A Ramble of Six Thousand Miles through the United States of America
by
S. A. Ferrall
Part 3 out of 3
his forces at the next election to put out the major: he replied, "I can't
tell that!" I said, "why? will you not oppose him?" "Oh!" he says, "for
that matter, he may do his duty pretty well." "And do you mean to say,"
continued I, "that if he should do so, you will give him no opposition?"
He looked at me, as if he did not clearly comprehend, and said, "Why, I
guess not."
The boatmen of the Ohio and Mississippi are the most riotous and lawless
set of people in America, and the least inclined to submit to the
constituted authorities. At Cincinnati I saw one of those persons
arrested, on the wharf, for debt. He seemed little inclined to submit; as,
could he contrive to escape to the opposite shore, he was safe. He called
upon his companions in the flat-boat, who came instantly to his
assistance, and were apparently ready to rescue him from the clutches of
this trans-Atlantic bum-bailiff. The constable instantly pulled out--not a
pistol, but a small piece of paper, and said, "I take him in the name of
the States." The messmates of this unfortunate navigator looked at him for
some time, and then one of them said drily, "I guess you must go with the
constable." Subsequently, at New York, one evening returning to my hotel,
I heard a row in a tavern, and wishing to see the process of capturing
refractory citizens, I entered with some other persons. The constable was
there unsupported by any of his brethren, and it seemed to me to be
morally impossible that, without assistance, he could take half a dozen
fellows, who were with difficulty restrained from whipping each other.
However, his hand seemed to be as potent as the famous magic wand of
Armida, for on placing it on the shoulders of the combatants, they fell
into the ranks, and marched off with him as quietly as if they had been
sheep. The rationale of the matter is this: those men had all exercised
the franchise, if not in the election of these very constables, of
others, and they therefore not only considered it to be their duty to
support the constable's authority, but actually felt a strong inclination
to do so. Because they _knew_ that the authority he exercised was only
delegated to him by themselves, and that, in resisting him, they would
resist their own sovereignty. Even in large towns in the western country,
the constable has no men under his command, but always finds most powerful
allies in the citizens themselves, whenever a lawless scoundrel, or a
culprit is to be captured.
At Flemingsburg I saw an Albino, a female about fourteen years old. Her
parents were clear negros, of the Congo or Guinea race, and in every thing
but colour she perfectly resembled them. Her form, face, and hair,
possessed the true negro characteristics--curved shins, projecting jaw,
retreating forehead, and woolly head. The skin was rather whiter than that
of the generality of Europeans, but was deficient in glossiness, and
although perfectly smooth, had a dry appearance. The wool on the head was
of a light flaxen colour, and the iris of the eye was of a reddish-blue
tinge. Her eyes were so weak as to bear with difficulty the glare of day.
Most Albinos are dim sighted until twilight, when they appear to have as
perfect vision as persons with the strongest sight, and in many cases,
even more acute. This individual had evidently weak sight, as the eyelids
were generally half closed, and she always held her head down during day
light.
Near the banks of the Ohio, full three hundred miles from the sea, I found
conglomerations of marine shells, mixed with siliceous earth; and in
nearly all the runs throughout Kentucky, limestone pebbles are found,
bearing the perfect impressions of the interior of shells. The most
abundant proofs are every where exhibited, that at one period the vast
savannahs and lofty mountains of the New world were submerged; and perhaps
the present bed of the ocean was once covered with verdure, and the seat
of the sorrows and joys of myriads of human beings, who erected cities,
and built pyramids, and monuments, which Time has long since swept away,
and wrapt in his eternal mantle of oblivion. That a constant, but almost
imperceptible change is hourly taking place in the earth's surface,
appears to be established; and independent of the extraordinary
_bouleversements_, which have at intervals convulsed our globe, this
gradual revolution has produced, and will produce again, a total
alteration in the face of nature.
FOOTNOTES:
[14] Amongst other plans to this effect, there is one proposed, by which
midshipmen on half-pay will be obliged to make at least two voyages
annually, in merchant ships, as mates, and all others must have done so,
in order to entitle them to be reinstated in their former rank. Another
is, that there shall be small vessels, rigged and fitted out in war
style, appropriated to the purpose of teaching pupils, practically, the
science of navigation, and the discipline necessary to be observed on
board vessels of war. The Americans may not eat their fish with silver
forks, nor lave their fingers in the most approved style; yet they are by
no means so contemptible a people as some of our small gentry affect to
think. They may too, occasionally, be put down in political argument, by
the dogmatical method of the quarter-deck; but I must confess that _I_
never was so fortunate as to come in contact with any who reasoned so
badly as the persons Captain Bazil Hall introduces in his book.
CHAPTER IX.
The wailings of the Cherokee, the Choctaw, and the Creek, may have been
wafted across the waters of the great salt lake, and the Pale-face in his
own land may have heard their lamentations;--but the distant voice is
scattered by the passing winds, and is heard like the whisper of a summer
breeze as it steals along the prairies of the west, or the cry of the
wish-ton-wish as it faintly reaches the ear of the navigator, when, in the
stilly night, he floats down "the old father of waters."
The present posture of Indian affairs, and the peculiar situation of the
Indian nations east of the Mississippi, have caused that unfortunate
people to be the topic of much political controversy and conversation; a
succinct account of the political condition of these tribes, and of the
policy which has been pursued, and which is being pursued towards them, by
the executive government, may not therefore be uninteresting.
When Georgia, by becoming a member of the Union, ceded part of her
sovereignty to the general executive, that government acknowledged her
claimed limits, and guaranteed to her the protection of the Union against
foreign and domestic violence. Subsequently, in the year of 1802, in
consideration of a certain portion of lands ceded, the United States
became bound to purchase for Georgia, any claim which the Cherokee nation
might have on lands within her boundaries, whenever such purchase could be
made on reasonable terms. On these positions are based the Georgian
claims, which the United States government has hitherto pleaded inability
to satisfy, inasmuch as all efforts to purchase the Indian lands have
proved fruitless.
After the lapse of twenty-seven years, Georgia, finding herself precisely
in the same condition in which she then stood, has determined on forcibly
taking possession of the Cherokee lands, and extending her sovereignty
over the Cherokee people. But as this cannot be effected without doing
manifest violence to the Indian rights, she brings forward arguments to
show, that _she_ never acknowledged the independence of the Cherokee
nation; that that nation, from the time of the first settlement made by
Europeans in America, stood in the position of a conquered people; that
the sovereignty consequently dwelt in the hands of Great Britain; and
that, on the Declaration of independence, Georgia, by becoming a free
state, became invested with all the powers of sovereignty claimed or
exercised by Great Britain over the Georgian territory: and further, that
in November, 1785, when the first and only treaty was concluded with the
Cherokees by the United States, during the articles of confederation, both
she and North Carolina entered their solemn protests against this alleged
violation of their legislative rights. The executive government pretends
not to argue the case with Georgia, and is left no alternative but either
to annul its _conditional_ treaty with that state, or to cancel _thirteen
distinct treaties_ entered into with the Indians, despoil them of their
lands, and rob them of their independence. Jackson's message says, "It is
too late to inquire whether it was just in the United States to include
them and their territory within bounds of new states, whose limits they
could control. That step cannot be retracted. A state cannot be
dismembered by Congress, or restrained in the exercise of her
constitutional powers." Here the executive government acknowledges that it
made promises to Georgia, which it has been unable to perform--that it
guaranteed to that state the possession of lands over which it had no
legitimate control, on the mere assumption of being able to make their
purchase.
The Cherokees in their petition and memorials to Congress show, that Great
Britain never exercised any sovereignty over them;--that in peace and in
war she always treated them as a free people, and never assumed to herself
the right of interfering with their internal government:--that in every
treaty made with them by the United States, their sovereignty and total
independence are clearly acknowledged, and that they have ever been
considered as a distinct nation, exercising all the privileges and
immunities enjoyed by any independent people. They say, "In addition to
that first of all rights, the right of inheritance and peaceable
possession, we have the faith and pledge of the United States, over and
over again, in treaties made at various times. By these treaties our
rights as a separate people are distinctly acknowledged, and guarantees
given that they shall be secured and protected. So we have also
understood the treaties. The conduct of the government towards us, from
its organization until very lately--the talks given to our beloved men by
the Presidents of the United States--and the speeches of the agents and
commissioners--all concur to show that we are not mistaken in our
interpretation. Some of our beloved men who signed the treaties are still
living, and their testimony tends to the same conclusion." * * * * "In
what light shall we view the conduct of the United States and Georgia in
their intercourse with us, in urging us to enter into treaties and cede
lands? If we were but tenants at will, why was it necessary that our
consent must first be obtained before these governments could take lawful
possession of our lands? The answer is obvious. These governments
perfectly understand our rights--our right to the country, and our right
to self-government. Our understanding of the treaties is further supported
by the intercourse law of the United States, which prohibits all
encroachment on our territory."
The arguments used by the Cherokees are unanswerable; but in what will
that avail them, when injustice is intended by a superior power, which,
regardless of national faith, has determined on taking possession of their
lands? The case stands thus: the executive government enters into an
agreement with Georgia, and engages to deliver over to the state the
Indian possessions within her claimed limits--without the Indians _having
any knowledge of, or participation in the transaction._ Now what, may I
ask, have the Indians to do with this? Ought they to be made answerable
for the gross misconduct of the two governments, and to be despoiled,
contrary to every principle of justice, and in defiance of the most plain
and fundamental law of property? It puts one in mind of the judgment of
the renowned "Walter the Doubter," who decided between two citizens, that,
as their account books appeared to be of equal _weight_, therefore their
accounts were balanced, and that _the constable_ should pay the costs. The
United States government has made several offers to the Cherokees for
their lands; which they have as constantly refused, and said, "that they
were very well contented where they were--that they did not wish to leave
the bones of their ancestors, and go beyond the Mississippi; but that, if
the country be so beautiful as their white brother represents it, they
would recommend their white brother to go there himself."
Georgia presses upon the executive; which, in this dilemma, comes forward
with affected sympathy--deplores the unfortunate situation in which it is
placed, but of course concludes that faith must be kept with Georgia, and
that the Cherokee must either go, or submit to laws that make it far
better for him to go than stay. It is true Jackson says in his message,
"This emigration should be voluntary; for it would be cruel as unjust to
compel the Aborigines to abandon the graves of their fathers, and seek a
home in a distant land." But General Jackson well knows that the laws of
Georgia leave the Indian no choice--as no community of men, civilized or
savage, could possibly exist under such laws. The benefit and protection
of the laws, to which the Indian is made subject, are entirely withheld
from him--he can be no party to a suit--he may be robbed and murdered with
impunity--his property may be taken, and he may be driven from his
dwelling--in fine, he is left liable to every species of insult, outrage,
cruelty, and dishonesty, without the most distant hope of obtaining
redress; for in Georgia _an Indian cannot be a witness to prove facts
against a white man._ Yet General Jackson says, "this emigration should be
_voluntary_;" and in the very same paragraph, with a single sweep of the
pen, he annihilates all the treaties that have been made with that
people--tramples under foot the laws of nations, and deprives the Indian
of his hunting-grounds, one of his sources of subsistence. He says,--"But
it seems to me visionary to suppose that, in this state of things, claims
can be allowed on tracts of country on which they have neither dwelt nor
made improvements, merely because they have seen them from the mountain,
or passed them in the chase." It certainly may be unphilosophical to
permit any man to possess more ground than he can till with his own hands;
yet surely arguments that we do not admit as regards ourselves, we can
with no sense of propriety use towards others, particularly when our own
acts are directly in the very teeth of this principle. There is more land
at present within the limits and in the possession of the United States
than would be sufficient to support thirty times the present
population--yet to this must be added the hunting-grounds of the Indians,
merely because "it is _visionary to suppose_ they have any claim on what
they do not _actually occupy!"_
I have now before me the particulars of thirteen treaties[15] made by the
United States with the Cherokee nation, from the year 1785 down to 1819
inclusive; in all of which the rights of the Indians are clearly
acknowledged, either directly, or by implication; and by the seventh
article of the treaty of Holston, executed in 1791, being the first
concluded with that people by the United States, under their present
constitution, all the lands not thereby ceded are solemnly guaranteed to
the Cherokee nation. The subsequent treaties are made with reference to,
and in confirmation of this, and continually reiterate the guarantees
therein tendered.
