Travels in Canada and the United States, in 1816 and 1817

Front matter

t-yrmtj If yufit.iU.14 _ _'v .»V„A___*. /.,._,/.'» PuMukti hi L.-n.iM.m llui..t j:... ._._._■ i I TRAVELS IN CANADA, AND THE UNITED STATES, 1816 and 1817. By Lieut. FRANCIS H.AJLL, 14th LIGHT DRAGOONS, H.P. LONDON; PRINTED FOR LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, & BROWN, PATERNOSTER-ROW. 1818. Primed by A. Strahan, New-Street-Square, London. TO WILLIAM BATTIE WRIGHTSON, WILLIAM EMPSON, AND ROBERT MONSEY ROLFE, BROTHER WYKEHAMISTS, THESE TRAVELS ARE DEDICATED, BY THEIR OLD SCHOOL-FELLOW AND AFFECTIONATE FRIEND, FRANCIS HALL. TRAVELS IN CANADA, &c. &c.

Chapter I. Voyage

January, 1816. I sailed from Liverpool on the 20th of January, after having been detained se veral weeks by a continuance of west winds, which usually prevail through the greater part of the winter. Indeed, they have become so prevalent of late years, as to approach very nearly to the nature of a trade wind. They forced us to lie to twelve, out of the forty-four days we spent on our passage. Our vessel was an Ame rican, excellently built and commanded. The American Captains are supposed, with B VOYAGE. some reason, to make quicker voyages than the English, with whom celerity was, during the war, a less essential object. They pride themselves on the speed of their ships, as sportsmen do on that of their horses. Our Minerva was one of the first class of these " Horses of the Main." They prefer standing across the Atlantic in the direct line of their port, to the easier but more tedious route of the trades.

This sporting spirit commonly costs their passengers a few qualms of the stomach, but saves time ; no trifling consideration, when time is so miserably spent. Landsmen, who shrink from the seemingly endless breadth of the whole Atlantic, commonly divide it into three distances, viz. : the Azores, the Banks, and Soundings. Nothing occurred to make the latitude of the Azores cognizable by terrestrial eyes ; but the discolouring of the water, and a heavy incumbent fog sufficiently evinced our approach to the Banks ; these symptoms were accompanied by the usual de gree of cold, which indicates the proxi mity of land, whether above the water or below it. We made the following obser- VOYAGE. vations on the temperature in this neighbourhood Time. Feb. 14. 6 p. m. 15. 9 A. M. 10 A. M. 11 A. M. 1 P. M. 6 P. M. 16. 10 A. M. 17. 10 A.M. 2 P. M. 18. 9 A.M. 19. 12 A.M. Air.

Water. 66° 59° 53° 48° 50° 43° 48° 38° 46° 33° 38° 32° 37° 33° Soundings 35 feet. 38° 57° 40° 57° 52° 64° 60s 61° * We had eagerly anticipated a regale of cod fish on the Banks ; lines were thrown out, and the silver mail of one victim soon glistened, as he ascended through the green wave ; but, alas ! he proved no harbinger of fortune, and it seemed as if he had been made the cat's paw of his mute society, who, by no means satisfied with the result of their * Some of these variations seem to indicate the Temperature of the Gulf stream, into which we were sometimes forced by the prevalence of N. W. winds, without knowing it ; the American Captains very com monly use the Thermometer to ascertain this circum stance. B VOYAGE. first experiment, refused unanimously to re peat it. Luckily we were not imitating the heroes of the " Almanach des Gourmands," who, in old and modern days, have made the grand tour of gluttony for the express purpose of surfeiting themselves at every clas sic spot with the delicacy which had won its renown.

