_Journey from Philadelphia to New York.-- Coal-mines of Pottsville
and Mauch Chunk.-- Bethlehem._
I left Philadelphia, June 3d, at four o’clock in the morning, to see the
coal-mines beyond the Blue Mountains, and then pay another visit to my
friends in Bethlehem; after which, I must repair to New York, as to my
great sorrow, the time for my embarkation approached. I rode fifty-two
miles in a mail stage to Reading. Notwithstanding a gust on the previous
evening, it was again very warm, and on the latter part of the journey
particularly, we were much incommoded by dust.
At first we took the same way, which I had taken last autumn to
Bethlehem, through Sunville, Germantown, and Chesnut Hill. The present
appearance of the country was very different from its aspect at that
rough season of the year. Every thing was now alive and green, and the
numerous and elegant gardens of Germantown, were filled with the
beautiful flowers. Although this place is three miles long, it presents
no tedious uniformity. The various country-seats of the wealthy
inhabitants of Philadelphia, which are tolerably close to each other,
rather present an agreeable change. Chesnut Hill affords a very
extensive view over the surrounding handsome and thickly inhabited
country. The valley of the Schuylkill appeared to particularly great
advantage, which by means of dams and canals, made near shallow places,
is navigable till beyond the Blue Mountains. Beyond Chesnut Hill, we
left the above-mentioned road and turned on the left to Norristown,
a very romantic place on the left side of the Schuylkill. Before
reaching this, we passed extensive marble quarries, which are about one
hundred feet deep, and form very picturesque hollows. The blocks are
raised by means of machines, worked by horses. This marble is gray, and
is used in the fire-places of most of the respectable houses in
Philadelphia. Several of the mile-stones on our road were also made of
this marble. The cuttings are partly burned to lime and partly thrown on
the turnpike. The turnpike, as an American one, was on this route
tolerably good.
Beyond Norristown we again rode through a very handsome country. Between
Chesnut Hill and the marble quarries, we passed a good stone bridge over
the Wissahiccon creek, which turns many mills. Between Norristown and
Trap, a small place through which the road runs, we passed two other
creeks, the Skippar and Perkiomen creeks, and at Pottsgrove, over a
third, called Monataway creek, which here empties into the Schuylkill.
The road then went over a hilly country through Warrensburg and
Exertown, and over the Mannokesy and Rush creeks. At last we saw
Reading, in a lovely valley. It had a military aspect, as a company of
volunteers had held a review to-day, and were recreating themselves at a
tavern near the town, after their toils. At five o’clock we reached
Trautman’s tavern, where we found good lodgings.
Reading contains about five thousand inhabitants; it consists of a long
principal street, which is very wide, in the middle, and of several
other streets, which cross it at right angles. The place depends on
agriculture and some manufactories. Many hats, especially felt hats, are
made here, which are sent in great numbers to the slave states and the
West Indies. I here visited Mr. Hiester, former governor of
Pennsylvania. This worthy old man bears his age, which is seventy-four
years, remarkably well. He took me to his son-in-law, Dr. Muhlenberg,
the German Lutheran minister of this place, son of the celebrated
naturalist and learned man of this name, who died about ten years ago.
We took tea at his house, and then walked to the Schuylkill, over which
a covered wooden bridge led. We saw also a part of the canal, on which
coal is brought to Philadelphia from the upper parts of the Schuylkill.
Here at Reading, this canal ascends four locks, which appear to be built
in a tolerably solid manner. It made a strange impression on me to hear
every person speak German. On the road from Philadelphia, I had every
where heard this language; but in Reading scarcely any thing else than
German is spoken, and better than I had heard in the state of Ohio,
or in Lancaster. Reading possesses a good German school under Dr.
Muhlenberg’s direction, in which this language is taught in its purity.
He himself has a numerous and selected library of English and German
books. Two canal boats run at present alternately every week between
Philadelphia and Reading, in which about one hundred travellers may be
accommodated. They leave the one place at three o’clock in the morning,
and reach the other about five o’clock in the evening.
I hired at Reading a carriage with two horses, for three dollars a day,
in order to visit the coal-mines beyond the Blue Mountains. I left
Reading at seven o’clock in the morning, and rode thirty-six miles to
Pottsville. We passed over a turnpike, which was occasionally very
rough. It several times led us in the neighbourhood of the canal, the
surface of which is about thirty feet wide on an average. It is lead by
means of wooden boxes over several deep streams. Between Reading and
Pottsville there are about eighty locks, several of which we passed; at
one time I saw seven together, which formed a very pleasing sight. About
noon we reached a little German place, called Hamburg, half way to
Pottsville, at the foot of the Blue Mountains, not far from the
Schuylkill and its canals. On the road to Hamburg, we passed but one
creek which had a name, Maiden creek. I dined at Hamburg, and met, as it
was Sunday, a number of idlers, all Germans, assembled in the tavern.
Several Germans of education in the United States, made the remark to
me, which I found but too true, that next to the Irish, the Germans form
the roughest portion of the emigrants. The truth of this remark again
forced itself on my attention in Hamburg, and especially in the case of
a young doctor, who had formerly studied in several German universities,
and gave vent to his giddiness in a vulgar manner. It was the first time
in the United States that the _affectation_ of republicanism arrested my
attention.
Not far beyond Hamburg, we came to a defile where the Schuylkill forces
a passage through the Blue Mountains. This narrow vale was very
romantic, and my interest in the scene was greatly increased by the
numberless blooming kalmias, improperly called laurel, the rhododendra,
which offered a splendid sight amidst the rich vegetation of chesnut
trees, butternuts, oaks, elms, sycamores, blooming tulip-trees, and
sumacs. How frequently I thought of the great pleasure which my father
would enjoy, if he could travel with me among these mountains, and
admire the treasures of the vegetable world with his experienced eye!
