RESIDENCE AT FREIBURG AND BETHLEHEM IN PENNSYLVANIA, FROM JULY 30TH TO
AUGUST 23RD
View of the Country--Population of German
Origin--Freiburg--Residence there--The Rocky
Valley--Excursions--The Colony of the Moravian Brethren at
Bethlehem--Residence there--Excursions.
All the members of our party had now joined, and, though our baggage
was not yet arrived from Boston, I resolved, in order to make myself
acquainted with the interior of Pennsylvania, to take up my abode in
the settlement of the Moravian Brethren at Bethlehem. I had previously
paid a visit to the place, and found it very favourably situated for
our object. On the 30th of June [July], before daybreak, in the finest
weather and bright moonlight, we drove through the long streets of
Philadelphia, and passed the churchyards, with their white, ghost-like
monuments and tombstones. The day broke when we got out of the city.
On both sides of the road were country houses, alternating with
fields, enclosures, gardens, and parks; and high trees of various
kinds were everywhere planted by the road-side. We passed through
Germantown, a scattered village, and, by eight o'clock, arrived at
Chestnut Hill, where the passengers usually breakfast. The inn was
rather uncleanly, and the coffee so bad, that a portly Quaker in our
company would not take this beverage, of which he was otherwise very
fond. At table we were molested by innumerable European flies, though
a servant girl took great pains to drive them away, by waving a large
green bough over our heads.
The whole country, as far as Bethlehem, and much farther, is chiefly
inhabited by the descendants of German emigrants, who all speak an
indifferent low German, and say that they rather converse in German
than in English. The appearance of the country in this part is not
particularly pleasing. Fields of potatoes, clover, oats, and maize as
high as a man, alternate with meadows and little thickets, and all the
fields are surrounded with hedges or wooden fences. At Montgomeryville,
the horses are changed a second time, and the road becomes more
diversified. [pg. 22] The habitations of the country people are
generally small, often rather poor, frequently composed of boards,
covered with shingles; sometimes they are merely great block-houses,
like the cowkeeper's cottage in Switzerland. These cottages are
surrounded with little gardens, in which there are various kinds of
European plants, such as the hollyhock, hibiscus, larkspur, balsam,
&c. The _Hibiscus Syriacus_ was everywhere in blossom, in the greatest
beauty. I have never seen this fine plant so high and vigorous, or its
flowers so large and splendid, in Europe, as here. They are of three
varieties of colour--white, purple, and bright pink, the latter by far
the most beautiful. In general, the trees and shrubs in this country
are very vigorous. The vegetative power increases the more you advance
towards the south, and the prodigious fertility of the soil remains
long unimpaired, even after it has been stripped of its primeval
forests.
The country, as we advanced, was gradually more and more wooded. We
drove through fine young woods of slender oaks, walnuts and chestnuts,
ash, sassafras, beech, tupelo (_Nyssa sylvatica_), and other tall
trees, all, with the exception of a single spot, without any underwood
or young trees, which is a proof that there is no intention of
perpetuating these woods for future use. In many parts they are on the
way to total destruction, for they contain neither timber fit for
felling, nor young plants; and if it is thought fit in future to raise
timber in these ruined forests, the country people must be checked in
their love of destruction, and forest laws and regulations introduced.
It is fortunate for Pennsylvania that the rich coal mines have been
discovered. There was a very agreeable succession of woods and
meadows, and we saw great numbers of the beautiful red-headed
woodpecker, which, when it spreads its wings, displays a large surface
as white as snow. It is often seen sitting on the fences where the
ground squirrel and the reddish squirrel, with dark lateral stripes
(_Sciurus Hudsonius_), frequently resort. The first, in particular, is
seen in great numbers about all these fences, running backwards and
forwards on them. The birds which we particularly remarked were the
robin, the blue bird, the fox-coloured thrush, the goldfinch, the
turtle-dove, &c. The _Caprimulgus Virginianus_, which the Americans
call the night hawk, was flying about in a meadow in bright sunshine.
