JUNE 25th, 1840.
_Dear E._--We left Rochester this morning at eight o’clock, in a fine
stage and four horses, for Lockport, 64 miles distant, for which we were
to pay two dollars and fifty cents each, dinner on the road, included.
It was with much regret that we parted from this interesting city, for,
although we had been there but a short time, we had seen enough to be
able to appreciate its beauties, and the sterling qualities of its
beneficent and refined inhabitants. We passed through several pretty
villages, and observed with pleasure the farm houses and even the
meanest cabins were decorated with roses, geraniums, honey-suckles and
other flowers; a pleasing custom which I wish was more followed among
us. In one of the villages, I think its name was Greece, I observed a
neat grave yard enclosed in a handsome stone fence and iron railing,
where ‘the rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep,’ while around the tombs
the kind hand of surviving friends had planted roses and drooping
willows. A great part of our way lay over the famous ridge road, an
elevation of ground about as wide as a common road formed of sand and
shells, and which is supposed once to have been the shore of Lake
Ontario, now about ten miles distant. The ground has very much this
appearance as the land between us and the lake is much lower, and level,
with marshy spots. It is in some places covered with a dense forest.
There is one thing however, which struck me as singular, the land
declines the other side of the road also, in some places leaving a
narrow ridge to ride upon, which is not the ordinary form of a lake
shore. Why may it not have been a public road, formed by that
indefatigable race of diggers, the _mound builders_, as a thoroughfare
between two of their cities. It might still have been the border of the
lake, but swampy and marshy ground. If we are to believe Mr.
Delafield[4] these people were the descendants of the builders of Babel,
and when dispersed by the confusion of tongues wandered about the world
and at last found themselves in America. Here they have thrown up
pyramidial mounds in imitation of their ruined tower on the plains of
Shinar. The Arabs have a tradition that Nimrod, disappointed in his
purpose of reaching heaven by building a tower, constructed a chariot,
to which he placed a pair of wings, and thus hoped to enter the
celestial regions. Alas! since the days of Nimrod how many like him,
have sought to attain the courts above, by their own strenuous
exertions.
Dear me, how I have wandered from the ridge road. The celebrated
traveller, McKenney, believes this to have been the border of the lake,
which broke away and ran over the State of New York, thus scooping out
the earth at the other side of the ridge. The lakes Geneva, Canandaigua,
Cayuga, etc., he believes to have been left by this flood. This agrees
with Dr. Mitchell’s theory of a vast lake having been once in this part
of the state, which burst through its southern shore at the Little Falls
of the Mohawk, and through the Highlands, flooding the coasts of New
York with alluvion. De Witt Clinton also, in his Canal report, remarks:
‘The general position of the Little Falls, indicate the former existence
of a great lake above connected with the Oneida lake; as the waters
forced a passage here and receded, the flats were formed above, composed
of several acres of alluvion.’ In this alluvion trees are often found
twelve feet under ground. Darby observed marks upon the rocks at Little
Falls fifty feet above the river, showing the water had once stood so
high.
At a distance we saw Brockport upon the canal, and soon after, at
Gainesville, we dined. We reached Lockport at five o’clock in the
afternoon and were shown into a neat comfortable hotel where we awaited
the time of starting in the cars. Lockport is a town of the mushroom
order, having arisen around the locks of the canal within a few years.
The churches, houses, and hotels, looked very respectable, and the
rail-roads and canals gave it quite a stirring appearance. The locks at
the canal here are a great curiosity. There are five double combined
locks which carry the canal over the ridge. There is also a deep cutting
through the solid rock for some miles which is very interesting. Many
specimens of minerals have been discovered here, as carbonate of lime,
selenite, dogtooth spar, petrifactions, etc. I promised to give you an
account of all our expenses, so I will mention now, we are to pay
ninety-four cents each to Niagara, twenty miles, as I shall not think of
such mundane affairs while there. Our expenses at the hotels have been
two dollars a day each, and meals fifty cents each at all our stopping
places. Seated in the rail car we were soon on our road, and fast
dashing through a tolerably cultivated country, with several neat
mansions peeping through the trees. I trembled lest the land should
remain thus until we arrived at Niagara, for I could not bear to
approach it through petty villages and farms, but we soon left all
cultivation behind and found ourselves in a deep forest. While gliding
rapidly along, the engineer’s bell rang to scare some cow or other
animal, as we thought, from the rail track. Several of the passengers
looked out, one pronouncing it a man, another a cow, until, as we
approached, we discovered it was an Indian female. She was enveloped in
a dark mantle from beneath which could be seen her scarlet leggins
richly embroidered with beads. With a slow and stately step she paced
the rail-track, the engineer’s bell and shrill whistle unheeded. That
she heard them was evident, for another Indian woman, her companion, who
walked outside the rail, stretched forth her hand as if in earnest
appeal, but the haughty young princess scorned to fly before her
country’s foe. The engine with slackened speed came near her and
stopped; then, and not until it had quite stopped, she condescended to
walk off the rail-way. As we passed I saw she was young and pretty, and
her dark eye flashed with a triumphant expression which said, ‘You
dared not drive over me! I scorned to be forced from the road by your
bell, like an animal!’
‘Look out for the Falls! Prepare for Niagara!’ is the cry of all in the
coach. My heart began to beat--does not yours? Do be a little romantic,
and feel some emotion, while about to behold one of Nature’s greatest
wonders. I looked out; we were on the river’s bank, a high precipice of
about two hundred feet Far below rushed the river, of a green copper
hue, or verdigris; far up through the defile I caught a view of a
mountain of mist, but I resolutely turned away, for such snatches of
views I have been told to avoid, as bringing disappointment with them.
