Three miles beyond Louisville the western road again brings you to the
Ohio; and by a very ill conducted and apparently rather dangerous ferry
we were wafted over, (after waiting for our turn with many waggons, &c.
above three {80} hours,) and entered the State of Indiana at the town of
New Albany;[36] where we found a very comfortable reception at the
excellent family tavern kept by Dr. Hales, a physician. We had hitherto
been frequently received by Representatives, Colonels, Majors, 'Squires,
and Captains; these now sometimes give place to the medical profession.
An American may be proud of his liberty, but the pride of a gentleman
never stands in the way of a profitable speculation; idleness only is
here a disgrace, and if a man of liberal education finds that his
profession will not sufficiently remunerate him it is thought right that
he should seek profit in trade.
I had quitted the State of Kentucky with impressions in its favour far
stronger than that of Ohio had produced;--the climate is fine, the land
fertile and well cleared, and inclosed; the houses well built, and the
landscape as we passed frequently beautiful. But this is a slave State;
and as this degraded situation of a part of our species has excited the
horror of philanthropists on our side the globe, I will stop to say a
few words on the subject; my observations being understood to be
confined solely to the few slave States I have seen, and disclaiming, at
the same time, all theoretic approbation of the institution. I have
read, as others, with feelings of disgust {81} and injured pride of
humanity, of estates to be sold with so many slaves upon them; and of
the floggings unmerciful which authors have related; and, drawing
conclusions from such statements, I expected to see the slave, in misery
and wretchedness, bent down with labour and hard-living, but was very
agreeably surprised to find the reverse. Slavery is not here what it
_may be_ in our Colonies and perhaps, as I believe it is still worse, in
the old quarters of the globe. By the spirit of the laws the black is
here _indirectly_ benefitted: though a slave, he is suffered to
associate with his fellows, and one day in the seven (Sunday) is set
apart for society with each other; and though there may be instances of
cruel punishment, yet so numerous are the blacks becoming that it will
soon be dangerous, if the time is not already arrived, for such
instances to be repeated. And here lies the real objection to these
slave States; the slaves begin to know their own strength, and probably
would not long bear oppression. To see their well-proportioned figures
easy and unconstrained, and lively countenances, a stranger might be led
to think that _they_ were in fact the masters of the ill-formed,
emaciated, care-worn whites, were it not for the fine clothing of the
latter: in short they are well clothed, fed, and taken care of, and {82}
so numerous that I believe they are felt already in many places rather a
burthen on the community than an advantage. As to the work they do, as
far as I have had an opportunity to see, I should say it is so little,
that an English labourer would with ease accomplish more in a day than
two of them; and excepting a few of the _old school_, it is the general
sentiment of the best informed Americans that they should be better off
without slaves. But the sins of the fathers have fallen upon their sons,
and, as far as human foresight may look into futurity, they never can
get rid of the effects; they must always have an immense black
population to support, unless indeed the period shall ever arrive when
the latter shall change stations and _support them_.
We now meet at least as many parties going eastward as on the western
route, which might be rather discouraging to those not accustomed to
American restless search after gain; in this, all considerations of
comfort, or attachment to home are lost. He makes a pig-inclosure of
logs, a stable of the same, open to all the winds and to the poultry,
and if his log house will keep out the worst of the weather it is
sufficient: and thus, with such buildings, with just as much corn and
fother as will keep him, his family, and his stock, the {83} settler
passes his indolent days; smoking under the shed of his habitation, and
waiting for some good offer for what he terms his improvement; when he
immediately loads his waggon with his furniture and family, and without
the shadow of regret leaves his abode to seek some other equally
uncomfortable.
This State in respect to cultivation bears not at present any comparison
with its neighbour, but in natural beauties far exceeds it. The variety
of trees, shrubs, and flowers is great; the colours of the latter
gratifying the eye in all the gay luxuriance of nature;--the timber
trees grow to an enormous size; I measured an Oak which at four feet
from the ground was twenty-four feet in circumferance, but there are
larger trees here. We passed (_chemin faisant_) through several new
settlements called by the people Towns, and which indeed may soon
deserve the name; roads, bridges, mills for sawing, and other
buildings--every thing in short, goes on with that spirit of enterprise
which, in spite of poverty, is shewn by the people of America.
