Muskingham River. It is, however, like many other towns on the Ohio,
built on too low ground, and is subject to inundations. Here I observe
a contrivance of great ingenuity. There is a strong rope put across
the mouth of the river, opposite the town, fastened to trees or large
posts on each side; upon this rope runs a pulley or block, to which is
attached a rope, and to the rope a ferry-boat, which, by moving the
helm first one way and then the other, is propelled by the force of the
water across the river backwards or forwards.
{275} _June 10th._--Pass several fine coal mines, which like those at
Pittsburgh, Steubenville, Wheeling and other places, are not above 50
yards from the river and are upwards of 10 yards above high water.
The river now becomes more winding than we have hitherto found it.
It is sometimes so serpentine that it appears before and behind like
a continuation of lakes, and the hills on its banks seem to be the
separations. Altogether, nothing can be more beautiful.
_June 11th._--A very hot day, but I could not discover the degree of
heat. On going along we bought two Perch, weighing about 8 lb. each,
for 25 cents, of a boy who was fishing.[12] Fish of this sort will
sometimes weigh 30 lbs. each.
[12] The common American perch is the _Perca americana_ or
_flavescens_.--ED.
_June 12th._--Pass Portsmouth, at the mouth of the Scioto River. A sort
of village, containing a hundred or two of houses. Not worthy of any
particular remark.
_June 13th._--Arrived at Cincinnati about midnight. Tied our ark to a
large log at the side of the river, and went to sleep. Before morning,
however, the fastening broke, and, if it had not been for a watchful
back-woodsman whom we had taken on board some distance up the river,
we might have floated ten or fifteen miles without knowing it. This
back-woodsman, besides being of much service to us, has been a very
entertaining companion. He says he has been in this country forty
years, but that he is an Englishman, and was bred in Sherwood Forest
(he could not have come from a better nursery). All his adventures he
detailed to us very minutely, but dwelt with particular warmth upon
one he had had with a priest, lately, who, to spite him for preaching,
brought an action against him, but was cast and had to pay costs.
_June 14th and 15th._--Called upon Doctor Drake[13] and upon a
Mr. Bosson, to whom we had letters. These gentlemen shewed us the
greatest civility, and treated us with a sort of kindness which must
have changed the opinion even of the English officer whom we saw at
Pittsburgh, had he been with us. I could tell that dirty hireling
scout, that even in this short space of time, I have had the pleasure
to meet many gentlemen, {276} very well informed, and possessing great
knowledge as to their own country, evincing public spirit in all their
actions, and hospitality and kindness in all their demeanour; but, if
they be pensioners, male or female, or sinecure place lords or ladies,
I have yet come across, thank God, no _respectable people_.
[13] For a brief biography of Dr. Drake, consult Flint's _Letters_,
volume ix of our series, note 61.--ED.
Cincinnati is a very fine town, and elegantly (not only in the
American acceptation of the word) situated on the banks of the river,
nearly opposite to Licking Creek, which runs out of Kentucky, and is
a stream of considerable importance. The country round the town is
beautiful, and the soil rich; the fields in its immediate vicinity bear
principally grass, and clover of different sorts, the fragrant smell of
which perfumes the air. The town itself ranks next to Pittsburgh, of
the towns on the Ohio, in point of manufactures.
We sold our ark, and its produce formed a deduction from our expenses,
which, with that deduction, amounted to 14 dollars each, including
every thing, for the journey from Pittsburgh to this place, which is
upwards of 500 miles. I could not but remark the price of fuel here;
2 dollars a cord for Hickory; a cord is 8 feet by 4, and 4 deep, and
the wood, the best in the world; it burns much like green Ash, but
gives more heat. This, which is of course the highest price for fuel
in this part of the country, is only about a fifth of what it is at
Philadelphia.
_June 16th._--Left Cincinnati for Louisville with seven other persons,
in a skiff about 20 feet long and 5 feet wide.
