To ----.
A few months after the surrender of Cornwallis, the British evacuated
all their posts in South Carolina and Georgia, and retired to the main
army in New York.
The next spring, (1782) Sir Guy Carleton arrived in New York, and took
the command of the British army, in America. Immediately on his arrival,
he acquainted General Washington and Congress, that negociations for a
peace had been commenced at Paris.
On the 30th of November, 1782, the provisional articles of peace were
signed at Paris; by which Great Britain acknowleged the independence and
sovereignty of the United States of America; and these articles were
afterwards ratified by a definitiv treaty.
Thus ended a long and arduous conflict, in which Great Britain expended
near an hundred millions of money, with an hundred thousand lives, and
won nothing. America endured every cruelty and distress from her
enemies; lost many lives and much treasure; but delivered herself from a
foreign dominion, and gained a rank among the nations of the earth.
Holland acknowleged the independence of the United States on the 19th of
April, 1782; Sweden, February 5th, 1783; Denmark, the 25th of February;
Spain, in March, and Russia in July, 1783.
No sooner was peace restored by the definitiv treaty, and the British
troops withdrawn from the country, than the United States began to
experience the defects of their general government. While an enemy was
in the country, fear, which had first impelled the colonies to associate
in mutual defence, continued to operate as a band of political union. It
gave to the resolutions and recommendations of Congress the force of
laws, and generally commanded a ready acquiescence on the part of the
State legislatures. Articles of confederation and perpetual union had
been framed in Congress, and submitted to the consideration of the
States, in the year 1778. Some of the States immediately acceded to
them; but others, which had not unappropriated lands, hesitated to
subscribe a compact, which would giv an advantage to the States which
possessed large tracts of unlocated lands, and were thus capable of a
great superiority in wealth and population. All objections however had
been overcome, and by the accession of Maryland in March, 1781, the
articles of confederation were ratified, as the frame of government for
the United States.
These articles, however were framed during the rage of war, when a
principle of common safety supplied the place of a coerciv power in
government; by men who could have had no experience in the art of
governing an extensiv country, and under circumstances the most critical
and embarrassing. To have offered to the people at that time, a system
of government armed with the powers necessary to regulate and control
the contending interests of thirteen States, and the possessions of
millions of people, might have raised a jealousy between the States or
in the minds of the people at large, that would have weakened the
operations of war, and perhaps have rendered a union impracticable.
Hence the numerous defects of the confederation.
On the conclusion of peace, these defects began to be felt. Each State
assumed the right of disputing the propriety of the resolutions of
Congress, and the interest of an individual State was placed in
opposition to the common interest of the union. In addition to this
source of division, a jealousy of the powers of Congress began to be
excited in the minds of people.
This jealousy of the privileges of freemen, had been roused by the
oppressiv acts of the British parliament; and no sooner had the danger
from this quarter ceased, than the fears of people changed their object,
and were turned against their own rulers.
In this situation, there were not wanting men of industry and talents,
who had been enemies to the revolution, and who embraced the opportunity
to multiply the apprehensions of people and increase the popular
discontents. A remarkable instance of this happened in Connecticut. As
soon as the tumults of war had subsided, an attempt was made to convince
the people, that the act of Congress passed in 1778, granting to the
officers of the army, half pay for life, was highly unjust and
tyrannical; and that it was but the first step towards the establishment
of pensions and an uncontrolable despotism. The act of Congress, passed
in 1783, commuting half pay for life for five years full pay, was
designed to appease the apprehensions of people, and to convince them
that this gratuity was intended merely to indemnify the officers for
their losses by the depreciation of the paper currency; and not to
establish a precedent for the granting of pensions. This act, however,
did not satisfy the people, who supposed that the officers had been
generally indemnified for the loss of their pay, by the grants made them
from time to time by the legislatures of the several States. Besides the
act, while it gave five years full pay to the officers, allowed but one
year's pay to the privates; a distinction which had great influence in
exciting and continuing the popular ferment, and one that turned a large
share of the public rage against the officers themselves.
The moment an alarm was raised respecting this act of Congress, the
enemies of our independence became activ in blowing up the flame, by
spreading reports unfavorable to the general government, and tending to
create public dissensions. Newspapers, in some parts of the country,
were filled with inflammatory publications; while false reports and
groundless insinuations were industriously circulated to the prejudice
of Congress and the officers of the late army. Among a people feelingly
alive to every thing that could affect the rights for which they had
been contending, these reports could not fail of having a powerful
effect; the clamor soon became general; the officers of the army, it was
believed, had attempted to raise their fortunes on the distresses of
their fellow citizens, and Congress become the tyrants of their country.
Connecticut was the seat of this uneasiness; altho other States were
much agitated on the occasion. But the inhabitants of that State,
accustomed to order and a due subordination to the laws, did not proceed
to outrages; they took their usual mode of collecting the sense of the
State; assembled in town meetings; appointed committees to meet in
convention, and consult what measures should be adopted to procure a
redress of their grievances. In this convention, which was held at
Middletown, some nugatory resolves were passed, exploiting a
disapprobation of the half pay act, and the subsequent commutation of
the grant for five years whole pay. The same spirit also discovered
itself in the assembly, at their October session, in 1783. A
remonstrance against the acts in favor of the officers, was framed in
the house of representativs, and notwithstanding the upper house refused
to concur in the measure, it was sent to Congress.
During this situation of affairs, the public odium against the officers,
was augmented by another circumstance. The officers, just before the
disbanding of the army, had formed a society, called by the name of the
_Cincinnati_, after the Roman Dictator, Cincinnatus, which, it was said,
was intended to perpetuate the memory of the revolution, the friendship
of the officers, and the union of the States; and also to raise a fund
for the relief of poor widows and orphans, whose husbands and fathers
had fallen during the war, and for their descendants. The society was
divided into State societies, which were to meet on the 4th of July, and
with other business, depute a number of their members to convene
annually in general meeting. The members of the institution were to be
distinguished by wearing a medal, emblematical of the design of the
society, and the honors and advantages were to be hereditary in the
eldest male heirs, and in default of male issue, in the collateral male
heirs. Honorary members were to be admitted, but without the hereditary
advantages of the society, and provided their number would never exceed
the ratio of one to four of the officers or their descendants.
Whatever were the real views of the framers of this institution, its
design was generally understood to be harmless and honorable. The
ostensible views of the society could not however skreen it from popular
jealousy. A spirited pamphlet appeared in South Carolina, the avowed
production of Mr. Burke, one of the judges of the supreme court in that
State, in which the author attempted to prove that the principles, on
which the society was formed, would, in process of time, originate and
establish an order of nobility in this country, which would be repugnant
to the genius of our republican governments, and dangerous to liberty.
This pamphlet appeared in Connecticut, during the commotions raised by
the half pay and commutation acts, and contributed not a little to
spread the flame of opposition. Nothing could exceed the odium which
prevailed at this time, against the men who had hazarded their persons
and properties in the revolution.