The way led along a mountain over the Schuylkill, which lay deep below
me. It forms here a curve, and is made navigable by means of dams, as
there was too little room to continue the canal on the side of it. After
we had passed the chief defile of the Blue Mountains, we left for a time
the navigable Schuylkill with its canal, and passed through a narrow
vale, through which the little Schuylkill flows, which is covered with
kalmias, rhododendrons, and some azaleas. Afterwards came another vale,
formed by Scrub Hill and Scollop Hill; then a long mountain, called
Limestone Ridge. Beyond this mountain we reached Orwigsburg, which,
entirely enclosed by mountains, occupies a romantic situation; it is
built in the form of a cross, and contains about eight hundred
inhabitants. We rode farther, through a valley covered with trees, again
reached the Schuylkill with its canal, and at length arrived at
Pottsville.
This place is scarcely to be found in any map, as it arose but three or
four years ago, and owes its existence to the neighbouring coal-mines.
The navigation of the Schuylkill commences here; this is the place where
the vessels which navigate this canal and river, small keel-boats, are
built. A couple of saw-mills are erected for this purpose, as well as a
high furnace, in which the iron ore found in the neighbourhood is
smelted. The coal-mines are worked under the direction of the Schuylkill
Coal Company, which has made the Schuylkill navigable at its own
expense, in order to transport the coal to Philadelphia and New York.
A bushel of coal, weighing eighty pounds, is sold at Philadelphia for
twenty-five cents. The river was made navigable only about eighteen
months ago, and it is only since this time, that they have commenced to
dig out coal.
Pottsville consists of a single street, lying in a somewhat narrow vale
on the right shore of the Schuylkill, and owes its name to a Mr. Pott,
who commenced the first iron works. The entrances of two coal-mines are
seen on the shore opposite the place; there are some which, however, are
not worked on account of scarcity of labourers. I became acquainted in
our tavern with a Mr. Baker from New York, who is one of the chief men
in this undertaking, as well as with a Mr. Taylor, editor of the paper
called the Miner’s Journal, which bears a good character.
I rode with these two gentlemen to the coal-mines, two miles and a half
from Pottsville, and not far from Norwegian creek. The coal appears
almost on the surface of the ground, in which a certain dark colour
denotes its presence. No one thoroughly understands the business of
coal-mining, and therefore it has hitherto been conducted in a very
unsystematic and expensive manner. Shafts are made wherever it is
thought that coal would be found, and when a vein is discovered it is
worked. The veins run from east to west, and then descend in a southern
direction at an angle of forty-five degrees; between the veins, slate is
commonly found about twelve feet thick. Under the lower layer of slate,
coals have been again discovered by boring, but have not yet been
farther worked. The shafts are not much above twenty feet deep; the
coals are brought up in buckets by means of two windlasses; at one place
machinery worked by a horse is employed for this purpose. One shaft
contains water, which, as the pumps are not yet in order, must be drawn
out in buckets in a very tedious and expensive manner. The coal is of a
superior quality, burns very well, and contains no sulphur. About fifty
men work in the mines, each of which on an average receives monthly
fifteen dollars. Hitherto the society has employed thirty vessels to
transport the coals to Philadelphia. They are brought from the mines in
large wagons to the head of the navigation, and are weighed before
unloading. A profit of a certain amount is expected to arise from the
working of these mines, which, however, will only be properly
calculated, when the mines are worked more systematically. They design
to connect the works with the river, which certainly would be a
considerable saving, by means of a rail-road. A mountain, which runs
parallel with that containing the mines, and which is yet covered with
trees, is also said to contain great quantities of coal, but has not yet
been worked.
After this fatiguing excursion, as I had seen most of the mines, I left
Pottsville on the 5th of June, and rode forty miles to Mauch Chunk at
the junction of a creek of this name with the Lehigh. After passing
Orwigsburg we turned to the left towards M‘Keansburg, through a woody
valley not well settled, and this only near Pine creek. M‘Keansburg is a
small place, and lies on an eminence, which affords a prospect of a
romantic valley, through which Little Schuylkill flows. M‘Keansburg
adjoins on one side a wood swarming with locusts, which made so much
noise that they might be heard at a great distance. These locusts are
seldom seen, and their present appearance is ascribed to the uncommonly
dry spring. I walked among the trees, and found under the stones several
crystallizations; I found among others, a stone perfectly resembling a
petrified bird’s head with the beak. Many vegetable petrifactions, such
as fern and leaves of the kalmia, are found in the slate between the
veins of coal. I was told that the impression of a whole collection of
snakes was found in a cavity in the slate, and that the impressions of
the heads, particularly, were very distinct.
After leaving M‘Keansburg we passed valleys and mountains, and reached,
in this manner, the narrow and romantic valley of the Lehigh, by a very
steep road. Lehighton, which lies at a junction of Mahoning creek and
the Lehigh, consists of but few houses, and is supported in a miserable
manner; because the land is too hilly and rough for cultivation, and the
industrious village of Mauch Chunk, which is but three miles distant,
withdraws from it all support. The country, however rough and
unproductive as it may be for those who wish to live here, would afford
a particular enjoyment to a botanist, and a lover of his science, by its
rich and blooming vegetable productions.
