Enghsh gentleman by
the name of Priestley, who was distinguished for profound
scholarship and original genius, and who was, therefore,
every way adapted to awaken the dormant energies of his
pupil. Mr. Priestley's strictly moral life, pious habits,
and candid manners gained for hira universal esteem. Mr.
Peyton, therefore, entrusted his son to his tutelage with
confidence, but at the same tirae kept a watchful eye over
the whole of his studies, and the general tenor of his
conduct. Not unfrequently he was present during his
hours of application, and took infinite pleasure in watch
ing his progress in every branch of knowledge. In every
branch also of manly exercise he received instruction, and
displayed great dehght in them. But though of deter
mined courage, as the lad often showed, and of heroic
sentiments, combined with the strictest sense of honour,
it was quite obvious before he was sixteen that the silent
charms of the Muses had mightier attractions for him, than
the rough life of a soldier. Accordingly at sixteen, in
stead of being placed in a military school, he was sent to
Dumfries Academy, which continued in a flourishing con
dition down to the year 1795. Two years following, he
matriculated at the University of New Jersey, Nassau
Hall, Princeton, where he was graduated, with double
first-class honours, (classics and mathematics), as M.A,, in
1799. Imraediately thereafter he returned to Stoney
HiU, and commenced the study of the law, under the

John Howe Peyton. 183
supervision and instruction of General Minor, the leader
of the circuit. The year following his father died, and
shortly after this sad event, the more readdy and success
fuUy to prosecute his legal studies, he repaired to Rich
mond, and became a pupil of the late Judge Bushrod
Washington, one of the associate justices of the Supreme
Court of the United States. Within six months of his
father's death, he obtained his " licence," and entered
upon the practical part of his calling in Fredericksburg,
meeting with immediate success, business coming to him
frora the beginning.
His first speech was raade in defence of a gentleman
charged with murder. The aggravated nature of the case
created great exciteraent in the coraraunity, and was
watched with the deepest interest by thousands. The
murderer was a gentleman, who had killed a tradesman
in hot blood for insultingly demanding a bill under pecu
liar and mortifying circumstances, when the gentleman
was surrounded by company. The case was further em
barrassed by the jealousy and ill feeling existing between
the different classes. A cry had already been raised that
there was no law for the weak and humble, that a poor
raan having been slaughtered by a gentleman of wealth
and position, there was no prospect of his punishment ;
that the law in Virginia was a net which only caught small
fiies, and through which " big bugs" forced their way.
Such was the exciting language in which the tradespeople
spoke of the matter, and the jury in this case was com
posed chiefly of thera. The facts of the rencontre were so
clearly proven, and the guUt of the accused was so unmis-

184 Biographical Sketch of
takeably established, that people wondered what could be
said in the defence, even those who sympathized with the
prisoner. Mr. Peyton's friends were in despair at his
embarrassing position. He was about to make his maiden
effort ; much was expected of the distinguished collegian,
and yet his case was so desperate that it was supposed
that the oldest and ablest at the bar could say nothing.
Being junior counsel he led off in the defence. Rising in
the midst of an intensely excited, but perfectly quiet au
dience, and comraencing with the proposition that a man's
honour was dearer than his life, was the "immediate jewel
of his soul," and that when assailed in his honour and
outraged in his feelings, he was justified in striking down
his enemy whoever he might be ; that in fact it was but a
species of self-defence, he proceeded in a speech so full of
novel and startling propositions ; sustained by a chain of
such ingenious though sophistical reasoning, and the wdiole
so full of fervid eloquence and delivered with such decla
matory power, that he completely carried away the court,
jury and audience. When he resumed his seat, it was
amidst a burst of applause which the presence of the
Court could not repress. The senior counsel seized him by
the hand, saying " I never heard such a speech in all my ex
perience. You, even you, yourself, could not make it again."
Not another word was spoken by counsel, though the States
attorney made an effort to be heard, the jury declared that
tliey were satisfied, and pronounced their verdict of not
guilty from their places in open court. His fame was
already established, his fortune made. He left the Court
house that day, the first day he had entered the arena.

John Howe Peyton. 185
with an extraordinary reputation. This auspicious be
ginning was indeed le commencement de la fin.
His intimate friend at this period was a young barrister,
WUliam A. G. Dade, a ripe scholar and trained lawyer,
who subsequently became a Judge of the Superior Court
of Law and Chancery in Virginia. Mr. Dade was related
to the famUy at Stoney HiU, which doubtless increased
their intimacy, but it was chiefly the result of their rau-
tual love of letters. Much of their time was passed in
each other's society, and they invariably went the circuit
together, principally engaged in discussing, not grave
matters of the law, but the more congenial subject of the
ancient authors, thus enlarging their minds, and refining
their tastes.*
Man is not completed in the closet, has been raore than
once said. Society finishes the work, and gives the in
genious raind all that erabellishraent and dignity which it
is capable of receiving. By intercourse with the learned,
the penetrating and the virtuous, our knowledge is ar
ranged, our best powers called forth, and our best habits
formed and established. Living examples make a
more sensible and durable impression, than those which
we receive frora books ; the soul is apt to grow torpid in
seclusion, but in company it is kept in a quick and plea
surable agitation ; its fire grows more ardent and pure by
mixing with congenial spirits, and it imitates, it emulates
* Their intimacy was kept up through life, and many boxes of their
letters and papers, which came into the hands of the writer, as execu
tor of his father, John Howe Peyton, and a selection from which he
had hoped to give to the public were destroyed during the American
Civil War 1861-65,

186 Biographical Sketch of
the greatness which it surveys with admiration. Neither
of these young men were ignorant that those advantages
result frora good connections, and they both early sought the
association of the most celebrated for talent and learning.
In 1800 Mr. Peyton, very shortly after entering upon
his professional career, won the regards of an amiable and
accoraplished lady, Susan Madison, daughter and co
heiress of Strother Madison Esq., and niece of the Right
Reverend the Bishop Madison of Virginia. By her he left an
only child. Colonel William Madison Peyton, of Roanoke,
Virginia, for many years a distinguished member of the
General Assembly of Virginia, and late Inspector-general of
the State, and aid-de-camp to his ExceUency the Com
mander-in-Chief Mr. Peyton was elected frora his native county to the
Lower House of the Virginian Assembly in 1S06, and
served tiU 1810, when he removed from Stafford to the
Valley of Virginia, and was no longer ehgible. During
his legislative career, an exciting controversy arose in the
United States upon the subject of a tribunal for settling
disputes between the State and Federal Judiciary. Many
apprehended that unless some such tribunal was established
and it was alleged that there was none under the existing
constitution, collisions would occur between the govern
ment of the Union, and the State governments, and even
tuate iu Civil War.
The State of Pennsylvania took action upon the subject,
and communicated with the State of Virginia, when it will
be seen from the following extracts from the proceedings of
tbe Virginia Assembly, that Mr. Peyton prepared on behalf

John Howe Peyton. 187
of Virginia a preamble and resolutions of great abihty,
wdiich were unanimously passed, and not only put the ques
tion to rest as to Virginia and Pennsylvania, but in the
whole country.* * Virginia Legislature.
Extract from the message of Governor Tyler of Virginia,
December 4th, 1809.
" A proposition from the State of Pennsylvania is here
with submitted, with Governor Snyder's letter enclosing
the same, in which is suggested the propriety of amending
the Constitution of the United States so as to prevent col
lision between the Government of the Union and the State
Governments. "House of Delegates, Friday, Dec. 15th, 1809.
" On motion ordered that so much of the Governor's
communication as relates to the communication Of the
Governor of Pennsylvania, on the subject of an amendment,
proposed by the legislature of the State to the Constitution
of the United States, be referred to Messrs. Peyton, Otey,
Cabell, Walker, Madison, Holt, Newton, Parker, Stevenson,
Randolph, Cocke, Wayatt and Ritchie.
"Thursday, January llth, 1810.
" Mr. Peyton, from the Committee, to whom was referred
that part of the Governor's communication wdiich relates
to the amendment proposed by the State of Pennsylvania,
to the Consritution of the United States, made the follow
ing report.
" The Committee to whom was referred the communica
tion of the Governor of Pennsylvania, covering certain
resolutions of the Legislature of that State proposing an
amendment of the Constitution of the United States by
the appointment of an impartial tribunal to decide disputes
between the State and Federal Judiciary, have had the
same under their consideration, and are of opinion that a
tribunal is already provided by the Constitution of the

188 Biographical Sketch of
At this period, his legal reputation had already become
so high and extended, that he was invited to accept the

United States to wit : the Supreme Court, more eminently
qualified from their habits and duties, frora the mode of
their selection, and from the tenure of their offices, to
decide the disputes aforesaid in an enlightened and im
partial manner than any other tribunal which could be
created. " The members of the Supreme Court are selected from
those in the United States, who are most celebrated for
virtue and legal learning, not at the wiU of a single indi
vidual, but by the concurrent wishes of the President and
Senate of the United States ; they wUI therefore have no
local prejudices or partialities. The duties they have to
perform lead thera necessarily to the most enlarged and
accurate acquaintance with the jurisdiction of the Federal
and State Courts together, and with the admirable sym
metry of our Government. The tenure of their offices
enables then) to pronounce the sound and correct opinions
they may have formed without fear, favour, or partiality.
" The amendment of the Constitution proposed by Penn
sylvania seeras to be founded upon the idea that the
Federal Judiciary will, from a lust of power, enlarge their
jurisdiction, to the total annihilation of the jurisdiction of
the State Courts ; that they wUl exercise their will instead
of the law and the Constitution.
" This argument if it proves anything, would operate
more strongly against the tribunal proposed to be created,
which promises so little, than against the State Courts,
which, for the reasons given, have everything connected
with their appointment calculated to insure confidence.
What security have we, were the proposed amendments
adopted, that this tribunal would not substitute their wUl
and their pleasure in place of the law? The Judiciary
are the weakest of the three departments of goveriuneut,

Johi Eoive Peyton. 1 89
position of Comraon wealth Attorney, or Pubhc Prose
cutor, and reraoved to the county of Angusta, lying in the

and least dangerous to the political rights of the constitu
tion ; they hold neither the purse nor the sword ; and
even to enforce their own judgraents and decisions, must
ultimately depend upon the executive arm. Should the
Federal judiciary, however unmindful of their weakness,
unmindful of the duty which they owe to themselves, and
their country, become corrupt and transcend the limits
of their jurisdiction, would the proposed amendment oppose
even a probable barrier to such an improbable state of
things ?
" The creation of a tribunal, such as is proposed by Penn
sylvania, so far as we are able to form an idea of it, from
the description given in the resolutions of the Legislature
of the State, would, in the opinion of your Committee, tend
rather to invite than to prevent collisions between the
Federal aud State Courts. It might also become in pro
cess of time, a serious and dangerous embarrassment to
the operations of the general Goyernment.
" Resolved, therefore : That the Legislature of this State
do disapprove of the amendment to the Constitution of
the United States proposed by the Legislat\ire of Pennsyl
vania. " Resolved also : That his Excellency the Governor be
and he is hereby requested to transmit forthwith a copy
of the foregoing preamble and resolutions to each of the
Senators and representatives of this State in Congress, and
to the executives of the several States in the Union, with
a request that the same be laid before the Legislatures
thereof. " The said Resolutions being read a second time, were,
on motion, ordered to be referred to a Comraittee of the
wdiole House on the State of the Commonwealth.
" Tuesday, January 23rd, 1810.
" The House according to the order of the day, resolved

