Transcriber’s Note:
Words and phrases in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like
this_. Long ‘s’ (ſ) were converted to ‘s’. Footnotes were moved to the
end of each book. There are two anchors to footnote [122] in André
Michaux’s Travels.
Obvious printing errors, such as backwards, upside down, missing or
partially printed letters and punctuation, were corrected. Final
stops missing at the end of sentences and abbreviations were added.
In the second book, manuscript page numbers are displayed within
brackets, e.g. {36}.
Words may have inconsistant spelling, diacriticals and hyphenation in
the text. These were left unchanged, as were obsolete and alternative
spellings. Except as noted below, misspelled words were not corrected.
The following were changed:
answer to answers ... sometimes answers their purpose ...
wool to wood ... also made of wood,...
prevous to previous ... the year previous;...
[Illustration: Fr. André Michaux]
Early Western Travels
1748-1846
A Series of Annotated Reprints of some of the best
and rarest contemporary volumes of travel, descriptive
of the Aborigines and Social and
Economic Conditions in the Middle
and Far West, during the Period
of Early American Settlement
Edited with Notes, Introductions, Index, etc., by
Reuben Gold Thwaites
Editor of “The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents,” “Wisconsin
Historical Collections,” “Chronicles of Border Warfare,”
“Hennepin’s New Discovery,” etc.
Volume III
André Michaux’s Travels into Kentucky, 1793-96. François
André Michaux’s Travels West of Alleghany Mountains,
1802. Thaddeus Mason Harris’s Journal of a Tour
Northwest of Alleghany Mountains, 1803
[Illustration]
Cleveland, Ohio
The Arthur H. Clark Company
1904
COPYRIGHT 1904, BY
THE ARTHUR H. CLARK COMPANY
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The Lakeside Press
R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS COMPANY
CHICAGO
CONTENTS OF VOLUME III
PREFACE. _The Editor_ 11
I
JOURNAL OF TRAVELS INTO KENTUCKY; July 15, 1793--April 11,
1796. _André Michaux_ 25
II
TRAVELS TO THE WEST OF THE ALLEGHANY MOUNTAINS, in the
States of Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessea, and back to
Charleston, by the Upper Carolines ... undertaken in
the year 1802. September 24, 1801--March 1, 1803.
_François André Michaux_ 105
III
THE JOURNAL OF A TOUR INTO THE TERRITORY NORTHWEST OF THE
ALLEGHANY MOUNTAINS; made in the Spring of the Year
1803. April 7--“beginning of July.” _Thaddeus Mason
Harris, A.M._ 307
ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOLUME III
I. Portrait of François André Michaux. _From oil painting
in possession of American Philosophical Society at
Philadelphia_ Frontispiece
II. Carte des Etats du Centre, de l’Ouest et du Sud des
Etats-Unis, 1804 [From the original French edition] 108
III. Photographic facsimile of title-page to François André
Michaux’s _Travels_ 109
IV. Photographic facsimile of title-page to Harris’s
_Journal_ 309
V. Photographic facsimile of Map of Alleghany and
Yohiogany Rivers; from Harris’s _Journal_ 331
VI. Photographic facsimile of Map of the State of Ohio, by
Rufus Putnam; from Harris’s _Journal_ 351
PREFACE TO VOLUME III
We publish in this volume André Michaux’s journal of his travels into
Kentucky from 1793-96, Englished by us from the French version in the
_Proceedings_ of the American Philosophical Society; a reprint of the
English version of _Travels to the West of the Alleghany Mountains_,
made in 1802 by his son, François André Michaux; and a reprint
of Thaddeus Mason Harris’s _Journal of a Tour into the Territory
Northwest of the Alleghany Mountains, made in the Spring of the Year
1803_--omitting, however, as unnecessary to our present purpose, the
appendix thereto.
_The Michauxs_
André Michaux, whose name is known to scientists of both hemispheres,
was born at Satory, Versailles, in 1746. Destined by his father
for the superintendence of a farm belonging to the royal estate,
Michaux early became interested in agriculture, even while pursuing
classical studies. Upon the death of his young wife, Cecil Claye,
which occurred at the birth of their son, François André (1770), he
devoted himself to scientific studies in the effort to overcome his
grief. These naturally took the direction of botany, and Michaux
became imbued with a desire to seek for strange plants in foreign
countries. From 1779-81 he travelled in England, the Auvergne,
and the Pyrenees; and later (1782-85), in Persia, botanizing, and
studying the political situation of the Orient. He had intended to
return to Persia, but while in France (1785) the government requested
that he should proceed to North America in order to make a study of
forest trees, and experiment with regard to their transplantation to
France. Accordingly, in the autumn of 1785, he left France, taking
with him his young son.
Landing in New York he passed a year and a half in that vicinity,
herborizing, and attempting a botanical garden. Finding the latitude
of the Southern states, however, more suited to his enterprise, he
removed in the spring of 1787 to Charleston. Purchasing a plantation
about ten miles from the city, he entered with enthusiasm into the
search for new plants and their culture upon his estate. In this
year he explored the mountains of the Carolinas, and a twelve-month
later made a difficult and hazardous journey through the swamps and
marshes of Florida. The next year (1789) was occupied by a voyage to
the Bahamas, and another search among the mountains for plants of
a commercial nature--notably ginseng, whose utility he taught the
mountaineers.
