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diff --git a/42322-8.txt b/42322-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 2a7ef18..0000000 --- a/42322-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,12742 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Early Western Travels, 1748-1846 (Volume -XXVI), by Various - -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: Early Western Travels, 1748-1846 (Volume XXVI) - Part I of Flagg's The Far West, 1836-1837 - -Author: Various - -Editor: Reuben Gold Thwaites - -Release Date: March 13, 2013 [EBook #42322] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EARLY WESTERN TRAVELS, VOL XXVI *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Bergquist and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - -Early Western Travels - -1748-1846 - - -Volume XXVI - - - - - 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 XXVI - - Part I of Flagg's The Far West, 1836-1837 - - - [Illustration] - - - 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 XXVI - - - PREFACE TO VOLUMES XXVI AND XXVII. _The Editor_ 9 - - THE FAR WEST: OR, A TOUR BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS. Embracing - Outlines of Western Life and Scenery; Sketches of the - Prairies, Rivers, Ancient Mounds, Early Settlements - of the French, etc. etc. (The first thirty-two chapters, - being all of Vol. I of original, and pp. 1-126 of Vol. II.) - _Edmund Flagg._ - - Copyright Notice 26 - - Author's Dedication 27 - - Author's Preface 29 - - Author's Table of Contents 33 - - Text (chapters i-xxxii; the remainder appearing in - our volume xxvii) 43 - - - - -ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOLUME XXVI - - - Map of Oregon; drawn by H. J. Kelley, 1830 24 - - Facsimile of title-page to Vol. I of Flagg's _The Far West_ 25 - - - - -PREFACE TO VOLUMES XXVI-XXVII - - -These two volumes are devoted to reprints of Edmund Flagg's _The Far -West_ (New York, 1838), and Father Pierre Jean de Smet's _Letters and -Sketches, with a Narrative of a Year's Residence among the Indian -Tribes of the Rocky Mountains_ (Philadelphia, 1843). Flagg's -two-volume work occupies all of our volume xxvi and the first part of -volume xxvii, the remaining portion of the latter being given to De -Smet's book. - -Edmund Flagg was prominent among early American prose writers, and -also ranked high among our minor poets. A descendant of the Thomas -Flagg who came to Boston from England, in 1637, Edmund was born -November 24, 1815, at Wescasset, Maine. Being graduated with -distinction from Bowdoin College in 1835, in the same year he went -with his mother and sister Lucy to Louisville, Kentucky. Here, in a -private school, he taught the classics to a group of boys, and -contributed articles to the Louisville _Journal_, a paper with which -he was intermittently connected, either as editorial writer or -correspondent, until 1861. - -The summer and autumn of 1836 found Flagg travelling in Missouri and -Illinois, and writing for the _Journal_ the letters which were later -revised and enlarged to form _The Far West_, herein reprinted. -Tarrying at St. Louis in the autumn of 1836, our author began the -study of law, and the following year was admitted to the bar; but in -1838 he returned to newspaper life, taking charge for a time of the -St. Louis _Commercial Bulletin_. During the winter of 1838-39 he -assisted George D. Prentice, founder of the Louisville _Journal_, in -the work of editing the Louisville _Literary News Letter_. Finding, -however, that newspaper work overtaxed his health, Flagg next accepted -an invitation to enter the law office of Sergeant S. Prentiss at -Vicksburg, Mississippi, where in addition to his legal duties he found -time to edit the Vicksburg _Whig_. Having been wounded in a duel with -James Hagan of the _Sentinel_ in that city, Flagg returned to the less -excitable North and undertook editorial duties upon the _Gazette_ at -Marietta, Ohio (1842-43), and later (1844-45) upon the St. Louis -_Evening Gazette_. He also served as official reporter of the Missouri -state constitutional convention the following year, and published a -volume of its debates; subsequently (until 1849) acting as a court -reporter in St. Louis. - -The three succeeding years were spent abroad; first as secretary to -Edward A. Hannegan, United States minister to Berlin, and later as -consul at Venice. In February, 1852, he returned to America, and -during the presidential campaign of that year edited a Democratic -journal at St. Louis, known as the _Daily Times_. Later, as a reward -for political service, he was made superintendent of statistics in the -department of state, at Washington--a bureau having special charge of -commercial relations. Here he was especially concerned with the -compilation of reports on immigration and the cotton and tobacco -trade, and published a _Report on Commercial Relations of the United -States with all Foreign Nations_ (4 vols., Washington, 1858). Through -these reports, particularly the last named, Flagg's name became -familiar to merchants in both the United States and Europe. From 1857 -to 1860 he was Washington correspondent for several Western -newspapers, and from 1861 to 1870 served as librarian of copyrights in -the department of the interior. Having in 1862 married Kate Adeline, -daughter of Sidney S. Gallaher, of Virginia, he moved to Highland -View in that state (1870), and died there November 1, 1890. - -In addition to his labors in the public service and as a newspaper -man, Flagg found time for higher literary work, and won considerable -distinction in that field. His first book, _The Far West_, although -somewhat stilted in style, possesses considerable literary merit. -Encouraged by the success of his initial endeavor, he wrote the -following year (1839) the _Duchess of Ferrara_ and _Beatrice of -Padua_, two novels, each of which passed through at least two -editions. The _Howard Queen_ (1848) and _Blanche of Artois_ (1850) -were prize productions. _De Molai_ (1888), says the New York _Sun_ of -the period, is "a powerful, dramatic tale which seems to catch the -very spirit of the age of Philip of France. It is rare to find a story -in which fact and invention are so evenly and adroitly balanced." Our -author also wrote several dramas, which were staged in Louisville, -Cincinnati, St. Louis, and New York; he also composed numerous poems -for newspapers and magazines. His masterpiece, however, was a history -dedicated to his lifelong friend and colleague, George D. Prentice, -entitled _The City of the Sea_ (2 vols., New York, 1853). This work -was declared by the _Knickerbocker_ to be "a carefully compiled, -poetically-written digest of the history of the glorious old Venice--a -passionate, thrilling, yet accurate and sympathetic account of the -last struggle for independence." At the time of his death Flagg had in -preparation a volume of reminiscences, developed from a diary kept -during forty years, but this has never been published.[1] - - [1] For a list of Flagg's prose and poetical writings, contributions - to periodicals, and editorial works, see "Annual Report of the - Librarian of Bowdoin College for the year ending June 1, 1891," - in Bowdoin College _Library Bulletin_ (Brunswick, Maine, 1895). - -"In hope of renovating the energies of a shattered constitution," we -are told, Flagg started in the early part of June, 1836, on a journey -to what was then known as the Far West. Taking a steamboat at -Louisville, he went to St. Louis by way of the Ohio and the -Mississippi, and after a brief delay ascended the latter to the mouth -of the Illinois, and thence on to Peoria. Prevented by low water from -proceeding farther, he returned by the same route to St. Louis, whence -after three weeks' stay, spent either in the sick chamber or in making -short trips about the city and its environs, the traveller crossed the -Mississippi and struck out on horseback across the Illinois prairies, -visiting Edwardsville, Alton, Carlinsville, Hillsborough, Carlisle, -Lebanon, Belleville, and the American Bottoms. In July, after -recrossing the Mississippi, he visited in like manner St. Charles, -Missouri, by way of Bellefontaine and Florissant; crossed the -Mississippi near Portage des Sioux, and passed through the Illinois -towns of Grafton, Carrollton, Manchester, Jacksonville, Springfield, -across Grand Prairie to Shelbyville, Mount Vernon, Pinkneyville, and -Chester, and returned to St. Louis by way of the old French -settlements of Kaskaskia, Prairie du Rocher, and Cahokia. - -During this journey Flagg wrote for the Louisville _Journal_, as -already stated, a series of letters describing the country through -which he travelled. Hastily thrown together from the pages of his note -book, this correspondence appeared anonymously under the title, -"Sketches of a Traveller." They were, however, soon attributed to -Flagg, and two years later were collected by the author and published -in two small volumes by Harper and Brothers (New York, 1838), as _The -Far West_. These volumes are in many respects the best description of -the Middle West that had appeared up to the time they were written. -Roughly following the journals of Michaux, Harris, and Cuming by -forty, thirty, and twenty years respectively, Flagg skillfully shows -the remarkable growth and development of the Western country. His -descriptions of the Ohio, Mississippi, and Illinois rivers are still -among the best in print, particularly from the artistic standpoint. -His account of the steamboat traffic is valuable for the history of -navigation on the Western rivers, and shows vividly the obstacles -which still confronted merchants of that time. Chapters xi, xii, and -xiii, dealing with St. Louis and its immediate vicinity, are the most -detailed in our series, while the descriptions of St. Charles and the -Illinois towns through which Flagg passed, are excellent. - -The modern reader cannot but wish that Flagg had devoted less space to -his youthful philosophizing, but the atmosphere is at least wholesome. -Unlike Harris, whose criticism of Western society was keen and acrid, -Flagg was a man of broad sympathies, possessing an insight into human -nature remarkable for so youthful a writer--for he was but twenty -years of age at the time of his travels, and twenty-two when the book -was published. Although mildly reproving the old French settlers for -their lack of enterprise, he fully appreciates their domestic virtues, -and gives a faithful picture of these pleasure-loving, contented, -unprogressive people. His description of the once thriving villages of -Kaskaskia, Prairie du Rocher, and Cahokia, are valuable historically, -as showing the decay settling upon the French civilization after a few -years of American occupation. Our author's interview with the Mormon -convert, his conversations with early French and American settlers, -his accounts of political meetings, his anecdotes illustrating Western -curiosity, and particularly his carefully-recounted local traditions, -throw much light on the beliefs, manners, and customs of the Western -people of his time. _The Far West_ is thus not only a graphic and -often forceful description of the interesting region through which the -author travelled, but a sympathetic synopsis of its local annals, -affording much varied information not otherwise obtainable. The -present reprint, with annotations that seek to correct its errors, -will, we think, prove welcome in our series. - -In the _Letters and Sketches_ of Father de Smet, we reprint another -Western classic, related to the volumes of Flagg by their common -terminus of travel at St. Louis. - -No more interesting or picturesque episode has occurred in the history -of Christian missions in the New World, than the famous visit made in -the autumn of 1831 to General William Clark at St. Louis by the -Flathead chiefs seeking religious instruction for their people. -Vigorously exploited in the denominational papers of the East, this -delegation aroused a sentiment that led to the founding of Protestant -missions in Oregon and western Idaho, and incidentally to the solution -of the Oregon question. But in point of fact, the Flathead deputation -was sent to secure a Catholic missionary; and not merely one but four -such embassies embarked for St. Louis before the great desideratum, a -"black robe" priest, could be secured for ministration to this -far-distant tribe. Employed in the Columbian fur-trade were a number -of Christian Iroquois from Canada, who had been carefully trained at -St. Regis and Caughnawaga in all the observances of the Roman Catholic -church. Upon the Pacific waterways and in the fastnesses of the -Rockies, these Iroquois taught their fellow Indians the ordinances of -the church and the commands of the white man's Great Spirit. John -Wyeth (see our volume xxi) testifies to the honesty and humanity of -the Flathead tribe: "they do not lie, steal, nor rob any one, unless -when driven too near to starvation." He also testifies that they -"appear to keep the Sabbath;" and that their word is "as good as the -Bible." These were the neophytes who craved instruction, and to whom -was assigned that remarkable Jesuit missionary, Father Jean Pierre de -Smet. - -Born in Belgium in 1801, young De Smet was educated in a religious -school at Malines. When twenty years of age he responded to an appeal -to cross the Atlantic and carry the gospel to the red men of the -Western continent. Arrived in Philadelphia (1821), the young Belgian -was astonished to see a well-built town, travelled roads, cultivated -farms, and other appurtenances of civilization; he had expected only a -wilderness and savages. Two years were spent in the Jesuit novitiate -in Maryland, before the zealous youth saw any traces of frontier life. -Then the youthful novice was removed to Florissant, Missouri, not far -from St. Louis, where the making of a log-cabin and the breaking of -fresh soil furnished a mild foretaste of his future career. Still more -years elapsed before the cherished project of missionary labor could -be realized. In 1829 St. Louis University was founded, and herein the -young priest, who had been ordained in 1827, was employed upon the -instructional force. Later years (1833-37) were spent in Europe, while -recruiting his health and securing supplies for the infant university. -It was not until 1838 that the first missionary enterprise was -undertaken by Father de Smet, when a chapel for the Potawatomi was -built on the site of the modern Council Bluffs. There, in 1839, the -fourth Flathead deputation rested after the long journey from their -Rocky Mountain home; and at the earnest solicitation of the young -missioner, he was in the spring of 1840, detailed by his superior to -ascertain and report upon the prospects of a mission to the mountain -Indians. - -Of the two tribesmen who had come down to St. Louis, Pierre the -Left-handed (Gaucher) was sent back to his people with news of the -success of the embassy, while his colleague Ignace was detained to -serve as guide to the adventurous Jesuit who in April, 1840, set forth -for the Flathead country with the annual fur-trade caravan. The route -traversed was the well-known Oregon Trail as far as the Green River -rendezvous; there the father was rejoiced to meet a deputation of ten -Flatheads, sent to escort him to their habitat, and at Prairie de la -Messe was celebrated for them the first mass in the Western mountains. -The trail led them on through Jackson's and Pierre's Holes; and in the -latter valley the waiting tribesmen to the number of sixteen hundred -had collected, and received the "black robe" as a messenger from -Heaven. Chants and prayers were heard on every side; "in a fortnight," -reports the delighted missionary, "all knew their prayers." After two -months spent among his "dear Flatheads," wandering with them across -the divide, and encamping for some time at the Three Forks of the -Missouri--where nearly forty years before Lewis and Clark first -encountered the Western Indians--De Smet took leave of his neophytes. -Protected by a strong guard through the hostile Blackfeet country, he -arrived at last at the fur-trade post of Fort Union at the junction of -the Missouri and the Yellowstone. Descending thence to St. Louis he -arrived there on the last day of December, 1840. - -The remainder of the winter was occupied in preparations for a new -journey, and in securing men and supplies for the equipment of the -far-away mission begun under such favorable auspices. Once more the -father departed from Westport--this time in May, 1841. The little -company consisted, besides himself, of two other priests and three lay -brothers, all of the latter being skilled mechanics. Among the members -of the caravan were a number of California pioneers, one of whom has -thus related his impressions of the young missionary: "He was genial, -of fine presence, and one of the saintliest men I have ever known, and -I cannot wonder that the Indians were made to believe him divinely -protected. He was a man of great kindness and great affability under -all circumstances; nothing seemed to disturb his temper."