JOURNEY FROM PITTSBURG TO NEW HARMONY, ON THE WABASH, FROM 8TH TO 19TH
OCTOBER, 1832
Cannonsburg--Wheeling--Embarkation in the Nile
Steam-boat--Marietta, on the Muskingum River--Indian
Antiquities--Flat-boats--Gallipolis--Portsmouth, at the mouth of
the Scioto River--Cincinnati--Big Miami River, which forms the
boundary between Ohio and Indiana--Louisville, on the Falls of
the Ohio--Horse-races--Embarkation in the Waterwitch
Steam-boat--The Cholera on Board--Mount Vernon--Landing--Journey
by Land to New Harmony.
The Ohio, called by the French _La Belle Riviere_, was at this time
too shallow at Pittsburg to be navigated by steamboats, and we were
therefore obliged to go by land to Wheeling,[61] a distance of
fifty-seven miles; by the river, it is ninety-five miles. After taking
leave of Dr. Saynisch, who returned to Bethlehem, we crossed the Ohio,
near the town, in a well contrived ferry, the wheels of which were
moved by four horses. Our stage was drawn rapidly, by four good
horses, along the path of the mountains, where the road passed through
lofty forests, great part of which was, however, ruined and cleared.
The foliage was adorned with the most beautiful varied tints of
autumn, a circumstance which distinguishes North America, at this
season, from all other countries. In the Brazils, it is the spring, or
the transition from the rainy to the dry season, that adorns the
forest with the most beautiful diversity of tints, which, however, are
chiefly produced by the flowers, which frequently appear before the
leaves. North America, on the other hand, has but few such flowering
trees; most of them have catkins (_amenta_), and it is the foliage,
which assumes in the autumn so great a variety of colours.
On the next eminence, the road leaves the river, and turns to the
south-west. Strata of coal appear in some places, and workmen were
busy in removing the earth above them. We frequently met with European
emigrants, most of them in their peasant's dress, with faces burnt by
the sun, and carrying their children. The country consists of high
hills and forests, and we frequently saw the robinia, pseud-acacia,
which is partly planted for the sake of its timber, potatoes, [pg. 65]
clover, and corn, which was now in the ear. A great deal of fruit is
cultivated here, and the farmers were just reaping the maize. The
farm-houses are all slightly built of wood, with the chimney on the
outside, to avoid the danger of fire. As the sun shone with intense
heat, the birds were all life, twittering on the high trees, where the
loquacious blackbirds flew about in companies. The woods, presenting a
beautiful mixture of yellow, vermilion, purple and green, gave us much
pleasure, and we reached Chattier or Shirtee Creek, which, after
numerous windings, falls into the Ohio, near Wheeling. We proceeded
along its valley, where colossal planes and elms, as well as robinia
and willows, afforded a welcome shade. We had passed several covered
bridges before we reached Cannonsburg, eighteen miles from Pittsburg,
where we changed horses, and, as usual in all such places in the
United States, were gazed at by the curious and the idle. There is a
college here for young divinity students. We now traversed the valley
of the Chattier Creek, where the plane trees were very lofty and
spreading. They were covered with their round fruit, from which the
Americans have given the tree the name of button-wood.
At noon we reached Washington,[62] a village, beyond which the
country presented an alternation of forests and fields, where stumps
of trees showed that the whole country east of the Mississippi was a
primeval forest. We found an ample variety in the splendid woods,
where the lime (_Tilia grandifolia_), with its colossal leaves, was
not uncommon, and the willow-leaved oak (_Quercus phellos_), was
likewise in great abundance, the foliage of which resembles our white
willow, but the bark and fruit are exactly like those of the oak.