On the 27th, we touched on the Gulf Stream, where it flows round the Bank, and made the following observations : — Air. Water. Long. Lat April 27. 11 A.M. 52° 64° 64° w. 39° 34' N. 28. 9 a. _. 53° 53° 29. .Oa.m. 60° 54° 68° w. 39° 22' N. Marcl. 1. 12 a.m. 52° 48° 70° w. 39° 30' n 2. 10 a.m. 49° 45° It is to this difference of temperature betwixt the Gulf Stream and the adjacent waters, that M. Volney attributes the Bank fogs. He observes, (Tome 1, Page 238,) " // en doit resulter le double effet dsune eva " poration plus abondante, provoquee par la " tiedeur de ces eaux exotiques, et dsune con " densation plus etendue, a raison de la froi " deur des eaux indigenes et de leur atmos- VOYAGE. " phere, qui precisement se trouve dans la __*- " rection des vents du nord-est." * There is some difficulty in this part of the voyage, to escape the action of the stream to the south, which soon begins to be sensible, and at the same time to avoid the dangerous shoals of Nantucket to the north.

I felt little concern about Nantucket, at this time, except to keep at a respectful distance from it ; but I have since met with some interesting particulars relative to this inglorious little island. Its inhabitans are reckoned at 5000, some of whom are worth 20,0001. each. It contains 23,000 acres of land, and was originally possessed by the Nantucks, an Indian tribe, some of whom still remain on it, having peaceably incor porated with the Europeans, and joined in their occupations. The soil was originally * Vide Humboldt _ Observations on the Variations of Temperature in the Gulf Stream, and on the Bank. — " Personal Narrative," vol. I , page 50. He observes a difference of only 13° between them. This was in June. Vide, also, M. Volney's Table of Experiments, page 235, in which the greatest difference is 23° Ours was 31 °.

B VOYAGE. a barren sand, but the industry of the inhabitants has made it capable of pasturing large flocks of sheep, which constituted, in the infancy of the settlement, a common stock, but their chief employment is whaleing, at which they are equally diligent and daring ; doubling Cape Horn in pursuit of their game. The profits of this trade afford them both the necessaries and comforts of life. The luxuries are forbidden both by their character and religion, which is unmixed Presbyterianism. The only recreation they used to allow themselves, was driving in parties to a little spot, which they had rescued from barrenness, and converted into a kind of public garden. The traveller, from whom I borrow this account, gives a lively picture of their hospitality, and of the simplicity of their manners*, which supersedes the necessity of those inventions and restraints so inefficient in more polish ed societies.

The whole community affords an admirable instance of what human in- * He mentions a great outcry raised in the common wealth, by the luxury of a spring waggon. VOYAGE. dustry will effect, when left to the un shackled direction of its own exertions. They have, particularly the women, an odd habit of taking a small quantity of opium every morning. It is difficult to divine whence they have imported this unwhole some luxury.* The only books this tra veller found in the island, except the bible, were Hudibras and Josephus ; many of the inhabitants could repeat lines of the for mer, without having much notion to what they referred. Martha's vineyard is a settlement of much the same kind as Nan tucket. It derives its name from that part of it which was originally the portion of the first settler's daughter.

They formerly constituted part of the State of New York, but now of Massachusets. The last few days of our passage were blest with such favouring gales, and an atmosphere so warm and bright that the sea gods seemed resolved we should part good friends. — Unluckily this gleam of good fortune was extinguished in a cold * I have since heard it remarked, that this practice is very general in America. B VOYAGE. heavy fog, when we approached the Ame rican coast, by which we were deprived of the lovely prospect which opens upon the entrance of the harbour of New York. We anchored close to the quays, and eagerly began to escape from the place of our durance, which Dr. Johnson flatters, when he styles it a prison, with a chance of be ing drowned. The chance of being drowned forms the least of its miseries.

In most cases it is a complete annihilation of all faculties, both of mind and body : perhaps I should except that of mastication, which went on, generally with great vigour, during the whole of the voyage. — I owe honourable mention to our " Compagnons de Voyage," who, though of many trades and nations, united in the maintenance of harmony, and in support of the general weal. We were about eighteen in number ; among whom were several Americans, who contributed their full share of good humour and socia bility. We disputed for the honour of our countries, but our disputes invariably ended, as, it were to be wished, all national disputes should end, in a hearty laugh ; and when I saw, during these forty-four days, how easily VOYAGE. the jarring elements of our body corporate blended for the general convenience, I was induced to think the Rulers of the Earth take too much both pains and credit unto themselves, for holding together the patch work of society.