[2] - - [2] John Bidwell, "First Emigrant Train to California," in - _Century Magazine_, new series, xix, pp. 113, 114. - -Father de Smet's letters describe in detail the scenery and incidents -of the route from the eastern border of Kansas to Fort Hall, in Idaho, -where the British factor received the travellers with abounding -hospitality. Here some of the Flatheads were in waiting to convey the -missionaries to the tribe, the chiefs of which met them in Beaver Head -Valley, Montana, and testified their welcome with dignified -simplicity. Passing over to the waters of the Columbia, they founded -the mission of St. Mary upon the first Sunday in October, in the -beautiful Bitter Root valley at the site of the later Fort Owen. -Thence Father de Smet made a rapid journey in search of provisions to -Fort Colville, on the upper Columbia, but was again at his mission -stockade before the close of the year. In April a longer journey was -projected, as far as Fort Vancouver, on the lower Columbia, where Dr. -McLoughlin, the British factor, received the good priest with that -cordial greeting for which he was already famous. During this journey -the father narrowly escaped drowning in the turbulent rapids of the -Columbia, where five of his boatmen perished. Returned to St. Mary's, -the prospects for a harvest of souls both among the Flatheads and the -neighboring tribes appeared so promising that the missionary -determined to seek re-enforcement and further aid in Europe. Thereupon -he left his companions in charge of the "new Paraguay" of his hopes, -and once more undertook the long and adventurous journey to the -settlements, this time by way of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers, -arriving at St. Louis the last of October, 1842. At this point the -journeys detailed in the volume here reprinted come to an end. The -later career of Father de Smet and his subsequent journeyings will be -detailed in the preface to volumes xxviii and xxix, in the latter of -which will appear his _Oregon Missions_. - -Father de Smet's writings on missionary subjects ended only with his -death, and were increasingly voluminous and detailed. The _Letters and -Sketches_ were his first published work, with the exception of a -portion of a compilation that appeared in 1841, on the Jesuit missions -of Missouri. We find therefore, in the present reprint, the vitality -and enthusiasm of the young traveller relating new scenes, and the -abounding joy of the successful missionary uplifting a barbaric race. -The book was written with the avowed purpose of creating interest in -his newly-organized work, and securing contributions therefor. The -freshness of description, the wholesome simplicity of the narrative, -the frank presentation of wilderness life, charm the reader, and make -this book a classic of early Western exploration. Cast in the form of -letters, wherein there is more or less repetition of statement, it is -nevertheless evident that these have been subjected to a certain -editorial revision, and that literary quality has been considered. -Aside from the interest evoked by the personality of the writer, and -the events of his narrative, the work throws much light upon -wilderness travel, the topography and scenery of the Rocky Mountain -region, and above all upon the habits and customs, modes of thought, -social standards, and religious conceptions of the important tribes of -the interior. - -After the present series of reprints had been planned for, and -announced in a detailed prospectus, there was issued from the press of -Francis P. Harper of New York the important volumes edited by Major H. -M. Chittenden and Alfred Talbot Richardson, entitled _Life, Letters, -and Travels of Father Pierre Jean de Smet, S. J., 1801-73_. This -publication contains much new material, derived from manuscript -sources, which has been interwoven in chronological order with the -missionary's several books; and to it all have been added an adequate -biography and bibliography of De Smet. This scholarly work has been of -great service to us in preparing for accurate reprint the original -editions of the only two of Father de Smet's publications that fall -within the chronological field of our series. - -In the preparation for the press of Flagg's _The Far West_, the Editor -has had the assistance of Clarence Cory Crawford, A. M.; in editing -Father de Smet's _Letters and Sketches_, his assistant has been Louise -Phelps Kellogg, Ph.D. - - R. G. T. - MADISON, WIS., April, 1906. - - - - - PART I OF FLAGG'S THE FAR WEST, 1836-1837 - - Reprint of Volume I, and chapters xxiii-xxxii of Volume II, of - original edition: New York, 1838 - - - - - [Illustration: MAP OF OREGON.] - - - - - THE FAR WEST: - OR, - A TOUR BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS. - - EMBRACING - - OUTLINES OF WESTERN LIFE AND SCENERY; SKETCHES - OF THE PRAIRIES, RIVERS, ANCIENT MOUNDS, EARLY - SETTLEMENTS OF THE FRENCH, ETC., ETC. - - - "If thou be a severe, sour-complexioned man, then I here - disallow thee to be a competent judge."--IZAAK WALTON. - - "I pity the man who can travel from Dan to Beersheba, and - cry, ''Tis all barren.'"--STERNE. - - "Chacun a son stile; le mien, comme vous voyez, n'est pas - laconique."--ME. DE SEVIGNE. - - - IN TWO VOLUMES. - - VOL. I. - - - NEW-YORK: - PUBLISHED BY HARPER & BROTHERS - NO. 82 CLIFF-STREET. - 1838. - - - - - [Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1838, by - HARPER & BROTHERS, - in the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New-York.] - - - - - TO ONE-- - - AT WHOSE SOLICITATION THESE VOLUMES WERE COMMENCED, AND - WITH WHOSE ENCOURAGEMENT THEY HAVE BEEN COMPLETED-- - - - TO MY SISTER LUCY - - ARE THEY AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED. - - - - -TO THE READER - - "He that writes - Or makes a feast, more certainly invites - His judges than his friends; there's not a guest - But will find something wanting or ill dress'd." - - -In laying before the majesty of the public a couple of volumes like -the present, it has become customary for the author to disclaim in his -preface all original design of _perpetrating a book_, as if there were -even more than the admitted _quantum_ of sinfulness in the act. -Whether or not such disavowals now-a-day receive all the credence they -merit, is not for the writer to say; and whether, were the prefatory -asseveration, as in the present case, diametrically opposed to what it -often is, the reception would be different, is even more difficult to -predict. The articles imbodied in the following volumes were, a -portion of them, in their original, hasty production, _designed_ for -the press; yet the author unites in the disavowal of his predecessors -of all intention at that time of perpetrating _a book_. - -In the early summer of '36, when about starting upon a ramble over the -prairies of the "Far West," in hope of renovating the energies of a -shattered constitution, a request was made of the writer, by the -distinguished editor of the Louisville Journal, to contribute {vi} to -the columns of that periodical whatever, in the course of his -pilgrimage, might be deemed of sufficient interest.[1] A series of -articles soon after made their appearance in that paper under the -title, "_Sketches of a Traveller_." They were, as their name purports, -mere sketches from a traveller's _portfeuille_, hastily thrown upon -paper whenever time, place, or opportunity rendered convenient; in the -steamboat saloon, the inn bar-room, the log-cabin of the wilderness, -or upon the venerable mound of the Western prairie. With such favour -were these hasty productions received, and so extensively were they -circulated, that the writer, on returning from his pilgrimage to "the -shrine of health," was induced, by the solicitations of partial -friends, to enter at his leisure upon the preparation for the press of -a mass of MSS. of a similar character, written at the time, which had -never been published; a thorough revision and enlargement of that -which had appeared, united with _this_, it was thought, would furnish -a passable volume or two upon the "Far West." Two years of residence -in the West have since passed away; and the arrangement for the press -of the fugitive sheets of a wanderer's sketch-book would not yet, -perhaps, have been deemed of sufficient importance to warrant the -necessary labour, had he not been daily reminded that his productions, -whatever their merit, were already public property so far as could be -the case, and at the mercy of every one who thought proper to assume -paternity. "Forbearance ceased to be longer a virtue," and the result -is now before the {vii} reader. But, while alluding to that aid which -his labours may have rendered to others, the author would not fail -fully to acknowledge his own indebtedness to those distinguished -writers upon the West who have preceded him. To Peck, Hall, Flint, -Wetmore, and to others, his acknowledgments are due and are -respectfully tendered.[2] - -In extenuation of the circumstance that some portions of these -volumes have already appeared, though in a crude state, before the -public, the author has but to suggest that many works, with which the -present will not presume to compare, have made their debut on the -unimposing pages of a periodical. Not to dwell upon the writings of -Addison and Johnson, and other classics of British literature, several -of Bulwer's most polished productions, the elaborate Essays of Elia, -Wirt's British Spy, Hazlitt's Philosophical Reviews, Coleridge's -Friend, most of the novels of Captain Marryatt and Theodore Hook, and -many of the most elegant works of the day, have been prepared for the -pages of a magazine. - -And now, with no slight misgiving, does the author commit his -firstborn bantling to the tender mercies of an impartial public. -Criticism he does not deprecate, still less does he brave it; and -farther than either is he from soliciting undue favour. Yet to the -_reader_, as he grasps him by the hand in parting, would he commit his -book, with the quaint injunction of a distinguished but eccentric old -English writer upon an occasion somewhat similar: - -"I exhort all people, gentle and simple, men, {viii} women, and -children, to buy, to read, to extol these labours of mine. Let them -not fear to defend every article; for I will bear them harmless. I -have arguments good store, and can easily confute, either logically, -theologically, or metaphysically, all those who oppose me." - - E. F. - New-York, Oct., 1838. - - - - -CONTENTS - - -I - - The Western Steamboat-landing--Western Punctuality--An - Accident--Human Suffering--Desolation of Bereavement-- - A Contrast--Sublimity--An Ohio Freshet--View of Louisville-- - Early History--The Ohio Falls--Corn Island--The Last Conflict 43 - - -II - - The Early Morn--"Sleep no more!"--The Ohio--"_La Belle - Rivière!_"--Ohio Islands--A Cluster at Sunset--"Ohio Hills"-- - The Emigrant's Clearing--Moonlight on the Ohio--A Sunset-scene-- - The Peaceful Ohio--The Gigantic Forest-trees--The Bottom-lands-- - Obstructions to Navigation--Classification--Removal--Dimensions - of Snags--Peculiar difficulties on the Ohio--Leaning Trees-- - Stone Dams--A Full Survey--The Result 52 - - -III - - An Arrest--Drift-wood--Ohio Scenery--Primitive River-craft-- - Early Scenes on the Western Waters--The Boatmen--Life and - Character--_Annus Mirabilis_--The Steam-engine in the West-- - The Freshet--The Comet--The Earthquakes--The first Steamboat-- - The _Pinelore_--The Steam-engine--Prophecy of Darwin--Results-- - Sublimity--Villages--A new Geology--Rivers--Islands--Forests-- - The Wabash and its Banks--New Harmony--Site--Settlement-- - Edifices--Gardens--Owen and the "Social System"--Theory and - Practice--Mental Independence--Dissension--Abandonment-- - Shawneetown--Early History--Settlement--Advancement--Site-- - United States' Salines--Ancient Pottery 59 - - -IV - - Geology of the Mississippi Valley--Ohio Cliffs--The Iron - Coffin--"Battery Rock"--"Rock-Inn-Cave"--Origin of Name--{x} - A Visit--Outlines and Dimensions--The Indian _Manito_--Island - opposite--The Freebooters--"The Outlaw"--The Counterfeiters-- - Their Fate--Ford and his Gang--Retributive Justice--"Tower - Rock"--The Tradition--The Cave of Hieroglyphics--Islands-- - Golconda--The Cumberland--Aaron Burr's Island--Paducah--Name-- - Ruins of Fort Massac--The Legend--Wilkinsonville--The "Grand - Chain"--Caledonia--A Storm--Sunset--"The Meeting of the - Waters"--Characteristics of the Rivers--"Willow Point"--The - place of Meeting--Disappointment--A Utopian City--America 70 - - -V - - Darkness Visible--The "Father of Waters"--The Power of Steam-- - The Current--"English Island"--The Sabbath--A Blessed - Appointment--Its Quietude--The New-England Emigrant--His - Privations--Sorrows--Loneliness--"The Light of Home"--Cape - Girardeau--Site--Settlement--Effects of the Earthquakes-- - A severer Shock--Staples of Trade--The Spiral Water-wheels-- - Their Utility--"Tyowapity Bottom"--Potter's Clay-- - A Manufactory--_Rivière au Vase_--Salines--Coal-beds-- - "Fountain Bluff"--The "Grand Tower"--Parapet of Limestone-- - Ancient Cataract--The Cliffs--Divinity of the Boatmen-- - The "Devil's Oven"--The "Tea-table"--Volcanic and Diluvial - Action--The Torrent overcome--A Race--Breathless Interest-- - The Engineer--The Fireman--Last of the "Horse and Alligator" - species--"Charon"--A Triumph--A Defeat 82 - - -VI - - Navigation of the Mississippi--The First Appropriation-- - Improvements of Capt. Shreve--Mississippi and Ohio Scenery - contrasted--Alluvial Deposites--Ste. Genevieve--Origin--Site-- - The _Haunted_ Ruin--The old "Common Field"--Inundation of - '85--Minerals--Quarries--Sand-caves--Fountains--Salines-- - Indians--Ancient Remains--View of Ste. Genevieve--Landing-- - Outrage of a Steamer--Indignation--The Remedy--A Snag and a - Scene--An Interview with "Charon"--Fort Chartres 93 - - -{xi} VII - - The Hills! the Hills!--Trosachs of Loch Katrine--Alluvial - Action--Bluffs of Selma and Herculaneum--Shot-towers--Natural - Curiosities--The "Cornice Cliffs"--The Merrimac--Its - Riches--Ancient Lilliputian Graves--Mammoth Remains--Jefferson - Barracks--Carondelet--Cahokia--U. S. Arsenal--St. Louis in the - Distance--Fine View--Uproar of the Landing--The Eternal - River--Character--Features--Sublimity--Statistics--The Lower - Mississippi--"Bends"--"Cut-offs"--Land-slips--The Pioneer Cabin 102 - - -VIII - - "Once more upon the Waters!"--"Uncle Sam's Tooth-pullers"--Mode - of eradicating a Snag--River Suburbs of North St. Louis--Spanish - Fortifications--The Waterworks--The Ancient Mounds--Country - Seats--The Confluence--Charlevoix's Description--A Variance-- - A View--The Upper Mississippi--Alton in distant View--The - Penitentiary and Churches--"Pomp and Circumstance"--The City - of Alton--Advantages--Objections--Improvements--Prospects-- - Liberality--Railroads--Alton Bluffs--"Departing Day"--The - Piasa Cliffs--Moonlight Scene 113 - - -IX - - The _Coleur de Rose_--The Piasa--The Indian Legend--Caverns-- - Human Remains--The Illinois--Characteristic Features--The - Canal--The Banks and Bottoms--Poisonous Exhalations--Scenes on - the Illinois--The "Military Bounty Tract"--_Cape au Gris_--Old - French Village--River Villages--Pekin--"An Unco Sight"--Genius - of the Bacchanal--A "Monkey Show"--Nomenclature of Towns--The - Indian Names 122 - - -X - - An Emigrant Farmer--An Enthusiast--Peoria--The Old Village and - the New--Early History--Exile of the French--Fort Clarke--Indian - Hostilities--The Modern Village--Site--Advantages--Prospects-- - Lake _Pinatahwee_--Fish--The Bluffs and Prairie--A Military - Spectacle--The "Helen Mar"--Horrors of Steam!--A Bivouac--The - Dragoon Corps--Military {xii} Courtesy--"Starved Rock"--The - Legend--Remains--Shells--Intrenchments--Music--The Moonlight - Serenade--A Reminiscence 132 - - -XI - - Delay--"A Horse!"--Early French Immigration in the West--The - Villages of the Wilderness--St. Louis--Venerable Aspect--Site - of the City--A French Village City--South St. Louis--The Old - Chateaux--The Founding of the City--The Footprints in the Rock-- - The First House--Name of City--Decease of the Founders--Early - Annals--Administration of St. Ange--The Common Field--Cession - and Recession--"_L'Annee du Grand Coup_"--"_L'Annee des Grandes - Eaux_"--Keel-boat Commerce--The Robbers Culbert and Magilbray-- - "_L'Annee des Bateaux_"--The First Steamboat at St. Louis-- - Wonder of the Indians--Opposition to Improvement--Plan of St. - Louis--A View--Spanish Fortifications--The Ancient Mounds-- - Position--Number--Magnitude--Outlines--Arrangement--Character-- - Neglect--Moral Interest--Origin--The Argument of Analogy 142 - - -XII - - View from the "Big Mound" at St. Louis--The Sand-bar--The - Remedy--The "Floating Dry-dock"--The Western Suburbs--Country - Seats--Game--Lakes--Public Edifices--Catholic Religion-- - "Cathedral of St. Luke"--Site--Dimensions--Peal of Bells-- - Porch--The Interior--Columns--Window Transparencies--The - Effect--The Sanctuary--Galleries--Altar-piece--Altar and - Tabernacle--Chapels--Paintings--Lower Chapel--St. Louis - University--Medical School--The Chapel--Paintings--Library-- - Ponderous Volumes--Philosophical Apparatus--The Pupils 160 - - -XIII - - An Excursion of Pleasure--A fine Afternoon--Our Party--The - Bridal Pair--South St. Louis--Advantages for Manufactures-- - Quarries--Farmhouses--The "Eagle Powder-works"--Explosion-- - The Bride--A Steeple-chase--A Descent--The Arsenal--Grounds-- - Structures--Esplanade--Ordnance--Warlike Aspect--Carondelet-- - Sleepy-Hollow--River-reach {xiii}--Time Departed--Inhabitants-- - Structures--Gardens--Orchards--_Cabarets_--The Catholic - Church--Altar-piece--Paintings--Missal--Crucifix--Evergreens-- - Deaf and Dumb Asylum--Distrust of Villagers--Jefferson - Barracks--Site--Extent--Buildings--View from the Terrace--The - Burial Grounds--The Cholera--Design of the Barracks--_Corps - de Reserve_--A remarkable Cavern--Our Guide--Situation of - Cave--Entrance--Exploration--Grotesque Shapes--A Foot--Boat-- - Coffin in Stone--The Bats--_Rivière des Pères_--An Ancient - Cemetery--Antiquities--The Jesuit Settlers--Sulphur Spring-- - A Cavern--A Ruin 170 - - -XIV - - City and Country at Midsummer--Cosmorama of St. Louis--The American - Bottom--Cahokia Creek--A Pecan Grove--The Ancient Mounds--First - Group--Number--Resemblance--Magnitude--Outline--Railroad to the - Bluffs--Pittsburg--The Prairie--Landscape--The "Cantine - Mounds"--"Monk Hill"--First Impressions--Origin--The - Argument--Workmanship of Man--Reflections suggested--Our - Memory--The Craving of the Heart--The Pyramid-builders--The - Mound-builders--A hopeless Aspiration--"Keep the Soul embalmed" 180 - - -XV - - The Antiquity of Monk Mound--Primitive Magnitude--Fortifications - of the Revolution--The Ancient Population--Two Cities--Design - of the Mounds--The "Cantine Mounds"--Number--Size--Position-- - Outline--Features of Monk Mound--View from the Summit--Prairie-- - Lakes--Groves--Bluffs--Cantine Creek--St. Louis in distance-- - Neighbouring Earth-heaps--The Well--Interior of the Mound-- - The Monastery of La Trappe--Abbé Armand Rance--The Vows--A - Quotation--Reign of Terror--Immigration of the Trappists-- - Their Buildings--Their Discipline--Diet--Health--Skill--Asylum - Seminary--Worldly Charity--Palliation--A strange Spectacle 187 - - -{xiv} XVI - - Edwardsville--Site and Buildings--Land Mania--A "Down-east" - Incident--Human Nature--The first Land Speculator--Castor-oil - Manufacture--Outlines of Edwardsville--Collinsville--Route to - Alton--Sultriness--The Alton Bluffs--A Panorama--Earth-heaps-- - Indian Graves--Upper Alton--Shurtliff College--_Baptized_ - Intelligence--Knowledge not Conservative--Greece--Rome-- - France--England--The Remedy 197 - - -XVII - - The Traveller's Whereabout--The Prairie in a Mist--Sense of - Loneliness--The Backwoods Farmhouse--Structure--Outline-- - Western Roads--A New-England Emigrant--The "Barrens"--Origin - of Name--Soil--The "Sink-holes"--The Springs--Similar in - Missouri and Florida--"Fount of Rejuvenescence"--Ponce de - Leon--"Sappho's Fount"--The Prairies--First View--The Grass-- - Flowers--Island-groves--A Contrast--Prairie-farms--A Buck - and Doe--A Kentucky Pioneer--Events of Fifty Years--The - "Order Tramontane"--Expedition of Gov. Spotswood--The Change-- - A Thunderstorm on the Prairies--"A Sharer in the Tempest"-- - Discretionary Valour 207 - - -XVIII - - Morning after the Storm--The Landscape--The sprinkled Groves-- - Nature in unison with the Heart--The Impress of Design-- - Contemplation of grand Objects elevates--Nature and the Savage-- - Nature and Nature's God--Earth praises God--Indifference and - Ingratitude of Man--"All is very Good"--Influence of Scenery - upon Character--The Swiss Mountaineer--Bold Scenery most - Impressive--Freedom among the Alps--Caucasus--Himmalaya-- - _Something_ to Love--Carlinville--"Grand Menagerie"--A Scene-- - The Soil--The Inn--Macoupin Creek--Origin of Name--A Vegetable-- - An Indian Luxury--Carlinville--Its Advantages and Prospects--A - "Fourth-of-July" Oration--The thronging Multitudes--The huge - Cart--A Thunder-storm--A Log-cabin--Women and Children--Outlines - of the Cabin--The Roof and Floor--The Furniture and Dinner-pot-- - A Choice of Evils--The _Pathless_ Prairie 219 - - -{xv} XIX - - Ponce de Leon--The Fount of Youth--The "Land of Flowers"-- - Ferdinand de Soto--"_El Padre de los Aguas_"--The Canadian - Voyageurs--"_La Belle Rivière_"--Sieur La Salle--"A Terrestrial - Paradise"--Daniel Boone--"Old Kentucke"--"The Pilgrim from the - North"--Sabbath Morning--The Landscape--The Grass and - Prairie-flower--Nature at Rest--Sabbath on the Prairie--Alluvial - Aspect of the Prairies--The Soil--Lakes--Fish--The Annual - Fires--Origin--A Mode of Hunting--Captain Smith--Mungo Park-- - Hillsborough--Major-domo of the Hostelrie--His Garb and - Proportions--The Presbyterian Church--_Picturesqueness_--The - "_Luteran_ Church"--Practical Utility--The Dark Minister-- - A Mistake--The Patriotic Dutchman--A Veritable Publican-- - Prospects of Hillsborough--A Theological Seminary--Route to - Vandalia--The Political Sabbath 230 - - -XX - - The Race of Vagabonds--"Yankee Enterprise"--The Virginia - Emigrant--The Western Creeks and Bridges--An Adventure in - Botany--Unnatural Rebellion--Christian Retaliation--Vandalia-- - "First Impressions"--The Patriotic Bacchanal--The High-priest-- - A Distinction Unmerited--The Cause--Vandalia--Situation-- - Public Edifices--Square--Church--Bank--Land-office--"Illinois - Magazine"--Tardy Growth--Removal of Government--Adventures of - the First Legislators--The Northern Frontier--Magic of Sixteen - Years--Route to Carlisle--A Buck and Doe--An old Hunter-- - "Hurricane Bottom"--Night on the Prairies--The Emigrant's - Bivouac--The Prairie-grass--Carlisle--Site--Advantages-- - Growth--"Mound Farm" 238 - - -XXI - - The Love of Nature--Its Delights--The Wanderer's Reflections-- - The Magic Hour--A Sunset on the Prairies--"The Sunny Italy"-- - The Prairie Sunset--Route to Lebanon--Silver Creek--Origin of - Name--The "Looking-glass Prairie"--The Methodist Village-- - Farms--Country Seats--Maize-fields--Herds--M'Kendreean College-- - "The Seminary!"