The life of Harman Blennerhassett. Comprising an authentic narrative of the Burr expedition: and containing many additional facts not heretofore published

Front matter

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CHAPTER I. Page Early life of Blennerhassett — Lineage — Education — The Irish

bar — Blennerhassett commences the study of law— Called to the bar — Certificate — Makes a visit upon the Continent- France — Witnesses the adoption of her new Constitution — Beturns to Ireland — Spirit of discontent in Ireland — Oppressed by England — Effect of the American Revolution on Ireland — On the whole of Eurojpe — Repeal of the statute of sixth George First — Blennerhassett prefers the quiet pursuits of literature to the political arena — Is dissatisfied with Ireland, and determines to leave — Disposes of his lands — Proceeds to England — Addresses Miss Agnew — Marries — Reflections 19

Chapter II

Blennerhassett supplies himself with a library and philosophical apparatus — Ships for New York — Western country described — Blennerhassett sets out for the West — Pittsburgh — Mode of travelling — Marietta — Is desirous of building — Backus's- Island — Blennerhassett concludes a purchase — Commences improvements — Island with its improvements — Reflections.... 30

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER III. Page Blennerhassett described — Studies — Amusements — Anecdotes of

— Appointed justice of the peace — Mrs. Blennerhassett described 40

Chapter IV

Early settlers of Western Virginia — Occupations — Amusements — Patriotism — First settlers of Ohio — Industry — Economy — Morality — Conclusion 49

Chapter V

Domestic situation of Blennerhassett in 1805 — Burr's first visit to the island — Object of Burr's tour — Finds Blennerhassett absent from home — Proceeds down the Ohio — Visits- Wilkinson — Conference — Blennerhassett visits New York — Thomas Addis Emmett — Burr's first communication to Blennerhassett — Effect of, upon Blennerhassett — Blennerhassett's answer — Burr's reply — Burr's second visit to the island — Wirt's descrip- i tion of the island as it was at that time — Burr commences recruiting men for the expedition — Arguments made use of to induce individuals to join — Effect of his arguments 58

Chapter VI

Preparations for the expedition commenced — Burr's visit to Chillicothe — Cincinnati — Kentucky — Alston arrives at the island — Alston with his wife and Blennerhassett visits Lexington, Ky. — Blennerhassett is introduced to Charles Fenton Mercer — Suspicious aspect of the expedition — Situation of affairs in the United States — Apprehensions of the people — Rumours — Gra-

Pagb ham appointed a secret agent of the government — Instructions

— Instructions to Gen. Wilkinson — Wilkinson demands forces of the Governor of Mississippi Territory— Is refused — Despatches Burling to Mexico — Holds a conference -with Governor Claiborne at New Orleans — Merchants of New Orleans convoked — Preparations at New Orleans — Blennerhassett sets out from Kentucky for home — Meets with Mr. Mercer — Conversation — Burr's designs explained — Blennerhassett is joined by Burr at the island. — Burr leaves the supervision of the boats to Blen-- nerhassett and returns to Kentucky — Is arrested — Graham arrives at Marietta — Interview with Blennerhassett — Visits the Governor of Ohio at Chillicothe — Act of the Ohio Legislature — Militia of the State called out — Anecdotes — Mercer's visit to the island — Arrival of Comfort Tyler and his men — Find Blennerhassett disheartened as to the feasibility of the enterprise. 74

Chapter VII

Burr despatches Swartwout to Wilkinson — Letter — Wilkinson communicates its substance to the President — Proclamation of the President — Virginia militia called out under command of Col. Hugh Phelps — Blennerhassett escapes with Tyler and his forces down the Ohio — Phelps proceeds to the island — Finds it deserted — Ineffectual attempt to arrest Blennerhassett at Point Pleasant — Effect of the President's Proclamation trusted to for some time in the State of Tennessee — But similar instructions sent to that State also — Graham leaves Frankfort for Nashville — The movements of Burr — Kentucky militia ordered out — Burr's flotilla — Burr leaves the Cumberland — Lands at Fort Massac — Is visited by the commander, Captain Bissel — Supplies Burr with a messenger to convey a letter to the Lead Mines in Missouri — His wife presents Burr with provisions — Burr and his party proceed to Chickasaw Bluffs — Has an interview with the commander, Lieutenant Jacob Jackson — Fails in his designs — Communication of the President to Wilkinson — Burr supplies himself with lead, tomahawks, &c, and proceeds to Palmyra, and thence to Bayou Pierre 95

