_Travels to Louisville, and Stay in that City._
On the 21st of April, we left New Harmony, after taking a cordial leave
of Mr. Owen, and availed ourselves of the mail stage, which leaves here
once a week for Mount Vernon, to make this passage. Besides our company,
there was only a single traveller in the stage, a Mr. Riley, from
Cincinnati, and a native of Ireland. One mile from New Harmony, we were
forced to alight from the carriage, as the horses would not draw us up a
steep hill. One-half mile farther, we got out again on account of a
similar dilemma, and we had hardly done so, when it was overturned by
the unskilfulness of the driver. We unloaded our baggage, left it under
the care of Böttner, my servant, permitted the driver to his chagrin and
mortification to go on alone, and returned back on foot to New Harmony,
to look about for another method of conveyance. I paid a visit to
Messrs. M‘Clure, Lesueur, &c. They told me that about ten o’clock a cart
under the direction of a Mr. Johnson would leave this place for Mount
Vernon, in which our baggage would find a place. As to our own
conveyance, I saw plainly that it would be the wiser plan to confide
mine to my own trustworthy legs. I assumed therefore the pilgrim’s
staff, left my slower moving travelling companions something behind, and
accomplished the sixteen miles to Mount Vernon, over a very hilly road,
in five hours.
I did not pass through Springfield, saw only two solitary log-houses,
and encountered but few people. The herbage had advanced very much
during a week; many trees were in blossom, and the young green leaves,
particularly those of the tulip trees, produced a very pleasing effect.
I passed by many sugar-maples, which were perforated, to draw the sugar
juice from them. When the trees are completely in leaf, the natural
scenery of these forests, of which the ground is very hilly, must be
extremely beautiful, especially to the eyes of a northern European, who
is not accustomed to the grandeur of the colossal sycamores, tulip trees
and maples. In noticing these trees, I may add the remark that Mr. Rapp
had planted the Lombardy poplar in the streets of New Harmony; that
these poplars had succeeded very well at first, but when their roots
struck a stratum of reddish sand lying under the good fertile soil, they
died. Mr. Rapp then substituted mulberry trees, which have thriven well,
and Mr. Owen has it in design, to make an experiment in raising
silk-worms.
I reached Mount Vernon, tolerably fatigued, about three o’clock, P. M.
I met Dr. Clark again. Mr. Huygens and Mr. Riley made their appearance
after some time. Towards evening the expected cart arrived, but without
Böttner and my baggage. The carter said in his own excuse, that they had
given him so much freight in New Harmony, that his horses could hardly
draw it, and that there was no room left for my effects. After having
made a survey of the localities in person, I was obliged to admit the
cogency of his reasons, in spite of my vexation; and of course to find a
remedy in patience.
In this state of affairs, I solaced myself with Major Dunn’s society.
He and his countryman Riley, belonged to the better class of Irish, and
possessed a good deal of shrewdness, so that the time passed very
pleasantly. In the evening we went to the court-house, to hear a
Presbyterian preacher, travelling from the eastern states. He was quite
a young man, of the name of Stewart, whom I had met in New Harmony;
he had, however, only looked about, without announcing himself as a
clergyman, probably from his knowing the anti-religious opinions
prevailing there. In the little new settled places of the western
states, they do not build churches before houses, as is the practice in
the north-eastern section, but a dwelling and clearing of land is their
first object. Nevertheless, divine service is not lacking; for many
clergymen, who are not located, seek after a situation; in so doing are
accustomed to preach, where they can be heard. In most of the public
houses, and ferry-boats, no pay is required from these clergymen, and
thus they can take pretty long journies, the descriptions of which are
often published, at a very cheap rate. From the want of a church in
Mount Vernon, the meeting was held in the court-house. It was a
temporary log-house, which formed but one room. The chimney fire, and
two tallow candles formed the whole illumination of it, and the seats
were constructed of some blocks and boards, upon which upwards of twenty
people sat. The singing was conducted by a couple of old folks, with
rather discordant voices. The preacher then rose, and delivered us a
sermon. I could not follow his discourse well, and was very much
fatigued by my day’s walk. In his prayer, however, the minister alluded
to those who despise the word of the Lord, and prayed for their
conviction and conversion. This hint was evidently aimed at the
community in New Harmony and the new social system. In the sermon there
was no such allusion. Probably the discourse was one of those, which he
knew by heart; which he delivered in various places, and admitted of no
interpolations. The service lasted till ten o’clock at night.