In 1794 he undertook a most difficult expedition to Canada and the
arctic regions about Hudson Bay, and upon his return proposed to the
American Philosophical Society at Philadelphia an exploration of the
great West by way of the Missouri River. A subscription was begun for
this purpose, and Jefferson drafted for him detailed instructions for
the journey;[1] but his services were needed in another direction,
and the Missouri exploration was abandoned for a political mission.
The discontent of the Western settlers with regard to the free
navigation of the Mississippi had reached an acute stage; the French
minister to the United States had come armed with instructions to
secure the co-operation of trans-Allegheny Americans for a raid
upon the Spanish territory of Louisiana, aimed to recover that
province for the power to which it had formerly belonged, and make
it a basis for revolutionary movements in Canada, the West Indies,
and ultimately all Spanish America.[2] This minister arrived in
Charleston in February, 1793, and selected Michaux as his agent to
communicate with the Kentucky leaders. An ardent republican, already
in the pay of the French government, and friendly with influential
men in government circles, Michaux seemed a most desirable as well
as the most available agent possible. One characteristic was not,
however, sufficiently considered. Whatever may have been his interest
in the intrigue, whatever accounts thereof are through caution
or prudence omitted from the journal here printed, one fact is
evident--that Michaux was chiefly devoted to the cause of science;
these pages reveal that a rare plant or new tree interested him much
more than an American general or a plot to subvert Spanish tyranny.
His first Kentucky journey was, from the point of view of the
diplomats, but moderately successful. With the collapse of the
enterprise--due to the imprudence of Genet, the firmness of
Washington, the growing loyalty of the Westerners to the new federal
government, and the change of leaders in France--Michaux returned
to botanical pursuits, and his later journeys appear to have been
undertaken solely in order to herborize. There are, however, some
slight indications in the text that he entertained hope of continuing
the enterprise, and of its ultimate success. His inquiries, in the
Cumberland, for guides for the Missouri expedition, prove that he
had by no means abandoned his purpose of undertaking that hazardous
project.
But these long Western journeys had exhausted his resources; for
seven years he had had no remittance from the French government,
and was now under the necessity of returning to Europe to attend to
his affairs. Accordingly in 1796 he embarked for France, and was
shipwrecked on the coast of Holland, losing part of his collections;
but his herbarium was preserved, and is now in the Musée de Paris.
He ardently desired to be sent back to America; but his government
offered him no encouragement, and finally he accepted a post upon an
expedition to New Holland, and in November, 1802, died of fever upon
the island of Madagascar.
His son, François André, entered into his father’s pursuits and
greatly assisted him. While yet a lad, he accompanied him on
several arduous journeys in America; at other times remaining upon
the plantation, engaged in the care of the transplanted trees. He
returned to France some years before his father, in order to study
medicine, and in the year of the latter’s death was commissioned by
the French minister of the interior to proceed to the United States
to study forests and agriculture in general.
The journal of his travels was not originally intended for print;
but the interest aroused in the Western region of the United States
by the sale of Louisiana, induced its publication. The first French
edition appeared in 1804, under the title, _Voyage à l’ouest des
Monts Alléghanys, dans les États de l’Ohio, et du Kentucky, et
du Tennessée, et retour a Charleston par les Hautes-Carolines_.
Another edition appeared in 1808. The first was soon Englished by
B. Lambert, and two editions with different publishers issued from
London presses in 1805. The same year another translation, somewhat
abridged, appeared in volume i of Phillip’s _Collection of Voyages_.
Neither of these translations is well executed. The same year, a
German translation issued from the Weimar press.
The younger Michaux continued to be interested in the study of trees,
and spent several years in preparing the three volumes of _Histoire
des Arbres forestiers de l’Amérique Septentrionale_, which appeared
in 1810-13. This was translated, and passed through several English
editions, with an additional volume added by Thomas Nuttall under the
title of _The North American Sylva_.
Michaux’s report on the naturalization of American forest trees, made
to the Société d’Agriculture du département de la Seine, was printed
in 1809.[3] His “Notice sur les Isles Bermudas, et particulièrement
sur l’Isle St. George” was published in _Annales des Sciences
naturelles_ (1806), volume viii. He also assisted in editing his
father’s work, _Histoire des Chênes de l’Amérique_; and his final
publication on American observations was _Mémoire sur les causes de
la fièvre jaune_, published at Paris in 1852. Dr. Michaux died at
Vauréal, near Pontoise, in 1855.
In 1824 the younger Michaux presented to the American Philosophical
Society at Philadelphia the notebooks containing the diary of his
father’s travels in America--all save those covering the first two
years (1785-87), which were lost in the shipwreck on the coast
of Holland. The value of these journals has long been known to
scientists; their larger interest, as revealing both political and
social conditions in the new West, will perhaps be first recognized
upon this presentation of them in English form. Written “by the light
of his lonely campfires, during brief moments snatched from short
hours of repose, in the midst of hardships and often surrounded by
dangers,” their literary form is deficient, and frequent gaps occur,
which doubtless were intended to be filled in at some future moments
of leisure. This was prevented by the author’s untimely death in the
midst of his labors. For nearly a century the journals existed only
in manuscript. In 1884 Charles S. Sargent, director of the Arnold
Arboretum of Harvard University, prepared the manuscript for the
press, with explanatory notes chiefly on botanical matters.[4] It
was published in the original French, in the American Philosophical
Society _Proceedings_, 1889, pp. 1-145.
