The reputation of Natchez in regard to morals seems to be rather at

a discount. The lower town is said to have a worse character than

any place on the river; and, particularly in the spring, to present

a congregation of the most abandoned and desperate. The following

picture by a recent traveller is probably overcharged: ‘In the evening,

a steamer stops at Natchez to land or take in goods, the passengers

observe several houses lighted up, and hear the sounds of fiddles and

merriment, and they run up to see what is going on; they find men and

women dancing, gambling and drinking; the bell of the steamboat rings

to announce that she is about to continue her voyage, the lights in

the houses of entertainment are immediately extinguished, and the

passengers run out, afraid of being too late for the boat, and run down

toward the landing; ropes are drawn across the road, the passengers

fall heels over head, a number of stout ruffians throw themselves upon

them, and strip them of their money and watches, and they get on board

in doleful plight, and of course never see or hear more of their

plunderers!’ Population, 4,826.

_Natchitoches_, commonly pronounced Nackitosh, a town of Louisiana, is

beautifully situated on the south-west bank of Red river, at the head

of steamboat navigation. The trade between Louisiana and the Mexican

states centres here, and it must eventually become a place of great

size and importance. This town was established more than a hundred

years ago, and its population is a mixture of Americans, French,

Spaniards, and Indians.

_New Albany_, in Floyd county, Indiana, is an industrious and

flourishing village, with a ship-yard for building steamboats. During

the summer, many steamboats are laid up here to be repaired. Population,

four thousand two hundred and twenty-six.

_Newark_, capital of Essex county, New Jersey, is handsomely built,

and finely situated on the west side of Passaic river. It is one of the

most beautiful towns in the country. It has extensive manufactures of

shoes, leather, coaches, and cabinet work. Morris canal passes through

this town. Population, seventeen thousand two hundred and ninety-two.

_New Bedford_, port of entry in Bristol county, Massachusetts, stands

on an arm of Buzzard’s bay, about fifty-two miles south of Boston. ‘We

entered New Bedford,’ says a recent tourist, ‘through Fairhaven, by way

of the ferry. From Fairhaven the town shows to better effect than from

any other point. A stranger, perhaps, might be surprised at the great

apparent extent of New Bedford as seen from this place. Passing through

the villa of Fairhaven (a place of no inconsiderable size by the by,)

it opens before him, with its spires, its shipping and buildings, like

a beautiful panoramic painting of some great city. It appears much

larger, however, than it is. Its population is 12,585. Its commerce is

principally in the whale fishery, employing one hundred and fifty whale

ships. The “county road” displays many elegant mansions, the dwellings

of some of the more wealthy inhabitants. New Bedford is considered

a very wealthy place, and the inhabitants active and enterprising.

A large proportion of them are Quakers.’

_Newbern_, in Craven county, North Carolina, was once the capital,

and is still the largest town of the state. It is situated on the

Neuse, thirty miles above its entrance into Pamlico sound. The river is

navigable to this place, and its commerce is considerable. Population,

three thousand six hundred and ninety.

_New Brunswick_, a city of New Jersey, partly in Middlesex and partly

in Somerset county, on the south-west side of Raritan river, is built

on a low but healthy situation, and has considerable trade. Besides the

other public institutions usually found in towns of similar size, this

has a theological seminary, and a college; both established by the

Dutch Reformed Church. Population, eight thousand seven hundred and

eight.

_Newburgh_, a port of entry in Orange county, New York, is a well-built

village, pleasantly situated on the west bank of the Hudson, commanding

a delightful view of the river and the highlands. The principal streets

are paved. A considerable amount of shipping is owned in this village;

agriculture and manufactures are also extremely flourishing. Population,

five thousand six hundred and sixty-two.

Illustration: Newburgh.

_Newburyport_, in Essex county, Massachusetts, at the mouth of the

Merrimack, is remarkable for the beauty of its situation, and the

regularity of its streets. It stands upon a gentle declivity sloping

down to the river, the streets are generally straight and at right

angles, and the town lies along the bank of the river for about a mile.

The principal streets pass through the whole width of the town, from

the summit of the declivity to the river. The buildings are generally

handsome, and the streets clean. Few towns in the United States surpass

Newburyport in beauty. It was desolated by a fire, which broke out on

the night of May 31, 1811, and destroyed nearly three hundred buildings.

The place has never recovered from the effects of this calamity; at the

present day, the traveller is struck with the view of a wide heap of

grass-grown ruins, in the heart of a populous town.

The harbor of this place is good, but obstructed at the entrance by a

dangerous bar; attempts are now making to improve it by a break-water

on the south side of the channel. The mercantile enterprise of the

place has latterly been diverted from commerce to the fisheries.

Ship-building is carried on to a considerable extent, and a manufactory

of hosiery has been established in the place. This town has seven

churches, two banks, two insurance offices, and two newspapers. A

handsome chain bridge crosses the river from the centre of the town.

The celebrated preacher, George Whitefield, died in this town in 1760,

and is now entombed in the Presbyterian church in Federal street, where

an elegant monument has been erected recently to his memory. Population,

seven thousand one hundred and twenty-four.

_New Castle_, seat of justice of the county of the same name, in

Delaware, and formerly capital of the state. The village extends

lengthwise along the Delaware river, on a rising plain, and is

tolerably compact and well built. It once enjoyed considerable trade.

Population two thousand seven hundred and thirty-seven.

_New Harmony_, or Harmony, a town in Posey county, in the south-western

part of Indiana, on the Wabash, formerly the seat of the Harmonists,

under the German, Rapp, and more recently of the followers of Owen, of

Lanark. The former establishment was removed to Economy, and the latter

abandoned.

_New Haven_, a city and seaport of Connecticut, in New Haven county,

lies at the head of a bay that runs out of Long Island Sound, and

is situated on a beautiful plain, bordered on the north by bold and

perpendicular eminences. It is regularly laid out and consists of two

parts, the old and new town. The old town is divided into squares of

different extents. The public buildings of the city are handsome and

well situated. The state house is a fine edifice, on the model of

the Parthenon. Several of the churches have a commanding appearance;

two of them are of Gothic architecture, and built of stone. Private

dwelling-houses are mostly of wood, handsome and convenient. The public

square and principal streets are finely ornamented with trees; and

beautiful gardens attached to many of the residences, give the town

a rural and delightful appearance.

Illustration: New Haven.

The harbor of New Haven is shallow, and gradually filling with mud, but

it is well defended from winds, and the maritime commerce of the port

is greater than that of any other town in Connecticut. Its interior

trade is assisted by the Farmington canal. Packets and steamboats ply

regularly and frequently between this port and New York. The Indian

name of this town was Quinipiack. It was first settled by the English

in 1638, and was the capital of the colony of New Haven, which remained

distinct from that of Connecticut till 1665. The state legislature

meets here and at Hartford alternately. Yale College, one of the most

distinguished literary institutions in America, is established in

this city; connected with this are a theological, a medical, and a

law school. Many academies and smaller seminaries are also established

here. Population, fourteen thousand three hundred and ninety.

_New London_, a city of New London county, Connecticut, in the

south-eastern part of the state, has a fine harbor near the mouth of

the Thames. It is irregularly built, principally at the foot of a hill

facing the east. There are many pleasant sites in the higher parts of

the town, and several of the buildings are handsome; but the general

appearance of the place is not flourishing. The neighboring region is

rocky and sterile, and there are no great channels of communication

with the interior. The recent attention of the merchants to the whale

fisheries has given a considerable impulse to the place, and promises

to restore it to its former importance as a commercial city. Fort

Trumbull is situated at the south of the town, and to the east, on the

opposite side of the river, are the remains of Fort Griswold, which,

during the revolution, was the scene of a well-remembered and fearful

tragedy. Population, five thousand five hundred and twenty-eight.

_New Madrid_, now an insignificant village, though historically

interesting, is situated on the west bank of the Mississippi,

eighty-one miles below the mouth of the Ohio. This town was founded

in 1787, and was intended to become a great commercial city, and

the emporium of the vast tract of fertile country watered by the

Mississippi, the Missouri, and their branches. It was indeed happily

situated for the purpose; but the river has swept away the ground on

which it was originally placed, and the earthquakes of 1812 have sunk

the remainder of the bluff below high-water mark. It is impossible

to visit this spot, knowing any thing of its history, and not be

struck with the air of desolation it now breathes. There was a fine

lake in the rear of the town, on the banks of which public walks

and plantations of trees were planned for the accommodation of its

inhabitants; this is now a heap of sand. As the earthquakes are

occasionally recurring in this neighborhood, even to the present time,

people have been cautious in respect to settling here; but as they

are becoming more assured, New Madrid is gradually emerging from her

prostration.

_New Orleans_, the capital of the state of Louisiana, is situated

directly on the east bank of the Mississippi, one hundred and five

miles from the mouth of the river. In the year 1717, this city was

founded; and at that period, there were not, perhaps, five hundred

white inhabitants in the whole valley of the Mississippi. In the

beginning of 1788, the town contained one thousand one hundred

houses, built of wood; in March of that year, by a fire, the number

of houses was reduced in five hours to two hundred. It has been rebuilt

principally of brick, which is of so soft a nature, that the buildings

are plastered on the outside with a thick coat of mortar, and then

painted or whitewashed. Several warehouses with stone fronts have been

recently erected. The city is regularly laid out, and the streets are

generally forty feet wide, crossing each other at right angles. The

public buildings are generally elegant, commodious and expensive. There

are few churches. The Catholic cathedral is a noble edifice, ninety

feet by one hundred and twenty, with four towers. The _Place des armes_

is a beautiful green, which serves as a parade. Most of the houses

in the suburbs have fine gardens, ornamented with orange groves. The

general style of living is luxurious, and the private dwellings are

elegantly furnished. The markets are plentifully supplied with the

necessaries of life, and the luxuries of every country; but provisions

are dear.

New Orleans will become to the United States the great emporium of

commerce and wealth, if, by the draining of the marshy country in the

neighborhood, it ever becomes a healthy city. The more we contemplate

the present and prospective resourses of New Orleans, the more must

we be convinced of its future greatness. Being built in the form of

a crescent, the curve of the river constitutes a safe and commodious

harbor. Defended on one side by the river, and on the other by a swamp

that no effort can penetrate, the city can only be approached through

a defile three quarters of a mile wide.

New Orleans is gradually becoming more purely American in all its

characteristics; but many of its inhabitants are of French and Spanish

descent, and the French language is more commonly spoken than the

English. The charitable institutions of the city are highly creditable.

Education is not so much attended to as in other parts of the country;

but great improvements have been made in this respect within a few

years. The police is efficient, and scenes of disorder rarely occur.

This city is the grand commercial metropolis of the Mississippi valley.

The tributaries of the great river on which it stands afford an extent

of more than twenty thousand miles, already navigated by steamboats,

and passing through the richest soil and the pleasantest climates.

Steamboats are departing and arriving every hour, and fifty or sixty

are often seen in the harbor at one time; while many hundreds of flat

boats are seen at the levee, laden with the various productions of the

great valley. Measures have been adopted by the state legislature to

have the neighboring country well explored, for the purpose of draining,

raising, and improving it.[64] The streets of the city have been paved,

and gutters are washed by water from the river. Pop. one hundred and

two thousand one hundred and ninety three. New Orleans will probably

become the largest city of America.

_Newport_, a seaport and semi-metropolis of Rhode Island, is pleasantly

situated on the south-west end of the island of Rhode Island, thirty

miles south of Providence. During the summer months it is a place of

fashionable resort, being celebrated for the salubrity of its climate.

It formerly possessed considerable commerce, and contained more than

nine thousand inhabitants; but during the revolution, it was a long

time occupied by the enemy, and suffered severely. The principal street

is a mile in length; the houses have an antique appearance. The harbor

is very safe, sufficiently spacious for a whole fleet, and defended by

three forts. Newport was first settled in 1638. A large stone mill is

still standing here, which was erected before the date of the earliest

records. Population, eight thousand three hundred and thirty-three.

Illustration: Asylum at Newport.

Illustration: New York.