After passing a village called Alexandria, or more properly Alexander
we reached the boundary of the state of Pennsylvania, and entered
Virginia, which last state has a narrow strip of land on the eastern
bank of the Ohio. The land here is said to be fruitful, and very well
cultivated, though we did not immediately perceive this in the narrow
valley of the Wheeling Creek, through which we drove. We saw numbers
of young oxen, all brought for sale from the state of Ohio, where the
breeding of cattle is very extensive. Many of these oxen had
uncommonly large horns, others none at all. It was a beautiful
moonlight evening when we passed the Mean Creek, which joins that
above-mentioned, and both together forming Wheeling Creek. At this
place, not far from the road-side, there is a pillar erected in honour
of Mr. Henry Clay, who had been very instrumental in the opening of
this road. The night prevented our taking a view of it. From an
eminence we saw before us numerous lamps in Wheeling, and the Ohio
sparkling in the light of the moon, and then took up our quarters at
an inn at that place. Wheeling is a rapidly improving town, containing
5,200 inhabitants, where at this time they were building whole
streets, and is situated on a ledge of the mountain, on the bank of
the Ohio. On the summit there is not much more than one broad,
unpaved street, with footpaths of bricks: shops of all kinds were
already opened. The Ohio at this place is about as broad as the
Moselle near its mouth. The banks are moderately high wooded
mountains, the uncultivated places in which are often overgrown with
_Datura_. Two [pg. 66] steam-boats were expected on the 9th of October,
and at noon we embarked on board the Nile, a small vessel, because
steamers of a large size cannot come so high up the river. Our large
or lower cabin had sixteen beds, the upper cabin being appropriated to
the women. The river was, at this time, very low, and its banks, from
forty to fifty feet high, consisted of yellowish red clay and strata
of sand.
The traces of the great inundation of the preceding spring were
everywhere visible in uprooted trees, thrown one over the other. The
water at that time overflowed the lower stories of the houses of
Wheeling; whereas it was now so low, that our boat was obliged to stop
for the night. Early on the following morning, however, the 10th of
October, we passed Elizabeth Town. On the banks of the river lay
pirogues, composed of the trunk of a tree hollowed out, like those in
Brazil, and small habitations were scattered in the lofty and
picturesque forests. A little field of maize generally surrounded
these dwellings, and the recently felled trees indicated that it was a
new settlement. The eminences on the banks of the Ohio are, in
general, rounded, steep, wooded hills, separated by valleys or
ravines. In many places stacks of wood were piled up for the
steam-boats, and some was already in boats. We arrived at New Town, on
the right bank, at the mouth of the Sunfish Creek, a village with only
eight houses, which was not yet marked on Tanner's map.[63] Near
Fishing Creek, which falls into the Ohio, we saw the white-headed
eagle soaring in the air, while the kingfishers flew about the banks,
and the note of the black crow sounded in the tall forests. Near the
village of Sistersville, on the right bank, in the state of Ohio, the
sand-banks in the river were covered with the yellow blossoms of some
plant, which, however, I was not able clearly to distinguish; but it
was an autumnal flower, and the wind reminded us of the approach of
the cold season, blowing quantities of leaves from the forest, in some
places entirely covering the surface of the water with them. Towards
noon, the sun shone bright, and the gay tints of the forest appeared
more lovely than ever; colossal planes, maples, tulip trees, beeches,
elms, ashes, limes, walnuts, and other trees, grow to a great height,
and beneath their shade we saw many rustic bridges, or planks, thrown
picturesquely across the little brooks. The trunks of the trees,
covered with the _Hedera quinquefolia_, which made them look like
scarlet columns, and the varied tints of the foliage, charm the
beholder. All along the Ohio, Mississippi, and Lower Missouri, the
papaw tree (_Asimina triloba Dunal_) grows as underwood. Its fruit,
resembling a small cucumber, was now ripe, and great quantities were
brought on board our steamer. This tree has a beautiful light green,
large, smooth leaf, and violet brown flower, which grows isolated, but
it does not attain a greater height than between twenty and thirty
feet. The fruit has a pleasant taste, but the smell is disagreeable.
It contains a whitish, juicy pulp, and twelve thick black kernels.
A heavy fall of rain was very welcome to us, the water in the river
being so low that our boat frequently grounded. At a narrow part of
the river we came to the village of Newark, and then to the mouth of
the Muskingum River, at the town of Marietta, which was founded in
1788.[64] This [pg. 67] place is small, but it has neat brick buildings,
some of which looked like churches. We have read much about the
ancient Indian remains and ramparts, between the Ohio and the
Muskingum. Smith Barton, Attwater, Schultz, and especially Warden,[65]
have written on this highly interesting subject, and given ground
plans of the Indian ramparts, which are met with at many places in the
state of Ohio, at Cincinnati, Wheeling, Chillicothe, as well as in all
the States west of the Alleghanys, and respecting which Warden has
collected everything that is known; but most of these interesting
remains have been entirely annihilated by the love of devastation, or
the negligence of the new settlers. Thus Marietta is built just on
the fore part of the Indian works, and many of them are no longer to
be seen. It is much to be lamented that the government of the United
States suffers all this to be done without any attempt to prevent it.