Unluckily for me, my port-folio also remained behind among my other
baggage. I suffered therefore, the whole forenoon of the next day the
most excessive tedium, and was obliged to remain in noble idleness.
I went to walk in the woods, gaped about at the pretty flowers, and the
amazing variety of butterflies; came back, seated myself in Mr. Dunn’s
store, and viewed the steam-boats going down the river. At length in the
afternoon, Böttner arrived, with my baggage in a one-horse cart,
splashed all over with mud, as he had been obliged to lead the restive
horse all the way by the bridle. The poor fellow bivouacked in the woods
yesterday, from one o’clock in the morning till four in the evening,
when by chance the shepherds of New Harmony passed by, and gave Mr. Owen
an account of Böttner’s situation, upon which old Dr. M‘Namee had come
out with his one-horse vehicle, and brought back the baggage and its
guard. By Mr. Owen’s kindness, the cart was on this day sent on, with my
effects.
Now my earnest desire was to get away as quickly as possible. To be
sure, the splendid view of the Ohio and its banks by the light of the
moon, regaled me in the evening; but the residence in this place was too
inhospitable and uninteresting; besides I suffered the whole afternoon
and evening with tooth-ache, and symptoms of fever. But how were we to
get away? During the night a steam-boat passed, going up the river, but
she kept to the left bank where the deepest water was, and took no
notice of Mount Vernon. About nine o’clock on the 23d of April, another
steam-boat, the General Wayne, came up, bound in the same direction.
A flag was hoisted, to give notice that passengers wished to come on
board, we waved our handkerchiefs, but the vessel did not regard us, and
passed on. To kill time, I went with Mr. Riley to Major Dunn’s store,
where we told stories about steam-boats to keep off ennui as well as we
could, but in vain. In the evening I heard much concerning Rapp’s
society, from a German mechanic, who had belonged to it, and who had
left it as he said, because Rapp refused to let him have the inheritance
of his father-in-law. We heard psalmody in the court-house, for the
religious inhabitants of the place, mostly methodists, hold Sunday
evening prayer meetings without a clergyman. The day was upon the whole
quite warm, and towards evening we had to contend with numbers of
mosquetoes. To prevent in some measure their coming from the woods,
where they harboured, fires were kindled about the place, and likewise
before the houses. The situation here must be an unhealthy one, for not
only was I annoyed during the night with head-ache and fever, but
Messrs. Huygens, Riley, and Johnson, complained of being unwell. With
the exception of some miserable, filthy lodgings in Canada, I do not
recollect in any part of the United States, even among the Creek
Indians, to have found myself so wretchedly situated in every respect,
as here. The food, furnished in small quantity as it was, was hardly fit
to be eaten; the only beverage was water, which it was necessary to mix
with ordinary whiskey; the beds very bad; and the whole house in a state
of the most revolting filthiness.
On the morning of the 24th of April, came the hour of our deliverance.
The steam-boat General Neville came up the river after seven o’clock.
We dispatched a boat to tell them that several _cabin passengers_ waited
for them in Mount Vernon. Immediately the vessel steered for our shore,
and took us in.
We were extremely rejoiced at our escape from this disagreeable place.
The boat had come from St. Louis, and was bound for Louisville. She was
but small, containing sixteen births in her cabin, and had a
high-pressure engine. Luckily, however, we found but three cabin
passengers on board. We started immediately, and the banks of the river
here and there low and subject to inundation, gratified us very much by
the fresh green of the trees. We passed by some considerable islands.