_New York_, the largest and most populous city in the United States,

lies in the state of that name, at the head of New York bay, about

sixteen miles from the Atlantic ocean. Manhattan island, on which the

city stands, and which is formed by the Hudson, the Hærlem, and East

rivers, with the bay on the south, is fifteen miles in length, and

from two to three in breadth. On the south-west point of the island,

overlooking the bay, is a fine public promenade, of from five to six

hundred yards in length, and one hundred and fifty in breadth, prettily

laid out in walks, and planted with trees. In the evenings it is

generally crowded with citizens, who assemble to derive the benefit

from a pleasant breeze off the water, or listen to a band that

frequently plays in the Castle garden, which is connected with the

walk by a wooden bridge. The former promenade is called the Battery,

from having, in the olden times of the Dutch settlers, or during the

revolutionary war, mounted a few guns; and the Castle garden, in a

similar manner, possessed no garden, nor could it ever have possessed

one, being a modern stone fort, with twenty-eight embrasures, built

upon a solid rock, which appeared but a short distance above the water.

This being an unprofitable kind of investment of funds, has been let

by the corporation to a publican, who has converted it to a much more

profitable use charging sixpence for admission, and giving a ticket, so

that the visitor may enjoy a stroll upon the upper platform of the fort,

admire the view, and then call for a glass of liquor at the bar. The

battery, nevertheless, is the most pleasant promenade in New York, and

excels any thing else of the kind in America. Governor’s island, about

three quarters of a mile distant in the bay, has a large stone circular

fort, with three tiers of embrasures, and is calculated for more than

one hundred guns at its western extremity.

Illustration: Castle Garden and Battery.

Of the public buildings of New York, the City Hall, containing the

supreme court, mayor’s court, and various public offices, situated in

the park, a fine and handsome square, is the most remarkable; and being

fronted with white marble, has a beautiful effect when seen through

the trees in the park. The building is upwards of two hundred feet in

length, with a dome and tower surmounted by a statue of justice. The

Merchants’ Exchange, in Wall street, is a fine edifice, of the same

material as the front of the City Hall. The basement story is occupied

by the post-office, and above it the Exchange, eighty-five feet in

length, fifty-five in width, and forty-five in height to the dome, from

which it is lighted. The greater proportion of the other buildings in

the street, are insurance offices, banks, and exchange offices.

‘The churches in New York,’ says Lieutenant Coke, ‘are handsomer

edifices than those in the southern cities I visited, and contain some

interesting monuments. St. Paul’s, in the park, is one of the finest

in the states. In the interior, there is a tablet in the chancel to Sir

Robert Temple, baronet, the first consul general to the United States

from England, who died in the city; and one to the wife of the British

governor of New Jersey, who died during the revolution, from distress

of mind; being separated from her husband by the events of the time. In

the yard, also, there is a large Egyptian obelisk of a single block of

white marble, thirty-two feet in height, erected to Thomas A. Emmett,

an eminent counsellor at law and brother of the Irish orator who

suffered during the rebellion. When I visited New York again, some

months afterwards, one front of it was embellished with an emblematical

representation of his fortunes. Though it was in an unfinished state,

and the canvass had not been removed from before the scaffolding, I

could catch a glimpse of the representation of a hand, with a wreath

or bracelet of shamrock round the wrist, clasping one with a similar

ornament of stars, and the eagle of America sheltering the unstrung

harp of Ireland. Mr. Emmett had emigrated to the states, and settled

in New York, where he had acquired considerable reputation many years

previous to his death. There is also another monument near it, under

the portico of the church, to General Montgomery, who fell in the

unsuccessful attack upon Quebec in 1775. This monument was erected

previously to the declaration of independence by the congress; and

in 1818, when his remains were removed from Quebec to New York, and

interred at St. Paul’s, another tablet was added, recording the event;

though at the time, great doubts were entertained whether they actually

were the general’s remains which were exhumed. The matter was, however,

subsequently set at rest beyond a doubt, by the publication of a

certificate drawn up by the person who had actually buried the general

in the first instance, and who was then living in Quebec, at a very

advanced age, being the only survivor of the army which served under

Wolfe.

Illustration: Merchants’ Exchange.

‘There is a very handsome monument, near the centre of the church-yard,

erected by Kean, of Drury Lane theatre, to Cooke, the actor. Trinity

church, which is also in Broadway, was the oldest in the city, having

been originally built in 1696, but destroyed by fire eighty years

afterwards, although from the circumstance of a monument in the

church-yard, of 1691, it appears it was used as a burial-ground some

time previously. Though not containing much above an acre of ground,

by a moderate calculation, not fewer than two hundred thousand bodies

have been buried in it. Of late years there have been no burials, and

weeping willows with various trees have been planted, which in time

will make it ornamental to the city. In one corner are the ruins of a

monument, erected but sixteen years since to Captain Lawrence, of the

American navy, who fell defending his ship, the Chesapeak, against

Sir P. Broke, in the Shannon. His body was taken to Halifax, in Nova

Scotia, and buried there with all the honors of war, the pall being the

American ensign supported by six of the senior captains in the royal

navy, then in the harbor. But the Americans immediately after sent a

vessel with a flag of truce to apply for the removal of the body, which

being granted, it was re-buried in Trinity church-yard, and the present

monument, no lasting memorial of his country’s grief, erected upon the

spot. It is a most shabby economical structure, built of brick, and

faced with white marble. The column, of the Corinthian order, is broken

short, with part of the capital lying at the base of the pedestal,

emblematic of his premature death. Owing to the summit being exposed

to the weather, the rain has gained admittance into the interior of

the brick work, and has given the column a considerable inclination

to one side. Some of the marble front also, with two sides of that of

the pedestal, have fallen down and exposed the shabby interior. Surely,

such a man deserved a monument of more durable materials.’[65]

Among the most splendid public buildings is the Masonic hall, a

Gothic edifice, in Broadway, fifty feet wide, and seventy feet high;

it is composed of the eastern gray granite. Of collegiate institutions,

Columbia college is the oldest in New York. It is finely situated on

a square ornamented with majestic trees; and the standard of classical

education here is very high. This institution possesses an estate

valued at four hundred thousand dollars. In 1831, the University of

New York was chartered; it is projected on the broad and liberal plan

of the continental universities, and promises to be of great utility.

Schools of all kinds are numerous; bible and missionary societies

are numerous and well endowed. Literary and scientific institutions

flourish. The most ancient of these is the Society Library, founded

in 1754, and containing upwards of twenty-three thousand volumes. The

Historical society was incorporated in 1809, and has collected a vast

number of important documents in relation to the country in general,

and particularly to New York. The Lyceum for Natural History, the

Clinton Hall association, and the Mercantile Library association, are

flourishing and useful institutions.

Illustration: Masonic Hall.

The Academy of Arts was chartered in 1808. It has two exhibitions

annually. The library consists of books of views, designs and drawings,

relating chiefly to antique subjects. Among the presidents of this

institution have been Edward Livingston, De Witt Clinton, and John

Trumbull. The National Academy was founded in 1826, and, with a

few exceptions, is altogether composed of artists. Of the dramatic

entertainments of the city, we can say but little. The Park theatre

is the place of most fashionable resort; it is a spacious edifice,

adjoining the park. It is eighty feet long, and one hundred and

sixty-five feet deep. The Bowery theatre is well attended. An opera

house has been recently built.

The number of insurance offices in this city is upwards of forty. In

1827, the total of banking capital amounted to about sixteen millions

of dollars. Several new banks have been since chartered, and this

amount has been much increased. For its advantage of inland and

external commerce, no city in the United States can be compared with

New York. The number of vessels that arrived here from foreign parts

during the first eight months of the year 1833, was thirteen hundred

and forty-five, and the number of passengers was over thirty-two

thousand. In 1832, the number of arrivals from foreign parts during

the whole year, was one thousand eight hundred and ten; in 1829, it was

thirteen hundred and four, being forty-one less in the whole year than

during the first eight months of 1833.

The population of New York in 1697, was four thousand three hundred

and two; in 1756, thirteen thousand and forty; in 1790, thirty-three

thousand and thirty-one; in 1800, sixty thousand four hundred

and eighty-nine; in 1810, ninety-six thousand three hundred and

seventy-three; in 1820, one hundred and twenty-three thousand seven

hundred and six; in 1825, one hundred and sixty-six thousand and

eighty-six; and in 1830, two hundred and seven thousand and twenty-one.

Its present population is three hundred and thirteen thousand six

hundred and twenty-nine.

_Norfolk_, the commercial capital of Virginia, is situated on the

east side of Elizabeth river, immediately below the junction of its

two main branches, and eight miles above Hampton roads. The town lies

low, and is in some places marshy, though the principal streets are

well paved. Among the public buildings are a theatre, three banks,

an academy, marine hospital, athenæum, and six churches. The harbor,

which is capacious and safe, is defended by several forts. One is

on Craney island, near the mouth of Elizabeth river. There are also

fortifications at Hampton roads; the principal of which, Fort Calhoun,

is not yet completed. Population, ten thousand five hundred and

seventy-three.

_Northampton_ is a post and shire town of Hampshire county,

Massachusetts, on the west bank of Connecticut river, and ninety-five

miles from Boston. Its population in 1840 was three thousand six

hundred and seventy-two. It is built chiefly on two broad streets,

in which are situated the churches and county buildings. This town is

very beautiful, consisting of a number of villas of various sizes, and

of pleasing, though irregular architecture, seeming to vie with each

other in the taste and elegance of their external decorations. There

is primitive white limestone in the vicinity, and much of the pavement

and steps are of white marble. The trees in the neighborhood of the

town are single spreading trees, principally elms, and of considerable

age; the roads are wide, and the footpaths are excellent everywhere.

Northampton is surrounded by rising grounds; but mount Holyoke,

situated on the opposite side of the Connecticut river, is the hill

which all strangers ascend, for the sake of the extensive and beautiful

prospect from its summit. The valley that lies at its base, contains

the most extensive and beautiful plain in New England, well cultivated

and populous. The spires of thirty churches are seen from the top of

mount Holyoke, and in a clear day the hills of New Haven are distinctly

visible. Round Hill school, in this town, is an institution of some

note, somewhat on the plan of a German gymnasium. There are two banks

here, woolen manufactories, an insurance office, and a printing office;

the public houses are good, and the town is somewhat a place of summer

resort.

_Norwich_, a city of New London county, Connecticut, situated at

the head of navigation on Thames river, contains three compact

settlements; of which Chelsea Landing, situate at the point of land

between the Shetucket and Yantic rivers, is the principal. Its location

is peculiarly romantic; and it is a place of much enterprise and

business. What is called the town is two miles north-west of Chelsea,

containing the court house, and some other public buildings; and the

third settlement is Bean Hill, in the western part of Norwich. The

city contains a bank, four or five churches, and several manufacturing

establishments. The Yantic falls, one mile from Chelsea, are beautiful,

and afford facilities for mills and manufactories. From a rock seventy

or eighty feet in height, which overhangs the stream, tradition says a

number of Narragansetts once precipitated themselves when pursued by

the Mohegans.

On an elevated bank, north of what is called the cove, and near

the Yantic falls, is the burying-ground of the royal family of the

Mohegans, commonly called ‘the burying-ground of the Uncasses.’ Many

of their graves are still designated by coarse stones; on some of

which are English inscriptions. Uncas was buried here, and many of his

descendants; but his family is now nearly extinct. There are one or two

living who claim a kindred, but who have very little of the magnanimity

or valor for which he was so conspicuous. Population of Norwich, seven

thousand two hundred and thirty-nine.

_Pawtucket_, a town of Bristol county, Massachusetts, four miles

north-east of Providence, Rhode Island. It is finely situated on the

falls of Pawtucket river, near the Blackstone canal, and is one of

the most extensive manufacturing places in the union. It contains

numerous cotton factories, and shops for machinery, and other purposes.

Population, two thousand one hundred and eighty-four.

_Pensacola_, the capital of West Florida, and naval station of the

United States, is situated on the north-west shore of the bay of the

same name. It was founded by a Spanish officer in 1699, and is built

in the form of a parallelogram, nearly a mile in length. The harbor is

safe and commodious, and the anchorage is good, though toward shore the

water is generally shallow. It is regarded as a comparatively healthy

place. Population, about two thousand.

_Petersburg_, a borough and port of entry, in Dinwiddie county,

Virginia, on the south bank of the Appomatox. The river is navigable

to this point for vessels of one hundred tons. In 1815, three hundred

buildings were destroyed by fire. It has since been rebuilt of brick,

and the new houses are generally three stories in height; it is of

the first class of towns in Virginia, and presents an appearance of

enterprise and wealth. Population, eleven thousand one hundred and

thirty-six.