The road swerved from the river, and in a few minutes we found ourselves
in the midst of the little village of Niagara. When the train stopped we
were surrounded by a host of porters, struggling to secure us for their
several favorite hotels. We chose the Cataract house, from a friend’s
recommendation, and from its appropriate name. We had no cause to repent
our decision as its accommodation and attendance were every thing we
could wish. We were shown into a neat chamber, which to my delight
looked out upon the rushing rapids. The tea bell rang as we entered, and
much to the annoyance of my impatient spirit, my companion made it plain
to me I should refresh myself before visiting the Falls. Tea over, I had
leave to go, and we were soon upon the pathway. Shall I take you at once
into the presence chamber of the divinity, or shall I describe the halls
and corridors as I pass through them to her throne? I think a minute
description will best please you. Niagara river, just before it reaches
the fall is divided into two parts; one rushing past the Canada shore,
plunges over the rocks making the crescent, or horse-shoe fall--this
fall is about one hundred and sixty feet high. The other half of the
river passes around an island, called Goat, or Iris island, and falls
from the American side. This island has been sacred from the foot of man
until a few years since, when a bridge was thrown across the rapids with
much dexterity and daring. Upon this bridge we will walk if you please,
stopping one moment to view the rapids. These constitute a very
beautiful feature of the scene, and, were it not for the falls, would be
well worth a visit on their own account. The river is a mile wide, and
comes rushing and foaming over rocks some ten or twelve feet high,
looking, sea-faring men tell us, very much like breakers, or a sea in a
storm--the green waves heightening the illusion. One is glad to be
safely over this tumultuous water, especially as the former bridge has
been carried away. From the bridge you land upon Bath island, containing
about two acres of land, upon which is erected a toll-house, and shop
for the sale of Indian curiosities and canes. There are also bathing
houses here. A short bridge brings us to Goat Island, one-half a mile
long and a quarter wide. It is also called Iris, and as such I shall
designate it. The increased roar, the mist rising above the trees, urge
you on, and you pass the ‘curiosity shop’ and refreshments here offered,
and hasten on through many a winding forest path, until you gain the
opposite side of the island, where you find yourself upon the brink of a
deep gulf into which an ocean broken loose from its bounds is
precipitated with astounding noise and violence!.... This is the
crescent fall on the Canadian shore. But linger not here. Descend the
island to the brink of the river, and cross the rapids over a tottering,
frail bridge, to the tower, which stands upon the precipice at the edge
of the falls. Ascend to the top, and lean over the railing, look calmly
down if you can, into the fathomless abyss of ocean, where the waves are
dashing; the foam whirling, and the winds rushing, amid the roar of a
thousand thunders eternally ascending. Deafened, confounded, bewildered,
you retreat in haste, fearful every moment the breakers which are
dashing against the tower, will tear it away from its foundation, and
plunge you into the fearful ocean depths below. At this place, and upon
table rock opposite, you see Niagara in all its power and terror. But if
you would behold it in all its ravishing beauty, you must go as we did,
the next morning before sunrise, and view it from the ferry house. To
reach this spot, you do not cross to Iris island, but follow the river
bank to the American fall, near which is the ferryman’s cottage, and at
a little distance the ladder which leads you down to the boat. Seated
upon a rock, in front of the cottage, we feasted our eyes with unearthly
beauty. Beside you is the American fall, tinged with a delicate apple or
beryl green hue. One delights to follow with the eye this fair
translucent arch, as it plunges far down into the water nearly two
hundred feet below us. You have but a sideling view of this fall here.
Looking past it you see the dark foliage of Iris island, and beyond, the
Canadian fall. This immense mass of water falls over rocks in the form
of a crescent, and is tinted with an elysian loveliness which you have
never beheld, and never can conceive, let me write pages upon it. Earth
has never produced water of the like hue: something of the emerald, but
more rich, more vivid. This green, spotted, and embroidered as it is,
with wreaths of snow white foam, presents the most charming and unique
effect imaginable. In some places the water pitches over perfectly
smooth, as if an emerald arch; and so pellucid, that you may distinctly
see through it the white foam that is churned from the rocks over which
it flows. As we reached the spot from whence this is seen, the sun arose
above the trees, and immediately two glorious rainbows spanned the river
from shore to shore! and the mist which was rising high in the air, took
the tint of the rose, which faded, only to be replaced by the most
gorgeous prismatic hues. Never had imagination pictured any thing so
glorious as that scene: a tremendous fall of green and white water; a
gay colored rainbow; rosy mist; azure sky, and shores of various shades.
It was a creation which belonged not to earth. It seemed as if the
celestial city was before us, with its gates and walls of sapphire, of
emerald, of ruby, and of gold. The waters of life that flow through the
city of God, seemed rushing past us, for the scene was altogether
unearthly, and our feelings were elevated to that sublime architect, who
could create such surpassing beauty. Earth and its cares, home and its
joys are all forgotten, and we feel as if we could ever recline before
the throne of that mysterious presence, and watch untiring those clouds
of incense which are rising before it forever. When we left the scene,
we trod in solemn silence, as if on holy ground. The violence with which
the water pours over the rocks has worn them away, and the river has
broken its way up from Lake Ontario at the rate of a rood in three
years. It is supposed, when first discovered, to have been near the
Clifton House on the Canadian shore, and the ferry house at the
American.
