Part 24

Bloomingtown is a town consisting of about ten houses, and is situated on a sandy eminence in the edge of the prairie:--a small place, but deserving of notice from its abortive Bank. A company was formed, plates engraved, and the bank notes brought to the spot. At the time when this happened, the people had just become jealous of unchartered banks. The company applied to the Legislature of the State for a charter, which was refused. The bankers not venturing to sign the pictures, but unwilling to lose the expense of manufacturing them, sold them by auction. They were afterwards subscribed by a fictitious president and cashier, and fraudulently put into circulation.

{284} Near the lake the shell limestone appears. This seems to be the base on which the strata of the higher country rests. The higher country, near Pittsburg, the Muskingum, and Sciota rivers, the Silver-Creek hills, and the high land, over which I have recently come, has strata of sandstone, slate-clay, bituminous shale, and, in various places, coal.

Portland is a town situated on the shore of the indenture in the south-western extremity of Lake Erie, called Sandusky Bay.[157] It is only three years since it was founded, and contains thirty dwelling houses, four warehouses, and has four temporary wharfs. At present the trade is in salt, brought from Onondago in New York State, and in imported goods. There is a boat at one of the wharfs, which carries ten and a half tons; it was built in Connecticut, and was carried by land over several portages in the way; and I have been told that there is a vessel of fifty feet keel on the lake, that was carried over the same obstructions, which lie between Hudson River and Lake Erie. A steam-boat which sails between Detroit and Buffalo touches at this place.

Portland has had a share of the sickness of the season, a number of persons being now confined to bed, and many meagre convalescents are to be seen walking about the street. In addition to the fevers and the ague, so prevalent, some have been afflicted by an influenza, and are wearing shades over their faces on account of sore eyes.

Venice is another new town, which stands about three miles farther west the bay. It has more houses than Portland, but has now only one family in it, a mortal sickness having carried off a considerable part of the population, which caused the survivors to desert the place. The bay no doubt contributes {285} to disease, as the water is shallow, and out of the course of the principal current of the lake, and produces grasses and confervæ that are washed ashore in times of wind, and emit a disagreeable effluvia.

Although I have been in the country possessed by the Indians during the two last days of my journey, I did not happen to see any of these people by the way. Since coming to Portland, I have seen a few of them in town. One party had brought for sale a few pots of honey, which they had taken out of hollow trees, and some mats, fabricated from dyed rushes, which were beautifully divided into compartments of different colours. Most of them were clothed with a piece of blanket wrapped round them, and with leather mocasins, or shoes, on their feet, and the habiliments of others approached very near to the form of clothing worn by civilized people. Some of the men are sprightly and well formed in their persons, displaying an energy and frankness in their countenances which indicate the absence of suspicion and fear.

My journey has been, on the whole, more pleasant than I could have anticipated. The principal obstructions in the way were the stumps and roots of trees, which obliged me to drive with much caution, and often restricted my horse to a walk. At taverns I sometimes found that the landlord was from home, and that no hostler was kept, and found it necessary to feed and water my horse, and to yoke or unyoke as occasion required; but every landlord that I met with acted in an obliging manner, and of some of them I conceived the most favourable opinion.

In the last hundred and fifty miles which I travelled, I met with few travellers, but several {286} of these few were well dressed and polite men. I have also seen some elegant ladies by the way. Indeed, I have often seen among the inhabitants of the log-houses of America, females with dresses composed of the muslins of Britain, the silks of India, and the crapes of China. During the journey just detailed, I must confess that I never saw a people more exclusively devoted to agriculture, and proportionally fewer idle men lounging in taverns, than I did in the more populous parts of the country. The most disagreeable quality that I discovered, was the inquisitive dispositions of some of them.--“What are you loaded with?” was reiterated almost every day; and, “Where are you going? Where are you come from? Are you pedling? Is it goods or plunder that you have got?”[158] were also questions asked. In justice to them, I must say, that they do not seem to be sensible of the indecorum of such conduct; and I believe that when similar interrogations are put to them, they answer without hesitation.

FOOTNOTES:

[143] Dr. Drake, who is a native of the western country, after noticing the effects of a dry summer, adds, “But, fortunately, such extraordinary droughts occur too seldom, and are too limited in their extent, to be regarded as any great calamity.”--_Picture of Cincinnati_, p. 105.--FLINT.

[144] A series of lively sketches of Edinburgh society by John Gibson Lockhart (1794-1854), published in _Blackwood’s Magazine_ during 1819.--ED.

[145] Scott’s novel, _The Monastery_, was published in 1820.--ED.

