the Ohio, pass into the Tombecbee and Alabama rivers, Mobile will
rapidly increase; and should the United States acquire a right to
Pensacola, it will probably become, in time, one of the greatest
commercial places in the world. No maritime city will, in this event,
possess a back country so extensive, rich, and populous; and none more
completely combine the energies of inland, and foreign commerce. The
harbour of Pensacola is one of the best in the world.
Before I leave the Ohio, it may be well for me to introduce a general
idea of the courses of this river. Its minor sinuosities are too
numerous to mention. From Pittsburg, this river proceeds in a north-west
course about thirty miles;—west-south-west, five hundred
miles;—south-west, one hundred and seventy miles;—west, two hundred and
eighty miles;—south-west, one hundred and eighty miles;—and the residue
of the distance, west-south-west.
The Ohio is a wonderful river. Its utility, and beauty are highly
conspicuous. Its banks, where not cultivated, are covered with a thick
growth of trees, and bushes, which, bending over the water, yield a
prospect at once serene and rich. Some of the banks, especially on the
upper parts of the river, are covered with lofty forests of sycamores.
The fish in this river are of various kinds; among which is the catfish,
weighing from five to one hundred pounds. The fish in the western waters
are generally very fat.
Whilst on the Ohio, and near the mouth of the Cumberland, I witnessed a
deer hunt, if it may so {189} be called, which excited no little
sensibility. Several keels were passing silently down the current. It
was noon day, and the river was full, expansive, and calm. The men on
board of the boats espied, a mile ahead, several deer swimming across
the river. One of the deer had proceeded nearly half way across, when
the skiffs belonging to two of the keels were manned, and went in
pursuit of him. Each skiff contained two oars-men, and one in the bows
with a boat hook. The rival skiffs ploughed through the silver stream.
The deer retreated towards the wood; but one of the boats outsped him.
He was now between two enemies. The scene was interesting: I almost
prayed for his rescue. For twenty minutes the fate of this guileless
animal was doubtful. The calm which prevailed seemed to listen to the
dashing oar, the successless blow, and the almost breathless efforts of
the poor deer. At length all was silent; the boats were on their
return;—no deer was seen in the river. The tired, yet sprightly oar,
told the tale of death; and nature, for a moment, seemed to darken on
the scene.
The deer was a buck, two years old, remarkably large, and elegantly
proportioned. When I beheld this bleeding victim, and heard the
boatmen’s song of triumph, my heart involuntarily exclaimed, if men must
butcher, for Heaven’s sake, let them not do it in mirth!
Viewing the Mississippi from the banks of the Ohio, its appearance is
narrow, and confined; but it is, generally, much wider, and in many
places expansive and elegant.
All the sources of the Mississippi, above the Ohio, are not yet known.
The Missouri, however, is, no doubt, its largest tributary, and perhaps
its main branch. The principal source of the Mississippi above the
Missouri appears to proceed from Bear lake.
{190} The river Missouri is several thousand miles in length, and runs
in a direction north of west. This part of the country has been explored
by order of the American Government; but so vast is it, that many years
must elapse, and much population be introduced into it, before
information, to be fully depended upon, can be obtained respecting it.
We have, by the efforts of Lewis and Clark,[182] and other hardy
spirits, obtained some general ideas respecting the vast tract of
country, between the mouth of the Missouri and the Pacific Ocean, which
will assist us in making more particular discoveries; but at present,
caution should be exercised in relation to every record which is made
upon this subject. The American people are considerably interested in
it, and, of course, will be disposed to believe every assertion in
favour of the country. Our government, it appears, are preparing for
several expeditions into the interior of the Louisiana purchase. It
certainly is well to be engaged, during the present season of
tranquillity, in ascertaining our boundaries; in order that our
resources may be known, and that, having the whole state of the nation
before us, we may know what policy to pursue towards its respective
parts, how to guard against evils which may be apprehended, and to
promote interests which may present themselves to our view.
