Things as they are in America

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THINGS AS THEY ARE 1 v AMERICA BY WILLIAM CHAMBERS WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS LONDON AND EDINBURGH EDINBURGH: PRINTED BT W. AND R. CHAMBERS. In the autumn of 1853, I was advised to cross the Atlantic for change of air and scene ; and as the suggestion coincided with my own desire, formed on other grounds, to visit America, I gladly assented. The present work is a narrative of what chiefly fell under observation during my tour in some of the British American Possessions and United States — the recollection of which excursion, and of the many marks of undeserved kindness I received, will always be to me a source of unqualified gratification. W. Chambers. Gle5o___sto- , Aiigxxst 1854. CONTENTS.

Chapter I. Voyage From Liverpool To Halifax

A visit to America is usually one of the early aspirations of the more impressionable youth of England. The stirring stories told of Columbus, Sebastian Cabot, Raleigh, and Captain John Smith ; the history of the Pilgrim Fathers fleeing from persecution; the description of Perm's transactions with the Indians ; the narratives of the gallant achieve ments of Wolfe and Washington, and the lamentable hiimiliations of B urgoyne and Cornwallis ; the exciting autobiography of the Philadelphian printer, who, from toiling at the press, rose to be the companion of kings — all had their due effect on my imagination, and stimulated the desire I felt to cross the Atlantic, and see the country which had been the theatre of so many interesting events, and latterly the scene of so many social developments.

The ordinary occupations of a busy life, however, had dispelled this early dream. Like other ardently but vaguely entertained notions, it vanished and was forgotten, when circumstances all at once recalled it to mind, and rendered its realisation A possible. In short, towards the close of 1853, I was enabled to visit the more interesting portions of North America, where the rapid rate at which travellers are whirled from place to place, left me a reasonable time for observation and inquiry. When a thing has to be brought down from the realms of fancy, to be considered in its practical details, it is astonishing how many little difficulties require to be encountered and overcome. In the present instance, I had to determine, in the first place, which route I should adopt. Should I go by way of the British American provinces, or leave them to be reached after visiting the United States ?

I resolved to set out direct for one of the nearest of the colonial possessions — Nova Scotia, and pass on thence to Canada, by this means taking the more northerly parts first. Perhaps, also, the fact of the Nova Scotian peninsula being ordinarily, and it may be said, unjustly, neglected by tourists, helped to fix my resolution, and accordingly I engaged a berth in the America, one of the Cunard line of steamers bound from Liverpool to Boston, and touching at Halifax. It was on a dull September morning, with a thick fog overhanging the Mersey, that I found myself amidst a crowd of persons standing on the deck of a small steamer at the landing-quay of Liverpool. In the forepart of the vessel was a huge pile of boxes, bags, and portmanteaus, the luggage of the passengers; while the middle and after parts were so thickly covered with human beings, as to leave barely standing room.

The duty of this little craft, called ' the tender/ is to carry passengers from the shore to the steam-ship that lies moored in the middle of the river, and which, having previously, while in dock, taken on board all its cargo, is now ready to start out to sea. As nine o'clock struck, the tender moved away from the shore, and in two minutes was enveloped in the fog — a most dangerous situation, for the Mersey was studded over with vessels in various attitudes, and at any instant we might rush violently against them. Such a catastrophe actually occurred. By what I must consider to have been incautious steering, the small steamer was brought suddenly into collision with the bows of a large vessel, and our instantaneous destruction seemed to be inevit able. With indescribable alarm I expected that the vessel would pass over us, and that we should all be immediately struggling beneath the flood.

There was a rush to the roof of the small engine-room, as being likely to remain longest above water. I climbed to the highest point near me, and looked ahead for the coming shock. A moment of extreme excitement ensued. Crash went in the bulwarks of the tender, and down went its mast across the pile of luggage ! I thought all was over. Fortunately, the bowsprit of the large vessel, in coming in contact with and breaking our mast, slightly turned off the collision, and we immediately lost sight of her great hull in the mist. We felt, as it were, a reprieve from death, and looked each other in the face with a feeling of congratulation. Then broke forth on the unlucky steersman a shower of those warm epithets which the English, in moments of indignation, scatter about with characteristic liberality.

Idiot — ass — fool ! were pelted at him all the rest of the way ; nor did we feel safe from a fresh calamity till we were alongside of the America, which towered like a castle above us, and till we had our feet securely planted on her capacious poop. The tender, it is needless to say, had a very damaged appearance. Her mast and cordage lay athwart the confused mass of baggage, some of which was broken in pieces, and some had gone overboard. Whether such incidents are common at Liverpool, I do not know. It is, at all events, clear that the method of putting passengers on board American vessels, in a foggy river by means of small and overcrowded tenders, is a very bad one; and I have no hesitation in saying, that there is more danger to life from this practice, than in a whole voyage across the Atlantic.