Chapter VIII

Morgan Neville, and William Kobinson, Junior — Embark from Pittsburgh in a flat-boat — Espied by the Wood county militia and arrested — Escorted to the island to await the return of Col. Phelps — Difficulties with the militia — Trial of the young men — Conduct of the militia on the island — Mrs. Blennerhassett's return from Marietta — Her fortitude on the occasion — Embarrassed situation — Accepts the offer of the young men to convey her to her husband — Col. Phelps's return to the island — Young men embarrassed at the announcement of his arrival — Character and description of Col. Phelps — Eebukes the militia for their riotous conduct — His politeness to the young men — Proffers his services in accelerating Mrs. Blennerhassett's arrangement to go to her husband — Apologizes for the misbehaviour of his men — Mrs. Blennerhassett prepares to depart — Leaves the island in company with the young men — Passes the mouth of the Cumberland — Disappointed in not finding her husband — Arrives at Bayou Pierre, and is restored to Blennerhassett — Painful situation of Burr and Blennerhassett — Burr sinks the arms, for the expedition, in the Mississippi 110

Chapter IX

Proclamation of Cowles Mead acting as Governor of the Mississippi Territory — Burr's reply — The boats are visited by George Poindexter, Attorney-General for the Territory — Object of the visit — A letter from the acting Governor — Burr's avowals — Poindexter requests his peaceable surrender — Burr declares his willingness — An interview with the acting Governor the next day is agreed upon — Terms of the agreement — Burr accordingly surrenders himself — Terms of his final surrender — He is conveyed to the town of Washington — Examination before Judge Rodney — Poindexter called on for his opinion — It is given — Judge Rodney dissents — A grand jury is required to be summoned to an adjourned session of the

Paoe Supreme Court of the Mississippi Territory — Grand jury assembled — Motion to discharge — Overruled — Presentments by the grand jury — Acquitting Burr — Present the calling out of the militia of the Territory as a grievance — Also late military arrests — Astonishment of the Attorney-General — Leaves the court room — Judge Rodney displeased — Burr asks to be discharged from his recognisance — Is refused — Disguises himself, and escapes — Reward offered — Suspicious circumstance — Burr's men are placed under guard — Arrests at Fort Adams and New Orleans — Conduct of Wilkinson — Treatment of Gen. Adair — Attempt to suspend the writ of "Habeas Corpus" — Wilkinson's contempt of the writs of Habeas Corpus — Judge Workman's recommendation to the Governor — Workman becomes dissatisfied with the Governor — Resigns his office — Return of Burling from Mexico — Object of his visit — Reception of Burling by the Viceroy of Mexico — Leaves Mexico in haste — Lieutenant Swan returns from Jamaica with letter from Admiral Drake — Conveyance of prisoners to Washington and Baltimore — Their discharge 119

Chapter X

Burr's arrival in the village of Wakefield, Alabama — Inquires for Colonel Hinson's — His conduct excites suspicion — He is pursued by Nicholas Perkins and Brightwell, the Sheriff— Is found at Hinson's — His agreeableness — Suspicions of the Sheriff— Mrs. Hinson's inquisitiveness — His departure from Hinson's — Delinquency of Brightwell — Perkins sets out for Fort Stoddard to procure assistance of Lieutenant Edmund P. Gaines — They start in pursuit — Burr is arrested — His imprisonment at the Fort — Kindness to George S. Gaines — Amusements at the Fort — Burr's travelling companion, Major Ashley, arrested, and escapes — Difficulties in procuring a guard to convey Burr to Richmond — Burr leaves the Fort under guard— Sympathy of the ladies— Guard— Perkins fears the influence of Burr — Particulars of the journey — Burr attempts to escape at Chester — Is unsuccessful — Arrives at Richmond, Virginia 135

Chapter XI. ■

Blennerhassett sets out from Natchez to visit his island — Tarries at Lexington, Kentucky — Arrested by the authorities — Mrs. Blennerhassett's letter — Defended by the Hon. Henry Clay — Is unsuccessful in procuring his discharge — Is conducted to Richmond — Postponement of the trials of Burr and his accused confederates — Trial of Burr commenced — Court and bar — Verdict of acquittal by the jury — Burr's arraignment on an indictment for a misdemeanor — Acquittal — Extracts from Blennerhassett's journal kept during the trial — Extracts from the private memoranda — Chief Justice Marshall — Luther Martin — William Wirt — Aaron Burr 153