Notwithstanding the discontents of the people were general, and ready to
burst forth in sedition, yet men of information, viz. the officers of
government, the clergy, and persons of liberal education, were mostly
opposed to the unconstitutional steps taken by the committees and
convention at Middletown. They supported the propriety of the measures
of Congress, both by conversation and writing, proved that such grants
to the army were necessary to keep the troops together, and that the
expense would not be enormous nor oppressiv. During the close of the
year 1783, every possible exertion was made to enlighten the people, and
such was the effect of the arguments used by the minority, that in the
beginning of the following year, the opposition subsided, the committees
were dismissed, and tranquillity restored to the State. In May, the
legislature were able to carry several measures which had before been
extremely unpopular. An act was passed, granting the import of five per
cent. to Congress; another giving great encouragement to commerce, and
several towns were incorporated with extensiv privileges, for the
purpose of regulating the exports of the State, and facilitating the
collection of debts.
The opposition to the Congressional acts in favor of the officers, and
to the order of the Cincinnati, did not rise to the same pitch in the
other States as in Connecticut; yet it produced much disturbance in
Massachusetts, and some others. Jealousy of power had been universally
spread among the people of the United States. The destruction of the old
forms of governments, and the licentiousness of war had, in a great
measure, broken their habits of obedience; their passions had been
inflamed by the cry of despotism; and like centinels, who have been
suddenly surprised by the approach of an enemy, the rustling of a leaf
was sufficient to giv them an alarm. This spirit of jealousy, which has
not yet subsided, and which will probably continue visible during the
present generation, operated with other causes to relax the energy of
our federal operations.
During the war, vast sums of paper currency had been emitted by
Congress, and large quantities of specie had been introduced, towards
the close of the war, by the French army, and the Spanish trade. This
plenty of money enabled the States to comply with the first requisitions
of Congress; so that during two or three years, the federal treasury
was, in some measure, supplied. But when the danger of war had ceased,
and the vast importations of foreign goods had lessened the quantity of
circulating specie, the States began to be very remiss in furnishing
their proportion of monies. The annihilation of the credit of the paper
bills had totally stopped their circulation, and the specie was leaving
the country in cargoes, for remittances to Great Britain; still the
luxurious habits of the people, contracted during the war, called for
new supplies of goods, and private gratification seconded the narrow
policy of State interest in defeating the operations of the general
government.
Thus the revenues of Congress were annually diminishing; some of the
States wholly neglecting to make provision for paying the interest of
the national debt; others making but a partial provision, until the
scanty supplies received from a few of the rich States, would hardly
satisfy the demands of the civil list.
This weakness of the federal government, in conjunction with the flood
of certificates or public securities, which Congress could neither fund
nor pay, occasioned them to depreciate to a very inconsiderable value.
The officers and soldiers of the late army were obliged to receive for
wages these certificates, or promissary notes, which passed at a fifth,
or eighth, or a tenth of their nominal value; being thus deprived at
once of the greatest part of the reward due for their services. Some
indeed profited by speculations in these evidences of the public debt;
but such as were under a necessity of parting with them, were robbed of
that support which they had a right to expect and demand from their
countrymen.
Pensylvania indeed made provision for paying the interest of her debts,
both State and federal; assuming her supposed proportion of the
continental debt, and giving the creditors her own State notes in
exchange for those of the United States. The resources of that State are
immense, but she has not been able to make punctual payments, even in a
depreciated paper currency.
Massachusetts, in her zeal to comply fully with the requisitions of
Congress, and satisfy the demands of her own creditors, laid a heavy
tax upon the people. This was the immediate cause of the rebellion in
that State, in 1786. But a heavy debt lying on the State, added to
burdens of the same nature, upon almost every incorporation within it; a
decline, or rather an extinction of public credit; a relaxation and
corruption of manners, and a free use of foreign luxuries; a decay of
trade and manufactures, with a prevailing scarcity of money; and, above
all, individuals involved in debt to each other: These were the real,
though more remote causes of the insurrection. It was the tax which the
people were required to pay, that caused them to feel evils which we
have enumerated: This called forth all their other grievances; and the
first act of violence committed, was the burning or destroying of a tax
bill. This sedition threw the State into a convulsion which lasted about
a year; courts of justice were violently obstructed; the collection of
debts was suspended; and a body of armed troops, under the command of
General Lincoln, was employed during the winter of 1786, to disperse the
insurgents. Yet so numerous were the latter in the counties of
Worcester, Hampshire and Berkshire, and so obstinately combined to
oppose the execution of law by force, that the Governor and Council of
the State thought proper not to intrust General Lincoln with military
powers, except to act on the defensiv, and to repel force with force, in
case the insurgents should attack him. The leaders of the rebels however
were not men of talents; they were desperate, but without fortitude; and
while they were supported with a superior force, they appeared to be
impressed with that consciousness of guilt, which awes the most daring
wretch, and makes him shrink from his purpose. This appears by the
conduct of a large party of the rebels before the magazine at
Springfield; where General Shepard with a small guard, was stationed to
protect the continental stores. The insurgents appeared upon the plain,
with a vast superiority of numbers, but a few shot from the artillery
made the multitude retreat in disorder, with the loss of four men. This
spirited conduct of General Shepard, with the industry, perseverance
and prudent firmness of General Lincoln, dispersed the rebels, drove the
leaders from the State, and restored tranquillity. An act of indemnity
was passed in the Legislature for all the insurgents, except a few
leaders, on condition they should become peaceable subjects, and take
the oath of allegiance. The leaders afterwards petitioned for pardon,
which, from motivs of policy, was granted by the Legislature.
But the loss of public credit, popular disturbances, and insurrections,
were not the only evils which were generated by the peculiar
circumstances of the times. The emissions of bills of credit and tender
laws, were added to the black catalogue of political disorders.
The expedient of supplying the deficiencies of specie, by emissions of
paper bills, was adopted very early in the colonies. The expedient was
obvious and produced good effects. In a new country, where population is
rapid, and the value of lands increasing, the farmer finds an advantage
in paying legal interest for money; for if he can pay the interest by
his profits, the increasing value of his lands will, in a few years,
discharge the principal.
In no colony was this advantage more sensibly experienced than in
Pensylvania. The emigrants to that province were numerous; the natural
population rapid; and these circumstances combined, advanced the value
of real property to an astonishing degree. As the first settlers there,
as well as in other provinces, were poor, the purchase of a few foreign
articles drained them of specie. Indeed for many years, the balance of
trade must have necessarily been greatly against the colonies.