190 Biographical Sketch of
heart of the beautiful vaUey of the Shenandoah. Here he
purchased an estate called " Montgomery HaU," situated

itself into a Coraraittee of the whole house on the state of
the Commonwealth, and after some time spent therein,
Mr. Speaker resumed the chair, and ]\Ir. Stannard of
Spottsylvania, reported that the Committee had, ac
cording to order, had under con.sideration the preamble
and resolution of the Select Committee, to whom was
referred that part of the Governor's communication which
relates to the araendraent proposed to the Constitution of
the United States by the Legislature of Pennsylvania, had
gone through with the same, and directed him to report
them to the House without araendraent, which he handed
in to the clerk's table.
" And the question being put, on agreeing to the said
preamble and resolutions, they were agreed to by the
House unanimously.
" Ordered that the clerk carry the said preamble and
resolutions to the Senate, aud desire their concur
rence. In Senate.
"Wednesday, January 24th, 1810,
" The preamble and resolutions on the amendment to
the Constitution of the United States, proposed by the
Legislature of Pennsylvania by the appointment of an im
partial tribunal to decide disputes between the State and
Federal judiciary, being also delivered in and twice read,
on motion was ordered to be committed to Messieurs
Nelson, Currie, Campbell, Upshur and W^olfe.
"Friday, January 26th, 1810.
" Mr. Nelson reported from the Committee on the
preamble and resolutions on the Amendment, proposed by
the Legislature of Pennsylvania, &c,, &c., that the Com
mittee had, according to order, taken the said preamble
and resolutions under their consideration, and directed
him to report them without any araendraent.

John Howe Peyton. 191
near the town of Staunton, and this was ever afterwards
his place of residence.
Notwithstanding his large practice, and the zeal with
which he engaged in the avocations of civU life, he was
not unmindful of other duties which sometiraes devolve
in a country without powerful neighbours, or a standing
army, as were the United States previous to 1861, upon
the peaceful citizen. During the year 1812, when the
second war occurred between Great Britain and the United
States, and Richmond was threatened by a powerful
British force, Mr. Peyton imraediately volunteered his ser
vices, and was appointed Chief of Staff to Major-General
Robert Porterfield. He entered at once upon his duties,
marched to Richraond, and served with credit till the
close of the war in 1814. The war over, he returned to
private life, and to the practice of his profession, and was
iramediately appointed by the Hon. Wilhani Wirt, At
torney-General of the United States, Assistant United States
District Attorney for Virginia. .From this period till 1836,
he gave his entire energies to the profession, acquiring
great distinction, and a large fortune. During this period,
the distinguishing peculiarities of his intellect made them
selves more manifest. It was observed that in all of his
investigations, his philosophical mind rose above the tech-
nicahties of the system of the comraon law, to the consi
deration of general principles, and he was never more
eloquent than when expatiating upon those great principles
" And on the question being put, thereupon the same
was agreed to unanimously"

192 Biographical Sketch of
which lie at the foundation of all duty, and are equally
applicable to all its forms.
In 1820 death deprived him of his wife, Susan Madi
son, who had been for many years a confirmed invalid.
In 1822 he married his second wife. The object of his
present choice was Ann Montgomery Lewis, daughter of
Major John Lewis, of the Sweet Springs, a noted Revolu
tionary officer, and personal friend of Washington. Major
Lewis, hke his father, Colonel WiUiam Lewis, and his
uncle. General Andrew Lewis, served in the Indian wars
wdiich preceded the Araerican Revolution, and in the War
of Independance, having been present in alraost all the
battles of that fratricidal strife which occurred in the
Northern Colonies.* To her warm affection, which was
dis[)layed in the care of his orphan son, and as the com
panion of his long life, and the mother of a rising family,
he owed for many years that domestic happiness which
was the chief solace of his life, and from which he allowed
no public honours to wholly withdraw hira. From the
period of his second marriage, his life passed on in a course
of uninterrupted happiness down to the hour of his death.
In 1836 he was elected a Virginia Senator, and served
in this capacity tUl 1845, when he resigned on account of
declining health. He was elected to the Senate against his
wishes, aud to the no small detriment of his private in
terest. To accept this unprofitable employment, he was
* In 1830 the Government of the United States made a special grant
of 13,000 acres of public land to the heirs of my maternal grandfather.
Major Lewis, in consideration of his distinguished services in the
Revolutionary War,

John Howe Peyton. 193
required hy the constitution of the State to relinquish the
lucrative office of pubhc prosecutor. The people invested
him with the senatorial robes under circumstances emi
nently calculated to gratify his pride. Though making no
scruples of his disinclination to serve, he was elected by a
large majority, over a well-known public man, Mr. Robert
S. Brooks, who had in various situations done the State
good service.
At the expiration of his first term of service he wished
to retire, but an Ul-timed opposition, under peculiar cir
cumstances, caused him to reappear as a candidate. The
writer will be pardoned for aUuding, at this point, to the
circumstances under which an opposition was now raised
to Mr. Peyton, as it enables him to give an amusing
iUustration of his pleasantry, and the effect with which he
used the power of ridicule.
During the last session of his first senatorial term, a
bill was introduced into the Assembly for raising the taxes
to meet the interest on a largely increased pubhc debt,
resulting from the extension of the internal improvement
system of the State. This was an exceedingly unpopular
measure with the people — as what tax bill is not ? — who
declared that the improvements were unnecessary ; that if
necessary, they would pay, and if this were true, they
would be constructed by private companies. That it was
bad policy in the Assembly to have inaugurated such a
system, and ruinous to the interests of the people ; and
they declared, most unmistakeably, their purpose to re
turn a new set of representatives opposed to their mea
sures.

194 Biographical Sketch of
Three or four cunning lawyers, who had long wished to
enter public life, thought they now saw a favourable
opportunity, and a ticket was formed to oppose Mr. Pey
ton's re-election to the Senate, and that of the three
members to the Lower House. Au active canvas com
menced, the four new candidates meeting the old merabers
upon the hustings, save Mr. Peyton, who declined engag
ing in the canvas ; intimating, however, that he would
speak at any mass meeting of the people which should
occur at the county towns, while he was traveUing the circuit.
He came to Lexington in 1842 while the Author was a
cadet in the MUitary Academy, to attend the session of
the Rockbridge term of the Superior Court, and a grand
mass meeting of the people was called to take place at this
time, that the candidates might have an opportunity of
addressing thera. There was great exciteraent, and to
enable the cadets to hear the discussion, a holiday was
granted to aU but the guard on duty.
Among others, the Author attended. The three mera
bers of the Lower House made long, grave and able argu
ments in vindication of their course in voting an increase
of the taxes, and to shelter themselves behind Mr. Pey
ton, declared that in pursuing this course, they had but
followed the advice and pursued the course of their — the
people's — honoured Senator. When they had concluded,
their legal opponents replied in equaUy grave speeches,
artfully conceived so as to pander to the passions of the
people. They concluded their addresses by promising the
people generally, that if elected, they would vote " for
giving everything to everybody."

John Howe Peyton. 195
Mr. Peyton now rose to address the assemblage, and re
marked, that it was true he had voted for increased taxation,
and his confidence was perfect that in endeavouring by this
course to preserve the honour and reputation of the people
of Virginia, he should receive their approbation and sup
port, notwithstanding the present clamour. He said taxes
were notoriously distasteful, and it was always a delicate
matter to increase them, and therefore it was not unnatural
that some dissatisfaction was felt, and some opposition ex
pressed to their course ; but (turning to the three lawyers
by whom the old ticket was opposed), he said, least of all
did he expect opposition from the legal fraternity, for
while it was true that he had voted to lay a tax of ten
dollars a head upon lawyers, in the preceding clause
he had voted to levy a tax of double upon jack
asses !
The ludicrous manner and pecuhar eraphasis with which
he uttered this reraark, convulsed the audience with laugh
ter and applause. Cheer after cheer now arose in favour
of the old ticket, and groan after groan was uttered for
the new. In a moment all the laboured arguments of the
old and new candidates were forgotten. In a single sen
tence he had swept everything before him. The chagrined
members of the opposition assumed in turn all the glow
ing colours of the expiring dolphin. When quiet was
restored, he proceeded in fifteen rainutes to explain in a
lucid and conclusive manner the necessity for increased
taxation, and appealing in a strain of fervid eloquence, in
conclusion, to their pride as men, their pride as freemen,
and their pride as Virginians, to uphold her honour, he
o 2

196 Biographical Sketch of
resumed his seat, amidst immense and long-continued
applause. Next day the walls were placarded with great
bills. " Vote for Peyton and paying your debts— vote for
the old ticket," "No one Objects to being taxed, but
lawyers and jackasses."
It need scarcely be said, he was returned by a triumph
ant majority.
Mr. Peyton's great majority was a tribute to his abilities
and his capacity for public usefulness — nothing more. He
was never a popular man, or people's favourite — was not
unfrequently styled an aristocrat, and was, as everybody
knew, the furthest possible removed from that class of de
graded demagogues, who are pohtely known in America
as " popular men," " the people's favourites." These are
the mUd terms used to designate those selfish demagogues,
who hover about county court-houses, often caUing them
selves attorneys, battening upon the strifes of the com
munity, and ready to pander to the vilest passions of the
people to secure a seat in the legislature, in a State
convention, in a college directory, in a railway board, in
any place indeed, wdiere there is a small per diem and a
prospect of jobbery. Proudly conscious of his own recti
tude and his intellectual superiority, he disdained the
society of these tricksters, detesting them as thoroughly
as their vices. He was a terror too to these harpies. There
was a fire in his eye, a punishing glance that prostrated
these creatures, so that the words of Scripture might be
applied to him: "The King, when he sits upon the
throne of His Majesty, chases by a glance of his coun
tenance every evU thing ;" whilst in the thunder of his