_Philadelphia_, the second city in size and population in the United

States, is situated in a county of the same name, five miles above the

junction of the Schuylkill and Delaware rivers, and, by the course of

the river, about one hundred and twenty miles distant from the Atlantic

ocean. It was founded by William Penn, in 1682, and was originally

laid out in the shape of a parallelogram, two miles in length by one in

breadth. The city now extends from the lower part of Southwark to the

upper part of Kensington, about four miles, and from one river to the

other. For municipal purposes, the legislature has, from time to time,

established corporate governments in different parts of the suburbs,

so that Philadelphia is divided into the following districts: the

corporations of the city of Philadelphia, of the Northern Liberties,

Kensington, Spring Garden, Southwark, and Moyamensing. The municipal

government of the city proper is vested in a mayor, a recorder,

fifteen aldermen, and a select and common council, besides subordinate

executive officers.

‘Philadelphia, the reverse of Lisbon,’ says a recent English traveller,

‘at first presents no beauties; no domes or turrets rise in the air to

break the uniform stiff roof-line of the private dwellings; and, if I

remember right, the only buildings which show their lofty heads above

the rest, are the state house, Christ church, (both built prior to the

revolution,) a presbyterian meeting-house, and a shot tower. The city,

therefore, when viewed from the water, and at a distance, presents any

thing but a picturesque appearance. It is somewhat singular, too, that

there should be such a scarcity of spires, and conspicuous buildings,

there being no fewer than ninety places of worship, besides hospitals,

and charitable institutions in great numbers. In place, too, of noble

piers and quays of solid masonry, which we might reasonably expect

to find in a city containing near one hundred and forty-thousand

inhabitants, and holding the second rank in commercial importance in

North America, there are but some shabby wharves and piers of rough

piles of timber, jutting out in unequal lengths and shapes, from one

end to the other of the river front; and these, again, are backed

by large piles of wooden warehouses, and mean-looking stores. On the

narrow space between them and the water, are hundreds of negro porters,

working at vast heaps of iron bars, barrels of flour, cotton bags, and

all the various merchandise imported or exported, singing, in their

strange broken English tone of voice, some absurd chorus.

‘Fifty paces hence, the stranger enters the city, which possesses an

interior almost unrivalled in the world. On walking through the fine

broad streets, with rows of locust or other trees, which, planted on

the edge of the causeway, form a most delightful shade, and take away

the glare of the brick buildings, he is struck immediately with the

air of simplicity, yet strength and durability which all the public

edifices possess, while the private dwellings, with their neat white

marble steps and window sills, bespeak wealth and respectability. The

neatness too, of the dress of every individual, with the total absence

of those lazy and dirty vagabonds who ever infest our towns, and loiter

about the corners of all the public streets, passing insolent remarks

upon every well-dressed man, or even unattended female, impress a

foreigner with a most pleasing and favorable idea of an American city.

‘The river in front of the town is about a mile wide, but the channel

is considerably contracted by an island, which extends nearly the

full length of the town, and, consequently renders the navigation more

intricate. It is prettily planted with trees, and a ship has been run

ashore at one end and converted into a tavern, a house being raised

upon the upper deck. It was quite a gala day, numerous steam vessels

and rowing boats proceeding up the stream to Kensington (part of the

suburbs,) and we arrived just in time to see a large ship, of six

hundred tons burthen, glide gracefully from the stocks.

‘I now commenced visiting all the public institutions. Of charitable

societies the number is amazing; probably no city in the world, of the

same population, possesses an equal number. It may be truly said, that

it deserves its name of “Philadelphia;” there are upwards of thirty

humane institutions and societies for the relief of the poor and

orphans, besides above one hundred and fifty mutual benefit societies,

on the principle of the English clubs; being associations of tradesmen

and artisans for the support of each other in sickness, each member

contributing monthly or weekly a small sum to the general fund. Of

the public institutions, the “Pennsylvania Hospital” is on the most

extensive scale. It is situated in a central part of the city, near

Washington square, and was founded eighty-two years since, Benjamin

Franklin being its greatest promoter. It contains an excellent

library of about seven thousand volumes; and it is calculated that

about fourteen hundred patients are annually admitted into it, of

which number three fifths are paupers; the remainder paying for the

advantages they derive from the institution. The building occupies

an immense extent of ground, and on three sides of it an open space

is left for a free circulation of air; the west end of the building

is a ward for insane patients, of whom there are generally more than

one hundred. The necessary funds for the support of the hospital are

derived from the interest of its capital stock, and from the exhibition

of West’s splendid painting of Christ healing the sick, which produces

about five hundred dollars per annum and is exhibited in a building on

the northern side of the hospital square.’

The United States bank is a splendid edifice, built on the plan of the

Parthenon at Athens. Its length is one hundred and sixty-one, and its

breadth eighty-seven feet. The main entrance is from Chesnut street,

by a flight of six marble steps, extending along the whole front of

the portico, which is supported by fluted columns four and a half feet

in diameter. In the centre of the building is the banking room, which

is eighty-one feet long, and forty-eight feet wide. The whole body of

the edifice is arched in a bomb-proof manner, from the cellar to the

roof, which is covered with copper. The New Bank of Pennsylvania is

an extensive and elegant edifice of marble of the Ionic order, and

constructed after the model of the ancient temple of the Muses, on the

Ilyssus. There are at present seventeen banking houses within the city

and the incorporated districts, with an aggregate capital of more than

twenty millions of dollars.

The Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb is one of the most conspicuous

edifices in the city. The association was established in April, 1820,

and was incorporated in the following year. Philadelphia now contains

about one hundred churches, few of which are distinguished for size,

extent, or architectural beauty.

Illustration: Deaf and Dumb Asylum.

The state house, in which the continental congress sat, and from

whence the Declaration of Independence issued, is still standing. It

is located in Chesnut street, is built of brick, comprising a centre

and two wings, and has undergone no material alteration since its first

erection. It has a venerable appearance, and is surmounted by a cupola,

having a clock, the dial of which is glass, and is illuminated at night

until ten or eleven o’clock, showing the hour and minutes until that

time. The front is a considerable distance back from the street, the

walk being paved to the curb-stone with brick, and two elegant rows

of trees extending its whole length. East of the main entrance, in the

front room, the sessions of congress were held, and the question of

independence decided.

The arcade contains Peale’s museum, one of the best in the United

States, comprising the most complete skeleton of the mammoth perhaps

in the world. It is perfect, with the exception of a few bones, which

have been supplied by imitating the others. This skeleton was found in

Ulster county, New York.

The Academy of Arts, in Chesnut street, contains a large number of

paintings, several of which are the property of Joseph Bonaparte. Among

these is one executed by David, representing Napoleon crossing the Alps.

Another is a full-length portrait of Joseph himself, as king of Spain.

Illustration: Academy of Arts.

It is to Franklin that the city is indebted for its great library,

which now numbers about thirty-five thousand volumes. It was

incorporated in 1742, and in 1790, the present neat edifice was erected

on the east side of Fifth street, opposite the state house square.

The Athenæum is a valuable institution, established in 1814; it has a

collection of about five thousand five hundred volumes, and more than

seventy newspapers and periodical journals are regularly received in

its reading room. The Philosophical society has a collection of six

thousand, and the Academy of Natural Sciences a collection of five

thousand volumes. The University of Pennsylvania is distinguished

for its medical school, which is attended by a class of from four to

five hundred. The United States Mint was established in 1791, and by

successive acts of congress has been continued at Philadelphia. In 1829,

a new building for the mint was commenced in Chesnut street; it has but

recently been completed. It is of the Ionic order, and modelled after

a celebrated Grecian temple.[66]

Illustration: Franklin Institute.

Of the public works of Philadelphia, there is none of which its

inhabitants are most justly proud than those at Fair Mount, by which

the city is supplied with water of the best quality, in the greatest

plenty. Fair Mount is in the rear of the city upon the bank of the

Schuylkill. The reservoirs are situated on the top of a hill rising

from the river, a part of it perpendicular rock, upwards of one hundred

feet. They contain upwards of twelve millions of gallons, supplying the

city through between fifteen and twenty miles of pipes. The water was

formerly forced to the reservoirs by steam, which is no longer used; it

is now raised by machinery propelled by the Schuylkill. The machinery

is simple, and is turned by large water wheels, whose speed may be

graduated to any required number of revolutions per minute; if all are

in motion, they will raise seven millions of gallons in twenty-four

hours. To turn them, the Schuylkill has been dammed its whole breadth,

by which the water is thrown back into a reservoir lock, whence it is

admitted as required to operate upon the wheels, and is discharged into

the river below the dam. The whole expense of these works, including

estimated cost of works abandoned, was one million seven hundred and

eighty-three thousand. The quantity of water which they disseminate

through the city, is not only sufficient for every family, but is used

to wash the streets. It is of immense service in case of fire, as it

is only necessary to screw the hose to hydrants, which are placed at

convenient distances, to secure a constant stream of sufficient force

to reach an ordinary height.

Illustration: Fair Mount Water-Works.

There are three prisons in Philadelphia, one in Walnut street, a second

in Arch street, and the Eastern Penitentiary. The latter is situated on

high ground near the city, and is designed to carry the principle of

solitary confinement into effect. The system pursued here will be fully

explained in a different portion of the volume. Ten acres are occupied

by the establishment, inclosed by massive walls of granite, thirty-five

feet high, with towers and battlements.

Illustration: Eastern Penitentiary.

There are two bridges across the Schuylkill, both of which are

substantial and elegant structures. The Fair Mount bridge consists

of a single arch, of three hundred and forty feet in length. The whole

length of that on Market street, is one thousand three hundred feet,

including abutments and wing walls.

Illustration: Upper Ferry Bridge.

The public markets form a very striking feature of the city. One

is nearly two thirds of a mile in extent. The harbor of Philadelphia

possesses many natural advantages, though it is more liable to be

impeded by ice than either that of New York or Baltimore. The Delaware

is not navigable for the first class of ships of the line. For the

amount of its commerce, Philadelphia is the fourth city in the United

States.

By the will of the late Stephen Girard, Philadelphia received large

bequests of land and money, to be appropriated to purposes of public

improvement. To the Pennsylvania Hospital he gave thirty thousand

dollars; to the city, for city improvements, five hundred thousand

dollars; for a college for poor white male children, and its endowments,

two millions. He made further donations to the city of unimproved lands

in the western territories, and stock in the Schuylkill navigation

company, valued at the sum of six hundred thousand dollars.

By the census of 1810, the population of Philadelphia was ninety-six

thousand six hundred and sixty-four; in 1840 it was two hundred and

thirty-five thousand.

_Pittsburg_, a city and capital of Alleghany county, Pennsylvania,

two hundred and ninety-seven miles west by north of Philadelphia, is

situated on a beautiful plain at the junction of the Alleghany and

Monongahela rivers. It is built on the old site of the famous fort Du

Quesne, whose ruins are still seen in the neighborhood. The situation

of Pittsburg is as advantageous as can well be imagined; it is the key

to the western country, and, excepting New Orleans and Cincinnati, is

the first town of the whole valley of the Mississippi. It was created

a city by the legislature of Pennsylvania, at the session of 1816.

The principal cause which has contributed, after its fine position, to

ensure the prosperity of, Pittsburg, is the exhaustless mass of mineral

coal that exists in its neighborhood. The beds are 340 feet above

low water level, and about two hundred and ninety above the level of

the town. The great abundance of this valuable material has converted

Pittsburg into a vast workshop, and a warehouse for the immense

country below, upon the Ohio and the other large rivers of the valley.

According to a list recently published in one of the Pittsburg papers,

there are in operation in that city, and in its immediate vicinity,

eighty-nine steam engines, on which there are two thousand one hundred

and eleven hands employed, and coal consumed to the amount of one

hundred and fifty-four thousand two hundred and fifty bushels per month.

The great use of this coal has given a general dinginess of appearance

to the town, arising from the smoke. The inhabitants of Pittsburg

present specimens of almost every nation; they are distinguished for

economy and industry. The Western university was established here in

1820. Among the buildings are three or four banks, a small theatre,

a public library, and houses of worship for various sects. Population,

twenty-one thousand two hundred and ninety-six.