--Route to Belleville--The Force of Circumstance-- - A Contrast--Public {xvi} Buildings--A lingering Look--Route to - St. Louis--The French Village--The Coal Bluffs--Discovery of - Coal--St. Clair County--Home of Clouds--Realm of Thunder--San - Louis 248 - - -XXII - - Single Blessedness--Text and Comment--_En Route_--North St. - Louis--A Delightful Drive--A Delightful Farm-cottage--The - Catholic University--A Stately Villa--Belle Fontaine--A Town - plat--A View of the Confluence--The _Human Tooth_--The Hamlet - of Florissant--Former Name--Site--Buildings--Church--Seminary-- - _Tonish_--_Owen's Station_--Scenery upon the Route-- - _La Charbonnière_--The Missouri Bottom--The Forest-Colonnade-- - The Missouri--Its Sublimity--Indian Names--Its Turbid - Character--Cause--An Inexplicable Phenomenon--Theories-- - Navigation Dangerous--Floods of the Missouri--Alluvions-- - Sources of the Missouri and Columbia--Their Destinies--Human - Life--The Ocean of Eternity--Gates of the Rocky Mountains-- - Sublimity--A Cataract--The Main Stream--Claims stated 257 - - -{iii} XXIII - - View of St. Charles and the Missouri--The Bluffs--"A stern round - Tower"--Its Origin--The Windmill--A sunset Stroll--Rural Sights - and Sounds--The River and Forest--The Duellist's Grave--The Hour - and Scene--_Requiescat_--Reflections--Duelling--A sad Event-- - Young B----.--His Request--His Monument--"Blood Island"--Its - Scenes and Annals--A visit to "_Les Mamelles_"--The Forest-path-- - Its Obscurity--Outlines of the Bluffs--Derivation of Name-- - Position--Resemblance--The Missouri Bluffs--View from The - Mamelle--The Missouri Bottom--The Mamelle Prairie--The distant - Cliffs and Confluences--Extent of Plain--Alluvial Origin-- - Lakes--Bed of the Rivers--An ancient Deposite 268 - - -XXIV - - St. Charles--Its Origin--Peculiarities--Early Name--Spanish - Rule--Heterogeneous Population--Germans--The Wizard Spell-- - American Enterprise--Site of the Village--Prospects--The - Baltimore Settlement--Catholic Religion and Institutions-- - "St. Charles College"--The Race of Hunters--A Specimen--The - Buffalo--Indian Atrocities--The "Rangers"--Daniel Boone-- - "Too Crowded!"--The "Regulators"--Boone's Lick--His Decease-- - His Memory--The Missouri Indians--The Stoccade Fort--Adventure - of a Naturalist--Route from St. Charles--A Prairie without a - Path--Enormous Vegetation--The Cliffs--The Column of Smoke-- - Perplexity--A delightful Scene--A rare Flower--The Prairie - Flora in Spring--In Summer--In Autumn--The Traveller loiters 276 - - -{iv} XXV - - Novel Feature of the Mamelle Prairie--A Footpath--An old French - Village--Bewilderment--Mystery--A Guide--_Portage des Sioux_-- - Secluded Site--Advantages--"Common Field"--Garden-plats--A brick - Edifice--A _courteous_ Welcome--An _amiable_ Personage--History - of the Village--Origin--Earthquakes--Name--An Indian Legend-- - Teatable Talk--_Patois_ of the French Villages--An Incident!-- - A Scene!--A civil Hint--A Night of Beauty--The Flush of Dawn-- - The weltering Prairie--The Forest--The river Scene--The - Ferry-horn--Delay--Locale of Grafton--Advantages and Prospects 288 - - -XXVI - - Cave in the Grafton Cliffs--Outlines--Human Remains--_Desecration_ - of the Coopers--View from the Cave's Mouth--The Bluffs--Inclined - Planes--The Railroad--A Stone-heap--A beautiful Custom--Veneration - for the Dead--The Widow of Florida--The Canadian Mother--The - Orientals--An extensive View--The River--The Prairie--The Emigrant - Farm--The Illinois--A _tortuous_ Route--Macoupin Settlement-- - Carrolton--Outlines of a Western Village--Religious Diversity--An - agricultural Village--Whitehall--The Emigrant Family _en route_-- - A Western Village--Its rapid Growth--Fit Parallels--Manchester-- - The Scarcity of Timber not an insurmountable Obstacle-- - Substitutes--Morgan County--Prospects--Soil of the Prairies-- - Adaptation to _coarse_ Grains--Rapid Population--New-England - Immigrants--The Changes of a few Years--Environs of - Jacksonville--Buildings of "Illinois College"--The Public Square 295 - - -XXVII - - Remark of Horace Walpole--A Word from the Author--Jacksonville-- - Its rapid Advancement--Its Site--Suburbs--Public Square-- - Radiating Streets--The Congregational Church--The Pulpit--A - pleasant Incident--The "New-England of the West"--Immigrant - Colonies--"Illinois College"--The Site--Buildings--"Manual - Labour System"--The Founders--Their Success--Their Fame-- - Jacksonville--Attractions for the Northern Emigrant--New England - Character--A faithful {v} Transcript--"The Pilgrim Fathers"-- - The "Stump"--Mr. W. and his Speech--Curious Surmisings--Internal - Improvements--Route to Springfield--A "Baptist Circuit-rider"-- - An Evening Prairie-rider 305 - - -XXVIII - - The Nature of Man--Facilities for its Study--A Pilgrimage of - Observation--Dissection of Character, Physical and Moral--The - young Student--The brighter Features of Humanity--An unwitting - Episode--Our World a _Ruin_--Sunrise on the Prairies-- - Springfield--Its Location--Advantages--Structures--Society-- - Prospects--The Sangamon River--Its Navigation--Bottom-lands-- - Aged Forests--Cathedral Pomp--A splendid Phenomenon--Civic - Honours--"_Sic itur ad astra!_"--A Morning Ride--"Demands of - Appetite"--"Old Jim"--A tipsy Host--A revolting Exhibition-- - Jacob's Cattle and the Prairie-wolves--An Illinois Table-- - The Staples--A Tea Story--Poultry and Bacon--_Chicken Fixens_ - and _Common Doins_--An Object of Commiseration 315 - - -XXIX - - The Burial-ground--A _holy_ Spot--Our culpable Indifference-- - Cemeteries in our Land--A sad Reflection--The last Petition-- - Reverence for the Departed--Civilized and Savage Nations--The - last Resting-place--Worthy of Thought--A touching Expression - of the Heart--FRANKLIN--The Object of Admiration and _Love_-- - The Burial-ground of Decatur--The dying Emigrant--The Spirit's - Sympathy--A soothing Reflection to Friends--The "Grand Prairie"-- - The "Lost Rocks"--Decatur--Site and Prospects--A sunset Scene-- - The Prairie by Moonlight--The Log-cabin--The Exotic of the - Prairie--The Heart--The Thank-offering--The Pre-emption Right-- - The Mormonites--Their Customs--Millennial Anticipations--The - Angelic Visitant--The _dénouément_--The Miracle!--The System - of "New Light"--Its Rise and Fall--Aberrations of the Mind-- - A melancholy Reflection--Absurdity of Mormonism 325 - - -XXX - - A wild Night--An Illusion--Sleeplessness--Loneliness--A - Storm-wind on the Prairies--A magnificent Scene--Beauty of - {vi} the lesser Prairies--Nature's _chef d'oeuvre_--Loveliness - lost in Grandeur--Waves of the Prairie--Ravines--Light and - Shade--"Alone, alone, all, all alone!"--Origin of the Prairie-- - Argument for _Natural_ Origin--Similar Plains--Derivation of - "_Prairie_"--Absence of Trees accounted for--The _Diluvial_ - Origin--Prairie Phenomena explained--The Autumnal Fires--An - Exception--The Prairie _sui generis_--No Identity with other - Plains--A Bed of the Ocean--A new Hypothesis--Extent of - Prairie-surface--Characteristic Carelessness--Hunger and - Thirst--A tedious Jaunt--Horrible Suggestions!--Land ho!-- - A Log-cabin--Hog and Honey 338 - - -XXXI - - Cis-atlantic Character--Avarice--Curiosity--A grand Propellant-- - A Concomitant and Element of Mental Vigour--An Anglo-American - Characteristic--Inspection and Supervision--"Uncle Bill"--The - Quintessence of Inquisitiveness--A Fault "on Virtue's Side"-- - The People of Illinois--A Hunting Ramble--A Shot--_Tempis - fugit_--Shelbyville--Dame Justice _in Terrorem_--A Sulphur - Spring--The Inn Register--Chill Atmosphere of the Forest-- - Contrast on the Prairie--The "Green-head" Prairie-fly--Effect - upon a Horse--Numerous in '35--The "Horse-guard"--The _Modus - Bellandi_--_Cold Spring_--A _presuming_ Host--Musty Politics-- - The Robin Redbreast--Ornithology of the West--The Turtle-dove-- - Pathos of her Note--Paley's Remark--Eloquence of the - Forest-bird--A Mormonite, _Zion_ward--A forensic Confabulation-- - Mormonism Developed--The seduced Pedagogue--_Mount Zion_ Stock-- - The Grand Tabernacle--Smith and Rigdom--The Bank--The Temple-- - The School--Appearance of Smith--Of Rigdom--Their Disciples-- - The National Road--Its Progress--Structure--_Terminus_--Its - enormous Character--A Contrast--"Shooting a Beeve"--The - Regulations--Salem--A New-England Seaport--The Location--The - Village Singing-school--_The Major_ 348 - - -XXXII - - Rest after Exertion--A Purpose--"Mine Ease in mine Inn"-- - The "Thread of Discourse"--A Thunder-gust--Its Approach and - Departure--A Bolt--A rifted Elm--An impressive {vii} Scene-- - Gray's _Bard_--Mount Vernon--Courthouse--Site--Medicinal - Water--A misty Morning--A _blind_ Route--"Muddy Prairie"-- - Wild Turkeys--Something Diabolical!--The _direct_ Route-- - A vexatious Incident--The unerring Guide--A _Tug_ for a - _Fixen_--An evening Ride--Pinkneyville--Outlines and - Requisites--The blood-red Jail--The _Traveller's Inn_-- - "'Tis true, and Pity 'tis"--A "Soul in Purgatory"--An - _unutterable_ Ill--_Incomparable_--An unpitied and - unenviable Situation--A laughable Bewilderment--Host and - Hostess--The Mischief of a Smile--A Retaliation 362 - - - - -THE FAR WEST - - - - -[PART I] - - - - -I - - "I do remember me, that, in my youth, - When I was wandering--" - MANFRED. - - -It was a bright morning in the early days of "leafy June." Many a -month had seen me a wanderer from distant New-England; and now I found -myself "once more upon the waters," embarked for a pilgrimage over the -broad prairie-plains of the sunset West. A drizzly, miserable rain had -for some days been hovering, with proverbial pertinacity, over the -devoted "City of the Falls," and still, at intervals, came lazily -pattering down from the sunlighted clouds, reminding one of a hoiden -girl smiling through a shower of April tear-drops, while the quay -continued to exhibit all that wild uproar and tumult, "confusion worse -confounded," which characterizes the steamboat commerce of the Western -Valley. The landing at the time was thronged with steamers, and yet -the incessant "boom, boom, boom," of the high-pressure engines, the -shrill hiss of scalding steam, and the fitful port-song of the negro -firemen rising ever and anon upon the breeze, gave notice of a -constant {14} augmentation to the number. Some, too, were getting -under way, and their lower _guards_ were thronged by emigrants with -their household and agricultural utensils. Drays were rattling hither -and thither over the rough pavement; Irish porters were cracking their -whips and roaring forth alternate staves of blasphemy and song; clerks -hurrying to and fro, with fluttering note-books, in all the fancied -dignity of "brief authority;" hackney-coaches dashing down to the -water's edge, apparently with no motive to the nervous man but noise; -while at intervals, as if to fill up the pauses of the Babel, some -incontinent steamer would hurl forth from the valves of her -overcharged boilers one of those deafening, terrible blasts, echoing -and re-echoing along the river-banks, and streets, and among the lofty -buildings, till the very welkin rang again. - -To one who has never visited the public wharves of the great cities of -the West, it is no trivial task to convey an adequate idea of the -spectacle they present. The commerce of the Eastern seaports and that -of the Western Valley are utterly dissimilar; not more in the staples -of intercourse than in the mode in which it is conducted; and, were -one desirous of exhibiting to a friend from the Atlantic shore a -picture of the prominent features which characterize commercial -proceedings upon the Western waters, or, indeed, of Western character -in its general outline, at a _coup d'oeil_, he could do no better -than to place him in the wild uproar of the steamboat quay. Amid the -"crowd, the hum, {15} the shock" of such a scene stands out Western -peculiarity in all its stern proportion. - -Steamers on the great waters of the West are well known to indulge no -violently conscientious scruples upon the subject of punctuality, and -a solitary exception at our behest, or in our humble behalf, was, to -be sure, not an event to be counted on. "There's dignity in being -waited for;" hour after hour, therefore, still found us and left us -amid the untold scenes and sounds of the public landing. It is true, -and to the unending honour of all concerned be it recorded, very true -it is our doughty steamer ever and anon would puff and blow like a -porpoise or a narwhal; and then would she swelter from every pore and -quiver in every limb with the ponderous labouring of her huge -enginery, and the steam would shrilly whistle and shriek like a spirit -in its confinement, till at length she united her whirlwind voice to -the general roar around; and all this indicated, indubitably, an -intention to be off and away; but a knowing one was he who could -determine the _when_. - -Among the causes of our wearisome detention was one of a nature too -melancholy, too painfully interesting lightly to be alluded to. -Endeavouring to while away the tedium of delay, I was pacing leisurely -back and forth upon the _guard_, surveying the lovely scenery of the -opposite shore, and the neat little houses of the village sprinkled -upon the plain beyond, when a wild, piercing shriek struck upon my -ear. I was hurrying immediately forward to the spot whence it seemed -to proceed, {16} when I was intercepted by some of our boat's crew -bearing a mangled body. It was that of our second engineer, a fine, -laughing young fellow, who had been terribly injured by becoming -entangled with the flywheel of the machinery while in motion. He was -laid upon the passage floor. I stood at his head; and never, I think, -shall I forget those convulsed and agonized features. His countenance -was ghastly and livid; beaded globules of cold sweat started out -incessantly upon his pale brow; and, in the paroxysms of pain, his -dark eye would flash, his nostril dilate, and his lips quiver so as to -expose the teeth gnashing in a fearful manner; while a muttered -execration, dying away from exhaustion, caused us all to shudder. And -then that wild despairing roll of the eyeball in its socket as the -miserable man would glance hurriedly around upon the countenances of -the bystanders, imploring them, in utter helplessness, to lend him -relief. Ah! it is a fearful thing to look upon these strivings of -humanity in the iron grasp of a power it may in vain resist! From the -quantity of blood thrown off, the oppressive fulness of the chest, and -the difficult respiration, some serious pulmonary injury had evidently -been sustained; while a splintered clavicle and limbs shockingly -shattered racked the poor sufferer with anguish inexpressible. It was -evident he believed himself seriously injured, for at times he would -fling out his arms, beseeching those around him to "hold him back," as -if even then he perceived the icy grasp of the death angel creeping -over his frame. - -{17} Perhaps I have devoted more words to the detail of this -melancholy incident than would otherwise have been the case, on -account of the interest which some circumstances in the sufferer's -history, subsequently received from the captain of our steamer, -inspired. - -"Frank, poor fellow," said the captain, "was a native of Ohio, the son -of a lone woman, a widow. He was all her hope, and to his exertions -she was indebted for a humble support." - -Here, then, were circumstances to touch the sympathies of any heart -possessed of but a tithe of the nobleness of our nature; and I could -not but reflect, as they were recounted, how like the breath of -desolation the first intelligence of her son's fearful end must sweep -over the spirit of this lonely widow; for, like the wretched -Constance, she can "never, never behold him more."