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diff --git a/38784-8.txt b/38784-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9cf0883 --- /dev/null +++ b/38784-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13403 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Travels in the Interior of North America, +Part I, (Being Chapters I-XV of the London Edition, 1843), by Alexander +Philipp Maximilian, Prince of Wied, Edited by Reuben Gold Thwaites, +Translated by Hannibal Evans Lloyd, Illustrated by Karl Bodmer + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Travels in the Interior of North America, Part I, (Being Chapters I-XV of the London Edition, 1843) + Early Western Travels, 1748-1846, Volume XXII + + +Author: Alexander Philipp Maximilian, Prince of Wied + +Editor: Reuben Gold Thwaites + +Release Date: February 7, 2012 [eBook #38784] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS IN THE INTERIOR OF NORTH +AMERICA, PART I, (BEING CHAPTERS I-XV OF THE LONDON EDITION, 1843)*** + + +E-text prepared by Greg Bergquist, Melissa McDaniel, and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images +generously made available by Internet Archive/American Libraries +(http://www.archive.org/details/americana) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original illustrations. + See 38784-h.htm or 38784-h.zip: + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38784/38784-h/38784-h.htm) + or + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/38784/38784-h.zip) + + + Images of the original pages are available through + Internet Archive/American Libraries. See + http://www.archive.org/details/earlywesterntrav22thwa + + +Transcriber's note: + + This book's editors sought to "reproduce the old text as + closely as practicable, with its typographic and orthographic + peculiarities." The transcriber has honored that intent. + + The pagination of the original journal edition here reprinted + is indicated by enclosing, within brackets, the number of the + page at its beginning, e.g. [pg. 24]. + + Unnumbered illustration pages have been moved to the closest + reference in the text. + + Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). Text + enclosed by equal signs is in bold face (=bold=). + + + + + +Early Western Travels +1748-1846 +Volume XXII + +Early Western Travels +1748-1846 + +A Series of Annotated Reprints of some of the best and rarest +contemporary volumes of travel, descriptive of the Aborigines and +Social and Economic Conditions in the Middle and Far West, during +the Period of Early American Settlement + +Edited with Notes, Introductions, Index, etc., by +Reuben Gold Thwaites, LL.D. + +Editor of "The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents," "Original +Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition," "Hennepin's +New Discovery," etc. + +Volume XXII + +PART I OF MAXIMILIAN, PRINCE OF WIED'S, TRAVELS IN THE +INTERIOR OF NORTH AMERICA, 1832-1834 + + + + + + + +Cleveland, Ohio +The Arthur H. Clark Company +1906 + +Copyright 1906, by +The Arthur H. Clark Company + +All Rights Reserved + +The Lakeside Press +R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company +Chicago + + + + + +CONTENTS OF VOLUME XXII + + + PREFACE TO VOLUMES XXII-XXIV. _The Editor_ 9 + + TRAVELS IN THE INTERIOR OF NORTH AMERICA. [Part I, + being chapters i-xv of the London edition, 1843.] + _Maximilian, Prince of Wied._ Translated from the + German by _Hannibal Evans Lloyd_ + + Author's Preface 25 + + Translator's Preface 31 + + Text: + + CHAPTER I--Voyage to Boston, Stay in + that City, and Journey to New York, + from May 17th to July 9th, 1832 37 + + CHAPTER II--Stay in New York, Philadelphia, + and Bordentown, from the 9th + to the 16th of July 57 + + CHAPTER III--Residence at Freiburg and + Bethlehem in Pennsylvania, from July + 30th to August 23rd 72 + + CHAPTER IV--Journey to the Pokono, + and through the Blue Mountains to + Mauch Chunk, in the Coal District, + from the 23rd to the 30th of August 87 + + CHAPTER V--Description of Mauch Chunk + and its Coal Mines--Journey through + the Lehigh Valley to Bethlehem, and + last Residence in that Town, from + August 31st to September 16th 119 + + CHAPTER VI--Journey from Bethlehem + to Pittsburg, over the Alleghanys, from + September 17th to October 7th 128 + + CHAPTER VII--Journey from Pittsburg to + New Harmony, on the Wabash, from + the 8th to the 19th of October 144 + + CHAPTER VIII--Description of the Country + about New Harmony, in Indiana, + and Winter Residence there from + October 19th, 1832, to March 16th, 1833 163 + + CHAPTER IX--Journey from New Harmony + to St. Louis on the Mississippi, + and our Stay there, from March 16th + to April 9th 198 + + CHAPTER X--Journey from St. Louis to + the Cantonment of Leavenworth, or + to the Borders of the Settlement, from + the 10th to the 22nd of April 237 + + CHAPTER XI--Journey from the Cantonment + of Leavenworth to the Punca Indians, + from April 22nd to May 12th 255 + + CHAPTER XII--Voyage from L'Eau qui + Court to Fort Pierre, on the Teton + River (the Little Missouri), and Stay + there, from May 13th to June 4th 291 + + CHAPTER XIII--Voyage from Fort Pierre, + on the Teton River, to Fort + Clarke, near the Villages of the Mandans, + from the 5th to the 19th of June 330 + + CHAPTER XIV--Voyage from Fort Clarke + to Fort Union, near the Mouth of the + Yellow Stone River, from the 19th to + the 24th of June 356 + + CHAPTER XV--Description of Fort Union + and its Neighbourhood 375 + + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOLUME XXII + + + Facsimile of title-page to Maximilian's _Travels_ 23 + + (The following are text cuts in original) + + Bear-trap 107 + + Indian pipes 175 + + Neck-yoke and plow 175 + + Formations of limestone rocks 213 + + Omaha Indians 269 + + An Omaha boy 269 + + Omaha war club 269 + + Punca war club 269 + + Punca Indians in buffalo robes 287 + + Method of wearing hair 287 + + Bows, arrows, and quiver 287 + + Tents of the Sioux 319 + + Plan of Fort Pierre 319 + + Dakota pipes 323 + + A Dakota, with plaited hair 323 + + A Teton 323 + + Hill of baked clay 323 + + Antlers of deer 347 + + Sioux burial stages 347 + + A Blackfoot musical instrument 361 + + Stone battle-axe 361 + + Assiniboin pipes 361 + + Pipe for warlike expeditions 361 + + + + + +PREFACE TO VOLUMES XXII-XXIV + + +Early trans-Mississippi exploration was undertaken largely in the +interests of science. The great expedition of Lewis and Clark +(1804-06) was, both in conception and plan, a scientific excursion. +Bradbury and Brackenridge voyaged up the Missouri (1811) in search of +rare plants and animals, Nuttall sought the Arkansas (1819) on a +similar errand. Long's expedition (1819-20) was entirely scientific, +both in organization and objects; while Townsend crossed the continent +with Nathaniel Wyeth (1834) to secure a harvest of rare birds in the +mountains and beyond. In the early nineteenth century, scientific +collection was the chief object of ambition among thoughtful +explorers--to secure for the world a complete catalogue of its plants +and animals was worth much toil and hardship, heroic endeavor, and +mighty daring. To such, the still unknown regions of the New World +offered strong attractions. There were in the trans-Mississippi and in +South America, spread out upon mountains and prairies and bordering +far-flowing streams, fresh races of barbarians yet uncontaminated by +civilized contact, beasts of prey, birds of brilliant plumage, and +unknown plant species. + +Among those to whom this call of the New World came clearly, was a +German savant, prince of a small house in Rhenish Prussia. Even while +upon Napoleonic battle-fields, he felt a desire for the wilderness, +and news of the victory of Waterloo reached him upon the far-distant +rivers of Brazil. His later journey to North America was but the +completion of a purpose formed in early boyhood. Alexander Philip +Maximilian, Prince of Wied-Neuwied, was born in the quaint capital of +his little Rhenish sovereignty in September, 1782. The eighth child of +the reigning Friedrich Karl, natural aptitude for study early marked +his career for that of a scholar. Nevertheless, in obedience to the +call of patriotism, he entered the Prussian army and was present at +the battle of Jena. Soon thereafter he was captured and for some time +suffered imprisonment. Exchanged and returned to Neuwied, he continued +the scientific pursuits which had long interested him; but a fresh +military crisis called him once more into service, in which he rose to +a major-generalship, won the honor of the iron cross at Chalons, and +entered Paris with the victorious army in 1813. Reminiscences of this +warlike experience came to him twenty years later in the Missouri +wilderness, when he notes that the song of the Assiniboin warriors +before Fort McKenzie resembled that of the Russian soldiers heard in +the winter of 1813-14. + +While successful as a soldier, at heart Maximilian was a searcher for +knowledge. In his boyhood his mother had encouraged his love for +natural history, and under the direction of his tutor he had begun a +collection that was creditable to a youth. Later, in his university +course, he came under the influence of the celebrated Professor Johann +Friedrich Blumenbach, and as a favorite pupil absorbed from him a keen +desire to contribute to the world's stock of knowledge. Throughout +what leisure he could snatch in the Napoleonic campaigns, the young +prince was planning a scientific expedition to Brazil, and no sooner +was he finally released from martial duties than he made preparations +that culminated, early in 1815, in a departure for that country. +Joined in South America by two German scholars who had preceded him +thither, the trio spent two years in the tropical forests of that +country, studying its flora and fauna, and above all the native races. +After the return to Germany, Maximilian's succeeding years were spent +in arranging his collections and preparing for publication the results +of his journey. His _Reise nach Brasilien in den Jahren 1815 bis 1817_ +(Frankfurt, 1820-21) was soon translated into French, Dutch, and +English; later appeared _Beitrage zur Naturgeschichte von Brasilien_ +(Weimar, 1825-33), designed to accompany the atlas of ninety plates, +entitled _Abbildungenen zur Naturgeschichte Brasiliens_ (Weimar, +1822-31). The publication of these works gave Maximilian an honored +place among scientists, and proclaimed his ability as an exploring +naturalist. + +By 1831 the prince was engaged in preparations for his second great +enterprise--a visit to North America, including a scientific +exploration of the trans-Mississippi region. Embarking on an American +packet at Helvoetsluys, May 17, 1832, our traveller arrived in Boston +amid the salvos of artillery ushering in the anniversary of American +independence. + +Maximilian was accompanied on this voyage by a young Swiss artist, +Charles Bodmer, whom he had engaged to paint primitive landscapes in +the New World, together with portraits of its aborigines. The artist's +work proved eminently successful, as evidenced by the rare quality of +the plates engraved from his sketches, which we reproduce in the +accompanying atlas, our volume xxv. Bodmer--born in Zurich in +1805--had studied in Paris; after his excursion to America with +Maximilian, he returned to his former haunts, finally settling with +the artist colony at Barbizon, in the forest of Fontainebleau, where +he became a successful landscapist, and received medals of honor at +the salons of 1851, 1855, and 1863, and in 1876 the ribbon of the +legion of honor. One of his canvases was purchased by the French +government for the Luxembourg gallery. His son Henri, also a painter, +was recently exhibiting in the Paris salons. During the winter spent +at Fort Clark, Bodmer experienced several adventures. At one time he +was for several hours lost upon the prairie; again, his paints and +oils congealed in the zero-blasts of the Dakotan winter. His interest +in his task, however, was unwearied; by cajolery, bribery, and rare +patience he secured sittings from famous Indian chiefs, faithfully +presenting their portraits to the world in the full equipment of +savage finery, thus giving us an unexcelled gallery of Indian types +and costumes. + +In addition to this admirable artist--in some respects perhaps the +most competent draughtsman who has thus far sought to depict the North +American tribesmen--Prince Maximilian was accompanied by his faithful +jäger Dreidoppel, who had been with him in Brazil, and who rendered +efficient service on the Missouri hills and prairies. + +"There are," our author tells us in his preface, "two distinct points +of view" from which the traveller may study the United States--he may +consider its present conditions and its future prosperity; its +resources, population, immigration, and "gigantic strides of +civilization." Maximilian's own purpose, however, was to collect data +concerning the remnants of its aboriginal population, and the +primitive state of its fields and forests; these he sought to observe +and to perpetuate both in description and drawing. The America of the +Eastern states had therefore slight charm for our traveller, his +object being to reach the frontier as soon as was consistent with his +scientific purposes. + +Tarrying briefly in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, communities +which he describes in a few terse sentences, he sought the forests of +Pennsylvania for preliminary experience in the simpler phases of +woodcraft and hunting, as well as to visit the German immigrants +settled in this region. He had expected to journey westward by way of +the Great Lakes, but the appearance of cholera at Detroit and Buffalo +made this plan impractical; instead, he visited the Moravians at +Bethlehem, and made a leisurely journey through northern Pennsylvania, +inspecting the coal mines and the geological structures. In the early +autumn the prince and his two companions reached Pittsburg, but there +finding the water in the Ohio too low for navigation, they went +overland to Wheeling, where they embarked (October 9) for the descent +of the river. At Louisville, they found that the cholera scourge had +preceded them, whereupon with but a brief stay they continued their +voyage to the Wabash, where they turned aside to visit the colony of +naturalists settled at the Indiana town of New Harmony. + +For some years Maximilian had been in correspondence with Thomas Say, +the entomologist, who had accompanied Major S. H. Long's expedition, +and was now managing the property of William Maclure, president of the +Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, who had purchased Robert +Owen's communistic settlement on the Wabash, founded in 1825. Owen's +two sons, Robert Dale and William, were still in the vicinity, +together with Charles Alexander Lesueur, a French naturalist of +repute. Even more attractive than the society of the scientists was +the presence of a good library of Americana and natural history, at +that time probably the best west of the Atlantic seaboard. Here, +therefore, on the banks of the Wabash, our naturalist contentedly +spent the winter of 1832-33, preparing for his journey into the Far +West, and studying the antiquities and natural sciences of America. +During these months, Bodmer made a voyage to New Orleans, but returned +in time to set forth with his patron, March 16, 1833. After a +steamboat journey to the mouth of the Ohio and up the Mississippi, +they arrived at St. Louis before the departure for the interior of the +usual spring caravans of the Western fur-traders. + +At this entrepôt of the wilderness trade, Maximilian presented letters +to its prominent citizens, and was invited by General William Clark to +accompany a deputation of Sauk and Foxes, headed by Keokuk, on a visit +to the imprisoned Sauk chiefs, Black Hawk and his confrères, at +Jefferson Barracks. The interest with which Maximilian regarded these +first North American barbarians whom he had come so far to see, is +well expressed in the narrative. Black Hawk he describes as a "little +old man, perhaps seventy years of age, with grey hair, and a light +yellow complexion, a slightly curved nose, and Chinese features, to +which the shaven head, with the usual tuft behind, not a little +contributed." The meeting between the prisoners and their free +countrymen appeared to the prince most affecting. + +Maximilian had desired to visit the Rocky Mountains and their +inhabitants, and accordingly planned to join one of the annual +fur-trading caravans that, under the auspices of the Rocky Mountain +Fur Company, set off for their rendezvous in the heart of the +Cordilleras. From this purpose he was dissuaded by General Clark, +Major Benjamin O'Fallon, and other St. Louis folk cognizant with the +situation. They represented to the illustrious traveller that these +caravans avoided rather than sought the Indians; and that if they met, +the encounter was apt to be hostile rather than friendly. It would +also be extremely difficult to transport any extensive collections of +fauna and flora by the land route. They thereupon advised a visit to +the American Fur Company's trading posts on the Missouri via that +company's annual steamboat, a plan which met the approval of the +scientist and his companions. + +The tenth of April, 1833, the travellers boarded the "Yellowstone," on +its third trip to the posts of the upper Missouri. Before parting with +Major O'Fallon, the latter gave them a manuscript map copied from one +prepared during the Lewis and Clark expedition by Clark himself, the +topographer of that famous exploring party. This chart was constantly +used by the prince. His narrative recites the daily routine and +incidents of the river voyage on the outward route. By April 22 the +steamer had reached Fort (then Cantonment) Leavenworth, and ten days +later they were at Bellevue, just below the present Omaha. It was not +until the eighteenth of May that the prince's party were greeted by +their first sight of buffalo, and by the last of that month they had +arrived at Fort Pierre, the company's main post among the Sioux. Here +our travellers were transferred from the "Yellowstone" to her sister +steamer, the "Assiniboine," a newer, larger boat with, however, a +lighter draught; the latter was to continue to the upper river, while +the "Yellowstone" returned to St. Louis. + +Slowly the party steamed up the river, past the Sioux territory and +the Arikara villages into the land of the Mandan and the Minitaree, +where on June 18 they were landed at the company's Fort Clark, just +below a Mandan village several miles above the present Bismarck, North +Dakota. Tarrying here but one day, the steamer continued its journey +to the mouth of Yellowstone River, where Fort Union was reached on the +twenty-fourth of June. After spending two weeks at this point, +Maximilian and his suite were transferred to a keel-boat, and +continued their voyage to Fort McKenzie, on Maria's River, among the +treacherous Blackfeet. + +Here, during a stay of two months, the German naturalist was initiated +into the mysteries of the fur-trade, came to understand the jealousies +and rivalries of Indian tribes, and witnessed a battle before the +stockade of the fort, between Blackfeet and Assiniboin warriors. +Because of this intertribal quarrel and the consequent restlessness +and untrustworthiness of the neighboring barbarians, it was deemed +inexpedient by the fur-traders for the travellers to advance farther +into the Rockies, and Maximilian had need to content himself with such +glimpses of the mountain ranges as could be had from the bluffs of +Maria's River, and the upper reaches of the Missouri. The +"Assiniboine" having long since departed on the home trip, the chief +factor at Fort McKenzie built a barge for the princely visitor, upon +which Maximilian embarked (September 14), together with a small crew +of _voyageurs_, two cages of live bears, and several animal pets. + +Since wintering in the mountains had proved impracticable, our author +determined to occupy the long cold months now at hand with the most +interesting aborigines of the upper river. For this purpose he +selected the Mandan and Minitaree, both because of their settled +habitations and of the interest that these tribes had awakened in +previous travellers. Known first to the early French explorers, it was +from their villages that the Vérendrye brothers had in 1742 set forth +on their explorations toward the "Shining Mountains." Located at the +upper bend of the Missouri, they were readily accessible to British +traders of the Assiniboin and Saskatchewan valleys, who were found as +habitués in their villages by Lewis and Clark, in 1804-05. Accordingly +Maximilian requested permission of the American Fur Company officials +to pass the winter at Fort Clark, the Mandan post. McKenzie +accommodatingly ordered to be built for the famous traveller a small +house within the stockade, and every facility to be given him for +making records of the neighboring tribesmen. In company with Toussaint +Charbonneau, Lewis and Clark's former interpreter, the German visitor +attended various ceremonies, dances, and feasts, took many portraits +of the chiefs, and studied the manners and customs, and myths and +superstitions of this vanishing race. The latter part of the winter +the prince suffered with a serious attack of scurvy, from which, +however, he recovered in time to set forth for the lower country on +the breaking up of the ice. + +By the eighteenth of May he was once more at Fort Leavenworth. After +brief visits at St. Louis and New Harmony, he journeyed eastward by +way of the Ohio Canal and Lake Erie, stopped to wonder at the majesty +of the Falls of Niagara, and on July 16, 1834, embarked at New York on +the Havre packet for the Old World. A large portion of his collections +were left behind at Fort Pierre, to be forwarded with the season's +furs by the annual steamer. A fire occurring on the "Assiniboine," but +few of these natural history specimens ever reached him, and one +object of the prince's American visit was thereby frustrated. + +An interesting reminiscence of the visit of Prince Maximilian is found +in the journals of Alexander Culbertson, a young fur-trade clerk who +accompanied the scientist from Fort Union to Fort McKenzie. Culbertson +says: "In this year an interesting character in the person of Prince +Maximilian from Coblentz on the Rhine, made his first appearance in +the upper Missouri. The Prince was at that time nearly seventy years +of age [fifty-five], but well preserved, and able to endure +considerable fatigue. He was a man of medium-height, rather slender, +sans teeth, passionately fond of his pipe, unostentatious, and +speaking very broken English. His favorite dress was a white slouch +hat, a black velvet coat, rather rusty from long service, and probably +the greasiest pair of trousers that ever encased princely legs. The +Prince was a bachelor and a man of science, and it was in this latter +capacity that he had roamed so far from his ancestral home on the +Rhine. He was accompanied by an artist named Boadman [Bodmer] and a +servant whose name was, as near as the author has been able to +ascertain its spelling, Tritripel [Dreidoppel] ... McKenzie +subsequently visited him in his palace at Coblentz, where he lived in +a style befitting a prince, and was received with great cordiality and +entertained with lavish hospitality. He inquired whether the double +barrelled gun and the meershaum had reached their destination, as he +had remembered his promise and forwarded them soon after his return to +Europe. They had not, and never were received, for it subsequently +appeared that the vessel in which they were shipped was lost; so they +are probably now among the ill-gotten hoards of the Atlantic."[1] + +The years immediately following the prince's return to Europe were +spent in preparing the results of his journey for the press. This +proved to be his last foreign expedition, but he nevertheless +continued absorbed with studies and consequent collections at his +native place until death removed him in 1867. A few months before that +event he wrote an interesting letter in English to the artist George +Catlin, whose account of Mandan religious ceremonies had been +discredited by many. The prince therein speaks of reviving the "quite +forgotten recollections of my stay among the Indian tribes of the +Missouri, now thirty-three years past," and says that not only does he +know "most of the American works published on the American Indians," +but he possesses many of them.[2] His library and collections are yet +cherished as the chief treasures of Neuwied, where his grand-nephew +Wilhelm still directs the principality's affairs. + +The narrative of Maximilian's North American journey was first +published in German, having been written, as the author says, for +foreigners rather than Americans, its title being _Reise in das Innere +Nord-America in den Jahren 1832 bis 1834_ (Coblentz, 1839-41), and its +form two handsome quarto volumes, with an atlas of Bodmer's +remarkable engravings. A French edition in three volumes, with the +atlas, appeared at Paris in 1840-43. The Englished version, undertaken +by H. Evans Lloyd, was issued in London in 1843, in one quarto volume. +This latter translation we here reprint for the first time. In +addition we have included in the Appendix to our volume xxiv, the +twenty-three Indian vocabularies, one of the glories of the German +original, which feature has never been reproduced in any other of the +translated editions. Carefully recorded and scientifically collated by +a trained observer and scholar, they form a contribution to American +philology now impossible to duplicate. But five years after +Maximilian's visit to the upper river, smallpox broke out among the +tribes, and carried its ravages to such an extent that bands once +powerful were reduced to scanty remnants. The Mandan were at the time +reported to be absolutely annihilated; a few, however, are still +living on Fort Berthold reservation, in North Dakota. Maximilian's +observations are the more valuable because made in the plenitude of +that tribe's power and prosperity, before their diminished numbers +made them subservient to the invading fur-traders. + +In addition to the vocabularies, and unique in the present English +edition, we present Maximilian's account of the Indian sign language, +his catalogues of birds for both the Missouri and Wabash river +valleys, and a summary of his meteorological observations on the upper +Missouri. All of these were omitted from the London edition of 1843. +It has been our purpose to give to American readers the entire +scientific as well as narrative product of the prince's famous +expedition. + +While the chief value of the present work lies in its ethnological +significance, it is highly interesting as an historical description of +natural conditions west of the Mississippi, seventy years ago. The +author's style is simple, natural, and unforced, rather the expression +of the scientific than of the literary type of mind. A traveller of +today, gliding across the plains and along the windings of the +Missouri in a palace-car, may follow the pages of Maximilian and the +plates of Bodmer, and thus obtain as clearly as words and pictures can +express, an accurate presentation of the trans-Mississippi region in +1833. These volumes are thus a fitting supplement to the work of the +prince's great progenitors, the American explorers, Lewis and Clark. + +In preparing this volume for the press, the Editor has had throughout +the valuable assistance of Louise Phelps Kellogg, Ph.D., who in turn +has been aided by Clarence Cory Crawford, A.M. The translations from +the German, not given by Lloyd, have been made for the present reprint +by Asa Currier Tilton, Ph.D., chief of the department of maps and +manuscripts in the Wisconsin Historical Library. + + R. G. T. + + MADISON, WIS., November, 1905. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[1] Montana Historical Society _Contributions_, iii, pp. 206, 207. + +[2] Smithsonian Institution _Report_, 1885, part ii, p. 378. + + + + + + PART I OF MAXIMILIAN, PRINCE OF WIED'S, TRAVELS IN THE INTERIOR + OF NORTH AMERICA + + Reprint of chapters i-xv of London edition: 1843 + + + + + + TRAVELS + IN + THE INTERIOR OF + NORTH AMERICA. + + BY + MAXIMILIAN, PRINCE OF WIED. + + WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD, + AND A LARGE MAP. + + TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN, + BY H. EVANS LLOYD, + + TO ACCOMPANY THE ORIGINAL SERIES OF EIGHTY-ONE + ELABORATELY-COLOURED PLATES. + + SIZE, IMPERIAL FOLIO. + + LONDON: + ACKERMANN AND CO., 96, STRAND + MDCCCXLIII. + + + + + +AUTHOR'S PREFACE + + +Immense additions have been made of late years to our knowledge of the +extensive continent of North America. A large portion of that country, +which, only a few years ago, was covered with almost uninterrupted +primeval forests, and a scanty, scattered population of rude +barbarians, has been converted, by the influx of emigrants from the +Old World, into a rich and flourishing State, for the most part +civilized, and almost as well known and cultivated as Europe itself. +Large and flourishing towns, with fine public institutions of every +kind, have risen rapidly, and every year adds to their number. +Animated commerce, unfettered, unlimited industry, have caused this +astonishing advance of civilization in the United States. The tide of +emigration is impelled onwards, wave upon wave, and it is only the +sterility of the North-west that can check the advancing torrent. + +We already possess numerous accounts of these daily-increasing States, +and there are many good statistical works on the subject. We have even +excellent general works on the physical state of this continent, among +which Volney's "Tableau du Climat et du Sol des Etats Unis," holds a +high rank.[3] Little, however, has yet been done towards a clear and +vivid description of the natural scenery of North America: the works +of American writers themselves on this subject, with the exception of +Cooper's and Washington Irving's animated descriptions, cannot be +taken into account, as, in writing for their countrymen, they take it +for granted that their readers are well acquainted with the country. + +For this reason I have endeavoured, in the following work, to supply +this deficiency to the best of my ability, and have aimed rather at +giving a clear and faithful description of the country, than at +collecting statistical information. Hence these travels are designed +for foreign, rather than for American readers, to whom, probably, but +few of the details would be new. + +There are two distinct points of view in which that remarkable country +may be considered. Some travellers are interested by the rude, +primitive character of the natural face of North America, and its +aboriginal population, the traces of which are now scarcely +discernible in most parts of the United States; while the majority are +more inclined to contemplate the immigrant population, and the +gigantic strides of civilization introduced by it. The account of my +tour through a part of these countries, contained in the following +pages, is chiefly intended for readers of the first class. I have +avoided the repetition of numerous statements which may be found in +various statistical publications; but, on the contrary, have aimed at +a simple description of nature. As the United States were merely the +basis of my more extensive undertaking, the object of which [vi] was +the investigation of the upper part of the course of the Missouri, +they do not form a prominent feature, and it is impossible to expect, +from a few months' residence, an opinion on the social condition and +character of that motley population. + +The indulgent reader, following the author beyond the frontier of the +United States, will have to direct his attention to those extensive +plains--those cheerless, desolate prairies, the western boundary of +which is formed by the snow-covered chain of the Rocky Mountains, or +the Oregon, where many tribes of the aborigines still enjoy a peaceful +abode; while their brethren in the eastern part of the continent are +supplanted, extirpated, degenerated, in the face of the constantly +increasing immigration, or have been forced across the Mississippi, +where they have for the most part perished. + +The vast tracts of the interior of North-western America are, in +general, but little known, and the government of the United States may +be justly reproached for not having done more to explore them. Some +few scientific expeditions, among which the two under Major Long +produced the most satisfactory results for natural history, though on +a limited scale, were set on foot by the government; and it is only +under its protection that a thorough investigation of those extensive +wildernesses, especially in the Rocky Mountains, can be undertaken.[4] +Even Major Long's expeditions are but poorly furnished with respect to +natural history, for a faithful and vivid picture of those countries, +and their original inhabitants, can never be placed before the eye +without the aid of a fine portfolio of plates by the hand of a skilful +artist. + +In my description of the voyage up the Missouri, I have endeavoured to +avail myself of the assistance of an able draughtsman, the want of +which I so sensibly felt in my former travels in South America. On the +present occasion I was accompanied by Mr. Bodmer, who has represented +the Indian nations with great truth, and correct delineation of their +characteristic features. His drawings will prove an important addition +to our knowledge of this race of men, to whom so little attention has +hitherto been paid. + +After mature consideration, I have judged it desirable to throw the +account of my voyage on the Missouri itself into the form of a +journal, as the daily notices were numerous, but the variety very +trifling; so that the patience of the reader will unfortunately be +tried a little in this part of the narrative. In those uninhabited, +desert countries the traveller has nothing but the description of the +naked banks of the river, and the little diversity they afford, +interrupted at times by the adventures of the chase, and occasional +meetings with Indians; the reader will therefore excuse many +observations and unimportant descriptions, which would have been +omitted if the materials had been richer in variety. I need still more +indulgence with respect to many observations on natural history, but +for this the loss of the greater part of my collections will be a +sufficient excuse. The cases containing them were delivered to the +Company, to be put on board the steamer for St. Louis, but not +insured; and, when the steamer caught fire, the people thought rather +of saving the goods than my cases, the contents of which were, +probably, not considered to be of much value, and so they were all +burnt. This may be a warning to future travellers not to neglect to +insure such collections. + +Though the main object of my journey, namely, to pass some time in the +chain of the Rocky Mountains, was defeated by unfavorable circumstances, +I should have been able, but for the loss of my collections, to +communicate many new observations, especially in the department of +zoology, which are now more or less deficient. The accounts of the +tribes of the aborigines, and [vii] especially of the Mandans and +Manitaries, are more complete, because I spent a whole winter among +them, and was able to have daily intercourse with them. Authentic and +impartial accounts of the Indians of the Upper Missouri are now +especially valuable, if the information that we have since received is +well founded, namely, that to the many evils introduced by the Whites +among those tribes, a most destructive epidemic--smallpox--has been +added, and a great part of them exterminated: according to the +newspapers, the Mandans, Manitaries, Assiniboins, and Blackfeet have +been swept away except a small remnant. The observation of the +manners of the aborigines is undoubtedly that which must chiefly +interest the foreign traveller in those countries, especially as the +Anglo-Americans look down on them with a certain feeling of hatred. +Hence we have hitherto met with little useful information respecting +the Indians, except in the recent writings of Edward James, Long, Say, +Schoolcraft, McKinney, Cass, Duponceau, Irving,[5] and a few others; +and as good portraits of this race have hitherto been extremely rare, +the faithful delineation contained in the portfolio of plates +accompanying this work will be interesting to the friends of +anthropology and ethnography. + +Several men, of great eminence in the learned world, have had the +kindness to contribute to the publication. President Nees Von Esenbeck +has undertaken the determination and description of the plants which +I brought home;[6] Professor Goldfuss, of Bonn, that of some fossil +shells; Professor Göppert, of Breslau, that of the impression of +fossil plants from Mauch Chunk;[7] Professors Valenciennes at Paris, +and Wiegmann at Boston, the comparison of some zoological specimens +with those in their cities;[8] and Lieut.-Col. W. Thorn, the +construction of the map; for which obliging assistance I beg leave to +offer to these gentlemen my sincere thanks. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[3] Consult James's _Long's Expedition_, in our volume xiv, p. 75, +note 41.--ED. + +[4] We reprint the account of Long's expedition in our volumes +xiv-xvii.--ED. + +[5] For Edwin (not Edward) James and S. H. Long see preface to our +volume xiv, pp. 10-13, 25, 26; for Thomas Say, _ibid._, p. 40, note 1; +for Washington Irving as an authority on Western history, Gregg's +_Commerce of the Prairies_, our volume xix, p. 161, note 2. + +Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (1793-1864) was a well-known traveller, +ethnologist, and historian. Born in New York, he studied at both +Middlebury and Union colleges. His first tour to the West was in +1817-18, when he made a collection of minerals in Missouri and +Arkansas. In 1820 he accompanied Cass's western expedition, and the +following year acted as secretary of the Indian Commissioners at +Chicago. In 1822 he was made Indian agent at Mackinac, where he +resided for seventeen years, having married a descendant of a Chippewa +chief. In 1837 he was promoted to superintendency of the Northern +department, whence he resigned (1841) to devote himself to literary +work. In 1847 Congress authorized the publication of a work upon +Indian tribes, to which Schoolcraft devoted the latter portion of his +life. It appeared as _Historical and Statistical Information +respecting the History, Condition, and Prospects of the Indian Tribes +of the United States_ (Philadelphia, 1851-57). Schoolcraft belonged to +many learned and historical societies, received a medal from the +French Institute, and was in his day the chief authority on American +Indians. Besides the work already cited, he published much, chief of +which is _Personal Memoirs_ (Philadelphia, 1851); _Summary Narrative +of an Exploratory Expedition to the Source of the Mississippi River in +1820, resumed and completed by the Discovery of its Origin in Itasca +Lake in 1832_ (Philadelphia, 1855). + +Thomas Lorraine McKenney (1785-1859) was superintendent of trade with +the Indian tribes, 1816-24. In the latter year he was made head of the +bureau of Indian affairs in the war department, also serving +frequently as treaty commissioner. The work to which reference is here +made, is _Sketches of a Tour to the Lakes_ (Baltimore, 1827). + +Lewis Cass (1782-1866) had unusual opportunities for contact with the +tribesmen. After taking a prominent part in the War of 1812-15, he was +for eighteen years governor of Michigan Territory. His contributions +to Indian bibliography were a series of articles published in the +_North American Review_, xxvi-xxx (1828-30). + +Peter Stephen Duponceau (1760-1844) was a Frenchman who came to +America during the Revolution. Settling at Philadelphia, he became a +member of the American Philosophical Society, and contributed to its +_Transactions_ several articles on the structure and grammar of Indian +languages.--ED. + +[6] Christian Gottfried Nees von Esenbeck (1776-1858), a famous +botanist and physician. He first engaged in the practice of medicine, +but in 1818 went to Erlangen as professor of botany, the next year +being called to Bonn, then being professor at Breslau (1831-52). The +number of his published works is considerable.--ED. + +[7] Georg August Goldfuss (1782-1848) was born at Bayreuth, and became +privatdocent at Erlangen, then professor of zoölogy and mineralogy at +Bonn and director of the zoölogical museum. + +Robert Göppert (1800-1884) was a botanist and palæontologist. First +studying medicine at Breslau and Berlin, he was professor of botany in +the university at the former place (1831-39). In 1852 he was chosen +director of the botanical gardens at Breslau, where he remained until +his death.--ED. + +[8] Achille Valenciennes (1794-1864) was a French zoölogist, a friend +and fellow-worker with Cuvier, and director of the Paris zoölogical +museum. + +Arend Friedrich August Wiegmann (1802-41) was for a time professor of +zoölogy at Berlin. He founded (1835) _Archivs fur Naturgeschichte_.--ED. + + + + + +TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE + + +The author, in his Preface, gives so full an account of the objects +and results of his travels in the interior of North America, that it +would have been unnecessary for me to prefix any observations of my +own, were it not for some circumstances, connected with the +translation, which seem to require explanation. + +The prospectus of the German original announced that the work would +consist of two large quarto volumes, accompanied by a portfolio of +above eighty beautifully coloured copper-plates, executed by eminent +artists at Paris, from the original drawings. Some specimens of the +plates having been brought to London, were so much admired by many +competent judges, that Messrs. Ackermann were induced to agree with +the Paris publisher for a limited number of copies of the plates; and +as it might justly be presumed that the English purchasers would be +desirous of having the narrative of the travels, it was resolved to +publish a translation compressed into a single volume. By selecting, +however, a page of a large size, the translator has been able to +retain all the most interesting parts, omitting only minute details of +the measurements of animals, &c. All the chapters illustrative of the +manners, customs, traditions, and superstitions of the Indians are +given without abridgment, and these, as the author justly observes, +are by far the most attractive and valuable portions of the work. The +papers in the Appendix, giving an account of the plants collected, are +also inserted entire, and have been kindly revised by my friend Sir +William Hooker.[9] + +The principal omission is that of the very extensive vocabularies of +the languages of the different Indian tribes.[10] They are written so +as to represent the pronunciation in German, and have, in numerous +instances, special directions, as thus: kontschue (_on_ as in French, +_schue_, short and quick, _e_½). It appeared to be a hopeless and +unprofitable task to rewrite these vocabularies, and to represent the +true pronunciation in English. Those who are curious in such matters +will find many specimens in Mr. Catlin's interesting work.[11] + +The numerous Indian proper names are, of course, written in the +original as pronounced in German. It has been thought best to leave +them unchanged, merely requesting the reader to observe, in general, +that the consonants are pronounced as in English; only that _ch_ is +guttural, as in the Scotch word _loch_; that _sch_ is pronounced _sh_, +and that the vowels have the same sound as in French, _ah_, _a_, _ee_, +_o_, _oo_. + +The author alludes, in his Preface, to the recent fearful ravages +which have been caused among the Indian races by the small-pox. The +origin and extent of these ravages will be seen from the following +very affecting letter on the subject: + + [pg. ix]"NEW ORLEANS, _June 6, 1838_.--The southern parts of the + United States, particularly Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana, are + as healthy as can be wished; there has been no appearance of the + yellow fever, and even at the Havannah only a few isolated cases + have occurred. During the autumn, winter, and spring, the + small-pox has carried off many victims among the whites, and + thousands of the Indians; but it has now wholly disappeared in + the territory of the Union, in consequence of a general + vaccination of persons of all ages. On the other hand, we have, + from the trading posts on the western frontier of the Missouri, + the most frightful accounts of the ravages of the small-pox + among the Indians. The destroying angel has visited the + unfortunate sons of the wilderness with terrors never before + known, and has converted the extensive hunting grounds, as well + as the peaceful settlements of those tribes, into desolate and + boundless cemeteries. The number of the victims within a few + months is estimated at 30,000, and the pestilence is still + spreading. The warlike spirit which but lately animated the + several Indian tribes, and but a few months ago gave reason to + apprehend the breaking-out of a sanguinary war, is broken. The + mighty warriors are now the prey of the greedy wolves of the + prairie, and the few survivors, in mute despair, throw + themselves on the pity of the Whites, who, however, can do but + little to help them. The vast preparations for the protection of + the western frontier are superfluous: another arm has undertaken + the defence of the white inhabitants of the frontier; and the + funeral torch, that lights the red man to his dreary grave, has + become the auspicious star of the advancing settler, and of the + roving trader of the white race. + + "The small-pox was communicated to the Indians by a person who + was on board the steam-boat which went, last summer, up to the + mouth of the Yellow Stone, to convey both the government + presents for the Indians, and the goods for the barter trade of + the fur dealers.[12] The disorder communicated itself to several + of the crew of the steam-boat. The officers gave notice of it to + the Indians, and exerted themselves to the utmost to prevent any + intercourse between them and the vessel; but this was a vain + attempt; for the Indians knew that presents and goods for barter + were come for them, and it would have been impossible to drive + them away from the fort without having recourse to arms. Two + days before the arrival of the steam-boat, an express had been + received at the trading fort, 2000 miles west of St. Louis, with + the melancholy news of the breaking-out of the small-pox on + board; this was immediately communicated to the Indians, with + the most urgent entreaties to keep at a distance; but this was + as good as preaching to the winds. The survivors now lament + their disobedience, and are as submissive as the poor dogs which + look in vain in the prairie for the footsteps of their masters. + The miserable remnants of the Indians implore us not to abandon + them in their misfortune, and promise, if we will take pity on + them, never more to disobey our commands. + + "The disease first broke out about the 15th of June, 1837, in + the village of the Mandans, a few miles below the American fort, + Leavenworth, from which it spread, in all directions, with + unexampled fury.[13] The character of the disease was as + appalling as the rapidity of the propagation. Among the remotest + tribes of the Assiniboins from fifty to one hundred died daily. + The patient, when first seized, complains of dreadful pains in + the head and back, and in a few hours he is dead: the body + immediately turns black, and swells to thrice its natural size. + In vain were hospitals fitted up in Fort Union,[14] and the + whole stock of medicines exhausted. For many weeks together our + workmen did nothing but collect the dead bodies and bury them in + large pits; but since the ground is frozen we are obliged to + throw them into the river. The ravages of the disorder were the + most frightful among the Mandans, where it first broke out. That + once powerful tribe, which, by accumulated disasters, had + already been reduced to 1500 souls, was exterminated, with the + exception of thirty persons. Their neighbours, the Bigbellied + Indians, and the Ricarees, were out on a hunting excursion at + the time of the breaking-out of the disorder, so that it did not + reach them till a month later; yet half the tribe was already + destroyed on the 1st of October, and the disease continued to + spread. Very few of those who were attacked recovered their + health; but when they saw all their relations buried, and the + pestilence still raging with unabated fury among the remainder + of their countrymen, life became a burden to them, and they put + an end to their wretched existence, either with their knives and + muskets, or by precipitating themselves from the summit of the + rock near their settlement. The prairie all around is a vast + field of death, covered with unburied corpses, and spreading, + for miles, pestilence and infection. The Bigbellied Indians and + the Ricarees, lately amounting to 4000 souls, were reduced to + less than the half. The Assiniboins, 9000 in number, roaming + over a hunting territory to the north of the Missouri, as far as + the trading posts of the Hudson's Bay Company, are, in the + literal sense of the expression, nearly exterminated. They, as + well as the Crows and Blackfeet, endeavoured to fly in all + directions, but the disease everywhere pursued them. At last + every feeling of mutual compassion and tenderness seems to have + disappeared. Every one avoided the others. Women and children + wandered about in the prairie seeking [pg. x] for a scanty + subsistence. The accounts of the situation of the Blackfeet are + awful. The inmates of above 1000 of their tents are already + swept away. They are the bravest and the most crafty of all the + Indians, dangerous and implacable to their enemies, but faithful + and kind to their friends. But very lately we seriously + apprehended that a terrible war with them was at hand, and that + they would unite the whole of their remaining strength against + the Whites. Every day brought accounts of new armaments, and of + a loudly expressed spirit of vengeance towards the Whites: but + the small-pox cast them down, the brave as well as the feeble; + and those who were once seized by this infection never + recovered. It is affirmed that several bands of warriors, who + were on their march to attack the fort, all perished by the way, + so that not one survived to convey the intelligence to their + tribe. Thus, in the course of a few weeks, their strength and + their courage were broken, and nothing was to be heard but the + frightful wailings of death in the camp. Every thought of war + was dispelled, and the few that are left are as humble as + famished dogs. No language can picture the scene of desolation + which the country presents. In whatever direction we go, we see + nothing but melancholy wrecks of human life. The tents are still + standing on every hill, but no rising smoke announces the + presence of human beings, and no sounds but the croaking of the + raven and the howling of the wolf interrupt the fearful silence. + The above accounts do not complete the terrible intelligence + which we receive. There is scarcely a doubt that the pestilence + will spread to the tribes in and beyond the Rocky Mountains, as + well as to the Indians in the direction of Santa Fé and Mexico. + It seems to be irrevocably written in the book of fate, that the + race of red men shall be wholly extirpated in the land in which + they ruled the undisputed masters, till the rapacity of the + Whites brought to their shores the murderous fire-arms, the + enervating ardent spirits, and the all-destructive pestilence of + the small-pox. According to the most recent accounts, the + number of the Indians who have been swept away by the small-pox, + on the western frontier of the United States, amounts to more + than 60,000."[15] + +The general correctness of the melancholy details given in the above +letter has been confirmed to me by several travellers who have visited +these nations since they were desolated by this awful epidemic. The +almost total extinction of these tribes greatly enhances the value and +importance of the full and interesting particulars imparted by his +Highness. + + H. EVANS LLOYD.[16] + + CHARTERHOUSE SQUARE, + May 1st, 1843. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[9] Sir William Jackson Hooker (1785-1865) was early devoted to the +study of natural history, making scientific journeys to Scotland in +1806 and to Iceland in 1809. Later (1814), Hooker prosecuted a nine +months' botanical tour on the continent of Europe. The following year +he married and settled on his estate where he commenced an herbarium; +from 1820 to 1841 he was regius professor of botany at Glasgow, being +in 1836 knighted for eminent service to science. From 1841 till his +death he was director of Kew Gardens, London. Hooker's interest in +American scientific development was marked, and he dispatched many +pupils on botanical tours to unknown parts of the new continent.--ED. + +[10] Reprinted in our volume xxiv.--ED. + +[11] George Catlin was born in Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, in 1796, of +a New England family; his mother was a woman of artistic tastes, and +had lived on the Indian border. Early in his career, Catlin heard much +of the traditions of the aborigines, and thus was unconsciously +prepared for his later life work. In 1817 he was sent to study law at +Litchfield; returning to Pennsylvania two years later, he practiced in +the rural districts until 1823, when he abandoned the law, and going +to Philadelphia became an artist. For several years he was employed in +painting miniatures and other portraits, going as far as Washington +and Albany to execute orders. Having met at the former city a +deputation of American Indians, Catlin was imbued with a desire to +paint the portraits of these vanishing tribesmen, and in 1832 went +west with this purpose in view. Eight years were spent in native +lodges and fur-trade camps; then, with a wealth of material widely +known as Catlin's Collection, he opened a museum--first in the United +States (1837-39), then in London (1840-44). In 1845 he took his +collection to Paris, where he remained until expelled by the +Revolution of 1848. He thereupon re-opened his London museum, with +additional material; but in 1852 became involved in debt, and his +collection was shipped to the United States, where it remained +neglected until 1879, when it was presented to the National Museum at +Washington. Meanwhile Catlin visited South and Central America +(1852-57), and resided thereafter in Europe, returning to the United +States in 1871 only to die the following year at Jersey City. The work +here referred to was _Letters and Notes on the Manners and Customs of +the North American Indians_ (New York and London, 1841), more commonly +cited by the title of later editions, _Notes of Eight Years' Travels_. +In an appendix are several vocabularies of the Mandan, Blackfeet, +Arikara, Sioux, and Tuscarora Indians.--ED. + +[12] This was the American Fur Company's steamer "St. Peter's," which +carried the annual outfit and supplies to the Missouri River forts. +Larpenteur, in charge at Fort Union, says that the vessel arrived June +24, 1837. See Elliott Coues, _Forty Years a Fur-Trader on the Upper +Missouri_ (New York, 1898), pp. 131-135.--ED. + +[13] For the Mandan see Bradbury's _Travels_, in our volume v, pp. +113, 114, note 76. This should be Fort Clark, not Fort Leavenworth--an +evident _lapsus calami_. Fort Clark, named for General William Clark, +was an American fur-trade post built among the Mandan in 1831. See +_post_, chapter xiii, for a detailed description.--ED. + +[14] For Fort Union see _post_, chapter xv.--ED. + +[15] Authorities differ as to the numbers perishing by the scourge of +1837. H. M. Chittenden, _History of American Fur-Trade of the Far +West_ (New York, 1902), p. 627, thinks fifteen thousand a large +estimate.--ED. + +[16] Hannibal Evans Lloyd (1771-1847), a well-known linguist and +translator, especially interested in works of travel and science. His +father had been in the Seven Years' War, of which he wrote a history. +Early in life the son studied German, and published a grammar and +dictionary of that language, as well as an _Englisches Lesebuch_ +(Hamburg, 1832) for the use of German students. Lloyd lived for +several years in Hamburg, and was present during the French invasion +in 1813, of which he afterwards wrote an account. Among his other +original works were lives of George IV of England, and Alexander I of +Russia. His translations were from Swedish, German, and Italian, +having Englished Katzebue's _Voyages_, Orlich's _Travels in India_, +and Maximilian's Brazilian travels. Under the signature "H. E. L.," +Lloyd was a frequent contributor to the _London Literary Gazette_ +(1817-39). His translation of Maximilian's _Travels_ is clear, simple, +and straightforward; the German original sustains small loss either of +style or meaning, although the translator saw fit in many cases to +abbreviate the prince's prolix descriptions, and to eliminate not only +the exceedingly valuable linguistic material, but much other +scientific matter.--ED. + + + + + +TRAVELS IN THE INTERIOR OF NORTH AMERICA, IN THE YEARS 1832, 1833, +AND 1834 + +[PART I] + + + + + +CHAPTER I + +VOYAGE TO BOSTON, STAY IN THAT CITY, AND JOURNEY TO NEW YORK, FROM MAY +17TH TO JULY 9TH, 1832 + + Voyage--Boston--Festival of Independence--The American + inns--Charlestown--Monument on Bunker's Hill--Cambridge--New + England Museum--Pawtucket--Providence--Embark on board the + Boston--Voyage to New York--Fine view of that city. + + +Voyages to North America are become everyday occurrences, and little +more is to be related of them than that you met and saluted ships, had +fine or stormy weather, and the like; here, therefore, we shall merely +say that our party embarked at Helvoetsluys, on board an American +ship, on the 17th of May, in the evening, and on the 24th saw Land's +End, Cornwall, vanish in the misty distance, and bade farewell to +Europe. + +Even when we were in latitude 48° 40´, and for several days +afterwards, we had very unfavourable weather and violent storms, which +were succeeded, on the 10th of June, by calms. On such days, shoals of +dolphins crowded round the ship, and some men got on the bowsprit to +throw the harpoon at them. The mate was at length so fortunate as to +drive his harpoon through the body of one of these monsters of the +deep, an event which was hailed with loud cheers. By the aid of +several sailors the heavy prey was drawn upon deck. The animal, after +it was wounded, made desperate efforts to free itself, and the harpoon +had nearly given way, when the fish was secured by a rope thrown under +the pectoral fins. + +[pg. 2] On the following day we had some of the flesh dressed as steaks, +which we found to be very good; indeed, we preferred them to all other +meat. I did not know, at that time, that I should soon find dog's +flesh relishing! It is necessary to remove the blubber immediately; +because, if this precaution be neglected, the flesh contracts a taste +of train oil. The liver in particular is excellent. + +On the same day we were to the south of the bank of Newfoundland, and, +therefore, steered in nearly a northerly direction. On the 19th we +were in a thick fog. White and other petrels flew round us, with some +gulls, and birds resembling sea swallows, with a forked tail. We +sounded, but found no bottom. On the 20th, however, we were on the +bank, where, at half-past eight in the morning, the temperature of the +air was +5¼° Reaumur, and that of the water, +2¾°. At two in the +afternoon, with thick fog, the temperature of the air was +8°; that of +the water, +4°. We then had a calm, and sounded in thirty-five +fathoms. Large whales and flocks of sea-birds showed that we were on +the bank. A hook and line being thrown out, we caught a fine cod, from +whose stomach clams were taken, which served as a bait for other fish. +We were on the middle of the lower point of the great bank, when large +dolphins, quite black, called by the Americans blackfish, swam rapidly +past in long lines, alternating with porpoises, which threw up white +foam as they leaped and tumbled on the waves. A diver was shot while +swimming, and flocks of black petrels hovered round us. A dead calm +succeeding, a boat was put out to give chase to the latter. Fat was +thrown out to entice the birds, and many of the little black petrel, +(_Procellaria Pelagica_), were shot, and also some of the birds, +called by Charles Bonaparte,[17] _Thalassidroma Wilsonii_, which very +nearly resemble each other in colour, as well as in shape. A snow +white gull (probably _Larus eburneus_) flew about the ship. On the +26th of June, we had been just forty days at sea, and at noon were off +the lower part of Sable Island bank, in fifty-five fathoms, but did +not see the island itself. We steered towards Nova Scotia, but the +wind soon forced us in a southerly direction. We had many indications +of the vicinity of land, and from this time we proceeded more +satisfactorily, till the 3rd of July, at noon, when, to the joy of +all, we descried land. Cape Cod Bay lay to the south of us, about +fifteen miles distant. It showed low sandhills, with dark bushes on +them. About two o'clock we could distinguish a lighthouse of moderate +height, with a wind-mill, and several other buildings. As the wind was +unfavourable, we were obliged to tack often, in order to sail into the +great bay of Massachusetts, which we did in the finest and most lovely +weather. The cool of the evening had succeeded the heat of the day; +the dark blue mirror of the sea shone around us, moved only by a +gentle breeze, while a few white or dark brown sails hastened to the +coast, which was already veiled in the evening mist. + +Sublime repose prevailed in this extensive and grand scene, our ship +alone was in a state of activity. Various preparations were made for +the approaching landing, while we Europeans looked eagerly at the +distance. I had hoped in vain for a sight of the famous sea serpent; +it [pg. 3] would not shew itself. I had, in the sequel, opportunities to +speak with several American naturalists on the subject, but they all +looked upon the story as a fable. + +The moon rose in the utmost splendour, and lighted up the unagitated +surface of the sea, and the fishing-boats which lay at anchor. Before +midnight we saw Boston lighthouse, and soon afterwards several other +such lights on the coast, which are a most welcome sight, and increase +the impatience of the stranger in a remote quarter of the globe. + +The following day (4th of July), on which I landed for the second time +in the New World, was the anniversary of the day on which America +proclaimed its independence. Early in the morning, the salutes of +artillery resounded from the coasts, which we now saw clearly before +us. In the centre, in the direction of the city of Boston, was the +white lighthouse, with its black roof, on a small rocky island,[18] +and around it several little picturesque islands, partly of white +sand, with plots of grass; partly rocks, which adorn the beautiful +bay. At a distance we saw some low mountains, the coast covered with +numerous villages, obscured by the smoke of the gunpowder, and numbers +of ships and boats sailing in every direction, all adorned with gay +flags in honour of the day. We passed in succession several islands, +the lighthouse, the telegraph, and drew nearer and nearer to the coast +of the Continent, diversified with gentle eminences covered with corn, +or beautifully green as in England: and here and there, in the bays +and inlets, adorned with lofty trees. These coasts, with the numerous +white buildings of the towns and villages, presented a most charming +scene in the splendour of the morning sun. At length the long-expected +pilot came on board, and in the bay, on our right, we saw the city of +Boston, and many steam-boats before it. The sea had no longer the blue +colour, but the green tinge which it has on all coasts, and was +covered with medusæ, and the leaves of the sea grass, which grows on +these shores. The heat was very great, 18° in the shade, by Reaumur's +thermometer, on board the ship, when we cast anchor at India Wharf, +Boston, on the forty-eighth day of our voyage. The temperature in this +oblong basin, which is surrounded with large magazines of naval +stores, was by no means agreeable at the moment of our arrival; we, +therefore, left the ship as soon as possible, and repaired to the +Commercial Coffee House, where we took up our quarters. + +Boston, an extensive city, with above 80,000 inhabitants,[19] reminded +me, at first sight, of one of the old English towns; but various +differences soon appeared. The streets are partly long and broad, +partly narrow and irregular, with good flag pavement for foot +passengers; the buildings are of brick or stone; but in a great +portion of the old town the houses are of wood; the roofs are, for the +most part, covered with shingles; the chimneys resemble those in +England, but do not seem to be so lofty; the dark colours of the +buildings give the city, on the whole, a gloomy appearance. [pg. 4] +There are many important buildings and churches, which have been +described by numerous travellers. In the front of the houses there are +frequently little plots of garden, next the street, in the English +fashion, planted with tall, shady trees, and flowers. Strangers will +immediately look for American plants, especially for those species of +trees which are generally cultivated in Europe; but, instead of them, +they will observe only European trees, such as Lombardy poplars, +Babylonian willows, syringa hibiscus, chestnuts, elms, &c., and it was +with much difficulty that I found some stems of the catalpa, which was +just then on the point of flowering, and some other native trees. +Besides the little grass plots, planted with flowers, in the front of +the houses, there are, in Boston, many plantations and avenues of very +tall and shady elms, which, like the same species in England, are +remarkably vigorous and flourishing. Among these avenues, the +principal is that called the _Commons_, where there were fireworks in +the evening of the 4th of July. + +Washington-street is looked upon as the finest and longest street in +Boston; its length is nearly equal to that of the whole city. Here, as +in the first cities of Europe, there are numerous fine and elegant +shops, with the most costly articles; and the productions of the West +Indies. Cocoa-nuts, oranges, bananas, &c., are nowhere to be found so +fresh, and in such perfection as in the seaports of North America. On +account of the celebration of this day, most of the shops were closed; +but then the entire population seemed to throng the streets, and the +gay crowd was very interesting to strangers, as it was not difficult +to catch the general features. Though a great part of the Americans +have much of the English stamp, there are, however, some essential +differences. The peculiar character of the English countenance seems +to have disappeared in America, in the strange climate; the men are of +a slenderer make, and of taller stature; a general expression of the +physiognomy seems to be wanting. The women are elegant, and have +handsome features, but frequently a paleness, which does not indicate +a salubrious climate, or a healthy judicious way of living.[20] Straw +hats, trimmed with black or green ribbons, were in general use. Cloth +was much worn, and everything was according to the newest English and +French fashions. Among the busy throng were a great number of negroes, +who, in the Northern and Eastern States, have been made free. Not far +from the public walks was a small narrow street, almost entirely +inhabited by negroes and their hybrids. The stranger in Boston looks +in vain for the original American race of the Indians. Instead of its +former state of nature, this country now shows a mixture of all +nations, which is rapidly proceeding in the unjustifiable expulsion +and extirpation of the aborigines, which began on the arrival of the +Europeans in the New World, and has unremittingly continued. + +After we had enjoyed a hasty view of the city, we returned to our inn, +where we had an opportunity of making ourselves acquainted with many +new customs, differing from those of Europe. It must be confessed that +the arrangements in the large and much frequented inns of [pg. 5] the +great towns in the United States, are, in many respects, inferior to +those of Europe. The rooms are very small, and all have beds in them: +parlours, that is, rooms without beds, must be hired separately. The +hours for meals are fixed--three times in the day; and the signal is +usually given, two or three times, by ringing a bell. In general, a +number of persons habitually take their meals in these inns; they +besiege the house before the appointed time arrives, and, when the +signal is given, they rush tumultuously into the eating-room; every +one strives to get before the other, and, for the most part, the crowd +of guests is far too great, in proportion to the number of the black +attendants. Then every one takes possession of the dish that he can +first lay his hands on, and in ten minutes all is consumed; in laconic +silence the company rise from table, put on their hats, and the busy +gentlemen hasten away, whom you see all the day long posted before +the inns, or at the fire-side in the lower rooms, smoking cigars and +reading the colossal newspapers. The hat, which the Americans seldom +lay aside, except in the company of the women, is always taken off at +table, which is certainly no small exertion in this land of perfect +liberty, as Captain Morrell expresses it.[21] Elegance of dress is far +more common in America than in Europe; but then this is all that the +gentleman in America cares about, when he has finished his mercantile +business, read the newspaper, and performed his part in the government +of the State. I have often been surprised at the crowd of idle +gentlemen before and in the American inns, who spend the whole day in +total inactivity; and these elegant loiterers are, in fact, a +characteristic feature of these inns. Here, too, there is a peculiar +arrangement, which many travellers have noticed, and which we do not +meet with in ours--I mean the bar-room, where a man stationed behind +the bar, mixes compounds, and sells all sorts of beverages, in which a +quantity of ice and of freshly gathered peppermint leaves are +employed. Very agreeable cooling liquors are here prepared, which the +heat of the climate calls for. In the evening the European is +surprised at being desired to pull off his shoes before a number of +people in the bar-room, and to exchange them for slippers, which are +piled up in large heaps. The attendance is, in general, indifferent. +There are scarcely any white servants, or, at least, they are almost +useless; all menial offices must be performed by blacks, who, though +free people, are still held in contempt by the Americans, who so +highly estimate the dignity of man, and form a rejected caste, like +the Parias in India. + +At the approach of evening, on the 4th of July, the whole population +of Boston was in motion; but the streets were soon entirely deserted, +and all the inhabitants had collected in the promenade, called the +Commons. The sight was highly interesting. An extensive piece of +ground, covered with green sward, stretches in a gentle slope to the +water, and is surrounded by avenues of lofty, shady elms. Numerous +paths cross each other in the centre, and here there is a gigantic +elm, with a wide-spreading crown, measuring from thirty to forty paces +in diameter. We regretted that the great crowd of people rendered it +impossible to approach this fine tree, on [pg. 6] this busy evening. All +Boston, rich and poor, was here assembled, in the most elegant +dresses. Groups were sitting, or lying in the grass; rows of tables +and little stalls were set out, where there was a real oyster feast, +in which the people indulged to an extent that rendered the appearance +of the tables anything but inviting. As it grew dark, there was a very +indifferent display of fireworks, on the eminence, in honour of the +day, the expense of which was defrayed by subscription. Several +companies of city militia had previously paraded the streets; they are +all volunteers, who equip themselves, and that in a very superior +manner; but their uniforms are very gay and motley, as may be +expected, where every one is left to follow his own taste. Each +company, or troop, had a different uniform--one red, another blue, +and, in part, richly embroidered with gold. There were very few men in +a company. It seemed very strange that the musicians, who preceded +them, were, for the most, in plain clothes of all colours, with round +hats. "The Yankee-doodle," the favourite popular song of the +Americans, was heard in different directions; and it is much to the +credit of this motley assemblage, that there was no impropriety of +conduct or unseemly noise. The effect of the light on the mixed crowd +of whites and negroes was very interesting, and we enjoyed the scene +till the coolness and damp of the night air made us retire to our inn. + +On the following morning, the shops were opened, and Boston resumed +its usual appearance of commercial activity. Our baggage was put on +board a schooner bound to New York, to which city I wished to go by +land. Our next excursion was to the monument on Bunker's Hill, from +which there is the best view of the surrounding country. + +Early in the morning we got into our carriages, and drove rapidly +through the streets, refreshed by the cool morning breeze, where many +wagons were arriving with the productions of the environs. We noticed +vehicles of various descriptions, with four or two wheels, often with +an awning of linen, or leather, open at the sides, and drawn by two or +four horses. The drivers, generally in a white summer dress, with +straw hats, sit on a bear skin, which is here worth eight or ten +dollars. On the causeway, out of the city, the dust was troublesome, +but a number of water-carts (like those used in the streets of London) +were already preparing to water the road. + +Boston is joined to the continent by a narrow tongue of land, at the +two sides of which creeks, or bays run into the land. Over these +creeks there are several long wooden bridges, made to draw up in the +middle, one of which leads, in a north-west direction, to the +neighbouring town of Charlestown; another, more to the south, to +Cambridge, where there is a college, or university. All these places +have been described by several travellers. We took the road through +Charlestown, to the Navy Yard, close to which is the eminence on which +the Bunker's Hill monument is erected. The hill is called Breed's +Hill, and immediately beyond it is Bunker's Hill, where the English +troops were posted during the battle fought in 1775. The Americans +were repulsed, and lost their leader, who was a physician. The +monument in memory of this action [pg. 7] has been begun on the +foremost, or Breed's Hill. The granite (Quincy granite) employed in it +is found in the neighbourhood, and is of a grey colour. + +It was intended, originally, that this monument should be 210 feet +high; it is now meant to be only 180 feet high. What is already done +is a pyramid between fifty and sixty feet in height, which was covered +with a temporary wooden roof. Withinside, a convenient stone staircase +leads to the top, and from the small windows in the roof, there is an +incomparable view over the city of Boston, Charlestown, the two +inlets, the long bridges, the Bay of Boston, with its diversified +islands, and the ships with their white swelling sails, coming from, +and bound to, all parts of the world. Looking into the country, there +is an alternation of verdant hills, numerous villages, and dark woods; +the whole forming a highly picturesque landscape. Cattle were grazing +near the monument, on the green hill; a well-dressed boy was employed +in milking the cows.[22] + +From Bunker's Hill we went to Cambridge, and had, on this road, the +first sight of an American landscape. Meadows, partly covered with +arundinaceous plants, corn-fields, and European fruit trees, +alternated with small thickets and groves. The apples that grow here +are said to be yellow, and not particularly good; they are chiefly +used to make cider. On almost all these fruit trees we saw +caterpillars' nests of extraordinary size, they being often a foot and +more in diameter. The butterfly which produces them must be in vast +numbers, and it is surprising that more care is not taken to destroy +them. The road was bordered with trees, as is generally the case here; +we observed _Celtis occidentalis_, Lombardy poplars, partly lopped, +and not growing to any great height. The thickets consisted of oaks, +with various deeply indented leaves, in general of a beautiful shining +green; different kinds of walnut, ash, and elm, which always attain a +great height here, and, where they stand free, the stems are clothed +with thick boughs down to the ground. The low thickets were of a +bright green, and in adjacent meadows, which were partly marshy, grew +plants, much resembling those of Europe, such as _Ranunculus_, +_Pyrethrum_, several with white flowers of the genus _Syngenesia_; +both a white clover and a red clover, common with us, seemed to be +generally cultivated, as well as potatoes, corn, and maize. This part +of the country has, on the whole, the European character--like +England, for instance--but it is even now more wooded, and pines of +different kinds give a variety: the population, too, is distributed in +a different manner. In one of the nearest thickets, a little songster +(_Sylvia æstiva_), and some other birds, reminded me that I was not in +Europe, but on the borders of the northern part of the New World, and +the beautiful Icterus Baltimore flew to the higher thickets; and I +very well distinguished its black and bright red plumage. These new +objects gave [pg. 8] us great pleasure, and we only regretted that we +could not immediately pursue them. On the summit of the gentle +eminences we came to Cambridge College, which is very agreeably +situated on a verdant lawn, shaded with trees, and surrounded by +avenues of elms, Weymouth pines, maples, ash, planes, and other shady +trees. The buildings stand separately; and in all the gardens of the +neat habitations, we observed, in general, European plants--the rose, +syringa, hibiscus, and but few American plants, of which the trumpet +tree was not then in blossom. My visit might have been very +interesting if I had known that Mr. Nuttal,[23] one of the most active +naturalists and travellers in North America, held an office in this +college. + +On our return to Boston, we visited many of the curiosities of the +city, which are enumerated in various works. Among them I mention only +the New England Museum,[24] as in part, at least, an institution for +natural history, but where the expectation of the stranger is +grievously disappointed. These museums, as they are styled, in all the +larger cities of the United States, except, perhaps, the Peale Museum, +at Philadelphia, are an accumulation of all sorts of curiosities, the +selection of which is most extraordinary. Here we find specimens of +natural history; stiff, awkward, wax figures; mathematical and other +instruments, models, bad paintings and engravings, caricatures; nay, +even the little prints out of our journals of the fashions, &c., hung +up without any order. Among the animals there are some interesting +specimens, but without any ticket or further direction. This +collection was placed in several stories of a lofty house, in narrow +passages, rooms, and closets, connected by many flights of steps; and +to attract the public, a man played on the harpsichord during our +visit--a concert which could have no great charms for us. + +Boston, however, has much that is worthy of notice, and numerous +excellent institutions, respecting which the many descriptive works +may be consulted, which treat on the subject more in detail than a +passing traveller can do. As my time was limited, I took places in a +stage-coach that was to set out at noon for Providence, from Bunker's +coach-office, at the Marlborough hotel. The establishment of +stage-coaches, and the mode of travelling in this country, have been +accurately described by Duke Bernhard of Saxe Weimar;[25] I therefore +merely say, that we went in a commodious stage, with nine seats +inside, and four good horses, which carried us at a rapid pace from +Boston to New Providence, forty-one miles distant, where we embarked +for New York. + +The causeway was a good, solid, broad road, paved in some places, and +very dusty at this dry season; it led over low hills and plains. Near +the city there is a great number of pretty, and some elegant country +houses; and as they became less numerous, they were succeeded by the +houses of the farmers and planters, which are spread over the whole +country. All these farm-houses are slightly built, boarded, and roofed +with shingles; often grey, of the natural colour of the wood; but many +of those belonging to the richer class are neatly painted, and +variously ornamented. The walls, even of large buildings of this kind, +are extremely thin, and one would think they [pg. 9] must be too slight +for the cold winters of this country. It seems quite inconceivable +that, throughout the United States, you find only open fireplaces; and +very rarely good stoves, against which the Americans are prejudiced, +because they are not aware of their great superiority. The business of +the occupant is painted on the house in large letters, as in England +and France. + +The road by which we travelled was often bounded by hedges, or by +walls of blocks of granite, or other kinds of stone, on which +plantain, elder, stagshorn, sumach, &c., were growing. In the low +marshy meadows were willows, a kind of reed mace, cotton grass, +rushes, and, in the water, adder's tongue. Near the road, the hills, +which here and there gradually rise to a great elevation, are covered +with shrubs and trees, among which we noticed some firs, mixed with +the other trees. + +Juniper trees, from fifteen to twenty feet high, grew in all these +woods, partly as underwood. In the low grounds, near the road, we +observed luxuriant tufts of various kinds of oak, walnut trees--some +with large shining leaves, chestnuts, now in blossom, and many other +kinds of trees cultivated in European gardens. Wild vines, with the +under side of the leaves whitish, twine round many of the bushes; but, +in these northern parts, they do not attain a great height. These +thickets alternate with open tracts of land, where the peasants, +tanned by the powerful American sun, wearing large straw hats, were +busily employed in making hay. + +However small and poor the dwellings, we still saw at the windows, and +before the doors, the women, most elegantly and fashionably dressed, +engaged in their household employments. In this land of freedom, +nobody, of course, will allow his neighbour to have an advantage over +him; hence we often see silk gowns, and the newest fashions of all +kinds, in laughable contrast with the poor little habitations. Small +country carts pass the traveller, in which, beside the owner, who +drives, sits a country lady, handsomely attired, who looks like a copy +of some _journal des modes_. The dress of the countrymen is, in +general, not so fine, but is, in some degree, according to the man's +circumstances. + +We were much pleased with some thick forests of oak, with beautiful +glossy (often deeply indented) leaves, of a great variety of forms. +Forests, consisting wholly of the Weymouth pine, alternated with the +oak. The trunks were large, but the height of the tree was not great +in proportion. Among them there was always a number of dead trees; +others had a quantity of bearded moss hanging on them; in a word, +though so near to the habitations of man, and in a cultivated country, +they had more of the wild character of unreclaimed nature than our +European forests. In many places there were openings into dark +forests, to a great distance; and, now and then, into lovely valleys, +with a lake or a river, where the white buildings had a very +picturesque appearance, contrasted with the dark woods and the green +meadows. Mr. Bodmer, however, was not satisfied with all these +landscapes: he had expected to find, at once, in America, forms +differing from those of Europe; but these must be looked for under +another zone; for, in [pg. 10] North America, the general character of +the vegetation resembles that of Europe. In some parts, we remarked in +the meadows large stones, something like those in Westphalia, or in +the Westerwald, in Germany. + +We changed horses at three places, at one of which we had dinner, +which, as in England, was ready when the passengers arrived. The +regulations here have an advantage over those in most parts of Europe, +inasmuch as fees are nowhere given, so that you cannot be molested by +the importunity of the driver: on the other hand, the coachman dines +at the same table as the passengers. You are, however, pretty secure +against the conversation of unpolished people, because the Americans +are usually mute at table. + +Towards evening we reached Pawtucket, a neat town on the river of the +same name, in the state of Massachusetts. The place has manufactures +of various kinds, and is animated by trade and industry. The river +empties itself into Narraganset bay, and is said to have falls of +fifty feet. We soon travelled the few miles from this place to +Providence. The evening being fine, the journey was very pleasant: the +road was full of stages, cabriolets, farmers' wagons, and smart +country ladies, whose veils on their large fashionable hats waved in +the wind; they were generally seated in little chaise carts, the seats +of which were covered with bear skins. + +At Providence, which we reached before night, we put up at Franklin +House, a respectable inn. A crowd of idle gentlemen and other curious +persons stared at us, and laughed in our faces, when they found, by +our pronunciation, that we were foreigners. We had to pass some days +here, waiting for the return of a steam-boat from New York; we +therefore employed this interval in exploring the town and +neighbourhood. + +Providence is a busy town, the capital of the state of Rhode Island, +and situated on an arm of the sea. It is built partly on sandy hills, +partly on the low ground next the sea, has some good new streets, and +a brisk trade, as appears from the many ships at anchor. There is no +want of handsome shops, and several public buildings deserve notice; +such as twelve churches, several colleges, and other public +institutions, which I forbear to enumerate. In the churches the +singular style of the architecture calls for censure:--they are of +brick, with steeples variously ornamented, but often painted with +glaring colours; for instance, the lower part reddish brown, with the +frames of the windows and of the doors white; the upper part bright +yellow with white. There is a considerable degree of luxury at +Providence. The women appear in the streets in the most expensive +dresses; and the country ladies (farmers' wives), whom I have so often +mentioned, dressed in silk, and wearing large straw bonnets and veils, +bring milk to market in little carts. This love of finery is quite a +characteristic trait in the American people; but it is, at the same +time, an indication of prosperity; for it is true that, in this +country, there are neither poor nor beggars; and if you see people +doing nothing, they are generally new comers from Europe. Negroes and +their coloured descendants are more numerous here than in Boston and +the northern parts. + +[pg. 11] The next day was Sunday, in the observance of which the +Americans are very scrupulous. All the people, with their books under +their arms, proceeded to the churches, the bells of which were very +slowly tolled. The streets were quite still on this day, and all the +shops closed; but, then, numerous carriages and cabriolets, filled +with finely-dressed people, were in motion. We strolled about the +surrounding country, which, in general, has a dead and rather sterile +appearance. Here, too, we saw, almost exclusively, European trees and +flowers in the gardens; there were, however, some peculiar to the +country, among which the magnolia was now in blossom. + +Intelligence had been received from New York that the cholera had +broken out there, and that numbers of the inhabitants were leaving the +city. On the arrival of the Boston steam-boat, the Captain confirmed +this unwelcome news, which, however, did not deter us from embarking +in this fine vessel for New York. On the 8th of July, in the +afternoon, we went on board the steam-boat, which had above 100 +passengers. The Boston was a large, handsome vessel, about the size of +a frigate. It had three decks; in the lower part was the large dining +and sleeping room, where above 100 persons were very well provided +for. On the middle deck there was a cabin for the ladies, with +twenty-four beds. The numerous attendants were negroes and mulattoes +of both sexes, all free people. The vessel had two low-pressure +engines, which are thought to be less dangerous than the high-pressure +engines, though the Americans affirm the contrary. On the upper deck +was a pavilion, with glass windows, in which, when the weather was +unfavourable, the company could sit and enjoy the prospect. + +When all the passengers were on board, one of the engines was set to +work, and when we got further from shore, the other also. The low, +sandy coast, partly covered with trees, where towns alternated with +forests, quickly disappeared. The sky was dark and cloudy, and a cool, +fresh breeze blew. We reached the strongly fortified town of Newport, +where many small vessels lay at anchor. The place is distinguished by +three forts, and other fortifications, and a lighthouse. When twilight +set in we were already in sight of the open sea, which, however, +remained visible for a short time only, because we steered to the +right, into the channel between the continent and Long Island. + +On the morning of the 9th of July, the sky was gloomy, and the sea +much agitated. On our left we had the coast of Long Island, which, in +general, is not high, but has some more elevated parts, with an +alternation of sand, bushes, and brushwood. Some very picturesque and +diversified inlets run into the land. The channel becomes gradually +narrower, and the beauty of the landscape increases in the same +proportion. One narrow place is called Hellgate: there are here many +rocky islets covered with sumach bushes (_Rhus typhinum_). At length, +turning round a point of the continent, a new and most picturesque +scene presented itself. We were in what is called the East River, an +arm of the sea, open towards New York, which is connected with the +Hudson or North River, one of the most beautiful rivers in North +America. At the conflux [pg. 12] of both, lies the city. The banks of +the East River are like an English park, shaded by beautiful copses +and groups of lofty trees: the ground was clothed with the brightest +and most luxuriant verdure, with tall tulip trees, planes, Babylonian +willows, Lombardy poplars, and many others, alternating with green +meadows, where there are neat, and often elegant country-houses; and +the eye is charmed by many fine prospects and a great diversity of +scenery. Passing the Navy Yard, which is situated on a point of land, +the great city of New York, with its innumerable masts, lies before +you. As you approach and enter the broad and extensive piece of water +formed by the conflux of the East and North Rivers, you see the whole +mass of houses, with countless ships, which line both the banks to a +considerable distance, with a forest of masts, to which few other +cities can present a parallel. The steamer landed us at a spot where, +notwithstanding the heavy rain, there was a great crowd of people +collected. Porters, black workmen, and coachmen in abundance, with +loud cries, and much importunity, offered their services; and we +immediately proceeded to the American Hotel, a considerable inn, in +one of the handsomest squares in the city. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[17] Charles Lucien Bonaparte, prince of Canino and Musignano +(1803-1857), a noted ornithologist, was the eldest son of Lucien, +brother of the great Napoleon. In 1822 he married Joseph Bonaparte's +daughter, came to the United States, and until 1828 resided with his +father-in-law, near Philadelphia, making a careful study of the birds +of that locality. Returning to Italy, he headed the republican forces +at Rome in the Revolution of 1848, and from 1854 until his death, +three years later, was director of the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris. +In the United States, Bonaparte published a supplement to Wilson's +_Ornithology_, entitled _American Ornithology, or History of the Birds +of the United States_ (4 volumes, Philadelphia, 1825-33), containing +more than a hundred species which he had discovered. He wrote numerous +articles for scientific journals both in this country and Europe.--ED. + +[18] See Plate 1, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + +[19] According to the census of 1830, Boston had 61,392 souls, and +with Charlestown, Roxbury, and Cambridge, about 80,000.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[20] Vide Mrs. Trollope's "Domestic Manners of the Americans," page 106, +where the authoress is probably right in many points.--MAXIMILIAN. + +_Comment by Ed._ See Wyeth's _Oregon_, in our volume xxi, p. 44, note +24. + +[21] Captain Benjamin Morrell was born on Long Island (1795), entered +the service of a privateer during the War of 1812-15, was captured by +the British and held in prison until the declaration of peace. After +his release he was made captain of a whaling vessel, and in 1832 +published a book of travels entitled, _A Narrative of Four Voyages to +the South Sea, North and South Pacific Ocean, Chinese Sea, Ethiopic +and Southern Atlantic Ocean, Indian and Arctic Oceans, Comprising +Critical Surveys of Coasts and Islands with Sailing Directions_ (New +York). A critical analysis of the book is given in _American Quarterly +Review_, xiii, pp. 314 ff.--ED. + +[22] The cattle in this part of the country are, in general, large and +handsome: there are oxen with immense horns, almost as in the +_Campagna di Roma_, in Italy; and they are also large and fat. Their +colour is generally brown, as in Germany, but for the most part, a +very shining yellowish, or reddish brown, often spotted with white. +The horns of many are turned rather forwards, and round balls are just +on their tips, that they may not gore with them.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[23] See preface to Nuttall's _Journal_, in our volume xiii.