_Pittsfield_, a town of Berkshire county, Massachusetts, situated on a

hill at the junction of the principal branches of the Housatonic river.

It contains a bank, an academy, a medical institution, and several

extensive manufactories, among which is one of muskets, where arms have

been frequently made for the United States. Population, four thousand

and sixty.

_Plattsburg_, capital of Clinton county, New York, situated on a fine

bay on the west side of lake Champlain, is handsomely laid out and

contains a bank and several manufactories. It is celebrated in the

history of the late war with Great Britain. Population, 6,416.

_Plymouth_, a port of entry and shire town of Plymouth county,

Massachusetts, is the oldest town in New England, having been settled

by the pilgrims who landed from the Mayflower, December 22d, 1620. It

stands on a fine harbor of the same name, thirty-six miles south-east

of Boston. Though often divided, the township is still sixteen miles

long, and five broad. The Indian name was Accomack. It is a place of

considerable commerce, and contains some manufacturing establishments.

The harbor is large, but shallow, and in 1832 an appropriation was made

by government to repair it. One of the principal buildings is Pilgrim’s

hall, which was erected by the Pilgrim society. A part of the rock on

which the pilgrims landed, has been conveyed to the centre of the town.

Population, five thousand one hundred and eighty.

_Portland_, a port of entry, and commercial metropolis of Maine, in

Cumberland county, is situated on an elevated peninsula in Casco bay.

It has an excellent and spacious harbor, dotted with numerous islands,

and defended by two forts. The town is well laid out, and neatly built.

Among the public buildings are, that formerly occupied as the state

house, a court house, town hall, a theatre, alms-house, six banks,

fifteen churches, a custom-house, academy, and an athenæum, in which

is a library of about three thousand volumes. Much attention is here

paid to education, and there are many good schools. Portland has

considerable commerce, the chief articles of export being fish and

lumber. Its shipping amounts to about forty-five thousand tons. In

1775, this town, then called Falmouth, was set on fire by the British,

and about two thirds of the houses were destroyed. It was incorporated

under its present name in 1786. Population, fifteen thousand two

hundred and eighteen.

Illustration: Mariners’ Church, Portland.

_Portsmouth_, in Rockingham county, New Hampshire, is the largest

town in the state, and the only seaport. It is situated on a beautiful

peninsula on the south side of Piscataqua river, three miles from

the sea. Its harbor is one of the best on the continent, having

a sufficient depth of water for vessels of any burden. It is well

protected by fort Constitution and fort M‘Clary; there are also, three

other forts, built for the defence of the harbor, but not garrisoned.

There is a light-house on Great island. This town has a number of

churches and other public buildings, but none of any great pretensions.

It has suffered severely from fires at different periods. The first

settlement was made here in 1623, and, ten years afterwards, the town

was incorporated by charter. The first ship of the line built in the

United States, was built here during the revolution; it was called the

North America. On Navy island, on the side of the Piscataqua, opposite

to the town, is a navy yard of the United States. The amount of

shipping owned in New Hampshire in 1828, amounted to above twenty-six

thousand tons; and of this nearly all must have belonged to Portsmouth.

Population, seven thousand eight hundred and eighty-four.

_Poughkeepsie_, in Dutchess county, New York, seventy-five miles

south of Albany, is situated one mile on the Hudson river, and was

incorporated in 1801. The village is handsomely situated, and a place

of considerable trade. It is laid out in the form of a cross, the two

principal streets cutting each other at right angles. The trade at the

landings employs a number of packets. This town contains the county

buildings, five churches, an academy, a bank, and several factories.

Population, ten thousand and six.

_Providence_, city and seaport in the county of the same name, in

Rhode Island, is situated at the head of tide water of Narragansett

bay, about thirty miles from the Atlantic ocean, and forty miles

south-south-west of Boston. In point of population it is the second

town in New England. The town is built on both sides of what is

commonly called Providence river; and vessels of nine hundred tons

burden can come to the wharves. Many of the private residences in

this town are finely situated, and of beautiful appearance. The chief

public buildings are the state house, the arcade, fourteen houses of

public worship, the halls of Brown university, an asylum, five public

school-houses, and several large manufacturing establishments. The

arcade is a splendid edifice of granite, with two fronts presenting

colonnades of the pure Doric order. The building is two hundred and

twenty-two feet in length, extending from street to street. Brown

university was incorporated in 1769, and, under its present government,

promises to take a high stand as a literary institution. The college

buildings stand on a lofty elevation, and the approach to them is

through a street decorated with fine mansions and elegant gardens.

Illustration: Providence Arcade.

Providence became early distinguished as a place of commercial

promise. During the first six months of the year 1791, the duties paid

on imports and tonnage amounted to nearly sixty thousand dollars; in

1831, the whole amount collected was about two hundred and twenty-seven

thousand. There are four insurance companies. The aggregate capital of

the banks, which are fifteen in number, is four and a half millions; to

this we may add eight hundred thousand dollars, which form the capital

of the Branch bank of the United States, and one hundred thousand

belonging to the Savings bank. The Blackstone canal, which extends to

Worcester, in Massachusetts, was completed in 1828; its whole cost was

seven hundred thousand dollars. Providence is most distinguished for

its manufactures, which are very numerous, and embrace many varieties

of articles. Capitalists of the city have also about two million of

dollars invested in manufactures of other towns. The settlement of

this place was commenced as early as 1636, by Roger Williams, a puritan

clergyman who had been settled at Salem, but who had been banished

beyond the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, on account of his contending

for entire and unrestricted freedom in matters of religion. The

population of Providence is twenty-three thousand and forty-two.

_Quincy_, in Norfolk county, Massachusetts, was settled in 1625, under

the name of Mount Wollaston. Extensive quarries of fine granite are

wrought here; the first rail-road constructed in America was built for

the purpose of conveying the granite from the quarry to the landing.

This town is very pleasant, and contains many handsome country seats;

among which is that of ex-president Adams. Population, three thousand

three hundred and nine.

_Raleigh_, city and capital of North Carolina, in Wake county, near

the west bank of the river Neuse, is pleasantly situated in an elevated

tract of country. Besides the government buildings, it contains other

convenient and elegant public edifices. In the centre of the town is

a large square, from which extend four wide streets, dividing the town

into quarters. In the centre of this square stood the state house, with

the splendid statue of Washington, by Canova; the edifice was burnt

down in 1831, and the statue almost destroyed. In the neighborhood of

the town is an excellent quarry of granite. Population, one thousand

seven hundred.

_Reading_, the capital of Berks county, Pennsylvania, is a beautiful

town, situated on Schuylkill river, fifty-four miles north-west of

Philadelphia, on the road to lake Erie. It is a flourishing place,

regularly laid out and inhabited chiefly by Germans; it contains the

usual county buildings, an elegant church for German Lutherans, another

for Calvinists, one for Roman Catholics, a meeting-house for Friends,

and other public edifices. In the neighborhood of this town are a

number of fulling mills, and several iron works. Population, eight

thousand seven hundred and fourteen.

_Richmond_, the metropolis of Virginia, and seat of justice for

Henrico county, is situated at the falls of James river, on the north

side, one hundred and fifty miles above its mouth, and contains twelve

thousand inhabitants. The site is very uneven, and the situation is

healthy, beautiful and picturesque. On the opposite side of the river

is Manchester, connected with Richmond by two bridges. The falls and

rapids extend nearly six miles, in which distance the river descends

eighty feet. A canal with three locks is cut on the north side of

the river, terminating at the town in a basin of about two acres.

Few cities situated so far from the sea, possess better commercial

advantages than Richmond, being at the head of tide water, on a river

navigable for batteaux, two hundred and twenty miles above the city.

The back country is fertile, and abundant in the production of tobacco,

wheat, corn, hemp, and coal. Some of the principal buildings are

the capitol, penitentiary, armory, court house, and eight houses of

public worship. The capitol stands on a commanding situation, and is

a conspicuous object to the surrounding country. In 1811, the theatre

at Richmond took fire during an exhibition, and in the conflagration,

seventy-two persons lost their lives, among whom was the governor of

the state. An elegant Episcopal church of brick, styled the Monumental

Church, has been erected on the spot, with a monument in front,

commemorative of the melancholy event. Population, 20,152.

_Rochester_, in Monroe county, in the western part of New York, is

the most populous and important village in the state. Its growth has

been wonderfully rapid. Thirty years ago there was a wild uninhabited

tract, where now is a flourishing population of more than twenty

thousand people. This growth has been owing to the passage of the Erie

canal through the town, thus furnishing a conveyance to the numerous

manufactures which the great water power of the Gennessee enabled them

to carry on. The canal crosses the river three hundred yards above the

falls. For the distance of three quarters of a mile in the village,

the river is walled with hammer-dressed stone, to the height of from

ten to twenty feet. The power which is furnished by this river, in the

course of two miles at this place, at low water, is equal to that of

six hundred and forty steam engines of twenty horse-power each. The

manufactories are very numerous; they consist of sixteen flour mills,

four woolen factories, two of cotton, three marble, and others of

almost every description. There are twelve religious and seventeen

benevolent societies; the literary institutions are numerous, and there

are many well-conducted schools. The receipts of the canal toll office

of this town are larger than those of any town in the state, except

Albany. Population in 1815, three hundred and thirty-one; in 1840,

twenty thousand one hundred and ninety-one.[67]

_Rutland_, seat of justice of Rutland county, Vermont, is a village of

irregular form, and was first settled in 1770. During the revolution,

two picket forts were built here. There are quarries of blue and white

marble, in a range extending from Berkshire county, Massachusetts.

Population, two thousand seven hundred and eight.

_Saco_, port of entry in York county, Maine, is situated at the head of

tide water on Saco river. The falls at this place afford a great water

power, and carry many saw mills; numerous factories might be erected on

the shore. The lumber trade of this town is extensive and profitable.

Population, four thousand four hundred and eight.

_St. Augustine_, city of Florida, situated on the Atlantic shore of

that territory, is the oldest settlement in North America, having been

founded by the Spaniards forty years before the landing of the English

at Jameston, in Virginia. The breakers at the entrance of the harbor

have formed two channels, whose bars have eight feet of water each.

A fort, mounting thirty-six guns, defends the town. When Florida was

ceded to the United States, in 1821, the number of inhabitants was

about two thousand five hundred, and it has not increased.

_St. Genevieve_, a town of Missouri in the county of the same name, is

situated on the second bank of the Mississippi, about one mile from the

river, and twenty-one miles below Herculaneum. It was commenced about

the year 1774, and is a depot for most of the mines in the neighborhood,

and the store-house from whence are drawn the supplies of the miners.

Its site is a handsome plain; the little river Gabourie, whose two

branches form a junction between the town and the river, waters it on

its upper and lower margins. The common field, inclosed and cultivated

by the citizens, contains about six thousand acres. A road runs from

this town to the lead mines, and the greater part of the inhabitants

have an interest in, or are employed in some way in, the lead trade.

Population about one thousand five hundred.

_St. Louis_, the principal town of Missouri stands nearly in the centre

of the Great Valley on the right bank of the Mississippi, seventeen

miles below the mouth of the Missouri, one hundred and seventy-five

above the mouth of the Ohio, one thousand three hundred and fifty

miles from the Gulf of Mexico, and eight hundred and fifty from

Washington. It was founded in 1774, but remained a mere village while

under the French and Spanish colonial governments. It has easy water

communication with the country at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, two

thousand six hundred miles distant, by the course of the river, on one

side, and with Quebec and New-York, between one thousand eight hundred,

and two thousand miles, on the other; and with New-Orleans, one

thousand two hundred and fifty, to the south, and Fort Snelling, eight

hundred and sixty miles to the north. The site of the town rises gently

from the water, and is bounded on the west by an extensive plain. The

buildings mostly occupy several parallel streets beside the river.

Here are a Catholic College, and several other seminaries of learning.

The Catholic Cathedral is a magnificent structure. The hospital, and

orphan asylum, under the care of the sisters of Charity, the convent of

the Sacred Heart, the City Hall, &c., are among the public buildings.

The population is twenty-one thousand, five hundred and eighty five,

including many Germans and French.

The fur-trade, the lead mines, the supplies for the Indians, create a

good deal of business here, and St. Louis is the emporium of the vast

regions on the upper Mississippi and the Missouri.