The America did not immediately depart. The mails were still to be put on board, and these did not arrive in a subsequent trip of the tender till nearly noon. When they made their appearance, they consisted of at least two cart-loads of well-stuffed leather bags, with some boxes containing special dispatches for Canada. The whole having been transferred to the hold in the large steamer, the captain and pilot took their places on the paddle-box, the other officers went to their appropriate posts, the bell was rung, the wheels moved, and we were off. Slowly at first did the great floating mass proceed through the water. The mists which lay to seaward were not yet quite dispelled by the sun, and to go down the Mersey required careful guidance. For half an hour, the passengers leant over the brass railings of the elevated poop, catching glimpses of the parting quays — some waving hats or handkerchiefs to friends far in the receding distance — some, myself for one, tlrinking of those dear to them at home, and half doubtful of our own safe return to Old England.

Gradually, the ship got into greater speed; for an instant it paused in its career, to allow the pilot to descend to his boat; again it moved along, and we were fairly on our course. The direction it took was straight up the Channel between Ireland and the Isle of Man. It was going what is called ' north about,' which is preferred to the southern passage in certain states of wind and tide. As the vessel gained the open sea, and left nothing to look at but the wide-spread waters, one by one the passengers descended to view the nature of their own particular accommodations, or to inspect the general mechanism of the ship. To me, at least, everything was new and curious; and, for the sake of the unini tiated, I will try to give an idea of what came under my notice. As is pretty well known, there are two chief and distinct lines of steamers.

One, the Cunard, so called after Mr Cunard of Halifax, who was its projector, is exclusively British property, and has a large money grant from our government for carrying the mads. Some of its vessels sad direct to and from New York, the remainder to and from Boston, calling at Habfax. The other line, called the Collins, is American property, and sails only to and from New York ; it is subsidised by the United States' government also for mad purposes. These two lines are in many respects rivals, but, by a judicious arrangement, the vessels depart from each port on different days of the week, so that no actual inconvenience is experienced from their competition. Latterly, there has sprung up a separate line of steamers to and from Philadelphia, and another to and from Portland ; but of these I do not need here to speak.

It is by the Cunard and Collins steamers that the intercourse with North America is mainly carried on, and on both sides of the Atlantic there is much keenness of feeling as to their respective merits. The Cunards are strong and compact vessels, built wholly in the Clyde, and possess engines of the most trustworthy workmanship. They are likewise in the charge of first-rate seamen. But, from the rounded form of their bows, or some other architectural peculiarity, they do not sail so fast as the Collins steamers, and they ship water on the decks to an unpleasant extent. They also fall considerably short of the Collinses in point of spaciousness and elegance of accommodation ; and I am sorry to say that, in the ticket-dispensing depart ment at Liverpool, there is great room for increased attention and politeness.

On calling to get my ticket on the night previous to departure, I experienced such treatment as might be expected by a pauper emigrant who went to seek an eleemosynary passage. Nor was this the worst of it; for although paying the highest fare, _S25, which I had remitted ten days previously, and although informed that one of the best berths in the ship had been assigned to me, I found that this said excellent berth was among the fore-cabin passengers — a circumstance that led to much discomfort during the voyage, as I shall afterwards have occasion to notice. I allude to these circumstances with reluctance, and only under a sense of pubhc duty. On board the America, which bears a close resem blance to the other vessels in the line, there was nothing to find fault with, but, on the contrary, much to commend.

Everything in the Cunards goes on, as the saying is, 'like clock-work.' In the striking of bells, changing of watches, posting of officers, throwing the log, taking solar observations, and other transactions, there is all the regularity and precision of a man-of-war ; and this imparts a feeling of security even in the worst states of the weather, by night or day. The burden of the America is 1832 tons, and its length about 249 feet; it has two large engines, which act separately or together on both paddle-wheels, and in ordinary circumstances give a speed of from ten to twelve miles an hour. The quantity of fuel consumed is from fifty to sixty tons a day ; necessitating a stock on board of about 900 tons of coal for the trip, and so leaving space for 900 tons for freight and miscellaneous articles.