But bills of credit, emitted by the State and loaned to the industrious
inhabitants, supplied the want of specie, and enabled the farmer to
purchase stock. These bills were generally a legal tender in all
colonial or private contracts, and the sums issued did not generally
exceed the quantity requisit for a medium of trade; they retained their
full nominal value in the purchase of commodities. But as they were not
received by the British merchants, in payment for goods, there was a
great demand for specie and bills, which occasioned the latter at
various times to appreciate. Thus was introduced a difference between
the English sterling money and the currencies of the colonies which
remains to this day.[47]
[47] A dollar, in sterling money, is 4_s_6. But the price of
a dollar rose in New England currency to 6_s_; in New York to
8_s_; in New Jersey, Pensylvania and Maryland to 7_s_6; in
Virginia to 6_s_; in North Carolina to 8_s_; in South
Carolina and Georgia to 4_s_8. This difference, originating
between paper and specie, or bills, continued afterwards to
exist in the nominal estimation of gold and silver.
_Franklin's Miscel. Works, p. 217._
The advantages the colonies had derived from bills of credit, under the
British government, suggested to Congress, in 1775, the idea of issuing
bills for the purpose of carrying on the war. And this was perhaps their
only expedient. Money could not be raised by taxation; it could not be
borrowed. The first emissions had no other effect upon the medium of
commerce, than to drive the specie from circulation. But when the paper
substituted for specie, had, by repeated millions, augmented the sum in
circulation, much beyond the usual sum of specie, the bills began to
lose their value. The depreciation continued in proportion to the sums
emitted, until seventy, and even one hundred and fifty nominal paper
dollars, were hardly an equivalent for one Spanish milled dollar. Still
from the year 1775 to 1781, this depreciating paper currency was almost
the only medium of trade. It supplied the place of specie, and enabled
Congress to support a numerous army; until the sum in circulation
amounted to two hundred millions of dollars. But about the year 1780,
specie began to be plentiful, being introduced by the French army, a
private trade with the Spanish islands, and an illicit intercourse with
the British garrison at New York. This circumstance accelerated the
depreciation of the paper bills, until their value had sunk almost to
nothing. In 1781, the merchants and brokers in the southern States,
apprehensiv of the approaching fate of the currency, pushed immense
quantities of it suddenly into New England, made vast purchases of goods
in Boston, and instantly the bills vanished from circulation.
The whole history of this continental paper is a history of public and
private frauds. Old specie debts were often paid in a depreciated
currency, and even new contracts for a few weeks or days were often
discharged with a small part of the value received. From this plenty and
fluctuating state of the medium, sprung hosts of speculators and
itinerant traders, who left their honest occupations for the prospect of
immense gains, in a fraudulent business, that depended on no fixed
principles, and the profits of which could be reduced to no certain
calculations.
To increase these evils, a project was formed to fix the prices of
articles, and restrain persons from giving or receiving more for any
commodity than the price stated by authority. These regulating acts were
reprobated by every man acquainted with commerce and finance; as they
were intended to prevent an effect without removing the cause. To
attempt to fix the value of money, while streams of bills were
incessantly flowing from the treasury of the United States, was as
ridiculous as an attempt to restrain the rising of water in rivers
amidst showers of rain.
Notwithstanding all opposition, some States framed and attempted to
enforce these regulating acts. The effect was, a momentary apparent
stand in the price of articles; innumerable acts of collusion and
evasion among the dishonest; numberless injuries done to the honest; and
finally a total disregard of all such regulations, and the consequential
contempt of laws and the authority of the magistrate.
During these fluctuations of business, occasioned by the variable value
of money, people lost sight, in some measure, of the steady principles
which had before governed their intercourse with each other.
Speculations followed and relaxed the rigor of commercial obligations.
Industry likewise had suffered by the flood of money which had deluged
the States. The prices of produce had risen in proportion to the
quantity of money in circulation, and the demand for the commodities of
the country. This made the acquisition of money easy, and indolence and
luxury, with their train of desolating consequences, spread themselves
among all descriptions of people.
But as soon as hostilities between Great Britain and America were
suspended, the scene was changed. The bills emitted by Congress had long
before ceased to circulate; and the specie of the country was soon
drained off to pay for foreign goods, the importations of which exceeded
all calculation. Within two years from the close of the war, _a scarcity
of money_ was the general cry. The merchants found it impossible to
collect their debts, and make punctual remittances to their creditors in
Great Britain; and the consumers were driven to the necessity of
retrenching their superfluities in living and of returning to their
ancient habits of industry and economy.
This change was however progressiv and slow. In many of the States which
suffered by the numerous debts they had contracted, and by the
distresses of war, the people called aloud for emissions of paper bills
to supply the deficiency of a medium. The depreciation of the
continental bills, was a recent example of the ill effects of such an
expedient, and the impossibility of supporting the credit of paper, was
urged by the opposers of the measure as a substantial argument against
adopting it. But nothing would silence the popular clamor; and many men
of the first talents and eminence, united their voices with that of the
populace. Paper money had formerly maintained its credit, and been of
singular utility; and past experience, notwithstanding a change of
circumstances, was an argument in its favor that bore down all
opposition.
Pensylvania, although one of the richest States in the union, was the
first to emit bills of credit, as a substitute for specie. But the
revolution had removed the necessity of it, at the same time that it
had destroyed the means by which its former credit had been supported.
Lands, at the close of the war, were not rising in value; bills on
London could not so readily be purchased, as while the province was
dependent on Great Britain; the State was split into parties, one of
which attempted to defeat the measures most popular with the other; and
the depreciation of continental bills, with the injuries which it had
done to individuals, inspired a general distrust of all public promises.
Notwithstanding a part of the money was loaned on good landed security,
and the faith of that wealthy State pledged for the redemption of the
whole at its nominal value, yet the advantages of specie as a medium of
commerce, especially as an article of remittance to London, soon made a
difference of ten per cent. between the bills of credit and specie. This
difference may be considered rather as an appreciation of gold and
silver, than a depreciation of paper; but its effects, in a commercial
State, must be highly prejudicial. It opens the door to frauds of all
kinds, and frauds are usually practised on the honest and unsuspecting,
especially upon all classes of laborers.
This currency of Pensylvania is receivable in all payments at the custom
house, and for certain taxes, at its nominal value; yet it has sunk to
two thirds of this value, in the few commercial transactions where it is
received.
North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, had recourse to the same
wretched expedient to supply themselves with money; not reflecting that
industry, frugality, and good commercial laws are the only means of
turning the balance of trade in favor of a country, and that this
balance is the only permanent source of solid wealth and ready money.
But the bills they emitted shared a worse fate than those of
Pensylvania; they expelled almost all the circulating cash from the
States; they lost a great part of their nominal value; they impoverished
the merchants, and embarrassed the planters.
The State of Virginia had too much wisdom to emit bills; but tolerated a
practice among the inhabitants of cutting dollars and smaller pieces of
silver, in order to prevent it from leaving the State. This pernicious
practice prevailed also in Georgia.[48]
[48] A dollar was usually cut in five pieces, and each passed
by toll for a quarter; so that the man who cut it gained a
quarter, or rather a fifth. If the State should recoin this
silver, it must lose a fifth.