_June 26th._--This morning we descended the cliffs by a staircase and
crossed to the Canadian shore. The boat was tossed about like a shell
upon the whirling waves, and as they looked up at the mass of water
tumbling so near them, and at the boiling water two hundred and fifty
feet deep, under us, some of our fellow passengers became a little
nervous. My whole soul was so absorbed in contemplating the wondrous
scene, that I felt no terror. A sentinel in the scotch costume greeted
our eyes when we landed telling us we were now in a strange land among
another people. A winding walk up the cliff, leads you to Clifton House,
a celebrated Canadian hotel. From the balconies of this house, is one of
the most imposing views of the Niagara falls. You see the whole at once,
while from the American side you see only a part at a time. Still, if
not so grand, the view is more varied and more beautiful upon the
opposite shore and from Iris Island. Every one says it is ridiculous to
attempt to describe these falls, but, I have promised to give you
daguerreotype views, and will endeavor to sketch the outlines--the
shading, and the _impressions_ of the scene can only be given by the
place itself. Imagine a crescent of water a mile long, plunging with
awful violence as if the foundations of the great deep had broken up
again, from a cliff nearly 200 feet high. According to McKenney
15,000,000 tons of water are poured over the rocks in 24 hours. A green
island divides this fall into two unequal parts. Table rock, upon the
Canadian shore is at the edge of the falls, and projects over the cliff
where you may stand with nothing between you and the boiling ocean
below. So close is it to the water that the waves wash over part of it,
and it is almost always covered with mist and spray. If it be glory to
be buried in Niagara, you may here hope for that fate, as a portion of
the rock has already fallen, and a large crack shows you the remainder
will soon follow. From this spot, is said to be the finest view, as the
eye embraces the whole circle of waters; but, as it was one of the days
when the mist takes that direction, I saw but little of this. I found
myself upon a slippery rock, a shelf between heaven and earth, with
waves of spray breaking over me, and a furious mist dashing into my
face--a noise of waters was in my ears, a white foam rushed wildly past,
and I felt as if caught up in the sky in a whirlwind and driving snow
storm. We waded back through the wet grass and ran into the Pavilion to
avoid the spray dripping from the eaves. This house besides being a
curiosity shop is the residence of the guide who will conduct you down a
long staircase, and behind the fall if you wish--as I had no penchant
for being drenched, half drowned and suffocated I did not attempt this
exploit. We descended this morning the American side and ventured a
little behind that fall. One feels very much as an Israelite making his
_exode_, with a wall of water at his side ‘where the flood stood
upright.’
When once in, you see a glorious chamber with dome and walls of emerald
rendered transparent by the morning sun. You might imagine yourself in
one of those crystal caves where the sea nymphs congregate, beneath the
arches of the sea. On the road from table rock to Clifton House, there
is another building where there is a fine museum containing 4,000
specimens of Indian curiosities, animals, minerals &c., many of them
from that region. The trees about here are most of them evergreen. The
regular yellow pine grows here and the silver fir with its white lined
leaves and purple cones and the fan leaved larch growing 100 feet high.
The rocks of Niagara are secondary limestone and sandstone, abounding
with veins and nodules of various minerals--among them selenite,
calcareous spar--petrifactions--tufa from the cave, and many others. I
believe I have sketched for you every thing regarding these
falls--_gigantesque phenomene_ as La Vaseur calls them. Still I do not
expect to give you any idea of them, for no one who ever wrote, conveyed
an impression of the reality to me. I might make a pyramid of
expletives, and when all the superbs beautiful’s, majestic’s and
touching’s are expended, you will say when you come, ‘the half has never
been told me!’ Many have been disappointed here chiefly because the
scenery around the falls is not as imposing as they had imagined. Some
would have a range of lofty mountains as a back scene; or a crest of
naked rocks towering above the falls; but I fancy these are of the class
of _contradictionists_ who make a respectable figure in conversation
merely by opposing every thing. They thus obtain a hearing, are able to
enter into an argument, when no other means would gain them a listener.
He who formed this imposing scene is a better judge of the sublime and
beautiful. A range of mountains would materially injure the effect, as
it would by contrast take away from the height of the water. The
cataract would be a secondary object, but seated as it is in a level
region of country, it is the first object that strikes the eye--- a gem
on natures forehead. There are many drives in this neighborhood to
various interesting places, such as springs, whirlpools, battlefields
&c. The parade ground is also a favorite place of resort. A regiment of
700 soldiers are reviewed upon the Canadian shore. We hired a carriage
at the Clifton House and after a short drive found ourselves upon a
beautiful plain above the falls, surrounded by guard houses, and
barracks. The plain was soon filled with soldiers, who came marching up
in separate detachments from every direction. They were tall fine formed
men, all of one height dressed in the Scotch costume, consisting of the
short plaid skirt, stockings laced with red, cap and a cloud of black
plumes. They were well drilled, and marched, counter-marched and went
through all their evolutions as one man. The dress is picturesque, but
must be a cold one in these regions. A pantaloon over the naked knee, I
think would be an improvement. I could see soldiers, although not as
well drilled, at home, so I was glad to turn my course towards that
rolling flood below. From this plain is a fine view of the rapids above
the cataract, and of Iris Island, which seems to have floated to the
brink of the precipice, like one of the Mexican floating islands. We
spent the afternoon upon Iris island. In the little curiosity shop we
refreshed ourselves with delicate white strawberries grown upon the
island, covered with rich cream. Here also we added to our stock of
Indian bags and moccasins. Among the articles in the shops at the
village I admired most a large living eagle which was chained to his
perch. His feathers were black and white, and his beak and claws yellow,
with a ruff of grey about his neck. I pitied the poor captive as he
stood gazing sadly out apparently listening to the roar of the falls,
and longing to be at large in his native forest once more.
The village of Tuscarora Indians is sometimes visited, much against
their wishes however. The Indian nations have never lost the remembrance
of their former power, and their present degradation. They look upon us
as usurpers, who have wrested from them the land of their fathers, and
have never forgiven us. They count themselves our prisoners, and are
indignant that we should come and gaze upon them in their fallen state
as objects of curiosity. Their village is built upon the high shore of
Niagara about eight miles below the falls, commanding a fine prospect of
the river and lake. They are under the care of a missionary who has been
the means of converting fifty out of the three hundred. This tribe once
belonged to the confederacy of five nations, but came originally from
North Carolina, and are living upon the proceeds of the sale of their
land there and their trade. Some of them are prosperous, industrious
farmers, while the women embroider beautifully, with beads and stained
porcupine quills, upon birch bark and deer skin. These they dispose of
at the shops, and to strangers at the Hotels. Upon these occasions, I am
struck with the difference between this proud race and our own. A pedler
or travelling shopman comes in, unpacks his wares, holds up every
article, insists upon its worth and beauty, and urges you to buy--with
the Indian it is otherwise. At our hotel, while ascending after dinner
to the dining room, one is struck by the sight of a row of dark beings
sitting upright upon the settees in the halls envelloped in cloaks of
scarlet or black, richly embroidered with beads or adorned by pieces of
tin cut in flowers and tacked on. Their eyes are fixed upon the ground,
their long hair falls over their faces, and an expression of profound
melancholy sits upon every countenance. You stand before them and gaze
upon them, but silent, grave, and motionless they sit, like the band of
conscript fathers awaiting the approach of Attila. You at last ask,
‘Have you any moccasins!’ with a dignified motion they throw open their
cloaks, and their laps are filled with articles for sale. You ask the
price--a low musical voice tells you the amount in a very foreign
accent, and that is all I could ever obtain from an Indian woman
although I made many efforts while at Niagara, and they can both speak
and understand English.