From this journal of nearly eleven years’ travel in America--from
Florida on the south, to the wilds of the Hudson Bay country on
the north, from Philadelphia and Charleston on the Atlantic coast
to the most remote Western settlements, and the Indian lands
of the Illinois, Kentucky, and Tennessee--we have selected for
translation and inclusion within our series, the portions that
concern particularly the trans-Allegheny region. These relate to
the expedition made to Kentucky by way of the Ohio (1793), with the
return over the Wilderness Road and through the Valley of Virginia;
and the longer journey (1795-96) from Charleston to Tennessee, thence
through Kentucky to the Illinois, and back by a similar route with
side excursions on the great Western rivers.
The journals of the elder Michaux “record the impressions of a man
of unusual intelligence--a traveller in many lands, who had learned
by long practice to use his eyes to good advantage and to write down
only what they saw.” A part of the value of these documents to a
student of Western history consists in their accurate and succinct
outline of the areas of colonization. The extent and boundaries of
Michaux’s travels enable us to map with considerable accuracy the
limits of the settled regions--first, that from Pittsburg down the
Ohio to just below Marietta; then, after passing a region without a
town, between Gallipolis and Limestone (Maysville, Kentucky), the
traveller enters the thickly occupied area of Kentucky, bounded
on the south and west by the “barrens,” into which emigration was
beginning to creep. In the Illinois, Michaux’s unfavorable comment
upon the French habitants is in accord with that of other visitors of
the same nationality; his travels therein show that the small French
group were the only settlers, save a few venturesome Americans at
Bellefontaine, and “Corne de Cerf.” In East Tennessee, the outpost
was Fort Southwest Point, where the Clinch and Holston meet; thence,
a journey of a hundred and twenty miles through “the Wilderness”
brought one to the frontier post of the Cumberland settlements, at
Bledsoe’s Lick. Upon Michaux’s return, nearly a year later, the
Cumberland frontier had extended, and Fort Blount had been built
forty miles to the eastward as a protection for the ever-increasing
number of travellers and pioneers. The western borders of Cumberland
were also rapidly enlarging. Clarksville, on the Cumberland River at
the mouth of the Red, had long been on the extreme border in this
direction; but Michaux found daring settlements stretching out
beyond, seizing the rich river bottoms and organizing a town as a
nucleus for scattered planters.
Michaux faithfully presents the conditions that confronted travellers
in his day--the lack of inns, the straying of horses with the
consequent annoyance and delay, the inadequate means for crossing
rivers, the frequent necessity for waiting until a sufficient body of
travellers had collected to act as a guard through the uninhabited
regions. He also traversed nearly all the routes by which emigration
was pouring into the Western country--the Wilderness Road to
Kentucky, the routes from North Carolina over the mountains to East
Tennessee, the Wilderness Road of Tennessee (this last a narrow and
dangerous link with the Cumberland settlements), the paths thither to
Louisville, and the Indian trails thence to the Illinois; as well as
the river routes--the Mississippi, the Ohio, and the Cumberland.
Glimpses of the chief founders of the Western country are tantalizing
by their meagreness. We should have valued more detailed accounts of
conversations with Clark, Logan, and Shelby, concerning Nicholas’s
plan for securing the navigation of the Mississippi; of the attitude
of Robertson, Blount, and Daniel Smith toward the French enterprise;
and of the impression made at this early day by “a resident near
the Cumberland River, Mr. Jackson.” Particularly interesting is the
record of the number of Frenchmen who became prominent and useful
citizens of the West--Lucas at Pittsburg, Lacassagne at Louisville,
Tardiveau, Honoré, and Depauw at Danville and vicinity; apart from
the settlers at Gallipolis, whose misfortunes our author deplores. It
is hoped that this English version of the elder Michaux’s journals
may prove a contribution of importance to those interested in early
conditions in the Mississippi Valley.
Michaux’s published works are, _Histoire des Chênes de l’Amérique_--
which appeared in 1801, and is supposed to have been recast or
corrected by other scientists--and _Flora Boreali-Americana_, written
in Latin by Richard from the plants which Michaux had collected in
America, and issued a year after the latter’s death.[5]
The few years that intervened between the journeys of the elder and
younger Michaux show the rapidity with which the West was changing.
Conditions of travel had meantime been improved, and the development
of resources was proceeding with bounds. The opening of the
Mississippi had caused an immense growth in both the extent and means
of Western commerce; the son describes ship-building upon the waters
along which the father had passed in Indian canoes. The increase in
the number, size, and appearance of the towns, and the additional
comforts in the homes of the people, were indicative of a great and
growing prosperity.
The younger traveller describes the inhabitants with more
particularity than his father. His observations upon the
characteristics of the people, their occupations and recreations and
their political bias, are those of an intelligent and sympathetic
narrator, with a predisposition in favor of the Western settlers.
His remarks in chapter xii on the restlessness of the pioneers,
their eagerness to push onward to a newer country, their impatience
with the growing trammels of civilization, show habits of close
observation. His optimism with regard to the future of the country,
in thinking that within twenty years the Ohio Valley would be “the
most populous and commercial part of the United States, and where
I should settle in preference to any other,” exhibits a large
comprehension of the forces and elements of Western growth.
The American popularity of the younger Michaux’s journal, in its own
time, proved his ability to interpret the ideas of our people, and
the sympathetic interest of a cultured Frenchman in the democratizing
processes of the New World.