It looks on unmoved, while the plough continues from year to year the
destruction of these remains of ages long since past, the only
historical monuments of this country. Schultz gave, in 1820, a ground
plan of the ramparts near Marietta, as Smith Barton and Warden did
more recently; and Mr. Thomas Say made a sketch of them in 1815, which
he communicated to me. A great part of them has been since ploughed
over.
From Marietta we came to the Island of Muskingum, and then to Vienna
Island; opposite to which, on the left bank, lies the village of
Vienna. Swallows, which had long since left Pennsylvania, were still
flying about here. We everywhere heard accounts of the great flood in
the Ohio, when the steam-boats were on a level with the second story
of the houses in Marietta.
We saw tall forest trees, among the thick branches of which the river
had deposited beams and other pieces of wood.[66] Below Parkersburg, a
village on the southern side, the little Kenhava River issues from the
high bank opposite Belpie, a settlement of a few houses.[67] A
steam-boat, which had been entirely crushed by the ice, proved how
violent the effects of the breaking up of the ice in the Ohio
sometimes are. Our captain lay to for the night, on the right bank,
which was necessary, on account of the unfavourable weather; the rain
being so heavy, that it drenched the upper row of beds in the large
cabin.
On the 11th October the weather was fairer, but very cool. The
appearance of the bank was the same as before--an unbroken, thick
forest, with here and there some little settlements. We reached, at an
early hour, the Little Hocking River, which comes from the state of
Ohio. Ducks, particularly teal, flew past us, and we observed, also,
many other birds of passage on their flight. Near Shade Creek, the
banks of the river consisted of stratified, rocky walls, which
appeared to be Grauwacke slate;[68] we observed, in the forest, trees
of remarkable forms and colours; the trunks, covered with the scarlet
foliage of the five-leaved ivy, were particularly beautiful. We
frequently met, in the river, with flat boats, which are built all
along the banks [pg. 68] of the Ohio, from Pittsburg, and are sent with
the produce of the country to New Orleans. These boats are large
four-cornered chests, composed of beams and planks, are often heavily
laden, draw much water, and, having neither masts nor sails, proceed
very slowly. They are propelled with large oars, and can only go down
the river; they are many months on the voyage to New Orleans, and the
rowers are commonly new European emigrants, hired for low wages, and
often merely for a free passage. Many of these boats are wrecked, and
they are, therefore, frequently insured; at New Orleans they are sold
for lumber.
The woods in the valley of the Ohio are more lofty and luxuriant than
on the other side of the Alleghany Mountains; vines twine round the
trees, and present a faint image of the woods of warmer countries. The
kingfisher was common; the swallows had not yet taken their flight,
and in some places the sandpiper was seen upon the bank. In the
vicinity of the houses were cattle, horses, swine, large sheep, and
numerous flocks of European geese and ducks; here, too, the papaw tree
was sometimes planted in rows. The river increased in breadth, but not
in depth, of which we had the proof before us, for a flat boat had run
aground, and the people stood in the water, trying to get it afloat.
In this part of the country there are, in the state of Ohio, many
Swiss colonists, who are much commended for their industry. The soil
is extremely fruitful, and needs no manure. The dwellings of these
people are small log-houses, exactly like the huts in Switzerland.
Towards noon, before we reached Point Pleasant, we saw, in many places
on the Ohio, considerable coal-pits, the sulphureous smell of which
was perceptible in the steamer; many boats lay ready to take in
cargoes; negro children were sitting in groups on the bank, near their
extensive plantations of maize. These people are free in the state of
Ohio. After we had passed Point Pleasant, a village on the left bank,
where fine forests cover the low bank of the great Kenhava River,
which here falls into the Ohio, we reached, in about twenty minutes,
Gallipolis, on the right bank, an old French colony, the inhabitants
of which still speak the French language.[69] Immediately below that
town, there is a fine forest of beech trees; on the water-side,
thickets of plane, and between them the papaw tree took the place
which, in Pennsylvania, is occupied by the _Rhododendron maximum_;
willows grew in front of the planes.