--ED. + +[24] E. A. Greenwood having (1825) purchased the Columbian Museum, +founded in Boston in 1795 by Daniel Bowen, erected a building on Court +Street between Brattle and Cornhill, and started the New England +Museum. The latter was purchased by Moses Kimball (1839), who seven +years later constructed the Boston Museum and Gallery of Fine Arts +building on Tremont Street, near Court, at a cost of a quarter of a +million dollars. The stock-company theatre operated in connection with +this institution was long regarded as the best in Boston.--ED. + +[25] For the work of the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, see Wyeth's _Oregon_, in +our volume xxi, p. 71, note 47.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +STAY IN NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA, AND BORDENTOWN, FROM 9TH TO 16TH JULY + + New York--Bloomingdale--Hoboken--New + Brunswick--Trenton--Bordentown--Philadelphia--Fair Mount, with + the water-works--Stay at Bordentown--Park of the Count de + Survilliers--Excursions in the forests--Return to Philadelphia. + + +New York is but little inferior to the capital cities of Europe, with +the exception of London and Paris. It has, at present, 220,000 +inhabitants, and its commerce is so extensive, animated, and active, +that, in this respect, it is scarcely surpassed by any. There are so +many descriptions of this great city, that to say much on the subject +would be merely repetition. The first impression that it made on me +was very striking, on account of the beauty of its situation. In the +interior the style of building resembles that of many English cities. +It has one remarkably fine street, called the Broadway, which +traverses its whole length; other parts are old, and not so handsome. +In the Broadway, which is the favourite resort of the fashionable +world, is an uninterrupted line of shops, but little inferior to those +of London and Paris. The city is extremely animated, and people of all +nations carry on business here. We were assured that the population +had been diminished, in a few days, by the emigration of 20,000 of the +inhabitants, who had fled to other towns for fear of the cholera.[26] +It is well known that this lamentable disease had been very fatal in +Canada, and had now penetrated into the Northern States of the Union: +it was raging in Albany, on the Hudson, at Detroit, and on the great +lakes, so that it seemed as if it would defeat our project of +beginning our journey to the interior by that route. This had been my +plan, in which the recommendations of our worthy countryman, Mr. +Astor,[27] would have been of great service, as he is the founder and +head of the American Fur Company, which has spread its trading +stations over the whole of the interior of North America. I formed +numerous interesting acquaintances, in a short time, in New York. +Several estimable fellow-countrymen, Messrs. Gebhard and Schuchart, +and Mr. Iselin, did their utmost to afford us their counsel and +assistance. Mr. Schmidt, the Prussian consul, contributed not a little +to make our stay in this city agreeable; and so did Mr. Meier and +other of our German friends. Mr. Schmidt has a country-house at +Bloomingdale, [pg. 14] where we passed some very pleasant days in the +circle of his amiable family. Mrs. Schmidt, an American lady, had +visited Europe and travelled in Germany, and remembered, with +pleasure, the banks of the Rhine. + +The house at which Mr. Schmidt resides in the summer, is charmingly +situated on the banks of that picturesque river, the Hudson, seven +miles from the town. The pretty dwelling-house, with a veranda all +round, covered with passion flowers, honeysuckles, the red trumpet +flower, and other beautiful climbing plants, stands on a verdant lawn, +shaded by lofty trees, among which we observed the finest kinds of +this country, the trunks of which were slender, and straight as +pillars. The park extends to the Hudson, where the tall sassafras, +tulip, oak, walnut, and other trees, protected us by their shade; +while the large steam-boats, rapidly passing on the bright surface of +the Hudson, had a very picturesque effect. Mr. Schmidt had the +kindness to afford us an admirable view of what is called the island +of New York. Near Bloomingdale is a large and very well conducted +lunatic asylum, from the lofty roof of which we enjoyed an +inexpressibly beautiful, extensive, and interesting prospect of the +whole country. From this spot we overlooked the East and North Rivers, +the broad bend of the latter, and its high banks towards Albany; to +the north, dark forests, with detached dwellings and country seats; +and, in all directions, luxuriant green thickets, towns, villages, and +handsome country-houses. At our feet, contrasting with that rich and +noble view, full of variety and life, we looked down on the buildings +and court-yards of the hospital, in which we could observe the +patients; while, in another enclosed space, Virginian deer were +sporting and playing. This asylum is a very excellent establishment, +and contains a great number of patients: the physician resides in the +house, and was so good as to show us over it. New York has many such +useful institutions,--hospitals, poorhouses, and houses of correction, +in which latter the young, who may still be reclaimed, are not mixed +with the old, hardened offenders, but are kept apart. There is an +asylum for the deaf and dumb, &c. + +Our returning from Bloomingdale, in the evening, was extremely +agreeable, the weather being delightful. In the dark thickets and +woods were swarms of fire-flies; and from the marshes and pools came +the croakings of the frogs, with which we were not yet familiar; but +we did not hear that of the celebrated bull-frog. + +The most beautiful spots and environs of New York are indebted for the +attraction of their views, to the variety of the waters surrounding +the city: thus, for instance, at the end of the Broadway, is the +Castle Garden, formerly a circular fort, the walls of which are +converted into a public walk. From the wall itself is a fine prospect +of the noble harbour, the neighbouring city, the banks, the opposite +coast, and the broad river, where ships of every kind and of all +nations are coming and going. Another favourite place of resort is the +garden at Hoboken, the name of which indicates its Dutch origin, for +it is well known that the Dutch founded the first considerable +settlement in this place, numerous traces of which still remain. +[pg. 15] The communication with Hoboken is by means of a steam-boat. The +garden extends along the banks of the Hudson, and the lofty trees and +thickets are pleasing and interesting to the stranger. The tall +hickory and other kinds of walnut trees had now their fruit half +grown. Storax trees (_Liquidambar styraciflua_), with their maple-like +leaves, grow very high and straight, _Gleditschia triacanthos_ and +_inermis_, with wild vines, climbing round them; and many other fine +forest trees afford protection against the heat of the summer. Many +European trees and shrubs, too, have been planted here. Thus we saw a +hedge of whitethorn, the growth of which, however, was stunted by +other wood. Many birds, whose notes were unknown to us, were heard in +these shades. On my first visit to New York, I was interested by some +collections of natural history; for instance, two museums, one of +which, belonging to Mr. Peale, is, however, much inferior to that of +his brother at Philadelphia. Being anxious to see Philadelphia, I +hastened to set out for that city, and left New York, where the +cholera was daily spreading more and more. + +On the 16th, at six in the morning, I embarked on board the Swan +steam-boat, which was so crowded with passengers that there was +scarcely room to sit down. On our left we had Staten Land; but we soon +turned to the right, into the river Raritan, on which New Brunswick is +situated. + +New Brunswick is a village, consisting of many straggling streets, +where all the passengers landed from the steam-boat, and took their +seats in stage-coaches, drawn by four horses, which were standing +ready to receive them. The heat was great, the company very mixed, and +I had the misfortune to have noisy and disagreeable companions. A long +hill, with steep sides, which appears to consist of a reddish clay, +extends along the water-side to New Brunswick. On the eminence above +the town it was naked and rather sterile; the road was bad, and we +were roughly jolted as we drove rapidly along. Meadows, fields of +clover, rye, oats, and maize succeeded each other in the vicinity of +the habitations, as well as plantations of European fruit trees, full +of large caterpillar's nests, but flourishing in the greatest +luxuriance. The beautiful red trumpet flower partly covered the sides +of the houses, about which Italian poplars and Babylonian willows were +frequently planted; the latter are often very high and spreading. The +cattle are partly without horns. Sheep and swine were numerous. + +While we were changing horses at Kingston, negro and other children +offered milk, little cakes, and half-ripe fruit for sale, of which a +great deal was bought. Some German peasants, lately arrived from +Europe, who were welcomed by their relations, previously settled in +the country, completely filled a couple of stages, and were not a +little merry, in their low German language, at which Americans laughed +heartily. From this place the country was rather woody. Here and there +were fine forests, the shade of which was very refreshing in this hot +weather. The growth of timber was very fine. A pretty wild rose +blossomed among the bushes in the meadows. Oak, sassafras, walnut, +chestnut, plane, and tulip trees, displayed their luxuriant foliage of +various and often glossy green. The tulip trees, when young, are +distinguished by [pg. 16] their pyramidal shape and beautiful light +green leaves; they were at this time covered with their seed vessels, +which were full-grown, but not ripe. The branching phytolacea, and the +thorn-apple with its large white flowers, which were now open, as well +as several plants brought from Europe, grew in abundance by the +road-side, also species of sumach, partly entwined with wild vine; and +in the forest was underwood of _Rhododendron maximum_. We passed +rapidly through Prince Town, and arrived at Trenton, on the Delaware, +a straggling town, lying among thickets, on the low banks of the +river. A long, covered wooden bridge led to the opposite bank of this +broad river, which was animated by ships and boats. Such colossal, +covered wooden bridges are very common in the United States; and many +travellers have already described the construction of these useless +masses of timber. From Trenton, we hastened over a sandy tract to +another place on the river, opposite to which is Bordentown, and at a +short distance lay the steam-boat, Trenton, ready to convey us down +the river to Philadelphia. We descended the fine river Delaware, the +low, verdant banks of which are covered with many towns, settlements, +and country houses; here and there, too, with forests of oaks, &c., +and of a kind of pine (_pinus rigida_).[28] After taking dinner, at +which we were waited on by negroes and mulattoes, we reached +Philadelphia about five or six o'clock. + +This city extends a great way along the right bank of the Delaware, +but has by no means so beautiful and striking an effect as New York. +It is large and regularly built; the long, straight streets crossing +each other at right angles. The modern part of the city is handsome, +consisting of lofty brick buildings, ornamented in the English +fashion; but the older parts of Philadelphia consist of low, mean +houses. It is very judicious that, in hot weather, an agreeable shady +walk is formed by awnings spread before the houses, and that the +streets are well watered. The water-works are at Fairmount, where +there is a basin, from which pipes convey the water to every part of +the city. + +The streets which run at right angles to the Delaware are called by +the names of different kinds of trees--Mulberry Street, Walnut Street, +Chestnut Street, &c.: the streets which cross them are numbered, First +Street, Second Street, Third Street, &c. Chestnut Street, without +doubt the finest, is full of life and traffic. A part of it has, in +the middle, a shady avenue of lime trees; and, besides, there are, in +many of the streets, rows of trees which do not yet afford much shade. +Splendid shops, in almost uninterrupted succession, line the streets, +and you find here all the manufactures and produce of the other +quarters of the globe. The ancient, injudicious practice of having the +churchyards in the towns is still retained in America. They are filled +with great numbers of whitish monuments, of various forms, often +planted with high trees, and lie quite exposed to view, being +separated from the street only by an iron railing. Philadelphia has a +considerable number of public buildings, especially many churches and +meeting-houses of [pg. 17] different religious denominations, most of +which are extremely plain brick buildings, without any external +ornaments whatever. This country has no history like the Old World, +and therefore we look in vain for the ancient Gothic cathedrals, and +those awe-inspiring monuments of past ages, from which the traveller +in Europe derives so much pleasure and instruction. Besides the +churches, the principal buildings are the State House, where the +independence of the country was proclaimed on the 4th of July, 1776, +the United States Bank, the Bank of Pennsylvania, the Exchange, the +University and the Medical College, the Mint, some hospitals, the +Deaf and Dumb Asylum, and many others, which it would lead us too far +to mention here. + +Philadelphia would make a more striking impression if we could find a +spot commanding a view of the whole; but as it lies in the plain +between the rivers Delaware and Schuylkill, which unite five miles +below the city, no such spot is to be found. + +It is well known that this city was founded, in 1682, by William Penn, +a Quaker, who concluded, under an elm tree, which recently fell down +from age, a convention with the Delaware Indians, the proprietors of +the soil, by which they ceded to him a tract of land. Philadelphia, +literally "the city of the brethren" (Quakers), contains people from +all the nations of Europe, especially Germans, French, and English. In +some parts of the city, German is almost exclusively spoken. In the +year 1834, the population consisted of 80,406 whites, and 59,482 +people of colour. I arrived in Philadelphia at an unfavourable moment, +for the cholera had already manifested itself also in that city. +Letters of introduction from Europe procured me a kind reception in +some houses; but, on the other hand, I had not an opportunity of +becoming acquainted with several scientific gentlemen, because, being +physicians, they were now particularly engaged. Professor Harlan, M. D., +well known to the learned world as an author, was of the number.[29] +Mr. Krumbhaar, a German, to whom I had letters, received me with much +kindness, and introduced me to many agreeable acquaintances. He took +me to the water-works at Fair Mount, one of the most interesting spots +near the city, which are indeed worth seeing. The road led past the +House of Correction, where young offenders, who are still capable of +being reclaimed, are confined. On the bank of the river, there are +buildings in which large wheels set in motion the machinery by which +the water is raised to the reservoirs, on an eminence about eighty +feet high, whence the pipes are carried to all parts of the city. The +rocky eminence, from which a fine, clear spring rises, is provided +with stairs and balustrades, and adorned with elegant pavilions, which +command a view of the water-works, and of the beautiful valley of the +Schuylkill. It is a favourite promenade, and daily resorted to by +numbers of persons, as they can have all kinds of refreshments there. +Beautiful plants, the catalpa, plantain, &c., grow among the rocks +with great luxuriance, being watered by the springs. We crossed the +great bridge over the Schuylkill, to return to the city, where I made +but a short stay, because my fellow-travellers were still detained at +New York, waiting for our baggage from Boston. As [pg. 18] all the +roads were crowded with fugitives from New York, it was not a +favourable moment for travelling; I therefore resolved on an excursion +to Bordentown, in order to obtain some little knowledge of the forests +of New Jersey. + +I left Philadelphia, on board the Burlington steam-boat, about noon, +and arrived at Bordentown between four and five o'clock. At this place +are the estates of the Count de Survilliers (Joseph Buonaparte), who +had but lately sailed for Europe.[30] The pleasant country house, in +the fine park, is about 300 paces from the village, near to the high +road, and near, also, to the iron railway from Amboy to Camden, +opposite to Philadelphia.[31] Workmen were employed in making this +road, in doing which, advantage was taken of the hollow of the valley, +so that the railway was much below the common road, or the street of +the town. I found some interesting plants in the woods opposite the +Count's park. There were three or four kinds of oak, among which are +the _Quercus ferruginea_, with its large, peculiarly shaped leaves; +the white oak, the leaves of which are the most like the European; +also, varieties of walnut trees, chestnuts, and the sassafras, a fine, +tall tree, which was just then in blossom, the leaves of which often +vary in shape. The undergrowth of this forest, in which pines were +mixed with other trees, consisted of _Rhododendron maximum_ +(Pennsylvania mountain laurel) and kalmia, the latter of which, in the +deep shade, was already out of flower; but the former still had its +large bunches of beautiful white or pale red blossoms, and was from +ten to fifteen feet high. The stiff, laurel-like, dried leaves of this +fine plant covered the ground, and crackled as we passed along, which +reminded me of the Brazilian forests, where this occurs in a much +greater degree. On open, uncultivated spots, the great mullein +(_Verbascum thapsus_), with its yellow flowers, and large, woolly +leaves, grew in great abundance, and likewise the phytolacea. Among +the thick blackberry bushes, entwined with vines, by the road-side, I +observed the little striped squirrel, which doubtless climbs to get at +the fruit. + +At ten o'clock, the heat was already so intense that I returned to the +inn, where I arrived very much fatigued. This house is very pleasantly +situated on an eminence above the Delaware, at the place where the +steam-boats arrive, and from which there is a fine view of the arm of +the river, and the adjacent lowland, covered with woods and thickets. +A great ornament of this landscape is the white garden-pavilion of +Count Survilliers, which rises above the thick groves on the left bank +of the Delaware, above Bordentown. In the cool of the evening I +usually went to this park. The house itself is a pretty building, on a +lawn near the water-side, where oleander and orange plants are placed. +The park is very shady, and extends along the Croswick Creek, towards +which the bank forms a steep, wildly wooded declivity. In this wood +there was likewise a thick undergrowth of _Rhododendron maximum_, now +in full blossom. On an eminence immediately above the river, stands a +kind of tower, several stories high, upon a terrace, from the gallery +of which is a fine and extensive view over the low, wooded country, +and the arms of the river. From this place winding paths lead through +the gloomy forest of [pg. 19] pine trees, of different varieties, where +many birds, of kinds unknown to me, were flying about. The cat bird +(_Turdus felivox_, Vieill.), whose voice has a slight resemblance to +that of a cat, was very numerous in this place. From the top of the +wooded bank a sort of bridge has been carried out, a great height +above the river, and a square place furnished with seats, from which +you overlook the whole country. An old Canadian pine stands at the +edge of the bank, some branches of which we carried off, by way of +memorial. The view from this place is remarkably beautiful; to the +right and left extends the river, or rather broad brook, which, at +the feet of the spectator, is covered with water plants. The +yellow-blossomed _Nymphæa adversus_, and the beautiful _Pontederia +cordata_ grow here in great abundance. There was plenty of occupation +for the botanist and the ornithologist, and the sportsman would have +reason to be satisfied, for in the neighbouring thickets there were +deer (_Cervus virginianus_), and hares (_Lepus Americanus_), which +frequently crossed our path.[32] + +On my return to Bordentown, I found before the door of the inn a +number of gentlemen lying in more than easy positions on the benches; +the chief subject of conversation was the cholera, which filled the +whole country with terror. + +It was precisely the hottest part of summer, and it was scarcely +possible to protect one's self against the swarms of European flies, +which are very numerous. On this account there are, in the inns, +negroes and mulattoes, who attend at table, and give the company rest +from those troublesome insects, and, at the same time, cool air, by +fanning them with fans, made of feathers, often those of the peacock. +Fans are, in fact, an article of luxury, and are purchased in the +towns; they are made of the tail feathers of the wild turkey, the +crane, or the swan, of palm leaves, &c. It was so hot in the daytime, +that it was hardly possible to leave the house; and the cholera, +therefore, spread rapidly in New York. In this sultry season, the +evenings were really refreshing, and gave new life both to men and +animals. When it became dusk, luminous insects flew about, and the +crickets chirped in notes like those in Europe, but in more rapid +succession. + +On the following day I visited other places and woods in the vicinity +of Bordentown. The town itself is built in the country fashion, with +regular, broad, unpaved streets or roads, and the houses lie detached +from each other, shaded by rows of trees: this is very necessary, for +now, at 10 o'clock in the morning, Fahrenheit's thermometer, in the +cool passage of the inn, was at 73°. The avenues of trees in the town +consisted of robinia, paper-mulberry, large-leaved poplars, which +exude an aromatic gum, weeping willows, and Syrian mallow, which +latter grow to the height of ten and even fifteen feet. These plants, +with their beautiful flowers, flourish here in much greater perfection +than in Germany. In the gardens we observed monarda (Oswego tea), +[pg. 20] the Indian cress (_tropæolum_), purple convolvulus, buckthorn +(_Lycum Europeum_), the climbing trumpet flower, vine, catalpa, +larkspur, &c. + +From Bordentown I sometimes passed beyond the iron railroad, and +penetrated into the neighbouring forest. Five or six species of oak, +several kinds of walnut trees, beeches, chestnuts, and dogwood, formed +the thick wood, the undergrowth of which consisted of _Rhododendron +maximum_, kalmia, rhus, and tall juniper. + +On the 23rd of July I left Bordentown, and returned to Philadelphia, +as our baggage had not yet arrived from Boston. I made use of this +interval to examine the museum of Mr. Titian Peale, which contains the +best collection of natural history in the United States. There is the +fine large skeleton of the Ohio elephant (_Mastodon, Cuv._), and +likewise most of the animals of North America, pretty well stuffed. +Among them I noticed, especially, the bison, the bighorn or wild sheep +of the rocky mountains, the prairie antelope (_Antilocapra Americana +Ord._), the elk (_Cervus major_, or _Canadensis_) the grisly bear +(_Ursus ferox_), and others. Mr. Peale, the owner, accompanied the +expedition under Major Long to the Rocky Mountains, where he procured +part of these specimens himself.[33] There are likewise many +specimens of foreign animals; for instance, a rhinoceros; and the +collection of Indian dresses, utensils, and arms, is, I think, the +most important that I have yet seen. I was particularly interested by +some oil paintings of Indian villages and scenery by Seymour. This +artist also accompanied Major Long's expedition. Mr. Peale's +collection deserves precedence above all the public museums in the +United States, for its more scientific arrangement, and because fewer +trifling nicknacks have been admitted into it. Mr. Peale has also +travelled in South America, and his health was still suffering from +his visit to that country. + +As the study of the aboriginal nations of America had peculiar +attractions for me, I searched the shops of all the booksellers and +printsellers, for good representations of that interesting race; but +how much was I astonished, that I could not find, in all the towns of +this country, one good, that is, characteristic representation of +them, but only some bad or very indifferent copper-plates, which are +in books of travels! It is incredible how much the original American +race is hated and neglected by the foreign usurpers. Only a few +eminent men, who have felt this reproach and defect, are now exerting +themselves to rescue from oblivion the neglected materials, scarce as +they now are, after it has become next to impossible to collect +anything complete respecting the history of many exterminated Indian +tribes. Messrs. Morse, Smith Barton, Edwin James, Say, Duponceau, +Schoolcraft, Cass, McKenney, and some others, are an honourable +exception in this respect. A fine work, with coloured lithographic +plates, was contemplated at Philadelphia, which deserves +encouragement; it was to give the history of the several Indian +tribes, with portraits of their chiefs, for which the Government was +ready to furnish all the materials in its possession. It seems that +this important publication has at length been carried into execution. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[26] The first recorded death by cholera, in North America, occurred +on June 8, 1832, at Quebec. The epidemic began raging in northwest +India in 1827-28. It reached the shores of the Caspian Sea (1829), +spread throughout Russia (1829-30), reached England (1831), and spread +to the United States by way of Detroit the following year. Rapidly +extending throughout the union, it counted its victims in nearly every +state and territory.--ED. + +[27] For a brief sketch of Astor, see Franchère's _Narrative_, in our +volume vi, p. 186, note 8.--ED. + +[28] The Americans report of this pine that, if it is cut down, oaks +and other trees immediately grow up in its place; and if these are cut +down, the pines grow up again, and so continually alternating in the +same manner!--MAXIMILIAN. + +[29] Richard Harlan (1796-1843) graduated from the medical department +of the University of Pennsylvania (1818), practiced medicine in +Philadelphia, and later occupied the chair of comparative anatomy in +the Philadelphia Museum. He was a member of the Cholera Commission of +1832, and of many learned societies both in this country and abroad. +His chief publications were: _Observations on the Genus Salamandra_ +(Philadelphia, 1824), _Fauna Americana_ (1825), _American Herpitology_ +(1827), _Medical and Physical Researches_ (1835), and a translation of +Gaunal, _History Of Embalming_, with additions (1840).--ED. + +[30] Joseph Bonaparte (1768-1844) held many positions of trust under +his brother Napoleon. He negotiated the treaty of peace between this +country and France in 1800, and the treaty of Amiens in 1802. He was +made king of Naples (1806), and king of Spain two years later. In an +interview with his brother after the battle of Waterloo, arrangements +were made for a meeting in New York. In the summer of 1815 Joseph +Bonaparte, under the assumed title of Comte de Survilliers, came to +the United States and purchased a mansion in Philadelphia, a country +seat of about a thousand acres, near Bordentown, New Jersey, six miles +below Trenton, and later a summer home on the edge of the Adirondack +Mountains. His favorite residence was "Point Breeze," near Bordentown, +where in 1820 he built what was accounted the finest mansion in the +state. In 1850, Henry Beckett, the British consul at Philadelphia, +purchased "Point Breeze," and demolished its mansion. Joseph Bonaparte +was in Europe from 1832 to 1837; the next two years in this country; +and in 1841 went to Florence, Italy, where he died. His benevolence +and hospitality won for him much admiration in the United States. See +our volumes xi, p. 159, and xii, p. 79.--ED. + +[31] On February 4, 1830, the state legislature of New Jersey granted +a charter for the Camden and Amboy Railroad.--ED. + +[32] We were told that the Virginian deer were formerly very numerous +here, but that it had been found necessary to shoot them, because, in +the rutting season, they roamed about and did great damage to the +crops.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[33] For Major Long's _Expedition_, see our volumes xiv-xvii. Short +notes on the Peale family, Seymour, and Say may be found in our volume +xiv, pp. 39-41, note 2.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +RESIDENCE AT FREIBURG AND BETHLEHEM IN PENNSYLVANIA, FROM JULY 30TH TO +AUGUST 23RD + + View of the Country--Population of German + Origin--Freiburg--Residence there--The Rocky + Valley--Excursions--The Colony of the Moravian Brethren at + Bethlehem--Residence there--Excursions. + + +All the members of our party had now joined, and, though our baggage +was not yet arrived from Boston, I resolved, in order to make myself +acquainted with the interior of Pennsylvania, to take up my abode in +the settlement of the Moravian Brethren at Bethlehem. I had previously +paid a visit to the place, and found it very favourably situated for +our object. On the 30th of June [July], before daybreak, in the finest +weather and bright moonlight, we drove through the long streets of +Philadelphia, and passed the churchyards, with their white, ghost-like +monuments and tombstones. The day broke when we got out of the city. +On both sides of the road were country houses, alternating with +fields, enclosures, gardens, and parks; and high trees of various +kinds were everywhere planted by the road-side. We passed through +Germantown, a scattered village, and, by eight o'clock, arrived at +Chestnut Hill, where the passengers usually breakfast. The inn was +rather uncleanly, and the coffee so bad, that a portly Quaker in our +company would not take this beverage, of which he was otherwise very +fond. At table we were molested by innumerable European flies, though +a servant girl took great pains to drive them away, by waving a large +green bough over our heads. + +The whole country, as far as Bethlehem, and much farther, is chiefly +inhabited by the descendants of German emigrants, who all speak an +indifferent low German, and say that they rather converse in German +than in English. The appearance of the country in this part is not +particularly pleasing. Fields of potatoes, clover, oats, and maize as +high as a man, alternate with meadows and little thickets, and all the +fields are surrounded with hedges or wooden fences. At Montgomeryville, +the horses are changed a second time, and the road becomes more +diversified. [pg. 22] The habitations of the country people are +generally small, often rather poor, frequently composed of boards, +covered with shingles; sometimes they are merely great block-houses, +like the cowkeeper's cottage in Switzerland. These cottages are +surrounded with little gardens, in which there are various kinds of +European plants, such as the hollyhock, hibiscus, larkspur, balsam, +&c. The _Hibiscus Syriacus_ was everywhere in blossom, in the greatest +beauty. I have never seen this fine plant so high and vigorous, or its +flowers so large and splendid, in Europe, as here. They are of three +varieties of colour--white, purple, and bright pink, the latter by far +the most beautiful. In general, the trees and shrubs in this country +are very vigorous. The vegetative power increases the more you advance +towards the south, and the prodigious fertility of the soil remains +long unimpaired, even after it has been stripped of its primeval +forests. + +The country, as we advanced, was gradually more and more wooded. We +drove through fine young woods of slender oaks, walnuts and chestnuts, +ash, sassafras, beech, tupelo (_Nyssa sylvatica_), and other tall +trees, all, with the exception of a single spot, without any underwood +or young trees, which is a proof that there is no intention of +perpetuating these woods for future use. In many parts they are on the +way to total destruction, for they contain neither timber fit for +felling, nor young plants; and if it is thought fit in future to raise +timber in these ruined forests, the country people must be checked in +their love of destruction, and forest laws and regulations introduced. +It is fortunate for Pennsylvania that the rich coal mines have been +discovered. There was a very agreeable succession of woods and +meadows, and we saw great numbers of the beautiful red-headed +woodpecker, which, when it spreads its wings, displays a large surface +as white as snow. It is often seen sitting on the fences where the +ground squirrel and the reddish squirrel, with dark lateral stripes +(_Sciurus Hudsonius_), frequently resort. The first, in particular, is +seen in great numbers about all these fences, running backwards and +forwards on them. The birds which we particularly remarked were the +robin, the blue bird, the fox-coloured thrush, the goldfinch, the +turtle-dove, &c. The _Caprimulgus Virginianus_, which the Americans +call the night hawk, was flying about in a meadow in bright sunshine. +I have seen these birds everywhere, flying about in numbers, in the +daytime, like _Azaras Nacunda_ in Brazil. This species, too, shows, +when on the wing, the white transverse stripes which are observed in +many species in that country. Crows and blackbirds are common, but +there are very few birds of prey, which are far more numerous in +Brazil. The forests in this part of the country become more lofty; the +crowns of the trees spread wider, and afford a thicker shade. +Travelling by a road which runs alternately through corn-fields, +meadows, and agreeable eminences, we arrived at Freiburg, a straggling +village, almost wholly inhabited by descendants of German emigrants. +We stopped here a couple of days, to make excursions in the forests, +and took up our quarters in a tolerably good country miller's house, +close to which a Jew had set up his store. + +On the 1st of August, conducted by my obliging neighbour, the German +Jew, and some [pg. 23] others of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, +we made an excursion to the Rocky Valley, which was represented to us +as very well worth seeing. We proceeded through meadows and between +fences for about half a league, and often saw the large prairie lark +(_Alauda magna_, Linn.; _Sturnella_, Vieill.), which usually sits on +the ground, on the grass, or on the branch of a shrub, and, when +scared, often lights on the pines. Its song is short, and not +disagreeable. This handsome bird is shy of the sportsman, and flies +away betimes, when it may immediately be recognized by its short, +outspread tail, the side feathers of which are white. Our path lay +past isolated farm-houses, most of the inhabitants of which spoke +German, and we then reached the forest, where we shot many fine birds. +We next passed by several lonely log or block-houses, before the doors +of which the children, many of them very poorly and dirtily dressed, +were at play, and seemed to be the only possession of the inhabitants. +The sky was overcast, and it rained, while the weather was very warm, +which obliged us to visit the cool draw-wells of the peasants. From +this place the forest was more and more filled with blocks of +primitive rocks, mixed with hornblende and quartz, and these blocks +lay about irregularly, some of them very large, and covered with +various kinds of lichens. In this wild wooded spot, our guides could +not tell where they were, till a German peasant showed us the rather +hidden path, which could hardly be distinguished among the many blocks +of stone. The _Actæa Racemosa_, with its long spikes of white flowers, +was growing everywhere, four or five feet high, like the _Digitalis +purpurea_, in the mountain forests on the Rhine. + +The wood now became thicker, and fuller of brushwood. We reached the +bed of a stream, now dry, likewise quite filled with blocks of stone, +which we followed, leaping from block to block, till we came in sight +of the place called the Rocky Valley. Here, on a gentle hill, is a +free prospect through the forest up the stream, where prodigious +masses of great blocks of stone were so piled up, one over another, +that a tract, from 150 to 200 paces in breadth, appears quite covered +with them, exactly like similar heaps of stone, especially basalt, in +Germany, some of which are found in the countries on the Rhine, where +they are called _beilsteine_. No shrub or blade of grass can grow +among these boulders, and the rain, which continued to fall, made them +so slippery that it was dangerous to climb over them. No living +creature was to be seen in this wilderness, nor, as I said before, was +there any vegetation. These blocks seem to have been accumulated and +piled up by some impetuous torrent, and it is said that, at the season +of the year which is less hot and dry, the sound of water running +under the stones is heard. + +From this place we returned to the habitation of the German peasant +who had showed us the way, where we refreshed ourselves with +brandy-and-water. The inmates of the house were, in part, engaged, +sitting under the shade of the trees, in cutting shingles, which they +sold. They were much astonished at our double-barrelled guns, with +percussion locks and safety caps. There are now scarcely any wild +animals in these forests; hardly any but the grey fox, the [pg. 24] +Pennsylvania marmot (ground hog, or _wood chuck_), the grey and the +red squirrel, have escaped the love of destruction of the invaders. + +On our return to Freiburg, I found our countryman, Dr. Saynisch, of +Bethlehem, whom I had previously met with. He is a naturalist, and, +being well acquainted with this part of the country, was able to give +me much interesting information concerning it. He stopped a couple of +days with us, and we set out on a shooting excursion the same +afternoon. + +On the 2nd of August, early in the morning, we left Freiburg, in the +most beautiful weather, and our host drove us in his dearborn (such is +the name given to a small covered vehicle), and two spirited horses, +to Bethlehem, the road to which afforded us much pleasure. The country +is very agreeable: meadows, corn-fields, habitations, and copses +succeeded each other on the side of low hills; and the fine valley, +called, by the inhabitants, Upper Sakena, is remarkably fertile. The +road was here and there shaded by large trees, and a small pond was +extremely interesting to us; for, besides many curious birds, we saw +tortoises everywhere on the banks, and on old stumps in the water, +which, however, were very shy, and plunged below the surface as soon +as we approached them. In the sultry heat of noon, we reached the +Moravian settlement, Bethlehem, where we put up at a German inn.[34] + +This settlement is built on the top and the side of a hill, at the +foot of which the Monocasa brook joins the Lecha (Lehigh). The Lecha +is celebrated for its picturesque valley, which is at first wild and +wooded, and lower down, fruitful and well cultivated. At present, +Bethlehem is no more than a village, but it is rapidly increasing, and +has already some pretty considerable streets, which, however, are +still unpaved. The church is a large, neat, light building, quite in +the plain style of the German churches of this sect, and gives the +place a pretty appearance, being situated nearly at the top of the +hill. Another large building is the girls' school, which has a shady +garden, planted with timber trees, the lower part of which is on the +Monocasa, where flowers of many kinds attract the little +humming-birds. The lower part of the village, consisting of but a few +houses, one of which is the inn where we lodged, and where there is a +long wooden bridge over the Lecha, is situated in Lehigh county; and +the large upper part, in the county of Northampton, the boundary line +of the two counties passing through the place. Like all the +settlements of the industrious brethren, Bethlehem has a number of +different trades, mechanics and field-labourers. New settlers are +continually arriving, and it will, in time, become a place of +importance. The inhabitants are, for the most part, Germans; but there +are likewise many English, and divine service is performed in the +church in German and English alternately, and most of the inhabitants +speak both languages. The country about Bethlehem is agreeable and +diversified; the climate very healthy. Large woods alternate in the +vicinity with the fields of the inhabitants, and a canal, from the +coal district of Mauch Chunk to the Delaware, gives animation and +support to the country by the numerous boats that navigate it. All +kinds of [pg. 25] European field and garden plants are cultivated here, +and likewise maize; they have even begun to plant vines; but what is +called the Alexander grape, yields a rather acid beverage, which they +usually sweeten with sugar. We were told that much better wine is +produced in the country about Lancaster, in Pennsylvania, near York. +Fruit does not seem to thrive so well in the United States as in +Europe: the peach, however, may, perhaps, be excepted. + +I became acquainted with the directors of this colony: Mr. V. +Schweinitz, well known in the literary world as a distinguished +botanist, Mr. Anders the bishop,[35] and the Rev. Mr. Seidel. All +these gentlemen received me in a very friendly manner, and Mr. Seidel, +in particular, showed me much kindness. Dr. Saynisch lived in the same +house with me, and I derived great benefit from his knowledge of the +country. Our whole time at Bethlehem was devoted to excursions in the +neighbouring country. Opposite the place, on the other side of the +Lecha, is a range of mountains, or moderate hills, beautifully wooded, +which afforded a great variety of pleasant walks. The mountains are +covered with picturesque forests of oak, walnut, and other timber +trees, under which there is, generally, a thick covert of tall +_Rhododendron maximum_, which was still adorned with its magnificent +large tufts of flowers. In these dark shades we soon learned to +distinguish the notes of the different birds, among which was the +flame-coloured Baltimore bird, which we recognized, at a distance, by +its splendid plumage, when it was flying to its remarkable pendent +nest, of which we saw several. The Lecha, the bottom of which was +covered with naked blocks and masses of stone, is adorned by +picturesque islands, some of them of considerable extent, to which we +made many interesting excursions. Numerous kinds of aquatic plants +grow in the water; and among these plants we saw numbers of tortoises. +Mr. Bodmer made a very characteristic drawing of this wood and water +scenery.[36] When we had crossed the river, we landed on the island in +a dark, lofty, airy grove, where all the kinds of trees common in +this country grow vigorously, and entirely exclude the sun's rays. The +ground is clothed with many fine plants: the beautiful _Lobelia +cardinalis_, which is common in all this part of the country, was in +blossom on the banks, as well as many other plants. + +This beautiful forest was peopled by a great variety of birds; besides +those above-mentioned, we saw, in the crowns of the highest trees, the +bright red Tanagra, the black and red Baltimore bird, the +humming-bird, with reddish-brown eyes; the greenish heron, and the +ash-coloured kingfisher, flew up from the stones on the bank. Whenever +we were overtaken by a shower of rain on these lovely islands, we took +shelter in the hollow trunks of old plane trees, of which there is one +capable of holding ten persons. In these cool shades we did not much +feel the heat of the summer, but it was very oppressive in the town; +at nine o'clock in the evening the temperature of our apartment was 18° +Reaumur (72½° Fahrenheit), and there were frequent thunder-storms. At +noon the temperature in the cool passages of our house was at 23° or +24° Reaumur (86° Fahrenheit). + +[pg. 26] We made frequent excursions to these charming islands; and Mr. +Bodmer, who went thither every day to complete his sketch of the +forests, generally came back laden with tortoises (_Emys odorata_ and +_picta_) and other amphibia, or fresh water shells. This _Emys picta_ +is one of the most beautiful kinds of this family in Pennsylvania: +there is certainly no country in which tortoises are so numerous, and +of such a variety of species, as North America. + +The banks of the Lehigh, chiefly covered with high woods, differ from +the more open banks of the Monocasa, where extensive thickets of reed +and reed mace (_Typha_) are the abode of the beautiful red-shouldered +Oriole. The little shrub-like oak (_Quercus chincapin_) grows in +abundance on the hills that border this stream. We made other +interesting visits to the wooded Lecha mountains, on the north or +north-east bank of that river, below Bethlehem. They are thickly +covered with high timber and much underwood, and from their summits +there is a fine prospect over the whole of the surrounding hilly +country. The chestnut trees have been very much thinned in these +forests, as the wood is highly valued, not for fuel, as it is light +and porous, but for fences, because it is said to remain uninjured in +the ground for sixty years. + +The splendid bright red Tanagra was not uncommon in these forests; but +we now met with none that were quite red, because the old males put +on, towards autumn, the plain olive-coloured plumage of the females. +Many of these fine birds had still bright red spots, which showed that +they were undergoing a change in their plumage. Only a couple of +species of the genus Tanagra, which are so numerous in the Brazilian +forests, are found in all North America; but the manner and mode of +living of these animals are everywhere the same. They are quiet birds, +not remarkable for their song, but make up for this deficiency by the +splendour of their plumage. The small hare (_Lepus Americanus_) and +the grey squirrel were almost the only quadrupeds we saw in these +woods; but of the class of amphibia there were many kinds. The larger +wild animals have almost wholly disappeared. All North America was +formerly one interminable forest, only there were what are called +prairies in the western parts beyond the Alleghany mountains; but all +Pennsylvania, a state comprising 44,500 square miles, was a primeval +forest, which was thinned in a short time by the numerous settlers who +flocked to this country. The larger species of game disappeared in the +same ratio; and in the immediate vicinity of Bethlehem there are now +not even any deer. It was mentioned to me as a very rare occurrence, +that a bear had been seen here two years before, and was immediately +pursued, but in vain, by the hunters. Some small animals still live in +these forests, which, however, are not to be found except at night; +among these are the opossum (_Didelphys Virginiana_) and the skunk +(_Mephitis Americana_). The first is not frequently met with in these +parts; the latter, on the contrary, is not uncommon. + +In order to catch the skunk, our hunters went by night to the Lecha +mountains, and searched the forest with hounds, and almost always +attained their object. The dogs killed the animal by biting it, and +were sometimes a little perfumed. It has been reported that they +[pg. 27] avoid the smell; but I can testify that we did not meet with +any confirmation whatever of this statement. In fact, the stories told +of the offensive smell of this animal are rather exaggerated, for an +European polecat is often nothing behind the skunk in this +disagreeable quality. The hunters brought home a half-grown skunk +alive, and we kept it in a box in the garden, where it was very tame +and quiet, and never emitted the slightest smell. We opened the box, +and let it run about at liberty. It is only when alarmed that the +skunk is offensive to the olfactory nerves. The hollow trees in these +forests were the abode of the pretty flying squirrel, which, however, +is not to be seen in the daytime. The banks of the river are inhabited +by the musk-rat, which is often seen swimming, and is sometimes taken +in the fishing nets. + +One of our usual walks, during our stay at Bethlehem, was up or down +the banks of the Mauch Chunk canal. This canal is divided from the +Lecha by a dam, on which grow many fine plants, about which numbers of +humming-birds were fluttering. In my whole journey through North +America, I nowhere found these pretty birds so numerous as here. They +hummed about the yellow flowers of the broad-leaved tree primrose +(_Oenothera_), of the violet _Asclepias incarnata_ (swallow wort), of +the _Impatiens fulva_, with its deep orange-coloured flowers, &c., +and we shot many of these little creatures, among ten of which we +found, at the most, one male, with deep red throat. The dam was +bordered with stones at the sides; and among them were numbers of the +striped ground squirrel. Tall thistles are the constant resort of the +goldfinches, which picked the woolly seeds from the flower heads. At +some mills, on an island near the road, there was a grove of tall +trees, the dark shades of which were animated by many interesting +birds, especially the beautiful Baltimore bird and the flycatcher +(_Muscicapa ruticilla_), which is distinguished by the same colours, +and is frequent here. Under the old stems, and from the roots of the +trees on the bank, the great bull-frogs leaped into the water, however +softly and cautiously we approached. Their deep, hollow note was not +heard so much in this season, as in the spring and the beginning of +the summer. I nowhere saw these frogs so numerous as here in +Pennsylvania. + +Opposite to these hills, on the other bank of the Lecha, was a wood of +very tall, old trees, the airy, shady crowns of which were inhabited +by birds of more different kinds than any other place in this +neighbourhood. From that wood we always returned loaded with booty. +There, too, we observed interesting butterflies, such as _Papileo +turnus_, the beautiful black and blue philenor, and other species. The +thick hedges near the houses were the resort of numerous cat-birds. +The fishing-hawk hovered over the river, watching for prey, and we +often saw the three-striped viper (_Coluber sirtalis_) glide among the +grass. + +To the north and north-west of Bethlehem the woods consist of oaks +without any underwood, the cattle having their pasture there. All +these interesting excursions greatly increased our collections; and +the Rev. Mr. Seidel, who had a good library, and a taste for the study +of Nature, had the kindness to provide us with the necessary literary +assistance. We lived here [pg. 28] very agreeably in the society of +well-informed men and fellow-countrymen, and our residence at the +extremity of the place, close to the woods and fields, afforded us the +most favourable opportunity for our researches and labours; and our +landlord, Mr. Wöhler, from Westphalia, did everything in his power to +assist us in our occupations. This, in some degree, indemnified me for +the deplorable loss of time occasioned by the delay in the arrival of +our baggage. I should have reached the Western States long before, if +I had not been obliged to wait for those indispensable articles. +During our stay here, we often saw German emigrants arrive, almost all +of whom were from Würtemberg, Baden, or Rhenish Bavaria. In the most +lamentable condition, without money, without the slightest knowledge +of the country or the language, they were going to meet their +precarious fate. They were generally refused admittance at the English +inns, and then Wöhler, not without considerable expense, took on him +to forward them on their journey. + +We received news from Philadelphia that the cholera had rather abated; +it had entirely spared Bethlehem and its vicinity. The canal colliers +gave me an opportunity of sending my collections to New York, which I +did in the beginning of September. The Flora of the country had then +produced its white, yellow, or purple autumnal flowers; the golden +rod, sunflower, Eupatorium, and some kinds of Aster were in blossom, +and the white flowers of the _Clematis Virginiana_. + +The weather now remained very uniformly hot during the whole of July +and August, with occasional thunder-storms; and if the summers in the +United States are usually of this temperature, as we were assured, +they are more equally hot, and for a longer time, than that season is +in Germany. In order to make myself acquainted with Nazareth, the +other settlement of the Moravian brethren, I drove there in company +of the Rev. Mr. Seidel. It is ten miles from Bethlehem. On the road to +it lies Altoona, consisting of some scattered habitations, and +afterwards, on approaching the Monocasa, Hecktown. Nazareth is a +pleasant place, with some unpaved streets, and has a gymnasium for the +education of young clergymen. All the masters are Germans, but their +instructions are given in the English language. The building seems to +be old, and not very spacious. From the roof there is a fine, +extensive prospect to the blue hills on the banks of the Delaware, and +to the verdant, wooded banks of the Lecha. The gymnasium has a small +cabinet of natural history. The church is not so large as that at +Bethlehem, but can be easily warmed in the winter. A little beyond the +garden, which has many shady walks, is the churchyard, where the flat, +square tombstones, with short inscriptions, lie in regular rows, near +to each other. The names of the brethren interred here show that most +of them were Germans. There is a very fine prospect from the higher +part of this churchyard. The greensward is here thickly covered with +European thyme. Nazareth has about 350 inhabitants, and sixty youths +in the gymnasium. There are in the place a good inn, shops of various +kinds, &c. Mr. Herrman,[37] the present director of the establishment, +had the kindness to show us everything worthy of notice, and we had +only to regret that we could not enjoy longer the pleasure of his +company, as we were [pg. 29] obliged to return to Bethlehem in the +afternoon. Mr. Gebhard, from New York, who had surprised us by an +unexpected visit, returned direct from Nazareth to his own residence. +The view of these Pennsylvanian landscapes would be much more +agreeable if the numerous wooden fences did not give them a stiff, +unnatural character. Some idea may be formed of the number of these +fences from the fact that, in the short distance of ten miles, persons +going on foot, direct from Bethlehem to Nazareth, have to climb over +twenty-five of these fences. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[34] Bethlehem is today a post borough and summer resort in +Southampton County, Pennsylvania, fifty-six miles north of +Philadelphia. At times during the Revolutionary War, it was the +general hospital headquarters for the Continental army and about five +hundred soldiers were buried there. In 1740, under the leadership of +Whitefield, a small body of Moravians who had recently migrated to +Georgia settled on the Forks of the Delaware. Within a few weeks, +however, doctrinal differences influenced Whitefield to expel the +Moravians from his estate. Through the labors of Bishop Nitschmann, +the latter purchased from William Allen five hundred acres on the +banks of the Lehigh River. Count Zinzendorf, visiting the hamlet at +Christmas in the same year, named it Bethlehem. It has since remained +the centre of the northern division of the Moravian church in the +United States.--ED. + +[35] Lewis David von Schweinitz was born at Bethlehem (1780), and died +there in 1834. Educated in Germany, he returned to the United States +and won a large reputation as a botanist being made a member of +various scientific societies in this country and Europe. He added +fourteen hundred new species to the catalogue of American flora, wrote +numerous books on botany, and at his death bequeathed to the Academy +of Natural Sciences at Philadelphia his herbarium, at that time the +largest in North America. + +Before coming to Pennsylvania, John D. Anders (1771-1847) had charge +of the Moravian church at Berlin, where his great ability attracted +much attention among the students of the university. In 1827 he was +appointed to preside over the northern district of the American +Moravian church. This position he held until 1836, when he was elected +to the supreme executive board of the _Unitas Fratrum_.--ED. + +[36] See Plate 34, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + +[37] Born and educated in Prussia, John Gottlieb Herman came to the +United States in 1817, and taught and preached in Pennsylvania until +1844, when he was elected to the supreme executive board of the +Moravian church. During a part of his stay in America, he was +principal of Brown's boarding school for boys. After a brief mission +to the West Indies, he was elected president of the synod of the +entire Moravian church, held in Herrnhut, Saxony. Returning to the +United States in 1849, he died (1854) in the wilds of southwest +Missouri while returning from a mission to the Cherokee Indians.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER IV + +JOURNEY TO THE POKONO, AND THROUGH THE BLUE MOUNTAINS TO MAUCH CHUNK, +IN THE COAL DISTRICT, FROM THE 23RD TO THE 30TH OF AUGUST + + Easton on the Delaware--Morris Canal--View of the Blue + Mountains--Delaware Gap--Dutotsburg--Chestnut Hill--Sach's + Public house on the Pokono--Height of the Pokono--Long + Pond--Tonkhanna Creek--Tobihanna Creek--Inn of the Widow + Sachs--Saw-mill on the Tobihanna, with the Bear-trap--Stoddart's + Ville on the Lehigh--Shade Creek--Bear Creek--Extensive View of + the Mountains--Wilkesbarre in the Valley of Wyoming, or + Susquehannah Valley--Falls of Solomon Creek--Hanover + Township--Neskopeck Valley--German Settlers--Lausanne--Neskihone + or Neskihoning Valley--Picturesque Scenery on the Lehigh--Mauch + Chunk. + + +In order to make ourselves acquainted with the interior of +Pennsylvania, and the Alleghany mountains, which are the most +interesting part of that state, we left Bethlehem early in the +morning, on the 23rd of August, in a light, covered carriage, driven +by our landlord, Wöhler, who was well known in all this country. Dr. +Saynisch and Mr. Bodmer accompanied me. I left my huntsman behind to +look after our affairs at home. The country was enveloped in fog, as +had been generally the case for some time past, till the sun dispelled +it. We took the road to Easton, where the fields were partly cleared, +and covered with stubble, partly planted with clover, maize, potatoes, +and buckwheat, which was just in flower. The ground was gently +undulating, with an alternation of fields, and woods of walnut and +oak. This country belongs to the secondary limestone formation; +where-ever the ground was broken up, limestone was seen, and in the +woods were several limekilns, the produce of which was lying on the +fields in large heaps, to be spread over them for manure. Isolated +farm-houses are scattered along the road. They are slightly built of +wood, many of them very small; but there are a great number of wealthy +planters in this State. The little gardens of these houses were +generally planted with European flowers, and on the road-side in the +hedges, the kermes-oak and juniper abounded, and their berries +attracted numbers of thrushes. Horses and horned cattle are very +numerous, and the first, which are often of a very good breed, are +left, day and night, at liberty in the meadow, and little trouble is +taken about them. [pg. 31] The peasants are very bold in riding and +driving, never use drags to their wheels, but drive down the hills +full trot. In the hot and dry season, this country is often in want of +water, and even the cisterns made by the farmers then become dry, so +that the cattle must frequently be driven five or six miles to water. +This arid tract is called by the inhabitants, in their German +language, "das Trockene land," the dry land. + +We now saw, on our right hand, the heights on the banks of the Lehigh, +covered with verdant forests, which we were again approaching. The +double call of the _Perdix Virginiana et Marylandica_, called, by the +Americans, quail or partridge, sounded in the clover fields; the +ground squirrel ran along the fences; the red-headed woodpecker flew +from tree to tree; and plants of various kinds, _Verbascum thapsus_ +(great mullein), _Antirrhinum linaria_ (the common toadflax), +_Phytolacea_, _Rhus typhinum_ (Virginian sumach), _Eupatorium +purpureum_, golden rod, &c., grew by the road-side; the dwelling +houses were surrounded with large orchards, and the apple trees were +loaded with small yellow apples of an indifferent kind, and immense +caterpillars' nests covered many of the branches. A great deal of +cider is made, but the culture of fruit seems to be, in general, in +rather a backward state. The cherry trees, too, were covered at this +time with their small, bad fruit, which, as in Europe, was eagerly +sought after by numbers of birds. After travelling twelve miles, we +arrived at Easton, a small town with a population of 2,000 +inhabitants, the capital of Northampton county, situated at the +conflux of the Delaware and the Lehigh. We alighted at the inn with +many country people, and immediately set out to take a walk in the +town, while breakfast was preparing. The streets of Easton cross each +other at right angles; they are not paved, excepting a footway on the +sides, paved with bricks; the largest of them runs with a gentle +declivity to the Delaware. In a square in the highest part stands the +Court-house. The buildings in the place are, in general, only two +stories high; and the most interesting spot is the terrace, near the +bridge over the Delaware. This bridge is 600 English feet long, has +three arches, is quite closed, covered with a strong roof, and has +fifteen glass windows on each side; it is painted yellow, and the +building of it, like all similar undertakings in the United States, +was a private speculation, and brings in thirty per cent., a toll +being paid. + +We crossed this bridge, and walked down the river, till we came +opposite to the spot, immediately below the town, where the Lehigh, +issuing from its picturesque valley, between the rocky hills covered +with pines and other trees, falls into the Delaware. Near to the +former, on the same side, is the mouth of the Mauch Chunk canal; and +on the other side of the Delaware begins the Morris canal, leading to +New York.[38] A great number of men were busily employed at this spot. +On the banks of the Delaware grew _Datura Tatula_, with its purple +flowers, tall Virginian junipers, a verbena, and other plants; and the +three-striped viper darted through the low bushes. + +[pg. 32] Returning to the inn, we loaded our guns and proceeded on our +journey. As soon as we were out of the town, we went up the Delaware +on the right bank, and crossed a bridge to Bushkill, a picturesque +stream, flowing between lofty shady trees, on banks richly covered +with a variety of plants. From this spot the way becomes extremely +romantic and agreeable. It leads close by the bright mirror of the +river, which may be full 200 paces broad, in the shade of the dark +forest of plane, oak, tulip, walnut, chestnut, and other trees; and on +the left hand rises the steep rocky wall, covered with many +interesting plants, which are protected by the shade of the trees. The +river soon becomes broader, and we came to isolated habitations +situated in shady groves. We stopped at one of them to send a +messenger, on horseback, back to Bethlehem, where the drawing +materials, of which we had so much need, had been forgotten. + +The rocks often came so close to the bank of the river, that there was +scarcely room for two carriages to pass each other: lofty forest trees +afforded a welcome shade. In many places the rock stood out. Dr. +Saynisch struck off with his hammer some fine pieces of saussurite +(_Hornstone_), and talc, with mica; but a slate formation soon +succeeded, and we were glad that we had taken good specimens of the +preceding. Continuing our way, in the shade, by the banks of the +river, we frequently came to other steep rocks, till the wilderness +again gave way to human habitations, where we stopped at the White +House to water our horses and take some refreshment. From this place +the country was more diversified. The road still runs by the side of +the river, which was animated by boats, and by numbers of ducks and +geese. The Mudrun creek here issues in a very picturesque manner, +between high trees, from a small side valley. A little farther on, we +left the Delaware to ascend some pretty high hills. We proceeded along +the side valley of Martin's creek, in which there are some spots of +marshy meadow, where the splendid _Lobelia cardinalis_, which is +usually found on the banks of all these rivers, attracted the eye by +its deep red flowers. We then passed a naked lateral defile, where +stubble, and clover fields, and woods, which we saw at a distance, +reminded us of some parts of our own country. The road led over the +heights, alternately gently ascending and descending till we came to +the little village of Richmont, where we watered our horses, which +suffered from the great heat, and ascended a considerable eminence, on +which there is a mean looking church, called Upper Mount Bethel. We +then proceeded through a more elevated plain, where, on the left hand, +in a north-west direction, is a near prospect of the Blue Mountains, +which form the first chain of the Alleghany. + +This first chain is said to be only 2,000 feet above the level of the +sea; but it extends here further than the eye can reach, and is +uniformly covered with verdant, primeval forests. It runs in the +direction from north to south, and has no characteristically shaped +peaks, or remarkable forms, so that there is nothing picturesque in +the total effect. With the exception of some parts, especially the +beautiful Catskill mountains, most of the landscapes of North America +are characterized by this want of striking outlines, and this +constitutes the great difference between them and [pg. 33] the views in +Brazil, where the mountains and the outlines of the horizon are +almost always marked by the most striking forms, as is usual in +primitive mountains. + +In the chain before us, we remarked an opening in a northerly +direction, where the Delaware breaks through; this is called the +Delaware Water Gap, or the Delaware Gap. It is twenty-three miles from +Bethlehem, and was the place of our destination to-day. We were now +two miles from it. After passing the little town of Williamsburg, we +saw before us, almost in all directions, luxuriant verdant woods, and +eminences rising behind each other. As our horses hastened to the +valley, the height of the mountains seemed to increase. At length the +bright Delaware appeared before us, and we soon reached its banks. The +river here forms the boundary of Warren County in New Jersey. On the +opposite side we perceived a large glasshouse, managed by Germans, +called Columbia Glasshouse, where many who have possessed it have +already become bankrupts. + +As we approached this defile, we observed a water-snake swimming in +the river, which suffered itself to be carried down with the stream, +but disappeared as soon as we approached. We procured one on the +following day, as they are not uncommon here. + +We had now reached the mountain chain, which rose bold and steep on +both sides, and at every step became more and more contracted. Just +before the defile, or gap, is an inn, behind which, at the distance of +hardly a couple of hundred paces, runs the steep rocky wall of +grauwacke and clay slate, here the predominant kind of rock. This high +wall is crowned on the summit with pines, and covered at the base with +various other trees, while the middle part is naked and rugged. At the +foot of the mountains are luxuriant fields and meadows, in which the +fine cattle were grazing. From this spot the rocky wall approaches +nearer and nearer to the river, the banks of which, rude and desolate, +are covered with many broken trunks of trees confusedly thrown +together, many of which were still lying in the water. This is the +effect of the rising of the river, and the breaking-up of the ice in +spring, which had caused more extensive damages in the spring of 1832 +than on any former occasion within the memory of man. Where the banks +of the river are flat and sandy, thickets of young planes often supply +the place of the willows on the banks of our European rivers. The +plane--called by the German inhabitants water maple, or water beech; +by the Anglo-Americans, buttonwood, or sycamore--flourishes +particularly near the water, or in low, moist situations, where it +attains its colossal growth in perfection. These young planes, on the +bank, were almost entirely stripped of their bark by the action of the +water. + +The inn, Delaware Gap, is supposed to be 600 feet higher than +Philadelphia, and the steep wall of rock behind it is elevated 600 or +700 feet above it. We might have stopped here for the night, but, as +it was early, we preferred passing the Gap. The road now led +immediately along the bank of the river, and then obliquely upwards on +the steep wooded western rocky wall. The savage grandeur of the +scenery is very striking. The forest has underwood of [pg. 34] various +kinds, where numbers of interesting plants attracted our attention. +Picturesque rocks, over which water trickles, covered with various +coloured mosses, lichens, and beautiful ferns, stand between the +trunks of the trees, and form shady nooks, caverns, seats; while all +the forest trees of this country, mixed with pines, particularly the +hemlock spruce fir, and the Weymouth pine, make a dark wilderness that +inspires a feeling of awe. + +The valley of the Gap leaves the river just room enough to force its +way between the steep walls of rock; and, if you turn and look back in +this interesting ravine, you see against a steep-wooded height what is +called the Indian ladder. There are several islands in this part of +the river, which are partially stripped of their wood by the action of +the current, but some of them have pretty lofty trees on them. At the +distance of about a mile from the narrowest part of the Gap, we +reached a lonely house, where a man, six feet high, and very +corpulent, came to meet us; he was of German descent, and his name was +Dietrich. He would willingly have received us for the night in his +small public-house, but there was no accommodation for our horses, and +we therefore proceeded on our journey. In a short time we reached an +eminence, at the turn of the rocky wall, where the solitary dwelling +of a Frenchman, named Dutot, is built on a steep rock, high above the +river. From this place the valley becomes more open, and the mountains +less steep as you recede from the Delaware. A bad road leads over some +eminences to a large open place in the woods, forming a hollow, where +the poor little village, Dutotsburg, consisting of twelve or thirteen +scattered dwellings, is situated. Here we took up our night's lodging +in a tolerable public-house, which is also the post-office for the +stages, and is kept by a farmer named Broadhead. + +We had scarcely taken a little rest, when a poor old man entered, who +was the first person that had settled in this part of the country; his +name was Dutot, and the village was called after him. He was formerly +a wealthy planter in St. Domingo, and possessed 150 slaves; but, being +obliged to fly during the revolution, had purchased a considerable +piece of land here on the Delaware, and commenced building Dutotsburg. +He had previously lost part of his property by the capture of ships, +and his speculations here too seem to have failed. The property melted +away, and the last remnant of his possessions was sold. He had built +houses and sold them, so that he might be called the founder of the +whole of Dutotsburg; yet, after all this, he is reduced to a state of +great poverty, and his situation excites the compassion of travellers +who pass that way. + +As the country about Delaware Gap was highly interesting to me, we +remained here on the following day, the 24th of August. We were early +in motion, when the rising sun beautifully illumined the mountains. +Our guide, Wöhler, had accompanied young Broadhead on a shooting +excursion in the woods; the rest of us went different ways, each with +his gun, till breakfast time. Near the village, a small stream, the +Cherry Creek, meandered through the thickets and meadows, where +numbers of birds came to drink, while the report of the fowling-pieces +of our sportsmen [pg. 35] echoed from the neighbouring wood. After our +return, I accompanied old Dutot to see his house and his family. He +himself had nearly forgotten his native language, and his family knew +nothing of it. We found in this house a delightful view into the +ravine of the Delaware below, and afterwards took the way to the +romantic wild tract which we passed through on the preceding evening. +Several plants were here pointed out to me, to the roots of which the +inhabitants of the country ascribe great medicinal virtues; for +instance, the snake root, perhaps _Aristolochia serpentaria_, which is +said immediately to stanch the most violent bleeding of any wound; +and, above all, the lion's heart (_Prenanthes rubicunda_), which is +commended as a sovereign remedy against the bite of serpents. Old +Dutot related a number of successful cures which he had performed with +this root. This plant has a tall flower stem with many flowers, and +large arrow-shaped leaves; its root is partly tuberous, partly long, +pretty large, and branching, of a reddish yellow colour, and contains +a milky juice. It is boiled with milk, and two table-spoonfuls are +taken as a dose. The swelling, caused by the bite of the reptile, is +said speedily to disappear, after chewing the root. The Delaware +Indians,[39] who formerly inhabited all Pennsylvania, made this remedy +known to an old man, from whom it was inherited by the family of +Dutot. The latter had himself been among the Indians, and gave me some +information respecting them. They, as well as the river, were called +after an English nobleman, but they named themselves _Leni Lenape_, +that is, the aboriginal, or chief race of mankind, and they called the +river _Lenapewi-hittuck_ (river of the Lenape). They are the _Loups_, +or _Abenaquis_ of the French, inhabited Pennsylvania, New Jersey, &c., +and were formerly a powerful tribe. A great part of them dwelt, +subsequently, on the White River, in Indiana, after they had been much +reduced by the whites; but, in 1818, they were compelled to sell the +whole of this tract of country also, to the Government of the United +States, and lands have been allotted to them beyond the Mississippi, +where some half-degenerate remnants of them still live. They are said +to have previously dwelt between fifty and sixty years in the +territory of the present state of Ohio. They buried their dead in the +islands of the Delaware, which are now partly in possession of old +Dutot, but wholly uncultivated, and of little importance. It is said +that human bones are still constantly met with on turning up the +ground, and that, formerly, Indian corpses were found buried in an +upright position, which, however, seems to be uncertain, and with them +a quantity of arrow-heads and axes of flint; but all these things +were disregarded and thrown away, nor had Dutot anything remaining but +a thin, smoothly polished stone cylinder, with which those Indians +used to pound their maize. I was filled with melancholy by the +reflection that, in the whole of the extensive state of Pennsylvania, +there is not a trace remaining of the aboriginal population. O! land +of liberty! + +Our excursion was extended to the public-house situated on the other +side of the Delaware Gap, where we found a live specimen of the red +fox of this country (_Canis fulvus_, Desm.), which we had not before +met with. Loaded with plants, and other interesting objects, we +returned to [pg. 36] Broadhead's house, where all the persons of our +party successively arrived, each with something interesting. Some boys +brought me the beautiful water-snake which we had seen on the +preceding day. Mr. Bodmer had taken a faithful view of the Gap, near +Dietrich's public-house. + +We left Broadhead's on the 25th of August, early in the morning. The +place which we wished to reach on this day is called the Pokono, and +is the most elevated point of the first chain of the Alleghanys or +Blue Mountains. Our road led in a south-westerly direction, along +Cherry Creek, through a pleasant valley diversified with meadows, +thickets, and woods, and gradually ascending. + +As we rose higher and higher over gentle hills, we met a disagreeable, +raw, cold wind, and reached, on the elevated plain, an isolated +church, with a few habitations round it. On our asking the name of the +place, a person, pretty well dressed, said, "he did not himself know +the name of the place; the clergyman, a German, came, about once in a +month, from Mount Bethel, to preach here." + +On reaching the top, we saw before us the highest ridge of the Blue +Mountains, the summit of which, as I have said, is called Pokono, +where an unbroken tract of dark forests covers the whole wilderness. +We gradually advanced towards a more bleak and elevated region, where +pines and firs more and more predominated. On an elevated plain we +were surrounded, as far as the eye could reach, with woods or thickets +of low oaks, from which numbers of slender, half-dried, short-branched +pines (_Pinus rigida_) shot up. These pines originally formed the +forest--the oaks, only the underwood; but the former have, for the +most part, perished in the fires, with which the settlers have, in the +most unwarrantable manner, without any necessity whatever, destroyed +these primeval forests. On a part of the highland, cleared of wood, +through which the road passes, we saw a row of new wooden houses, and +at once perceived that timber is the source of the subsistence of the +inhabitants. Boards, planks, shingles, everywhere lay about, and large +quantities are exported. Shops, where most of the common necessaries +of life were sold, had already been established in this new +settlement. + +From this place, called Chestnut Hill, from the abundance of chestnut +trees in the forests, the road declines a little, and you see, on all +sides, numerous saw mills, which prepare for use the chief product of +the country. The outside cuts of the pine and firs were piled up in +large stacks; scarcely any use is made of them, and they may be bought +for a trifle. We had to pass five or six times the windings of +Pokonbochko Creek, the banks of which are agreeably bordered with +thickets of alder, birch, willow-leaved spiræa, and the _Lobelia +cardinalis_. A great number of skins of different animals were hung up +at the house of a tanner, such as grey and red foxes, racoons, lynxes, +&c., which led us to ask what beasts of the chase were to be met with, +and we learned that deer and other large animals are still numerous. +Rattlesnakes abound in these parts; they showed us many of their skins +stuffed, and one very large one was hung up on the [pg. 37] gable end +of a house. Some persons eat these dangerous serpents from a notion +that, when dressed in a certain manner, they are an effectual remedy +against many diseases. + +We had here a foretaste of the wild scenery of North America, which we +might expect to find in perfection, in uninterrupted primeval forests +on the Pokono; we, therefore, did not stop here, but hastened to the +less inhabited, more elevated, and wilder region, where the mixture of +firs in the forest already began to preponderate. We halted, and took +our dinner at an isolated public-house, kept by a man of German +origin, whose name is Meerwein. Forests surrounded the verdant meadows +about the house, in which woodcocks were numerous. In a little +excursion in the forest I saw splendid bushes of _Rhododendron +maximum_, kalmia, Andromeda, _Rhodora canadensis_, _Ceanothus +vaccinum_; and in the shade of the first, _Orchis ciliata_, with its +beautiful orange-coloured flowers, which is found also nearer to +Bethlehem. + +The entertainment in this solitary house was pretty good and +reasonable; all the inmates, except one man, were Germans. If we had +stopped for the night, they would have gone out for us with their +guns, as deer and pheasants abound in the forests. Having taken the +opportunity of forwarding our collections to Bethlehem by the stage +which passed the house, we proceeded on our journey. From this place +the road continues to ascend, traversing a fine thick wood, frequently +crossing the stream. An undergrowth of scrub oak and chestnut is +spread uniformly, and without interruption, over the whole country, +the pines, as already mentioned, rising above it, most of which have +suffered by fire; for in the dry season these woods have often been +destroyed by extensive conflagrations, which have generally been +caused by the negligence of the wood-cutters and hunters. Even now, +clouds of smoke rose at a distance, and announced a fire in this +great lonely wilderness. The high road is here carried directly +through the forest; it is, for the most part, laid with wood, covered +with earth, which requires carriages with good springs. + +When you have nearly reached the most elevated part of this +wilderness, and look back, you have a grand prospect. Lofty ridges +rise one above another in a narrow valley, all covered with dark +forests, and, on the right and left, high walls of rock close the +valley. We soon reached the highest summit of the Pokono, or second +chain of the Blue Mountains, which, as I have said, forms the most +easterly of the Alleghanys. + +Mr. Moser, a young botanist, had accompanied us from Bethlehem, and I +undertook with him an excursion to a neighbouring lake on the top of +the Pokono, while Dr. Saynisch prepared the birds that had been +killed, and our other hunters went out to look for stags and woodhens. + +We proceeded about half an hour along the high road, when we perceived +the summit of the Pokono, and then turned to the right towards an old +decayed cottage, where oxen were grazing among the thick bushes, and +followed a scarcely perceptible path through the wilderness. We +crossed a valley, with thickets and scorched pines rising above them, +where the ground was covered with various kinds of plants. An old path +led us half a league over an eminence; after which we [pg. 38] found a +valley, where the lake, called Long Pond, is situated, surrounded by +low reeds and rushes, among pine woods and various interesting shrubs. +On the narrow lake we found a small boat, in which Mr. Moser pushed +about to botanize. He procured in this manner the pretty blue +flowering _Pontederia lanceolata_, a red flowering _utricularia_, +_nymphæa_, &c. Though this wilderness was perfectly lonely, we did not +see any water-fowl, and, in fact, very little animal life, so that the +botanist finds much more employment than the zoologist. The lake is +about a mile long, has but little open or clear water, and receives +its supply from the Tonkhanna Brook. When Mr. Moser reached the bank +again, he called to me that he was very near a rattlesnake, the rattle +of which he had distinctly heard; but, though we looked diligently, we +could not find the animal which we had long wished to possess, because +the ground was so thickly overgrown with plants. One of the sons of +Mr. Sachs, our landlord, had been lately bitten by a rattlesnake while +fishing, and they affirmed that he was soon cured by tea made of the +bark of the white ash, which is said to be an infallible antidote to +the bite of serpents. + +At noon, while we were all taking some repose, we were suddenly +alarmed. A mink, or minx (_Mustela vison_), a small beast of prey, +resembling the European lesser otter, had had the boldness to attack, +in broad daylight, the poultry that were about the house, and was +shot. Our hunters had had no success, a single pheasant being all they +had procured. + +In the afternoon Mr. Bodmer joined us, having been driven hither by +Broadhead. We immediately went out to look in the neighbourhood of the +Sand springs[40] for a bear-trap, with an iron plate fastened to a +chain, which was carefully covered up and concealed. Mr. Moser, who +thought he could find the place, led us astray, but we amused +ourselves with the interesting vegetation. + +We made but little addition to our ornithological collections, +scarcely anything having been killed but the whip-poor-will +(_Caprimulgus Virginianus_), which is very numerous in all these +forests. Day had scarcely dawned on the 17th of August, when our whole +company was in motion to go seven miles to the house of another Sachs +(a near relation of our host), whose widow lived there. For about a +mile the wood retains the same character, the firs then attain a +greater height, and are closer together. The wood had been cleared +around some houses, and _Phytolacea_, _Verbascum_, and _Rhus +typhinum_, which occupy all the uncultivated spots in Pennsylvania, +immediately sprang up. The small habitations were built entirely of +wood, and generally painted a reddish brown. In some places we +observed traces of fire: the low scrub oaks were scorched and black, +and were putting forth shoots from the stumps and roots. At times we +had an extensive view of the mountains, uniformly clothed with dark +pine forests, everywhere high tops and ridges, and all around black +woods. The Canadian and the Virginian pine were high and close +together, especially in the valleys. The soil in this part is not very +fertile, and requires to be well manured. All is forest and +wilderness, and bears, deer, and other wild animals abound. [pg. 39] The +Tonkhanna meanders picturesquely between thickets, and the _Lobelia +cardinalis_ was in blossom on its banks. Bull-frogs appeared here, as +on the banks of the Lehigh at Bethlehem, and the same species of +butterflies as are found there. Not far from this place we came to a +second very romantic brook, the Tobihanna, over which a short, covered +bridge is thrown, and about 300 paces further, reached the lonely +habitation of the Widow Sachs, in a desert spot without wood, where we +were to pass the night. + +Mrs. Sachs gave us tolerable quarters, and I immediately sent for the +most expert hunters of the neighbourhood, in order, if possible, to +procure a bear or a stag. Three or four men came who were ready to go +for a remuneration. One of them had but a few days before, met with +two bears and their young, among the bilberry bushes, and shot two of +them. I obtained from him a fine large skin of one of them, and +several interesting stags' horns. + +The part of the country in which we now were was so lonely, wild, and +grand, that we immediately took our fowling-pieces to ramble about. +The Tobihanna,[41] over which is the above-mentioned bridge, thirty or +forty paces in length,[42] is a pretty considerable stream, and the +surrounding scenery is extremely picturesque. It is enclosed in rather +high banks, overhung with fine, dark, primeval forests of Canadian +pine trees, here called spruce fir, mixed with isolated trees of +various kinds, and with a very close underwood of colossal +_Rhododendron maximum_, thicker than a man's arm,[43] whose dense +masses of foliage, with their dark green, laurel-like leaves hang down +over the water, and are often mixed with the beautiful _Kalmia +latifolia_. Even now, the appearance of this dark thicket on the bank +was magnificent; how much more beautiful must it be when in blossom! +The black forest of gigantic firs, crowded together, rises in awful +gloom, here and there relieved by the light green foliage of other +trees. These majestic pine forests have hitherto been visited by only +a few settlers, and have escaped the great conflagrations which have +deprived the skirts of these wooded mountains of part of their lofty +stems. We were charmed with this North American wilderness, where +Nature is, indeed, less vigorous, and poorer than in the hot climates, +but still has a striking, though very different character of solemn +and sublime grandeur. Mr. Bodmer immediately chose a place to sketch +the above-mentioned beautiful brook, while the rest of our party +strolled through the forest. Old decayed trees, often singularly +hollowed, and roots of firs covered with moss, spreading over the +surface in all directions, hindered us from penetrating far into this +wilderness. A dark, damp shade received us here in the heat of the +day, and the three-striped viper, of which there are [pg. 40] numbers +under the old, decayed trunks, frequently fled as we advanced. +Rattlesnakes are said to be less common than in the parts which we had +before visited. Birds were not numerous in the deep recesses of these +forests; only the hammering of the woodpeckers resounded in the awful +wilderness. In places where there was much underwood, very thick stems +of _rhododendron_, often from ten to twenty feet high, formed an +intricate, impenetrable thicket. It was now perfectly dark, and we +found the most beautiful natural arbours. The _Kalmia latifolia_, too, +grew to the height of eight or ten feet. This country was so wild and +attractive that I resolved to stop another day. To the north-east of +the solitary dwelling of the Widow Sachs, was a fine beech forest, +among the underwood of which pheasants were pretty numerous. We +procured some of them, but I could not yet succeed in obtaining a stag +or a bear. + +On the 28th of August we undertook an excursion to see the bear-trap, +in which one of those animals had been caught two or three days +before. The man who owned this trap lived on the road between +Tonkhanna and the Tobihanna, both of which flow into the Lehigh. He +had appointed his house for our rendezvous, where we saw the skin of +the bear, lately taken, nailed up against the gable end to dry. The +saw-mill of our bear-catcher lay in a rude valley, to the south-west +of the road. We came to this saw-mill, in a solitary valley, on the +Tonkhanna, which rushes, roaring and foaming over rocks covered with +black moss, between old broken pines, in a true primeval wilderness. +In this retreat for bears, prickly smilax, brambles, and other thorny +plants, tear the strongest hunting dress, and leather alone resists +these enemies. At every step we had to clamber over fallen trunks of +trees, to the injury of our shins, which were almost always bleeding. +We found our guide, who, though it poured of rain, took his rifle, and +went before, to lead us to the bear-trap. + +The trap was in a place rather bare of thick stems, between young +pines, and made of large logs, in such a manner that a young bear +might be taken alive in it. It consisted of two round stems lying flat +on the ground, between which two others, which are supported by a +prop, are made to fit, and fall down when the prop is touched.