I have seen these birds everywhere, flying about in numbers, in the
daytime, like _Azaras Nacunda_ in Brazil. This species, too, shows,
when on the wing, the white transverse stripes which are observed in
many species in that country. Crows and blackbirds are common, but
there are very few birds of prey, which are far more numerous in
Brazil. The forests in this part of the country become more lofty; the
crowns of the trees spread wider, and afford a thicker shade.
Travelling by a road which runs alternately through corn-fields,
meadows, and agreeable eminences, we arrived at Freiburg, a straggling
village, almost wholly inhabited by descendants of German emigrants.
We stopped here a couple of days, to make excursions in the forests,
and took up our quarters in a tolerably good country miller's house,
close to which a Jew had set up his store.
On the 1st of August, conducted by my obliging neighbour, the German
Jew, and some [pg. 23] others of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood,
we made an excursion to the Rocky Valley, which was represented to us
as very well worth seeing. We proceeded through meadows and between
fences for about half a league, and often saw the large prairie lark
(_Alauda magna_, Linn.; _Sturnella_, Vieill.), which usually sits on
the ground, on the grass, or on the branch of a shrub, and, when
scared, often lights on the pines. Its song is short, and not
disagreeable. This handsome bird is shy of the sportsman, and flies
away betimes, when it may immediately be recognized by its short,
outspread tail, the side feathers of which are white. Our path lay
past isolated farm-houses, most of the inhabitants of which spoke
German, and we then reached the forest, where we shot many fine birds.
We next passed by several lonely log or block-houses, before the doors
of which the children, many of them very poorly and dirtily dressed,
were at play, and seemed to be the only possession of the inhabitants.
The sky was overcast, and it rained, while the weather was very warm,
which obliged us to visit the cool draw-wells of the peasants. From
this place the forest was more and more filled with blocks of
primitive rocks, mixed with hornblende and quartz, and these blocks
lay about irregularly, some of them very large, and covered with
various kinds of lichens. In this wild wooded spot, our guides could
not tell where they were, till a German peasant showed us the rather
hidden path, which could hardly be distinguished among the many blocks
of stone. The _Actaea Racemosa_, with its long spikes of white flowers,
was growing everywhere, four or five feet high, like the _Digitalis
purpurea_, in the mountain forests on the Rhine.
The wood now became thicker, and fuller of brushwood. We reached the
bed of a stream, now dry, likewise quite filled with blocks of stone,
which we followed, leaping from block to block, till we came in sight
of the place called the Rocky Valley. Here, on a gentle hill, is a
free prospect through the forest up the stream, where prodigious
masses of great blocks of stone were so piled up, one over another,
that a tract, from 150 to 200 paces in breadth, appears quite covered
with them, exactly like similar heaps of stone, especially basalt, in
Germany, some of which are found in the countries on the Rhine, where
they are called _beilsteine_. No shrub or blade of grass can grow
among these boulders, and the rain, which continued to fall, made them
so slippery that it was dangerous to climb over them. No living
creature was to be seen in this wilderness, nor, as I said before, was
there any vegetation. These blocks seem to have been accumulated and
piled up by some impetuous torrent, and it is said that, at the season
of the year which is less hot and dry, the sound of water running
under the stones is heard.
From this place we returned to the habitation of the German peasant
who had showed us the way, where we refreshed ourselves with
brandy-and-water. The inmates of the house were, in part, engaged,
sitting under the shade of the trees, in cutting shingles, which they
sold. They were much astonished at our double-barrelled guns, with
percussion locks and safety caps. There are now scarcely any wild
animals in these forests; hardly any but the grey fox, the [pg. 24]
Pennsylvania marmot (ground hog, or _wood chuck_), the grey and the
red squirrel, have escaped the love of destruction of the invaders.
On our return to Freiburg, I found our countryman, Dr. Saynisch, of
Bethlehem, whom I had previously met with. He is a naturalist, and,
being well acquainted with this part of the country, was able to give
me much interesting information concerning it. He stopped a couple of
days with us, and we set out on a shooting excursion the same
afternoon.