[3] - - "Her life, her joy, her food, her all the world! - Her widow-comfort, and her sorrow's cure!" - -While indulging in these sad reflections a gay burst of music arrested -my attention; and, looking up, I perceived the packet-boat "Lady -Marshall" dropping from her mooring at the quay, her decks swarming -with passengers, and under high press of steam, holding her bold -course against the current, while the merry dashing of the wheels, -mingling with the wild clang of martial music, imparted an air almost -of romance to the scene. How strangely did this contrast with that -misery from which my eye had just turned! - -There are few objects more truly grand--I had {18} almost said -sublime--than a powerful steamer struggling triumphantly with the -rapids of the Western waters. The scene has in it a something of that -power which we feel upon us in viewing a ship under full sail; and, in -some respects, there is more of the sublime in the humbler triumph of -man over the elements than in that more vast. Sublimity is a result, -not merely of massive, extended, unmeasured greatness, but oftener, -and far more impressively, does the sentiment arise from a -_combination_ of vast and powerful objects. The mighty stream rolling -its volumed floods through half a continent, and hurrying onward to -mingle its full tide with the "Father of Waters," is truly sublime; -its resistless power is sublime; the memory of its by-gone scenes, and -the venerable moss-grown forests on its banks, are sublime; and, -lastly, the noble fabric of man's workmanship struggling and groaning -in convulsed, triumphant effort to overcome the resistance offered, -completes a picture which demands not the heaving ocean-waste and the -"oak leviathan" to embellish. - -It was not until the afternoon was far advanced that we found -ourselves fairly embarked. A rapid freshet had within a few hours -swollen the tranquil Ohio far beyond its ordinary volume and velocity, -and its turbid waters were rolling onward between the green banks, -bearing on their bosom all the varied spoils of their mountain-home, -and of the rich region through which they had been flowing. The finest -site from which to view the city we found to be the channel of the -Falls upon the Indiana side of the stream, called the _Indian_ {19} -chute, to distinguish it from two others, called the _Middle_ chute -and the _Kentucky_ chute. The prospect from this point is noble, -though the uniformity of the structures, the fewness of the spires, -the unimposing character of the public edifices, and the depression of -the site upon which the city stands, give to it a monotonous, perhaps -a lifeless aspect to the stranger. - -It was in the year 1778 that a settlement was first commenced upon the -spot on which the fair city of Louisville now stands.[4] In the early -spring of that year, General George Rodgers Clarke, under authority of -the State of Virginia, descended the Ohio with several hundred men, -with the design of reducing the military posts of Kaskaskia, Cahokia, -and Fort Vincent, then held by British troops. Disembarking upon Corn -Island at the Falls of the Ohio, opposite the present city, land -sufficient for the support of six families, which were left, was -cleared and planted with _corn_. From this circumstance the island -received a name which it yet retains. General Clarke proceeded upon -his expedition, and, in the autumn returning successful, the emigrants -were removed to the main land, and a settlement was commenced where -Louisville now stands. During the few succeeding years, other families -from Virginia settled upon the spot, and in the spring of 1780 seven -stations were formed upon Beargrass Creek,[5] which here empties into -the Mississippi, and Louisville commenced its march to its present -importance. - -The view of the city from the Falls, as I have remarked, is not at all -imposing; the view of the {20} Falls from the city, on the contrary, -is one of beauty and romance. They are occasioned by a parapet of -limestone extending quite across the stream, which is here about one -mile in width; and when the water is low the whole chain sparkles with -bubbling foam-bells. When the stream is full the descent is hardly -perceptible but for the increased rapidity of the current, which -varies from ten to fourteen miles an hour.[6] Owing to the height of -the freshet, this was the case at the time when we descended them, and -there was a wild air of romance about the dark rushing waters: and the -green woodlands upon either shore, overshadowed as they were by the -shifting light and shade of the flitting clouds, cast over the scene -a bewitching fascination. "_Corn Island_," with its legendary -associations, rearing its dense clump of foliage as from the depths of -the stream, was not the least beautiful object of the panorama; while -the receding city, with its smoky roofs, its bustling quay, and the -glitter and animation of an extended line of steamers, was alone -necessary to fill up a scene for a limner.[7] And our steamer swept -onward {21} over the rapids, and threaded their maze of beautiful -islands, and passed along the little villages at their foot and the -splendid steamers along their shore, till twilight had faded, and the -dusky mantle of departed day was flung over forest and stream. - -_Ohio River._ - - - - -II - - "How beautiful is this visible world! - How glorious in its action and itself!" - MANFRED. - - "The woods--oh! solemn are the boundless woods - Of the great Western World when day declines, - And louder sounds the roll of distant floods." - HEMANS. - - -Long before the dawn on the morning succeeding our departure we were -roused from our rest by the hissing of steam and the rattling of -machinery as our boat moved slowly out from beneath the high banks and -lofty sycamores of the river-side, where she had in safety been moored -for the night, to resume her course. Withdrawing the curtain from the -little rectangular window of my stateroom, the dark shadow of the -forest was slumbering in calm magnificence upon the waters; and -glancing upward my eye, the stars were beaming out in silvery -brightness; while all along the eastern horizon, where - - "The gray coursers of the morn - Beat up the light with their bright silver hoofs - And drive it through the sky," - -{22} rested a broad, low zone of clear heaven, proclaiming the coming -of a glorious dawn. The hated clang of the bell-boy was soon after -heard resounding far and wide in querulous and deafening clamour -throughout the cabins, vexing the dull ear of every drowsy man in the -terrible language of Macbeth's evil conscience, "sleep no more!" In a -very desperation of self-defence I arose. The mists of night had not -yet wholly dispersed, and the rack and fog floated quietly upon the -placid bosom of the stream, or ascended in ragged masses from the -dense foliage upon its banks. All this melted gently away like "the -baseless fabric of a vision," and "the beauteous eye of day" burst -forth in splendour, lighting up a scene of unrivalled loveliness. - -Much, very much has been written of "the beautiful Ohio;" the pens of -an hundred tourists have sketched its quiet waters and its venerable -groves; but there is in its noble scenery an ever salient freshness, -which no description, however varied, can exhaust; new beauties leap -forth to the eye of the man of sensibility, and even an humble pen may -not fail to array them in the drapery of their own loveliness. There -are in this beautiful stream features peculiar to itself, which -distinguish it from every other that we have seen or of which we have -read; features which render it truly and emphatically _sui generis_. -It is not "the blue-rushing of the arrowy Rhone," with castled crags -and frowning battlements; it is not the dark-rolling Danube, shadowy -with the legend of departed time, upon whose banks armies have met and -battled; it is not {23} the lordly Hudson, roaming in beauty through -the ever-varying romance of the Catskill Highlands; nor is it the -gentle wave of the soft-flowing Connecticut, seeming almost to sleep -as it glides through the calm, "happy valley" of New-England: but it -is that noble stream, bounding forth, like a young warrior of the -wilderness, in all the joyance of early vigour, from the wild -twin-torrents of the hills; rolling onward through a section of -country the glory of a new world, and over the wooded heights of whose -banks has rushed full many a crimson tide of Indian massacre. Ohio,[8] -"_The River of Blood_," was its fearfully significant name from the -aboriginal native; _La Belle Rivière_ was its euphonious distinction -from the simple Canadian voyageur, whose light pirogue first glided on -its blue bosom. "The Beautiful River!"--it is no misnomer--from its -earliest commencement to the broad _embouchure_ into the turbid -floods of the Mississippi, it unites every combination of scenic -loveliness which even the poet's sublimated fancy could demand.[9] Now -it sweeps along beneath its lofty bluffs in the conscious grandeur of -resistless might; and then its clear, transparent waters glide in -undulating ripples over the shelly bottoms and among the pebbly heaps -of the white-drifted sand-bars, or in the calm magnificence of their -eternal wandering, - - "To the gentle woods all night - Sing they a sleepy tune." - -From either shore streams of singular beauty and euphonious names come -pouring in their tribute {24} through the deep foliage of the fertile -bottoms; while the swelling, volumed outlines of the banks, piled up -with ponderous verdure rolling and heaving in the river-breeze like -life, recur in such grandeur and softness, and such ever-varying -combinations of beauty, as to destroy every approach to monotonous -effect. From the source of the Ohio to its outlet its waters imbosom -more than an hundred islands, some of such matchless loveliness that -it is worthy of remark that such slight allusion has been made to them -in the numerous pencillings of Ohio scenery. In the fresh, early -summertime, when the deep green of vegetation is in its luxuriance, -they surely constitute the most striking feature of the river. Most of -them are densely wooded to the water's edge; and the wild vines and -underbrush suspended lightly over the waters are mirrored in their -bosom or swept by the current into attitudes most graceful and -picturesque. In some of those stretched-out, endless reaches which are -constantly recurring, they seem bursting up like beautiful _bouquets_ -of sprinkled evergreens from the placid stream; rounded and swelling, -as if by the teachings of art, on the blue bosom of the waters. A -cluster of these "isles of light" I well remember, which opened upon -us the eve of the second day of our passage. Two of the group were -exceedingly small, mere points of a deeper shade in the reflecting -azure; while the third, lying between the former, stretched itself far -away in a narrow, well-defined strip of foliage, like a curving gash -in the surface, parallel to the {25} shore; and over the lengthened -vista of the waters gliding between, the giant branches bowed -themselves, and wove their mingled verdure into an immense Gothic -arch, seemingly of interminable extent, but closed at last by a single -speck of crimson skylight beyond. Throughout its whole course the Ohio -is fringed with wooded bluffs; now towering in sublime majesty -hundreds of feet from the bed of the rolling stream, and anon sweeping -inland for miles, and rearing up those eminences so singularly -beautiful, appropriately termed "Ohio hills," while their broad -alluvial plains in the interval betray, by their enormous vegetation, -a fertility exhaustless and unrivalled. Here and there along the green -bluffs is caught a glimpse of the emigrant's low log cabin peeping out -to the eye from the dark foliage, sometimes when miles in the -distance; while the rich maize-fields of the bottoms, the girdled -forest-trees and the lowing kine betray the advance of civilized -existence. But if the scenes of the Ohio are beautiful beneath the -broad glare of the morning sunlight, what shall sketch their -lineaments when the coarser etchings of the picture are mellowed down -by the balmy effulgence of the midnight moon of summer! When her -floods of light are streaming far and wide along the magnificent -forest-tops! When all is still--still! and sky, and earth, and wood, -and stream are hushed as a spirit's breathing! When thought is almost -audible, and memory is busy with the past! When the distant bluffs, -bathed in molten silver, gleam like beacon-lights, and the far-off -vistas of the {26} meandering waters are flashing with the sheen of -their ripples! When you glide through the endless maze, and the bright -islets shift, and vary, and pass away in succession like pictures of -the kaleidoscope before your eye! When imagination is awake and -flinging forth her airy fictions, bodies things unseen, and clothes -reality in loveliness not of earth! When a scene like this is -developed, what shall adequately depict it? Not the pen. - -Such, such is the beautiful Ohio in the soft days of early summer; and -though hackneyed may be the theme of its loveliness, yet, as the dying -glories of a Western sunset flung over the landscape the mellow -tenderness of its parting smile, "fading, still fading, as the day was -declining," till night's dusky mantle had wrapped the "woods on shore" -and the quiet stream from the eye, I could not, even at the hazard of -triteness, resist an inclination to fling upon the sheet a few hurried -lineaments of Nature's beautiful creations. - -There is not a stream upon the continent which, for the same distance, -rolls onward so calmly, and smoothly, and peacefully as the Ohio. -Danger rarely visits its tranquil bosom, except from the storms of -heaven or the reckless folly of man, and hardly a river in the world -can vie with it in safety, utility, or beauty. Though subject to rapid -and great elevations and depressions, its current is generally -uniform, never furious. The forest-trees which skirt its banks are the -largest in North America, while the variety is endless; several -sycamores were pointed out to us upon the shores from thirty to fifty -feet in circumference. Its alluvial {27} bottoms are broad, deep, and -exhaustlessly fertile; its bluffs are often from three to four hundred -feet in height; its breadth varies from one mile to three, and its -navigation, since the improvements commenced, under the authority of -Congress, by the enterprising Shreve, has become safe and easy.[10] -The classification of obstructions is the following: _snags_, trees -anchored by their roots; fragments of trees of various forms and -magnitude; _wreck-heaps_, consisting of several of these stumps, and -logs, and branches of trees lodged in one place; _rocks_, which have -rolled from the cliffs, and varying from ten to one hundred cubic feet -in size; and _sunken boats_, principally flat-boats laden with coal. -The last remains one of the most serious obstacles to the navigation -of the Ohio. Many steamers have been damaged by striking the wrecks of -the _Baltimore_, the _Roanoke_, the _William Hulburt_,[11] and other -craft, which were themselves snagged; while keel and flat-boats -without number have been lost from the same cause.[12] Several -thousands of the obstacles mentioned have been removed since -improvements were commenced, and accidents from this cause are now -less frequent. Some of the snags torn up from the bed of the stream, -where they have probably for ages been buried, are said to have -exceeded a diameter of six feet at the root, and were upward of an -hundred feet in length. The removal of these obstructions on the Ohio -presents a difficulty and expense not encountered upon the -Mississippi. In the latter stream, the root of the snag, when -eradicated, is deposited in some deep {28} pool or bayou along the -banks, and immediately imbeds itself in alluvial deposite; but on the -Ohio, owing to the nature of its banks in most of its course, there is -no opportunity for such a disposal, and the boatmen are forced to -blast the logs with gunpowder to prevent them from again forming -obstructions. The cutting down and clearing away of all leaning and -falling trees from the banks constitutes an essential feature in the -scheme of improvement; since the facts are well ascertained that trees -seldom plant themselves far from the spot where they fall; and that, -when once under the power of the current, they seldom anchor -themselves and form snags. The policy of removing the leaning and -fallen trees is, therefore, palpable, since, when this is once -thoroughly accomplished, no material for subsequent formation can -exist. The construction of stone dams, by which to concentrate into a -single channel all the waters of the river, where they are divided by -islands, or from other causes are spread over a broad extent, is -another operation now in execution. The dams at "Brown's Island,"[13] -the shoalest point on the Ohio, have been so eminently successful as -fully to establish the efficiency of the plan. Several other works of -a similar character are proposed; a full survey of the stream, -hydrographical and topographical, is recommended; and, when all -improvements are completed, it is believed that the navigation of the -"beautiful Ohio" will answer every purpose of commerce and the -traveller, from its source to its mouth, at the lowest stages of the -water. - -_Ohio River._ - - - - -III - - "The sure traveller, - Though he alight sometimes, still goeth on." - HERBERT. - - "A RACE-- - Now like autumnal leaves before the blast - Wide scattered." - SPRAGUE. - - -Thump, thump, crash! One hour longer, and I was at length completely -roused from a troublous slumber by our boat coming to a dead stop. -Casting a glance from the window, the bright flashing of moonlight -showed the whole surface of the stream covered with drift-wood, and, -on inquiry, I learned that the branches of an enormous oak, some sixty -feet in length, had become entangled with one of the paddle-wheels of -our steamer, and forbade all advance. - -We were soon once more in motion; the morning mists were dispersing, -the sun rose up behind the forests, and his bright beams danced -lightly over the gliding waters. We passed many pleasant little -villages along the banks, and it was delightful to remove from the -noise, and heat, and confusion below to the lofty _hurricane deck_, -and lounge away hour after hour in gazing upon the varied and -beautiful scenes which presented themselves in constant succession to -the eye. Now we were gliding quietly on through the long island {30} -chutes, where the daylight was dim, and the enormous forest-trees -bowed themselves over us, and echoed from their still recesses the -roar of our steam-pipe; then we were sweeping rapidly over the broad -reaches of the stream, miles in extent; again we were winding through -the mazy labyrinth of islets which fleckered the placid surface of the -stream, and from time to time we passed the lonely cabin of the -emigrant beneath the venerable and aged sycamores. Here and there, as -we glided on, we met some relic of those ancient and primitive species -of river-craft which once assumed ascendency over the waters of the -West, but which are now superseded by steam, and are of too infrequent -occurrence not to be objects of peculiar interest. In the early era of -the navigation of the Ohio, the species of craft in use were -numberless, and many of them of a most whimsical and amusing -description. The first was the barge, sometimes of an hundred tons' -burden, which required twenty men to force it up against the current a -distance of six or seven miles a day; next the keel-boat, of smaller -size and lighter structure, yet in use for the purposes of inland -commerce; then the Kentucky flat, or broad-horn of the emigrant; the -enormous ark, in magnitude and proportion approximating to that of the -patriarch; the fairy pirogue of the French voyageur; the birch caïque -of the Indian, and log skiffs, gondolas, and dug-outs of the pioneer -without name or number.