Maryland escaped the calamity of a paper currency. The house of
delegates brought forward a bill for the emission of bills of credit to
a large amount; but the senate firmly and successfully resisted the
pernicious scheme. The opposition between the two houses was violent and
tumultuous; it threatened the State with anarchy; but the question was
carried to the people, and the good sense of the senate finally
prevailed.
New Jersey is situated between two or the largest commercial towns in
America, and consequently drained of specie. This State also emitted a
large sum in bills of credit, which served to pay the interest of the
public debt; but the currency depreciated, as in other States.
Rhode Island exhibits a melancholy proof of that licentiousness and
anarchy which always follows a relaxation of the moral principles. In a
rage for supplying the State with money, and filling every man's pocket
without obliging him to earn it by his diligence, the Legislature passed
an act for making one hundred thousand pounds in bills; a sum much more
than sufficient for a medium of trade in that State, even without any
specie. The merchants in Newport and Providence opposed the act with
firmness; their opposition added fresh vigour to the resolution of the
assembly, and induced them to inforce the scheme by a legal lender of a
most extraordinary nature. They passed an act, ordaining that if any
creditor should refuse to take their bills, for any debt whatever, the
debtor might lodge the sum due, with a justice of the peace, who should
giv notice of it in the public papers; and if the creditor did not
appear and receive the money within six months from the first notice,
his debt should be forfeited. This act astonished all honest men, and
even the promoters of paper money making in other States, and on other
principles, reprobated this act of Rhode Island, as wicked and
oppressiv. But the State was governed by faction. During the cry for
paper money, a number of boisterous ignorant men, were elected into the
Legislature, from the smaller towns in the State. Finding themselves
united with a majority in opinion, they formed and executed any plan
their inclination suggested; they opposed every measure that was
agreeable to the mercantile interest; they not only made bad laws to
suit their own wicked purposes, but appointed their own corrupt
creatures to fill the judicial and executiv departments. Their money
depreciated sufficiently to answer all their vile purposes in the
discharge of debts; business almost totally ceased; all confidence was
lost; the State was thrown into confusion at home, and was execrated
abroad.
Massachusetts Bay had the good fortune, amidst her political calamities,
to prevent an emission of bills of credit. New Hampshire made no paper;
but in the distresses which followed her loss of business after the war,
the Legislature made horses, lumber, and most articles of produce a
legal tender in the fulfilment of contracts. It is doubtless unjust to
oblige a creditor to receive any thing for his debt, which he had not in
contemplation at the time of the contract. But as the commodities which
were to be a tender by the law of New Hampshire, were of an intrinsic
value, bearing some proportion to the amount of the debt, the injustice
of the law was less flagrant, than that which enforced the tender of
paper in Rhode Island. Indeed a similar law prevailed for some time in
Massachusetts; and in Connecticut it is optional with the creditor,
either to imprison the debtor, or take land on an execution, at a price
to be fixed by three indifferent freeholders; provided no other means of
payment shall appear to satisfy the demand. It must not however be
omitted, that while the most flourishing commercial States introduced a
paper medium, to the great injury of honest men, a bill for an emission
of paper in Connecticut, where there is very little specie, could never
command more than one eighth of the votes of the Legislature. The movers
of the bill have hardly escaped ridicule; so generally is the measure
reprobated as a source of fraud and public mischief.
The Legislature of New York, a State that had the least necessity and
apology for making paper money, as her commercial advantages always
furnish her with specie sufficient for a medium, issued a large sum in
bills of credit, which support their value better than the currency of
any other State. Still the paper has raised the value of specie, which
is always in demand for exportation, and this difference of exchange
between paper and specie, exposes commerce to most of the
inconveniencies resulting from a depreciated medium.
Such is the history of paper money thus far; a miserable substitute for
real coin, in a country where the reins of government are too weak to
compel the fulfilment of public engagements; and where all confidence in
public faith is totally destroyed.
While the States were thus endeavoring to repair the loss of specie, by
empty promises, and to support their business by shadows, rather than by
reality, the British ministry formed some commercial regulations that
deprived them of the profits of their trade to the West Indies and to
Great Britain. Heavy duties were laid upon such articles as were
remitted to the London merchants for their goods, and such were the
duties upon American bottoms, that the States were almost wholly
deprived of the carrying trade. A prohibition was laid upon the produce
of the United States, shipped to the English West India Islands in
American built vessels, and in those manned by American seamen. These
restrictions fell heavy upon the eastern States, which depended much
upon ship building for the support of their trade; and they materially
injured the business of the other States.
Without a union that was able to form and execute a general system of
commercial regulations, some of the States attempted to impose
restraints upon the British trade that should indemnify the merchant for
the losses he had suffered, or induce the British ministry to enter into
a commercial treaty, and relax the rigor of their navigation laws. These
measures however produced nothing but mischief. The States did not act
in concert, and the restraints laid on the trade of one State operated
to throw the business into the hands of its neighbor. Massachusetts, in
her zeal to counteract the effect of the English navigation laws, laid
enormous duties upon British goods imported into that State; but the
other States did not adopt a similar measure; and the loss of business
soon obliged that State to repeal or suspend the law. Thus when
Pensylvania laid heavy duties on British goods, Delaware and New Jersey
made a number of free ports to encourage the landing of goods within the
limits of those States; and the duties in Pensylvania served no purpose,
but to create smuggling.
Thus divided, the States began to feel their weakness. Most of the
Legislatures had neglected to comply with the requisitions of Congress
for furnishing the federal treasury; the resolves of Congress were
disregarded; the proposition for a general import to be laid and
collected by Congress was negatived first by Rhode Island, and
afterwards by New York. The British troops continued, under pretence of
a breach of treaty on the part of America, to hold possession of the
forts on the frontiers of the States, and thus commanded the fur trade.
Many of the States individually were infested with popular commotions or
iniquitous tender laws, while they were oppressed with public debts; the
certificates or public notes had lost most of their value, and
circulated merely as the objects of speculation; Congress lost their
respectability, and the United States their credit and importance.
In the midst of these calamities, a proposition was made in 1785, in the
house of delegates, in Virginia, to appoint commissioners, to meet such
as might be appointed in the other States, who should form a system of
commercial regulations for the United States, and recommend it to the
several Legislatures for adoption. Commissioners were accordingly
appointed and a request was made to the Legislatures of the other States
to accede to the proposition. Accordingly several of the States
appointed commissioners, who met at Annapolis in the summer of 1786, to
consult what measures should be taken to unite the States in some
general and efficient commercial system. But as the States were not all
represented, and the powers of the commissioners were, in their opinion,
too limited to propose a system of regulations adequate to the purposes
of government, they agreed to recommend a general convention to be held
at Philadelphia the next year, with powers to frame a general plan of
government for the United States. This measure appeared to the
commissioners absolutely necessary. The old confederation was
essentially defectiv. It was destitute of almost every principle
necessary to giv effect to legislation.