Chapter II. New York

March $th. New York is built on the tongue of land, at the point of which the Hudson and East Rivers effect their junction. The principal street (Broadway) runs along the ridge, and terminates in a small parade, planted with trees, designed originally for a battery; a destiny it fulfilled during the war ; but since "the piping time of peace," it has again reverted to the occupancy of fashionable pedestrians, and moon-light lovers. — From this point the eye commands, towards the left, the coast of Long Island, with the wooded heights of Brooklyn ; on the right, Sandy-Hook, with the mountain shores of Jersey ; while the mouth of the Bay lies be fore it, studded with bastioned islands, and gay with the white canvas of the American river craft, glancing like graceful sea-birds, through their native element.

From Broad way, streets diverge irregularly to either river, and terminate in extensive warehouses, and quays, constantly crowded. The houses are generally good, frequently elegant, but it requires American eyes to discover that Broadway competes with the finest streets of London or Paris. New York is reckoned to contain at present about 100,000 inhabitants, and is spreading ra pidly northward. I was told that 2000 houses were contracted for, to be built in the ensuing year. There are fifty churches, or chapels, of different sects ; a proof that a national church is not indispensable, for the maintenance of religion. The Town Hall is an elegant building of white marble, standing at right angles to Broadway. The plot of ground in front of it is railed round and planted. The interior is well arranged for the purposes of business.

The state rooms of the Mayor and Corporation are ornamented with the portraits of several of the Governors of New York, and whole lengths of the offi cers most distinguished during the late war. Some of these seemed well executed ; but if the State should always reward upon as large a scale, their future heroes must consent to occupy the garrets of the building. There is a good portrait of the first Dutch Governor of the State. That of Columbus was repairing. It is a considerable defect in this building, that the basement story is of a red granite, which, at a distance, has the appearance of brick. The staircase is circular, lighted by a cupola, and, in the style of its construction, not unlike that of Drury-lane theatre. The state rooms, and courts of justice are on the first floor. The sessions court was sitting during my visit, and I went in.

My first impression arose from the truly republican plainness of justice, stripped of all "pomp and circumstance," flowing wigs, ermine, and silk gowns. Both the Judges and Counsellors were in the dress of private gentlemen, the latter hardly to be distin guished from the spectators, who, without much ceremony, crowded round the tribu nal. A female was tried for stealing seve ral hundred dollars ; she was found guilty, and sentenced to imprisonment. The punishment of death is abolished in the state of New York in all cases, except murder and arson : other crimes are punished by confinement and labour. To America be longs the glory of having first made the experiment of the least waste of life with which society can be preserved. The general Hospital and Lunatic Asylum are contiguous buildings.

I had an opportunity of visiting them w _th one of the Physi cians, and was pleased to observe the feeling kindness of his manner towards the __> unfortunate victims of insanity, who seemed to greet him as a friend. One patient was pointed out to us, whose delusion consisted in imagining himself black. I spent an evening at the theatre. It is a shabby building without, and poorly lighted and decorated within. The play was Columbus, a wretched hash of different plays and stories, miserably acted. The audience, like that of a Portsmouth theatre, consisted almost entirely of men. — I saw nothing resembling a Lady in the house, and but few females. The Americans are generally considered to have little taste for the drama ; or for music, beyond what is necessary for a dance ; dancing being in New York, as in most parts of the world, the favourite amusement ofthe ladies ; they dance cotillions, because they fancy they ex cel in French dances, and despise country dances for the same reason.

The young men have the character of being dissipated, living much apart from their families in boarding houses. Good dinners are in high esteem in the upper commercial circles, and I had occasion to bear witness both to the skill of their cooks, and the hospitality of the entertainers.* I was naturally curious to visit the famous Steam frigate, or Floating Battery, built for the defence of the harbour ; this favour I * Two curious instances of disease were related at one of these dinner parties by General North. One, of the tarantula infection, in which the sufferer, a female, was vehemently affected by music, and the application of particular odours, in discovering which she evinced an acuteness of smell, infinitely beyond what is found in the healthful state. The other was the case of a female, who was attacked by lethargy, at the end of which her memory had wholly forsaken her, so that she was obliged to begin again the rudiments of education ; but upon a recurrence of the fit, a considerable time afterwards, she awoke perfectly restored to a recollection of all she had known previous to the first attack of the disease. obtained through Dr. Mitchell, the great philosopher of New York, of whom it is fit to mention, that he has been lately en gaged in the Icthyology of his country, and has discovered, or, to use his own expression, " can lift up his hand and de clare," that the smelt of the Trans-atlantic epicure is neither more nor less than the smelt so honoured by European gourmands.