[14] But since the introduction of steam upon -the Western waters, most of these unique and primitive contrivances -{31} have disappeared; and with them, too, has gone that singular race -of men who were their navigators. Most of the younger of the settlers, -at this early period of the country, devoted themselves to this -profession. Nor is there any wonder that the mode of life pursued by -these boatmen should have presented irresistible seductions to the -young people along the banks. Fancy one of these huge boats dropping -lazily along with the current past their cabins on a balmy morning in -June. Picture to your imagination the gorgeous foliage; the soft, -delicious temperature of the atmosphere; the deep azure of the sky; -the fertile alluvion, with its stupendous forests and rivers; the -romantic bluffs sleeping mistily in blue distance; the clear waters -rolling calmly adown, with the woodlands outlined in shadow on the -surface; the boat floating leisurely onward, its heterogeneous crew of -all ages dancing to the violin upon the deck, flinging out their merry -salutations among the settlers, who come down to the water's edge to -see the pageant pass, until, at length, it disappears behind a point -of wood, and the boatman's bugle strikes up its note, dying in -distance over the waters; fancy a scene like this, and the wild -bugle-notes echoing and re-echoing along the bluffs and forest shades -of the beautiful Ohio, and decide whether it must not have possessed a -charm of fascination resistless to the youthful mind in these lonely -solitudes. No wonder that the severe toils of agricultural life, in -view of such scenes, should have become tasteless and irksome.[15] The -lives of these {32} boatmen were lawless and dissolute to a proverb. -They frequently stopped at the villages along their course, and passed -the night in scenes of wild revelry and merriment. Their occupation, -more than any other, subjected them to toil, and exposure, and -privation; and, more than any other, it indulged them, for days in -succession, with leisure, and ease, and indolent gratification. -Descending the stream, they floated quietly along without an effort, -but in ascending against the powerful current their life was an -uninterrupted series of toil. The boat, we are told, was propelled by -poles, against which the shoulder was placed and the whole strength -applied; their bodies were naked to the waist, for enjoying the -river-breeze and for moving with facility; and, after the labour of -the day, they swallowed their whiskey and supper, and throwing -themselves upon the deck of the boat, with no other canopy than the -heavens, slumbered soundly on till the morning. Their slang was -peculiar to the race, their humour and power of retort was remarkable, -and in their frequent battles with the squatters or with their -fellows, their nerve and courage were unflinching. - -It was in the year 1811 that the steam-engine commenced its giant -labours in the Valley of the West, and the first vessel propelled by -its agency glided along the soft-flowing wave of the beautiful -river.[16] Many events, we are told, united to render this year a most -remarkable era in the annals of Western history.[17] The -spring-freshet of the rivers buried the whole valley from Pittsburgh -to New-Orleans {33} in a flood; and when the waters subsided -unparalleled sickness and mortality ensued. A mysterious spirit of -restlessness possessed the denizens of the Northern forests, and in -myriads they migrated towards the South and West. The magnificent -comet of the year, seeming, indeed, to verify the terrors of -superstition, and to "shake from its horrid hair pestilence and war," -all that summer was beheld blazing along the midnight sky, and -shedding its lurid twilight over forest and stream; and when the -leaves of autumn began to rustle to the ground, the whole vast Valley -of the Mississippi rocked and vibrated in earthquake-convulsion! -forests bowed their heads; islands disappeared from their sites, and -new one's rose; immense lakes and hills were formed; the graveyard -gave up its sheeted and ghastly tenants; huge relics of the mastodon -and megalonyx, which for ages had slumbered in the bosom of earth, -were heaved up to the sunlight; the blue lightning streamed and the -thunder muttered along the leaden sky, and, amid all the elemental -war, the mighty current of the "Father of Waters" for hours rolled -back its heaped-up floods towards its source! All this was the -prologue to that mighty drama of _Change_ which, from that period to -the present, has been sweeping over the Western Valley; it was the -fearful welcome-home to that all-powerful agent which has -revolutionized the character of half a continent; for at that epoch -of wonders, and amid them all, the first steamboat was seen descending -the great rivers, and the awe-struck Indian {34} on the banks beheld -the _Pinelore_ flying through the troubled waters.[18] The rise and -progress of the steam-engine is without a parallel in the history of -modern improvement. Fifty years ago, and the prophetic declaration of -Darwin was pardoned only as the enthusiasm of poetry; it is now little -more than the detail of reality: - - "Soon shall thy arm, unconquer'd steam, afar - Drag the slow barge or drive the rapid car; - Or on wide-waving wings expanded bear - The flying chariot through the fields of air; - Fair crews triumphant, leaning from above, - Shall wave their fluttering kerchiefs as they move, - Or warrior bands alarm the gaping crowd, - And armies shrink beneath the shadowy cloud."[19] - -The steam-engine, second only to the press in power, has in a few -years anticipated results throughout the New World which centuries, in -the ordinary course of cause and event, would have failed to produce. -The dullest forester, even the cold, phlegmatic native of the -wilderness, gazes upon its display of beautiful mechanism, its -majestic march upon its element, and its sublimity of power, with -astonishment and admiration. - -Return we to the incidents of our passage. During the morning of our -third day upon the Ohio we {35} passed, among others, the villages of -_Rome_, _Troy_, and Rockport.[20] The latter is the most considerable -place of the three, notwithstanding _imposing_ titles. It is situated -upon a green romantic spot, the summit of a precipitous pile of rocks -some hundred feet in height, from which sweeps off a level region of -country in the rear. Here terminates that series of beautiful bluffs -commencing at the confluence of the mountain-streams, and of which so -much has been said. A new geological formation commences of a bolder -character than any before; and the face of the country gradually -assumes those features which are found near the mouth of the river. -Passing Green River with its emerald waters,[21] its "Diamond -Island,"[22] the largest in the Ohio, and said to be _haunted_, and -very many thriving villages, among which was Hendersonville,[23] for -some time the residence of Audubon,[24] the ornithologist, we found -ourselves near midday at the mouth of the smiling Wabash, its high -bluffs crowned with groves of the walnut and pecan, the _carya -olivoeformis_ of Nuttal, and its deep-died surface reflecting the -yet deeper tints of its verdure-clad banks, as the far-winding stream -gradually opened upon the eye, and then retreated in the distance. The -confluence of the streams is at a beautiful angle; and, on observing -the scene, the traveller will remark that the forests upon one bank -are superior in magnitude to those on the other, though of the same -species. The appearance is somewhat singular, and the fact is to be -accounted for only from the reason that the soil {36} differs in -alluvial character. It has been thought that no stream in the world, -for its length and magnitude, drains a more fertile and beautiful -country than the Wabash and its tributaries.[25] Emigrants are rapidly -settling its banks, and a route has been projected for uniting by -canal its waters with those of Lake Erie; surveys by authority of the -State of Indiana have been made, and incipient measures taken -preparatory to carrying the work into execution.[26] - -About one hundred miles from the mouth of the Wabash is situated the -village of New-Harmony, far famed for the singular events of which it -has been the scene.[27] It is said to be situated on a broad and -beautiful plateau overlooking the stream, surrounded by a fertile and -heavily-timbered country, and blessed with an atmosphere of health. -It was first settled in 1814 by a religious sect of Germans called -Harmonites, resembling the Moravians in their tenets, and under the -control of George Rapp, in whose name the land was purchased and held. -They were about eight hundred in number, and soon erected a number of -substantial edifices, among which was a huge House of Assemblage an -hundred feet square. They laid out their grounds with beautiful -regularity, and established a botanic garden and an extensive -greenhouse. For ten years the Harmonites continued to live and labour -in love, in the land of their adoption, when the celebrated Robert -Dale Owen,[28] of Scotland, came among them, and, at the sum of one -hundred and ninety thousand dollars, purchased the establishment -entire. His design was of rearing up a community {37} upon a plan -styled by him the "Social System." The peculiar doctrines he -inculcated were a perfect equality, moral, social, political, and -religious. He held that the promise of never-ending love upon marriage -was an absurdity; that children should become no impediment to -separation, as they were to be considered members of the community -from their second year; that the society should have no professed -religion, each individual being indulged in his own faith, and that -all temporal possessions should be held in common. On one night of -every week the whole community met and danced; and on another they -united in a concert of music, while the Sabbath was devoted to -philosophical lectures. Many distinguished individuals are said to -have written to the society inquiring respecting its principles and -prospects, and expressing the wish at a future day to unite with it -their destinies. Mr. Owen was sanguine of success. On the 4th of -July, 1826, he promulgated his celebrated declaration of mental -independence;[29] a document which, for absurdity, has never, perhaps, -been paralleled. But all was in vain. Dissension insinuated itself -among the members; one after another dropped off from the community, -until at length Mr. Owen retired in disgust, and, at a vast sacrifice, -disposed of the establishment to a wealthy Scotch gentleman by the -name of M'Clure, a former coadjutor.[30] Thus was abandoned the -far-famed _social system_, which for a time was an object of interest -and topic of remark all over the United States and even in Europe. The -Duke of Saxe Weimar passed here a {38} week in the spring of 1826, and -has given a detailed and amusing description of his visit. - -About ten miles below the mouth of the Wabash is situated the village -of Shawneetown, once a favourite dwelling-spot of the turbulent -Shawnee Indian, the tribe of Tecumseh.[31] Quite a village once stood -here; but, for some cause unknown, it was forsaken previous to its -settlement by the French, and two small mounds are the only vestige of -its existence which are now to be seen. A trading-post was established -by the early Canadian voyageurs; but, on account of the sickliness of -the site, was abandoned, and the spot was soon once more a wilderness. -In the early part of 1812 a land-office was here located, and two -years subsequent a town was laid off by authority of Congress, and -the lots sold as other public lands. Since then it has been gradually -becoming the commercial emporium of southern Illinois. - -The buildings, among which are a very conspicuous bank, courthouse, -and a land-office for the southern district of Illinois, are scattered -along upon a gently elevated bottom, swelling up from the river to the -bluffs in the rear, but sometimes submerged. From this latter cause it -has formerly been subject to disease; it is now considered healthy; is -the chief commercial port in this section of the state, and is the -principal point of debarkation for emigrants for the distant West. -Twelve miles in its rear are situated the Gallatin Salines, from which -the United States obtains some hundred thousands of bushels of salt -annually.[32] It is manufactured by {39} the evaporation of salt -water. This is said to abound over the whole extent of this region, -yielding from one eighth to one twelfth of its weight in pure muriate -of soda. In many places it bursts forth in perennial springs; but most -frequently is obtained by penetrating with the augur a depth of from -three to six hundred feet through the solid limestone substratum, when -a copper tube is introduced, and the strongly-impregnated fluid gushes -violently to the surface. In the vicinity of these salines huge -fragments of earthenware, apparently of vessels used in obtaining -salt, and bearing the impress of wickerwork, have been thrown up from -a considerable depth below the surface. Appearances of the same -character exist near Portsmouth, in the State of Ohio, and other -places. Their origin is a mystery! the race which formed them is -departed![33] - -_Ohio River._ - - - - -IV - - "Who can paint - Like Nature? Can imagination boast, - Amid its gay creations, hues like hers? - Or can it mix them with that matchless skill, - And lose them in each other, as appears - In every bud that blooms?" - THOMSON. - - "Precipitous, black, jagged rocks, - For ever shattered, and the same forever." - COLERIDGE. - - -It was near noon of the third day of our passage that we found -ourselves in the vicinity of that singular series of massive rock -formations, stretching along for miles upon the eastern bank of the -stream. The whole vast plain, extending from the Northern Lakes to the -mouth of the Ohio, and from the Alleghany slope to the boundless -prairies of the far West, is said by geologists to be supported by a -bed of horizontal limestone rock, whose deep strata have never been -completely pierced, though penetrated many hundred feet by the augur. -This limestone is hard, stratified, imbedding innumerable shells of -the terebratulæ, encrinites, orthocerites, trilobites, productus, and -other species. Throughout most of its whole extent it supports a -stratum of bituminous coal, various metals, and saline impregnations: -its constant decomposition has fertilized the soil, and its absorbent -and cavernous nature has prevented swamps from accumulating upon the -surface. Such, in general outline, is this vast limerock substratum -{41} of the Western Valley. It generally commences but a few feet -below the vegetable deposite; at other places its range is deeper, -while at intervals it rises from the surface, and frowns in -castellated grandeur over objects beneath. These huge masses of -limestone sometimes exhibit the most picturesque and remarkable forms -along the banks of the western rivers, and are penetrated in many -places by vast caverns. The region we were now approaching was a -locality of these singular formations, and for miles before reaching -it, as has been remarked, a change in scenery upon the eastern bank is -observed. Instead of the rounded wooded summits of the "Ohio hills" -sweeping beautifully away in the distance, huge, ponderous rocks, -heaped up in ragged masses, "Pelion upon Ossa," are beheld rearing -themselves abruptly from the stream, and expanding their Briarean arms -in every direction. Some of these cliffs present a uniform, jointed -surface, as if of masonry, resembling ancient edifices, and reminding -the traveller of the giant ruins of man's creations in another -hemisphere, while others appear just on the point of toppling into the -river. Among this range of crags is said to hang an _iron coffin_, -suspended, like Mohammed's, between heaven and earth. It contains the -remains of a man of singular eccentricity, who, previous to his -decease, gave orders that they should be deposited thus; and the -gloomy object at the close of the year, when the trees are stripped of -their foliage, may be perceived, it is said, high up among the rocks -from the deck of the passing {42} steamer. This story probably owes -its origin to an event of actual occurrence somewhat similar, at a -cliff called by the river-pilots "Hanging Rock."[34] It is situated in -the vicinity of "Blennerhasset's Island."[35] The first of these -singular cliffs, called "Battery Rock," stretches along the river-bank -for half a mile, presenting a uniform and perpendicular façade upward -of eighty feet in height. The appearance is striking, standing, as it -does, distinct from anything of a kindred character for miles above -and for some distance below. Passing several fine farms, which sweep -down to the water's edge, a second range of cliffs are discovered, -similar to those described in altitude and aspect; but near the base, -through the dark cypresses skirting the water, is perceived the ragged -entrance to a large cavernous fissure, penetrating the bluff, and -designated by the name of "Rock-Inn-Cave."