The manufactures are also extensive and increasing, and the abundance

of coal in the neighborhood, and the mineral wealth of the State, must

make this an important branch of industry.――There is a United States

arsenal just below the city, and five miles distant are _Jefferson

Barracks_, an important military station.

_Salem_, a seaport, and capital of Essex county, Massachusetts, in

proportion to its size, is one of the wealthiest towns in the United

States. The pop. fifteen thousand and fifty-one. It is chiefly built

on a tongue of land formed by two inlets from the sea, called North

and South rivers; over the former of which is a bridge one thousand

five hundred feet long, connecting Salem with Beverly, and the latter

forms the harbor. The situation is low, but pleasant and healthy. The

appearance of the town is irregular, the streets having been laid out

with little regard to symmetry or beauty. The public buildings, among

which are fifteen houses of public worship, are neat, but not splendid.

The private houses have generally the appearance of neatness, comfort,

and convenience, and many of them indicate taste and opulence. The town

was formerly built almost wholly of wood, but a large proportion of the

houses, erected within the last twenty years, are of brick.

The Marine museum is a valuable collection of rare curiosities,

collected from all quarters of the globe, and presented by the members

of the East India society. The number of banks in this town is eight;

there are six insurance companies. Three semi-weekly and two weekly

papers are published. There are sixteen tanneries, eleven rope and

twine factories, two white lead factories, and a chemical laboratory.

Much attention is here paid to education, the schools being very

numerous and well supported. With the exception of Plymouth, Salem

is the oldest settlement in New England. It was founded in 1628. Its

Indian name was Naumkeag, and this name it long retained.

_Salina_, a post township, and seat of justice of Onondaga county, New

York, includes Onondaga lake, and the principal salt springs in the

state. Very extensive works have been established for several years;

the number of manufactories of salt by artificial heat is one hundred

and thirty-five. In 1831, the amount of salt manufactured was nearly a

million and a half of bushels. These waters are owned by the state of

New York, and a duty of twelve and a half cents per bushel is exacted

on all the salt manufactured from them. From sixteen to twenty-five

ounces of salt are obtained from a gallon of water. Most of the salt

hitherto made has been very fine. The price is about twenty-five cents

a bushel. This township includes four considerable villages, which

contain eleven thousand and thirteen inhabitants.

_Saratoga_, in a county of the same name in New York, is a pleasant

town, and presents a surface agreeably diversified with ranges of hills.

It is memorable for the surrender of Burgoyne to General Gates, on the

seventeenth of October, 1777. Population, two thousand six hundred and

twenty-four.

_Saratoga Springs_, an incorporated village in Saratoga county, New

York, and the great fashionable resort during summer, on account of its

mineral waters. The springs are numerous, and the accommodations for

visitors extensive; but the surrounding country has few attractions.

The village is built on a low sandy plain. Population, three thousand

three hundred and eighty-four.

_Saugerties_, a town of Ulster county, New York, crossed by Esopus

creek. One mile west of it is the village, and at its mouth are

extensive manufacturing establishments, supplied with water by a

canal cut deep through a rock round the head of the falls, and leading

into an artificial basin. The creek is navigable for sloops to these

mills. The inhabitants are generally of Dutch descent. Population, six

thousand two hundred and sixteen.

Illustration: Barclay’s Iron Works, Saugerties.

_Savannah_, in Chatham county, a port of entry, and the principal

emporium of Georgia, is situated on the river of the same name,

seventeen miles from its mouth. It is built on a sandy cliff, elevated

forty feet above low tide. Vessels drawing fourteen feet of water come

up to the city; larger vessels stop three miles below. The city is

regularly laid out, and contains ten squares, that, with the public

walks, are planted with the Pride of China trees, which contribute

much to the salubrity, comfort and ornament of the place. The streets

are unpaved, and very sandy. The principal public buildings are a

court house, exchange, academy, and ten houses of public worship. The

exchange is a brick building of five stories. The new Presbyterian

church is a very elegant and, spacious edifice of stone The city, a

few years ago, was built almost wholly of wood, with very few elegant

houses; but a large proportion of the houses recently erected are

handsomely built of brick. Population, eleven thousand two hundred and

fourteen.

Illustration: Interior of Presbyterian Church.

_Saybrook_, in Middlesex county, Connecticut, and the spot of the first

settlement in the state, was founded in 1635. The ground was early laid

out for a city, and it was supposed that it would become a place of

commercial importance. Granite quarries near to navigable waters are

found in the vicinity. Population, three thousand four hundred and

seventeen.

_Schenectady_, a city in Schenectady county, New York, about sixteen

miles north-west of Albany, is regularly built, and a pleasant and

flourishing place. The Erie canal passes through it, and communication

with the Hudson is facilitated by the rail-road to Albany; the

rail-road to Saratoga is much travelled during the warm season. Many

lines of stage coaches pass through this city. Union college was

incorporated in 1794, and is a highly respectable institution. This

town was one of the earliest settlements in New York; it was built on

the site of a Mohawk village. Population, six thousand seven hundred

and eighty-four.

_Springfield_, seat of justice in Hampden county, Massachusetts, is

a flourishing town, standing at the foot of a high hill, the side of

which is ornamented with fine buildings, the residences of some of the

wealthier inhabitants, and the top occupied by the United States armory.

This establishment occupies a large space of ground, and commands a

fine view. In 1786, during the rebellion of Shays, he attacked the

armory, at the head of a strong party of undisciplined men. General

Shepard, who had command at the place, attempted to dissuade them from

their attempt, and finally drove them off by firing twice. The first

shot, over their heads, dispersed the raw troops, and the second drove

off the remainder, who, being about two hundred revolutionary soldiers,

did not desist until they had lost a few of their men. This was the

first check the insurrection received, which was put down without much

subsequent trouble.

Besides the usual county buildings, Springfield contains four churches,

and two insurance offices. It is a thriving seat of manufactures, and

in the division of the town called Chickapee village, there are four

large cotton factories, and a bleaching establishment. Three of the

factories give employment to six hundred persons. In this village there

are also iron works. Population of Springfield, eleven thousand and

thirteen.

_Springfield_, the capital of Illinois, near the centre of the State,

and on the border of a beautiful prairie, is the most important town

in the interior. Its principal growth has been within ten years past.

It contains a State house, for the erection of which $50,000 has been

appropriated; a court house; market house, on a fine public square;

a jail, a U. S. land office, 6 churches, 3 academies, and 3 printing

offices. Population 2579.

_Steubenville_, seat of justice of Jefferson county, Ohio, situated on

the first and second banks of the Ohio river, was regularly laid out in

1798. It is a flourishing and pleasant place. Population, 5,203.

_Tallahassee_, seat of government of Florida territory, is situated in

Middle Florida, about twenty-five miles north of Apalachee bay. It was

incorporated as a city in 1825. It is pleasantly situated in a fertile

neighborhood, and on a site considerably elevated. Population, about

one thousand two hundred.

_Taunton_, shire town of Bristol county, Massachusetts, is pleasantly

situated on Taunton river, which is navigable to this place for

sloops. The first settlement was made here in 1637; the Indian name was

Cohannet. It is a handsome and flourishing town, with excellent water

power and numerous manufactories; the nail factories make from eight to

ten tons daily. The first important iron works in America were erected

here. Population, seven thousand five hundred and twenty-four.

_Ticonderoga_, a town of Essex county, New York, ninety-six miles north

of Albany. There is a valuable iron mine in this township. Ticonderoga

fort, famous in the American wars, stands on an elevation on the west

side of lake Champlain, north of the entrance of the outlet from lake

George. Considerable vestiges of the fortress still remain, of which a

description is given in another part of the volume. About a mile south

of the fort, stands mount Defiance, and mount Independence is half a

mile distant on the opposite side of the lake. Population, 2,169.

_Trenton_, city of Hunterdon county, New Jersey, and capital of the

state, is situated on the east bank of the river Delaware, opposite

the falls, thirty-one miles from Philadelphia, and sixty from New York.

It is a handsome town, standing nearly in the centre of the state,

from north to south, and at the head of sloop navigation; the river not

being navigable above the falls, except for boats carrying from five

to seven hundred bushels of wheat. The streets are very commodious,

and the houses neatly built. The public buildings are, the state

house, two banks, and six churches. In the neighborhood are a number

of gentlemen’s seats, finely situated on the banks of the river, and

ornamented with taste and elegance. Trenton bridge, over the Delaware,

is a beautiful structure. It consists of five arches of one hundred

and ninety-four feet span each; the whole length is nine hundred and

seventy feet, the breadth thirty-six. The Delaware and Raritan canal,

extending from Trenton to New Brunswick, crosses the city, and is

joined by the feeder, which enters the river above the falls. There

are several mills and manufactories in the neighborhood. Trenton

is connected with memorable events in our revolutionary history.

Population, four thousand and seven.

_Troy_, a city and capital of Rensselaer county, New York, stands on

the east bank of the Hudson, six miles north of Albany. It is built

on a handsome elevation, is regularly laid out, and contains some

beautiful private residences. Many of the streets are shaded by fine

trees, and the general aspect of the city is attractive and elegant.

The taxable property in 1831 amounted to nearly four millions of

dollars. The situation of the town for trade and manufactures is

very commanding. It enjoys excellent communication with the interior;

large sloops and steamboats ascend the river to this place; and a dam

across the Hudson, with a branch canal, locks, and a basin, opens a

communication with the Erie and Champlain canals. Hourly stages run to

Albany. The water power of the streams which rise in the neighboring

eminences is well employed, and by means of it several manufactories

are carried on. About twenty-five thousand barrels of beer, ninety-five

thousand rolls of paper, seven hundred thousand pounds of tallow and

soap, one hundred thousand pair of boots and shoes, two thousand tons

of nails and spikes, and twenty-five thousand bells, are made here

annually. Large quantities of lumber, flour, grain, beef, pork, wool,

and other articles, besides manufactured goods, are shipped to the

river towns, and to New York, New Jersey, and Boston. There are nine

churches in this town, three banks, two insurance companies, a court

house of Sing-Sing marble, a female seminary of considerable reputation,

and a literary institution for the practical education of young men.

Population, nineteen thousand three hundred and seventy-three.

_Troy_, in Bristol county. Massachusetts, lies on the west side

of Taunton river, and includes Fall River village, an extensive

manufacturing place. In this place are thirteen cotton factories,

a satinet factory, a print factory, large iron works, and machine

shops. This place has been of recent and rapid growth. Population,

six thousand seven hundred and thirty-eight.

_Tuscaloosa_, seat of justice of Tuscaloosa county, and capital of

the state of Alabama, is situated on the left bank of Black Warrior

river, three hundred and twenty miles above Mobile. The name of this

town is the Choctaw word for Black Warrior. The first settlement was

made in 1816–17, and, by the last census, it contained one thousand

nine hundred and forty-nine inhabitants.

_Utica_, city of Oneida county, New York, is pleasantly situated on

the south side of the river Mohawk, and is one of the largest and most

important of the western towns of this state. The river, the great road,

and the Erie canal, all meet, and roads from a variety of directions

concentrate at this point. The canal level is four hundred and

twenty-five feet above the tide water at Albany. The streets are broad,

straight, and commodious; the principal ones are well built, with rows

of brick stores, or elegant dwelling-houses. The chartered institutions

are fifteen, including three banks, two insurance companies, an

aqueduct company, and associations for literary and benevolent purposes.

There are also thirty-three charitable societies not chartered, and

thirty-six private schools. Numerous manufactories are in operation in

the neighborhood. The situation of Utica gives it superior advantages

for trade, and has led to a flourishing business and considerable

wealth. The canal commerce in 1831, yielded tolls to the amount of nine

hundred and thirty-eight thousand dollars. In 1794, Utica contained

nineteen families; its present population is estimated at 12 thousand

674. It was incorporated as a city in 1830; and it is worthy of mention

that its charter expressly prohibits the licensing of shops for the

retail of ardent spirits.

_Vandalia_, in Fayette county, Illinois, late the seat of government,

is situated on a high bank of the river Kaskaskia, eighty miles

north-east by east, from St. Louis. Though founded but a few years

since, it is a place of respectable appearance, and will soon command

an extensive business. Population, about five hundred.