It began to grow dark when we reached Lehighton, I nevertheless
continued on the road; this grew narrow, was partly cut out of the rock,
and closely approached the right shore of the Lehigh as far as Mauch
Chunk, which we reached after dark, and in a storm. I took lodging in
the only inn, which, however, is very good and respectable, and kept by
a quaker, Mr. Atherton. The place has only existed four years, and owes
its origin to the neighbouring mines, which, with all the surrounding
country, belongs to the Lehigh Coal Company; a company which possesses a
large capital, has existed longer than its rival in Pottsville, and
conducts its operations more systematically. One of the most important
stockholders is a quaker, Mr. White, who lives here, and has properly
created every thing, and directs every thing himself. He visited me the
same evening, and appeared to be a plain Friend, who however has
reflected much on the good of mankind, and speaks very well.
On the next morning Mr. White took me about the place; it lies in a very
narrow vale surrounded with high mountains, which rise out of the Lehigh
and are covered with trees. The company has made the Lehigh navigable,
or rather is at present engaged in this work, by means of dams, locks
and canals, in order to transport the coal to Philadelphia with ease and
cheapness.
The canal, in which two locks stand at a distance of one hundred and
thirty feet from each other, is thirty feet wide between the locks, the
sides of which are covered with planks; behind this covering a wall has
been erected, the crevices of which are filled with a liquid mortar. Mr.
White calculates, that the covering of wood will last about thirty
years, and that during this time, the wall will unite with the mortar
and form a kind of rock. Neither the locks, nor the canal were finished,
so that there was as yet but a temporary navigation. The coal is put
into flat boats six feet wide and ten feet long; these are attached, two
together and five behind each other, so that a kind of raft of ten
boats, or rather a box is formed. When this raft arrives at
Philadelphia, and the coal unloaded, these boats are taken to pieces,
the boards sold, and all the iron which was in them, brought back to
Mauch Chunk in carts. Two saw-mills are in constant operation for the
building of these boats, the timber is previously cut in form, so that
practised workmen may nail together such a boat in an hour. But as soon
as the canal and the locks are finished, even this navigation so
expensive and destructive to the wood, will cease, and coal be
transported in steam-boats, which will pass up and down the river and
canal. The banks of the canal are covered with stones, or rather
formally paved, so that they may not suffer from the action of the
wheels. The coal is taken from the mine in wagons to the place where it
is put into boats, and there weighed. After this the carts move upon a
disk which turns, where the horses are quickly unharnessed. The carts
are then raised by means of a machine, worked by a horse, and when they
have attained a certain height, are brought in an oblique position, so
that the coals fall out into a kind of enclosure, where they remain till
wanted; the boats are loaded by means of moveable broad iron gutters,
which are elevated or depressed according to the height of the water.
Grates are put in this gutter, so that the coals which are too small,
and the dust, fall through, and merely the larger pieces fall into the
vessel.
Considerable quantities of iron ore are found near Mauch Chunk, in a
sandy state, and near the surface of the earth, which is melted in
furnaces, erected for this purpose. But they have not yet succeeded in
doing this by means of stone coal, and are obliged to use charcoal. This
iron is used to make rail-roads, which lead to the most important
coal-mine, nine miles distant. They will facilitate the transportation
of the coal to the water in a very great degree, and make this at least
three-fourths cheaper. Iron carts are to be used on this rail-road. Its
ascent to the mine amounts to one foot in a hundred; the empty carts are
to be drawn up by horses, each of which draws four at the rate of three
miles an hour; when they are loaded, they are carried to the river by
their own weight, and make the passage in less than an hour. When they
reach a certain point not far from the river, they are sent down an
inclined plane, at an angle of forty-five degrees, and by means of
machinery yet to be attached, they draw the empty carts by their weight
up this plane.
A very good turnpike, now leads to this important mine, nine miles from
Mauch Chunk, along the romantic valley of the same name, which ascends
but two feet in a hundred, so that we could trot the whole way. I went
in company with Mr. White. The mountain is imperceptibly ascended, and
it occasions surprise, when, after a ride of eight miles, the woods,
which cover the mountains are left, to see Mauch Chunk creek, whose
shore has apparently just been left, rushing deep below, and at the top
of the mountain to find oneself in a coal-mine. It is a highly
interesting sight, and alone worth a passage across the ocean. The coal
does not here run in veins, but the whole mountain consists of a solid
mass of coal, covered with a layer of clay at most a foot thick. The
earth assumes a dark colour six inches below the surface; coal dust a
foot and a half thick, is found at the depth of one foot, then comes the
coal in small pieces, which are not used, but at a foot deeper the solid
coal begins, which is broken off and sold. They have hitherto bored to
the depth of sixty feet, and found nothing but the purest coal; they
have however, dug but forty feet deep, and prefer working horizontally
rather than perpendicularly. Except some veins of slate, which as solid
rocks are not more than two feet thick, no heterogeneous substances are
found among the coal. This is entirely black, and only those parts which
are more or less exposed to the weather, are iridescent.
These mines, which are not subterraneous, occupy at present a space of
nearly four acres. An iron wedge forced by a hammer is used to break the
coal. The stratum of coal is partly horizontal and partly at an angle of
forty-five degrees; it seems as if it had been once elevated and broken
by a subterraneous power. The workmen are paid daily, gain about
eighteen dollars a month, and occupy several houses not far from the
mine. They have dug a well in the stratum of coal, which furnishes pure
and good drinking water.