It was defectiv in the article of legislating over States, instead of
individuals. All history testifies that recommendations will not operate
as laws, and compulsion cannot be exercised over States, without
violence, war and anarchy. The confederation was also destitute of a
sanction to its laws. When resolutions were passed in Congress, there
was no power to compel obedience by fine, by suspension of privileges or
other means. It was also destitute of a guarantee for the State
governments. Had one State been invaded by its neighbor, the union was
not constitutionally bound to assist in repelling the invasion, and
supporting the constitution of the invaded State. The confederation was
further deficient in the principle of apportioning the quotas of money
to be furnished by each State; in a want of power to form commercial
laws, and to raise troops for the defence and security of the union; in
the equal suffrage of the States, which placed Rhode Island on a
footing in Congress with Virginia; and to crown all the defects, we may
add the want of a judiciary power, to define the laws of the union, and
to reconcile the contradictory decisions of a number of independent
judicatories.
These and many inferior defects were obvious to the commissioners, and
therefore they urged a general convention, with powers to form and offer
to the consideration of the States, a system of general government that
should be less exceptionable. Accordingly in May, 1787, delegates from
all the States, except Rhode Island, assembled at Philadelphia; and
chose General Washington for their president. After four months
deliberation, in which the clashing interests of the several States,
appeared in all their force, the convention agreed to recommend a plan
of federal government, &c.
As soon as the plan of the federal constitution was submitted to the
Legislatures of the several States, they proceeded to take measures for
collecting the sense of the people upon the propriety of adopting it. In
the small State of Delaware, a convention was called in November, which,
after a few days deliberation, ratified the constitution, without a
dissenting voice.
In the convention of Pensylvania, held the same month, there was a
spirited opposition to the new form of government. The debates were long
and interesting. Great abilities and firmness were displayed on both
sides; but, on the 13th of December, the constitution was received by
two thirds of the members. The minority were dissatisfied, and with an
obstinacy that ill became the representativs of a free people, published
their reasons of dissent, which were calculated to inflame a party
already violent, and which, in fact, produced some disturbances in the
western parts of the State. But the opposition has since subsided.
In New Jersey, the convention which met in December, were unanimous in
adopting the constitution; as was likewise that of Georgia.
In Connecticut there was some opposition; but the constitution was, on
the 9th of January, 1788, ratified by three fourths of the votes in
convention, and the minority peaceably acquiesced in the decision.
In Massachusetts, the opposition was large and respectable. The
convention, consisting of more than three hundred delegates, were
assembled in January, and continued their debates, with great candor and
liberality, about five weeks. At length the question was carried for the
constitution by a small majority, and the minority, with that manly
condescension which becomes great minds, submitted to the measure, and
united to support the government.
In New Hampshire, the federal cause was, for some time doubtful. The
greatest number of the delegates in convention, were at first on the
side of the opposition; and some, who might have had their objections
removed by the discussion of the subject, instructed to reject the
constitution. Altho the instructions of constituents cannot, on the true
principles of representation, be binding upon a deputy, in any
legislativ assembly, because his constituents are but a _part_ of the
State, and have not heard the arguments and objections of the _whole_;
whereas, his act is to affect the _whole_ State, and therefore is to be
directed by the sense or wisdom of the whole, collected in the
legislativ assembly; yet the delegates in the New Hampshire convention
conceived, very erroneously, that the sense of the freemen in the towns,
those little districts, where no act of legislation can be performed,
imposed a restraint upon their own wills.[49] An adjournment was
therefore moved, and carried. This gave the people opportunity to gain a
farther knowlege of the merits of the constitution, and at the second
meeting of the convention, it was ratified by a respectable majority.
[49] This pernicious opinion has prevailed in all the States,
and done infinit mischief.
In Maryland, several men of abilities appeared in the opposition, and
were unremitted in their endeavors to persuade the people, that the
proposed plan of government was artfully calculated to deprive them of
their dearest rights; yet in convention it appeared that five sixths of
the voices were in favor of it.
In South Carolina, the opposition was respectable; but two thirds of the
convention appeared to advocate and vote for the constitution.
In Virginia, many of the principal characters opposed the ratification
of the constitution with great abilities and industry. But after a full
discussion of the subject, a small majority, of a numerous convention,
appeared for its adoption.
In New York, two thirds of the delegates in convention were, at their
first meeting, determined to reject the constitution. Here, therefore,
the debates were the most interesting, and the event extremely doubtful.
The argument was managed with uncommon address and abilities on both
sides of the question. But during the session, the ninth and tenth
States had acceded to the proposed plan, so that by the constitution,
Congress were empowered to issue an ordinance for organizing the new
government. This event placed the opposition on new ground; and the
expediency of uniting with the other States; the generous motivs of
conciliating all differences, and the danger of a rejection, influenced
a respectable number, who were originally opposed to the constitution,
to join the federal interest. The constitution was accordingly ratified
by a small majority; but the ratification was accompanied here, as in
Virginia, with a bill of rights, declaratory of the sense of the
convention, as to certain great principles, and with a catalogue of
amendments, which were to be recommended to the consideration of the new
Congress, and the several State Legislatures.
North Carolina met in convention in July, to deliberate on the new
constitution. After a short session they rejected it, by a majority of
one hundred and seventy six, against seventy six.
Rhode Island was doomed to be the sport of a blind and singular policy.
The Legislature, in consistency with the measures which had been before
pursued, did not call a convention, to collect the sense of the State
upon the proposed constitution; but in an unconstitutional and absurd
manner, submitted the plan of government to the consideration of the
people. Accordingly it was brought before town meetings, and in most of
them rejected. In some of the large towns, particularly in Newport and
Providence, the people collected and resolved, with great propriety,
that they could not take up the subject; and that the proposition for
embracing or rejecting the federal constitution, could come before no
tribunal but that of the _State_ in convention or legislature.
From the moment the proceedings of the general convention at
Philadelphia transpired, the public mind was exceedingly agitated, and
suspended between hope and fear, until nine States had ratified the plan
of a federal government. Indeed, the anxiety continued until Virginia
and New York had acceded to the system. But this did not prevent the
demonstrations of joy, on the accession of each State.
On the ratification in Massachusetts, the citizens of Boston, in the
elevation of their joy, formed a procession in honor of the happy event,
which was novel, splendid and magnificent. This example was afterwards
followed, and in some instances improved upon, in Baltimore, Charleston,
Philadelphia, New Haven, Portsmouth and New York, successivly. Nothing
could equal the beauty and grandeur of these exhibitions. A ship was
mounted upon wheels, and drawn thro the streets; mechanics erected
stages, and exhibited specimens of labor in their several occupations,
as they moved along the road; flags with emblems, descriptiv of all the
arts and of the federal union, were invented and displayed in honor of
the government; multitudes of all ranks in life assembled to view the
majestic scenes; while sobriety, joy and harmony marked the brilliant
exhibitions, by which the Americans celebrated the establishment of
their empire.