The principal town in the Missouri Territory is St. Louis. This town is
very pleasantly situated, about fifteen miles below the river Missouri,
and contains two or three hundred houses. St. Genevieve is situated
about seventy miles below St. Louis.[183] Near this place are
inexhaustible lead mines. St. Louis is rapidly increasing, and is the
centre of the fur trade, west of the Mississippi. It is probable that
the country west of the river Missouri is elevated and broken, and
contains a great variety of ores. It is probably too, a very rich fur
country.
{191} How far the Louisiana purchase will ultimately prove beneficial to
our country, time alone can determine. It was certainly of consequence
to us to possess the right of deposit at New-Orleans; and this, it is
presumed, might have been acquired without a purchase of the soil. We
were rich enough in territory, and in every other physical means of
rendering ourselves a great and a happy people. I am aware, however,
that wealth is beneficial, if it does not corrupt. In the hands of the
virtuous, it is a means of doing good.
I am also sensible that there was a powerful motive for the purchase of
the soil, in relation to a change of government in the city of
New-Orleans. To this place the people of the west would, as a matter of
course, resort for a market. In relation to this particular, lies the
principal motive, and the principal objection with respect to the
purchase; and whether it shall prove beneficial or otherwise, depends
upon ourselves. If the manners of this city shall not be improved by our
own population, who may emigrate thither, where will be the moral
advantage of the purchase? Indeed will not our citizens, by its being
their own territory, more readily imbibe, and more freely communicate
the corrupt practices of this place? But, if by the praiseworthy conduct
of our citizens residing in New-Orleans, immorality shall be checked,
and good principles introduced, then, indeed, it will prove a purchase,
not only for our country, but for mankind. Should this be the case,
those demoralizing effects, which could not but have been apprehended
from the intercourse between our citizens and the mixed multitudes of
Louisiana, will not only be removed, but in the place of these exotic
weeds will flourish our own indiginous plants. There were, no doubt,
other motives for the purchase, but whether they ought {192} to have
operated under such a political system as ours is questionable.
The United States resemble, in many particulars of their history, the
Jewish nation; and it is not improper to say that we are a peculiar
people. We seem to be treading in every direction, upon the heels of the
savages: they are receding, and we are following them.—Happy shall we be
if we eye the hand which leads us, and the stretched out arm which
supports us!—happy will it be for us, if instead of corrupting those
whose places we occupy, we do them good, and teach them to be virtuous!
When we behold the United States every day extending their boundaries,
and increasing their resources—when we see the moral and physical
energies of a single constituent part of the Union, in possession of
more real force than many of the states of Europe, we are astonished at
our own power, and our own responsibility. Millions are yet to be
influenced by our example. It is impossible that so much power, and so
much enterprise should remain inactive. Our western boundary will,
ultimately, be the Pacific Ocean; our northern, the North Pole; our
southern, the Isthmus of Darien; and on the ocean we shall have no
competitor. May our justice ever direct our power, and may we be the
patron and protector of oppressed nations.
Before I proceed from the Ohio towards New-Orleans, it may be observed
that what is generally understood by the Western States and Territories,
is all that part of the territory of the United States, which lies west
of the Alleghany mountains, and east of the Mississippi river.
I have expressed a few general ideas upon this vast and excellent tract
of country. Much more might be offered; but it would be both useless,
and improper to retail the records of geographers. {193} However few may
be my statements upon this subject, they shall be dictated, exclusively,
by my own observations.
I may add, that the timber of the west is much more various than that of
the east, and equally useful. The sugar maple tree is here so numerous,
that they would probably supply the whole United States with sugar. The
Spanish oak is peculiar to the west. Here too, are the lynn tree, gum
tree, sugar tree, iron-wood, aspen, crabapple, bark-spice, leather-wood,
&c. &c. The sugar tree produces a sweet pod, like that of a pea, and
furnishes very nutritious food for swine.