_Thaddeus Mason Harris_
Thaddeus Mason Harris, author of the _Journal of a Tour into the
Territory Northwest of the Alleghany Mountains_, was one of the
coterie of liberal clergymen who occupied the New England pulpits
in the early part of the nineteenth century. As a member of this
group, Harris’s observations of the Western country are of peculiar
interest. He had the training of the typical New Englander--“plain
living and high thinking.” Born in Charlestown in 1768, his family
were driven from their home at the battle of Bunker Hill, and three
years later the father died of exposure contracted during his service
in the Revolutionary army. As the eldest of the children, Thaddeus
was sent to “board around” among the neighboring farmers, one of
whom took sufficient interest in the promising lad to fit him for
college. An accidental supply of money at a later period, accepted
as a special interposition of Providence, made such an impression
upon the young man’s mind that he determined to enter the ministry.
He was graduated from Harvard in 1787, in the same class with John
Quincy Adams. After a year’s teaching at Worcester, the position
was tendered him of private secretary to the newly-chosen President
Washington, but an attack of small-pox prevented its acceptance,
and the place was filled by Tobias Lear.
In 1789 our author was “approbated to preach,” and the following
year received his A.M. degree, delivering on the occasion the Phi
Beta Kappa address. During the two succeeding years he served as
the librarian of his alma mater, and was elected (1792) a resident
member of the Massachusetts Historical Society. The year 1793 saw
Harris installed as pastor of the first church of Dorchester--a
relation which was continued through over forty years of faithful and
acceptable service. A careful pastor, he exposed himself during the
epidemic of yellow fever in 1802 to such an extent that he contracted
the disease, and during his convalescence the Western journey was
planned and undertaken as a means of recuperation. In this it was
eminently successful, and upon his return to Dorchester Harris
plunged anew into literary and philanthropic labors. Within the next
few years he aided in founding the American Antiquarian Society,
the Massachusetts Humane Society, the American Peace Society, the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Archæological Society
at Athens, and was chosen corresponding member of the New York
Historical Society. His addresses and sermons on different occasions
found their way into print, until nearly sixty were published.
Harvard honored itself by conferring upon him the degree of doctor
of divinity in 1813, and during his entire later life he acted as
overseer in the college corporation. His eldest son, a well-known
entomologist, served as Harvard librarian for twenty-five years
(1831-56).
After a second severe illness (1833), Dr. Harris visited Georgia, and
thereupon published a biography of Oglethorpe. In 1838 he resigned
his pastorate and spent his remaining five years in congenial
literary pursuits, serving for a time as the librarian of the
Massachusetts Historical Society. He is described as a “little quaint
old man, indescribably bent, but still wearing a hale aspect, who
used to haunt the alcoves of the library at Harvard.” After March,
1842, the place of the old scholar and reader in the college library
was vacant.
Dr. Harris made no contribution of permanent value to American
literature, unless the present book may be so considered. Besides the
works mentioned, he aided (1805) in putting forth an encyclopedia,
and a Natural History of the Bible; the result of the last-named
labor was pirated by an English firm, which issued it in several
editions. The _Journal of a Tour_, which we here republish, sold
well, and was soon out of print. In recent years, the volume has
brought a good price at antiquarian sales. In addition to the journal
proper, Harris added a bulky appendix, entitled a “Geographical and
Historical Account of the State of Ohio,” from material collected
during his visit at Marietta, annexing thereto: a “Letter to the
Earl of Hillsborough on the navigation of the Ohio (1770);” the “Act
of Congress forming the State;” the “Constitution of the State;”
an “Account of the destruction of the Moravian Settlements on the
Muskingum;” “Wayne’s Treaty;” and a number of papers connected
with the formation of the Ohio Company of Associates, and the
establishment of the Northwest Territory. This appendix we have
omitted as not within the sphere of the present series, and as
containing information which can readily be secured elsewhere.
As an observer, two points characterize Harris’s narrative--his
enthusiasm for natural scenery, and the delight shown in its
description; and the dryness of his statements with regard to
the human life which he saw en route. Its chief value lies in the
accuracy which he exhibits in data concerning the size of the
towns, their prosperity and growth, their business interests, and
stage of material development; in matters regarding the growth of
ship-building and navigation, the number of manufactories, and the
general material prosperity of the region, Harris gives useful
information. But as a picture of Western life, or as a sympathetic
relation of human affairs in this region, the value is small. This
arose in part from the New Englander’s stout prejudices against
conditions unfamiliar to him. His attitude toward the Western
inhabitants is quite the contrary of that of the younger Michaux, and
forms thereto an effective foil.
As with previous volumes of this series, the Editor has had the
active co-operation of Louise Phelps Kellogg in the preparation of
notes.
R. G. T.
MADISON, WIS., February, 1904.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See documents in _Original Journals of Lewis and
Clark_ (New York, 1904), appendix.
[2] See Turner, “Origin of Genet’s Projected Attack on
Louisiana and the Floridas” in _American Historical
Review_, July, 1897; also documents in American
Historical Association _Report_, 1896 and 1897.
[3] See review in _Monthly Anthology_ (Boston, 1810),
viii, p. 280.
[4] The notes in the journals of the elder Michaux
signed C. S. S., are those of Sargent, found in the
French edition and designed chiefly to elucidate
botanical references.
[5] The references in Sargent’s notes marked “Michx.,”
refer to this _Flora_.
JOURNAL OF ANDRÉ MICHAUX, 1793-1796
SOURCE: Englished from the original French, appearing in American
Philosophical Society _Proceedings_, 1889, pp. 91-101, 114-140.
JOURNAL OF ANDRÉ MICHAUX
On the 15ᵗʰ of July 1793, I took leave of Citizen Genet, Minister
of the Republic of France to the United States[1] and started from
Philadelphia on the same date at ten o’clock at night to avoid the
great heat, and to travel by Moonlight. The 16th, being in company
with ... Humeau and ... Leblanc,[2] we journeyed 40 miles.