To talk of justice, and honour, would be idle and visionary, for these
seem to have been thrown overboard at the very commencement of the
contest; but I would ask the American _people_, is their conduct towards
the Indians politic?--is it politic in America, in the face of civilized
nations, to violate treaties? is it politic in her, to hold herself up to
the world as faithless and unjust--as a nation, which, in defiance of all
moral obligation, will break her most sacred contracts, whenever it
becomes no longer her interest to keep them, and she finds herself in a
condition to do so with impunity? is she not furnishing foreign statesmen
with a ready and powerful argument in defence of their violating treaties
with her? can they not with justice say--America has manifested in her
proceedings towards the Cherokee nation, that she is faithless--that she
keeps no treaties longer than it may be her _interest_ to do so--and are
_we_ to make ourselves the dupes of such a power, and wait until she finds
herself in a condition to deceive us? I could produce many arguments to
illustrate the impolicy of this conduct; but as I intend confining myself
to a mere sketch, I shall dwell but as short a time as may be consistent
on the several facts connected with the case.
That the Aborigines have been cruelly treated, cannot be doubted. The very
words of the Message admit this; and the tone of feeling and conciliation
which follows that admission, coupled as it is with the intended injustice
expressed in other paragraphs, can be viewed in no other light than as a
piece of political mockery. The Message says, "their present condition,
contrasted with what they once were, makes a most powerful appeal to our
sympathies. Our ancestors found them the uncontrolled possessors of these
vast regions. By persuasion and force, they have been made to retire from
river to river, and from mountain to mountain, until some of the tribes
have become extinct, and others have left but remnants, to preserve for a
while their once terrible names." Now the plan laid down by the president,
in order to prevent, if possible, the total decay of the Indian people,
is, to send them beyond the Mississippi, and _guarantee_ to them the
possession of ample territory west of that river. How far this is likely
to answer the purpose _expressed_, let us now examine.
The Cherokees, by their intercourse with and proximity to the white
people, have become half civilized; and how is it likely that _their_
condition will be improved by driving them into the forests and barren
prairies? That territory is at present the haunt of the Pawnees, the
Osages, and other warlike nations, who live almost entirely by the chase,
and are constantly waging war even with each other. As soon as the
Cherokees, and other half-civilized Indians, appear, they will be regarded
as common intruders, and be subject to the united attacks of these people.
There are even old feuds existing among themselves, which, it is but too
probable, may be renewed. Trappers and hunters, in large parties, yearly
make incursions into the country beyond the boundaries of the United
States, and in defiance of the Indians kill the beaver and the
buffalo--the latter merely for the _tongue and skin_, leaving the carcase
to rot upon the ground.[16] Thus is this unfortunate race robbed of their
means of subsistence. Moreover, what guarantee can the Indians have, that
the United States will keep faith for the future, when it is admitted that
they have not done so in times past? How can they be sure that they may
not further be driven from river to river, and from mountain to mountain,
until they reach the shores of the Pacific; and who can tell but that then
it may be found expedient to drive them into the ocean?
The policy of the United States government is evidently to get the Indians
to exterminate each other. Its whole proceedings from the time this
question was first agitated to the present, but too clearly indicate this
intention; and if we wanted proof, that the executive government of the
United States _would act_ on so barbarous and inhuman a policy, we need
only refer to the allocation of the Cherokees, who exchanged lands in
Tennessee for lands west of the Mississippi, pursuant to the treaty of
1819. It was well known that a deadly enmity existed between the Osages
and Cherokees, and that any proximity of the two people, would inevitably
lead to fatal results; yet, with this knowledge, the executive government
placed those Cherokees in the country lying between the Arkansaw and Red
rivers, _immediately joining the territory of the Osages._ It is
unnecessary to state that the result was _as anticipated_--they daily
committed outrages upon the persons and properties of each other, and the
death of many warriors, on both sides, ensued.
The sympathy expressed in that part of the Message relating to the
Indians, if expressed with sincerity, would do much honour to the feelings
that dictated it; but when we come to examine the facts, and investigate
the implied allegations, we shall find that they are most gratuitous; and,
consequently, that the regret of the president at the probable fate of the
Indian, should he remain east of the Mississippi, is grossly hypocritical.
He says, "surrounded by the whites, with their arts of civilization,
which, by destroying the resources of the savage, doom him to weakness and
decay:[17] the fate of the Mohegan, the Narragansett, and the Delaware, is
fast overtaking the Choctaw, the Cherokee, and the Creek. That this fate
surely awaits them, if they remain within the limits of the States, does
not admit of a doubt. Humanity and national honour demand that every
effort should be made to avert so great a calamity." From what facts the
president has drawn these conclusions does not appear. Neither the
statements of the Cherokees, nor of the Indian agents, nor the report of
the secretary of war, furnish any such information; on the contrary, with
the exception of one or two agents _at Washington_, all give the most
flattering accounts of advancement in civilization. The Rev. Samuel A.
Worcester, in his letter to the Rev. E.S. Ely, editor of the
"Philadelphian," completely refutes all the unfavourable statements that
have been got up to cover the base conduct of Jackson and the slavites.
This gentleman has resided for the last four years among the Cherokees,
and has surely had abundant means of observing their condition.
The letter of David Brown (a Cherokee), addressed, September 2, 1825, to
the editor of "The Family Visitor," at Richmond, Virginia, states, that
"the Cherokee plains are covered with herds of cattle--sheep, goats, and
swine, cover the valleys and hills--the plains and valleys are rich, and
produce Indian corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, oats, indigo, sweet and Irish
potatoes, &c. The natives carry on a considerable trade with the adjoining
states, and some of them export cotton in boats down the Tennessee to the
Mississippi, and down that river to New Orleans. Orchards are
common--cheese, butter, &c. plenty--houses of entertainment are kept by
natives. Cotton and woollen cloths are manufactured in the nation, and
almost every family grows cotton for its own consumption. Agricultural
pursuits engage the chief attention of the nation--different branches of
mechanics are pursued. Schools are increasing every year, and education is
encouraged and rewarded." To quote David Brown verbatim, on the
population,--"In the year 1819, an estimate was made of the Cherokees.
Those on the west were estimated at 5,000, and those on the east of the
Mississippi, at 10,000 souls. The census of this division of the Cherokees
has again been taken within the current year (1825), and the returns are
thus made: native citizens, 13,563; white men married in the nation, 147;
white women ditto, 73; African slaves, 1177. If this summary of the
Cherokee population, from the census, is correct, to say nothing of those
of foreign extract, we find that in six years the increase has been 3,563
souls. National pride, patriotism, and a spirit of independence, mark the
Cherokee character." He further states, "the system of government is
founded on republican principles, and secures the respect of the people."
An alphabet has been invented by an Indian, named George Guess, the
Cherokee Cadmus, and a printing press has been established at New Echota,
the seat of government, where there is published weekly a paper entitled,
"The Cherokee Phoenix,"--one half being in the English language, and the
other in that of the Cherokee.
The report of the secretary of war, upon the present condition of the
Indians, states of the Chickesaws and Choctaws, all that has been above
said of the Cherokees. But of the last-mentioned people, the secretary's
accounts appear to be studiously defective. Yet the fact is notorious,
that both the Chickesaws and Choctaws are far behind the Cherokees in
civilization.
With these facts before our eyes, what are we to think of the grief of the
president, at the decay and increasing weakness of the Cherokees? Can it
be regarded in any way but as a piece of shameless hypocrisy, too glaring
in its character to escape the notice even of the most inobservant
individual. It has been said that the question involves many
difficulties--to me there appears none. The United States, in the year
1791, guarantee to the Indians the possession of all their lands not then
ceded--and confirm this by numerous subsequent treaties. In 1802, they
promise to Georgia, the possession of the Cherokee lands "_whenever such
purchase could be made on reasonable terms_" This is the simple state of
the case; and if the executive were inclined to act uprightly, the line of
conduct to be pursued could be determined on without much difficulty.
Georgia has no right to press upon the executive the fulfilment of
engagements which were made conditionally, and consequently with an
implied reservation; and the United States should not violate _many
positive treaties_, in order to fulfil _a conditional one_.[18]
I shall now advert to some of the charges touching the character of the
Indians. It is said, that they are debauched and insincere. This charge
has been particularly made against the Creeks, and I believe is not
altogether unfounded. Yet, if this be now the character of the once
warlike and noble Creek, let the white man ask himself who has made him
so? Who makes the "firewater," and who supplies the untutored savage with
the means of intoxication? The white-man, when he wishes to trade
profitably with the Indian, fills the cup, and holds it forth--he says,
'drink, my brother, it is good'--the red-man drinks, and the wily white
points at his condition, says he is uncivilized, and should go forth from
the land, for his presence is contamination!
As to the charge of hypocrisy--this too has been taught or forced upon the
Indians by the conduct of the whites. Missionaries have been constantly
going among them, teaching dogmas and doctrines, far beyond the
comprehension of some learned white-men, and to the savage totally
unintelligible. These gentlemen have told long stories; and when posed by
some quaint saying, or answered by some piece of traditional information,
handed down from generation to generation, by the fathers and mothers of
the tribe, have found it necessary to purchase the acquiescence of a few
Indians by bribes, in order that their labours might not seem to have been
altogether unsuccessful. This conduct of the Missionaries was soon
_understood_ by the Indians, and the temptation held out was too great to
be resisted. Blankets and gowns converted, when inspiration and gospel
truths had failed.
Mr. Houston of Tennessee, after having attained the honour of being
governor of his state, and having enjoyed all the consideration
necessarily attached to that office, at length became tired of civilized
life, and retired among the Creeks to end his days. He has resided long
among them, and knows their character well; yet, in one of his statements
made to the Indian board at New York, he says, that the attempts to
Christianize the Indians in their present state, he was of opinion, much
as he honoured the zeal that had prompted them, were fruitless, _or
worse._ The supposed conversions had produced no change of habits. So
degraded had become the character of this once independent people, that
professions of religious belief had been made, and the ordinances of
religion submitted to, "when an Indian wanted a new blanket, or a squaw a
new gown."[19] Thus, according to governor Houston, the only fruits
produced by the boasted labours of the missionaries, have been
dissimulation and deceit; and demoralization has been the result of
teaching _doctrinal_ Christianity to the children of the forest. Yet we
must, in candour, acknowledge that Mr. Houston is not singular in that
opinion, since we find, so far back as the year 1755, Cadwallader Calden
express himself much to the same effect. "The Five Nations," he says, "are
a poor and generally called barbarous people, bred under the darkest
ignorance; and yet a bright and noble genius shines through these black
clouds. None of the greatest Roman heroes have discovered a greater love
of country, or contempt of death, than these people, called barbarous,
have shown when liberty came in competition. Indeed I think our Indians
have outdone the Romans in this particular. Some of the greatest of those
Roman heroes have murdered themselves to avoid shame or torments; but our
Indians have refused to die meanly or with little pain, when they thought
their country's honour would be at stake by it; but have given their
bodies willingly to the most cruel torments of their enemies, to show, as
they said, that 'the Five Nations' consisted of men whose courage and
resolution could not be shaken. But what, alas! have we Christians done to
make them better? We have, indeed, reason to be ashamed that these
infidels, by our conversation and neighbourhood, are become worse than
they were before they knew us. Instead of virtue, we have only taught them
vice, that they were entirely free from before that time."[20] The Rev.