We rode back to Mauch Chunk on the excellent road, made altogether on
account of the mine. There is a place on the road where iron sand is
dug, and whence runs a chalybeate spring, which leaves settlings of
ochre. Two miles from Mauch Chunk we ascended the hill, on the other
side of which, again quantities of coal are found. It is, however, very
difficult to reach the layer on this high and steep hill, and the
transportation of coals thence to Mauch Chunk would be attended with
great inconvenience and expense. To obviate this, the company is cutting
through the hill at a certain height, a tunnel in the rock, by which
means the stratum may, to use the expression, be reached by the rear,
and the conveyance of the coals be much facilitated. This tunnel is to
be ten feet high and fifteen wide, with a rail-road in the middle. They
have cut through two hundred feet already, and have yet one hundred and
twenty feet to work, before they reach the coal. This labour is
fatiguing and tedious; twelve men work day and night. They blast the
rocks with powder, and advance but one foot in twenty-four hours.
In the valley of Mauch Chunk creek, along the road, two furnaces are
erected in order to cast the pieces necessary for the rail-road, to
avoid their transportation and to accelerate the work on the road. Two
saw-mills have also been built in this valley, but the water in the
creek is generally too low to depend much on their assistance in such
works. The company employs about one thousand eight hundred workmen, who
live partly near the mine, but generally in small houses in the place
belonging to the company. Their habitations form a street along Mauch
Chunk creek, nearly half a mile long. A great number of them are married
and have their families with them. The company has given them a
clergyman, and a school with a good teacher, to instruct their children.
A massive mill is also erected near the creek, in which all the flour
necessary for the place is ground; the country is too rough for culture;
the company exchanges in a very profitable manner coal for grain.
Meadows have, however, been laid out in the valley, in order to gain the
necessary hay for one hundred and twenty horses, which daily work here.
The creek also works bellows, by means of which the necessary draft of
air is preserved in the furnaces and in the forges.
A store belonging to the society, and furnished with all the necessary
articles, is also kept here. In this the workmen and their families
receive the necessary articles, the price of which is deducted from
their wages. Every workman has his leaf in a large book, wherein his
account stands, and besides a small pass-book, wherein a copy of his
account is written. Every month, or if the workman prefers oftener,
a settlement is made, and he receives a note on the treasurer for the
money owing to him, unless he wishes it to remain in the treasurer’s
hands. The company makes a great profit in this manner, and the greater
part of the money expended flows back again into its treasury. The
ground three miles up and down the Lehigh, belongs to the company, so
that no one can dispute with them the monopoly of keeping a store. If
other companies should be formed to dig coals in the mountains above
Mauch Chunk, where great quantities are said to be found, they could not
gain much, as this society has taken possession of the only outlet, the
Lehigh, and on account of the locks could lay many difficulties in the
way with regard to the transportation of other coal.
I visited Mr. White in his tasteful house on the declivity of a
mountain, whence he may see the whole of Mauch Chunk. He has a park
behind his house, with tame game, which eat out of his hands. They
consist of two stags and a female elk and her young one, which is
already nearly as large and strong as a horse. They were obliged to
shoot the male elk last autumn, as he attacked Mr. White and gave him
eight wounds in the legs, with his horns, which confined the poor man
about a month to his bed. The assistant of Mr. White ran to aid him, but
received some wounds himself in the body, and would have been killed by
the furious animal, if, at the cry of the two unfortunate men, a number
of people had not hastened with poles and clubs to relieve them.
At five o’clock in the evening, I left the interesting Mauch Chunk and
went sixteen miles on the road to Bethlehem, as far as Cherryville. At
Lehighton I took the left shore of the Lehigh passing two small creeks,
Big creek, and Aquanshicola creek, and at last, (for the fifth time,)
the Blue Mountains, through Lehigh Water Gap. This country must be very
handsome, and it was with regret that I saw so little of it, but it
began to grow dark, was very rainy weather, and thick clouds covered the
Blue Mountains. Two miles from Water Gap we passed through a small place
called Berlinville, and were yet two miles distant from Cherryville.
In the darkness we could not see the posts which stand wherever roads
cross, and there was no turnpike. We accordingly lost our way, and at a
cross road knew not which direction to take. We ran about in the rain
and the darkness, but found nothing which could have directed us. At
last we took a road at random, fortunately the right one! But it was
midnight before we reached Cherryville, where we found lodgings in a
very good tavern. This whole country is inhabited by Germans, and the
German language is the only one spoken.
Cherryville consists of but few houses, has, however, an open and
handsome situation, and the roads in the vicinity are planted with
handsome and large cherry trees, whence the name of the place. I left
this place, June 7th, at eight o’clock in the morning, and rode fourteen
miles to much-esteemed Bethlehem. We passed through two small places,
Kreiderville and Howardtown, and through a well-cultivated country; the
grain and fruit, however, were suffering much from the drought, and
beyond Howardtown we rode in a thick cloud of dust. I was uncommonly
pleased, and felt quite at home, when, on leaving the woods, I saw the
friendly Bethlehem before me. But it was quite different from what it
was last autumn; it was then cold, and the trees beginning to lose their
leaves; now summer had given every thing new life.