John Howp, Peyton. 197
voice there was such force, that it struck to the earth
whomsoever he addressed in anger. Hence, he was not
what is caUed in America a popular man — or a favourite
with the masses. Could scarcely be so characterized,
while the jackaUs and whippersin of party where whining
at his heels. Nor was he at all conciliating in his man
ners, but it must be acknowledged, was a man of extraor
dinary pride — a pride which indeed pervaded the whole
man. As Macaulay once said of the Prime Minister,
WiUiam Pitt, pride was written in the rigid lines of his
face, was marked by the way in which he walked, in
which he sate, in which he stood, and above all in which
he bowed. Such pride, of course, inflicted many wounds.
He was popular, however, in the highest and best sense of
that term, being a great favourite with those whose good
opinion was worth possessing. There was so much child
like simphcity, mixed with the severity of his deportment,
that he filled all at the same time with veneration and
love. This was so marked, that the good whom he some
times severely reproved for their shortcomings, and thereby
provoked were amongst his most faithful adherents, and
his enemies were so profoundly impressed with his inte
grity, that though occasionally holding no personal in
tercourse with him, they sought his aid and counsel when
in trial and tribulation. This was remarkably illustrated
and exquisitely proved by the act of John Churchman,
Esq., of Augusta, Virginia, formerly High Sheriff of the
county. Mr. Churchman was so incensed by one of Mr.
Peyton's reprimands, that all intercourse between them
ceased. Some years later, the former High Sheriff was

198 Biographical Sketch of
involved in a law suit of an important and harrassing
character, and he apphed, through a mutual friend, to Mr.
Peyton for his professional assistance, which was given to
him freely and successfully.
The hmits of this sketch wiU not permit us to follow
him year by year, through the course of his long and
useful hfe. During the tirae when he represented the
public in the Senate and Legislature, it was to the entire
satisfaction of his constituents and with great and ac
knowledged advantage to the legislation and jurisprudence
of the State. Though he retired from the Legislature in
1810, and refused to serve longer in that capacity or in
Congress, though often solicited to do so, (such were
the demands made upon his time by his increased practice) ;
his advice was often sought upon occasions of great public
interest, and there were few measures. State or National,
which did not derive some assistance from his powerful
intellect and extensive information. Such was his modesty,
that through life he neither sought nor desired notoriety,
and was content without display, or reward, to contribute
aU he had to the promotion of the public good.
But it was not only as a public man, an eminent
lawyer and a distinguished statesraan, that he was known
and respected. In private life, and it is necessary to
consider him in this light in order to do justice to his
character — he inspired affectionate reverence, by reason of
his loving and generous spirit. His charity was boundless,
embracing aU relations and friends, and indeed common
humanity. In his intercourse with his faraUy, he was
not only tender and affectionate but sportive and familiar,

John Howe Peyton. 199
though this latter quality was tempered by a gentle dignity
which restrained insensibly the exuberance of youthful
spirits within just bounds.
This sketch might be considered incomplete without
some notice of his rehgious sentiments. Piety and mo-
rahty dictated the whole course of his life, and several
years before his death, which occurred April 3rd, 1847,
at his home, in Augusta, he openly professed his faith in the
religion of Jesus Christ, and united himself with the
Protestant Episcopal Church, thus adding his solemn tes
timony of belief to the practical illustrations afforded by
his life. No words of our's can so well express what we
feel, as the solemn and beautiful thoughts embraced in
the following lines, and which are worthy of application
here. " Peace to the just man's memory ; — let it grow
Greener with years, and blossom through the flight
Of ages ; let the mimic leaves show
His calm benevolent features ; let the light
Stream on his deeds of love, that shunned the sight
Of all but Heaven ; and in the books of fame
The glorious record of his virtues write,
And hold it up to men, and bid them claim
A palm like his, and catch from him the hallowed flame."
As we have said, he retired in 1845 to the seclusion
of his estate, (Montgomery Hall), where he died from
apoplexy two years later. In the " Southern Literary
Messenger" for 1850, the following brief sketch of Mr.
Peyton appeared. It is from the pen of a worthy and
exceUent gentleman, Major John Preston, professor of
modern languages in the Virginia Military Institute

200 Biographical Sketch of
Lexington. Major Preston, was, however, so much Mr.
Peyton's junior, that he only knew him in his dechning
years, and does but scant justice to the extraordinary
merits of the foremost man in his day of the profession
in Virginia. Mr. Peyton's youngest brother. Colonel
Rowzee Peyton of Geneva, New York,* whose death, (at
82 years of age), occurred October 10th, 1867, and in
telligence of which reached London since this work went
to press, expressed his surprise and mortification to the
writer in 1851, that a notice doing his lamented brother
* Colonel Rowzee Peyton married his second wife, Eliza Murray, in
New Tork city. She was daughter of one of the principal merchants
of the place, and connected with many of the most ancient families of
that State, but having been born and reared in a non-slave-holding
community, she could not reconcile it with her feelings on her con
science to reside in Virginia. Shortly after their marriage, through her
influence, Colonel Peyton removed from his native State and became
a citizen of New Tork, If his wife had known something of the futile
efforts to naturalize the native American Negro in Africa, and of the
untold misery which has since been brought upon them by their forcible
emancipation, she would probably have felt less uneasiness in her
southern residence. In 1830, Mr, Howe Peyton despatched fifty slaves
from the " Wilderness plantation'' in Bath County to Liberia. Slaves
liberated upon the express condition that they should remove to that
colony. They were supplied with suitable clothing, food, &c., and
money to cover their expenses for twelve months after their arrival, Mr.
Peyton accompanied them in person to Norfolk, and saw them com
fortably established on ship board. They had a short and prosperous
voyage, and all arrived safe and well in Africa. For two years they
wrote regularly, at the end of which time thirty-four had died from
dissipation and the efieots of the climate. The remaining sixteen were
scattered, some relapsing into barbarism, and the others into poverty.
Por thirty-five years nothing has been heard of them, and all are pre
sumed to have perished. Such are some of the bitter fruits of African
Colonization,

John Howe Peyton. 201
so little jnstice should have been published. It was
written with the best motives, however, and was sent to
the magazine to be printed by Major Preston without
having been exhibited to any member of the Peyton
famUy. Meagre and faint as it is, it wiU serve though im
perfectly and indistinctly to present one view of his character,
and is accordingly included herein, without change or
modification. It may be doubted, however, whether any
benefit has accrued to Mr. Peyton's fame from the unsafe
sort of erabalmraent it has received in the sketch of the
well-meaning Major Preston.
It has always been a source of great regret to the
Author that he was too young to hear many, or under
stand any of his father's speeches made when he was in
his prime. He has often stood in a crowded assembly,
when a boy, and seen the audience swayed. to and fro
by his eloquence, at one moraent convulsed with laughter,
and at another drowned in tears, without being able to
foUow his argument or to appreciate his eloquence, save
by his splendid manner and the wonderful effect his words
produced. It may not be uninteresting, if he pauses here to men
tion the only occasion, after he attained manhood, on
which he heard his father speak, and when he spoke, as
he had never heard man speak before.
On the completion of the Author's university career in
1844, he returned to " Montgomery HaU," when his father
was in his 67th year, and after he had been prostrated by
an attack of apoplexy, accompanied with paralysis of his
left side, and from which he had only partially recovered.

202 .Biographical Sketch of
At this period Mr. Peyton had retired from the bar, but
shortly after, an important case in which he had been
previously engaged by an old friend, James A. McCue
Esq., came on for trial. Mr. McCue was deeply interested
in this cause, and appealed to Mr. Peyton as a personal
friend, to give hira the benefit of his legal knowledge
and experience. Mr. Peyton resisted this application for
sorae tirae, pleading his age and infirmities. Mr. McCue,
however, was so deeply interested in the matter and urged
with so much earnestness and feeling his claims upon him
as an old friend, that he finally yielded to his solicitations.
The day the cause was to be argued the writer accompanied
his father to the Court diouse without any special interest
in this case, but anxious to hear one of his arguments
even at this advanced period of his hfe, and also appre
hensive lest the excitement of the cause might prostrate
him in his then delicate health, and that his assistance
might be required. When he entered the Court a cause
was in progress which occupied about an hour. At the
end of his tirae the case of McCue and Ralston was called.
Mr. Ralston's senior counsel, the Hon. Alexander H. H.
Stuart a distinguished jurist and accoraplished gentle
man was absent. His associate counsel, a joung attor
ney, rose and said, " that he had fully investigated the
case and that it was so plainly and palpably in favour of
his client (Mr. Ralston), that he did not know how to
proceed to make it clearer, that he felt a curiosity to know
what could be said upon the other side, and he added
somewhat presumptuously, that he was considered to have
a fair share of imagination, and quite as much penetration

John Hoive Peyton. 203
as ordinary men, and yet he really could not comprehend
how the learned counsel on the other side would proceed
to argue against Mr. Ralston such a case." After this
fashion the young attorney proceeded for thirty minutes,
resuming his seat with quite a triumphant air and without
having adduced a solitary argument upon a single point,
because as he alleged, " no lawyer could find one in support
of a case which on its face was so manifestly for his
client." Mr. Peyton then rose feebly from his seat, holding his
brief in one hand and supporting himself upon the other
which rested on a table, and without taking any notice
whatever of what the young man had said, or even looking
at, or in the shghtest manner referring to hira, proceeded
in a coloquial style to argue his cause, in a speech of such
perspicacity, force and beauty, that it rivetted the atten
tion of every one in the house. All were led on, irresist
ably fascinated by the grace of his diction and the clearness
of his demonstration. At the end of twenty-five minutes
when he concluded, the audience seemed to awake from a
spell-bound condition, from a delightful intellectual trance.
The writer comprehended then for the first time in his
life the irresistable power of simple eloquence, and left
the Court-house more delighted than he had ever risen
from a demonstration in Euchd, or the solution of any pro
blem in raathematics, and understanding the grounds of
his father's wonderful success and great and extended repu
tation. An appeal was subsequently taken from the decision of
the lower court in the case. It need scarcely be said, how-

204 Biographical Sketch of J.JH. Peyton.
ever, that it was decided after Mr. Peyton's death in
the Court of Appeals of Virginia upon, and, in accordance
with the principles laid down in his speech that day.*
* This cause is reported by Robinson or Grattan.

SKETCH
OF A DISTINGUISHED LAWYER.

