On leaving Washington a few miles, the traveller enters the state of
Virginia, which he crosses to Wheeling, a town on the eastern bank of
the Ohio. The whole way is in general a fine drive, and in two or three
years will be better from the improved roads forming every where as we
pass with great judgment and spirit. The National road is a work truly
worthy of a great nation, both in its idea and construction; upon it,
the traveller will be enabled to pass with comfort, from the eastern
coast, westward the whole way to New Orleans; and perhaps by another
branch to St. Louis, without being stopt to pay a single toll.[19] This
is as it should be; for roads are one of those important works which are
scarcely ever executed well by individuals, and which therefore should
be done by their representatives, and paid for by the treasury; one is
not then stopt every five or ten miles to pay a toll frequently
exorbitant; nor would the public be speculated upon {56} by individual
proprietors[20] or small companies, who seldom execute these works upon
a scale sufficiently liberal.
[Illustration]
Almost all the labourers employed here upon the roads are either Irish
or English, and it is not certain that these republicans have not a
secret pride in beholding the natives of the old world toiling for their
benefit; however, the earnings of the men are I believe sufficient to
render them in time independent, and I must say they look in general
well fed, well clothed and comfortable. We passed one party employed in
ploughing down part of the uneven road with a strong machine drawn by
eight oxen, while two others drew a large wooden scoop to shovel up and
lead away the ploughed up soil: it appeared to save much labour. The
Irish here have not lost in our esteem; two or three times we have been
beholden to individuals of that nation for good-natured little services:
one of them lately aided me successfully to get along part of the new
road where we had met with some opposition; another actually accompanied
us about nine miles on a like occasion, not with a view to
remuneration, for I could not persuade him to {57} take any thing for
his services but some refreshment at the tavern. I heartily return them
the good wishes they so frequently expressed as we passed them. One of
the above men had acquired some property; he told me that seven years
ago he bought land at six dollars per acre, and that he had just sold a
part of it at fifty, and some even so high as seventy dollars per acre.
The proximity of the new road had increased thus the value of his land.
The beautiful Sassafras shrub is now plentiful, also several others
which I in vain endeavoured to obtain the name of; for the people seem
almost totally ignorant of the trees and shrubs in their woods.