At Bethlehem I went to my old quarters at Bishop’s tavern, and soon
after my arrival visited the worthy Mr. Frueauf. He was the more pleased
with my visit, as no one in Bethlehem believed that I would fulfil my
promise of returning, except himself. He took me to his brother-in-law,
the Reverend Mr. von Schweinitz, who, at the very time I was at
Bethlehem last autumn, had visited my father in Weimar, and spoken with
my wife. Mr. von Schweinitz is on the mother’s side a great grandson of
Count von Zinzendorf, and the brother of a deceased Lieutenant von
Schweinitz, with whom I had been in early years in a company of the
Saxon Guards. He is a very agreeable man, who unites a polished
education with an excellent character. At dinner I met with pleasure
with the old Dr. Stickel. After dinner I walked with Mr. Frueauf and Mr.
von Schweinitz, across Lehigh bridge, to a promenade along the river,
leading to a semicircular place. Benches were placed here, and a spring
was overarched to keep wine, &c. cool. We then went below the garden of
the girl’s school to the mill of the congregation, where there is also a
place under a handsome linden tree, affording a very pleasing view into
the vale. But Mr. von Schweinitz was unfortunately obliged to leave here
this afternoon on business of the society, and I could enjoy his
extremely agreeable acquaintance but for a short time.
I now visited Bishop Hueffel and the Rev. Mr. Seidel. I went again with
the latter to the girl’s school, and again admired the great order which
reigns there, and the handsome and fine work of the girls. In the
evening I was present at service in the church; but it was not well
attended, and consisted merely in singing several hymns, which Mr.
Seidel sang, accompanied by a good organ. This devotional exercise
occupied perhaps half an hour, and takes place every evening. The rest
of the evening I spent in a very agreeable manner, at Mr. Seidel’s
house, in company with Bishop Hueffel and Mr. Frueauf.
The following day passed in a very agreeable manner. I read several
allemanic poems of Hebel with Mr. Frueauf, who played to me on his
piano, which instrument must not be wanting in any house here; these
poems may well be called Pennsylvanian, as they are written in a dialect
which is spoken here, especially in Lancaster county and in the western
country. Bishop Hueffel showed me his handsome collection of sketches of
great masters, which are selected with much taste and science, as well
as several other good paintings and drawings. This worthy Bishop, is a
man of polished education, in whose society nothing but profit can be
obtained, on which account I was particularly sorry that I could not
longer stay at Bethlehem. I also visited the sister’s house, and these
maidens, who have grown old in honour, seemed to be much pleased with my
repeated visit. I was obliged to go through all the rooms, sit with
several, and tell them of my travels, which was done with the greatest
pleasure. I found many of them employed in making hats of fine chips of
the ash tree. These are woven in a loom like a bolting cloth, then cut
and sewed into hats. A merchant of this place made this speculation,
sells the hats at three quarters of a dollar a piece, and is said to do
much business.
But I could stay no longer. I left Bethlehem at five o’clock in the
afternoon, with much regret, and rode twelve miles to Easton. The road
led through a country tolerably hilly, and partly woody, but generally
very well cultivated, and through one small place called Butstown. I had
for several days past remarked, that instead of fences, dry walls were
made in a very neat manner, consisting of numerous stones gathered from
the fields. Easton, which I reached at seven o’clock, is a flourishing
place of about three thousand inhabitants. It lies in a valley at the
junction of the Delaware and Lehigh. The shores of both rivers,
especially of the latter, are high; in this are also many rocks, and the
country offers a number of picturesque views. The Delaware forms the
boundary between Pennsylvania and New Jersey; Easton on the right side
belongs to the former. The place is regularly built. The greatest part
of the houses are built of brick, though there are also some of stone.
A large square place stands in the middle, surrounded with a row of
Lombardy poplars, in the centre of which the Court-house is erected.
I found these poplars in Pennsylvania, and especially in the eastern
parts, preferred as an ornamental tree; in the greater part of the
villages the streets, and even the roads, for some distance are planted,
and some farms are surrounded with them. But it is said they attract
insects, which infest the houses, on which account they have been rooted
up in many places, as for instance, in the streets of New York; in
Pennsylvania, on the contrary, to obviate this evil, their trunks as far
as the branches, are covered with whitewash. The butternut tree, the
leaves of which resemble those of the ash, is also used as an ornamental
tree. At Easton a roofed wooden bridge leads over the Delaware, resting
on two stone piers, and is about two hundred and seventy-seven paces in
length. Like the generality of these bridges, it is divided into two
parts lengthwise, in order that wagons may not meet each other.
A handsome chain bridge, about two hundred and ten paces in length,
leads over the Lehigh. It is divided into three parts lengthwise; the
extreme parts being for wagons and horses, and the middle and smallest
for foot passengers. This bridge was erected ten years ago, and though
it has borne heavy loads, has not yielded in the least degree.
I received in the evening visits from several Germans, who live in the
place, among whom I mention particularly a physician, Dr. Muller, Mr.
Schumann, and Mr. Till, from Bethlehem. The latter is a teacher of music
and an instrument maker, in Easton. Mr. Schumann was sent to the
seminary of the Moravians at Gnadenfeld in Silesia to become a minister.
Not being pleased with this, he left Gnadenfeld, visited several German
universities to study medicine, returned to America, and now dedicates
himself in Easton to the law.
A military academy was founding in Easton, of which great expectations
were formed. It was a private undertaking by Mr. Constant. Since it has
been seen, that the military academy at West Point furnishes such
excellent subjects, a strict military education is becoming more and
more popular in the northern states. The number of pupils at West Point
is too limited to admit all the young men for whom application is made.
A captain Partridge, who was formerly an officer at West Point, but
condemned to be cashiered by a court-martial on account of an act of
insubordination towards General Swift and Lieutenant-colonel Thayer, has
founded a military school at his own expense at Middletown, in
Connecticut, in which he is said to give a very good education and solid
instruction to the young men entrusted to him. The result of these
schools shows more and more the advantage of a military education, and
awakens a spirit of competition among individuals to erect similar
schools.