[44] _a_ +is the base on which the two logs, _b_, rest; _c_, the two suspended +logs, which fall as soon as the bear touches the bait, fixed in _e_, +at the lower end of the rack _f_. The pole A, A, which is set in the +rack _f_, rests in front on the prop _g_, and supports in _h_, by +means of a withe, the logs _c_, _c_, _c_, _c_. When the bear touches +the bait, the rack _f_ moves, the pole A, A, becomes free, and lets +the logs _c_, _c_, _c_, _c_, fall, which catch or kill the animal. The +whole is covered with green fir boughs when the trap is set, and all +the parts must have their bark on. The bear caught here, some days +before, was about a year old, so that there was room for him between +the logs; and as he was not large, and had entered the trap in front +and not from the side, his life was prolonged a little. He was shot in +the trap, and his head used as a bait; we took the head away with us, +and the owner of the trap substituted a piece of the animal's lungs in +its stead. + + [Illustration: Bear-trap] + +After a hasty sketch had been made of the bear-trap, we set out on our +return; I very much regretted leaving the magnificent wilderness. On +the way we found a fine viburnum, with large reddish leaves, and the +_Oxalis acetosella_, which grew in abundance among the moss and +decaying trunks of trees. The loud hammering of the woodpeckers +resounded in this forest, and we shot the great spotted woodpecker of +this country, which very much resembles our _Picus major_; for dinner +we had bear's flesh, which we thought resembled mutton. + +When I returned to the house of Sachs, I found the hunters, whom I had +hired, in no little confusion. One of them, in particular, after +receiving his wages for the first day, had remained in the +public-house the whole night and the following morning. Stretched at +length on a table, he had slept off the effects of his drunken fit, +talked big, and found here a willing audience, a number of drinkers of +whisky being collected in this place. Brandy drinking is far more +common among the lower classes in America than with us; and here, on +the Pokono, this bad habit was peculiarly prevalent among the country +people. Not far from Tobihanna Creek there was a small wooden house, +ten or twelve feet square, with a little iron stove (see the view of +the Tobihanna Bridge), in which a school was kept. The stalls for +cattle, swine, and sheep, are, for the most part, cages, the bars of +which being pretty wide apart, the cold winter wind blows freely +through them; nay, many of them had half fallen to pieces. The swine, +which ran about in great numbers, had a triangular yoke round their +necks to hinder them from getting through the fences. In all this part +of the country, garden vegetables are raised in beds, or rather boxes, +filled with mould, elevated on four posts. The seeds are sown in these +boxes, and the young plants not transplanted till they have acquired a +certain growth, otherwise they would be destroyed by the insects. +Maple sugar is not made here, because the tree does not grow in +sufficient abundance. The [pg. 42] chief occupation of the settlers, in +this part, is the making of shingles, which are manufactured from the +Weymouth pine. We were assured, that these peasants steal the greater +part of the wood for their shingles, in the forests belonging to +greater landowners, who live at a distance, and have no keepers to +protect their property. One workman can make in a day 300 or 400 +shingles, which are sold on the spot for half-a-dollar per 100. They +are sent to all the neighbouring country, in large wagons drawn by +four horses. At Bethlehem, forty-two miles from Pokono, the best +shingles were sold, at that time, for eleven dollars per 1,000. These +shingles are of two kinds; the German, made by Germans, who first +manufactured them in this way, which are considered to be the best, +and the English; the former are equally thick at both edges, the +latter thicker at one side than the other. Many persons, whose horses +are not otherwise employed, come here and fetch shingles. + +On the 29th of August we continued our journey through forests that +extended, without interruption, on all sides. After crossing a bridge +over the little brook called Two-miles-run, we came to an open spot in +the forest, where the great village of Stoddartsville is built on the +Lehigh, which at this place is still an inconsiderable stream. The +environs of the place are still wild. Stumps of trees, cut or sawed +off two or three feet from the ground, were everywhere seen, and this +newly-cleared spot was still covered with wild plants. As you come +down the hill, you look directly into the street of the place, to +which some neat and pretty houses give a very striking effect in this +wilderness. We continued our journey over wooded eminences, where +bears and stags are said to be still numerous. Having passed Bear +Creek and Ten-miles-run Creek, we soon reached the Pokono, or highest +summit of the Blue Mountains, and began gradually to descend. In the +forests through which we now passed, the firs began to give way to +other timber trees, and the woods are again more burnt and ruined, +frequently consisting only of shoots from the stumps of oaks, +chestnuts, maples, and sassafras trees, with single pines everywhere +rising above them, as the palms in Brazil do, above the lower +_Dicotyledones_. + +On one of the next eminences, we came to another lofty point, whence +we had the most extensive view, backwards and forwards, that we had +yet enjoyed in these mountains. Towards the north-west lies the +beautiful valley of Wyoming, through which the Susquehannah flows; and +backwards, in the opposite direction, a rude prospect of wood and +mountain, where peak rises above peak, and the eye ranges over an +uninterrupted extent of immense forests. It is said to have been +ascertained, by actual measurement, that this spot is 1,050 feet above +the level of the Atlantic. Unfortunately, our time would not allow us +to take a drawing of this grand prospect. From this place we began to +descend into the valley of the Susquehannah, where the woods assume a +more cheerful character, the firs being soon entirely succeeded by the +oak, chestnut, and other timber trees. The road resembles an avenue, +overshadowed by lofty oaks, tulip, chestnut, walnut, beech, hornbeam, +birch, maple, elm, nyssa, and other trees, growing very close [pg. 43] +together. Here we already see the formation of the conglomerate--the +precursor of the coal district, which we now enter. When we had +descended rather more than half way down the declivity of the +mountain, we were taken about 200 paces to the right of the road, to +be surprised by the beautiful prospect of the valley of Wyoming, or +the Susquehannah. A group of rocks of conglomerate rises, isolated in +the forest, and, on ascending it, you have a magnificent view. The +broad and extensive valley, covered with towns and detached houses, +alternates agreeably with forests and fields; the river flows through +its whole length, and at our feet lay the pretty town of Wilkesbarre, +the streets of which we could overlook. It is manifest, at a glance, +that the whole of the valley was formerly covered with a thick +primeval forest, for strips of wood everywhere traverse the fields. + +Proceeding on our journey we came to a solitary public-house, where we +met with a rattlesnake. I bought it, and it was put into brandy, as a +live creature of this kind is not the most agreeable travelling +companion. This snake had been kept three weeks in a box, and had not +taken any nourishment whatever, so that it moved its rattle but +faintly when it was irritated. As it was a very large and handsome +specimen, I paid two dollars and a half for it. The landlady, a very +corpulent personage, was in a very light morning dress when she +concluded the bargain with me, and not being able to give me change, +she immediately threw on her Sunday clothes, to follow our carriage on +foot, and settle the account at Wilkesbarre. Her head was adorned with +a large fashionable straw hat; she had a silk gown, and a silk +parasol, which she might very well have spared, protected her tanned +face from the sun. It was remarkable that, heavy as she was, she +reached the town as soon as we did, though we had half a league to go. +Wilkesbarre, in Lucerne county, is a place with about 1,200 +inhabitants, with three churches, a court-house, a bank, &c.[45] The +streets are pretty regular, and the buildings separated by gardens and +intermediate spaces. The place has its singular name from the first +settlers, who were called Wilkes and Barre. The population consists of +handicraftsmen, field labourers, storekeepers, and merchants; and +several of the inhabitants are interested in the important coal mines, +situated to the west of the road which we had taken. This bed of coals +is said to extend fourteen miles along the slope of the valley of the +Susquehannah, and then to continue over other eminences, of which +there will be occasion to speak in the sequel. For the purpose of +conveying the coals by water, a canal has been dug, which was not +quite completed, and which is to form a communication between the coal +mines and the Susquehannah. On the other side of the river the great +Pennsylvania canal is already finished, which connects Pennsylvania +with Maryland by means of the Susquehannah.[46] This last canal, which +is divided into several parts, will be continued to Baltimore, the +chief seaport, but it is not yet quite completed. Pennsylvania is +already intersected by numerous canals, which connect the rivers, and +are of the highest importance by the facilities they afford to inland +trade. + +[pg. 44] The inn at which we put up at Wilkesbarre was kept by a German, +named Christ, who recommended to our notice some interesting points in +the environs; and we, therefore, did not take the usual road at the +bottom of the valley, but soon turned aside from the Susquehannah, +into a wild, lateral valley, in which there are fine waterfalls. At +less than a league from Wilkesbarre, we reached, at the foot of the +mountain, a wild, thickly-wooded ravine, where we soon heard the +roaring of Solomon Creek. Near a mill, the owner of which is General +Ross,[47] this stream forms some highly picturesque cascades over +smooth, perpendicular black rocks, covered with moss, forming a basin +below, in a thick forest of pine and other timber. There are two +cascades, one above the other, of which the second is the largest; +then comes the last and highest, where the water, conducted from the +mill directly across the ravine, falls perpendicularly, about the +height of a house, over a steep rock. It was, unfortunately, too late, +when we arrived, to make a drawing of this interesting scene. We asked +for accommodation for the night in the mill, which is a roomy house; +but our countryman (this man's mother was born in Germany) could not, +or would not, receive us. They gave us some of the water of the stream +to drink, which had a strong taste of iron and sulphur. As it was not +possible to find a lodging in the neighbourhood, we were advised to +proceed three miles to the top of the mountain, which we, indeed, +accomplished, but had nearly had reason to repent of our resolution. + +The road ascends on the left rocky bank of Solomon Creek, in a thick +forest, over rough ground, so that we constantly had the steep +precipice on the right hand. There was no room for two carriages to +pass; luckily, carriages are rare in this remote wilderness. As we had +been told that there was abundance of wild animals, we loaded our +fowling-pieces with ball. We now turned to ascend in a wooded defile, +where a couple of solitary miserable dwellings, built of trunks of +trees, scarcely left room for a small field or a little garden +overgrown with weeds. While the road became more and more rude, and +obstructed by the vegetation, twilight set in, and it was only with +the greatest efforts that our horses could draw the carriages among +rocks and fallen trunks of trees, and nothing but the greatest care +prevented them from being overturned. We met several peasants, with +their axes and guns, returning from their work in the woods: they +were robust, savage-looking, powerful men, whose sudden appearance in +such a lonely spot might elsewhere have excited suspicion. There are +no robbers in these parts; at least, I never heard of any, but it must +be owned that the place is extremely well suited to them. The +beautiful cardinal flower (_Lobelia cardinalis_) grew in such +abundance in the swampy parts of the wood, as to form a fine red +carpet. The _Chelone obliqua_, with its white flowers, was likewise +very common. + +At length the moon rose bright and clear to relieve us from our +unpleasant situation, and cheered by her friendly beams the gloomy +path of the wanderer. When we reached the summit the road divided into +two branches, of which we were so lucky as to choose the right one. At +[pg. 45] length, about nine in the evening, we had the pleasure of +seeing a light; and a lonely house, in an open spot, lay before us. On +our knocking, the door was slowly opened. We entered a poor hut, where +two women--one an elderly person, the other younger--were sitting by +the fireside. The master of the house, whose name was Wright, was not +at home. The two women were very tall, and were smoking, quite at +their ease, small clay pipes. They were not a little surprised at so +late a visit, but soon stirred up the fire, and set on water. Our +frugal supper, consisting of coffee and potatoes, was soon finished, +and we lay down in our clothes on tolerable beds, placed in a large +unfurnished room, which in this country are almost always made for two +persons. This house belongs to Hanover township; the settlement itself +had not yet any name. Only English was spoken here. Not far from the +house the Wapalpi Creek ran through the thickets towards the ravine. + +The night was soon passed, and at six in the morning we proceeded on +our journey. In order to take a view of the Falls of Solomon Creek, +Mr. Bodmer left us, and returned to the mill, with the intention of +joining us again at Bethlehem, by taking another road. John Wright, +brother to our host, lived three miles off, in a little rude valley, +where we intended to breakfast. Some men, who were going to +hay-making, with their guns and dogs, met us. The inhabitants of these +woods generally take their guns when they go to their work, as they +frequently have opportunities of killing some large game. They have +powerful dogs, resembling our German bloodhounds, brown or black, with +red marks; or striped like the wolf, and sometimes, but seldom, their +ears are cropped. These dogs are used in chasing the bear or the stag. + +In a romantic wooded valley we reached the solitary dwelling of John +Wright, where we halted. The mistress of the house, who, with a little +boy, was alone at home, gave us a very friendly reception, and +prepared us a breakfast with coffee; all very clean and good for this +retired spot. In the course of conversation we learned that she was of +German descent, and born at Tomaqua.[48] She lived here in a pretty +roomy log-house, with a chimney and iron stove; yet she said that in +winter it was often very cold in the room, the walls of which were, +indeed, not quite air-tight. In many rooms in these mountains we found +two iron stoves. Leaving these scattered dwellings of Hanover +township, we reached, in five hours, the Nescopeck Valley, eleven +miles from our last night's quarters, the road to which is bad, little +frequented, and in part stony, gently ascending and descending, and +passing through ruined forests, such as have already been described. +In some places the wood is thicker, in others the sides of the +mountains had been quite cleared, and were covered with young shoots +and some higher trees; small streams, here called runs, flow in the +defiles and valleys; the bridges of beams over which were, for the +most part, so rotten, [pg. 46] and in such bad condition, that horses +and carriages could not pass without danger. We saw no human beings or +dwellings on this road, nor any animals except some small birds and +frogs. After this rather monotonous journey, we were glad to descend +into the Nescopeck Valley, and reached it, at the mill of one Bug, of +German descent, where we refreshed ourselves with milk and brandy. The +Nescopeck Creek, a pretty considerable stream, which turns several +mills, flows through this beautiful wooded valley. This district +belongs to Sugarloaf township, in Lucerne county. + +After we had watered our horses, and the miller had questioned us +about his native Germany, we crossed the bridge over the stream, +ascended the mountain on the other side, and reached an inn on the +summit, from which it is eighteen miles to Wilkesbarre. Proceeding +from this place, we crossed the valley of the little Nescopeck Creek, +which is covered with lofty trees, then passed the little Black Creek, +and afterwards came to a high mountain wall, with a beautiful wood of +various forest trees, which the inhabitants, who are mostly of German +origin, call the Bocksberg. German is everywhere spoken here. + +From the mill, the way leads through a thick underwood of shrub-like +oaks, with a few higher trees, and we soon reached the high road from +Berwick, in the Susquehannah Valley, along which we proceeded to Mauch +Chunk, where two stage-coaches pass daily. + +We took this road, and soon came to an inn, kept by a German named +Anders, who likewise had a saw-mill. The host had, a short time +before, caught an old she-bear in a trap, and in the three following +days her three cubs, which he sold to travellers passing that way. The +point where we now were is called the Hasel Swamp; and, proceeding +onwards, we passed Pismire Hill, where rattlesnakes are said to +abound. We observed, too late, a very large animal of this kind dead +in the road, one of the wheels of our carriage having crushed the head +of the snake, which was otherwise in a good state of preservation. My +driver laid it in a natural position by the road-side, and I have no +doubt that it was again knocked on the head by some other traveller. +The marshy tract through which the Beaver Creek flows, is called +Beaver Meadow, and is covered with willow bushes. It is probable that +beavers may have formerly been numerous here, at least the place is +quite suited to them; but those harmless animals have been long since +extirpated. We came next to a considerable eminence, called Spring +Mountain, which we ascended, and then rapidly descended, always +through a thick forest, where we observed, on both sides of the way, +the Grauwacke formation. On reaching the bottom of Spring Mountain we +entered a wide valley, both the steep sides and bottom of which are +covered with thick woods, only thinned a little round the habitations. +In the middle of the valley, directly before us, six or seven +buildings, in a broad street, formed the village of Lausanne, five or +six hundred paces below which the Quackack Brook flows through the +valley. A Jew keeps here a public-house and shop, where we met +likewise with newspapers. + +[pg. 47] Beyond Lausanne is a high mountain, called Broad Mountain, up +which the road is carried in an oblique direction. Trees and shrubs +form everywhere a very thick but ruined forest, in which there is +scarcely any serviceable timber. The view back over the extensive and +wild valley of Lausanne was extremely interesting. One can hardly +fancy this sublime and rude country without its aboriginal red +inhabitants. The wide and hollow valley is everywhere covered with +dense forests; and the little village of Lausanne is scarcely to be +seen amidst the dark green foliage. On the Broad Mountain we find +again the same formation of conglomerate, which I have before +mentioned; the beds of coal are at a small distance. On the side which +we descended the wood is more beautiful, the trees taller than on the +edge of the mountain; oaks, chestnuts, and other trees, were very +vigorous and luxuriant. Several planters have formed detached +settlements here, among whom an Irishman was pointed out to us, who +had lately been arrested on an accusation of murder, but had been +since set at liberty. + +The Neskihone or Neskihoning Valley, into which we now descended, is +wide, and enclosed by very high, far-extending walls of rock, +everywhere covered with thick woods, in which some small cultivated +patches are here and there seen. Along the right, or southern wall, an +iron railroad has been laid down, which forms a communication between +one of the coal mines of the Mauch Chunk Company, on the Rumrun Creek, +and Mauch Chunk. It runs down into the valley of the Lehigh, which it +follows to the last-named place. The appearance of the valley is very +wild and picturesque; the Neskihone, which you pass at a saw-mill, +flows at the bottom of it, and then turns to the left into the +beautiful valley of the Lehigh, into which the Neskihone empties +itself. The Lehigh comes on the left hand, out of a deep, extremely +wild mountain valley, or dark glen, the entrance to which is entirely +concealed by lofty, steep wooded mountains. Its glassy surface shines, +half hid by tall shady oaks, beeches, and chestnuts; and the whole is +one of the most interesting scenes that I met with in Pennsylvania. +The road from this place to the Lehigh Valley is agreeably shaded by +high trees, and on the banks of the river there are several +dwelling-houses and inns. In a quarter of an hour we reached Mauch +Chunk, now celebrated as the central point of the Lehigh coal +district. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[38] The Lehigh Navigation Company, chartered August 10, 1818, was +consolidated in 1820 with the Lehigh Coal Company, and since 1821 has +been known as the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. Temporary +navigation of the Lehigh River being opened by 1820, coal was floated +down to the Delaware and thence to Philadelphia, where the scows were +broken up. In 1827 the company began the construction of a canal which +by 1829 was completed between Mauch Chunk and Easton. A line to White +Haven was opened (1835), and to Stoddartsville (1838). In 1827 there +was opened the Mauch Chunk (gravity) Railroad, the second of its kind +in the United States, being in 1828 extended to Room Run and the +Beaver Meadow region; in 1840 the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad was +completed by the same company. In July, 1825, the Morris Canal and +Banking Company, under a charter of the preceding year, commenced work +on a twenty-mile canal between the Delaware and Newark, New Jersey, +and completed it in 1831. Later the canal was extended to Jersey City, +a distance of eleven miles.--ED. + +[39] When found by Europeans, the Delaware Indians were living in +detached bands along the Delaware River. A tribe of the Algonquian +family, they comprised three powerful clans--the Turtle, Turkey, and +Wolf--see Post's _Journals_ in our volume i, p. 220, note 57. By 1753 +a portion of the tribe had migrated to the Ohio, and by 1786 all had +settled west of the Allegheny Mountains. They had aided Pontiac in his +attack upon Fort Pitt, and allied themselves with the English during +the Revolutionary War. Defeated, they established themselves along the +banks of the Huron River in Ohio and in Canada. Neutral during the War +of 1812-15, they sold their lands to the United States and occupied a +reservation along White River, in Indiana. By subsequent treaties the +Delaware were removed to Missouri, Kansas, and Texas; and in 1867 they +were incorporated among the Cherokee, and stationed with the latter in +Indian Territory.--ED. + +[40] Copious springs issuing from the white sand.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[41] The names of all these rivers, streams, and many places, are, for +the most part, harmonious with many vowels, and are derived from the +ancient Delaware or Lenni-lappe language. _Tobihanna_ means alder +brook. See Duponceau, in the Transactions of the American +Philosophical Society, vol. iv. part iii. page 351, on the names from +the Delaware languages still current in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New +Jersey, and Virginia.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[42] See Plate 4, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + +[43] The wood of this shrub is extremely solid and hard.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[44] See p. 107, for illustration of bear-trap.--ED. + +[45] Wilkes-Barre, seat of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, and eighteen +miles southwest of Scranton, was laid out in 1769 and named jointly +for John Wilkes and Colonel Barre, members of the British parliament. +The town is near the famous "mammoth vein," of anthracite coal, +nineteen million tons of which were mined in the vicinity of +Wilkes-Barre in 1900. The census report for that year exhibited a +population of 51,721.--ED. + +[46] The Susquehanna and Tide Water Canal Company was a consolidation +of the Susquehanna Canal Company of Pennsylvania, and the Tide Water +Canal Company of Maryland. It was encouraged by both states, Maryland +lending it credit to the amount of a million dollars. It was opened in +1840. See Henry V. Poor, _History of the Railroads and Canals of the +United States_ (New York, 1860), p. 552. + +In 1840 the total mileage of canals in Pennsylvania was twelve hundred +and eighty; of which four hundred and thirty-two were owned by private +companies; the total mileage of railroads in the same year was seven +hundred and ninety-five. See Henry F. Walling and O. W. Gray, _New +Topographical Atlas of the State of Pennsylvania_ (Philadelphia, +1872), p. 30.--ED. + +[47] The executive council of Philadelphia presented General William +Ross with a costly sword for his "gallant services of July 4, 1788," +in rescuing Colonel Pickering from kidnappers. Ross was later made +general of the militia, and in 1812 elected to the state senate from +the district of Northumberland and Luzerne; he died (1842) at the age +of eighty-two.--ED. + +[48] Tomaqua lies in the coal district at the end of the little +Schuylkill Valley, near Tuscarora. In this country the discovery of the +coal has caused agriculture to be neglected, and thousands of people +are said to have been ruined by unsuccessful speculations.--MAXIMILIAN. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +DESCRIPTION OF MAUCH CHUNK AND ITS COAL MINES--JOURNEY THROUGH THE +LEHIGH VALLEY TO BETHLEHEM, AND LAST RESIDENCE IN THAT TOWN, FROM +AUGUST 31ST TO SEPTEMBER 16TH + + Mauch Chunk--The Coal Mines--Lehighton--Mahoning Creek and + Valley--Gnadenhütten, a destroyed Colony of the Moravian + Brethren--Weissport--Lehigh Gap--The Devil's + Pulpit--Berlin--Crytersville--Howard Town--Schoner's Town--Last + Residence in Bethlehem. + + +Mauch Chunk is a village of about 200 houses, in the deep and narrow +Lehigh Valley. The houses form almost one row only, and a small street +in the lateral valley of the Mauch Chunk stream. This place has sprung +up since the discovery of the very rich coal mines in the vicinity. +The Lehigh Company employs from 800 to 1000 workmen, and supplies the +whole surrounding country with the very fine coals obtained here. +Several iron railroads, leading to the works, have already been made, +canals dug to export the coals in numerous barges, great works +erected, a large and capital inn established in the valley of the +Lehigh, and mills of various kinds built; and travellers ought by no +means to neglect this highly interesting spot. This deep and wild +valley, which is enclosed on every side by wooded mountains from 800 +to 1000 feet high, has become, within a few years, a scene of action +and profitable industry, which will soon render this spot one of the +most remarkable in Pennsylvania. The principal work, to which an iron +railroad has been made, lies on a considerable eminence, nine miles +from Mauch Chunk. On the 31st of August, we visited this interesting +spot. + +As the railroad runs up along the declivity, it has been necessary to +cut it obliquely; it is, therefore, narrow, with only one line; and +places, at certain intervals, to allow two carriages to pass. For the +convenience of travellers who wish to see the works, a stage-coach has +been established, which is drawn up by two horses. Our company +assembled at the inn, and ascended, by a steep path, from the town, to +the iron railroad, which runs a little above the village. The [pg. 49] +railroad stages are light carriages, with four low wheels, and seats +for eight persons; they are covered at top, and open at the sides. The +wheels are of iron, and have a groove, which fits into the rail, and +runs upon it. The driver sits in front, and has a long tin horn, which +he blows, to announce his approach to such as may be coming in the +opposite direction; in the other hand he holds, in the descent, the +machine with which the carriage is stopped when necessary. This +contrivance consists of a pole, at the lower end of which there is a +stuffed leather cushion, which, by moving the pole, is brought close +to the wheels, and by its friction checks the rapidity of the motion. +As a train of coal-wagons was expected, we slackened our pace. The two +stages were fastened together, and though both were quite full of +passengers, a couple of horses drew them up with great ease. We had +not proceeded far, when we heard the rolling of a train of +coal-wagons. It was interesting to see the black train advance, and +dart by us with the rapidity of an arrow. These are built of strong +beams and planks; each contains two tons of coals, and forty-five +wagons go at the same time, which carry 90 tons; they run five times a +day, thus 450 tons, or 25,200 bushels, are brought down to Mauch Chunk +daily. Every fifteen wagons are fastened together by strong iron +bands, and in the middle of this train is a man who holds a chain in +his hand, by means of which he can check the rapidity of the motion, +or even stop it entirely. Four or five hundred paces behind the first +column comes the second, and then, at an equal distance, the third, +and after these, seven wagons, in each of which there are four mules, +with provender, and a bridge for them to get in and out. Their heads +are turned to the front, and they eat quietly, as they descend. These +mules are to draw up the empty coal wagons. + +It was interesting to see the thundering column approach us, and then +hasten by. As soon as it had passed, our horses trotted up the +mountain, which could not be attempted, except on an iron railroad. +The road runs along the rocky wall, always through a forest, where +single settlers have here and there built their little wooden +dwellings. Cattle were feeding in the neighbourhood, whose bells we +heard in the woods. The valley at our left hand was very wild and +romantic. Both the high mountain and the valley below, in which the +Mauch Chunk flows, are clothed with a forest of fir and other timber, +and wild vines twine about the bushes by the road-side. The number of +miles is marked on white boards nailed to the trees. When we reached +the top we came to an inn, which had a small park with Virginian deer. +The fawns of these deer were still spotted a little at the end of +August. + +As soon as our company had rested a little, and taken some +refreshment, as it was very hot, we got again into our carriage, and +proceeded, this time without horses, to the coal mines, about ten +minutes from our inn, to which the railroad declines a little. You +reach these interesting works by a deep section of the upper stratum +of sandstone, and then enter the pits, which may be 300 paces long, +150 wide, and 30 feet deep; quite open at top, having been gradually +sunk to that depth. 112 men were at work in and about these mines, and +130 mules were employed [pg. 50] in conveying the coals, which stand +out, shining, and with a beautiful play of colours; in some places +they are of better quality than in others. They are detached partly +with iron crows, partly by gunpowder, broken into pieces with +pickaxes, and loaded in the wagons. From one part of the mine to +another there are little railroads, on which boxes with four wheels +run like what is called the dog (_hund_), in our German mines, in +which refuse and rubbish are removed. In this manner high heaps of +rubbish have arisen about the pits, which extend further and further +into the valley. In some parts of the works there are impressions of +antediluvian plants, of which we found some interesting specimens. The +labour of seeking, in a stooping attitude, was particularly +disagreeable on this day, which was hotter than any that preceded it. +When we returned from the works to our inn, the thermometer, at twelve +o'clock, and in the house, was at 96°; to which we must add that the +mine is 1,460 feet above the level of the sea. There was not a breath +of air stirring, and everybody found the heat extremely oppressive. + +To return to Mauch Chunk we again got into our carriage, but had now +no need of horses; the driver shoved the carriage a few steps, leaped +into his seat, and we immediately proceeded faster than a horse could +gallop. We had travelled the greater part of the way in seventeen +minutes, when we were obliged to halt, in order to let a train of +wagons, returning, pass us, which detained us about twenty minutes; we +then proceeded with the rapidity of an arrow, and travelled the whole +distance of eight miles in thirty-two minutes. When we had reached the +bottom we hastened to see the place where the wagons are unloaded. + +At the end of the iron railroad is a building on the eminence, in +which there is a large windlass, with an endless rope, which with one +part lowers a loaded coal wagon, on an obliquely inclined iron +railroad, down the mountain, while the other part draws up an empty +wagon from below. The distance from the windlass to the place on the +iron railway, where the wagons deposit the coals in a large shed, is +above 700 feet.[49] The mechanism of all these works is well worth +seeing, and the whole establishment extremely interesting. Mr. White, +one of the principal members of the Lehigh Company, is a man of much +and varied knowledge, and particularly well acquainted with +machinery.[50] He has erected a saw-mill on the Lehigh, the +construction of which is very ingenious. A single workman is able to +saw 4,000 square feet of deal in twelve hours. The Company requires +six such saw-mills in the Mauch Chunk, to saw the wood that it wants, +because the coal barges are sent down the canal and the Delaware, and +sold at Philadelphia as planks. + +The road from Mauch Chunk through the Lehigh Valley, which we took, on +the 31st of August, in the evening, is agreeable and diversified. A +violent thunder-storm had passed over the valley, and had poured down +torrents of rain, the traces of which were everywhere visible. We +proceeded along the right bank of the river, in a rather sandy road, +shaded by old trees. On [pg. 51] our right hand we had at first the +steep wooded mountain, where _Rubus odoratus_ and other beautiful +plants grew amongst rude rocks. The mountains then recede, and fields, +meadows, and detached dwellings, succeed. + +We came to Lehighton, where the sign of the inn was conspicuous afar +off.[51] Lehighton is situated at no great distance from the opening +of the Mahoning Valley, from which the Mahoning stream flows. This +valley is wooded, has many settlements, and is well known from the +destruction of Gnadenhütten, a small establishment, founded there by +the Moravian Brethren. Some Delaware Indians, instigated, it is said, +by neighbouring colonists, who were hostile to the Brethren, attacked +the settlement, which they burnt, and killed eleven persons. Only four +of the fifteen who composed the little colony escaped.[52] Mr. Bodmer, +who followed us from Wilkesbarre, visited the spot. He found among the +bushes the tomb-stone which covers the remains of the victims, and +made a drawing of it. The following is the inscription:-- + + TO THE MEMORY + OF + GOTTLIEB AND CHRISTINA ANDERS, + WITH THEIR CHILD JOHANNA; + MARTIN AND SUSANNAH NITSCHMANN; + ANN CATHARINE SENSEMANN; + LEONHARD GATTERMEYER; + CHRISTIAN FABRICIUS, CLERK; + GEORGE SCHWEIGERT; + JOHN FREDERIC LESLY; AND + MARTIN PRESSER; + WHO LIVED HERE AT GNADENHÜTTEN, UNTO THE LORD, + AND LOST THEIR LIVES IN A SURPRISE FROM + INDIAN WARRIORS, + NOVEMBER 24TH, 1755. + "_Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints._" + PSALM CXVI. 15. + + 1788, AND. W. BOVER, PHILADELPHIA. + +On the lands at Gnadenhütten, which still belong to the Brethren, +several farmers reside, among whom there is a singular female of no +ordinary education, and, as it is said, of high rank, [pg. 52] whose +real name is not known. She is said to have come from Germany, it is +supposed from the principality of Lippe. Her sole employment is +agriculture; she performs all manual labour herself, milks her cows, +to which she has given names, and which she has tamed. She has rented +a piece of land from the Brethren, which Mr. Von Schweinitz, as +director of the council, let to her. + +Near the issue of the Mahoning, or Mahony Valley, a wooden bridge has +been built, in a picturesque situation, over the Lehigh. It is +surrounded on all sides by fine lofty trees, and on the right hand the +wooded eminences of the Mahony Valley overlook it. From this place we +came to a level, open part of the valley, where a few scattered +dwellings bear the name of Weissport.[53] A man named Weiss proposed +to build a town here, and had collected the names of many subscribers, +but the town consists, at present, of only four detached houses. + +Night set in, and the moon showed us, in the Blue Mountains before us, +a deep cleft, called the Lehigh, or Lecha Gap, where that river passes +through the mountain chain. At the Gap we halted at an isolated, but +very good inn, kept by a man named Craig, son of the General of that +name. He spoke both English and German, and we were very well +accommodated in his house. + +On the 1st of September we visited the Lehigh Gap, the mountains on +the north side of which are low, rocky, and wooded. A projecting +portion is called the Devil's Rock. Near the buildings there are great +heaps of limestone thrown up, which is obtained from a mountain in the +Mahony Valley. The lime is of bad quality, but serves very well for +mortar. It contains a number of small bivalve shells. About eight +o'clock we left the Lehigh Gap, and took the road to Bethlehem, where +we arrived at noon, having passed through Berlin, Cryterville, Howard +Town, and Schoner's Town. + +Our baggage, which we had so long expected from Boston, arrived at +length on the 4th of September, and as Mr. Bodmer rejoined us on the +10th, I should have thought of proceeding on our journey, did not the +traveller often depend on accidents, which render it impossible to fix +anything for certain. Mr. Bodmer, desiring to finish a drawing that he +had begun, undertook a second visit to the Delaware Gap, and on this +occasion was severely wounded by the bursting of his fowling-piece, +which compelled us again to defer our departure. On our hunting +excursions, we now saw the country in its autumnal dress. Night frosts +had already set in, and the mornings were foggy, till the sun had +risen pretty high, when a hot day followed. Most of the birds of +passage were gone; no swallows were to be seen, and the wild pigeons +passed by in large flocks. On a walk to Allentown,[54] the capital of +Lehigh County, which has 1,700 inhabitants, three churches, and a +court-house, six miles from Bethlehem, we found, in the Lehigh Valley, +several flocks of birds ready to depart. The blue birds (_Sylvia +sialis_) were assembled, twenty together. The yellow woodpecker and +the nuthatch were hovering about the gardens and fields, where [pg. 53] +numbers were collected together. The plants that were in blossom in +the fields and hedges were chiefly of the class _Syngenesia_. + +The accounts of the progress of the cholera, which we daily received, +were not favourable. In New York and Philadelphia, and more especially +at Baltimore, the disorder was extremely dangerous; it had also spread +in the country about the great lakes, and on Hudson's River, and had +extended from Detroit to the Mississippi and Ohio. It seemed +impossible to avoid it; I therefore chose the route down the Ohio, +intending to make the Mississippi, in the following spring, the basis +of our excursions into the Western wilds or the Indian country. We +took leave of our friends at Bethlehem, and set out in the first +instance for Pittsburg. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[49] See Plate 5, in accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + +[50] Josiah White, early interested in mechanics, purchased an estate +on the Schuylkill, five miles above Philadelphia, constructed a dam +across the river, and erected there a wire mill. Later, he sought a +contract for furnishing Philadelphia with water by means of power +generated at this dam. After long negotiations the city purchased the +plant, belonging to White and Gillingham, his partner, and constructed +the Fairmount water works. White, together with Erskine Hazard, then +directed his activities to the Lehigh coal fields, and became the +active promoter of the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company. White +resided at Mauch Chunk from 1818 to 1831, and then moved to +Philadelphia where he died (1850) at the age of seventy. His name is +inseparably connected with the canal system of Pennsylvania; see +_History of the Counties of Lehigh and Carbon_ (Philadelphia, 1884), +p. 670.--ED. + +[51] Lehighton--a corruption of the Delaware, Lechauwekink, "where +there are forks"--is a post borough in Carbon County, Pennsylvania, on +the west bank of the Lehigh, twenty-five miles above Allentown. It was +laid out in 1794 on the lands of Jacob Weiss and William Henry, and +the population in 1900 is reported as 4,269.--ED. + +[52] Loskiel, in his history of the Indian Missions (pp. 415 and 416), +gives the following account of this affair. "On the 24th of November, +1755, the house of the Indian Missionaries in Gnadenhütten, on the +Mahony, was attacked in the evening by hostile Indians, and burnt. +Eleven persons perished: _viz._, nine in the flames, one of the +brethren was shot, and another cruelly butchered, and then scalped. +Three brethren, and one sister (the wife of one of them), and a boy, +escaped by flight; the woman and the boy, by a fortunate leap from the +burning roof. One of those who escaped, the Missionary Sensemann, who, +at the beginning of the attack, had gone out of the back door to see +what might be the cause of the violent barking of the dogs, and who of +course was not able to return to those whom he had left in the house, +had the affliction to see his wife perish in the flames."--MAXIMILIAN. + +_Comment by Ed._ Gnadenhütten was a mission established (1746) by the +Moravians for their converts among the Delaware Indians; it was placed +under the charge of Martin Mack. + +[53] Weissport is today a village of more than six hundred +inhabitants, four miles southeast of Mauch Chunk. It was laid out by +Colonel Jacob Weiss and his brother Francis.--ED. + +[54] Allentown, the seat of Lehigh County, sixteen miles southwest of +Easton, was laid out (1752) by William Allen, chief justice of +Pennsylvania. In 1811 it was incorporated with the borough of +Northampton, but in 1838 reverted to its old name. Allentown is today +one of the chief seats of furniture-making in the United States, and +second only to Paterson in production of American silk. Its population +in 1900 was 35,416.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER VI + +JOURNEY FROM BETHLEHEM TO PITTSBURG, OVER THE ALLEGHANYS, FROM +SEPTEMBER 17TH TO OCTOBER 7TH + + Allentown--Reading--Lebanon--Harrisburg--Mexico--Mifflin + Town--Valley of the Juniata--Huntington--Alexandria--Yellow + Springs--The Summit--Ebensburg--Hunting parties--Wild Scenery of + the Alleghanys--Laurel Hills--Conomaugh Valley--Blairsville--New + Alexandria on the Loyalhanna--Pittsburg--Situation of the + Town--Economy, Mr. Rapp's Settlement on the Ohio--Remarkable + natural productions of that river. + + +Violent thunder-storms, accompanied with heavy rains, had taken place +during the night before I left Bethlehem, early in the morning of the +17th, with the stage from Easton to Reading. Mr. Bodmer remained +behind for some days, on account of the injury done to his hand. At +day-break we reached Allentown, where we changed both carriage and +horses, and passed the Cedar Creek, which was much swollen. The +thunder-storm had not changed the temperature of the air. All this +country was covered with plantations of maize, clover, and buckwheat, +and detached farm-houses were numerous. The clover was often sown, as +among us, with the corn. The ears of the maize were partly cut off, +and the stalks tied up in bundles. The maize becomes ripe here in +October. We halted very often at the post-houses, where the horses are +always watered. As soon as the stage arrives, the large leather bag +containing the letters is thrown down, and the correspondence for +places further on the road is put in. We were here on a calcareous +soil, and many limekilns were burning in the neighbourhood. Flocks of +birds, of many kinds, appeared ready to depart; _Papilio plexippus_ +flew about the hedges. The _Datura_, with purple blossoms, and the +_Phytolacea_, with ripe black berries, dark red stems and branches, +grow on the road-side, and about the houses.[55] The leaves of the +sumach, and of some kinds of oak and maple, had already [pg. 55] changed +to a beautiful red colour. The fallow fields were entirely covered +with the yellow blossoms of the golden rod, or St. John's wort, and +beautiful asters, mostly with small white or purple flowers. The +farm-houses in this part of the country are remarkably handsome. The +barns are built of stone, very large, and have, in the lower part, the +stables, with eight or twelve doors and windows, and over this is the +barn, properly so called. At the end of the building there is a +passage where the wagons stand under cover; the windows, doors and +roof are frequently painted of a reddish brown colour: cattle of all +kinds surround these farms. The swine are very fat, have broad hanging +ears, and are generally marked with small round black spots, and +sometimes, but more rarely, they are reddish brown. We saw some fine +forests of oak and walnut trees, among which is much hickory (_Juglans +alba_), which, next to the white oak, and the black walnut tree, +furnishes the best timber. In general this country resembles Germany: +it is diversified and pleasant; wooded eminences on the sides, and +bright green meadows, often kept in very good order, occur as in our +country; but large, new habitations, built in rather a different +style, the zigzag fences, and the more lofty and luxuriant growth of +the trees, give, on the whole, another character to the scenery. + +In Maxatawny township we addressed the inhabitants in the German +language, who answered us at once in the same, and we heard German +names all the way to Pittsburg. After passing Sackoma Creek, we +arrived at ten o'clock at Kutztown, eighteen miles from Bethlehem, +where we breakfasted. The heat being very great, the dust was +extremely annoying, for the thunder-storm, which had passed over +Bethlehem, had not extended to this part of the country. The cattle +sought protection against the sun, in the shade of single trees, or in +the orchards. Large stacks of corn, six, eight, or ten together, stood +in rows by the fences. On the right hand ran the Oli Mountains, +beautiful verdant wooded eminences, which are connected with the +Lehigh Mountains. About noon we had travelled the thirty-six miles to +Reading, where we were obliged to stop one day, because the stage had +already left. + +Reading is a very pretty town on the Schuylkill, with 6,000 or 7,000 +inhabitants; it has seven churches, and a new one was just then +building. There are about 400 negroes and people of colour. Some of +the streets were not paved in the middle, but have on the sides a +pavement of bricks for the foot passengers, planted with acacias, +planes, poplars, and other trees. All these towns are rapidly +increasing. The cholera had already carried off many persons here, but +the inhabitants would not confess this. We saw a funeral procession +returning home, in which there were several women on horseback; the +veils on their large fashionable hats fluttered in the wind, and gave +this caravan of Amazons a singular appearance. Much fruit is grown in +the neighbourhood, and the apples are good, but not the plums. Peaches +thrive very well; we saw whole wagon-loads of them brought into +Reading, around which the people crowded to buy, while the children +stole them. + +[pg. 56] On the 18th of September it was with very great difficulty that +we got places in the stage, the travellers being very numerous. After +we had passed Kakusa Creek, we came to Womelsdorf, founded by Germans, +fourteen miles from Reading, where we stopped to dine, and then +proceeded over Dolpahaga Creek, to Lebanon County, which is in a +tract diversified with eminences and wooded mountains. On this road we +several times passed the Union Canal, which goes from Baltimore to +Pittsburg, is very nearly completed, and is said to have cost +18,000,000 of dollars. After we had passed the River Swatara, which +runs into the Susquehannah, we continued our journey in a dark but +fine evening; the crickets and grasshoppers chirped all around; but +their note is by no means so loud as that of those in the Brazils. At +length we perceived a number of lights before us, and came to +Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, the end of our journey +to-day. + +Harrisburg is a small town, with only 5,000 inhabitants, situated +between the Susquehannah and the Union Canal. It has broad streets +crossing each other at right angles; but many of the buildings are of +wood, for which they are now, however, gradually substituting better +ones of brick. Rows of trees are planted in front of the houses. The +inn at which we put up was in a square, which they were just covering +with broken stones. Here, too, is the market-hall, a long roofed +building supported by pillars, in which the productions of the country +are exposed for sale, as in most of the towns in the United States. +Harrisburg, being the capital of the state, is the residence of the +Governor. The state-house is built on a gentle eminence on the canal, +near the town, and with its two wings is a very considerable building, +with a colonnade and a cupola supported by pillars. Another +interesting point of the town is the view of the Susquehannah, which +is very broad here, and forms an island. A long bridge, covered at +top, and enclosed at the sides, is built over each arm of the river. +One of these bridges is about 600 paces in length. In the first there +are twenty-three glass windows, and it has two pillars on shore, and +five in the river. There are colossal bridges of this kind in the +United States; and there is one further down the Susquehannah, which +is one and a quarter mile and four rods in length, and has fifty-two +pillars. The view from this bridge up the river is peculiarly +beautiful. Verdant wooded islands adorn its surface, which is broad, +but it was at this time very shallow. There are 500 negroes and people +of colour. Germans are met with everywhere, and we were told that an +able German physician lived here. + +The defective arrangements of the post-houses obliged us to stop here +three days, and it was not till the 21st of September, in the evening, +that we could leave the town to continue our journey during the night. +We passed the Susquehannah, and the Juniata, which comes from the +Alleghany Mountains, and flows into it. On the 22nd, at day-break, we +were at the little village of Mexico. + +Mexico is in Mifflin County, forty miles from Harrisburg. Three miles +further is the village of Mifflin Town, the capital of the county, +where they were just building a new town-hall. The Union Canal, which +connects Philadelphia and Baltimore with Pittsburg, in general follows +the [pg. 57] same direction as the river Juniata, near which it often +runs at a greater elevation, and sometimes is even carried over it. +The river is here about as broad as the Lehigh, but was at this time +very shallow. Beyond Mifflin Town it receives the Los Creek. From this +place we observed in the valley many robinias, which grow very high +and vigorous, as well on the mountain, which is rather dry, as by the +water-side; vines as thick as a man's arm twine round the trunks, and +frequently rise to the very summit. The nettle tree (_Celtis_) grew in +great abundance, and the maples were just assuming their red tinge. +The picturesque forest is intermingled with Canadian pines, many of +which are quite blighted and withered. The valley now became wilder +and more romantic; on the right hand rose a high precipice, covered +with bolders, fragments of rock, mouldering trunks, and the finest +trees of the country, forming a real wilderness. A very narrow part of +the valley, where we watered our horses at an insulated house, bears +the name of the Long Narrows; and the steep wooded mountain, on the +south bank of the river, is called Blacklog Mountain; it is said to be +the haunt of bears and stags. The cattle belonging to the log-houses +were grazing among the rocks. After some time the valley grew more +open, and at a wider spot, near the road, which descended towards the +defile of James Creek, was a group of lofty and slender robinias, on +which a flock of tame turkeys were sitting. These birds resemble in +colour the wild ones which are common in this country; they often go +into the forests, where they breed, and come home again with their +young ones. After passing Kishikokinas Creek, we reached, at a broad +part of the valley, the village of Louis Town, in which there are some +considerable houses. The country people were ploughing and harrowing +their fields; and I may here observe, that, in all Pennsylvania, they +never employ oxen in these operations, but horses only, of which they +have great numbers. The plough is rather different from that of +Germany. + +Beyond Louis Town we saw a number of horsemen, assembled for the +fox-chase. The fox was caught in a trap, then let loose at a certain +spot, and hunted with many dogs, as in England. In a district +diversified with forests and cultivated fields, we came to Waynesburg, +a small town agreeably situated in a valley. The forests began to +assume their autumnal tints; the maples, the dogwood (_Cornus +Florida_), and the sumach, were partly red; the walnut trees, and the +hickory, yellow, which gave great variety to the landscape. Near some +habitations we observed weeping willows of extraordinary size. The +surrounding mountains were covered with forests, into which we +penetrated to ascend the first ridge of the Western Alleghanys. The +road, which is, for the most part, in bad condition, rose obliquely on +the side of a rude picturesque precipice. Except a pheasant, which +flew past us, we saw but few living objects. Advancing into the valley +we again came to the Juniata, over which the canal is here carried by +an aqueduct, supported by four pillars. In this part of the river +there are several dams, such as we had seen in the Lehigh, near +Bethlehem, with this difference that here they are triple. For this +purpose, rows [pg. 58] of stones, piled one upon another, are laid +across the river, forming, in the direction of the stream, acute +angles, where a basket is placed, in which the fish are collected. + +At a place where three valleys meet stands the village of +Huntingdon,[56] ninety miles from Harrisburg, where we found a +tolerably good inn, on an eminence above the banks of the Juniata. +From this inn we proceeded, during the night, through high rude tracts +and forests, past Alexandria, and at midnight reached Yellow Springs, +and then the highest points of this ridge, called the summit, between +2,400 and 3,000 feet above the level of the sea, in the vicinity of +Blair's Gap. This wild mountain region bears hemlock spruce firs of +colossal magnitude, mixed with other timber. The night was clear and +cool; towards morning fogs arose from the deep valleys, which at +daybreak covered the pine forest through which we descended. We passed +the Conomaugh Creek, and then arrived at the little town of Ebensburg, +on an open spot in the forest. We stopped here at a small inn to wait +for our travelling companions. + +Ebensburg, the capital of Cambria County, is an inconsiderable place, +consisting of wooden buildings, forming not much more than one broad, +unpaved street, but has a town-house and a pretty large church. The +inhabitants, about 300 or 400 in number, are of English, Irish, and +some of German extraction. The surrounding country is very mountainous +and woody, and is said to abound in all sorts of game, as indeed the +many skins of lynxes, racoons, martens, and minks, fastened against +the houses, prove; bears, stags, and wolves, are said not to be +uncommon, as lofty and dark forests surround the town within a couple +of hundred paces. Ebensburg derives some profit from the numerous +wagons, drawn by two, four, or six strong horses, that pass through it +on the high road to Pittsburg. + +Our hunting excursions in this rude country were very interesting. We +proceeded first in a northern direction into the forest, which we +found to be quite a primeval wilderness. The mountains rise peak above +peak, with deep ravines, where pines, beeches, chestnuts, birches, +maples, and walnut trees of various kinds, form a gloomy forest, and +fallen and decayed trunks check your advance at every step; cool, +sylvan brooks rushed foaming through all the defiles, and we had +continually to cross them on natural bridges, formed by the fallen +trunks of trees. Such old trunks are covered with a whole world of +mosses, lichens, fungiwood, sorrel, ferns, &c.; nay, even young shoots +of maple, beeches, and tulip trees, had taken root on them. We +clambered over the trunks, went round the fallen giants of the forest, +and found everywhere, on the ground, traces of the numerous squirrels +(_Sciurus cinereus_), in the remains of fruit and shells, especially, +of the chestnut. + +But there was also an interesting wilderness in the opposite +direction. Here a very extensive fall of timber had been commenced--a +gigantic labour, as in Brazil, where the wood is burnt afterwards, as +soon as it is sufficiently dry. The sturdy woodcutters were of German +extraction, and spoke German. From this place a dark narrow path led +through an old pine forest, where [pg. 59] the little creeping _Michella +repens_, here called ground berry, with its beautiful red berries, +grew among the moss, and often covered the ground. Several small runs +and muddy ditches crossed the forest, over which I walked or rode on +trunks of trees that served as bridges; in doing which my clothes +suffered not a little. Woodpeckers abounded here, especially the great +black woodpecker (_P. pileatus_), which we had not seen before. It is +nearly as large as a crow, and its splendid bright red tuft is +conspicuous at a great distance. They were very shy; knocked and +hammered on the dead pine trees, which stood like the ruins of a +colonnade, and were pierced and bored by their strong bills. This fine +large bird is called here, and in general, woodcock. A young man who +lived in the forest, some miles off, told me that bears, stags, and +other wild animals, were very numerous, particularly the pheasant, or +cock of the wood (_Tetrao umbellus_), one of which we shot. There is a +saw-mill here, among the lofty pines, on an arm of Conomaugh Creek, in +a wild, lonely spot. The owner was not a little astonished at my +double-barrelled percussion gun. After we had spent two days here in +exploring the woods, our travelling companions, Dr. Saynisch and Mr. +Bodmer, at length joined us, on the 26th, but as the latter still had +need of rest, on account of his wound, we took their places, and set +out immediately for Pittsburg. + +Seven miles from Ebensburg is the place which is looked upon as the +boundary of the Alleghanys, properly so called; here begins the ridge +called the Laurel Hills, for these mountains consist of several +parallel chains, many of which have distinct names. The forest now +assumes a different character. Oaks of various species succeed the +pines and beeches; the forest is not so high, rude, and thick, and +from an elevated spot on the road there is a fine view as you look +back on the long wooded chain of the Alleghanys. + +The traveller soon sees before him a deep and wide valley in which the +Conomaugh River flows, and beyond it a long ridge, covered with +verdant woods, called the Chestnut Ridge, in which there is a gap, +through which both the river and the canal pass. The eminences are +uniformly wooded, and the chestnut and chestnut oak appear to +predominate. We changed horses at Further Laurel Hill, and at Amagh, +and then passed the gap. In the meadows and fields, the stumps of the +trees that had been cut down were still standing, for the whole +country was formerly one unbroken forest. The habitations were few in +number, and, at the same time, small and wretched. We were told that +this part of the country is chiefly inhabited by Irish, who are bad +managers, and addicted to drinking. A better character is given to the +settlers of German origin, and they are said frequently to possess +well cultivated farms. + +In the woods of this district, we everywhere remarked that the tops of +the branches, for about a foot or a foot and a half, were hanging down +and withered, which is caused by a kind of cricket (locust, _Cicada +septem decem_, Linn.). This insect, which, as is well known, appears +only once in seventeen years, but then, like the cockchafer with us, +in prodigious numbers, had abounded [pg. 60] in Pennsylvania in 1832, +and in many places was a real scourge; it does not, however, appear +everywhere at the same time. But a few weeks before, they were so +numerous in these forests, that the noise they made almost overpowered +the human voice. On examining the withered twigs, we found the bark, +as it were, ripped open in many places, the wood quite dry, and in the +sap, a whitish substance, which consists of the eggs of the insect. + +As we drove rapidly down the hills, we saw before us the extensive +valley of the Conomaugh, for the most part covered with woods, and +gently rising on all sides, in which, a little higher up, the small +town of Indiana is situated. We stopped at a lonely inn by the +road-side, watered our horses, and hastened forwards. On every side we +saw extensive forests, and from the next eminence looked down into +another valley, in which the Conomaugh runs by the town of +Blairsville, a pretty little place, with many respectable houses, and +a very good inn, in a broad main street, which runs directly across +the valley. The country is hilly, or mountainous, well cultivated, and +with neat farm-houses scattered around. From this place, it is ten +miles to New Alexandria, a village with tolerably good wooden houses, +many of which are painted. Beyond it runs the Loyalhanna, a small +stream, which was at this time very shallow, with a covered bridge +over it. At nightfall we reached New Salem, then Millersburg, and +about midnight, Pittsburgh.[57] + +Pittsburg is an old, large, but by no means handsome town, celebrated +for its manufactories and brisk trade, and has been described by many +travellers. The town itself has 12,000 inhabitants; but with the +suburbs, its population is estimated at 24,000 souls, including many +Germans, some of whom are respectable merchants. Coal mines in the +immediate neighbourhood (a part of which is now on fire), afford an +ample supply of fuel for the numerous steam-engines, stoves, &c. The +style of building in the town is everything but uniform, neat brick +houses being mixed with small wooden ones. The streets are ill-paved, +dirty, and badly lighted; some of them, however, are modern and +regular; and the new edifices are handsome and elegant. There are many +iron works, nail manufactories, glasshouses, cotton manufactories, +&c., in many of which, steam-engines are employed, of which, as we +were told, there are above 100 at work, which are likewise made here. + +This town lies on the tongue of land between the rivers Monongahela +and Alleghany, which, by their union, form the Ohio; this river is not +very considerable here; yet, at certain seasons, when the water is +high, it is navigable by steam-boats, of which I counted sixteen on +the banks of the Monongahela. Over the Alleghany there is a covered +bridge, 500 paces in length, which has, on each side, an additional +covered footpath; and a covered aqueduct, of the same length, is +likewise carried across the river. A similar long and colossal bridge +is built over the Monongahela. + +The situation of Pittsburg itself is not very pleasing, but there are +interesting points in the environs. As I was furnished with very good +letters of recommendation, several of the inhabitants of Pittsburg +endeavoured to make my stay there agreeable. Messrs. Volz and Von +Bonnhorst [pg. 61] (the latter of whom had been an officer in the +Prussian army) were extremely kind to me. Mr. Lambdin, possessor of a +museum which was yet in its infancy, likewise gave useful +recommendations and instructions.[58] Mr. Volz had the goodness to +accompany me to Economy, the remarkable and interesting colony of Mr. +Rapp. For this purpose we left Pittsburg on the 29th, passed the +great Alleghany bridge, and the suburb, and drove by the large new +House of Correction, towards the Ohio.[59] On the eminence to the +right of the town is the convent of Flanders nuns, who have +established a school, in which they receive children of all religious +denominations. We proceeded on the right bank of the Ohio, eighteen +miles, to Economy. + +Economy has been described, in its leading features, by Duke Bernard +of Saxe Weimar;[60] but it has become much more flourishing since that +time. It is well known that old Mr. Rapp, with a company of between +600 and 700 Swabian emigrants, came to America, and had, at that time, +but very limited resources. He founded, with his people, successively +three settlements; first, Old Harmony, near the Ohio; then, New +Harmony, on the Wabash, in the State of Indiana; and then, Economy, +near Pittsburg. This last settlement has now about 150 houses, which +at first were slightly built of wood, but are now succeeded by better +ones of brick; they are two stories high, and neatly painted. The +church is spacious and plain, built of brick, with a pretty steeple, +and a good bell. + +The rapidity with which these settlements sprung up, amidst thick +forests, proves the judgment and prudence of their founder. The order +introduced at Economy is admirable; nobody is seen in the streets +during the day; all the inhabitants are usefully employed; young men +and women, and also the children, are distributed among the several +manufactories, where they work and receive no wages, but all their +wants are amply provided for, free of cost. They are cleanly and +neatly dressed in their Swabian costume, and nothing but German is +spoken amongst them. The possessions and the revenues of the whole +establishment are the joint property of the community, every +inhabitant having placed his property in the common fund. Mr. Rapp and +his adopted son are the directors, and the only complaint is, that no +account is given of the management, and that the government of the +institution is rather too dictatorial. Be this as it may, it cannot be +denied that the arrangement and direction of this artificial society +are admirable, and do honour to the founder. Mr. Rapp has established +several important manufactories with steam-engines; even silks are +manufactured from silk produced on the spot. The mulberry plantations +and the management of the silk-worms are under the especial care of +Mr. Rapp's grand-daughter. The manufactories alone are said now to +yield an annual profit of 20,000 dollars. Several large buildings have +been erected for a cotton and a woollen cloth manufactory, a mill, an +inn, where the accommodations are very good and reasonable, &c. +Everything they want is raised or made by themselves. They have +extensive corn fields and vineyards, and breed great numbers of [pg. 62] +cattle. Mr. Rapp has erected a large building, with a great saloon in +the upper story, where the inhabitants meet on festive occasions, and +where they have musical entertainments. In the lower story of this +building, a cabinet of natural history has been commenced, in three +rooms, which already contains some very interesting specimens. + +After we had viewed all these objects, and had been led by Mr. Rapp, +jun., through the manufactories, we went to the dwelling-house of the +director of the establishment, and met with a very friendly reception +from his family, who were dressed entirely in the manner of the +country people of Würtemberg. They told us they would never deviate +from their old national manners, and would always remain Germans, +which we were very glad to hear. Soon afterwards, the founder of the +establishment, Mr. Rapp, came in. He was a vigorous old man, of +venerable appearance, with white hair and a long beard. We supped with +him, drank very good wine produced here, and, in conclusion, were +entertained by six or seven girls and a young man, who is the +schoolmaster, and is said to be well informed, with singing and +playing on the piano. We here became acquainted with Mr. Ehrmann of +Mannheim, an agreeable, well-educated man, whose wife is likewise a +very interesting person, and who was engaged in establishing a +manufactory near Economy. + +On the following day we viewed the park, in which there were seventeen +Virginian deer. Most of them had already got their winter coat; some +were still a little red: they cast their horns in March. As it was +Sunday, the people assembled, at nine in the morning, in the church, +which has neither pulpit nor organ. The men sat on the right hand of +the preacher, the women on the left; the older persons in front, the +young people a little way back. Mr. Rapp's family had the first place. +When the congregation were assembled, old Mr. Rapp entered with a firm +step, seated himself at a table which was on a raised platform, and +gave out a hymn, which was sung in rather quick time. After a prayer +delivered standing, he preached on a text from the bible, in a bold, +figurative style, well suited to country people, and with very +animated gesticulation. After the sermon some verses were sung, and +Mr. Rapp delivered a prayer, which the congregation repeated after +him, sitting. The word Amen was always repeated by the whole +congregation. In the afternoon we took a very cordial farewell of the +worthy family of Mr. Rapp, and set out on our return. + +The country about Pittsburg has some zoological rarities, specimens of +which my travelling companions had collected during my absence. Among +them are, in particular, many interesting fresh water shells of the +Ohio. Several American naturalists have written on these Bivalve +testacea; and there is, probably, no other country so rich in +beautiful and manifold productions of this kind. On their excursions +in the neighbouring islands in the Ohio, they met with trees of +colossal size, and especially a maple, that measured twenty French +feet in circumference at the height of twelve feet from the ground, +where it divided into four thick parallel stems, from which [pg. 63] the +branches issued. Among the remarkable and interesting natural +productions of these rivers, we must mention the soft shell turtles of +the Americans (_Trionyx_, _Aspidonectes_, Wagl.), of which there are +two or three species. They grow to a great size, and are often seen in +the markets. Another very remarkable animal, which is very numerous +here, is the great Alleghany salamander (_Menopoma_, Harlan), which is +here called alligator, and of which I obtained many specimens alive, +so that Mr. Bodmer was able to make an accurate drawing from the life. +Then there is the _Triton lateralis_, Say., or _Menobranchus +lateralis_, Harlan, which differs from the preceding by the tufts at +the gills, which remain even in old age. America is well known to +abound in these singular enigmatical animal forms, which are nearly +akin to the European _Proteus_, or _Hypochthon_. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[55] This plant, called by the Americans the poke plant, is used, in +many parts, as a vegetable for the table. When the plant is young, and +not above six inches high, of a whitish, and not dark green colour, +the leaves are tender, and very delicate. It is thought that it might +be very advisable to cultivate it in the kitchen gardens.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[56] Huntingdon, seat of the county of the same name, was settled +about 1760 on the site of a famous Indian council ground, and named +for Selena, Countess of Huntingdon. It was incorporated in 1760, and +had a population at the last federal census of 6,053.--ED. + +[57] New Alexandria is a small village in Westmoreland County, on +Loyalhanna Creek, thirty-three miles east of Pittsburg. + +New Salem (or Salem), in the same county, twenty-five miles east of +Pittsburg, was laid out in 1833. + +Many early western travellers give descriptions and historical +accounts of Pittsburg. See particularly Cuming's _Tour_, in our volume +iv, pp. 242-255.--ED. + +[58] James R. Lambdin was born in Pittsburg (1807), studied under +Thomas Sully, of Philadelphia (1823-25), and began painting in his +native town. Later he made professional visits to the chief towns +between Pittsburg and Mobile, and started a museum of art and +antiquities at Louisville, Kentucky, where he lived several years. +From 1837 until his death in 1889 he resided principally in +Philadelphia, but painted much at Washington, executing portraits of +all the presidents from John Q. Adams to James A. Garfield. Lambdin +was appointed by President Buchanan (May 15, 1859) as one of the three +members of the Art Commission provided for by acts of Congress on June +12, 1858, and March 3, 1859, for the purpose of a survey of the public +buildings at Washington and submitting a report on the system of +decorations hitherto used, and recommending plans to secure a +harmonious effect in the future. For this report, dated February 22, +1860, see _Executive Documents, 36 Cong., 1 sess., No. 43_.--ED. + +[59] See Plate 6 in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + +[60] Maximilian is here referring to Duke Bernard, _Travels through +North America during the Years 1825-26_ (2 vols., Philadelphia, 1828). +For a short statement of George Rapp and his enterprises, see Hulme's +_Journal_, in our volume x, pp. 50 and 54, notes 22 and 25 +respectively. + +Economy, an Ohio River town, in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, seventeen +miles northwest of Pittsburg, was settled by the Harmonites in 1825. +The property of the community is now quite valuable, but in 1902 the +membership was only eight. Celibacy has been encouraged and new +members have not been solicited, and the property is now in the hands +of a single trustee.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +JOURNEY FROM PITTSBURG TO NEW HARMONY, ON THE WABASH, FROM 8TH TO 19TH +OCTOBER, 1832 + + Cannonsburg--Wheeling--Embarkation in the Nile + Steam-boat--Marietta, on the Muskingum River--Indian + Antiquities--Flat-boats--Gallipolis--Portsmouth, at the mouth of + the Scioto River--Cincinnati--Big Miami River, which forms the + boundary between Ohio and Indiana--Louisville, on the Falls of + the Ohio--Horse-races--Embarkation in the Waterwitch + Steam-boat--The Cholera on Board--Mount Vernon--Landing--Journey + by Land to New Harmony. + + +The Ohio, called by the French _La Belle Rivière_, was at this time +too shallow at Pittsburg to be navigated by steamboats, and we were +therefore obliged to go by land to Wheeling,[61] a distance of +fifty-seven miles; by the river, it is ninety-five miles. After taking +leave of Dr. Saynisch, who returned to Bethlehem, we crossed the Ohio, +near the town, in a well contrived ferry, the wheels of which were +moved by four horses. Our stage was drawn rapidly, by four good +horses, along the path of the mountains, where the road passed through +lofty forests, great part of which was, however, ruined and cleared. +The foliage was adorned with the most beautiful varied tints of +autumn, a circumstance which distinguishes North America, at this +season, from all other countries. In the Brazils, it is the spring, or +the transition from the rainy to the dry season, that adorns the +forest with the most beautiful diversity of tints, which, however, are +chiefly produced by the flowers, which frequently appear before the +leaves. North America, on the other hand, has but few such flowering +trees; most of them have catkins (_amenta_), and it is the foliage, +which assumes in the autumn so great a variety of colours. + +On the next eminence, the road leaves the river, and turns to the +south-west. Strata of coal appear in some places, and workmen were +busy in removing the earth above them. We frequently met with European +emigrants, most of them in their peasant's dress, with faces burnt by +the sun, and carrying their children. The country consists of high +hills and forests, and we frequently saw the robinia, pseud-acacia, +which is partly planted for the sake of its timber, potatoes, [pg. 65] +clover, and corn, which was now in the ear. A great deal of fruit is +cultivated here, and the farmers were just reaping the maize. The +farm-houses are all slightly built of wood, with the chimney on the +outside, to avoid the danger of fire. As the sun shone with intense +heat, the birds were all life, twittering on the high trees, where the +loquacious blackbirds flew about in companies. The woods, presenting a +beautiful mixture of yellow, vermilion, purple and green, gave us much +pleasure, and we reached Chattier or Shirtee Creek, which, after +numerous windings, falls into the Ohio, near Wheeling. We proceeded +along its valley, where colossal planes and elms, as well as robinia +and willows, afforded a welcome shade. We had passed several covered +bridges before we reached Cannonsburg, eighteen miles from Pittsburg, +where we changed horses, and, as usual in all such places in the +United States, were gazed at by the curious and the idle. There is a +college here for young divinity students. We now traversed the valley +of the Chattier Creek, where the plane trees were very lofty and +spreading. They were covered with their round fruit, from which the +Americans have given the tree the name of button-wood. + +At noon we reached Washington,[62] a village, beyond which the +country presented an alternation of forests and fields, where stumps +of trees showed that the whole country east of the Mississippi was a +primeval forest. We found an ample variety in the splendid woods, +where the lime (_Tilia grandifolia_), with its colossal leaves, was +not uncommon, and the willow-leaved oak (_Quercus phellos_), was +likewise in great abundance, the foliage of which resembles our white +willow, but the bark and fruit are exactly like those of the oak. +After passing a village called Alexandria, or more properly Alexander +we reached the boundary of the state of Pennsylvania, and entered +Virginia, which last state has a narrow strip of land on the eastern +bank of the Ohio. The land here is said to be fruitful, and very well +cultivated, though we did not immediately perceive this in the narrow +valley of the Wheeling Creek, through which we drove. We saw numbers +of young oxen, all brought for sale from the state of Ohio, where the +breeding of cattle is very extensive. Many of these oxen had +uncommonly large horns, others none at all. It was a beautiful +moonlight evening when we passed the Mean Creek, which joins that +above-mentioned, and both together forming Wheeling Creek. At this +place, not far from the road-side, there is a pillar erected in honour +of Mr. Henry Clay, who had been very instrumental in the opening of +this road. The night prevented our taking a view of it. From an +eminence we saw before us numerous lamps in Wheeling, and the Ohio +sparkling in the light of the moon, and then took up our quarters at +an inn at that place. Wheeling is a rapidly improving town, containing +5,200 inhabitants, where at this time they were building whole +streets, and is situated on a ledge of the mountain, on the bank of +the Ohio. On the summit there is not much more than one broad, +unpaved street, with footpaths of bricks: shops of all kinds were +already opened. The Ohio at this place is about as broad as the +Moselle near its mouth. The banks are moderately high wooded +mountains, the uncultivated places in which are often overgrown with +_Datura_. Two [pg. 66] steam-boats were expected on the 9th of October, +and at noon we embarked on board the Nile, a small vessel, because +steamers of a large size cannot come so high up the river. Our large +or lower cabin had sixteen beds, the upper cabin being appropriated to +the women. The river was, at this time, very low, and its banks, from +forty to fifty feet high, consisted of yellowish red clay and strata +of sand. + +The traces of the great inundation of the preceding spring were +everywhere visible in uprooted trees, thrown one over the other. The +water at that time overflowed the lower stories of the houses of +Wheeling; whereas it was now so low, that our boat was obliged to stop +for the night. Early on the following morning, however, the 10th of +October, we passed Elizabeth Town. On the banks of the river lay +pirogues, composed of the trunk of a tree hollowed out, like those in +Brazil, and small habitations were scattered in the lofty and +picturesque forests. A little field of maize generally surrounded +these dwellings, and the recently felled trees indicated that it was a +new settlement. The eminences on the banks of the Ohio are, in +general, rounded, steep, wooded hills, separated by valleys or +ravines. In many places stacks of wood were piled up for the +steam-boats, and some was already in boats. We arrived at New Town, on +the right bank, at the mouth of the Sunfish Creek, a village with only +eight houses, which was not yet marked on Tanner's map.[63] Near +Fishing Creek, which falls into the Ohio, we saw the white-headed +eagle soaring in the air, while the kingfishers flew about the banks, +and the note of the black crow sounded in the tall forests. Near the +village of Sistersville, on the right bank, in the state of Ohio, the +sand-banks in the river were covered with the yellow blossoms of some +plant, which, however, I was not able clearly to distinguish; but it +was an autumnal flower, and the wind reminded us of the approach of +the cold season, blowing quantities of leaves from the forest, in some +places entirely covering the surface of the water with them. Towards +noon, the sun shone bright, and the gay tints of the forest appeared +more lovely than ever; colossal planes, maples, tulip trees, beeches, +elms, ashes, limes, walnuts, and other trees, grow to a great height, +and beneath their shade we saw many rustic bridges, or planks, thrown +picturesquely across the little brooks. The trunks of the trees, +covered with the _Hedera quinquefolia_, which made them look like +scarlet columns, and the varied tints of the foliage, charm the +beholder. All along the Ohio, Mississippi, and Lower Missouri, the +papaw tree (_Asimina triloba Dunal_) grows as underwood. Its fruit, +resembling a small cucumber, was now ripe, and great quantities were +brought on board our steamer. This tree has a beautiful light green, +large, smooth leaf, and violet brown flower, which grows isolated, but +it does not attain a greater height than between twenty and thirty +feet. The fruit has a pleasant taste, but the smell is disagreeable. +It contains a whitish, juicy pulp, and twelve thick black kernels. + +A heavy fall of rain was very welcome to us, the water in the river +being so low that our boat frequently grounded. At a narrow part of +the river we came to the village of Newark, and then to the mouth of +the Muskingum River, at the town of Marietta, which was founded in +1788.[64] This [pg. 67] place is small, but it has neat brick buildings, +some of which looked like churches. We have read much about the +ancient Indian remains and ramparts, between the Ohio and the +Muskingum. Smith Barton, Attwater, Schultz, and especially Warden,[65] +have written on this highly interesting subject, and given ground +plans of the Indian ramparts, which are met with at many places in the +state of Ohio, at Cincinnati, Wheeling, Chillicothe, as well as in all +the States west of the Alleghanys, and respecting which Warden has +collected everything that is known; but most of these interesting +remains have been entirely annihilated by the love of devastation, or +the negligence of the new settlers. Thus Marietta is built just on +the fore part of the Indian works, and many of them are no longer to +be seen. It is much to be lamented that the government of the United +States suffers all this to be done without any attempt to prevent it. +It looks on unmoved, while the plough continues from year to year the +destruction of these remains of ages long since past, the only +historical monuments of this country. Schultz gave, in 1820, a ground +plan of the ramparts near Marietta, as Smith Barton and Warden did +more recently; and Mr. Thomas Say made a sketch of them in 1815, which +he communicated to me. A great part of them has been since ploughed +over. + +From Marietta we came to the Island of Muskingum, and then to Vienna +Island; opposite to which, on the left bank, lies the village of +Vienna. Swallows, which had long since left Pennsylvania, were still +flying about here. We everywhere heard accounts of the great flood in +the Ohio, when the steam-boats were on a level with the second story +of the houses in Marietta. + +We saw tall forest trees, among the thick branches of which the river +had deposited beams and other pieces of wood.[66] Below Parkersburg, a +village on the southern side, the little Kenhava River issues from the +high bank opposite Belpie, a settlement of a few houses.[67] A +steam-boat, which had been entirely crushed by the ice, proved how +violent the effects of the breaking up of the ice in the Ohio +sometimes are. Our captain lay to for the night, on the right bank, +which was necessary, on account of the unfavourable weather; the rain +being so heavy, that it drenched the upper row of beds in the large +cabin. + +On the 11th October the weather was fairer, but very cool. The +appearance of the bank was the same as before--an unbroken, thick +forest, with here and there some little settlements. We reached, at an +early hour, the Little Hocking River, which comes from the state of +Ohio. Ducks, particularly teal, flew past us, and we observed, also, +many other birds of passage on their flight. Near Shade Creek, the +banks of the river consisted of stratified, rocky walls, which +appeared to be Grauwacke slate;[68] we observed, in the forest, trees +of remarkable forms and colours; the trunks, covered with the scarlet +foliage of the five-leaved ivy, were particularly beautiful. We +frequently met, in the river, with flat boats, which are built all +along the banks [pg. 68] of the Ohio, from Pittsburg, and are sent with +the produce of the country to New Orleans. These boats are large +four-cornered chests, composed of beams and planks, are often heavily +laden, draw much water, and, having neither masts nor sails, proceed +very slowly. They are propelled with large oars, and can only go down +the river; they are many months on the voyage to New Orleans, and the +rowers are commonly new European emigrants, hired for low wages, and +often merely for a free passage. Many of these boats are wrecked, and +they are, therefore, frequently insured; at New Orleans they are sold +for lumber. + +The woods in the valley of the Ohio are more lofty and luxuriant than +on the other side of the Alleghany Mountains; vines twine round the +trees, and present a faint image of the woods of warmer countries. The +kingfisher was common; the swallows had not yet taken their flight, +and in some places the sandpiper was seen upon the bank. In the +vicinity of the houses were cattle, horses, swine, large sheep, and +numerous flocks of European geese and ducks; here, too, the papaw tree +was sometimes planted in rows. The river increased in breadth, but not +in depth, of which we had the proof before us, for a flat boat had run +aground, and the people stood in the water, trying to get it afloat. +In this part of the country there are, in the state of Ohio, many +Swiss colonists, who are much commended for their industry. The soil +is extremely fruitful, and needs no manure. The dwellings of these +people are small log-houses, exactly like the huts in Switzerland. +Towards noon, before we reached Point Pleasant, we saw, in many places +on the Ohio, considerable coal-pits, the sulphureous smell of which +was perceptible in the steamer; many boats lay ready to take in +cargoes; negro children were sitting in groups on the bank, near their +extensive plantations of maize. These people are free in the state of +Ohio. After we had passed Point Pleasant, a village on the left bank, +where fine forests cover the low bank of the great Kenhava River, +which here falls into the Ohio, we reached, in about twenty minutes, +Gallipolis, on the right bank, an old French colony, the inhabitants +of which still speak the French language.[69] Immediately below that +town, there is a fine forest of beech trees; on the water-side, +thickets of plane, and between them the papaw tree took the place +which, in Pennsylvania, is occupied by the _Rhododendron maximum_; +willows grew in front of the planes. + +The sun disappeared behind the hills on the bank; the evening sky was +clear and serene, and the bright mirror of the Ohio extended unruffled +near Racoon Creek, where we saw large flocks of ducks. We intended to +continue our voyage during the night; but, about nine o'clock, we +struck violently on a sand-bank, near the Indian Guyandot River, where +there is a small village of the same name, and, as a thick fog arose, +we lay to, six miles below Guyandot.[70] + +On the 12th of October, in the morning, a dense fog covered the river, +and the thermometer was, at half-past six o'clock, at 10° Reaumur, +above zero. We passed the mouth of Symes Creek, and then Burlington, a +small scattered village in Lawrence County, where our boat struck upon +some stones, and was thrown a little on one side. On the left bank was +Cadetsburg, [pg. 69] with Big Sandy Creek, then Hanging Rock, a small +village, where most of the iron utensils for the whole of Ohio are +shipped. The situation of the place is picturesque, surrounded with +forests and rocks. On the left, or Kentucky bank, we passed +Greenupsburg, a row of seventeen or eighteen small houses, on the high +bank. The inhabitants, in order to attract the notice of the vessels +that pass by to their public-houses, stores, or shops, have set up +posts, with boards painted white, on which their trade, &c., is +described in very large letters. The beech woods on this part of the +river were remarkably fine, their foliage green and yellow. On our +right hand was the little Scioto River; we then came to the village of +Portsmouth, at the mouth of the Scioto River, on the Ohio bank, where +the celebrated Ohio Canal begins, which connects that river with lake +Erie. At this place we took on board a number of European emigrants, +among whom were many Germans, with their baggage, beds, and other +effects, and many children. The negroes brought provisions for sale; +one of them had a number of fowls, all of which escaped, and caused no +little amusement. From this place, fine forests covered the bank, in +which were tall poplars (_Populus Angulata_, or _Canadensis_), which +I had not before observed. Here, too, I noticed some interesting forms +of mountains, which in general are very rare in this country. Most of +the summits are round, some broad, but very few pointed. Towards +evening we came to the village of Rockville,[71] on the right bank, +which was not marked on our map, and lay to, at nightfall, when we +learned that our vessel had caught fire, but happily it was already +extinguished. On the bank near the steam-boat, a large fire was +burning, the reflection of which, on the dark forest, had a fine +effect, and so had the steamers that hastened past us, which were +brightly lighted up inside, and emitted sparks of fire as they rushed +along in the dark night. + +On the 13th, at daybreak, the landscape was obscured by rain. We had +passed, during the night, Adamsville, Manchester, Aberdeen, Ripley, +Vanceburg, Maysville, and Augusta, and were now off the village of +Neville, where the Helen Mar steam-boat lay near us, to take in wood. +We then came to Moscow, then to Point Pleasant, and on the right bank +to New Richmond.[72] Near the little Miami River, six miles from +Cincinnati, the Ohio was so shallow, that we saw the shells at the +bottom, and our boat struck several times. The Miami River was nearly +dry. At Columbia, in the state of Ohio, the valley becomes rather +wider, but the hills soon close in again upon the river, and we come +to the beginning of the great town of Cincinnati. + +Cincinnati, the most important and flourishing town of the West, with +more than 36,000 inhabitants, was at this time visited by the cholera, +which, as we were assured by a physician who came to our vessel, +carried off, on an average, forty persons daily. I therefore resolved +not to stop now, but to visit this town on my return; our baggage was +transferred to the Portsmouth steamer, which was just about to depart; +and at noon we reached the mouth of Big Miami River.[73] + +On the 14th of October, we had pleasant sunshiny weather. The river +had become considerably broader, when we came to Six-miles Island, a +beautiful island six miles from Louisville. [pg. 70] We had passed +several places during the night, and likewise the celebrated Big-bone +Lick,[74] where colossal bones of the mammoth have been dug up at the +foot of a hill of black earth. I would gladly have stopped at this +spot, but some of our passengers, who were well acquainted with the +country, assured me that there was now nothing to be seen there, nor +was anything more found. All that had been obtained had been sold to +England and the American museums. + +Fossil bones[75] of animals are still found in the United States, but +the possessors having learnt the value of such things, ask so high a +price for them that it is difficult to obtain them; they are, besides, +frequently presented, out of patriotism, to the American museums. + +We soon reached Louisville, a considerable town, with 12,000 +inhabitants, which in 1800 had only 600.[76] It is in the state of +Kentucky, and, when seen from the river, does not make nearly so good +an appearance as Cincinnati. Negroes conveyed our baggage to the inn, +where we found, as usual, a great number of gentlemen, for the most +part travelling merchants. The merchants are, in America, the class of +people among whom the most idleness is found, and they are extremely +numerous. The least numerous classes are the men of learning, and the +military; the latter, in particular, so very few, that they are not at +all remarked. The young men who, in North America, besiege the doors +of the inns, are, doubtless, most of them, traders. Foreigners are +often treated with contempt by these persons, who are usually equally +conceited and unpolished, and make observations, as soon as they +discover a foreigner, either by his incorrect pronunciation of +English, or by his dress. This American conceit is to be attributed +partly to their excessive patriotism, and partly to their ignorance, +and want of acquaintance with other countries. + +When the dinner-hour was come, such a crowd of gentlemen had assembled +before the house, that, at the ringing of the second (dinner) bell, +the dining-room was in a manner carried by storm. All rushed +impetuously into the room, every one making good use of his elbows, +and in ten minutes all these people had dined and hastened out again. +Mr. Wenzel, a German merchant, to whom I had letters, had the kindness +to show me the town and neighbourhood. Louisville has the appearance +of being likely soon to become an important town, and many new houses +were, in fact, building. The streets are long, broad, and straight, +crossing each other at right angles, and the situation on the Ohio is +very favourable for trade. Handsome, showy shops are common here, as +in all the towns of the United States, and elegance of dress +characterizes everywhere, even in the smallest places, the inhabitants +of this country, the great object of whose efforts is the acquisition +of wealth. As it was Sunday, the various sects of the population were +flocking to their respective places of worship; afterwards, many of +them were driving out in their gigs. There were already above thirty +hackney carriages, partly belonging to negroes, of whom only the far +[pg. 71] smaller portion are free in the state of Kentucky. The state of +oppression in which the negro slaves live in North America, makes them +corrupt and knavish, which travellers often have occasion to learn by +their own experience. At Louisville, the cholera had already appeared. +Five persons, most of them negroes, were carried off the day before +our arrival, and a general panic had seized the inhabitants. + +Mr. Wenzel took us to a spot which was intended for horse-races, an +institution quite new in the Western States. A society had purchased a +beautiful level spot of ground, surrounded with woods, and about four +miles in circumference. This place was surrounded with palisades, with +several stands in the centre, and stables in the neighbourhood for the +horses. The horses of Kentucky are considered to be the best in the +country; the stallions which were to run, and some of which had come +from a distance, seemed to be mostly of a very good breed, not large, +but well built. The first races were to continue the whole of the next +week. This institution will, doubtless, have a good effect in +improving the breed of horses, and afford the inhabitants of the town +and neighbourhood both advantage and amusement. + +In the afternoon we left Louisville to embark at Portland, below the +town, on account of the Falls of the Ohio, that now cannot be +navigated past the town, and therefore a canal has been made, where, +by the aid of five sluices, the boats are raised twenty-two feet. +Those who land at Louisville embark again at Portland, where there is +generally a great number of steam-boats, among which we chose the +Water-witch, bound to New Orleans.