I never saw but one of them smile. I asked her what she had for sale in
her lap--she threw it open, and behold a pretty Indian cupid asleep in a
birch cradle, swathed and bandaged in their peculiar fashion. Titania
would have quarrelled for it. At my start of surprise and admiration, a
moonbeam smile flashed over her face and then all was dark and gloomy as
before. The celebrated Timothy Flint tells us, ‘the Indians are a
melancholy musing race; whatever emotion or excitement they feel, goes
on in the inner man.’ So close an observer as he was, and living so
long among them, his views can be relied on as being correct. The
Indians have always been noted for their strong attachment to their
children, and a stranger among them has only to praise the papoose to
win his way to the parents heart.
* * * * *
_June 27th._--I could not have believed parting with Niagara would have
caused such sorrow. The lofty, and celestial emotions which are produced
when in the presence of this one of God’s most beautiful creations you
are unwilling to lose. You feel ‘it is good to be here’--and you dread
to leave this holy ground to enter again into scenes which will do much
to efface these pure emotions. A glimpse of heaven has been vouchsafed
you, and most reluctantly you return to earth again. Slowly we sat out
this morning to take a last farewell. We had seen it in all its
brightness and we now beheld it in a sombre hue. The heavens were
overcast, the mist, once of a dazzling whiteness now took a dusky tint,
and hung over the cataract like a mourning veil. It was more in
accordance with my feelings than to have bade her adieu while she was
smiling in the ‘bright garish eye of day’--one might fancy she was sad
at losing such true worshippers. But you cannot understand such feelings
now, they no doubt seem ridiculous--come here, and you will experience
the truth of such emotions. At two o’clock, soon after dinner, we sat
out on the rail road for Buffalo. The road for some time is laid along
the river bank, and gives us a fine view of the islands, rapids, and
other objects of interest, as Fort Schlosser, and Chippewa,--and then a
long low wooded island floating upon the bosom of the broad stream was
shown, as Navy island, the head quarters of the Canadian revolutionist
in ’37 and ’38. The band have however now dispersed, and the island has
returned to its parent, promising never to do so any more. It contains
700[5] acres of good land. The river now begins to expand from one mile
to eight, including Grand Island in the centre. This is twelve miles in
length, and contains 17,384 acres of rich land and stately timber. A
neat village called White Haven stands upon its shore, containing among
other buildings, a steam saw mill which furnishes ship stuff from 20 to
70 feet in length. A fine situation, for such an establishment, as there
is plenty of the raw material for this manufacture in sight all around.
There are 15 or 20 islands between the falls and Lake Erie, some of them
very pretty, adorned with clumps of maple, oak, or cedar. Upon one of
them, Tonawanda isle, is a fine mansion with cultivated grounds and
fields around it. Our road lay through a village of the same name
situated upon Tonawanda creek, a small place through which runs the Erie
canal. We had sufficient time to survey the beauties of Rattle-snake
Island at our leisure, for, when just opposite, a part of our engine
gave way, and we came to a sudden pause. The male passengers were soon
out, to discover the cause, and came back with a report that we could
proceed no farther, as the injury was very great. We were declared to be
‘in a pretty fix.’ A horse was procured from a house in sight, and a man
was despatched upon it to Buffalo about eight miles distant. Many of the
passengers sat out to walk to Black rock 4 miles a head, where they
could procure carriages to take them to Buffalo. The rest of us
remained seated in the coaches, with a hot July sun streaming through
the windows. What should we do--scold at the road, or the train, or the
engineers? No, an American never vexes himself about such things--he is
calm and indifferent under every circumstance. Some of us fell to
reading, some to napping and some to rambling. We undertook the latter,
but as we were only surrounded by ploughed fields soon returned to the
coach, where I busied myself in writing the above. Pray read on if it is
only to repay me for my sufferings those two hours in the heat. I think
I had better abuse this rail road a little, for it deserves it. Do not,
however, suppose I am vexed at being left thus ‘sitting on a rail!’ The
iron is ripped up in several places, causing a jolt when we strike
against these land snags, and a man rides beside the engineer with a
hammer to nail them down. It is the worst rail road I ever travelled
over: however, as it is only used a few months in the year when Niagara
is fashionable, perhaps it may not yield sufficient profit to allow much
expense upon it. Something is seen coming up the road--all heads are
out, and we hope to be released from our captive state--it turns out to
be the return train which had been waiting for our engine and cars, and
now has been obliged to take horses instead. As it was impossible to
pass us, the passengers and their baggage were turned out, and placed in
our coaches, to the Niagara end of which their horses were fastened.
They looked very sourly at us while this was passing, thinking perhaps
of the maxim of Pythagoras to his scholars--Do not remain in the
highway. They wondered at us for sitting in their highway, depriving
them of their engine, and condemning them to the loss of a fine
afternoon at Niagara. Some of them perhaps might have been of that
whisking class of tourists who intended to return the next morning
early, and to them it would be quite a loss.