The late John H. Peyton Esq., of Staunton, Virginia,
was one of the finest specimens that we have ever known
of the complete lawyer. In Middle and Western Virginia,
he was confessedly in the front rank of legal men, and
according to the opinions of many, he was first in that
rank. During the prime of hfe, he pursued his profession
with a laborious assiduity rarely equalled, and though as
age advanced upon him he remitted his efforts, he did
not discontinue his practice untU a short time before his
death, which occurred April 3rd, 1847, in the 69th
year of his age. None of his contemporaries secured a
more ample reward, in either reputation or pecuniary
emolument. We have spoken of Mr. Peyton as a complete lawyer.
Law, as a practical profession, has several departments,
and it is not unusual to see a lawyer distinguished in
some of thera, with a compensating deficiency in others.
Some practitioners are successful collectors — sorae are

206 Sketch of a
much esteemed as judicious advisers in matters not strictly
legal — some are favourite advocates, with a sub-division
into those who are infiuential with the Court, and those
who are persuasive before a jury — some are designated
good judges of law, or, in other words, safe counsellors,
and of some the forte is Common Law Practice, while
others are distinguished as Chancery lawyers. The or
ganization of the courts in Virginia, and the nature of
the business, at least in the interior, requires every lawyer
to enter upon the whole of this miscellaneous practice ;
and it is not to be wondered at, that some, even good
lawyers, are not equally strong in every part. Mr. Peyton
knew every part of his profession thoroughly. He had
studied diligently as a student, he had known the expec
tant struggles of the young practitioner; he had prac
tised under the old system before the reorganization of the
judiciary, and afterwards under the new ; he had met in
contest the strongest men in each departraent of the pro
fession, and he had made hiraself a champion in all. We
may add that some lawyers wdio exhibit the highest skill
in securing the rights of their clients, are foolishly ignorant
of their own ; in other words, they let slip the fair, well-
earned profits of their profession — not so with Mr. Peyton.
He knew the value of his professional services ; he gave
them to the fullest extent to those wdio applied for
them, and then he insisted upon just remuneration. We
notice this point, not at random, but to present a feature
belonging to the character of the complete lawyer.
The characteristic of Mr. Peyton's life was efficiency.
This efficiency had for its elements, native vigour of intellect,

Distinguished Lawyer. 207
great resoluteness of character, and courageous self-confi
dence, araple and thorough acquireraents, and the quick
ness, precision and dexterity of action that belong only to
those who have been taught by a varied experience to
understand thoroughly huraan nature. In conversation,
Mr. Peyton was ready, entertaining and instructive. But
conversation was not his forte, though he was fond of it.
He was not fluent ; his manner was sometimes too direct
for the highest style of polished social intercourse of a
general nature, and besides he had a remarkable way of
indulging in a strain of covert satirical banter, when his
words would be so much at variance with the expression
of his countenance, and particularly with the expression of
his mouth, that the hearer was often in an uncomfortable
state of uncertainty how to take hira. His person was
large, and his bearing dignified but not graceful. His
manner was unaffected, but not without formality, nor
was it perfectly conciliatory. Some styled hira aristocratic,
while none could deny that his self-respect and confident
energy gave an iraperious cast to his deraeanour. We
have oftener than once thought applicable to him, in a ge
neral way, those lines of Terence.
" Ellum, confldens, catus,
Cum faciem videas, videtur esse quantivis preti,
Tristis severitas inest in voltu, atque in verbis fides."
His voice was true and clear, and capable of sufficient
variety, but without a single musical intonation, and a
httle sharper than you would expect to hear frora a man
of his size and form. If it is asked what was the style of his

208 Sketch of a
speaking, it may be rephed — ^just what might be expected
to belong to such a man as has here been described, that is
to say, never was the speaker a more complete reflection
of the man than in his case. We cannot believe that
any one who knew him was ever surprised when they
heard him speak — what he said, was just what they would
expect hira to say. This is often the case with speakers
and writers, but not always. Energy, reality and efficiency
were his characteristics as a raan, and equally so as a
speaker. Distinctness of conception lay at the foundation
of his excellence. Some great speakers, sorae even pre
eminently great speakers, not unfrequently hurl unforged
thunderbolts. They feel the maddening impulse of the
God, but give forth their utterances before the true pro
phetic fury comes on.
Mr, Peyton's mind was no sybil's cave, whence came
forth wind-driven leaves inscribed with mighty thoughts
disposed by chance, but a spacious castle, from whose
wide open portal issued men at arras, orderly arrayed.
He had hardly opened his case, when the hearer was
aware that he had thought over the whole of it, had a
given course to pursue, and would close when he carae to
the end of it. This distinctness of conception compre
hended the subject as a whole, and shed its light upon
each detail belonging to it. This ensured the most perfect
method in all that he said. Before he began to speak, he
had determined in his own inind, not only the order of
the different parts of his discourse, but also their relative
importance in producing the general impression. Hence,
he was never led away by the tempting character of any

Distinguished Lawyer. 209
pecuhar topic, to expatiate upon it unduly; he did not
take up matter irrelevant to the case because it might
touch himself personally ; he never spoke for those behind
the bar, nor did he neglect to secure the fruits of victory,
in order to pursue an adversary to utter discomfiture. He
spoke as a lawyer, he spoke for the verdict, and expected to
gain it, by showing that he was entitled to it. Some
speakers hope to accomplish their object by single, or at
least, successive impulses — now a clinching argumentative
question, now a burst of brUliant declamation, and now a
piece of keen wit, or a rough personality. Such speakers
forget, or do not know that a jury may admire, may be
diverted, and even moved, without being won. He that
gains the verdict must mould, and sway, and lead, and
this is to be effected by continued persistent pressure,
rather than by lours de force. This Mr. Peyton knew
well, and he observed it with perfect self-command. His
hearers came away satisfied with the whole, rather than
treasuring up remarkable points and passages. Let it not
be supposed, however, that he was a cold speaker, who
treated men as mere intellectual machines, to be set in
motion by the pulleys, screws, and levers of logic. Far
from it ; he understood human nature weU, and knew the
motive power of the feelings ; but then he knew, too, that
the way to excite the most effective sympathy is not to
make a loud outcry, but to make a forcible exhibition of
real suffering — that the best way to rouse our indignation
against fraud, deceit, or oppression, is not to exhort us to
hate it, but to show its hatefulness. One of his most
distinguished cotemporaries upon the sarae circuit (still

210 Sketch of a
living), was celebrated for his powers as a criminal advo
cate ; his manner was obviously upon the pathetic order, and
perhaps a trifle too declamatory. We have seen them in
the sarae cause, and have thought that if the eloquence
of Gen. B. flushed the countenance quicker, the earnest
ness of Mr. Peyton stirred the heart deeper. Of the
oratory of a class of speakers by no means rare (not, how
ever, including in this class the distinguished jurist above
aUuded to), it has been well said that : " declamation
roars while passion sleeps ;" of speaking justly charac
terized by this Une, Mr. Peyton's was the precise reverse.
With hiin, thought became passionate before the expres
sion became glowing, as the wave swells, before it crests
itself with foam.
Mr. Peyton's language was forcible, pure, and idiomatic.
It served well as the vehicle of his thoughts, but contri
buted nothing to them. There is a real and legitimate
advantage belonging to the masterly use of words, of
which many great speakers know well how to avail them
selves. Mr. Peyton attempted nothing of the sort. His diction
was thoroughly English, with a marked preference for the
Anglo-Saxon branch of the language, and his sentences
came out in the most natural order with unusual clearness
and vigour, but not unfrequently with a plainness that
bordered upon homeliness. His style, however, was al
ways that of speaking as distinguished from mere conver
sation — a distinction which some of our modern speakers
forget, when in order to appear at their ease, they treat
with no little disregard not only the rules of rhetoric, but

Distinguished Lawyer. 211
the rules of grausmar as well, and use words and phrases
which are (to take a word from the vocabulary we are con
demning) nothing better than slang. On the contrary,
there was in Mr. Peyton's style the fruit of early studies
and high-bred association, a classical tinge, extremely plea
sant to the scholar, though perhaps not appreciable by
those for whom he generaUy spoke. It must not be sup
posed, frora what has been said of his excellent method,
that he resembled in this respect some of our able but
greatly tedious lawyers, who take up in regular succession
every possible point in the case, however minute, and
worry us by officiously offering help where none is needed
— so far from it, he showed his consuranate skill as well
in what he omitted as in wdiat he handled, and as a general
thing, his speeches were shorter in duration, and yet fuller
of matter-than those of his opponent. His use of figurative
language was easy and natural, and not stinted ; but his
figures were always introduced as Ulustrations, and not as
arguments. It is not unusual to see a speaker who is unable to
enounce distinctly the general principle he wishes to use,
throw out an illustration to enable himself to pick out the
principle frora it, or at least to give his hearers a chance to
do it for themselves ; not so with Mr. Peyton. He held
up the torch of Ulustration, not to throw a light forward to
guide himself in his own investigations, but to enable those
following the raore readUy to tread the road along with
hira. He had a very noticeable fondness for recurring to
the primary fundamental principles of morals, and doubt
less he was restrained, by his practical judiciousness, from
p 2

212 Sketch of a
indulging this disposition to the full. One of his favourite
books was Lord Bacon's Essays, and under other circum
stances, he might hiraself have been a distinguished moral
essayist. As may well be supposed, his general strain was grave.
The high idea he entertained of the dignity of his profes
sion, and the earnestness with which he gave himself to it,
alike precluded either levity or carelessness. However, he
was fully able, and quite ready upon occasion, to avail
himself of a keen wit, that was all the more effective be
cause it was dry and sarcastic. It occurs to us to mention
an instance well known to his circuit, not illustrative of his
severity, but of his pleasantry. In a criminal prosecution,
he, as prosecuting attorney, was opposed by two gentlemen
of ability, whose pathos had been so great as to draw
abundant tears from their own eyes. One of them, a
gentleman now occupying a distinguished national position,
(Honourable Alexander H, H. Stuart, Secretary of the In
terior of the Governraent of the United States,) was noted
for the facUity with which he could cover over his briUiaut
eloquence with the liquid varnish of his tears. On this
occasion he had been singularly lachrymose, and supported
by his colleague in the same way, the sensation produced
was very considerable. Mr. Peyton commenced his reply
by regretting the disadvantage the commonwealth laboured
under, in being represented by him who was a very poor
hand at crying, and certainly was not able to cry against
two at a time. The ludicrousness of the expression com
pletely neutralized the pathos of his opponents. He was
not averse either to a bit of farce now and then, as is

Distinguished Lawyer, 213
shown by the foUowing story told of him. In a reraote
part of the circuit, a lawyer wished to adorn a raoving
passage of a speech he was just rising to make, with an
apposite example, and applied to Mr. Peyton, sitting be
side of hira, to help hira to the name of the raan in the
Bible, who would have his pound of flesh. With iraper-
turbable gravity he answered Absalom I The effect of
this confounding Shakespeare and Scripture may be
imagined. We have said that Mr. Peyton was thoroughly furnished
in every part of his profession — in one departraent his
qualifications were peculiar and unsurpassed. Without
disparageraent of others, it may be said, we think, that he
was the best Commonwealth's Attorney in the State of
Virginia. He was the lawyer of the Compionwealth, and
he treated the Cora raon wealth as a client, and laboured
for her with the sarae industry, zeal, and fidelity that he
manifested in behalf of any other chent. The oft quoted
merciful maxim of the Comraon Law, " better that ninety
and nine guUty men should escape, than one innocent man
should suffer," he interpreted as a caution to respect the
rights of the innocent, and not as an injunction to clear
the guUty, and he laboured to reduce the per centage of
rogues unwhipt of justice, as low as possible. With a clear
ness and force rarely equalled, would he point out the
necessity of punishing the guilty, in order that the innocent
might be safe, thus exhibiting the absolute consistency of
strict justice wdth true mercy. So siraply and earnestly
would he do this, that he not only bound the consciences
of the jury,but also raade them feel that they were individu-

214 Sketch of a Distinguished Lawyer.
ally interested in the faithful execution of the laws. Here
his clear perception of the moral principles upon which
rests the penal code, and his fondness for recurring to
general principles stood hira in great stead. It was de
lightful to hear him expatiate upon this theme, for upon no
other was he more truly eloquent.
Mr. Peyton served at different times in both branches
of the Legislature, but we speak not of him as a politician.
Our purpose has been solely to exhibit sorae of the quali
ties which raade him an eminent member and ornament of
the legal profession.
This is the only record to be found in the vast collection
of the British Museum of the hfe and reputation of one
who, for near a half century, filled so deservedly high and
conspicuous a place in the public eye of Virginia. In the
numerous volumes of the Virginia Common Law and
Equity reports in the Museum Library, the heads — it is
true — of his arguments, throughout his professional career
in the Virginian Court of Appeals, are preserved, but this
is all, A curious book might be written on the reputation
of lawyers. Occupying often the highest position, and
wielding the greatest influence in their day ; their ashes
are no sooner consigned to the dust than they are compa
ratively forgotten, certainly by the general public. Every
one knows that fortune is inconstant, what could better
iUustrate that reputation is a bubble ?