In March, 1789, the delegates from the eleven ratifying States, convened
in New York, where convenient and elegant accommodations had been
furnished by the citizens. On opening the ballots for President, it
appeared that the late Commander in Chief of our armies was unanimously
elected to the dignified office. This event diffused universal joy among
the friends to the union.
The deliberations of the first American Legislature were marked with
wisdom, spirit, and generally with candor. The establishment of a
revenue and judiciary system, with other national measures; the wise
appointments to offices; the promptness and energy of the executiv, with
a growing popular attachment to the general government, open the fairest
prospect of peace, union and prosperity to these States; a prospect that
is brightened by the accession of North Carolina to the government in
November, 1789.
No. XVI.
REMARKS _on the_ METHOD _of_ BURYING _the_ DEAD _among the_ NATIVS _of
this_ COUNTRY; _compared with that among the ancient_ BRITONS.
Being an Extract of a Letter to the Rev. Dr. STILES, President of Yale
College, dated New York, January 20, 1788.
[NOTE. _I had embraced the idea, that the remarkable fortifications on
the Muskingum, might be justly ascribed to the Spaniards, under
Ferdinand de Soto, who penetrated into Florida, about the year 1540;
which opinion I endeavored to maintain as probably well founded, and
wrote three or four letters on the subject, to Dr. Stiles, which were
published in 1789. It is now very clear that my opinion was_ not _well
founded; but that_ Chicaca, _which I had supposed to be Muskingum, ought
to have been written_ Chicaça, _with a cedilla, as it is in the original
Spanish; and pronounced_ Chikesaw. _This determins the place of Soto's
winter quarters, the second year after landing, to be in the territories
of the present_ Chikesaws. _Those letters, therefore, are not worth
republishing; but the following extract, on a different subject, may be
considered as worthy of preservation._]
But how shall we account for the mounts, caves, graves, &c. and for the
contents, which evince the existence of the custom of burning the dead
or their bones; can these be ascribed to the Spaniards? I presume, Sir,
you will be of opinion they cannot. Capt. Heart says,[50] these graves
are small mounts of earth, from some of which human bones have been
taken; in one were found bones in the natural position of a man, buried
nearly east and west, and a quantity of ising glass on his breast; in
the other graves, the bones were irregular, some calcined by fire,
others burnt only to a certain degree, so as to render them more
durable; in others the mouldered bones retain their shape, without any
substance; others are partly rotten and partly the remains of decayed
bones; in most of the graves were found stones evidently burnt, pieces
of charcoal, Indian arrows and pieces of earthen ware, which appeared to
be a composition of shells and cement.
[50] Columbian Magazine for May, 1787.
That these mounts and graves are the works of the nativ Indians, is very
evident, for such small mounts are scattered over every part of North
America. "It was customary with the Indians of the West Jersey," says
Mr. Smith, page 137, "when they buried the dead, to put family utensils,
bows and arrows, and sometimes wampum into the grave, as tokens of their
affection. When a person of note died far from the place of his own
residence, they would carry his bones to be buried there. They washed
and perfumed the dead, painted the face, and followed singly; left the
dead in a fitting posture, and covered the grave pyramidically. They
were very curious in preserving and repairing the graves of their dead,
and pensivly visited them."
It is said by the English, who are best acquainted with the manners of
the nativs, that they had a custom of collecting, at certain stated
periods, all the bones of their deceased friends, and burying them in
some common grave. Over these cemetaries or general repositories of the
dead, were erected those vast heaps of earth or mounts, similar to those
which are called in England _barrows_, and which are discovered in every
part of the United States.
The Indians seem to have had two methods of burying the dead; one was,
to deposit one body (or at most but a small number of bodies) in a
place, and cover it with stones, thrown together in a careless manner.
The pile thus formed would naturally be nearly circular, but those piles
that are discovered are something oval. In the neighborhood of my
father's house, about seven miles from Hartford, on the public road to
Farmington, there is one of those _Carrnedds_ or heaps of stone. I
often passed by it in the early part of my youth, but never measured its
circumference or examined its contents. My present opinion is, that its
circumference is about twenty five feet. The inhabitants in the
neighborhood report, as a tradition received from the nativs, that an
Indian was buried there, and that it is the custom for every Indian that
passes by to cast a stone upon the heap. This custom I have never seen
practised, but have no doubt of its existence; as it is confirmed by the
general testimony of the first American settlers.[51]
[51] The existence of a custom of paying respect to these
_Indian heaps_, as they are called, is proved by a ludicrous
practice, that prevails among the Anglo Americans in the
vicinity, of making strangers pull off their hats as they
pass by this grave. A man passing by with one who is a
stranger to the custom, never fails to practise a jest upon
him, by telling him that a spider, a caterpillar, or some
other insect is upon his hat; the unsuspecting traveller
immediately takes off his hat, to brush away the offending
insect, and finds by a roar of laughter, that a trick is put
upon him. I have often seen this trick played upon strangers,
and upon the neighbors who happen to be off their guard, to
the great amusement of the country people. The jest, however,
is a proof that the aborigines paid a respect to these rude
monuments, and in ridicule of that respect, probably,
originated the vulgar practice of the English, which exists
to this day.
The other mode of burying the dead, was to deposit a vast number of
bodies, or the bones which were taken from the single scattered graves,
in a common cemetary, and over them raise vast _tumuli_ or barrows, such
as the mount at Muskingum, which is 390 feet in circumference, and 50
feet high. The best account of these cemetaries may be found in Mr.
Jefferson's Notes on Virginia, which will appear the most satisfactory
to the reader in his own words.
"I know of no such thing existing as an Indian monument, for I would not
honor with that name, arrow points, stone hatchets, stone pipes, and
half shapen images. Of labor on the large scale, I think there are no
remains as respectable as would be a common ditch for the draining of
lands, unless it be the barrows, of which many are to be found all over
this country. These are of different sizes, some of them constructed of
earth, and some of loose stones. That they were repositories of the dead
has been obvious to all; but on what particular occasion constructed,
was matter of doubt. Some have thought they covered the bones of those
who have fallen in battles, fought on the spot of interment. Some
ascribe them to the custom, said to prevail among the Indians, of
collecting at certain periods the bones of all their dead, wherever
deposited at the time of death. Others again supposed them the general
sepulchre for towns, conjectured to have been on or near these grounds,
and this opinion was supported by the quality of the lands in which they
are found, (those constructed of earth being generally in the softest
and most fertile meadow grounds on river sides) and by a tradition said
to be handed down from the aboriginal Indians, that when they settled in
a town, the first person who died was placed erect, and earth put about
him so as to cover and support him; that when another died, a narrow
passage was dug to the first, the second reclined against him, and the
cover of earth replaced, and so on. There being one of these in my
neighborhood, I wished to satisfy myself whether any, and which of these
opinions were just; for this purpose I determined to open and examin it
thoroughly. It was situated on the low grounds of the Rivanna, about two
miles above its principal fork, and opposit to some hills on which had
been an Indian town. It was of a spheroidical form, of about forty feet
diameter at the base, and had been of about twelve feet altitude, tho
now reduced by the plow to seven and a half; having been under
cultivation about a dozen years.