A joyous shout announced the appearance of our horses, and we were soon
on our way again. We passed through Black Rock, a considerable village,
and then followed the Erie canal for some distance. The last two miles
were upon the borders of Lake Erie which stretched away a mighty mass of
green waters, to the horizon. As this was our first view of our great
‘inland seas, we gazed upon it with much interest. There are many
handsome villas in the vicinity of the town commanding fine views of the
lake and city; one of them, a large Gothic stone mansion, promises to be
quite an ornament to the country if ever finished. At Buffalo we drove
of course to the American Hotel, as its fame had reached us at home. It
is a large stone building, well kept, and elegantly furnished. The
drawing room is as handsome as any in the country, and the dining room
is a large airy commodious apartment lighted with five large gilded
chandeliers. The staircases and halls are of oak covered with copper in
some places--the bedrooms, private parlors, table and attendance as good
as we could find in our boasted city. There is here also a public room,
hired sometimes, for concerts and lectures, which is well lighted with
chandeliers and set round with green silk couches. In fact every thing
is good and neat.
* * * * *
_June 28th._--Sabbath morning--that blessed day of rest, given in mercy
as a moment of repose in the wearied journey of life to the ‘world’s
tired denizen!’ We felt its benefit, and rejoiced no stage horn could
hurry us onward, and no bell, save the ‘church going bell’, could summon
us forth. The presbyterian church is a plain building, but handsomely
fitted up inside, and very comfortable. Rev. Mr. Lord is the minister,
an able and pious man. We heard in the morning a very interesting
discourse from Mr. Stilwell of the American Bethel Union. He delivered
it in a Baptist church in which the Rev. Mr. Choules officiates when in
the city. It is a neat, commodious building, the pews made of the native
black walnut cushioned and lined with horse hair. A choir of good
singers accompanied by instruments led the music. The society to which
Mr. Stilwell belongs devotes itself to the sailor’s interest. The state
of the boatmen upon the Erie canal he reported to be very wretched.
There are about 25,000 boatmen and sailors employed upon the canal and
in lake navigation, who were of the lowest and most worthless class of
men; seeming inaccessible to all efforts for their reformation or
conversion. These, mixing with the lower population of Buffalo, and
other towns on their route, exerted a baneful influence. The Bethel
Union attempted to send missionaries among them, but they were abused,
insulted and almost discouraged. Still, as they felt it their duty,
these self-denying men persevered every Sunday in addressing the men
along the canal, and in presenting bibles and tracts. They soon began
however to have some hope, for when the canal closed last autumn there
were only two men who had refused tracts, and only three who insulted
them. With this success, small as it was, they were excited to go on,
hoping the Lord was smiling upon their labors. The minister most
successful among them had once been a canal boy himself, and while
sitting upon his horse dragging the boat, employed himself for hours in
inventing new and strange oaths to surprise his fellow boatmen. The men
now readily listened to him. They were conscious of their degradation,
knew they were despised by all good men, and never hoped to rise. Seeing
now, one of their number so bright and shining a light, they trusted a
boatman’s name would not always be an object of scorn. These poor men
complained to him, that they had no day of rest, as there was as much
forwarding upon the Sabbath as upon any other day. The Captains of the
lake boats were also obliged to struggle against this evil, and in some
instances had renounced their trade upon that account, or upon
remonstrance had been turned adrift for some less scrupulous Captain.
The fault then seems to lie upon the forwarding merchants, whom Mr.
Stillwell addressed, begging their forbearance in this respect.
It is to be hoped this address produced its intended effect, and the
merchants who claim a day of repose for themselves, have granted the
same to the unfortunate boatmen.[6]
* * * * *
_June 29._--This morning we sent for a carriage and sat out to see the
city and make some visits. Buffalo, although suffering with all our
cities in the stagnation of trade, seems to be doing a great deal of
business. The rows of shops, and handsome ware-houses, seem to contain
every article necessary for comfort or luxury. It is a larger city than
Rochester, but has not its air of elegance and neatness. The town was
burnt by their neighbors, the Canadians, in 1814, but has since been
rebuilt. The streets are wide and airy, Maine street, the principal
avenue, is more than a mile in length. The churches are neat buildings,
one of them, a catholic, promises, when finished, to be handsome. The
court house is a solid well built edifice having pillars up to the roof.
The markets are very good also. The city is well situated upon ground
rising gently from the lake, the upper part being covered with handsome
private dwellings, which thus obtain fine views of the lake and
surrounding country, and secure for themselves room for their gardens
which are very prettily laid out. There is here also a military station
for the United States troops, whose barracks, comfortable brick
buildings, are built around the parade ground and surrounded by a good
wall. Our friend’s cottage was upon elevated ground looking down upon
the green Niagara river, and enjoying a view of the lake in front, and
behind an extent of country covered with the untamed forest. It was the
first time I had seen a forest landscape, and I looked with much
interest upon this vast plain of green leaves reaching to the distant
horizon; a smoke curled in one spot telling of some settler clearing his
way through the green wood. The handsomest private dwellings here do not
affect the Gothic or Grecian, which had prevailed along our road, but
were substantial square stone or brick buildings, having a marble
portico in front, an cupola upon the top, surrounded by a fancy railing.
Our drive around Buffalo was very interesting, and we wondered, as we
marked such a mass of solid buildings, and depots of articles from every
region in the world, and such throngs of human beings deposited in a
wilderness, but a few years redeemed from the Indian, the buffalo, and
the bear. What industry, what energy, has been employed to bring hither
all these materials. Buffalo is a frontier town, and grand portal of the
west, through which is flowing a constant stream of travellers and
emigrants. This mixture of all nations in the streets, give them an
unique appearance. Here you see the Indian beau with his tunic bound
with a crimson sash, his hat surrounded by a circle of feathers; his
deer skin pantaloons richly embroidered in barbaric patterns, while
ribbons and tassels swing out from his dress at every step. After him
will pass a band of United States soldiers; then a rough back-woodsman,
upon a horse looking as wild as himself, its uncut mane and tail waving
in the wind as he gallops violently through the streets. Then follows a
party of comical German emigrants; a scarlet clad British officer; a
Canadian; a Frenchman; a wild looking son of Erin; a sturdy ruddy,
gaiter legged English farmer; a Tonawanda squaw with her papoose upon
her back; and lastly the dainty lady traveller with her foreign abigal,
and fantastically dressed children. Among the crowd I observed a curious
figure--a one legged negro, wearing an old uniform coat with ruffled
cuffs, ringing a bell most energetically. The old English custom of
sending a bell-man to proclaim the loss of any article, prevails here,
as in some of our other towns, I believe. ‘What is lost, Sambo?’
inquired a person. ‘Your wits, massa,’ he replied quickly, setting his
juvenile train off in a fit of laughter. To another inquirer, he
replied, ‘My leg is lost, don’t you see’ holding up the stump. He is, I
suppose a privileged wit, who, if he cannot set the _table_, no doubt
does the _street_ in a roar. The Buffalonians are a gay social people.