[77] There were a great many +passengers eager to embark, who drove in carriages into the river to +reach the steam-boat, to which the baggage was conveyed in the same +manner. The loading of the vessel not being completed, we did not set +out till the 16th of October. At seven o'clock in the morning of that +day, Reaumur's thermometer was at 5° above zero, while a thick fog +covered the river. We put off at half-past ten, and had a fine view of +the magnificent Ohio, with the large town of Louisville in Kentucky, +and New Albany in Indiana,[78] opposite, with numerous steam-boats on +both banks. It was soon discovered that our engine was out of order, +and we were forced to lie to, on the Indiana side, to repair it. As +this required much time, we took the opportunity of exploring the +first forest in this State. The bank was fifty feet high, and steep; +the upper part of the declivity was covered with _Datura_, the seeds +of which were now ripe, but very few of the light purple flowers were +to be seen. The beautiful blue flowering _Eupatorium coelestinum_ +and the _Lobelia syphilitica_ bore their flowers amongst the +thorn-apples. On the summit of the bank there was a noble forest of +tall, thick beech, maple, oak, walnut trees, &c., in which there were +some plantations of maize, with their block-houses. The underwood was +everywhere the papaw tree, and on the skirts of the forest the yellow +flowering _Cassia Marylandica_, with ripe seed. Old trunks lay rotting +on the ground, which was partly covered with the falling leaves. + +At nightfall our engine was repaired, and we proceeded on our voyage, +and on the morning [pg. 72] of the 17th reached the village of +Brandenburg, on the Kentucky bank, which is here rocky, and marked +with horizontal white stripes, or strata. The mountains were rounded +and covered with wood. In Indiana the forest was cleared in some +places for plantations, which afforded a view into the picturesque +interior; for on these cleared spots the tall forest trees stood, as +in the primeval forests in Brazil, like columns crowded together. This +dense forest was interrupted for a short space by the towns of +Leavenworth and Rome, in Indiana, and Stevensport in Kentucky; the two +last with some indifferent buildings. From this part the country had +no great variety, the forests being seldom interrupted. The islands +were bordered with willow bushes, with tall trees in the middle. On +the bank where the rock was exposed, on account of the low water in +the river, we observed singular forms produced by the action of the +stream. They consisted of round or elliptical stratified masses, which +gradually decreased in breadth, so that the whole looked like a +truncated pyramid rising in terraces. Before night we reached +Cloverburg, in Kentucky, and lay to till the stars or the moon should +appear.[79] Numerous card parties sat down in the great cabin, where +the heat was intolerable. Our beds swarmed with cockroaches, which ran +over our faces and hands, or fell from the ceiling. These disagreeable +animals are as common here as in Brazil; they gnaw everything, and, +being quite soft, are crushed by the slightest motion. + +On the 18th, at half-past six o'clock in the morning, the thermometer +was +16° Reaumur, with rain, and wind, and a clouded sky. We reached +at an early hour the little place of Rockport,[80] in Indiana, and at +half-past eight, Owenburg, or Yellow Banks, in Kentucky, where we +landed many passengers. We saw the Turkey buzzard hovering over the +woods--a bird which we had not observed since we left Cincinnati, and +which is not found to the west of the Alleghanys. The Ohio, though the +water was extremely low, was still very broad and beautiful, its +wooded banks rather low. French Island, and some others, covered with +bushes and lime trees, lay quite dry, surrounded with a large +sand-bank. It was discovered that we had the cholera on board. A man +from Kentucky had declared himself ill early in the morning, and was +dead before eleven o'clock, though the Captain employed all the +remedies in his power. He was quite well in the evening, had played at +cards all night, and did not complain till towards morning. A coffin +was made of some planks; the vessel lay to on the bank, which was +steep, and the bell was rung while the body was conveyed on shore and +buried. Many of our passengers landed to see the funeral; others were +extremely alarmed, and, meantime, took a walk. + +After the funeral was over, and a white board, with the name of the +deceased, had been set up on the grave, the bell called the passengers +on board; in half an hour we reached Evansville on the Indiana bank; +soon afterwards Pigeon Creek; above this, on the other bank, the Green +River, and subsequently the village of Henderson.[81] Here we took in +fresh provisions, and, among the rest, 1000 fowls were offered for +sale, of which we took a good supply at a dollar per dozen. [pg. 73] The +sun was setting with great splendour as we left this place; the broad, +unruffled bosom of the Ohio shone like a silver mirror, in which the +beautiful wooded banks were reflected, and the magnificent purple and +orange hues of the sky tinged the river with their glow. + +Towards midnight we reached Mount Vernon,[82] where we landed, +intending to proceed, the next morning, to New Harmony, to visit the +naturalists at that place. After passing the night at an indifferent +inn, I set out for New Harmony, on the 19th of October, in the +morning. I had been indisposed, as well as my huntsman, since I left +Louisville, and was not in a mood properly to appreciate the fine, +lofty forests of Indiana, the road through which was very bad and +rough; the last part of the forest was remarkably grand and wild: +vines and other climbing plants hung down from the old trees. The +_Amorpha fruticosa_ frequently formed the underwood. At some of the +isolated dwellings of the farmers, racoon skins were hung up to dry, +and the beautiful large feathers of the wild turkey were scattered on +the ground. After having passed, in the most oppressive heat, the Big +Creek, which flows between the wooded hills, we soon reached the +fertile valley of the Wabash, near to which New Harmony is built. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[61] For the early history of Wheeling, see A. Michaux's _Travels_, in +our volume iii, p. 33, note 15.--ED. + +[62] For notes on Canonsburg, Washington, and Alexandria, see Harris's +_Journal_, in our volume iii, pp. 347, 348, notes 31, 32, 33 +respectively. The Associate Presbyterian Theological Seminary was +organized at Canonsburg in 1794, with Rev. John Anderson as the first +instructor.--ED. + +[63] For Elizabeth Town, New Town, and Sistersville, see, +respectively, Cuming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. 34, note 7; A. +Michaux's _Travels_, in our volume iii, p. 49, note 66; and Woods's +_English Prairie_, in our volume x, p. 223, note 25. + +Henry S. Tanner (1786-1858), a resident of Philadelphia, engraved and +published atlases and separate maps. Worthy of mention are the _New +American Atlas_ (Philadelphia, 1817-23), _The World_ (1825), _Map of +the United States of Mexico_ (1825), _Map of the United States of +America_ (1829). Tanner was a member of the geographical societies of +London and Paris, made numerous contributions to periodicals, and +published the _American Traveller_ (Philadelphia, 1836), _Central +Traveller_ (New York, 1840), _New Picture of Philadelphia_ +(Philadelphia, 1840), _Description of the Canals and Railroads of the +United States_ (New York, 1840), and _View of the Valley of the +Mississippi_ (Philadelphia, 1832).--ED. + +[64] Maximilian is probably here referring to the hamlet Newport, in +Washington County, instead of to Newark. Newport was not laid out as a +village until 1839. For an account of Marietta see A. Michaux's +_Travels_, in our volume iii, p. 34, note 16.--ED. + +[65] Benjamin Smith Barton (1766-1815) studied in Philadelphia, +Edinburgh, London, and Göttingen, practiced medicine in Philadelphia, +and for a number of years taught in the college of that city and its +successor, the University of Pennsylvania. He made numerous +contributions to scientific journals, and published _Observations on +Some Parts of Natural History_ (London, 1787), _New Views on the +Origin of the Tribes of America_ (1797), etc. + +Caleb Atwater (1778-1867) went to Ohio in 1811, served several years +in the legislature of that state, and was appointed Indian +commissioner under Jackson. He published _A Tour to Prairie du Chien_ +(1831), _Western Antiquities_ (1833), _Writings of Caleb Atwater_ +(1833), and _History of Ohio_ (1838). + +Christian Schultz, _Travels on an Inland Voyage through the States of +New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and +through the territories of Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi and New +Orleans: performed in the years 1807-1808_ (New York, 1810). + +David Baillie Warden (1778-1845) was for many years United States +consul at Paris. He was much interested in antiquities and published +_Recherches sur les Antiquités de l'Amérique Septentrionale_ (Paris, +1827); also earlier _A Statistical, Political, and Historical Account +of the United States of North America_ (Edinburgh, 1819).--ED. + +[66] Audubon (see "Ornithological Biography," vol. i. p. 156) mentions an +instance of a cow that swam in to the window of a house which was seven +feet above the ground, and sixty feet above low-watermark.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[67] For Parkersburg, see Woods's _English Prairie_, in our volume x, +p. 224, note 27. The other settlement should be Belpré, for which see +our volume iv, p. 127, note 87.--ED. + +[68] For points of historic interest connected with the Little +Hockhocking (Hocking) River, see Croghan's _Journals_, in our volume +i, p. 131, note 99. + +Shade Creek rises in Atkins County, flows southeast through Meigs +County, and enters the Ohio about twenty-one miles below +Blennerhassett's Island.--ED. + +[69] For Point Pleasant and Gallipolis, see respectively Croghan's +_Journals_, in our volume i, p. 132, note 101, and F. A. Michaux's +_Travels_, volume iii, p. 185, note 34.--ED. + +[70] Racoon Creek, ninety miles in length, drains Vinton County, Ohio, +flows through Gallia County, and joins the Ohio River seven miles +below Gallipolis. + +For Guyandotte River, see Woods's _English Prairie_, in our volume x, +p. 229, note 33.--ED. + +[71] Symmes Creek, which enters the Ohio five miles above Burlington, +probably derived its name, like the village Symmes, from John Cleves +Symmes, appointed judge in the Northwest Territory in 1787. In 1788 +Judge Symmes received a federal grant of a million acres of public +land, upon which was founded Cincinnati and North Bend. + +Burlington, in the southwestern extremity of Ohio, was once the seat +of Lawrence County. + +Catlettsburg, here incorrectly written Cadetsburg, is the seat of Boyd +County, Kentucky. See Cuming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. 155, note +103. + +The Sandy, or the Big Sandy, River (not creek), formed by the junction +of Tug and Levisa forks, flows north to the Ohio River, separating the +states of Kentucky and West Virginia. It drains an area of four +thousand square miles, and is navigable for small steamboats to a +distance of a hundred miles. + +Hanging Rock, named for a high sandstone escarpment, is on the right +bank of the river, three miles below Ironton. + +For Greenupsburg and Governor Greenup, see Woods's _English Prairie_, +in our volume x, p. 229, note 34. + +Concerning the historic importance of the Scioto River, see Croghan's +_Journals_, in our volume i, p. 134, note 102; and for the Ohio Canal, +see Flint's _Letters_ in our volume ix, p. 96, note 44. + +Rockville, Adams County, Ohio, was laid out in 1830.--ED. + +[72] Adamsville, Muskingum County, Ohio, was laid out in 1832 by M. +Adams. + +For the early history of Manchester, Ohio, and its founder, General +Nathaniel Massie, see Cuming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. 160, note +107. + +Aberdeen, Brown County, Ohio, was laid out by Nathan Ellis in 1816. + +For Ripley, see Woods's _English Prairie_, in our volume x, p. 233, +note 41; for Vanceburg, see Cuming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. 165, +note 111; for Maysville, see A. Michaux's _Travels_, in our volume +iii, p. 35, note 23; and for Augusta, see Flint's _Letters_, in our +volume ix, p. 148, note 69. + +Neville, in Clermont County, Ohio, was settled by John Gregg in 1795. + +The "Helen Mar" steamboat (88 tons) was built at Cincinnati in 1832; +it was reported as being out of commission in 1837. + +Moscow, Clermont County, Ohio, was laid out by Owen Davis (1816); and +Point Pleasant, five miles farther down the river, in the same county, +was platted in the same year by Joseph Jackson for its proprietor, +Henry Ludlow. + +For New Richmond, see Flint's _Letters_, in our volume ix, p. 148, +note 70.--ED. + +[73] For the founding of Cincinnati, see Cuming's _Tour_, in our +volume iv, p. 256, note 166.--ED. + +[74] For Big Bone Lick and the remains of the mammoth found there, see +Croghan's _Journals_, in our volume i, p. 135, note 104.--ED. + +[75] In Ferussac's "Bulletin des Sciences," 1831, there is a notice of +a colossal animal, sixty feet long, lately discovered there, and the +whole story was invented, merely to attract visitors. In Silliman's +American Journal (Vol. xx. No. 2, July, 1831, page 370), there is a +correct description of these bones, in refutation of the preceding +statement.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[76] On the early history of Louisville and the Falls of the Ohio, see +Croghan's _Journals_ in our volume i, p. 136, note 106.--ED. + +[77] Portland was laid out in 1814 for the proprietor, William Lytle; +it was incorporated in 1834, and annexed to Louisville in 1837. + +The "Water Witch" (120 tons) was built at Nashville in 1831, being +sunk near Plaquemine, Louisiana, two years later.--ED. + +[78] For New Albany, see Hulme's _Journal_, in our volume x, p. 44, +note 15.--ED. + +[79] Brandenburg is the seat of Meade County, Kentucky, forty miles +below Louisville. It was incorporated in 1825, and named after Colonel +Solomon Brandenburg, the proprietor. + +Leavenworth, named for Messrs. S. M. and J. Leavenworth, is the seat +of justice in Crawford County, Indiana. It was located in 1818. + +Rome, Perry County, Indiana, was laid out (May, 1818) by one Cummings, +and named Washington; in the fall of the same year the name was +changed to Franklin; when it was made the county seat in 1819, it was +given its present name. See _History of Warrick, Spencer, and Perry +Counties, Indiana_ (Chicago, 1885). + +Stevensport was incorporated in 1825. Cloverport, originally +Jossville, was established in 1828.--ED. + +[80] For Rockport, see Woods's _English Prairie_, in our volume x, p. +251, note 58. + +Owensboro (incorrectly written Owenburg) is the seat of justice for +Daviess County, Kentucky. Originally called Rossborough, the name was +later changed to that now used, being given in honor of Colonel +Abraham Owen, killed in the battle of Tippecanoe. The town was +incorporated February 3, 1817.--ED. + +[81] An account of the founding of Evansville is given in Hulme's +_Journal_, in our volume x, p. 45, note 16. + +For Henderson, see Cuming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. 267, note +175.--ED. + +[82] For Mount Vernon, see Flint's _Letters_, in our volume ix, p. +306, note 154. A short account of New Harmony is given in Hulme's +_Journal_, in our volume x, p. 50, note 22.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY ABOUT NEW HARMONY IN INDIANA, AND WINTER +RESIDENCE THERE FROM OCTOBER 19TH, 1832, TO MARCH 16TH, 1833 + + New Harmony on the Wabash--The + Environs--Forests--Animals--Geological + Formation--Climate--Aborigines--Remains of the former + Population--The present Indians--The White Usurpers--Cultivation + of the Country--Productions--Breed of Cattle--Buffaloes--The + Naturalists at Harmony--Excursions--Fox River--Black River--Long + Pond--The present sanitary State of the Country. + + +New Harmony was founded by Mr. Rapp, and his Swabian followers, in a +wooded plain on the left or east bank of the Wabash, about fifteen or +twenty miles distant from any other place. As Duke Bernhard of Saxe +Weimar has already spoken on this subject, I need not give any further +account of the history of this settlement; I will only add that Mr. +Owen, a Scotchman, bought the whole of Mr. Rapp, but afterwards +disposed of it to Mr. William Maclure, President of the Academy of +Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.[83] At the time of our visit, +Harmony had fallen into decay, and the people whom Mr. Maclure had +settled there, were in part dispersed. Two sons of Mr. Owen were, +however, still here, and also Mr. Thomas Say, and Mr. Lesueur; the +first, well known as having accompanied Major Long in his two journeys +into the interior, and the second, by his voyage round the world with +Captain Baudin, and the celebrated Piron. Though Mr. Maclure did not +appear to take any active part in the management of Harmony, because +the climate did not agree with him, and he therefore resided in +Mexico, he took care to furnish Mr. Say with a fine library of books +on Natural History, which was constantly enriched with the most +valuable new works published in Europe. He likewise had here a +printing press, a copper-plate press, and an engraver. Mr. Maclure had +purchased in France all the plates of Audebert and Vieillot's splendid +ornithological works, which are preserved in the library.[84] Mr. Say +has undertaken the superintendence of Mr. Maclure's property on the +Wabash, but lives in a very retired manner, devoted to the study of +natural history, and to literary pursuits. + +[pg. 75] Harmony is now a large village, with about 600 inhabitants; the +buildings, which are partly of brick, are detached from each other; +the streets are at right angles, broad, and unpaved. The church built +by Mr. Rapp has been transformed into an amateur theatre. The +situation of Harmony is by no means unpleasant. The Wabash, a fine +river, as broad as the Moselle, winds between banks which are now +cultivated, but were lately covered with thick forests. A hilly tract, +covered with woods, bounds the valley of the Wabash, which is +frequently overflowed by the river, and thereby gains in fertility. +The place itself lies rather higher than the valley, surrounded by +orchards, and is not exposed to inundations. The Wabash divides at +Harmony into two arms, the eastern of which is called Cutoff +River,[85] and further down into several branches, forming many wooded +islands, the largest of which are inhabited. + +New Harmony,[86] is surrounded on all sides by fields, which are from +600 to 800 paces in diameter; all around are lofty forests, where +settlers have everywhere cultivated detached patches. These people are +generally called backwoodsmen, who live like half savages, without any +education or religious instruction. The forests which they inhabit are +very extensive, and the soil extremely fertile: vegetation is much +more luxuriant than to the east of the Alleghanys; and, therefore, a +short description of the natural productions of the country will not +be out of place here. + +Some remarkable peculiarities strike the observer when he looks at the +forests on the Wabash; one of these is the want of evergreens, if we +except the _Viscum flavescens_, _Pursh_, _Bignonia cruciata_, +_Equisetum hyemale_, and _Miegia macrosperma_. The leaves of that +bignonia, for the most part, remain green in the winter, as well as +those of the miegia, and the stalks of the _Equisetum hyemale_, at +least, in mild winters, which often grow to the height of eight or ten +feet in the dry forests. The planes often attain an enormous size, and +are then generally hollow, and divided into several colossal branches. +We measured several of these trees, and found one that was forty one +feet five inches in circumference. The hollow inside was twelve feet +in diameter, so that in our winter excursions we used to light a fire +in it, where we sheltered from the wind. Tall tulip trees shoot up +straight as masts, blossom, and bear seeds at their summits, unseen by +human eye. Maples of great height and circumference, many species of +oak, especially the mossy overcap oak (_Q. macrocarpa_), with its +large acorns, which, at this time, lay on the ground, stand crowded +together. A great many species of trees are mixed together; among them +the _Gymnocladus Canadensis_, or _Guilandina Bonduc_, with its broad +pods, the divers kinds of walnut trees, the _Gleditschia tricanthos_, +with its formidable thorns; and many climbing plants twine round the +trunks, and among them, the most beautiful of all, the _Bignonia +radicans_. + +In the forests of Indiana the ground is covered with a thick +undergrowth, fifteen, twenty, or thirty feet high, consisting chiefly +of the papaw tree, the spinewood (_Laurus Benzoin_), and the red bud; +the flowers of the two latter precede the leaf. Under these lower +trees, shrubs cover [pg. 76] the ground. No pine, rhododendron, kalmia, +azalea, magnolia, nor even the chestnut tree, are found in these +forests; but they seem to be especially the native country of the +beautiful catalpa tree, of which it was not known in what part of +America it properly grew wild, and which here attains a considerable +height and size. + +These lofty forests re-echo with the hammering of the numerous +woodpeckers; and, during the winter, the scarlet cardinal (_Fring. +cardinalis_) shines in the distance; and the titmouse (_Parus. +bicolor_, and _Atricapillus_), and the nuthatch (_Sitta +Carolinensis_), everywhere seek for insects and nuts. + +The inhabitants of these forests would never be in want of an ample +supply of wood for fuel and for timber, if they had been at all +careful. The black walnut and cherry tree wood are the best for +cabinet work; and for fuel, the hickory, which affords more heat than +beech wood. The price of wood, at Harmony, was one dollar for a cord; +but the price is already rising, because the forest in the +neighbourhood of the village is gradually cleared, and the carriage is +more expensive. + +There are several kinds of officinal plants in the vicinity of +Harmony; ginseng (_Panax_) grows close by the village, and its roots +are still in request, but not so much as formerly. Another plant of +the woods of Indiana, which is much esteemed, is the spurious Colombo +root; likewise the peppermint, which grows in every part of the United +States. The wax tree (_Myrica cerifera_), of the berries of which the +green, fragrant tapers are made, does not grow in Indiana, but is +found on the whole east coast, from New Jersey to Florida. A kind of +bark, which is now much used, is that of the slippery elm (_Ulmus +rubra_): if chewed, or softened for a moment in water, it dissolves +into a viscous slime, and is found very useful in dressing wounds, as +it is cooling, and allays the inflammation. It is said to have been +applied with success in cholera, and is now sold, in powder, in all +the apothecaries' shops. A teaspoonful of this bark, in boiling water, +makes a very useful beverage, which is sweetened with sugar, and has +the same effect as linseed. Michaux has given a print of this elm, and +it would be desirable to cultivate it in our gardens. + +The country on the banks of the Wabash is as interesting to the +zoologist as to the botanist; formerly there were great numbers of the +bison or buffalo of the Anglo-Americans, the elk,[87] bear, and +beaver; but they are now entirely extirpated. The Virginian deer is +still pretty numerous, but is daily becoming more scarce: when Mr. +Rapp first settled here, seventy of these deer were shot, in a day, in +one of the Wabash islands. The wolf is still common, and seems to +differ but little from the European, but is a different species from +the wolf of the prairies of the Missouri; [pg. 77] it is said that there +is a black wolf in the prairies of Illinois, which may, perhaps, be a +distinct species. Of foxes, I saw only the grey, though the red fox is +said to be found here. In the works that treat of the natural history +of North America, there are many errors. The racoon is common in the +forests of Harmony, and is never seen in the daytime; it is hunted in +the night with dogs, which drive it into a tree. It does not sleep +through the winter, for I often obtained it in that season. The +opossum is also common, and lives much in the same manner as the +racoon. The polecat, the otter, and the mink are common; the pine +marten is said to be sometimes seen; the ermine is not rare in the +prairies of Illinois. The marmot, or ground hog, grows to a +considerable size, and is found in the islands of the Wabash; the +musk-rat abounds in all the rivers. The rabbit, as it is called +(_Lepus Americanus_), is nowhere so common as in Europe, yet is found +in all parts of the country. Of squirrels there are many species. + +The most interesting of the birds of this part is the wild turkey, +which was formerly extremely numerous, and is still pretty common. A +large cock was sold at Harmony for a quarter of a dollar. A young man +in the neighbourhood, who supplied the place with this delicate game, +had often ten or fifteen hanging about his horse at the same time. The +pheasant or heathcock is found in these forests, but in no great +numbers. The prairie hen is common in the prairies of Illinois, and +comes in large flocks to the neighbourhood of Harmony, as soon as the +cold weather and snow set in. Partridges abound, and so do parrots +(_Psitt. Carolinensis_) which remain here during the winter. No other +kind of parrot seems to bear so great a degree of cold as this. We +often saw them flying about in the forests, feeding on the fruit of +the plane, when Reaumur's thermometer was at 11° below zero. In the +mild climate of the Ohio and Wabash they remain all the year through. +They are amusing birds in a cage, and become very tame. + +There are but few species of amphibia in the country about Harmony. +Soft shell turtles and several kinds of _emys_ are numerous, such as +the snapping turtle (_E. serpentina_), likewise _E. geographica_, +_picta_, _pulchella_, &c. + +There are several lizards, but no great number of species. The +rattle-snake is seldom seen, this country not being sufficiently dry +and stony; the copper-head, on the contrary, is said not to be rare, +but I cannot speak with certainty. The hognose-snake is very common. +There are many kinds of adder in the Wabash that are not venomous. + +The proteus (_Menobranchus lateralis_, Harl.) of the Ohio, and of the +great Canadian lakes, is found in the Wabash. The rude inhabitants +have many superstitious notions and fables respecting several kinds of +animals, especially serpents. Of the glass-snake (_Ophisaurus +ventralis_), which easily breaks to pieces, they say, that when the +pieces are placed together, they immediately unite: they affirm that +the horn-snake, which has a horn or sting at the end of its tail, +takes it in its mouth, and then runs along like a hoop; and that if it +passes a tree it wounds it with its sting, which always makes the tree +die. Mr. Thomas Say was once informed that a [pg. 78] planter had +brought one of these snakes, and would prove the truth of this +assertion. He sent for the man, and found that he had the tail of one +of these snakes carefully wrapped up. Mr. Say asked him whether he +must die if he pricked himself with this horn? The man answered +"undoubtedly." Mr. Say immediately pricked himself with the horn and +drew blood, but was not affected by it; and the impostor, who affirmed +that he had witnessed the effects of the sting, excused himself by +saying that he had been deceived by a neighbour who gave him the +snake. The inhabitants of the country generally believe that venomous +serpents sting both with the tongue and with the tail, that they +fascinate other animals, an old, long since refuted fable, which, +however, is occasionally revived in American journals, with other +stories of a similar kind. + +There are many kinds of fish in the Wabash, on the whole the same as +in the Ohio and the Mississippi: the cat-fish is said sometimes to +weigh above 100 lbs. Several species of sturgeon and pikes are found +here; the horn-fish, the buffalo (_Catastomus carpioles_), a large +fish resembling the carp, &c. The remarkable paddle-fish is likewise +met with, but not frequently, nor in all the rivers. Mr. Lesueur has +given it the name of _ptalyrostra_, and has sent several specimens of +it to Paris. This naturalist, during his long residence at Harmony, +has very carefully studied this branch of zoology. He possesses a +large collection of drawings and descriptions of this class, and +specimens, for the most part stuffed. He has presented many of them to +the National Museum at Paris; and it was his intention soon to visit +Europe, and publish his observations on this subject, which will form +an important supplement to the great work of Cuvier and Valenciennes. + +The bivalve shells (_Unio_, _Alasmodon_, and _Anodonta_), of which +there are a great many different species, some of them very large and +beautiful, are an interesting portion of the natural productions of +the Ohio, the Wabash, and the tributary streams, especially Fox River. +Several American naturalists have written on this subject. Mr. Say, +who was the first, states the number of species of these bivalves at +forty-four. He would have given descriptions and drawings of all the +species existing in this country, as well on land as in the rivers, in +his natural history of the North American testacea, had not death +called him from this world, too soon for his friends and for science. +He died on the 10th of October, 1834, soon after I had left him in +good health on my second visit to Harmony. This part of the country +has two species of crustacea (_Astacus Bartoni_, Bosc.), and (_Astacus +affinis_, Say), which are here called craw-fish. These are the only +large species of crustacea, but there are many smaller ones. Mr. Say, +by many years' study, made himself fully acquainted with the insects. +It is remarkable that the bee, which was brought to America by the +Europeans, is now common in all the forests; the Indians are said to +call this insect the white-man's fly. Many beautiful butterflies and +moths adorn the woods of Indiana. + +The eminences about Harmony are of secondary formation, with a basis +of limestone, and upon that, strata of sandstone, clay-slate and +indurated clay. The land in the neighbourhood of [pg. 79] Harmony is +extremely fertile. The fields are not manured for many successive +years, and produce the finest crops; such land, however, in good +situations, is no longer cheap. The climate is salubrious, and the +inhabitants attain a great age. The winters are generally mild; the +changes of temperature are often very great and rapid. The cholera has +not yet visited this country. We arrived at the season called the +Indian summer, when, with a temperature of +16° to 17° Reaumur, the +atmosphere was gloomy and misty. Most persons experience, at this +season, irregularities in the digestive organs, and head-ache. Pöppig +gives a very accurate account of the North American autumn, and Mrs. +Trollope felt the peculiar effect of this warm autumnal weather on +strangers; it is, however, very remarkable that this state of the +atmosphere in the Ohio Valley quickly put an end to the cholera, on +which Dr. Daniel Drake wrote an essay.[88] The weather in the +wintertime is generally bright and clear; sometimes there are fogs, +and hoar frost, which encrusts the trees with the most beautiful +crystals: parhelia and aurora borealis are frequently seen. On the +14th of December we had a tremendous thunder-storm at daybreak; +Reaumur's thermometer was at +2°; the rain, thunder, and lightning +were equally violent; the latter covered the heavens with a sheet of +fire, and was extremely dazzling; the thunder resembled a discharge of +artillery. We were told that, in the preceding year, 1831, the weather +had been exceedingly unhealthy, and the inhabitants even affirmed that +wounds would not heal. + +Like the whole of the interior of North America, the country on the +Wabash has still numerous traces of a very early extinct original +population, of which even the present Indians have no traditions, and +whose remains have been spoken of by many writers. Warden, in his +account of the United States, and more particularly in the great work, +entitled "Antiquités Mexicaines," has mentioned such remains in all +the states, and collected much information on this subject. Here, too, +in the neighbourhood of Harmony, there are ancient tumuli, which, +externally, are exactly similar to those which are everywhere found in +our German forests. Lesueur had examined many of these tumuli, and +sent part of the articles found in them to France. Some of the most +considerable tumuli were found on the spot, near the back of the +village, where Rapp made his churchyard, and which is now planted with +acacias. The bones of the Swabian peasants are here mingled with +those of the aboriginal Indians. Lesueur dug through some of those +tumuli, which are now much levelled, and covered with greensward, and +found a right-angled oblong parallelogram, level at the bottom, formed +of large flat stones, set edgewise, and likewise covered over with +similar stones. Some decayed bones were found in it, of which I +received a considerable number from Mr. Lesueur, and sent them to Mr. +Blumenbach, at Göttingen.[89] This mode of interment is not that of +the present Indians, who themselves affirm that these tumuli were made +by the whites. Most of the skulls which were found were without the +bones of the face, and all were very much decayed. The race of men to +which they belonged were not smaller than those now existing, and, +consequently, afford no evidence of a dwarfish race, which has been +fabulously [pg. 80] ascribed to America. Potsherds were found in many of +the tumuli; they were made of a grey clay, and in general marked with +stripes, or rings; it would appear that they had been moulded in a +cloth, or basket, as they were marked with similar impressions, or +figures. Mr. Lesueur has seen unbroken vessels of this kind, which +were large, very flat, and had figured handles. Broken shells are +frequently found intermixed with the dark grey clay of these vessels. +In one of the tumuli was found, together with the human bones, the +jawbones of an animal of the stag kind; in others, battle-axes, +arrow-heads, and tobacco-pipe heads of clay, different in form from +those now used in Indiana. + +One of these pipes was in the shape of a squatting frog, the mouth +serving for the tobacco; some of them are represented in the +accompanying woodcuts.[90] Some of the most interesting articles found +in and near these graves, are the narrow, oblong, square pieces of +flint, which those nations made use of instead of knives. They are +from two to two inches and a half long, and scarcely half an inch +broad; very thin and very sharp on all the four sides. Several of +these knives were discovered near New Harmony, and Mr. Lesueur found +one during my stay there. There is a very remarkable coincidence of +these knives with the perfectly similar instruments of obsidian or +volcanic glass, which are found, even now, in Mexico, some of which +Mr. T. Say brought with him, from his journey to that country, and +wrote a paper respecting them.[91] In the [pg. 81] forty-eighth plate, I +have represented the two kinds of stone knives together, as they seem +to testify the affinity of the aborigines of the interior of North +America with those of Mexico, which is supported by other reasons. + + [Illustration: Indian pipes] + +About fifteen miles from Harmony, lower down the Wabash, is a part of +the bank known by the name of the Bone Bank, where the river has +partly cut through a hill, or laid it bare, in which there are numbers +of human bones seen imbedded in the bank. Mr. Lesueur sent a perfect +skull from this spot to Blumenbach. An old tree having fallen down on +this place, he saw under the roots an entire human skeleton; this, +therefore, was undoubtedly a burying-place. While the observer deeply +regrets that he is wholly without information respecting these +remarkable remains of antiquity, he feels that the present white +population of North America may justly be reproached for neglecting or +destroying them. Nobody in Harmony was able to give any account of the +names of the Indian tribes who inhabited the country at the time when +this village was founded. One of the first settlers of the country +about Mount Vernon, who had grown up in Kentucky among the Indians, +but had removed, in 1806, to the forests on the Lower Wabash--where at +that time there were no white settlers--had been well acquainted with +the Indians about Harmony, and frequently visited them in their huts. +He was the only man who was able to give me any information about +them. He called them Muskoghe Indians; this name, however, seems to be +incorrect. They lived in this part of the country till 1810; but in +the year preceding the battle of Tippekanoe they all removed, and did +not return. They were not numerous, and lived chiefly about the mouth +of the Wabash, and on the Big Creek.[92] They were a good-looking, +robust race; wore a kind of apron, and had bows and arrows, in the +use of which they were very expert. They had among them thirty or +forty indifferent guns; they smoked Sumach leaves in wooden pipes,[93] +the tube of which was made of cane. Their huts, at the mouth of the +Wabash, were composed of large bundles of reeds, lined inside with +deer-skins. Many of these Indians fastened their pipes to the +tomahawk. Their heads were shorn, with the exception of a tuft at the +back, like the Indians of the Mississippi and Lower Missouri. They +coloured their faces with red paint. To the whites they were friendly, +visited the first settlers in their dwellings, and reposed around +their hearths, especially in bad weather. At that time there were elks +and beavers, yet in no great numbers; but bears and wolves in +abundance. My informant had killed many bears, and great numbers of +wild turkeys. + +[pg. 82] The early history of Indiana mentions, as the inhabitants of +this State, when the French first settled here, the Kickapoos, +Musquitons, Potanons, and some other nations, remnants of which are +still to be found at the sources of the Wabash, as well as the +Piankishaws, Miamis, and Viandots. In the year 1804, a treaty was +concluded with them at Vincennes for the purchase of the lands between +the Wabash and the Ohio, after which they emigrated.[94] Some +well-informed inhabitants of Harmony, who, at the time of the Indiana +emigration, when the United States had repeatedly bought land of those +people, saw the several dislodged tribes pass through this country, +assured me that the character of their physiognomy was often +essentially different; and I myself found this confirmed both in North +and South America; though the fundamental features of the American +race are everywhere the same. All these Indians are now totally +extirpated or expelled from Indiana, and the country enjoys the +advantage of being peopled by the backwoodsmen. + +The fertile and salubrious country of Harmony has attracted a great +number of settlers, who have begun to thin the great forests of +Indiana. These settlers are usually called backwoodsmen, because they +live in the remote forests. They are a robust, rough race of men, of +English or Irish origin. They dwell very isolated, scattered in the +forests, and but seldom come to the towns, only when business calls +them. There is a school at Harmony where the children learn to read +and write; two dollars are paid quarterly, and the children receive +instruction in the morning and afternoon; but in the country the young +people grow up without any education, and are, probably, no better +than the Indians themselves. In the Western States, the sixteenth +section of the Congress land (_i. e._, land belonging to the +Government) is always assigned for the benefit of the schools, but is +not always employed according to the first intention. At this time +there was in the state of Indiana only one college; it was at Blooming +Town.[95] There was no clergyman at Harmony, and, with the exception +of the meetings of some religious sects, the inhabitants were +destitute of both religious and school instruction. Business, or +festive occasions, bring the backwoodsmen into the town, where they +indulge their love of whisky, which generally retards their return +homeward. They have a good race of horses, and are bold horsemen; even +the women are frequently seen on the saddle, and whole families travel +in this way--man, woman, and child ofttimes mounted on the same beast. +There is nothing characteristic in their costume, like the original +dresses which are met with in the country in Germany; but they wear a +medley, and bad imitation of all the fashions of English towns; caps, +felt and straw hats, frocks, great-coats, plaids, &c. The women, too, +endeavour to imitate the fashions of the towns, wear large hats with +loose veils, and gaudy plaid mantles, which, altogether, have often a +most ludicrous effect in these remote forests. The winter dress of the +men is often not ill chosen, though perfectly novel to a stranger. At +that season they wear great-coats made of the common woollen +horsecloths, white or green, with gay stripes on the collar, cuffs, +and pockets; [pg. 83] nay, some are striped all over like zebras: such a +coat, of the commonest kind, cannot be had here for less than eight or +ten dollars. Noisy parties of these people frequently assemble at the +public-houses of Harmony, gather round the fire, and let the whisky +circulate briskly, while their horses are frequently left the whole +day, standing in the street, amid rain and snow. On Sunday, which is +kept by many of the inhabitants, though there is no divine service, +they are more decently clad, wash their faces, and make some attempt +at putting their hair in order, which hangs dishevelled about their +faces. The young men often went to the chase, others played in the +streets, generally at ball, but a great number remained at their work, +and the peasants and farmers, with their huge wagons, followed their +usual occupations. On certain days, especially when a magistrate, a +president, or a governor was to be chosen, all were gathered together, +for they all take great interest in the government of the country, and +would not, on any account, renounce the privilege which, in their +estimation, makes them important statesmen. On such election days, +whole troops of them ride into the town; the streets are crowded with +their horses, which are tied up, and the whisky-shops resound with +their tumultuous discussions. Every man gives his vote; disputes +arise; and, as in the Polish diets, their excited passions frequently +lead to blows. They are all great politicians, and some of them are +well acquainted with the newspapers. In the winter, as soon as snow +fell, sledge parties commenced at Harmony. Six or eight persons were +on separate seats, two and two together, upon one sledge; others +amused themselves with skating, for which, however, they had not much +opportunity in the winter of 1832-3. There were frequent balls at the +inns; on New Year's Eve they literally danced the whole night through. + +Agriculture is still in its infancy about New Harmony, and the people +depend on the extraordinary fertility of the soil. In the immediate +vicinity of the town land is not cheap, having already risen to +fifteen dollars per acre; whereas, at the distance of two miles, there +was still a considerable quantity of Congress land, which might be had +at one dollar per acre. There was a tax of fifty cents, or half a +dollar,[96] on every quarter of a square mile of land. What is called +Congress land, is frequently taken possession of, for a time, by new +comers, who have no right to it. They fell the wood, erect their huts, +and nobody hinders them in their proceedings till the lawful owner +ejects them, who has purchased the land of the Government. A square +mile of [pg. 84] Congress land was still to be had for 100 dollars; but +these lands are subject to the periodical inundations of the Wabash, +when the farmers are obliged to fly with all their effects to more +elevated stations. They have then to look for their cattle in the +great forests, and drive them away; but they cannot always find all +the animals, many of which perish. The fertility of the soil is +increased by these inundations. Congress land which was not exposed to +inundation, could be bought for one dollar twenty-five cents per acre. +This high water is said often to present an interesting scene. Hogs +and other animals, even the opossum, have been found on low trees, +where they had sought protection. + +The chief vegetable production of this part of the country is maize, +which grows to the height of twelve or thirteen feet; the ears are +very large and heavy; I found some weighing fourteen to fifteen +ounces, and nearly three inches in diameter, in which I counted above +1,000 grains. They ripen in September, October, November, and +December, and are often left standing through the winter, till wanted +for use. There are fifteen varieties of this important plant; one +kind, called sweet corn, is particularly good when roasted in an +unripe state. It is calculated that the best soil will yield 100 +bushels of corn per acre. Very good cakes and bread are prepared of +maize flour, and there are many other ways of dressing it. When +boiled with milk it is called mush. All living creatures in this +country subsist, almost exclusively, on this invaluable production. +When the whites arrived in America numerous Indian tribes subsisted on +it; quadrupeds, birds, nay, even fish, are fond of it. At the places +where the flat boats, laden with maize, land, the fish collect and +assemble in great numbers, and fall an easy prey to the fishermen. At +this time the corn was sold at six and a half cents per bushel at +Harmony; whereas, on the frontiers of Canada, two dollars were paid +for it. Living is, consequently, very cheap on the banks of the +Wabash. The maize is brought to market in large wagons, drawn by four +oxen, and a considerable quantity is thence sent by water carriage. +Other kinds of grain--wheat, rye, barley, and oats--which ripen in +June, are likewise cultivated. Barley is grown for the brewers; and +oats, in considerable quantities, for the horses. Potatoes, too, are +extensively cultivated, but they are by no means so good and mealy as +in Germany. There is a great variety of culinary vegetables. There are +abundance of apples, but not many pears, which do not thrive; peaches +are good, and very productive; quantities fall to the ground, where +they are consumed by the hogs; plums and cherries are rarely grown; +the latter are not so good as in Europe, but very fruitful. The vine +was formerly cultivated, but it is now quite neglected. According to +Warden, cotton is grown at Vincennes, Princetown, and Harmony, but +this does not seem to be the case at present. This plant does not +thrive beyond the 31st degree of latitude. The inhabitants grow hemp +and flax for their own consumption, and some tobacco; bad cigars are +made at Harmony, and, in general, good tobacco is rarely to be met +with in the United States. Maple sugar is manufactured in great +abundance in Indiana. Warden says that, in 1810, 50,000 lbs. [pg. 85] +were made in this State, and, at present, it was worth seven or eight +cents a pound. Many of the inhabitants obtain, in the spring, about +100 lbs. of this sugar. In this part of the country the corn is not +thrashed, but generally trodden out by horses; a very imperfect +process, which appears to have originated in the times of the ancient +Hebrews, Greeks, and Romans. + +Next to agriculture the breeding of cattle is an important object +among the backwoodsmen; but is likewise ill understood. The breed of +swine furnishes the principal supply for food and exportation, great +quantities of pork being sent to New Orleans. Mr. Owen had established +a whisky distillery, and fattened the swine on the refuse. About 1,500 +barrels of whisky, worth ten dollars a barrel, were made every year in +Mr. Owen's distillery. Great numbers of swine are in the woods of +Indiana, far from all human dwellings, where they grow very fat by the +abundance of oak and beech mast. They are of a reddish brown colour, +with round black spots; there are some quite wild, which anybody is at +liberty to shoot. These animals are never housed, even in the vicinity +of Harmony. We observed them, in our excursions, in the depth of +winter, when the young ones often perish with cold; and we also saw +them eaten by the mothers. Dead swine were lying about in all +directions, partly devoured by others. The negligence and want of +feeling with which the animals are treated, are very great; and, +accordingly, the breed of cattle can never flourish. The cattle, which +are very fine, are kept in the open air day and night, amidst ice and +snow, with which their backs are covered; the same may be said of the +horses; nay, in cold moonlight nights, we saw these animals standing +in the street, near their master's dwelling, as if they hoped to be +let in. The animals are generally fed in the morning with maize, and a +woman usually appears at an early hour, in her plaid, to milk the +cows. + +The cattle of this country are large and handsome, very hardy, and do +not differ in figure or colour from those of Germany; no food is given +them in winter but the dry leaves of maize. No clover or other forage +is cultivated, so that the cattle and horses are confined to straw, +the bark of trees, and the green reed, miegia, which forms a thick +underwood in the forests on the Wabash. Everywhere one sees the bark +and twigs gnawed, and even the fruit trees are often damaged in this +manner. Horses and cattle frequently starve to death in the winter. I +was told that the animals gnaw, in preference, the nettle-tree +(_Celtis occidentalis_), the hack-berry (_Celtis crassifolia_), and +the sugar maple. It is remarkable that the swine, which otherwise +refuse no species of fruit, will not touch that of the papaw tree +(_Asimina_). All the beef in this country is of a bad quality, +because, as I have said, no forage is cultivated. In Pennsylvania it +is quite the reverse; there a great deal of clover is grown, and the +beef is, consequently, good. In Indiana pork is said to be much better +and easier of digestion than to the east of the Alleghanys. We saw but +few sheep, and no goats, at Harmony. There were plenty of geese and +domestic fowls, but only a few tame ducks. + +The mode of tilling the ground for the different kinds of grain, has +been described by [pg. 86] many travellers; I will therefore merely +observe that the plough is different in its construction from that +used in Germany, and that the oxen are attached to it by a very +peculiar yoke, which consists of a long, thick, crooked piece of wood, +which is laid horizontally over the necks of the two oxen, with two +bows underneath, through which the heads of the animals are put.[97] + + [Illustration: Neck-yoke and plow] + +My stay at New Harmony, which was at first intended to be only for a +few days, was prolonged by serious indisposition, nearly resembling +cholera, to a four months' winter residence. At any other place in +this country I should have extremely regretted such a loss of time, +but here I derived much instruction and entertainment from my +intercourse with two highly-informed men, Mr. Thomas Say and Mr. +Lesueur, who, during my two months' illness, gave me constant proofs +of kindness, and endeavoured to make our time pass agreeably and +usefully. I received also much kindness from other estimable families, +Messrs. Owen (who were educated by Fellenberg, in Switzerland), Mr. +Maclure and his sister, and Mr. Twigg. My walks and hunting excursions +with the two naturalists were very instructive. Mr. Say's house was in +a garden, where he cultivated many interesting plants of the interior +of Western America. I there saw a large _Maclura aurantiaca_ +(Nuttall), the bow or yellow wood, or Osage orange, from the river +Arkansas, of the wood of which many Indian tribes make their bows. It +is a prickly tree, with very tough wood. There was one at St. Louis, +in the garden of Mr. Pierre Chouteau, which did not, however, +flourish.[98] Dr. Pitcher had the kindness to give me some of the +seeds of this tree, [pg. 87] which, however, have not succeeded. In Mr. +Say's garden I likewise saw _Euphorbia marginata_, from Arkansas, +several beautiful _phlox_; and the _Lonicera sempervirens_ was laden +with its ripe fruit. The _Euphorbia marginata_ flourishes exceedingly +well at Bonn, where it was raised from seeds which I brought. + +Mr. Say's zoological collection was confined to insects and shells. He +was less anxious to possess a complete collection than to have a good +library, which, thanks to Mr. Maclure, he really possessed, and new +insects and shells were sent to him from all parts of the United +States, which he immediately described. He had a very extensive +correspondence, even with Europe, and received many conchylia, which +he used and compared for his work on American conchology. This work +was entirely got up here in Harmony, for Mrs. Say drew and coloured +the figures very faithfully after nature, which were engraved by an +artist, engaged by Mr. Maclure; the text also was printed there. Mr. +Say's entomological collection was continually damaged by the +rapacious insects, which are much more dangerous and destructive here +than in Europe. The most fatal to the zoological collections, in this +country, besides the common European moth (_Phalæna sarcitella_), are +the _Dermestes lardarius_, _Anthrinus muscorum_, _Dermestes vulpinus_, +_Necrobia violetia_, _Acarus destructor_, and several others, among +which there are some brought from Europe. + +Mr. Lesueur's labours were chiefly in the higher orders of the animal +kingdom; he had explored the country in many directions, was +acquainted with everything remarkable, collected and prepared all +interesting objects, and had already sent considerable collections to +France. He was a skilful draughtsman, and his portfolios of drawings, +made during his voyage round the world, and in his residence in +America, afforded us much gratification during the winter. He had paid +great attention to the fishes of the Wabash, Ohio, and Mississippi, +for which his frequent visits to New Orleans had given him the best +opportunity. His friend Barrabino, who died prematurely in that city, +and took much interest in the sciences, had been of great assistance +to him. It would be a pity if the interesting labours of Mr. Lesueur, +in natural history, were not communicated to the learned world during +his lifetime. + +I shall always retain a most pleasing recollection of the excursions +which we made in the neighbourhood of Harmony, with Mr. Say, and to +greater distances, with Mr. Lesueur. One of the most agreeable was +when we sailed down the Wabash, and landed on its wooded islands. +Immediately on the west of the river, is Fox Island, a large thickly +wooded tract, between the Wabash and Fox River.[99] We generally left +Harmony by water, in bright, sunny weather. The Wabash divides into +several arms, forming beautiful romantic islands, covered with tall +forests, partly surrounded by quantities of drift wood. The water of +the river is clear and dark green, and the bottom, which is plainly +seen, is covered with large bivalve shells (_Unio_), as well as with +several kinds of snails. High trees uniformly clothe the shore, and +colossal, wide-spreading planes rise above the dense forests. In some +places there are sand-banks, where shells are [pg. 88] found in +abundance, and where the track of the racoon and the mink, which come +here in the night to seek their food, are imprinted in all directions +on the wet ground. Under the old roots of trees on the bank, which is +from ten to twenty feet high, we saw the burrows of the minks, into +which it had taken a quantity of shells. The common people here think +that this is done by the musk-rat, which is certainly a mistake. The +musk-rat lives on vegetables, and it is only the small beasts of prey +that live on shell-fish. There were various species of ducks, which +rose in flocks before us, and flew rapidly to the undisturbed parts of +the banks. Besides the common wild duck, which was the most numerous, +there were the beautiful wood duck, the blue-winged teal, and the +pintail duck, or sea-pheasant. After proceeding about three quarters +of an hour, we usually landed on Fox Island, on the right bank, +fastened our boat to the trunk of a large fallen tree, and then went +up the steep bank into a thick, lofty forest, where the high reeds +were intersected with small, narrow paths, made by the horses and +cattle of the neighbouring farmers. From our several landing places, +we had to proceed only about 100 steps across the island to the Fox +River, which runs here, for a pretty considerable distance, parallel +to the Wabash, and joins it below Fox Island.[100] The stream is +highly picturesque, with romantic banks, large uprooted trees, +colossal planes, magnificent oaks, hickory, shellbark hickory, &c. +Here grows the lofty _gymnocladus_, with its large, broad pods, and +the beautiful catalpa. _Bignonia radicans_ and _cruciata_ wind round +the trunks, as well as thick, clustering vines (_Hedera quinquefolia_) +and the poison vine. Vast quantities of fallen trees lay in the water, +and, when it was low, often formed a kind of bridge. The trunks of the +plane are very remarkable; they are often so thick that five or six +men cannot span them. When of this size they are generally hollow. +These trees are suffered to grow so old, because they yield but +indifferent timber. Twenty or thirty feet from the ground, the trunk +usually divides into several thick branches, which rise to a very +great height; they have a bark of dazzling whiteness, which forms a +singular contrast with the brown forests, when leafless and bare in +winter. This tree never attains such a thickness and height in Europe, +and hence the white colour of the branches is wanting. The quiet, +lonely Fox River is covered, during the whole day, with numerous +ducks. Whenever we approached cautiously through the reeds, and over +the dry leaves, scattered on the ground, we could immediately fire at +them. The kingfisher (_Alcedo alcyon_), is constantly seen here, and +many species of birds, particularly the blue-crested roller (_Garrulus +cristatus_), came to the water to drink. Unluckily we had no European +hounds, which would have been of great service to us, and thus, from +want of them, we often lost the ducks we had shot. The turkey buzzards +were seen hovering in the air, and, after wet weather, were often +observed sitting in the sunshine, with outspread wings, on the highest +trees. If we shot a bird, and did not immediately pick it up, it was +sure to be devoured by these ravenous creatures. If the buzzards were +driven away, the cunning crows supplied their place. The whole air was +soon filled with these buzzards, hovering round and round, [pg. 89] +while numbers of others sat together on the high trees. If we shot at +them when flying, they immediately vomited; this I likewise observed +in Brazil. We found here some heads of the paddle-fish, which lives in +the stream. If we left the banks of the rivers, and advanced far into +the forests, we had often to clamber over fallen trunks of trees, +covered with moss, and to penetrate through matted reeds, where we +heard the voice of the grey squirrel, and the hammering of the +numerous woodpeckers. Among the entangled climbing plants, we often +saw, throughout the whole winter, the beautiful cardinal, or red-bird; +finches of various kinds; and on the decayed trees, on the ground, +some kinds of _Troglodytes_. Towards the end of autumn, and early in +warm days in February, nay, even in December and January, we often saw +in Fox River, on stones, and old submersed trunks of trees, large +tortoises basking in the sun, which we sometimes shot at with our +fowling-pieces, but we seldom got them. They are very shy, and plunge +into the water as soon as any one approaches. + +Towards noon the scattered sportsmen usually re-assembled, with their +booty, round a cheerful fire, under ancient plane trees, on the bank +of Fox River. Our frugal repast, which we had brought with us, was +seasoned by the exercise in the open air, in the fine forests of +Indiana and Illinois. Tortoises, shell-fish, birds, &c., were +deposited in our boat. Mr. Lesueur frequently accompanied us in these +excursions. Once, on the 7th of March, he found, on Fox Island, a +couple of marmots above ground, one of which ran into its burrow, +while the other sought refuge on a low tree, where, however, it was +shot. We then dug for the other, in hopes of finding it, but the +burrow went so far and deep into the ground, that we were forced to +give it up. This circumstance may serve as a proof that the animals +which sleep throughout the winter make their appearance about this +time. + +In our excursions we often visited some others of the numerous islands +in the Wabash, being particularly attracted thither by the loud cries +of the wild turkey; their voice is exactly similar to that of the +European turkey. We could hear them scratching among the dry leaves on +the ground, in search of food. If we surprised them, they were +generally too far off for our fowling-pieces, loaded with small shot, +for they ran away with extraordinary rapidity. Turkey Island seemed to +be a favourite place of resort. At the upper end of the island drifted +wood was frequently piled up to such a height, that it was difficult +to clamber over it, and among this wood there were generally many +otters. Here we often found wild turkeys, and even the Virginian deer; +and it is really a fine sight to see a flock of these wild turkeys fly +across the river, or a swarm of wild geese, with loud screams, swim +down the stream. The grey eagle was often seen sitting on the lofty +plane trees, on the bank; and the white-headed eagle hovered in the +air, at a great height. + +On another hunting excursion, up the Wabash, we proceeded as far as +Black River,[101] a stream which falls into the Wabash, three miles +from Harmony. On the 5th of January, at eight [pg. 90] o'clock in the +morning, the mercury in Reaumur's thermometer was twelve and a half +degrees above freezing point, and the fish leaped above the surface +of the water as in summer. Near some small log-houses the people were +employed in felling the high trees, and our boatmen observed that +those new settlers had taken possession of this Congress land without +any right to do so. Such irregularities are very frequent here; thus, +for instance, they cut down large trees on Mr. Maclure's property for +making their flat boats, and yet nobody calls them to account. These +are the backwoodsmen of Illinois and Indiana. On the high banks of the +river we observed in the forest a mink-trap. It nearly resembles, in +miniature, the great bear-trap; is covered on all sides with +brushwood, so that the animal can enter only at a certain place. The +Black River, which, in some parts, is wide and expanded, was now +rather narrow and shallow, the water of a pure green colour. The +bottom consists chiefly of sand or clay; it is contracted at the +mouth, where a quantity of sand has accumulated, and where poplars and +lofty planes grow; colossal vines wound round their trunks, of which +we cut off one that was very thick, as a specimen. While our boatmen +were engaged in this work, and in looking for shell-fish, we advanced +several miles up the stream, where we met with frequent obstacles in +the forest. The large dry leaves of the planes made such a rustling, +that we could seldom get near the ducks, numbers of which were +swimming on the stream. I collected on the bank the beautiful +orange-coloured seeds of the _Celastrus scandens_, and several others. +We generally returned home with ducks and other birds, but we were +unsuccessful in our chase of the wild turkeys, of which we sometimes +saw whole flocks fly across the Wabash. Many an hour we passed in +these forests, watching for ducks and birds of prey; where, while we +stood concealed in a hollow plane, the small birds sometimes flew +almost into the face of the sportsman, or settled on his gun. + +In order to explore the forests of Harmony, in the southern direction, +Mr. Say took me to a neighbouring estate of Mr. Maclure, on Rush +Creek, through a romantic, lofty forest, where very fine tulip trees, +with thick and high trunks, as straight as a ship's mast, and very +rough bark, were growing. This tall, splendid tree bears its fine +large flowers only at the very summit. The wood is of a greenish pale +yellow colour, and is used by cabinet makers. The red-headed +woodpecker was almost the only bird that was seen here. The whole +track consists of steep hills, separated by small valleys, on which we +particularly observed the ancient tumuli of the aboriginal inhabitants +of these forests. Passing through a valley we came to Rush Creek, +which we crossed by a very ruinous bridge of branches of trees, to the +opposite bank, where _Hydrangea arborescens_ grew. Several species of +maple grow here, which have certainly not been properly distinguished +and classed. Their trunks, covered with rough bark, are often not to +be spanned by three men, and they grow perfectly straight. Near the +junction of the Rush Creek and the Wabash, we came to the small +log-house of a tenant of Mr. Maclure, where the woman was engaged in +domestic employments, while the children were picking bones, probably +[pg. 91] of wild turkeys, with which they ate maize bread. In front of +the house lay large blocks of catalpa wood, which, when fresh cut, is +of a brownish yellow colour, and emits a peculiar smell. We were told +of a stream in the neighbourhood, the water of which was said to have +killed many persons. We visited this dangerous water, which is very +cold, but does not appear to have any peculiar ingredients. One of our +party, who had often drunk of it, without injury, affirmed that those +men had not been killed by the water, but by whisky; probably, +however, death was caused by drinking this excessively cold water when +they were overheated. + +In a dense forest, some miles to the north-west of Harmony, was a +narrow pond, or, rather, long, broad ditch, called Long Pond, which, +at certain seasons of the year, is connected with Fox River, to which +we sometimes made excursions. Beyond the Wabash, in this direction, +the forest has a sandy soil, which, however, is soon succeeded by a +rich clay. A man well acquainted with the country was our conductor; +we were obliged to force our way through the closely-matted reeds, +where there was no path, and our clothes were completely torn by them. +On all sides we heard the bells of the oxen and horses, and our guide +easily found his own beasts, which knew his voice. He had wished me to +take a compass, which was not done, and we, in fact, twice lost our +way, in consequence; for it is not easy to discover one's latitude in +such thick, bewildering reed forests. Woodpeckers and squirrels were +the usual fruits of our excursions in this wilderness. After passing a +couple of isolated habitations, we came to a hollow in the forest, +about a mile long, and full of water. This was the Long Pond, in which +many varieties of water plants were growing. + +Our guide had taken a hatchet and a basket, in order to dig up the +roots of a yellow-flowering _Nymphæa_,[102] which was growing in +luxuriance, and which he intended to employ as a poultice to a swelled +face. The surface of the water was covered with an elegant plant, +_Azolla Caroliniana_ (Wild), which formed mossy verdant spots, and is +here found on all standing water. The cardinal and the blue-crested +roller frequented this place; and near a field of maize, in the +forest, I saw large flocks of parrots, of which we often shot many +with great ease. They were not shy, and soon re-assembled after our +shot had dispersed them. Their manner and note much resembled those +of the long-tailed paroquet of Brazil.[103] With a shrill cry they +flew rapidly from tree to tree, when their beautiful bright green +colour was seen to great advantage. Mr. Bodmer has given a very +faithful representation of one of these flocks.[104] They eat the +fruit of the planes; and if we did not disturb them, they sat in a +row, close together, to warm themselves in the faint beams of the +January sun. We sometimes found a great number of turkey buzzards +collected about the carcass of a dead animal; some sitting crowded on +the high trees, others hovering in the air; but it was not easy to get +at them. We occasionally met with horses, which, in these [pg. 92] +wildernesses, familiarly approach those who happen to pass, in the +hope of receiving salt from them. On our return home we were often +gratified with the view of a splendid fiery evening sky on the Wabash; +the lofty crowns of the forest trees appeared to burn, while the +snow-white stems of the tall planes assumed a roseate tint, and +reflected their beauty in the smooth surface of the water. + +The winter which we passed at Harmony was, on the whole, mild. +Woodpeckers, pigeons, thrushes, the great lark, the cardinal, the +blue-bird, and many others, were seen in the orchards during the whole +winter. The coveys of partridges lay in the fields of maize, or the +thorn hedges, sheltered and protected from the cold. There were often +very warm days in the middle of winter. On such a day, the 31st of +January, I found, at noon, the thermometer being +5° R., at the foot +of a thick plane tree, a great number of the red and black spotted +lady-bird, which were half frozen. Tortoises were seen, on warm days, +during the whole winter. In the middle of February, a great number of +the white maple, called also the soft or swamp maple, were in blossom +in the forests; and, towards the end of that month, the song of many +birds resounded through the woods and orchards. Flights of cranes +passed over. The _Arabis bulbosa_ (Mühlenb.) blossomed, as well as the +hazel, yet there were still some cold days. The Americans have a +proverb--"When winter comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb," +and _vice versa_. This winter, however, the cold had not set in early. +At the beginning of March we had frost. On the 2nd of March, at eight +in the morning, Reaumur's thermometer was at -16°; and at twelve +o'clock at noon, -9°. Small pieces of water were frozen over; the +ducks, especially the pintail ducks, which were now constantly +disturbed in the Wabash, by the navigation and by the sportsman, +sought for small pieces of open water; and when they were driven from +these, repaired to the woods or the maize fields. The blackbird and +the robin sought their scanty food on the banks of the brooks. Many +species of animals were, however, in motion at the beginning of March. +Numbers of tortoises appeared; the note of the owl was heard in the +forests, even in the daytime; the wood-snipe fluttered about, and the +young leaves of the _sambucus_, and the flowers of the _corylus_, gave +an enlivening appearance to the forest. The voice of the turtle-dove +was heard as early as the 8th of February; insects buzzed about; +flocks of migratory pigeons flew towards the north and east; and on +the 9th, the first steam-boat went up the Wabash. + +We had satisfactory accounts of the sanitary state of the southern and +western parts of the United States. At Cincinnati the violence of the +cholera had abated at the commencement of the Indian summer; on the +Ohio it had generally ceased; and St. Louis, by the latest reports, +was perfectly healthy. Mr. Bodmer, who had made an excursion to New +Orleans, in December and January, found the cholera still there, but +it had greatly abated; and I therefore resolved to make preparations +for proceeding on our journey, as soon as our collections were packed +up and sent off. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[83] Robert Owen (1771-1858) was a prominent English socialist and +propagandist. Rising from the ranks of workingmen, by shrewd business +capacity he acquired a fortune, which he devoted to the improvement of +the conditions of working people, and to the spread of principles of +co-operation and education. His factory and schools at New Lanark, +Scotland, became famous, and were visited by eminent reformers. He was +also instrumental in securing the first Factory Act, protecting the +rights of children. In 1825 he purchased New Harmony, Indiana, for the +purpose of establishing a co-operative community. Owen's connection +with this experiment was dissolved about 1828, although his sons +remained on the property many years. The latter years of his life were +entirely devoted to theoretical discussion, erratic journalism, and +socialistic experimentation. He is considered the founder of the +co-operative movement in England. + +William Maclure (1763-1840), a wealthy merchant, geologist, and +philanthropist, made an unsuccessful attempt (1819) to found an +agricultural school at Alicaut, Spain, for the benefit of the poorer +classes. In 1824 he went with Robert Owen to New Harmony and took +charge of the educational department. The following year, however, +together with a hundred and fifty followers, he withdrew to found +Macluria. Later, they purchased the New Harmony establishment, and for +a short time conducted a school of industry destined to early failure. +In 1827, because of failing health, he went to Mexico, where he died +(1840).--ED. + +[84] Jean Baptiste Audebert (1759-1800), an eminent French painter, +engraver, and naturalist, published _A Natural History of Apes, +Lemurs, and Galeopitheci_, with numerous plates (1800), and _A History +of Humming Birds, Fly Catchers, Jacamars and Promerap_ (1 vol., 1802). +Audebert at his death left unfinished several works on birds, +subsequently edited by Vieillot and Destray.--ED. + +[85] See Plate 8, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + +[86] See Plate 25, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + +[87] _Cervus major_, or _Canadensis_. I have retained the American +name of elk for this animal, but it must not be confounded with the +elendthier (_Cervus alces_), which is sometimes called elk, in +Prussia. The name wapiti, given to it by the English, which is derived +from one of the Indian languages, ought never to be used, because it +is scarcely known to anybody, even in America.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[88] Edward Pöppig (1798-1868) was educated as a naturalist at +Leipzig. He travelled in Cuba and the United States (1822-24), and +subsequently went to South America, returning to Germany in 1832. In +1845 he was elected professor of zoölogy at the University of Leipzig +and died in 1868. He wrote _Reise in Chila, Peru und auf dem +Amazonenstromer_ (Leipzig, 1835-36), and _Landschaftliche Ansichten +und erläuterude Darstellungen aus dem Gebiete der Erdbunde_ (Leipzig, +1838). + +For Mrs. Trollope, see Wyeth's _Oregon_, in our volume xxi, p. 44, +note 24; for Doctor Drake, see Flint's _Letters_, in our volume ix, p. +121, note 61.--ED. + +[89] For a brief sketch of Lesueur, see our volume xvi, p. 138, note +60. + +Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752-1840) was a distinguished professor +in the University of Göttingen. As a recognition of his ability, he +was in 1812 elected secretary of the Royal Society of Sciences.--ED. + +[90] Mr. Lesueur sketched these from memory, having parted with the +originals.--MAXIMILIAN. + +_Comment by Ed._ See opposite page for illustration of Indian pipes. + +[91] See the "Disseminator" for 1831. Say writes--"Some arrow-heads +and knives made of flint were found in the same tumulus, which are +perfectly like those often found on the surface. These arrow-heads are +generally known, but the instrument which probably served as a knife, +deserves more particular consideration. It is from an inch and a half +to two inches and a quarter long, from three-tenths to seven-tenths +broad, and has two edges; in shape it resembles the obsidian knives of +the ancient Aztecks, or, perhaps, of the Tultecks, of which we found a +great many near the Mexican city of Chalco, and of which there are +engravings in one of the last numbers of 'Silliman's Journal.' We have +compared several specimens of flint and obsidian knives, and found +them as perfectly alike as if they had been made by the same artist, +and as the difference of the material allows. If we cannot decide how +far this fact may serve to confirm the hieroglyphic accounts of the +emigration of the Aztecks and Tultecks from north to south, it seems, +however, to strengthen the conjecture that the remote ancestors of the +present Mexicans erected the tumuli and walls which are spread in such +numbers over this country, and of the origin of which the present race +of red men have no tradition." These obsidian knives are likewise +represented in one of the early volumes of the French Academy, but +Warden does not mention them in his "Antiquités Mexicaines." He puts +the question, whether the people of the Ohio Valley may not have been +a colony of the ancient inhabitants of Palenque? The old tumuli of +Harmony appear, at least, to belong to a kindred race. On this obscure +but highly interesting subject, see Alex. V. Humboldt, "Voy. au Nouv. +Cont." t. iii. p. 155, &c.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[92] This must have been a wandering band either of Sauk and Foxes +(the latter of whom often were entitled "Musquake") or of Mascoutin. +The Indian title to this region had been extinguished in 1804; see +note 92, _post_. Possibly they were Potawatomi, several of whose +chiefs bore names resembling these. + +An account of the battle of Tippecanoe is given in Evans's _Tour_, in +our volume viii, p. 286, note 131.--ED. + +[93] Some of the southern tribes of the North American Indians still +use such wooden pipes. I have seen such belonging to the Cherokees, +which were in the shape of a bear. The opening for the tobacco was on +the back, and the tube fixed near the tail.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[94] For the Kickapoo and Mascoutin (Masquiton) Indians, see Croghan's +_Journals_, in our volume i, p. 139, note 111; for the Potawatomi +(Potanons), _ibid._, p. 115, note 84. The Piankeshaw and Miami are +respectively noted in our volume i, p. 142, note 115; p. 27, note 24. +The Wyandot (Viandots) were the Huron; see our volume i, p. 29, note +26. + +Two treaties--the first with the Delawares, signed August 18, 1804; +the second with the Piankeshaw, August 27, 1804--were concluded by +William Henry Harrison at Vincennes. By these treaties all the +southwestern portion of Indiana below the Vincennes tract already +ceded, became the property of the United States. See W. H. Smith, +_History of Indiana_ (Indianapolis, 1897), pp. 230-233.--ED. + +[95] Bloomington, the seat of Monroe County, Indiana, was laid out by +Benjamin Park, July 12, 1818. + +By the two acts of March 26, 1804, and April 16, 1816, Congress +granted two townships of land, subsequently located in Gibson and +Monroe counties "for the use of a seminary of learning." The +territorial legislature on November 9, 1806, established in the +borough of Vincennes "an university to be known by the name and style +of the Vincennes University." The attempt proved a failure, and the +land was transferred to the Indiana Seminary created on January 20, +1820. The latter was, on January 24, 1828, raised to the dignity of +Indiana College, and on February 15, 1838, to Indiana University.--ED. + +[96] The other taxes were at this time the following:--1. Poll-tax, +thirty-seven and a half cents per head, per annum. 2. Land-tax, +according to the quality of the land; in Illinois, one and a half +cents per acre on land of the best quality. 3. Watch-tax, twenty-five +cents on a silver watch, and half a dollar on a gold watch. 4. +Horse-tax, thirty-five cents on every horse above three years old. +Twenty-five cents on every pair of draught oxen. This was the case in +Indiana; in Illinois, a tax of half a dollar, on the value of 100 +dollars for every head of cattle above three years old. All grocers +who sell sugar, coffee, and spirituous liquors, pay a tax in Indiana, +as well as publicans. The landlord of the inn at which we lodged, paid +a tax of ten dollars per annum. All these taxes are levied by the +Government of the State, and are liable to be changed.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[97] See p. 175, for illustration of neck-yoke and plow.--ED. + +[98] In the splendid work, "Genus Pinus," by my lamented friend, A. B. +Lambert, Esq., Vice-President of the Linnean Society, lately deceased, +there is a plate and an interesting account of this tree. Mr. Lambert +states that "it was introduced into England by Lord Bagot, from seeds +received from the celebrated naturalist, Mr. Correa de Serra, then +ambassador of Portugal to the United States. Lord Bagot has two fine +trees in his conservatory, and was so good as to give me plants of it, +which are now growing in my conservatory at Boyton."--H. EVANS LLOYD. + +[99] Fox River, a bayou of the Big Wabash River, in the eastern +portion of Philip Township, White County, Illinois, cuts off about six +miles of territory, known as Fox Island.--ED. + +[100] See Bodmer's view of this junction, Plate 38, in the +accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + +[101] See Evans's _Pedestrious Tour_, in our volume viii, p. 192, note +45.--ED. + +[102] This _Nymphæa_ had, in January, thrown out short pedunculi, near +to its tuberculous root, at some depth below the water, from which +thick, round, yellow flower-buds had sprouted. The arrow-shaped leaves +were green, but, at this time, at a great depth under water.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[103] The parroquet (or parrakeet), a diminution of the Spanish +_perico_, meaning parrot, is the term applied to many small varieties +of parrots, especially to the long-tailed East Indian and Australian +species of the genus _Palæorius_. At the opening of the nineteenth +century they were quite numerous in the southern portion of the United +States; but they have now disappeared, save in the wilder portions of +Indian Territory and Florida. See Cuming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, +p. 161, note 108.--ED. + +[104] See Plate 38, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +JOURNEY FROM NEW HARMONY TO ST. LOUIS ON THE MISSISSIPPI, AND OUR STAY +THERE, FROM MARCH 16TH TO APRIL 9TH, 1833 + + Mount Vernon--Mouth of the Wabash--Shawneetown--Battery + Rock--Cave-in-Rock--Cumberland River--Tenessee River--Mouth of + the Ohio--Cape Girardeau--Grand Tower--St. Genevieve--Merrimack + River--Vide Poche--Kahokia--St. Louis--Sac and Fox + Indians--Meeting of the Black Hawk with his Countrymen at + Jefferson Barracks--The American Fur Company--Preparations for + the Journey up the Missouri. + + +After taking leave of our friends at Harmony, who, during a residence +of four months, had given us unvarying proofs of kindness and +hospitality, we set out on horseback early in the morning of the 16th +of March, leaving our baggage to be conveyed by the Ohio. The day was +fine, and, rejoicing in the warm spring sun, we reached the hills that +bounded the valley of the Wabash. We were immediately surrounded by +lofty forests, and cast a farewell look on the cheerful country which +had so long sheltered us. Perched on the top of the maple, oak, and +tulip tree, the robin poured forth his morning song. The turtle-dove +was cooing with her sweet low moan, and the shrill voice and hammering +of the woodpeckers resounded on every side. In Europe the soft note of +the turtle is not heard till spring is more advanced, and the trees +are clothed with verdure. Many trees were covered with buds; those of +the dog-wood were particularly forward, the beautiful white flowers of +which appear before the leaves; this is the case with many of the +trees of this country. We passed Rush Creek, on the eminences near +which grow many sugar-maple trees, the juice of which was tapped, and +had in some of them already ceased to flow. At the lower part of all +the trunks, we found small tubes of elder inserted, from which the +insipid sweetish juice ran into the troughs placed below them. It is +said to flow in great abundance, when hot spring days are succeeded by +cold frosty nights. We soon reached what is called a sugar camp in the +forest; it is a hut, in the floor of which four kettles are fixed for +boiling the juice. This [pg. 94] hut contains likewise large troughs, in +which the juice from the smaller, placed at the trees, is collected. +Such a hut, with the maples growing around it, is called a sugar camp, +and the quantity of sugar produced depends on the number of maples in +the vicinity. Many camps furnish in one spring 300, 500, or even 1000 +lbs. of sugar, which is crystallized in loaves. It is brown, but very +sweet, and has no disagreeable flavour. We refreshed ourselves with +the juice in the small troughs, which our horses drank greedily. + +The people in the isolated dwellings in the forest were partly engaged +in burning the timber. Many of the small wooden houses of these +peasants were without windows; glass windows are quite a luxury, and +the only light enjoyed in the daytime is admitted by the open door. We +saw in all these dwellings, very wide, large beds. We crossed the Big +Creek, a considerable stream, with rising banks, by a wooden bridge; +here we saw many piles of oak bark, which is sold to the tanneries. At +noon, the weather being excessively hot, we reached Mount Vernon, on +the Ohio. + +In this little scattered place, with about 600 inhabitants, among whom +there are five medical men, about one third of the buildings are of +brick; the town-hall stands in an open square. The Ohio, which we +immediately visited, had now a much more striking appearance than at +our first visit in the autumn. It is considerably broader than the +Rhine, and it is said that it often rises thirty feet higher--up to +the very thresholds of the buildings standing on the bank. The view +both up and down the river was beautiful. The immediate environs of +Mount Vernon consist of damp marshy forests; hence the water is very +bad, and the inhabitants prefer even that of the Ohio. The temperature +at noon was now very warm; 14° Reaumur. + +We were obliged to wait a couple of days in this little town for a +steam-boat, to go down the river. The rushing noise of the steamers +often called us to the river, but they were mostly going up, and +disappeared at Diamond Island. At last, on the 18th of March, about +ten in the morning, two steam-boats appeared, of which the largest, +the Napoleon, did not stop; while the smaller one, the Conveyance, +took us in.[105] We proceeded rapidly, reached before noon Wabash +Island, near the mouth of that river, and after dinner landed at +Shawneetown. + +Shawneetown or Shawaneetown is a hamlet lying along the banks of the +river, and containing from 600 to 700 inhabitants. The best buildings +are some inns, shops, and the post-office. The tribe of the Shawnee +Indians formerly dwelt in this country, and were succeeded by some +Delawares, who have been long since expelled or extirpated. +Arrow-heads of flint, as well as the bones, &c., of these people, are +frequently found in the neighbourhood. The Shawnees were said to have +previously dwelt on the Savaney River, on the coast of Florida, and +afterwards lived for about sixty-five years in the state of Ohio. They +consisted, according to Dr. Morse, of four tribes:--1. The Piqua; 2. +The Maguachake; 3. The Kiskopokoke, to which the celebrated prophet, +Elsquataway, and his distinguished brother, Tecumseh, belonged. They +were very warlike. In [pg. 95] 1806 they settled near Greenville, in the +State of Ohio, and their subsequent history is well known. They +afterwards went to the country about Tippecanoe. 4. The Chillicothes, +who live in the vicinity of the town of that name; these, and further +accounts of these people, are to be found in Dr. Morse, and other +writers.[106] + +Twelve miles inland from Shawneetown are the celebrated salt works on +Saline River,[107] near Equality; much salt is annually manufactured +there, and sent to Shawneetown, on the Ohio, where it is embarked. +Here, as at Mount Vernon, the environs of the place consist of damp +forests, with many marshes, from which noxious exhalations arise. The +weather was chilly, windy, and rainy, especially towards evening, so +that a fire was very welcome. Coals are found about seven miles from +the town, and seem to be of a good kind. There were many negroes in +Shawneetown; whereas, in Harmony and Mount Vernon, there were only two +or three families of that race. + +On the morning of the 19th, the weather being warm, and the sky +clouded, we embarked in the Paragon steamboat.[108] The fine broad +river shone brightly; on the banks the summits of the forest formed an +even line parallel to the shore, as even as if they had been cut, the +snow-white stems of the planes glistening among the sombre mass. The +kingfisher, the wild duck, and red-breasted goose, were numerous in +the wild, romantic willow islands. The banks of the Ohio now began to +be higher; the rocks are of limestone, which forms, in many parts of +the forests, romantic masses of rock, partly yellow, partly of a grey +colour. The river was at this time nearly of the same colour as the +Rhine, when clear. After passing the mouth of the Saline River, we +reached, on the right, or Illinois bank, the long flat bank of rocks +known by the name of Battery Rock.[109] This wall of rock, at the +lower part of the bank, is marked with horizontal strata, or stripes, +from sixty to eighty feet high, covered with whitish or bluish green +and bright green lichens and mosses, rent by several ravines, and +crowned with woods, and a small house or cottage on the very summit. +From this place we saw, on the rocky banks, some red cedars here and +there, from twenty to thirty feet in height. I observe, for the +botanist, that this tree is not found except where the bank consists +of rocks. After passing Cave-in-Rock Island, a long, wooded island, we +glided past Cave-in-Rock,[110] a cavern which traverses from side to +side a steep rock in Illinois, and has been drawn by Lesueur. The +rocky wall, in which this well-known opening is situated, is marked +with regular, narrow, yellowish grey or reddish strata of limestone, +and is crowned with cedars and other trees. It is twenty-five miles +below Shawneetown. Calcareous petrifactions, or rather impressions, +are very numerous. Above the larger mouth of the cavern, towards the +Ohio, is a smaller chamber, which is said to have formerly been the +retreat of banditti and coiners. The rock is hard limestone, with sea +shells and animal remains scattered in it, but no fossil bones have +ever been found there. + +Towards noon we reached Golconda Island, twenty and a half miles from +Cave-in-Rock, [pg. 96] and then Golconda in Illinois, a small town, with +a few white buildings, in which they were erecting a court-house, and +which is the seat of the tribunals of Pope County. Near Sister Islands +we met the Brunswick steamer, which had in tow two large flat boats, +full of horses, which were being conveyed from Mount Vernon to New +Orleans. The owners of the horses have to pay above 500 dollars for +the voyage. Opposite Cumberland Island is the mouth of the Cumberland +River, which comes from Kentucky, and falls into the Ohio, at an acute +angle. This river is not so large as the Wabash. A small village, +called Smithland, is built at the mouth, which reminded me of a little +Brazilian villa, the houses, mostly one story high, lying in a row by +the water-side.[111] + +At this place the Paragon took in wood and provisions. Not far from +Smithland is the mouth of the Tenessee River, which is said to be more +considerable than the Cumberland, and to have a course of 1,200 miles. +The little village, Paduca, on the left bank of the Ohio, appeared to +have much traffic, and a number of new shops had been built. The +Western Pilot of the year 1829 does not mention this place--a proof of +its recent origin. From hence we came to the spot where Fort Massac +formerly stood, stones of which are still found.[112] We lay to some +hundred paces below to take in wood, of which our vessel consumed +twelve cords daily. The grass on the banks was already of a bright +green colour, and a race of large long-legged sheep were grazing on +it. We lay to for the night. + +Early in the morning of the 20th of March we approached the mouth of +the Ohio, where it falls into the Mississippi, 959 miles from +Pittsburg, and 129¾ miles from St. Louis. The tongue of land on the +right, which separates the two rivers, was, like the whole of the +country, covered with rich woods, which were partly cleared, and a few +houses erected, with an inn and store, and the dwelling of a planter, +where we took in wood. In this store we saw, among heaps of skins, +that of a black bear, lately killed, of which one of the three cubs, a +very comical little beast, had been kept alive. This young bear had on +his breast a semicircle of white hair. The settlement, at which we now +were, has no other name than Mouth of the Ohio.[113] We now entered +the Mississippi, and ascended it, keeping to the left or eastern bank. +This river is not broader here than the Ohio, and the water of both +was of the same colour; the bank was steep, covered with broken stems +of trees, and crowned on the summit with high slender poplars. The +lower banks were clothed with lofty trees, and at their feet strips +of poplar and willows bending over the water. On the right hand, in +particular, were romantic forest scenes; a wilderness of fallen trees, +which the floods and storms had thrown and piled upon each other, like +an _abatis_. Parasite plants wound round the trees, and matted them +together; while, further on, rose the picturesque terraces of the +wood-covered bank. There being many snags (trunks lying in the water) +in the river, we could only proceed by daylight. The islands, covered +with high poplars, were generally bordered with thickets of willow, +which had now no appearance whatever of green, but looked of a bright +yellowish red, from the colour of their branches. Gleams of sunshine +[pg. 97] sometimes cast over these willow thickets a fine red glow, and +gave them a very original appearance. Large quantities of drifted wood +were frequently seen on the points of the islands towards the current. +The water being very low, we were obliged to take soundings, and yet +our vessel proceeded five or eight hours against the stream. The +O'Connell steam-boat had run aground in this place, and its people +were employed in landing the cargo, consisting chiefly of lead.