_June 17th._--Stopped at VEVAY, a very neat and beautiful
place, about 70 miles above the falls of the Ohio. Our visit here was
principally to see the mode used, as well as what progress was made, in
the cultivation of the vine, and I had a double curiosity, never having
as yet seen a vineyard. These vineyards are cultivated entirely by a
small settlement of Swiss, of about a dozen families, who have been
here about ten years. They first settled on the Kentucky river, but did
not succeed there. They plant the vines in rows, attached to stakes
like espaliers, and they plough between with a one-horse plough. The
grapes, {277} which are of the sorts of Claret and Madeira, look very
fine and luxuriant, and will be ripe in about the middle of September.
The soil and climate both appear to be quite congenial to the growth
of the vine: the former rich and the latter warm. The north west wind,
when it blows, is very cold, but the south, south east, and south west
winds, which are always warm, are prevalent. The heat, in the middle
of the summer, I understand, is very great, being generally above 85
degrees, and sometimes above 100 degrees. Each of these families has a
farm as well as a vineyard, so that they supply themselves with almost
every necessary and have their wine all clear profit. Their produce
will this year be probably not less than 5000 gallons; we bought 2
gallons of it at a dollar each, as good as I would wish to drink. Thus
it is that the tyrants of Europe create vineyards in this new country!
_June 18th._--Arrived at Louisville, Kentucky. The town is situated at
the commencement of the falls, or rapids of the Ohio. The river, at
this place, is little less than a mile wide, and the falls continue
from a ledge of rocks which runs across the river in a sloping
direction at this part, to Shippingport, about 2 miles lower down.
Perceiving stagnant waters about the town, and an appearance of the
house that we stopped at being infested with bugs, we resolved not to
make any stay at Louisville, but got into our skiff and floated down
the falls to Shippingport. We found it very rough floating, not to say
dangerous. The river of very unequal widths and full of islands and
rocks along this short distance, and the current very rapid, though
the descent is not more than 22 feet. At certain times of the year the
water rises so that there is no fall; large boats can then pass.
At Shippingport, stopped at the house of Mr. Berthoud,[14] a very
respectable French gentleman, from whom we received the greatest
civility during our stay, which was two nights and the day intervening.
[14] James Berthoud in 1803 purchased the town of Shippingport from the
original proprietor, Colonel John Campbell.--ED.
Shippingport is situated at a place of very great importance, being the
upper extremity of that part of the river which is navigable for heavy
steam-boats. All the goods coming from the country are re-shipped, and
every thing going to it is un-shipped, here. Mr. Berthoud {278} has
the store in which the articles exporting or importing are lodged: and
is, indeed, a great shipper, though at a thousand miles from the sea.
_June 20th._--Left the good and comfortable house of Mr. Berthoud,
very much pleased with him and his amiable wife and family, though I
differed with him a little in politics. Having been taught at church,
when a boy, that the Pope was the whore of Babylon, that the Bourbons
were tyrants, and that the Priests and privileged orders of France were
impostors and petty tyrants under them, I could not agree with him in
applauding the Boroughmongers of England for re-subjugating the people
of France, and restoring the Bourbons, the Pope, and the Inquisition.
Stop at New Albany, 2 miles below Shippingport, till the evening.[15] A
Mr. Paxton, I am told, is the proprietor of a great part of the town,
and has the grist and saw-mills, which are worked by steam, and the
ferry across the river. Leave this place in company with a couple of
young men from the western part of the state of New York, who are on
their way to Tennessee in a small ferry-boat. Their whole journey will,
probably, be about 1,500 miles.
[15] The site of New Albany was owned by three Scribner brothers of
New York, who in 1813 had a town surveyed and offered lots for sale.
In 1819 it contained about one hundred and fifty houses and a thousand
inhabitants. Charles Paxson removed from Philadelphia (1817) and opened
a store at New Albany. For many years he owned the only brick house in
the village.--ED.
_June 21st._--Floating down the river, without any thing in particular
occurring.
_June 22nd._--Saw a Mr. Johnstone and his wife reaping wheat on the
side of the river. They told us they had come to this spot last year,
direct from Manchester, Old England, and had bought their little farm
of 55 acres of a back-woodsman who had cleared it, and was glad to
move further westward, for 3 dollars an acre. They had a fine flock of
little children, and pigs and poultry, and were cheerful and happy,
being confident that their industry and economy would not be frustrated
by visits for tithes or taxes.