On the 2nd of August, early in the morning, we left Freiburg, in the
most beautiful weather, and our host drove us in his dearborn (such is
the name given to a small covered vehicle), and two spirited horses,
to Bethlehem, the road to which afforded us much pleasure. The country
is very agreeable: meadows, corn-fields, habitations, and copses
succeeded each other on the side of low hills; and the fine valley,
called, by the inhabitants, Upper Sakena, is remarkably fertile. The
road was here and there shaded by large trees, and a small pond was
extremely interesting to us; for, besides many curious birds, we saw
tortoises everywhere on the banks, and on old stumps in the water,
which, however, were very shy, and plunged below the surface as soon
as we approached them. In the sultry heat of noon, we reached the
Moravian settlement, Bethlehem, where we put up at a German inn.[34]
This settlement is built on the top and the side of a hill, at the
foot of which the Monocasa brook joins the Lecha (Lehigh). The Lecha
is celebrated for its picturesque valley, which is at first wild and
wooded, and lower down, fruitful and well cultivated. At present,
Bethlehem is no more than a village, but it is rapidly increasing, and
has already some pretty considerable streets, which, however, are
still unpaved. The church is a large, neat, light building, quite in
the plain style of the German churches of this sect, and gives the
place a pretty appearance, being situated nearly at the top of the
hill. Another large building is the girls' school, which has a shady
garden, planted with timber trees, the lower part of which is on the
Monocasa, where flowers of many kinds attract the little
humming-birds. The lower part of the village, consisting of but a few
houses, one of which is the inn where we lodged, and where there is a
long wooden bridge over the Lecha, is situated in Lehigh county; and
the large upper part, in the county of Northampton, the boundary line
of the two counties passing through the place. Like all the
settlements of the industrious brethren, Bethlehem has a number of
different trades, mechanics and field-labourers. New settlers are
continually arriving, and it will, in time, become a place of
importance. The inhabitants are, for the most part, Germans; but there
are likewise many English, and divine service is performed in the
church in German and English alternately, and most of the inhabitants
speak both languages. The country about Bethlehem is agreeable and
diversified; the climate very healthy. Large woods alternate in the
vicinity with the fields of the inhabitants, and a canal, from the
coal district of Mauch Chunk to the Delaware, gives animation and
support to the country by the numerous boats that navigate it. All
kinds of [pg. 25] European field and garden plants are cultivated here,
and likewise maize; they have even begun to plant vines; but what is
called the Alexander grape, yields a rather acid beverage, which they
usually sweeten with sugar. We were told that much better wine is
produced in the country about Lancaster, in Pennsylvania, near York.
Fruit does not seem to thrive so well in the United States as in
Europe: the peach, however, may, perhaps, be excepted.
I became acquainted with the directors of this colony: Mr. V.
Schweinitz, well known in the literary world as a distinguished
botanist, Mr. Anders the bishop,[35] and the Rev. Mr. Seidel. All
these gentlemen received me in a very friendly manner, and Mr. Seidel,
in particular, showed me much kindness. Dr. Saynisch lived in the same
house with me, and I derived great benefit from his knowledge of the
country. Our whole time at Bethlehem was devoted to excursions in the
neighbouring country. Opposite the place, on the other side of the
Lecha, is a range of mountains, or moderate hills, beautifully wooded,
which afforded a great variety of pleasant walks. The mountains are
covered with picturesque forests of oak, walnut, and other timber
trees, under which there is, generally, a thick covert of tall
_Rhododendron maximum_, which was still adorned with its magnificent
large tufts of flowers. In these dark shades we soon learned to
distinguish the notes of the different birds, among which was the
flame-coloured Baltimore bird, which we recognized, at a distance, by
its splendid plumage, when it was flying to its remarkable pendent
nest, of which we saw several. The Lecha, the bottom of which was
covered with naked blocks and masses of stone, is adorned by
picturesque islands, some of them of considerable extent, to which we
made many interesting excursions. Numerous kinds of aquatic plants
grow in the water; and among these plants we saw numbers of tortoises.