"Before this, it was covered with trees of twelve inches diameter, and
round the base was an excavation of five feet depth and width, from
whence the earth had been taken, of which the hillock was formed. I
first dug superficially in several parts of it, and came to collections
of human bones at different depths, from six inches to three feet, below
the surface. These were lying in the utmost confusion; some vertical,
some oblique, some horizontal, and directed to every point of the
compass, entangled and held together in clusters by the earth. Bones of
the most distant parts were found together; as for instance, the small
bones of the foot in the hollow of a scull; many sculls were sometimes
in contact, lying on the face, on the side, on the back, top or bottom,
so as on the whole, to giv the idea of bones emptied promiscuously from
a bag or basket, and covered over with earth, without any attention to
their order. The bones, of which the greatest numbers remained, were
sculls, jaw bones, teeth, the bones of the arms, thighs, legs, feet and
hands. A few ribs remained, some vertibræ of the neck and spine, without
their processes, and one instance only of the bone which serves as the
base to the vertebral column (the os sacrum)."
After making some remarks on the state of putrefaction in which the
bones appeared, and on the discovery of the bones of infants, Mr.
Jefferson goes on, "I proceeded then to make a perpendicular cut thro
the body of the barrow, that I might examin its internal structure. This
passed about three feet from its center, was opened to the former
surface of earth, and was wide enough for a man to walk thro and examin
its sides.
"At the bottom, that is on the level of the circumjacent plain, I found
bones; above these a few stones brought from a cliff, a quarter of a
mile off, and from the river one eighth of a mile off. Then a large
interval of earth, then a stratum of bones, and so on. At one end of the
section, were four strata of bones plainly distinguishable; at the
other, three; the strata in one part not ranging with those in another.
The bones nearest the surface were least decayed. No holes were
discovered in any of them, as if made with bullets, arrows or other
weapons. I conjectured that in this barrow might have been a thousand
skeletons. Every one will readily seize the circumstances above related,
which militate against the opinion, that it covered the bones only of
persons fallen in battle; and against the tradition also which would
make it the common sepulchre of a town, in which the bodies were placed
upright, and touching each other. Appearances certainly indicate, that
it has derived both origin and growth from the accustomary collection of
bones and deposition of them together; that the first collection had
been deposited on the common surface of the earth, that a few stones
were put over it, and then a covering of earth, that the second had been
laid on this, had covered more or less of it in proportion to the number
of bones, and was then also covered with earth, and so on. The following
are the particular circumstances, which giv it this aspect. 1 The number
of bones. 2 The strata in one part having no correspondence with those
in another. 3 The different states of decay in these strata, which seem
to indicate a difference in the time of inhumation. 4 The existence of
infant bones among them.
"But on whatever occasion they may have been made, they are of
considerable notoriety among the Indians; for a party passing about
thirty years ago, thro the part of the country where this barrow is,
went thro the woods directly to it, without any instructions or inquiry,
and having staid about it some time, with expressions which were
construed to be those of sorrow, they returned to the high road which
they had left about half a dozen miles, to pay this visit, and pursued
their journey. There is another barrow, much resembling this, in the low
grounds of the south branch of the Shenandoah, where it is crossed by
the road leading from the Rockfish Gap to Staunton. Both of these have
within these dozen years, been cleared of their trees and put under
cultivation, are much reduced in their height, and spread in width, by
the plow, and will probably disappear in time. There is another on a
hill in the blue ridge of mountains, a few miles north of Wood's Gap,
which is made up of small stones thrown together. This has been opened,
and found to contain human bones, as the others do. There are also
others in other parts of the country."
From this account of Mr. Jefferson, to whose industry and talents the
sciences and his country will ever be indebted, we may fairly conclude
that the mounts at Muskingum are the work of the nativ Indians. It is
however necessary to notice two or three particulars, in the appearance
of those at Muskingum, which are not discovered (or not mentioned by Mr.
Jefferson) in the structure of that which he examined. These are the
ising glass, the earthen ware, the charcoal, and the calcination of the
bones by fire. As to the first it is well known that the ising glass is
found only in particular parts of America, and the savages in other
parts could not obtain it. Mr. Jefferson mentions no discovery of
earthen ware, but it was used by the Indians in every part of America.
The piece you once shewed me, sir, is a specimen of what is found
wherever there has been an Indian town. Pieces of it are dug up
frequently in the meadows on Connecticut river. It appears to be formed
of pure clay, or of shells and cement, hardened by fire, and as we might
naturally suppose, without glazing. By sections of vessels which remain,
it is evident they were wrought with great ingenuity, and into beautiful
and convenient forms.
The charcoal and calcination of some bones are a proof that there has
existed, among the savages of America, a custom of burning the dead, or
their bones, after the dissolution of the flesh. It does not appear that
this custom was general, but it is not at all surprising to find that
such a practice has existed in this country; since it has been frequent
among the uncivilized nations on the eastern continent.
I am sensible, sir, that you have entertained an opinion that the story
of Madoc, the Welch Prince, may be true, and that it is possible the
fortifications at Muskingum may be the work of his colony. Of the truth
of this conclusion there is perhaps no direct evidence, and yet
collateral evidence may be obtained, that it is not chimerical. There is
such a surprising affinity between the Indian mounts and the barrows or
cemetaries which are remaining in England, but particularly in Wales and
Anglesey, the last retreat of the original Britons, that we can hardly
resolve it into a common principle of analogy that subsists between
nations in the same stage of society; but incredulity itself will
acknowlege the probability, that the primitiv inhabitants of Britain and
America had a common stock from which they were derived, long since the
age of the first parent: Not that I believe North America to be peopled
so late as the twelfth century, the period of Madoc's migration, but
supposing America to have been settled two or three thousand years
before that period, a subsequent colony might pass the Atlantic and
bring the Roman improvements in fortification.
Waving further conjectures, I beg leave to describe the analogy between
the barrows in England and Wales, and in America. This will be striking,
and cannot fail to entertain a curious reader, because it is attended
with positiv proofs.
In England, Scotland, Wales, and the island Anglesey, there are numbers
of monuments erected by the ancients; but the most remarkable are
generally found in the two latter, whither the old Britons retreated
from their Roman and Saxon conquerors; and _Anglesey_, the ancient
_Mona_, is supposed to have been the chief seat of the Druids. The
remains of most consequence are the _cromlechs_, the _tumuli_, and the
_cumuli_ or _carrnedds_. _Cromlech_, if the word is derived from the
British roots _krom laech_, signifies a _bending stone_.[52] This is the
common opinion, as Rowland observes.[53] If we trace the origin to the
Hebrew, the root of the old British,[54] we shall find it not less
significativ; for _cærem luach_ signify _devoted stone_, or _altar_.