The unamiable fashion of exclusiveness being very little known here,
for, living where the population is continually changing and where
strangers are constantly claiming their hospitality, they have acquired
an easy _unsouciant_ manner, and are ever forming social meetings to
entertain the stranger. Our letters procured for us much kind attention,
and we had an opportunity of witnessing this free hospitable spirit. In
the afternoon one of our friends called, and we drove down where a
fanciful yacht awaited us, and a pleasant party of ladies and gentlemen,
for the purpose of taking us over to the ruined fort opposite the city.
This is a favorite picnic haunt of the young citizens. Fort Erie is upon
the Canadian shore, opposite Buffalo, just at the point where the
Niagara river runs out of lake Erie. It was destroyed during the war of
1812.
I have scarcely enjoyed any thing so much as that sail over Lake Erie.
The lake is here five or six miles broad. The water rushes swiftly past,
as if eager to accomplish its glorious destiny of plunging over the
rocks of Niagara, there to be a spectacle which nations come from afar
to gaze upon. We caught the excitement which seemed to animate the
water, as we were tossed upon its wavelets with quick, gay, tilting
motion; and gazed with much delight at the novel objects around us. The
city, with its numerous domes and spires; the bright Niagara rushing and
gurgling at a rapid rate over the ledge of rocks which once was Erie’s
barrier ere the waters burst their bounds--the gulls wheeling above us,
or floating upon the waves; and above all, that immense lake, that
mighty mass of sparkling emerald water, stretching far into the
mysterious west. The air, breathing from the fresh forest and cool lake,
was so refreshing that I was almost sorry when we reached the shore.
Landing upon a sandy beach, we repaired to the fort, where under the
shadow of a ruined wall, we seated ourselves upon the green sward, and
while refreshing ourselves with the contents of our provision baskets,
our discourse fell upon the hapless fate of those whose blood had dyed
the fair turf around us; or upon other scenes which occurred during that
border war. But now all this is over; conqueror and vanquished are both
beneath the ‘clod of the valley’; the echo of the war trump has died
away; the green earth smiles again as peacefully as if it had never
drank the blood of the dying, and wall, and bastion, are fast crumbling
into their parent elements. The lake, the sky, the shore, are no longer
vexed with sights and sounds of strife. Alas! whence come wars and
fighting among us? Must these things always be? Must earth’s children
ever thus hack and tear each other? And we who are brethren, whose homes
are in sight upon either shore of this bright lake, can we not dwell in
unity? They who have opposite creeds, who differ in dress, in manner, in
language, may and will rival, dislike, detest, fight and exterminate
each other; but we, who are sons of the same father, who speak the same
tongue, Oh, must we be ever thus at enmity?
[7] Though ages long have passed
Since our fathers left their home;
Their pilot in the blast
O’er untravelled seas to roam,--
Yet lives the blood of England in our veins!
And still from either beach
The voice of blood shall reach,
More audible than speech,
“We are one!”
I have said this is a favorite place of resort, and here a party of gay
young people came to avoid the noise of the city, and spend a quiet day
with their books and work, upon the fourth of July. Their little feast
was spread under the shade of the fortress, and they were in the act of
drinking to the day, when they were suddenly taken captive by a band of
English soldiers. It was at that unhappy time when Canada was disturbed
by revolutionary projects, and it was naturally imagined they had come
there purposely to insult them. It was an imprudent frolic, and they
paid dearly for it; they were marched off three miles to a military
station, where, after being fully examined and no signs of revolution
being found upon them, they were suffered to depart and return as they
best might. I relate the anecdote to show how easily we may mistake each
other’s motives, and how soon ill-blood may be brewed between those who
are suspicious of each other, and ready to take offence.
While we were thus discoursing, the sky grew gradually dark, and a veil
of blackness was let down over the lake, giving token of a thunder
shower. We were soon in the boat which tossed very much, but we had able
young seamen who landed us safely just as the sun, bursting forth,
smiled at our idle fears. An evening of social pleasure ended our
agreeable day.
_June 30th._--This morning we were again employed in rambling about the
city. The situation of Buffalo is calculated to make it a great
commercial mart. It is upon the high road to the west, and will command
much of the business of the lakes, while the great Erie canal connects
it with the Atlantic. This canal is indeed a ‘herculean achievement.’ It
is three hundred and sixty-three miles in length, forty feet wide, and
four deep; contains six hundred and eighty-eight feet of locks; is
crossed by several fine aqueducts; and all this was completed in eight
years. There are other canals connected with it. This great artery,
bringing up the produce of Europe to the west, through this city, must
increase its prosperity[8] and population.
At twelve o’clock this morning embarked in the steamboat Constellation
for Chicago, through lakes Erie, St. Clair, Huron and Michigan, a
distance of twelve hundred miles, for which we are to pay twenty
dollars, ten each. The wharves as we left them presented a busy scene.
We counted forty steamboats and canal boats, beside several large
vessels. Among the latter was the Queen Charlotte, a stately ship of
war belonging to Canada, but degraded to the ignoble fate of a Buffalo
trader. She had, it is true, lost some of her original brightness ere
thus fallen, for she had been twenty-three years under water, having
been sunk in a naval fight on Lake Erie, and lately raised. The wharves
were loaded with produce and merchandize, while carts, boats, and men,
were loading and being unloaded.