One of them, Diamond Island, is about three miles and a half long and
above a mile broad, and must contain several thousand acres of excellent
land. Afterwards we saw upon the left bank, here pretty high, the little
town of Henderson, in Kentucky. Eleven miles and a half higher, we saw
Evansville upon an eminence on the right shore, still an inconsiderable
place, but busy; it being the principal place in the county of
Vandeburg, in the state of Indiana, lying in the neighbourhood of a body
of fertile land, and is a convenient landing place for emigrants, who go
to the Wabash country. Upon the same shore are seen several dwellings
upon the fresh turf, shaded by high green trees. Close below Evansville,
a small river called Big Pigeon creek falls into the Ohio. In its mouth
we saw several flat boats, with apparatus similar to pile-driving
machines. These vessels belong to a contractor, who has entered into an
engagement with the government, to make the Ohio free and clear of the
snags and sawyers lying in its current. This work was discharged in a
negligent manner, and the officer to whom the superintendence was
committed, is censured for having suffered himself to be imposed upon.
I remembered having seen models in the patent-office at Washington, of
machines which were intended to effect this purpose. Seven miles and a
half higher up, Green river unites itself to the Ohio on the left bank.
Of this the Western Navigator says: “that it is a considerable river in
Kentucky, navigable about two hundred miles, and rises in Lincoln
county.” On board our boat we did not find ourselves comfortable, either
in respect to lodging, or the table. All was small and confined, and in
the evening we were much annoyed by the mosquetoes. My mosqueto bar,
purchased in New Orleans, assisted me very much as a defence during the
night.
During the night, we stopped several times to take in wood, and once to
repair the engine. An overhanging tree, which we approached too nearly,
gave us a powerful blow, and did much damage to the upper part of the
vessel. I had no state room, and therefore obtained no sleep during the
constant uproar. The banks became constantly higher, and more
picturesque in their appearance. They were frequently rocky: in several
rocks we observed cavities, which with the houses built in front of
them, produced a pleasing effect. Upon the right bank, was a little
place called Troy; several settlements, composed of frame houses,
instead of logs. Towards evening we saw upon the left bank, the mouth of
a little stream, Sinking creek. Upon the right shore of this creek, is a
group of houses called Rome, and on the left a little place, named
Stevensport; both places are united by a wooden bridge, resting upon one
high pier. I spent nearly the whole day on deck, to regale myself with
the beautiful landscapes surrounding us. Between several turns of the
river the country is so shut in, that one would suppose himself sailing
on a lake. The agreeable sensations caused by the beautiful country, and
the mild spring temperature which surrounded me, upon the whole
compensated for many of our privations. We indeed were in want of every
thing but absolute necessaries. I met an acquaintance indeed; one of our
fellow travellers who had formerly been a clerk of the English North
West Company, and had remained three years at the posts of the company
in the Rocky Mountains, and on the Columbia river; but this person had
acquired so many of the habits of the savages, that his company was in
no wise an acquisition. I was also, as well as all the other gentlemen
who had been in that unlucky Mount Vernon, tormented with constant pains
in the limbs, and our coarse food was so bad, that it was hardly
possible to consume it. There was neither wine nor beer on board, nor
any acids, so that water and whiskey, were the beverages to which we
were reduced. For many years I had never undergone such gastronomic
privations, as in the western parts of America. The Ohio appears to
contain many good and well tasted fish, but it seems that the people
here prefer the eternal hog meat, and that mostly salted, to every thing
else, for until now I had seen no fish in these regions, at least none
procured for eating. In the night, we advanced on our voyage without
stop or accident.
On the morning of the 26th of April, we saw the mouth of Salt river,
which, as the Western Navigator says, is a considerable river of
Kentucky, about one hundred and thirty yards wide at its mouth, and
navigable one hundred and fifty miles. Twenty miles above this, the
little town of New Albany lies on the right bank, which promises to be a
flourishing place. It has a factory of steam-engines, which finds good
employment here. On the bank, a newly-built steam-boat was lying,
waiting for her engine. These engines must be built very strong,
proportionably too powerful for the tonnage of the vessel, on account of
the stiffness of the current. They of consequence suffer a violent shock
from it, and can only be used about three years. An island in the river
divides it into two narrow channels, in which there are rapid currents.
Above the island is the foot of the Falls of Ohio. At the present high
stage of water, the descent does not strike the eye, and vessels are
able to pass up or down the river over the falls. Ours, which went no
farther up, stopped on the left bank at Shippingport, opposite New
Albany, two miles below Louisville.