[146] In order to view the country, Flint pursued a singular route from Cincinnati to Lake Erie. His course was through Warren, Clinton, Highland, Ross, Pickaway, Fairfield, Licking, Knox, Richland, Huron, and Erie counties. The principal points touched were Lebanon in Warren, Lancaster in Fairfield, Newark in Licking, and Mansfield in Richland. He reached Lake Erie at the present Huron, at the mouth of Huron River. His roundabout tour brought him through some of the very best portions of the state.--ED.

[147] Reading was first settled in 1794 by Abraham Voorhees, who laid out the town four years later. It was for some time called Voorheestown, but rechristened out of compliment to some of the early settlers who came from Reading, Pennsylvania.--ED.

[148] The Kentucky religious awakening of 1800, spreading into southern Ohio, caused such a state of religious excitement that the Shakers of New Lebanon, New York, thinking it a profitable field in which to plant their doctrines, sent three missionaries to Warren County in 1805. They found many converts among the excited people, and Union Village, or Shakertown, soon sprang up. They were called Shakers not so much from the dancing, as from the handshaking, head shaking, and other bodily contortions in their religious exercises.--ED.

[149] The four proprietors, who were also the only settlers on the site of Lebanon, laid out the town in 1802. Becoming the county seat of Warren County, it thereafter grew rapidly, and in 1809 was chosen as the site for Miami University.--ED.

[150] The road crossed the Little Miami near the border line between Warren and Green counties.--ED.

[151] For the Pickaway Plains, see Cuming’s _Tour_, volume iv of our series, note 143.--ED.

[152] For the early history of Lancaster, see Cuming’s _Tour_, volume iv of our series, note 145.--ED.

[153] Newark was settled and laid out in 1802 by William Schenck, of Newark, New Jersey. In the fall of that year a considerable colony came from Pennsylvania. It was incorporated in 1826.--ED.

[154] Mt. Vernon, the seat of Knox County, was laid out in 1805, and named after Washington’s home on the Potomac, its early settlers having come from Virginia and Maryland.--ED.

[155] James Hedges, a government surveyor, laid out the town of Mansfield in 1808, naming it in honor of Colonel Jared Mansfield, surveyor-general of the United States. In 1820 it contained about 250 inhabitants.--ED.

[156] Ethan Allen Brown was elected governor of Ohio in 1818. He resigned his office to accept a seat in the United States senate.--ED.

[157] For the early history of Portland, see Buttrick’s _Voyages_, volume viii of our series, note 34.--ED.

[158] Plunder is a cant term used in the western country, signifying travelling baggage.--FLINT.

{287} LETTER XXIV[159]

Passage on Lake Erie--Presque Isle--Buffalo--The Falls of Niagara--Kingston--Youngstown--Newark--Passage on Lake Ontario--Scotch Settlement in Upper Canada--Descend the River St. Lawrence--Thousand Islands--Brokeville--Prescott-Ogdensburgh--Rapids--St. Regis--Lake St. Francis--Falls--Cotu-du-Lac--The Cedar Falls and Village--Lake St. Louis--La Chine--Cachnewaga--Montreal--Passage down the St. Lawrence--Sorel--Lake St. Peter’s--Trois Rivieres--Settlements in Lower Canada--The Falls of Richelieu--Quebec--Heights of Abraham--Lorete--Indians--Remarks on the People--Lumber Trade--Government--Climate.

_Quebec, Nov. 9, 1820._

Since writing my last letter to you I have removed from the head of Lake Erie to this place--a very considerable distance; but as I proceeded most of the way by water, I had very little communication with the shore, and very scanty means of making myself acquainted with the country.[160]

On the 14th I went on board the American steam-boat _Walk-in-the-Water_, a fine vessel of 330 tons burden, with two masts, and rigged, for taking advantage of the winds in the manner of sea-craft.[161] The interior of this vessel is elegant, and the entertainment is luxurious. There were twelve cabin passengers of genteel appearance and polite manners, and about an equal number of persons in the steerage; the whole indicating a degree {288} of intercourse and refinement which I did not expect to see on Lake Erie. The southern bank only was in sight. It is low, and many cleared patches were to be seen at intervals amongst the woods. Probably the time is not far distant when the anticipation of Campbell will be realized,

“There shall the flocks on thymy pasture stray, And shepherds dance at summer’s op’ning day; Each wand’ring genius of the lonely glen Shall start to view the glittering haunts of men.”

There are numerous islands in the lake, which are all covered with a growth of timber, and were then beautifully variegated with the tints of the season. These are the islands in which rattle-snakes and other reptiles are said to be so numerous that it is dangerous to land on them.

During the afternoon, and a part of the night, we experienced the most severe gale that our mariners had felt on the lake. The swell rose to a great height, and occasionally immersed one of the wheels deeply, while the other was almost entirely out of the water, causing the vessel to heave and flounce very disagreeably. Most of the passengers were affected by the same kind of sickness, similar to that which prevails at sea.