These _cromlechs_ consist of large stones, pitched on end in the earth,
as supporters, upon which is laid a broad stone of a vast size. The
supporters stand in a bending posture, and are from three to seven feet
high. The top stone is often found to be of twenty or thirty tons
weight, and remains to this day on the pillars. Numbers of these are
found in Wales and Anglesey; but none is more remarkable than that in
Wiltshire, called _stone henge_, for a full description of which I must
beg leave to refer you to Camden's Britannia, vol. I, page 119. These
cromlechs are doubtless works of great antiquity; but for what purpose
they were erected, at such an immense expense of time and labor as would
be necessary to convey stones of thirty tons weight a considerable
distance, and raise them several feet, is not easily determined. The
probability is that they were altars for sacrifice, as pieces of burnt
bones and ashes are found near them. They might also be used in other
ceremonies, under the druidical system, as the ratification of
covenants, &c. As this kind of monuments is not found in America, I will
wave a further consideration of it; observing only, that it was an
ancient practice among the eastern nations, to raise heaps of stones, as
witnesses of agreements, and sacrifice upon them, as a solemn
ratification of the act of the parties. Many instances of this ceremony
are mentioned in the old testament. The covenant between Jacob and Laban
was witnessed by a heap of stones, which served also as a boundary
between their respectiv claims. "_And Jacob offered sacrifice upon the
mount_, that is, the heap, _and called his brethren to eat bread_." Gen.
xxxi, 54. A similar custom seems to have prevailed among the primitiv
Britons.
[52] Camden's Britannia, volume II, page 759.
[53] Mona Antiq. Restaur, page 47.
[54] That the primitiv Britons may claim a very direct
descent from the ancient inhabitants of Syria and Phenicia,
whose languages were but branches from the same common stock,
with as Hebrew, may be made to appear probable by a
comparison of their customs; but may be almost demonstrated
by a collation of the old British language with the Hebrew
roots. _See my Dissertations on the English Language,
Appendix._
But the _tumuli_, barrows or mounts of earth, which remain in multitudes
in England and Wales, are constructed exactly in the manner of the
barrows, described by Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Heart. One of these in
Wiltshire, Camden thus describes.[55] "Here Selbury, a round hill,
rises to a considerable height, and seems by the fashion of it, and the
sliding down of the earth about it, to have been cast up by mens hands.
Of this fort there are many in this country, round and copped, which are
called _burrows_ or _barrows_; perhaps raised in memory of the soldiers
slain there. For _bones are found in them_, and I have read, it was a
custom among the northern people, that every soldier who survived a
battle, should bring a helmet full of earth towards the raising of
monuments for their slain fellows."
[55] Britannia, volume I, page 127.
This is said to be the largest and most uniform barrow in the country,
and perhaps in England; and I regret that the height and circumference
are not mentioned. I am however informed verbally by a gentleman who has
visited England, that some of these tumuli appear to have been nearly
one hundred feet high.[56] There are also in the same country several
kinds of barrows of different sizes; some surrounded with trenches;
others not; some with stones set round them, others without any; the
general figure of them is nearly circular, but a little oval.
[56] One as large as that is said to be found at Grave Creek,
about eighty miles above Muskingum.
In Penbrokeshire, in Wales, Camden informs us[57] "there are divers
ancient tumuli, or artificial mounts for urn burial, whereof the most
notable I have seen, are those four, called _krigeu kemaes_, or the
burrows of _kemeas_. One of these a gentlemen of the neighborhood, out
of curiosity, and for the satisfaction of some friends, caused lately to
be dug; and discovered therein five urns, which contained a considerable
quantity of burnt bones and ashes." If there is any difference between
these barrows, and those at Muskingum, it is this, that in Wales the
bones were lodged in urns; probably this was the fate of the bodies of
eminent men only, or it proves a greater degree of improvement in
Britain than appears among the American savages.
[57] Volume II, page 763.
In Caermardhinshire, there is a barrow of a singular kind. It is called,
_krig y dyrn_ (probably the king's barrow[58].) The circumference at
bottom is sixty paces, and its height about six yards. It rises by an
easy ascent to the top, which is hollow. This is a heap of earth, raised
over a _carrnedd_ or pile of stones. In the center of the cavity on the
top, there is a large flat stone, about nine feet by five; beneath this
was found a _kist vaen_, a kind of stone chest, four feet and a half by
three, and made up of stones, and within and about it were found a few
pieces of brick and stones. This might have been the tomb of a druid, or
prince.
[58] Camden, volume II, page 751.
The _cumuli_ of stones or _caernedds_, as they are called by the Welsh,
from _keren nedh_, a _coped heap_, are scattered over the west of
England and Wales, and appear to have been raised in the manner of our
Indian heaps, and for the same purpose, viz. to preserve the memory of
the dead. Every Indian in this country that passes one of these heaps,
throws a stone upon it. Rowland remarks that the same custom exists
among the vulgar Welch to this day; and if I mistake not, Camden takes
notice of the same practice. Rowland says, "in these _coel ceithic_,
(certain festivals) people use, even to this day, to throw and offer
each one his stone, tho they know not the reason. The common tradition
is, that these heaps cover the graves of men, signal either for eminent
virtues, or notorious villanies, on which every person looked on himself
obliged as he passed by, to bestow a stone, in veneration of his good
life, or in detestation of his vileness." This practice now prevails in
Wales and Anglesey, merely as a mark of contempt.
The _carrnedds_ in America answer exactly the description of those in
Wales, and the practice of throwing upon the heap each man his stone as
he passes by, exists among the Indians, in its purity; that is, as _a
mark of respect_.
It is said by authors that mounts and piles of stones, are found
likewise in Denmark and Sweden; but in construction they differ from
those found in Britain. Yet from the foregoing descriptions, taken from
authentic testimony, it appears, that between the barrows in England
and America, the manner of constructing them in both, and the purposes
to which they were applied, there is an analogy, rarely to be traced in
works of such consequence, among nations whose intercourse ceased at
Babel; an analogy that we could hardly suppose would exist among nations
descended from different stocks. This analogy however, without better
evidence, will not demonstrate the direct descent of the Indians from
the ancient Celts or Britons. But as all the primitiv inhabitants of the
west of Europe were evidently of the same stock, it is natural to
suppose they might pass from Norway to Iceland, from Iceland to
Greenland, and from thence to Labrador; and thus the North American
savages may claim a common origin with the primitiv Britons and Celts.
This supposition has some foundation, and is by no means obviated by
Cook's late discoveries in the Pacific ocean.[59]
[59] Mons. Mallet, in his Northern Antiquities, has produced
unquestionable testimony, from the Chronicles of Iceland and
others histories of the north, that the American continent
was discovered about the tenth century; and the esquimaux are
clearly of the same race as the Greenlanders.
These are however but conjectures. Future discoveries may throw more
light upon these subjects. At present, a few facts only can be collected
to amuse a contemplativ mind, and perhaps lead to inquiries which will
result in a satisfactory account of the first peopling of America, and
of the few remains of antiquity which it affords.
No. XVII.