Chapter XII

Origin of the Burr expedition — Miranda's visit in 1797-8 — His object — Propositions favourably received — Visits England — Receives encouragement from the British ministry — Mode of arranging forces for the subjugation of the South American colonies — His plans are defeated by the elder Adams — Burr conceives the plan of the subjugation of Mexico — Auspicious circumstances — Encouragement received from distinguished characters — Wilkinson's aid proffered — His counsel — Daniel Clark — General Jackson — Effect of the adjustment of the Spanish difficulties upon those who at first favoured the expedition — Burr's indomitable perseverance — Treacherous conduct of Wilkinson — Effect of Burr's acquittal upon the public mind — Character of Burr — Belief that Jefferson tacitly assented to the expedition — Circumstances -which induce that belief 174

Chapter XIII

Blennerliassett returns to Natchez after the trial — His pecuniary embarrassments — Sacrifice and abuse of his property — His complacency — Demands indemnity for his losses from

Page Gov. Alston — Purchases a farm in Mississippi, and commences

the culture of cotton — Mrs. Blennerhassett's assistance — Flattering prospects — Effects of the embargo — Receives the intelligence of the burning of his mansion 187

Chapter XIV

Blennerhassett's prospects declining — Is offered a judgeship by the Governor of Canada — Sells his estates — Removes to Montreal — Mrs. Blennerhassett's poetry, " The Deserted Isle" — Blennerhassett again disappointed — Determines to prosecute a claim subsisting in Ireland — Sails for Ireland — Reflections — Applies to Lord Anglesey for office — Letter of Mr. Gossett — Is again disappointed — Removes to the island of Guernsey —Death 195

Chapter XV

Remarks on the life of Blennerhassett — Mrs. Blennerhassett's destitute situation — Resolves to visit the United States to procure indemnity for spoiliations — The reasonableness of such a demand — Visits New York — Presents her petition to Congress — Petition — Robert Emmett's aid — Letter to Mr. Clay — Mr. Clay presents the petition — Report of the Hon. William Woodbridge — Death of Mrs. Blennerhassett — Is buried by Irish females 203

Appendix

I. Mrs. Theadosia Burr Alston 211

II. Secret Correspondence 214

III. The Battle of Muskingum, or Defeat of the Burrites.. 218

IV. Brief of Blennerhassett 223

INTKODUCTION".

Nearly fifty years since, the inhabitants of the valley of the Ohio were gratified by the intelligence that an individual of rank and fortune had renounced allegiance to his father-land, to take up his abode among them. In those primitive days, every addition to the little band of early pioneers was deemed of some importance; but the accession of one whose manners and customs differed so widely from their own — who could build and adorn a palace in the western wilds — was considered an event of wonderful magnitude.

With satisfaction they beheld the first germs of civilization springing from beneath the plastic hand of taste, and bursting into full maturity through the genial influence of wealth. This western Eden, while it captivated their eyes with its beauty, amazed their minds with the resources of its possessor. They witnessed the accomplishment of his ends in the subjugation of nature to his will ; saw "the desert bloom and

1G INTRODUCTION.

blossom as the rose;" stood as anxious spectators when the whirlwind of popular prejudice and passion prostrated the hopes and blasted the happiness of his household; and wept for the desolation which succeeded.

Since the celebrated expedition of Aaron Burr, the earlier fortunes of Blennerhassett have been the subject of singular curiosity. Many have been the surmises as to the causes which led the descendant of European nobility, to renounce the hereditary honours consequent upon family, for the secluded life of an unpretending republican. Some attribute it to an early alliance with a lady whose fortune and rank were unequal to those of his own ; others to a want of success as a member of the Irish bar ; while the uncharitable are anxious to throw around the subject conjectures of the darkest character.

The mystery which surrounds him and his "island home" has served, for more than forty years, to entertain the passing traveller, as, upon the bosom of the Ohio, the latter glides by the spot where once stood the American Alhambra. The marvellous stories of Spain — of Moslem enchantment and Moorish gold — v are scarce less credible than the tales at such times repeated to the attentive ear of the listener.

Memory reverts with fond delight to the earlier days of our youthful pastimes, when, strolling through the

INTRODUCTION. 17

embowered coppices of the isle, seated beneath the vine-clad cotton-tree, or gathering pebbles on the beach, the stern realities of life were forgotten; and, in the wild exuberance of our youthful fancy, we breathed to the image of our heart's first love the language of impassioned adoration. Around the name of Blennerhassett, and every thing connected with it, was waved the enchanting wand of romance; and tales of beauty, of splendour, and of crime, while they fascinated us with their witchery, startled us with his deep and dark designs.