The sun disappeared behind the hills on the bank; the evening sky was
clear and serene, and the bright mirror of the Ohio extended unruffled
near Racoon Creek, where we saw large flocks of ducks. We intended to
continue our voyage during the night; but, about nine o'clock, we
struck violently on a sand-bank, near the Indian Guyandot River, where
there is a small village of the same name, and, as a thick fog arose,
we lay to, six miles below Guyandot.[70]
On the 12th of October, in the morning, a dense fog covered the river,
and the thermometer was, at half-past six o'clock, at 10 deg. Reaumur,
above zero. We passed the mouth of Symes Creek, and then Burlington, a
small scattered village in Lawrence County, where our boat struck upon
some stones, and was thrown a little on one side. On the left bank was
Cadetsburg, [pg. 69] with Big Sandy Creek, then Hanging Rock, a small
village, where most of the iron utensils for the whole of Ohio are
shipped. The situation of the place is picturesque, surrounded with
forests and rocks. On the left, or Kentucky bank, we passed
Greenupsburg, a row of seventeen or eighteen small houses, on the high
bank. The inhabitants, in order to attract the notice of the vessels
that pass by to their public-houses, stores, or shops, have set up
posts, with boards painted white, on which their trade, &c., is
described in very large letters. The beech woods on this part of the
river were remarkably fine, their foliage green and yellow. On our
right hand was the little Scioto River; we then came to the village of
Portsmouth, at the mouth of the Scioto River, on the Ohio bank, where
the celebrated Ohio Canal begins, which connects that river with lake
Erie. At this place we took on board a number of European emigrants,
among whom were many Germans, with their baggage, beds, and other
effects, and many children. The negroes brought provisions for sale;
one of them had a number of fowls, all of which escaped, and caused no
little amusement. From this place, fine forests covered the bank, in
which were tall poplars (_Populus Angulata_, or _Canadensis_), which
I had not before observed. Here, too, I noticed some interesting forms
of mountains, which in general are very rare in this country. Most of
the summits are round, some broad, but very few pointed. Towards
evening we came to the village of Rockville,[71] on the right bank,
which was not marked on our map, and lay to, at nightfall, when we
learned that our vessel had caught fire, but happily it was already
extinguished. On the bank near the steam-boat, a large fire was
burning, the reflection of which, on the dark forest, had a fine
effect, and so had the steamers that hastened past us, which were
brightly lighted up inside, and emitted sparks of fire as they rushed
along in the dark night.
On the 13th, at daybreak, the landscape was obscured by rain. We had
passed, during the night, Adamsville, Manchester, Aberdeen, Ripley,
Vanceburg, Maysville, and Augusta, and were now off the village of
Neville, where the Helen Mar steam-boat lay near us, to take in wood.
We then came to Moscow, then to Point Pleasant, and on the right bank
to New Richmond.[72] Near the little Miami River, six miles from
Cincinnati, the Ohio was so shallow, that we saw the shells at the
bottom, and our boat struck several times. The Miami River was nearly
dry. At Columbia, in the state of Ohio, the valley becomes rather
wider, but the hills soon close in again upon the river, and we come
to the beginning of the great town of Cincinnati.
Cincinnati, the most important and flourishing town of the West, with
more than 36,000 inhabitants, was at this time visited by the cholera,
which, as we were assured by a physician who came to our vessel,
carried off, on an average, forty persons daily. I therefore resolved
not to stop now, but to visit this town on my return; our baggage was
transferred to the Portsmouth steamer, which was just about to depart;
and at noon we reached the mouth of Big Miami River.[73]
On the 14th of October, we had pleasant sunshiny weather. The river
had become considerably broader, when we came to Six-miles Island, a
beautiful island six miles from Louisville. [pg. 70] We had passed
several places during the night, and likewise the celebrated Big-bone
Lick,[74] where colossal bones of the mammoth have been dug up at the
foot of a hill of black earth. I would gladly have stopped at this
spot, but some of our passengers, who were well acquainted with the
country, assured me that there was now nothing to be seen there, nor
was anything more found. All that had been obtained had been sold to
England and the American museums.
Fossil bones[75] of animals are still found in the United States, but
the possessors having learnt the value of such things, ask so high a
price for them that it is difficult to obtain them; they are, besides,
frequently presented, out of patriotism, to the American museums.