_Vergennes_, a city of Addison county, Vermont, is situated at the

head of navigation on Otter creek. It was incorporated in 1788. In

1814, Commodore M‘Donough’s flotilla was equipped here; and the large

lake steamboats have laid up here for the winter. Some ship-building

is carried on, and the trade of the place is considerable. Population,

one thousand.

_Vevay_, the seat of justice of Switzerland county, Indiana, is

situated on the Ohio river, about forty-five miles below Cincinnati.

The settlement was commenced by a few emigrants from Switzerland, in

the spring of 1805. There has been a gradual accession of numbers to

this interesting colony. As early as 1810, they had eight acres of

vineyard, from which they made two thousand four hundred gallons of

wine. A part of this wine was made out of the Madeira grape. They

have now greatly augmented the number of their vineyards, which, when

bearing, present to the eye of the observer, the most interesting

agricultural prospect, perhaps ever witnessed in the United States.

They also cultivate Indian corn, wheat, potatoes, hemp, flax, and other

articles necessary to farmers, but in quantities barely sufficient

for domestic use. Some of their women manufacture straw hats, made

quite differently from the common straw bonnets, by tying the straws

together, instead of plaiting and sewing the plaits. They are sold

in great numbers in the neighboring settlements, and in the states of

Mississippi and Indiana. Population, about fifteen hundred.

_Vincennes_, the seat of justice for Knox county, Indiana, stands

on the east bank of the Wabash, one hundred and fifty miles from its

junction with the Ohio. The plan of the town is handsomely designed;

the streets are wide, and cross each other at right angles. Almost

every house has a garden in its rear, with high substantial picket

fences. The common field near the town contains nearly five thousand

acres, of excellent prairie soil, which has been cultivated for more

than half a century, and yet retains its pristine fertility. Population

about eighteen hundred. This town was settled in 1735, by French

emigrants from Canada, and, next to Kaskaskia, is the oldest town in

the western world. Of late years, it has rapidly improved, and now

contains three hundred houses, besides churches, and the usual county

buildings.

_Waltham_, in Middlesex county, Massachusetts, on the north side of

Charles river, is a pleasant town, and contains three cotton factories,

among the most extensive and best conducted in the country. These

establishments were commenced in 1814. The proprietors of the factories

support two schools at this place, where gratuitous instruction

is regularly provided. Population, two thousand five hundred and

ninety-three.

_Warwick_, seat of justice of Kent county, Rhode Island, is one of the

most important manufacturing towns in the country. The fisheries are

also extensive. The branches of the Pawtucket river unite here, and

furnish valuable water power. Population, six thousand seven hundred

and twenty-six.

_Washington_, capital of the District of Columbia, and seat of the

general government of the United States, is situated on the left bank

of the Potomac, near the head of tide water, and by the river and bay

two hundred and ninety miles from the Atlantic. It is divided into

three distinct divisions which are built about the navy yard, the

capitol, and the Pennsylvania avenue. The principal streets meet from

all points of the compass, at the capitol, and bear the names of the

older states in the union. Some of the minor streets are distinguished

by the letters of the alphabet, and tracts of ground have been reserved

for public squares. Except during the sessions of congress, when the

city is thronged with strangers from all parts of the country, there is

little to interest one but the public buildings and the navy yard.

The president’s house is a large edifice of white marble, with Grecian

fronts, situated about a mile west of the capitol, and near the public

offices. It is two stories high with a lofty basement, and one hundred

and eighty feet long, by eighty-five in width; it is surrounded by a

wall. The entrance hall leads into the drawing room, where the company

are received at the levees.

Illustration: President’s House.

The capitol is placed in an area of above twenty acres of ground,

inclosed by an iron railing, and commands, by the sudden declivity of

the ground on one side, a very charming view of the city and adjoining

country, and of the river Potomac. The building is three hundred and

fifty-two feet in front, and the greatest height to the top is one

hundred and forty-five feet.

Illustration: Capitol.

The chamber of representatives is semi-circular, in the form of the

ancient Grecian theatre. It is surrounded by twenty-four columns of

variegated native marble, from the banks of the Potomac, which stand on

a base of free-stone, and support the magnificent dome. The seats for

the members are conveniently disposed; each member has his fixed place,

a chair, and a small desk. An engraved plan of the house, a copy of

which is easily procured at the door, points out the name and place of

each member, so that by referring to the plan, every member is at once

known.

Illustration: Interior of the House of Representatives.

The hall of the senate is a good deal smaller than that of the

representatives, and is very elegantly fitted up. It is also

semi-circular, and the president’s chair is in the centre. In another

part of the building is the library of congress; the great hall

contains four national pictures, painted by Colonel Trumbull, and four

relievos in marble, representing scenes connected with various portions

of our history.

The treasury, navy, war, and land offices are all in the vicinity of

the president’s house; as, also, are the residences of the foreign

ministers. The patent office is in the same building with the general

post office, and contains numerous models of inventions, in all

branches of art. There are more than three thousand dwellings in

Washington, and the population is twenty-three thousand two hundred

and three.[68]

Illustration: Department of State.

_Waterville_, a town of Kennebec county, Maine, on the west side

of the river Kennebec, eighteen miles north by east of Augusta. The

principal village stands at the head of boat navigation, and its trade

is flourishing. The Wesleyan seminary is established here; in this

institution, the students contribute to their support by manual labor.

Population, two thousand nine hundred and thirty-nine.

_Watervliet_, a town of Albany county, New York, six miles north of

Albany, belonging principally, to the manor of Rensselaerwick. At this

place the Erie crosses the Mohawk canal, and descends by double locks

to the Champlain canal. In the west part is Niskayuna, a settlement of

the Shakers. At Gibbonsville, another village of the township, is an

arsenal of the United States. Population, ten thousand one hundred and

forty-one.

_Wethersfield_, in Hartford county, Connecticut, is a very pleasant

town, having broad streets shaded with elms. It was founded in 1634,

and is the oldest settlement on Connecticut river. Rich and extensive

meadows border the river, and a broad and high level tract, at about

a mile distant, affords a fine soil for onions, which are raised here

in large quantities. The state prison at this place has been erected

within a few years, and the discipline pursued here is similar to that

of Auburn. For details on the subject, refer to the chapter on Prison

Discipline. Population, three thousand eight hundred and twenty-four.

_Wheeling_, seat of justice for Ohio county, Virginia, is situated

on a high bank of the river Ohio, ninety-five miles below Pittsburgh.

It is surrounded by bold and steep hills abounding in coal. The great

national road from Baltimore strikes the river at this place. Its

position possesses many advantages, and its growth of late years

has been very rapid. Wheeling fort, built at an early period of the

revolution, was the origin of the settlement. It is a constant resort

for travellers, and promises to be a place of much importance. Pop.

eight thousand seven hundred and ninety-three.

_Williamsburg_, the seat of justice of James City county, Virginia,

situated between York and James rivers, sixty miles south-east by east

of Richmond, was formerly the metropolis of the state, but has greatly

declined. The college of William and Mary was founded here in 1693,

but is now in decay, though attempts are making to revive its former

prosperous condition.

_Williamstown_, in Berkshire county, Massachusetts, is situated in the

north-west corner of the state, one hundred and thirty-five miles north

by west from Boston. It has two congregational churches, and a college.

Williams college was incorporated in 1793. Population, two thousand and

seventy-six.

_Wilmington_, city, and port of entry, of New Castle county, Delaware,

between the Brandywine and Christiana creeks, one mile above their

junction, twenty-eight miles south-west of Philadelphia, is pleasantly

situated on moderately elevated ground. It is mostly built of brick,

and the streets are regularly laid out. The water power in the vicinity

is great, and is employed in saw mills, powder and paper mills, and

a variety of manufactories to a very considerable extent. The finest

collection of flour mills in the United States is at this place.

Population, eight thousand three hundred and sixty-seven.

_Wilmington_, port of entry, and seat of justice of New Hanover county,

North Carolina, is situated on the east side of Cape Fear river, and

has an extensive trade. Most of the exports from the state are from

this town. The entrance to the harbor is rendered difficult by a shoal,

but it admits vessels of three hundred tons. Opposite the town are

three islands, which afford excellent rice-fields. Population, 4,268.

_Windsor_, seat of justice of Windsor county, Vermont, pleasantly

situated on the west bank of the Connecticut, is surrounded by romantic

and picturesque scenery. It contains a state prison, and several

handsome houses, and its manufactures are considerable. Population,

two thousand seven hundred and forty-four.

_Worcester_, seat of justice of Worcester county, Massachusetts,

forty miles west by south of Boston, is one of the most flourishing

towns in New England, and is a great thoroughfare for travellers. It

lies principally on one long and broad street, nearly level, and shaded

with fine trees. It contains the usual county buildings, four churches,

and the Massachusetts Lunatic hospital, a spacious structure of brick,

admirably arranged, and calculated for the accommodation of one hundred

and twenty patients. The American Antiquarian society was founded

and endowed by the late Isaiah Thomas; it has a handsome building,

containing a hall, a valuable cabinet, and a library of eight thousand

volumes, including many ancient and rare works on American history.

There are three printing offices, which issue four weekly newspapers.

The Blackstone canal terminates in this town, and furnishes boat

navigation to Providence. The great western rail road passes through

the place. This town was first settled in 1674, and at an early

period suffered much from the attacks of the Indians. It was called

Quinsigamond by the natives. Population, seven thousand and sixty.

_York_, port of entry, and semi-metropolis of York county, Maine, was

laid out originally for a large city, and is a place of considerable

trade. York river runs through it, and empties into the ocean,

affording a good harbor for vessels of two hundred tons. Population,

three thousand one hundred and eleven.

_Yorktown_, port of entry, and seat of justice, York county, Virginia,

is situated on the south side of York river. The river at this place

affords the best harbor in the state; but the town has not become

populous, nor the trade extensive. Yorktown will always be famous for

the surrender of the British army under Cornwallis, at the close of

the revolutionary war. The number of prisoners was seven thousand one

hundred and seven, and the American contest for independence was thus

happily concluded.

_Zanesville_, a flourishing town, and seat of justice for Muskingum

county, Ohio, is situated on the east bank of Muskingum river,

seventy-four miles west from Wheeling in Virginia. The river has falls

here, which afford water power for a number of factories. The great

Cumberland road passes through the town. Population, 4,766.

CHAPTER III.――AGRICULTURE.

OUR sketch of the agriculture of the United States must be brief and

general; as the numerous subjects to be treated in the present volume

do not allow space for very minute details. The vast extent of the

country, and its various soil and climate, afford growth to a great

variety of productions. As a science, agriculture was formerly much

neglected, and it is only of late years that it has received any thing

of the attention it deserves. ‘It is indeed a lamentable truth,’ says

Mr. Watson, ‘that, for the most part, our knowledge and practice of

agriculture, at the close of the revolutionary war, were in a state

of demi-barbarism, with some solitary exceptions. The labors, I may

say, of only three agricultural societies in America, at that epoch,

conducted by ardent patriots, by philosophers, and gentlemen, in New

York state, Philadelphia, and Boston, kept alive a spirit of inquiry,

often resulting in useful and practical operations; and yet these

measures did not reach the doors of practical farmers, to any visible

extent. Nor was their plan of organization calculated to infuse a

spirit of emulation, which county, or state, should excel in the

honorable strife of competition in discoveries and improvements,

in drawing from the soil the greatest quantum of net profits within

a given space; at the same time, keeping the land in an improving

condition, in reference to its native vigor. These results, and

the renovation of lands exhausted by means of a barbarous course of

husbandry, for nearly two centuries, are the cardinal points now in

progression in our old settled countries, stimulated by the influence

of agricultural societies. Nor did their measures produce any essential

or extensive effects in the improvement of the breeds of domestic

animals; much less in exciting to rival efforts the female portion

of the community, in calling forth the active energies of our native

resources in relation to household manufactures. The scene is now

happily reversed in all directions. Perhaps there is no instance, in

any age or country, where a whole nation has emerged, in so short a

period, from such general depression, into such a rapid change in the

several branches to which I have already alluded; in some instances, it

has been like the work of magic.’

The early neglect of agriculture may be traced to very obvious causes.