[36] It is said to have -received this significant appellation from emigrants, who were -accustomed to tarry with their families for weeks at the place when -detained by stress of weather, stage of the river, or any other -circumstance unfavourable to their progress. - -It was near noon of a beautiful day when the necessary orders for -landing were issued to the pilot, and our boat rounded up to the low -sand-beach just below this celebrated cavern. As we strolled along the -shore beneath "the precipitous, black, jagged rocks" overhanging the -winding and broken pathway towards the entrance, we could not but -consider its situation wild and rugged enough to please the rifest -fancy. The entrance, {43} at first view, is exceedingly imposing; its -broad massive forehead beetling over the visiter for some yards before -he finds himself within. The mouth of the cavern looks out upon the -stream rushing along at the base of the cliff, and is delightfully -shaded by a cluster of cypresses, rearing aloft their huge shafts, -almost concealed in the luxuriant ivy-leaves clinging to their bark. -The entrance is formed into a semi-elliptical arch, springing boldly -to the height of forty feet from a heavy bench of rock on either side, -and eighty feet in width at the base, throwing over the whole a -massive roof of uniform concavity, verging to a point near the centre -of the cave. Here may be seen another opening of some size, through -which trickles a limpid stream, and forming an entrance to a second -chamber, said to be more extensive than that below. The extreme length -of this cavern is given by Schoolcraft[37] as one hundred and sixty -feet, the floor, the roof, and the walls gradually tapering to a -point. The rock is a secondary limestone, abounding with testacea and -petrifactions, a fine specimen of which I struck from the ledge while -the rest of our party were recording their names among the thousand -dates and inscriptions with which the walls are defaced. - -Like all other curiosities of Nature, this cavern was, by the Indian -tribes, deemed the residence of a _Manito_[38] or spirit, evil or -propitious, concerning {44} whom many a wild legend yet lives among -their simple-hearted posterity. They never pass this dwelling-place of -the divinity without discharging their guns (an ordinary mark of -respect), or making some other offering propitiatory of his favour. -These tributary acknowledgments, however, are never of much value. The -view of the stream from the left bench at the cave's mouth is most -beautiful. Immediately in front extends a large and densely-wooded -island, known by the name of the Cave, while the soft-gliding waters -flow between, furnishing a scene of natural beauty worthy an Inman's -pencil; and, if I mistake not, an engraving of the spot has been -published, a ferocious-looking personage, pistol in hand, crouched at -the entrance, eagerly watching an ascending boat. This design -originated, doubtless, in the tradition yet extant, that in the latter -part of the last century this cavern was the rendezvous of a notorious -band of freebooters which then infested the region, headed by the -celebrated Mason,[39] plundering the boats ascending from New-Orleans -and murdering their crews. From these circumstances this cave has -become the scene of a poem of much merit, called the "Outlaw," and has -suggested a spirited tale from a popular writer. Many other spots in -the vicinity were notorious, in the early part of the present century, -for the murder and robbery of travellers, whose fate long remained -enveloped in mystery. On the summit of a lofty bluff, not far from the -"Battery Rock," was pointed out to us a solitary house, with a single -chimney rising from its roof. Its {45} white walls may be viewed for -miles before reaching the place on descending the river. It was here -that the family of Sturdevant carried on their extensive operations as -counterfeiters for many years unsuspected; and on this spot, in 1821, -they expiated their crimes with their lives. A few miles below is a -place called "Ford's Ferry,"[40] where murder, robbery, forgery, and -almost every crime in the calendar were for years committed, while not -a suspicion of the truth was awakened. Ford not only escaped -unsuspected, but was esteemed a most exemplary man. Associated with -him were his son and two other individuals, named Simpson and Shouse. -They are all now gone to their account. The old man was mysteriously -shot by some person who was never discovered, but was supposed to have -been Simpson, between whom and himself a misunderstanding had arisen. -If it were so, the murderer was met by fitting retribution, for _he_ -fell in a similar manner. Shouse and the son of Ford atoned upon the -gallows their crimes in 1833. Before reaching this spot the traveller -passes a remarkable mass of limestone called "Tower Rock." It is -perpendicular, isolated, and somewhat cylindrical in outline. It is -many feet in altitude, and upon its summit tradition avers to exist -the ruins of an antique tumulus; an altar, mayhap, of the ancient -forest-sons, where - - "Garlands, ears of maize, and skins of wolf - And shaggy bear, the offerings of the tribe - Were made to the Great Spirit." - -In the vicinity of the cliff called "Tower Rock," and not far from -Hurricane Island, is said to exist a {46} remarkable cavern of -considerable extent. The cave is entered by an orifice nine feet in -width and twelve feet high; a bench of rock is then ascended a few -feet, and an aperture of the size of an ordinary door admits the -visiter into a spacious hall. In the mouth of the cavern, on the -façade of the cliff, at the altitude of twenty-five feet, are engraved -figures resembling a variety of animals, as the bear, the buffalo, and -even the lion and lioness. All this I saw nothing of, and am, of -course, no voucher for its existence; but a writer in the Port Folio, -so long since as 1816, states the fact, and, moreover, adds that the -engraving upon the rock was executed in "a masterly style."[41] - -From this spot the river stretches away in a long delightful reach, -studded with beautiful islands, among which "Hurricane Island," a -very large one, is chief.[42] Passing the compact little village of -Golconda with its neat courthouse, and the mouth of the Cumberland -River with its green island, once the rendezvous of Aaron Burr and his -chivalrous band, we next reached the town of Paducah, at the outlet of -the Tennessee.[43] This is a place of importance,[44] though deemed -unhealthy: it is said to have derived its name from a captive Indian -woman, who was here sacrificed by a band of the Pawnees after having -been assured of safety. About eight miles below Paducah are situated -the ruins of Fort Massac, once a French military post of -importance.[45] There is a singular legend respecting this fort still -popular among the inhabitants of the neighbouring region, the outlines -of which {47} are the following: The fortress was erected by the -French while securing possession of the Western Valley, and, soon -after, hostilities arising between them and the natives, the latter -contrived a stratagem, in every respect worthy the craft and subtlety -of the race, to obtain command of this stronghold. Early one morning a -body of Indians, enveloped each in a bearskin, appeared upon the -opposite bank of the Ohio. Supposing them the animal so faithfully -represented, the whole French garrison in a mass sallied incontinently -forth, anticipating rare sport, while the remnant left behind as a -guard gathered themselves upon the glacis as spectators of the scene. -Meanwhile, a large body of Indians, concealed in rear of the fort, -slipped silently from their ambush, and few were there of the French -who escaped to tell the tale of the scene that ensued. They were -_massacred_ almost to a man, and hence the name of _Massac_ to the -post. During the war of the revolution a garrison was stationed upon -the spot for some years, but the structures are now in ruins. A few -miles below is a small place consisting of a few farmhouses, called -Wilkinsonville,[46] on the site where Fort Wilkinson once stood; just -opposite, along the shore, commences the "Grand Chain" of rocks so -famous to the Ohio pilot, extending four miles. The little village of -Caledonia is here laid off among the bluffs. It has a good landing, -and is the proposed site of a marine hospital. - -It was sunset when we arrived at the confluence of the rivers. In -course of the afternoon we had been visited by a violent thunder-gust, -accompanied {48} by hail. But sunset came, and the glorious "bow of -the covenant" was hung out upon the dark bosom of the clouds, spanning -woodland and waters with its beautiful hues. And yet, though the hour -was a delightful one, the scene did not present that aspect of -vastness and sublimity which was anticipated from the celebrity of the -streams. For some miles before uniting its waters with the -Mississippi, the Ohio presents a dull and uninteresting appearance. It -is no longer the clear, sparkling stream, with bluffs and woodland -painted on its surface; the volume of its channel is greatly increased -by its union with two of its principal tributaries, and its waters are -turbid; its banks are low, inundated, and clothed with dark groves of -deciduous forest-trees, and the only sounds which issue from their -depths to greet the traveller's ear are the hoarse croakings of frogs, -or the dull monotony of countless choirs of moschetoes. Thus rolls on -the river through the dullest, dreariest, most uninviting region -imaginable, until it sweeps away in a direction nearly southeast, and -meets the venerable Father of the West advancing to its embrace. The -volume of water in each seems nearly the same; the Ohio exceeds a -little in breadth, their currents oppose to each other an equal -resistance, and the resultant of the forces is a vast lake more than -two miles in breadth, where the united waters slumber quietly and -magnificently onward for leagues in a common bed. On the right come -rolling in the turbid floods of the Mississippi; and on looking upon -it for the first time with preconceived ideas of the magnitude of the -mightiest {49} river on the globe, the spectator is always -disappointed. He considers only its breadth when compared with the -Ohio, without adverting to its vast depth. The Ohio sweeps in -majestically from the north, and its clear waters flow on for miles -without an intimate union with its turbid conqueror. The -characteristics of the two streams are distinctly marked at their -junction and long after. The banks of both are low and swampy, totally -unfit for culture or habitation. "Willow Point," which projects itself -into the confluence, presents an elevation of twenty feet; yet, in -unusual inundations, it is completely buried six feet below the -surface, and the agitated waters, rolling together their masses, form -an enormous lake. How strange it seemed, while gazing upon the view I -have attempted to delineate, now fading away beneath the summer -twilight--how very strange was the reflection that these two noble -streams, deriving their sources in the pellucid lakes and the clear -icy fountains of their highland-homes, meandering majestically through -scenes of nature and of art unsurpassed in beauty, and draining, and -irrigating, and fertilizing the loveliest valley on the globe--how -strange, that the confluence of the waters of such streams, in their -onward rolling to the deep, should take place at almost the only stage -in their course devoid entirely of interest to the eye or the fancy; -in the heart of a dreary and extended swamp, waving with the gloomy -boughs of the cypress, and enlivened by not a sound but the croaking -of bullfrogs, and the deep, surly misery note of {50} moschetoes! -Willow Point is the property of a company of individuals, who announce -it their intention to elevate the delta above the power of -inundations, and here to locate a city.[47] There are as yet, however, -but a few storehouses on the spot; and when we consider the -incalculable expense the only plan for rendering it habitable -involves, we can only deem the idea of a city here as the chimera of a -Utopian fancy. For more than twelve miles above the confluence, the -whole alluvion is annually inundated, and forbids all improvement; but -were this site an elevated one, a city might here be founded which -should command the immense commerce of these great rivers, and become -the grand central emporium of the Western Valley. - -Upon the first elevated land above the confluence stands the little -town called America. This is the proposed _terminus_ to the grand -central railroad of the Internal Improvement scheme of Illinois, -projected to pass directly through the state,[48] uniting its northern -extremity with the southern. The town is said to have been much -retarded in its advancement by the circumstance of a sand-bar -obstructing the landing. It has been contemplated to cut a basin, -extending from the Ohio to a stream called "Humphrey's Creek," which -passes through the place, and thus secure a harbour. Could this plan -be carried into execution, America would soon become a town of -importance. - -_Ohio River._ - - - - -V - - "The groves were God's first temples." - BRYANT. - - "Oh! it's hame, and it's hame, it's hame wad I be, - Hame, hame, hame, to my ain countrie." - CUNNINGHAM. - - "Those Sabbath bells, those Sabbath bells, - I hear them wake the hour of prime." - LAMB. - - "She walks the waters like a thing of life." - BYRON. - - -It was late before we had passed the confluence of the Ohio with the -dark-rolling tide of the "endless river," and the mellow gorgeousness -of summer sunset had gently yielded to the duskiness of twilight, and -that to the inky pall of night. The moon had not risen, and the -darkness became gradually so dense that doubts were entertained as to -the prudence of attempting to stem the mighty current of the -Mississippi on such a night. These, however, were overruled; and, -sweeping around the low peninsula of Cairo, our steamer met the -torrent and quivered in every limb. A convulsed, motionless struggle -ensued, in which the heavy labouring of the engine, the shrill whistle -of the safety-valve, the quick, querulous crackling of the furnaces, -the tumultuous rushing of the wheels, and the stern roar of the -scape-pipe, gave evidence of the fearful power summoned up to overcome -the flood. At length we began very slowly to ascend the stream. {52} -Our speed was about five miles an hour, and the force of the current -nearly the same, which so impedes advancement that it requires as long -to ascend from the confluence to St. Louis as to descend to the same -point from the Falls, though the distance is less than half. All night -our steamer urged herself slowly onward against the current, and the -morning found us threading a narrow channel amid a cluster of -islands, from whose dense foliage the night-mists were rising and -settling in dim confusion. Near the middle of the stream, above this -collection, lays a very large island, comprising eight or ten thousand -acres. It is called English Island;[49] is heavily timbered; huge -vines of the wild grape are leaping like living things from branch to -branch, and the wild pea flourishes all over the surface of the soil -in most luxuriant profusion. The stream here expands itself to the -breadth of four miles, and abounds with islands. - -As the morning advanced the sun burst gloriously forth from the mists; -and as I gazed with tranquillized delight upon the beautiful scenery -it unrolled, I remembered that it was the morning of the Sabbath--the -peaceful Sabbath. It is a sweet thing to pass the hours of holy time -amid the eloquent teachings of inanimate nature. It is pleasant to -yield up for a season the sober workings of reason to the warm -gushings of the heart, and to suffer the homage of the soul to go up -before the Author of its being unfettered by the chill formalities, -the bustling parade, the soulless dissembling of the unbending -courtesies of ordinary life. Amid the {53} crowded assemblage, there -is but little of that humbleness of spirit and that simple-hearted -fervour of worship which it is in man to feel when communing within -the shadowy solitudes of Nature with his God. There are moments, too, -when the soul of man is called back from the heartlessness of life, -and pours forth its emotions, gush upon gush, in all the hallowed -luxuriance of its nature; when, from the fevered turmoil of daily -existence, it retires to well up its sympathies alone beneath the -covert of a lulled and peaceful bosom; and surely such a season is the -calm, waveless hour of Sabbath sacredness. And it is a blessed -appointment that, in a world whose quietude too often is disturbed by -the untamed heavings of unholy feeling, there should yet be moments -when the agitated events of the past are forgotten, when the -apprehensions of the future are unthought of, and the generous -emotions of the heart are no more repressed. Such moments are the -crystal fount of the _oasis_, girt, indeed, by the sands and -barrenness of the desert; yet laughing forth in tinkling melody amid -its sprinkled evergreens, in all the sparkling freshness of mimic -life, to bathe the languid lip of the weary one. Such moments are the -mellow radiance of the departing sun when the trials of the day are -over; and tenderly and softly do their influences descend upon the -heart. Like the pure splendour of the star of even, how calmly does -the sacred Sabbath-time beam out from the dark, unquiet firmament of -life! 'Tis the blessed rainbow of promise and of consolation amid the -rough storms of our pilgrimage, {54} and its holy influences elicit -all the untold richness of the heart. It is a season soft as the -memorial of buried affection, mild as the melody of departed years, -pure as the prayer of feebleness from the lip of childhood, beautiful -as yon floating islet sleeping in sunset radiance on the blue evening -wave. "Gone, gone for ever!" Another Sabbath is over, and from its -gathering shades it is good to cast back a glance of reflection. - -A company of emigrants, in course of the morning, were landed from our -boat at a desolate-looking spot upon the Missouri shore; men, women, -and little ones, with slaves, household stuff, pots, kettles, dogs, -implements of husbandry, and all the paraphernalia of the backwood's -farm heaped up promiscuously in a heterogeneous mass among the -undergrowth beneath the lofty trees. A similar party from the State of -Vermont were, during our passage, landed near the mouth of the Wabash, -one of whom was a pretty, delicate female, with an infant boy in her -arms. They had been _deck-passengers_, and we had seen none of them -before; yet their situation could not but excite interest in their -welfare. Poor woman! thought I, as our boat left them gazing anxiously -after us from the inhospitable bank, little do you dream of the trials -and the privations to which your destiny conducts, and the hours of -bitter retrospection which are to come over your spirit like a blight, -as, from these cheerless solitudes, you cast back many a lingering -thought to your dear, distant home in New-England; whose very -mountain-crags and fierce storms {55} of winter, harsh and unwelcome -though they might seem to the stranger, were yet pleasant to you: - - "My native land! my native land! - Though bare and bleak thou be, - And scant and cold thy summer smile, - Thou'rt all the world to me." - -A few years, and all this will have passed away. A new home and new -ties will have sprung up in the wilderness to soothe the remembrance -of the old. This broad valley will swarm with population; the warm -breath of man will be felt upon the cheek, and his tread will be heard -at the side; the glare of civilization and the confused hum of -business will have violated these solitudes and broken in upon their -gloom, and here empire shall have planted her throne; and then, -perchance, that playful boy upon the bosom may rise to wield the -destinies of his fellows. But many a year of toil and privation must -first have passed away; and who shall record their annals? A thousand -circumstances, all unlooked for, will seize upon the feelings of the -emigrant; the harshness of strangers, the cold regard of recent -acquaintance, the absence of relatives and of friends long cherished, -the distance which separates him from his native home, and the dreary -time which must elapse between all communications of the pen. And then -the sweet chime of the Sabbath-bell of New-England, pealing out in -"angels' music"[50] on the clear mountain-air, to usher in the hours -of holy time, and to summon the soul of man to communion with its -Maker; will this be heard amid the forest solitude? and all that quiet -{56} intermingling of heart with heart which divests grief of half its -bitterness by taking from it all its loneliness? And the hour of -sickness, and of death, and of gushing tears, as they come to all, may -not be absent here; and where are the soothing consolations of -religious solemnity, and the sympathies of kindred souls, and the -unobtrusive condolence of those who alone may enter the inner temple -of the breast, where the stranger intermeddleth not? Yes, it must -be--notwithstanding the golden anticipations indulged by every humble -emigrant to this El Dorado of promise--it must be that there will -arise in his bosom, when he finds himself for the first time amid -these vast forest solitudes, attended only by his wife and children, a -feeling of unutterable loneliness and desertion. Until this moment he -has been sustained by the buoyancy of anticipated success, the -excitement of change, the enlivening influences of new and beautiful -scenes; and the effect of strange faces and strange customs has been -to divert the attention, while the farewell pressure of affection yet -has warmly lingered. All this is over now, and his spirit, left to its -own resources, sinks within him. The sacred spot of his nativity is -far, far away towards the morning sun; and there is the village church -and the village graveyard, hallowed by many a holy remembrance; there, -too, are the playmates and the scenes of his boyhood-days; the -trysting-place of youthful love and of youthful friendship, spots -around which are twined full many a tendril of his heart; and he has -turned from them all _for ever_. Henceforth he is a wanderer, and a -distant soil must {57} claim his ashes. He who, with such -reflections, yearns not for the home of his fathers, is an alien, and -no true son of New-England. - -It was yet early in the morning of our first day upon the Mississippi -that we found ourselves beneath the stately bluff upon which stands -the old village of Cape Girardeau.