Who Blennerhasset truly was, and what his origin and destiny, it is our object to disclose. "We hope to strip the subject of that mysteriousness which ignorance, wilful prejudice, or a love of the marvellous has thrown around it, and reveal to the inquiring reader the acts and character of the man.

LIFE OF BLENNERHASSETT.

Chapter I

Early life of Blennerhassett — Lineage — Education — The Irish bar — Blennerhassett commences the study of law — Called to the bar — Certificate — Makes a visit upon the Continent — France — Witnesses the adoption of her new Constitution — Returns to Ireland — Spirit of discontent in Ireland — Oppressed by England — Effect of the American Kevolution on Ireland — On the whole of Europe — Repeal of the statute of sixth George First — Blennerhassett prefers the quiet pursuits of literature to the political arena — Is dissatisfied with Ireland, and determines to leave — Disposes of his lands — Proceeds to England — Addresses Miss Agnew — Marries — Reflections.

Of the early life of Blennerhassett we know, and therefore shall say, but little. That he was the son of an Irish gentleman, and was born in Hampshire, England, while the family were on a temporary visit to some friend or relative, in the year 1767, we are authentically informed. He might have boasted a lineage, which, although not noble y was, nevertheless, among ' the most illustrious of the Irish gentry.* Whether the boy ever exhibited any thing above the capacity of boys of his age, — or whether, on the contrary, he was considered a silent, dull, and uninteresting youth, — we know not; but that he enjoyed most excellent literary advantages, is clearly established by the fact that, at early age, he was placed by his father in the celebrated school of Westminster; that, after he had struggled, in honourable emulation, with the many worthies who have since so brilliantly adorned both the English and Irish nations, he was entered at Trinity College, Dublin, where he graduated, ' with honour to himself and credit to his professors.

At that time the Irish bar — : a body formidable to the then existing government, by their

* Dr. S. P. Hildreth, in a Sketch of the Life of Blennerhassett, published in the "American Review," in 1848, states that Blennerhassett was of " noble descent." William Wallace, Esq., on the contrary, who had access to a portion of his papers, and who also published a sketch of the same individual, in the same periodical, in the year 1845, describes his parentage as among the most distinguished of the gentry of Ireland, who could trace their lineage as far back as the English King John. " The family consisted of branches located in the counties of Cork and Kerry. Many of the ancient heads were the chiefs of Balaceady Castle, and held numerous important offices. The subject of this sketch belonged to the Balaceady branch." I have. chosen to adopt Mr. Wallace as, perhaps, the best informed author on this point, he having had access to some of Blennerhassett's papers, through the courtesy of a son of the latter.

CALLED TO THE BAR. 21

character and capacity — comprised many sons of the resident noblemen and commoners of Ireland. The legal science was not then a mere trade, but a profession, 'requiring both learning and time to master its abstruse truths. Eloquence was looked upon as a qualification for the higher duties of the senate, and almost every peer and commoner had a relative enrolled among the number.

That Blennerhassett should remain an exception to the general custom, was hardly to be expected; and, accordingly, w T e find him snugly ensconced in the King's Inns as an entered apprentice in the study of the law. How successfully he waded through the musty tomes of black letter, which crowd that ancient library, is evidenced by the significant appendage of LL.D., which occasionally accompanied his name.

At Michaelmas term, in 1790, he was called to the bar, as is shown by the following certificate :* —

" King's Inns. These are to certify, that Harman Blennerhassett, Esq., was, in Michaelmas term, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and ninety, generally admitted

* Wallace, into the Honourable Society of the King's Inns, and called to the degree of Barrister therein. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed the seal of said Society this eighteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and ninety-five.

" Wm. Caldbeck, Treas. [l.s.] " Witness, John Cook, Sub-Treas"

Blennerhassett declined entering upon the duties of his profession until he had made a tour upon the continent.