Shippingport, is an insignificant place, which is supported by the
lading and unlading of vessels. We found several hackney coaches, which
carried us and our baggage by land to Louisville, where we took up our
abode in a large and respectable inn, called Washington Hall, kept by a
Mr. Allen. The Western Navigator has the following remarks upon this
neighbourhood: “The rapids of the Ohio are, in a natural as well as a
political regard, a point well deserving of attention. In low states of
the water, they are the termination of navigation by steam-boats, and
the last place in the descent of the Ohio, where any considerable
impediment occurs in its course. A number of infant towns have already
sprung up on both shores of the Ohio, in the neighbourhood of this
point, Jefferson, Clarksburg, and New Albany, in Indiana; Louisville,
Shippingport, and Portland, in Kentucky. Among these is Louisville, the
principal, with a population of three thousand souls; while new Albany
contains about one thousand, Shippingport six hundred, and
Jeffersonville five hundred inhabitants; all these are thriving
situations. Inclusive of the towns and neighbourhood, there is a
population of ten thousand people in this vicinity. In the year 1810,
Louisville contained only thirteen hundred and fifty-seven inhabitants;
it exceeds beyond a doubt its present estimate of five thousand, and
will still increase. It is the seat of justice for Jefferson county,
Kentucky, contains a prison, court-house, and the other essential
buildings, besides a theatre, three banks, of which one is a branch of
the United States Bank, a market, several places of worship, and three
printing-offices. Louisville lies in 38° 18’ north latitude, and 5° 42’
west longitude from Washington.”
Louisville, at least the main street of it, running parallel with the
Ohio, has a good appearance. This street is rather broad, paved, and
provided with foot-walks; it contains brick buildings and several
considerable stores. In our hotel, I renewed my acquaintance with Major
Davenport, of the sixth regiment of infantry, whom, together with his
lady, I had known in Washington, at General Brown’s, and who is here on
recruiting duty. It fell out luckily enough, that the post-master here,
Mr. Gray, had just married his daughter, and in compliment to her gave a
splendid party, to which I received an invitation. I repaired to it with
Major Davenport, and found an extremely numerous, and, contrary to my
expectations, even an elegant society. It was a real English rout, so
full that many of the guests were obliged to remain on the steps. I was
introduced to most of the ladies and gentlemen, was forced to talk a
good deal, and found myself very much annoyed by the heat prevailing in
the rooms. About eleven o’clock, I reached home heartily fatigued.
In former years, when the state of Kentucky was an integral part of
Virginia, Louisville consisted of a stockade, built as a protection
against the hostile Indian tribes, who then still inhabited the banks of
the Ohio. It received its name as a mark of respect for the unfortunate
King, Louis XVI. This is attributable to the Canadian traders, who
established this post to secure their trade. By degrees white settlers
joined them, and thus the town commenced, which at first suffered much
from the Indians. It is five hundred and eighty miles distant from
Pittsburgh, one hundred and thirty-one from Cincinnati, and thirteen
hundred and forty-nine from New Orleans. I took a walk with Major
Davenport through the town, and to the new canal. It consists of three
streets running parallel with the Ohio, of which only the first or front
one is built out completely and paved; and of several cross streets
which cut the former at right angles. It has several churches, tolerably
well built; a new one was began, but on rather too large a scale. The
pious funds were exhausted; therefore a lodge of freemasons undertook
the finishing of this grand house, and kept it for their own use. The
canal is destined to light vessels over the Ohio, when they cannot pass
the falls on account of low water, and are obliged to discharge their
cargo. It is apprehended however, that the money invested in the canal
will not yield a great interest, as the time of service, for which the
canal is required does not extend beyond three months. During six months
of the year the Ohio is so low, that not a solitary boat can navigate
it, and when it rises, it becomes so high, that the rocks which produce
the rapids are covered, so that vessels can go up and down without
danger. The labour on the canal has been commenced about six weeks. The
banks in the neighbourhood of the canal are high, and present a
beautiful prospect over the rapids, and the adjacent region, which is
well cultivated and bounded by woody hills.
A second walk with Major Davenport, was directed to the north side of
the town, where several respectable country houses are situated, all
built of brick; and then to a handsome wood, through which a causeway
runs, which is used by the inhabitants as a pleasure walk. The wood
contains very handsome beech trees, sugar maples, sycamores and locust
trees, also different species of nut-bearing trees.