NAREATIYE

CIRCUMSTANCES CONNECTED

WITH THE

SETTLEMENT

JOHN LEWIS

HIS FAMILY IN VIRGINIA.

NARRATIVE OP THE
OIBCTJMSTAlSrCES CONNECTED WITH THE SETTLEMENT OP
M. JEAN LOUIS, OR JOHN LEWIS,
AND HIS FAMILY IN VIRGHNIA.

As the Lewis family are repeatedly referred to in the
foregoing work, and is one indeed which has performed
much distinguished service to the State, a brief account
of the pecuhar circumstances under which the first settler
in America, John Lewis, emigrated to Virginia wUl not
be out of place here.
M, Jean Louis, or John Lewis, was a native and citizen of
Ireland, descended from a family of Huguenots, who took
refuge in the Kingdom of Great Britain from the perse
cutions that followed the assassination of Henry IV. of
France. The Lewis' first settled in Scotland and afterwards
passed into Ireland. His rank was that of an Esquire, and
he inherited a handsome estate, which he increased by
industry and frugality, until he became lessee of a con
tiguous property of considerable value. He married in

218 Narrative of the Settlement of
Scotland where he had gone for education, Margaret Lynn,
daughter of the laird of Loch Lynn, who was a descend
ant of the chieftains of a once powerful clan in the Scottish
Highlands. By this marriage he had four sons, three of
them, Thomas, Andrew and WUliam born in Ireland, and
Charles, the child of his old age, born in Virginia a few
months after their settlement in their mountain horae.
The emigration of John Lewis to Virginia, was the
result of one of those bloody affrays, which at that time
so often occurred to disturb the repose, and destroy the
happiness of Irish families. The owner of the fee, out of
which the leasehold of Lewis was carved, a nobleman of
profligate habits and ungovernable passions, seeing the
prosperity of his lessee, and repenting the bargain he had
concluded, under pretence of entering for an alleged breach
of condition, attempted, by the aid of a band of ruffians
hired for his purpose, to take forcible possession of his
premises. For this end, he surrounded the house with
his ruffian band, and called upon Lewis to evacuate the
premises without delay, a demand which was instantly
and indignantly refused by Lewis ; though surprised with
a sick brother, his wife, and three young children in the
house, and no aid but such as could be afforded by a
few faithful domestics, sorae of whom were French. With
this small force, scarce equal to one fourth the number of
his assailants, he resolved to maintain his legal rights at
every hazard. The enraged nobleman commenced the
affray by discharging a fowling piece into the house, by
which the invalid brother of Lewis was killed, and Mar
garet Lynn his wife severely wounded. Upon this, the

John Leiois.. 219
enraged husband and brother-in-law, Lynn, rushed from
the house, attended by their devoted little band of Scotch
and French, and soon succeeded in dispersing the assaU-
ants, though not until the noble author of the mischief,
as well as his baUiff and steward, had perished. By this
time the family were surrounded by syrapathizing friends
and neighbours, from among the Scotch settlers in this
part (Province of Ulster) of Ireland, who, after bestowing
every aid in their power, advised Lewis to leave the
country' — a measure rendered necessary by the aristocratic
position and faraily wealth and infiuence of the late noble
man, and the want of disinterested evidence by which he
could establish the facts of the case in his vindication.
He, therefore, after drawing up a detailed statement of
the affair, which he directed to the proper authorities, era-
barked on board a vessel bound for America, attended by
his family, and a band of about thirty of his faithful tenan
try. In due time the emigrants landed on the shores of Vir
ginia and fixed their residence amid the till then unbroken
forests of West Augusta. John Lewis' settlement was a
few miles below the site of the town of Staunton, on the
banks of the stream wdiich bears his name. It may be
proper to remark here, that when the circumstances of the
affray became known, after due investigation, a pardon
was granted to Lewis, and patents are extant in Virginia,
by which His Majesty George I, granted to him a large
portion of the fair domain of Western Virginia.
For many years after the settlement at Fort Lewis, great
amity and good wUl existed between the neighbouring
Indians and the white settlers, whose numbers increased

220 Narrative of the Settlement of
apace, until they became quite a formidable colony. It
was then that the jealousy of their Red neighbours be
came aroused, and a war broke out, which, for cool
though desperate courage and activity on part of the
whites, and ferocity, cunning, and barbarity on part of
the Indians, was never equalled in any age or country.
John Lewis was by this time well stricken in years,
but his four sons, who were now grown up, were well quali
fied to fill his place, and to act the part of leaders to the
gallant little band who so nobly battled for the protection
of their homes and families. It is not my purpose to go
into the details of a warfare, during which scarcely a
settlement was exempt from weekly attacks of the savages,
and during which the young Lewis' are said never to have
spent one month at a time out of active and arduous
service. They were the heroes of many a gallant exploit,
which are still treasured in the memories of the des
cendants of the border riflemen, and there are few famUies
among the AUeghanies where the name and deeds of
the Lewis' are not familiar as household words.
On one occasion Charles Lewi.s,* the youngest brother,
was captured by the Indians while on a hunting excursion,
and after having travelled two hundred miles, barefoot,
his arms pinioned behind him, goaded on by the knives
of his remorseless captors, he effected his escape. While
travelling along the bank of a precipice some twenty feet
in height, he suddenly, by a strong muscular exertion,
burst the cords which bound him, and plunged down the
* Afterwards Colonel Charles Lewis who was killed at the battle of
Point Pleasants,

John Leivis. 221
steep into the bed of a mountain torrent. His persecutors
hesitated to follow. In a race of several hundred yards,
Lewis had gained slowly upon his pursuers ; when, leaping
a prostrate tree which lay across his course, his strength
suddenly failed, and he fell prostrate and exhausted among
the weeds which had grown up in great luxuriance around
the body of the tree. Three of the Indians sprang over
the tree within a few feet of where their prey lay con
cealed ; but with a feeling of the most devout thankful
ness to a kind and superintending Providence, he saw
them one by one disappear in the dark recesses of the
forest. He now bethought himself of rising frora his uneasy
bed, when lo 1 a new enemy appeared, in the shape of an
enormous rattlesnake, who had thrown himself into the
deadly coil so near his face that his fangs were within a
few inches of his nose; and his enormous rattle, as it
waved to and fro, once rested upon his cheek. A single
contraction of the eyelid, a convulsive shudder, the relaxa
tion of a single nmscle, and the deadly reptile would have
sprung upon hira. In this situation he remained for
several minutes, when the reptile, probably supposing him
to be dead, crawled over his body, and moved slowly
away. " I had eaten nothing," said Lewis to his companions,
after his return, " for many days ; I had no fire-arms, and
I ran the risk of dying with hunger, ere I could reach the
settleraent ; but rather would I have died, than made a
meal of the generous reptile."
During the war of 1746, an attack was made on the

222 Narrative of the Settlement of
settlement around Fort Lewis, at a time when the whole
force of the settlement was absent on active duty. So
great was the surprise, that many of the women and
chUdren were captured by the savages in sight of the fort,
though the greater part escaped to the fortress, or con
cealed themselves in the forests. The fort was occupied
by John Lewis, then very old and infirm, his wife, and
two young women (French domestics), who were so much
alarmed that they scarce moved from their seats. John
Lewis, however, placed himself at a loophole, and fired
upon the savages, whUe Margaret Lynn loaded and handed
his rifies to him. In this manner he sustained a siege of
six hours, during which he killed upwards of a score
of Indians, when he was relieved by the reappearance of a
party of wdiite troops.
Thomas Lewis, the eldest son of John Lewis and Mar
garet Lynn, laboured under a defect of vision, wdiich
disabled hira as a raarksman, and he was, therefore, less
efficient during the Indian wars than his brethren. He
was, however, a raan of learning and sound judgment, and
represented the county of Augusta for many years in the
House of Burgesses ; was a member of the Convention
which ratified the Constitution of the United States, and
formed the Constitution of Virginia ; and afterwards sat
for the county of Rockingham in the House of Delegates
of Virginia.
In 1765 he was in the Virginian House of Burgesses,
and voted for Patrick Llenry's celebrated resolutions,
which looked to war with England and the independance
of the Colonies. Thomas Lewis had four sons, who ac-

John Leivis. 223
tively participated in the war of the Revolution, the
youngest of whom, wdio is now living, bore an ensign's
commission when but fourteen years of age.
Andrew, the second son, is the General Lewis wdio
commanded at the battle of Point Pleasants,
Charles, is the Colonel Charles Lewis who fell at the
head of his regiment, when leading on the attack upon the
enemy's rear at Point Pleasants.
WUliam, third son, was the Major Lewis of Braddock's
defeat. He was an active participator in the border wars,
and was a colonel in the Araerican Revolutionary array,
in which two of his sons were kiUed. He was father
of Major John Lewis of the Sweet Springs ; also a
Revolutionary officer, and raaternal grandfather of the
writer. When during the American Revolutionary war of 1776-
1783, the British force under Colonel Tarleton drove the
Virginia Legislature from CharlottsviUe, across the Blue
Ridge mountains to Staunton, the stiUuess of the Sabbath
eve was broken in the latter town by the beat of the drum,
and volunteers were called for to oppose the British pro
gress across the mountains at Rockfish Gap. The elder
sons of Colonel William Lewis, who then resided at Fort
Lewis (his father having died in 1762), were absent with
the Northern array under His ExceUency General Wash
ington. Three sons, however, were at home, whose ages
were respectively seventeen, fifteen, and thirteen years.
Colonel WiUiara Lewis was prostrated by an attack of
bilious fever, but his wife, who was a Miss Montgomery
of Delaware, and a relation of the distinguished General

224 Narrative of the Settlement of John Lewis.
Montgomery, who feU on the heights of Abraham at
Quebec, with the firmness of a Roman matron, called her
three boys to her, and bade them fly to the defence of
their native land.
" Go, my children," said she. " I spare not my
youngest, my fair-haired boy, the comfort of my declining
years. I devote you all to your country. Keep back the
foot of the invader frora the soU of Augusta, or see ray
face no more I"
When this incident was related to Washington, shortly
after its occurrence, when he w^as encamped in the snows
of New York, defending that province, he enthusiastically
exclaimed :
" Leave me but a banner to plant upon the mountains
of West Augusta, and I wUl raUy around me the men who
will lift our bleeding country from the dust, and set her
free."