Timothy Flint, who was himself a missionary, in his "Ten Years' Residence
in the Valley of the Mississippi," observes, page 144,--"I have surely
had it in my heart to impress them with the importance of the subject
(religion). I have scarcely noticed an instance in which the subject was
not received either with indifference, rudeness, or jesting. Of all races
of men that I have seen, they seem most incapable of religious
impressions. They have, indeed, some notions of an invisible agent, but
they seemed generally to think that the Indians had their god as the
whites had theirs." And again, "nothing will eventually be gained to the
great cause by colouring and mis-statement," alluding to the practice of
the missionaries; "and however reluctant we may be to receive it, the real
state of things will eventually be known to us. We have heard of the
imperishable labours of an Elliott and a Brainard, in other days. But in
these times it is a melancholy truth, that Protestant exertions to
Christianize them have not been marked with apparent success. The
Catholics have caused many to hang a crucifix around their necks, which
they show as they show their medals and other ornaments, and this is too
often all they have to mark them as Christians. We have read the
narratives of the Catholics, which detailed the most glowing and animating
views of success. I have had accounts, however, from travellers in these
regions, that have been over the Stony mountains into the great missionary
settlements of St. Peter and St. Paul. These travellers (and some of them
were professed Catholics) unite in affirming that the converts will escape
from the missions whenever it is in their power, fly into their native
deserts, and resume at once their old mode of life."
That the vast sums expended on missions should have produced so little
effect, we may consider lamentable, but it is lamentably true; for in
addition to the mass of evidence we have to that effect, from
disinterested white men, we have also the speeches and communications of
the Indians themselves. The celebrated Seneca chief, Saguyuwhaha (keeper
awake), better known in the United States by the name of Red-jacket, in a
letter communicated to Governor De Witt Clinton, at a treaty held at
Albany, says, "Our great father, the President, has recommended to our
young men to be industrious, to plough and to sow. This we have done; and
we are thankful for the advice, and for the means he has afforded us of
carrying it into effect. We are happier in consequence of it; _but another
thing recommended to us, has created great confusion among us, and is
making us a quarrelsome and divided people; and that is, the introduction
of preachers into our nation_. These black-coats contrive to get the
consent of some of the Indians to preach among us; and whenever this is
the case, confusion and disorder are sure to follow, and the encroachment
of the whites on our lands is the inevitable consequence.
"The governor must not think hard of me for speaking thus of the
preachers: I have observed their progress, and whenever I look back to
see what has taken place of old, I perceive that whenever they came among
the Indians, they were the forerunners of their dispersion; that they
always excited enmities and quarrels amongst them; that they introduced
the white people on their lands, by whom they were robbed and plundered of
their property; and that the Indians were sure to dwindle and decrease,
and be driven back, in proportion to the number of preachers that came
among them.
"Each nation has its own customs and its own religion. The Indians have
theirs, given them by the Great Spirit, under which they were happy. It
was not intended that they should embrace the religion of the whites, and
be destroyed by the attempt to make them think differently on that subject
from their fathers.
"It is true, these preachers have got the consent of some of the chiefs to
stay and preach amongst us; but I and my friends know this to be wrong,
and that they ought to be removed; besides, we have been threatened by Mr.
Hyde--who came among us as a schoolmaster and a teacher of our children,
but has now become a black-coat, and refuses to teach them any more--that
unless we listen to his preaching and become Christians, we shall be
turned off our lands. We wish to know from the governor, if this is to be
so? and if he has no right to say so, we think _he_ ought to be turned off
our lands, and not allowed to plague us any more. We shall never be at
peace while he is among us.
"We are afraid too, that these preachers, by and by, will become poor,
_and force us to pay them for living among us, and disturbing us._
"Some of our chiefs have got lazy, and instead of cultivating their lands
themselves, employ white people to do so. There are now eleven families
living on our reservation at Buffalo; this is wrong, and ought not to be
permitted. The great source of all our grievances is, that the whites are
among us. Let _them_ be removed, and we will be happy and contented among
ourselves. We now cry to the governor for help, and hope that he will
attend to our complaints, and speedily give us redress."[21]
This melancholy hostility to the missionaries is not confined to a
particular tribe or nation of Indians, for all those people, in every
situation, from the base of the Alleghanies to the foot of the Rocky
mountains, declare the same sentiments on this subject; and although
policy or courtesy may induce some chiefs to express themselves less
strongly than Red-jacket has expressed himself, we have but too many
proofs that their feelings are not more moderate. On the fourth of
February, 1822, the president of the United States, in council, received a
deputation of Indians, from the principal nations west of the
Mississippi, who came under the protection of Major O'Fallon, when each
chief delivered a speech on the occasion. I shall here insert an extract
from that of the "Wandering Pawnee" chief, more as a specimen of Indian
wisdom and eloquence than as bearing particularly on the subject. Speaking
of the Great Spirit, he said, "We worship him not as you do. We differ
from you in appearance, and manners, as well as in our customs; and we
differ from you in our religion. We have no large houses, as you have, to
worship the Great Spirit in: if we had them to-day, we should want others
to-morrow; for we have not like you a fixed habitation--we have no settled
home except our villages, where we remain but two months in twelve. We,
like animals, rove through the country; whilst you whites reside between
us and heaven. But still, my great Father, we love the Great Spirit--we
acknowledge his supreme power--our peace, our health, and our happiness
depend upon him, and our lives belong to him--he made us, and he can
destroy us.
"My great Father,--some of your good chiefs, as they are called
(missionaries), have proposed to send some of their good people among us
to change our habits, to make us work for them, and live like the white
people. I will not tell a lie--I am going to tell the truth. You love your
country--you love your people--you love the manner in which they live, and
you think your people brave. I am like you, my great Father; I love my
country--I love my people--I love the manner in which we live, and think
myself and warriors brave.[22] Spare me then, my Father; let me enjoy my
country, and pursue the buffalo and the beaver, and the other wild animals
of our country, and I will trade their skins with your people. I have
grown up and lived thus long without work--I am in hopes you will suffer
me to die without it. We have plenty of buffalo, beaver, deer, and other
wild animals--we have also an abundance of horses--we have every thing we
want--we have plenty of land, _if you will keep your people off it_. My
Father has a piece on which he lives (Council bluffs), and we wish him to
enjoy it--we have enough without it--but we wish him to live near us, to
give us good council--to keep our ears and eyes open, that we may continue
to pursue the right road--the road to happiness. He settles all
differences between us and the whites, between the red-skins
themselves--he makes the whites do justice to the red-skins, and he makes
the red-skins do justice to the whites. He saves the effusion of human
blood, and restores peace and happiness in the land. You have already sent
us a father (Major O'Fallon); it is enough--he knows us, and we know
him--we keep our eye constantly upon him, and since we have heard _your_
words, we will listen more attentively to _his_.
"It is too soon, my great Father, to send those good chiefs amongst us.
_We are not starving yet_--we wish you to permit us to enjoy the chase
until the game of our country is exhausted--until the wild animals become
extinct. Let us exhaust our present resources before you make us toil and
interrupt our happiness. Let me continue to live as I have done; and after
I have passed to the good or evil spirit, from off the wilderness of my
present life, the subsistence of my children may become so precarious as
to need and embrace the assistance of those good people.
"There was a time when we did not know the whites--our wants were then
fewer than they are now. They were always within our control--we had then
seen nothing which we could not get. Before our intercourse with the
whites (who have caused such a destruction in our game) we could lie down
to sleep, and when we awoke we would find the buffalo feeding around our
camp--but now we are killing them for their skins, and feeding the wolves
with their flesh, to make our children cry over their bones.
"Here, my great Father, is a pipe which I present to you, as I am
accustomed to present pipes to all the Red-skins in peace with us. It is
filled with such tobacco as we were accustomed to smoke before we knew
the white people. It is pleasant, and the spontaneous growth of the most
remote parts of our country. I know that the robes, leggings, and
moccasins, and bear-claws are of little value to _you_; but we wish you to
have them deposited and preserved in some conspicuous part of your lodge,
so that when we are gone and the sod turned over our bones, if our
children should visit this place, as we do now, they may see and recognize
with pleasure the depositories of their fathers; and reflect on the times
that are past."
I shall now take leave of the Indians and their political condition, by
observing that the proceedings of the American government, throughout,
towards this brave but unfortunate race, have only been exceeded in
atrocity by the past and present conduct of the East India government
towards the pusillanimous but unoffending Hindoos.
_Note_.--This chapter I wrote during my stay in Kentucky, and the
first part of it, in substance, was inserted in the "Kentucky
Intelligencer," at the request of the talented editor and
proprietor, John Mullay, Esq.
FOOTNOTES:
[15] In November, 1785, during the articles of confederation, a treaty is
concluded with the Cherokees, which establishes a boundary, and allots to
the Indians a great extent of country, now within the limits of North
Carolina and Georgia.
In 1791, the treaty of Holston is concluded; by which a new boundary is
agreed upon. This was the first treaty made by the United States under
their present constitution; and by the seventh article, a solemn
guarantee is given for all the lands not then ceded.
On the 7th of February, 1792, by an additional article to the last
treaty, 500 dollars are added to the stipulated annuity.
In June, 1794, another treaty is entered into, in which the provisions of
the treaty of 1791 are revived, an addition is made to the annuity, and
provision made for marking the boundary line.
In October, 1798, a treaty is concluded which revives former treaties,
and curtails the boundary of Indian lands by a cession to the United
States, for an additional compensation.
In October, 1804, a treaty is concluded, by which, for a consideration
specified, more land is ceded.
In October, 1805, two treaties are made, by which an additional quantity
of land is ceded.
On 7th January, 1806, by another treaty, more land is ceded to the United
States.
In September, 1807, the boundary line intended in the last treaty, is
satisfactorily ascertained.
On 22d March, 1816, a treaty is concluded, by which lands in South
Carolina are ceded, for which the United States engage South Carolina
shall pay. On the same day another treaty is made, by which the Indians
agree to allow the use of the water-courses in their country, and also to
permit roads to be made through the same.
On the 14th of September, 1816, a treaty is made, by which an additional
quantity of land is ceded to the United States.
On the 8th of July, 1817, a treaty is concluded, by which an exchange of
lands is agreed on, and a plan for dividing the Cherokees settled.
On the 27th of February, 1819, another treaty is concluded, in execution
of the stipulations contained in that of 1817, in several particulars,
and in which an additional tract of country is ceded to the United
States.
[16] "The white hunter, on encamping in his journeys, cuts down green
trees, and builds a large fire of long logs, sitting at some distance
from it. The Indian hunts up a few dry limbs, cracks them into little
pieces a foot in length, builds a small fire, and sits close to it. He
gets as much warmth as the white hunter without half the labour, and does
not burn more than a fiftieth part of the wood. The Indian considers the
forest his own, and is careful in using and preserving every thing which
it affords. He never kills more than he has occasion for. The white
hunter destroys all before him, and cannot resist the opportunity of
killing game, although he neither wants the meat nor can carry the skins.
I was particularly struck with this wanton practice, which lately
occurred on White river. A hunter returning from the woods, heavily laden
with the flesh and skins of five bears, unexpectedly arrived in the midst
of a drove of buffalos, and wantonly shot down three, having no other
object than the sport of killing them. This is one of the causes
of the enmity existing between the white and red hunters of
Missouri".--_Schoolcroft's Tour in Missouri_, page 52.