Paoli stands very pleasantly: Hindostan, on a branch of the White river
communicating with the Ohio by the Wabash, also is _to be_ a town of
great trade: Washington is perhaps the worst situated for trade[37] but
the land around it is {84} very fertile. There are also many other
intended to-be towns, but at present containing about half a dozen log
huts, such as Greensville, Brownsville, Fredericksberg, &c. &c. called
thus after the first proprietor of the land, who, if he is so fortunate
as to make choice of a favourable situation, rapidly makes his fortune
by the quick influx of settlers; but this is not always the case and
there are many "Villes" and "Bergs" which will probably long remain as
we found them.
At Hindostan I met with an adventure which, considering how little
respect is paid to any law, I might perhaps as well have avoided. At a
miserable log tavern there, kept open (and to all the winds) by a
Colonel, the entertainment both for man and horse was the worst we had
lately met with--the hay it was pretended was too far off to fetch; and
a few heads of Indian corn was all we could procure for the horses. For
ourselves, after a miserable meal, we found a bed laid in an out-house,
which also served for lumber-room and larder. All this travellers must
learn chearfully to bear, but another evil, which too frequently
follows, the high charges, it is not so easy to pay with good humour: in
this case I ventured, as I had hitherto done with good effect, to reason
against one or two of the items in a quiet delicate way fit for the ears
{85} of an independent; but here it did not succeed, for my Colonel
turned upon his heel saying, if I objected to his charges he would take
nothing at all, and away he went. I had a great mind to take him at his
word on account of his treatment; but after waiting for his return some
time, with my horses at the door, I at length left with the Colonel's
lady more than sufficient to defray the proper legal charge according to
the rate made out by their magistrates, to which however few of them pay
much attention: well, we then drove on, but had not got to the river
side before a lad was sent after me with the money, for the Colonel had
in fact been hiding to see what I would do, and coming out from his hole
to hear what had been left for him, preferred venting his spite even
before his money. I now determined to see how this would end, and
therefore put the money into my pocket, drove down to the river side,
and leaving my name and address at a store there for him, crossed the
ford and proceeded. An hour or two after, my gentleman passed me on
horseback, pale, "spiteful and wrathful," and we kept a good look out, a
little apprehensive of being _rifled at_ from behind the trees; so we
got the arms out ready; and drove on with circumspection to the town of
Washington about eighteen miles from {86} Hindostan. Here he had
collected more people than I should have supposed possible in the short
time, and had prepared his dramatis personæ, one of whom came
immediately to arrest me; with this fellow I went to attend another whom
they called a 'Squire, a whisky seller. At this respectable tribunal of
the wilderness I stated my case with some difficulty from the noise and
opposition, and expecting as much justice as I found, the 'Squire said
the bill must be paid without referring to the rates; and as curiosity
not resistance was my object, I at length paid it with about a quarter
dollar, no great fee for his worship. Upon this, the Colonel was so
elated with his victory that to shew his generosity, he said, he would
treat his friends with half a dozen of wine and give the amount of his
bill away; being satisfied with "shewing _the Englishman_ that he was
not to be imposed upon;" and it was in fact this rancor against an
Englishman, (not the first time I heard, it had been shewn by him in the
present way;) and which indeed is very general, that had actuated him
from our arrival at his log palace.
From the effects of wine added to the elation of spirits from victory, I
fully expected the affair would not end yet, and, determined not to
avoid any thing they might intend, I paced {87} before the tavern and
mixed with the people in the general room; but whether the wine was put
off for a glass round of the 'Squire's whiskey, or that it was swallowed
quickly I know not, in a very short time they all quietly departed, and
not a word or look could be construed insulting. This we must own would
not have been the case while such feelings were afloat in some other
countries, and was either very much to their credit or occasioned by a
party against their proceedings, several of whom told me they had acted
wrong and illegally.