[114] +In many places on the bank, slender poplars form thick groves, whose +tall stems spread into branches at the summit. They are all of an +equal height, and are one of the characteristic features in the +landscape scenery of the Mississippi and Missouri. At twelve at noon, +Reaumur's thermometer was at +14½°, with a high wind, which blew +the sand of the sand banks into the air. We lay to, to take in fuel, +which cost three dollars for two cords. Here was a high, steep, sandy +bank, and a small, very wretched planter's log-house, exposed on all +parts to the wind, the sides of which consisted only of boards set +upright. A couple of bad beds took up almost the whole of the +interior. The woman, with her pipe in her mouth, was occupied at the +miserable fire-place; the man was just returned, with a boy, from the +forest; the two other children looked unhealthy, weak and pale; one of +these girls was employed in planting onions in a small patch of +newly-prepared ground. A couple of oxen, five or six young hogs, and +some Muscovy ducks, were feeding about the cottage. Immediately +behind, and close to it, commenced the magnificent, dense, and lofty +forest, which we resolved at once to explore, and there very sensibly +felt the heat of the spring, because the wind could not penetrate. The +underwood of the forest consisted of the spicewood (_Laurus benzoin_), +which grows to the height of ten and fifteen feet; its bark is highly +aromatic, and it was covered with small yellow blossoms, which appear +before the leaves, and resemble those of our cornelian cherry. The +abundance of these flowers gives to the underwood a lively tint, which +strikes the eye at a distance. Large, lofty trees, overgrown with +climbing plants, formed the forest on the Mississippi, and the ground +was covered with a delicate yellow flowering plant (_Corydalis flava, +N._) In the front of the cottage, which was close to the bank, stood a +tree, about which a beautiful _Bignonia radicans_ entwined; and the +turkey buzzards hovered high in the air above the forest. + +As we proceeded on our voyage, the wind was so high, and it raised the +waves and the sand so excessively, that we sought the protection of +the opposite bank. We passed many islands, several of which give a +great insight into the formation of the banks of the Mississippi. One +of them, especially, showed, at a certain place, a bank which had sunk +down, where we perceived layers of large trunks of trees, heaped one +upon another, the tops of which were visible. On such foundations the +river throws its sand, willows and poplars grow up, by the leaves of +which good earth is formed, and, in the end, lofty forests of hard +wood arise. Though the Paragon drew only five feet of water, we were +often aground; the wind laid the vessel a little on the side, the crew +shoved with poles, sounded, stopped the engine, then made the vessel +go backwards [pg. 98] and then sidewards, and so got afloat again. +Little villages were seldom seen on this part of the banks of the +Mississippi; however, we came to the village of Commerce,[115] on a +rocky hill, and it is here that rows of hills of a very interesting +appearance commence on the left or Missouri bank. Fragments of rock +lie about, and the cedar (_Juniperus Virginiana_) immediately appears +again. The forest seems to decrease in height in these calcareous +rocks, especially the planes, which are more colossal in Indiana; and +on the eminences in the forests, isolated groups of rocks are often +seen, frequently of singular forms, like pulpits. Night setting in, we +retired to our cabin to avoid the cold evening air, and lay to under +cover of the bank. At this spot there was a single planter's dwelling +upon the steep bank, which was fifty or sixty feet high. A large fire +was kindled at the top, which brilliantly illuminated the high trunks +of the forest, and warmed our crew by its intense heat. In the cleanly +cottage of the peasant, which was well closed on all sides, we +conversed with his wife, who told us that their house had been burnt +down a short time before, and rebuilt; she said also that wild animals +abound in this part of the country; stags especially are numerous, but +bears are rarely met with. + +On the 21st of March we reached Cape Girardeau, an ancient French +settlement, now a large scattered village, which, as we were told, had +of late much improved. Beds of limestone appeared on the bank, and +heaps of it were piled up; it contains many shells. After passing +Devil's Island, we found in the river a sunk steam-boat, which was now +quite broken up; many of these vessels passed us. The spicewood was +everywhere in flower in the forests on the bank, and it is said that +its appearance indicates a fine soil. The pretty narrow-leaved willow, +on the contrary, was still covered with its last year's dry leaves. We +passed by the villages of Bainbridge and Harrisburg, and then came to +that part of the river which is called Hanging-Dog-Bend, where the +Mississippi is wide and beautiful. Various strata and ravines are +observed in the wooded calcareous mountains; such a stratified rock, +cleft perpendicularly, has the name of Devil's Tea-table; other rocks +resembled round towers standing close to each other, all crowned with +wood, where the turkey buzzard resorted.[116] The opposite or Illinois +bank has very seldom any such rocks, and it is more cultivated close +to the river. Flocks of ducks, probably _Anas rufitorques_, were +swimming on the water. The calcareous rocks, grey, bright yellow, +bright blue, or yellowish red, were frequently very singularly formed, +especially a little further up, the interesting Grand Tower, an +isolated, cylindrical rock, from sixty to eighty feet in height, which +we reached when it was splendidly illumined by the setting sun.[117] +To the right, on the Illinois bank, opposite the Tower Rock, at the +point or corner of the mountain projecting towards the Mississippi, +three or four very strangely formed rocks are standing, full of +clefts and ravines, the foremost of which is called the Devil's +Bake-oven, and is covered at the summit with pines. The Grand +Tower[118] stands [pg. 99] quite isolated on the left bank; and its +summit is crowned with red cedars. Behind it there is another large +rock, split into several perpendicular divisions, like towers, and the +whole group forms, as it were, a most original portico. Some +habitations were picturesquely situated against these rocks. A little +above that narrow rocky portico of the river, the Obrazo Creek, in the +State of Missouri, appears, where we took in fuel. The ravine of the +stream was covered with fine tall timber, to which the kingfisher +resorted. A couple of cottages were inhabited by negroes, and in front +of them lay a piece of fertile land, where rows of cotton trees were +planted. The high old elms were now in flower by the side of the +stream, and the large red cedars, around the dwellings, were still +partly laden with their black berries. The _Mnium ciliare_ (Grev.; +Bryum) was abundant in this neighbourhood. Above Hat Island, we lay to +for the night on the Missouri bank. + +The morning of the 22nd of March was serene; the sight of the rising +sun from the poop of the vessel was truly magnificent; as the flaming +disk of the king of day rose above the woody banks of the Mississippi, +the waves formed by the rapid course of the vessel glowed with the +most resplendent colours; the wild geese and ducks, frightened by our +Paragon, hastened away with rustling wings; the kingfisher was +frequent on the shrubs. Near St. Mary River we ran aground, but were +not long delayed by this accident. The cords of wood for the +steam-boat were lying ready piled up on the bank, stating the price +and the quantity. The village of Chester, in Illinois, where we took +in wood, was quite a new settlement, consisting at present of but a +few houses. Among the limestone and wood on the bank, we shot a +beautiful lizard (_Agama undulata_, Daud.), which is said to attain a +considerable size, especially on the river St. Peter. The buds of the +red oak were very forward. At noon the weather was excessively warm, +and on the river the thermometer was +11½° Reaumur. We saw the +mouth of the Kaskaskia River, on the Illinois bank, six miles up which +Kaskaskia is situated, one of the oldest French settlements on the +Mississippi.[119] The tribe of Kaskaskian Indians dwelt in these +parts, and some remains of them still live near the settlement. We +were told that there was at present only one man among them of the +pure race. A wooded chain of hills runs along the Kaskaskia, in which +large columns of smoke were rising, doubtless occasioned by the woods +being on fire. Numbers of tortoises were basking at noon on the trunks +of trees and stones in the river. They have hard shells, and most of +them are not large; though we often shot at them, we did not succeed +in getting a single one. Wild geese were walking upon the sand-banks; +we fired at them; the first shot did not in the smallest degree +discompose them; at the second, when the ball whizzed close by them, +they flew away, but only to a short distance. At St. Geneviève Island, +the river divides, and we steered to the west of the island. It is +covered with lofty trees; the banks are abruptly broken; large trunks +[pg. 100] of trees were lying in the water. Before us we saw St. +Geneviève,[120] where columns of smoke ascended in the distance; on +the island was a small settlement, with a hut, worse than that of an +Indian, and near, the canoe, turned bottom upwards. The inhabitants +were sunburnt, badly clothed, of a savage aspect, like the Indians. A +tall forest surrounded this characteristic scene. The Mississippi is +here very broad, and is certainly a very noble stream. The prospect up +the river is highly picturesque. Gentle eminences bound the horizon, +and on account of a bend which the river makes to the right, it +appears to come through a narrow opening. St. Geneviève, an old French +settlement, now a large village, with 600 or 800 inhabitants, is about +twenty minutes' walk from the landing-place, and appears to be in a +state of decline; it was founded at the same time as Kaskaskia. The +streets are at right angles, unpaved, and bordered with hedges. The +houses, which are of one story, are separate from each other, and +have, in general, a verandah in front. The church is built of red +brick. French and English are spoken, and there are several German +inhabitants. Caravans go every spring from hence to the interior of +the western prairies, to Sante Fé and the Rocky Mountains; they +consist of many armed men, with their horses and wagons. The +well-known lead mines are further up the country.[121] Limestone +everywhere stands out: the water is very bad, and not fit for +drinking. + +On the morning of the 23rd of March, the sun shining very brightly, +strange forms of rock, alternating with high forests, appeared on the +banks of the river; on the left, or western bank especially, the walls +of rock were cleft by rude valleys, from which a small stream +generally issued. Single pines are scattered in the woods; on the +right bank, on the skirts of the forest, is a row of poplars, of +perfectly equal height, but the planes are not so high as those we +have before seen. We passed the place where Fort Chârtres formerly +stood.[122] The limestone rocks in these parts assume the most highly +original shapes and formations, about which much might be said if our +limits would permit. They have often natural caverns and excavations, +like the niches cut for the images of saints, which we see in +Europe.[123] Others have regular [pg. 101] projecting ledges and lofty +cones; sometimes they are so rounded as to represent a row of +perpendicular towers, &c. On many of the rocks shot towers have been +erected, the whole country, as is well known, abounding in lead. + + [Illustration: Formations of limestone rocks] + +We passed by the settlement of Selma, and the village of +Herculaneum;[124] the latter consisting of about thirty houses, the +immediate vicinity of which is remarkable for a perforated limestone +rock. The distance from hence to Geneviève is twenty-one miles, and to +St. Louis, thirty. After passing round the point of Little Rock, which +is about forty feet high--beyond which the small Platteen Creek falls +into the river--we soon reached the mouth of the Merrimack River, +where we saw large flocks of ducks and sea-gulls.[125] About Robert's +Island the country becomes flat and uninteresting. Towards evening we +reached Jefferson barracks, on the left bank, where the 6th +regiment of regular infantry was in garrison, and the flag of the +United States was hoisted. These barracks were interesting at this +time, because the celebrated Indian chief, Black Hawk, was imprisoned +in them. Before night, we passed the French settlement of Vide-Poche, +or Carondelet, founded about 100 years ago, a large scattered village, +the inhabitants of which are reported to be not very industrious. The +neighbouring hills are covered with low oak bushes. We passed the +night nearly opposite Kahokia, and on the morning of the 24th of +March, to our great joy, beheld the town of St. Louis.[126] Its first +appearance is not prepossessing, as it has no high steeples. The mass +of houses, however, unfolds itself as you approach; the environs are +low and monotonous. We landed about nine o'clock in the morning, in a +cold high wind. The people whom we first saw were mostly negroes, or +labourers. + +St. Louis is a rapidly increasing town, with 6,000 or 8,000 +inhabitants, on the western bank of the Mississippi, about 1,200 miles +from New Orleans, and 1,134 miles from Pittsburg. It is built on a +rather bare, gently rising, and not very elevated part of the banks; +forms two streets parallel to the river, besides many houses lying on +the summit in the prairie, where building seemed to be proceeding +rapidly. On this upper part there are churches and other considerable +buildings, of which the town has many of different kinds; and the +highly favourable situation, in the centre of the trade of the +Mississippi, Ohio, and Missouri, will soon make it one of the most +important places in the west. St. Louis was originally founded by the +French; at first there was only a fort, and it was not till 1764 that +the building of the town commenced, which in 1816 contained about +2,000 inhabitants. Persons were still living--for instance, M. +Chouteau--who had the wood felled on the spot where the buildings of +the town now stand.[127] The principal streets are full of handsome +shops; numerous steam-boats come and go, daily, to and from New +Orleans, Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Louisville, Prairie du Chien, &c.; and +a very brisk trade employs the motley population of many nations. Most +of the merchants have their warehouses, which are mostly built of +solid stone, on the bank of the Mississippi. The greater part of the +workmen in the port, and all the servants in St. Louis, are negroes, +and their descendants, who, as in the State [pg. 102] of Missouri, are +all slaves. They are very numerous here; and though modern travellers +represent in very favourable colours the situation of this oppressed +race, the negro slaves are no better off here than in other countries. +Everywhere they are a demoralized race, little to be depended upon; +and the manner in which they are treated is generally not so good as +has been represented. We were witnesses of deplorable punishments of +these people. One of our neighbours at St. Louis, for instance, +flogged one of his slaves in the public streets, with untiring arm. +Sometimes he stopped a moment to rest, and then began anew. + +St. Louis was the more interesting to us, at this moment, because we +had, here, the first opportunity of becoming acquainted with the +North American Indians in all their originality; for the office for +all the Indian affairs of the west is at St. Louis, under the +direction of General Clarke, celebrated for his journey with Captain +Lewis to the Rocky Mountains and Columbia River, who has the title of +superintendent of Indian affairs.[128] He manages all these matters; +and all strangers who wish to visit the interior of the western +territory are obliged to have a passport from him, and all Indian +agents and sub-agents are under him. It happened that, during our stay +at St. Louis, a deputation came down the Mississippi from two Indian +tribes, the Saukies (Sacs) and the Foxes or Outagamis, to intercede +for the Black Hawk, who was a prisoner in Jefferson barracks.[129] A +Saukie chief, named Kiokuck, was at the head of this numerous +deputation, and he was the very same person who had delivered the +unfortunate Black Hawk into the hands of the Americans.[130] General +Clarke, to whom I was introduced by the kindness of Duke Bernhard of +Saxe Weimar, had very obligingly informed me of the meetings or +councils which he held with the Indians, and we had the pleasure of +being able thoroughly to observe and study these remarkable people. +Quarters were assigned them in a large magazine near the harbour, to +which we immediately repaired. We saw already on the beach a +collection of the populace, and amidst the crowd of curious +spectators, distinguished the strange dark brown figures, enveloped in +red, white, or green blankets. We did not come up to them till they +were in the house, and the first sight of them, which did not a little +surprise me, convinced me at once of their great affinity to the +Brazilians, so that I cannot hesitate to consider them as belonging to +the same race.[131] They are stout, well formed men, many of them +above the middle size, broad shouldered, muscular and brawny. The +features of the men are expressive, and strongly marked; the cheek +bones prominent, the lower jaw broad and angular; the dark brown eyes +animated and fiery, and especially in youth, the inner corner rather +drawn down, but not so much so as in the Brazilians. The outer corner +of the eye is not elevated either in the North or South Americans, at +least I have seen it [pg. 103] in very few instances. The forehead +appears to me not to recede so much in the North Americans as has +been generally assumed, which is also the case with the Brazilians. +Meyen[132] confirms this with respect to the people west of the +Cordilleras. The teeth are strong, firm, and white, and generally +perfectly sound, even at an advanced age. The nose is large and +prominent, often much arched, but not always, a trait which occurs +much more rarely among the Brazilians.[133] The lips are usually +rather thick; the hair straight, smooth, and black, as in all the +Americans. The colour of the skin a darker or lighter brown, often +deeper than in the Brazilians, but, on the whole, perfectly the same. +Some of these Indians resemble the Chinese, which Bossu, too, affirms +of the now extirpated race of the Natchez. The features of others +strongly reminded me of the Botocudos.[134] + +It may be observed here, with Von Humboldt and Meyen,[135] that, +notwithstanding a certain general affinity and resemblance of the +race, there are, however, very great diversities among the people of +American descent. Thus, for instance, the large aquiline nose of +several northern nations may be mentioned, which must have been very +remarkable among the ancient tribes of Mexico, as is proved by the old +monuments of that, historically, most interesting country. Though this +similarity appears to indicate an affinity of the Mexicans with more +northern nations, a similar conformation was found here and there in +South America also; as Duperrey[136] represents the Peruvians, and as +Dr. Meyen also states. I am, however, of opinion that the notion of +the last-named learned travellers is untenable, _viz._, that on +account of the different[137] form of their skulls, the Puris and the +Botocudos, who live so near to each other, are distinct races. I have +compared numbers of Mandan skulls with each other, which were all +genuine, and found great diversity in them, especially with respect to +the receding of the forehead and the flattening of the head. In the +same manner the brown colour of the American is of different shades. +Mr. Von Humboldt found the Mexicans darker than many South +Americans;[138] and many of the North American nations which I have +seen, were likewise of a darker complexion than many Brazilians. My +observations with respect to this point coincide so perfectly with the +views of that distinguished traveller, that I might copy the passages +in his works which treat of the Americans, and confirm them by many +additional proofs. Among the Botocudos I met with individuals who were +nearly white; Volney was certainly deceived by Michichinakua (the +little tortoise), who wanted to raise himself to the dignity of a +white man, for the North Americans are not of a lighter colour on +[pg. 104] those parts of their bodies which are clothed, than on those +which are exposed to the air and sun. Pike, and some other +travellers, pretend to have found the Mongol physiognomy among the +North American Indians, especially the Pawnees and the Sioux;[139] but +I can affirm that I met with no such physiognomy, though I saw a few +instances of it in Brazil. Mr. Von Humboldt very justly observes, on +this head, that not merely the bodily conformation, but likewise the +mode of living, of the two races, are entirely different. The great +contrast between the American and Mongol races is immediately +apparent, when we consider that the former have no breed of cattle, +and do not subsist on milk, without which the latter cannot live.[140] +The Tartar features, which are very handsome, did not occur to me in +North America. Warden, in his work on American antiquities,[141] gives +a drawing of a vessel found near the river Cany, which is adorned with +three human heads. These heads have not the Tartar physiognomy, as the +author believes, but precisely that of the North American Indians. + +From this digression on the general conformation of the North +Americans, we return to our narrative. + +The Saukies and Foxes had shaved their hair off the whole head except +a small tuft behind, the greater part of which was cut short, like a +brush, and which terminated in a thin braid, to which was fastened the +chief ornament of the head, the deer's tail, which is a tuft of hair +from the tail of the Virginian stag, white, with some black hair, the +white part being dyed red with vermilion.[142] It is fastened in an +ingenious manner, with some strings and pegs of wood, to the tuft of +hair at the back of the head; and in the middle of it, concealed +between the hair, is a small piece of carved wood, to which a small +bone box is affixed, into which a large eagle's feather is fastened, +projecting horizontally behind; this feather is often dyed with +vermilion, and is the characteristic distinction of a brave warrior. +He who has become renowned for horse-stealing, which, according to +their notions, is a heroic exploit, fastens to the tip of this feather +the rattle of a rattlesnake. The whole deer's tail, when it is not +worn, is rolled up in the form of a thick ball, fastened with leather +straps, and kept in this manner, that the hair may remain smooth, and +in the proper position. Mr. Bodmer took an admirable likeness of +Watapinat (eagle's nest), a handsome Fox Indian, wearing this +head-dress.[143] The North Americans pluck out their eyebrows, beard, +&c., like the Brazilians, and, at present, employ in this operation a +spiral wire, between the windings of which they take hold of the hair. +These nations adorn their ears in a very original manner; three large +holes, one above the other, are made at the outer rim, in which short +strings of blue and white wampum shells[144] are hung, like tassels. +Some of the men had even cut through [pg. 105] the whole outer rim, +which remained attached only above and below, and was adorned with +strings of wampum and metal rings; similar strings, and pieces of blue +and white shells, are worn in many rows around the neck. + +The women are small and thickset; most of them have large round heads, +and broad, flat, round faces. They let their hair grow naturally, part +it on the forehead, and tie it together, at the back of the head, in a +short, thick bunch, which is bound round with red and green ribbon. A +few old men had not shaved their heads; but in winter it is said that +these Indians let their hair grow, to protect them against the cold. +Both sexes had their faces more or less painted red: the Saukies +mostly red, in different designs; the Foxes, red and yellow, or red, +white, and black. The manner of painting depends on the taste of the +individual; nearly all of them had red circles round the eyes and +ears, and red stripes down the cheeks, the rest of the face being left +of the natural colour. They use, for this purpose, vermilion, which +they obtain from the merchants. The Fox Indians had often the whole +head painted red; a yellow or white stripe on the forehead, and the +mouth and chin with the figure of a yellow hand, or else quite black. +A tall, handsome Saukie Indian, called Massica (the tortoise), had a +bold, fierce countenance, and an aquiline nose; his cordiality was +very striking; his brown eyes sparkled, and his white teeth looked +quite dazzling, contrasted with the dark brown face, which had a good +deal of red paint on it. On his forehead he wore a band of otter skin, +which was fastened behind the head, and then fell down in two long +stripes to the ground. He had attached a black and white eagle's +feather to his deer's tail, and was covered with a large red blanket. +Mr. Bodmer has given a very good likeness of this handsome man in +Plate 36, but without his head-dress, in order to show the manner in +which the tuft of hair was cut. Many of these people wore coloured +calico shirts, and all used the Indian leather leggins, which come +down to the shoes, and are ornamented at the ankles with leather +fringes. They are fastened, with leather straps, above the girdle. +They also wear a piece of woollen cloth, generally striped blue and +white, round the waist, which is fastened under the girdle. The +girdle and knee bands were often very elegantly adorned with glass +beads, and in the former is a sheath, similarly ornamented, for a +large, broad, and very sharp knife, which they obtain, by barter, from +the merchants, and employ for various purposes, especially for cutting +up game, and scalping their enemies. The shoes, generally called +mocassins, are made of soft, tanned buckskin, and the upper edge +turned down below the ankle. These people wear them very plain, +without any ornament. Many of them had fastened swan skins, with the +down, or that of polecats, much marked with white, below their knees, +the long hairy tail of which hung down to the ground, or to the ankle. +Most of them had no other covering, on the upper part of the body, +under their blankets; and [pg. 106] many wore brass necklaces and +bracelets. The men, who were between thirty and forty in number, never +appeared without their arms; they carried tomahawks,[145] or else the +common Indian club,[146] which has, at the upper end, a steel plate, +sharp on both edges, and pointed.[147] We did not see any bows and +arrows among these Indians, because they had not come out on a warlike +expedition, but on a festal visit; many of them had a kind of lance, +made of a long sword blade, fastened to a pole, which was covered with +red cloth, and ornamented with many black raven's or eagle's feathers, +hanging down either in a long row, or in long bunches.[148] These +weapons they had always in their hand, and never laid them aside. The +women, like those of Brazil, carried their bundles on their backs, +with a leather strap passing over the forehead; they had their +children with them, some of whom were in very convenient cradles. They +all had very neat bast mats, ornamented with black figures, on which +they slept, and some had, likewise, bear skins. Their travelling +sacks, or bags, in which they had all their effects, were of the same +material. + +The chief or leader of the Indians assembled here, was the Saukie +chief, Kiokuck, a slender man, of the middle size, with agreeable +features, not very different from those of an European, though of a +darker colour. He wore a coloured calico shirt, and, on his breast, a +large medal, which he had received from the President of the United +States; and likewise wore a figured handkerchief round his head, and +was wrapped in a green blanket. He carried in his hand a calumet, +ornamented with feathers. His face was not painted, his ears not +disfigured, and it was affirmed that he was not of pure Indian origin. +He wore brass rings round his neck and wrists. + +The dwelling-place of these Indians is on the western banks of the +Mississippi, about Rock River and Rock Island, where the agent +appointed for them by the government resides. In 1805 they sold, to +the United States, their territory on the east of the Mississippi; +still claiming a large tract of land, which extends from the upper +Jowa River, along the west bank of the Mississippi, down to the river +Des Moines, and further back to the Missouri.[149] The Fox Indians +call themselves Musquacki, or Mus-quack-ki-uck. They live sociably in +villages, in permanent arched huts, and it is said that they can +muster 1,600 warriors (according to Dr. Morse, however, only +800),[150] and that they number about 5,000 souls. They plant maize, +beans, gourds, &c. The men hunt, and work in their lead mines, which +are very productive, so that, it is said, they have yielded 500,000 +lbs. in one season.[151] Their language has not a barbarous sound; it +has some nasals and gutturals; the words are very frequently +pronounced indistinctly, so that [pg. 107] it is often difficult to +write them down; though, on the whole, less so than is the case with +many other nations. + +The French and English find much more difficulty than the Germans, in +pronouncing all the Indian languages of North America, with which I +have become acquainted. It was highly interesting to us, to observe so +many of these Indians together. They were by no means grave and still; +on the contrary, they were very cheerful, and often laughed heartily. +If one went up to them familiarly, and spoke to them, many of them had +a very agreeable, friendly expression; others were cold, and appeared, +to us, hostile. Several repeated, with pleasure, the words of their +language, and were very willing to have their portraits drawn, for +which they always required a present. At last they were so annoyed by +the importunity of the motley crowd, that we could have no more +intercourse with them. They sold many of their effects, for which they +received money, which they soon disposed of, but always examined +whether it was genuine or false. There were some grave, dignified men +among them, who carefully observed what was passing around them. Of +these, I especially noticed Watapinat and Massica. + +General Clarke invited us to a small assembly, which he was to hold in +his house with the Indians. We accordingly repaired thither. This +meeting took place in the apartments, which are ornamented with a +highly interesting collection of arms and utensils, which the General +had procured on his extensive travels with Captain Lewis.[152] The +rooms contain, likewise, portraits of the most distinguished Indian +chiefs of different nations. General Clarke, with his secretary, was +seated opposite to the Indians, who sat in rows along the walls of the +apartment. We strangers sat at the General's side, and near him stood +the interpreter, a French Canadian. The Indians, about thirty in +number, had done their best to ornament and paint themselves; they all +looked very serious and solemn, and their chief sat at their right +hand. The general first told them, through the interpreter, for what +reason he had assembled them here, on which Kiokuck rose, with the +calumet in his left hand, gesticulating with his right hand, in +harmony with his thoughts; he spoke very loud, in broken sentences, +interrupted by short pauses. His speech was immediately translated and +written down. This conference lasted above half an hour. General +Clarke had introduced us to the Indians, telling them that we had come +far over the ocean to see them; they all testified their satisfaction +in a rather drawling "Hah!" or "Ahah." Before and after the sitting +all the Indians passed us in a line, each giving us his right hand, +and looking steadfastly in our faces. They then withdrew, headed by +their chiefs. The General had told them that they should persevere in +their amicable sentiments as hitherto; and they had expressed the +wish that their brethren might soon be set at liberty, because their +wives and children at home were suffering hunger and distress. Upon +this the General advised them, when Black Hawk and his associates +should be set at liberty, to keep a watchful eye over them. On this +condition he would intercede for the prisoners. We were invited by the +General to accompany him, on the [pg. 108] following day, on board the +Warrior[153] steam-boat, when he intended to convey the Indians to the +barracks, to grant them an interview with Black Hawk. + +On the 26th of March we found the Indians already on board the +Warrior, which was hired for this excursion; others of these original +figures, wrapped in their red blankets, were walking on the beach. We +had provided cigars and other trifles, by which we soon gained their +confidence. Massica, the tall young Saukie Indian, was the most +interesting among them. As soon as General Clarke came, the anchor was +weighed, and the Warrior proceeded down the Mississippi. The Indians +assembled on the fore part of the ship, to sing: the bleak wind was +much felt by many of them, as they wore no covering under their +blankets, yet they always remained on deck. Below, in the after hold +of the vessel, they had a fire, at which they boiled and roasted the +provisions that were given them. They examined, with much attention, +the steam-engine, the hissing and roaring of which interested them +extremely. They formed groups of different kinds; many were busy in +improving the painting of their faces, at their small looking-glasses; +others were smoking their pipes in philosophical ease; and others lay +asleep on the floor, wrapped in their blankets. They very readily +acquiesced, whenever we asked them to sing; their chorus-singing was +remarkable; it rises and falls, now loud now low, often quavering, +yet, on the whole, not inharmonious; and though it has some +resemblance with that of the Botocudos, in Brazil, it was by no means +so rude and savage. Sometimes they shouted aloud, and generally ended +their song with their war-whoop--a shrill cry, in which they cause the +voice to quaver, by holding the hand before the mouth. + +About ten o'clock the Warrior approached Jefferson barracks, where the +inhabitants had assembled on the shore to see the Indian deputation +land. The Indians sung a wild chorus, rattling their weapons, and, as +soon as they had landed, marched in procession, led by their chiefs, +to the heights, where the barracks formed a quadrangle, open to the +river, enclosing a large space. General Clarke introduced us to +General Atkinson, the commandant of the place;[154] and, after resting +a short time in his house, we proceeded to a spacious empty hall in +one of the adjoining buildings, where the Indians were already seated +in rows. The Generals sat opposite to them, surrounded by the +spectators, among whom were several ladies. When all were assembled, +Kiokuck, with the aid of the interpreter, delivered an address to +General Atkinson, who replied, on which the prisoners were introduced. +First of all, Black Hawk appeared, a little old man, perhaps seventy +years of age, with grey hair, and a light yellow complexion; a +slightly curved nose, and Chinese features, to which the shaven head, +with the usual tuft behind, not a little contributed.[155] None of +the prisoners were painted. These poor men entered with downcast +looks; and though no Indian betrayed any lively demonstrations of +emotion, such feelings were very manifest in many of them. The +prisoners gave their hands to their countrymen all round, and then sat +down with them. Two of the Indians, known as particularly [pg. 109] +dangerous men, one of them the celebrated Winnebago prophet, who has a +repulsive countenance, had chains with large iron balls at their +feet.[156] The other prisoners were not chained, and we were told that +they were taken out every day to walk, by the guard. The speeches now +recommenced: Kiokuck spoke often, and interceded for the prisoners; +and General Atkinson repeated to them pretty nearly what General +Clarke had already said, on which the Indians again uttered their +"Hah," or "Ahah." When the speeches were ended, the company withdrew, +and left the prisoners alone with their countrymen, to give free vent +to their feelings. The sight of old Black Hawk, and the whole scene of +the prisoners and their friends, was affecting, and many of the +spectators appeared to participate in their feelings. + +We then examined the barracks, in which four companies of the 6th +regiment were quartered. The hospital is a detached building; the +surrounding country is open prairie; in the vicinity of the +buildings, however, it is covered with a wood of slender oaks, without +underwood, and from the eminence is a very agreeable prospect over the +river. General Atkinson invited us to dinner, and introduced us to his +family. At three o'clock we again embarked on the Warrior with all the +Indians, and reached St. Louis late in the evening. + +As it was my intention to travel through the interior of the western +part of North America, and, if possible, the Rocky Mountains, St. +Louis was unquestionably the most proper basis for such an enterprise. +The question was, whether it was more advisable to go by the caravans +by land to Santa Fé, or to proceed by water up the Missouri? Captain +Stewart (of Grand Tully), an English traveller, with whom I had become +acquainted at St. Louis, was on the point of setting out by land by +the caravan, and it would have been agreeable to me to travel in his +company;[157] but after I had consulted many persons well acquainted +with the country, the plan of following the course of the Missouri +seemed to be the most suitable for my purposes; for, first, I should +not be able to observe any Indians on the land journey; for if you +happen to meet with them, you must fight them, and, therefore, cannot +become well acquainted with them; and, secondly, it is extremely +difficult, nay impossible, to make considerable collections of natural +history on such a journey. These reasons were decisive: I hoped, +therefore, to obtain from the gentlemen of the American Fur Company, a +passage up the Missouri in their steam-boat, the Yellow Stone, which +was daily expected to return from New Orleans; and as soon as it had +taken in a cargo, was to set out on its voyage up the Missouri.[158] +It is necessary to prefix a few words respecting this American Fur +Company. The first regular company of this kind in the United States +was the Michilimakinack Fur Company, established in 1790. Its capital +belonged chiefly to some persons in Canada; but as foreigners were not +allowed to trade with the Indians in the United States, some citizens +of the latter gave it the sanction of their names.[159] The last war +with England dissolved the company, and during that time no trade was +carried on with the Indians. About 1816, Mr. Astor, of New York, a +countryman of ours, formed a fur company, under the name of [pg. 110] +the American Fur Company.[160] His plan was well conceived, very +extensive, and designed to carry on trade with all the Indian tribes. +Mr. Astor's enterprises towards the Columbia River did not succeed, +but in all other parts the fur trade prospered, and is carried on, up +to the present time, with great success.[161] About the same time two +other companies were formed at St. Louis--the Missouri Fur Company, +and the French Company, which proposed to carry on the trade on that +river. The first continued its operations for about five or six years, +when it terminated, having met with many difficulties.[162] In 1822 +the Columbia Fur Company was established, and violent opposition and +rivalry arose between the three companies, which continued till +1826.[163] During this time the fur trade had afforded but little +profit to any of the persons engaged in it. In the spring of that +year, a person of the name of Crooks was sent from New York by the +American Fur Company to buy up the two other companies, in which he +succeeded.[164] Some of the members of these companies were received +into the American Company, and thus the whole of the very extensive +fur trade was concentrated in the hands of that company, and remains +so up to this moment. Some individuals and small associations have +since made frequent attempts to carry on the trade in the Indian +territory and the Rocky Mountains,[165] but have always been obliged +to give way to the powerful and wealthy company, which has now spread +its commercial stations over a great part of the interior of North +America, and continues to extend them more and more.[166] + +In British North America, two great fur companies were founded at an +earlier period--the North-west, and the Hudson's Bay Company, which +for a long time were at open war with each other, but afterwards +joined, and still exist under the name of the Hudson's Bay +Company.[167] To the north of the Missouri on the borders of British +North America, they are rivals of the American Company, and both +parties endeavour to draw over the Indians to their side. But as no +white settlers have yet penetrated to those remote and desolate +regions, the American Company rules _there_ alone, by its commercial +stations and its numerous servants, the goods with which they carry on +the trade having become necessary even to the most dangerous Indian +tribes; for this reason foreign travellers cannot expect to succeed in +their enterprises without the consent and assistance of this +company.[168] + +At St. Louis I had become acquainted with several very interesting +persons; Major Ofallon, having been formerly agent of the Indian +nations on the Missouri, was well acquainted with the country, and +assisted me with his advice, as well as Major Dougherty,[169] now +agent for the nations of the Pawnees, Otos, and the Joways: they both +advised me, as the only practicable means of visiting those countries +with safety, to join the American Fur Company, and to obtain from the +[pg. 111] directors a passage on board their steam-boat. Fully +appreciating the value of this counsel, I endeavoured to become +acquainted with Mr. Pierre Chouteau, who directed the affairs of the +company at St. Louis, and with Mr. Mc Kenzie, who usually lived on the +Upper Missouri, and was now on the point of proceeding on board the +steamer to Fort Union, at the mouth of the Yellow Stone River. Both +gentlemen received me with great politeness, and readily acceded to my +request.[170] + +Our necessaries for this journey,[171] and many small articles for +bartering with the Indians, were procured and placed on board the +Yellow Stone steamer. General Clarke favoured me with his advice, as +well as several other gentlemen, particularly Major Pilcher,[172] who +had penetrated far into the Indian territory to the Rocky Mountains, +while he was a member of the Missouri Fur Company; likewise Messrs. +Sanford and Bean, the former of whom was agent for the Crows, Mandans, +Assiniboines, Manitaries and Blackfeet, and the latter for the Puncas +and Sioux.[173] All these persons, who were well acquainted with the +Indian territory, were to accompany us up the Missouri to their +several stations. Major Ofallon, whom we visited at his pleasant +country seat, near St. Louis, had the kindness to furnish me with the +map of the course of the Missouri, by Lewis and Clarke, on a large +scale.[174] We found at his house an interesting collection of Indian +articles, and a great number of Indian scenes by Catlin, a painter +from New York, who had travelled in 1831 to Fort Union. + +Before we left St. Louis, another deputation of Saukie Indians arrived +from the Lower Missouri, who held councils with General Clarke. They +came down the Missouri in long double canoes. Among them were several +very strong, robust men, who, when they were in liquor, were +dreadfully savage and wild. One of their most distinguished warriors, +who was remarkable for a curved nose, exactly such as we see in the +Mexican sculptures, suffered severely from consumption; his family +seemed much concerned about him; the women sat around him and +lamented. The time passed rapidly in observing these interesting +people, till the 10th of April, which was the day fixed for our +departure. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[105] The "Napoleon" (100 tons) was built at Pittsburg in 1831, and +the "Conveyance" (90 tons) at Cincinnati in the same year.--ED. + +[106] For the Shawnee Indians and Shawneetown, see Croghan's +_Journals_, in our volume i, p. 138, note 108. + +The reference is to Dr. Jedidiah Morse (1761-1826), _Report to +Secretary of War on Indian Affairs_ (New Haven, 1822), the result of a +tour among the Western tribes in 1820.--ED. + +[107] Saline Creek (or River), formed by the union of the North and +South Forks in Gallatin County, Illinois, flows southeast and enters +the Ohio River about ten miles below Shawneetown. For a short +statement on salt deposits, see James's _Long's Expedition_, in our +volume xiv, p. 58, note 11.--ED. + +[108] The "Paragon" (90 tons) was constructed at Cincinnati in +1829.--ED. + +[109] Battery Rock is twelve miles below Shawneetown.--ED. + +[110] See Plate 7, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv. See also +Cuming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. 273, note 180.--ED. + +[111] For Golconda consult Woods's _English Prairie_, in our volume x, +p. 327, note 77. Sister's Island, a narrow strip a mile in length, +lies twenty miles below Elizabethtown, Illinois. Smithland is the +county seat of Livingston County, Kentucky, immediately below the +mouth of the Cumberland.--ED. + +[112] Paducah, the seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, and forty-eight +miles above Cairo, was laid out in 1827 and named from a well-known +Indian chief. It is a large shipping place and in 1900 had a +population of 12,797. It is the seat of Paducah University. + +The book here referred to is Samuel Cumings' _Western Pilot, +containing Charts of the Ohio River and of the Mississippi from the +Mouth of the Missouri to the Gulf of Mexico, accompanied with +Directions for navigating the same, and a Gazetteer or Description of +Towns on their Banks, Tributary Streams, etc., also a variety of +Matter interesting to Travelers and all concerned in the Navigation of +these Rivers_ (Cincinnati, 1828, 1829, 1834). + +For a brief sketch of Fort Massac, see A. Michaux's _Travels_, in our +volume iii, p. 73, note 139.--ED. + +[113] Several fruitless attempts were made to establish a city at the +confluence of the two rivers. Trinity, long time a rival of Cairo, was +first settled in 1817 at Cache River. Shortly afterwards Shadrach +Bond, John Comyges, and others entered a land claim for eighteen +hundred acres between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and incorporated +it as the City and Bank of Cairo. At Comyges's death, however, the +claim was allowed to lapse. In the same year William Bird occupied +three hundred and sixty acres at the extreme point of the peninsula, +and named his proposed city Bird's Point. A few houses were built; but +during the War of Secession were removed to the Missouri side. In 1828 +John and Thompson Bird built the first houses on the present site of +Cairo. Here boats were long accustomed to stop for supplies. In 1835, +Sidney Breeze, Baker Gilbert, and others re-entered the forfeited land +of the City and Bank of Cairo, and two years later obtained its +incorporation as Cairo City and Canal Company. Speculation followed; +the company purchased at a high price ten thousand acres, comprising +all the territory between the Ohio, Mississippi, and Cache rivers, +including Bird's Point. Plans for extensive improvements were made. D. +B. Holbrook, one of the leading promoters, sold in Europe two million +dollars in bonds. Sharp reverses followed and Cairo was not +incorporated as a city until 1858.--ED. + +[114] The steamboat "O'Connell" was built at Pittsburg in 1833.--ED. + +[115] Commerce, on the Missouri side thirty miles above Cairo, was a +trading post, as early as 1803. It was laid out in 1822, incorporated +in 1857, and made the seat of Scott County in 1864. See Campbell, +_Gazetteer of Missouri_ (St. Louis, 1875).--ED. + +[116] For the early history of Cape Girardeau, see A. Michaux's +_Travels_, in our volume iii, p. 80, note 154. Devil's Island, less +than three miles in length, is near the Illinois side four miles above +Cape Girardeau. Bainbridge, Missouri, twelve miles above the town of +Cape Girardeau, was on the road from Kentucky and Illinois to the +White River and Arkansas. Hamburg (not Harrisburg), in Calhoun County, +Illinois, is directly across the river from Bainbridge, and at the +time of Maximilian's visit was a new landing. The Devil's Tea Table is +on the Missouri side eighteen miles above Cape Girardeau. For more +particulars concerning the places between St. Louis and the mouth of +the Ohio, see Flagg's _Far West_, in our volume xxvi, pp. 50-83 +(original pagination), and footnotes to the same.--ED. + +[117] See Plate 9, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + +[118] It is well known that the whole tract contains shell limestone. +Mr. Lesueur has made important collections of this kind on the Tower +Rock at Vicksburg, Natchez, and other places on the banks of the +Mississippi, of part of which he has made descriptions and drawings. +He has accurately stated the several strata, with the shells of +animals and fishbones occurring in them. The shells are very friable +when taken out of the rock--afterwards, and especially if washed in +water, they are firmer. Mr. Lesueur has sent large collections of +these things to France.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[119] St. Mary's River rises in Perry County, Illinois, and enters the +Mississippi six miles below the mouth of the Kaskaskia. Chester is the +seat of Randolph County, seventy-six miles below St. Louis. Large +quantities of bituminous coal and building stone are in the vicinity. +For the early history of Kaskaskia, see A. Michaux's _Travels_, in our +volume iii, p. 69, note 132.--ED. + +[120] An account of the founding of Ste. Geneviève is given in +Cuming's _Tour_ in our volume iv, p. 266, note 174.--ED. + +[121] The mines here referred to are the _Mine La Mothe_ and the _Mine +á Burton_; a more extended account of these will be given in Flagg's +_Far West_, in our volume xxvi.--ED. + +[122] For the history of Fort Chartres, see A. Michaux's _Travels_, in +our volume iii, p. 71, note 136.--ED. + +[123] See opposite page for formations of limestone rocks.--ED. + +[124] Herculaneum is a small village in Jefferson County, Missouri, at +the mouth of Joachim Creek, about twenty-eight miles below St. Louis, +and a few miles above the hamlet of Selena. Herculaneum was laid out +in 1808 by Moses Austin and S. Hammond, and subsequently was made the +seat of Jefferson County.--ED. + +[125] Platteen (commonly spelled Plattin) Creek is a small stream +rising in the southern part of Jefferson County, flowing north, and +emptying into the Mississippi at the northern extremity of the county, +four and a half miles below Herculaneum. + +The Maramec (often pronounced and written Merrimac) River finds its +source in Dent County, Missouri, and flowing northeast joins the +Mississippi nineteen miles below St. Louis. Its estimated length is a +hundred and fifty miles, draining a territory rich in mines of copper, +iron, and lead.--ED. + +[126] For an account of Jefferson Barracks, see Townsend's +_Narrative_, in our volume xxi, p. 122, note 2. + +Carondelet, named for Baron Carondelet, Spanish governor of Louisiana +in 1791, was formerly a village in St. Louis County, Missouri; but in +1860 it was merged with the First Ward of St. Louis, under the name of +South St. Louis. + +For Cahokia, see A. Michaux's _Travels_, in our volume iii, p. 70, +note 135.--ED. + +[127] For the early history of St. Louis, see A. Michaux's _Travels_, +in our volume iii, p. 71, note 138. Probably the author here intends +Auguste Chouteau, stepson of Laclède, founder of the city--for the +former consult our volume xvi, p. 275, note 127.--ED. + +[128] For a brief sketch of General William Clark, see Bradbury's +_Travels_, in our volume v, p. 254, note 143; for a more extended +notice, consult Thwaites, _Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark +Expedition_ (New York, 1905), introduction. This is an interesting +glimpse of General Clark in the professional duties of his later +life.--ED. + +[129] For the early history and the alliance of the Sauk and Foxes, +see J. Long's _Voyages_, in our volume ii, p. 185, note 85. Black Hawk +and his fellow prisoners were being kept as hostages for the good +behavior of the remainder of the tribe, after the war of 1832. See +Thwaites, "Black Hawk War," in _How George Rogers Clark won the +Northwest_ (Chicago, 1903), pp. 116-200; and _Treaties between the +United States of America and the several Indian Tribes_ (Washington, +1837), pp. 508-510. Soon after Maximilian's visit, Black Hawk was sent +on a tour to the East, in order that he might appreciate the resources +and power of the American people.--ED. + +[130] Keokuk (Watchful Fox) was not a chieftain by birth, but by his +address and eloquence raised himself to a prominent place in the +allied Sauk and Fox tribes. Born at Saukenuk about 1780, he was +younger than Black Hawk, and early took opposition to his policy. +Keokuk was for peace and the American alliance, and about 1826 removed +his division of the tribe across the Mississippi to a village +southwest of the present Muscatine, Iowa. During the Black Hawk War he +kept a large portion of the tribe neutral, and at its close was +recognized by the federal government as head-chief of the tribe. In +1836 a large tract of Iowa land was ceded by the Indians to the +federal government, whereupon the tribesmen removed to Kansas. Keokuk +visited Washington several times, notably in 1837, when he made +addresses from the platform of Catlin's museum. Catlin painted his +portrait in the full garb of an Indian councillor, and daguerreotypes +of him also exist. His features were of a Caucasian type, for his +father was part French. Keokuk died in Kansas in 1848; in 1883 his +remains were removed to Keokuk, Iowa. It is not true that in person +Keokuk surrendered Black Hawk to the American authorities. Consult on +the capture of the latter, _Wisconsin Historical Collections_, v, p. +293; viii, p. 316.--ED. + +[131] In confirmation of the similarity of the Americans to each +other, we may quote the authority of Humboldt, and other travellers. +(See Essay on the Political State of New Spain, vol. i. p. 115). Dr. +Meyen gives a figure of a Peruvian Mummy (N. Acta Acad. Caes. Leop. +Car. I. xvi. Suppl. 1. Tab. 1), which perfectly expresses the +character of the North American Indians.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[132] See Meyen, Loc. cit. p. 45.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[133] There are numerous tribes in North America, also, among whom the +aquiline nose is very rare. This is certified, with respect to the +Chippeways, in Major Long's account of his journey to St. Peter's +River; and Captain Bonneville says that the people to the east of the +Rocky Mountains have, in general, aquiline noses, but that the tribes +to the west of those mountains, mostly straight or flat noses. (See +Washington Irving's Adventures of Captain Bonneville, p. +221.)--MAXIMILIAN. + +[134] N. Bossu, a French officer who in 1750 came with troops to +Louisiana. He remained about twelve years in the country, and +published _Nouveaux Voyages aux Indes occidentales_ (Paris, 1768), an +English translation of which appeared in 1771. + +For the fate of the Natchez, consult Nuttall's _Journal_, in our +volume xiii, p. 303, note 226. + +The Botocudo are a Tapuyan tribe of southeastern Brazil.--ED. + +[135] For Baron von Humboldt, see our volume xviii, p. 345, note 136. + +Franz Julius Ferdinand Meyen was a German botanist who voyaged around +the world in 1830-32. Upon his return he was called to a chair at +Berlin, but died prematurely in 1840 at the age of thirty-eight. He +published many memoirs in scientific journals, and in 1834-35 an +account of his world-wide voyage.--ED. + +[136] Louis Isidore Duperrey, a French naval officer (1786-1865), +entered the navy in 1802. Soon afterwards he made two long voyages +around the world, and published much hydrographic and scientific +matter. In 1842 he was chosen member of the French Academy of +Sciences.--ED. + +[137] Loc. cit. p. 18.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[138] Loc. cit. p. 117.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[139] For Zebulon M. Pike, see Evans's _Pedestrious Tour_, in our +volume viii, p. 280, note 122.--ED. + +[140] Loc. cit., vol. i. p. 3.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[141] Warden, Loc. cit., part ii. plate x. fig. 4.--MAXIMILIAN. + +_Comment by Ed._ Referring to D. B. Warden, _Recherches sur les +Antiquities de l'Amérique Septentrionale_. The stream where the +antique vase was found, was Caney Fork of Cumberland, in central +Tennessee. + +[142] The Foxes call this ornament kateüikunn. I have given a figure +of it, in the Plate of utensils and arms.--MAXIMILIAN. + +_Comment by Ed._ See Plate 81, in the accompanying atlas, our volume +xxv. + +[143] See Plate 36, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + +Watapinat, a Fox Indian, is cited as being here portrayed. This +drawing could not, however, be engraved; and so another Musquake (Fox) +Indian, Wakassasse was pictured.--MAXIMILIAN (in German edition). + + +[144] These small shell cylinders are known to be cut out of the +shells of the _Venus mercenaria_, and strung on threads; they are +arranged blue and white alternately. All the northern and eastern +nations, in the neighbourhood of the great lakes, and even the tribes +on the Lower Missouri, use this ornament, but not those on the Upper +Missouri. On this subject see Blumenbach, Handbuch der Naturgeschichte, +12 ed., p. 359, 385.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[145] An iron battle-axe, made by the whites, which has a pipe bowl at +the back, the handle being bored through, to serve as tube to the +pipe.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[146] This instrument is the only weapon of the Indians which has lost +something of its original character, since the merchants have had them +manufactured with a steel point, as an article of trade with the +Indians. A specimen of the original form is found in Pennant's "Arctic +Zoology," Plate VI., the middle figure.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[147] See Plate 81, figure 4, in the accompanying atlas, our volume +xxv.--ED. + +[148] See the same Plate, figure 3.--ED. + +[149] In 1816, in order to control the neighboring territory, Fort +Armstrong was erected on Rock Island. For many years Thomas Forsyth +was Indian agent to the Sauk and Fox tribe at this place, and by many +it was thought that had he not been removed the Black Hawk War might +have been prevented. Felix St. Vrain, his successor, was slain at the +outset of that uprising (1832). At the time of Maximilian's journey, +W. S. Davenport was agent at Fort Armstrong. + +This treaty referred to was made in 1804 at St. Louis, by Governor +William H. Harrison. It was not ratified, however, until January, +1805. It was the inciting cause of the Black Hawk War. See Thwaites, +_op. cit._ in note 127, _ante_, pp. 116-126.--ED. + +[150] For this reference see note 104, _ante_, p. 201.--ED. + +[151] See Thwaites, "Early Lead Mining on the Mississippi," in _How +George Rogers Clark won the Northwest_, pp. 299-332.--ED. + +[152] Portions of this collection are still in possession of Clark's +descendants; see Thwaites, "Newly Discovered Records of Lewis and +Clark," in _Scribner's Magazine_, xxxv, pp. 685-700.--ED. + +[153] The "Warrior," built at Pittsburg in 1832, was rated at 110 +tons. It was used during the Black Hawk War to convey federal +supplies, and took effective part in the battle of Bad Axe, by which +Black Hawk's band was nearly annihilated. See J. H. Fonda's +"Reminiscences," in _Wisconsin Historical Collections_, v, pp. +261-264.--ED. + +[154] General Henry Atkinson was born in North Carolina in 1782. In +1808 he entered the regular army as captain, mounting through various +grades to that of brigadier-general (1821). He was connected with the +Yellowstone expeditions of 1819 and 1825, but perhaps his most +important service was as leader of the federal troops in the Black +Hawk War, wherein he was called "White Beaver" by the Indians. At its +close he took command of Jefferson Barracks, where he died in +1842.--ED. + +[155] See Townsend's _Narrative_, in our volume xxi, p. 123, note 3, +for a brief sketch of Black Hawk. His portrait was painted by Catlin +at Jefferson Barracks, and again by R. M. Sully at Fortress Monroe. +The latter canvas is in the museum of the Wisconsin Historical +Society.--ED. + +[156] Winnebago Prophet, more commonly known as White Cloud (a +translation of his Indian name Wabokieshiek), was the "medicine man" +of Black Hawk's revolt. He was Winnebago on his mother's side, and had +a village on Rock River, forty miles above Rock Island--the present +Prophetstown, Illinois. After the war he was captured, and shared +Black Hawk's imprisonment, dying among the Winnebago about 1841. His +portrait was painted by Catlin at Jefferson Barracks, and again at +Fortress Monroe by R. M. Sully--the latter, in the museum of the +Wisconsin Historical Society, portrays a cunning, rather low type of +face, stronger and more subtle than that of Black Hawk.--ED. + +[157] For Captain Stewart, see Townsend's _Narrative_, in our volume +xxi, p. 197, note 42.--ED. + +[158] For the building and first voyages of the "Yellowstone" see our +volume xxi, p. 46, note 26 (Wyeth).--ED. + +[159] For the Mackinac Company see Ross's _Oregon Settlers_, our +volume vii, pp. 34, 35--ED. + +[160] See Washington Irving's Astoria.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[161] Astor's company had originally been organized in 1808. After +absorbing the Mackinac Company it was until 1816 known as the South +West Company, when a re-organization occurred, resulting in the +American Fur Company. See Chittenden, _Fur-Trade_, i, pp. 309-311. The +Columbia River enterprise is narrated in our volumes vi and vii.--ED. + +[162] The Missouri Fur Company was organized (1808) soon after the +return of the Lewis and Clark expedition, with Clark, a brother of +Lewis, and several well-known merchants of Illinois and St. Louis as +members. Its chief trader, later the president, was Manuel Lisa. After +his death in 1820 the fortunes of the company declined. + +By the French Company Maximilian intends a firm composed of Papin, +Cerré, and Picotte, which in 1830 sold out to the American Fur +Company. Its career was but about three years long.--ED. + +[163] The Columbia Fur Company was organized after the consolidation +of the British companies (1821) had thrown a number of enterprising +Scotch and Canadian traders out of employment. Its leading spirits +were Kenneth McKenzie, William Laidlaw, and Daniel Lamont. Organized +to trade within the boundaries of the United States, it was +technically known as Tilton and Company, of New York. The chief +outfitting post was built upon Lake Traverse, Minnesota, whence +passage to the upper Missouri was quickly secured. The operations of +this company harassed the American Fur Company, which in 1827 entered +into a combination with the Columbia, thus securing control of the +upper Missouri trade. See Chittenden, _Fur-Trade_, i, pp. +323-327.--ED. + +[164] For Ramsay Crooks, see our volume v, p. 36, note 3.--ED. + +[165] The Rocky Mountain Fur Company--first under General William H. +Ashley, later under the Sublettes, Thomas Fitzpatrick, etc.--absorbed +a large proportion of the Western fur-trade in the decade before +Maximilian arrived in St. Louis. It was one of their caravans that +Captain Stewart urged the prince to accompany. Consult our volume xxi, +for the operations of this corporation.--ED. + +[166] Mr. Schoolcraft, in his latest journey to Itasca Lake (page 35), +gives a short history of the fur trade, which, in many places, has +already fallen into entire decay; for instance, on Lake St. Croix +(page 141), if the inhabitants of those parts do not take to +agriculture, they must emigrate or starve.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[167] For the early history of the Hudson's Bay and North West +companies see preface to J. Long's _Voyages_, in our volume ii.--ED. + +[168] The "Upper Missouri Outfit" branch of the American Fur Company +controlled the upper Missouri and its tributaries, from the date of +consolidation with the Columbia Company (1827) until the advance of +emigration and settlement made fur-trapping unprofitable.--ED. + +[169] For Major Benjamin O'Fallon and John Dougherty, see Faux's +_Journal_ in our volume xii, p. 49, note 127, and James's _Long's +Expedition_, in our volume xiv, p. 126, note 92.--ED. + +[170] Pierre Chouteau, jr., son of the elder of that name (for whom +see our volume xvi, p. 275, note 127), was born at St. Louis, January +19, 1789; among his family he was known as "Cadet." Early evincing +unusual talents as a trader, he entered his father's business at the +age of sixteen. The years 1806-08 he spent at the lead mines with +Julien Dubuque, and in 1809 made his first fur-trade voyage to the +upper Missouri, whose commercial destinies he was so long to control. +In 1813 he formed a partnership on his own account with Bartholomew +Berthold, which operated independently until they were bought out by +the American Fur Company, for whom Chouteau became local manager. +Later he extended his financial operations to New York, and became one +of the moneyed princes of that city, although dying in St. Louis in +1865. His public services were chiefly local, but he served in the +state constitutional convention of 1820. He was interested in +scientific pursuits, and ready to assist travellers bound on such +errands. + +For Kenneth McKenzie see Wyeth's _Oregon_, in our volume xxi, p. 45, +note 25. The winter of 1834-35 McKenzie paid a visit to Prince +Maximilian in his German home, where he was received with much +hospitality and brought news to his host of recent affairs on the +Missouri, which the latter reports in the appendix to the German +edition of his work, ii, p. 616.--ED. + +[171] Especially provisions, coffee, sugar, brandy, candles, fine +gunpowder, shot of every kind, colours, paper, some books, +&c.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[172] For Joshua Pilcher, see our volume xiv, p. 269, note 193.--ED. + +[173] Major John F. A. Sanford was a native of Winchester, Virginia. +Upon appointment to an Indian sub-agency, he came west, and (1827-34) +lived among the Mandans; later (1837), he was agent at Fort Gibson. He +married Emilie Chouteau, daughter of Pierre, jr. Subsequently becoming +interested in American Fur Company affairs, he (about 1838) removed to +New York as its representative. + +Jonathan L. Bean, of Pennsylvania, was government sub-agent (1827-34) +for the Sioux.--ED. + +[174] Major Benjamin O'Fallon was a nephew of William Clark, and the +map of the upper Missouri, which he furnished to Maximilian, was a +manuscript copy of an original map by the hand of the famous explorer. +Inquiry of the reigning prince of Wied-Neuwied elicits the following +information: "Major O'Fallon made a present to the prince in the year +1833, at the beginning of his journey of that year, of a copy of this +chart, which the prince [Maximilian] during his journey completed and +supplied its deficiencies. This copy, a little atlas of thirty-seven +leaves, is in the archives here. Upon one leaf, in the handwriting of +Prince Max, is the following inscription: 'I received this exact copy +of the original by the goodness of the late Indian agent, Major +O'Fallon.'" See Thwaites' _Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark +Expedition_, introduction, concerning Clark's maps and the extant +originals.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +JOURNEY FROM ST. LOUIS TO THE CANTONMENT OF LEAVENWORTH, OR TO THE +BORDERS OF THE SETTLEMENT, FROM THE 10TH TO THE 22ND OF APRIL + + Departure from St. Louis--The Engagés, or Voyageurs--St. + Charles--Gasconade River--Osage River--Jefferson City--Boonville + and Franklin--Arrow Rock--Chariton--Grand River--Battle of the + Missouri Indians--Fire Prairie--Dangerous place and situation of + the vessel--Fort Osage--The Osages--Liberty--Quicksands--Konzas + River--Boundary of the United States--The Konzas + Indians--Pilcher's Expeditions--Little Platte River--Dwelling of + the Joways--Diamond Island--Cantonment of Leavenworth. + + +On the 10th of April, at eleven o'clock, all our company having +collected, the Yellow Stone left St. Louis; Mr. Pierre Chouteau, and +several ladies of his family, accompanied us to St. Charles.[175] Some +guns were fired, as a signal, on our departure, on which numbers of +the inhabitants assembled on the shore, among them the Saukies and +some half-civilized Kikapoo Indians. Mr. Bodmer made some interesting +sketches of the former, of which the plate gives a specimen.[176] +There were about 100 persons on board the Yellow Stone, most of whom +were those called _engagés_, or _voyageurs_, who are the lowest class +of servants of the Fur Company. Most of them are French Canadians, or +descendants of the French settlers on the Mississippi and Missouri. + +The appearance of the river above St. Louis did not differ from that +already described. The red-bud (_Cercis Canadensis_) appeared as +underwood in the forests, covered with dark red blossoms before the +appearance of the leaves, which form red stripes along the shore, and +make a pleasing contrast with the young, bright green leaves of the +willows. At noon, Reaumur's thermometer on board was at +17½°. We +had soon passed the 16½ miles to the mouth of the Missouri,[177] +but before we entered it, we lay to, on the Illinois side, to take in +wood. The Yellow Stone entered [pg. 113] the Missouri, which, at its +mouth, is about the same breadth as the Mississippi at this place. In +the afternoon we reached, on the S. W. side, Belle Fontaine, a rather +decayed building belonging to the military station established, in +1803, against the Indians, but which was subsequently abandoned. The +current of the river runs here at the rate of five miles an hour; on +the left bank there is a chain of calcareous hills with the same +singular forms of towers, &c. as on the Mississippi. The bushes of +wild plums were covered with snow-white blossoms, and those of the +_Cercis Canadensis_, with their red flowers; and I could not help +remarking that, in this country, most of the trees and bushes have +their flowers before their leaves. On the beach the inhabitants had +fixed fishing rods, which they examined, from time to time, and we saw +them take up a large cat-fish. Towards evening the lofty plane trees, +with their white branches, were beautifully tinged with the setting +sun. We passed several islands, which showed us the usual formation of +these accumulations of sand, which arise rapidly, and are often as +rapidly destroyed. Against the stream they generally have a naked, +sandy point, with layers of thick, heavy timber; young willows grow +first, then poplars, and, lastly, hard timber. In many places in the +forests, and between the willows, we observed the high rushes +(_Equisetum hyemale_) which are said to be injurious to the horses, +unless salt is given them with it. + +Next morning we reached St. Charles, on the N. E. shore, one of the +oldest French settlements on the Missouri, consisting of about 300 +houses, where the massive church, with its low tower, has a very good +appearance. The environs of this scattered village are rather bare, +but there were many European fruit trees in blossom. Most of the +houses are built of wood, but a modern part of the place is of brick. +On an eminence rising behind it, stands an old stone tower, which +formerly served as a defence against the Indians. We lay to, opposite +St. Charles, where Messrs. Mc Kenzie and Dougherty joined us, and M. +Chouteau and his family took leave, and returned to St. Louis. After +stopping a few hours, we continued our voyage till a storm of wind +filled the air with sand, from the sand banks, and compelled us to +stop after twelve o'clock, above the whirlpool, called Remoux á +Baguette;[178] towards dark, however, we reached Isle au Bon Homme, in +the vicinity of which we passed the night. On the 12th of April, the +original forms of the calcareous rocks again appeared, with the red +cedar, as usual, growing upon them. The hills were covered with +forests, where many trees were putting forth leaves, especially the +very delicate green foliage of the sugar maple. A cavern at this place +is called the Tavern Rock (Taverne de Montardis), and on both sides of +the river were numerous snags, which often prove dangerous to vessels. +Near some habitations the European peach trees were in blossom; among +the strange forms of the rocks, I saw one flattened at the top like a +table, on a thin stem, and quite isolated. The country is here pretty +well peopled, and game is rather rare in the forests, at least we were +told that stags, bears, and wild turkeys were not often found there. +The people settle on the eminences, rather than below on the bank of +the river, where the air is [pg. 114] said to be less salubrious. The +inundations of the river form marshes on the low grounds, which, being +protected from the sun by the surrounding trees, produce fevers. +Flint, in his History and Geography of the Mississippi Valley,[179] +gives a very good account of the climate and diseases of this country. +We passed Isle and Rivière au Boeuf, as well as the village of +Pinkney;[180] observed very picturesque rocky scenes, climbing plants, +which twined round overthrown broken trunks of trees, and gloomy +ravines, which were now full of the bright green young leaves that +were everywhere sprouting forth. The Yellow Stone had several times +struck against submerged trunks of trees, but it was purposely built +very strong, for such dangerous voyages. This was its third voyage up +the Missouri. The Fur Company possess another steamer called the +Assiniboin which had left St. Louis to go up the Missouri before +us.[181] At night-fall we lay to on the right bank, where a cheerful +fire of large logs was soon made, round which our _engagés_ assembled +and chatted incessantly in French. We spent part of the night with +Messrs. Mc Kenzie, Dougherty, and Sanford, under the canopy of the +starry heavens, while a couple of clarionets, on board the vessel, +played Scotch airs and the famous "Yankee-doodle." + +On the morning of the 13th of April, the weather was serene and cool, +the thermometer, at eight in the morning, +5° Reaum., and at noon, ++9°. We had lain to, for the night, near Otter Island,[182] and soon +saw before us the country about Gasconade River. There were extensive +sand banks on the left hand, picturesque hills, many pleasing +gradations of tint in the forests; an island, on the surface of which +we distinctly saw the layer of black mould, six feet thick, with sand +beneath it; further from the left bank a chain of hills, valleys, and +eminences, covered with high trees, which were just beginning to put +forth leaves, all illumined by the beams of the brightest morning sun. +Near the Gasconade, where we took in wood, many interesting plants were +in blossom. The Gasconade, which is an inconsiderable river, and rises +not far from the source of the Merrimack, in the State of Missouri, +expands behind a high, bold eminence, the summit of which is covered +with rocks and red cedars. The hills near it are frequently covered +with the white and the yellow pine, which supply St. Louis with boards +and timber for building. Its mouth, which is reckoned to be 100 miles +from that of the Missouri, is picturesquely situated in a lofty forest. +Near it, our hunters fired unsuccessfully at a flock of wild turkeys. +We soon passed the village of Portland; then the mouth of Little-Au-Vase +Creek, where we observed, in the woods, the young leaves of the +buck-eye trees (_Pavia_) which grew in great abundance.[183] A little +further on, the Osage River appears between wooded banks: it is a +small stream, in which, according to Warden, many soft-shelled +tortoises are found: we came then to Côte-Sans-Dessein, an old French +settlement of six or eight houses, celebrated for the brave defence +made by a few men against a numerous body of Indians. It must have +been formerly much more considerable, since Brackenridge calls it a +beautiful place.[184] The river has destroyed it, and it is now quite +insignificant. Opposite to it, on the left bank, further up the +country, there [pg. 115] are many originally French families, and +half-breeds, descendants of the Osage Indians, who formerly dwelt in +these parts. While Mr. Bennett, the master of our vessel, landed to +visit his family, who lived here, we botanized on the opposite +bank, where oaks of many kinds were in blossom, and where the +Monocotyledonous plant is found, which is called here Adam and Eve. +Its roots consist of two bulbs joined together, of which it is said +that, when thrown into the water, one swims and the other sinks. It is +held to be a good cure for wounds. The flower was just beginning to +appear. + +From Côte-Sans-Dessein, you soon come to Jefferson City, on the south +bank of the Missouri, the capital, as it is called of the State of +Missouri, where the governor resides.[185] It is at present only a +village, with a couple of short streets, and some detached buildings +on the bank of the river. The governor's house is in front, on the top +of the bank, and is a plain brick building of moderate size. The +gentle eminences, on which the place was built about ten years ago, +are now traversed by fences, and the stumps of the felled trees are +everywhere seen. + +The morning of the 14th of April was clear but cool; at 8 o'clock +8°, +a thick mist rising from the river. On a wooded eminence, on the left +hand, at some distance from the bank, is a high, isolated rock, which +stands like a tower in the forest. Major Dougherty, once passing this +place with some Joway Indians, was told by them, that there was a +tradition among their ancestors, that this rock was formed of the dung +of a race of bisons, which lived in heaven, but they themselves no +longer believed this fable. The Manito rocks, two isolated blocks, +about fifty feet high, which have been mentioned by many travellers, +appear below, on the bank of the river. They are mentioned in the +account of Major Long's Expedition, which contains much information +respecting the Missouri, as far as Council Bluff, to which I refer. We +learn from that work, that almost all these calcareous rocks of the +Missouri contain organic remains, encrinites, &c. On the rocks, which +are divided by ravines into broad rounded shapes, like towers, the +Virginia red cedar grows, and falcons build their nests. We see here +on the rocky walls red spots, strokes and figures, remaining from the +times when the Indians dwelt here: two towering overhanging rocks, in +which there are several caves, put me in mind of the ruins of the +castle of Heidelburg. Just before dinner we reached Rockport, a +village founded two years ago, on the Manito River, six miles up which +river Columbia is situated.[186] Near this place there are again many +red figures on the rocky walls, among others that of a man with +uplifted arms; not thirty years have elapsed since this whole country +was in the possession of the Indians. After passing Manito and Bonne +Femme Creek, we stopped at the village of Boonville on the left bank, +opposite which is Old Franklin.[187] As this place was threatened by +the river, and is besides in an unhealthy situation, the people +founded New Franklin, rather further inland, now a thriving village, +near which salt springs have been discovered. We afterwards passed the +mouth of La Mine River, which is about equal to the Lahn, and lay to +for the night at Arrow Rock (Pierre à flêche), a chain in which +[pg. 116] flint is found, of which the Indians formerly made the heads +of their arrows. In a ravine, before Arrow Rock Hill, there is a new +village, which was called New Philadelphia, though the inhabitants did +not approve of this name.[188] + +On the following morning (April 15th), proceeding on our voyage, we +passed little Arrow Rock, and found a very fertile and rather populous +country. Near the mouth of Chariton River, there are several islands, +covered with willows, poplar, and hard timber. The river here makes a +considerable bend; the numerous sand banks did not permit us to +proceed in a direct line, but compelled us to take the narrow channel, +at the outer edge of the bend, and to take soundings continually, +being in great danger of striking against the snags. Some parts of the +banks were rent in a remarkable manner by the rapid stream, when the +water was high. In many places, large masses, fifteen or eighteen feet +in height, had sunk down, with poplars thirty or forty feet high, as +well as entire fields of maize, and piles of timber, which form +together a wild scene of devastation, to which the broken poplars not +a little contributed. + +The drift wood on the sand bank, consisting of the trunks of large +timber trees, forms a scene characteristic of the North American +rivers; at least I saw nothing like it in Brazil, where most of the +rivers rise in the primeval mountains, or flow through more solid +ground. On the banks which we now passed, the drifted trunks of trees +were in many places already covered with sand; a border of willows and +poplars was before the forest, and it is among these willow bushes +that the Indians usually lie in ambush, when they intend to attack +those who tow their vessels up the river by long ropes. At five +o'clock in the afternoon we reached the mouth of Grand River, which +was then very shallow, almost as broad as the Wabash. The Yellow Stone +nearly run aground at the mouth of this river, and stirred up the sand +so as to discolour the water. The Joway Indians dwelt on the Grand +River till 1827, when they removed to Little Platte River.[189] They +continue, however, like the Saukies and Foxes, to hunt in the prairies +at its source, where buffaloes, elks, and stags, are said to be still +pretty numerous. The first of these Indians called the Grand River, +Nischna-Honja; and the Missouri, Nischna-Dja:--Ni, in their language, +means water, and Nischna, the river.[190] + +We lay to, for the night, beyond Waconda Creek.[191] Our hunters +dispersed into the neighbouring woods and plantations, but they only +shot some parrots. On the 16th, in the morning, we had, on the left +bank, undulating hills, thinly covered with trees, and on the bank +were strata of limestone. Here is the mouth of the stream, the Bonnet +de Boeuf, which, doubtless, has its name from the caps, with ox +horns, which the Indians, who formerly dwelt here, wore in their +dances. Some highly dangerous submerged snags left only a very narrow +channel open for our vessel. At ten [pg. 117] o'clock we came to some +excessively dangerous parts, where our vessel frequently struck, and +we were obliged to stop the engine, and to push by poles. The vessel +stuck fast in the sand, and it was necessary to fasten it to the trees +on the bank till it could be got afloat again. At this point the great +forests begin to be interrupted by open places, or prairies, and we +were at the part called Fox Prairie, where the Saukie and Fox Indians, +and, perhaps, some other nations,[192] formerly attacked, and nearly +extirpated the tribe of the Missouris. The remainder of the people +saved themselves among the Otos, on the southwest banks, where their +descendants still live, mingled with the natives. The Missouris came +down the river in many canoes, and their enemies had concealed +themselves in the willow thickets. After the Missouris, who suspected +no evil, had been killed or wounded with arrows, the victors leaped +into the water, and finished their bloody work with clubs and knives: +very few of the Missouris escaped.[193] + +To-day we saw, for the first time, from the deck of our vessel, the +prairies of the Lower Missouri covered with luxuriant young grass, but +the air was misty, and bounded our prospect. In the afternoon we took +in fuel at Webb's warehouse; the river was here again covered with +wood, which so greatly impeded our progress, that we were obliged to +lay to for the night, seven miles above Webb's warehouse. In the +morning of the 17th we saw only an uninterrupted forest; in the course +of the day we again encountered much danger from the quantity of +snags, which, in some places, scarcely left a channel of ten feet in +breadth; but our pilot steered, with great dexterity, between all +these dangers, where many a smaller vessel had been wrecked. During +this hazardous navigation, we were all on deck, anxiously expecting +the result, but everything went off well. We afterwards sounded, +sought another channel, but proceeded very slowly, so that we only +passed Fire Prairie,[194] and lay to for the night, five miles below +Fort Osage. + +Our engine was broken, so that we could not proceed till the next +morning (18th April). On that morning I had the misfortune to break my +last Reaumur's thermometer, so that, henceforth, all the observations +of the temperature are according to Fahrenheit's scale. Some of my +people, attracted by the cries of the wild turkeys, were tempted to +land, but returned without having met with any success. I happened to +have taken no piece with me, which I much regretted, for a wild +turkey-cock came out of a bush about ten paces from me, and stood +still, looking at me, while his splendid feathers shone in the sun. +Vegetation was rather backward. A large flock of sandhill cranes, +taking their course to the north-east, filled the air with their +cries; their note is very similar to that of the European crane. After +the people had returned on board, at the repeated summons of the bell, +we proceeded on our voyage, but were soon obliged to take soundings, +and to saw off some dangerous snags; we then landed twenty men on a +sand bank, to tow the [pg. 118] steamer, but their efforts broke the +rope, and they all tumbled one upon another, to the great amusement +of those on board. By way of precaution, our vessel was fastened to a +large tree, which proved our safety, for the rudder was soon +afterwards deranged, and rendered unserviceable. It was repaired about +two o'clock, but we soon run aground on a sand bank, where we were +obliged to remain all night, in a rather unsafe situation, for the +current, on the bank, was very strong, and we could not fasten the +vessel to anything, so that we might easily have been carried down the +stream; the river, however, continued to subside. On the morning of +the 19th a flat boat was procured, to lighten our vessel, by landing a +part of the cargo, which was piled up in the wood, on the bank, and +covered with cloths. Mr. Bodmer made a faithful sketch of this +scene.[195] + +At four o'clock in the afternoon, the crew had got the steamer off the +sand bank into deeper water, on the right, a little below the mouth of +Fishing Creek.[196] Here our anchors, boats, &c., were taken on board, +and three men left to take care of the landed goods, which consisted +of the presents for the Indians in Major Dougherty's agency. The flat +boat was sent back to its owner, on Fishing Creek, under the care of +thirty men, who had to wade in the water to keep it afloat. After +taking in fuel, for which the wood of the red mulberry and the ash is +preferred, we proceeded slowly, and reached, at dusk, the hill, on the +right bank, where Fort Osage, built, in 1808, by Governor Lewis, +formerly stood. The ridge on which it was situated is free from wood, +and cultivated, and the last posts and beams were taken away by the +people in the neighbourhood. This part of the country was the chief +abode of the Osages. Only ten years ago they were still at +Côte-Sans-Dessein. They are peaceably disposed towards the Americans; +and the Fur Company have trading posts in their territory. The whole +tract, from the Osage River, through which we have passed, was +formerly theirs, but they sold a part of it to the United States, and +they are now entirely forced back into the prairies, on the river +Arkansas.[197] + +We lay to, for the night, a short distance below Fort Osage. On the +20th, in the morning, Blue Water River was hid from us, by a long +island, on the steep banks of which large snags, covered with sand and +earth, projecting very far, formed a threatening point.[198] We had +scarcely passed it, when we run aground on a sand bank. The engine was +immediately backed; but the current carried the vessel so close to the +above point, that it tore away our side gallery with a great crash. +The carpenter soon repaired it, and our progress was now more +favourable. At noon we had 68½° Fahrenheit. At this time a +thunder-storm arose, accompanied with hail and rain. The rain +continued to fall in torrents till we reached the landing-place of the +village of Liberty, which is at some distance from the river.[199] +Some buildings and detached houses were situated on the bank, in front +of the wooded mountains, where the vigorous vegetation, refreshed by +the rain, was very brilliant. The tall, slender, forest trees, grow +among picturesque rocks; the beautiful flowers of the red bud tree, +bright green moss, and a thick carpet of verdure, chiefly consisting +[pg. 119] of the leaves of the May-apple (_Podophyllum_), everywhere +covered the mountains. The papaw trees were just opening their buds. +This is about the northern limit for the growth of this tree. Some +keel-boats were lying here, belonging to the Fur Company of Messrs. +Ashley and Soublette, which was just established as a rival to the +American Fur Company.[200] In the pay of these gentlemen, there were, +in the boats, about ten Germans, who had engaged in this service, for +which they were not well qualified, and were, besides, wholly +inexperienced in the mode of trading with the Indians. We next reached +the mouth of the Blue Water River, the clear blue waters of which +formed a great contrast to those of the Missouri.[201] We were here +joined by a couple of canoes, with some Canadian _engagés_ from the +Upper Missouri, who brought to Mr. Mc Kenzie news from Fort Union, at +the mouth of the Yellow Stone River. Their half Indian costume, which +is usually worn, was new to us. One of them, named Defond, a tall, +slender, brown man, was a half-breed Indian, and one of the best and +most experienced pilots of the Missouri. Mr. Mc Kenzie had sent for +him to steer our vessel up the river, and he fully justified his +reputation. He was likewise a sportsman, and brought us several +turkeys which had been lately shot. Before evening we became +acquainted with the quicksands of the Missouri. These are sand banks +which are so soft that one immediately sinks in them. We saw an ox, +which went deeper at every motion, while nobody could afford it any +assistance. + +On the next morning (21st April), we reached the mouth of the river +Konza, or Konzas, called by the French, Rivière des Cans, which is not +quite so broad as the Wabash, and was now very shallow. Its clear +green water was distinguished by a well-defined, undulating line, from +the muddy stream of the Missouri. The steam-boat has navigated the +Konzas about seven miles upward, to a trading-post of the American Fur +Company, which is now under the direction of a brother of Mr. P. +Chouteau.[202] It is said that this country formerly abounded in +beavers, but their numbers are much diminished. At the point of land +between the Konzas and the Missouri, is the boundary which separates +the United States from the territory of the free Indians. It runs +directly from south to north, comes from the territory of the Osages, +passes the Osage River, and goes northward from the Missouri, parallel +to the Little Platte River, to Weeping Water River, which falls into +the Missouri, whence it runs eastward to the Des-Moines and the +Mississippi. About 500 or 600 paces from the mouth of the Konzas, the +banks of the river consist of high yellow clay walls, in the forest; +and near it live the remnants of several Indian tribes, which were +driven or dislodged from the States to the east of the Mississippi, to +whom land was assigned in these parts. Among them were the Delawares, +Shawnees, Miamis, &c., &c. + +Proceeding 90 or 100 miles up the river, you come to the villages of +the Konzas (Cans, of the French), the best accounts of whom are given +by Mr. Say in the narrative of Mr. Long's travels.[203] These people +formerly lived nearer to the Missouri, but have gradually retired from +it. Their language is entirely the same as that of the Osages, and the +language of these two people [pg. 120] is only a dialect, originally not +different from that of the Omahas and Puncas, being distinguished only +by the pronunciation, and not by its roots. At present the Konzas +inhabit the tract on both sides of the river of the same name, and its +tributaries, and they make excursions into the prairies of the +Arkansas. + +We were now in the free Indian territory, and felt much more +interested in looking at the forests, because we might expect to meet +with some of their savage inhabitants. We examined the country with a +telescope, and had the satisfaction of seeing the first Indian, on a +sand bank, wrapped in his blanket; but our attention was soon called +to the obstacles on the river: we avoided one dangerous place, where +the Missouri was so full of trunks of trees that we were forced to put +back; but at noon, when the thermometer was at 75°, we got among drift +wood, which broke some of the paddles of our wheels, so that it was +necessary to stop the engine. Forty-two of our men, most of whom had +been out with their fowling-pieces, came on board. Among them was Dr. +Fellowes, a young physician, going to the cantonment at Leavenworth. + +The underwood of the forest consisted chiefly of _Laurus benzoin_ and +_Cercis Canadensis_; the ground was covered with _Equisetum hyemale_, +from one and a half to two feet high. Limestone everywhere stood out; +large blocks of it were on the bank. The Little Platte River here +falls into the Missouri. On the northern bank, seven miles up that +river, are the villages of the Joway Indians, who speak the same +language as the Ottowas.