[17] Does the General include among the arts of civilization, that of
systematically robbing the Indians of their farms and hunting grounds? If
so, no doubt _these arts of civilization_, must inevitably "destroy the
resources of the savage," and "doom him to weakness and decay."
[18] The Indians apply the term "Christian honesty," precisely in the
same sense that the Romans applied "_Punica fides_."
[19] There is an old Indian at present in the Missouri territory, to whom
his tribe has given the cognomen of "much-water," from the circumstance
of his having been baptized so frequently.
[20] Heriot says (page 320), "They have evinced a decided attachment to
their ancient habits, and have _gained_ less from the means that might
have smoothed the asperities of their condition, than they have _lost_ by
copying the vices of those, who exhibited to their view the arts of
civilization."
[21] This letter was dictated by Red-jacket, and interpreted by Henry
Obeal, in the presence of ten chiefs, whose names are affixed, at
Canandaigua, January 18, 1821.
[22] "The attachment which savages entertain for their mode of life
supersedes every allurement, however powerful, to change it. Many
Frenchmen have lived with them, and have imbibed such an invincible
partiality for that independent and erratic condition, that no means
could prevail on them to abandon it. On the contrary, no single instance
has yet occurred of a savage being able to reconcile himself to a state
of civilization. Infants have been taken from among the natives, and
educated with much care in France, where they could not possibly have
intercourse with their countrymen and relations. Although they had
remained several years in that country, and could not form the smallest
idea of the wilds of America, the force of blood predominated over that
of education: no sooner did they find themselves at liberty than they
tore their clothes in pieces, and went to traverse the forests in search
of their countrymen, whose mode of life appeared to them far more
agreeable than that which they had led among the French."--_-Heriot_, p.
354.
This passage of Heriot's is taken nearly verbatim from Charlevoix, v. 2,
p. 109.
CHAPTER X.
I left Kentucky, and passed up the river to Wheeling, in Virginia. There
is little worthy of observation encountered in a passage up this part of
the Ohio, except the peculiar character of the stream, which has been
before alluded to. At Marietta, at the mouth of the Muskingum,
ship-building is carried on; and vessels have been constructed at
Pittsburg, full 2000 miles from the gulf of Mexico. About seventy miles up
the Kenhawa river, in Virginia, are situated the celebrated salt springs,
the most productive of any in the Union. They are at present in the
possession of a chartered company, which limits the manufacture to
800,000 bushels annually, but it is estimated that the fifty-seven wells
are capable of yielding 50,000 bushels each, per annum, which would make
an aggregate of 2,850,000 bushels. Many of these springs issue out of
rocks, and the water is so strongly impregnated with salt, that from 90 to
130 gallons yield a bushel. The whole western country bordering the Ohio
and its tributaries, is supplied with salt from these works.
Wheeling, although not large, enjoys a considerable share of commercial
intercourse, being an entrepot for eastern merchandize, which is
transported from the Atlantic cities across the mountains to this town and
Pittsburg, and from thence by water to the different towns along the
rivers.
The process of "hauling" merchandize from Baltimore and Philadelphia to
the banks of the Ohio, and _vice versa_, is rather tedious, the roads
lying across steep and rugged mountains. Large covered waggons, light and
strong, drawn by five or six horses, two and two, are employed for this
purpose. The waggoner always rides the near shaft horse, and guides the
team by means of reins, a whip, and his voice. The time generally consumed
in one of these journeys is from twenty to twenty-five days.
All the mountains or hills on the upper part of the Ohio, from Wheeling to
Pittsburg, contain immense beds of coal; this added to the mineral
productions, particularly that of iron ore, which abound in this section
of country, offers advantages for manufacturing, which are of considerable
importance, and are fully appreciated. Pittsburg is called the Birmingham
of America. Some of those coal beds are well circumstanced, the coal being
found immediately under the super-stratum, and the galleries frequently
running out on the high road. Notwithstanding the local advantages, and
the protection and encouragement at present afforded by the tariff,
England need never fear any extensive competition with her manufactures
in foreign markets from America, as the high spirit of the people of that
country will always prevent them from pursuing, extensively, the sordid
occupations of the loom or the workshop.
The upper parts of Virginia and Pennsylvania are in a high state of
improvement; the land is hilly, and the face of the country picturesque.
The farms are well cultivated, and there is a large portion of pasture
land in this and the adjoining states. I encountered several large droves
of horses and black cattle on their way to the neighbourhood of
Philadelphia and to the state of New York. The black cattle are purchased
principally in Ohio, whence they are brought into the Atlantic states, to
be fattened and consumed. The farmers and their families in Pennsylvania,
have an appearance of comfort and respectability a good deal resembling
that of the substantial English yeoman; yet farming here, as in all parts
of the country, is a laborious occupation.
I crossed the Monongahela at Williamsport, and the Youghaghany at
Robstown, and so on through Mountpleasant to the first ridge of mountains,
called "the chestnut ridge." I determined on crossing the mountains on
foot; and after having made arrangements to that effect, I commenced
sauntering along the road. Near Mountpleasant, I stopped to dine at the
house of a Dutchman by descent. After dinner, the party adjourned, as is
customary, to the bar-room, when divers political and polemical topics
were canvassed with the usual national warmth. An account of his late
Majesty's death was inserted in a Philadelphia paper, and happened to be
noticed by one of the politicians present, when the landlord asked me how
we elected our king in England. I replied that he was not elected, but
that he became king by birthright, &c. A Kentuckian observed, placing his
leg on the back of the next chair, "That's a kind of unnatural." An
Indianian said, "I don't believe in that system myself." A third--"Do you
mean to tell me, that because the last king was a smart man and knew his
duty, that his son, or his brother, should be a smart man, and fit for the
situation?" I explained that we had a premier, ministers, &c.;--when the
last gentleman replied, "Then you pay half-a-dozen men to do one man's
business. Yes--yes--that may do for Englishmen very well; but, I guess, it
would not go down here--no, no, Americans are a little more enlightened
than to stand that kind of wiggery." During this conversation, a person
had stepped into the room, and had taken his seat in silence. I was about
to reply to the last observations of my antagonist, when this gentleman
opened out, with, "yes! that may do for Englishmen very well"--he was an
Englishman, I knew at once by his accent, and I verily believe the
identical radical who set the village of Bracebridge by the ears, and
pitched the villagers to the devil, on seeing them grin through a
horse-collar, when they should have been calculating the interest of the
national debt, or conning over the list of sinecure placemen. He held in
his hand, instead of "Cobbett's Register," the "Greenville
Republican."--He had substituted for his short-sleeved coat, "a
round-about."--He seemed to have put on flesh, and looked somewhat more
contented. "Yes, yes," he says, "that may do for Englishmen very well, but
it won't do here. Here we make our own laws, and we keep them too. It may
do for Englishmen very well, to have _the liberty_ of paying taxes for the
support of the nobility. To have _the liberty_ of being incarcerated in a
gaol, for shooting the wild animals of the country. To have _the liberty_
of being seized by a press-gang, torn away from their wives and families,
and flogged at the discretion of my lord Tom, Dick, or Harry's bastard."
At this, the Kentuckian gnashed his teeth, and instinctively grasped his
hunting-knife;--an old Indian doctor, who was squatting in one corner of
the room, said, slowly and emphatically, as his eyes glared, his nostrils
dilated, and his lip curled with contempt--"The Englishman is a
dog"--while a Georgian slave, who stood behind his master's chair, grinned
and chuckled with delight, as he said--"_poor_ Englishman, him meaner man
den black nigger."--"To have," continued the Englishman, "_the liberty_ of
being transported for seven years for being caught learning the use of the
sword or the musket. To have the tenth lamb, and the tenth sheaf seized,
or the blanket torn from off his bed, to pay a bloated, a plethoric bishop
or parson,--to be kicked and cuffed about by a parcel of 'Bourbon
_gendarmerie_'--Liberty!--why hell sweat"--here I--slipped out at the side
door into the water-melon patch. As I receded, I heard the whole party
burst out into an obstreperous fit of laughter.--A few broken sentences,
from the Kentuckian and the radical, reached my ear, such as "backed
out"--"damned aristocratic." I returned in about half an hour to pay my
bill, when I could observe one or two of those doughty politicians who
remained, leering at me most significantly. However, I--"smiled, and said
nothing."
"The Chestnut ridge" is a chain of rocky, barren mountains, covered with
wood, and the ascent is steep and difficult. It is named from the quantity
of chestnut trees that compose the bulk of its timber. Being a little
fatigued in ascending, I sat down in a wood of scrub oak. When I had been
some time seated on a large stone, my ear caught the gliding of a snake.
Turning quickly, I perceived, at about a yard's distance, a reptile of
that beautiful species the rattle-snake. He ceased moving: I jumped up,
and struck at his head with a stick, but missed the blow. He instantly
coiled and rattled. I now retreated beyond the range of his spring.
Perceiving that I had no intention of giving him fair play by coming
within his reach, he suddenly uncoiled and glid across a log, thinking to
make good his retreat; but being determined on having--not his scalp, for
the head of a rattle-snake is rather a dangerous toy--but his rattle, I
pursued him across the log. He now coiled again, and rattled most
furiously, thus indicating his extreme wrath at being attacked: the bite
of this reptile is most venomous when he is most enraged. I took up a flat
stone, about six inches square, and lobbed it on his coil. He suddenly
darted out towards me; but, as I had anticipated, he was encumbered with
the stone. I now advanced, and struck him on the head with my stick. I
repeated the blow until he seemed to be deprived of sensation, when I drew
my hunting knife and decapitated him. For a full hour afterwards the body
retained all the vigour and sensitiveness which it possessed previous to
decapitation, and on touching any part of it, would twist round in the
same manner as when the animal was perfect. Sensation gradually
disappeared, departing first from the extremities--more towards the
wounded extremity than towards the other, but gradually from both, until
it was entirely gone. The length of this reptile was about four feet, and
the skin was extremely beautiful. Nothing could exceed the beauty of his
eye. A clear black lustre characterizes the eye of this animal, and is
said to produce so powerful an effect on birds and smaller animals, as to
deprive them of the power of escaping. This snake had eight rattles, so
that he must have been at least eleven years old. I understood afterwards
that there was a rattle-snakes' den in the neighbourhood. They appear to
live in society, and the large quantities that are frequently found
congregated together are astonishing. The Jacksonville (Illinois) Gazette
of the 22d April, 1830, says, "Last week, a den of rattle-snakes was
discovered near Apple Creek, by a person while engaged in digging for rock
in that part of our country. He made known the circumstance to the
neighbours, who visited the place, where they killed 193 rattle-snakes,
the largest of which (as our informant, who was on the spot, told us)
measured nearly four feet in length. Besides these, there were sixteen
black snakes destroyed, together with one copper-head. Counting the young
ones, there were upwards of 1000 killed." There are two species of
rattle-snake, which are in constant hostility with each other. The common
black snake, whose bite is perfectly innoxious, and the copper-head, have
also a deadly enmity towards the rattle-snake, which, when they meet it,
they never fail to attack.