He is besides a man of considerable mecha nical science, and mentioned several of his plans for the improvement of the Steam Frigate, in constructing which I believe he bore a principal part. One plan was to obviate the intolerable heat in the neigh bourhood of the engines, by introducing fresh air through tubes near the surface of the water, bent upwards to prevent its en tering. Another was to discharge from the engine a force of water sufficient to over whelm any boarding boat, or drench the gun deck of any ship alongside. — The length of the frigate is 150 feet ; breadth of beam 50 ; and thickness of sides four feet. She works either way, and is said to be sufficiently manageable, and well calculated for harbour defence. Considerable apprehensions were entertained during the war, of a domiciliary visit to New York by a British squadron.

This alarm gave birth to the various forts and batteries which now grin defiance on <__> the different islets at the mouth of the river, and project from several points along the quays of the town. Fortifications were also thrown up on the opposite heights of Brooklyn, on Long Island, where they command the city. I made a tour of them one morning, and found five forts or re doubts connected by bastioned lines. The three on the right were covered by an inundation, the remainder sufficiently ap proachable. The whole are now abandoned, and hastening to decay. The soil of the island is sand, mixed with scattered blocks of talkous granite *, used for paving the city. There is a small museum in New York, the best part of which is a collection of birds, well preserved ; and the worst, a set of wax work figures, among whom are Saul in a Frenchman's embroidered coat, the Witch of Endor in the costume of a * Besides Granite, I picked up Quartz with Chlorite, and Lydian stone.

House-maid, and Samuel in a robe de chambre and cotton night-cap. The establishment is not in very learned hands, to judge by the labels on the different Articles : I read on one, " a peace of Seder," vice " a piece of Cedar." I had little means of ascertaining the state of literature in New York. Books were extremely dear : cheap editions are indeed struck off of all bur modern Poets, but they are more expensive than books of the same size in England, and are miserably incorrect. The Edinburgh and Quarterly Reviews are reprinted as soon as they arrive, and are in great request ; but I could hear of no American Review or Magazine which even American Booksellers would recommend. I met however with a few good worka of native growth : Wilson's Ornithology is not only interesting for its descriptions, but the plates are executed and coloured in a very superior style.

I found a calculation in it relative to the flocks of wild pigeons, which move annually northward, from the back ofthe central and southern states, enough to startle an European reader, but which has in a great measure been confirmed to c me by eye witnesses. He says, _ he ob " served a flock passing betwixt Francfort " and the Indiana territory, one mile at " least in breadth ; it took up four hours in " passing, which, at the rate of one mile " per minute, gives a length of 240 miles, " and supposing three pigeons to each " square yard, gives 2,230,272,000 pigeons." Their breeding places he describes as many miles in extent. Birds of prey glut them selves above, hogs and other animals are fattened with the squabs which tumble down, and cover the ground on every high wind. This prodigious increase seems to resemble nothing so much as the herring shoals. * Indeed both the aerial and aquatic communities seem to stand in need of Mr. * " The Turtle Doves are so numerous in Canada, that the Bishop has been forced to excommunicate them oftener than once, upon account of the damage they do to the produce of the earth.

We embarked and made to wards a meadow in the neighbourhood of which the trees were covered with that sort of fowls more than with leaves. For just then it was the season in which they retire from the north countries and repair to the southern climates, and one would have thought that all the Turtle Doves upon earth had chosen to pass through this place." — Lahontan. 1. Letter xi. 1687. Malthus's checks to superabundant popu lation. * It would be ingratitude to quit New York without mention of its erudite and right pleasant Historian, Diedrich Knickerbocker f, whose history of the first Dutch governors of the settlement deserves a savored niche by the side of the revered Cid Ham et Benangeli, and the facetious Biographer of my Uncle Toby. * To preserve the skins of birds. Mr. Wilson re commends a strong solution of arsenic to be rubbed within side, and a little powdered arsenic to be sprin kled outwardly, with camphor in the box. f Washington Irvine, Esq. c r 20 ]