The first settlements in the country were made along the shores of

the sea, or on the banks of navigable rivers. Population was thin and

scattered, and the ocean with its tributary waters offered by far the

easiest means of subsistence. The fisheries and navigation naturally

attracted their active attention, and the cultivation of the earth was

limited to the supply of the necessaries of life, and a scanty surplus

to answer the humble demands of colonial commerce. The circumstances

of the country, down to the very era of the revolutionary struggle,

were such as tended unavoidably to reduce agriculture below its just

consequence in the scale of useful employments, and to elevate all the

arts connected with navigation above their proper estimation. Capital

was drawn off from the pursuits of agriculture and devoted to the more

lucrative pursuits of commerce. When to this is added the unceasing

drain upon the agricultural population, by the prospects which the

extent of the interior, and the cheapness of lands, opened to their

enterprise, and the consequent effect upon the demand for labor, there

is more cause of surprise that the actual state of cultivation is so

good, than of reproach that it did not receive higher improvement. The

increase of population in the United States, and the long-continued

peace in Europe, by limiting the sphere and diminishing the profits of

commercial speculation, have operated to withdraw capital from the sea,

and invest it in agriculture and manufactures.

The farms of the eastern, northern, and middle states consist,

generally, of from fifty to two hundred acres, seldom rising to more

than three hundred, and generally falling short of two hundred acres.

These farms are inclosed, and divided either by stone walls, or rail

fences made of timber, hedges not being common. The building first

erected on a new lot, or on a tract of land not yet cleared from its

native growth of timber, is what is called a _log-house_. This is a hut

or cabin, made of round, straight logs, about a foot in diameter, lying

on each other, and notched in at the corners. The intervals between the

logs are filled with slips of wood, and the crevices generally stopped

with mortar made of clay. The fire-place commonly consists of rough

stones, so placed as to form a hearth, on which wood may be burned.

Sometimes these stones are made to assume the form of a chimney, and

are carried up through the roof; and sometimes a hole in the roof is

the only substitute for a chimney. The roof is made of rafters, forming

an acute angle at the summit of the erection, and is covered with

shingles, commonly split from pine trees, or with bark, peeled from

the hemlock.

When the occupant or first settler of this new land finds himself in

comfortable circumstances, he builds what is styled a frame house,

composed of timber, held together by tenons, mortises and pins,

and boarded, shingled and clapboarded on the outside, and often

painted white, sometimes red. Houses of this kind generally contain a

dining-room and kitchen, and three or four bed-rooms on the same floor.

They are rarely destitute of good cellars, which the nature of the

climate renders almost indispensable. The farm-buildings consist of a

barn, proportioned to the size of the farm, with stalls for horses and

cows on each side, and a threshing-floor in the middle, and the more

wealthy farmers add a cellar under the barn, a part of which receives

the manure from the stalls, and another part serves as a store-room for

roots, &c. for feeding stock. What is called a _corn-barn_ is likewise

very common, which is built exclusively for storing the ears of Indian

corn. The sleepers of this building are generally set up four or five

feet from the ground, on smooth stone posts or pillars, which rats,

mice, or other vermin cannot ascend.

With regard to the best manner of clearing forest land from its

natural growth of timber, the following observations may be of use to

a first settler. In those parts of the country where wood is of but

little value, the trees are felled in one of the summer months, the

earlier in the season the better, as the stumps will be less apt to

sprout, and the trees will have a longer time to dry. The trees lie

till the following spring, when such limbs as are not very near the

ground should be cut off, that they may burn the better. Fire must be

put to them in the driest part of the month of May, or, if the whole of

that month prove wet, it may be applied in the beginning of June. Only

the bodies of the trees will remain after burning, and some of them

will be burned into pieces. Those which require to be made shorter,

are cut in pieces nearly of a length, drawn together by oxen, piled

in close heaps, and burned, such trees and logs being reserved as may

be needed for fencing the _lot_. The heating of the soil so destroys

the green roots, and the ashes made by the burning are so beneficial as

manure to the land, that it will produce a good crop of wheat or Indian

corn, without ploughing, hoeing, or manuring. If new land lie in such

a situation that its natural growth may turn to better account, whether

for timber or fire-wood, it will be an unpardonable waste to burn the

wood on the ground. But if the trees be taken off, the land must be

ploughed after clearing, or it will not produce a crop of any kind.

The following remarks on this subject are extracted from some

observations by Samuel Preston, of Stockport, Pennsylvania, a very

observing cultivator. They were first published in the New England

Farmer, issued at Boston, and may prove serviceable to settlers on

uncleared lands. Previous to undertaking to clear land, Mr. Preston

advises,――‘1st. Take a view of all large trees, and see which way

they may be felled for the greatest number of small trees to be felled

along-side or on them. After felling the large trees, only lop down

their limbs; but all such as are felled near them should be cut in

suitable lengths for two men to roll and pile about the large trees,

by which means they may be nearly all burned up, without cutting into

lengths, or the expense of a strong team, to draw them together. 2d.

Fell all the other trees parallel, and cut them into suitable lengths,

that they may be readily rolled together without a team, always cutting

the largest trees first, that the smallest may be loose on the top, to

feed the fires. 3d. On hill-sides, fell the timber in a level direction;

then the logs will roll together; but if the trees are felled down hill,

all the logs must be turned round before they can be rolled, and there

will be stumps in the way. 4th. By following these directions, two

men may readily heap and burn most of the timber, without requiring

any team; and perhaps the brands and the remains of the log heaps may

all be wanted to burn up the old, fallen trees. After proceeding as

directed, the ground will be clear for a team and sled to draw the

remains of the heaps where they may be wanted round the old logs. Never

attempt either to chop or draw a large log, until the size and weight

are reduced by fire. The more fire-heaps there are made on the clearing,

the better, particularly about the old logs, where there is rotten wood.

‘The best time of the year to fell the timber, in a great measure,

depends on the season’s being wet or dry. Most people prefer having it

felled in the month of June, when the leaves are of full size. Then,

by spreading the leaves and brush over the ground, (for they should

not be heaped,) if there should be a very dry time the next May, fire

may be turned through it, and will burn the leaves, limbs, and top of

the ground, so that a very good crop of Indian corn and pumpkins may

be raised among the logs by hoeing. After these crops come off, the

land may be cleared and sowed late with rye and timothy grass, or with

oats and timothy in the spring. If what is called a _good burn_ cannot

be had in May, keep the fire out until some very dry time in July or

August; then clear off the land, and sow wheat or rye and timothy,

harrowing several times, both before and after sowing; for, after the

fire has been over the ground, the sod of timothy should be introduced

as soon as the other crops will admit, to prevent briers, alders,

fire-cherries, &c. from springing up from such seeds as were not

consumed by the fire.

‘The timothy should stand four or five years, either for mowing or

pasture, until the small roots of the forest trees are rotten; then it

may be ploughed; and the best mode which I have observed, is to plough

it very shallow in the autumn; in the spring, cross-plough it deeper,

harrow it well, and it will produce a first rate crop of Indian corn

and potatoes, and, the next season, the largest and best crop of flax

that I have ever seen, and be in order to cultivate with any kinds

of grain, or to lay down again with grass. These directions are to be

understood as applying to what are generally called _beech lands_, and

the chopping may be done any time in the winter, when the snow is not

too deep to cut low stumps, as the leaves are then on the ground. By

leaving the brush spread abroad, I have known such winter choppings to

burn as well in a dry time in August, as that which had been cut the

summer before.’[69]

‘The various crops,’ says Mr. Stuart, ‘raised in that part of the state

of New York which I have seen, are very much the same as in Britain,

with the addition of maize, for which the climate of Britain is not

well adapted. Wheat, however, is the most valuable crop. A considerable

quantity of buckwheat and rye is grown. The greater degree of heat is

not favorable for oats and barley. Potatoes, turnips, and other green

crops, are not at all generally cultivated in large fields. Rotation

of crops is far too little attended to. I observe in the magazines and

almanacs, that in the rotations, a crop of turnips, ruta-baga, or other

green plants, is generally put down as one part of the course; but I

have nowhere seen more than the margins or edges of the maize, or other

grain, devoted to the green crop, properly so called. The attention of

the farmers seems chiefly directed to the raising enough of maize for

home consumption, and of wheat for sale; and when you talk to them of

the necessity of manuring, with a view to preserve the fertility of

the soil, they almost uniformly tell you that the expense of labor,

about a dollar a day, for laborers during the summer, renders it far

more expedient for them, as soon as their repeated cropping very much

diminishes the quantity of the grain, to lay down their land in grass,

and make a purchase of new land in the neighborhood, or even to sell

their cleared land, and proceed in quest of a new settlement, than to

adopt a system of rotation of crops, assisted by manure. There is great

inconvenience, according to the notions of the British, in removing

from one farm to another; but they make very light work of it here,

and consider it to be merely a question of finance, whether they shall

remain on their improved land, after they have considerably exhausted

its fertilizing power, or acquire and remove to land of virgin soil. In

a great part of the northern district of the state of New York, there

is still a great deal of land to be cleared; and a farmer may, in many

cases, acquire additions to his farm, so near his residence that his

houses may suit the purpose of his new acquisition; but he is more

frequently tempted to sell at a price from fifteen to thirty dollars

an acre, supposing the land not to be contiguous to any village. If

he obtains land near his first farm, after he has worn it out, he lays

down the first farm in grass, allows it to be pastured for some years,

and breaks it up again with oats.

‘Maize, or Indian corn, which, _par excellence_, is alone in this

country called corn, is a most important addition to the crops which

we are able to raise in Britain. It is used as food for man in a great

variety of ways, as bread, as porridge, in which case it is called mush,

and in puddings. When unripe, and in the green pod, it is not unlike

green peas, and is in that state sold as a vegetable. One species, in

particular, called green corn, is preferable for this purpose. Broom

corn is another species, of the stalks of which a most excellent kind

of clothes brush, in universal use at New York, is made, as well as

brooms for sweeping house floors. Horses, cattle, and poultry, are all

fond of this grain, and thrive well on it. The straw is very nutritive,

and considerable in quantity. The usual period of sowing is from the

fifteenth of May to the first of June, in drills from three and a half

to four and a half feet apart, and the seed from four to six inches

apart. It is harvested in October, sometimes later. The hoe weeding and

cleaning of this crop is expensive, the whole work being performed by

males,――females, as already noticed, never being allowed to work out

of doors. Pumpkins are very generally sown between the rows of corn,

and give the field quite a golden appearance, after the corn itself is

harvested.

‘Thirty-five or forty bushels of corn per acre is considered a good

average crop, on land suited to it, well prepared, and well managed;

but one hundred and fifty bushels have been raised on an acre. Arthur

Young remarks, “that a country whose soil and climate admit the course

of maize, and then wheat, is under a cultivation that perhaps yields

the most food for man and beast that is possible to be drawn from

the land!” That course is frequently adopted here, and with success,

where the soil, lately cleared, is of the best description, and might,

without question, be continued for many years, if a sufficient quantity

of manure was allowed; but where such a course is persisted in without

manure, after the land has been severely cropped, the crops which

follow are inferior in quantity to crops of the same description on

similar soils in Britain. As a cleaning crop, maize is most valuable,

but, being a culmiferous plant, it is, of course, far more exhausting

than the green crops, which, in Britain, in most cases precede wheat.

‘Wheat is sown in the end of September, and some part of it in

spring,――if after maize, it should be sown as soon as possible after

that crop is harvested. It is reaped in July. It is excellent in

quality; if the flour which we have seen in every place where we

have been, and the bread we eat, are tests by which to judge of it.

Thirty-five and forty bushels of wheat is considered a very abundant

crop,――the average produce in that part of the United States in which

wheat is grown, is said not to exceed thirteen bushels, while in

England it is reckoned at twenty-five bushels.

‘Barley or oats very frequently succeed wheat before the land is laid

down in grass, or again bears a crop of maize; but it is not to be

understood that barley, and even oats, do not in many cases follow the

crop of maize immediately, and precede the wheat crop.

‘Oats are sowed in the end of April and beginning of May, and are

reaped in August or the beginning of September. We saw several fields

not cut, but no very great crop in the northern part of this state

in the beginning of September. The average crop is said to be twenty

bushels per acre; but from forty to fifty bushels are often obtained by

good management. The grain is not so plump as in Britain. In 1827, the

premium of one of the agricultural societies was given for fifty-seven

bushels on an acre. Barley is sown at about the same time as oats, and

reaped two or three weeks earlier; the produce about one fifth less

than oats.