The 17th, passed by Lancaster and made 35 Miles.
The 18th, passed by Carlisle ... Miles and slept at Chipesbourg
[Shippensburg].
The 19th we slept at Strasbourg ... Miles.
Sunday the 20th, we started from Strasbourg, a small town situate
at the foot of the Mountains; one of our horses having fallen sick
we traveled only 21 Miles; observed _Magnolia acuminata_, _Azalea
octandra_, _Kalmia latifolia_, _Fagus castanea_, _Fagus pumila_,
_Pinus 2-folia_, _3-folia_, _Strobus_: _Abies Canadensis_; _Quercus
castaneaefolia etc._ _Juglans nigra_.
The 21st of July started from Wells’s tavern, crossed the Juniata
river ... and noticed _Rhododendron maximum_, _Hydrangea frutescens_,
_Trillium erectum_; slept at Bedford. 21 Miles.
The 22nd. Started from Bedford and breakfasted at a place 4 miles
distant where the Pittsburg Road divides into two. We took the right
hand road; the Rain compelled us to stop and sleep only twelve Miles
from Bedford.[3]
The 23rd we made 24 Miles and passed the summit of the Alleganys.
The 24th we made 25 Miles.
The 25th we passed by Green’sburg and made 31 Miles.
The 26th Rain; we made only ... Miles.
The 27th, we made 19 Miles and arrived in Pittsburgh. Total 32[4]
Miles from Philadelphia.
The 28th visited Mr. H. Brackenridge.[5]
The 29th herborised; recognized on the banks of the Monongahela,
_Dracocephalum Virginianum_,[6] _Bignonia radicans_, _Crotalaria
alba?_ These plants grow on the banks of the river which are
submerged when the waters are high.
The 30th of the same, recognized a Plant of the Genus _Ziziphora_ ...
_Cunila pulegioides_[7] _floribus tetandris_; _Teucrium Canadense_,
_Eupatorium aromaticum_, _Sigesbeckia_ ...; _Verbenae_ several
species.
The 1st of August, herborised and recognized _Cassia Marylandica_;
_Monarda didyma_; _Sanicula Marylandica_; _Triosteum perfoliatum_;
_Sicyos angulata_; _Acer rubrum_, _saccharum_; _Campanula_, ...;
_Cercis Canadensis_; _Menispermum Canadense_; _Actaea spicata_;
_Tilia Americana_; _Urtica divaricata_; _Arum triphyllum_; _Celtis
occidentalis_; _Panax quinquefolium_; _Staphylea trifoliata_; _Azarum
Canadense_; _Rhus typhina_, _glabra_, _vernix_; _copallinum_,
_radicans_, _toxicodendron_; _Clinopodium vulgare_, _incanum_.
The 2nd of August recognized _Aristolochia sipho_ or _macrophylla_;
_Panax quinquefolium_; _Lobelia siphilitica_; _Convallaria_ many
species; _Veronica_ ... _Ozalis stricta_.
The 3rd and 4th of August herborised: _Cacalia_ 2 species, _Phryma
leptostachia_; _Leontice thalictroides_; _Lobelia siphilitica_,
_inflata_, _cardinalis_; _Eupatorium perfoliatum_, _maculatum_,
_odoratum et celestinum_; _Actea spicata_; _Podophyllum peltatum_;
_Azarum Canadense_; _Hydrophyllum Canadense_; _Trillium cernuum_;
_Panax quinquefolium_; _Aristolochia Sipho_; _Menispermum_ ...;
_Sambucus Canadensis fructu nigro_; _Sambucus_ ..., _fructu rubro
foliis tomentosis_; _Tilia Americana_; _Laurus Sassafras_, _benzoin_;
_Robinia pseudocacia_, _Juglans oblonga_, _Juglans hiccory_;
_Plantanus occidentalis_; _Acer rubrum_, _saccharum_; _Ulmus_
...; _Hamamelis_ ..., _Cynoglossum_ 3 species; _Vitis vulpina_;
_Dioscorea fructu infero_; _Teucrium Canadense_; _Scrophularia
Marylandica_; _Dracocephalum Virginianum_; _Dianthera_ ...; _Sophora
foliis ternis stipulis lato-lanceolatis floribus coeruleis vexillo
corollâ breviore_; _Mimulus ringens_; _Bignonia radicans_; _Cercis
Canadensis_; _Fagus sylvatica Americana_; _Circaea Canadensis_;
_Urtica inermis_; _Erigeron Canadense_; _Cornus florida_; _Rubus
odorata_, _Rubus occidentalis_; _Penthorum sedoides_; _Cephalantus
occidentalis_; _Polygonum aviculare_, _hydropiper_, _amphibium_,
_scandens_; _Sanguinaria Canadensis_.
On the 6th of August I saw on the bank of the Monongahela river
opposite Pittsburgh a Coal mine at the entrance of which there seems
to be a thickness of 15 feet of that mineral without admixture;
sometimes a ferruginous tint can be distinguished between the
different layers. In several spots soft rocks are to be found which
seem good for use as whet-stones for large tools; they seem to me to
consist of a combination of sandy, clayey and ferruginous particles
with particles of mica in very rare instances.