Mr. Bodmer made a very characteristic drawing of this wood and water
scenery.[36] When we had crossed the river, we landed on the island in
a dark, lofty, airy grove, where all the kinds of trees common in
this country grow vigorously, and entirely exclude the sun's rays. The
ground is clothed with many fine plants: the beautiful _Lobelia
cardinalis_, which is common in all this part of the country, was in
blossom on the banks, as well as many other plants.
This beautiful forest was peopled by a great variety of birds; besides
those above-mentioned, we saw, in the crowns of the highest trees, the
bright red Tanagra, the black and red Baltimore bird, the
humming-bird, with reddish-brown eyes; the greenish heron, and the
ash-coloured kingfisher, flew up from the stones on the bank. Whenever
we were overtaken by a shower of rain on these lovely islands, we took
shelter in the hollow trunks of old plane trees, of which there is one
capable of holding ten persons. In these cool shades we did not much
feel the heat of the summer, but it was very oppressive in the town;
at nine o'clock in the evening the temperature of our apartment was 18
deg. Reaumur (72-1/2 deg. Fahrenheit), and there were frequent
thunder-storms. At noon the temperature in the cool passages of our
house was at 23 deg. or 24 deg. Reaumur (86 deg. Fahrenheit).
[pg. 26] We made frequent excursions to these charming islands; and Mr.
Bodmer, who went thither every day to complete his sketch of the
forests, generally came back laden with tortoises (_Emys odorata_ and
_picta_) and other amphibia, or fresh water shells. This _Emys picta_
is one of the most beautiful kinds of this family in Pennsylvania:
there is certainly no country in which tortoises are so numerous, and
of such a variety of species, as North America.
The banks of the Lehigh, chiefly covered with high woods, differ from
the more open banks of the Monocasa, where extensive thickets of reed
and reed mace (_Typha_) are the abode of the beautiful red-shouldered
Oriole. The little shrub-like oak (_Quercus chincapin_) grows in
abundance on the hills that border this stream. We made other
interesting visits to the wooded Lecha mountains, on the north or
north-east bank of that river, below Bethlehem. They are thickly
covered with high timber and much underwood, and from their summits
there is a fine prospect over the whole of the surrounding hilly
country. The chestnut trees have been very much thinned in these
forests, as the wood is highly valued, not for fuel, as it is light
and porous, but for fences, because it is said to remain uninjured in
the ground for sixty years.
The splendid bright red Tanagra was not uncommon in these forests; but
we now met with none that were quite red, because the old males put
on, towards autumn, the plain olive-coloured plumage of the females.
Many of these fine birds had still bright red spots, which showed that
they were undergoing a change in their plumage. Only a couple of
species of the genus Tanagra, which are so numerous in the Brazilian
forests, are found in all North America; but the manner and mode of
living of these animals are everywhere the same. They are quiet birds,
not remarkable for their song, but make up for this deficiency by the
splendour of their plumage. The small hare (_Lepus Americanus_) and
the grey squirrel were almost the only quadrupeds we saw in these
woods; but of the class of amphibia there were many kinds. The larger
wild animals have almost wholly disappeared. All North America was
formerly one interminable forest, only there were what are called
prairies in the western parts beyond the Alleghany mountains; but all
Pennsylvania, a state comprising 44,500 square miles, was a primeval
forest, which was thinned in a short time by the numerous settlers who
flocked to this country. The larger species of game disappeared in the
same ratio; and in the immediate vicinity of Bethlehem there are now
not even any deer. It was mentioned to me as a very rare occurrence,
that a bear had been seen here two years before, and was immediately
pursued, but in vain, by the hunters. Some small animals still live in
these forests, which, however, are not to be found except at night;
among these are the opossum (_Didelphys Virginiana_) and the skunk
(_Mephitis Americana_). The first is not frequently met with in these
parts; the latter, on the contrary, is not uncommon.
