last year, but it is extremely variable. One day lately, at noon, the
thermometer stood at 65 degrees, and the next morning was down to 17
degrees; a difference of 48 degrees in less than 20 hours; almost as
great a difference as you experience between July and December. These
sudden changes are unpleasant, but I do not find them very unhealthy,
as colds are much less frequent here than in England; and, with the
Americans, chilblains seem to be unknown.
A short time since, near a dozen of the inhabitants of the Prairies
went to a court at Palmyra, and a few days after their return, most of
them were taken seriously ill, but none of them died; while those who
remained at home continued in health.
Dec. 8. Most people are busy getting in their Indian corn; the crop
much slighter than last year, as the dry weather injured the early,
and the early frosts the late corn. I have housed mine, and shall not
have more than 30 bushels per acre; not more than {299} half an average
crop, on land of that quality. Nor is the corn so sound and fine as
last year.
9th. As I shall have an opportunity to send this to-morrow, I must
hasten to conclude, as quickly as possible, with a short statement of
the present situation of affairs in this neighbourhood. I have hitherto
avoided saying any thing on the disagreement between Mr. Birkbeck and
Mr. Flowers. Reports are so contradictory, and I have heard so much on
both sides of the question, that I am quite at a loss to judge of the
merits of the quarrel. Nor do I think it is an easy thing to get at the
true origin of it; and could I do so, I have no wish to become a party
therein. This unfortunate dispute was the cause of two settlements near
each other, and most of those who arrived for sometime either joined
one side or the other, which increased the difference. But after a
time, as more settlers arrived, they considered they had nothing to do
with the quarrel between these two {300} gentlemen, and settled in the
prairies round, and in the woods towards the mouth of the Bonpas. Thus
this disagreement was the reason of scattering the English emigrants
for some miles round. But if this had been the only effect, it had
been of no consequence, as many of the settlers so dispersed, have
procured as good situations as they would otherwise have done. But
the evil of two villages so near each other has been great; for had
they been united, there would have been better taverns, stores, &c. In
point of situation and water, Wanborough, in my estimation, has the
advantage; but Albion, at present, appears most likely to succeed best.
Whatever was the origin of this quarrel, it has been the cause of a
much worse name being given to the settlement, in the English Prairie,
than it really deserves. For the land is in general pretty good, such
as in England would be called rich; as it is capable of producing, in
abundance, corn, hay, fruit, vegetables, &c. &c.; and the woods and
prairies are pleasant and healthy.
{301} Bees are numerous in the woods, but mostly at a distance from us;
honey is plentiful, and now sells for 75 cents a gallon. There are some
bees kept in hives, the same as in England, and the same sort; and so
are the wild ones; they are in hollow trees, and when a swarm is found,
they cut down the tree to get at the honey, and sometimes a swarm has
several gallons. The Americans often go a great distance in quest of
bees, camping out for many nights together. Six weeks ago a party of
sixteen, on horse-back, went through Wanborough, towards the north,
and seven or eight days after, two of them came back in the morning,
almost dead with cold, as there was a severe frost, and they had camped
out. They had been about 40 miles, and had met but poor success, having
only found four gallons between the two. They said, they lived on the
Ohio river, upwards of 50 miles south-east of us. They had been out
ten days, and during that time they had not seen a bed. But others
frequently {302} succeed much better, and collect a large quantity of
honey in these bee-hunting expeditions.
The fires in the fall of 1819 were much greater than usual, as every
thing was so excessively dry, and much mischief was done to the woods
and plantations; my rail fences caught fire, but the damage was
trifling. For several days we could scarcely see the sun at noon-day,
the air being so full of smoke, and people, whose eyes were weak, were
much annoyed by it.
It was supposed, that these fires extended many hundred miles. This
year, on the contrary, there has scarcely been any fires in the woods
or prairies, as the weather of late has been much wetter than last year.
Although the last summer was drier than the preceding one, and the
number of settlers greatly increased, and a much greater quantity of
stock, than in 1819, yet as many more wells were dug, water was not so
scarce; and I have every reason to expect, that, should the next, or
any future {303} year, prove ever so dry, there will be much less want
of water than there was this year.