[51] Its site is a bold bank of the -stream, gently sloping to the water's edge, upon a substratum of -limerock. A settlement was commenced on this spot in the latter part -of the last century. Its founders were of French and German -extraction, though its structures do not betray their origin. The -great earthquakes of 1811, which vibrated through the whole length of -the Western Valley, agitated the site of this village severely; many -brick houses were shattered, chimneys thrown down, and other damage -effected, traces of the repairs of which are yet to be viewed. The -place received a shock far more severe, however, in the removal of the -seat of justice to another town in the county: but the landing is an -excellent one; iron ore and other minerals are its staples of trade, -and it is again beginning to assume a commercial character. The most -remarkable objects which struck our attention in passing this place -were several of those peculiarly novel mills put in motion by a spiral -water-wheel, acted on by the current of the river. These screw-wheels -float upon the surface parallel to the shore, rising or falling with -the water, and are connected with the gearing in the millhouse upon -the bank by a long shaft. The action of the current upon {58} the -spiral thread of the wheel within its external casing keeps it in -constant motion, which is communicated by the shaft to the machinery -of the mills. The contrivance betrays much ingenuity, and for purposes -where a _motive_ of inconsiderable power is required, may be useful; -but for driving heavy millstones or a saw, the utility is more than -problematical. - -In the vicinity of Cape Girardeau commences what is termed the -"Tyowapity Bottom," a celebrated section of country extending along -the Missouri side of the stream some thirty miles, and abounding with -a peculiar species of potter's clay, unctuous in its nature, -exceedingly pure and white, and plastic under the wheel.[52] This -stratum of clay is said to vary from one foot to ten in depth, resting -upon sandstone, and covered by limestone abounding in petrifactions. A -manufactory is in operation at Cape Girardeau, in which this substance -is the material employed. Near the northern extremity of this bottom -the waters of the Muddy River enter the Mississippi from Illinois.[53] -This stream was discovered by the early French voyageurs, and from -them received the name of _Rivière au Vase_, or _Vaseux_. It is -distinguished for the salines upon its banks, for its exhaustless beds -of bituminous coal, for the fertility of the soil, and for a -singularly-formed eminence among the bluffs of the Mississippi, a few -miles from its mouth. Its name is "_Fountain Bluff_," derived from the -circumstance that from its base gush out a number of limpid -springs.[54] It is said to measure eight miles {59} in circumference, -and to have an altitude of several hundred feet. Its western declivity -looks down upon the river, and its northern side is a precipitous -crag, while that upon the south slopes away to a fertile plain, -sprinkled with farms. - -A few miles above the Big Muddy stands out from the Missouri shore a -huge perpendicular column of limestone, of cylindrical formation, -about one hundred feet in circumference at the base, and in height one -hundred and fifty feet, called the "Grand Tower."[55] Upon its summit -rests a thin stratum of vegetable mould, supporting a shaggy crown of -rifted cedars, rocking in every blast that sweeps the stream, whose -turbid current boils, and chafes, and rages at the obstruction below. -This is the first of that celebrated range of heights upon the -Mississippi usually pointed out to the tourist, springing in isolated -masses from the river's brink upon either side, and presenting to the -eye a succession of objects singularly grotesque. There are said to -exist, at this point upon the Mississippi, indications of a huge -parapet of limestone having once extended across the stream, which -must have formed a tremendous cataract, and effectually inundated all -the alluvion above. At low stages of the water ragged shelves, which -render the navigation dangerous, are still to be seen. Among the other -cliffs along this precipitous range which have received names from the -boatmen are the "Devil's Oven," "Teatable," "Backbone," &c., which, -with the "Devil's Anvil," "Devil's Island," &c., indicate pretty -plainly the divinity most religiously propitiated {60} in these -dangerous passes.[56] The "Oven" consists of an enormous promontory -of rock, about one hundred feet from the surface of the river, with a -hemispherical orifice scooped out of its face, probably by the action, -in ages past, of the whirling waters now hurrying on below. It is -situated upon the left bank of the stream, about one mile above the -"Tower," and is visible from the river. In front rests a huge fragment -of the same rock, and in the interval stands a dwelling and a garden -spot. The "Teatable" is situated at some distance below, and the other -spots named are yet lower upon the stream. This whole region bears -palpable evidence of having been subjected, ages since, to powerful -volcanic and diluvial action; and neither the Neptunian or Vulcanian -theory can advance a superior claim. - -For a long time after entering the dangerous defile in the vicinity of -the _Grand Tower_, through which the current rushes like a racehorse, -our steamer writhed and groaned against the torrent, hardly advancing -a foot. At length, as if by a single tremendous effort, which caused -her to quiver and vibrate to her centre, an onward impetus was gained, -the boat shot forward, the rapids were overcome, and then, by chance, -commenced one of those perilous feats of rivalry, formerly, more than -at present, frequent upon the Western waters, A RACE. Directly before -us, a steamer of a large class, deeply laden, was roaring and -struggling against the torrent under her highest pressure. During our -passage we had several times passed and repassed each other, as either -boat was delayed {61} at the various woodyards along the route; but -now, as the evening came on, and we found ourselves gaining upon our -antagonist, the excitement of emulation flushed every cheek. The -passengers and crew hung clustering, in breathless interest, upon the -galleries and the boiler deck, wherever a post for advantageous view -presented; while the hissing valves, the quick, heavy stroke of the -piston, the sharp clatter of the _eccentric_, and the cool -determination of the pale engineer, as he glided like a spectre among -the fearful elements of destruction, gave evidence that the challenge -was accepted. But there was one humble individual, above all others, -whose whole soul seemed concentrated in the contest, as from time to -time, in the intervals of toil, his begrimed and working features were -caught, glaring through the lurid light of the furnaces he was -feeding. This was no less a personage than the doughty fireman of our -steamer; a long, lanky individual, with a cute cast of the eye, a -knowing tweak of the nose, and an interminable longitude of phiz. His -checkered shirt was drenched with perspiration; a huge pair of -breeches, begirdling his loins by means of a leathern belt, covered -his nether extremities, and two sinewy arms of "whipcord and bone" -held in suspension a spadelike brace of hands. During our passage, -more than once did I avail myself of an opportunity of studying the -grotesque, good-humoured visage of this _unique_ individual; and it -required no effort of fancy to imagine I viewed before me some -lingering remnant of that "horse and alligator race," now, like {62} -the poor Indian, fast fading from the West before the march of -steamboats and civilization, _videlicet_, "the Mississippi boatman." -And, on the occasion of which I speak, methought I could catch no -slight resemblance in my interesting fireman, as he flourished his -ponderous limbs, to that faithful portraiture of his majesty of the -Styx in Tooke's Pantheon! though, as touching this latter, I must -confess me of much dubiety in boyhood days, with the worthy -"gravedigger" Young, having entertained shrewd suspicions whether the -"tyrant ever sat." - -But in my zeal for the honest Charon I am forgetting the exciting -subject of the race. During my digression, the ambitious steamers have -been puffing, and sweating, and glowing in laudable effort, to say -nothing of stifled sobs said to have issued from their labouring -bosoms, until at length a grim smile of satisfaction lighting up the -rugged features of the worthy Charon, gave evidence that not in vain -he had wielded his mace or heaved his wood. A dense mist soon after -came on, and the exhausted steamers were hauled up at midnight beneath -the venerable trees upon the banks of the stream. On the first -breakings of dawn all was again in motion. But, alas! alas! in spite -of all the strivings of our valorous steamer, it soon became but too -evident that her mighty rival must prevail, as with distended jaws, -like to some huge fish, she came rushing up in our wake, as if our -annihilation were sure. But our apprehensions proved groundless; like -a civil, well-behaved rival, she speeded on, hurling forth a triple -bob-major of {63} curses at us as she passed, doubtless by way of -salvo, and disappeared behind a point. When to this circumstance is -added that a long-winded racer of a mail-boat soon after swept past us -in her onward course, and left us far in the rear, I shall be believed -when it is stated that the steamer on which we were embarked was -distinguished for anything but speed; a circumstance by none regretted -_less_ than by myself. - -_Mississippi River._ - - - - -VI - - "I linger yet with Nature." - MANFRED. - - "Onward still I press, - Follow thy windings still, yet sigh for more." - GOETHE. - - "God's my life, did you ever hear the like! - What a strange man is this!" - BEN JONSON. - - -But a very few years have passed away since the navigation of the -Mississippi was that of one of the most dangerous streams on the -globe; but, thanks to the enterprising genius of the scientific -Shreve, this may no longer with truth be said. In 1824 the first -appropriation[57] was voted by Congress for improving the navigation -of the Western rivers; and since that period thousands of snags, -sawyers, {64} planters, sand-bars, sunken rocks, and fallen trees have -been removed, until all that now remains is to prevent new obstacles -from accumulating where the old have been eradicated. For much of its -course in its lower sections, the Mississippi is now quite safe; and -as the progress of settlements advances upon its banks, the navigation -of this noble stream will doubtless become unobstructed in its whole -magnificent journey from the falls of the "Laughing Water" to the -Mexican Gulf. The indefatigable industry, the tireless perseverance, -the indomitable enterprise, and the enlarged and scientific policy of -Captain Shreve, the projector and accomplisher of the grand national -operations upon the Western rivers, can never be estimated beyond -their merit. The execution of that gigantic undertaking, the removal -of the Red River Raft, has identified his history with that of the -empire West;[58] his fame will endure so long as those magnificent -streams, with which his name is associated, shall continue to roll on -their volumed waters to the deep. - -These remarks have been suggested by scenes of constant recurrence to -the traveller on the Mississippi. The banks, the forests, the islands -all differ as much as the stream itself from those of the soft-gliding -Ohio. Instead of those dense emerald masses of billowy foliage -swelling gracefully up from the banks of "the beautiful river," those -of the Mississippi throw back a rough, ragged outline; their sands -piled with logs and uprooted trees, while heaps of wreck and -drift-wood betray the wild ravages of the stream. In the midst of {65} -the mass a single enormous sycamore often rears its ghastly limbs, -while at its foot springs gracefully up a light fringe of the pensile -willow. Sometimes, too, a huge sawyer, clinging upon the verge of the -channel, heaves up its black mass above the surface, then falls, and -again rises with the rush of the current. Against one of these sawyers -is sometimes lodged a mass of drift-wood, pressing it firmly upon the -bottom, till, by a constant accumulation, a foundation is gradually -laid and a new island is formed: this again, by throwing the water -from its course, causes a new channel, which, infringing with violence -upon the opposite bank, undermines it with its colonnade of enormous -trees, and thus new material in endless succession is afforded for -obstructions to the navigation. The deposites of alluvion along the -banks betray a similar origin of gradual accumulation by the annual -floods. In some sections of the American Bottom,[59] commencing at its -southern extremity with the Kaskaskia River, the mould, upward of -thirty feet in depth, is made up of numerous strata of earth, which -may be readily distinguished and counted by the colours. - -About twenty miles above the mouth of the Kaskaskia is situated Ste. -Genevieve, grand deposite of the lead of the celebrated ancient mines -_La Motte_, and _A'Burton_, and others, some thirty miles in the -interior, and the market which supplies all the mining district of the -vicinity.[60] It was first commenced about the year 1774 by the -original settlers of Upper Louisiana; and the Canadian {66} French, -with their descendants, constitute a large portion of its present -inhabitants. The population does not now exceed eight hundred, though -it is once said to have numbered two thousand inhabitants. Some of the -villagers are advanced in years, and among them is M. Valle, one of -the chief proprietors of _Mine la Motte_, who, though now some ninety -years of age, is almost as active as when fifty.[61] Ste. Genevieve -is situated about one mile from the Mississippi, upon a broad alluvial -plain lying between the branches of a small stream called _Gabourie_. -Beyond the first bottom rises a second steppe, and behind this yet a -third, attaining an elevation of more than a hundred feet from the -water's edge. Upon this elevated site was erected, some twenty years -since, a handsome structure of stone, commanding a noble prospect of -the river, the broad American Bottom on the opposite side, and the -bluffs beyond the Kaskaskia. It was intended for a literary -institution; but, owing to unfavourable reports with regard to the -health of its situation, the design was abandoned, and the edifice was -never completed. It is now in a state of "ruinous perfection," and -enjoys the reputation, moreover, of being _haunted_. In very sooth, -its aspect, viewed from the river at twilight, with its broken windows -outlined against the western sky, is wild enough to warrant such an -idea or any other. A courthouse and Catholic chapel constitute the -public buildings. To the south of the village, and lying upon the -river, is situated the common field, originally comprising {67} two -thousand _arpens_; but it is now much less in extent, and is yearly -diminishing from the action of the current upon the alluvial banks. -These common fields were granted by the Spanish government, as well as -by the French, to every village settled under their domination. A -single enclosure at the expense of the villagers was erected and kept -in repair, and the lot of every individual was separated from his -neighbour's by a double furrow. Near this field the village was -formerly located; but in the inundation of 1785, called by the old -_habitans_ "_L'annee des grandes eaux_," so much of the bank was -washed away that the settlers were forced to select a more elevated -site. The Mississippi was at this time swelled to thirty feet above -the highest water-mark before known; and the town of Kaskaskia and the -whole American Bottom were inundated. - -Almost every description of minerals are to be found in the county, of -which Ste. Genevieve is the seat of justice. But of all other species, -iron ore is the most abundant. The celebrated _Iron Mountain_ and the -_Pilot Knob_ are but forty miles distant.