In order to catch the skunk, our hunters went by night to the Lecha
mountains, and searched the forest with hounds, and almost always
attained their object. The dogs killed the animal by biting it, and
were sometimes a little perfumed. It has been reported that they
[pg. 27] avoid the smell; but I can testify that we did not meet with
any confirmation whatever of this statement. In fact, the stories told
of the offensive smell of this animal are rather exaggerated, for an
European polecat is often nothing behind the skunk in this
disagreeable quality. The hunters brought home a half-grown skunk
alive, and we kept it in a box in the garden, where it was very tame
and quiet, and never emitted the slightest smell. We opened the box,
and let it run about at liberty. It is only when alarmed that the
skunk is offensive to the olfactory nerves. The hollow trees in these
forests were the abode of the pretty flying squirrel, which, however,
is not to be seen in the daytime. The banks of the river are inhabited
by the musk-rat, which is often seen swimming, and is sometimes taken
in the fishing nets.
One of our usual walks, during our stay at Bethlehem, was up or down
the banks of the Mauch Chunk canal. This canal is divided from the
Lecha by a dam, on which grow many fine plants, about which numbers of
humming-birds were fluttering. In my whole journey through North
America, I nowhere found these pretty birds so numerous as here. They
hummed about the yellow flowers of the broad-leaved tree primrose
(_Oenothera_), of the violet _Asclepias incarnata_ (swallow wort), of
the _Impatiens fulva_, with its deep orange-coloured flowers, &c.,
and we shot many of these little creatures, among ten of which we
found, at the most, one male, with deep red throat. The dam was
bordered with stones at the sides; and among them were numbers of the
striped ground squirrel. Tall thistles are the constant resort of the
goldfinches, which picked the woolly seeds from the flower heads. At
some mills, on an island near the road, there was a grove of tall
trees, the dark shades of which were animated by many interesting
birds, especially the beautiful Baltimore bird and the flycatcher
(_Muscicapa ruticilla_), which is distinguished by the same colours,
and is frequent here. Under the old stems, and from the roots of the
trees on the bank, the great bull-frogs leaped into the water, however
softly and cautiously we approached. Their deep, hollow note was not
heard so much in this season, as in the spring and the beginning of
the summer. I nowhere saw these frogs so numerous as here in
Pennsylvania.
Opposite to these hills, on the other bank of the Lecha, was a wood of
very tall, old trees, the airy, shady crowns of which were inhabited
by birds of more different kinds than any other place in this
neighbourhood. From that wood we always returned loaded with booty.
There, too, we observed interesting butterflies, such as _Papileo
turnus_, the beautiful black and blue philenor, and other species. The
thick hedges near the houses were the resort of numerous cat-birds.
The fishing-hawk hovered over the river, watching for prey, and we
often saw the three-striped viper (_Coluber sirtalis_) glide among the
grass.
To the north and north-west of Bethlehem the woods consist of oaks
without any underwood, the cattle having their pasture there. All
these interesting excursions greatly increased our collections; and
the Rev. Mr. Seidel, who had a good library, and a taste for the study
of Nature, had the kindness to provide us with the necessary literary
assistance. We lived here [pg. 28] very agreeably in the society of
well-informed men and fellow-countrymen, and our residence at the
extremity of the place, close to the woods and fields, afforded us the
most favourable opportunity for our researches and labours; and our
landlord, Mr. Woehler, from Westphalia, did everything in his power to
assist us in our occupations. This, in some degree, indemnified me for
the deplorable loss of time occasioned by the delay in the arrival of
our baggage. I should have reached the Western States long before, if
I had not been obliged to wait for those indispensable articles.
During our stay here, we often saw German emigrants arrive, almost all
of whom were from Wuertemberg, Baden, or Rhenish Bavaria. In the most
lamentable condition, without money, without the slightest knowledge
of the country or the language, they were going to meet their
precarious fate. They were generally refused admittance at the English
inns, and then Woehler, not without considerable expense, took on him
to forward them on their journey.
We received news from Philadelphia that the cholera had rather abated;
it had entirely spared Bethlehem and its vicinity. The canal colliers
gave me an opportunity of sending my collections to New York, which I
did in the beginning of September. The Flora of the country had then
produced its white, yellow, or purple autumnal flowers; the golden
rod, sunflower, Eupatorium, and some kinds of Aster were in blossom,
and the white flowers of the _Clematis Virginiana_.