The weather in the west is milder than on the Atlantic coast; but it is
also more changeable. Rheumatism, pleurisies, consumptions, bilious
complaints, &c. cannot but prevail here. The exhalations from the earth,
and rivers is great, and the general aspect of the people, situated near
these rivers, is pale, emaciated, and feeble; but in these respects the
country, in time, will be less disagreeable.
The earth here, in summer, is covered with a luxuriance of vegetation,
which, together with the absence of varied scenery, sicken the eye, and
heart of the traveller. In some places one can, after a shower, almost
hear the earth teem. The very atmosphere seems fattening to the cattle;
and garden weeds grow in great profusion upon the uncultivated grounds.
The cane, which grows here, bears a wide leaf, like those of herds
grass; and for cattle it is palatable, and nourishing. The stalk of the
cane is used for angling poles, and for making chairs, looms, &c.
I now suppose myself on the banks of the Mississippi. The average width
of this river is about a mile, and its length, from the mouth of the
Ohio, is {194} about twelve hundred miles. It contains a great many
islands, some of which are several miles in length, and its course is
very serpentine. Owing to the soil in its vicinity being alluvian, it
frequently changes its course. Sometimes its tributaries inundate the
whole country on both sides of it. The banks of the river are generally
a little higher than the adjacent country; the water, therefore, which
rises over them never returns, but passes off into the swamps. These
swamps are very extensive, and being incapable of cultivation, will ever
render the climate of this part of the country insalubrious. During
freshets the water of the Mississippi breaks through points of land of
the width of many leagues. By these inundations vast trees are uprooted,
carried into the main channel of the river, and there lodge. In
consequence of these circumstances the navigation of the river is very
dangerous. Hundreds of boats, laden with valuable cargoes, are annually
wrecked, and destroyed here. Here too, sudden squalls, attended with
severe thunder and lightning, are frequent. Even on the Ohio, there is,
at times, such an undulation of the water, as to render being in a small
boat very dangerous. Upon the appearance of squalls on the Mississippi,
the boats put ashore as soon as possible; and it is interesting to see
them moving in with so much labour, bustle, and difficulty. There is
frequently much danger in landing, and the boats in doing so sometimes
make a great crash.
The principal obstructions to the navigation of the Mississippi, are
sawyers, planters, and snags. The first are trees, the tops of which are
fixed in the bed of the river near a strong current; which causes them
to rise and sink, so as to resemble the action of a saw in a mill. These
make a formidable appearance, and are very dangerous. Sometimes {195}
the sawyers continue under water for fifteen or twenty minutes, and then
instantaneously rise above the surface, to the distance of eight or ten
feet. They frequently make their appearance very near the bows of the
boats, in which case much judgment, and activity are necessary to escape
the impending destruction. Some of the sawyers do not appear above the
surface at all; and by being concealed, are the more dangerous.
Planters, are trees likewise lodged in the bed of the river, but they
are immoveable. These trees, at first, lie horizontally; but by the
force of the current, the end up the river is raised, and sometimes
presents a sharp point considerably above the surface of the water.
Snags, are trees which lie upon the shoals of the river; and the
branches of them extend into the channel. There are several difficult
passes on the Mississippi, in which these obstructions abound. The
principal of these passes, are the Devil’s Race-ground, and
Picket-Island passage.
During the last summer two steam boats, and many boats of other kinds
were sunken by planters. Floating barrels of flour are often seen in the
Mississippi; and hundreds of barrels of wheat, and hogsheads of tobacco,
lie on its shores in a state of ruin.
The thunder and lightning which prevail on this river are truly grand;
and the sunken islands here are interesting. This effect was produced by
the earthquakes, which were experienced in the west in 1811. The
traveller too, on the bank of Mississippi, frequently sees huge masses
of earth fall from them into the bed of the river. These masses
sometimes constitute an acre, and are covered with a heavy growth of
trees. The noise, occasioned by the falling of the banks, is as loud as
distant thunder, {196} but far more impressive. It speaks of nature’s
final grave.