APPENDIX.

The foUowing Correspondence contains a brief but satis
factory account of the leading incidents and main facts
connected with the disastrous campaign of General
Braddock, in which General Lewis and one or more of
his brothers participated.

JOHN PEYTON,* ESQ.,
TO HIS COUSIN
HENRY PEYTON, ESQ.

" WiUiamsburg, Feb. 25, 1755.
" Dear Cousin Henry,
" You are doubtless aware that an expedition is
about to be undertaken against the French and
Indians by His Majesty's forces. Governor Dinwiddie
invited rae to a conference upon the subject of the best
route for the array, the means of support, transportation
for so large a force, &c., &c., and I arrived here yesterday.
I find WUliamsburg in much exciteraent, hurry, aud con
fusion. General Braddock having landed at Hampton five
days ago, and reached this city overland ; but Commodore
Keppel saUed up the river, and cast anchor opposite
Jamestown. The sick, of vvhom there were many, have
been landed from the transports, and provided for in
hospitals, which had been prepared through the activity
of Sir John Sinclair. Those troops fit for duty are en
camped on shore, awaiting orders.
* This is the John Peyton whose death is mentioned cmte p. 174.
Q 2

228 Appendix.
"One of the most able and enterprising officers belong
ing to this force, Lieutenant-Colonel Burton, brought to
me a letter of introduction from England ; and from him
— being frequently in his company — I hear much, and
greatly interesting information concerning our family and
friends in the old country ; likewise of the state of poli
tical affairs in England. I learn from him that much
alarra is felt in London at the encroachraents of the French
upon His Majesty's possessions in these colonies, and con
cerning their extensive treaties and alliances with the
Indians. Great alarm is likewise entertained for our
safety, as well as that of the King's permanent authority
in these colonies.
" These apprehensions have caused His Majesty to des
patch the force wdiich has just arrived here ; and which,
together with an auxUiary force to be raised in the
colonies, are to operate under the coraraand of General
Braddock, who is appointed commander-in-chief of all His
Majesty's forces In North America.
" Colonel Burton informs me that General Braddock is
a gaUant and experienced officer, trained to war, and in
every way competent to discharge his difficult and impor
tant duties. I called upon the General on my arrival.
Likewise I met him in the evening at dinner at Sir John
St. Clair's, and the impression he made upon rae was
favourable, though I have a fear that he does not suffi
ciently apprehend the difficulties he will have to encounter
in the wild nature of our country, and in the Indian mode
of warfare. He will, however, have the benefit of the
experience and judgment of two promising young men,

Appendix. 229
Mr. Washington, and Mr. Lewis, who have been a great
deal among the Indians, and who understand their savage
mode of warfare ; as well as the great difficulties of the
country. These young men were both at Sir John
St. Clair's, and I heard them more than once en
deavour to impress these truths upon the British General.
Mr. Washington has a dignified earnestness, combined
with much modesty of demeanour. Mr. Lewis is more
stern and reserved. I discerned some shadow of surprise
in the British officer that these young Virginians should
assurae to offer their advice to him ; yet he took it in
good part, for indeed what the youths said seemed
much to the point.
" February 26. — His Excellency the Governor has deter
mined to bring up the strength of the two English bat-
tahons to 700 men each, by enUsting an additional force
in Virginia. Picked men wiU be added to the battalions,
and the rest formed into independent companies. On yes
terday, cousin Frank Peyton and Mr. Joseph Seldon ap
plied to me to intercede for appointments for them as
officers in these companies ; and I understand that our
young men are all anxious to enter the service, and do duty
under the gallant Braddock in what gives promise of being
an exciting and successful campaign. Indeed of its per
fect success no one entertains the shadow of a doubt.
" Among the troops to be raised by this colony, is to be
included one company of hght cavalry ; and I think Seldon
wUl be appointed to this command, at least I have strongly
urged it. He has already coraenced recruiting. Lieut.-Col.
Burton has promised me to appoint our Frank upon his

230 Appendix.
staff, unless something better turns up for him ; , so the
boys will not be disappointed in their anticipations.
" No general point of rendezvous has yet been determined
upon. Yesterday I spoke to General Braddock on this
subject, and suggested Alexandria as presenting the
greatest inducements. First, because the troops can be
taken there by water. Second, it is the best place for
clothing and equipping them, and for procuring provisions.
Third, it is the nearest point to Fort Duquesne (at which
the General will aim) that can be reached by water.
" As soon as this and other points are definitely decided^
will advise you.
" It is of the first importance that there should be a
hearty co-operation between this and all the colonies as to
the plan of campaign. His Excellency spoke to me yester
day about issuing a proclamation and invitations to the
other colonies, north and south of us, to furnish men and
means. He said that on the part of Virginia he would
provide 5,000 men and £20,000 sterUng. I suggested to
him that it would appear less like dictation (which, by
reason of the great jealousy with which Virginia is re
garded by many of the younger and less important colonies
it is needful not to assume,) if his Excellency would pre«
vail on General Braddock to issue such a proclamation to
the country, for that to him, as commander-in-chief, and
in the name of the King of England aU, including Virginia,
would rally. The suggestion seemed to find favour with
his Excellency, who said he would consider the same ; and
might act upon it.
" Mr. Washington called upon me to-day, and informed

Appendix. 231
me that he would accompany General Braddock in the
expedition. He says that his friend, Captain Thomas Lewis,
will be despatched with his company to the Greenbrier,
there to buUd and to occupy stockade forts to prevent
Indian incursions upon the white settlers in that wUd
portion of Virginia, Mr, Washington said he had re
quested the Governor to urge upon me to proceed across
the country to Alexandria, and thence westward to Win
chester, where I should ascertain what prospect we might
have of securing horses, the needful supplies of packs and
wagons, together- with provisions, &c., for the expedition.
He was of opinion that my position as magistrate of the
county, and one of the chief landed proprietors, would have
not a little weight in securing co-operation, and inquired
whether, if prepared to undertake any such mission, T
would accompany Sir John St. Clair at once. I pleaded
that my age was ill-suited to so severe a journey, and this
weight of care ; lamenting not the less my other occupa
tions, and entreating that some one more youthful and of
greater activity might be selected. Mr. Washington per
sisted, wher.eat I consented to consider the matter against
such time as his Excellency might see fit to speak to me
again. "Is this Mr. Washington among your acquaintances?
If not, I must recommend you to embrace the first op
portunity to form his friendship. He is about twenty-
three years of age, with a countenance mild and pleasing,
promising both wit and judgment. He is of a comely
and dignified demeanour, and at the same time displays
much self-reliance and decision. He strikes me as being a

232 Appendix.
young man of an extraordinary and exalted character, and
is destined, I am of opinion, to make no inconsiderable
figure in our country.
" You may expect to hear from me by the next post
frora here. " Yours, in haste, but affectionately,
" John Peyton."

JOHN PEYTON, ESQ.,

TO HIS COUSIN

HENRY PEYTON, ESQ.

"Williamsburg, Va., March 1, 1766.
" Dear Cousin Henry,
" The expedition to the West under General Braddock
has assumed some definite shape since the date of my
former letter a week ago, and I can now furnish you with
the main particulars.
"Alexandria has been fixed upon as the point for
assembling one regiment and a part of the artillery ; three
companies will encamp at Frederick (Maryland), one com
pany at the mouth of the Conecocheague, one at Bladen s-
burg, one at Marlborough ; one regiment and the rest
of the artillery at Fredericksburg and Falmouth, Vir
ginia, and five companies at Winchester.
" The General has seen fit to make this disposition of
the forces for the better convenience of the whole, as they
would thus be enabled to converge by their several routes

234 Appendix.
upon Fort Cumberland, and not lumber up the roads in
their marches.
" Upon consideration, this disposition of the troops
seems to me a most judicious one, and, by reason of the
nature of our country, more suitable than my first plan of
rendezvous at Alexandria. Also we may hereby avoid the
inconvenience which might arise to us frora the hostUities
now raging between the Cherokees and the Catawbas,
the latter the most daring — as you know — of the six na
tions, and perhaps of all the Indian tribes.
" In the fear that means of transportation may not be
at hand, the General and the Governor have requested Sir
John St. Clair and myself to proceed to the foot of the
Blueridge mountain, there to make contracts with the
Dutch settlers for horses, wagons, cattle, flour, &c.
We shall set out upon this difficult expedition imme
diately. " Meanwhile the Commander-in-Chief will issue a cir
cular to all the colonial governors on this continent, soh-
citing their co-operation and aid in carrying out his
Majesty's plans. Likewise to meet him in conference at
Anapolis in April,
(Half a page is illegible here. But on the back — in
another hand-writing — are detaUs of contracts made with
Governor Dinwiddie for the delivery of eleven hundred
cattle in June, July, and August. Also for flour, fish,
and bacon ; six months rations for four thousand men.
Also an agreement with the Dutch, at the foot of Blue
ridge mountain, who were to furnish fifteen hundred pack
horses, and two hundred wagons, to be at Fort Cumber-

Appendix. 235
land by the first of May). Then in the original writing of
the letter is added :
" Governor Dinwiddie and Commodore Keppel arrived
at Alexandria on the 26th of March.
" Yours in much haste,
"John Peyton."

JOHN PEYTON, ESQ.,

TO His COUSIN,

HENRY PEYTON, ESQ.

" Fredericksburg, Va„ May 30th, 1765.
" Dear Cousin Henry,
" In our expedition up the country to procure wagons
and teams, we were joined by Lieutenant-Colonel Gage and
Lieutenant- Colonel Sir Peter Halkett before we reached
Winchester, " I much regret that while we found horses and wagons
upon the Virginia side of the Potomac sufficient to remove
the troops frora Alexandria, none could be procured from
the Maryland side to reraove those stationed at Frederick,
whither the 18th Regiment under Col. Dunbar lately
marched. Nor could we secure the requisite number of
boats, batteaus, and canoes. These must needs be con
structed at Alexandria ; and if, in your neighbourhood.