It is wondersid to see how much is made of the internal accommodation. A great deal is done on deck. There is really httle deck visible. Along each side, adjoining the paddle-box, there is a row of small apartments, covered with wood, and over these are empty boats turned upside down, ready for launch ing in case of accident. In the open space beneath these boats, the cook keeps his fresh vegetables, and you occasionally see one of his assistants climbing up to clutch at a cabbage or bunch of carrots, and bring them from their repository. The apartments on the starboard side (the right side looking towards the head of the vessel) have brass-plates on the doors, with inscriptions denoting what they are. The first in the row is the cabin of the second officer ; next is the cabin of the third officer ; next is the workshop of the baker ; next is that of the butcher or flesher ; next is the house for the cow ; and further on are sundry smaller offices.

The apartments on the left side of the deck (larboard) are — first, the cabin of the surgeon; next, that of the purser; and further on are various places for culinary operations, stores, and so forth. Along the centre of the deck, beginning at the stern, are, first, the wheel house, in which a helmsman is seen constantly at his post, and who has an outlook in front over the top of the saloon. At each side of the wheel-house are apartments for the captain and first officer. The saloon comes next. It is a large sitting and dining apartment for the first-class passengers, and is lighted by a row of windows on each side. Separated from it by a narrow cross-passage, and on the same hne with it, is the steward's apartment, surrounded by shelves of china and glass articles, and having in its centre a httle bureau whence liquors are dispensed.

Over the door of this bureau is a clock, visible from the saloon, which is altered dady in correspondence with the changing longitude. Beyond the steward's room, towards the middle of the vessel, is a kind of apartment open at the sides, and in which stands the capstan. At its extremity is the chimney of the furnaces, by which means the enclosure is kept tolerably warm even m cold weather. Provided with seats, it forms the outdoor lounge of cigar-smokers, and those who do not know what to do with themselves. Besides being dry over head, the capstan-gallery is kept dry to the feet by means of open wooden work laid on the deck ; so that when the sea washes over the vessel, passengers can remain here without being wetted. Beyond the capstan-gallery is the kitchen ; adjoining is the open deck, with the ventdators for the engine room.

Clearing this spot towards the head of the vessel, we have, first, the mess-room of the officers, a small apartment erected on the deck; and in continuation, the sitting and eating saloon for the fore-cabin passengers. This saloon is smaller than that for the first-class passengers; but it is neatly fitted up with hair-cloth sofa seats, and has stewards for its own special attendance. Beneath it are the sleeping-berths for this department; and from all I could see, they equal in comfort those of the higher class, with the disadvantage, however, of being exposed to the noises incidental to the working of the paddles and the con cussions of the waves on the forepart of the vessel. All that part of the deck, beyond the second-class saloon, is the proper field for the sailors. So much for what stands on the level of the deck; and with so many incumbrances, the space left for walking amounts only to a stripe at each side of the saloon, unless we choose to mount to the poop, which is the entire roof of the saloon, steward's apartment, and capstan-gallery, united in one long sweep.

The poop, enclosed with railings, and furnished with seats, affords a fine airing-ground, and from the binnacle, or stand for the compass, to the great red tube forming the engine chimney at the further extremity of the poop, there is an unimpeded view over the surrounding ocean. The indoor space is necessardy circumscribed. Below the saloon are the sleeping-berths, two beds in each, in long rows ; a certain number with a small parlour being set aside for ladies. The descent to this sleeping region is by two good stairs. The fore-cabin passengers, in hke manner, occupy berths below their saloon, and in this respect, at least, enjoy accommodations no way inferior to those of first-class passengers. The conducting of this magnificent vessel from port to port across the ocean, exhibits a remarkable triumph of human skill.

A body of officers, dressed in a uniform like that of the royal navy, is charged with the management of the ship. The chief command in the America, for the time being, was in the hands of Captain N. Shannon,* a Scotsman of experienced seamanship, and most agreeable and obliging in his intercourse with the passengers. Under him are three officers. The laborious duties of the ship are performed by a boat swain and an efficient corps of mariners ; there is like wise a head-engineer with his assistants, having the special charge of the machinery. In the ordinary working of the ship, it seems to be a rule, that two officers shall always be on the alert — one stationed on the gangway at the side of the paddle-boxes, to look sharply ahead; the other stationed at the binnacle, to communicate orders to the man at the wheel.

When an order is issued by the captain, or first officer on duty, it is repeated aloud by the second officer; and you thus hear it rapidly echoed from point to point tdl acted upon by the helmsman. Orders to the engineer to slacken speed, to stop, or go on, are communicated by pulling the wire of a bell at the paddle-box; by * Now in the Europa, to and from New York. which simple contrivance, the movements of the ship are under the most perfect control. The watches, as must be known to many, are four hours each, and are regulated by striking a bell placed near the wheel, the sounds being answered by a bell at the forecastle. These are struck every half-hour. Half-past twelve o'clock is indicated by one blow; one o'clock by two blows; half-past one o'clock by three blows ; and so on to four o'clock, which is marked by eight blows.