I left Easton, June 9, at four o’clock, in the mail stage, and rode
through New Jersey to New York, seventy-two miles. We passed the
Delaware, and rode on a good turnpike, through a hilly, well-cultivated
country, and through some unimportant places to a tolerably high
mountain, called Schooley’s Mountain, where there is a mineral spring
much frequented in summer. We afterwards came to a neat place in a
handsome valley, called German Valley; then passing through Chester and
Mondham, also handsome places, we came to Morristown. All these places
in New Jersey are well located, containing generally brick and some
large houses; the streets are wide, planted with poplars, and in the
centre of each place is a roomy square opening, in the midst of which
stands a high pole, whence the national flag waves on public days.
Churches also are not wanting; I saw four in Morristown, which appears
to contain about one thousand inhabitants. The churches have here
generally high and white steeples, so that they may be seen at a
considerable distance. We came also through a small place, Springfield,
and then reached Elizabethtown, a very handsome place, surrounded with
neat country-seats, the greater part of which belong to rich inhabitants
of New York. After a short delay we left Elizabethtown, rode two miles
farther through a meadow ground, much like Holland, and reached a bay.
Here we left the stage, and went on board the steam-boat Bellona, being
about fourteen miles distant from New York. This bay is properly an
inland lake, and is called Newark bay, after a town on it of the same
name. It receives its water from two streams, Passaic and Hackensack,
and communicates with the sea towards the south through Staten Island
sound, and on the east with the bay of New York through the channel of
Castleton, through which we also passed. We had on the left a cape
belonging to New Jersey, and on the right Staten Island belonging to New
York. As it was narrow here we could see with great ease the handsome
country-seats and gardens on both shores. But we enjoyed the handsomest
and most unexpected sight, as we entered the bay of New York. On the
right was the beautiful shore of Staten Island with Castleton, then the
quarantine, where, besides several other vessels, lay a Swedish
line-of-battle ship, which being sold to the Colombian government,
remained here on account of some difficulties in the payment; beyond the
Narrows the sea, then Fort La Fayette; we had in front of us the shore
of Long Island, and on the left the bay of New York, with the forts on
Governor’s and Bedlow’s Island, and between in the back ground the city
of New York, with its pointed spires and forest of masts, in the North
and East rivers. This sight is wonderfully beautiful, and well deserves
to be represented as a panorama. Arrived in the bay, we turned to the
left, passed the above-mentioned fortified islands, left Bedlow’s island
and the slightly fortified Ellis’s island, passed Castle-garden, and
landed from the North river at seven o’clock in the evening.
I immediately repaired to the City Hotel in Broadway, where I had lodged
last autumn, and occupied again the same apartment which I then did.
I leave it the reader to imagine with what remarks and feelings I again
entered this place. I gratefully turned to the Great Master of Life, who
had so manifestly protected me during this long journey, and brought me
back again to this place in health!
I passed at this time but few days in New York, and I mention but a few
circumstances. I was indeed very busy during these days, but almost
every thing was done with a view to my departure.
I made a visit to Colonel Burr, who was a vice-president of the United
States at the commencement of this century, and a rival of Mr. Jefferson
for the presidency, which was decided in favour of the latter by the
vote of Mr. Claiborne. In consequence of this election, Colonel Burr
fought a duel with General Hamilton, in which the latter was killed.
Burr afterwards went to the western states, and, as it was said,
intended to detach these from the eastern, and form them into a separate
state. His plan was, however, discovered, and he was arrested, but
acquitted for want of sufficient proof. He then travelled through
Europe, and now lives at New York as a lawyer. During his travels in
Europe, he came, in 1810, to Weimar, and spoke of a remarkably good
reception on the part of my father. I found him to be a little old man,
with very lively eyes, who spoke very well.
As I went to pay a visit to Mr. Zimmermann, consul of the Netherlands,
a fire occurred in a tar manufactory near his house. It was fortunately
checked by the excellent fire companies, before it extended. I had
scarcely remarked the fire when the bells were rung, and fire cried in
all the streets. In less than five minutes engines arrived, each drawn
by about thirty people, by means of two long ropes. In New York numerous
fire companies exist, among whom the different engines are divided. The
members of these companies have voluntarily engaged themselves for this
laborious service, and are relieved, in consequence, from jury and
military service. They wear a short frock at a fire, of coarse linen,
with a leathern belt, and a leathern hat with a number. As in many
English cities, there are water pipes laid in the streets, with an
inscription at the corner, how many feet distant is the opening. This
has an iron cover to which each engine has a key, is brought near, and
the water conveyed into it through a leathern hose. As I had nothing to
do with the fire, I returned to my lodgings, and passed a second fire in
another street. This was, however, less important than the former, and
soon extinguished.
I went one evening to the Italian opera in the Park Theatre. This opera
was established here last autumn, and is an attempt to transplant this
exotic fruit to American ground. It does not, however, appear adapted to
the taste of the public here; at least the speculation of the Italian
theatre is not so profitable as was expected. The members of this
theatre came from the Italian opera in London. At their head stands
Signor Garcia, a very good bass. The orchestra was not numerous, but
complete, and was directed by a French pianist, Mr. Etienne. Don
Giovanni, by Mozart, was given; it was a great satisfaction to me to see
this classic piece so well represented. At first nothing but operas of
Rossini were played, but now operas of Mozart are preferred to the
former by judges in this place. The price has been raised, and two
dollars is asked for the first tier. The theatre continues till half
past eleven, when one returns home through well-lighted streets.
As I heard that Governor Clinton was in the city, I hastened to pay him
my respects, but did not find him at home; on this occasion I again saw
how large the city was. The house where the governor lived is nearly two
miles distant from the City Hotel, without being out of the city.