The next ridge of mountains is called the "laurel hills," which are
covered with an immense growth of different species of laurel. Between
these and the Alleghany ridge are situated "the glades"--beautiful fertile
plains in a high state of cultivation. This district is most healthy, and
fevers and agues are unknown to the inhabitants. Here the "Delawares of
the hills" once roamed the sole lords of this fine country; and perhaps
from the very eminence from whence I contemplated the beauty of the scene,
some warrior, returning from the "war path" or the chase, may have gazed
with pleasure on the hills of his fathers, the possessions of a long line
of Sylvan heros, and in the pride of manhood said--'The Delawares are
men--they are strong in battle, and cunning on the trail of their foes--at
the 'council fire' there is wisdom in their words. Who counts more scalps
than the Lenni Lenape warrior?--he can never be conquered--the stranger
shall never dwell in his glades.' Where now is the "Delaware of the
hills?"--gone!--his very name is unknown in his own land, and not a
vestige remains to tell that _there_ once dwelt a great and powerful
tribe. When the white man falls, his high towers and lofty battlements are
laid crumbling with the dust, yet these mighty ruins remain for ages,
monuments of his former greatness: but the Indian passes away, silent as
the noiseless tread of the moccasin--the next snow comes, and his "trail"
is blotted out for ever.
I toiled across the Alleghanies, which are completely covered with timber,
and passed on to a place within about thirty miles of Chambersburg, on a
branch of the Potomac. Here, coming in upon _civilization_, I took the
stage to Baltimore. In my pedestrian excursion the road lay for several
miles along the banks of the Juniata, which is a very fine river. The
scenery is romantic, and is much beautified by a large growth of
magnificent pines. The Alleghany ridge is composed chiefly of sand-stone,
clay-slate, and lime-stone-slate, sand-stone sometimes in large blocks.
I encountered several parties of French, Irish, Swiss, Bavarians, Dutch,
&c. going westward, with swarms of children, and considerable quantities
of household lumber:--symptoms of seeking _El dorado_.
In the neighbourhood of Baltimore there are many handsome residences, and
the farms are all well cleared, and in many cases walled in. The number of
comparatively miserable-looking cabins which are dispersed along the road
near this town, and the long lists of crimes and misdemeanours with which
the Journals of Baltimore and Philadelphia are filled, sufficiently
indicate that these cities have arrived to an advanced state of
civilization. For, wherever there are very rich people, there must be very
poor people; and wherever there are very poor people, there must
necessarily exist a proportionate quantity of crime. Men are poor, only
because they are ignorant; for if they possessed a knowledge of their own
powers and capabilities, they would then know, that however wealth may be
distributed, all real wealth is created by labour, and by labour alone.
Baltimore is seated on the north side of the Patapsco river, within a few
miles of the Chesapeak bay. It received its name in compliment to the
Irish family of the Calverts. The harbour, at Fell Point, has about
eighteen feet water, and is defended by a strong fort, called Mc Henry's
fort, on Observation Hill. Vessels of large tonnage cannot enter the
basin. In 1791 it contained 13,503 inhabitants; in 1810, 46,487; and at
present it contains 80,519. There are many fine buildings and monuments in
this city; and the streets in which business is not extensively
transacted, are planted with Lombardy poplar, locust, and pride-of-china
trees,--the last mentioned especially afford a fine shade.
A considerable schooner trade is carried on by the merchants of Baltimore
with South America. The schooners of this port are celebrated for their
beauty, and are much superior to those of any other port on the Continent.
They are sharp built, somewhat resembling the small Greek craft one sees
in the Mediterranean. A rail-road is being constructed from this place to
the Ohio river, a distance of upwards of three hundred miles, and about
fourteen miles of the road is already completed, as is also a viaduct. If
the enterprising inhabitants of Baltimore be able to finish this
undertaking, it must necessarily throw a very large amount of wealth into
their hands, to the prejudice of Philadelphia and New York. But the
expense will be enormous.
I left Baltimore for Philadelphia in one of those splendid and spacious
steam-boats peculiar to this country. We paddled up the Chesapeak bay
until we came to Elk river--the scenery at both sides is charming. A
little distance up this river commences the "Chesapeak and Delaware
canal," which passes through the old state of Delaware, and unites the
waters of the two bays. Here we were handed into a barge, or what we in
common parlance would term a large canal boat; but the Americans are the
fondest people in the universe of big names, and ransack the Dictionary
for the most pompous appellations with which to designate their works or
productions. The universal fondness for European titles that obtains here,
is also remarkable. The president, is "his excellency,"--"congressmen,"
are "honorables,"--and every petty merchant, or "dry-goods store-keeper,"
is, at least, an esquire. Their newspapers contain many specimens of this
love of monarchical distinctions--such as, "wants a situation, as
store-keeper (shopman), a gentleman, &c." "Two gentlemen were convicted
and sentenced to six months' imprisonment for horse-stealing, &c." These
two items I read myself in the papers of the western country, and the
latter was commented on by a Philadelphia journal. You may frequently see
"Miss Amanda," without shoes or stockings--certainly for convenience or
economy, not from necessity, and generally in Dutch houses--and "that
_ere_ young lady" scouring the pails! An accident lately occurred in one
of the factories in New England, and the local paper stated, that "one
young lady was seriously injured,"--this young lady was a spinner.
Observe, I by no means object to the indiscriminate use of the terms
_gentleman_ and _lady_, but merely state the fact. On the contrary, so far
am I from finding fault with the practice, that I think it quite fair;
when any portion of republicans make use of terms which properly belong to
a monarchy, that all classes should do the same, it being unquestionably
their right. It does not follow, because a man may be introduced as an
_American gentleman_, that he may not be simply a mechanic.
The Chesapeak and Delaware canal is about fourteen miles in length; and
from the nature of the soil through which it is cut, there was some
difficulty attending the permanent security of the work. On reaching the
Delaware, we were again handed into a steamer, and so conducted to
Philadelphia. The merchant shipping, and the numerous pleasure and
steam-boats, and craft of every variety, which are constantly moving on
the broad bosom of the Delaware, present a gay and animated scene.
Philadelphia is a regular well-built city, and one of the handsomest in
the states. It lies in latitude 39 deg. 56' north, and longitude, west of
London, 75 deg. 8'; distant from the sea, 120 miles. The city stands on an
elevated piece of ground between the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers, about
a mile broad from bank to bank, and six miles from their junction. The
Delaware is about a mile wide at Philadelphia, and ships of the largest
tonnage can approach the wharf. The city contains many fine buildings of
Schuylkill marble. The streets are well paved, and have broad _trottoirs_
of hard red brick. The police regulations are excellent, and cleanliness
is much attended to, the kennels being washed daily during the summer
months, with water from the reservoirs. The markets, or shambles, extend
half-a-mile in length, from the wharf up Market-street, in six divisions.
In addition to the shambles, farmers' waggons, loaded with every kind of
country produce for sale, line the street.
There are five banking establishments in the city: the Bank of North
America, the United States Bank, the Bank of Pennsylvania, the Bank of
Philadelphia, and the Farmers' Bank.
The principal institutions are, the Franklin library, which contains
upwards of 20,000 volumes. Strangers are admitted gratis, and are
permitted to peruse any of the books. The Americans should adopt this
practice in all their national exhibitions, and rather copy the liberality
of the French than the sordid churlishness of the English, who compel
foreigners to pay even for seeing the property of the nation. The other
institutions are, the University of Pennsylvania, a College, Medical
Theatre, College of Physicians, Philosophical Hall, Agricultural and
Linnean Societies, Academy of Fine Arts, and the Cincinnati Society, which
originated in an attempt to establish a sort of aristocracy. The members
were at its formation the surviving officers of the revolution; they wear
an eagle, suspended by a ribbon, which, at their death, they have
appointed to be taken by their eldest sons. There are besides, the
Academies of the Philadelphian Friends, and the German Lutherans; Sunday
and Lancasterian schools; and, of course, divers Bible and Tract
Societies, which are patronized by all the antiquated dames in the city,
and superintended by the Methodist and Presbyterian parsons. The Methodist
parsons of this country have the character of being men of gallantry; and
indeed, from the many instances I have heard of their propensity in this
way, from young Americans, I should be a very sceptic to doubt the fact.
There are also St. George's, St. Patrick's, St. David's, and St. Andrew's
Societies for the relief and colonization of British emigrants; a French
and a German Emigrant Society, and several hospitals. There are two
theatres and an amphitheatre. Peal's Museum contains a large collection,
which is scientifically arranged; among other fossils is the perfect
skeleton of a mammoth, found in a bed of marle in the state of New York.
The length of this animal, from the bend of the tusks to the rump, was
about twenty-seven feet, and the height and bulk proportionate.
The navy-yard contains large quantities of timber, spars, and rigging,
prepared for immediate use, as also warlike stores of every description.
There is here, a ship of 140 guns, of large calibre, and a frigate. Both
are housed completely, and in a condition to be launched in a few months,
if necessary. They are constructed of the very best materials, and in the
most durable and solid manner. There are now being constructed, seriatim,
twenty-five ships of the line--one for every state in the Union. The
government occasionally sells the smaller vessels of war to merchants, in
order to increase the shipping, and to secure that those armed vessels
which are afloat, may be in the finest possible condition. A corvette,
completely equipped, was lately sold to his majesty the autocrat of the
Russias; but was dismasted in a day or two after her departure from
Charleston. She was taken in tow by the vessel of a New York merchant, and
carried into the port of that city. The merchant refused any compensation
from the Russian minister, although his vessel was, when she fell in with
the wreck, proceeding to the Austral regions, and her putting about was
greatly disadvantageous. The minister returned thanks publicly, on the
part of his master, and expressed his majesty's sense of the invariable
consideration and friendship with which his majesty's subjects are treated
by the citizens of America. There appears to be a universal wish among the
Americans to cultivate an alliance, offensive and defensive, with his
majesty of Russia. The cry is, "all the Russians want is a fleet, and
we'll lend them that." In fact, a deadly animosity pervades America
towards Great Britain; and although it is not publicly confessed, for the
Americans are too able politicians to do that, yet it is no less certain,
that "_Delenda est Carthago_," is their motto. Let England look to it. Her
power is great; but, if the fleets of America, France, and Russia, were to
combine, and land on the shores of England hordes of Russians, and
battalions of disciplined Frenchmen--if this were to be done, with the
Irish people, instead of allies as they should be, her deadly enemies, her
power is annihilated at a blow! For let it be remembered, that there is no
rallying principle in the temperament of the mass of the English people;
and that formerly one single victory,--the victory of Hastings, completely
subjugated them. Hume, who was decidedly an impartial historian, is
compelled to say of that conquest, "It would be difficult to find in all
history a revolution more destructive, or attended with a more complete
subjection of the ancient inhabitants. Contumely seems even to have been
wantonly added to oppression; and the natives were universally reduced to
such a state of meanness and poverty, that the English name became a term
of reproach; and several generations elapsed before one family of Saxon
pedigree was raised to any considerable honours, or could so much as
obtain the rank of baron of the realm."--Yet the English people owe much
to the ancestors of the aristocracy, who introduced among them the arts
and refinements of civilization, and by their wisdom and disciplined
valour have raised the country to that pitch of greatness, so justly
termed "the envy of surrounding nations." I do not contend, that because a
nation may have acquired the name of great, that therefore _the people_
are more happy; but am rather inclined to think the contrary, for
conquests are generally made and wealth is accumulated for the benefit of
the few, and at the expense of the many.
A law has been lately passed by the legislature of Pennsylvania, taxing
wholesale and retail dealers in merchandize, excepting those importers of
foreign goods who vend the articles in the form in which they are
imported. This act classes the citizens according to their annual amount
of sales, and taxes them in the same proportion. Those who effect sales to
the amount of fifty thousand dollars, constitute the first class; of forty
thousand dollars, the second class; of thirty thousand dollars, the third
class; of twenty thousand dollars, the fourth class; of fifteen thousand
dollars, the fifth class; of ten thousand dollars, the sixth class; of
five thousand dollars, the seventh class; and all persons effecting sales
not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars, constitute the eighth
class. The first class shall pay for license, annually, fifty dollars; the
second class, forty dollars; the third class, thirty dollars; the fourth
class, twenty-five dollars; the fifth class, twenty dollars; the sixth
class, fifteen dollars; the seventh class, twelve dollars and fifty cents,
and the eighth class ten dollars.