I mentioned before, one of my son's neighbours had a thrashing-floor,
and intended to add a barn to it, which he has now done; and, I
believe, it is the only barn within some miles of us. I have not yet
seen it, but my eldest son informed me, that it is 20 feet square on
the inside, about 16 feet high to the roof. It is built of solid logs,
and covered with cleft boards. There were between thirty and 40 people
employed in raising the logs, as they were uncommonly large, and all
lifted up by main strength, without aid from pullies, &c.
At Baltimore, I saw one _old_ woman begging in the streets, and in
our journey, of upwards of twelve hundred miles, from thence to the
prairies, I also saw one _old_ man apply for relief, and the manner of
his treatment I have mentioned on the 28th of July. These _two_ are
the _only_ beggars I have seen in America; from this I am led {304} to
conclude, that there is much less misery in this country than I had
been in the habit of seeing in England, at least as to beggars.
We have had some difficulty in getting some of our letters from
England, from their being directed near Shawneetown or Princetown, as
all letters are left at the post-office of the town where they are
directed near. The best direction is, English Prairie, Edward's County,
Illinois State, North America.
I would advise those who write to their friends in this remote country,
to say but little of public affairs, (unless any thing of great
consequence has just occurred,) as such news is always sure to reach
us through the public prints; but to fill their letters with local
intelligence, as it is extremely interesting to us to hear of our old
friends and neighbours, and any little circumstance relating to them.
APPENDIX
JULY 3d, 1821. I have but little to add to my Journal, and but
few alterations to make, except in the article of grasses. I have there
mentioned yard-grass as a pasture-grass, I now find it is an annual
plant, being killed by the first frosts, and coming up from seed in
the spring: it blossoms almost as soon as it comes up, and produces a
great deal of small seed. It appears to come upon land that has been
much trodden. I spoke of blue-grass as unknown in England, but it much
resembles the natural grass with you; with a light fluey seed. There
are now several sorts of English and American grasses sown round us,
but I have seen too little of them to give any account of them.
The distances in my Journal are computed miles, except on the great
national road, over the Allegany Mountains; that is, from Mr. Carter's,
at "The Traveller's Rest," to Union Town; which distance is measured
miles.
July 16th. We are now harvesting, and in two days, I think, we shall
cut all our grain. The wheat is very stout, but somewhat blighted. The
oats are good; the barley tolerably so. Indian corn excellent; at the
beginning of July some of {306} mine was nine feet high, without any
appearance of its coming into ear. Should the weather continue fine,
the wheat will be all harvested in a few days. As the summer has been
wet, the harvest is ten or fifteen days later than last year. Peas,
potatoes, and most garden-vegetables are good. We have no peaches this
season, the bloom being all cut off by the severe frosts in the spring.
I planted out thirty-two in the spring, and I have seventy or eighty
more for next year. There are a few apples round us, and a good show
for most kinds of wild fruits. Last year our pigs got in excellent
condition on acorns, &c. Many of them remained out all the winter. I
lost upwards of thirty, from October till May; when, except three,
they all returned, and in exceeding good order. Our cattle were very
poor early in the spring, but are now got lusty, as cattle thrive much
faster here in the spring than in the best English pastures.
I have raised a number of hop-plants from seed, and think of planting a
small hop-garden. I am also going to make a vineyard, on a small scale.
I have had ten vines from Harmonie, and hope to procure a hundred more
next year, as they will grow in the open fields, and make wine without
sugar. This year some sugar has been made near us, from the white
maple, and it appears to answer nearly as well as the sugar-maple. I
suppose, another season, it will be made in considerable quantities.
{307} Our country is settling pretty fast, and our county was lately
divided into two, when a part of Crawford county was added to the north
part of Edwards' county, and called Laurance county. Our part still
retains the name of Edwards. Albion is made the county town, since
which it is much improved; and many English and American families are
now settled at it.
There is a water-mill on the Little Wabash, six or seven miles to the
south of my farms; and another is building on the same stream, at
nearly an equal distance to the north of them. There is an ox-mill
at Albion that commenced work in March. I have before mentioned one
building at Wanborough. A Mr. Backhouse, an English gentleman, has a
brewery there, and has brewed a considerable quantity of beer this
season. As barley is not to be procured, he has made his malt of
wheat. This beer is far preferable to the Harmonie beer.