We soon reached Louisville, a considerable town, with 12,000
inhabitants, which in 1800 had only 600.[76] It is in the state of
Kentucky, and, when seen from the river, does not make nearly so good
an appearance as Cincinnati. Negroes conveyed our baggage to the inn,
where we found, as usual, a great number of gentlemen, for the most
part travelling merchants. The merchants are, in America, the class of
people among whom the most idleness is found, and they are extremely
numerous. The least numerous classes are the men of learning, and the
military; the latter, in particular, so very few, that they are not at
all remarked. The young men who, in North America, besiege the doors
of the inns, are, doubtless, most of them, traders. Foreigners are
often treated with contempt by these persons, who are usually equally
conceited and unpolished, and make observations, as soon as they
discover a foreigner, either by his incorrect pronunciation of
English, or by his dress. This American conceit is to be attributed
partly to their excessive patriotism, and partly to their ignorance,
and want of acquaintance with other countries.
When the dinner-hour was come, such a crowd of gentlemen had assembled
before the house, that, at the ringing of the second (dinner) bell,
the dining-room was in a manner carried by storm. All rushed
impetuously into the room, every one making good use of his elbows,
and in ten minutes all these people had dined and hastened out again.
Mr. Wenzel, a German merchant, to whom I had letters, had the kindness
to show me the town and neighbourhood. Louisville has the appearance
of being likely soon to become an important town, and many new houses
were, in fact, building. The streets are long, broad, and straight,
crossing each other at right angles, and the situation on the Ohio is
very favourable for trade. Handsome, showy shops are common here, as
in all the towns of the United States, and elegance of dress
characterizes everywhere, even in the smallest places, the inhabitants
of this country, the great object of whose efforts is the acquisition
of wealth. As it was Sunday, the various sects of the population were
flocking to their respective places of worship; afterwards, many of
them were driving out in their gigs. There were already above thirty
hackney carriages, partly belonging to negroes, of whom only the far
[pg. 71] smaller portion are free in the state of Kentucky. The state of
oppression in which the negro slaves live in North America, makes them
corrupt and knavish, which travellers often have occasion to learn by
their own experience. At Louisville, the cholera had already appeared.
Five persons, most of them negroes, were carried off the day before
our arrival, and a general panic had seized the inhabitants.
Mr. Wenzel took us to a spot which was intended for horse-races, an
institution quite new in the Western States. A society had purchased a
beautiful level spot of ground, surrounded with woods, and about four
miles in circumference. This place was surrounded with palisades, with
several stands in the centre, and stables in the neighbourhood for the
horses. The horses of Kentucky are considered to be the best in the
country; the stallions which were to run, and some of which had come
from a distance, seemed to be mostly of a very good breed, not large,
but well built. The first races were to continue the whole of the next
week. This institution will, doubtless, have a good effect in
improving the breed of horses, and afford the inhabitants of the town
and neighbourhood both advantage and amusement.
In the afternoon we left Louisville to embark at Portland, below the
town, on account of the Falls of the Ohio, that now cannot be
navigated past the town, and therefore a canal has been made, where,
by the aid of five sluices, the boats are raised twenty-two feet.
Those who land at Louisville embark again at Portland, where there is
generally a great number of steam-boats, among which we chose the
Water-witch, bound to New Orleans.[77] There were a great many
passengers eager to embark, who drove in carriages into the river to
reach the steam-boat, to which the baggage was conveyed in the same
manner. The loading of the vessel not being completed, we did not set
out till the 16th of October. At seven o'clock in the morning of that
day, Reaumur's thermometer was at 5 deg. above zero, while a thick fog
covered the river. We put off at half-past ten, and had a fine view of
the magnificent Ohio, with the large town of Louisville in Kentucky,
and New Albany in Indiana,[78] opposite, with numerous steam-boats on
both banks. It was soon discovered that our engine was out of order,
and we were forced to lie to, on the Indiana side, to repair it. As
this required much time, we took the opportunity of exploring the
first forest in this State. The bank was fifty feet high, and steep;
the upper part of the declivity was covered with _Datura_, the seeds
of which were now ripe, but very few of the light purple flowers were
to be seen. The beautiful blue flowering _Eupatorium coelestinum_
and the _Lobelia syphilitica_ bore their flowers amongst the
thorn-apples. On the summit of the bank there was a noble forest of
tall, thick beech, maple, oak, walnut trees, &c., in which there were
some plantations of maize, with their block-houses. The underwood was
everywhere the papaw tree, and on the skirts of the forest the yellow
flowering _Cassia Marylandica_, with ripe seed. Old trunks lay rotting
on the ground, which was partly covered with the falling leaves.