Chapter III. Steam-boat

I embarked on the 9th of March, in the Paragon steam packet, from New York to Albany. The winter had been less severe than usual, which induced the captain to attempt making his way up the Hudson earlier than is customary. These steam boats are capable of accommodating from 2 to 300 passengers ; they are about 120 feet in length, and as elegant in their construction as the awkward-looking machinery in the centre will permit. There are two cabins, one for the ladies, into which no gentle man is admitted without the concurrence of the whole company. The interior ar rangements on the whole, resemble those of our best packets. I was not without ap prehension, that a dinner in such a situation, for above 150 persons, would very much resemble the scramble of a mob ; I was however agreably surprised by a dinner handsomely served, very good atten dance, and a general attention to quiet and decorum : " Truly, thought I, these repub licans are not so very barbarous."

Indeed when the cabin was lighted up for tea and sandwiches in the evening, it more resembled a ball-room supper, than, as might have been expected, a stage-coach meal. The charge, including board, from New York to Albany, 160 miles, is seven dollars. We started under the auspices of a bright frosty morning : The first few minutes were naturally spent by me in examining the ma chinery ,by means of which our hugeleviathan, with such evident ease, won her way against the opposing current : but more interesting objects are breaking fast on the view ; on our right are the sloping sides of New York Island, studded with villas, over a soil from which the hand of cultivation h__ long since rooted its woodland glories, substituting the more varied decorations of park and shrub bery, intersected with brown stubbles and meadows ; while on our left, the bold feac tures of nature rise, as in days of yore, un impaired, unchangeable ; grey cliffs, like aged battlements, tower perpendicularly from the water's edge to the height of se veral hundred feet. * Hickory, dwarf oak, and stunted cedars, twist fantastically with in their crevices, and deepen the shadows of each glen into which they occasionally recede ; huge masses of disjointed rocks are scattered at intervals below ; here the sand has collected sufficiently to afford space for the woodman's hut, but the narrow waterfall, which in summer turns his saw-mill, is now a mighty icicle glittering to the morning sun ; here and there a scarcely perceptible track conducts to the rude wharf, from which the weather-worn lugger receives her load of timber for the consump tion ofthe city.

A low white monument near one of these narrow strands marks the spot on which the good and gallant Hamil ton offered the sacrifice of his life to those prejudices, which noble minds have so sel dom dared to despise. He crossed from the State of New York to evade the laws of * The whole, of this ridge closely resembles UnderclifF in the Isle of Wight. his country, and bow to those of false shame and mistaken honour. His less fortunate adversary still survives in New York, as ob scure and unnoticed as he was once conspi cuous. Evening began to close in as we approached ,the highlands : The banks on either side towered up more boldly, and a wild tract of mountain scenery rose beyond them : The river, which had been gradually widening, now expanded into a capacious lake, to which the eye could distinguish no outlet ; flights of wild fowl were skim ming over its smooth surface to their even ing shelter, and the last light of day rested faintly on a kw white farm houses, glim mering at intervals from the darkening thickets : Ver-Planks Point shuts the northern extremity of this first basin : The River continues its course within a cliff-bound channel, until, after a few miles, it again opens out amid the frowning precipices of West Point : Here are the same features of scenery as at Ver-Planks Point, but loftier mountains skirt the lake ; and cliffs of more gigantic stature almost impend above c the gliding sail. * she moon was riding in a cloudless sky, and as her silver colouring fell on the grey cliffs of the left banks, the mountains on the other side projected their deepened shadows, with encreased solemni ty, on the unruffled waters.

This was the land of romance to the early settlers : Indian tradition had named the highlands the prison within which Ma netho confined the spirits rebellious to his power, until the mighty Hudson, rolling through the stupendous defiles of West Point, burst asunder their prison house ; but they long lingered near the place of their captivity, and as the blasts howled through the valleys, echo repeated their groans to the startled ear of the solitary hunter, who watched by hispine-treefire for the approach of morning. The lights, which occasionally twinkled from the sequestered bay, or wood ed promontory, sufficiently told that these fancies, like the Indians, who had invented or transmitted them, must by this time have given way to the unpoetic realities of civi lised life. * The average of these heights is probably about 800 feet; the highest is reckoned at 1100.