Mr. Birkbeck has two dairies of about sixty cows, and makes a large
quantity of cheese. Mr. Flowers is also going to establish one, on
a large scale, so that cheese will soon be plentiful. Butter is so
at 12½ cents, 6¾_d._ per lb. Most kinds of provisions are very
cheap: beef, 4 cents per lb.; bacon, 6 to 8 cents per lb.; flour, 4_s._
6_d._ to 5_s._ per bushel, English weight and money. A good cow and
calf from 12 to 14 dollars. Sheep scarce; mutton, 5 to 6 cents per lb.
Venison and game in general not so plentiful as last year; prices much
the same.
{308} The weather was much milder last winter than the preceding one,
with a great deal more rain. The spring backward, and sometimes very
cold. May and June generally warm, with many thunder-storms,--I suppose
near forty; but none of them very heavy, except one on the 9th of this
month (July). The 10th of June, a particularly hot day: the thermometer
98 in the shade.
As the summer has been wet, the grass and weeds are much higher in
the prairies than I have before seen them; in some places six feet or
higher. We have, therefore, as much prairie hay as we choose to cut.
There was an assize or circuit court held at Albion, on the 7th, 8th,
and 9th of June: there was not a great deal of business,--only two
criminal causes. One for pig-stealing, found guilty: the sentence a
fine of fifty dollars, and twenty-five lashes, which were immediately
inflicted by the sheriff. The other was for stealing peach-trees, but
was acquitted. Four or five counsellors attended: no particular dress
worn by them or the judge. As the heat was great, one of the counsel,
who had the most causes, took off his coat and pleaded without it.
Although no wigs or black gowns are worn, there was no more want of
quirks and quibbles than in Westminster Hall; nor were they deficient
in eloquence; but not so much tied down to forms, nor perhaps quite so
polite as with you.
W---- was of age in January, but his birth-day {309} was not kept till
the middle of April, on account of the illness of Mr. S----. A party of
about thirty young people sat down to supper: and suppose I give you
a description of this Illinois entertainment: a round of beef, from
an ox of 800 lbs. weight; a turkey that weighed 19 lbs.; a large ham,
chickens, rabbits; peach, apple, and pumpkin pies, sweet cakes, &c. &c.
As the night was wet, the dance was kept up till late in the morning.
The following is the return of the American militia laid before
Congress, Feb. 26th, 1821, in which you will find the State of Illinois
stands last, but it is too thin to muster in the greater part of it;
and as 1820 was only the first year of its being mustered, it will
probably be returned nearly treble another year.
1 State of New York 121,553
2 Pennsylvania 115,231
*3 Virginia 88,915
4 Ohio 83,247
*5 Kentucky 51,052
6 Massachusetts 48,140
*7 North Carolina 46,728
*8 Tennessee 36,146
9 New Jersey 33,240
*10 Maryland 32,189
11 Maine 30,990
*12 Georgia 29,661
13 New Hampshire 27,012
*14 South Carolina 23,729
15 State of Connecticut 22,109
{310} 16 Vermont 20,781
17 Indiana 14,990
*18 Missouri 12,080
*19 Alabama 11,261
*20 Louisiana 10,257
21 Rhode Island 8,665
22 Delaware 7,451
*23 Mississippi 5,292
24 Illinois 2,031
25 Michigan Territory 1,707
-------
Total 884,457
*26 Arkansaw territory No return.
27 North-west do. do.
28 Missouri do. do.
In most of the new States and territories the returns are very
imperfect, and much short of the number liable to serve. Those marked
thus * are slave States; but no slaves are liable to serve. The number
of slaves calculated to be upwards of 2,000,000. Whites upwards of
8,000,000. Indians near 300,000. Total supposed to be about 11,000,000,
of all colours. The Floridas are not included in this return.
THE END
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[Transcriber's note:
Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original.
Page 227, "coal was substituted for wool" changed to read "coal was
substituted for wood".
Page 283, "the Lincolnshire and Welch sheep" changed to read "the
Lincolnshire and Welsh sheep".
Page 329, "Carslisle is a town" changed to read "Carlisle is a town".]