[204] They inhabit and hunt the country about +the Little Platte, Nadaway, Nishnebottoneh Rivers, together with a +band of the Saukies, who have settled in this neighbourhood. A couple +of Shawnee Indians stood on the high bank, and made us friendly signs. +We halted, for the night, near Diamond Island; our people cut down +some trees, and kindled a large fire, which illumined the tall +forests. + +The next morning, 22nd of April, was warm and cheerful, the +thermometer being at 64½° Fahrenheit, at half-past seven o'clock. +About six, we passed several islands, separated by narrow channels, +where our pilot steered so close to the left bank that the hens which +we had on board flew to the land.[205] We soon came to a place where +most of the trees were cut down, and we were not a little surprised at +the sight of a sentinel. It was the landing-place of the cantonment +Leavenworth, a military post, where four companies of the sixth +regiment of infantry of the line, about 120 men, under Major Ryley, +were stationed to protect the Indian boundary.[206] There were also +100 rangers, who are mounted and armed militia, who are well +acquainted with Indian warfare. + +We were stopped at this place, and our vessel searched for brandy, the +importation of which, into the Indian territory, is prohibited;[207] +they would scarcely permit us to take a small portion to preserve our +specimens of natural history. Major Dougherty rejoined us here, and +brought with him several Kickapoo Indians who had come from St. Louis +to receive land in these parts.[208] The [pg. 121] Kikapoos, and +Delawares, and some other Indians, are settled at no great distance +from this place; the officers of the garrison were on board the whole +day, and our hunters rambled about the surrounding country. We saw, in +the neighbourhood, the beautiful yellow-headed _Icterus +xanthocephalus_. The black oak and other trees were in blossom, and +many interesting plants. Near the bank, where the vessel lay, the beds +of limestone were full of shells, of which we kept some specimens. +Between these limestone strata there were, alternately, thin layers of +dark bluish clay slate, which was not yet very hard. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[175] Other travellers of our series made their way up the +Missouri--Bradbury (volume v), and Brackenridge (volume vi), in 1811, +in a barge; Long's party (our volumes xiv-xvii) in 1819, 1820 in a +steamboat; Townsend (our volume xxi), in 1834, partly by land and +partly by river. Such places as they mention will not here be +specifically noticed, a general reference to these earlier volumes +being considered sufficient.--ED. + +[176] See Plate 10, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv. The +Kickapoo are briefly noticed in Croghan's _Journals_, in our volume i, +p. 139, note 111. They removed to the west of the Mississippi after +the treaty at Edwardsville, Illinois, in 1819.--ED. + +[177] Schoolcraft justly observes that the course of the Missouri is +much more considerable than that of the Mississippi, and that it would +have been more proper to leave the name Missouri to the river, and not +call it the Mississippi.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[178] Still called Ramrod Eddy, about five miles above St. Charles. +See Missouri River Commissioners' map, made by United States engineers +in 1878-79, and published 1883-84.--ED. + +[179] See our volume xviii, p. 25, note 1.--ED. + +[180] The stream is now called Buffalo Creek, in Warren County, with +the town of Dundee at its mouth. + +Pinckney was a small village, the seat of Montgomery County (1818-24), +but now in Warren County, where a township still retains the name, the +site of the town having long since been washed away.--ED. + +[181] The success of the steamboat "Yellowstone," in the fur-trade +business, was so great that the company ordered a somewhat larger +craft, which was built at Cincinnati in the winter of 1832-33, and +christened the "Assiniboine." This was its initial voyage. The next +year it ventured too far above the Yellowstone River, was caught by +low water and obliged to winter near Poplar River. The "Assiniboine" +was lost by fire near Bismarck, North Dakota, June 1, 1835, having on +board a large cargo of furs, the year's supply, as well as all of +Maximilian's collection. See preface, _ante_ p. 17.--ED. + +[182] Otter is more commonly known as Loutre Island; see Bradbury's +_Travels_, our volume v, p. 47, note 18.--ED. + +[183] Au Vase (now Auxvasse) Creek took its name from the miring of a +party under charge of Lilburn W. Boggs. It is in Callaway County; and +Portland, a hamlet on the north side of the stream, was laid off +therein in 1831.--ED. + +[184] The defense of this place is detailed in our volume xiv, pp. +139, 140. For Brackenridge, see our volume vi.--ED. + +[185] In 1820 a commission was chosen to select a site for the state +capital, somewhere near the centre of the state. The place selected +was in Cole County, but it did not actually become the capital until +about 1826. On Long's map it is marked as "Missouriopolis."--ED. + +[186] These two places are noticed in our volume xxi, p. 133, note 8 +(Townsend.)--ED. + +[187] For Boonville see our volume xxi, p. 89, note 59 (Wyeth). For +Franklin, volume xix, p. 188, note 33 (Gregg).--ED. + +[188] Probably the settlement now known as Arrow Rock, in Saline +County.--ED. + +[189] The treaty of cession was signed in 1824, whereby the Iowa +Indians relinquished all lands in Missouri, agreeing not to hunt +therein after January 1, 1826. See _Indian Treaties_ (Washington, +1837), p. 316.--ED. + +[190] None of the Indian languages of these parts, of which Major +Dougherty spoke thirteen or fourteen, have any general plural; thus, +for instance, they never say, in general, _horses_, but always mention +a number, as expressive of many horses; nor is there any real +article.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[191] Wakenda Creek, the largest stream in Carroll County, is named +from an Indian term meaning "divinity" or "worshipped."--ED. + +[192] Some accounts say that the Osages were the assailants, but I +believe the above statement to be correct, because it was given me by +Major Dougherty.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[193] This defeat of the Missouri, once the most powerful tribe on the +lower reaches of the river, occurred toward the close of the +eighteenth century. Small-pox completed the destruction of the tribe. +See Bradbury's _Travels_, in our volume v, p. 56, note 26.--ED. + +[194] Fire Prairie is on the south bank of the Missouri, in the +present Lafayette County, a creek of the same name entering the river +at this point. It is said to take its name from the death there of +several Indians in a prairie fire.--ED. + +[195] See Plate 37, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + +[196] Fishing Creek (or River) rises in Clinton County and flows south +and southeast into the Missouri through Clay and Ray counties.--ED. + +[197] An historical notice of old Fort Osage is given in Bradbury's +_Travels_, our volume v, p. 60, note 31. The Osage Indians, _ibid_, p. +50, note 22. The cession by which the Osage were forced back was made +at St. Louis in June, 1825, under General William Clark's +superintendency.--ED. + +[198] Now known as Little Blue Creek, rising on the southern borders +of Jackson County and flowing nearly north into the Missouri.--_Ed._ + +[199] Liberty, the county seat of Clay, was settled in 1822, but up to +1826 had only about a dozen houses; it was incorporated in 1829. +During the Mormon troubles of the fourth decade of the nineteenth +century, Liberty rose into prominence. The town is set back about six +miles from the river, on the high, salubrious uplands. Liberty +Landing, on the river, was in the days of the Santa Fé trade of some +commercial importance.--ED. + +[200] Maximilian's remarks are misleading in regard to the operations +of these traders. Ashley began his fur-trading ventures in 1822; four +years later he sold out to Smith, Jackson, and Sublette; they in turn +relinquished their business to younger traders in 1830. So the Rocky +Mountain Fur Company had for about eleven years been an efficient +rival to the American. + +For a brief sketch of Sublette see our volume xix, p. 221, note 55 +(Gregg). + +General William Henry Ashley was born in Virginia in 1778. Soon after +the beginning of the nineteenth century he went to Missouri, settling +first at Ste. Geneviève, later in St. Louis, and embarking in various +mercantile enterprises. In 1816-17 he surveyed in the state, and the +knowledge thus obtained permitted him to make heavy investments for +some English capitalists, which laid the foundation of his fortune. In +1820 he was elected lieutenant-governor, and during his term (1820-24) +began his fur-trading exploits, from which he derived profit and fame. +His title came as leader of the state militia, in whose development he +was much interested. In 1831 he was appointed to a vacant seat in +Congress, being re-elected thereto two successive terms. He died at +St. Louis in 1838.--ED. + +[201] The Big Blue rises in Johnson County, Kansas, and flows +northeast and north through Jackson County, Missouri, until it joins +the Missouri six miles below Kansas City.--ED. + +[202] This trading post was on the south side of the Kansas, opposite +Muncie, in what is now Wyandotte County, built about 1828. It was for +many years in charge of Cyprian Chouteau (1802-79), half brother of +Pierre, jr. Frémont set out thence on his journey (1842).--ED. + +[203] See our volume xiv, pp. 183-198.--ED. + +[204] These villages of the Iowa, on the Little Platte, appear to have +been temporary. Probably the tribe had fled in this direction after +the troubles of the Black Hawk War (1832). In 1836 they ceded this +strip--which was added to Missouri as the "Platte Purchase"--and +removed to Kansas. The author cannot intend that the language of the +Iowa resembled that of the Ottawa; the former is of Dakota stock, the +latter of Algonquian. The Sauk and Foxes, at this time intimately +commingled with the Iowa, spoke Algonquian.--ED. + +[205] For these islands, see our volume xiv, p. 174, note 141.--ED. + +[206] Fort Leavenworth was founded to supersede two smaller +posts--Forts Osage and Atkinson--the latter near Council Bluffs. The +site was chosen because of the increasing interest in the Santa Fé +trade, and because of the removal of large tribes of Indians west of +the Missouri border. On March 7, 1827, Colonel Henry Leavenworth was +ordered to proceed from Jefferson Barracks and choose the site for an +establishment on the left bank of the Missouri, within twenty miles of +the mouth of Little Platte. He selected instead Rattlesnake Hills on +the right bank, a site later approved by the government. Fort +Leavenworth has been an important military post throughout the history +of the West. It was called Leavenworth Cantonment until the name was +officially changed to "Fort," about 1832. + +For Major Bennett Riley see our volume xix, p. 185, note 25 +(Gregg).--ED. + +[207] This law was passed in the first session of the twenty-second +congress, and was merely a portion of an act to create an Indian +commissioner. It caused but little debate, and apparently was fathered +by General Ashley and others cognizant of conditions in the fur-trade. +For the consternation it created among the traders consult Chittenden, +_Fur-Trade_, index.--ED. + +[208] According to the treaty held at St. Louis in 1832, with the +Kickapoo chiefs, a deputation was to visit the new territory in Kansas +and agree to the lands chosen. This was accordingly done in November, +and this would appear to be among the arrivals early in the spring of +1833 to take possession of the new reservation.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +JOURNEY FROM THE CANTONMENT OF LEAVENWORTH TO THE PUNCA INDIANS, FROM +APRIL 22ND TO MAY 12TH + + Dangerous place, Wassoba-Wakandaga--Independence + River--Blacksnake Hills, with Roubedoux Trading House--The + Joways and Saukies--Nadaway River--Wolf River--Grand Nemahaw + River--Country of the Half-breeds--Nishnebottoneh River--Little + Nemahaw River--Violent Storm--Weeping-water Creek--La Platte + River--Belle Vue, Dougherty's Agency--The Omaha Indians--Their + Dance--Council Bluffs--Boyer's Creek--Little Sioux + River--Blackbird Hills--Floyd's Grave--Big Sioux River--Joway + River--Vermilion Creek--Jacques River--The Punca + Indians--Meeting with the Assiniboin Steamer. + + +The Yellow Stone left the cantonment at five in the afternoon of the +22nd of April, and we soon reached the narrow part of the river called, +by the Osages and Konzas, Wassoba-Wakandaga (Bear-Medicine).[209] +There were so many trunks of trees in the river that it seemed very +problematical whether we should be able to pass between them. Our +people cut off some of the most dangerous branches below water, and +got our vessel gradually through; soon after which we lay to for the +night. + +The next morning, 23rd of April brought us a storm, with thunder, but +without lightning. Early in the morning a large branch of a tree, +lying in the water, forced its way into the cabin, carried away part +of the door case, and then broke off, and was left on the floor. After +this accident, when one might have been crushed in bed, we came to Cow +Island, where, in 1818, some troops, on their way to Council Bluff, +were overtaken by the frost, and obliged to pass the winter.[210] At +half-past seven o'clock, the temperature was 67°. The heat of the +preceding day had greatly advanced vegetation; the forests were +beautifully verdant, and there were many flowers. The Indians now make +sugar from the maple. The Kikapoo Indians, whom we had seen at St. +Louis, were to have lands assigned them in these parts, and their +territory is said to extend to Independence River. There were no fixed +Indian villages at that time, but the [pg. 123] Joways, Saukies, and +Foxes hunt in these parts. We proceeded past Cow Island, which is six +miles in length, and covered with poplars, and shave grass. The sand +was marked by the footsteps of the stags which come here to drink, by +which they tread down deep paths to the water's edge, and lick holes +in the saline clay of the bank. Here began green hills without wood, +which are the transition to the entirely naked prairie, as they at +first alternate with woods, which grow in the ravines, and on the +banks of the river. At twelve o'clock the thermometer was at 77°. Our +navigation was attended with many difficulties to Independence River, +the mouth of which is on the right bank; here we reached, on the same +side of the river, naked grassy eminences, where a village of the +Konzas formerly stood, and which is still usually marked in the maps. +The Spaniards had a post of a few soldiers here.[211] The soil is said +to be very fertile and favourable to settlers. The forests were now in +their greatest beauty, and began to afford some shade. + +On the 24th we saw the chain of the Blacksnake Hills, but we met with +so many obstacles in the river that we did not reach them till towards +the evening. They are moderate eminences, with many singular forms, +with an alternation of wooded and open green spots. Near to the steep +bank a trading house has been built, which was occupied by a man named +Roubedoux, an agent of the Fur Company.[212] This white house, +surrounded by the bright green prairies, had a very neat appearance, +and Mr. Bodmer sketched this pretty landscape, which had a beautiful +effect of light and shade. It is only this part of the chain that is +called Blacksnake Hills, for the chain itself is no other than that +which we had long observed on the banks, of which there are two, one +on each side, running parallel to each other, and forming the valley +of the Missouri, more or less approaching to or receding from it. The +river flows through the alluvial soil which it has thrown up, and +which is changed, every year, crossing from one chain to the other, +and, where it reaches the chain, produces high banks by the shock. + +When the steam-boat lay to, between 500 or 600 paces from the trading +house, some of the _engagés_ of the company came on board, and +reported that the Joway Indians, whose village was about five or six +miles distant, had made an incursion into the neighbouring territory +of the Omahas, and killed six of these Indians, and brought in a +woman and child as prisoners, whom they offered for sale. Major +Dougherty, to whose agency the Joways belong, immediately landed to +rescue the prisoners, accompanied by Major Bean and Mr. Bodmer, but +they returned, at eleven o'clock at night, without having accomplished +their object, because the Joways, fearing his reproaches, had +completely intoxicated both themselves and their prisoners.[213] Mr. +Bodmer brought some beautiful plants from the prairie, among which +were [pg. 124] the fine orange-coloured flowers of the _Batschia +canescens_, which we here saw for the first time. + +On the forenoon of the following day, the 25th, we passed the mouth of +the Nadaway River,[214] and met with many difficulties, so that we +were even obliged to back for some distance, and landed our +wood-cutters in Nadaway Island. A Captain Martin wintered on this +island for two seasons, 1818 and 1819, with three companies of +riflemen.[215] At that time there was so much game that they entirely +subsisted on it. We were told that in one year they killed 1,600, in +the other 1,800 head of game (_Cervus Virginianus_), besides elks and +bears; and wounded, perhaps, as many more of those animals, which they +were unable to take. The woods were very picturesque. The numerous +horse-chestnuts were in full leaf; the white ash was in flower, as +well as many species of pear and plum, which looked as if covered with +snow, and formed a beautiful contrast with the red masses of the +flower of the _Cercis_. The canal between Nadaway Island and the +cantonment is called Nadaway Slew, at the end of which we saw the +remains of some Indian huts. In a dark glen in the forest, we observed +a long Indian hut, which occupied almost its whole breadth, and must +have served for a great number of persons. The bald eagle had built +its nest on many of the high trees on the bank. In some places we saw +smoke rising in the forest; in others, the trees and the ground were +burnt quite black. Such fires are sometimes caused by the Indians, in +order to escape the pursuit of their enemies, and sometimes, also, by +the agents of the fur traders. We were told that the forest was green, +this year, a fortnight earlier than usual. We saw everywhere pairs of +the beautiful _Anas sponsa_, which came out of the holes in the bank, +where they doubtless had their nests. Before dusk we reached the mouth +of Wolf River, where an eagle had built her nest. The Oto Indians, +mixed with some Missouris, live in these parts, on the west bank of +the Missouri.[216] They are allies of the Joways, and hunt as far as +the river La Platte. + +On the following morning, April 26th, we saw great numbers of water +fowl, and many wild geese with their woolly young; the parents never +abandoned them, even when our people shot at them. The care and +anxiety which these birds shewed for their young interested us much. +We came to the mouth of the Grand Nemahaw river in a beautiful +romantic country, from which, to the Little Nemahaw, the territory of +the people called Half-breeds extends. Among the Omaha, Oto, Joway, +and Yankton (Sioux) Indians, there lived from 150 to 200 of their +descendants by white men, to whom they assigned this tract of land as +their property. They had taken this resolution two years before, but +had not yet carried it into execution. The land was given by the Otos +to whom it belonged, and the other tribes bore part of the expenses. +Towards noon, when the thermometer was at 27°, we again, several times +touched the bottom, near Tarkio [pg. 125] River, but without receiving +any injury. Picturesque forests alternate with the verdant alluvial +banks of the river, and Indian hunting huts were everywhere seen, but +no inhabitants. One may travel thousands of miles along this river +without seeing a human being. From the mouth of the Nishnebottoneh to +Council Bluffs, there is a narrow green prairie before the chain of +hills; the mouth itself is between lofty trees on the east bank. In +the wood below, Major Dougherty once killed twenty elks, all belonging +to one troop. They had divided, and part broke into the ice in the +river, where they fell a prey to the Otos who pursued them. Beavers +formerly abounded in this river, but they are now extirpated. When the +evening sun, gradually sinking behind the tall forest, illumined the +whole country, we had a lovely view of the chain of hills, variously +tinged with brilliant hues of violet, pink, and purple, while the +broad mirror of the river and adjacent forest shone as if on fire. +Silence reigned in these solitudes, the wind was hushed, and only the +dashing and foaming of our steamboat interrupted the awful repose. We +were disagreeably roused from our reverie by our vessel striking +against the snags in the river. We passed the night near Morgan's +Island, not far from which there was formerly a trading house for the +Oto Indians, but it no longer existed.[217] The note of the +whip-poor-will, which we had not before met with, was heard in all the +adjacent forests. + +The next morning, proceeding on our voyage, we plainly observed in +the steep banks of the river, the alternate strata of clay and sand, +with a thick layer of fertile black mould at the top, and, about eight +feet below the surface, a black stratum of bituminous coal, or coal +slate, which we were, however, unable to examine closely. On the bank +we saw what are called pumice stones, which are pieces of the rock of +the Upper Missouri, changed by fire, and brought down by the river; +the Indians use this pumice stone to smooth their tanned and hardened +skins. At the mouth of the Little Nemahaw River, the Missouri was very +shallow. Our vessel having received several violent shocks by +striking, and a storm, accompanied by heavy rain, arising, we ran +aground, about noon, on a sand bank, and were obliged to put out a +boat to take soundings, but the wind, which blew with increasing +violence from the open prairie on the south-west, drove us further +into the sand bank. Every moment it became more furious; our vessel +lay almost on her side, which the people endeavoured to counteract by +fastening her with strong cables to the trees lying in the water. +After dinner several of our hunters went on shore, but the boat had +scarcely returned, when the storm suddenly increased to such a degree +that the vessel appeared to be in imminent peril. One of our chimneys +was thrown down, and the foredeck was considered in danger; the large +coops, which contained a number of fowls, were blown overboard, and +nearly all of them drowned. As they got upon the sand banks they were +afterwards taken up, with other things which we had been obliged to +throw overboard; our cables had, happily, held fast, and, as the wind +abated a little, Captain Bennett hoped to lay the vessel close to the +bank, which was twenty feet high, where it would be safe [pg. 126] but +the storm again arose, and we got deeper and deeper into the sands. +Some of our hunters and Mr. Bodmer appeared on the bank, and wanted to +be taken on board, but the boat could not be sent, and they were +obliged to seek shelter from the storm in the neighbouring forests. +Mr. Mc Kenzie, and other persons acquainted with the Missouri, assured +us they had never encountered so violent a storm in these parts. After +four o'clock, however, the wind abated, and the boat was dispatched to +pick up the articles we had lost. + +On the following day we were obliged to lighten the ship before we +could proceed, by landing the wood which we had taken in the previous +day, and many other articles. Our vessel, however, soon ran aground +again, and as we could not proceed, we made the vessel go backwards to +the right bank, where we passed the night. In the preceding year the +Yellow Stone had been detained five days at this place. Towards +evening a flock of above 100 pelicans, flying northwards, passed over +us. Their flight was in the form of a wedge, and sometimes of a +semicircle. On the 29th, we found sufficient water, and proceeded; a +still larger flock of pelicans induced our _engagés_ to make use of +their rifles, and they winged one of the birds, which strutted about +on the shore, but we could not venture to take it. At half-past seven, +A.M., we were at a place called the Narrows of Nishnebottoneh; here, +about thirty miles from its mouth, this river comes so near to the +Missouri, that between both there is an interval of only 200 paces. +The appearance of the chain of hills beyond the Nishnebottoneh is very +remarkable.[218] The calcareous rock is in very strange forms, +sometimes like entrenchments and bastions, partly clothed with +verdure, partly with dry yellow grass, and spotted with yellowish red +clay. The soil is extremely fertile, and well adapted for agriculture; +formerly there were hundreds of elks and stags in these parts, but +they are now rarely met with. By a general agreement the Otos, Joway, +Fox, and Saukie Indians hunt this country in common. Having been on +shore for some time, I was returning to the vessel when the pilot +called out that there was a rattlesnake very near me, the rattle of +which he heard; I looked, and immediately found the animal, and having +stunned it with some slight blows, I put it into a vessel in which +there were already a live heterodon and a black snake, where it soon +recovered. The three agreed very well together, but were afterwards +put into a cask of brandy to go to Europe. This rattlesnake was of the +species _Crotalus tergeminus_, first described by Say, which is very +common on the Missouri. The water being too shallow, it was necessary +partly to unload the vessel on a sand bank, and to stop for the night. +On the morning of the 30th, many attempts were made to move from this +spot; we sounded, put out thirty men, but were at last obliged to +return to the place where we had passed the night. Messengers were +then sent up the river to endeavour to procure a keelboat; meanwhile +all our hunters went ashore. I found in the vicinity traces of the +Indians, and large traces of wolves in the sand. A storm drove us back +to the vessel, and soon drenched us with a torrent of rain. Our +hunters killed a wild goose, a wood duck, and an owl, and brought a +[pg. 127] black snake with them; one of them had broken off a piece of +poison vine, by which his hands and face were much swollen; but the +people here do not much mind such accidents, though the swelling +frequently lasts many days. + +The 1st of May set in with rain and a clouded sky; the forests were +dripping wet; during the night we had observed some fireflies. +Numerous flocks of two kinds of swallows passed us, flying to the +north. About noon a white cat-fish was caught by one of the lines +which we had thrown out; a second broke the strong line as we were +drawing it up. The first we had caught weighed sixty pounds, and we +soon took another weighing sixty-five pounds, and a third weighing 100 +lbs, in the jaws of which was the hook of the line that had been +broken. In the stomach of this and the other cat-fish were found large +pieces of pork, the bones of fowls, &c., feet of geese, all refuse +from the vessels; and likewise the entire gills of another large fish. +A great number of leeches were attached to the gills of these fish. It +is only on the Upper Missouri that this fish attains so large a size. + +On the following morning the Missouri had risen a little. In the +neighbouring thickets some birds were singing, or rather twittering, +and there was nothing like the loud concert which, at this season of +the year, animates the European forests. The Yellow Stone did not set +out till near eleven o'clock. In the afternoon we came to some almost +perpendicular hills on the bank, the base of which consisted of +violet, the middle of bluish grey, the upper part of yellow red clay. +In some places a whole colony of swallows had built against them. +About the place where Weeping-water Creek opens, among beautiful +thickets, before the green hills of the prairies, we met with great +obstructions, and were several times obliged to put the vessel back. +We reached Five Barrel Islands, in a broad part of the river, just +when the evening sun gave a peculiar charm to the verdant +landscape.[219] The forest was picturesque but not very lofty; the +bird cherry was in flower, but the blossoms of the red bud had lost +their bright colour. Vines twined round the trunks of the trees, and +the numerous blossoms of the phlox formed blue spots amongst the +rocks. Towards night we met a canoe, with two persons on board, one of +whom was M. Fontenelle, clerk to the Fur Company, who resided near at +hand at Belle Vue. He was a man who had much experience in the trade +with the Indians, and had often visited the Rocky Mountains. As he was +shortly to undertake an expedition to the mountains, with a body of +armed men, he turned back with us.[220] + +Early on the morning of the 3rd of May, we came to the hill called by +the Otos and Omahas--Ischta Maso, or Ischta Manso (the iron eye). It +is rather higher than the neighbouring hills, and a small stream of +the same name runs from its side into the Missouri.[221] We were now +near the month of La Platte River. Four or five miles before you come +to the conflux, you distinguish the water of the two rivers by their +colour, that of the La Platte being clear and green, and keeping +unmixed on the western bank. A mile further up, the water was covered +with foam, in [pg. 128] consequence of the heavy rains. In half an hour +we came to the first mouth of the river, which is divided from the +second by a low island, with gently rounded verdant hills in the back +ground. The second mouth is the largest. There were large piles of +drift wood on the sand bank, next the island. The river, which was +much swollen, brought down wood and foam, and its waters, though, at +present, not quite clear, yet still of a bluish tint, were plainly +distinguished as they ran in a semicircular bend, from the yellowish, +dirty water of the Missouri. After passing the sand bank at its mouth, +we reached, in twenty minutes, Papilion Creek, and saw before us the +green-wooded chain of hills with the buildings of Belle Vue, the +agency of Major Dougherty. There were many sand banks in the river, on +which there were numbers of wild geese, and some quite white birds, +with black quill feathers--perhaps cranes or pelicans. At two in the +afternoon we reached M. Fontenelle's dwelling, consisting of some +buildings, with fine plantations of maize, and verdant wooded hills +behind it. A part of the plantations belongs to the government. The +prairie extends beyond the hills. The land is extremely fertile; even +when negligently cultivated, it yields 100 bushels of maize per acre, +but is said to produce much more when proper care is bestowed on it. +The cattle thrive very well, and the cows give much milk, but some +salt must now and then be given them. M. Fontenelle expected to +possess, in a few years, 5,000 swine, if the Indians did not steal too +many of them. The government of the United States bought of the +Indians a great tract of land to the east of the Missouri, extending +to Big Sioux River, but have hitherto left them in possession of this +land.[222] + +Belle Vue, Mr. Dougherty's post, is agreeably situated. The direction +of the river is north-west. Below, on the bank, there are some huts, +and on the top the buildings of the agents, where a sub-agent, Major +Beauchamp, a blacksmith, and some servants of the company, all lived +with their families, who attend to the plantations and affairs of the +company. These men were mostly married to women of the tribes of the +Otos and Omahas; all, on our landing, immediately came on board. Their +dress was of red or blue cloth, with a white border, and cut in the +Indian fashion. Their faces were broad and coarse, their heads large +and round, their breasts pendent, their teeth beautiful and white, +their hands and feet small and delicate. Their children had dark brown +hair, and agreeable features. Belle Vue was formerly a trading post of +the Missouri Fur Company, on the dissolution of which it was bought by +M. Fontenelle, who parted with it to the government, and was +appointed to the agency of the Otos, Omahas, Pawnees, and +Joways.[223] M. Fontenelle settled, as I have said, 600 or 800 paces +further down the river. Here the Yellow Stone lay to, and we inspected +the buildings of the agency, from which there is a very fine view of +the river, especially from the summit of the hill, where the cemetery +is situated. The rock here is limestone, with a great number of +shells, of which, however, I could see only bivalves; but our time was +too short to decide on this point. + +[pg. 129] It was near this place that a marauding party of twelve Joways +lately crossed the river, and pursued a defenceless company of Omahas, +who had just left Belle Vue; and, having overtaken them three miles +off, killed and plundered all of them, except some who were +desperately wounded, and whom they believed to be dead. The victors +returned by another way. A woman and a child recovered. Major +Dougherty took leave of us at Belle Vue, intending to go to the +Omahas, and appease the vengeance of that tribe. About five in the +afternoon we also left, and were proceeding along the west bank, when +we met two Mackinaw[224] boats, which had been obtained for our +vessel by a boat which we had sent before. On the same bank we +suddenly saw three Omaha Indians, who crept slowly along. They were +clothed in buffalo robes, and had bows, with quivers made of skin, on +their backs. About the nose and eyes they were painted white.[225] + + [Illustration: Omaha Indians] + +Among these Indians there was a woman who had been severely wounded; +namely, the well-known Mitain, who is spoken of in Major Long's +"Travels to the Rocky Mountains," as an interesting instance of +maternal affection, but without mentioning her name. She and her child +had received many severe wounds, but were so fortunate as not to be +scalped.[226] The nearest village of the Omahas is twenty-five miles +from Belle Vue.[227] This country is the proper territory of this +tribe, which lives on both sides of the Missouri, from Boyer River to +Big Sioux River, and hunts further up to Jacques River, as well as +between Running Water River (l'eau qui court) and the La Platte. + +On the morning of the 4th of May, at half-past seven o'clock, the +thermometer was at 69¾°. We had all round us beautiful low prairie +hills, before which was alluvial land, thrown up by the [pg. 130] river, +covered with fine grass. The river had risen an inch during the night. +The noise and smoke of our steamer frightened all living creatures; +geese and ducks flew off in all directions. There was formerly a +village of the Joway Indians at this place, the inhabitants of which, +on the death of their chief, returned to their countrymen further +down. On the left bank there were whole tracts covered with dead +poplars, which had been killed by the fires caused by the Indians +in the forest and prairie. We soon saw the white buildings of Mr. +Cabanné's trading post, which we saluted with some guns, and then +landed. + +We were very glad to see, at the landing-place, a number of Omaha and +Oto Indians, and some few Joways, who, in different groups, looked at +us with much curiosity; all these people were wrapped in buffalo +skins, with the hairy side outwards; some of them wore blankets, which +they sometimes paint with coloured stripes. In their features they did +not materially differ from those Indians we had already seen, but they +were not so well formed as the Saukies. Many of them were much marked +with the small pox. Several had only one eye; their faces were marked +with red stripes: some had painted their foreheads and chins red; +others, only stripes down the cheeks. Few only had aquiline noses, and +their eyes were seldom drawn down at the corners; generally speaking, +their eyes are small, though there are exceptions. They wore their +hair loosely hanging down their backs; none had shaved their heads; +and, on the whole, they looked very dirty and miserable. The +countenances of the women were ugly, but not quite so broad and flat +as those of the Foxes and Saukies; their noses, in general, rather +longer. Their dress did not differ much from that of those Indians, +and they wore the same strings of wampum in their ears. The men +carried in their hands their tobacco pipes, made of red or black stone +(a hardened clay), adorned with rings of lead or tin, which they +generally obtain from the Sioux, at a high price. + +This trading post consists of a row of buildings of various sizes, +stores, and the houses of the _engagés_, married to Indian women, +among which was that of Mr. Cabanné, which is two stories high. He is +a proprietor of the American Fur Company, and director of this +station.[228] He received us very kindly, and conducted us over his +premises. From the balcony of his house was a fine view over the +river, but the prospect is still more interesting from the hills which +rise at the back of the settlement. Between the buildings runs a small +stream, with high banks, which rises from a pleasant valley, in which +there are plantations of maize for the support of the inhabitants. Mr. +Cabanné had planted fifteen acres of land with this invaluable grain, +which yield, annually, 2,000 bushels of that corn, the land here being +extremely fertile. The banks of the stream are covered with fine high +trees, and many of the plants were in flower, especially the beautiful +blue lychnis, the white oak, &c. A high wind prevailed throughout the +day, but, within doors, the weather was warm, 78° at four o'clock. Our +vessel remained here the whole day, and we were besieged all the time +by Indians, who caused a very disagreeable heat in our cabins. Among +[pg. 131] them was a Joway, called Nih-Yu-Máh-Ni (_la pluie qui +marche_), who sold us several articles of his dress. Mr. Bodmer made a +sketch of the boy of an Omaha, whom the father first daubed with red +paint. He took vermilion in the palm of the hand, spat upon it, and +then rubbed it in the boy's face. The head of this boy was shaved +quite smooth, excepting a tuft of hair in front, and another at the +back.[229] A number of men and women stood round, looking on with +eager curiosity. I showed the Indians a rattlesnake in brandy, and +they gave me to understand that a child had lately been bitten by one +of these animals, and died in consequence. The little child, lately +wounded by the Joways, was brought to us; the wounds, though they had +not been dressed and covered, were almost healed. + + [Illustration: An Omaha boy] + +We spent a very pleasant evening with Mr. Cabanné; sitting in the +balcony of his house, we enjoyed the delightful temperature and the +fine scene around us. The splendid sky was illumined by the full moon; +silence reigned around, interrupted only by the noise of the frogs, +and the incessant cry of the whip-poor-will, in the neighbouring +woods, till the Indians assembled round the house, and, at the request +of Mr. Cabanné, performed a dance. About twenty Omahas joined in it; +the principal dancer, a tall man, wore on his head an immense feather +cap, like those of the Camacans in Brazil, but larger and of less +elaborate workmanship, composed of long tail and wing feathers of owls +and birds of prey;[230] in his hand he held his bow and arrows. The +upper part of his body was covered only with a whitish skin, which +fell over the right shoulder and breast, and was adorned with bunches +of feathers; his arms, face, and the uncovered parts of his body, were +painted with white stripes and spots. His trousers were marked with +dark cross stripes, and trimmed at the ankles with a great quantity of +fringe. He also wore an apron. He had a savage and martial appearance, +to which his athletic figure greatly contributed. Another man, [pg. 132] +who was younger, of a very muscular frame--the upper part of whose +body was naked, but painted white--had in his hand a war club, striped +with white, ornamented at the handle with the skin of a polecat.[231] +He wore on his head a feather cap, like that already described. These +two men, and several youths and boys, formed a line, opposite to which +other Indians sat down in a row; in the middle of which row the drum +was beat in quick time. Several men beat time with war clubs hung with +bells; and the whole company (most of whom were painted white) sung, +"Hi! hi! hi!" or "Hey! hey! hey!" &c., sometimes shouting aloud. The +manner of the dance was thus: bending their bodies forward, they +leaped up with both feet at once, not rising high from the ground, and +stamped loudly, while the drum beat in quick time, and their arms were +rattled and occasionally lifted up into the air. Thus they leaped +opposite to each other, with great exertion, for about an hour; they +perspired violently, till the usual presents, a quantity of tobacco +stalks, were thrown on the ground before them. This dance was very +interesting to me, especially in connection with the beautiful evening +scene on the Missouri. The bright light of the moon illumined the +extensive and silent wilderness; before us, the grotesque band of +Indians, uttering their wild cry, together with the loud call of the +night raven, vividly recalled to my mind scenes which I had witnessed +in Brazil. We did not return to our vessel till late at night, after +taking leave of our kind host, and of Major Pilcher; the former was on +the point of returning to St. Louis, leaving the superintendence of +the trading post to Major Pilcher. + + [Illustration: Omaha war club] + +The Omahas, or, as some erroneously call them, Mahas, were formerly a +numerous tribe, but have been much reduced by frequent wars with their +neighbours; the smallpox, too, has committed dreadful ravages, and +there are now but few vigorous young men among them. Their language +differs from that of the Otos, Missouris, and Joways; there is, +however, an affinity between them. The best and most complete accounts +of the Omahas are given by Mr. Say in his Narrative of Major Long's +"Expedition to the Rocky Mountains," to which I would refer my +readers.[232] + +On the 5th of May, the Yellow Stone left Cabanné's trading house; the +weather was warm [pg. 133] and serene; we passed the mouth of Boyer's +Creek on the east bank, where the Missouri makes a bend, and saw the +ruins of the former cantonment, or fort, at Council Bluffs.[233] This +military post was established, in the year 1819, for 1,000 men, but, +in fact, there were now only 500 men of the regiment in garrison at +Jefferson barracks. In the year 1827, these troops were withdrawn and +stationed at Leavenworth; the fort, or, rather, the barracks, formed a +quadrangle, with a bastion or blockhouse, in two of the angles. At +present there were only the stone chimneys, and, in the centre, a +brick storehouse under roof. Everything of value had been carried away +by the Indians. We were told that numerous rattlesnakes are found +among the ruins. The situation of Council Bluffs is said to have been +much more favourable for observing the Indians than that at +Leavenworth; and it was even conjectured that this post will be again +occupied. The military station was at first placed a little further +inland, but the scurvy carried off 300 of the garrison in one winter. +Mr. Sandford, who had rejoined us, once found here the large grinders +of a mastodon, which are now in the possession of General Clarke, at +St. Louis. + +At twelve at noon, we ran aground, but happily sustained no damage, at +a dangerous place, where the left bank was blocked up with many snags, +and which is called the Devil's Race-ground. The country was low and +uniform till we again reached the hills, which were rather bare of +wood, but of grotesque form, and covered with a fine verdant carpet. +Near the mouth of the Soldier River, an _engagé_ met us, who brought +letters from the Assiniboin steamer. We went on pretty well till the +evening, when we got upon a sand bank, and then made the vessel fast +for the night; after which our people exerted themselves to get off +the bank, in the midst of a storm of thunder and lightning. + +The steamer was got afloat by daybreak on the 6th. On both sides there +was alluvial soil, thickly covered with willows and poplars, mixed, in +some places, with other trees. Here we saw, on a sand bank, two large +wolves, which seemed to look at us with surprise. The Omaha Indians +hunt on both banks of this part of the river; they are said to be the +most indolent, dull, unintellectual, and cowardly of the Missouri +Indians. At two in the afternoon we landed on the prairie, which was +covered with tall trees, and forty or fifty of our men immediately +began to hew down wood for fuel; there was abundance of grass, but not +a single flower, which was caused by the prairie having been set on +fire; black burnt wood was scattered about, and the ground itself was +discoloured in places by the effects of the fire. + +From this place the country becomes more and more level, and bare of +wood, and the eye roves over the boundless prairie. Behind a +willow-tree I saw some remains of Indian huts, in front of one of +which a pole was set up, with a piece of red cloth attached to the +top. The forest, which had been inundated, was likewise destitute of +flowers; numerous traces of stags were everywhere seen. During the +night a man deserted, whom Mr. Mc Kenzie had some time before put under +arrest for having uttered vehement threats. The 7th day of May, the +anniversary of our [pg. 134] departure from Germany, was very fine. We +soon reached the chain of hills on the left bank, at a place where the +yellow limestone rock was nearly perpendicular, and in which +innumerable swallows had built their nests; these are called Wood's +Hills, and do not extend very far. On one of them we saw a small, +conical mound, which is the grave of the celebrated Omaha chief, +Washinga-Sahba (the blackbird). In James's Narrative of Major Long's +Expedition, is a circumstantial account of this remarkable and +powerful chief, who was a friend to the white man: he contrived, by +means of arsenic, to make himself feared and dreaded, and passed for a +magician, because he put his enemies and rivals out of the way when it +suited him. An epidemical smallpox carried him off, with a great part +of his nation, in the year 1800, and he was buried, sitting upright +upon a live mule, at the top of a green hill on Wakonda Creek. When +dying, he gave orders that they should bury him on that hill, with his +face turned to the country of the white men.[234] The Omahas have been +since so reduced by their enemies, the Sioux, Saukies, and Foxes, that +they are now quite powerless and insignificant, not being able to +muster above 300 or 400 warriors. Washinga-Sahba was so feared by his +own people, that nobody ventured to wake him when he slept: it is said +that they used then to tickle his nose with a blade of grass. The +present chief of the Omahas is Ongpa-Tanga (the great elk), of whom +Godman, in his Natural History, has given a good portrait. He lives on +the Horn River, which falls into the La Platte, about twenty miles +above its mouth.[235] + +On the following day (the 8th of May) we came to Floyd's Grave, where +the sergeant of that name was buried by Lewis and Clarke. The bank on +either side is low. The left is covered with poplars; on the right, +behind the wood, rises a hill like the roof of a building, at the top +of which Floyd is buried. A short stick marks the place where he is +laid, and has often been renewed by travellers when the fires in the +prairie have destroyed it. A little further up is Floyd's River, and +on Floyd's Hills there were a few fir trees, over which the kite +hovered in the air.[236] About half a league beyond Floyd's River is +the mouth of the Big Sioux River, interesting from the circumstance of +its being the boundary of the territory of the Dacota, or Sioux +nation. Its breadth, at the mouth, is about sixty paces, and it is +said to be navigable by Mackinaw boats for 100 miles. About 120 miles +up this river, a tribe of the Sioux reside, which is known by the name +of Wahch-Pekuté; this, and another tribe of this people on the +Mississippi, and near Lake Pepin, are the only ones of their nation +who plant maize; all the other hordes of the Sioux are hunters. The +territory of these people formerly extended further to the south, till +the before-mentioned treaty for the purchase of land was concluded +with the Indians.[237] + +At noon, with a temperature of 75°, there was such a violent wind, +that the fine sand from the banks penetrated into the innermost parts +of our vessel; the broad river was so agitated by the wind, that the +pilot could not distinguish the sand banks, and we were obliged to lie +to. In a small meadow in the woods we saw the giant footsteps of the +elks, and likewise of the common [pg. 135] stag, which we would +willingly have followed had not a rising tempest compelled us to +return on board. Vivid lightning flashed in the horizon, the rain soon +poured down in torrents, and at night a storm arose which, at +midnight, raged with such fury, that we might have felt some alarm, +had not our vessel been so well protected by the bank. The storm +frequently forced open the doors of the upper cabin, and the rain beat +into the room. Towards daybreak the tempest returned with increased +violence; the flashes of lightning and the claps of thunder were +incessant during the twilight, and everybody thought that the vessel +must be struck. + +The 9th of May set in with rain, a cloudy sky, and high wind; the +thermometer, before so high, fell, at half-past seven o'clock, to 56°. +When the storm had passed over, our vessel quitted the place where it +had taken shelter. We passed along wild, desolate banks, then a green +prairie, by a chain of steep hills, partly bare, partly covered with +forests, or with isolated fir trees and picturesque ravines, with dark +shadows, into which the close thicket scarcely allowed the eye to +penetrate. We here saw, for the first time, a plant which now became +more and more common; namely, the buffalo-berry-bush (_Sheperdia +argentea_, Nutt.), with pale, bluish-green, narrow leaves. At the +mouth of the Joway River, which runs into the Missouri, on the south +bank, at a very acute angle, clay-slate appeared to stand out on the +bluffs, divided into narrow, horizontal strata, the lower of which +were blackish-blue, and those above of yellowish-red colour.[238] Our +hunters and wood-cutters landed, on which occasion we lost a hound, +which had strayed too far into the forest. Five or six hundred paces +further up, we saw, among the thickets of willow and poplar, an old +Indian wigwam,[239] near which the red willow, mixed with the common +willow, was in blossom. The thermometer, which had been at 56° in the +morning, rose at ten o'clock, when the sun broke through the clouds. +We frequently observed the wild geese, which endeavoured to take their +young, of which they never had more than four or six, to some place on +shore, where they would be safe from us. When we came very near, the +mother fluttered anxiously to a little distance, and called them to +her. + +We continued our voyage, but soon lay to at the prairie, on the right +bank, because Mr. Mc Kenzie wished to form a plantation at this place. +The whole plain was covered with high, dry grass. On the bank of the +river there was a fine border of tall timber trees, in which the +turtle-dove cooed, and flocks of blackbirds were flying about. The +hills of the prairie were covered with the finest verdure, and the +singular forms of the hills afforded us an interesting subject of +observation on the otherwise uniform appearance of the country. We +halted for the night near the high trees that bordered the prairie, +where there were numbers of ducks and plovers. As soon as it was dark, +the young men set fire to the dry grass of the prairie, to give us the +pleasure of seeing how the fire spread, but the attempt did not fully +succeed, because there was [pg. 136] no wind. Mr. Mc Kenzie left some men +here, with agricultural implements, to make a plantation; among them +was one François Roi, of Rheims, whose name gave occasion to many +innocent jokes, and we deliberated what name should be given to the +kingdom he was going to found. + +On the following day, the 10th, we had been exactly four weeks since +we left St. Louis. At the spot where we now were, it is said that +large herds of buffaloes are seen in the winter, but we had not yet +met with one of these animals. The character of the country was much +changed; it is, for the most part, naked, and without woods. The trees +which are found here are no longer lofty and vigorous, as on the Lower +Missouri; yet the wild vines are still seen climbing on the bushes, +though this, too, entirely ceases further up the river. Near the mouth +of Vermilion Creek, the green hills of the prairie approach very near +the water; and here we saw, on the back of one of the hills, a grave +surrounded with poles, which was that of some Sioux Indians, who had +been killed by lightning in a violent thunder-storm. At the mouth of +the stream we saw wild ducks and geese, of which a pair of the latter, +with six young ones, anxiously endeavoured to escape us. The female +remained faithfully with her young ones, while the male flew away. + +The morning of the following day (the 11th of May) brought us to the +mouth of Jacques River, which was concealed from our view by a sand +bank. The steep banks, which in Lewis and Clarke's map are called +Calumet Bluffs, have deep ravines, and are of an ash-grey colour at +the base, and yellow above. We reached the island called by those +travellers Sego Island, where we found very little water, and then +came to Lewis and Clarke's White Bear Bluffs, of which Mr. Bodmer made +a drawing.[240] At noon the thermometer was at 63°. After dinner we +saw, at a distance, the Assiniboin steamer, with which we came up in +half an hour. It had not been able to proceed any further for want of +a sufficient depth of water. After we had saluted the master of the +vessel, Mr. Pratte, son of the General of that name at St. Louis, and +a member of the American Fur Company, we went on board his +vessel.[241] In this steamer there were two cabins, much lighter and +more pleasant than those in the Yellow Stone; the stern cabin had ten +berths, and the fore cabin twenty-four, and between decks was the +large apartment distinct for the _engagés_. The crew had lately killed +a she-bear--the young ones were alive on board. While we were visiting +the Assiniboin, we suddenly perceived, on the left or southern bank, +a number of Indians, between fifteen and twenty of whom rolled down +the hills. As our people did not seem very desirous of having anything +to do with them, and contented themselves with looking at them through +a telescope, we took advantage of the fine weather to make an +excursion into the prairie. + +The chain of hills, bounding the valley of the Missouri on the north, +crossed the verdant prairie, in a straight line, at a distance of +about 1,000 paces from the river. The appearance of this chain was +singular, with perpendicular, yellow, calcareous walls, which +indicated that the [pg. 137] river must, formerly, have flowed in that +direction; and the cylindrical hollow marked the ancient bed of the +river. In the prairie itself there were many pools of water, and we +found several interesting plants, among which were some with long +roots like carrots, especially the yellow flowering _Batschia +longiflora_ (Pursh.), and the _Oxitropis Lamberti B._ The great +yellow-breasted lark (_Sturnella_, Vieill.), was everywhere seen in +pairs, and its short, coy call, and its pleasing, whistling note, were +heard from every side. Besides these, we saw the prairie hen, and the +great long-billed curlews (_Numenius longirostris_), of which we shall +speak hereafter. Skeletons of buffaloes were scattered in the plain, +especially many skulls, but very few of which were entire. + +When I returned to the vessel, I found there three Punca Indians, the +chief of the tribe Shudegacheh,[242] his brother Passitopa,[243] and +Ha-cha-ga. They were all robust, good-looking men, tall, and +well-proportioned, with strongly-marked features, high cheek-bones, +aquiline noses, and animated dark hazel eyes. Their hair hung down as +far as the shoulders, and part of it lower; that of the chief was +shorter, and fastened together in a plait. The upper part of the body +of these Indians was naked, only they wore round the neck an +ornamented band, and had a large slit in their ears: from those of the +chief an ornament of shell work was suspended. His beard below the +chin consisted of scanty hairs, which had been suffered to grow very +long.[244] They wore a narrow bracelet of white metal round the wrist, +very plain, leather pantaloons, and large buffalo robes; the chief, +however, was wrapped in a white blanket. + +The Puncas, as they are now universally called, or as some travellers +formerly called them, Poncaras, or Poncars, the Pons of the French, +were originally a branch of the Omahas, and speak nearly the same +language. They have, however, been long separated from them, and dwell +on both sides of Running-water River, and on Punca Creek, which Lewis +and Clarke call Poncara. They formerly lived, like the Omahas, in clay +huts, at the mouth of the river, but their powerful enemies, the Sioux +and the Pawnees, destroyed their villages, and they have since adopted +the mode of life of the former, living more generally in tents made of +skins, and changing their place from time to time. Their external +appearance and dress do not much differ from those of the Omahas. They +are said to have been brave warriors, but have been greatly reduced by +war and the smallpox. According to Dr. Morse's report, they numbered, +in 1822, 1,750 in all; at present the total amount of their warriors +is estimated at about 300.[245] The band of them, which [pg. 138] we +met with here, has set up eight or nine leather tents, at the mouth +of Basil Creek,[246] on a fine forest.[247] They plant maize, which +they sell to the Sioux, but they had neglected to cultivate this grain +for about three years, and obtained it from the Omahas; they, however, +intended to grow it again themselves. + +As Major Bean was agent of the Puncas, they came to speak to him. The +chief had formerly received, through the agent, a large silver medal +of President Madison, which he wore suspended round his neck. On the +face of all these medals, which are given as a distinction to the +Indian chiefs, there is the bust of the President, and, on the +reverse, two clasped hands, with a suitable inscription.[248] +Shudegacheh had a remarkably intelligent countenance, and fine manly +deportment. He sat down by us, and smoked, with his comrades, the only +pipe that they had with them; but, according to Indian custom, several +pipes soon circulated in the company. The evening was very cool, and, +as some of the Indians had no leggins, we took them into our cabin, +where their portraits were drawn, after they had been regaled with +pork, bread, and tea, which Mr. Mc Kenzie gave them. One of the Indians +made me a present of his wooden war-club, which was painted +reddish-brown;[249] another, with a pair of shoes, made of elk +leather, which were dyed black with the juice of white walnut. These +people were not armed, as they had come merely on a visit, and had +left their best effects behind. Among them was a French Canadian, +named Primeau, who has long lived among them. He acted as +interpreter, and communicated to me some words of the Punca +language.[250] + + [Illustration: Punca war club] + +The morning of the 12th of May was cold, there having been a hoar +frost during the night. The Indians sat upon the bank, wrapped in +their buffalo skins, as represented in the subjoined woodcut.[251] + + [Illustration: Punca Indians in buffalo robes] + +[pg. 139] While the Yellow Stone remained stationary, the Assiniboin +attempted to pass the shallow place on the river, during which time +the hunters went into the prairie. The Indians had a conference with +their agent, in which the chief expressed a wish that their great +father (the President) would send them several articles, particularly +agricultural implements. The attitude and gestures of the speaker were +graceful; his right arm and shoulder were bare, while he gesticulated +with his hand; and his fine, manly countenance was very expressive. As +he had not put on his leggins, we observed, on his muscular calves, +two tattooed stripes crossing each other, X; otherwise, he was neither +tattooed nor painted. Some of these Indians had been inoculated with +the smallpox by a surgeon, whom Major Bean had taken to them the year +before, and who had inoculated 2,600 Indians of different tribes. Many +of them had manifested distrust on this occasion; and, when he offered +to perform the operation, said, "Now we are well; if we should become +sick it will be time enough to submit to the operation." Shudegacheh +had on the upper part of his arm a large, round scar, which he is said +to have burnt into his flesh with his tobacco-pipe, on the death of a +relation. Major Bean presented to the Indians, in the name of the +Government, tobacco, powder, and ball, and the chief received a fine +blanket. Mr. Mc Kenzie observed to him, that "the Puncas furnished +too few skins, and did not plant maize enough; it was not possible +to purchase anything of them;" to which he replied, that "there was no +unity among his people; that they lived too scattered, and, therefore, +he could not superintend them, and keep them to work." At noon, the +thermometer being at 67°, our hunters returned, without having seen +anything of consequence, except a couple of large curlews. The boats, +which had been sent out to take soundings, likewise came back, and +great exertions were made to lighten the steamer, by transferring part +of the cargo to the Maria keel-boat. At length, at two o'clock, we +were able to weigh anchor, and run awhile down the river, which was +done with such rapidity that the Indians became giddy, and sat down on +the floor. In this manner we turned round a sand bank, and proceeded +upwards, along the south coast of the river, and in twenty minutes +were opposite the huts of the Punca Indians. They lay in the shade of +a forest, like white cones, and, in front of them, a sand bank +extended into the river, which was separated from the land by a narrow +channel. The whole troop was assembled on the edge of the bank, and it +was amusing to see how the motley group crowded together, wrapped in +brown buffalo skins, white and red blankets--some naked, of a deep +brown colour. The little children, with their protuberant +bellies,[252] and their legs, of a dark brown colour, carrying bows +and arrows in their hands, were running along the beach, or cowering +like little monkeys, while the men walked about, very gravely, with +their weapons in their hands. We landed our Indian visitors on the +sand bank; the boat brought back some skins, and we afterwards saw +Primeau, with the Indians, wade through [pg. 140] the channel. A little +further up we witnessed a great prairie fire, on the left bank. The +flames rose from the forest to the height of 100 feet--fiery smoke +filled the air: it was a splendid sight! A whirlwind had formed a +remarkable towering column of smoke, which rose, in a most singular +manner, in graceful undulations, to the zenith. Afterwards we came to +steep hills, behind which is Manoel's Creek, so called from Manoel +Lisa, a Spaniard, who formerly carried on the fur trade in these +parts.[253] Towards evening we were near the Assiniboin steamer, which +lay before us, and halted in the vicinity of Basil Creek, where the +Puncas formerly dwelt, numbers of whose graves are seen upon the +hills. The trunks of trees in the river had much injured our paddles. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[209] Lewis and Clark apply this term with different orthography +(Waucarba, wacandda) to the island above Fort Leavenworth now known as +Kickapoo. The river is here compressed into a narrow space, above +which it widens considerably. See Thwaites, _Original Journals of the +Lewis and Clark Expedition_, i, p. 64.--ED. + +[210] For this detachment under Captain Martin, see our volume xiv, p. +175.--ED. + +[211] The creek was so named by Lewis and Clark because its mouth was +passed by them on July 4, 1804. It is a small stream entering the +Missouri near the boundaries of Doniphan and Atchison counties, +Kansas. According to Lewis and Clark this was the second old Kansa +village, the first being just above Kickapoo Island. If the Spanish +ever had a post in this vicinity, it must have been in the capacity of +succeeding (after 1764) to the possession of the old French post among +the Kansa Indians. See on this subject, _Original Journals of the +Lewis and Clark Expedition_, i, pp. 64-68, and notes.--ED. + +[212] Joseph Robidoux, whose trading post was on the site of the +future city of St. Joseph, which took its name from its founder. The +Robidoux were a family of fur-traders. The father, Joseph, came from +Montreal to Kaskaskia, and having won a competence removed to St. +Louis, where at his house the first territorial legislature of +Missouri met in 1812. Joseph, jr., was born in 1783, and early entered +the fur-trade. Lewis and Clark met "young Mr. Robidoux" on their +return journey (1806), and scrutinized his license with some +suspicion. Lewis also complained of the loyalty of the elder trader, +saying that he enticed the Indians from their allegiance to the United +States. The younger Robidoux lived for many years at the post where +Maximilian met him--in 1868 dying at this place, where the city had +already sprung up around him. See sketch in Joseph Tasse, _Canadiens +du Nord-Ouest_ (Montreal, 1878), ii, p. 131.--ED. + +[213] The Joways had exchanged their blankets and other effects for +brandy. White settlers have already established themselves fifteen or +sixteen miles within the Indian territory, who make whisky, and sell +it excessively cheap to the Indians, by which these people are ruined. +The distance is only eight miles from Roubedoux trading house to the +Little Platte River; and between these two rivers and the high land, +is the village of the Joways.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[214] This is, doubtless, the same river which Bradbury, in his +_Travels_, calls Naduet River.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[215] For Captain Martin see James's _Long's Expedition_, in our +volume xiv, p. 175, note 142. Maximilian would here appear to be +confused. Martin passed the winter of 1818 to 1819 on Cow Island (see +note 208, _ante_, p. 256). He had, however, a hunting camp in this +vicinity.--ED. + +[216] For the Oto, see Bradbury's _Travels_, our volume v, p. 74, note +42.--ED. + +[217] Morgan's Island is just below Nemaha City, in the Nebraska +county of the same name. Probably it took its title from Colonel +Willoughby Morgan, for whom see our volume xiv, p. 178, note 146. The +trading post has not been identified, unless it were that of Crooks +and McClellan, who once (1810-11) wintered in this region. See +Brackenridge's _Journal_, volume vi of our series, p. 71.--ED. + +[218] Lewis and Clark found the passage across the narrows at this +point but 300 yards. Changes have since occurred in the beds of both +rivers. See our volume xiv, p. 217, note 166. The range of hills was +aptly designated by the explorers as Bald Pated Prairie.--ED. + +[219] Weeping Water Creek is a small stream paralleling the Platte in +Cass County, Nebraska. The French form was "l'eau qui pleure." + +Five Barrel Islands are laid down on early maps; with changes in the +river's bed, they are now swept away.--ED. + +[220] For a brief sketch of Fontenelle, see our volume xiv, p. 275, +note 196.--ED. + +[221] See Brackenridge's _Journal_, in our volume vi, p. 76, for the +origin of this name. The Indian name of the chief--an Oto--is given by +Lewis and Clark as "Sarnanona."--ED. + +[222] In the Appendix there is an account of this +purchase.--MAXIMILIAN. _Comment by Ed._ See our volume xxiv. + +[223] The first trading post in this locality (with possible +exceptions for the Spanish régime) was that of Crooks and McClellan, +who in 1810 built a "wintering establishment" here, which was +abandoned the following spring--see Bradbury and Brackenridge (1811). +Shortly after, Manuel Lisa built his well-known Fort Lisa, some +sixteen miles above Bellevue, which continued to be the prominent post +of the vicinity (see James's _Long's Expedition_, our volume xiv, p. +221), near which the Yellowstone Expedition built Engineer Cantonment +for the winter of 1819-20. The Missouri Fur Company, under Joshua +Pilcher, who succeeded Lisa as president, removed from Fort Lisa to +the site of Bellevue about 1823. It was this post that Fontenelle +bought out, and turned over to the American Fur Company when he became +their agent. The post was for many years in command of Peter Sarpy. +The Indian agency was officially entitled "Council Bluffs at +Bellevue." In 1849 a postoffice was established here, and the village +incorporated in 1854; some of the post buildings remained until 1870. +Bellevue is now a village in Sarpy County, of which it was the capital +until 1875.--ED. + +[224] Mackinaw boats are strong, open vessels, made of a light wood, +in which goods are conveyed on the rivers of the Northern and Western +States.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[225] See opposite page for illustration of Omaha Indians.--ED. + +[226] See our volume xv, pp. 27-33. This woman was the Indian wife of +Manuel Lisa. See Chittenden, _Fur-Trade_, i, pp. 133-135. Judge Walter +B. Douglas, of St. Louis, furnishes the following facts concerning +Lisa's daughter, who was educated among the whites. She married a +Baptist minister named Ely, and reared a considerable family, dying +recently at Trenton, Illinois, a small town not far from St. +Louis.--ED. + +[227] For the Omaha Indians see our volume v, p. 86, note 49.--ED. + +[228] Jean Pierre Cabanné was born in Pau, France, in 1773. After +receiving good education he came to America--first to New Orleans, +later to St. Louis, where he married (1797) Julie Gratiot, whose +sister was the wife of Pierre Chouteau. For many years he was member +of the firm of Chouteau and Pratte, thus acquiring an interest in the +American Fur Company. The family home at St. Louis was the seat of a +pleasant hospitality; but like many of the chief fur-traders, Cabanné +spent part of each year in the Indian country, where he was head of +the department centering near Council Bluffs. He left this post about +the time of Maximilian's visit, owing to difficulty with a rival +trader, Le Clerc, who had appealed to the courts. Cabanné died in St. +Louis in 1841. His post was nine or ten miles by land above the +present site of Omaha.--ED. + +[229] See p. 269, for illustration of an Omaha boy.--ED. + +[230] Not only these feather caps are pretty similar to those in +Brazil, but also the chief instrument of the conjurors, or physicians +(medicine men)--schischikue, as it is called--a calabash with a +handle, in which there are small stones to rattle. The Omahas, and all +the other North American tribes, use it exactly in the same manner as +the Brazilians.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[231] See p. 269, for illustration of an Omaha war-club.--ED. + +[232] See our volume xiv, pp. 288-321; and xv, pp. 11-136.--ED. + +[233] For Boyer River, see our volume xiv, p. 221, note 174. + +This fort at Council Bluffs was not on the site of the Iowa town of +that name, but some miles higher up the river, on the Nebraska bank, +near the village now known as Fort Calhoun, in Washington County. The +name was first applied to the bluffs by Lewis and Clark, who held here +(1804) an important council with chiefs of neighboring tribes. The +United States post was built by a detachment under Colonel Henry +Atkinson, when embarked on the famous Yellowstone expedition of 1819. +The means of transportation proving inadequate, the troops never +reached the Yellowstone, but formed at this point Camp Missouri, where +during the winter of 1819-20 much sickness prevailed. The fort was +finally christened Atkinson, for its founder, and was so known to the +government. The local name was Fort Calhoun--whether in honor of the +then secretary of war, or for a soldier who was the first to be here +buried, is disputed. On the building of Fort Leavenworth, the troops +were removed thither. See note 204, _ante_, p. 253.--ED. + +[234] For Blackbird, see Bradbury's _Travels_, in our volume v, p. 86; +Brackenridge's _Journal_, in our volume vi, pp. 81, 82; and James's +_Long's Expedition_, in our volume xiv, pp. 315-320.--ED. + +[235] For Big Elk, see our volume v, p. 90, note 52; also xv, p. 320. + +Dr. John D. Godman (1794-1830) was a Marylander who in 1814 +participated in the defense of Fort McHenry. Later studying medicine, +he was a professor of anatomy at several colleges, retiring finally to +Germantown, Pennsylvania, where he devoted himself to scientific +pursuits. His best known work was _American Natural History_ +(Philadelphia, 1828). + +By Horn River our author intends Elkhorn, for which see our volume +xiv, p. 240, note 182.--ED. + +[236] For Floyd, see our volume v, p. 91, note 56; also _Original +Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition_, i, p. 114.--ED. + +[237] For the Big Sioux River, see our volume vi, p. 85, note 30. This +branch of the Dakota (or Sioux), mentioned by Maximilian, is known as +the Wahpekute, one of the two components of the Santee band of the +Sioux. Together with the Mdewakantonwan or Spirit Lake band, they were +the Sioux first known to Europeans, being designated by Hennepin as +Issati. Their habitat was the upper waters of the Mississippi, and the +St. Peter's (Minnesota) River. They wandered toward the Big Sioux +River, which was made the boundary by the treaty of 1825 at Prairie du +Chien--William Clark and Lewis Cass, commissioners. In this treaty the +Big Sioux River is designated as the Calumet, probably because of the +proximity of its source to the red pipestone quarries of southwestern +Minnesota.--ED. + +[238] Iowa Creek, a small stream running nearly parallel to the +Missouri in Dixon County, Nebraska. Lewis and Clark speak of the +peculiar appearance of the bluff at this place, calling the creek +"Rologe."--ED. + +[239] Wigwam is the name given to the Indian huts. The word comes from +the Ojibua language, in which uikiuam signifies hut. This word has +been corrupted, and applied by the whites to the habitations of all +the Indian tribes.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[240] The James (or Dakota) River rises just south of Devil's Lake in +Wells and Fargo counties, North Dakota, and flows nearly south into +the Missouri. Its French name was Rivière à Jacques. Calumet Bluff is +just above its mouth, nearly opposite Yankton, South Dakota. The term +"Sego Island" does not occur in the Lewis and Clark text, nor has the +name been preserved to the present day. They named White Bear Cliff +for an animal of that kind killed in one of its holes. It was on the +north bank, three or four miles above Yankton.--ED. + +[241] For Bernard Pratte, sr., see our volume xv, p. 193, note 71. In +addition, these facts of his life may be stated. Born at Ste. +Geneviève in 1772, he went to St. Louis when twenty-one years of age, +and entered the fur-trade, marrying (1794) Emilie Labbadie, niece of +Pierre Chouteau, sr. During the War of 1812-15, he was in command of +an expedition which proceeded against Fort Madison; later was +appointed territorial judge, and in Monroe's administration receiver +of public moneys at St. Louis. He died April 1, 1836, respected by the +entire community. + +Bernard Pratte, jr., was born in upper Louisiana, December 17, 1803. +He was sent to Kentucky to be educated, and upon his return embarked +in the fur-trade with his father. Being particularly interested in +navigation, he went on the "Yellowstone's" early voyages, in this +instance taking command of the "Assiniboine;" see his recollections in +J. T. Scharf, _History of St. Louis_ (Philadelphia, 1883), i, p. 675. +He was a member of the Missouri assembly in 1838, and mayor of St. +Louis for two terms (1844-46). In 1850 he retired to a farm near +Jonesboro', Montgomery County, where he died in 1887.--ED. + +[242] This name signifies "the smoker." The French Canadians generally +call this chief Le Boucan, because smoke has that name among +them.--MAXIMILIAN. + +_Comment by Ed._ This Indian was also painted by Catlin. See +Smithsonian Institution _Report_, 1885, ii, p. 64. + +[243] The word Passitopa signifies the number "four." This brother of +the chief is known from the circumstance of his having shot an Indian, +who sought the life of a white man, who was his friend. Mr. Bodmer +drew the portraits of the two brothers, which are very like. He has +succeeded particularly in that of Shudegacheh.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[244] For this portrait which Maximilian calls "a good resemblance" +see Plate 40, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + +[245] For the Ponca, and their present numbers, see our volume v, p. +96, note 63.--ED. + +[246] Now known as Bazile Creek, in Knox County, Nebraska. It flows +into the Missouri just east of Niobrara. Lewis and Clark called it +White Paint Creek.--ED. + +[247] See Plate 11, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + +[248] In the portrait referred to in note 242, _ante_, the chief wears +this medal on his breast. Similar medals were carried by Lewis and +Clark; see Townsend's _Narrative_, in our volume xxi, p. 363, note +133.--ED. + +[249] See p. 269 for illustration of Ponca war-club.--ED. + +[250] Probably Charles Primeau, a fur-trader in the employ of the +American Fur Company--later (1845), setting up in opposition to the +company. Consult _Larpenteur's Journal_, i, p. 227.--ED. + +[251] See opposite page for illustration of Ponca Indians in buffalo +robes.--ED. + +[252] The children of the North Americans resemble, in all respects, +those of the Brazilians; I have mentioned the same circumstance of the +Tapuyas of eastern Brazil, in the account of my travels in that +country.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[253] For Manuel Lisa, see our volume v, p. 97, note 64. This creek, +now called Emanuel, is in Bonhomme County, South Dakota, just above +Springfield.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XII + +VOYAGE FROM L'EAU QUI COURT TO FORT PIERRE, ON THE TETON RIVER (THE +LITTLE MISSOURI), AND STAY THERE, FROM MAY 13TH TO JUNE 4TH + + Running-water River (l'eau qui court)--Punca Creek--Remarkable + Mountains--Cedar Island--Delay caused by the insufficient Depth + of the Water--First Sight of Buffaloes and Antelopes--Burning + Mountain--Black Strata of bituminous Coal--Bijoux Hills--Prairie + Dogs--Shannon, or Dry River--White River--Ruins of Cedar + Fort--Fort Look-out (Sioux Agency)--Visit to it--The Dacotas of + the Branch of the Yanktons--Wahktageli--Big Bend, or Grand + Détour--Medicine Hills--Teton River--Fort Pierre--Stay + there--The Tetons, a branch of the Dacotas or Sioux. + + +On the morning of the 13th of May, the Yellow Stone passed the mouth +of the Running-water River (l'eau qui court),[254] when the +thermometer was at 55°. The Assiniboin was before us. We reached the +mouth of Punca Creek, which runs along the chain of hills obliquely to +the Missouri. At the time when the Puncas separated from the Omahas, +they built a kind of fort of earth, some miles up this river, which, +however, they no longer occupy. There are said to be hot springs in +the neighbourhood, such as are known to exist in several places on the +banks of the Missouri.[255] Springs of any kind are, however, very +rare in these dry prairies. In this neighbourhood are many villages +of the prairie dogs (_Arctomys ludoviciana_, Ord.), in the abandoned +burrows of which, rattlesnakes abound. It has been affirmed that these +two species of animals live peaceably together in these burrows; but +observers of nature have proved that the snakes take possession of +abandoned burrows only, which is in the usual course of things. Deep +[pg. 142] gullies traverse the summits of the banks, above which the +turkey buzzards were hovering. On a sudden, three Punca Indians +appeared and hailed us; they were wrapped in their buffalo skins, and +carried their bows and arrows on their shoulders. One of them had a +very singular appearance, having bound up the hair of his head, so +that it stood quite upright. Though they made signs to us to take them +on board, we did not stop, but renounced the pleasure of more closely +observing these interesting people. The trees on the edge of the +prairie, by which we passed, were old, thick, and low, with their +summits depressed and cramped. They were the resort of the Carolina +pigeon, which is found all along the banks of the river. The red +cedars, in particular, were stunted and crippled, often thicker than a +man's body in the trunk, and very frequently wholly withered. The +swallows' nests--numbers of which were built against the steep +banks--were not yet inhabited. We were unable, on account of the +shallowness, to reach a fine grove of poplars on the right bank, and +proceeded along the hills of the left bank, which were seventy or +eighty feet in height, where the red cedar abounded, and we stopped to +fell a number of these trees. A wild lateral ravine here opened to the +Missouri, up the steep sides of which our wood-cutters climbed, and +cut down the cedars, which were loaded with their black berries. The +wood of this tree emits a very aromatic scent, and it is much used by +the steam-boats for fuel, because it supplies a great deal of steam, +and the berries, as we were told, are eaten by the Indians for +certain medicinal purposes. At the bottom of the narrow ravine, there +was a thicket of elm, cedar, bird-cherry, clematis, celtis, celastrus, +vine, and other shrubs; and the neighbouring lofty verdant hills of +the prairie produced many beautiful plants, among which was _Stanleya +pinnatifida_, with its splendid long bunches of yellow flowers. +Returning to our vessel, when the bell gave the signal for departure, +we found one of the three Punca Indians whom we had seen in the +morning. He had taken advantage of our slow progress to overtake us. +His hair hung down to his shoulders, and was tied together in a queue. +His countenance was good-natured and friendly; he wore a buffalo robe, +had a bow and arrows on his back, and, in his hand, a large hussar +sabre, which he had received as a present. Major Bean gave him some +tobacco, powder, lead, and ball; and after he had satisfied his +craving appetite he returned, well satisfied, to his comrades. In the +afternoon the country was by no means attractive, rather flat, and not +so verdant; our vessel sustained many violent shocks. The chain of +hills, in the distance, appeared in more and more singular forms, +partly resembling ramparts and batteries, and then again perfectly +flat, like table-land. An isolated, round, conical eminence, which is +called the Tower, stands on them.[256] On the bank were, again, +singularly stunted woods and thickets, probably kept down by the cold +winds of the prairie. The soil and the whole character of the country +was changed; on the Lower Missouri it was a black mould, and very +fertile. Cedars flourished here, growing to the height of forty or +fifty feet, yet they were often withered, or, at least, many had dry +branches on their summits. + +[pg. 143] On the following morning, the 14th, we had a very difficult +navigation, and were even obliged to put back, so that the Assiniboin +overtook and passed us, and we followed it up the river on the north +bank, and afterwards landed forty men to lighten the vessel; ran +happily over a sand bank, and again passed the Assiniboin. In the +preceding year, the whole prairie was seen from the steamer to be +covered with herds of buffaloes, but now there were no living +creatures, except a few wild geese and ducks, which had likewise +become scarce, since the termination of the great forest below the La +Platte River. The monotony of this rude landscape was, however, soon +interrupted by the appearance of a canoe, in which were four white men +rowing down the river. A boat was speedily manned, into which Mr. +Mc Kenzie and Mr. Sandford went, well armed, in order to speak to them, +because they were supposed to be _engagés_ of the Company who were +deserting. We were informed by them, that the Arikkaras, a dangerous +Indian tribe, had lately murdered three beaver hunters, one of whom +was a man named Glass, well known in the country, of whom I shall have +occasion to speak in the sequel.[257] + +Upon an island, to which we came, was a real wilderness; the beavers +had formed a kind of abattis, by felling poplars; another island was +remarkable because there is a hot spring opposite to it, on the main +land, the water of which has no mineral taste. On the left bank, about +five or six miles below Cedar Island, we observed the remains of +Indian huts. Mr. Mc Kenzie had met here, in the preceding year, a camp +of the Punca Indians. On the steep banks were coloured stripes, or +regular strata; some black, doubtless bituminous coal, others reddish +brown, and, in several places, burnt black. Some parts had burnt very +lately, and, in many places, had fallen in. Unhappily we were not able +more closely to examine these remarkable strata. We fastened the +vessel for the night to the western coast; and the lightning was very +brilliant. + +On the following day, the 15th of May, we saw in the thickets, behind +which the prairie extended, many traces of an Indian camp; heads of +elks, stags, and other animals, were scattered about; the marks of +horses' feet were everywhere visible; and a practicable trodden path +led through the thickets. At noon, when the thermometer was at 77°, +the Assiniboin again passed us, and, with the keel-boat Maria, +vanished from our sight. At four in the afternoon, we reached the +place where we had stopped the preceding night, with the help of the +keel-boat, which had returned, and at length succeeded in getting +forward; but again had a storm of thunder and lightning. The whole +country, beyond the banks, consisted of hills, rising one above the +other; some covered with verdure, some of a yellowish colour, mostly +without life and variety. While the lightning flashed from the dense +black clouds, we again overtook the Assiniboin, which had landed its +wood-cutters to fell some cedars on the steep mountain. We, too, +landed 300 paces further up, to cut down cedars for fuel. At this +place there was the narrow deep ravine of a small stream, now dry, in +which we caught a pale yellow bat, and saw some snakes, and the +scattered bones of buffaloes. We climbed from the bottom of the ravine +up the singular [pg. 144] eminences of the prairie, and collected some +interesting plants, particularly the wild turnip. Two species of +cactus were not yet in blossom; they are, probably, not sufficiently +known to botanists. One of them has been taken for the _Cactus +opuntia_; and Captain Back,[258] too, says, that it is found on an +island in the Lake of the Woods; but this is certainly not the +above-named plant. On the highest elevation above the river, we +enjoyed a remarkably fine prospect, while the sky was darkened by +black thunder clouds. Around us was the amphitheatre of +singularly-formed mountain-tops; at our feet lay the fine broad river, +intersected by innumerable sand banks, which plainly showed us the +difficulties of our navigation. On the banks, at so great a distance +from the dwellings of civilized men, were two large vessels emitting +volumes of steam. We were lost in the contemplation of this vast +wilderness, when the bell summoned us on board. Our people had found a +channel with five feet water, but it was so dark and foggy, that we +were obliged to lie to early. + +On the following morning, the 16th of May, having passed a village of +the prairie dogs, we reached, at nine o'clock, the Cedar Island, which +is said to be 1,075 miles from the mouth of the Missouri.[259] On the +steep banks of this long narrow island, which lies near the south-west +bank, there were thickets of poplars, willows, and buffalo berry; the +rest of the island is covered with a dark forest of red cedars, of +which we immediately felled a good number. Their beautiful +violet-coloured wood is traversed towards the edge by white veins, and +is found very fit for ship-building. We crossed, with great pleasure, +this wilderness of lofty cedars, the rough bark of which peels off of +itself, and hangs down in long slips; many of them were withered, +others broken and thrown down, or lying on the ground, covered with +moss and lichens. The notes of numerous birds were heard in the gloom +of this cedar forest, into which no ray of the sun could penetrate. +Here, too, we found everywhere traces of the elks and stags, and saw +where they had rubbed off the bark with their antlers. This may be +considered as the limit to which the wild turkey extends on the +Missouri. It is true that this bird is, now and then, found higher up, +even on the Yellow Stone River; but these are exceptions, for beyond +this place the woods are too open and exposed. The Indians, on the +Upper Missouri, very readily barter for the tails of these fine birds, +to use them as fans and ornaments, and Mr. Mc Kenzie, accordingly, took +a good supply with him. + +On account of the high wind we were obliged to stop longer than we +intended at Cedar Island, and took advantage of the delay to send out +our hunters with their fowling-pieces. They brought back some birds, +and a quadruped which was new to me. The wood-cutters had found, in a +hollow tree, a nest of the large wood-rat, with four young ones. This +fine animal has a tuft of hair at the end of its tail, and sometimes +the whole tail is covered with hair. In colour and shape it resembles +our Norway rat, and has not yet been mentioned as found on the +Missouri, unless a couple of passages in Lewis and Clarke's Travels, +which say, "very large rats were found here," refer to it. + +[pg. 145] On the morning of the 17th we saw the first antelopes, or +cabris, half a dozen of which fled over the hills, but at so great a +distance that we could not well distinguish them; we, however, +subsequently had the pleasure of seeing one of these animals stop so +long on the summit of the bank that we could very plainly observe it +nearer at hand. It gazed for a long time at the steamer, appeared to +be alarmed, trotted away, then stopped again, and disappeared behind +the hills. The antelope becomes more and more common in this part of +the country, and we saw several to-day, but the wishes of our hunters +were disappointed. The Indians use the skin of these animals for +clothing, but they are not very eager in the chase of the antelope, +except where the buffalo is scarce. As, on sounding the channel, only +four feet of water were found, the steamer was moored to the bank, and +we took our fowling-pieces. With difficulty we penetrated through the +thickets of poplar and willow on the bank, where the large tracks of +the elks and of the Virginian deer were everywhere deeply imprinted in +the soft soil. We then reached the prairie, which is perfectly level, +and extends for 300 or 400 paces to the hills. It was covered with +high grass, and clusters of many different plants. Our people +traversed the prairies in all directions, looking for the pomme +blanche, which was very common. Near the thickets we saw the pretty +Carolina pigeon, seeking its food on the ground, but, when we +approached, all the birds immediately flew out of the prairie, and +sought refuge in the recesses of the thickets. We had a fine, +starlight, cool evening. + +On the 18th we saw the first buffaloes that we had met with on this +voyage. Several of our hunters were immediately landed to pursue them. +They ascended into a ravine, and disappeared behind the hills. We also +landed, at noon, when the thermometer was at 68°. Beyond the thickets +on the bank, there were some old isolated trees in the prairie, in +which, as well as in the tall plants, bushes, and grass, there were +numerous birds. During the day, the mosquitoes (_Tipula_) were so +troublesome in the wood, that we could scarcely load our pieces; it is +said that, in the height of summer, this nuisance is still more +intolerable. The buffalo hunters returned to the vessel at the same +time with us; they had, indeed, missed their object, but had killed a +large buck antelope, as well as a great many prairie dogs, the heads +of which were all mutilated by the rifle balls. As these little +animals retreat to their burrows, on the approach of any strange +object, and only put out their heads, the Americans, with their long +rifles, generally hit them in this part: they are a favourite food +among them. Our men brought back the skin and the head, as well as the +flesh of the antelope which they had killed: they likewise brought me +a fine grey eagle and a serpent (_Col. eximus_). The river being so +shallow, we were not able to proceed on the following day, and +continued our excursions on shore. I often passed my time in the lofty +and shady forest which extended beyond the willow thickets on the +banks, at the border of the open prairie. Sitting on an old trunk, in +the cool shade, I could observe at leisure the surrounding scene. I +saw the turkey buzzards, that hovered above the hills, contending +against the high wind, while a couple of falcons frequently made a +stoop at them, doubtless to defend [pg. 146] their nest. A couple of +ravens likewise flew about them. The red-eyed finch, the beautiful +_Sylvia æstiva_, the _Sylvia striata_, and the wren, flew around me, +the latter singing very prettily. If I passed beyond the prairie +hills, I found the ground, on the long-extended ridge, covered with +the blue flowers of the _Oxitropis Lamberti_ (Pursh.), which grew in +tufts about a foot high. There, too, I saw dens of the foxes and +wolves. I saw a fine bird which we had not before met with, namely, +the prairie hen (_Tetrao phasianellus_), a pair of which rose before +me, and of which I first shot the cock. These birds are found in +considerable numbers from this place up to the Rocky Mountains. In the +daytime we suffered great heat in these excursions, while there was +also a high wind, and the ground was hard and dry; the soles of our +shoes became so polished on this ground and the hard dry grass, that +it was difficult and fatiguing to walk on the slopes. We were forced +to remain here many days, because the water was very shallow, and, +during this time, we had several violent thunder-storms. It is a +peculiarity of this part of the country that, in spring, rain, storms, +and tempests prevail, while the summer and autumn are, in general, +very dry. All the small streams in the extensive prairies then dry up, +and there is a general want of water, except in the vicinity of the +large rivers. + +On the 21st of May it was so cool that we were obliged to have fires +in the cabins; the river had risen a little, and we endeavoured to +proceed. Captain Pratte, of the Assiniboin, came on board with a man +named May, a beaver hunter, who had left Fort Union, on the Yellow +Stone, in March. He confirmed the account of the murder of the three +men by the Arikkaras, and added the still more alarming intelligence, +that thirteen of the Company's _engagés_ had been killed by the +Blackfoot Indians. He said that the herds of buffaloes had left the +Missouri, and had been followed by the Sioux Indians, so that we must +expect to see only a few of them on the river. The keel-boat of the +Assiniboin had taken part of our cargo on board on the 22nd, and, as +there was rather more depth of water, the Yellow Stone had been got +afloat, after a delay of five days in this shallow place. We happened +to be on the hills when the bell summoned us on board, and hastened as +quickly as possible to the bank, but came too late, and were compelled +to follow the vessel for a couple of hours, clambering over fragments +of stone, pieces of rock, to creep through thickets full of thorns and +burrs, or to wade through morasses; and not till eleven o'clock did +we get on board. The hills on both sides of the river were of singular +forms; some of them were crowned with rocks resembling ancient towers +and ruins. The eminences had some dark spots, caused by black shining +strata of coal. Many of these strata had been on fire, and one of them +was extinguished only last year, after having burnt more than three +years. Such a thick stratum of bituminous coal ran in a well-defined +stripe on both sides of the river, at an equal elevation, along all +the hills, as far as the eye could reach; and it is not difficult to +follow this stratum for many hundred miles; it is only interrupted, at +intervals, by ravines. Some lofty hills, hereabouts, are called Bijoux +Hills, after a person of that name, who resided here many years.