Direct taxation has been found in all cases to be obnoxious, and this
particular mode, I apprehend, is calculated to produce very pernicious
effects. The laws of a republic should all tend to establish and support,
as far as is practicable, the principle of equality, and any act that has
a contrary tendency must be injurious to the community. Now this act draws
a direct line of demarcation between citizens, in proportion to the extent
of their dealings; and as in this country a man's importance is entirely
estimated by his supposed wealth, the citizens of Pennsylvania can
henceforth only claim a share of respectability, proportionate to the
_class_ to which they belong. The west country ladies have shewn a great
aptitude for forming "circles of society," and the promulgation of this
law affords them a most powerful aid in establishing a _store-keeping
aristocracy_.
The large cities in America are by no means so lightly taxed as might be
supposed from the cheapness of the government; the public works, public
buildings, and police establishments, requiring adequate funds for their
maintenance and support; however, the inhabitants have the consolation of
knowing that this must gradually decrease, and that their money is laid
out for their own advantage, and not for the purpose of pensioning off the
mistresses and physicians of viceroys, as in Ireland.[23] Another thing is
to be observed, that in addition to the _national_ debt, each state has a
_private_ debt, which in many cases is tolerably large. These debts have
been created by expenditures on roads, canals, and public buildings. The
mode of taxation latterly adopted by the legislature is not popular, and
many of the public prints have remonstrated against the system. "The
Philadelphia Gazette," of the 24th Sept. 1830, makes the following
remarks--"The subject of unequal and oppressive taxation deserves more
attention than it has hitherto received from our citizens. The misery of
England is occasioned less by the amount of revenue that is raised there,
than by the manner in which it is raised. In Pennsylvania we are going on
rapidly, making our state a second England in regard of debt and taxation.
Our public debt is already 13,000,000 dollars; and before our canals and
rail-roads shall be completed, it will probably amount to 18 or 20
millions. The law imposing taxes of 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 dollars on
retailers, is not the only just subject of complaint. The _collateral
inheritance_ tax is equally unjust. The tavern-keepers are besides to be
taxed from 20 to 50 dollars each. Nor does the matter end here. At the
next session of the legislature, it will, in all probability, be found
necessary to lay on additional taxes: and when the principle of unjust
taxation is once admitted in legislation, it is difficult to say how far
it will be carried."
Whilst staying at Philadelphia an account of the French revolution
arrived, and the merchants, there and at New York, were in high spirits,
thinking that war was inevitable. A war in Europe is always hailed with
delight in America, as it opens a field for commercial enterprise, and
gives employment to the shipping, of which at present they are much in
need.
During the long and ruinous war in Europe, the mercantile and shipping
interests of the United States advanced with an unexampled degree of
rapidity. The Americans were then the carriers of nearly all Europe, and
scarcely any merchandize entered the ports of the belligerent powers, but
in American bottoms. This unnatural state of prosperity could not last:
peace was established, and from that era the decline of commerce in the
United States may be dated. The merchants seem not to have calculated on
this event's so soon taking place, or to have overrated the increase of
prosperity and population in their own country, as up to that period, and
for some years afterwards, there does appear to have been no relaxation of
ship-building, and little diminution of mercantile speculations. At
present the ship-owners are realizing little beyond the expenses of their
vessels, and in many cases the bottoms are actually in debt. The frequent
failures in the Atlantic cities, of late, are mainly to be attributed to
unsuccessful ship speculations; and I am myself aware of more than one
instance, where the freight was so extremely low, as to do little more
than cover the expenditure of the voyage. On my return to Europe, while
staying at Marseilles, twelve American vessels arrived in that port within
the space of two months; and before my departure, nine of these returned
to the United States with ballast (stones), and I believe only two with
full cargos.
In a national point of view, the difficulty of obtaining employment for
the shipping of America may not have been so injurious as at first view
it appears to be; on the contrary, I am of opinion that it has been
advantageous. Whilst a profitable trade could with facility be carried on
with and in Europe, the merchants seldom thought of extending their
enterprises to any other parts of the world; but since the decline of that
trade, communications have been opened with the East Indies, Africa, all
the ports of the Mediterranean, and voyages to the Pacific, and to the
Austral regions, are now of common occurrence. The museums in the Atlantic
cities bear ample testimony to the enterprising character of the American
merchants, which by their means are filled with all the curious and
interesting productions of the East. This has encouraged a taste for
scientific studies, and for travelling; which must ultimately tend to
raise the nation to a degree of respectability little inferior to the
oldest European state.
FOOTNOTES:
[23] An Irish viceroy lately paid his physician by conferring on him a
baronetcy, and a pension of two hundred pounds a year, of the public
money.
CHAPTER XI.
Having sojourned for more than three weeks at Philadelphia, I departed for
New York. The impressions made on my mind during that time were highly
favourable to the Philadelphians and their city. It is the handsomest city
in the Union; and the inhabitants, in sociability and politeness, have
much the advantage of any other body of people with whom I came in
contact.
The steamer takes you up the Delaware river to Bordentown, in New Jersey,
twenty-four miles from Philadelphia. The country at either side is in a
high state of cultivation. It is interspersed with handsome country seats,
and on the whole presents a most charming prospect. There is scarcely a
single point passed up the windings of the Delaware, but presents a new
and pleasing variety of landscape--luxuriant foliage--gently swelling
hills, and fertile lawns; which last having been lately mown, were covered
with a rich green sward most pleasing to the eye. The banks of the river
at Bordentown are high, and the town, as seen from the water, has a pretty
effect. Here a stage took us across New Jersey to Amboy. This is not a
large town, nor can it ever be of much importance, being situated too near
the cities of New York and Philadelphia. At Amboy we again took the
steam-boat up the bay, and after a delightful sail of thirty miles,
through scenery the most beautiful and magnificent, we arrived at New
York.
When I was at New York about fifteen months before, I was informed that
the working classes were being organized into regular bodies, similar to
the "union of trades" in England, for the purpose of retaining all
political power in their own hands. This organization has taken place at
the suggestion of Frances Wright, of whom I shall again have occasion to
speak presently, and has succeeded to an astonishing extent. There are
three or four different bodies of the "workies," as they call themselves
familiarly, which vary somewhat from each other in their principles, and
go different lengths in their attacks on the present institutions of
society. There are those of them called "agrarians," who contend that
there should be a law passed to prohibit individuals holding beyond a
certain quantity of ground; and that at given intervals of time there
should be an equal division of property throughout the land. This is the
most ultra, and least numerous class; the absurdity of whose doctrines
must ultimately destroy them as a body. Various handbills and placards may
be seen posted about the city, calling meetings of these unions. Some of
those handbills are of a most extraordinary character indeed. I shall
here insert a copy of one, which I took off a wall, and have now in my
possession. It may serve to illustrate the character of those clubs.
THE CAUSE OF THE POOR.
The Mechanics and other working men of the city of New York, and
of _these_ such and such only as live by their own useful
industry, who wish to retain all political power in their own
hands;
WHO ARE IN FAVOUR OF AND WHO ARE OPPOSED TO
A just compensation for labour, Banks and Bankers,
Abolishing imprisonment for debt, Auctions and Auctioneers,
An efficient lien law, Monopolies and
A general system of education; Monopolists of all descriptions,
including food, clothing
and instruction, equal for all, Brokers,
at the public expense, _without
separation of children from_ Lawyers, and
_parents,_
Rich men for office, and to all
Exemption from sale by execution, those, either rich or poor,
of mechanics' tools and who favour them,
implements sufficiently
extensive to enable them to Exemption of Property from
carry on business: Taxation:
Are invited to assemble at the Wooster-street Military Hall, on
Thursday evening next, 16th Sept., at eight o'clock, to select by
Ballot, from among the persons proposed on the 6th Instant,
Candidates for Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Senator, and a New
Committee of Fifty, and to propose Candidates for Register, for
Members of Congress, and for Assembly.
By order of the Committee of Fifty.
JOHN R. SOPER, _Chairman_. JOHN TUTHILL, _Secretary_.
So far for the "Workies;" and now for Miss Wright. If I understand this
lady's principles correctly, they are strictly Epicurean. She contends,
that mankind have nothing whatever to do with any but this tangible
world;--that the sole and only legitimate pursuit of man, is terrestrial
happiness;--that looking forward to an ideal state of existence, diverts
his attention from the pleasures of this life--destroys all real sympathy
towards his fellow-creatures, and renders him callous to their sufferings.
However different the _theories_ of other systems may be, she contends
that the _practice_ of the world, in all ages and generations, shews that
this is the _effect_ of their inculcation. These are alarming doctrines;
and when this lady made her _debut_ in public, the journals contended that
their absurdity was too gross to be of any injury to society, and that in
a few months, if she continued lecturing, it would be to empty benches.
The editor of "The New York Courier and Enquirer" and she have been in
constant enmity, and have never failed denouncing each other when
opportunity offered. Miss Wright sailed from New York for France, where
she still remains, in the month of July, 1830; and previous to her
departure delivered an address, on which "the New York Enquirer" makes the
following observations:--
"The parting address of Miss Wright at the Bowery Theatre, on Wednesday
evening, was a singular _melange_ of politics and impiety--eloquence and
irreligion--bold invective, and electioneering slang. The theatre was very
much crowded, probably three thousand persons being present; and what was
the most surprising circumstance of the whole, is the fact, that about
_one half of the audience were females--respectable females_.
"When Fanny first made her appearance in this city as a lecturer on the
'new order of things,' she was very little visited by respectable females.
At her first lecture in the Park Theatre, about half a dozen appeared; but
these soon left the house. From that period till the present, we had not
heard her speak in public; but her doctrines, and opinions, and
philosophy, appear to have made much greater progress in the city than we
ever dreamt of. Her fervid eloquence--her fine action--her _soprano-toned_
voice--her bold and daring attacks upon all the present systems of
society--and particularly upon priests, politicians, bankers, and
aristocrats as she calls them, have raised a party around her of
considerable magnitude, and of much fervour and enthusiasm."
* * * * *
"The present state of things in this city is, to say the least of it,
very singular. A bold and eloquent woman lays siege to the very
foundations of society--inflames and excites the public mind--declaims
with vehemence against every thing religious and orderly, and directs the
whole of her movements to accomplish the election of a ticket next fall,
under the title of the 'working-man's ticket.'[24] She avows that her
object is a thorough and radical reform and change in every relation of
life--even the dearest and most sacred. Father, mother, husband, wife,
son, and daughter, in all their delicate and endearing relationships, are
to be swept away equally with clergymen, churches, banks, parties, and
benevolent societies. Hundreds and hundreds of respectable families, by
frequenting her lectures, give countenance and currency to these startling
principles and doctrines. Nearly the whole newspaper press of the city
maintain a death-like silence, while the great Red Harlot of Infidelity is
madly and triumphantly stalking over the city, under the mantle of
'working-men,' and making _rapid progress_ in her work of ruin. If a
solitary newspaper raise a word in favour of public virtue and private
morals, in defence of the rights, liberties, and property of the
community, it is denounced with open bitterness by some, and secretly
stabbed at by them who wish to pass for good citizens. Miss Wright says
she leaves the city soon. This is a mere _ruse_ to call her followers
around her. The effect of her lectures is already boasted of by her
followers. 'Two years ago,' say they,--'_twenty persons_ could scarcely be
found in New York who would openly avow infidelity--now we have _twenty
thousand_.--Is not that something?'
"We say it is something--something that will make the whole city think."
On the day of my departure for Europe, is was announced to the merchants
of New York, that the West India ports were opened to American vessels.