_June 23rd._--See great quantities of turkey-buzzards and thousands of
pigeons. Came to Pigeon Creek, about 230 miles below the Falls, and
stopped for the night at Evansville, a town of nine months old, near
the mouth of it.[16] We are now frequently met and passed by large,
fine steam-boats, plying up and down {279} the river. One went by us as
we arrived here which had left Shippingport only the evening before.
They go down the river at the rate of 10 miles an hour, and charge
passengers 6 cents a mile, boarding and lodging included. The price is
great, but the time is short.
[16] The first log cabin on the site of Evansville was built in 1812 by
Hugh McGary of Kentucky. Four years later, General Robert Evans, having
purchased the land in the vicinity, surveyed and laid out a town which
he named Evansville. It did not attract settlers until 1818, when Evans
succeeded in having it made the seat of the newly-erected Vanderburgh
County. In 1819 it contained one hundred inhabitants; but Hulme's
expectation of its future importance was slow in being realized, for in
1830 the population was but five hundred. It was incorporated in 1847,
and from that date its growth has been rapid.--ED.
_June 24th._--Left Evansville. This little place is rapidly increasing,
and promises to be a town of considerable trade. It is situated at a
spot which seems likely to become a port for shipping to Princeton and
a pretty large district of Indiana. I find that the land speculators
have made entry of the most eligible tracts of land, which will
impede the partial, though not the final, progress of population and
improvement in this part of the state.
On our way to Princeton, we see large flocks of fine wild turkeys, and
whole herds of pigs, apparently very fat. The pigs are wild also, but
have become so from neglect. Some of the inhabitants, who prefer sport
to work, live by shooting these wild turkeys and pigs, and indeed,
sometimes, I understand, they shoot and carry off those of their
neighbours before they are wild.
_June 25th._--Arrived at Princeton, Indiana, about twenty miles from
the river.[17] I was sorry to see very little doing in this town. They
cannot _all_ keep stores and taverns! One of the storekeepers told me
he does not sell more than ten thousand dollars value per annum: he
ought, then, to manufacture something and not spend nine tenths of his
time in lolling with a segar in his mouth.
[17] As early as 1800 settlement began in the vicinity of the present
town of Princeton. Gibson County being organized in 1813 and the county
seat located there, the following year a public square was cleared of
timber, and town lots were offered for sale. It was named in honor of
William Prince, a lawyer and Indian agent who had settled at Princeton
in 1812; he later became a circuit court judge, and a member of
Congress.--ED.
_June 26th._--At Princeton, endeavouring to purchase horses, as we had
now gone far enough down the Ohio. While waiting in our tavern, two men
called in armed with rifles, and made enquiries for some horses they
suspected to be stolen. They told us they had been almost all the way
from Albany, to Shawnee town[18] after them, a distance of about 150
miles. I asked them how they would be able to secure the thieves, if
they overtook them, in these wild woods; "O," said they, "shoot them
off the horses." This is a summary mode of executing justice, thought
I, though probably the most effectual, and, indeed, only one in this
state of society. A thief very rarely escapes here; not nearly so
{280} often as in more populous districts. The fact was, in this case,
however, we discovered afterwards, that the horses had strayed away,
and had returned home by this time. But, if they had been stolen, the
stealers would not have escaped. When the loser is tired, another will
take up the pursuit, and the whole country is up in arms till he is
found.
[18] For the founding of Shawneetown, see Croghan's _Journals_, volume
i of our series, note 108.--ED.
_June 27th._--Still at Princeton. At last we get suited with horses.
Mine cost me only 135 dollars with the bridle and saddle, and that I am
told is 18 dollars too much.