France then presented, both to the philosopher and politician, superior attractions over any of her sister kingdoms. At the period of Blennerhassett's visit she had been rocked by the whirlwind of revolution ; and the established despotism of her military monarchs had been crumbled into atoms. The massive structure of the Bastile, which had stood four hundred years, every stone of which was wet with the tears and echoed the groans of four centuries of oppression, had been torn from its summit to its foundation, by the infuriated advocates of popular freedom. On the anniversary of its destruction, Louis Sixteenth, with thirty thousand delegates from the confederated National Guards of the kingdom, in the presence of five

FRANCE— IRELAND. 23

hundred thousand of their countrymen, had taken the oath of fidelity to the nation, to the Constitution, and, all save the monarch himself, to the king. But France was still trembling from the convulsions of her people. Her recuperating energies were starting afresh, on a new system of government, which had not yet gained either the confidence or affection of her subjects. Having witnessed the adoption of these new measures, with doubts of their ultimate success, Blennerhassett returned to his own country, in time to escape the storm which prostrated the hopes of the friends of the new constitution, and destroyed the life of the unfortunate Louis. The same spirit of discontent which prevailed in France had extended to Ireland. For centuries had she groaned under the oppression of successive English monarchs. Her submission to the sceptres of Henry and of Kichard had been construed into the right of conquest; and they sought to crush the native spirit of her people, by fomenting discord and exercising tyranny. Ireland had been blessed with a genial soil. Nature had lavished her brightest gifts upon her. The native character of her population was not inferior to that of other nations. But, of what avail were fertile fields, or gigantic intellects and towering talent, when national disorganization and political faction perverted the gifts of Providence to selfish purposes, or destroyed their usefulness, in the general wreck of distracted governments and divided subjects ? Her manufacturing interest and commercial enterprise struggled long against the monopoly of England ; but the superior power of her ruler enabled her to check their prosperity, by the heavy hand of arbitrary restraint. A deplorable want of union of sentiment and firmness of purpose, at all times prevented a successful separation from her powerful oppressor ; and every attempt to claim her independence proved vain and abortive.

Thus, for ages, has Ireland, as the captive in his gloomy cell, awaked at times as from a troubled dream, to behold, with longing eyes, the dawn of the day of her emancipation ; but, finding the darkness still prevailing, gave herself again to slumber, that she might the more readily forget her situation.

England, fearful of her growing strength, sought to subdue her spirit, by onerous exactions, and denying her the privilege of a free legislature. Not only against Ireland had she exercised her arbitrary will, but also against the colonies of her planting in North America. Vain in the conceit of her imperial power, she

STATE OF IRELAND. 25

dared to exact obedience from peoples separated by the wide Atlantic, and command the same submission with which the oppressed subjects of Ireland had yielded. While her experimental philosophy had taught her that to retain her authority she must exercise tyranny, she had not reflected that there was a point in the system of her oppression, where submission to the will of an unyielding despot ceased to be a virtue.

The spirit of independence was hovering over the bloody altar of the American ^Revolution, when Ireland again awoke to a sense of her own condition. She gazed Vith animated delight at the increasing success of American arms. Every new victory found a sympathetic influence, responding with joy, in the secret recesses of her own bosom. The feeble colonies of America, spread over a vast extent of territory, with but few" facilities for conducting a war; with a hostile Indian enemy in their rear, and the boasted chivalry of England at their front; undismayed by difficulty or the fear of defeat, after seven years of war, were finally victorious. The arrogance of England bowed its proud head to the shrine of liberty ; and Lord Cornwallis, her favourite general, led back the relics of her conquered army, to commemorate, in the mother country, the importance of her power, and the emancipation of her colonies.

Before they had well considered the reason of their solicitude, the same spirit of independence had animated the Irish bosom; and, in every corner of her territory, the fire of liberty burst forth, in a blaze that threatened equal destruction to British usurpation and kingly government. The nation became aroused. English influence and English interests secured partisans in church and state ; and opposing factions, from their intolerance and party animosity, had already commenced the Irish revolution.

The success of the cause of liberty in the American colonies, affected, most sensibly, the whole of Europe. It appeared, indeed, as though the fiat had gone forth, that monarchies and despotisms were for ever to cease from among men. " Strange and unforeseen events were crowding the annals of the world; — the established axioms of general polity began to lose their weight among nations ; — and governments, widely wandering from the fundamental principles of their own constitutions, appeared carelessly travelling the road to ruin."

Such was the state of Europe ; presenting an aspect not unlike that upon which we, of later

LITERARY INCLINATIONS. 27

days, have gazed, (and to which we still look, with feelings of solicitude and hope,) when Blennerh asset t left the unhappy shores of France, for those, not less miserable, of his native country.