[260] +[pg. 147] The next morning we found the Assiniboin at the foot of these +hills. Our steamer could not be moved till noon, and then did not +proceed far, but lay to near a sand bank. On the morning of the 24th, +Major Bean left us, accompanied by Mr. Bodmer, to go by land to Sioux +Agency, or Fort Lookout, where he intended to wait for us. He had +procured saddle-horses from that place. As we expected the keel-boat, +to lighten the ship, we had time to go ashore and make an excursion +inland. At eleven o'clock the bell summoned us to return. The vessel +was made to drop about 2,000 paces down the river, and then, with much +exertion, to proceed along the north-east bank, where we found the +Maria keel-boat, which had likewise run aground, but had been got +afloat by its crew, who laboured up to their waists in water, while +the people were lightening our steamer. Mr. Mc Kenzie and myself went +on shore to explore the neighbouring eminences, where we found many +rare plants. The geology and mineralogy of these hills are likewise +interesting. The surface consists of clay of various colours, partly +resembling lithomarge; plates and fragments of foliated gypsum were +scattered around, and seemed to stand out in the clay. When we reached +the bare sterile heights which belong to the black burnt +stratifications, I found the soil quite different from what it had +appeared to me when I looked at it from below. The whole consists of a +clay, which has undergone the effects of fire, and is partly burnt +black on the surface. We saw no living creatures on these bare +heights, except the finch (_Fringilla grammaca_), first described by +Say. Several caves or dens of wolves, foxes, and marmots, were +observed in the declivities of the hills. Between four and five +o'clock, the keel-boat having been sent on before, the Yellow Stone +proceeded along the northeast bank. Near the Shannon, or Dry River, +the sun sank behind the poplar wood on the bank, and we lay to for the +night. From the Shannon, the mouth of which is on the west side, the +territory of the Sioux nations is reckoned to extend up the Missouri. +On the east bank, as I have observed, it begins much sooner. + +At five o'clock, on the following morning, the 25th of May, we had +already reached the White River,[261] and at noon came to a place +where the Cedar Fort, a trading post of the Missouri Fur Company, had +formerly stood. When the Company was dissolved, this and other +settlements were abandoned, and demolished by the Indians.[262] +Directly opposite, on the east bank, a stratum of earth burnt till +1823, in consequence of which a large portion of a hill fell, and now +stands isolated before the bank; it is seventy or eighty feet high, +and 150 feet long. In the course of the day we came to a place where +an Arikkara village had formerly stood, on the ridge of the hills, +which was destroyed by the Sioux, and the inhabitants expelled. +Opposite to this was Fort Lookout, where the French Fur Trading +Company had a post. A little further up the river we saw, on the +hills, some burying-places of the Sioux Indians; most of them were +formed of a high platform, on four stakes, on which the corpse, sewn +up in skins, lies at full length; others consisted of stakes and +brushwood, like a kind of hedge, in the middle of which the deceased +is buried in the ground. We were told that the son of a chief was +buried in one of the latter, in a [pg. 148] standing posture. On a point +of land, at the left hand, round which the Missouri turns to the west, +we saw the buildings of Sioux Agency; the Yellow Stone saluted the +post with several guns, and was welcomed to the fort by the hoisting +of a flag, while the whole population, about fifty in number, chiefly +consisting of Sioux Indians, were assembled on the beach. We greeted +our friends Major Bean and Mr. Bodmer, and proceeded a mile further, +to an extensive forest, where we took in wood, and stopped for the +night. In order to get acquainted with the Sioux, in whom I took so +much interest, I returned, in a heavy rain, through the bushes and +high grass, to the agency, where Major Bean received me very kindly, +though his dwelling, according to the fashion of the place, was rudely +constructed, and he was incommoded by too many visitors. + +Sioux Agency, or, as it is now usually called, Fort Lookout, is a +square, of about sixty paces, surrounded by pickets, twenty or thirty +feet high, made of squared trunks of trees, placed close to each +other, within which the dwellings are built close to the palisades. +These dwellings consisted of only three block-houses, with several +apartments. Close to the fort, in a northern direction, the Fur +Company of Mr. Soublette had a dwelling-house, with a store; and, in +the opposite direction, was a similar post of the American Fur +Company.[263] The fort is agreeably situated on a green spot, near the +river, partly covered with bushes, and partly open, bounded by hills, +beyond which the prairie extends, first, with a few old trees, and +some wooded spots, but soon assuming its peculiar bare character. +About ten leather tents or huts of the Sioux, of the branch of the +Yanktons or Yanktoans, were set up near the fort.[264] + +The Dacotas, as they call themselves, or the Sioux of the French, +called by the Ojibuas or Chippeways, Nandoesi (which has been +corrupted into Nadowassis), are still one of the most numerous Indian +tribes in North America. Pike stated their number at 21,575 souls, and +they are still reckoned at 20,000; nay, some even affirm, that they +are still able to furnish 15,000 warriors, which seems rather too high +an estimate. Major Long, who gives much information respecting this +people, calculates their number at 28,100, of which 7,055 are +warriors, the nation possessing 2,330 tents, which agrees pretty +nearly with the statements we received on the Missouri. If we add the +Assiniboins, who are of the same origin, and who are estimated at +28,000, we shall have for all the Dacotas, 56,100 souls, of whom +14,055 are warriors, and the number of their tents 5,330. Major Long +is of opinion that they cannot be calculated at less than 25,000 +souls, and 6,000 warriors; 20,000 is, therefore, not too high an +estimate. + +The territory which they inhabit extends from Big Sioux River, between +the Missouri and the Mississippi, down the latter to Rock River, and +northwards to Elk River; then westwards, in a line which includes the +sources of St. Peter's River, and reaches the Missouri below the +Mandan villages, stretches down it, crosses it near Heart River, and +includes the whole country on the western bank, to the Black Hills +about Teton River, as far as Shannon River. The Sioux are divided into +several branches, which all speak the same language, with some +deviations. [pg. 149] Three principal branches live on the Missouri, +viz., the Yanktons, or Yanktoans, the Tetons, or Titoans, and the +Yanktonans, or Yanktoanons. The Mende-Wakan-Toann, or the people of +the Spirit Lake, and some others, live on the Mississippi. All these +branches together are, as Major Long says, divided by the traders into +two great classes--the Gens du Lac and the Gens du Large; _i.e._, +those who live near the Spirit Lake, and are now chiefly found on the +banks of the Mississippi, and those who roam about in the prairies. +The Yanktoanons are said to constitute one-fifth of all the Dacotas, +and the Tetons the half of the whole nation.[265] + +The Dacotas roam as far as the territory of the Puncas, over the Black +Hills, to the Arkansa, and westwards to the Rocky Mountains, into the +territory of the Crows, on the Yellow Stone River, &c. Pike makes +them, as well as the Pawnees, descend from the Tartars; but many +objections may be made to this notion, as the affinity of the North +Americans and the people of Asia is not proved, and the resemblance +between them appears to be very limited. In general, these Indians +have more strongly-marked countenances and higher cheek-bones than +many other tribes on the Missouri, nor are their features so regular +or pleasing, yet there is no considerable difference in their +physiognomy. Bradbury says they are much inferior in stature to the +Osages, Mandans, and Puncas, and by no means so robust; but this +assertion must be very much restricted, because there are many tall +men among the Dacotas. The Yanktons live in Sioux Agency, or the +furthest down the Missouri, among which tribe we now were. All these +Dacotas of the Missouri, as well as most of those of the Mississippi, +are only hunters, and, in their excursions, always live in portable +leather tents. Only two branches of them are exceptions to this rule, +especially the Wahch-Pe-Kutch, on the Mississippi, who cultivate maize +and other plants, and therefore live in fixed villages. All these +Indians have great numbers of horses and dogs, the latter of which +often serve them as food. The Dacotas, on the Missouri, were formerly +dangerous enemies to the Whites. Bradbury calls them blood-thirsty +savages; whereas now, with the exception of the Yanktonans, they bear +a very good character, and constantly keep peace with the Whites. Pike +seems to have too high an idea of their valour; at least, this is the +opinion now entertained on the Missouri. Such of these Indians as +reside near the Whites, are frequently connected with them by +marriages, and depend on them for support. They then become negligent +hunters, indolent, and, consequently, poor. This was partly the case +at Sioux Agency, where they rarely possessed more than two horses. One +of the most considerable men among them, wholly devoted to the Whites, +was Wahktageli, called the Big Soldier, a tall, good-looking man, +about sixty years of age, with a high aquiline nose, and large +animated eyes. Besides him, there were several elderly, and some +slender young men of this nation, here. They had, in general, a rather +narrow, oval countenance, narrow, long eyes, and aquiline, or +straight, well-formed noses; their colour was a dark brown. They wore +their hair hanging down long over the shoulders, and often plaited _en +queue_; the older men, however, let it hang loosely, cut off a little +below the [pg. 150] neck, and turned back from the forehead. Younger +people generally wore it parted, a large lock hanging down on the +nose; young men had the upper part of the body only wrapped in their +large white or painted buffalo hides. They had long strings of blue +and white wampum shells in their ears; some of them wore one, two, or +three feathers, which were partly stripped till towards the +point.[266] + + [Illustration: Method of wearing hair] + +Mr. Bodmer having expressed a wish, immediately on the arrival of the +Big Soldier, to paint his portrait at full length, he appeared in his +complete state dress. His face was painted red with vermilion, and +with short, black, parallel, transverse stripes on the cheeks. On his +head he wore long feathers of birds of prey, which were tokens of his +warlike exploits, particularly of the enemies he had slain. They were +fastened in a horizontal position with strips of red cloth. In his +ears he wore long strings of blue glass beads, and, on his breast, +suspended from his neck, the great silver medal of the United States. +His leather leggins, painted with dark crosses and stripes, were very +neatly ornamented with a broad embroidered stripe of yellow, red, and +sky-blue figures, consisting of dyed porcupine quills, and his shoes +were adorned in the same manner. His buffalo robe was tanned white, +and he had his tomahawk or battle-axe in his hand.[267] He appeared to +stand very willingly as a [pg. 151] model for Mr. Bodmer, and remained +the whole day in the position required, which, in general, the Indians +find it difficult to do. The remainder of these people were now +entirely without ornaments, naked, and the upper parts of their +bodies not at all painted, but only wrapped in their buffalo robes. On +their backs they carried their quivers, which were made of leather, in +which their arrows are kept; they carry their bows in their +hands.[268] + + [Illustration: Bows, arrows, and quiver] + +The features of the women resembled, on the whole, those we have +already described, yet their faces, for the most part, were not so +broad and flat as those of the Saukies, or Musquake women, and some +were even pretty. The tents of the Sioux are high pointed cones, made +of strong poles, covered with buffalo skins, closely sewed together. +These skins are scraped on both sides, so that they become as +transparent as parchment, and give free admission to the light. At the +top, where the poles meet, or cross each other, there is an opening, +to let out the smoke, which they endeavour to close by a piece of the +skin covering of the tent, fixed to a separate pole standing upright, +and fastened to the upper part of the covering on the side from which +the wind blows. The door is a slit, in the front of the tent, which is +generally closed by another piece of buffalo hide, stretched upon a +frame.[269] A small fire is kept up in the centre of the tent. Poles +are stuck in the ground, near the tent, and utensils of various kinds +are suspended from them. There are, likewise, stages, on which to hang +the newly-tanned hides; others, with gaily-painted parchment pouches +and bags,[270] on some of which they hang their bows, arrows, quivers, +leather shields, spears, and war clubs. + + [Illustration: Tents of the Sioux] + +We paid a visit to Wahktageli in his tent, and had some difficulty in +creeping into the narrow, low entrance, after pulling aside the skin +that covered it. The inside of this tent was [pg. 152] light, and it was +about ten paces in diameter. Buffalo skins were spread on the ground, +upon which we sat down. Between us and the side of the tent were a +variety of articles, such as pouches, boxes, saddles, arms, &c. A +relation of the chief was employed in making arrows, which were +finished very neatly, and with great care. Wahktageli immediately, +with much gravity, handed the tobacco-pipe round, and seemed to inhale +the precious smoke with great delight. His wife was present; their +children were married. The conversation was carried on by Cephier, the +interpreter kept by the Agency, who accompanied us on this visit. It +is the custom with all the North American Indians, on paying a visit, +to enter in perfect silence, to shake hands with the host, and +unceremoniously sit down beside him. Refreshments are then presented, +which the Big Soldier could not do, as he himself stood in need of +food. After this the pipe circulates. The owner of a neighbouring tent +had killed a large elk, the skin of which the women were then busily +employed in dressing. They had stretched it out, by means of leather +straps, on the ground near the tent, and the women were scraping off +the particles of flesh and fat with a very well-contrived instrument. +It is made of bone, sharpened at one end, and furnished with little +teeth like a saw, and, at the other end, a strap, which is fastened +round the wrist. The skin is scraped with the sharp side of this +instrument till it is perfectly clean.[271] Several Indians have iron +teeth fixed to this bone. Besides this operation, we took particular +notice of the harness of the dogs and horses, hanging up near the +tent, both these animals being indispensable to the Indians to +transport their baggage on their journeys. Even the great tent, with +many long, heavy poles, is carried by horses, as well as the +semi-globular, transparent wicker panniers, under which the little +children are protected against sun and rain, by spreading blankets and +skins over them. Smaller articles are conveyed by the dogs, as we +shall relate in the sequel. Many of the Sioux are rich, and have +twenty or more horses, which they obtained originally from the +Spaniards on the Mississippi, and the frontier of New Mexico on the +Oregon, but which are now found in great numbers among the several +Indian nations. One of their most important employments is to steal +horses, and the theft of one of these animals, from another nation, is +considered as an exploit, and as much, nay more honoured than the +killing of an enemy. The dogs, whose flesh is eaten by the Sioux, are +equally valuable to the Indians. In shape they differ very little from +the wolf, and are equally large and strong. Some are of the real wolf +colour; others black, white, or spotted with black and white, and +differing only by the tail being rather more turned up. Their voice is +not a proper barking, but a howl, like that of the wolf, and they +partly descend from wolves, which approach the Indian huts, even in +the daytime, and mix with the dogs. + +Among the peculiar customs of the Sioux is their treatment of the +dead. Those who die [pg. 153] at home are sewed up, as I have before +stated, in blankets and skins, in their complete dress, painted, and +laid with their arms and other effects on a high stage, supported by +four poles, till they are decomposed, when they are sometimes buried. +Those who have been killed in battle are immediately interred on the +spot. Sometimes, too, in times of peace, they bury their dead in the +ground, and protect them against the wolves by a fence of wood and +thorns. There were many such graves in the vicinity of the Sioux +Agency, among which was that of the celebrated chief, Tschpunka, who +was buried with his full dress and arms, and his face painted red. +Very often, however, they lay their dead in trees; and we saw, in the +neighbourhood of this place, an oak, in which there were three bodies +wrapped in skins. At the foot of the tree there was a small arbour, or +shed, made of branches of poplar, which the relations had built for +the purpose of coming to lament and weep over the dead, which they +frequently do for several days successively. As a sign of mourning, +they cut off their hair with the first knife that comes to hand, daub +themselves with white clay, and give away all their best clothes and +valuable effects, as well as those of the deceased, to the persons who +happen to be present. The corpse of a young woman had been enveloped +in skins about a week before, and placed between the branches of the +oak, with six pieces of wood under it; and a little higher in the tree +there was a child. Guided by the obliging interpreter, we viewed +everything remarkable in the Sioux agency, which, indeed, is confined +to the Indians and their mode of life. Major Bean had the kindness to +accommodate us for the night. + +We passed the 26th of May here, when Mr. Bodmer finished his very +capital likeness of Wahktageli. The elk, killed by the Indians, +furnished us with fresh meat, and we considered ourselves very well +off. In the afternoon, Messrs. Mc Kenzie and Sandford came from the +Yellow Stone to visit us, and we returned on board in the evening. + +The following morning (27th) was cool, windy, and cloudy, and, at +half-past seven, the thermometer at only 54°. It was so cold that we +had fires in our cabins the whole day. Major Bean had the courtesy to +present me with the complete dress of the Big Soldier, an interesting +_souvenir_ of the friendly reception we had met with in his house. The +Assiniboin passed us rapidly in the afternoon, and we followed. A +well-known Sioux chief, called Tukan Haton, and, by the Americans, the +Little Soldier, was on board with his family, intending to accompany +us to Fort Pièrre, on the Teton River. These Indians were in mourning +for some of their relations lately deceased; their dress was, +therefore, as bad as possible, and their faces daubed with white clay. +The Big Soldier also paid us a visit previous to our departure. He had +no feathers on his head, but only a piece of red cloth. After +receiving some food he took leave, and we saw the grotesque, tall +figure stand for a long time motionless on the beach. As the vessel +proceeded very quickly, our Indians laid down their heads as a sign +that they were giddy, but they were soon relieved, as the water became +shallow. We lay to not far above the stream which [pg. 154] Lewis and +Clarke call the Three Rivers.[272] Here we again had leisure to make +an excursion in the wood, where the ground was covered with pea vine +(_Apios tuberosa_),[273] and a plant resembling convallaria. The +Carolina pigeon was frequent here, and was sought after by our people +for their dinner, to which the river contributed some cat-fish, of the +usual olive-brown kind. Our Indians kindled their fire in the +neighbouring wood, and lay around it, but soon returned to the vessel. + +Early on the 28th, part of the goods had been put into the keel-boat, +to lighten the steamer, which was accomplished by eight o'clock. From +this place to the Big Bend of the Missouri is fifteen miles, before +reaching which we came to an island, which has been formed since Lewis +and Clarke were there. The same stratum of coal, which I have before +mentioned, ran along the hills, and was visible at a great distance. +We soon overtook the Assiniboin, and reached the Big Bend which the +Missouri takes round a flat point of land; following the course of +the river, it is twenty-five miles round, while the isthmus is only +one mile and a half across.[274] The large peninsula, round which the +Missouri turns, is flat, and bordered with poplars and willows; the +opposite bank is higher, steep, and bare. A couple of antelopes were, +in this place, frightened by the noise of our steamer; these animals +are said to be very numerous here in the winter time. The Little +Soldier sat by the fireside, smoking his pipe, in doing which, like +all the Indians, he inhaled the smoke, a custom which is, doubtless, +the cause of many pectoral diseases. The tobacco, which the Indians of +this part of the country smoke, is called kini-kenick, and consists of +the inner green bark of the red willow, dried, and powdered, and mixed +with the tobacco of the American traders. According to Say, they also +smoke the leaves of the arrow-wood (_Viburnum_), when they have none +of the bark. + +On the 29th, we were nearly at the end of the Big Bend, and stopped, +at seven o'clock in the morning, to cut down cedars. Here we ascended +the lofty, steep hills, which were partly bare, and burnt black, and +from which we had a view of the whole bend of the river. To the south, +we saw the tops of the Medicine Hills, which are about eight miles +from the Medicine Creek, on the west bank.[275] Towards noon there +appeared, on the western bank, steep, rocky walls, and, behind them, +singularly-formed hills, some resembling pyramids, others, round +towers, &c. At this place we suddenly espied a canoe, with four men +in it, which touched at a sand bank; a boat was put out, and brought +back two of the strangers, who proved to be Mr. Lamont, a member of +the Fur Company, and Major Mitchell, one of their officers, and +Director of Fort Mc Kenzie, which is situated near the falls of the +Missouri.[276] They came last from Fort Pièrre, and were on their way +to St. Louis, but we persuaded them to return with us. Having taken in +[pg. 155] wood on the morning of the 30th, we came to a leather tent on +the bank, in which three of the Company's _engagés_ and some Indians +lived, to take care of 100 horses, belonging to Fort Pièrre. They had +lately killed three antelopes, and gave us some of the fresh meat. At +seven o'clock we had, on the right hand, Simoneau's Island, which, in +Lewis and Clarke's map, is called Elk Island; it was covered with +lofty, green poplars.[277] Soon after twelve o'clock we came to a +plantation, made by the inhabitants of Fort Pièrre, where we found +about ten men, who had got ready a great quantity of fine stack wood +for our vessel. At this place, which is only three miles from the +fort, we observed hills, of a singular form, often cleft +perpendicularly, and, in the river, several islands, all of which have +now different names from those given to them by Lewis and Clarke. +Before six, in the evening, we reached the mouth of the Teton River, +or the Little Missouri, which the Sioux call the Bad River. It rises +in the Black Hills, and has a long course, with many windings; but is +said, however, to be straight for 150 miles from the mouth. In this +part of the Missouri are vast sand banks, on which we saw a numerous +flock of pelicans. These birds, however, only stop here on their +passage, and do not build their nests. The river is very wide at the +mouth of the Teton, and has extensive low prairies, with a border of +poplars and willows. The French Fur Company had formerly a fort just +above the mouth of the Teton, which was abandoned when the Companies +joined, and another built further up, which was called Fort Teton; +this, too, was abandoned;[278] and Fort Pièrre (so called after Mr. +Pièrre Chouteau) was erected higher up, on the west bank, opposite an +island.[279] + +The steamer had proceeded a little further, when we came in sight of +the Fort, to the great joy of all on board: the colours were hoisted, +both on the steamer and on the fort, which produced a very good effect +between the trees on the bank; a small village, consisting of thirteen +Sioux tents, lay on the left hand. Our steamer first began to salute +with its cannon, which was returned from the shore by a running fire +of musketry, and this was answered from our deck by a similar very +brisk fire. Before we reached the landing-place, we perceived an +isolated, decayed old house, the only remains of Fort Tecumseh,[280] +and, ten minutes afterwards, landed at Fort Pièrre, on the fifty-first +day of our voyage from St. Louis. A great crowd came to welcome us; we +were received by the whole population, consisting of some hundred +persons, with the white inhabitants at their head, the chief of whom +was Mr. Laidlow, a proprietor of the Fur Company, who has the +management at this place.[281] There were many Indians among them, who +had done their part to welcome us by firing their muskets, which they +carried in their hands. There seemed to be no end of shaking hands; a +thousand questions were asked, and the latest news, on both sides, was +eagerly sought for. Mr. Fontenelle, who was to undertake a journey to +the Rocky Mountains, was already here, having performed the journey, +on horseback, in eleven days. As soon as we set foot on land, we +proceeded, accompanied by numbers of persons, to the Fort, to which +there is a straight road of about a quarter of a mile. We put up at +Mr. Laidlow's house, where we rested beside a good fire. + + [Illustration: Plan of Fort Pierre] + +[pg. 156] Fort Pièrre is one of the most considerable settlements of the +Fur Company on the Missouri, and forms a large quadrangle, surrounded +by high pickets,[282] round which the buildings stand in the manner +already described. At the north-east and south-west corners there are +block-houses, with embrasures, _f_, _f_, the fire of which commands +the curtain; the upper story is adapted for small arms, and the lower +for some cannon; each side of the quadrangle is 108 paces in length; +the front and back, _g_, _g_, each 114 paces; the inner space +eighty-seven paces in diameter. From the roof of the block-houses, +which is surrounded with a gallery, there is a fine prospect over the +prairie; and there is a flag-staff on the roof, on which the colours +are hoisted. The timber for this fort was felled from forty to sixty +miles up the river, and floated down, because none fit for the purpose +was to be had in the neighbourhood. Mr. Laidlow's dwelling-house, _d_, +_d_, consisted of one story only, but was very conveniently arranged, +with large rooms, fire-places, and glass windows. Next this house was +a smaller building, _e_, for the office and the residence of a clerk. +The other clerks, the interpreters for the different Indian nations, +the _engagés_ and their families, altogether above 100 persons, lived +in the other buildings, _a_, _a_, _a_, _a_. Opposite, in _c_, _c_, +were the stores, at that time of the value of 80,000 dollars; and in +other rooms, the furs obtained from the Indians by barter. The fort +has two large doors, _g_, _g_, opposite each other, which are shut in +the evening; in _b_ there was an enclosed piece of garden ground. The +situation of the settlement is agreeable; the verdant prairie is very +extensive, animated by herds of cattle and horses; of the latter, Fort +Pièrre possessed 150, and of the former, thirty-six, which afforded a +sufficient supply of milk and fresh butter. Indians, on foot and on +horseback, were scattered all over the plain, and their singular +stages for the dead were in great numbers near the Fort; immediately +behind which, the leather tents of the Sioux Indians, of the branches +of the Tetons and the Yanktons, stood, like a little village; among +them the most distinguished was the tent of the old interpreter, +Dorion, a half Sioux, who is mentioned by many travellers, and resides +here with his Indian family.[283] This tent was large, and painted +red; at the top of the poles composing [pg. 157] it some scalps +fluttered in the wind. A great number of Indian dogs surrounded this +village, which did not differ from those we have already described. +Many of them were perfectly similar to the wolf in form, size, and +colour; they did not bark, but showed their teeth when any one +approached them. + +Near the fort we roused, in the thickets, a Virginian deer, and saw +wolves, in the middle of the day, prowling about in the prairies; but +we could not get near them, and fired at them in vain with our rifles. +Round an isolated tree in the prairie I observed a circle of holes in +the ground, in which thick poles had stood. A number of buffalo skulls +were piled up there; and we were told that this was a medicine, or +charm, contrived by the Indians in order to entice the herds of +buffaloes. Everywhere in the plain we saw circles of clods of earth, +with a small circular ditch, where the tents of many Indians had +stood. This time we visited the Indian tents uninvited; in that which +we first entered there were several tall, good-looking men assembled; +the owner of the tent was a man of middle-size; his complexion very +light, and his features agreeable. His wives were dressed very neatly, +and were remarkably clean, especially the one who appeared to be the +principal; she wore a very elegant leather dress, with stripes and +borders of azure and white beads, and polished metal buttons, and +trimmed as usual at the bottom with fringes, round the ends of which +lead is twisted, so that they tinkle at every motion. Her summer robe, +which was dressed smooth on both sides, was painted red and black, on +a yellowish white ground.[284] She estimated all these articles of +dress very highly. Among the effects piled up inside the tent, there +were several interesting things, such as cradles for the infants, +viz., ornamented boards, to which they are fastened with broad +leathern straps, one passing over the head, and the other over the +middle of the body. The workmanship of these leathern straps was +remarkably neat and curious; for instance, they were entirely covered +with a ground of milk-white porcupine quills, on which figures of men, +of a vermilion colour, and black figures of dogs, and other similar +patterns, were most tastefully embroidered, and all of the most lively +and well-chosen colours. After we had conversed with the men, the pipe +circulated. The pipes of [pg. 158] the Dacotas are very beautiful,[285] +in truth the most beautiful of all the North American Indians, which +they make, in various forms, of the red indurated clay, or stone.[286] + + [Illustration: Dakota pipes] + +The pipe has a long, flat, broad wooden tube, which is ornamented with +tufts of horse-hair, dyed red, yellow, or green, and wound round with +strings of porcupine quills of divers colours. We looked at the women +as they were at work. For the shoes which they made they had softened +the leather in a tub of water, and stretched it in the breadth and +length with their teeth. In the middle of the hut was a fire, over +which the kettle was suspended by a wooden hook; they now all use iron +kettles, which they obtain from the traders. Before most of the tents +poles were placed, leaning against each other, to which gaily-painted +parchment pouches were hung, and likewise the medicine-bags, as they +are called, in which the medicine, or charms, are preserved, and which +they open and consult only on solemn or important occasions, such as +campaigns and the like. Here, too, were suspended the bow and quiver +of arrows, spears, and a round shield of thick leather, with a thin +cover, also of the same material. In another tent the women were +dressing the skins, either with a pumice-stone, or with the +before-described toothed instrument, which was here entirely of iron. +They then pulled the skin over a line, in all directions, backwards +and forwards, to make it pliable. + +The Sioux at Fort Pièrre were in general slender, sometimes +muscular-men, of middling stature, though some of them were tall. +They had oval faces, with prominent cheek-bones, slightly-curved and +well-formed noses; the inner angle of the eye often drawn down. Their +faces were painted red, some with white rings round the eyes, and +others with a black point on the forehead, or a white circle with a +black point on each cheek. Some had strings of wampum in their ears, +but the greater part of them strings of white or blue glass beads, and +round their necks an elegant, and frequently broad necklace, +embroidered with white beads. The neck and breast of several were +marked with dark blue tattooed stripes, or only with some small +figures. These Indians let their hair grow as long as possible, and +plait it behind in a long tail, which is ornamented with round pieces +of brass, and often hangs down to a great length, as among the +Chinese. Many of the Dacotas have three such tails, one behind, and +one at each side, for the Indians on the Upper Missouri take much +pride in long hair, whereas those in the country lower [pg. 159] down +the river, cut it short. Some wore feathers in their hair, which are +tokens of their exploits, and are determined with great precision, +according to the merit of the wearer. The annexed figure of a Dacota +shows the manner in which the hair is divided into plaits.[287] + + [Illustration: A Dakota, with plaited hair] + +The women wore their hair hanging down, naturally parted on the middle +of the head, and the parting painted red. Their robes were coloured +red and black. Their shoes are neatly ornamented with various figures +made of dyed porcupine quills. I purchased several Dacota shoes; and, +among them, a pair, on the upper part of which the figure of a bear's +footstep was very neatly embroidered in bright colours.[288] The old +women are generally very ugly and dirty, as they are obliged to do +very hard work. + +The Sioux, who live on Teton River, near Fort Pièrre, are mostly of +the branch of the Tetons; though there are some Yanktons here. The +former are divided into five branches, and the latter into three.[289] +Like all the North American Indians, they highly prize personal +bravery, and, therefore, constantly wear the marks of distinction +which they have received for their exploits; among these are, +especially, tufts of human hair attached to their arms and legs, and +feathers on their heads. He who, in the sight of the adversaries, +touches a slain or a living enemy, places a feather horizontally in +his hair for this exploit. They look upon this as a very distinguished +act, for many are often killed in the attempt, before the object is +attained. He who kills an enemy by a blow with his fist, sticks a +feather upright in his hair. If the enemy is killed with a musket, a +small piece of wood is put in the hair, which is intended to represent +a ramrod. If a warrior is distinguished by many deeds, he has a right +to wear the great feather-cap, with ox-horns, [pg. 160] which will be +described in the sequel. This cap, composed of eagle's feathers, which +are fastened to a long strip of red cloth, hanging down the back, is +highly valued by all the tribes on the Missouri, and they never part +with it except for a good horse. In a battle with the Pawnees, a Sioux +chief was killed, who wore such a cap; the conqueror wore it as a +trophy, and the Sioux recognized him by it in the next battle; they +made great efforts to kill him, and succeeded in wounding him; but his +horse was too fleet for them, and he always escaped. Whoever first +discovers the enemy, and gives notice to his comrades of their +approach, is allowed to wear a small feather, which is stripped, +except towards the top.[290] The scalps taken in battle are drawn +over small hoops, and hung on the top of the tent-poles. He who takes +a prisoner wears a particular bracelet. These Indians frequently +possess from thirty to forty horses, and are then reckoned to be rich. +The tents are generally composed of fourteen skins, each worth two +dollars. We were told, that wealthy people sometimes have eight or +nine wives, because they are able to support them. The Sioux do not +understand the treatment of diseases, but generally cure wounds very +well. Before their death, they usually determine whether they will be +buried, or be placed on a stage, or in a tree. + +There was, among the Dacotas at this place, a young Punca Indian, +whose name was Ho-Ta-Ma, a handsome, friendly man, who often amused +himself with different games; frequently he was seen with his comrades +playing at what was called the hoop game, at which sticks, covered +with leather, are thrown through a hoop in motion. In the daytime the +Indians were often seen galloping their horses, mostly riding on their +bare backs: sometimes they ran races, as Mr. Bodmer has +represented.[291] In the evening they drive their horses into the +fort, as they are more safe from a hostile attack, and horse-stealing +is universally practised by the Indians. The Indian families residing +here are mostly related to the white inhabitants of the fort, and, +therefore, constantly abide near them. The men lead a very indolent +life; for, besides the chase and war, their only occupations are +eating, smoking, sleeping, and making their weapons. + +During our stay here, on board the vessel, we were continually +besieged by Indians, who did not move from the spot. Our time was, +therefore, divided between these visitors and our excursions into the +prairie. On the 2nd of June, 7,000 buffalo skins and other furs were +put on board the Yellow Stone, with which it was to return to St. +Louis. We took this opportunity of sending letters to Europe: the +Assiniboin was assigned us for the continuation of the voyage. The +weather, at this time, was very unfavourable; it rained at a +temperature of 57°, and we were obliged to have a fire in our cabin +throughout the day. The Assiniboin had already taken our baggage on +board, but still lay on the east bank, for an attempt to bring it over +to our side had failed, because the water was too low. In the +afternoon, when we visited Mr. Laidlow in the fort, six Sioux, from +the prairie, arrived on horseback, whose horde, of 200 tents, was at +the distance of a [pg. 161] day's journey. They brought word that, two +days' march from the fort, there were numerous herds of buffaloes. +Among these new comers there were some elderly men; the plaits of +their hair were wound about with strips of skin, and their faces were +painted red; their bodies were fleshy, which was a proof that they had +suffered less from hunger than those in the fort. They paid a visit +first to the Assiniboin, and then to Mr. Laidlow, who gave them food +and tobacco. Mr. Lamont, who had taken leave of us to-day, to go by +the steam-boat to St. Louis, embarked with some of the Company's +clerks: he was saluted with several cannon shot, and before evening +the Yellow Stone rapidly descended the river. While Messrs. Mc Kenzie, +Sandford, and Mitchell took up their abode in the fort, we went on +board the Assiniboin, from which I made, on the 4th of June, an +interesting excursion into the prairie, in order to make myself +acquainted with the eastern bank. + +I left the vessel at half-past seven o'clock, the thermometer being at +59°, and immediately ascended the steep eminences, of which the lower +were covered partly with bright green, partly with dry, yellow grass, +and the higher ones bare, with the surface frequently blackened by +fire. A path, trodden by the elks to the river, led me to the highest +summit, from which I had a pleasing prospect of the opposite bank and +the fort. It lay, clearly delineated, in the extensive verdant plain, +bounded by a singular chain of hills; and I again distinguished, half +way up the mountains, the black stripe of the extensive stratum of +coal. At noon it was warm and I returned much heated, the thermometer +being at 72°. We received a visit from six or seven newly arrived +Tetons, whom the interpreter, Dorion, introduced to us. They were +particularly interested by the steam-boat, and, after they had very +minutely examined it, they were served with dinner and pipes. The +dinner chiefly consisted of bacon, which the Indians do not like; +[pg. 162] they, however, swallowed it, in order that they might not +appear uncourteous. Among them was a Teton, named Wah-Menitu (the +spirit, or god, in the water), and who had such a voracious appetite, +that he devoured everything which the others had left; his face was +painted red; he had a remarkably projecting upper lip, and an aquiline +nose much bent. In his hair, which hung in disorder about his head, +with a plait coming over one of his eyes or nose, the feather of a +bird of prey was placed horizontally; but observe that he had a right +to wear three. Mr. Bodmer, who desired to draw this man's portrait, +gave him some vermilion, on which he spat, and rubbed his face with +it, drawing parallel lines, in the red colour, with a wooden +stick.[292] Wah-Menitu stayed on board for the night; sung, talked, +laughed, and joked without ceasing; and seemed quite to enjoy +himself. + + [Illustration: A Teton] + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[254] This river rises in the Black Hills, near the sources of Tongue +River, and discharges itself into the Missouri, about 1,000 miles from +its mouth. The mouth of this river is said to be 150 paces broad, and +its current very rapid. In the American descriptions of travels, the +French name of this river is generally written incorrectly; for +instance, "Qui-courre River," &c. It likewise bears the name of the +Rapid River. Bradbury gives the names of some plants which he gathered +on its banks.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[255] Ponca Creek, a small prairie stream, rises in the eastern part +of Tripp County, South Dakota, and flows east and southeast about +parallel to the Niobrara. Lewis and Clark speak of mineral springs on +the northern bank, but do not mention them as warm.--ED. + +[256] A conspicuous landmark in Wheeler County, South Dakota, just +below Fort Randall, at the 969 mile mark from the mouth of the +Missouri. Lewis and Clark speak of it as the Dome.--ED. + +[257] Hugh Glass's adventures with wild beasts and Indians formed a +kind of frontier epic, and were told around many a camp-fire. All that +is known of his early life is that he came from Pennsylvania, and was +spoken of as "old man Glass." He was in the Ankara campaign of 1823, +and seriously wounded. Nevertheless he set out with Andrew Henry for +the Yellowstone, but was nearly killed by a grizzly bear, and left to +die. He survived, made his way to Fort Kiowa, and later joined Henry +on the Yellowstone. See Chittenden, _Fur-Trade_, ii, pp. 698-705. For +his death, see _post_, volume xxiv.--ED. + +[258] Sir George Back (1796-1878), a well-known explorer of arctic +North America. He entered the navy in 1808, and in 1817 made his first +northern journey in company with Sir John Franklin. Later he +accompanied Franklin on several expeditions, being one of his most +trusted lieutenants. In 1833 Back organized an expedition to search +for Sir John Ross; his account of this latter enterprise was published +as _Narrative of the Arctic Land Expedition, 1833, 1834, and 1835_ +(London, 1836). In 1836 Back made a final voyage in the "Terror," +whose narrative was published in 1838. Upon his return he received +many honors, being knighted, made rear-admiral (1857), and admiral +(1867). Maximilian quotes either from his earlier book, or from some +of his narratives published with those of Franklin's expeditions.--ED. + +[259] Little Cedar Island, still so-called, is just above Wheeler, +South Dakota, about 1010 miles up the river. Maximilian has confused +the distance with that of an island beyond, upon which Fort Recovery +stood, given by Bradbury as 1075 miles up. See note 261, _post_, p. +304, and Bradbury's _Travels_, our volume v, p. 99, note 66.--ED. + +[260] Bijoux Hills are on the east bank of the river, not far below +Chamberlain, South Dakota. Bijoux was an engagé with Long. See our +volume xvi, pp. 58-59. Catlin, _North American Indians_, ii, p. 432, +says Bijoux was ultimately killed by the Sioux.--ED. + +[261] The name Shannon was given to the first creek by Lewis and +Clark, for one of their men, George Shannon, who here rejoined them +after an absence of sixteen days, when he had been lost on the +prairies. It is now called Dry (or Rosebud) Creek, with Rosebud +Landing at its mouth. + +White, a South Dakota river, entering the Missouri in Lyman County, +from the west.--ED. + +[262] This is the post usually known as Fort Recovery; see Bradbury's +_Travels_, our volume v, p. 99, note 67.--ED. + +[263] Fort Lookout had originally been built (about 1822) by the +Columbia Fur Company, and from them passed into the hands of the +American Fur Company. Later, the Indian agency was established here, +as Maximilian notes. It later became a military post where troops were +quartered until the building of Fort Randall in 1857. The site was +some ten miles above Chamberlain, on the west bank--ED. + +[264] For the Yankton, see our volume v, p. 90, note 55.--ED. + +[265] Maximilian's classification of the Dakota (or Sioux) is in +accord with modern philological conclusions. J. W. Powell, "Indian +Linguistic Families," in United States Bureau of Ethnology _Report_, +1885-86, gives six subdivisions of this great tribe--Santee, Wahpeton, +Sisseton, Yankton, Yanktonnai, and Teton; the last three, or Missouri, +tribes corresponding with those given by Maximilian.--ED. + +[266] See p. 287, for illustration of method of wearing hair.--ED. + +[267] See his portrait, which Maximilian calls "a striking likeness," +Plate 41, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + +[268] See p. 287, for illustration of bows, arrows, and quiver.--ED. + +[269] See p. 319, for illustration of Sioux tents.--ED. + +[270] See Plate 81, figure 8, in the accompanying atlas, our volume +xxv.--ED. + +[271] Schoolcraft (Expedition of Gov. Cass, p. 323) says, that the +Dacotas, on the Mississippi, tanned their skins with oak bark, which I +did not observe on the Missouri: they probably learned it from the +Whites. The Aucas, in South America, seem to use such an +instrument.--D'Orbigny Voyage, t. ii. p. 234.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[272] Apparently the creeks took somewhat different courses in the +time of Clark's visit--at least Crow, Wolf, and Campbell are now some +distance apart in the Crow Creek Indian reservation of Buffalo County, +South Dakota.--ED. + +[273] This is a climbing plant, and the leaves are a very nourishing +food for horses and oxen, which are said to thrive upon it. The root +has a bulb, about the size of a walnut, with a violet outer skin, and +white inside, which is said to be a wholesome food for man.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[274] Clark describes the Big Bend as being from a mile to a mile and +a quarter at its neck, with a low range of hills running across, from +ninety to a hundred and eighty feet high. He himself walked across the +"gouge;" but the boats were a day and a half in passing around.--ED. + +[275] Medicine Creek was called by Lewis and Clark Tyler's River. It +is a western affluent of the Missouri, and the hills mentioned are +known as Medicine Butte, in Lyman County. The mouth of the creek is +the site of the Red Cloud or Lower Brulé Indian agency. This creek and +hills should be distinguished from Medicine Knoll and a creek of that +name, eastern affluents a few miles higher up.--ED. + +[276] Daniel Lamont, supposed to be of a Scotch family, was one of the +original members of the Columbia Fur Company, and became one of the +three partners of the "Upper Missouri Outfit." He was for many years +in the fur-trade, but little is known of his personal history. + +Colonel David D. Mitchell was a Virginian by birth (1806), who early +entered the fur-trade--first as a clerk, later as a partner in the +American Fur Company. In 1832 he built the first fort for that company +among the Blackfeet (see our volume xxiii), and was for some time in +charge at Fort Clark, where Larpenteur speaks of him as "very much of +a gentleman." In 1841, Mitchell was chosen superintendent of Indian +affairs for the Western Department, with headquarters at St. Louis--a +position which he filled until 1852. Joining the volunteer service for +the Mexican War, he was chosen lieutenant-colonel of Colonel Sterling +Price's regiment, and advanced first to New Mexico and later to +Chihuahua with Colonel Alexander Doniphan. Mitchell died in St. Louis +in 1861.--ED. + +[277] This island is now known as Fort George (or Airhart's) +Island.--ED. + +[278] The second Fort Teton was built about 1828; it has been +contended by several authorities that its site was south of or below +Teton River; but in the light of Maximilian's testimony, this appears +improbable. The first Fort Teton was probably that built by Joseph La +Framboise in 1817. Maximilian does not state that Fort Tecumseh was +the successor of Fort Teton, and the predecessor of Fort Pierre, +although alluding to the former--see note 278, _post_. On the entire +subject see "Fort Pierre and its Neighbors," in _South Dakota +Historical Collections_ (Aberdeen, 1902), i, pp. 263-379.--ED. + +[279] Fort Pierre was built by the American Fur Company in 1831-32 to +replace Fort Tecumseh, which had begun to be undermined by the river. +The site chosen was three miles above the mouth of the Teton, about +one thousand yards back from the river. The post was christened in +June, 1832, upon the visit of Pierre Chouteau, jr., in whose honor it +was named. Fort Pierre continued to be the entrepôt of the upper +Missouri until 1855, when the company sold the post to the United +States, then engaged in a campaign against the hostile Sioux. General +Harney wintered here (1855-56) with one thousand two hundred men. The +following year (1857), Fort Pierre was abandoned for Fort Randall, a +hundred miles farther down the river; the old post was demolished, the +best of its fittings transferred to the new post, and the rest allowed +to fall into the hands of the Indians. The same year a trader built a +new post, also popularly called Fort Pierre, three miles above the old +one. New Fort Pierre, a company trading post, was built in 1859 about +two miles above the original stockade. This was abandoned in the Sioux +outbreak of 1863, and the goods removed to the neighborhood of Fort +Sully, a government post established on an island below the city of +Pierre, South Dakota.--ED. + +[280] Fort Tecumseh was the principal establishment on this part of +the river for the Columbia Fur Company, being built about 1822. When +this concern was consolidated with the American Fur Company, the +latter made headquarters at Fort Tecumseh until the building of the +original Fort Pierre (1831-32). Its site has been thought, by a +misreading of authorities, to have been on the east bank; but it was +probably only a short distance below old Fort Pierre, on the western +bank.--ED. + +[281] William Laidlaw was a Scotchman who had been trained in the +British fur companies, and came to the Missouri with the Columbia Fur +Company. He was for several years the factor of Forts Tecumseh and +Pierre, and was then promoted to the charge of Fort Union, where he +was as late as 1845--probably for some time after. When he finally +retired, it was to settle near Liberty, Missouri, where he died a poor +man. He was an able trader, but of quick, irascible temper, and +unpopular with his subordinates.--ED. + +[282] See p. 319, for plan of Fort Pierre.--ED. + +[283] For Pierre Dorion, see our volume v, p. 38, note 7. Although +Maximilian speaks of him as "old Dorion," it is probable that this was +another son of Pierre, sr.; for Pierre, jr., was a grown man at the +time of the Lewis and Clark expedition, and his father was a +Frenchman, not a half-breed.--ED. + +[284] See the portrait of the Dakota woman, Plate 42, in the +accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + +[285] The red pipe-clay is found chiefly on a lateral stream of the +Big Sioux River, but also in other places, for instance, on St. +Peter's River; and it is said, that the several Indian tribes behave +peaceably towards each other while they are digging up the stone in +that place, but again treat each other as enemies as soon as they have +left it. Persons who have visited the quarries on the Big Sioux River +have given me the following description of them: the red stone occurs +in large beds or strata, where the perpendicular sides of the stream +show divers alternating layers. The strata of red stone, which are at +the most a foot thick, alternate with yellow, blue, white, and other +kinds of clay. The green turf on the surface, and the upper stratum, +are removed, and the red-brown colour of the stone is generally more +lively and beautiful the deeper you go down. It is possible to obtain +large pieces, and to make beautiful slabs of them. The Indians make +not only pipe-heads of this stone, but likewise war-clubs, which, +however, are only carried in their hands for show.--MAXIMILIAN. + +_Comment by Ed._ The first white person to visit the Pipestone +quarries in southwest Minnesota was the artist George Catlin, who in +1836 obtained permission from the Indians to inspect this sacred spot. +The mineral has since been called "catlinite," from his name. There +are, however, other quarries in Dakota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. + +[286] See Plate 81, figure 12, in the accompanying atlas, our volume +xxv, for a figure of a Dakota pipe; also illustration on opposite page +of Dakota pipes.--ED. + +[287] See p. 323, for illustration of a Dakota with plaited hair.--ED. + +[288] See Plate 81, figure 9, in the accompanying atlas, our volume +xxv.--ED. + +[289] For the Teton, see our volume v, p. 104, note 71. The Teton +bands (as at present classified) are the Brulé, Sans Arcs, Blackfeet +(not to be confused with the Blackfoot tribe of Algonquian origin), +Miniconjou, Two Kettle, Oglala, and Hunkpapa. The Yankton bands are +not classified by Powell.--ED. + +[290] See p. 287, for illustration of method of wearing hair.--ED. + +[291] See Plate 30, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv, for an +Indian horse-race.--ED. + +[292] See p. 323, for illustration of this Teton.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +VOYAGE FROM FORT PIERRE, ON THE TETON RIVER, TO FORT CLARKE, NEAR THE +VILLAGES OF THE MANDANS, FROM JUNE 5TH TO JUNE 19TH + + Singular conformation of the Country--Traces of Fire--Chayenne + Island and River--Former abode of the Arikkaras--The Woodcutters + alarmed by the Indians--Cabris or Antelopes--Wolves and other + Animals--Little Chayenne River--Abundance of Game--Traces of the + Beaver, and of the breaking-up of the Ice--Moreau's River--Grand + or Wetarko River--Rampart River--The two abandoned Villages of + the Arikkaris--La Butte au Grès--La Butte de Chayenne--Murder of + Whites by the Arikkaras--Cannon-ball River, with its Sand-stone + Balls--Heart River--La Butte Carrée--Interview with the + Yanktonans--Fort Clarke, near the Mandan Villages--The + Mandans--The Crows. + + +Our departure was delayed till ten o'clock on the 5th of June, when +three guns were fired, and we left the fort. The Assiniboin was +perfectly equipped for the voyage up the river, and had sixty men on +board. Mr. Mc Kenzie had remained behind in the fort, but overtook us +at noon with Mr. Laidlow, who was desirous to accompany us a little +way. We had stopped at an island called, by the Canadians, Isle au +Village de Terre, because, on the other side of the channel which +divides it from the continent, there was formerly a village of the +Sioux. This island was covered with an almost impenetrable thicket of +narrow-leaved willows, which was so dense and entangled, that one of +our large dogs caught an elk calf alive; we heard its moaning, but +were not able to find it. The next morning the thermometer was at +66½°. We were obliged to unload some goods, and to lighten our +vessel, and our hunters brought us many interesting objects, +particularly several birds, among which was the grey butcher-bird +(_Lanius excubitoroides_), of which Richardson gives a representation, +and which we had not met with before. Though antelopes and a white +wolf had approached very closely to them, our hunters had not been +able to kill any large animals. The addition to our Flora was very +considerable. The hills all consisted of clammy, greasy, sterile clay, +which was burnt on the surface, and covered with pieces of stone; and +in many places we observed on them round masses, which looked as if +they had been [pg. 164] melted and formed by fire. We stayed here till +noon on the 7th of June, when we again proceeded with an agreeable +temperature of 77½°. We ran aground several times, and at last took +in our goods, which we had deposited on the left bank. This delay gave +us time to make an excursion. In company with Mr. Bodmer, I ascended +the slippery, very steep eminences along the river, the singular +shapes of which often appeared to form perfect craters. The earth and +stones everywhere indicated that they had undergone change by fire. +The earth was hard, friable, with many crevices--the stones brown, +blackish, and often looking like scoriæ. This clay, when wet, is +exceedingly clammy and tough. The conical summits, most of which were +perfectly round and pyramidal, were most singularly formed. At the top +there were always very regular, parallel, horizontal rings; the lower +parts of the pyramid had perpendicular furrows, or clefts, as the +annexed woodcut shows.[293] These conical hills have been evidently +elevated by fire, so that many crater-like hollows are seen between +and near them. In the furrows and clefts of these singular hills, many +low plants grow, and form regular net-like green stripes on the bare +black clay. These lines, intersecting each other, divide the surface +into regular beds. The lower part of these eminences is generally +covered with plants, particularly grasses, while the upper is bare, or +merely crossed with the transverse stripes of verdure, and often they +are entirely bare. The climbing up these high, slippery ascents in the +heat of the day was rather fatiguing. When we came into the clefts +between the pyramids, we found the ground, in general, slimy, and so +adhesive that we were almost compelled to leave our shoes behind. In +such places, some old red cedars, groups of the bird cherry, ashes, +roses, &c., were nourished by the moisture. Near the hills, and in the +plain, a cactus, with roundish, flat joints, grew in abundance. It was +not yet in blossom, and I cannot say whether it is the plant taken, by +Nuttall, for _Cactus opuntia_; probably it is _Cactus ferox_. We found +many traces of antelopes and of herds of buffaloes. The latter had +everywhere trodden broad paths on their way to the river to drink. No +beast of the chase presented itself as an object for our rifles, and, +as the sun was going down, we set out on our return. On the way we +[pg. 165] found the horns of an elk, with twelve antlers, and it was +late before we reached the Assiniboin. On the 8th of June, in the +morning, we received a farewell visit from Mr. Laidlow, and then saw +Mr. Fontenelle's party, consisting of sixty men and 185 horses, pass +along over the hills. They rode in our sight through the stream +called, by the Anglo-Americans, Breechcloth Creek, and, by the Sioux, +Tscheh-ke-na-ka-oah-ta-pah.[294] This stream, as well as most of the +small rivers of the prairie, not excepting even the Little Sioux +River, have, in general, a brackish taste when the water is low. +Frequently taking soundings, we proceeded but slowly in the shallow +Missouri, and, early in the afternoon, reached the place where the +timber for building Fort Pièrre had been felled. From this place it is +fifteen miles to the mouth of the Chayenne River. Finding some cords +of wood ready piled up, we took them on board. At sunset, a high wind +arose, so that we could not reach the mouth of the Chayenne till about +seven o'clock on the following morning, after passing Chayenne Island. +The country about the mouth of this river is open, the chain of hills +low, and the banks covered with forests. At its mouth, and for some +way up on both sides of the Missouri, the Arikkaras formerly dwelt, +till they were driven further up by the Sioux, and, at length, wholly +retired from the banks of the Missouri.[295] If we follow the course +of the Chayenne for a couple of hundred miles up to the Black Hills, +we come to the dwellings of the Chayenne Indians, who are hostile to +most of the tribes of the Missouri. They are said to be tall, slender +men, with long, narrow faces, and differing in their language from all +the other tribes in the country. They formerly lived at the mouth of +Chayenne River. They affirm that they came to the Missouri from the +north-east.[296] Dr. Morse states their number at 3,250 souls. + + [Illustration: Hill of baked clay] + +We made but slow progress to-day; and at two o'clock, after our boats +had taken soundings in all directions, we remained fast aground, and +had burnt all our fuel, so that we had to send wood-cutters into the +forests on the left bank. In about half an hour the boats suddenly +returned, bringing word that hostile Indians had been seen in the +forest, and the wood-cutters had, therefore, refused to begin their +work. To give them courage, and to protect them during their work, all +hands on board, that could be spared, armed themselves with rifles and +muskets, and, to the number of twenty-six persons, immediately went on +shore. They formed a line of outposts behind the trees, under whose +protection the wood-cutters pursued their work. But they were not +disturbed, for the Indians had retired, or it had been a false alarm. +We lay to for the night on the west bank; a strong wind had risen, +with a pretty high temperature, which continued till the following +morning, the 10th of June. Early on that day we reached an island, +which appears to be that called, by Lewis and Clarke, Caution Island, +where a couple of white wolves gazed at us without appearing to be at +all afraid. In the afternoon, we came to the mouth of Little Chayenne +River, on the east bank.[297] Elks are very numerous in these parts; +on the following morning we saw a herd of, at least, thirty of these +large animals, as well as a great many wolves, often three or four +together, most of them white. The wood, on the high bank, bore marks +of [pg. 166] the breaking up of the ice, the bark of the trees being +peeled off eight or ten feet above ground. At noon, Mr. Bodmer had +shot a very large male antelope, which we despatched some of the +people to bring on board; other hunters, who had gone out early to the +east bank, made signs that they had killed some game; and the boat +which we sent to them returned in the evening with four large elks. In +the thick forest, on the left bank, were many traces of beavers, which +are more numerous hereabouts than in most of the other parts on the +Missouri, because the trappers (beaver catchers) did not venture to +place their traps in the territory of the hostile Arikkara Indians. + +Opposite to the mouth of Otter Creek,[298] in the woods and thickets +of the west bank, behind which rose the green hills of the prairie, +there were many elks, which were frightened by the noise of the +steamer. In this forest we found an uninhabited loghouse, 180 steps +from which runs a pretty river, called Moreau's River, from a man of +that name who passed the night here with a Chayenne Indian woman, who +had been taken by the Arikkaras and escaped.[299] She stabbed him +while he slept, and fled on his horse to her own nation. This river is +called the southern boundary of the territory of the Arikkaras, though +they often make excursions far beyond it. We stopped at the +above-mentioned loghouse to cut wood, but it was found more convenient +to pull down part of the old building and take it away. On the morning +of the 12th, our cannon, muskets and rifles were loaded with ball, +because we were approaching the villages of the hostile Arikkaras. We +came to Grand River, called in Lewis and Clarke's map Wetarko River. +As we here touched the bottom, we crossed to the east bank, and in +half an hour reached Rampart River,[300] which issues from a narrow +chain of hills, called Les Ramparts; and soon afterwards an island +covered with willows, which, on the large special map of Lewis and +Clarke, has an Arikkara village, of which there are now no +traces.[301] From the hills we had a fine prospect over the bend of +the river, on which the villages of the Arikkaras are situated, and +which we reached after a short run of only two miles. + +The two villages of this tribe are on the west bank, very near each +other, but separated by a small stream. They consist of a great number +of clay huts, round at the top, with a square entrance in front, and +the whole surrounded with a fence of stakes, which were much decayed, +and in many places thrown down. It is not quite a year since these +villages had been wholly abandoned, because their inhabitants, who +were extremely hostile to the Whites, killed so many Americans, that +they themselves foresaw that they would be severely chastised by the +United States, and therefore preferred to emigrate. To this cause was +added, a dry, unproductive season, when the crops entirely failed; as +well as the absence of the herds of buffaloes, which hastened their +removal. It is said that these Indians now roam about on the road from +St. Louis to Santa Fé, and the late attacks on the caravans are +ascribed to them.[302] Mr. Bodmer made an accurate drawing of these +deserted villages. The principal chief of the Arikkaras, when they +retired from [pg. 167] the Missouri, was called Starapat[303] (the +little hawk, with bloody claws), and generally La Main pleine de Sang, +who will be mentioned in the sequel. + +The Arikkaras, or, as they are called by the Mandans, Rikkaras or +Rees, Les Ris of the Canadians, are a branch of the Pawnees, from whom +they long since separated. Their language, which is very easy for a +German to pronounce, is said to be a proof of this affinity. Their +number is supposed to be still 4000 souls, among whom 500 or 600 are +able to bear arms. The wife of La Chapelle, the interpreter for that +nation, was an Arikkara; she had a round full countenance, and rather +delicate small features, with a very light yellowish complexion. It is +affirmed that the women of this nation are the handsomest on the +Missouri. Manoel Lisa, a well-known fur trader, had formerly built a +trading house in this country, of which nothing now remains; though +the place is still called Manoel Lisa's Fort.[304] The prairie was +to-day more verdant and pleasant than yesterday. A mountain, with some +remarkable summits, called La Butte au Grès, gave it some diversity. +Here we suddenly saw, on the bank, a man, who fired his musket three +times, and at first took him for an Indian; but another soon appeared, +in a small leathern boat, and we learnt that both were _engagés_ or +travellers of the Company, who were dispatched from the Upper +Missouri, with letters for Mr. Mc Kenzie. We took them in, and the +little leathern boat was left lying on the beach. In the distance, on +the left, there was a chain of mountains, with numerous summits, near +which Cannon-ball River flows; and, nearer to the Missouri, a chain of +flat hills, level at the top, with many clefts, called La Butte de +Chayenne.[305] In this neighbourhood we saw a high tree in a poplar +wood, entirely covered with turkey buzzards, as in Brazil; towards +evening we passed Beaver Creek (Rivière au Castor), the Warananno[306] +of Lewis and Clarke.[307] + +On the 14th, in the morning, the sky was clouded, and the wind very +bleak. On the west bank of the river a ravine was shown us, where, +seven or eight years before, the Arikkaras had shot seven white men, +who were towing a loaded Mackinaw boat up the river. + +After we had passed an island, which is not marked in Lewis and +Clarke's map, we observed two isolated table mountains in the prairie, +on the west bank, which are not far from Cannon-ball River; and we +then came to an aperture in the chain of hills, from which this +river, which was very high, issues.[308] On the north side of the +mouth, there was a steep, yellow clay wall; and on the southern, a +flat, covered with poplars and willows. This river has its name from +the singular regular sand-stone balls which are found in its banks, +and in those of the Missouri in its vicinity. They are of various +sizes, from that of a musket ball to that of a large bomb, and lie +irregularly on the bank, or in the strata, from which they often +project to half their thickness [pg. 168] when the river has washed away +the earth; they then fall down, and are found in great numbers on the +bank. Such sand-stone balls are met with in many places on the Upper +Missouri; and former travellers have spoken of them. Many of them are +rather elliptical, others are more flattened, and others flat on one +side, and rather convex on the other. Of the perfectly spherical +balls, I observed some two feet in diameter. On the steep bank of the +Missouri we saw many such balls projecting from the narrow strata of +the yellow sand-stone. A mile above the mouth of the Cannon-ball +River, I saw no more of them. The Missouri had risen considerably; +and, during the night, our people were obliged to keep off, with long +poles, the trunks of trees that came floating down the river, without +being able to prevent our receiving shocks which made the whole vessel +tremble. + + [Illustration: Antlers of deer] + +On the 15th, the river had risen nine inches, and brought down much +wood and foam, which was expected, for it is reckoned that, in the +month of June, the Missouri is twice much swollen from the melting of +the snow in the Rocky Mountains. The weather was serene and warm. As +early as half-past five o'clock we saw, on the eastern bank, a chain +of table hills, quite flat at the top, which extends to a pretty +considerable distance. The river turns, to the westward, towards this +interesting chain, which is called the Mountains of the Old Mandan +Village, because, at the place where it is traversed by the river, +such a village is said to have formerly stood. At nine o'clock we +stopped on the western bank to repair the damage the vessel had +sustained, which gave our hunters time to make an excursion a few +miles into the prairie. Towards eleven o'clock the bell gave the +signal for departure. The current of the river was now very strong, so +that we could proceed but slowly. We came to the site of the old +Mandan village, which was situated, at the foot of the hills, in a +fine meadow near the river; some poles, that were still standing, were +the only remains of it; there was no village here at the time of Lewis +and Clarke's journey. Dry, yellow grass now covered the place which +had once been the scene of busy Indian life: only a colony of +swallows, that had built their nests in the neighbouring hills, gave +some animation to the scene. We were now in the territory of the +Indian tribe of the Mandans.[309] A little further up, we saw four of +our hunters sitting on the level ground, which was covered with +poplars; one of them, Ortubize, the Sioux interpreter, had killed a +Virginian deer, and wounded a large elk, which had escaped; soon +after, Messrs. Bodmer and Harvey[310] arrived quite fatigued and +heated; they had gone a great way, and very nearly missed the +steamer. Mr. Harvey had killed a black-tailed or mule deer.[311] They +had met with four of these animals, and brought the [pg. 169] head and +skin, with some of the flesh of the one killed. At the next place, +where we reached the hills, an isolated summit rose above the rest, +which is called Bald Eagle Head; these hills were beautifully +illumined with the setting sun; we saw the white wolves trotting about +on them, and some swans were swimming in the river. On the eastern +bank we saw the ruins of an old trading house, and many traces of +beavers. Near the mouth of Apple Creek we took in wood, and saw, on +the left hand, the continuation of a chain of hills, of very singular +forms.[312] The night swallows flew over the river at an early hour, +and a large beaver appeared among the willows, which we shot at +without success. The 16th of June set in with a high northeast wind, +accompanied with rain. We soon reached the mouth of Heart River,[313] +but the wind drove our vessel towards the bank, and we were obliged to +lay to at six o'clock; and it was not till the evening that the wind +so far abated as to allow us to continue our voyage. The next morning, +early, we came in sight of the Butte Carrée.[314] In the willow +thickets, on the bank, a very fine buffalo bull stood within half +musket-shot; our people fired, but to no purpose. Soon after, we saw, +in the prairie, two more very large animals of this species; and, in +the course of the day, perceived a great number of them. The river +brought down several dead buffalo cows. A little before the mouth of +Lewis and Clarke's Hunting Creek,[315] the Missouri is half a mile +broad, but soon becomes narrower. At eight o'clock we reached the +place where a Mandan village had formerly stood.[316] The Sioux, from +St. Peter's River, surprised it about forty years ago, killed most of +the inhabitants, and destroyed the huts. The prairie hills formed, in +this part, long, flat, naked ridges, perfectly resembling the walls of +a fortress. The oaks and ashes, at the edge of the thickets, were but +just [pg. 170] beginning to unfold their buds. It is probable, however, +that they had suffered by a fire in the prairie. After we had passed, +alternately, prairies, with their hills, steep clay banks, and stripes +of forest, we prosecuted our voyage till dusk, and lay to near a large +willow thicket, on the eastern bank, when some musket shots were +suddenly heard, the flashes of which were evidently seen. Mr. Mc Kenzie +immediately supposed that it was an Indian war party, which people, in +general, avoid, as they do not much trust them. We consulted what was +to be done. Many shots followed, which made a very loud report, it +being the custom of the Indians to use a great deal of powder; and we +soon perceived, among the dark thickets, the figures of the Indians in +their white buffalo robes. As nobody knew the intentions of these +people, we looked forward to the meeting with some anxiety. The +Indians broke silence first, calling out that they were come with +peaceable intentions, and wished to be taken on board. Ortubize, the +interpreter, telling us that they were Sioux, of the branch of the +Yanktonans, we conferred some time with them, while a kind of bridge +of planks was thrown across to the shore. Twenty-three, for the most +part tall men, came on board, and were made to sit down, in a row, on +one side of the large cabin. They came from a camp of the Yanktonans, +consisting of 300 tents, which was in the neighbourhood; they +generally lived on the banks of the Chayenne, which falls into the Red +River, near the Devil's Lake, and the sources of St. Peter's +River.[317] They had been hunting in the neighbourhood, and shot some +buffaloes. The Yanktonans are represented as the most perfidious and +dangerous of all the Sioux, and are stated frequently to have killed +white men, especially Englishmen, in these parts. They generally come +to the Missouri in the winter, but at this season it was a mere chance +that we met with them. They were mostly robust, slender, well-shaped +men, with long dishevelled hair, in which some wore feathers as +indications of their exploits. The upper parts of their bodies were +generally naked, merely covered with the buffalo's skin, or blanket; +but their whole dress was plain and indifferent, as they only came out +for a hunting excursion. The chief of these people was Tatanka-Kta +(the dead buffalo), a man of middling stature, with a very dark brown, +expressive countenance, and his hair bound together over the forehead +in a thick knot; he was dressed in a uniform of red cloth, with blue +facings and collar, and ornamented with silver trimmings, such as the +traders are used to give, or to sell to such chiefs as they desire to +distinguish. In his hand he had the wing of an eagle for a fan. + +After we had smoked with these Yanktonans all round, the chief opened, +before Mr. Mc Kenzie, a bag, with old pemmican (dry meat powdered), by +way of present, and then rose to make a speech. After shaking hands, +successively, with all persons present, he said, with much +gesticulation, and in short sentences, between which he appeared to be +reflecting, "that the whole body of the 300 huts was under the +principal chief, Jawitschahka; that his people had been formerly on +good terms with the Mandans, but had been at variance with them for +about a year, on account of the murder of a Sioux, and now wished to +make peace again; that with this view [pg. 171] they had sent three of +their people to the Mandan villages, but did not know the result; and, +therefore, were very desirous of the mediation of Mr. Mc Kenzie; that +they happened to be near the river, when they perceived their father's +ship, and were come to visit him; that to be able to supply the Fur +Company with more beaver skins, they wished to have liberty to hunt on +the Missouri, and on that account peace with the Mandans was of +importance to them. They hoped, therefore, that Mr. Mc Kenzie would +intercede for them, and allow them to accompany him." The answer +was--"That if, like the other tribes of their nation, who lived +constantly on the Missouri, they would, in future, conduct themselves +properly, and never kill white men, he would attempt all that lay in +his power; but he bade them consider what would be the best for them, +whether to come on board with him, or to go alone by land to the +Mandan villages, as he did not know how they might be received by the +young men of the Mandan tribe." These Indians showed us a beautiful +skin of a young, white, female buffalo, which they intended as a +present for the Mandans, by whom such skins are highly valued. They +had already sent them a white buffalo calf. Our visitors were +afterwards taken into another apartment, where refreshments were set +before them, and they were lodged for the night. The next morning, +however, they went ashore, and proceeded to Fort Clarke on foot. +During the night there was a violent tempest, and the next morning, +the 18th June, was gloomy, damp, and windy. We left at an early hour +the place of the meeting, from which it was twelve miles to Fort +Clarke. The Yanktonans, keeping in sight of us, walked through the +prairie, where they frightened a herd of ten or twelve wolves, which +had long amused us by their gambols. At half-past seven we passed a +roundish island covered with willows, and reached then the wood on the +western bank, in which the winter dwellings of part of the Mandan +Indians are situated; and saw, at a distance, the largest village of +this tribe, Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kush, in the vicinity of which the whole +prairie was covered with riders and pedestrians.[318] As we drew +nearer the huts of that village, Fort Clarke, lying before it, +relieved by the back-ground of the blue prairie hills, came in sight, +with the gay American banner waving from the flagstaff.[319] On a +tongue of land on the left bank were four white men on horseback; +Indians, in their buffalo robes, sat in groups upon the bank, and the +discharge of cannon and musketry commenced to welcome us. The +Assiniboin soon lay to before the fort, against the gently sloping +shore, where above 600 Indians were waiting for us. Close to the +beach, the chiefs and most distinguished warriors of the Mandan nation +stood in front of the assembly of red men, among whom the most eminent +were Charata-Numakschi (the wolf chief), Mato-Topé (the four +bears),[320] Dipauch (the broken arm), Berock-Itainu (the ox neck), +Pehriska-Ruhpa (the two ravens), and some others. They were all +dressed in their finest clothes, to do us honour. As soon as the +vessel was moored, they came on board, and, after having given us +their hands, sat down in the stern cabin. The pipe went round, and the +conversation began with the Mandans, by the assistance of Mr. Kipp, +clerk to the American Fur Company, and director of [pg. 172] the trading +post at Fort Clarke;[321] and with the Manitaries, by the help of the +old interpreter, Charbonneau, who had lived thirty-seven years in the +villages of the latter people, near this place.[322] Mr. Mc Kenzie +caused the proposal of the Yanktonans to be submitted to these +Indians, but the latter, after long deliberation, replied that they +could not possibly accept these proposals of peace, because the +Yanktonans were much too treacherous; that, however, no harm should +now be done to them, and that they might depart unmolested. + +Most of the Indians in our cabin were stout, tall men, except +Mato-Topé, who was of middle stature, and rather slim. I shall have +occasion to say more, in the sequel, of this brave and distinguished +chief. They had their weapons, such as muskets, bows, war clubs, and +battle axes, in their hands, and also fans of eagles' wings, and wore +buffalo robes, which, on the inner side, are painted reddish-brown, or +white, and adorned with coloured figures. They let their hair hang +down at length, considering it as an ornament. Sometimes it is divided +into plaits, and daubed with a reddish clay. However, I refrain, at +present, from describing these Indians, of whom I shall have occasion +to speak more at length. The Mandans, Manitaries, and Crows, of which +tribe there were now seventy tents about the fort, differ very little +from each other in their appearance and dress; they are, however, +taller than the Indians on the Missouri whom we had before seen, and +their features more regular than those of the Sioux. + +We soon went on shore, and examined the numerous assemblage of brown +Indian figures, of whom the women and children, in numerous groups, +were sitting on the ground; the men, some on horseback, some on foot, +were collected around, and making their observations on the white +strangers. Here we saw remarkably tall and handsome men, and fine +dresses, for they had all done their utmost to adorn themselves. The +haughty Crows[323] rode on beautiful panther skins, with red cloth +under them, and, as they never wear spurs, had a whip of elk's horn in +their hand. These mounted warriors, with their diversely painted +faces, feathers in their long hair, bow and arrows slung across their +backs, and with a musket or spear in their hands, the latter of which +is merely for show, were a novel and highly interesting scene. This +remarkable assembly gazed at the strangers with curiosity, and we +conversed with them by signs, but soon proceeded to the fort, which is +built on a smaller scale, on a plan similar to that of all the other +trading posts or forts of the Company. It is about the size of the +Sioux Agency, but more rudely constructed. Immediately behind the fort +there were, in the prairies, seventy leather tents of the Crows, which +we immediately visited.[324] + +The tents of the Crows are exactly like those of the Sioux, and are +set up without any regular order. On the poles, instead of scalps, +there were small pieces of coloured cloth, chiefly red, floating like +streamers in the wind. We were struck with the number of wolf-like +dogs of all colours, of which there were certainly from 500 to 600 +running about. They all fell upon the strangers, and it was not +without difficulty that we kept them off by throwing stones, in which +[pg. 173] some old Indian women assisted us. We then proceeded about 300 +paces in a north-west direction from the fort, up the Missouri, to the +principal village of the Mandans, Mih-Tutta-Hang-Kush.[325] This +village consisted of about sixty large hemispherical clay huts, and +was surrounded with a fence of stakes, at the four corners of which +conical mounds were thrown up, covered with a facing of wicker-work, +and embrasures, which serve for defence, and command the river and the +plain. We were told that these cones or block-houses were not erected +by the Indians themselves, but by the Whites. Three miles further up +the river, and on the same bank, is the second village of the +Mandans, called Ruhptare, consisting of about thirty-eight clay huts, +which we could not then visit for want of time. In the immediate +vicinity of the principal village, the stages, on which these Indians, +like the Sioux, place their dead, lay scattered.[326] + + [Illustration: Sioux burial stages] + +Around them were several high poles, with skins and other things +hanging on them, as offerings to the lord of life, Omahank-Numakshi, +or to the first man, Numank-Machana.[327] The three villages of the +Manitaries (_gros ventre_) nation, whose language is totally different +from that of the Mandans, are situated about fifteen miles higher up +on the same side of the river, and most of their inhabitants had come +on this day to the Mandan villages.[328] + +The view of the prairie around Fort Clarke was at this time highly +interesting. A great number of horses were grazing all round; Indians +of both sexes and all ages were in motion; we were, every moment, +stopped by them, obliged to shake hands, and let them examine us on +all sides. This was sometimes very troublesome. Thus, for example, a +young warrior took hold of my pocket compass which I wore suspended by +a ribbon, and attempted to take it by force, to hang as an ornament +round his neck. I refused his request, but the more I insisted in my +refusal, the more importunate he became. He offered me a handsome +horse for my compass, [pg. 174] and then all his handsome clothes, and +arms into the bargain, and as I still refused, he became angry, and +it was only by the assistance of old Charbonneau, that I escaped a +disagreeable and, perhaps, violent scene. On returning to the steamer +we there found a numerous company of Indians, some smoking, others +wrapped in their blankets, and asleep on the floor. + +Mr. Sandford, the sub-agent of the Mandans, Manitaries, and Crows, had +a conference with Eripuass (the rotten belly), the distinguished chief +of the latter. We accompanied Mr. Sandford to this meeting. Eripuass, +a fine tall man, with a pleasing countenance, had much influence over +his people; being in mourning he came to the fort in his worst dress, +his hair cut close, and daubed with clay. Charbonneau acted as +interpreter in the Manitari language. Mr. Sandford recommended to the +chief continued good treatment of the white people who should come to +his territory, hung a medal round his neck, and, in the name of the +government, made him a considerable present of cloth, powder, ball, +tobacco, &c., which this haughty man received without any sign of +gratitude; on the contrary, these people consider such presents as a +tribute due to them, and a proof of weakness. The Crows, in +particular, as the proudest of the Indians, are said to despise the +Whites. They do not, however, kill them, but often plunder them. At +nightfall we visited Eripuass in his tent. The whole camp of the Crows +was now filled with horses, some with their foals, all which had been +driven in, to prevent their being stolen. This nation, consisting of +400 tents, is said to possess between 9,000 and 10,000 horses, some of +which are very fine. The dogs were partly taken into the tents, and we +were less exposed to their attacks than in the day time, yet still we +had to fight our way through them. The interior of the tent itself had +a striking effect. A small fire in the centre gave sufficient light; +the chief sat opposite the entrance, and round him many fine tall men, +placed according to their rank, all with no other covering than a +breech-cloth. Places were assigned to us on buffalo hides near the +chief, who then lighted his Sioux pipe, which had a long flat tube, +ornamented with bright yellow nails, made each of us take a few puffs, +holding the pipe in his hand, and then passed it round to the left +hand. After Charbonneau had continued the conversation for some time +in the Manitari language, we suddenly rose and retired, according to +the Indian customs. + +The Crows are called by the Mandans, Hahderuka, by the Manitaries, +Haideroka; they themselves call their own tribe Apsaruka. The +territory in which they move about is bounded, to the north or +north-west, by the Yellow Stone River, and extends round Bighorn +River, towards the sources of Chayenne River and the Rocky Mountains. +These Indians are a wandering tribe of hunters, who neither dwell in +fixed villages, like the Mandans, Manitaries, and Arikkaras, nor make +any plantations except of tobacco, which, however, are very small. +About six years ago, the Crows are said to have had only 1,000 +warriors, at present they are reckoned at 1,200. They roam about with +their leather tents, hunt the buffalo, and other wild animals, and +have many horses and dogs, which, however, they never use for food. +They are said to possess more [pg. 175] horses than any other tribe of +the Missouri, and to send them in the winter to Wind River, to feed on +a certain shrub, which soon fattens them. The Crow women are very +skilful in various kinds of work, and their shirts and dresses of +bighorn leather, embroidered and ornamented with dyed porcupine +quills, are particularly handsome, as well as their buffalo robes, +which are painted and embroidered in the same manner. I shall speak, +in the sequel, of their large caps of eagles' feathers, and of their +shields, which are ornamented with feathers and paintings,[329] and +other articles. The men make their weapons very well, and with much +taste, especially their large bows, covered with the horn of the elk +or bighorn, and often with the skin of the rattle-snake. I have +represented a beautiful quiver of this nation, adorned with rosettes +of porcupine quills.[330] In stature and dress these Indians +correspond, on the whole, with the Manitaries, both having been +originally one and the same people, as the affinity of their languages +proves. Long hair is considered as a great beauty, and they take great +pains with it. The hair of one of their chiefs, called Long Hair, was +ten feet long, some feet of which trailed on the ground when he stood +upright.[331] The enemies of the Crows are the Chayennes, the +Blackfeet, and the Sioux; their allies are the Mandans and Manitaries. +With the latter they bartered their good horses for European goods, +but the American Fur Company has now established a separate trading +post for them on the Yellow Stone River, which is called Fort +Cass.[332] + +Though the Crows look down with contempt upon the Whites, they treat +them very hospitably in their tents, yet their pride is singularly +contrasted with a great propensity to stealing and begging, which +makes them very troublesome. They are said to have many more +superstitious notions than the Mandans, Manitaries, and Arikkaras; for +instance, they never smoke a pipe when a pair of shoes is hung up in +their tent; when the pipe circulates none ever takes more than three +puffs, and then passes it in a certain manner to his left-hand +neighbour. They are skilful horsemen, and, in their attacks on +horseback, are said to throw themselves off on one side, as is done by +many Asiatic tribes. They have many bardaches,[333] or hermaphrodites, +among them, and exceed all the other tribes in unnatural practices. + +As among all the Missouri Indians, the Crows are divided into +different bands or unions. A certain price is paid for admission into +these unions and their dances, of which each has one peculiar to +itself, like the other Missouri tribes; on which occasion the women +are given up to the will of the seller in the same manner, as will be +more particularly mentioned when speaking of the other tribes. Of the +female sex, it is said of the Crows, that they, with the women of the +Arikkaras, are the most dissolute of all the tribes of the Missouri. + +This people have a superstitious fear of a white buffalo cow; when a +Crow meets one he addresses the sun in the following words: "I will +give her (_i.e._ the cow) to you." He then [pg. 176] endeavours to kill +the animal, but leaves it untouched, and then says to the sun, "Take +her; she is yours." They never use the skin of these white buffalo +cows, as the Mandans do, of which I shall, by-and-by, speak at length. +The most sacred objects in the eyes of this people are the sun, the +moon, and tobacco, that is, the leaves of the genuine tobacco +(_Nicotiana_); and, therefore, all their children wear a small portion +of this herb, well wrapped up, round their necks, by way of amulet. + +They do not bury their dead in the ground, but, like the Mandans, +Manitaries, Sioux, and Assiniboins, lay them on stages in the +prairie.