This is a heavy blow to the interests of the British colonies; and it does
not appear that even Great Britain _herself_ has received any equivalent
for inflicting so serious an injury on a portion of the empire by no means
unimportant. The Canadians and Nova Scotians found a market for their
surplus produce in the West Indies, for which they took in return the
productions of these islands--thus a reciprocal advantage was derived to
the sister colonies. But now, from the proximity of the West Indies to the
Atlantic cities of the United States, American produce will be poured into
these markets, for which, in return, little else than specie will be
brought back to the ports of the Republic.
It may be said, that an equivalent has been obtained by the removal of
restrictions hitherto laid on British shipping. This I deny is any thing
like an equivalent, as the trade with America is carried on almost
exclusively in American bottoms. I particularly noted at New Orleans,
Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York, the paucity of British vessels in
those ports; and ascertained that it was the practice among American
merchants, who it must be observed are nearly all extensive ship-owners,
to withhold cargos, even at some inconvenience, from foreign vessels, and
await the arrival of those of their own country. I do not positively
assert that the ships of _any other_ nation are preferred to those of
England; but, as far as my personal observations on that point have gone,
I am strongly inclined to think that such is the fact.
The mercantile and shipping interests of Great Britain must continue to
decline, if the government suffers itself continually to be cajoled into
measures of this nature, and effects treaties the advantages of which
appear to be all on one side, and in lieu of its concessions receives no
just equivalent; unless a little empty praise for "liberal policy" and
"generosity," can be so termed. I am well aware that it may have been of
some small advantage to the West Indies to be enabled to obtain their
supplies from the United States; but with reference to the policy of the
measure, I speak only of the empire at large. Nearly all the Canadians
with whom I conversed, freely acknowledged that they have not shaken off
the yoke of England, only because they enjoyed some advantages by their
connexion with her: but as these are diminished, the ties become loosened,
and at length will be found too weak to hold them any longer. Disputes
have already arisen between the people and the government relative to
church lands, which appropriations they contend are unjust and dishonest.
No doubt the question of tariff duties on the raw material imported into
England, is one of great delicacy as connected with the manufacturing
interests of the country; yet it does appear to me, that a small duty
might without injury be imposed on American cottons _imported in American
bottoms_. This would afford considerable encouragement to the shipping of
Great Britain and her colonies, and could by no means be injurious to the
manufacturing interests. The cottons of the Levant have been latterly
increasing in quantity, and a measure of this nature would be likely to
promote their further and rapid increase; which is desirable, as it would
leave us less dependent on America, than we now are, for the raw material.
The shipping of America is not held by the cotton-growing states; and
although the nationality of the southerns is no doubt great, yet their
love of self-interest is much greater, and would always preponderate in
their choice of vessels. It would be even better, if found necessary, to
make some arrangement in the shape of draw-back, than that a nation which
has imposed a duty on our manufactured goods, almost amounting to a
prohibition, should reap so much advantage from our system of "liberal and
generous" policy. I shall conclude these _rambling_ sketches by
observing, that there are two things eminently remarkable in America: the
one is, that every American from the highest to the lowest, thinks the
Republican form of government _the best;_ and the other, that the
seditious and rebellious of all countries become there the most peaceable
and contented citizens.
We sailed from New York on the 1st of October, 1830. The monotony of a sea
voyage, with unscientific people, is tiresome beyond description. The
journal of a single day is the history of a month. You rise in the
morning, and having performed the necessary ablutions, mount on
deck,--"Well Captain, how does she head?"--"South-east by east"--(our
course is east by south).--"Bad, bad, Captain--two points off." You then
promenade the quarter-deck, until the black steward arrests your
progress--grins in your face, and announces breakfast. Down you go, and
fall foul of ham, beef, _pommes de terre frites_, jonny-cakes, and _cafe
sans lait;_ and generally, in despite of bad cooking and occasional
lee-lurches, contrive to eat an enormous meal. Breakfast being despatched,
you again go on deck--promenade--gaze on the clouds--then read a little,
if perchance you have books with you--lean over the gunwale, watching the
waves and the motion of the vessel; but the eternal water, clouds, and
sky--sky, clouds, and water, produce a listlessness that nothing can
overcome. In the Atlantic, a ship in sight is an object which arouses the
attention of all on board--to speak one is an aera, and furnishes to the
captain and mates a subject for the day's conversation. Thus situated, an
occasional spell of squally weather is by no means uninteresting:--the
lowering aspect of the sky--the foaming surges, which come rolling on,
threatening to overwhelm the tall ship, and bury her in the fathomless
abyss of the ocean--the laugh of the gallant tars, when a sea sweeps the
deck and drenches them to the skin--all these incidents, united, rather
amuse the voyager, and tend to dispel the inanity with which he is
afflicted. During these periods, I have been for hours watching the
motions of the "stormy petrel" (_procellaria pelagica_), called by
sailors, "mother Carey's chickens." These birds are seldom seen in calm
weather, but appear to follow the gale, and when it blows most heavily
they are seen in greatest numbers. The colour is brown and white; the size
about that of the swallow, whose motions oh the wing they resemble. They
skim over the surface of the roughest sea, gliding up and down the
undulations with astonishing swiftness. When they observe their prey, they
descend flutteringly, and place the feet and the tips of the wings on the
surface of the water. In this position I have seen many of them rest for
five or six seconds, until they had completed the capture. The petrel is
to be seen in all parts of the Atlantic, no matter how distant from land;
and the oldest seaman with whom I have conversed on the subject, never saw
one of them rest. Humboldt says, that in the Northern Deserta, the
petrels hide in rabbit burrows.
A few days' sail brought us into the "Gulf stream," the influence of which
is felt as high as the 43 deg. north latitude. We saw a considerable
quantity of _fucus natans_, or gulf weed, but it generally was so far from
the vessel, that I could not contrive to procure a sprig. Mr. Luccock, in
his Notes on Brazil, says, that "if a nodule of this weed, taken fresh from
the water at night, is hung up in a small cabin, it emits phosphorescent
light enough to render objects visible." He describes the leaves of this
plant as springing from the joints of the branches, oblong, indented at
the edges, about an inch and a half long, and a quarter of an inch broad.
Humboldt's description is somewhat different: he calls it the "vine-leaved
fucus;" says, "the leaves are circular, of a _tender_ green, and indented
at the edges, stem brown, and three inches long."--What I saw of this
weed rather agrees with that described by Humboldt--the leaves were
shaped like the vine leaf, and of a rusty-green colour. That portion of
the Atlantic between the 22d and 34th parallels of latitude, and 26th and
58th meridians of longitude, is generally covered with fuci, and is termed
by the Portuguese, _mar do sargasso_, or grassy sea. It was supposed by
many, from the large quantities of this weed seen in the Gulf stream, that
it grew on the Florida rocks, and by the influence and extension of the
current, was detached and carried into this part of the Atlantic. However,
this position is not tenable, as a single branch of fucus has never been
found on the Florida reef. Humboldt, and other scientific men, are of
opinion that this weed vegetates at the bottom of the ocean--that being
detached from its root, it rises to the surface; and that such portion of
it as is found in the stream, is drawn thither by the sweeping of the
current along the edge of the weedy sea. Moreover, the fuci that are
found in the northern extremity of the Florida stream are generally
decayed, while those which are seen in the southern extremity appear quite
fresh--this difference would not exist if they emanated from the Gulf.
We stood to the north of the Azores, with rather unfavourable winds, and
at length came between the coast of Africa and Cape St. Vincent. Here we
had a dead calm for four entire days. The sky was perfectly cloudless, and
the surface of the ocean was like oil. Not being able to do better, we got
out the boat and went turtle fishing, or rather catching, in company with
a very fine shark, which thought proper to attend us during our excursion.
In such weather the turtles come to the surface of the water to sleep and
enjoy the solar heat, and if you can approach without waking them, they
fall an easy prey, being rendered incapable of resistance by their shelly
armour. We took six. Attached to the breast of one was a remora, or
"sucking fish." The length of this animal is from six to eight
inches--colour blackish--body, scaleless and oily--head rather flat, on
the back of which is the sucker, which consists of a narrow oval-shaped
margin with several transverse projections, and ten curved rays extending
towards the centre, but not meeting. The Indians of Jamaica and Cuba
employed this fish as falconers do hawks. In calm weather, they carried
out those which they had kept and fed for the purpose, in their canoes,
and when they had got to a sufficient distance, attached the remora to the
head of the canoe by a strong line of considerable length. When the remora
perceives a fish, which he can do at a considerable distance, he darts
away with astonishing rapidity, and fastens upon it. The Indian lets go
the line, to which a buoy is attached to mark the course the remora has
taken, and follows in his canoe until he thinks the game is exhausted; he
then draws it gradually in, the remora still adhering to his prey. Oviedo
says, "I have known a turtle caught by this method, of a bulk and weight
which no single man could support."
For four days we were anxiously watching for some indications of a breeze,
but were so frequently deceived with "cat's paws," and the occasional
slight flickering of the dog vane, that we sank into listless resignation.
At length our canvass filled, and we soon came within sight of the Straits
of Gibraltar. On our left was the coast of Spain, with its vineyards and
white villages; and on our right lay the sterile hills of Barbary.
Opposite Cape Trafalgar is Cape Spartel, a bold promontory, on the west
side of which is a range of basaltic pillars. The entrance to the
Mediterranean by the Straits, when the wind is unfavourable, is extremely
difficult; but to pass out is almost impossible, the current continually
setting in through the centre of the passage. Hence, onwards, the sail was
extremely pleasant, being within sight of the Spanish coast, and the
Islands of Yvica, Majorca, and Minorca, successively, until we reached
the Gulf of Lyons. When the northerly wind blows, which, in Provence, is
termed the _mistral_, the waves roll against the coast of Provence, and
the recoil produces that ugly chopping sea for which this gulf is
renowned. In the Mediterranean, even in the calmest weather, a light
pleasant breeze springs up after sunset; this and the cloudless sky, and
unobscured brilliancy of the stars, are attractions sufficient to allure
the most somnolent and unromantic mortal to remain on deck.
The molusca, or oceanic insect, which emits a phosphorescent light,
appeared here in vast quantities, which induced me to try experiments. I
took a piece of black crape, and having folded it several times, poured
some sea water taken fresh in a bucket, upon it: the water in the bucket,
when agitated by the hand, gave out sparkling light. When the crape was
thoroughly saturated with water, I took it to a dark part of the cabin,
when it seemed to be studded with small sparkling stars; but more of the
animals I could not then discern. Next day I put some water in a glass
tumbler, and having exposed it to a strong solar light, with the help of a
magnifying glass was enabled distinctly to discern the moluscae. When
magnified, they appeared about the size of a pin's head, of a yellowish
brown colour, rather oval-shaped, and having tentaculae. The medusa is a
genus of molusca; and I think M. le Seur told me he reckons forty-three or
forty-four species of that genus.
We crossed the Gulf of Lyons, and came within the road of Marseilles,
where we were taken charge of by a pilot. When we reached the mouth of the
basin, a boat came alongside of us, and a man handed up a piece of wood,
and said, "Mettez sur cela le nom du capitaine et du batiment;"--we were
to perform quarantine. Whoever has performed quarantine can commiserate
our condition. No one can quit the quarantine ground, or rather the space
in the harbour alloted to vessels performing quarantine. If it be
necessary to send any papers from the ship on shore, they are taken with a
forceps and plunged into vinegar. If the sails of any other vessel touch
those of one in quarantine, she too must undergo several days' probation.
Our time was five days; but as we had clean bills of health, and had lost
none of our crew on the passage, we were allowed to count the day of our
entering and the day of our going out of quarantine. The usual ceremonies
being performed, I again stepped on European ground, and felt myself at
home.