‘Potatoes, turnips, ruta-baga, peas, lucern, &c. are all to be seen

here in small quantities, but not so well managed as in well-cultivated

districts of Britain. The high price of labor is the great obstacle

to the management which those crops require. It is not because

the farmer does not understand his business, that such crops are

apparently not sufficiently attended to, but because he in all cases

calculates whether it will not be more profitable for him to remove

his establishment to a new and hitherto unimpoverished soil, than to

commence and carry on an extensive system of cultivation, by manuring

and fallow, or green crops. Such a system may be adopted in the

neighborhood of great towns, where many green crops are easily disposed

of, and where manure can be had in large quantity, and at a cheap rate;

but it is in vain to look for its adoption at all generally, or to

expect to see agricultural operations in their best style, until the

land, even in the most distant states and territories, be occupied, so

that the farmer may no longer find it more for his interest to begin

his operations anew, on land previously uncultivated, than to manage

his farm according to the method which will render it most productive.

‘Prices of grain vary much. Wheat is, of course, the grain which the

farmer chiefly raises for market, and he considers himself remunerated,

if the price is not below a dollar for a bushel. Flour, when wheat is

at a dollar per bushel, is expected to bring somewhat more than five

dollars per barrel of one hundred and ninety-six pounds. Indian corn,

two shillings to two shillings and six pence per bushel; oats, one

shilling and two pence to one shilling and four pence; barley, one

shilling and six pence to one shilling and eight pence.

‘It is difficult to give any precise information as to the wages of

labor. A hired servant gets from ten to twelve dollars a month, besides

his board, which he very frequently has at table with his master,

consisting of animal food three times a day. Laborers hired by the day

for those sorts of farm work in which women are employed in Britain,

such as hoeing, assisting in cleaning grain, and even milking of cows,

get about three quarters of a dollar per day,――in time of hay-making

or harvest work, frequently a dollar besides their board. The workmen

work, or are said to work, from daylight to sunset: but I doubt, from

any thing I have seen, whether the ordinary plan of keeping workmen

employed for ten hours a day be not as profitable to the employer as

to the workman. The days are never so long in summer, nor so short in

winter, as in Britain. The sun rises on the twenty-first of June about

half past four, and sets at half past seven; on the twenty-first of

December, it rises at half past seven, and sets at half past four.

‘Manures are far too little attended to, as has been already noticed;

but there are instances of individuals keeping their land in good heart

with manure, especially where, as in many parts of the state of New

York, gypsum and lime are in the neighborhood. Gypsum is more used

than any other manure, and with great effect, generally in about the

quantity of a ton to ten or fifteen acres. Manure for the villages

is often sold at and under a shilling per ton. The question which the

American settler always puts to himself is, whether it will be more

expedient for him, in point of expense, to remove to a new soil covered

with vegetable mould, or to remain on his cleared land, and to support

its fertility by regularly manuring, and a systematic rotation of crops.

‘The horses and cattle are of mixed breeds, and are always, in

consequence of the abundance of food in this country, and the easy

circumstances of the people, in good order. A starved-looking animal

of any kind is never seen on the one hand, nor very fat pampered

cattle, nor very fine coated, over-groomed horses, on the other. Both

horses and cattle are generally of middling size; the horses of that

description that answer for all sorts of work, the saddle, the wagon,

or the plough. The heaviest are selected for the stages. All carriages

are driven at a trot. Horses are broken with great gentleness, and are,

I think, better and more thoroughly broken than in England. An American

driver of a stage, awkward looking as he appears, manages his team,

as he calls his horses, with the most perfect precision. The law of

the road is to keep to the right side of the road, not to the left as

in Britain. Great exertions are, I observe from the newspapers here,

making to improve the breeds of cattle and horses, by importations

of the Teeswater cattle, and of stud-horses from England. The British

admiral, Sir Isaac Coffin, has displayed great public spirit in sending

over fine cattle and superior horses, from Britain to New England. The

price of beef varies from two pence to five pence per pound, according

to the prices and quality, from which the value of the animal may be

computed. I have nowhere seen any beef equal to the best beef of an

English market, or to the kyloe of the West Highlands of Scotland well

fed; but beef of bad quality is never brought to market, and a great

deal of it is good. I have looked into the markets wherever we have

been. Oxen are much used in ploughing, and are so well trained, that

they are very useful in many operations of carting on farms. The price

of ordinary horses is from sixteen to twenty-five pounds.

‘I observe at the agricultural shows of last year, premiums awarded

for milch cows yielding ten or eleven pounds of butter per week, one of

them yielding thirteen, and twenty-three to twenty-four quarts of milk

per day. One of the breeds of cows is called very appropriately the

“fill-pail.” A premium was also awarded for a cow that calved on the

7th of January,――calf sold in March,――another calf put to her, and sold

in June,――and a third at her side; the price of the three calves forty

dollars.

‘Sheep are not so much attended to as they should be in this country,

where the dryness of the weather preserves them from diseases to which

they are subject in Britain. The merinos, and crosses with the merino,

are those generally seen; but little care is paid to their being well

fed before being killed and brought to market. The mutton is of course

inferior in quality, and the people led to entertain prejudices against

it. Even the slaves in the south are said to object to being fed on

sheep’s meat. I have again and again seen good mutton, but far more

rarely than good beef and pork. Hogs are universal in this country,

and are well fed, frequently, first of all in the woods on chesnuts,

hickory nuts, sometimes on fallen peaches and apples, but almost always,

before being killed, they get a sufficient quantity of meal, either

from Indian corn or barley. Steamed food is also supplied in some

cases. The steam-boiler for food for cattle is well known here. General

La Fayette saw one so well constructed somewhere in this country, that

he had one of the same pattern made for himself and carried to France.

‘Poultry are excellent, well fed everywhere, and in great numbers about

the farm-yards. Turkeys and guinea-fowls abound more than in Britain,

which is not to be wondered at, as their relatively cheap price places

them within the reach of all. The price of geese and turkeys, even at

New York, is frequently not much above half a dollar; ducks and fowls,

about one shilling. Eggs, a dollar for a hundred; cheese very good at

four pence and five pence per pound.

‘Implements of husbandry are, on the whole, well suited to the country.

The two-horse plough, driven by one man, is universally used, unless in

bringing in rough stony land, when four oxen or horses are necessary.

The cradle-scythe is in pretty universal use. A good workman can cut

down an acre of wheat per day. The harvest work being altogether

performed by males, and the crops ripening, and of course reaped, at

seasons differing from each other much more than in England, the

cheerful appearance of the harvest-field all over Britain, filled with

male and female reapers and gleaners, is nowhere seen in this country.

The prices of implements are not higher than in England. The lower

price of wood makes up for the higher price of labor, especially as

carpenters are very expert. Ploughing is well executed, and premiums

given by agricultural societies at their yearly meetings. I observed,

at a late meeting in Massachusetts, sixteen ploughs, drawn by oxen,

started for the competition,――that the ploughs were of the improved

kind, with cast-iron mould-boards, the ploughing five inches deep, and

the furrows not more than ten inches in width. Premiums were at this

meeting awarded for various agricultural implements. Threshing-machines

are not yet so general as in Britain.’[70]

The principal products of the southern states are tobacco, cotton,

rice, and sugar. The first of these is grown largely in Virginia and

other of the middle and southern states, and together with the other

staples of that portion of the country, is chiefly the product of slave

labor. There are at present but two sorts of tobacco raised in the

western states: the one with a long and sharp-pointed leaf,――and the

other with a round and hairy leaf, which is evidently the best tobacco.

The seed is sown in beds well prepared for the purpose, so that in

May it is fit to be transplanted. The plants are then put into another

piece of ground, at intervals of from three to four feet; they are

carefully freed from weeds, and the earth is drawn up to their stems.

When they have obtained a certain growth, the tops are taken off, that

the remaining leaves may acquire a proper size; worms are carefully

removed, and no sucker is allowed to remain. In August, the plants

become spotted, and appear of a brownish color; by these tokens they

are discerned to be ripe, and are therefore immediately pulled. They

lie one night to sweat; next day, they are hung up to dry; when the

tobacco has become sufficiently dry to ensure its preservation, it

is stripped from the stalks, and barrelled up for exportation; or

manufactured into various shapes, for those whom a species of luxury

has taught to look upon it as almost one of the necessaries of life.

Along with six thousand plants, yielding generally one thousand pounds

of tobacco, one person may manage four acres of Indian corn.

There are four kinds of tobacco reared in Virginia, namely, the

_sweet-scented_, which is the best; the _big_ and _little_, which

follow next; then the _Frederick_; and lastly, the _one_ and _all_,

the largest of all, and producing most in point of quantity. The

Virginian tobacco is reckoned superior to any raised in the southern

states; and great care is taken by the regulations of the state, that

no frauds be practised upon the merchants, and that no inferior tobacco

be palmed upon the purchaser. For this purpose, houses of inspection

are established in every district where tobacco is cultivated, whose

regulations are rigorously enforced; this contributes, as much as the

real superiority of the article itself, to keep up its price in the

market. Every person who intends his tobacco for exportation, packs

it up in hogsheads, and thus sends it to one of the inspecting houses.

Here the tobacco is taken from the cask, which is opened for the

purpose; it is examined in every direction, and in every part, in order

to ascertain its quality and its purity; if any defect is perceived,

it is rejected and declared to be unfit for exportation. If no defect

appear, it is pronounced to be exportable. It is then repacked in

the hogshead, which is branded with a hot iron, marking the place of

inspection, and the quality of the contents; and then lodged in the

inspecting storehouses, there to await the disposal of the planter, who

receives a certificate of the particulars, serving at the same time as

an acknowledgment of the deposit. It is by selling this _tobacco note_

to the merchant that the planter sells his tobacco. The purchaser, on

viewing this note, is as well acquainted with the article, as if he had

inspected it himself; and he has only to send the note and transfer to

the store where the tobacco lies, and it is immediately delivered out,

agreeably to his orders. This measure has insured a preference in the

foreign market to the Virginian tobacco, and prevents the deterioration

of the article.

The soil most proper for the cultivation of cotton is found in the

islands lying on the coast. Those belonging to the state of Georgia

produce the best, known in France by the name of _Georgia cotton_, and

in Great Britain by the name of _Sea Island cotton_. This variety of

cotton has a deep black seed, and very fine, long wool, which is easily

separated from the seed by the roller gins, which do not injure the

staple. In the middle and upper country, the green seed or inferior

cotton is produced; this kind is less silky, and adheres so tenaciously

to the seed, that it cannot be separated without the action of a

saw-gin. Though the wool of the green seed, or _bowed_ Georgia cotton,

be cheaper than the other, yet its produce is more luxuriant. An acre,

which will produce one hundred and fifty pounds of black seed cotton,

will generally yield two hundred pounds of the green seed kind. The

packing of the cotton is done in large canvass bags, which must be

wetted as the cotton is put in, that it may not hang to the cloth, and

may slide better down. The bag is suspended between two trees, posts,

or beams; and a negro, with his feet, stamps it down. These bags are

generally made to contain from three hundred and fifty pounds, to four

hundred pounds each.

‘I have been lately favored,’ says Mr. Everett, in his valuable

address before the New York Institute, in October, 1831, ‘with a minute

statement of the average product of five or six cotton plantations in

two of the south-western states, ascertained by putting together the

income of a good and bad year. The result of this statement is, that

the capital invested in these plantations yields from fifteen to twenty

per cent. clear; and the net profit accruing to the proprietor, for the

labor of each efficient hand, is two hundred and thirty-seven dollars

and fifty cents per annum; being a clear gain of four dollars and fifty

cents per week. It further appears that on one of these plantations,

(and the same, though not stated, is believed to hold of the others

in due proportion,) worth altogether, for land, labor, and stock,

ninety-two thousand dollars, the entire amount of articles paying duty

annually consumed, is two thousand three hundred dollars. The average

crop of this plantation, taking a good and bad year, is fourteen

thousand five hundred dollars. Suppose the duties to be thirty-three

and one third per cent. and the whole amount of the duty to be actually

assessed, in the shape of an enhanced price of the article, (the

contrary of which is known to be true, for in several articles the

entire price is little more than the duty,) it would amount to less

than seven hundred and thirty dollars per annum on a clear profit of

fourteen thousand five hundred dollars.’