While the towns are rapidly rising into being and improvement, the
inhabitant of the wood, vegetating in his log cabin, seems to remain
without increase of comforts, as he is without emulation to spur him on
to obtain them. Being now beyond the boundaries of any regular tavern,
necessity threw us upon seeking shelter for the night, in several of
such habitations, open to every breath of the winds without, and
swarming within with fleas, bugs, and other vermin: these are called
"houses of entertainment;" they are known to those who cross this at
present wilderness under such appellatives as "Preacher Biram's,"
"Preacher Blair's," "Widow More's," &c. At one of these, where, except a
wretched shed behind for a kitchen, {88} there was only one room for all
the purposes of life, we had put up for the night, and after such a
supper as the house afforded, had lain down to endeavour to rest; not
sleep, for that, not to mention the company above alluded to, would have
been sufficiently prevented by the knives and forks of my host and his
family at supper in the adjoining shed. After having watched for the end
of this, with some hope that we might get sleep, and hearing at length
the welcome sounds of putting away, I had just addressed myself to
Morpheus, when a general chorus in all keys suddenly burst upon my
ears--they had commenced at eleven o'clock at night their evening's
devotion, put off perhaps by our arrival: when the psalm was ended,
which was sung _a pleine gorge_, the preacher read a long homily, which
took up near an hour more, and which finished the business, and quiet
seemed likely to reign, when just as I had composed myself suddenly some
one jogged my shoulders; it was my hostess come to tell me that two
gentlemen, one a Dr. *****, and both particular friends of theirs had
arrived, and wished to have supper in the room, however that it need not
at all disturb us, as they were very nice gentlemen. However I strongly
objected to this proposal; and after some demur {89} the gentlemen
condescended to take their supper in the place which had just served for
the domestic chapel and kitchen, and which I believe afterwards was the
general dormitory of the party; after keeping it up very jovially until
one or two o'clock of the morning, by which time the bugs, assisted by
the light troops, had stormed and taken all my defences, and for the
rest of the time effectually "murdered sleep."
The reader will not here mistake so far as to suppose I mean to treat
lightly domestic worship, an observance for which we should all be
better, and for which I could not but respect my host, hoping he was
sincere in it; nor should the traveller be soured by the charges after
such _entertainment_, as he is too apt to be; but he should consider
that he had met with the best reception in the power of the people to
give: their only beds are given up for his convenience, while they
probably sleep on a bench or on the ground, and if money is the view
chiefly in all this, let money be freely given to discharge the
obligation. I was angered with much more reason at my host's attempt to
inveigle my man-servant from me with offers of twenty dollars per month,
his board, &c.: these religious people are but too apt to disregard
moral conduct as a thing altogether of {90} this world: many similar
offers had I believe been made to him, which sufficiently proves the
scarcity of active hands, and that such need not fear to want
situations.
Long before we approach the neighbourhood of Vincennes the woodland
opens here and there into what are termed _barrens_; these are not
generally flat but undulated, and covered with stunted oak, low
beautifull shrubs, &c.; belted in with trees so fancifully disposed that
one is apt to imagine the hand of art to have been employed: the land is
not considered in general as of even second-rate quality, but it is dry
and healthy, and, when cultivated, brings good corn if the summer is at
all favourable; indeed, under the present drought I saw some fair crops
at the few spots where _squatters_ had fixed themselves. These barrens
increase in size and number as we proceed westward, until they end in
the so much talked of _prairie_ or wild meadows; in the midst of one of
which, and upon the Great Wabash river stands the pleasant town of
Vincennes, upon a sandy gravel sub-soil with excellent springs of water.
Before we arrived at Vincennes, however, an adventure awaited us. We had
baited at a house which we were told was but six miles from the town,
and forgetting there is in these latitudes no twilight, had {91} staid
too long, and in consequence found ourselves in complete darkness just
on entering upon a large prairie; the road, which was nothing more than
wheel-tracks could no longer be discerned, and I was obliged to direct
two of our party to precede the carriage and find the way by feeling,
not by seeing the track. In this manner we had not gone far when the
guides stopped, declaring they heard the growl of some wild beast before
them,--bears, wolves, and panthers, all of which I had just heard of,
immediately came to mind, and I pulled up the horses to listen; when a
tremendous roar was heard directly, succeeded by another which brought
our guides, who were females, back upon the waggons, declaring that the
animal approached. Very unwilling for the engagement, I then cocked my
pistols, and calling to the man to do the same awaited for some time
the attack; but finding the enemy did not come forward, I ventured to
drive on, and soon discovered the object of our alarm to be a bull,
which had probably been as much discomfited at our approach as we at his
roars. We now resumed our stations, and though rain added to the
dreariness of our situation, I had the satisfaction to find that all
acted with spirit. After a doubtful march, which seemed of much longer
duration than it really {92} was, we at length discovered some lights at
a distance, and shortly after a horseman passed who gave us the welcome
assurance that we were in a right direction; so completely dark was it
however that even when we approached the town we could not find any
track by which to enter it. In this dilemma, amidst a pouring rain, we
were again aided by a good-natured Irishman, whose house we by chance
came up against; for he mounted along side of my driver and piloted us
to a tavern, glad enough to be relieved from cold, wet, dirt, and
darkness, a good preparation for the enjoyment of a comfortable supper
and bed, free from unpleasant bed-fellows.