At nightfall our engine was repaired, and we proceeded on our voyage,
and on the morning [pg. 72] of the 17th reached the village of
Brandenburg, on the Kentucky bank, which is here rocky, and marked
with horizontal white stripes, or strata. The mountains were rounded
and covered with wood. In Indiana the forest was cleared in some
places for plantations, which afforded a view into the picturesque
interior; for on these cleared spots the tall forest trees stood, as
in the primeval forests in Brazil, like columns crowded together. This
dense forest was interrupted for a short space by the towns of
Leavenworth and Rome, in Indiana, and Stevensport in Kentucky; the two
last with some indifferent buildings. From this part the country had
no great variety, the forests being seldom interrupted. The islands
were bordered with willow bushes, with tall trees in the middle. On
the bank where the rock was exposed, on account of the low water in
the river, we observed singular forms produced by the action of the
stream. They consisted of round or elliptical stratified masses, which
gradually decreased in breadth, so that the whole looked like a
truncated pyramid rising in terraces. Before night we reached
Cloverburg, in Kentucky, and lay to till the stars or the moon should
appear.[79] Numerous card parties sat down in the great cabin, where
the heat was intolerable. Our beds swarmed with cockroaches, which ran
over our faces and hands, or fell from the ceiling. These disagreeable
animals are as common here as in Brazil; they gnaw everything, and,
being quite soft, are crushed by the slightest motion.
On the 18th, at half-past six o'clock in the morning, the thermometer
was +16 deg. Reaumur, with rain, and wind, and a clouded sky. We reached
at an early hour the little place of Rockport,[80] in Indiana, and at
half-past eight, Owenburg, or Yellow Banks, in Kentucky, where we
landed many passengers. We saw the Turkey buzzard hovering over the
woods--a bird which we had not observed since we left Cincinnati, and
which is not found to the west of the Alleghanys. The Ohio, though the
water was extremely low, was still very broad and beautiful, its
wooded banks rather low. French Island, and some others, covered with
bushes and lime trees, lay quite dry, surrounded with a large
sand-bank. It was discovered that we had the cholera on board. A man
from Kentucky had declared himself ill early in the morning, and was
dead before eleven o'clock, though the Captain employed all the
remedies in his power. He was quite well in the evening, had played at
cards all night, and did not complain till towards morning. A coffin
was made of some planks; the vessel lay to on the bank, which was
steep, and the bell was rung while the body was conveyed on shore and
buried. Many of our passengers landed to see the funeral; others were
extremely alarmed, and, meantime, took a walk.
After the funeral was over, and a white board, with the name of the
deceased, had been set up on the grave, the bell called the passengers
on board; in half an hour we reached Evansville on the Indiana bank;
soon afterwards Pigeon Creek; above this, on the other bank, the Green
River, and subsequently the village of Henderson.[81] Here we took in
fresh provisions, and, among the rest, 1000 fowls were offered for
sale, of which we took a good supply at a dollar per dozen. [pg. 73] The
sun was setting with great splendour as we left this place; the broad,
unruffled bosom of the Ohio shone like a silver mirror, in which the
beautiful wooded banks were reflected, and the magnificent purple and
orange hues of the sky tinged the river with their glow.
Towards midnight we reached Mount Vernon,[82] where we landed,
intending to proceed, the next morning, to New Harmony, to visit the
naturalists at that place. After passing the night at an indifferent
inn, I set out for New Harmony, on the 19th of October, in the
morning. I had been indisposed, as well as my huntsman, since I left
Louisville, and was not in a mood properly to appreciate the fine,
lofty forests of Indiana, the road through which was very bad and
rough; the last part of the forest was remarkably grand and wild:
vines and other climbing plants hung down from the old trees. The
_Amorpha fruticosa_ frequently formed the underwood. At some of the
isolated dwellings of the farmers, racoon skins were hung up to dry,
and the beautiful large feathers of the wild turkey were scattered on
the ground. After having passed, in the most oppressive heat, the Big
Creek, which flows between the wooded hills, we soon reached the
fertile valley of the Wabash, near to which New Harmony is built.
FOOTNOTES:
[61] For the early history of Wheeling, see A. Michaux's _Travels_, in
our volume iii, p. 33, note 15.--ED.
[62] For notes on Canonsburg, Washington, and Alexandria, see Harris's
_Journal_, in our volume iii, pp. 347, 348, notes 31, 32, 33
respectively. The Associate Presbyterian Theological Seminary was
organized at Canonsburg in 1794, with Rev. John Anderson as the first
instructor.--ED.