Ireland, it is true, from the helpless situation of England, at a time when her foreign wars and hapless defeats had exhausted the resources of that powerful nation, had successfully demanded the repeal of the statute of sixth George First, entitled " An Act for the better securing the dependency of the kingdom of Ireland upon the crown of Great Britain;" but her situation was not less distracted than before.

Although it was difficult to keep aloof from the entangling snares of party strife, Blennerhassett chose rather to pursue the more flowery paths of literature than the sterner and more rugged way of political preferment. To a mind which sought within itself for sources of enjoyment, the bustle and hurricane which reigned around served to distract his meditations, and interrupt the pleasure which, in seclusion, he had hoped to find.

Being the possessor of an estate, with considerable additional fortune inherited at the death of his father, he determined no longer to remain in Ireland, subjected to the inconvenience and danger which usually attend the feuds of faction; but, in some more remote and peaceful region, where the noise of the infuriated mob and war's dread clamour were never heard, he hoped to spend a life of repose.

He accordingly disposed of his lands to his relative, Baron Ventry,* and made immediate preparation for departing. Having closed his business, he started for England, where his two married sisters — one the consort of Lord Kingsale, the other of Admiral De Courcy — at that time resided.f

While here he frequently met with, and finally became affianced to, a Miss Agnew, daughter of the Lieutenant-governor of the Isle of Man, and grand-daughter of the celebrated general of that name, who fell at the battle of Germantown. She was young, intelligent, and beautiful. Possessed of an uncommon degree of energy, linked to a temperament of romantic ardour, she listened, with captivated delight, to the fairy stories he repeated, of the far-off land in the Western World. It is not, therefore, a

* Those who have spoken of this gentleman before, in connection with Blennerhassett, erroneously style him Lord Ventry.

f In this statement I follow the lead of Dr. Hildreth and Mr. Wallace ; but as Lord Kingsale was also Admiral De Courcy, I am of opinion there was but one "sister" implicated.

REFLECTIONS. 29

matter of surprise that she consented to join her destinies with his, in the relation of husband and wife ; and, as the partner of his joys, and the solace of his cares, to say, as Ruth to Naomi : " Whither thou goest I will go ; and where thou lodgest I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God. Where thou diest will I die, and there will I be buried."

Upon the precarious sea of life, almost without compass or chart, Blennerhassett had now launched his adventurous barque. The sudden truth flashed across his mind, that he, too, was an adventurer; not, however, for the gold of Peru, for discoveries in the material world, or the subjugation of a foreign power. Gold, and honour, and station, were already his : but these, compared to the revelation of truth in the great volume of nature, to the inquiring mind, which sought to unfold her hidden mysteries, were but as " sounding brass and tinkling cymbal."

To him, that sea appeared serene and safe, with no adverse winds to interrupt his onward course ; while, in the dim distance of imagination, he descried that shore of sweet repose, where the deceit and treachery of man should never disturb the quietude of a mind at peace.

3*

Chapter II

Blennerhassett supplies himself with a library and philosophical apparatus — Ships for New York — Western country described — Blennerhassett sets out for the West — Pittsburgh — Mode of travelling — Marietta — Is desirous of building — Backus's Island — Blennerhassett concludes a purchase — Commences improvements — Island with its improvements — Reflections.

Having supplied himself, in London, with an extensive library and a philosophical apparatus, together with other materials deemed necessary for future use, Blennerhassett shipped for New York, in 1797, where he remained, for several months, to study the topography of the country, and the character of its inhabitants.

At that time, the territory west of the Alleghanies — particularly the valley of the Ohio and Mississippi — was comparatively a wilderness. The enterprise of the pioneer had driven, to more distant regions, the aborigines of the West. The occasional hamlet, with its few acres of cultivated ground, interrupted, at intervals, the " boundless contiguity of shade," and

THE WESTERN COUNTRY. 31

marked the abode of civilized and associated man. Villages, with rude habitations, here and there, broke the eternal silence of the forest, and presented, to the adventurous traveller, as cheering a prospect as an oasis in the desert. Through this vast solitude, the silvery current of the Ohio wended its way to the " father of waters." The innovating steamer had never yet ruffled its bosom, nor startled its inhabitants with the sound of its machinery. The deer browsed among the thick undergrowth of its bottoms; the fox sought shelter in its caves; and the blood-scented wolf howled his wail of hunger, from the adjacent hills. Lands of almost inexhaustible fertility skirted its margin, and isles of peculiar beauty decked its surface.