I remarked that since last autumn three new churches have been built
here, of which one, a presbyterian, was very tasteful; since this time
also several new houses had been erected in this quarter. The number of
the inhabitants of the city increases exceedingly, it now supposed to
amount to one hundred and seventy thousand.
I rode also to the navy-yard in Brooklyn, on Long Island, where I paid a
visit to the worthy Commodore Chauncy. I found him with his interesting
family in excellent health, but very busy, for he had just despatched
the corvette Lexington to New Foundland, in order to protect the
American fishermen against the chicaneries of vessels of war belonging
to other nations, cruising about there. I saw also the frigate
Brandywine, which had returned from the Mediterranean sea, after taking
General La Fayette to France; she was now undergoing repairs, in order
to go to the Pacific ocean. A frigate and corvette were building.
I saw also the celebrated chess-player of Kempelen, which, with some
other curiosities is exhibited by its present owner, the mechanician Mr.
Maelzel, from Vienna. He is said to have already gained much money with
it in New York. The automaton represents a Turk, sitting behind the
table with a chess-board before him. A table with another chess-board
stands opposite, on which any of the company begins a game of chess with
the automaton. When the automaton is to make a move, a noise of wheels
is heard in the table, and at the same time the Turk lifts his left
hand, which rests on a cushion, opens his fingers, takes the piece,
makes the move, closes his hand, and places it on the cushion again. If
his antagonist makes a false move, the Turk knocks with his right hand
on the table in anger, shakes his head, and expresses his indignation by
a sound. When the Turk gained a game, Mr. Maelzel wound up the machine
like a clock, by means of a handle at the table, then the Turk took a
knight and placed it successively once in every square. The whole
machine stands on four wheels, and may be very easily moved from one
part of the chamber to the other. Whilst the Turk plays the game, Mr.
Maelzel stands by; but it cannot be seen in what manner he directs his
movements. It is said that Mr. Maelzel is negotiating with the keeper of
the National Hotel, where he exhibited his automaton, for the purchase
of the chess-player, and has already received an offer of nineteen
thousand dollars.
After Mr. Maelzel had moved back the player, he showed us a small figure
made of pasteboard, and representing a violoncello player, which moves
his head and both hands. Mr. Maelzel plays several pieces on the piano,
and the small figure accompanies him with his violoncello, keeping exact
time. He then showed us a trumpeter as large as life, who plays several
pieces with the trumpet in a masterly manner, and with his trumpet
accompanies Mr. Maelzel, who plays the piano. I had already seen this
trumpeter in 1809, at Vienna, and I also recollected to have seen the
chess-player in 1812, in Milan, in the palace of the then vice-king of
Italy. Mr. Maelzel finally showed us three small automata a foot and a
half high. One of them represents a little girl, which when its arm is
moved cries maman; the other a clown, who made grimaces and cried oh la
la! This and another smaller figure were placed on a rope, on which they
performed various evolutions.
To Castle-garden, on the battery, I went about seven o’clock in the
evening. The tasteful illumination is effected by gas. A handsome and
large saloon is also arranged here, where various refreshments may be
obtained. A good orchestra played the whole evening, and rockets
ascended from time to time. I was particularly pleased with the walk on
the upper gallery, whence there is a beautiful view of Hudson river and
the bay. It was a moonlight evening; the water was calm, and a gentle
wind from the sea, refreshed the sultry atmosphere in a very agreeable
manner.
At a visit which I made to Governor Clinton, in the City Hall, where his
office is, I saw in the room of audience several handsome portraits by
Sully, Peale, Trumbull, &c. I was most pleased with a full length
portrait of the deceased Commodore PERRY. This naval hero was
represented at the moment of leaving in a small boat his vessel, which
had became useless, and going on board of another, in which he gained
his splendid victory over the English on Lake Erie. There is also here a
full length portrait of General Jackson, and of Generals Brown, Macomb,
and Swift, as well as those of Commodores Hull, Decatur, Bainbridge,
M‘Donough and Chauncy, and of the former Governor Lewis. There is also a
very good portrait of Ex-President Monroe, as well as of several of the
earlier Governors of New York, among whom is one of the last Dutch
Governors, Peter Stuyvezant, in full armour. In another hall
appropriated to the meetings of the corporation, there is a portrait by
Trumbull of the great Washington, and opposite to this, a portrait of
the elder Governor Clinton, uncle of De Witt Clinton, as well as those
of General Hamilton and Chief Justice Jay.
To my great delight I met with my fellow traveller, Mr. Bowdoin; we were
much together; in company with him I paid a visit to the English
Admiral, Sir Isaac Coffin. He is an American by birth, and although he
belongs to the English navy and is a member of parliament, his whole
heart still clings to his native country, and he has come hither to see
it again before his death.
I was much disappointed at a second visit to the Italian opera. Il
barbiere di Seviglia was announced, but on account of the indisposition
of the Signorina GARCIA, it was not represented. The same folly prevails
among the public here, as among the English, to require a repetition of
the greater part of the airs, even of the most difficult songs, without
regard to the exhaustion of the singer.