_June 28th._--Left Princeton, and set out to see Mr. Birkbeck's
settlement, in Illinois, about 35 miles from Princeton.[19] Before
we got to the Wabash we had to cross a swamp of half a mile wide; we
were obliged to lead our horses, and walk up to the knees in mud and
water. Before we got half across we began to think of going back; but,
there is a sound bottom under it all, and we waded through it as well
as we could. It is, in fact, nothing but a bed of very soft and rich
land, and only wants draining to be made productive. We soon after
came to the banks of the great Wabash, which is here about half a
mile broad, and as the ferry-boat was crossing over with us I amused
myself by washing my dirty boots. Before we mounted again we happened
to meet with a neighbour of Mr. Birkbeck's, who was returning home; we
accompanied him, and soon entered into the prairie lands, up to our
horses' bellies in fine grass. These prairies, which are surrounded
with lofty woods, put me in mind of immense noblemen's parks in
England. Some of those we passed over are called _wet prairies_, but,
they are dry at this time of the year; and, as they are none of them
flat, they need but very simple draining to carry off the water all
the year round. Our horses were very much tormented with flies, some
as large as the English horse-fly and some as large as the wasp; these
flies infest the prairies that are unimproved about three months in the
year, but go away altogether as soon as cultivation begins.
[19] Morris Birkbeck (1763-1825) was a native of England, being
born at Wanborough. He received a classical education and became a
successful, practical farmer. Having become acquainted with a number of
Americans, especially with Edward Coles, later governor of Illinois,
Birkbeck emigrated (1817) to America. He purchased sixteen thousand
acres in Illinois, upon which he located the widely known "English
settlement" in Edwards County, whose chief town was Albion. Birkbeck
and family settled a few miles distant, naming their point of residence
Wanborough. Having considerable literary ability, he assisted Governor
Coles in the latter's fight against admitting slavery into Illinois.
In 1824 he was appointed secretary of state by Coles, but the senate,
being pro-slavery, refused to confirm the nomination. In 1825, while
returning from a visit to the New Harmony settlement, Birkbeck was
drowned in Fox River. He was the author of _Notes on a Journey Through
France_ (London, 1815), _Notes on a Journey in America_ (London, 1818),
and _Letters from Illinois_ (London, 1818), and some controversial
pamphlets.--ED.
Mr. Birkbeck's settlement is situated between {281} the two Wabashes,
and is about ten miles from the nearest navigable water; we arrived
there about sunset and met with a welcome which amply repaid us for
our day's toil. We found that gentleman with his two sons perfectly
healthy and in high spirits: his daughters were at Henderson (a town
in Kentucky, on the Ohio) on a visit.[20] At present his habitation is
a cabin, the building of which cost only 20 dollars; this little hutch
is near the spot where he is about to build his house, which he intends
to have in the most eligible situation in the prairie for convenience
to fuel and for shelter in winter, as well as for breezes in summer,
and will, when that is completed, make one of its appurtenances. I like
this plan of keeping the old loghouse; it reminds the grand children
and their children's children of what their ancestor has done for their
sake.
[20] Birkbeck brought four children with him to Illinois: his second
son, Bradford, aged sixteen; his third son, Charles, aged fourteen;
his daughter Eliza, who later married Gilbert Pell; and his daughter
Prudence, who married Francis Hanks. Soon after their father's death,
the family left Illinois, the two sons and Mrs. Hanks going to Mexico,
and Mrs. Pell to England to educate her children.--ED.
Few settlers had as yet joined Mr. Birkbeck; that is to say, settlers
likely to become "_society_;" he has labourers enough near him, either
in his own houses or on land of their own joining his estate. He was
in daily expectation of his friends, Mr. Fowler's family,[21] however,
with a large party besides; they had just landed at Shawnee Town, about
20 miles distant. Mr. Birkbeck informs me he has made entry of a large
tract of land, lying, part of it, all the way from his residence to the
great Wabash; this he will re-sell again in lots to any of his friends,
they taking as much of it and wherever they choose (provided it be no
more than they can cultivate), at an advance which I think very fair
and liberal.