[334] A Crow woman, who was on the point of death, was very +apprehensive and uneasy in her mind lest she should be interred in the +ground, according to the custom of the Whites. This was her sole +concern, though she did not otherwise express any fear of death; as +soon as she was made easy on this point, she died perfectly +satisfied. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[293] See p. 323, for illustration of hill of baked clay.--ED. + +[294] Called "No Timber Creek," by Lewis and Clark. It is now Chantier +in Stanley County, a term clipped from its Siouan name.--ED. + +[295] For the Cheyenne River see our volume v, p. 126, note 81. +Cheyenne Island, about three miles long, below the river's +embouchment, was called "Pania" by Lewis and Clark. They note also an +old Arikara village, of which only a circular wall remained.--ED. + +[296] For the Cheyenne, see our volume v, p. 140, note 88. Their +migration was from the northeast, the habitat of the Algonquian +stock.--ED. + +[297] Coues, in his edition of Biddle's Lewis and Clark, identifies +the island called "Caution" by the explorers, as the present Plum +Island. The Little Cheyenne is a prairie stream coming into the +Mission from the northeast, in Potter County, South Dakota.--ED. + +[298] Called Beaver (or Otter) Creek by Lewis and Clark; probably the +present Swan Creek, in Walworth County, with the town of Lebeau at its +mouth.--ED. + +[299] For this stream, see our volume v, p. 127, note 82.--ED. + +[300] For these rivers, see our volume v, p. 127, note 83.--ED. + +[301] In Lewis and Clark's time there were three Arikara villages on +the Missouri. The lower village on the island, headed by the chief +Kakawissassa, had been abandoned by 1811. See Bradbury's _Travels_, +our volume v, p. 127.--ED. + +[302] A party returning from Santa Fé in the winter of 1832-33, was +attacked January 1, on the Canadian River, lost all of their property, +and had one man killed. The Arikara apparently never reoccupied their +village permanently. Audubon found them in 1843 in one village with +the Mandan, where they lived until removed to Fort Berthold +reservation.--ED. + +[303] Known to the traders as "Old Star" present at Fort Clark in +1847; see _Larpenteur's Journal_, ii, p. 246.--ED. + +[304] For the Arikara and Lisa see our volume v, p. 113, note 76, and +p. 97, note 64, respectively. Fort Manuel, Lisa's post, erected in +1800, was near the Arikara villages, the site not being definitely +determined.--ED. + +[305] These are now called Cheyenne Hills. Lewis and Clark speak of +one with a top resembling the slanting roof of a house.--ED. + +[306] Lewis and Clark give this as Warraconne (Elk shed their horns) +Creek; now Beaver (or Sand) Creek, in Emmons County, North +Dakota.--ED. + +[307] On a careful investigation, I have not been able to discover +from what source Lewis and Clarke procured a part of their singular +denominations for the affluents of the Missouri; for, in the languages +of the neighbouring Indian nations, they have entirely different +names.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[308] The French form for this river was Le Boulet. It rises somewhat +north of the Black Hills, flows east in two branches across North +Dakota, and empties into the Missouri in Morton County.--ED. + +[309] For a brief sketch of the Mandan, see our volume v, pp. 113, +114, note 76. Maximilian is a chief authority for the customs of this +interesting tribe. See our volume xxiii.--ED. + +[310] Alexander Harvey was a clerk of the American Fur Company. Born +and reared in St. Louis, he quarrelled with his first employers while +still a minor, and ran away to join the fur company. He was for +several years at Fort McKenzie, and one of the participants in the +Blackfoot massacre of 1843-44. Harvey was a bold and desperate +character, and tales of his atrocities are narrated by Larpenteur, a +fellow employé. In 1845 he left the company's employ, and organized a +rival concern, of which he was head. He was living at Fort Yates as +late as 1896.--ED. + +[311] The black-tailed or mule deer of the Americans (_Cervus +macrotis_, Say), has been described, by later zoologists, from an +imperfect skin; I will, therefore, give an imperfect description from +nature. It is larger than the Virginian deer, not so light, has a +larger hoof, much longer ears, and does not run so swiftly--not +quicker than a buffalo cow. It casts its horns in March, and throws +off the rough skin of them in August. They have, generally, only one +young one--sometimes two; they are marked with white spots, on a pale +yellowish-red ground. One of these animals, of three or four years +old, in shape nearly resembled the Virginian deer; the hair of the +body was hard and scanty; the whole of a pale yellowish-red; the +breast greyish-brown, and, on the belly, yellowish-white. In winter, +the colour nearly resembles that of our deer in the same season. Each +of the horns of this deer had four antlers, nearly as in _Cervus +elaphus_. Woodcut B represents the horns of a large deer of this +species.--MAXIMILIAN. + +_Comment by Ed._ See p. 347, for illustration of antlers of deer. + +[312] Marked on Lewis and Clark's map as Shepherd River; it is now +Apple Creek, flowing from the east in Bismarck County, North +Dakota.--ED. + +[313] For Heart River, see our volume v, p. 148, note 91.--ED. + +[314] On the west bank; Square Butte Creek takes its name +therefrom.--ED. + +[315] Lewis and Clark here met a party of Mandan on a hunting +excursion. This creek has not been certainly identified, the river's +bed having changed in the vicinity. It is probably Deer Creek, in +Oliver County.--ED. + +[316] Old Mandan villages had been scattered all along this reach of +the river, Lewis and Clark noting the first remains below Heart +River.--ED. + +[317] The Cheyenne River of North Dakota--not to be confused with the +Missour affluent in South Dakota--is the largest western tributary of +Red River of the North. Devil's Lake, a large body of fresh water in +Halsey County, was a favorite habitat of the Sioux. South of it is now +an Indian reservation, chiefly for Sisseton and Wahpeton Sioux. St. +Peter's River is the present Minnesota; its source is in Big Stone +Lake, on the boundary of Minnesota and South Dakota.--ED. + +[318] Lewis and Clark called the first Mandan village Ma-too-ton-ka. +This was in a wooded bend, three miles below the site of Fort +Clark.--ED. + +[319] Fort Clark, named in honor of General William Clark, was built +in 1831 as the American Fur Company's post among the Mandan. An +earlier post near by, had been the company's home since 1822. Fort +Clark was second in importance only to Forts Union and Pierre. A +trusted employé was kept as chief factor, and the post was maintained +until the close of the fur-trading era. Its site was eight miles below +the mouth of Big Knife River, on the west bank, some eighty or ninety +paces back from the river, and about three-quarters of a mile lower +down and on the opposite side of the river from Fort Mandan, Lewis and +Clark's wintering place (1804-05).--ED. + +[320] The Wolf chief, called by the French traders Chef de Loup, and +by Catlin Ha-na-ta-nu-mauk, was head chief of the nation. Of an +austere and haughty nature, he was feared rather than beloved by the +tribe, whose idol was Four Bears, the second chief. Bodmer painted +this chief in two ways (see Plates 46 and 47, in the accompanying +atlas, our volume xxv). Catlin also secured his likeness both in full +dress and in mourning. Catlin describes in detail a buffalo robe +covered with paintings representing his exploits; see Catlin, _North +American Indians_, i, pp. 145-154.--ED. + +[321] James Kipp was born in Canada in 1788. When about twenty years +of age he entered the fur-trade, as hunter and trapper in the Red +River region. By 1818 he was on the upper Missouri, and became the +agent of the Columbia Fur Company at its Mandan post. Later, he became +a trusted employé of the American Fur Company, building Fort Piegan +among the Blackfeet (1831). For many years he was chief factor at Fort +Clark, transferring (1835) to Fort McKenzie. Audubon found him in +charge of Fort Alexander, on the Yellowstone, in 1843, and two years +later he was entrusted with the important post at Fort Union. He +retired from the fur-trade in 1865, and settled upon his Missouri +farm, which he had acquired many years before. As late as 1876 he once +more visited the Mandan, whose language he was said to have been the +first white man to master.--ED. + +[322] For Toussaint Charbonneau, see Brackenridge's _Journal_, in our +volume vi, p. 32, note 3.--ED. + +[323] For the Crow Indians, see our volume v, p. 226, note 121.--ED. + +[324] See Plate 13, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + +[325] See Plate 49, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + +[326] See p. 347, for illustration of Sioux burial stages.--ED. + +[327] For the traditions of the first man, Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah, consult +Catlin, _North American Indians_, i, pp. 178-181.--ED. + +[328] For the Minitaree, see our volume v, pp. 113, 114, note 76. An +extended account is given by Washington Matthews, "Ethnography and +Philology of the Hidatsa Indians," in United States Geological and +Geographical Survey of the Territories, _Miscellaneous Publications_, +No. 7 (Washington, 1877). Maximilian classes with the Minitaree +villages that of the Ahnahaway, or Gens des Souliers, also called +Wetersoon, whom Lewis and Clark considered a separate though allied +tribe.--ED. + +[329] See Plate 81, figures 5 and 6, in the accompanying atlas, volume +xxv of our series.--ED. + +[330] _Ibid._, figure 10.--ED. + +[331] Catlin says that Long Hair was the head chief of the tribe, +having received his office from the circumstance of having the longest +hair in the tribe. Campbell and Sublette stated that they had lived in +his lodge and examined his hair, which measured ten feet and seven +inches of natural growth.--ED. + +[332] Fort Cass was built by the American Fur Company in the autumn of +1832, on the right bank of the Yellowstone, two or three miles below +the mouth of the Bighorn. It was intended for the Crow trade, and +frequently was called Tulloch's fort from its founder, a company +employé. Wyeth, on his famous voyage, passed this fort in a bull-boat, +August 18, 1833. See Irving, _Rocky Mountains_, ii, pp. 159-161. About +1838 Fort Cass was abandoned in favor of Fort Van Buren farther down +the Yellowstone.--ED. + +[333] The bardaches will be spoken of when we are treating of the +customs of the Mandans.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[334] See p. 347, for illustration of Sioux burial stages.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +VOYAGE FROM FORT CLARKE TO FORT UNION, NEAR THE MOUTH OF THE YELLOW +STONE RIVER, FROM THE 19TH TO THE 24TH JUNE + + Ruhptare, the second Village of the Mandans--The Villages of the + Manitaries on the Knife River--Interview with the + Manitaries--Winter Villages of that Nation--Remarkable + Hills--Mountain L'Ours qui Danse--Little Missouri + River--Territory of the Assiniboins--Kiasax and Matsokui, two + Blackfeet Indians--The Grizzly Bear--Interview with the + Assiniboins--The Bighorn--Muddy River, Lewis and Clarke's White + Earth River--Yellow Stone River--Fort Union. + + +On the 19th June, the Assiniboin left Fort Clarke, with a high, cold +wind, and clouded sky; the thermometer, at nine in the morning, being +at 60½°. The chiefs, and other Indians, had come on board, and also +Kiasax, a Blackfoot Indian, who wished to return to his own people. +The country, on the south bank, appeared to us to have some +resemblance with many parts on the banks of the Rhine; but, on the +right bank, there soon appeared those singular hills, resembling +fortifications. At ten o'clock, we came to Ruhptare, the second Mandan +village, on the south bank, which is situated in a plain a little +higher than the river. All the inhabitants, in their buffalo dresses, +were collected on the bank, and some had taken their station on the +tops of their huts to have a better view: the whole prairie was +covered with people, Indians on horseback, and horses grazing. In the +low willow thickets on the bank, the brown, naked children were +running about; all the men had fans of eagles' feathers in their +hands. The village was surrounded with a fence of palisades; and, with +its spherical clay huts, looked like a New Zealand Hippah. Here, too, +there were high poles near the village, on which skins and other +things were hung, as offerings to the lord of life, or the sun, and +numerous stages for the dead were scattered about the prairie. As we +proceeded, the whole population accompanied us along the steep bank on +foot and on horseback, followed by many of their large wolf dogs. The +[pg. 178] country was pretty open and flat. We saw before us the fine +broad mirror of the river, and, at a distance on the southern bank, +the red mass of the clay huts of the lower village of the Manitaries, +which we reached in half an hour. The Missouri is joined by the Knife +River, on which the three villages of the Manitaries are built. The +largest, which is the furthest from the Missouri, is called Eláh-Sá +(the village of the great willows); the middle one, Awatichay (the +little village), where Charbonneau, the interpreter, lives; and the +third, Awacháwi (le village des souliers), which is the smallest, +consisting of only eighteen huts, situated at the mouth of Knife +River.[335] While we were examining this interesting country, and +receiving from Charbonneau many particulars respecting these villages, +in which he had lived for more than thirty years, our Indian +companions were sitting or lying about the fire, smoking their pipes. +Among them was Dipauch (the broken arm), a tall, stout man, with whom +I frequently came in contact in the following winter. His long, thick +hair was bound together in a large queue, and on his breast he wore a +silver gorget, which he had received as a present from the Whites. The +expression of his countenance was agreeable, whereas that of Berock +Itainú (bull's neck), a similar colossus, the inseparable companion of +the former, was gloomy and less pleasing. Both were six feet high, and +Berock Itainú wore his hair tied together in a knot upon his head. +Mato-Topé (the four bears), the eminent Mandan chief, whom I have +before mentioned, and Cháratá-Numákshi (the chief of the wolves), were +also present; and I purchased from the former his painted buffalo +dress, which had hitherto been his medicine (_i.e._ charm), which he +highly valued as a _souvenir_ of his brother, who had been shot by the +enemy. Our cookery pleased them much; they were fond of coffee, and +sugar was a great delicacy; but they cannot make maple sugar like the +Indians in the woody country, because the trees are neither numerous +nor strong enough to produce this article. + +When we turned our eyes from the dark brown inhabitants to the +surrounding scenery, we saw, on the banks, grey hills, with level +prairies and willow thickets next the river, and the country, in +general, was rather flat than mountainous. The hills were partly +depressed at the top--a feature which is almost peculiar to these +hills. At noon the sun burst forth, and the thermometer was at 76°, +with a high wind. The south bank of the river was now animated by a +crowd of Indians, both on foot and on horseback; they were the +Manitaries, who had flocked from their three villages to see the +steamer and to welcome us. The appearance of this vessel of the +Company, which comes up, once in two years, to the Yellow Stone River, +is an event of the greatest importance to the Indians; they then come +from considerable distances to see this hissing machine, which they +look upon as one of the most wonderful medicines (charms) of the white +men. The sight of the red-brown crowd collected on the river side, for +even their buffalo skins were mostly of this colour, was, in the +highest degree, striking. We already saw above a hundred of them, with +many dogs, some of which drew sledges, and others, wooden boards +[pg. 179] fastened to their backs, and the ends trailing on the ground, +to which the baggage was attached with leather straps. The Indians +hastened through the willow thicket, and, altogether, stood opposite +to us on the steep, low, sandy bank, where they were so crowded that +we, every moment, expected to see the sand give way. + +The most attractive sight which we had yet met with upon this voyage, +now presented itself to our view. The steamboat lay to close to the +willow thicket, and we saw, immediately before us, the numerous, +motley, gaily painted, and variously ornamented crowd of the most +elegant Indians on the whole course of the Missouri. The handsomest +and most robust persons, of both sexes and all ages, in highly +original, graceful, and characteristic costumes, appeared, thronged +together, to our astonished eye; and there was, all at once, so much +to see and to observe, that we anxiously profited by every moment to +catch only the main features of this unique picture. The Manitaries +are, in fact, the tallest and best formed Indians on the Missouri, +and, in this respect, as well as in the elegance of their costume, the +Crows alone approach them, whom they, perhaps, even surpass in the +latter particular. Their faces were, in general, painted red, in which +the North Americans agree with the Brazilians, and many other South +Americans; their long hair hung in broad flat braids down their backs; +on the side of each eye, they had hanging, from the forehead, a string +of white and blue beads, alternating with tooth shells, and their +heads were adorned with feathers, stuck in the hair. + +The expression of their remarkable countenances, as they gazed at us, +was very various; in some, it was cold and disdainful; in others, +intense curiosity; in others, again, good-nature and simplicity. The +upper parts of their bodies were, in general, naked, and the fine +brown skin of their arms adorned with broad, bright bracelets of a +white metal. In their hands they carried their musket, bow and +battle-axe; their quivers, of otter skin, elegantly decorated, were +slung over their backs; their leggins were trimmed with tufts of the +hair of the enemies whom they had killed, with dyed horse-hair of +different colours, and with a profusion of leather fringe, and +beautifully embroidered with stripes of dyed porcupine quills, or +glass beads, of the most brilliant colours. These handsome, robust +men, showing their remarkably fine white teeth as they smiled, gave +free expression to their feelings; and the unnatural and ugly +fashions, as well as the different costumes of the white people, +probably afforded ample matter for satirical observations, for which +these children of nature have a peculiar turn. All these Indians were +dressed in their very finest clothes, and they completely attained +their object; for they made, at least upon us strangers, a very lively +impression. Many of them were distinguished by wearing leather shirts, +of exquisite workmanship, which they obtain by barter from the Crows. +Several tall, athletic men were on horseback, and managed their +horses, which were frightened by the noise of the steam-boats, with an +ease which afforded us pleasure. Urging them with their short whips in +the manner of the Cossacks, with the bridle fastened to the lower jaw, +they, at length, pushed the [pg. 180] light, spirited animals through +the willow thicket, till they reached the river, where these fine bold +horsemen, resembling the Circassians, with their red-painted +countenances, were regarded with great admiration. Many of them wore +the large valuable necklace, made of long bears' claws, and their +handsomely-painted buffalo robe was fastened round the waist by a +girdle. In general they had no stirrups, but sat very firmly on the +naked backs of the horses, and several rode on a saddle resembling the +Hungarian saddle. Among the young women we observed some who were very +pretty, the white of whose sparkling hazel eyes formed a striking +contrast with the vermilion faces. I regret that it is impossible, +by any description, to give the reader a distinct idea of such a +scene, and there was not sufficient time for Mr. Bodmer to make a +drawing of it. The following winter, however, afforded us an +opportunity, in some measure, to supply this deficiency. + + [Illustration: A Blackfoot musical instrument] + +The chiefs of the Manitaries came on board for a short time; among +them were old Addi-Hiddisch (the road maker), Péhriska-Rúhpa (the two +ravens), Lachpizí-Sihrish (the yellow bear), and several others, and +with them the Blackfoot Kiasax, in his best dress, who was to make the +voyage along with us. He was accompanied by his Manitari wife, who +carried a little child, wrapped in a piece of leather, fastened with +straps. She wept much at parting from her husband, and the farewell +scene was very interesting. While this was going on, an Indian, on the +shore, was employed in keeping off the crowd with a long willow rod, +which he laid about the women and children with a right hearty good +will, when, by their curiosity, they hindered our _engagés_ and crew +in loosening the vessel from the shore. The vessel, however, was ready +to start; Mr. Kipp, Charbonneau, the interpreter, and the Manitari +chiefs, took leave, and hastened to land, on which the Assiniboin +proceeded rapidly up the Missouri. The Indians followed us, for a +time, along the bank; about thirty of them formed an interesting group +on horseback, two sometimes sitting on the same beast. As the willow +thickets on the banks ceased, we had a good view of the prairie, where +many Indian horsemen were galloping about; herds of horses fled from +the noise of the vessel. The friends and relations of Kiasax and +Matsokui--for we had taken another Blackfoot on board--followed the +vessel longer than any of the others; they frequently called to them, +and nodded farewell, to which Kiasax answered with a long wooden +pipe, upon which he played a wretched piece of music.[336] This Mandan +pipe, which the Indians, on the Upper Missouri, frequently use, is +from two and a half to three feet long, rather wider at the lower end, +and has a hole on the upper side, which is alternately opened and shut +with the finger. By way of ornament, an eagle's feather is fastened +[pg. 181] to the end of the instrument with a string, which is generally +a medicine or talisman of the owner. Kiasax set a high value on his +pipe, which he held constantly in his hand, and would not sell on any +terms. A violent storm, accompanied by heavy rain, compelled us to lay +to, for ten minutes, on the left bank, where the river is bounded by +steep high hills. At this spot Major Pilcher had formerly established +a trading post for the Crows and Assiniboins.[337] There were, at that +time, no such posts further up the Missouri, but it has since been +abandoned, and no trace of it is now to be seen. Before us was a fine +extensive view of romantic gradations of the tongues of land, singular +mountain tops and cones; and, on the grey chain of hills, we again saw +the black horizontal parallel strata of the bituminous coal, which +accompany, without interruption, the course of the Missouri. This +black fossil has often been examined, with the hope that it might be +employed as fuel, but it is unserviceable, has a very bad smell, and +is of no use even for blacksmiths' work.[338] These black strata have +evidently undergone, in former times, the action of fire; and we +everywhere observed, on the ridges of the hills, clay or clay-slate +formations, either in the shape of cones, or angular, like +fortifications. Many of these pyramids are perfectly regular, and +stand on a broad basis, furrowed by the water; some are square, and +others regularly flattened. The strata of bituminous coal extend along +the base of most of them; all these singularly-formed rocks have, +doubtless, been elevated by the action of subterraneous fire. The +evening sun illumined the grotesque pyramidal hills, and their shadows +gave us a clear idea of their forms. The northern declivity of the +mountains was partly covered with bushes; the southern, almost always +naked and bare. Towards nightfall we passed the winter village of the +Manitaries,[339] situated in a forest, which, at this time, was +without inhabitants, and then came to a tongue of land on the right +hand, with a high, steep, rocky bank, on which Mr. Sandford once +found, in the month of April, great numbers of serpents, which he +estimated at several thousands. They appear to have consisted of two +species only, which, by their description, were, doubtless, the _Col. +sirtalis_ and _flaviventris_ of Say. All the holes and pits in the +sides of the rock, and between the blocks of stone on the bank, are +said to have been full of them. In one small ravine they lay coiled up +in balls; several hundreds of them were killed, the Americans, in +general, having an antipathy to these animals. Bradbury, too, mentions +large heaps of serpents, under stones, along the Missouri, but at +another season of the year. That serpents must abound in these parts, +seems to be proved by the name of a small stream, which is called +Snake Creek. Half a mile from this place, the Miry Creek flows, from a +flat meadow;[340] on the hills beyond we saw some antelopes. + +On the following morning, the 20th of June, we perceived, in a forest +on the bank, fifteen Indians, and soon afterwards four large elks, +which would have been a welcome prey to the hunters, had they been +aware of their being so near. One of the strata of black coal on the +generally flat hills of this part of the country had lately been on +fire; we did not, however, perceive any smoke. + +[pg. 182] After ten o'clock, having taken in fuel, we came to singular +hills, flattened at the top, which are called L'Ours qui Danse, +because it is said the Indians here celebrate the bear dance, a +medicine feast, in order to obtain success in the chase.[341] At noon +there was a high cold wind while the thermometer was at 70°. The +country was rather flat, and the river was bordered by green forests; +on the right bank, in particular, the wood was beautiful, lofty, and +dark. Here we observed many traces of beavers, such as gnawed trees +and paths leading to the water's edge. Our hunters gradually returned +to the bank; they had shot two Virginian deer, an antelope, and a +prairie hen. Mr. Bodmer, who returned to the vessel much fatigued and +heated, brought with him a stone[342] of the shape of a battle-axe, +which had been found in the prairie.[343] + + [Illustration: Stone battle-axe] + +Continuing our voyage, we saw the buffaloes hasten away, and moored +our vessel at twilight to some trees on the north bank. All over the +plain there were deeply trodden paths of the buffaloes. On the morning +following, the 21st, the river had risen considerably, and brought +down trunks of trees, branches, &c., which covered the surface, and +gave our vessel some violent shocks: strips of wood, and desolate +hills, without any vegetation, appeared. On the southern bank we came +to a green spot at the mouth of the Little Missouri,[344] which is +reckoned to be 1670 miles from the mouth of the Great Missouri. The +chain of blue hills, with the same singular forms as we had seen +before, appeared on the other side of this river. In the forests roses +in full blossom formed a thick underwood, which was traversed by the +path of the buffaloes. Before noon we reached the territory of the +Assiniboins, and were, at this time, at Wild Onion Creek.[345] Kiasax +(l'ours gauche--left-handed or awkward bear) had permitted Mr. Bodmer +to take his portrait, without making any objection, whereas Matsokui +(beautiful hair) was not to be persuaded to do so, affirming that he +must then infallibly die. It turned out in the sequel that he was to +die, and Kiasax to return, unhurt by the enemy. The latter had adopted +the costume of the Manitaries, but at the same time wrapped himself in +a Spanish blanket, striped blue, white and black, which, as well as a +metal cross, which he wore suspended round his neck, was a proof of +the intercourse between the Blackfoot Indians and the Spaniards near +the Rocky Mountains. These two Indians appeared to be very quiet, +obliging men. Thus, for instance, they never [pg. 183] returned from an +excursion on shore, without bringing me some handfulls of plants, +often, it is true, only common grass, because they had observed that +we always brought plants home with us. + +We lay to about three miles below Goose Egg Lake. A white wolf +accompanied the steam-boat as it proceeded. We came to the canal which +joins Goose Egg Lake to the Missouri, which I was unable to examine, +as the steamer did not stop. Here the river makes a great bend, which, +as well as that near Fort Lookout, is called by some Canadians Le +Grand Détour.[346] Early on the following morning, the 22nd, we saw +wild animals of various kinds, such as buffaloes, elks, and Virginian +deer. The wild geese with their young suffered us to approach pretty +closely, because, at this season, they moult their long wing feathers. +About ten o'clock we had an alarm of fire on board: the upper deck had +been set on fire by the iron pipe of the chimney of the great cabin. +We immediately lay to, and, by breaking up the deck, the danger was +soon over, which, however, was not inconsiderable, as we had many +barrels of powder on board. We had scarcely got over this trouble, +when another arose; the current of the swollen river was so strong, +that we long contended against it to no purpose, in order to turn a +certain point of land, while, at the same time, the high west wind was +against us, and both together threw the vessel back three times on the +south coast. The first shock was so violent, that the lower deck +gallery was broken to pieces. Our second attempt succeeded no better; +part of the paddle-box was broken, and carried away by the current. We +were now obliged to land forty men to tow the vessel, for which +purpose all on board voluntarily offered their services, even the two +Blackfeet overcame their natural laziness. Beyond this dangerous +place, we took on board the hunters whom we had sent out. They were +covered from head to foot with blood, and hung about with game, having +killed two elks. The effect of the current and the wind upon our +vessel continued for a long time. It was often thrown against the +alluvial bank, so that the deck was covered with earth, and the track +of our vessel clearly marked along the clayey sand bank. After four +o'clock we stopped at a narrow verdant prairie in front of the hills, +to fell wood: several pretty plants, among which was a juniper with +the berries still green, were found here. The cat bird, the wren and +blackbird animated the thickets, and we observed also the great curlew +(_Numenius longirostris_). A very large elk horn of twelve antlers had +been found; a number of them lie about in all the forests and +prairies, of which no use is made. In the afternoon we saw in the +prairie of the north bank a large grizzly bear, and immediately sent +Ortubize and another hunter in pursuit of him, but to no purpose. Soon +after we saw two other bears, one of a whitish, the other of a dark +colour, and our hunters, when they returned, affirmed that they had +wounded the largest. Harvey had shot an elk, and brought the best part +of it from a great distance, and with considerable exertion, to the +river. From this place upwards, the grey bear became more and more +common; further down the river it is still rare. Brackenridge says, it +is not found below the [pg. 184] Mandan villages, but this is not quite +correct. Near the prairie where we saw the bears, is the mouth of +White Earth River, called by Lewis and Clarke, Goat-pen River.[347] +Here we crossed the Missouri, and lay to for the night on the south +coast, where some of our people landed to set traps for the beavers. +Harvey had the good fortune to catch, during the night, a young +beaver, which he brought on board alive, on the following morning, the +23rd. The iron trap had broken one of the legs of the little beaver, +and with all our care we could not keep it alive. The surrounding +country on the banks of the Missouri, which is here very broad, again +showed the singularly formed angular hills flattened at the top like +tables: several pretty prairies, in which the white artemisia and +other beautiful plants grew, extended at the foot of the eminences, on +the declivity of which the buffalo berry and the creeping juniper were +common; henceforward the clay cones were partly burnt as red as +bricks, which was a clear proof of their origin. Many of them had +parallel horizontal stripes, projecting a little, of harder sandstone +strata, which had resisted the influence of the elements more than the +intermediate strata of clay and sand. + +The vessel laying to, about eleven o'clock, near a wood on the south +bank, we suddenly perceived on the north bank some Indians, who +immediately called to us. They were the first Assiniboins that we had +met with; they sat upon the bank waiting for the boat which Mr. Mc +Kenzie sent to them. After a short pause they came on board the +steamer, and proved to be Stassága (le brecheux), who was well known +to Mr. Mc Kenzie, with seven of his people of the branch called by the +French, Gens des Filles.[348] The chief, a robust, thick-set man, +rather above the middle size, wore his hair tied behind in a thick +queue, and cut short in front; he had bound across the crown a slip of +whitish skin; in his ears he had strings of blue and white glass +beads; round his neck a collar of bears' claws; the upper part of his +body was wrapped in a red woollen shirt; his legs were quite bare, but +he had a pair of handsomely embroidered leggins which he put on when +his people left the vessel. He was wrapped in a buffalo robe, and had +in his hand a musket, and an eagle's wing for a fan. Another robust +man had smeared his face, about the eyes, with white clay. The rest of +these Indians were neither well formed nor well dressed, but dirty and +slovenly. Their hair hung in disorder about their heads; some of them +had made it up into three plaits; their legs were mostly bare; only a +couple of them had leggins. One of them, with a Jewish physiognomy, +wore a white wolf skin cap. Some of them were marked with two parallel +tattooed black stripes from the neck down the breast; the upper parts +of their bodies were naked, but they were wrapped in buffalo robes. +Most of them had guns, and all, without distinction, bows and arrows, +the latter in a quiver or bag made of skin, to which also the case for +the bow is attached, as shown in the woodcut.[349] + +As the Assiniboins are a branch of the Sioux, Ortubize was able to act +as interpreter. They were made to sit down round the great cabin, and +the pipe circulated; they likewise [pg. 185] received abundance of food, +which seemed to please them much. They said that since they came to +these parts in the spring, they had suffered much from want of food, +buffaloes being scarce. They intended shortly to leave this part of +the country, but the chief wished to go with us to Fort Union, which +we allowed him to do. After they had been shown about the vessel, the +steam-engine of which greatly excited their attention, though they +suppressed any mark of surprise, they were landed in a lofty poplar +grove on the north bank. + +After dinner, we proceeded along the side of a prairie, where we heard +the note of the great curlew. The valley of the river was bounded on +both sides by very remarkable whitish-grey, obliquely stratified +ridges, with singular spots of red clay, and bushes in the ravines; at +their feet was the prairie, covered with pale green artemisia; and on +the tongues of land, at the windings of the Missouri, there were fine +poplar groves, with an undergrowth of roses in full bloom, +buffalo-berry bushes, and many species of plants. On the mountains we +again saw naked rounded cones of earth, as if they had been thrown up +by moles, and, on the tops of some of them, a little turret, or cone, +while their sides were rounded by the rain water, or marked with +parallel perpendicular furrows. + +On our further progress up the river, we saw, for the first time, the +animal known by the name of the bighorn, or the Rocky Mountain sheep, +the _Ovis montana_ of the zoologists. A ram and two sheep of this +species stood on the summit of the highest hill, and, after looking at +our steamer, slowly retired. These animals are not frequent +hereabouts, but we afterwards met with them in great numbers. We here +took on board some cord wood, which the different trading posts had +employed their _engagés_ to get ready for the steamboat. + +On the 24th, in the morning, we found the banks wooded, and beyond the +thickets were the chain of hills, in the middle of which were strata +of the colour of red bricks. Cones of that colour, and sometimes +detached grey figures, with a red base, crowned the heights. Many +varied colours showed that these eminences must have undergone the +action of fire. About eight o'clock we came to the mouth of Muddy +River (the White Earth River of Lewis and Clarke), which issues from a +thicket on the north bank.[350] In this part we saw smoke on the +bank, and, soon afterwards, some Assiniboins, one of whom fired three +shots to attract our attention: others soon came up, and we took them +on board. They were robust men, with high cheek-bones, well dressed, +all in leather shirts, their legs mostly bare, and their hair hanging +smooth about their heads; one of them took off the leather case of his +bow, and wrapped it round his head like a turban, so that a little +tuft of feathers, at one end of it, stood upright. Following the +numerous windings of the Missouri, from one chain of hills to another, +we reached, at seven o'clock in the evening, the mouth of the Yellow +Stone, a fine river, hardly inferior in breadth to the Missouri at +this part. It issues below the high grey chain of hills, and its mouth +is bordered with a fine wood of tall poplars, with willow thickets. +The two rivers unite in an obtuse angle; and there [pg. 186] is a sudden +turn of the Missouri to the north-west; it is not wooded at the +junction, but flows between prairies thirty or more miles in extent. +Herds of buffaloes are often seen here; at this time they had left +these parts: we saw, however, many antelopes. At the next turn of the +river, towards the right hand, we had a fine prospect. Gentle +eminences, with various rounded or flat tops, covered with bright +verdure, formed the back-ground; before them, tall poplar groves, and +willow thickets on the bank of the river, whose dark blue waters, +splendidly illumined by the setting sun, flowed, with many windings, +through the prairie. A little further on lay Fort Union, on a verdant +plain, with the handsome American flag, gilded by the last rays of +evening, floating in the azure sky, while a herd of horses grazing +animated the peaceful scene.[351] + +As the steamer approached, the cannon of Fort Union fired a salute, +with a running fire of musketry, to bid us welcome, which was answered +in a similar manner by our vessel. When we reached the fort, we were +received by Mr. Hamilton, an Englishman, who, during the absence of +Mr. Mc Kenzie, had performed the functions of director,[352] as well +as by several clerks of the Company, and a number of their servants +(_engagés_ or _voyageurs_), of many different nations, Americans, +Englishmen, Germans, Frenchmen, Russians, Spaniards, and Italians, +about 100 in number, with many Indians, and half-breed women and +children. It was the seventy-fifth day since our departure from St. +Louis, when the Assiniboin cast anchor at Fort Union. + +The Yellow Stone, being one of the principal affluents of the +Missouri, receives several considerable streams, of which the +following are the chief:-- + + 1. The Bighorn River (_La Grosse Corne_). + 2. The Little Bighorn River (_La Petite Grosse Corne_). + 3. The Tongue River (_La Rivière à la Langue_). + 4. The Powder River (_La Rivière à la Poudre_). + +The Yellow Stone is called, by the Canadians, La Roche Jaune. Warden +calls it Keheetsa, but I do not know where he got this name. Lewis and +Clarke say it has no name. The names given it by most of the Indian +nations signify Elk River.[353] + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[335] Knife River, called by the French Rivière de Couteau, and by the +Indians Minah Wakpa, is a prairie stream, whose course is in general +east, entering the Missouri in Mercer County, North Dakota. The town +of Stanton is now on the site of the third village, Awachawi--ED. + +[336] See p. 361, for illustration of a Blackfoot musical +instrument.--ED. + +[337] This fort of Pilcher, built for the Missouri Fur Company about +1822, was about eleven miles above the mouth of Knife River, and named +Fort Vanderburgh. Not proving profitable, it was maintained but a +short time. See another mention in our volume xxiii, chapter +xxiii.--ED. + +[338] See article by O. D. Wheeler, in _Wonderland_ (1904), on the +recent development of the lignite coal area of North Dakota.--ED. + +[339] It was a custom of the Minitaree, maintained until 1866, to +leave their permanent village each winter for a spot where fuel was +convenient, and there build log-cabins, very warm and secure, as +winter quarters. They thus preserved both the fuel supply, and the +game in the neighborhood of their summer home.--ED. + +[340] Miry Creek appears to be the present Snake Creek, in McLean +County, North Dakota, the one which Maximilian designates as Snake +being a small run from a cliff which was known as Snake den. See +_Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition_, i, p. 291.--ED. + +[341] See description of bear-dance, with illustration, in Catlin, +_North American Indians_, i, pp. 242-245.--ED. + +[342] These stones are generally granite, not sharp, but rounded in +front; are used by the Indians to break the large bones of the +buffaloes, of the marrow of which they are very fond. Stones closely +resembling these are found among the Blackfoot Indians.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[343] See p. 361, for illustration of a stone battle-axe.--ED. + +[344] The Little Missouri is the most important North Dakota affluent +of the Missouri, above the Cannonball. It rises on the northwestern +slopes of the Black Hills and flows north for some distance, thence +turning northeast and east to enter the main river in Williams County. +It is a broad but shallow stream, impregnated with alkali.--ED. + +[345] Wild Onion Creek was so named by Lewis and Clark because of the +quantity of that plant growing upon its bordering plains. Within +Garfield County, North Dakota, it is now denominated Pride Creek.--ED. + +[346] Goose Egg Lake, so named by the explorers "from the circumstance +of my [Clark] shooting a goose on her nest on some sticks in the top +of a high cotton wood tree in which there was one egg," is now Cold +Spring Lake (_Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition_, i, +pp. 304, 305). The great bend (Grand Detour) is still so named, but is +much wider than the lower bend, being nearly ten miles across, and +over twenty around the curve.--ED. + +[347] Coues, _Lewis and Clark Expedition_, i, p. 274, identifies Goat +Pen Creek with Upper Knife River. Maximilian's identification of this +stream as the present White Earth River appears to accord better with +the _Original Journals_ (i, p. 313). The White Earth rises in Coteau +des Prairies, and flows directly south into the Missouri. Lewis and +Clark applied the name to a river farther up, near the forks of the +Yellowstone. See note 348, _post_, p. 372.--ED. + +[348] For the Assiniboin see our volume ii, p. 168, note 75. They +separated from the Wazikute gens of the Yanktonnai Sioux before the +middle of the seventeenth century. The Dakota stigmatize them as +"Hohe" (rebels). Lewis and Clark name three bands of these people, of +whom they heard along the Missouri--Gens de Canoe, Gens des Filles, +and Gens des Grand Diables. The Gens des Filles (girl band) was +composed of about sixty tents, its head chief being Les Yeux Gris +(Grey Eyes). See United States Bureau of Ethnology _Report_, 1894-95, +p. 223.--ED. + +[349] See p. 287, for illustration of bows, arrows, and quiver.--ED. + +[350] The White Earth River of Lewis and Clark, now Muddy River, is a +northern affluent of the Missouri, taking its name from the mud by +which its mouth is choked. Above the mouth it is a clear and partly +navigable stream, flowing through a valley nearly five miles wide, +fertile although treeless. It enters the Missouri in Buford County, +having the town of Williston at its mouth.--ED. + +[351] Fort Union was the most important post of the American Fur +Company on the upper Missouri. It was commenced in the autumn of 1828 +(Maximilian says 1829), being at first known as Fort Floyd--another +Fort Union existing higher up the river, which was abandoned, and the +property transferred to the fort at the mouth of the Yellowstone. The +actual site was five miles above the meeting of the rivers, on the +north bank of the Missouri; see _Larpenteur's Journal_, i, pp. 50, 68. +The fort was injured by fire in 1832, but substantially rebuilt, Wyeth +(1833) pronouncing it superior to the Oregon forts of the British +companies. Maintained until 1867, it was finally abandoned, part of +its effects being transferred to the government post Fort Buford, some +miles below.--ED. + +[352] Our knowledge of Hamilton is chiefly derived from the pages of +Larpenteur, who says that the former was an English nobleman, whose +real name was Archibald Palmer. Having become involved in some +difficulties, he assumed the name James Archdale Hamilton, and having +formed acquaintance with Kenneth McKenzie was sent by the latter as +book-keeper to Fort Union, where he took full command during +McKenzie's frequent absences. Hamilton was at this time about fifty +years of age, punctilious in manner, particular in dress, and both +respected and feared by his subordinates. Later he reverted to his own +name and returned to St. Louis, becoming cashier for the American Fur +Company, and dying in that city.--ED. + +[353] The French form for the name of this great river (Roche Jaune) +was in early use; Chittenden (_Yellowstone National Park_ (Cincinnati, +1895), pp. 1-7) thinks it a translation of the Indian term, derived +from the predominant color of Yellowstone Cañon. The first use of the +English form appears to be in the writings of David Thompson, the +English explorer (1798). See Elliott Coues, _New Light on the Early +History of the Greater Northwest_ (New York, 1897), i, p. 302. The +Crow Indians had a name for this stream, signifying "Elk." + +The reference is to D. B. Warden, _Statistical, Political, and +Historical Account of the United States of North America_ (Edinburgh, +1819), i, p. 93.--ED. + + + + +CHAPTER XV + +DESCRIPTION OF FORT UNION AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD + + Description of the Fort and its Vicinity--Its Inhabitants, and + the Fur Trade on the Upper Missouri--The Indian Branch of the + Assiniboins, the original Possessors of this Spot. + + +The erection of Fort Union was commenced in the autumn of 1829, by Mr. +Mc Kenzie, and is now completed, except that some of the edifices +which were erected in haste are under repair. The fort is situated on +an alluvial eminence, on the northern bank of the Missouri, in a +prairie, which extends about 1,500 paces to a chain of hills, on whose +summit there are other wide-spreading plains. The river runs at a +distance of scarcely fifty or sixty feet from the fort, in the direction +from west to east; it is here rather broad, and the opposite bank is +wooded. The fort itself forms a quadrangle, the sides of which measure +about eighty paces in length, on the exterior. The ramparts consist of +strong pickets, sixteen or seventeen feet high, squared, and placed +close to each other, and surmounted by a _chevaux-de-frise_. On the +south-west and north-east ends, there are block-houses, with pointed +roofs, two stories high, with embrasures and some cannon, which, +though small, are fit for service. In the front of the enclosure, and +towards the river, is the well-defended principal entrance, with a +large folding gate. Opposite the entrance, on the other side of the +quadrangle, is the house of the commandant; it is one story high, and +has four handsome glass windows on each side of the door. The roof is +spacious, and contains a large, light loft. This house is very +commodious, and, like all the buildings of the inner quadrangle, +constructed of poplar wood, the staple wood for building in this +neighbourhood. In the inner quadrangle are the residences of the +clerks, the interpreters, and the _engagés_, the powder magazine, the +stores, or supplies of goods and bartered skins, various workshops for +the handicraftsmen, smiths, carpenters, &c., stables for the horses +and cattle, rooms for receiving and entertaining the Indians; and in +the centre is the flag-staff, around which several half-breed Indian +hunters had erected their leathern tents. A cannon was also placed +here, with its mouth towards the principal [pg. 188] entrance.[354] +The fort contains about fifty or sixty horses, some mules, and an +inconsiderable number of cattle, swine, goats, fowls, and domestic +animals. The cattle are very fine, and the cows yield abundance of +milk. The horses are driven, in the day-time, into the prairie, +guarded and exercised by armed men, and, in the evening, brought back +into the quadrangle of the fort, where the greater part of them pass +the night in the open air. Mr. Mc Kenzie has, however, lately had a +separate place, or park, provided for them. + +Fort Union is one of the principal posts of the Fur Company, because +it is the central point of the two other trading stations, still +higher up, towards the Rocky Mountains, and having the superintendence +of the whole of the trade in the interior, and in the vicinity of the +mountains. One of these two trading stations, called Fort Cass, is 200 +miles up the Yellow Stone River, and is confined to the trade with the +Crow tribe; the other, Fort Piekann, or, as it is now called, Fort Mc +Kenzie, is 850[355] miles up the Missouri, or about a day's journey +from the falls of this river, and carries on the fur trade with the +three tribes of the Blackfoot Indians. The latter station has been +established about two years, and, as the steamers cannot often go up +to Fort Union, they despatch keel-boats, to supply the various trading +posts with goods for barter with the Indians. They then pass the +winter at these stations, and in the spring carry the furs to Fort +Union, whence they are transported, in the course of the summer, to +St. Louis, by the steamers. + +The Company maintains a number of agents at these different stations; +during their stay they marry Indian women, but leave them, without +scruple, when they are removed to another station, or are recalled to +the United States. The lower class of these agents, who are called +_engagés_, or _voyageurs_, have to act as steersmen, rowers, hunters, +traders, &c., according to their several capabilities. They are often +sent great distances, employed in perilous undertakings among the +Indians, and are obliged to fight against the enemy, and many of them +are killed every year by the arms with which the Whites themselves +have furnished the Indians. Some of the agents of the Fur Company +winter every year in the Rocky Mountains.[356] + +The proprietors of the American Fur Company were Messrs. Astor, at New +York, General Pratte, Chouteau, Cabanné, Mc Kenzie, Laidlow, and +Lamont; the three latter had a share [pg. 189] in the fur trade on the +Upper Missouri only. Wild beasts and other animals, whose skins are +valuable in the fur trade, have already diminished greatly in number +along this river, and it is said that, in another ten years, the fur +trade will be very inconsiderable. As the supplies along the banks of +the Missouri decreased, the Company gradually extended the circle of +their trading posts, as well as enterprises, and thus increased their +income. Above 500 of their agents are in the forts of the Upper +Missouri, and at their various trading posts; and, besides these +individuals, who receive considerable salaries (for it is said that +the Company yearly expend 150,000 dollars in salaries), there are in +these prairies, and the forests of the Rocky Mountains, beaver and fur +trappers, who live at their own cost; but whose present wants, such as +horses, guns, powder, ball, woollen cloths, articles of clothing, +tobacco, &c. &c., are supplied by the Company, and the scores settled, +after the hunting season is over, by the furs which they deliver at +the different trading posts. Many of these, when not employed in +hunting, live at the Company's forts. They are, for the most part, +enterprising, robust men, capital riflemen, and, from their rude +course of life, are able to endure the greatest hardships. + +During the summer, the Company send out, under the direction of an +experienced clerk, a number of strong, well-armed, mounted men, who +convey the necessary goods and supplies, on pack-horses, to the +trading stations, at a distance from the river; they always observe +and enforce the required conditions of the Indians, and not +unfrequently come to blows with them. These expeditions have to +support themselves by the chase, consequently the men must be good +hunters, as they subsist almost exclusively on what they procure by +their guns. Besides the forts which I have so often named, the Company +has also small winter posts, called log-houses, or block-houses, among +the Indians, quickly erected, and as quickly abandoned: to these the +Indians bring their furs, which are purchased, and sent, in the +spring, to the trading posts. The American Fur Company has, at +present, about twenty-three, large and small, trading posts. In the +autumn and winter the Indian tribes generally approach nearer to these +posts, to barter their skins; while in the spring and summer they +devote themselves especially to catching beavers, for which they +receive every encouragement from the merchants, who lend or advance +them iron traps for the purpose. + +The animals, whose skins are objects of this trade, and the annual +average of the income derived from skins, may be pretty well +ascertained from the following statement: + +1. Beavers: about 25,000 skins. They are sold in packs of 100 lbs. +weight each, put up separately, and tied together. There are, +generally, about sixty large skins in a pack; if they are smaller, of +course there are more skins. A large beaver skin weighs about two +pounds--sometimes more. The usual price is four dollars a pound.[357] + +[pg. 190] 2. Otters: 200 to 300 skins. + +3. Buffalo cow skins: 40,000 to 50,000. Ten buffalo hides go to the +pack. + +4. Canadian weasel (_Musetela Canadensis_): 500 to 600. + +5. Martin (pine or beech martin): about the same quantity. + +6. Lynx; the northern lynx (_Felis Canadensis_): 1,000 to 2,000. + +7. Lynx; the southern or wild cat (_Felis rufa_): ditto. + +8. Red foxes (_Canis fulvus_): 2,000. + +9. Cross foxes: 200 to 300. + +10. Silver foxes: twenty to thirty. Sixty dollars are often paid for a +single skin. + +11. Minks (_Mustela vison_): 2,000. + +12. Musk-rats (_Ondathra_): from 1,000 to 100,000.[358] According to +Captain Back, half a million of these skins are annually imported into +London, as this animal is found in equal abundance as far as the +coasts of the Frozen Ocean. + +13. Deer (_Cervus Virginianus_ and _macrotis_): from 20,000 to 30,000. + +Beyond Council Bluffs, scarcely any articles are bartered by the +Indians--especially the Joways, Konzas, and the Osages--except the +skins of the _Cervus Virginianus_, which is found in great abundance, +but is said to have fallen off there likewise very considerably. + +The elk (_Cervus Canadensis_, or _major_), is not properly +comprehended in the trade, as its skin is too thick and heavy, and is, +therefore, used for home consumption. The buffalo skin is taken, as +before observed, from the cows only, as the leather of the bulls is +too heavy. The wolf skins are not at all sought by the company, that +is to say, they do not send out any hunters to procure them; but, if +the Indians bring any, they are bought not to create any +dissatisfaction, and then they are sold at about a dollar a-piece. The +Indians, however, have frequently nothing to offer for barter but +their dresses, and painted buffalo robes. + +The support of so large an establishment as that at Fort Union +requires frequent hunting excursions into the prairie; and Mr. Mc +Kenzie, therefore, maintained here several experienced hunters of a +mixed race, who made weekly excursions to the distance of twenty or +more miles into the prairie, sought the buffalo herds, and, after they +had killed a sufficient number, returned home with their mules well +laden. The flesh of the cows is very good, especially the tongues, +which are smoked in great numbers, and then sent down to St. Louis. +The colossal marrow-bones are considered quite a delicacy by the +hunters and by the Indians. The consumption of [pg. 191] this animal is +immense in North America, and is as indispensable to the Indians as +the reindeer is to the Laplanders, and the seal to the Esquimaux. It +is difficult to obtain an exact estimate of the consumption of this +animal, which is yearly decreasing and driven further inland. In a +recent year, the Fur Company sent 42,000 of these hides down the +river, which were sold, in the United States, at four dollars a-piece. +Fort Union alone consumes about 600 to 800 buffaloes annually, and the +other forts in proportion. The numerous Indian tribes subsist almost +entirely on these animals, sell their skins after retaining a +sufficient supply for their clothing, tents, &c., and the agents of +the Company recklessly shoot down these noble animals for their own +pleasure, often not making the least use of them, except taking out +the tongue. Whole herds of them are often drowned in the Missouri; +nay, I have been assured that, in some rivers, 1,800 and more of their +dead bodies were found in one place. Complete dams are formed of the +bodies of these animals in some of the morasses of the rivers; from +this we may form some idea of the decrease of the buffaloes, which are +now found on the other side of the Rocky Mountains, where they were +not originally met with, but whither they have been driven. + +Besides the buffalo, the hunters also shoot the elk, the deer, and, +occasionally, the bighorn. The former especially are very numerous on +the Yellow Stone River. All other provisions, such as pork, hams, +flour, sugar, coffee, wine, and other articles of luxury for the +tables of the chief officers and the clerks, are sent from St. Louis +by the steamer. The maize is procured from the neighbouring Indian +nations. Vegetables do not thrive at Fort Union, which Mr. Mc Kenzie +ascribes to the long-continued drought and high winds. + +The neighbourhood around Fort Union is, as I have observed, a wide, +extended prairie, intersected, in a northerly direction, by a chain of +rather high, round, clay-slate, and sand-stone hills, from the summits +of which we had a wide-spreading view over the country on the other +side of the Missouri, and of its junction with the Yellow Stone, of +which Mr. Bodmer made a very faithful drawing.[359] We observed on the +highest points, and at certain intervals of this mountain chain, +singular stone signals, set up by the Assiniboins, of blocks of +granite, or other large stones, on the top of which is placed a +buffalo skull,[360] which we were told the Indians place there to +attract the herds of buffaloes, and thereby to ensure a successful +hunt. The strata of sand-stone occurring in the above-mentioned hills +are filled, at least in part, with impressions of the leaves of +phanerogamic plants, resembling the species still growing in the +country.[361] A whitish-grey and reddish-yellow sand-stone are found +here. In all these prairies of North America, as well as in the plains +of northern Europe, those remarkable blocks or fragments of red +granite, are everywhere scattered, which have afforded the geologist +subject for many hypotheses. Major Long's Expedition to St. Peter's +River[362] mentions blocks of granite in the prairies of Illinois; +they are found in abundance in the north, about St. Peter's [pg. 192] +River, in the State of Ohio, &c. Other boulders, however, of quartz, +flint, slate, &c., evidently formed by water, are found everywhere in +the prairies. The hills were partly bare, and very few flowers were in +blossom; the whole country was covered with short, dry grass, among +which there were numerous round spots with tufts of _Cactus ferox_, +which was only partly in flower. Another _cactus_, resembling +_mammillaris_, with dark red flowers, yellow on the inner side, was +likewise abundant. Of the first kind it seems that two exactly similar +varieties, probably species, are found everywhere here; both have +fine, large, bright yellow flowers, sometimes a greenish-yellow, and, +on their first expanding, are often whitish, and the outer side of the +petals, with a reddish tinge; but in one species, the staminæ are +bright yellow, like the flower itself, and, in the other, of a +brownish blood red, with yellow anthers. The true flowering time of +these plants begins at the end of June. + +The scene of destruction, which has often been mentioned, namely, the +whitening bones of buffaloes and stags, recurs everywhere in the +prairie, and the great dogs of the fort frequently seek for such +animal remains. Between the hills, there are, sometimes, in the +ravines, little thickets of oak, ash, negundo maple, elm, bird-cherry, +and some others, in which many kinds of birds, particularly the +starling, blackbird, &c., build their nests. The king-bird and the red +thrush are likewise found. Of mammalia, besides those in the river, +namely, the beaver, the otter, and the muskrat, there are, about Fort +Union, in the prairie, great numbers of the pretty little squirrel, +the skin of which is marked with long stripes, and regular spots +between them (_Spermophilus Hoodii_, Sab.), which have been +represented by Richardson and Cuvier. The Anglo-Americans of these +parts call it the ground squirrel; and the Canadians, _l'écureuil +Suisse_. From its figure and agility, it is a genuine squirrel, and, +therefore, rather different from the true marmot arctomys. The +burrows, in which these animals live, are often carried to a great +extent underground. The entrance is not much larger than a mouse hole, +and has no mound of earth thrown up, like those of the prairie dogs. +Besides these, there are several kinds of mice, particularly _Mus +leucopus_. The flat hills of the goffer are likewise seen; this is a +kind of large sand rat, living underground, of which I did not obtain +a specimen. + +Not far above and below the fort there were woods on the banks of the +Missouri, consisting of poplars, willows, ash, elm, negundo maple, +&c., with a thick underwood of hazel, roses, which were now in flower, +and dog-berry, rendered almost impassable by blackberry bushes and the +burdock (_Xanthium strumarium_), the thorny fruit of which stuck to +the clothes. In these thickets, where we collected many plants, the +mosquitos were extremely troublesome. In such places we frequently +heard the deep base note of the frogs; and in those places which were +not damp, there were patches of two kinds of solidago; likewise _Gaura +coccinea_ (Pursh.), and _Cristaria coccinea_, two extremely beautiful +plants; and, on the banks of the river, the white-flowering _Bartonia +ornata_ (Pursh.), and the _Helianthus petiolaris_ (Nutt.), which were +everywhere in flower, &c. &c. + +[pg. 193] In the forest, a pretty small mouse was frequent, as well as +the large wood rat, already mentioned. Of birds, there are some +species of woodpeckers, the Carolina pigeon, numerous blackbirds +(_Quiscalus ferrugineus_), thrushes, several smaller birds, the +beautiful bluefinch, first described by Say, the American fly-catcher, +and several others. The whip-poor-will is not found so high up the +Missouri. The river does not abound in fish; it produces, however, two +species of cat-fish, and soft shell turtles, but which are not often +caught. + +The climate about Fort Union is very changeable. We had often 76° +Fahrenheit, and storms of thunder and lightning alternating with heavy +rains. Other days in the month of June were cold, the thermometer +falling to 56°. Winds prevail here the greater part of the year, and +therefore the temperature is usually dry. The weather, while we were +there, was uncommonly rainy. Spring is generally the wettest season; +the summer is dry; autumn the finest time of the year; the winter is +severe, and often of long continuance. The snow is often three, four, +or six feet deep in many places, and then dog sledges are used, and +the Indians wear snow shoes. The winter of 1831-1832 had been +remarkably mild in these parts. The Missouri had scarcely been frozen +for three days together; but the spring, however, set in very late. On +the 30th of May, 1832, the forests were still without verdure; and +there was, in that month, such dreadful weather, that an Indian was +frozen to death in the prairie: a snow storm overtook him and a girl, +who escaped with one of her feet frozen. In general, however, the +climate is said to be very healthy. There are no endemic disorders, +and the fine water of the Missouri, which, notwithstanding the sand +mixed with it, is light and cold, does not a little contribute to make +the inhabitants attain an advanced age. There are no physicians here, +and the people affirm they have no need of them. Persons, whom we +questioned on the subject, said, "We don't want doctors; we have no +diseases." In the preceding spring, however, there had been more +sickness than usual on the Missouri, and at the time of our visit, +the approach of the cholera was feared. Colds are, probably, the most +frequent complaints, the changes in the temperature being sudden, the +dwellings slight and ill built, and the people exposing themselves +without any precaution. + +Fort Union is built in the territory of the Assiniboins, of whom a +certain number generally live there. At this time they had left, +because the herds of buffaloes were gone to a distant part of the +country. The Assiniboins are real Dacotas, or Sioux, and form a branch +which separated from the rest a considerable time ago, in consequence +of a quarrel among them. They still call themselves by that name, +though they seem generally to pronounce it Nacota. They parted from +the rest of the tribe, after a battle which they had with each other +on Devil's Lake, and removed further to the north. The tribe is said +to consist of 28,000 souls, of whom 7,000 are warriors. They live in +3,000 tents; the territory which they claim as theirs, is between the +Missouri and the Saskatschawan, bounded by lake Winipick on the north, +extending, on the east, to Assiniboin River, and, on the west, to Milk +River. The English and Americans sometimes [pg. 194] call them Stone +Indians, which, however, properly speaking, is the name of only one +branch. + +The Assiniboins are divided into the following branches or bands: + +1. Itscheabiné (_les gens des filles_). + +2. Jatonabinè (_les gens des roches_). The Stone Indians of the +English. Captain Franklin, in his first journey to the Frozen Ocean, +speaks of these Indians, and observes that they are little to be +depended upon.[363] He says that they call themselves Eascab, a name +with which, however, I have not met. + +3. Otopachgnato (_les gens du large_). + +4. Otaopabinè (_les gens des canots_). + +5. Tschantoga (_les gens des bois_). They live near the Fort des +Prairies, not far from Saskatschawan River.[364] + +6. Watópachnato (_les gens de l'age_). + +7. Tanintauei (_les gens des osayes_).[365] + +8. Chábin (_les gens des montagnes_).[366] + +In their personal appearance the Assiniboins differ little from the +true Sioux; those whom we saw were, perhaps, on the whole, not so tall +and slender as the Sioux. Their faces are broad, with high cheeks, and +broad maxillary bones. They frequently do not wear their hair so long +as the Sioux; many of them have it scarcely hanging down to the +shoulders; some, however, let it grow to a great length, and braid it +in two or three tails; nay, some let it hang like a lion's mane over +their faces and about their heads. Several wore round white leather +caps, others feathers in their hair, or a narrow strip of skin +fastened over the crown. A remarkable head-dress is that with two +horns, of which I shall have to speak in the sequel. They paint their +faces red, or reddish-brown, and, when they have killed an enemy, +quite black: the hair in front is often daubed with clay; the upper +part of the body is seldom naked in winter time, when they wear +leather shirts, with a large round rosette on the breast, which is +embroidered with dyed porcupine quills, of the most vivid colours; and +they have often another exactly similar ornament on their back. The +sleeves of these leather shirts are adorned with tufts of their +enemies' hair. The outer seam of the leggins, as among all the other +tribes, has an embroidered stripe of coloured porcupine quills, and +trimmed in the same manner with human or dyed horsehair. In the summer +time the upper part of the body is often naked, and the feet bare, but +they are never without the large buffalo robe, which is often +curiously painted. Their necklaces and other ornaments are similar to +those of the other nations which have already been described. They, +however, very frequently wear the collar of the bears' claws, but not +the long strings of beads [pg. 195] and dentalium shells, which are used +by the Manitaries. Most of the Assiniboins have guns,[367] the stocks +of which they ornament with bright yellow nails, and with small pieces +of red cloth on the ferrels for the ramrod. Like all the Indians, they +carry, besides, a separate ramrod in their hand, a large powder-horn, +which they obtain from the Fur Company, and a leather pouch for the +balls, which is made by themselves, and often neatly ornamented, or +hung with rattling pieces of lead, and trimmed with coloured cloth. +All have bows and arrows; many have these only, and no gun. The case +for the bow and the quiver are of the skin of some animal, often of +the otter, fastened to each other; and to the latter the tail of the +animal, at full length, is appended. The bow is partly covered with +elk horn, has a very strong string of twisted sinews of animals, and +is wound round in different places with the same, to strengthen it. +The bow is often adorned with coloured cloth, porcupine quills, and +white strips of ermine, but, on the whole, this weapon does not differ +from that of the Sioux. Most of them carry clubs in their hands, of +various shapes, and the fan of eagles' or swans' wings is +indispensable to an elegant dandy. + +The Assiniboins being hunters, live in movable leather tents, with +which they roam about, and never cultivate the ground. Their chief +subsistence they derive from the herds of buffaloes, which they follow +in the summer, generally from the rivers, to a distance in the +prairie; in the winter, to the woods on the banks of the rivers, +because these herds, at that time, seek for shelter and food among the +thickets. They are particularly dexterous in making what are called +buffalo parks, when a tract is surrounded with scarecrows, made of +stones, branches of trees, &c., and the terrified animals are driven +into a narrow gorge, in which the hunters lie concealed, as +represented and described by Franklin, in his first journey to the +Frozen Ocean.[368] There was such a park ten miles from Fort Union, +where I was told there were great numbers of the bones of those +animals. On such occasions the Indians sometimes kill 700 or 800 +buffaloes. Of the dried and powdered flesh, mixed with tallow, the +women prepare the well-known pemmican, which is an important article +of food for these people in their wanderings. These Indians frequently +suffer hunger, when the chase or other circumstances are unfavourable; +this is particularly the case of the northern nations, the Crees, the +Assiniboins, the Chippeways, and others, as may be seen in +Tanner,[369] Captain Franklin, and other writers, when they consider +dead dogs as a delicacy. In the north, entire families perish from +hunger. They eat every kind of animals, except serpents; horses and +dogs are very frequently killed for food, which is the reason why they +keep so many, particularly of the latter. + +In comparison with the other nations, the Assiniboins have not many +horses; their bridles and saddles are like those of the Manitaries. +The rope of buffalo hair, which is fastened to the [pg. 196] lower jaw +as a bridle, is always very long, and trails on the grass when the +animal is not tied up. Many have large parchment stirrups in the shape +of shoes, and all carry a short whip in their hand, generally made of +the end of an elk's horn, and gaily ornamented. Their dogs are of +great help to the women in their heavy work; and they are loaded with +the baggage in the same manner as among the Manitaries. + +In general, the Assiniboins have the customs as well as the +superstitious notions of the Sioux; for an account of which, Major +Long's "Expedition to St. Peter's River," may be consulted. They keep +on good terms with the Fur Company, for their own interest; they are, +however, horse-stealers, and not to be trusted; and when one meets +them alone in the prairie, there is great danger of being robbed. +Smoking is a favourite enjoyment with them, but, as they live at a +distance from the red pipe clay, the bowls of their pipes are +generally made of a blackish stone, or black clay, and are different +in shape from those of the Dacotas.[370] The pipe tube is ornamented +like those of the other tribes.[371] They generally smoke the herb +kinikenick, which we have before mentioned, or the leaves of the +bear-berry (_Arbutus uva ursi_), mixed with genuine tobacco. To clean +their pipes they make use of a painted stick, bound round with quills, +dyed of various colours, and with a neat tassel at the end of it,[372] +which is generally stuck in their hair. + + [Illustration: Assiniboin pipes] + + [Illustration: Pipe for warlike expeditions] + +Many games are in use among these Indians; one of these is a round +game, in which one holds in his hand some small stones, of which the +others must guess the number, or pay a forfeit. This game is known +also to the Blackfeet. Another is that in which they play with four +small bones and four yellow nails, to which one of each sort is added; +they are laid upon a flat [pg. 197] wooden plate, which is struck, so +that they fly up and fall back into the plate, and you gain, or lose, +according as they lie together on one side, and the stake is often +very high. + +Among the amusements and festivities are their eating feasts, when the +guests must eat everything set before them, if they will not give +offence. If one of the guests is not able to eat any more, he gives +his neighbour a small wooden stick, and the plate with food, the +meaning of which is that he will make him a present of a horse, on the +next day, if he will undertake to empty the plate; and the young men +do this in order to gain reputation. The Assiniboins are brave in +battle, and often very daring. They frequently steal into the villages +of the Mandans and Manitaries, shoot the inhabitants in or near their +huts, or steal their horses. + +They believe in a creator, or lord of life (Unkan-Tange), and also in +an evil spirit (Unkan-Schidja), who torments people with various +disorders, against which their sorcerers or physicians (medicine men) +use the drum and the rattle to expel the evil spirit. Like the Crees +and several other tribes, they believe that thunder is produced by an +enormous bird, which some of them pretend to have seen. Some ascribe +lightning to the Great Spirit, and believe that he is angry when the +storm is violent. They believe that the dead go to a country in the +south, where the good and brave find women and buffaloes, while the +wicked or cowardly are confined to an island, where they are destitute +of all the pleasures of life. Those who, during their lives, have +conducted themselves bravely, are not to be deposited in trees when +they die, but their corpses are to be laid on the ground, it being +taken for granted that, in case of need, they will help themselves. Of +course they are generally devoured by the wolves, to secure them from +which, however, they are covered with wood and stones. Other corpses +are usually placed on trees, as among the Sioux, and sometimes on +scaffolds. They are tied up in buffalo hides, and three or four are +sometimes laid in one tree. + +The language of the Assiniboins is, on the whole, the same as that of +the Sioux, altered by their long separation, and the influence of time +and circumstances. Like them, they have many gutturals and nasal +tones; in general, however, it is an harmonious language, which a +German pronounces without difficulty. + + +FOOTNOTES: + +[354] For a view of this fort see Plate 61, in the accompanying atlas, +our volume xxv.--ED. + +[355] This is the distance by water; on horseback, the journey has +been accomplished in ten days.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[356] On this subject see "Astoria," and "Adventures of Captain +Bonneville," also "Ross Cox's Adventures on the Columbia River," p. +198. The dress of the white agents of the Company is made of cloth, +like our own; but the hunters often wear a leather dress, ornamented, +for the most part, in the Indian fashion, while the common _engagés_ +wear white blanket coats, such as I have described when speaking of +the inhabitants of Indiana, on the Wabash. They are mostly shod in +Indian mocassins, a dozen pair of which may be purchased from the +Indian women for one dollar, when they are not ornamented. The +hunters, here, maintain that these Indian shoes are better adapted to +the prairies than our European ones, as they do not become so +slippery. They are frequently soled with elk hide, or parchment. The +worst is, that they are easily penetrated by the prickles of the +cactus, and on this account we greatly preferred our European shoes. +At Fort Union, artisans of almost every description are to be met +with, such as smiths, masons, carpenters, joiners, coopers, tailors, +shoemakers, hatters, &c.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[357] Some idea may be formed of the enormous quantity of beavers +killed every year, from the circumstance that the Hudson's Bay Company +sends to London alone 50,000, this animal being found as far as the +coasts of the Frozen Ocean.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[358] At Rock River, which falls into the Mississippi, the Indians +caught, in 1825, about 130,000 musk-rats; in the following year, about +half the number; and, in about two years after, these animals were +scarcely to be met with. Previous to this time, an Indian caught, in +thirty days, as many as 1,600 of them. In South America, there is only +one species of wild animal, known to me, whose skins are collected in +large quantities. According to D'Orbigny, in the first six months of +1828, above 150,000 dozen Quiyaa were sold, in Corrientes, at from +fifteen to eighteen francs the dozen. The Indians hunt this animal, +which lives in the morasses, with dogs, and shoot it with +arrows.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[359] See Plate 62, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + +[360] See Plate 15, in the accompanying atlas, our volume xxv.--ED. + +[361] Unfortunately, all these interesting specimens were destroyed in +the fire on board the steam-boat.--MAXIMILIAN. + +_Comment by Ed._ Reference is made to the burning of the +"Assiniboine." See note 179, _ante_, p. 240. + +[362] William Keating, _Narrative of an Expedition to the source of +St. Peter's River, performed in the year 1823, under command of +Stephen H. Long_ (Philadelphia, 1824).--ED. + +[363] Sir John Franklin, _Narrative of a Journey to the shores of the +Polar Sea in the years 1819, 1820, 1821, and 1822_ (London, 1823), p. +104.--ED. + +[364] Fort des Prairies was at different periods applied to various +Hudson's Bay Company posts. Apparently this was the fort on the site +of Edmonton, for which see Franchère's _Narrative_, in our volume vi, +p. 364, note 177.--ED. + +[365] The word _osayes_ is one of the many Canadian terms which are +mixed with the French of that country, and means bones.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[366] Consult on the bands or gentes of the Assiniboin, J. O. Dorsey, +"Siouan Sociology," in Bureau of Ethnology _Report_, 1893-94, pp. 222, +223.--ED. + +[367] The common Mackinaw guns, which the Fur Company obtain from +England at the rate of eight dollars a-piece, and which are sold to +the Indians for the value of thirty dollars.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[368] _Op. cit._ in note 361, [_ante_] p. 112.--MAXIMILIAN. + +[369] The reference is to Edwin James (editor) _Narrative of Captivity +and Adventures during thirty years' residence among the Indians in the +interior of North America by John Tanner_ (New York, 1830). John +Tanner, a boy of nine years, was captured in Kentucky about 1790. He +passed the larger part of his life in the northern woods. In 1818 he +sought his relatives in Kentucky while his brother Edward was +searching for him near Mackinac. For some years he was employed as +interpreter at Sault Ste. Marie, but having become an Indian in habit +he shot (1836) and killed James L. Schoolcraft and fled to the +wilderness where he died about 1847 (but see _Minnesota Historical +Collections_, vi, p. 114). His _Narrative_ was much quoted by +contemporary writers.--ED. + +[370] See p. 361, for illustration of Assiniboin pipes.--ED. + +[371] The Indians on the Upper Missouri have another kind of tobacco +pipe, the bowl of which is in the same line as the tube, and which +they use only on their warlike expeditions. As the aperture of the +pipe is more inclined downwards than usual, the fire can never be +seen, so as to betray the smoker, who lies on the ground, and holds +the pipe on one side.--MAXIMILIAN. + +_Comment by Ed._ See p. 361, for illustration of pipe for warlike +expeditions. + +[372] See Plate 81, figure 11, in the accompanying atlas, our volume +xxv.--ED. + + + + + + Important + Historical Publications + OF + The Arthur H. Clark Company + + Full descriptive circulars will be mailed + on application + + + + AUDUBON'S WESTERN + JOURNAL: 1849-1850 + + + Being the MS. record of a trip from New York to + Texas, and an overland journey through Mexico + and Arizona to the gold-fields of California + + BY + _JOHN W. AUDUBON_ + + + With biographical memoir by his daughter + MARIA R. AUDUBON + + _Edited by_ + FRANK HEYWOOD HODDER + Professor of American History, University of Kansas + + _With folded map, portrait, and original drawings_ + +John W. Audubon, son of the famous ornithologist, was a member of +Colonel Webb's California Expedition which started from New York City +for the gold-fields in February, 1849. The Journal consists of careful +notes which Audubon made en route. It was written with a view to +publication, accompanied by a series of sketches made at intervals +during the journey; but owing to Audubon's pre-occupation with other +affairs, the plan of publication was never realized. + +The Journal is, therefore, here published for the first time, and is +illustrated by the author's original sketches, carefully reproduced. +It gives a vivid first-hand picture of the difficulties of an overland +journey to California, and of the excitements, dangers, and privations +of life in the gold-fields. An additional interest attaches to this +account from the fact that Colonel Webb deserted his party, which +consisted of nearly a hundred men, when the expedition reached Roma, +and the command then by unanimous choice of the party devolved upon +Audubon. This situation, as modestly related by the author, displays +his sympathetic nature, as well as his keenness and ability as a +leader. + +Besides being a fascinating story of adventure, the Journal throws +much light on the interesting years immediately following the +discovery of gold in California. John W. Audubon was (with his brother +Victor G. Audubon) the assistant of his father, and executed much of +the artistic work on the famous "Quadrupeds of North America." His +pictures of the spreading of the gold craze in the East, the journey +through Mexico, and the social conditions after reaching California, +show him to be a keen and faithful observer. + +The Editor, Professor F. H. Hodder, of the University of Kansas, has +supplied complete annotation explaining matters of topography, natural +science, and historical and personal allusions. Professor Hodder in +his editorial work has drawn liberally upon his special knowledge of +the history and geography of the West and Southwest. A biographical +memoir has been written by Miss Maria R. Audubon. Being the daughter +of the author, she has availed herself of a large amount of auxiliary +material not accessible to any other biographer. + +Printed direct from type on Dickinson's deckle-edged paper, and +illustrated with folded map, portrait, and plates, in one volume, 8vo, +about 225 pages, cloth, uncut. + +Price $3.00 net. + + The Arthur H. Clark Company + _PUBLISHERS_ CLEVELAND, OHIO + + + + + + PERSONAL NARRATIVE + OF + _Travels in Virginia, Maryland, + Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, + Kentucky; and of a Residence in + the Illinois Territory: 1817-1818_ + + BY + ELIAS PYM FORDHAM + + With facsimiles of the author's sketches and plans + + Edited with Notes, Introduction, Index, etc., by + FREDERIC AUSTIN OGG, A.M. + _Author of "The Opening of the Mississippi"_ + + +=AN UNPUBLISHED MS.= + +This hitherto unpublished MS., which is a real literary and historical +find, was written in 1817-18 by a young Englishman of excellent +education who assisted Morris Birkbeck in establishing his Illinois +settlement. The author writes anonymously, but by a careful study of +various allusions in the _Narrative_ and from information furnished by +the family in possession of the MS., has been identified as Elias Pym +Fordham. Landing at Baltimore, he reached the West by way of +Philadelphia, Pittsburg, and the Ohio River to Cincinnati, describing +the people and the country as he went along. + + +=THE MIDDLE WEST IN 1817= + +Fordham was an especially well-qualified observer of the Middle West +because of the numerous journeys he undertook, on land-hunting trips +for new emigrants, in the service of Mr. Birkbeck. These journeys led +him into Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky; and he never omits the +opportunity to make frank and pointed comment on society, manners, and +morals, as well as careful observations of the face of the country and +of industrial conditions. The style is quite unaffected and has much +natural charm and sprightliness; and the fact that he wrote +anonymously made him much more free in his comments on contemporary +society than would otherwise have been possible. + + +=LOCAL AND PIONEER HISTORY= + +These journeys also gave him unexampled opportunities for contact with +the pioneers of Middle West, and his journal is consequently rich in +_personalia_ of early settlers, remarks on contemporary history and +politics, state of trade, agriculture, prices, and information on +local history not obtainable elsewhere. He also visited the larger +cities and gives very interesting accounts of Pittsburg and +Cincinnati, accompanied by original sketches and plans. In Kentucky he +had the opportunity to study slavery; and although at first prejudiced +against this institution he finally reached the conclusion that the +slave states offered better chances of successful settlement than the +free states. + + +=VALUE FOR READERS AND STUDENTS= + +The publication of Fordham's _Narrative _with introduction, extensive +annotations, and index by professor Frederic A. Ogg, one of the best +authorities on the history of the Mississippi Valley, will make +accessible to historical students much new and important material, +besides giving the general reader a book of vital and absorbing +interest. + +Printed direct from type on Dickinson's deckle-edged paper, and +illustrated with original sketches and plans, in one volume, 8vo, +about 180 pages, cloth, uncut. + +Price $3.00 net. + + The Arthur H. Clark Company + _PUBLISHERS_ CLEVELAND, OHIO + + + + + +"_AN AUTHORITY OF THE HIGHEST IMPORTANCE_"--Winsor + + + THE + PRESENT STATE + OF THE + EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS + ON THE + MISSISIPPI; + + WITH + A GEOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF THAT RIVER. + + ILLUSTRATED BY + PLANS AND DRAUGHTS. + + By Captain PHILIP PITTMAN. + + LONDON. + Printed for J. NOURSE, Bookseller to His MAJESTY. + MDCCLXX + + _Edited with Introduction, Notes, and Index, by_ + FRANK HEYWOOD HODDER + PROFESSOR OF AMERICAN HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS + + +This exceedingly rare work was issued in London, in 1770, and has been +so much in demand by historical students and collectors of Americana +that even imperfect copies of the original are now almost impossible +to obtain at any price. Our text is from a perfect copy of the +original with all the folding maps and plans carefully reproduced. + +*Only two copies have been offered for sale during the past five +years; one copy sold at $95.00, and the other is now offered by a +reliable firm of booksellers at $105.00. + + + + + + PITTMAN'S MISSISSIPPI SETTLEMENTS + + +_A valuable source work_ + +Pittman's _Mississippi Settlements_ contains much valuable original +material for the study of the French and Spanish Settlements of old +Louisiana, West Florida, and the Illinois country. The author, Captain +Philip Pittman, was a British military engineer, and gives an accurate +general view of the Mississippi Settlements just after the English +came into possession of the eastern half of the valley by the Peace of +1763. His account, written from personal observation, is rich in +allusions to the political, social, and military readjustments +resulting from this change of possession. "A comprehensive account of +the Illinois country and its inhabitants, with sketches in detail of +the several French posts and villages situated therein, as personally +viewed by him in 1766-67.... It contains, in a compact form, much +useful and reliable information (nowhere else to be found) concerning +the Mississippi Valley and its people at that transition +period."--WALLACE: _Illinois and Louisiana under French Rule_. + + +_The earliest English account_ + +Dr. William F. Poole in Winsor's _Narrative and Critical History of +America_ says: "It is the earliest English account of those +settlements, and, as an authority in early western history, is of the +highest importance. He [Pittman] was a military engineer, and for five +years was employed in surveying the Mississippi River and exploring +the western country. The excellent plans which accompany the work, +artistically engraved on copper, add greatly to its value." + + +_Annotation by Professor Hodder_ + +An introduction, notes, and index have been supplied by Professor +Frank Heywood Hodder, who has made a special study of American +historical geography. The value of the reprint is thus enhanced by +annotation embodying the results of the latest researches in this +field of American history. + + +The edition is limited to 500 copies, each numbered. It is handsomely +printed in large Caslon type on Dickinson's deckle-edged paper. With +folding maps and plans. Large 8vo, cloth, uncut, gilt top. + +Price $3.00 net. + + _THE ARTHUR H. CLARK COMPANY_ + _PUBLISHERS_ CLEVELAND, OHIO + + + + + +"We cannot thoroughly understand our own history, local or +National, without some knowledge of these routes of trade and +war."--_The Outlook._ + + + The Historic Highways of America + + by ARCHER BUTLER HULBERT + +A series of monographs on the History of America as portrayed in the +evolution of its highways of War, Commerce, and Social Expansion. + +Comprising the following volumes: + + I--Paths of the Mound-Building Indians and Great Game Animals. + II--Indian Thoroughfares. + III--Washington's Road: The First Chapter of the Old French War. + IV--Braddock's Road. + V--The Old Glade (Forbes's) Road. + VI--Boone's Wilderness Road. + VII--Portage Paths: The Keys of the Continent. + VIII--Military Roads of the Mississippi Basin. + IX--Waterways of Westward Expansion. + X--The Cumberland Road. + XI, XII--Pioneer Roads of America, two volumes. + XIII, XIV--The Great American Canals, two volumes. + XV--The Future of Road-Making in America. + XVI--Index. + +Sixteen volumes, crown 8vo, cloth, uncut, gilt tops. A LIMITED EDITION +only printed direct from type, and the type distributed. Each volume +handsomely printed in large type on Dickinson's hand-made paper, and +illustrated with maps, plates, and facsimiles. + +Published a volume each two months, beginning September, 1902. + +PRICE, volumes 1 and 2, $2.00 net each; volumes 3 to 16, $2.50 net +each. + +FIFTY SETS PRINTED ON LARGE PAPER, each numbered and _signed by the +author_. Bound in cloth, with paper label, uncut, gilt tops. Price, +$5.00 net per volume. + +"The fruit not only of the study of original historical sources in +documents found here and in England, but of patient and enthusiastic +topographical studies, in the course of which every foot of these old +historic highways has been traced and traversed."--_The Living Age._ + +"The volumes already issued show Mr. Hulbert to be an earnest and +enthusiastic student, and a reliable guide."--_Out West._ + +"A look through these volumes shows most conclusively that a new +source of history is being developed--a source which deals with the +operation of the most effective causes influencing human +affairs."--_Iowa Journal of History and Politics._ + +"The successive volumes in the series may certainly be awaited with +great interest, for they promise to deal with the most romantic +phases of the awakening of America at the dawn of occidental +civilization."--_Boston Transcript._ + + "The publishers have done their part toward putting forth with +proper dignity this important work. It is issued on handsome paper and +is illustrated with many maps, diagrams, and old prints."--_Chicago +Evening Post._ + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TRAVELS IN THE INTERIOR OF NORTH +AMERICA, PART I, (BEING CHAPTERS I-XV OF THE LONDON EDITION, 1843)*** + + +******* This file should be named 38784-8.txt or 38784-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/8/7/8/38784 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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