The state of Kentucky is involved at this period in considerable
confusion. A son of Governor Desha, was arrested on a charge of having
robbed and murdered a traveller the year before; was tried and found
guilty by two different juries. For the purpose of screening his son,
as was reported, the governor had changed the whole court, and filled it
anew with his own creatures. There was a prodigious excitement through
the state at this arbitrary stroke of authority. It was torn by parties;
I was assured that political struggles, often terminating in sanguinary
conflicts, were the order of the day; nay, that this division had
already given occasion to several assassinations. It is said to be
almost as dangerous to speak upon the political relations of the state,
as to converse upon religion in Spain.
A merchant from Lexington, Mr. Wenzel, a native of Bavaria, made me
acquainted with an architect, Barret, from New York, who has the
superintendence over the canal that is going forward. I received some
more particular intelligence from this person concerning the work. The
expense was estimated at three hundred and seventy-seven thousand
dollars. The labour on it began this March, and is to be concluded in
the month of November of the following year. The length of the canal
amounts to nearly two miles. It commences below Louisville in a small
bay, goes behind Shippingport, and joins the Ohio between that place and
Portland. Its descent was reckoned at twenty-four feet. Three locks,
each at a distance of one hundred and ninety feet from each other, will
be located not far from the mouth near Shippingport, and the difference
of level in each will be eight feet. The breadth of the locks was fixed
at fifty feet, to admit of the passage of the broadest steam-boat, on
which account also the interval from one lock to the other was made one
hundred and ninety feet. Above the highest lock on both sides of the
canal, dry docks will be constructed for steam-boats to repair in. The
sides of the canal are only walled with masonry between the locks. The
banks above are in a terrace form. One advantage this canal has, is that
the bottom consists of rock; the depth to which it is hewed or blown
out, must be throughout fifty feet wide. The rock, however, which is
broke out here is a brittle limestone, which is not fit for water
masonry, and of course does not answer for locks. The rock employed for
this work is a species of blue stone, brought out of the state of
Indiana, and a bulk of sixteen square feet, four feet deep, costs four
dollars delivered at the canal. To dig this canal out, twenty-seven feet
of yellow clay at its thickest part, then seven feet thick of yellow
sand; from here fifteen feet thick of blue clay, must be passed through
before you come to the rock, where there are ten feet thickness still to
be dug away. As for the lock gates, they were to be made only of timber,
and none of the improvements introduced in England, either the
elliptical form of the gates, or the iron frames were to be employed.
Moreover, I observed from the profile of the work, the incredible height
of the river, which often raises itself fifty feet over places fordable
in the last of summer.
Upon the following day I took a walk with Dr. Croghan and Major
Davenport, down the canal to Shippingport, and witnessed the labour in
removing the earth for the canal. The soil intended to be dug out, was
first ploughed by a heavy plough, drawn by six oxen. Afterwards a sort
of scoop drawn by two horses was filled with earth, (and it contained
three times as much as an ordinary wheel-barrow,) it was then carried up
the slope, where it was deposited, and the scoop was brought back to be
filled anew. In this manner much time and manual labour was saved.
Several steam-boats lie at Shippingport, among them was the General
Wayne, which had arrived at New Orleans in five days voyage from this
place; had stopt there five days on account of unloading, and reloading,
and had made her return trip from New Orleans to Louisville in ten days;
consequently had moved against the stream one hundred and thirty-five
miles daily. Several hackney coaches waited here from Louisville,
expecting the arrival of the steam-boat George Washington, which was
looked for every minute. The country is highly romantic. We found
ourselves on an eminence upon the bank, where a large substantial
warehouse had been built jutting over the river. Before us was the foot
of the falls; opposite an island overgrown with wood, to the right the
falls, and Louisville in the back ground; to the left on the other
shore, New Albany, and all around in the rear, a green forest of the
finest trees.
On our return we passed by a large deserted brick building. It is called
the Hope Distillery, and was established by a company of speculators to
do business on a large scale. After the company had invested about
seventy thousand dollars, several of the stockholders stopped payment.