[63] For Elizabeth Town, New Town, and Sistersville, see,
respectively, Cuming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. 34, note 7; A.
Michaux's _Travels_, in our volume iii, p. 49, note 66; and Woods's
_English Prairie_, in our volume x, p. 223, note 25.
Henry S. Tanner (1786-1858), a resident of Philadelphia, engraved and
published atlases and separate maps. Worthy of mention are the _New
American Atlas_ (Philadelphia, 1817-23), _The World_ (1825), _Map of
the United States of Mexico_ (1825), _Map of the United States of
America_ (1829). Tanner was a member of the geographical societies of
London and Paris, made numerous contributions to periodicals, and
published the _American Traveller_ (Philadelphia, 1836), _Central
Traveller_ (New York, 1840), _New Picture of Philadelphia_
(Philadelphia, 1840), _Description of the Canals and Railroads of the
United States_ (New York, 1840), and _View of the Valley of the
Mississippi_ (Philadelphia, 1832).--ED.
[64] Maximilian is probably here referring to the hamlet Newport, in
Washington County, instead of to Newark. Newport was not laid out as a
village until 1839. For an account of Marietta see A. Michaux's
_Travels_, in our volume iii, p. 34, note 16.--ED.
[65] Benjamin Smith Barton (1766-1815) studied in Philadelphia,
Edinburgh, London, and Goettingen, practiced medicine in Philadelphia,
and for a number of years taught in the college of that city and its
successor, the University of Pennsylvania. He made numerous
contributions to scientific journals, and published _Observations on
Some Parts of Natural History_ (London, 1787), _New Views on the
Origin of the Tribes of America_ (1797), etc.
Caleb Atwater (1778-1867) went to Ohio in 1811, served several years
in the legislature of that state, and was appointed Indian
commissioner under Jackson. He published _A Tour to Prairie du Chien_
(1831), _Western Antiquities_ (1833), _Writings of Caleb Atwater_
(1833), and _History of Ohio_ (1838).
Christian Schultz, _Travels on an Inland Voyage through the States of
New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and
through the territories of Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi and New
Orleans: performed in the years 1807-1808_ (New York, 1810).
David Baillie Warden (1778-1845) was for many years United States
consul at Paris. He was much interested in antiquities and published
_Recherches sur les Antiquites de l'Amerique Septentrionale_ (Paris,
1827); also earlier _A Statistical, Political, and Historical Account
of the United States of North America_ (Edinburgh, 1819).--ED.
[66] Audubon (see "Ornithological Biography," vol. i. p. 156) mentions an
instance of a cow that swam in to the window of a house which was seven
feet above the ground, and sixty feet above low-watermark.--MAXIMILIAN.
[67] For Parkersburg, see Woods's _English Prairie_, in our volume x,
p. 224, note 27. The other settlement should be Belpre, for which see
our volume iv, p. 127, note 87.--ED.
[68] For points of historic interest connected with the Little
Hockhocking (Hocking) River, see Croghan's _Journals_, in our volume
i, p. 131, note 99.
Shade Creek rises in Atkins County, flows southeast through Meigs
County, and enters the Ohio about twenty-one miles below
Blennerhassett's Island.--ED.
[69] For Point Pleasant and Gallipolis, see respectively Croghan's
_Journals_, in our volume i, p. 132, note 101, and F. A. Michaux's
_Travels_, volume iii, p. 185, note 34.--ED.
[70] Racoon Creek, ninety miles in length, drains Vinton County, Ohio,
flows through Gallia County, and joins the Ohio River seven miles
below Gallipolis.
For Guyandotte River, see Woods's _English Prairie_, in our volume x,
p. 229, note 33.--ED.
[71] Symmes Creek, which enters the Ohio five miles above Burlington,
probably derived its name, like the village Symmes, from John Cleves
Symmes, appointed judge in the Northwest Territory in 1787. In 1788
Judge Symmes received a federal grant of a million acres of public
land, upon which was founded Cincinnati and North Bend.
Burlington, in the southwestern extremity of Ohio, was once the seat
of Lawrence County.
Catlettsburg, here incorrectly written Cadetsburg, is the seat of Boyd
County, Kentucky. See Cuming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. 155, note
103.
The Sandy, or the Big Sandy, River (not creek), formed by the junction
of Tug and Levisa forks, flows north to the Ohio River, separating the
states of Kentucky and West Virginia. It drains an area of four
thousand square miles, and is navigable for small steamboats to a
distance of a hundred miles.