_Nov. 15._ We continued in sight of the United States side of the lake, but without enjoying a single peep of the Canadian shore. The summit of the country between the lake and the Ohio was in sight. It is high land, but what may be called a flat ridge of the most evenly contour, without any pointed hills or conspicuous prominences. Land birds perched on the rigging. The water appeared to be green, showing that its depth is considerable. In some parts it has been sounded and found to be thirty-five fathoms deep. Altogether, {289} the lake presents much of the phenomena of the ocean.

Erie, formerly called Presque Isle, is a small town. Before this place, the British squadron captured during the late war, is sunk for preservation. Some of our people who went ashore here, were told that a schooner with eight men was lost in the storm of the preceding night.

The numbers of water-fowl seen in the lake is truly astonishing. These migrate to the southward in the winter.

Late on the evening of the 16th, we anchored off Buffalo, and on the morning of the 17th dropped two miles down the river, to Black Rock.

Buffalo is a thriving town in the State of New York. Coaches pass from thence to Albany, which is on the route to the city of New York. When the great canal between Hudson River and New York is completed, Buffalo must become a place of considerable importance.[162]

The New York canal is a work not only interesting to a large portion of the United States, but also to Upper Canada. Already ninety miles of the line is completed and in operation, and the continuance of the present exertions must in a short time finish the whole. Should the government of Britain continue to neglect the improvement of the inland navigation of Canada, and persist in excluding the colonies from the advantages of a free trade, and give their grain a nominal preference in the British market, while that market is in reality shut against it, a new interest must arise in the upper province. England may still give Canadian lands gratis, and garrison the frontier posts with an idle soldiery, but she cannot shut the eyes of her subjects against the facilities to be derived {290} from an uninterrupted navigation to the port of New York, which is free to the flags of all nations, and open to the sea at every season of the year.

Opposite to Buffalo is Port Erie, on the Canadian side of the river,--pleasant situation, but apparently without any thing like the bustle that animates the southern shore.

At Black Rock, the river Niagara is about a mile in breadth, and runs at the rate of eight knots per minute, and its greatest depth is said to be about ten fathoms.[163] The lake, forming an extensive reservoir, greatly equalizes the discharge of water, particularly as this river is without the floods that characterize most other streams.

One of the passengers on board the steam-boat, a Captain of the United States army, on his way to Fort Niagara, agreed to travel along with me. We hired a two-horse waggon to carry ourselves and baggage. The actual portage to the falls of Niagara is only seven miles; but as we found that there was no boat in readiness to sail from Black Rock, we resolved to proceed the whole way by land, which is thirty-four miles. The gentleman with whom I travelled was on his return from Green Bay, an inlet of Lake Michigan, where he had gone with some soldiers who were banished to that place. Green Bay is a place of exile, so far removed from the other settlements of the United States, that culprits have it not in their power to escape from thence.

Our journey down the southern bank of the river was extremely pleasant. The banks are low {291} and verdant to the water’s edge, and the margin, in most parts, forming fine curves, smooth as if finished by art. The islands are also low and covered with luxuriant timber. It is the extent of water-prospect, bounded in every direction by woods, that constitutes the grandeur of this part. At the lower extremity of Grand Island, the sheet of water seems to be about three miles broad. The soil is good, and yields better pasturage and hay than the lands of the more southern parts of the continent. A happy compensation for the severity of the northern winter.

On approaching within two or three miles of the falls, a cloud of spray is to be seen rising 600 or 700 feet into the air. At that distance, the noise of the waters has something like the effect of a strong wind among the trees of a forest.

Immediately above the precipice, there is an island beautifully wooded, with a mixture of white cedars and other evergreen trees, which divides the river into two unequal parts, leaving the principal channel toward the Canadian shore. The head of this island, and the beach of the United States side of the river, are connected by a rude wooden bridge, which must have been constructed with great difficulty, as the bottom is of rock, and the water runs with great velocity. On both sides of the island the declivity is great, and the furious stream is broken at intervals by falling over shelving rocks. The division of the rapids toward the Canadian side, would have been remarked as highly interesting, had it been situated somewhere else than immediately adjoining to the great falls of Niagara.

The stranger, on arriving at the point of land close at the head of the cataract, and that juts over {292} the tremendous abyss, is in a moment arrested by the awful grandeur of the scene, or if he is at all inclined to motion, it is to recede from the precipice. The sight of an immense volume of water poured over a perpendicular cliff, situated almost under his feet,[164] into the chasm below, and the thundering noise, are calculated to excite a degree of astonishment that borders on dismay.