One of them procured the whole at auction for three thousand dollars,
and would now let any one have it for less. In the year 1817, the desire
to buy land and build upon it, had risen to a mania in this place. Dr.
Croghan showed me a lot of ground, which he had then purchased for two
thousand dollars, and for which, at present, no one would hardly offer
him seven hundred. He has hired a German gardener, who has laid out a
very pretty vegetable garden on this spot, which will yield considerable
profit by his industrious management.
Dr. Ferguson, a physician here, carried us to the hospital. This edifice
lies insulated upon a small eminence. The building was commenced several
years ago, and is not yet finished. The state of Kentucky gave the
ground as a donation, and bears a part of the expenses of building. As
the establishment is principally used for the reception of sick seamen,
congress has given the hospital a revenue from the custom-house in New
Orleans. The hospital consists of a basement story, three stories above,
and wings, which each have a basement and two stories. In the basement
of the centre building, are the kitchen, wash-house, the store-rooms,
&c., and in the upper story, the chamber for the meeting of the
directors, the apothecary’s room, the steward’s dwelling, and the state
rooms for patients paying board and lodging. In the third story a
theatre for surgical operations will be arranged. In the wings are roomy
and well aired apartments for the white patients, and in the basement,
those for the negroes and coloured persons. Slavery is still permitted
in Kentucky. There has been until now only one apartment habitable,
in which twelve patients are lying. These have cleanly beds, but only
wooden bedsteads. When the building is thoroughly finished, it will
contain at least one hundred and fifty persons with comfort. Such an
establishment is extremely necessary for such a place as Louisville,
which is very unhealthy in summer.
I made with Major Davenport an excursion into the country, to the very
respectable country-seat, Locust Grove, six miles from Louisville,
belonging to Dr. Croghan and a younger brother, and inherited from their
father. Close by the town we crossed a small stream, which falls here
into the Ohio, and is called Bear Grass creek. This serves the keel and
flat boats as a very safe harbour. From the bridge over this, the road
goes several miles through a handsome wood on the banks of the Ohio,
past country-seats, and well cultivated fields, behind which fine
looking hills arose. The wood consisted mostly of sycamores. We observed
five that sprung from one root; two are quite common. The trees are very
thick. We measured the bulk of the thickest sycamore, and found it
twenty-seven feet four inches in circumference. I never recollect to
have seen such a mammoth tree. Locust Grove itself lies about a mile
from the river, and is, as appears from its name, surrounded by those
trees. We found here the doctor, his brother William Croghan, with his
young wife, a native of Pittsburgh, and a fat, lovely little boy, who
strikingly reminded me of my sons.
At a party in the house of Mr. Use, a rich merchant and president of the
branch of the United States Bank here, we met a very numerous and
splendid society. Cotillions and reels were danced to the music of a
single violin, and every thing went off pleasantly. We remained till
midnight, and the company were still keeping up the dance, when we left
them.
Dr. Ferguson was very much occupied in vaccination. The natural
small-pox had made its appearance within a few days, under a very
malignant form, in the town. On this account every one had their
children vaccinated as speedily as possible; even those who were
prejudiced against vaccination. In the evening, I went with Major and
Mrs. Davenport to the house of Mrs. Wilson, to tea, whose daughter,
fifteen years of age, had been married above a month. The young females
marry much too early here, quite as early as in Louisiana.
There were two pieces represented at the theatre for the benefit of a
Mrs. Drake; Man and Wife, a favourite English drama, and a farce called
Three Weeks after Marriage. We were present on this occasion. The
proscenium is very small; a confined pit, a single row of boxes, and a
gallery. It was well filled; as Mrs. Drake was very much a favourite
with the ladies here, all the boxes were full of the fashionables of the
place. The dramatic corps was very ordinary with the exception of Mrs.
Drake. Most of the actors were dressed very badly, had not committed
their parts, and played in a vulgar style. One actor was so intoxicated,
that he was hardly able to keep his legs.
I was furthermore witness to a revolting spectacle in Louisville, from
which I escaped as quick as I was able. A pregnant mulatto woman was
offered for sale at public auction, with her two children. The woman
stood with her children on a bench at a coffee-house; the auctioneer
standing by her side, indulged himself in brutal jests upon her thriving
condition, and sold her for four hundred dollars!