Hanging Rock, named for a high sandstone escarpment, is on the right
bank of the river, three miles below Ironton.
For Greenupsburg and Governor Greenup, see Woods's _English Prairie_,
in our volume x, p. 229, note 34.
Concerning the historic importance of the Scioto River, see Croghan's
_Journals_, in our volume i, p. 134, note 102; and for the Ohio Canal,
see Flint's _Letters_ in our volume ix, p. 96, note 44.
Rockville, Adams County, Ohio, was laid out in 1830.--ED.
[72] Adamsville, Muskingum County, Ohio, was laid out in 1832 by M.
Adams.
For the early history of Manchester, Ohio, and its founder, General
Nathaniel Massie, see Cuming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. 160, note
107.
Aberdeen, Brown County, Ohio, was laid out by Nathan Ellis in 1816.
For Ripley, see Woods's _English Prairie_, in our volume x, p. 233,
note 41; for Vanceburg, see Cuming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. 165,
note 111; for Maysville, see A. Michaux's _Travels_, in our volume
iii, p. 35, note 23; and for Augusta, see Flint's _Letters_, in our
volume ix, p. 148, note 69.
Neville, in Clermont County, Ohio, was settled by John Gregg in 1795.
The "Helen Mar" steamboat (88 tons) was built at Cincinnati in 1832;
it was reported as being out of commission in 1837.
Moscow, Clermont County, Ohio, was laid out by Owen Davis (1816); and
Point Pleasant, five miles farther down the river, in the same county,
was platted in the same year by Joseph Jackson for its proprietor,
Henry Ludlow.
For New Richmond, see Flint's _Letters_, in our volume ix, p. 148,
note 70.--ED.
[73] For the founding of Cincinnati, see Cuming's _Tour_, in our
volume iv, p. 256, note 166.--ED.
[74] For Big Bone Lick and the remains of the mammoth found there, see
Croghan's _Journals_, in our volume i, p. 135, note 104.--ED.
[75] In Ferussac's "Bulletin des Sciences," 1831, there is a notice of
a colossal animal, sixty feet long, lately discovered there, and the
whole story was invented, merely to attract visitors. In Silliman's
American Journal (Vol. xx. No. 2, July, 1831, page 370), there is a
correct description of these bones, in refutation of the preceding
statement.--MAXIMILIAN.
[76] On the early history of Louisville and the Falls of the Ohio, see
Croghan's _Journals_ in our volume i, p. 136, note 106.--ED.
[77] Portland was laid out in 1814 for the proprietor, William Lytle;
it was incorporated in 1834, and annexed to Louisville in 1837.
The "Water Witch" (120 tons) was built at Nashville in 1831, being
sunk near Plaquemine, Louisiana, two years later.--ED.
[78] For New Albany, see Hulme's _Journal_, in our volume x, p. 44,
note 15.--ED.
[79] Brandenburg is the seat of Meade County, Kentucky, forty miles
below Louisville. It was incorporated in 1825, and named after Colonel
Solomon Brandenburg, the proprietor.
Leavenworth, named for Messrs. S. M. and J. Leavenworth, is the seat
of justice in Crawford County, Indiana. It was located in 1818.
Rome, Perry County, Indiana, was laid out (May, 1818) by one Cummings,
and named Washington; in the fall of the same year the name was
changed to Franklin; when it was made the county seat in 1819, it was
given its present name. See _History of Warrick, Spencer, and Perry
Counties, Indiana_ (Chicago, 1885).
Stevensport was incorporated in 1825. Cloverport, originally
Jossville, was established in 1828.--ED.
[80] For Rockport, see Woods's _English Prairie_, in our volume x, p.
251, note 58.
Owensboro (incorrectly written Owenburg) is the seat of justice for
Daviess County, Kentucky. Originally called Rossborough, the name was
later changed to that now used, being given in honor of Colonel
Abraham Owen, killed in the battle of Tippecanoe. The town was
incorporated February 3, 1817.--ED.
[81] An account of the founding of Evansville is given in Hulme's
_Journal_, in our volume x, p. 45, note 16.
For Henderson, see Cuming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. 267, note
175.--ED.
[82] For Mount Vernon, see Flint's _Letters_, in our volume ix, p.
306, note 154. A short account of New Harmony is given in Hulme's
_Journal_, in our volume x, p. 50, note 22.--ED.