We left Buffalo with regret. Its majestic river and noble lake--its back
ground of forests, gay streets, and social people, have left a vivid and
pleasing picture upon our memories. A fine pier, or breakwater as they
call it, of solid mason work extends 1100 feet, protecting the wharves
from the waves. A light house stands upon the end of the pier. When the
city had completely faded into the distant horizon we turned our gaze on
our companions. Upon one corner of the deck was a promiscuous heap of
chairs, children, pots, kettles, men and women, being a family moving
west. That old man with a cocked hat, and large metal buttons, the young
man in a blue frock, and women with embroidered stomachers and
indescribable caps, sitting upon a pile of strange looking articles of
husbandry, and huge unwieldy chests, is a band of emigrants from central
Europe. A party of English gentleman from Canada were there, bound upon
a hunting expedition to Wisconsin--another of Buffalo young men, were
going to while away the summer months in a fishing excursion upon Lake
Superior, a long light skiff being part of their travelling luggage.
There were also tourists for pleasure, information and health like
ourselves, and some few going to inspect lands which they had bought
unseen. Our steamboat is a very fine one although not of the first
class. There is a handsome saloon for the ladies surrounded by a circle
of state-rooms opening upon the deck--below are the eating rooms and
gentlemen’s cabin, the whole fitted up with comfort and elegance. There
are about 53 steamboats upon lake Erie, some of them of six hundred
tons, and fitted up with every luxury and elegance, many costing from
$15,000 to $120,000 each. They are built upon a fine model, and are well
finished. The upholsterer’s bill sometimes amounts to $4,000. They are
generally built very strong to resist the waves that run high here. The
complement of men for one of these boats amounts to 40; the captain
receiving $100 a month. After an excellent dinner we ascended to the
promenade deck which, like our Hudson river boats is the uppermost deck,
surrounded with seats. We were out upon lake Erie, and gazed around us
with wonder and delight. The water was a fine dark green, which as the
wind was high, was tossed in waves crested with white foam, or sparkling
spray. The shores were in some places low and wooded, alternating with
gentle elevations, at whose foot ran a line of yellow sand--a sky of
purest azure dotted with fleecy clouds was above. What a lovely scene--
“Where shall we find in foreign land
So lone a lake, so sweet a strand?”
asks Sir Walter. This lake however is rather larger than his Scottish
lake, it being 290 miles long. It has the character of being the most
tempestuous of all the lakes, a fact we were soon able to verify, for in
the afternoon the wind increased to a gale, and the waves dashing
against our vessel gave us each time a shock as if she had struck a
rock.
The ladies soon began to feel the effects of such tossing, and one after
another retired to their berths quite ill. Forty-five miles from Buffalo
we stopped at the town of Dunkirk, which is the termination of the New
York and Erie rail road. It commences at Hudson river 25 miles above the
city of New York, a distance of 450 miles from its end. This town, under
these circumstances, is rising rapidly. It has a fine circular bay
having two projecting points which protect it, one and a half miles
across--and is one of the best harbors upon the lake. There is also a
pier within the shelter of which five large schooners were moored. We
observed a rail road depot ready for the future engines and train--a
church, tavern and a few stores. Several little boys came on board with
pails of cherries for sale, which they disposed of at four cents a
quart. Here we landed a passenger, an inhabitant of Dunkirk, who, during
the voyage, had been vaunting the advantages of his town. The day would
soon come, he said, when he should no longer resort to Buffalo for his
goods, as the new rail road would bring all the trade to Dunkirk.
Darkness drove us to our state room, which we found replete with every
convenience--a circumstance much to our satisfaction as we were to spend
a week in it ere we reached our destined haven. I would recommend you if
you ever travel this way, to choose, as we did, a state cabin looking
towards the shore, for these boats stop at every considerable town, and
of course keep near the coast. In consequence of this arrangement, we
could, if inclined, sit in our cabin, and through the open door, or
window, behold the scenery at our ease; while those upon the opposite
side, gazed out upon an uniform waste of waters without a shore. I thus
obtained a sight of the town of Erie where we stopped during the night.
Aroused by the noise, I looked from my window and saw the town
distinctly by clear starlight. This town is in Pennsylvania, and is the
termination of the Pittsburg and Erie canal. In the canal basin, beside
canal boats, I saw a large steamboat and several schooners. Presque Isle
defends the harbor. There was a large hotel brightly illuminated, and
some stage coaches, awaiting the arrival of passengers. Erie stands upon
a high mass of Schistose rock surmounted by a stratum of clay--the whole
forty feet above the lake.[9] There is said to be here a neat court
house, and several pretty houses surrounded by trees--the streets are at
right angles, and the trade considerable. There was a bridge spanning
the canal, which I hoped was the one where the revered La Fayette was
feted. It was formed into a large tent by sails and flags, which had
waved in the battle upon the lake, under which was a fine collation.
Several ships of war have been built here. You will surely give me
credit of being a first rate correspondent when I leave my slumbers to
collect items for your amusement and edification.