Appendix. 237
there are any men competent for this work, I wish them
dispatched there imraediately. General Braddock is moved
with much anxiety to get his troops away from Alexandria,
where no care or punishment can prevent intoxication.
But the boats wUl be of service long after the troops are
removed. " Those troops which had been coUected at Winchester
were armed there ; and Ensign Allen, of the 44th Regi
ment, was instructing them in their duties.
" I did not return to Alexandria in tirae for the Council
which was held there on the 14th AprU. It was composed
of General Braddock, the Commander-in-Chief, Commo
dore Keppel, Governors Dinwiddie, Morris, Delancey, and
Sharp. " But on the Occoquan (river) some days afterwards I
met Lieutenant-Governor Delancey, of New York, from
whora I learned that at the Council General Braddock had
announced his purpose to attack simultaneously Crown
Point, Niagara, and Fort Du Quesne. Likewise at the
CouncU Mr. Johnston was appointed a Plenipotentiary to
the Six Nations ; and a speech was prepared for him to
deliver in the name of the Coraraander-in-Chief to the In
dians, setting forth that his Majesty the King of Great Bri
tain had sent troops to drive the French from his dominion,
and from their hunting grounds, which, in the treaty of
1726, they had given in trust to the English for their (the
Red Men's) use and benefit. Also that his Majesty has
invested General Braddock with supreme command on this
continent, with orders to strengthen the amity which has
so long existed between the Red Men and the English, and

238 Appendix.
to buUd forts for the protection of themselves and of their
hunting-grounds. That inasmuch as the General could
not go to see them himself, he had appointed and dis
patched iu his stead one of their own Sachems, Mr. John
ston — in whom was invested complete power to speak and
act in behalf of the King. And in furtherance of this, the
Commander-in-Chief had instructed Mr. Johnston to as
semble the chiefs of the tribes for the purpose of a confer
ence, whereat he was to present to them such gifts as had
been prepared and forwarded as an evidence of esteem;
and to treat with them for the purpose of forming
an alliance and lasting friendship ; and to tell thera
that the General would confirm all such agreements as
should be entered into between Mr. Johnston and thera-
selves. For carrying out this decision Mr. Johnston was
supplied with two thousand pounds sterling, and was in
structed to urge upon the Indians the expediency of taking
up their hatchet against the French.
" On my way to the western country to procure means
of transportation and supplies for the army I went as far
north as Frederick (Maryland), and there I met with Mr.
Franklin, of Pennsylvania, who was greatly interested
in the success of the expedition. He promised to use his
best endeavours to procure five hundred horses for the
use of the army. While I was there. General Braddock
arrived on his way to Fort Cumberland, which place he
reached on the 10th of May, with the 44th and 4Sth
Regiments, the former under the coraraand of Lieutenant-
Colonel Sir Peter Halkett.
" The artillery arrived a few days later. So hkewise did

Appendix. 239
the horses and wagons which Mr. Franklin had promptly
dispatched from Pennsylvania.
" In haste I remain yours ever affectionately,
" John Peyton.
"P.S. — Despatches have just arrived from Fort Cumber
land. By a letter from F., I learn that some apprehension
is felt by our Virginian officers that the rigorous discipline
of the Enghsh army will be found unsuited to our hardy
and independent volunteers from the frontier. These men,
who have grown up in the vicinity of the Indians and are
as bold and rugged as the mountains which have given
them birth, have learned to protect themselves after a
fashion of their own, and already feel themselves more
competent to guide the Enghsh than to be led by
them. " The troops are marching from Fort Cumberland in a
north-westerly direction, and my recent expedition to the
wUd regions of the South Mountain enables me in some
sort to picture amazing difficulties to be surmounted by an
army. For, in- the first place, they will have to cut for
themselves a road through the primeval forests which
clothe the lofty ranges of the Northern Apalachians, to
ford the mountain torrents, to scale the steep gorges, and
to encamp in the lair of the bear and the wolf. Young
Washington and Lewis, who are already acquainted with
those wild regions, will here have an opportunity of com
mending themselves to the favour of -the Commander-
in-Chief by affording him the advantage of their experi
ence. Indeed, I feel fuU confidence in the valour and
prowess of our Virginian officers. — J.P."

CAPTAIN FRANCIS PEYTON TO HIS MOTHER.

" Monakatuoa Camp, 16th July, 1755.
" My dear Mother,
" I would have written to you from Winchester before
we comraenced our raarch, but Mr. Hite, who was return
ing to Alexandria, proraised he would let you know all
you desired concerning me ; and how full of business I
and all the rest of us have been, preparing to move through
the wilderness in the direction of Fort Duquesne.
"We have found provisions very scarce. Our men,
too, are most difficult to control, all of them having lived
on the frontier in a state of freedom and independence,
which has rendered them unwilling to submit to authority.
The majority of thera seem to have joined the expedition
frora pure love of excitement, regarding it as some
thing in the nature of a buffalo hunt. They shoot away
their ara munition after game, notwithstanding it is strictly
against orders. Nor do they even take precautions for
their own safety, but contrary to orders fall behind and
straggle, and are generaUy disposed to rebel against autho-

Appendix,

241

rity. Indeed, they indulge in many irregularities, which
greatly shock the English officers, who are accustoraed
only to well-trained and disciplined arraies. And this our
(Virginian) officers see and laraent, knowing that in the
circumstances by which we are surrounded they cannot be
repressed by the same means which are used in Europe.
To-day we have had a melancholy evidence of the reckless
ness of these mountaineers, for during our march four of
them were shot while loitering, and scalped by the Indians.
A company of sharpshooters was scattered in search of
our stealthy foes, but in vain ; it was irapossible to over
take or find them. Such sad experience as this wiU soon
teach these reckless men that safety lies alone in obe
dience. " We have encountered every kind of difficulty during
our march from Winchester. Frequently we have had
to cut our road through the pathless forest, and to let
our baggage and wagons down steep precipices by ropes
and pulleys. Our horses also have become exceedingly
thin and feeble; for as this wild country is entirely with
out enclosures, we cannot let them loose at night, or they
might stray away, or be captured by the Indians,, who
hang constantly upon our path. Consequently our horses,
being but half nourished, can now scarcely pull our
wagons. This obliged us as early as the beginning of last
month to send back two pieces of cannon. This occurred
when we reached Martin's Plantation. From that place
we crossed the Alleghany Mountains by a steep and
rocky ascent of over two miles, and amidst scenery of
surpassing grandeur. At the foot of that range we crossed

242 Appendix.
a wUd and beautiful streara called Savage River. On the
24th June we crossed the Yoxhio Geni River, and though
we left Martin's Plantation on the 1 3th June, the diffi
culties of our march were so great that we had accom
plished only that distance, 23 miles, in twelve days.
" At the Yoxhio Geni River we carae so suddenly upon
an Indian camp that we captured an old warrior, who was
unable to escape with the speed of his light-footed com
panions. He informed us that 170 of his comrades, aU
fighting men, had been with him : notwithstanding that
but a few minutes had elapsed, they had all disappeared
so mysteriously that not one of them could be discovered,
though a party of our light troops were despatched imme
diately in pursuit. Araong them were several French
men : and of this we needed little proof, many trees being
stripped, so that they might write upon the bark all kinds
of scurrilous language, threats, and bravadoes. Although
we could not discern any of the French or Indians, they
lay in ambush close around us; and on the next day three
of our men were shot and scalped by them. OccasionaUy
we saw some of their painted faces in the woods at a dis
tance, and during the night they repeatedly attempted to
reconnoitre our camp.
" Every mUe of our march was now bringing us rapidly
into their country, and into the midst of thera ; and during
the next night we carae upon another of their camps,
where fires were stUl burning. Here also were the trees
stripped by the French, and many insolent sentences
written or carved upon the steras, and some drawings
were raade of the scalps of our men who had been kiUed

Appendix. 243
two days before. After quitting that camp we carae upon
a more open country, and our roads were less difficult, for
there was no undergrowth. Those woods were composed
chiefly of white oak timber, in place of the chesnuts and
laurels which covered the ridge we had cut our way
through. " On the 4th July we caraped at Thicketty Run, and
General Braddock sent forward some Indian scouts to
wards the French fort, to procure inteUigence. These
scouts returned on the Oth, bringing with them a
French officer's scalp. The Frenchman had been out
shooting within half a mile of the fort, when they killed
him. " I have now, my dear mother, given you a kind of
diary of the most striking events that have occurred to us
up to this point of our march. I regret that tirae will not
allow me to be more full and particular in my descrip
tions. It would please me to give you a more lively
account of this truly savage country, and of some sublime
spectacles produced by the effect of the setting sun among
the lofty peaks of the mountains by which we are sur
rounded. But the courier who is to take this to Fort
Cumberland will leave in five minutes. Therefore I have
barely time to send my love to all my dear kinsfolks, aud
to sign myself, " Your dutiful and affectionate son,
"Francis Peyton."

244 Appendix. " Great Meadows, July 13, 1755.
" My dear iVIother,
" Never did I undertake to write a letter when so over
whelmed with grief and disappointment. Our expedition
has failed ! Our commander is dead ! Our noble General
Braddock ! He died this day from his wounds. Alas ! who
could have anticipated such a disaster — such an extraor
dinary and disgraceful defeat as that which we have sus
tained on the Monongahela river.
" I will endeavour to give you sorae connected account
of our military operations since the letter I wrote you frora
Monaktuca Camp.
" Well, ray dear mother, after leaving that spot our
whole army arrived at the Monongahela river and crossed
it on the 9th July. It is a bright and beautiful streara of
about 300 yards width at that part ; but varying both in
width and depth ; sometimes rattling playfully over the
rocks which form its bed, aud sometimes flowing silently
under the rugged roots and branches which stretch half
across it. It was very shallow wdiere we crossed, as I
suppose it generally is during the dry season. We crossed
it in the first place full of hope and confidence ; we have
recrossed it in shame and confusion ! I was acting as ad
jutant of Colonel Burton's regiment. According to his
orders I had formed in columns of companies to the
right of the main force, which was on the opposite side of
the streara. The scouts reported the French and Indians
in great force near at hand ; therefore our whole army was
drawn up in line of battle. The General issued the order

Appendiv. 245
to advance. We did so; and had not proceeded 500 yards
when we heard quick and heavy firing along neariy our
whole fine. In order to ascertain the force of the enemy,
and their exact position. General Braddock called a halt ;
and directed that our regiment, with the vanguard of 800
men, should move forward to reinforce the pickets and re
connoitre the enemy's position. Lieutenant-Colonel Burton
placed himself at the head of the regiment, and advanced
in gaUant style. We had proceeded hardly one quarter of
a mUe, when we came upon our pickets retreating in con
fusion, bringing terrified and exaggerated accounts of the
enemy's force. This threw the vanguard into disorder,
which disorder quickly spread among our men. Suddenly
we beheld our savage enemy advancing upon us ; for we
had not been able before to see them through the thick
forest in which we were. The confusion greatly increased,
and our raen were now falling wounded and dead in all
directions frora the brisk fire which the Red Skins opened
upon us. Colonel Burton and the other officers exerted
themselves to the utmost to induce the men to stand their
ground, and return the enemy's fire ; or to advance upon,
and dislodge them from their hiding-places. But in vain ;
panic-struck they retreated upon the baggage in the utmost
precipitation and confusion, and had hardly come back to
it before the French and Indians attacked us in this posi
tion. Every raan of us must have been destroyed, and I
should never again have addressed a letter to you, my re
spected mother, had it not happened that four pieces of
cannon were stationed in reserve at that point. These
were promptly manned, and chiefly by officers, who thus