The weather now remained very uniformly hot during the whole of July
and August, with occasional thunder-storms; and if the summers in the
United States are usually of this temperature, as we were assured,
they are more equally hot, and for a longer time, than that season is
in Germany. In order to make myself acquainted with Nazareth, the
other settlement of the Moravian brethren, I drove there in company
of the Rev. Mr. Seidel. It is ten miles from Bethlehem. On the road to
it lies Altoona, consisting of some scattered habitations, and
afterwards, on approaching the Monocasa, Hecktown. Nazareth is a
pleasant place, with some unpaved streets, and has a gymnasium for the
education of young clergymen. All the masters are Germans, but their
instructions are given in the English language. The building seems to
be old, and not very spacious. From the roof there is a fine,
extensive prospect to the blue hills on the banks of the Delaware, and
to the verdant, wooded banks of the Lecha. The gymnasium has a small
cabinet of natural history. The church is not so large as that at
Bethlehem, but can be easily warmed in the winter. A little beyond the
garden, which has many shady walks, is the churchyard, where the flat,
square tombstones, with short inscriptions, lie in regular rows, near
to each other. The names of the brethren interred here show that most
of them were Germans. There is a very fine prospect from the higher
part of this churchyard. The greensward is here thickly covered with
European thyme. Nazareth has about 350 inhabitants, and sixty youths
in the gymnasium. There are in the place a good inn, shops of various
kinds, &c. Mr. Herrman,[37] the present director of the establishment,
had the kindness to show us everything worthy of notice, and we had
only to regret that we could not enjoy longer the pleasure of his
company, as we were [pg. 29] obliged to return to Bethlehem in the
afternoon. Mr. Gebhard, from New York, who had surprised us by an
unexpected visit, returned direct from Nazareth to his own residence.
The view of these Pennsylvanian landscapes would be much more
agreeable if the numerous wooden fences did not give them a stiff,
unnatural character. Some idea may be formed of the number of these
fences from the fact that, in the short distance of ten miles, persons
going on foot, direct from Bethlehem to Nazareth, have to climb over
twenty-five of these fences.
FOOTNOTES:
[34] Bethlehem is today a post borough and summer resort in
Southampton County, Pennsylvania, fifty-six miles north of
Philadelphia. At times during the Revolutionary War, it was the
general hospital headquarters for the Continental army and about five
hundred soldiers were buried there. In 1740, under the leadership of
Whitefield, a small body of Moravians who had recently migrated to
Georgia settled on the Forks of the Delaware. Within a few weeks,
however, doctrinal differences influenced Whitefield to expel the
Moravians from his estate. Through the labors of Bishop Nitschmann,
the latter purchased from William Allen five hundred acres on the
banks of the Lehigh River. Count Zinzendorf, visiting the hamlet at
Christmas in the same year, named it Bethlehem. It has since remained
the centre of the northern division of the Moravian church in the
United States.--ED.
[35] Lewis David von Schweinitz was born at Bethlehem (1780), and died
there in 1834. Educated in Germany, he returned to the United States
and won a large reputation as a botanist being made a member of
various scientific societies in this country and Europe. He added
fourteen hundred new species to the catalogue of American flora, wrote
numerous books on botany, and at his death bequeathed to the Academy
of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia his herbarium, at that time the
largest in North America.
Before coming to Pennsylvania, John D. Anders (1771-1847) had charge
of the Moravian church at Berlin, where his great ability attracted
much attention among the students of the university. In 1827 he was
appointed to preside over the northern district of the American
Moravian church. This position he held until 1836, when he was elected
to the supreme executive board of the _Unitas Fratrum_.--ED.
[36] See Plate 34, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED.
[37] Born and educated in Prussia, John Gottlieb Herman came to the
United States in 1817, and taught and preached in Pennsylvania until
1844, when he was elected to the supreme executive board of the
Moravian church. During a part of his stay in America, he was
principal of Brown's boarding school for boys. After a brief mission
to the West Indies, he was elected president of the synod of the
entire Moravian church, held in Herrnhut, Saxony. Returning to the
United States in 1849, he died (1854) in the wilds of southwest
Missouri while returning from a mission to the Cherokee Indians.--ED.