At half-past four they begin again ; and in this way the twenty-four hours of the day are divided. Although ably assisted by his officers, the commander of a vessel of this class holds a situation requiring sleepless vigdance. I observed that in his room at night a light was kept constantly burning, to illuminate the charts, compasses, and barometers, with which the apartment is furnished ; and at various times a mariner came to report the progress of the ship, and the state of the winds. It is also noticeable, that any order despatched by the captain to the officer on duty, is given in writing, so as to avoid the mistakes incidental to verbal messages. Latterly, a tell-tale compass has been invented, for the purpose of checking irregularities in sailing. By means of an ingenious kind of mechanism attached to a compass, its dial-plate is punctured in the line of direction of the ship.

Should the vessel be kept unsteadily on its assigned course, the deviations will be marked on the dial hke a cloud of zigzag punctures ; but should the vessel be kept steadily to its proper path, the punctures, accordingly, will be in a straight hne. Fresh dials of paper are supplied daily. With one of these tell-tale compasses, the captain, on awaking in his berth, can discover whether his orders have been carefully attended to or otherwise. Captains of ocean steamers differ considerably in their attention to exactness in compasses. Good compasses are doubtless furnished to all vessels of this important class; but the very best compass may be rendered worse than useless, by a disregard of the petty circumstances on board that derange its action. Captain Shannon related to us a curious instance of a derangement in the compass, which had since rendered him punctiliously cautious.

He had left Halifax with his vessel on the homeward-bound voyage; it was during one of the cold winter months, when fogs prevail on the American coast. His directions at night to the officers of the watch were to run for a point thirty miles east ward of Newfoundland, so as to make sure of keeping clear of its rock-bound shores; and the point of the compass that would lead in this required direction was fixed upon. On coming on deck in the gray of the morning, what was his horror on seeing that the ship had just entered a small bay, and seemed about to be dashed in pieces on the lofty precipices that revealed themselves through the mist ! By instantaneously shouting orders to the man at the wheel, and by reversing the engines, he barely saved the vessel from destruction. After some trouble, it was paddled out to deep water.

His first impression of course was, that the compass had been neglected. But to his surprise, he found that his orders in this respect had been exactly followed. The head of the vessel had been kept in the direction which, by compass, should have led to the open sea, thirty miles from land, and yet here was it running full inshore. To all concerned, the deviation seemed perfectly magical — not on any ordinary principle to be accounted for. The truth at length dawned on the captain. The error must have arisen from some local derangement of the compass. He caused all the compasses in the ship to be ranged on the deck; and soon it was perceived that no two agreed. The seat of the disorder was ascertained to be at a certain spot close to the funnel of the stove of the saloon. Could this funnel be the cause?

It was of brass, and had never before shewn any power of distracting the needle. On looking into it, however, the captain discovered that, when at Halifax, a new iron tube had been put inside the brass one, without his knowledge, and the circumstance had never been mentioned to him ! There, in that paltry iron tube, was the whole cause of the derangement, 'which I speeddy,' added Captain Shannon, ' made to shift its quarters.' How near was thus a fine vessel being wrecked, from a petty circum stance which no one could have previously dreamt of; and it may be said, how many first-class steamers, assumed to be diverted towards rocks by currents, may have been led to destruction from causes equally trivial. By a strict regard to compasses and to lights, and by carefid pdotage on approaching the coast, the danger to well-built sea-going steamers is exceedingly small.

Rocks, collisions, and conflagrations, are the things that need alone raise a feeling of apprehension. On board the America, as in similar vessels, lights are hung up at sunset on the fore-mast and on each paddle-box, so as to warn ships that a steamer is approaching, whereby collisions may be avoided ; and as regards fire, extreme care seems to be taken. All the lamps below, excepting that in the captain's apartment, are put out at midnight; nor is any one allowed to burn hghts on his own account. There is, also, in connection with the steam-engine, a set of force-pumps, by which a deluge of water could be immediately propelled to any part of the vessel. To avert the danger and delay incidental to breakages of machinery, duplicates of various parts are kept on board, and could be substituted if necessary, without materially interrupting the progress of the voyage.

Such precautionary arrangements cannot but give a certain degree of confidence to the most timid class of passengers. The America, as I said, quitted her moorings in the Mersey on Saturday at noon; and passing north about, it was not until about seven o'clock on Sunday evening that we lost sight of Ireland, and were fairly afloat on the Atlantic. Without any land in view, the ship now seemed to be moving in the centre of a circular piece of water terminating in the sky. And on and on, day after day, did the noble vessel go ploughing her way across this shifting liquid disk. Seldom did any sail make its appearance on the track we were pursuing. Our ship was seemingly alone on the waste of waters — a thing enchanted into life by the apphances of science and art, hastening across the trackless deep, and trans ferring a living portion of Europe to America.