The soil in the neighborhood of Pittsburgh is generally clayey, the
calcareous rocks or stones of a brown color, consisting of much muddy
clay. The soil between the two rivers on which Pittsburgh is built,
is alluvial; stones rounded and worn by the rolling of torrents have
even been found in the earth, dug up while sinking wells at a depth
of more than 30 feet.
The 9th of August, when I was ready to start, the conductor of the
Boat on which I had embarked my baggage came to tell me that he was
waiting for the Boats destined to convey the troops, especially as
the Boat seemed too deeply laden for that Season when the Waters are
low; there was an appearance of Rain.
The 10th the river seems to be falling.
The 11th, 12th and 13th we remained, awaiting the departure.
The 13th three Boats arrived from the Illinois belonging to Mr.
Vigo.[8] They were manned by about 30 French Canadian or Illinois
oarsmen.
A Frenchman who has resided in America for 14 years and whose
business consists in shipping supplies of flour to New Orleans,
told me that he would give me Letters for Illinois addressed to the
Commandant of the Post of St Louis. He is at present settled in
Pittsbourgh and his name is Audrain.[9] This Audrain is said to be
in partnership with one Louisière or Delousière who was exiled from
France for having been concerned in the plot to deliver Havre to the
combined English and Spanish fleets. This Louisière is at present
absent from Pittsburgh. There is another Frenchman residing in
Pittsburgh, Mr Lucas de Pentareau, an excellent Democrat, now absent.
He passes for an educated man with legal knowledge.[10]
Pittsburgh is situated at the confluence of the two rivers,
Monongahela and Allegany. These two rivers unite and form the Ohio or
Belle Rivière. There are a great many more houses on the Monongahela
river than on the Allegany. The number of houses is about 250 and it
increases considerably every year. The ditches are still to be seen
that served as the entrenchment of the Fort built by the French and
called Fort Duquesne. The English, since that time, had built another
almost beside it at the angle formed by the junction of the two
rivers. It was built of brick and the Americans are demolishing it to
use the bricks in building the houses that are being erected every
day at Fort Pitt.[11]
The Americans have a Fort of Palisades situated behind the town on
the bank of the Allegany River; it serves as a Depot for the arrival
of the troops that are being sent against the Savages and as a
Magazine for the Munitions sent there from Philadelphia.[12]
Wednesday the 14th of August, started from Pittsbourgh and slept at
a distance of two miles only on the point of a small island on which
I found _Acer negundo_, _rubrum_, _saccharum_; _Evonimus capsulis
glabris_.[13]
The 15th recognized at 20 Miles from Pittsburgh _Pavia lutea_,
_Panax quinquefolium_; A Bryonia plant _monoica calyce_ 5-fido,
_corolla 5 partita floribus masculis spicatis axillaribus floribus
femineis quoque axillaribus germine instructo spinis innocuis_.[14]
Our journey covered 28 Miles.
The 16th at 7 o’clock in the morning we crossed the boundary line
between Pennsylvania and Virginia. The line is marked by cutting down
the trees on a width of about ... feet on the right and left of the
Ohio or Belle Rivière and this place is 45 miles from Pittsbourgh. In
the evening of the same day arrived at Buffalo Creek. _79 Miles from
Pittsburgh._
The 17th passed by Willing [Wheeling] 92 Miles from Pittsburgh;[15]
this place is inhabited by about 12 families as is also Buffalo Creek
[Wellsburg]. Owing to the contrary wind we traveled only 30 Miles.
Sunday August 18th 1793, saw several flocks of wild Turkeys; wind
contrary.
The 19th we made _50 Miles_. There are no settlements between Willing
and Marietta, a small Town situate at the mouth of the Muskingum
river. We slept at the place called Fort Harmar, situate opposite
Marietta on the right bank of the Muskingum river.[16] _Dianthera
americana._
The 20th we spent the day there.
The 21st, we passed by Little Kanhaway,[17] Belpré, and Belleville 34
Miles.
The 22nd we saw no settlements. Recognized _Polymnia canadensis_;
_Acer rubrum foliis inferne glaucis_; _Acer negundo_, _Acer
saccharum_, _Acer foliis rugosis nervis sublanuginosis_; _Annona
triloba_, _Pavia lutea_, _Platanus occidentalis_.
The 23rd passed Great Kanhaway,[18] 4 miles before arriving at
Galliapolis on the opposite bank.
The 23rd we arrived at the settlement of Galliapolis situate on
the left bank of the Belle rivière. The houses are all built of
squared logs merely notched at the ends instead of being Mortised
(Log-house).[19]
The 24th remained over, visited doctor Petit who inspired me with the
greatest respect by his good sense, his knowledge and his virtue. It
seemed to me that humanity is the only thing that keeps him attached
to that unfortunate colony.[20] Out of the 600 persons who came
there to settle, only about 150 remain.
Sunday the 25th started from Galliapolis; at a distance of 35 Miles
recognized _Iresine celosioides_ on the banks of the belle rivière
where they are submerged by the great inundations. Passed a small
river called Gay [Guyandotte]. We saw no habitations; 40 Miles.
The 26th, saw no habitations; passed the river Scioto ... Miles.[21]
The 27th, saw a Settlement of several houses at the place called
Three Islands, ten miles before arriving at Lime Stone;[22] these
Settlements are considered the first belonging to Kentuckey. We
reached Lime Stone toward evening.[23]
Limestone is considered the Landing place or Port of Kentuckey.
Goods are landed there that are sent from Philadelphia for Danville,
Lexington etc. A small town founded six years ago at a distance of
4 Miles on the Lexington road, is called Washington and is very
flourishing being situate in very fertile land.