There are other dangers incident to the navigation of the Mississippi.
The falling banks frequently crush the boats laying along side of them.
Boats too, are sometimes dashed to pieces upon huge masses of wood,
which, having lodged near the shore, continue to accumulate so as to
produce near them a very rapid current. The fogs, which sometimes exist
on this river, are so thick that one cannot see an object at the
distance of fifty feet. The whirlpools in the Mississippi appear
formidable; but they are not sufficiently large to endanger boats of a
considerable size.
The general aspect of the country on both sides of the Mississippi, from
its junction with the Ohio to the Gulf of Mexico, is perfectly level and
exceedingly rich. A very few situations near the river are higher than
the adjacent country, and the soil of these eminences is sandy and
sterile. The timber in this part of the country, is in some places very
large, but generally it is small, and apparently young. The soil here is
subject to such frequent revolutions, that sufficient time is not
allowed for trees to obtain their full growth. The banks of the river
are not, generally, high enough to warrant settlements upon them;
consequently almost the whole country, from the Ohio to Natches, is a
pathless wilderness. This is particularly the case with respect to the
western bank of the river. Much of the Louisiana purchase is not worth a
cent.
Below Natches, there are a great many superb plantations, and the
country is under a high state of cultivation. Here, however, the water
of the river is confined to its bed by a levee, or embankment.
{197} The cane thickets near the banks of the Mississippi are very
luxuriant; and the extensive groves of willows upon them form an
impervious shade, and present a gloomy aspect.
About fifty miles below the mouth of the Ohio, on the west bank of the
Mississippi, stands New Madrid.[184] Owing to destructive freshets and
other causes, it is unflourishing.
After leaving this side of the river, I entered Tennessee on the east.
This state is bounded on the Mississippi, from the Iron Banks to one of
the Chickasaw Bluffs,[185] a distance of about one hundred miles. The
length of the state is four hundred miles. That part of Tennessee, which
lies on the Mississippi, is a perfect wilderness, and inhabited,
principally, by Indians. In and near this part of the state reside the
Cherokees and Chickasaws. The Chickasaws have always been well disposed
towards the United States, and their physiognomy and general appearance
are much in their favour. The language of this tribe, and of the
Choctaws is very similar. The Cherokees were once very numerous; but
being much disposed to war, and frequently contending unsuccessfully
with the northern Indians, their numbers have become small, and their
spirits broken. The Chickasaws are likewise the remnant of a great
tribe. They originally resided further west; and were slaughtered by the
Spaniards, towards whom they still entertain much hatred.[186]
The principal rivers which run directly from the state of Tennessee into
the Mississippi, are the Obian, Forked, and Wolf rivers. Just below the
latter is Fort Pike.[187] Some parts of Tennessee are so mountainous as
to be even incapable of cultivation; but its soil generally is fertile,
and on the banks of the rivers very rich. Some of its mountains are
stupendous. The state is exceedingly well watered; {198} and its
principal rivers are the Mississippi, Tennessee, Cumberland, Holston,
and Clinch. The face of the country is uneven, and presents a pleasing
variety of aspect. Although its eminences are fertile, and its levels
rich, it contains some barrens, similar to those of the Carolinas and
Georgia. The productions of this state are unlike to those of Ohio; and
it also produces large quantities of cotton, tobacco, and some indigo.
It is too, well calculated for rice. Its commerce is similar to that of
Kentucky; but it derives many of its foreign goods from Virginia, by the
way of Richmond, as well as from Philadelphia, and Baltimore, by that of
Pittsburg.
Indigo is raised upon a rich, deep, and mellow soil well pulverized. The
seed is sown in beds, during the month of April. The stalk is cut three
times a year, and steeped for eight and forty hours. The impregnated
liquor is then drawn off, and lime water added, to produce a separation
of the particles of indigo from the aqueous fluid. This fluid is then
again drawn off, and the indigo spread to dry. Afterwards it is pressed
into boxes, and whilst soft, cut into square pieces. Finally, these
pieces are placed in the sun, until they become hard, and then are
packed for the market.