[21] George Flower, born about 1780, was an Englishman of means who
emigrated to America in 1816 in search of the famed prairies of
Illinois, of which so much was being said. Visiting the Middle West
in that year, he returned to Virginia and spent the winter, chiefly
with Thomas Jefferson, to whom he had letters of introduction from
Lafayette. In 1817, Morris Birkbeck arrived, and, as the two were old
friends, Flower joined Birkbeck's movement and took part in founding
the "English settlement." In 1818, on returning from a voyage to
England, Flower was accompanied by his father (Richard, who wrote the
letters reprinted in this volume), his mother, two sisters, and two
brothers. After spending the winter in Lexington, the newcomers of the
family removed to English Prairie in the spring of 1819. George Flower
championed the movement against admitting slavery into Illinois, and
lived to see Albion become a prosperous and beautiful town. He was
financially unfortunate, and for many years lived in retirement with
his children in Illinois and Indiana. Shortly before his death (1862)
he completed a _History of the English Settlement in Edwards County,
Illinois_ (Chicago, 1882).--ED.
The whole of his operations had been directed hitherto (and wisely in
my opinion) to building, fencing, and other important preparations.
He had done nothing in the cultivating way but make a good garden,
which supplies him with the only things that he cannot purchase, and,
at present, perhaps, with more economy than he could grow them. He is
within twenty miles of Harmony;[22] in Indiana, where he gets his flour
and all other necessaries (the produce of the country) and therefore
employs himself much better in making barns and houses and mills for
the reception and disposal of {282} his crops, and fences to preserve
them while growing, _before he grows them_, than to _get the crops
first_. I have heard it observed that _any_ American settler, even
without a dollar in his pocket, would have _had something growing by
this time_. Very true! I do not question that at all; for, the very
first care of a settler without a dollar in his pocket is to get
something to eat, and, he would consequently set to work scratching up
the earth, fully confident that after a long summering upon wild flesh
(without salt, perhaps) his own belly would stand him for barn, if
his jaws would not for mill. But the case is very different with Mr.
Birkbeck, and at present he has need for no other provision for winter
but about a three hundredth part of his fine grass turned into hay,
which will keep his necessary horses and cows: besides which he has
nothing that eats but such pigs as live upon the waste, and a couple
of fine young deer (which would weigh, they say, when full grown, 200
lb. dead weight) that his youngest son is rearing up as pets.
[22] Harmony (or Harmonie as it was first known) was the famous
settlement of the German Lutherans led by George Rapp. In 1813 Rapp
purchased thirty thousand acres along the Wabash, on a part of which
New Harmony was built. "Contrary to the general idea, Rapp's colony
was a great success, so far as the accumulation of property was
concerned, and when Rapp sold out, in 1825, it was said the wealth per
capita was ten times greater than the average wealth throughout the
United States."--E. B. Washburne, editorial note to Flower's _English
Settlement in Edwards County, Illinois_, p. 61. The town was purchased
by Robert Owen, a manufacturer of New Lanark, Scotland, for the purpose
of putting into practice his communistic ideas. After a few years the
communistic plan was abandoned, and Owen returned to Scotland, leaving
the property in charge of his two sons.--ED.
I very much admire Mr. Birkbeck's mode of _fencing_. He makes a ditch
4 feet wide at top, sloping to 1 foot wide at bottom, and 4 feet deep.
With the earth that comes out of the ditch he makes a bank on one side,
which is turfed towards the ditch. Then a long pole is put up from the
bottom of the ditch to 2 feet above the bank; this is crossed by a
short pole from the other side, and then a rail is laid along between
the forks. The banks were growing beautifully, and looked altogether
very neat as well as formidable; though a live hedge (which he intends
to have) instead of dead poles and rails, upon top, would make the
fence far more effectual as well as handsomer. I am always surprised,
until I reflect how universally and to what a degree, farming is
neglected in this country, that this mode of fencing is not adopted in
cultivated districts, especially where the land is wet, or lies low;
for, there it answers a double purpose, being as effectual a drain as
it is a fence.
I was rather disappointed, or sorry, at any rate, not to find near
Mr. Birkbeck's any of the means for machinery or of the materials for
manufactures, such as the water-falls, and the minerals and mines,
{283} which are possessed in such abundance by the states of Ohio and
Kentucky, and by some parts of Pennsylvania. Some of these, however, he
may yet find. Good water he has, at any rate. He showed me a well 25
feet deep, bored partly through hard substances near the bottom, that
was nearly overflowing with water of excellent quality.