I visited again, in company with the Rev. Mr. Schaeffer, the excellent
institution, called House of Refuge for juvenile offenders. This
institution has increased since last autumn, and now contains
ninety-three young persons of both sexes; at present, however, there are
only twenty-three of the female sex. Such an institution is certainly
worthy of imitation; for children, who are led astray by wrong
inclinations, by the wickedness of their parents, and by bad company,
are brought back again to the right road, whereas in other countries
they are shut up in public prisons with old offenders, and thereby they
become still more corrupted. The house intended for the boys was
finished, and inhabited by them. They were at this time employed in
building another for the girls, parallel with the former. The boys sleep
each alone in a cell on a piece of sail cloth, which they spread out and
fasten by four pegs. These are long rooms, which serve as school rooms,
and are on one side of the building two stories high. The second row is
reached by wooden steps, and a gallery runs before the cells of this
row. All the boys are employed; either in receiving instruction or in
attending to some mechanical business. They are taylors, shoemakers,
weavers, joiners, and basket-makers. I saw here a machine to cut out
shoe soles and heels. Sharp irons are formed according to the shape,
which is designed for the sole or heel; these irons are placed on a pair
of wet hides, and brought under an iron press, which is worked like
those in the mint. The boys who distinguish themselves by their industry
and good behaviour, are placed in the first class, and carry on the left
arm a brass plate, with the inscription, first class, as a mark of
distinction. Those on the contrary, who have endeavoured to escape, drag
a chain with a heavy iron ball. The period of detention in this
institution is left to the discretion of the commissioners; they may be
detained till their twenty-first year.
In order to show me the boys, the director gave notice with a whistle,
upon which they arranged themselves, according to their size. Several
large and strong fellows stood on the right wing, among which I saw one
of a very good appearance, whom I saw here last year as clerk. His
family had confined him here on account of an irresistible propensity to
steal, against which, neither exhortation nor severe corporeal
punishment availed. I saw two little boys of seven years, on the left
wing, who had already begun to steal. The biography of every one is
written in a separate book, and a journal afterwards kept of his
behaviour, punishments, &c. The director of the house showed me some of
these biographies; they are psychologically, exceedingly remarkable. The
greater part of the boys had been induced to steal by larger ones, who
have been confined on account of this offence in the penitentiary or
state prison. The director called the former of these institutions the
academy, and the latter the university for thieves. The benefit of this
house of refuge is perceived in the clearest manner from these
biographies, it is seen of what importance it is to anticipate the
development of crime. It is certainly an effective mode of improving the
morality of the lower classes. They say that it is more difficult to
keep the girls in order, than the boys, and that upon the whole, the
former are much worse than the latter. They are generally seduced, when
they are but nine or ten years old. When not engaged in receiving
instruction, they are employed in female occupations.
After leaving this interesting institution, we repaired to the
alms-house on the East river. With the alms-house they have connected
the workhouse, in which criminals are confined and employed for the
benefit and advantage of the city. The institution was erected at the
expense of the city, and consists of three long massive buildings, three
stories high, with several side buildings, designed for hospitals,
schools, smithshops, &c. The whole is surrounded with a wall, and
divisions made in the interior, to separate the paupers from the
criminals. The offices and the rooms occupied by the officers, as well
as those of the poor, are arranged in the building fronting on the
river, the second house also contains rooms for the poor, and workshops,
in which those who can yet work, are usefully employed. About twelve
hundred helpless poor people and children, among which are many
foundlings, are here supported. They inhabit large halls, which,
however, have a bad smell, and I missed that cleanliness, which is
indispensably necessary in such an establishment. A poor-house, is at
best an unpleasant, and when it is not cleanly kept, a disgusting sight.
Those who are confined, are criminals of a lower kind, the worst are not
confined longer than three years. The men work during the day, either in
the fields belonging to the city, or in the public streets. A chain is
attached to their leg, and they are under the inspection of appointed
sentinels. The women are employed in various manners. A treading-mill
was formerly in operation in a side building; but this has not been used
for a year, as it was thought injurious to the health of the prisoners.
A kind of typhus raged in the prison last year, which carried off
numbers of the prisoners. These sleep in separate cells, each of which,
is seven feet long, and three feet broad. Each prisoner has here, as in
the house of refuge, a piece of sail cloth, spread out on four pegs, on
which he sleeps. There is a small grate in each door, which admits the
necessary light into the cell. There are sixty cells in one hall, all on
one side, in five rows above each other; each row has a small gallery.
The hall receives its light from above. A pulpit, opposite the cells, is
erected in this hall for worship; the prisoners who are confined during
the service, stand behind the grate in their doors, whence they may see
the minister. The whole arrangement has, as remarked above, a handsome
and open situation; there is a belvidere on the roof of the front house,
whence a handsome and extensive prospect may be enjoyed.
On the last day of my stay in New York and in America, I went with Mr.
Zimmermann into some stores, and walked in some of the oldest parts of
the city. In these parts the streets are crooked, narrow and gloomy,
well adapted to retain the yellow fever. In the neighbourhood, however,
of the alms-house there is a building three stories high, where the
incurable lunatics, supported by the corporation of the city, are
received; but the two upper stories are designed to receive, when the
yellow fever appears, those who suffer with this dreadful evil, in order
to remove, as quickly as possible, the infection from the city. Some old
Dutch houses stand in the narrow streets, built by the first settlers,
consisting only of a lower story, with the gable-ends towards the
street. They are building in Wall street, a new exchange, which, when
completed, will be a handsome building. The post-office is already
placed in its lower story. Wall street is the street in which the most
commercial business is done, and in which most of the banks stand; it is
to be regretted that it is one of the ugliest streets in the city.
After having paid some farewell visits, I passed a part of my last
evening in America, in a very agreeable manner in the house of Mrs.
Bell. It is the most agreeable house for strangers in New York, in which
they always meet with a very good reception. I enjoyed also, for several
hours, the company of Mr. Bowdoin, and of Colonel Jones, the
brother-in-law of Governor Clinton.