The 28th, visited Colonel Alexander D. Orr.[24]
The 29th I left the two Companions who had come with me from
Philadelphia. They continued their journey to Louisville while I went
on by way of the inland Settlements. Colonel D. Orr offered me his
Company to go with him to Lexington whither he proposed to go in a
few days.
The 30th and 31st herborised while waiting until horses could
be procured for the journey to Lexington. _Guilandina dioica_;
_Fraxinus_ (_quadrangularis_); _Gleditsia triacanthos_; _Serratula
praealta_; _Eupatorium aromaticum_, _Crepis Sibirica_? etc.
Sunday 1st of September 1793. Dined at Colonel Lee’s.[25]
The 2nd dined with ... Fox and prepared my baggage for departure.
The 3rd the journey was put off until the Following day. The soil
in the vicinity of Washington is clayey and blackish, very rich.
The stones are of an opaque bluish calcareous Substance, full of
petrifactions of seashells. The bones of those monster animals
supposed to be Elephants are found in the neighborhood.[26] It
is to be presumed that those bones belonged to marine Individuals,
judging by the great abundance of debris of marine bodies collected
in those places.
The 4th started from Washington; passed by a place where the soil is
impregnated with saline substances and whither the Buffaloes used to
go in great numbers to lick the particles of Salt continually exuding
from the surface of the Soil. There are at this spot springs whose
water is bitter, putrid, blackish and full of mephitic air which
frees itself at the slightest movement of the soil by the bubbles
appearing on the surface of the spring as one approaches. The people
living in the neighborhood erect ovens with kettles and extract Salt
by the evaporation of the water.[27] We traveled 33 Miles.
The 5th we made 27 miles and, at an early hour, reached Lexington,[28]
the chief town amongst the Settlements of the State of Kentuckey. We
passed a small Settlement, looked upon as a town and called Paris, the
capital of Bourbon county.[29] It contains about 18 houses. There are
farming Establishments along the road and travelers now go without
danger from Lime Stone to Lexington, a distance of Sixty six miles
from one place to the other. _66 Miles._
The 6th visited two persons residing in Lexington for whom I had
Letters of introduction.
The 7th herborised....
Sunday 8th of September was obliged to remain being unable to hire a
horse.
The 9th left Lexington, went through portions of forest lands with
very scattered Plantations. Crossed the Kentuckey river the banks of
which are very close to one another; when the waters are low there
is a height of more than 100 feet from the bank of the river to the
level of the lands bordering on it and through which it runs. I am
told that in flood-time it rises to a height of 40 feet in one day.
On arriving there one would think himself between two ranges of very
steep Mountains but in fact it is merely a torrent or a river whose
Bed has been deeply worn. The rocks on the banks are of a calcareous
nature. Several shrubs and Plants, natives of Carolina, grow on the
cliff with a southern exposure being secured and protected from cold
by the favorable situation offered by the great depth of the bed of
the river.
The 10th arrived in Danville[30] and visited several persons for whom
I had Letters: Colonel Barbee etc, Capt. Peter Tardivau, a witty
man[31] etc. etc.
The 11th, visited General Benjamin Logan whose house is situate 12
Miles from Danville. I confided to him the Commission entrusted to
me; He told me he would be delighted to take part in the enterprise
but that he had received a Letter a few days previously from J.
Brown[32] which informed him that negotiations had been begun between
the United States and the Spaniards respecting the navigation of the
Mississipi and the Creek Indians; That a messenger had been sent to
Madrid[33] and that any one of the United States that would venture
to act in a hostile manner against the Spaniards before the return
of the first of December next, would be disapproved by the federal
Government; That he was going to start the following day for his
Establishment of Boulskine [Bullskin] Creek and that, after I should
have conferred with General Clark, he hoped the latter would, in
consequence of what I should communicate to him, make arrangements
for further conferences together[34] etc. etc.
The 12th returned to Danville.
The 13th Visited (his Excellency) the Governor of the State of
Kentuckey, Isaac Shelby;[35] visited the hills called Knob
Licks;[36] Saw several Plants especially in the salt lands enclosed
in the interior of the territory of Kentuckey. _Andromeda arborea._
The 14th left Danville for Louisville, lodged with Cumberland _19
Miles from Danville_.
Sunday 15th of September 1793, 22 Miles from Danville found a sort
of _Tragia_, a _monoecian_ Plant, fructification in the manner of
the _Euphorbias_. Shortly before reaching Beardstown recognized the
rocks and stones of calcareous substances possessing all the forms of
the Madrepores. The tops of the Mountains (hills) one has to cross,
3 or 4 Miles before reaching Beardstown, consist entirely of these
petrified madrepores. Recognized many Plants not found elsewhere:
_Fagara_ of the State of New York; _Rhamnus_ (_Carolinian_) and
_Rhamnus_ ... etc etc. The neighborhood would be very interesting
for a Botanist to visit. Dined at Beardstown[37] and slept 6 miles
further. _31 Miles._
The country between Beardstown and Louisville possesses no interest
for a Botanist.
The 16th arrived at Louisville having traveled by the new road.[38]
_29 Miles._ In all 79 Miles from Danville.
The 17th of September visited General Clarke. I handed him the
Letters from the Minister and informed him of the object of my
Mission. He told me that he was very eager for the Undertaking but
that, although he had written so long ago, he had received no answer
and thought it had been abandoned.[39] I told him that his Letter had
fallen into other hands and that the Minister had received it only
indirectly after his arrival in Philadelphia. He informed me that a
fresh circumstance seemed to oppose an obstacle to it.[40]
The 18th remained at Louisville and herborised.