FOOTNOTES:
[24] The "Education ticket," that of the "workies," carried every thing
before it in New York and the adjoining states, at the election of
members of congress, &c.
APPENDIX.
NEW CENSUS OF THE UNITED STATES.
An abstract of a "careful revision of the enumeration of the United States
for the years 1790, 1800, 1810, 1820, and 1830," compiled at the
Department of State, agreeably to law; and an ABSTRACT from the Aggregate
Returns of the several Marshals of the United States of the "Fifth
Census."
STATES. 1790. 1800. 1810. 1820. 1830.
Maine 96,540 151,719 228,705 298,335 399,463
New Hampshire 141,899 183,762 214,360 244,161 269,533
Massachusetts 378,717 423,243 472,040 523,287 610,014
Rhode Island 69,110 69,122 77,031 83,059 97,210
Connecticut 258,141 231,002 262,042 275,202 297,011
Vermont 85,416 154,465 217,713 233,764 280,679
New York 340,120 586,756 959,049 1,372,812 1,913,508
New Jersey 184,139 211,949 245,555 277,575 320,778
Pennsylvania 434,373 602,365 810,091 1,049,458 1,347,672
Delaware 59,096 64,273 72,674 72,749 76,739
Maryland 319,728 341,548 380,546 407,350 446,913
D. Columbia -- 14,093 24,023 33,039 39,588
Virginia 748,308 880,200 974,622 1,065,379 1,211,266
N. Carolina 393,751 478,103 555,500 638,829 738,470
S. Carolina 249,073 345,591 415,115 502,741 581,458
Georgia 82,548 162,101 252,433 340,987 516,504
Kentucky 73,077 220,955 406,511 564,317 688,844
Tennessee 35,791 105,602 231,727 422,813 684,822
Ohio -- 45,365 230,760 581,434 937,679
Indiana -- 4,875 24,520 147,178 341,582
Mississippi -- 8,850 40,352 75,448 136,806
Illinois -- -- 12,233 55,211 157,575
Louisiana -- -- 76,556 153,407 215,791
Missouri -- -- 20,845 66,586 140,084
Alabama -- -- -- 127,902 309,206
Michigan -- -- 4,762 8,896 31,123
Arkansas -- -- -- 14,273 30,383
Florida -- -- -- -- 34,725
3,929,827 5,305,925 7,289,314 9,638,131 12,856,437
INCREASE FROM 1820 TO 1830.
Per Cent. Per Cent.
Maine 33,398 S. Carolina 15,657
N. Hampshire 10,391 Georgia 51,472
Massachusetts 16,575 Kentucky 22,066
Rhode Island 17,157 Tennessee 62,044
Connecticut 8,151 Ohio 61,998
Vermont 19,005 Indiana 132,087
New York 39,386 Mississippi 81,032
New Jersey 15,564 Illinois 185,406
Pennsylvania 25,416 Louisiana 40,665
Delaware 5,487 Missouri 110,380
Maryland 9,712 Alabama 141,574
D. Columbia 20,639 Michigan 250,001
Virginia 13,069 Arkansas 113,273
N. Carolina 15,592 Florida --
Average 32,392
EXTRACTS
FROM
"THE CHEROKEE PHOENIX,"
OF JULY 31, 1830.
_The following is part of a Letter written by a Creek Chief, from the
Arkansas territory._
"The son of General M'Intosh, (an Indian chief), with the M'Intosh party,
held a treaty with the government, and were induced, by promises, to
remove to Arkansas. They were promised 'a home for ever,' if they would
select one, and that bounds should be marked off to them. This has not
been done. They were assured that they should draw a proportionate part of
the annuity due to the Creek nation every year. They have planted corn
three seasons--yet they have never drawn one cent of any annuity due to
them! Why is this? They were promised blankets, guns, ammunition, traps,
kettles, and a _wheelwright_. They have drawn some few of each class of
articles, and only a few--they have no wheelwright. They were poor;--but
above this, they were promised pay for the improvements abandoned by them
in the old nation. This they have not received. They were further assured
that they should receive, upon their arrival on Arkansas, _thirty dollars_
per head for each emigrant. This they have not received. But the acting
sub-agent, in the spring 1829, finding their wants very pressing (indeed
many of them were in a famishing condition), gave to each one his due
bill, in the name of the agent, for the amount of bounty due them, and
took their receipts for the amount, as vouchers for the agent, to settle
his account by with the government. The consequence was, that the Indians,
not regarding paper as of any real value, would go to the traders, and
sell the due bills at what they could get for them. And the traders having
no confidence in the promises of the government through its agents, united
with the hazard of delay at all events, would not give the real value of
the amount promised by the due bills. If the Indians attempted to trade
them to the whites for cattle, or any thing which they stood in need of,
the consequence was, that they were compelled to make a discount upon
them. Not finding them worth as many dollars as they purported to be for,
they were willing to let them go upon any terms, rather than keep them in
their possession. The due bills amounted, in all, to about _twenty-one
thousand dollars_, which due bills are now in the hands of the original
holders, or the purchasers, but not lifted by the agent according to his
promise. (Is not the government bound by the acts of its agent or
attorney?). It is but fair to estimate the loss of the Indians at one
third of the sum above stated, and this loss owing entirely to the
government, by its agent's withholding the fulfilment of its contract with
the M'Intosh party.
* * * * *
"Mr. Joseph Brearly was left here by his father, the agent, in charge of
his affairs, and being apprised of a party of _emigrants_ about to arrive,
was making preparations to obtain the provisions necessary to subsist them
for one year; and for that purpose had advertised to supply six thousand
bushels of corn. The day came for closing the contract, when Colonel
Arbuckle, commanding Cantonment Gibson, handed in a bid, in the name of
the Creek nation, to furnish the amount of corn required at _one dollar
and twelve cents_ per bushel; the next lowest bid to his was _one dollar
and fifty cents_; so that Colonel Arbuckle saved the government 2,280
dollars.
* * * * *
"Mr. Blake, the sub-agent sent by Colonel Crowell, had superseded Mr.
Brearly, and was engaged in giving his receipts for the corn delivered
under the contract. A speculation was presented; and as the poor Indians
were to be the victims of rapacity, why, it was all very well. The
aforesaid Major Love, to secure the speculation, repaired to St. Louis,
with _letters of credit_ from Mr. Blake, the sub-agent of Colonel Crowell,
and purchased several thousand dollars' worth of merchandize, and so soon
as he could reach the Creek agency, commenced purchasing the corn receipts
issued by the sub-agent. It is reasonable to suppose that the goods were
sold, on an average, at two hundred per centum above cost and carriage;
and by this means the Indians would get about one third of the value of
their corn at the contract price!--they offered to let the receipts go at
twenty-five per cent. discount, if they could only obtain cash for them.
"The United States owe the Creeks money--they have paid them none in three
years--the money has been appropriated by congress. It is withheld by the
agents. The Indians are destitute of almost every comfort for the want of
what is due to them. If it is longer withheld from them, it can only be
so, upon the grounds that the poor Indian, who is unable to compel the
United States to a compliance with solemn treaties, must linger out a
miserable degraded existence, while those who have power to extend to him
the measure of justice, will be left in the _full_ possession of _all_ the
_complacency_ arising from the solemn _assurance_, that they are either
the _stupid_ or _guilty_ authors of his degradation and misery.
"TAH-LOHN-TUS-KY.
"P.S. The Creeks have sent frequent memorials, praying relief from the War
Department; also a delegation, but can obtain no relief!!"
_Extract from a Communication made by a Cherokee Chief._
"A company of whites was in this neighbourhood, with forged notes and
false accounts to a very considerable amount upon the Indians, and
forcibly drove off the property of several families. This, Sir, is the
cause of our misery, poverty, and degradation, for which we have been so
much reproached. This is what makes us _poor devils_. If we fail to make
good crops, some of the white neighbours must starve, for many of them are
dependent upon us for support, either by fair or foul means. Some of the
poor creatures are now travelling among us, almost starved, begging for
something to eat--they are actually worse than Indians. If they can't get
by begging, they steal. To make us clear of these evils, and make us happy
for ever, the unabating avarice of some of the Georgians, by their
repeated acts of cruelty, point us to homes in the west--but as long as we
have a pony or a hog to spare them, we will never go, and not then. This
land is heaven's gift to us--it is the birthright of our fathers: as long
as these mountains lift their lofty summits to heaven, and these beautiful
rivers roll their tides to the mighty ocean, so long we will remain. May
heaven pity and save our distressed country!
"VALLEY TOWNS."
The following Extracts may serve to show the state of the country to which
the Indians are compelled to emigrate:
[FROM THE KENTUCKY INTELLIGENCER.]
_Extract of a Letter, dated Prairie du Chien._
"January 15, 1830.
"There is a prospect, I think, that the Indian department in this part of
the country will soon require efficient officers. There is little doubt
that there will be a general and sanguinary war among the Indians in the
spring. The outrages of the Sauks and Foxes, can be endured no longer.
Within a short time, they have cut off the head of a young Munomonee
Indian, at the mouth of Winconscin river--killed a Winnebago woman and
boy, of the family of Dekaree, and a Sioux called Dixon. The whole Sioux
nation have made arrangements for a general and simultaneous attack on the
Foxes; the Winnebagoes, and probably the Munomonees will join them."
"Little Rock, Ark. Ter. Feb. 5.
"_Murderous Battle._--A gentleman who arrived here yesterday, direct from
the Western Creek agency, informs us that a war party of Osages returned
just before he left the agency, from a successful expedition against the
Pawnee Indians. He was informed by one of the chiefs, that the party
seized a Pawnee village, high up on the Arkansas, and had surrounded it
before the inmates were apprised of their approach. At first the Pawnees
showed a disposition to resist; but finding themselves greatly outnumbered
by their assailants, soon sallied forth from their village, and took
refuge on the margin of a lake, where they again made a stand. Here they
were again hemmed in by the Osages, who throwing away their guns, fell
upon them with their knives and tomahawks, and did not cease the work of
butchery as long as any remained to resist them. Not one escaped. All were
slain, save a few who were taken prisoners, and who are perhaps destined
to suffer a more cruel death than those who were butchered on the spot.
Our informant did not learn what number of Pawnees were killed, but
understood that the Osages brought in sixty or seventy scalps, besides
several prisoners.
"We also learn, that the Osages are so much elated with this victory, that
another war party were preparing to go on an expedition against some
Choctaws who reside on Red river, with whom they have been at variance for
some time past."
_Extract of a Letter from an Officer of the Army, dated Prairie du Chien._
[FROM THE NEW YORK COM. ADVERTIZER.]
"May 6, 1830.
"_Indian Hostilities._--When coming down the Mississippi, on the raft of
timber, a war party of Sioux came to me and landed on the raft, but did
not offer any violence. They were seventy strong, and well armed; and when
they arrived at the Prairie, they were joined by thirty Menominees, and
then proceeded down the river in pursuit of the Sauks and Foxes, who lay
below. This morning they all returned, and reported that they had killed
ten of the Foxes and two squaws. I saw all the scalps and other trophies
which they had taken; such as canoes, tomahawks, knives, guns, war clubs,
spears, &c. A paddle was raised by them in the air, on which was strung
the head of a squaw and the scalps. They killed the head chief of the Fox
nation, and took from them all the treaties which the nation had made
since 1815. I saw them, and read such as I wished. One Sioux killed, and
three wounded, was all the loss of the northern party. The Winnebagoes
have joined with the Sioux and Menominees, and the Potawatomies have
joined with the Sauks and Foxes. We shall have a great battle in a day or
two."
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