* * * * *
_July 1st._--Early this morning we found ourselves off Conneaut, which
we looked upon with interest as belonging to the great state of Ohio. It
is a small place, at the mouth of Conneaut creek near the boundary line
between Pennsylvania and Ohio--is a small but flourishing place. The
next town we passed was Ashtabula, or rather its landing place, the town
being some miles in the interior. A wooden breakwater defends the
harbor. A river of the same harmonious Indian designation empties itself
into the lake sullying its pure acqua-marine, with a dark brown tint
which could be distinctly seen a mile from the shore. The day is
lovely--our boat glides swiftly upon her course. On one hand we have a
line of green waving forest coast, where the oak, the elm, the linden,
and the maple, and stately yellow birch are standing in pretty groups,
or gracefully bending over the water--upon the other we have a shoreless
ocean. For miles there are no signs of human existence, and then some
little village appears with its invariable accompaniment, a pier,
lighthouse and schooner. We passed Fairport, at the mouth of Grand
river, and from thence the ground begins to rise, being a band of
argillaceous schist, which extends to Cleveland. This is a beautiful
town standing upon this formation mixed with sand and pebbles elevated
sixty or seventy feet above the lake of which it commands a fine
prospect. It was a pretty object in our view as we approached, its
steeples and buildings crowning the summit of the picturesque cliff. We
lay here some hours taking merchandise, thus enjoying sufficient time to
examine it. The steamboat passed up, the Cuyahoga river through two
piers each 1200 feet in length. Upon each side the ground arose from the
river covered with the buildings of two rival towns, Cleveland and Ohio
city. The business streets are upon the banks of the Cuyahoga river, and
the wharves were lined with vessels, merchandise and native buckeyes, as
the Ohio people are called after their beautiful tree. Cleveland is
built upon a plain; the streets running at right-angles, wide and airy
with a pretty square in the centre. There are six churches, a neat court
house, banks, public library, and many handsome dwelling houses. The
population is 7,000 and several newspapers and periodicals are published
here.[10] It is 170 miles from Buffalo. We had been a day and a half
reaching it, on account of our frequent stoppages. This being the
northern termination of the Ohio canal a great deal of business is done
here. Their trade in flour and wheat is very great, they having exported
nearly a million of barrels of flour in one season--cotton, tobacco and
other southern merchandise has passed up from the Ohio river through the
canal. This canal runs the whole length of the state of Ohio to
Portsmouth upon the Ohio river a distance of 309 miles. It is forty feet
wide, four deep, and has 152 locks.[11] The Cuyahoga river is sixty
three miles in length, and running down over the sandstone ledges which
abound in that region, it has a fall of 240 feet, affording a fine water
power. From Buffalo to the borders of Michigan there is a band of
alluvion upon the lake shore from three to twenty miles in width. This
is bounded by a ridge of rocks 40 or 50 feet high once, according to
Darby and Schoolcraft, the original boundary of the lake, thus giving
another proof that these lakes were once higher than at present they
are. This ridge is composed of micaceous limestone, and schistose
rocks, covered with farms, and groves of beech and oak which attain to a
large size. Yesterday afternoon while sailing upon the lake, we observed
these hills making a pretty back ground to the towns on the shore--now
it trends too much to the interior to be seen. In this ridge arise
waters which flow each way, some into lake Erie, and others, as the
Muskingum and Alleghany, into the valley of the Ohio. This last river,
becoming the Ohio, falls into the gulf of Mexico ‘upwards of twelve
degrees of latitude from its source.’[12] Successive ledges or _steppes_
of sandstone rock lead down to the lake, over which the rivers flow in
rapids or falls, making the scenery in that region very beautiful. We
took in at Cleveland several barrels of flour, and nails, and Selma
salt, and boxes of merchandise,--landed several passengers, and then
left this interesting town. It must, I imagine be a very delightful
place of residence. The Cuyahoga could be distinctly traced some
distance from the shore in a long dark line.
The swell in the lake still continuing, most of our passengers had
become too ill to leave their berths. A horse which was at the other end
of the vessel also became affected. Our German emigrants felt it least,
as they had been seasoned by crossing the Atlantic. I saw them seated
upon their packages, eating brown bread and cheese as merrily as ever.
Their passage costs them little as they provide their own frugal fare,
and sleep upon their goods on the deck. Several others pursued this
economical plan. The emigrants from the German and Swiss nations are
invaluable to us and ought to be warmly received, for in industry,
economy and patience, they set a very excellent example to our
extravagant people. They always succeed; their settlements and farms
present an admirable order and neatness, and yield a rich reward to
their patient labor. The restless spirit, the excitement, caused by a
hope of rising in the world, of seeing no one above him, which animates
the American bosom, and many of our transplanted brethren, never
agitates them. Where they plant themselves they remain, and in labor and
social duties, pass the even tenor of their way. The motion, rendered it
impossible to walk, or even stand unless supported, and instead of being
unpleasant to me, I have seldom experienced sensations so novel and
delightful. My companion being an old traveller felt no ill effects from
it either. Leaning over the railing, we watched the vessel as she
surmounted one huge wave to sink again as soon. The fresh western
breeze, breathing perfume from the forest clad shores, exhilerated our
spirits, and spread forth our star-spangled banner in a bright canopy
over our heads. Two noble steamboats filled with passengers from the
‘far west’ passed us with their banners flying, the bells of the three
boats ringing out their friendly salutations to each other. They are
gone--the white foam of their track alone remaining to show where so
many human beings had just been wafted away. How glorious was that
sunset on lake Erie! Dark and stormy clouds had gradually gathered from
every quarter, and now dropped down as a veil over the west concealing
the sun from our view, and the lake is one vast gloomy abyss. But
see--some fairy hand has touched the clouds with gold and purple and
every gorgeous hue--the surface of the water is streaked with rose, and
every wave is gilded. The towers of Cleveland now distinctly painted
against the dark horizon, are glittering as if cut from jewelry. Our
fears of storms are vanishing, when suddenly a black terrific cloud
spotted with fiery blood color, appeared in front of us, as if the
Indian Manitou had arisen from the lake to arrest our progress and
forbid our farther entrance into his dominions. Larger and larger it
grew, until the heavens were covered with inky blackness, A terrible
blast lashed the lake into fury--the waves arose in their might as if to
reject us from its bosom--our vessel careened fearfully upon one side,
and confusion ensued. Men hurried forward to remove the merchandise to
the other side and trim the vessel--women’s heads were, from the cabin
doors asking ‘what’s the matter’ and torrents of rain are surging over
the deck. The awnings are buttoned down--all is proclaimed tight and
right, and we retired to our state-room to listen to the wail of the
wind, and write our promised journals.