The part of the river which passes between the island and the south-easterly shore, falls over the abrupt edge of a precipice that has a few small gaps in it; the water discharged is necessarily deep in these, and forms green columns, which descend twenty or thirty feet before they assume the whiteness that is uniform over other parts of the sheet that here spends its fury on a heap of large blocks which have been undermined and detached from the rocks above. A vast body of dense spray deflected from those large masses of stone, flies off horizontally, and in every other direction, and completely obscures the bottom of the fall, and a considerable portion of the chasm adjoining.

The chasm, from the falls downward, is bounded on both sides by perpendicular cliffs. After descending seventy or eighty feet by a wooden stair, the way to the water’s edge is down a steep foot-slope, amongst large blocks of stone, and small trees of white cedar which line the banks, and add much to the beauty of this grand ravine.

A small skiff is kept for the convenience of those who would have a view of the falls from below. Sailing here sometimes exposes the traveller to {293} have his clothes wet from the falling vapours, the waters being so much agitated; but as the commotion is nothing more than the heavings of an eddy that comes into contact with the stream, no danger whatever is to be apprehended, and I am apt to believe that few visitors will forego the pleasure of crossing at this place.

It was not till I got afloat on the river that I obtained a comprehensive view of the whole cataract. The part between the island and the north-western shore, forms a hollow curve that is called the Horse-shoe Bend. It is in the inmost recess of this bay that the greatest quantity of water is precipitated, and from this part the most deep toned sounds seemed to proceed. The great body of water which dashes from the summit of the Horse-shoe Bend, is evidenced by the majestic curve that the liquid forms, where it rolls over the top of the rock, and by the green colour that it retains till the vast column is concealed by the waters which rise in revulsion from the vortex below. It is also over the Horse-shoe Bend, that the vapour ascends in the thickest cloud, and to the greatest height.

On the margin of the river, I observed some logs of timber, that had been put ashore by the eddy. They were large round trees, which appeared to have been cut across at the lengths of twelve and sixteen feet, such as are cut into boards at saw-mills. Several of them were split asunder throughout their whole length. Others of them had some of the annular layers of the timber peeled off, and the remaining surfaces bruised and marked, as if they had been beat all over with a weighty hammer or a blunt axe. The ends of the logs were round, somewhat resembling a parabolic figure.

{294} The ascent of the northern bank, is performed by climbing the steep foot-slope by a rugged path that winds amongst large stones, and ultimately surmounting the cliff by a wooden stair;--a fatiguing task, but one which is amply repaid by the commanding situation of the high ground on the Canadian side. As the cascade runs obliquely across the river, and exposes the concavity to the northward, the spectator is here, as it were, placed a little beyond the focus of the grandest amphitheatre. It is also in his power to approach close to the extremity of the pitch, and overlook the smoking Horse-shoe Bend, and peer down on the awful but indescribable convulsions that agitate the foaming bay.

The falls of Niagara are much visited by strangers, as during our short stay there we met with several persons who were examining them. There is a large tavern on each side of the river, and in the _album_ kept at one of these, I observed that upwards of a hundred folio pages had been written with names within five months.

Immediately before reaching Kingston, we descended a steep ridge or step in the country. Opposite to this place is Queenstown, on the Canadian side of the river. Both these towns are at the lower end of the portage of Niagara. The chasm through which the river runs from the falls to this place, renders it highly probable that the cataract once poured itself over the ridge just noticed, and that it has subsequently made its progress upward to its present place. It would be interesting to ascertain the relative levels of the ridge above Kingston, and the old beach of Lake Erie, that has been observed in the great prairie.

Late in the evening we stopped at Youngstown, a small village near the confluence of the river {295} Niagara with Lake Ontario. At this place I heard the noise of the falls, which were eighteen miles distant.

On the 18th, I crossed the river to the town of Niagara, now called Newark. On the United States side of the mouth of the river stands the old fort Niagara; on the Canadian side is Fort George, of later erection. The 18th was a day of much parade there; the governor of the upper province being engaged in reviewing the troops of the garrison.

The banks of the river Niagara are, at its mouth, about sixty feet high, and the ground in the neighbourhood forms a delightful plain, but the people are said to be much afflicted with ague, a complaint common to both sides of the river.

In the afternoon I went on board a large steam-boat, called Fronteniac, which then sailed for Kingston. Toward evening we saw the spray over the falls of Niagara. It did not then appear to be a blue smoky-coloured, and almost transparent vapour, as when I was near it on the 18th, but a dark-coloured dense cloud. This fact agrees well with the opinion that asserts the vesicular formation of clouds, and with the observation familiar to every one, that clouds appear to be dark-coloured and opaque at a distance, and that when they actually approach and fall in the form of rain, their dark colour and opacity disappear.

The waters of Lake Ontario indicate great depth by their dark green colour. It is reported that a line of 350 fathoms has been let down in various parts without finding a bottom.[165] The islands are low, and covered with small timber, and the shores rocky. Salmon abound in the lake, and in some of its tributary streams.