C) Masses of floating ice, which had, at in tervals through the evening, split upon the bow of our ark, became so frequent im mediately on our passing West Point as to oblige us to come to anchor for the night ; a pretty sure prognostic that there was nearly an end to our feather-bed travel ling. The next morning we found ourselves lying close to the flourishing little settle ment of Newburgh, on the right bank of the river : Our captain having concluded to terminate his voyage here, moved over to Fishkill, on the opposite shore, to give us means of accommodating ourselves with conveyances, in the best way we could.

Chapter IV. New York To Albany

44 miles, March 10th. Ver-Planks- Point, West- Point, - 14 Newburgh, 7 e Fishkill, 5 1 1 th. Poughkeepsie, - - 14 Rhinbeck, - - 20 12th. Clermont, Kinderhook, - - 40 Schodach, Van Valtenburgs, 8 13th. Albany, - - 12 160 Miles. We were conveyed to Poughkeepsie in a kind of covered cart : The West- Point hills lay in a long ridge behind us, stretching east and west. The country through which we passed, though comparatively low, un dulated in the same direction. About three miles from Fishkill a wild torrent rushed over its bed of broken rocks, across NEW YORK TO ALBANY. the road : The romantic bridge flung over its brawling course, the mill on its craggy banks, andthe deep wooded glen, down which it hastens to the Hudson, deserve a place in every traveller's journal. Poughkeepsie was the first country town, or rather village, I had seen; and as the features of all are much alike, it shall be described for a specimen.

Houses of wood, roofed with shingles, neatly painted, with generally from four to six sash windows on each floor, two stories high, and a broad viranda, resting on neat wooden pillars, along the whole ofthe front : Such is the common style of house-building through the whole State : It unites to cleanly neatness a degree of elegance, con fined in England to the cottage ornee ; but here common to all houses ; very few sink to a meaner fashion : this seems strange to the eye accustomed to a hundred wretched hovels for one habitation of grace ful comfort ; but poverty has not yet wan dered beyond the limits of great towns in America ; in the country every man is a land owner, and has competence within his grasp ; " 0 fortunatos nimium sua si bona norints" The whole of this beautiful passage may be well applied to American farmers : To them the earth is " most just," for they are industrious and enterprising, and they have not yet discovered the necessity of yielding 19 parts of their earnings to their Government, to take care of the remaining 20th.

At Poughkeepsie, as in almost all American towns, are two or three large inns, in which dinner is provided at a certain hour, for all travellers en masse ; nor is it an easy matter any where to procure a separate meal ; indeed privacy, either in eating, sleeping, conversation, or government, seems quite unknown, and un knowable to the Americans, to whom it ap pears, whether political or domestic, a most unnatural as well as unreasonable desire, which only Englishmen are plagued with. There is no want of churches, either here or in any other village of this state, but they are all built of the same perishable materials : Mr. Jefferson in his " Notes on Virginia," objects to this method of building, which adds nothing to the riches of the state ; but as long as wood continues plentiful and labour dear, houses will be built in the readiest and cheapest manner.

NEW YORK TO ALBANY. The same fashion was once general in our own country : Knickerbocker, in his humor ous way, thus describes this passion of the Yankee settler for building large wooden houses. " Improvement is his darling " passion, and having thus improved his " lands, the next care is to provide a " mansion worthy the residence of a . landholder. A huge palace of pine " boards immediately springs up in the " midst of the wilderness, large enough for " a parish church, and furnished with win " dows of all dimensions, but so rickety and _ flimsy withal, that every blast gives it a " fit of the ague. By the time the outside " of this mighty air castle is completed, " either the funds or the zeal of our adven " turer are exhausted, so that he barely ma " nages to half finish one room within, " where the whole family burrow together, " while the rest of the house is devoted to " the curing of pumpkins, or storing of " carrots and potatoes, and is decorated " with fanciful festoons of wilted peaches and " dried apples.