How suggestive, to sit down to dinner, amidst the splendours of a hotel, and to see so many refined people about you, yet know that you are a thousand miles from land — a mere speck amidst the tumultuous waves ! The great ness of this marvel is probably lessened to most minds by the pressure of common-place circumstances. The shghtest touch of sea-sickness takes away the poetry of the ocean ; nor, when a man is hungry, does he indulge complacently in fanciful speculations. One of the first things which passengers do on coming on board, is to select the place where they propose to sit at table ; which they do by laying down their card at the spot. In this way, a party of persons acquainted with each other make choice of a locality ; and the seat each selects he keeps during the voyage. Let us pause for a moment on the appearance of the saloon, in its varying character of sitting and eating room.

It is one of the many well-managed matters in these vessels, that the meals are served peremptordy to a minute, according to the striking of the bells. No matter what be the state of the weather, the dishes are brought in at the appointed time; and I verily believe that if the ship were sinking, the stewards would still be continuing to serve the dinner. The stewards, in fact, twelve in number, the whole under a chef, and dressed in smart blue jackets, are but a variety of the waiter genus, and know only one thing — which is to supply the wants of passengers. At eight o'clock in the morning, they ring their first bell, which is the signal for rising ; and at half-past eight they ring again for breakfast. Irish stew, cold meat, ham, mutton chops, some kind of fish, eggs, tea, coffee, and hot rolls, are placed in profusion on the two upper tables.

The tables in the saloon are eight in number — that is, four on each side, with sofa seats in red velvet plush. Seldom more, however, than the upper tables are covered for breakfast; for the meal is drawn out tdl ten o'clock, and for two hours people come dropping in and going out as suits their fancy. At ten, the tables are cleared : after this, nothing hot can be obtained ; but any one at any time can have such other fare as is on board. At half-past eleven, the tables are covered to a larger extent, and the bell at twelve o'clock is the signal for lunch. This is a well-attended meal, and there is usually a considerable consumption of soup, cold beef, and roasted potatoes — the latter served with their jackets on, and a great favourite with the more mode rate hands. Again the tables are cleared, and so they remain till half-past three o'clock, when they are covered from end to end in grande tenue, and the bed for dressing is rung.

This bell might as well be spared, for not one makes the slightest preparation; and when the bell at four o'clock is sounded, there is a general rush from the poop, smoking-gallery, and other quarters, into the saloon. The number of passengers during our voyage was a hundred and sixty, and the whole of these, with two or three exceptions, sat down to dinner daily. At the top of each of the eight tables is a sdver tureen of soup, and the signal for taking off the lids is the entrance of the captain, who appears in the saloon only at this meal, and takes his seat at the upper end of the first table on the left-hand side. The stewards are drawn up in lines, and confine their attendance to their respective tables. When dishes are sent in to the apartment, they are handed from one to another along the lines, and in the same noiseless manner are they handed out — the whole thing going on sdently hke an adroit military manœuvre.

Every day fresh bills of fare are laid on the tables for the use of the guests. Iced water is served in abundance, and it is observable that not many call for wines. Those who do, give their orders on cards furnished for the purpose, which they settle for at the end of the voyage. For general accommodation, a shelf for bottles and glasses is sus pended from the ceiling over each of the tables, and large tankards of iced water are always at hand. The elegance and profusion of the dinners is sur prising. They consist of the best soups, fish, meat, fowls, and game, with side-dishes in the French style ; followed by a course of pastry of various kinds, with a dessert of fresh and preserved fruits. How so many things can be cooked, how there can be so much pastry dressed up dady, is a standing wonder to everybody.

And the wonder is greater when we know that from the same apparatus must be dady produced not only all this profusion for the saloon, but also copious dinners at different hours for the fore-cabin passengers, the officers' mess, and the working departments of the ship. Dinner in the saloon is drawn out to upwards of an hour, but towards its conclusion numbers drop off to their accustomed lounge in the capstan-gallery or on the poop. A few, here and there, linger over a bottle 1(3 THINGS AS THEY ARE IN AMERICA. of wine; some recline on the sofas; and some take to reading. There is now a cessation in eating till seven o'clock, when the bell is sounded the last time for the day, and tea and coffee are served. For these beverages there is always abundance of mdk; the cow on board being an assurance that there will be no want in that particular.