The 19th returned to visit General Clarke....
The 20th started from Louisville, passed by General Clarke’s[41] and
passed on to sleep near Salt river.
The 21st passed by Beardstown. _Evonimus ramulis quadrangulis
capsulis muricatis._[42]
Sunday September 22nd arrived once more at Danville at 5 o’clock in
the evening. Wrote to Minister Genet the same day by the Philadelphia
Post.[43]
The 23rd I rested.
The 24th started for Lexington and slept at the Kentuckey river
crossing.
The 25th found that my horse had wandered away. I slept at an inn
where there was no Stable; my horse jumped over the fence and I
spent the whole day looking for him.
While so engaged I saw on the sandy beaches: _Iresine celosioides_;
_Mollugo verticillata_; On the rocks; _Heuchera Americana_;
_Asplenium rhyzophorum_; _Pteris nova_; _Parietaria_ ...; _Hydrangea
arborescens_. On the limestone mountains: _Serratula_ 2 unknown
species; _Cuphea viscosa_; _Didynamia gymnosperma novum genus_;
_Didynamia angiosperma novum genus_. On the bank of the Dickson
river, _Dirca palustris_; _Sophora floribus coerulis_. In the shady
forests etc: _Acer foliis argenteis an rubrum_? _Acer saccharum_;
_Fraxinus foliolis subintegris_, _Fraxinus foliolis serratis ramis
quadrangularis_; _Gleditsia triacanthos_; _Guilandina dioica_,
_Robinia pseudo-acacia_; _Evonimus ramulis subrotundis_, _capsulis
laevibus_.
The 26th of September 1793, Rained all day; slept at a mile from
Kentuckey river at the house of ... Hogan[44] who was kind enough to
lend me a horse for nothing to go in search of mine.
The 27th arrived at Lexington distant only 20 Miles from the crossing
of Kentuckey river called Hickman junction.[45]
The 5th of October started from Lexington.
Sunday the 6th of the same arrived at Danville. The same day wrote to
Citizen Minister Genet.
The 7th took lodgings at Puvit’s[46] and received my baggage.
The 10th Sent a Messenger to Louisville.[47]
The 13th Sunday returned to Lexington and came back on Sunday the
20th, to Danville. Not having received general Clark’s answer I was
unable to take advantage of the Post to write to the Minister at
Philadelphia.
The 21st received General Clark’s answer.[48]
* * * * *
The 10th of November 1793, Year 2 of the French Republic, left
Danville for Philadelphia after visiting Colonel George Nicholas[49]
near Danville. He laid stress upon the plan he had proposed to me
the previous day regarding the Navigation of the Mississipi. Namely:
That the Naval Forces of the Republic should seize the Mouth of the
Mississipi, declare that the Country belonged to them by right of
Conquest and invite the Americans of the Western Country to take
advantage of the freedom of Navigation. Then, if the Spaniards
situated higher up the river molested the Vessels carrying the
provisions conveyed by the Americans, the latter would have the right
to repel Constraint and force by force. Thus the Spanish Government
would have no reason to complain of the United States having broken
through inasmuch as the country would be reputed in the possession of
the French Republic.
Slept at Crab orchard distant from Danville _22 Miles_.
The 11th of November 1793, started from Crab Orchard in company with
12 persons who had assembled at that place to pass through the Woods
inhabited and frequented by the Savages. The tract between Crab
orchard and Houlston settlement is 130 Miles wide and is called The
Wilderness.[50] Slept at Longford Station. _10 Miles._
The 12th slept at Modnell Station _28 Miles_.
The 13th slept at Middleton station. _28 Miles._
The 14th crossed low, swampy places where the water was brown and
stagnant. Six miles from Middleton Post and 18 miles before reaching
the top of Cumberland Gap, saw a climbing fern covering an area of
over six acres of ground near the road.[51] At this season when the
Frost had produced ice from 3 to 4 lines thick, this plant was not at
all injured by it. In this territory are two places, one called Flat
lick and the other Stinking Creek.
Saw near the Carcass of a Stag the ... Raven (_Corvus corax_).
Davissas station 2 miles to the[52] ... Cumberland Gap[53] _26
Miles_.
The 15th of November traveled through parts of very high Mountains
in the midst of which we crossed Clinch river and slept at Houlston
Station[54] in the house of one ... _27 Miles_.
The 16th followed the bank of the Houlston river and slept at the
house of ... Amis Esquire, three Miles from Hawkin Court house.[55]
_26 Miles._
Sunday the 17th the Rain compelled me to remain in a a small Cabin
near the North fork of Houlston. _25 Miles_.
The 18th my horse was so tired owing to the rapidity of the journey
and the bad roads across the Wilderness that I was obliged to stop
after a Journey of only eleven Miles. _11 Miles._
The 19th started at daybreak. At the foot of the house where I
lodged, the Kentuckey road divides,[56] the right one leads to Burke
court house in North Carolina passing by the Mouth of Wataga river;
the other leads to Abington court house, the first town of Virginia.
As my horse was still tired, I made only _20 miles_.
The 20th I made _15 Miles_; arrived at Abington.[57]
The 21st I slept 22 Miles from Abington near Seven Miles Ford, the
middle Branch of the Houlston.
The 22nd of November 1793 crossed Seven Miles ford. The Holston river
consists of three principal Branches, namely: North fork, Seven Miles
fork and South fork of Holston river.