246 Appendix.
succeeded in keeping back the foe. Notwithstanding we
held thera thus in check, a raurderous fire was kept up
upon us and our whole line. Nearly all of our horses and
driyers were killed, and those who were not, fled ; for still
our treacherous foe could not be seen through the trees
and thick undergrowth : and excepting the road which we
had cut, there was no opening whatever.
" General Braddock seeing that it was necessary to ad
vance and dislodge the enemy, rode forward with his staff
to the front. He endeavoured to reanimate their courage,
and induce them to advance, dashing forward through the
thick forest to show his indifference to danger. But, oh !
that I should have to write it — he failed, and while thus
exposed was shot down, dangerously wounded. So also
was the brave Colonel Burton, whUe many officers were
killed. This greatly increased the panic, and in spite of
our efforts to retire in good order, we found it irapos
sible to control the raen, who fled. The only regiraent
in which there was any steadiness was the 48th. At the
head of this, Colonel Burton, notwithstanding his wound
and loss of blood and consequent prostration, endeavoured
to advance. He was aided by Colonel Washington and
Colonel Lewis who had rallied around thera a body of
Western Virginians. These men protected theraselves
by the trees while they fired — after the fashion of the
Indians — and thus prevented an advance of the enemy.
But for all that their efforts were futile, the 48th re
fused to advance, but stood firing helplessly at the forest
trees behind which the enemy were concealed, until they
had expended all their ammunition ; after which, in spite

Appendix. 247
of the officers, they broke and fled towards the river in
the wildest confusion ; many of them throwing away their
arms and accoutrements. In spite of being thus forsaken
by the panic struck 48th, the brave Western Virginians
whora Colonels Washington and Lewis had forraed be
hind the trees — after the Indian mode of fighting — re
treated, but in order, from tree to tree, loading and firing
as they drew back, upon such of our snake-like enemy who
showed theraselves in advancing. The Colonial Volunteers
thus prevented pursuit, and saved the reranant of the
British army from destruction. Meanwhile, Colonel Wash
ington had had the wounded General Braddock carried to
the rear, and carefully tended.
" The whole of our retreating force recrossed the river
in safety; and on the llth we reached Gist's Plantation,
where our wounded were attended to, and the army rested
for a short time. We then continued our retreat to Rock
Fort, near Colonel Dunbar's, and thence to this point
which we have only reached this evening.
" The whole retreat has indeed been conducted by
Colonel Washington, whose remarkable talents have gained
the general confidence of the other and senior officers.
His principal and most efficient aid in this humiliating
task has been Captains Andrew and WUliam Lewis, of
Augusta, (county) who have hved all their lives on the
frontier, and perfectly understand the Indian character.
Thus, my dear mother, you wUl perceive that to the
volunteers of my native Virginia, we entirely owe our
escape. " During our flight (for nothing else can it be properly

248 Appendix.
called), we have suffered exceedingly ; but those who had
escaped injury, seeing the great anguish of those who had
been wounded, have been raanly enough cot to coraplain.
" I have been with the wounded general during sorae or
other portion of each day. He endured agonizing pains
of body, and, if it were possible, still greater anguish of
mind at the faUure of the campaign. Indeed, it appeared
to be a relief to him that he would not survive so grievous
a disaster. He entertained the hope that his king and his
country — since he had laid down his life in their ser
vice — would shield his memory frora any unjust or
ungenerous iraputations connected with this most fatal
enterprise. "It is a source of much pride and pleasure to rae,
to witness how rapidly our friend and neighbour. Colonel
George Washington, has grown in the estimation of all,
by his wisdom and prudence ; and by the great abUity he
has displayed in extricating the array frora an unfortunate
and dangerous situation. He is spoken of in terras of
praise by all — both colonial and English officers, and par-
ticulariy by General Braddock, whose last breath was
drawn whUe sounding his praise, and exhorting obedience
to his orders. Though Colonel Washington does not
belong to the British army (for, like myself, he was a
a volunteer in this expedition), has, indeed, never been to
England, or received any regular military training, he has
the faculty of inspiring confidence in officers and men
alike : particularly — if any can be singled out — is he
admired by Colonel Burton. All agree that in future
campaigns against the Indians, it wUl be better to conduct

Appendix. 249
them under officers borri and bred in this country ; and
not by persons despatched from England, however com
petent the latter may be considered. They cannot under
stand America so well as the natives, who have already
learned the way to fight the savages around thera. And in
this age the Indian craftiness has been quickened by their
French allies.
" I will write to you soon again ; and give you further
particulars ; unless there be a strong prospect of ray raeet-
ing you soon at Fredericksburg.
" Our sick and wounded are suffering intensely from
the heat of the weather, and from the mosquitos, gnats,
and other insects ; also from the want of proper medicines
and supplies, ours having been for the most part lost
during the flight.
" The scenery of the country though which we have
passed since leaving Winchester has been wondrously
grand : widely differing from that around Fredericksburg,
which is comparatively flat. But I have no heart now to
describe it in this hour of our defeat, humiliation, and
disgrace. "With my dutiful love, I remain, your affectionate
son,
"Francis Peyton."

THE END.

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has told the history of the American Civil War, its commencement,
progress, and ultimate close, with precision, and with considerable
historic care. He has woven with the main thread of his story, too, so
many strands of minor interest, so many sketches, and so many glances
at English and American domestic and coun, try life, that each succeeding
year cannot fail to add to its value as a photograph of its own times." —
Jersey Express.
"We have seen no work upon the American Civil War, more enter-
tainining and thoroughly readable than that by Colonel Peyton, The
style of which is terse and vigorous." — The Cosmopolitan.
" Some of the most interesting portions of these charming volumes

contain a summary of Colonel Peyton's experiences as well in the po
litical, as in the literary world. His sketches are graphic and beyond
all controversy life-like. We commend these volumes cordially and con
scientiously to perusal, and we err if their circulation be not extensive.
Their Author was, we believe, some two or three years ago resident
for a little while amongst us, and has since been for a longer season
domesticated in Jersey, It is not improbable that he may, ere long,
once more be a visitor to the Channel Islands, and in that case we are
sure that we may promise him for ourselves, and equally confident that
we may prognosticate for him from our neighbours, a very hearty
welcome. What Sidney Smith called " stress of politics," has driven
many a honoured exile from freedom or for conscience sake, upon our
shores, but surely none more worthy of our esteem than this intelligent
and gallant gentleman of whom — his enemies themselves being judges
— the very worst that can be said must be, ' Victrix causa Diis placuit,
victa Peytoni.' " — Guernsey Star.
" Colonel Peyton's book is half a narrative of his reminiscences of the
Great Civil War, or rather of his personal intercourse with its chief
actors, both military and political, and half a description of his ex
periences in England, and his impressions of English society. He
exhibits considerable skill in blending his adverse feelings towards
Jeffreson Davis (whom he regards as a common-place politician and
not a genius at all) with the necessary amount of attachment for the
Confederate cause. Some of the chapters which he devotes to his per
sonal observations while in this country will be read with interest, and
portions of them with amusement. Of course he does not like Mr,
Cobden or Mr, Bright. Of Lord Russell's appearance and manner
he speaks with a contempt which is not wholly unmerited, but ill-
becomes a panegyrist of Mr. Alexander Stephens of whose outer man
he has given the most unflattering of descriptions. But he is at all
events impartial in his satirical judgments. When he presents what
is on the whole a very uncomplimentary portrait of Mr, Roebuck he is
perhaps more true to life, but he makes a poor return for much zealous
service." — Daily Star.
"This subject is unrivalled in importance to Americans, and a very
arduous one with which to deal; the interests involved are so manifold,
and the questions connected with it so complicated that it requires a
master-mind to do it justice. Colonel Peyton has taken very elevated
views of all these great questions. We have rarely met with a writer
who combines so much impressive earnestness with so much sound
sense and masculine depth of thought." — Gazette.
" Here we pause, reluctantly ;— the extreme interest we take in the
political portion of Colonel Peyton's most valuable and instructive
work, has induced us to discuss somewhat at large what we may

venture to entitle " Sentiments proper to the present crisis," and that
with reference as well to England as to America. It is not, however,
to the statesman or historian alone that these volumes will be interest
ing. Their Author has mingled largely in the best society on either
side of the Atlantic, public and private life in both hemispheres, with
their leading warriors, orators, statesmen ; artists and men of letters,
have come as a matter of course under his notice, and are sketched
ably by his graphic pen ; — he is in turn a Hogarth and a Watteau, as
eccentricities and absurdities, graces and amenities are to be delineated.
Nor is graver information wanting ; his work is replete with historical
anecdotes, valuable statistics, and sound aud apposite reflections upon
subjects of contemporary or social interest," — British Press.
"These volumes are full of grace of thought, and purity of feeling," —
Spectator. " It is curious to see with what contempt this gentleman of high
birth and solid position, looks down on the mushroom leaders of seces
sion. Most of these men are sketched by Colonel Peyton in sharp and
biting acid." — The Athenaeum.
"The American Crisis is a highly entertaining work, and one in
which the reader's interest will seldom, or ever flag. Many of the
sketches are hit oif with much skill and effect," — B. Herald.
" The eai'lier portion of Colonel Peyton's work draws a lively picture
of the feelings which prevailed in the south, and especially in Virginia,
during the first months of the war. The sanguine advocates of Seces
sion were full of hope and animation, predicting a speedy triumph of
their cause, which should force Massachusetts itself to return all
fugitive slaves, and place the prosperity of New Eugland at the mercy
of the Southern Confederacy, Colonel Peyton's second volume is de
voted, for the most part, to life in England, He gives us particulars
about hotels and lodging-houses, describes our railway management
and railway carriages ; sketches some of our great men : tells us about
our dinners, our evening parties, our country houses, and our manner
of living in them, in point of fact, is communicative to Englishmen ;
and the other, on England for the use of Americans, But we can
imagine many reasons which may have made it more convenient for him
to treat together the two countries which have been connected by his
own experience. He is not at all a fatiguing writer to follow; we may
read with tolerable care what he has to tell us about America, and may
then proceed with undiminished energy to glance at his remarks on a
subject which, after all, has an interest for most of us — ourselves." —
The Guardian.
London, Saunders, Otlbt and Co., 66, Beook Strebt, W.

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