The state of Tennessee is, in many respects, peculiar. It will become a
great, and a polished republic. Its mountains, rivers, minerals,
fossils, botany, zoology, and natural curiosities, all promise
developments of much interest to the philosopher, politician, and man of
science.
In marching through the woods, near the banks of the Mississippi, nature
presents, to the traveller from the east, a novel aspect. In moving
hundreds of miles, he does not see a single rise of land. His eye is
pained by the absence of variety; and he feels {199} that he would
undergo much labour to obtain the prospect of a hill-country. Here too,
in the spring and summer, he sees nothing around him but the most
umbrageous growth of trees, bushes, and cane. The earth here teems with
a sickening luxuriance; and the perpetual hum of myriads of musquetoes,
and other insects, renders the rays of the sun doubly oppressive. The
musquetoes near the Mississippi are very large, and not at all
ceremonious. When in the woods, my nights were rendered completely
sleepless by them.
In bathing in this river, I found the water remarkably soft. It is well
known that the human body is much less buoyant in fresh than in salt
water; but the water of the Mississippi is conspicuous in this respect:
many persons, who were good swimmers, have fallen into this river, and
in a moment were seen no more. After travelling in the heated wood, and
being much bitten by musquetoes, I found bathing in the Mississippi very
refreshing. The water of this river is always thick, so that a tumbler
full of it will deposit a sediment of one sixteenth part of the whole.
It is, however, not very unpalateable, and is, I think, not unwholesome.
The fish in this river are numerous, and large; but they are too fat to
be delicate. Geese, ducks, and swan, are also numerous here. The latter
are very beautiful. Wild ducks, with their broods, are frequently seen
moving in the coves of the river, and numerous paroquets occupy the
trees on its banks.
The swan is well known; but pleasure is derived from dwelling upon the
beauties of this bird. There is nothing very interesting in its colour;
but its milk-white feathers, connected with its large size, renders this
species of bird an object of attention even in this respect. The grace
of its motions, however, {200} is indescribably charming. The mild
majesty of its appearance, when moving upon the calm and glassy bosom of
the water, and the wonderful elegance of the positions and motions of
its neck, excite admiration. Poets feign, that the swan, in the hour of
death, beguiles the pains of dissolution with the most plaintive notes.
It is no doubt true, that her voice, at such a season, charms the ear of
those who love to feel innocent and resigned. The ways of nature are
wonderful; and she enables man, by her operations, to catch some faint
impression,—to receive some prophetic foretaste of the sublimity of her
principles, and the eloquence of her sentiments.
The paroquet is smaller, and more beautiful than the common parrot. They
go in flocks, and their notes are rapid, harsh, and incessant. It is
remarkable, that this bird is subject to a disease resembling apoplexy.
There is much music near the Mississippi. Amidst the silence of the
wood, rendered even more impressive by the umbrageous aspect of the
trees, by the teeming earth, the darting serpent, the creeping turtle,
and the hum of innumerable insects;—amidst this silence, the bag-pipe,
or violin, or fife, strikes the ear with an almost celestial sound.
Sometimes the busy silence of nature is interrupted by the fall of a
bank of the river; and sometimes the whoop of the Indian, hunting in the
wood, tells the traveller to tread lightly in his path.
On board of a boat, on the Mississippi, into which I stepped for a few
hours, there was a lad from the Highlands of Scotland. He had with him
his bag-pipe, trimmed with plaid, and he tuned his instrument to several
interesting airs, connected with the history of his country. During his
exhibitions, there was in his countenance something singularly wrapt,
which, to those acquainted with the fortunes, manners, {201} and
national characteristics of the Scotch, could not fail to produce much
effect.