[62] Abundance of coal is -found in the opposite bluffs in Illinois. About twelve miles from the -village has been opened a quarry of beautiful white marble, in some -respects thought not inferior to that of Carrara. There are also said -to be immense caves of pure white sand, of dazzling lustre, quantities -of which are transported to Pittsburg for the manufacture of flint -glass. There are a number of beautiful fountains in the neighbourhood, -one of which is said to be of surpassing loveliness. It is several -{68} yards square, and rushes up from a depth of fifteen or twenty -feet, enclosed upon three sides by masses of living rock, over which, -in pensile gracefulness, repose the long glossy branches of the forest -trees. - -The early French settlers manufactured salt a few miles from the -village, at a saline formerly occupied by the aborigines, the remains -of whose earthen kettles are yet found on the spot. About thirty years -since a village of the Peoria Indians was situated where the French -common field now stands;[63] and from the ancient mounds found in the -vicinity, and the vast quantities of animal and human remains, and -utensils of pottery exhumed from the soil, the spot seems to have been -a favourite location of a race whose destiny, and origin, and history -are alike veiled in oblivion. The view of Ste. Genevieve from the -water is picturesque and beautiful, and its landing is said to be -superior to any between the mouth of the Ohio and the city of St. -Louis. The village has that decayed and venerable aspect -characteristic of all these early French settlements. - -As we were passing Ste. Genevieve an accident occurred which had -nearly proved fatal to our boat, if not to the lives of all on board -of her. A race which took place between another steamer and our own -has been noticed. In some unaccountable manner, this boat, which then -passed us, fell again in the rear, and now, for the last hour, had -been coming up in our wake under high steam. On overtaking us, she -attempted, contrary to all rules and regulations {69} for the -navigation of the river provided, to pass between our boat and the -bank beneath which we were moving; an outrage which, had it been -persisted in a moment longer than was fortunately the case, would have -sent us to the bottom. For a single instant, as she came rushing on, -contact seemed inevitable; and, as her force was far superior to our -own, and the recklessness of many who have the guidance of Western -steamers was well known to us all, the passengers stood clustering -around upon the decks, some pale with apprehension, and others with -firearms in their hands, flushed with excitement, and prepared to -render back prompt retribution on the first aggression. The pilot of -the hostile boat, from his exposed situation and the virulent feelings -against him, would have met with certain death; and he, consequently, -contrary to the express injunctions of the master, reversed the motion -of the wheels just at the instant to avoid the fatal encounter. The -sole cause for this outrage, we subsequently learned, was a private -pique existing between the pilots of the respective steamers. One -cannot restrain an expression of indignant feeling at such an -exhibition of foolhardy recklessness. It is strange, after all the -fearful accidents of this description upon the Western waters, and -that terrible prodigality of human life which for years past has been -constantly exhibited, there should yet be found individuals so utterly -regardless of the safety of their fellow-men, and so destitute of -every emotion of generous feeling, as to force their way heedlessly -onward into {70} danger, careless of any issue save the paltry -gratification of private vengeance. It is a question daily becoming of -more startling import, How may these fatal occurrences be successfully -opposed? Where lies the fault? Is it in public sentiment? Is it in -legal enactment? Is it in individual villany? However this may be, our -passage seemed fraught with adventure, of which this is but an -incident. After the event mentioned, having composed the agitation -consequent, we had retired to our berths, and were just buried in -profound sleep, when crash--our boat's bow struck heavily against a -snag, which, glancing along the bottom, threw her at once upon her -beams, and all the passengers on the elevated side from their berths. -No serious injury was sustained, though alarm and confusion enough -were excited by such an unceremonious turn-out. The dismay and -tribulation of some of our worthy company were entirely too ludicrous -for the risibles of the others, and a hearty roar of cachinnation was -heard even above the ejaculations of distress; a very improper thing, -no doubt, and not at all to be recommended on such occasions, as one -would hardly wish to make a grave "unknell'd and uncoffin'd" in the -Mississippi, with a broad grin upon his phiz. - -In alluding to the race which took place during our passage, -honourable mention was made of a certain worthy individual whose -vocation was to feed the furnaces; and one bright morning, when all -the others of our company had bestowed themselves in their berths -because of the intolerable {71} heat, I took occasion to visit the -sooty Charon in the purgatorial realms over which he wielded the -sceptre. "Grievous work this building fires under a sun like that," -was the salutation, as my friend the fireman had just completed the -toilsome operation once more of stuffing the furnace, while floods of -perspiration were coursing down a chest hairy as Esau's in the -Scripture, and as brawny. Hereupon honest Charon lifted up his face, -and drawing a dingy shirt sleeve with emphasis athwart his eyes, -bleared with smut, responded, "Ay, ay, sir; it's a sin to Moses, such -a trade;" and seizing incontinently upon a fragment of tin, fashioned -by dint of thumping into a polygonal dipper of unearthly dimensions, -he scooped up a quantity of the turbid fluid through which we were -moving, and deep, deep was the potation which, like a succession of -rapids, went gurgling down his throat. Marvellously refreshed, the -worthy genius dilated, much to my edification, upon the glories of a -fireman's life. "Upon this hint I spake" touching the topic of our -recent race; and then were the strings of the old worthy's tongue let -loose; and vehemently amplified he upon "our smart chance of a gallop" -and "the slight sprinkling of steam he had managed to push up." "Ah, -stranger, I'll allow, and couldn't I have teetotally obfusticated her, -and right mightily used her up, hadn't it been I was sort of bashful -as to keeping path with such a cursed old mud-turtle! But it's all -done gone;" and the droughty Charon seized another swig from the -unearthly dipper; and closing hermetically his lantern jaws, and -resuming his _infernal_ {72} labours, to which those of Alcmena's son -or of Tartarean Sysiphus were trifles, I had the discretion to betake -myself to the upper world. - -During the night, after passing Ste. Genevieve, our steamer landed at -a woodyard in the vicinity of that celebrated old fortress, Fort -Chartres, erected by the French while in possession of Illinois; once -the most powerful fortification in North America, but now a pile of -ruins.[64] It is situated about three miles from _Prairie de Rocher_, -a little antiquated French hamlet, the scene of one of Hall's Western -Legends.[65] We could see nothing of the old fort from our situation -on the boat; but its vast ruins, though now a shattered heap, and -shrouded with forest-trees of more than half a century's growth, are -said still to proclaim in their finished and ponderous masonry its -ancient grandeur and strength. In front stretches a large island in -the stream, which has received from the old ruin a name. It is not a -little surprising that there exists no description of this venerable -pile worthy its origin and eventful history. - -_Mississippi River._ - - - - -VII - - "The hills! our mountain-wall, the hills!" - _Alpine Omen._ - - "But thou, exulting and abounding river! - Making thy waves a blessing as they flow - Through banks whose beauty would endure for ever, - Could man but leave thy bright creation so--" - _Childe Harold._ - - -There are few objects upon the Mississippi in which the geologist and -natural philosopher may claim a deeper interest than that singular -series of limestone cliffs already alluded to, which, above its -junction with the Ohio, present themselves to the traveller all along -the Missouri shore. The principal ridge commences a few miles above -Ste. Genevieve; and at sunrise one morning we found ourselves beneath -a huge battlement of crags, rising precipitously from the river to the -height of several hundred feet. Seldom have I gazed upon a scene more -eminently imposing than that of these hoary old cliffs, when the -midsummer-sun, rushing upward from the eastern horizon, bathed their -splintered pinnacles and spires and the rifted tree-tops in a flood of -golden effulgence. The scene was not unworthy Walter Scott's graphic -description of the view from the Trosachs of Loch Katrine, in the -"Lady of the Lake:" - - "The _eastern_ waves of _rising_ day - Roll'd o'er the _stream_ their level way; - Each purple peak, each flinty spire, - Was bathed in floods of living fire. - - * * * * * - - Their rocky summits, split and rent, - Form'd turret, dome, or battlement, - Or seem'd fantastically set - With cupola or minaret, - Wild crests as pagod ever decked - Or mosque of eastern architect." - -{74} All of these precipices, not less than those on the Ohio, betray -palpable indication of having once been swept by the stream; and the -fantastic excavations and cavernous fissures which their bold -escarpments expose would indicate a current far more furious and -headstrong than that, resistless though it be, which now rolls at -their base. The idea receives confirmation from the circumstance that -opposite extends the broad American Bottom, whose alluvial character -is undisputed. This tract once constituted our western border, whence -the name. - -The bluffs of Selma and Herculaneum are distinguished for their beauty -and grandeur, not less than for the practical utility to which they -have been made subservient. Both places are great depositories of lead -from the mines of the interior, and all along their cliffs, for miles, -upon every eligible point, are erected tall towers for the manufacture -of shot. Their appearance in distant view is singularly picturesque, -perched lightly upon the pinnacles of towering cliffs, beetling over -the flood, which rushes along two hundred feet below. Some of these -shot manufactories have been in operation {75} for nearly thirty -years.[66] Herculaneum has long been celebrated for those in her -vicinity. The situation of the town is the mouth of Joachim Creek; and -the singular gap at this point has been aptly compared to an enormous -door, thrown open in the cliffs for the passage of its waters. A few -miles west of this village is said to exist a great natural curiosity, -in shape of a huge rock of limestone, some hundred feet in length, -and about fifty feet high. This rock is completely honeycombed with -perforations, and has the appearance of having been pierced by the -mytilus or some other marine insect. - -A few miles above Herculaneum comes in the Platine Creek;[67] and here -commence the "Cornice Rocks," a magnificent escarpment of castellated -cliffs some two or three hundred feet in perpendicular altitude from -the bed of the stream, and extending along the western bank a distance -of eight or ten miles. Through the façade of these bluffs pours in the -tribute of the Merrimac, a bright, sparkling, beautiful stream.[68] -This river is so clear and limpid that it was long supposed to glide -over sands of silver; but the idea has been abandoned, and given place -to the certainty of an abundant store of lead, and iron, and salt upon -its banks, while its source is shaded by extensive forests of the -white pine, a material in this section of country almost, if not -quite, as valuable.[69] Ancient works of various forms are also found -upon the banks of the Merrimac. There is an immense cemetery near the -village of Fenton, containing {76} thousands of graves of a pigmy -size, the largest not exceeding four feet in length. This cemetery is -now enclosed and cultivated, so that the graves are no longer visible; -but, previous to this, it is said that headstones were to be seen -bearing unintelligible hieroglyphical inscriptions.[70] Human remains, -ancient pottery, arrow-heads, and stone axes are daily thrown up by -the ploughshare, while the numerous mounds in the vicinity are -literally composed of the same materials. Mammoth bones, such as those -discovered on the Ohio and in the state of New-York, are said also to -have been found at a salt-lick near this stream. - -It was a bright morning, on the fifth day of an exceedingly long -passage, that we found ourselves approaching St. Louis. At about noon -we were gliding beneath the broad ensign floating from the flagstaff -of Jefferson Barracks.[71] The sun was gloriously bright; the soft -summer wind was rippling the waters, and the clear cerulean of the -heavens was imaged in their depths. The site of the quadrangle of the -barracks enclosing the parade is the broad summit of a noble bluff, -swelling up from the water, while the outbuildings are scattered -picturesquely along the interval beneath; the view from the steamer -cannot but strike the traveller as one of much scenic beauty. Passing -the venerable village of Carondelet, with its whitewashed cottages -crumbling with years, and old Cahokia buried in the forests on the -opposite bank, the gray walls of the Arsenal next stood out before us -in the rear of its beautiful esplanade.[72] A fine quay is erected -upon the river in front, and the extensive grounds {77} are enclosed -by a wall of stone. Sweeping onward, the lofty spire and dusky walls -of St. Louis Cathedral, on rounding a river bend, opened upon the eye, -the gilded crucifix gleaming in the sunlight from its lofty summit; -and then the glittering cupolas and church domes, and the fresh aspect -of private residences, mingling with the bright foliage of -forest-trees interspersed, all swelling gently from the water's edge, -recalled vividly the beautiful "Mistress of the North," as my eye has -often lingered upon her from her magnificent bay. A few more spires, -and the illusion would be perfect. For beauty of outline in distant -view, St. Louis is deservedly famed. The extended range of limestone -warehouses circling the shore give to the city a grandeur of aspect, -as approached from the water, not often beheld; while the -dense-rolling forest-tops stretching away in the rear, the sharp -outline of the towers and roofs against the western sky, and the -funereal grove of steamboat-pipes lining the quay, altogether make up -a combination of features novel and picturesque. As we approached the -landing all the uproar and confusion of a steamboat port was before -us, and our own arrival added to the bustle. - -And now, perchance, having escaped the manifold perils of sawyer and -snag, planter, wreck-heap, and sand-bar, it may not be unbecoming in -me, like an hundred other tourists, to gather up a votive offering, -and--if classic allusion be permissible on the waters of the -wilderness West--hang it up before the shrine of the "Father of -Floods." - -{78} It is surely no misnomer that this giant stream has been styled -the "eternal river," the "terrible Mississippi;"[73] for we may find -none other imbodying so many elements of the fearful and the sublime. -In the wild rice-lakes of the far frozen north, amid a solitude broken -only by the shrill clang of the myriad water-fowls, is its home. -Gushing out from its fountains clear as the air-bell, it sparkles over -the white pebbly sand-beds, and, breaking over the beautiful falls of -the "Laughing Water,"[74] it takes up its majestic march to the -distant deep. Rolling onward through the shades of magnificent -forests, and hoary, castellated cliffs, and beautiful meadows, its -volume is swollen as it advances, until it receives to its bosom a -tributary, a rival, a conqueror, which has roamed three thousand miles -for the meeting, and its original features are lost for ever. Its -beauty is merged in sublimity! Pouring along in its deep bed the -heaped-up waters of streams which drain the broadest valley on the -globe; sweeping onward in a boiling mass, furious, turbid, always -dangerous; tearing away, from time to time, its deep banks, with their -giant colonnades of living verdure, and then, with the stern despotism -of a conqueror, flinging them aside again; governed by no principle -but its own lawless will, the dark majesty of its features summons up -an emotion of the sublime which defies contrast or parallel. And then, -when we think of its far, lonely course, journeying onward in proud, -dread, solitary grandeur, {79} through forests dusk with the lapse of -centuries, pouring out the ice and snows of arctic lands through every -temperature of clime, till at last it heaves free its mighty bosom -beneath the Line, we are forced to yield up ourselves in uncontrolled -admiration of its gloomy magnificence. And its dark, mysterious -history, too; those fearful scenes of which it has alone been the -witness; the venerable tombs of a race departed which shadow its -waters; the savage tribes that yet roam its forests; the germes of -civilization expanding upon its borders; and the deep solitudes, -untrodden by man, through which it rolls, all conspire to throng the -fancy. Ages on ages and cycles upon cycles have rolled away; wave -after wave has swept the broad fields of the Old World; an hundred -generations have arisen from the cradle and flourished in their -freshness, and, like autumn leaflets, have withered in the tomb; and -the Pharaohs and the Ptolemies, the Cæsars and the Caliphs, have -thundered over the nations and passed away; and here, amid these -terrible solitudes, in the stern majesty of loneliness, and power, and -pride, have rolled onward these deep waters to their destiny! - - "Who gave you your invulnerable life, - Your strength, your speed, your fury, and your joy? - God! let the torrents, like a shout of nations, - Answer!" - -There is, perhaps, no stream which presents a greater variety of -feature than the Mississippi, or phenomena of deeper interest, whether -we regard the soil, productions, and climate of its valley, its -individual character and that of its tributaries, or {80} the outline -of its scenery and course. The confluents of this vast stream are -numerous, and each one brings a tribute of the soil through which it -has roamed. The Missouri pours out its waters heavily charged with the -marl of the Rocky Mountains, the saffron sands of the Yellow Stone, -and the chalk of the White River; the Ohio holds in its floods the -vegetable mould of the Alleghanies, and the Arkansas and Red Rivers -bring in the deep-died alluvion of their banks. Each tributary mingles -the spoils of its native hills with the general flood. And yet, after -the contributions of so many streams, the remarkable fact is observed -that its breadth and volume seem rather diminished than -increased.[75] Above the embouchure of the Missouri, fifteen hundred -miles from the Mexican gulf, it is broader than at New-Orleans, with -scarce one tenth of its waters; and at the foot of St. Anthony's Falls -its breadth is but one third less. This forms a striking -characteristic of the Western rivers, and owes, perhaps, its origin -partially to the turbid character of their waters: as they approach -their outlet they augment in volume, and depth, and impetuosity of -current, but contract their expanse. None, however, exhibit these -features so strikingly as the grand central stream; and while, for its -body of water, it is the narrowest stream known, it is charged with -heavier solutions and has broader alluvions than any other. The depth -of the stream is constantly varying. At New-Orleans it exceeds one -hundred feet. Its width is from half of one mile to two miles; the -breadth of its valley {81} from six miles to sixty; the rapidity of -its current from two miles to four; its mean descent six inches in a -mile, and its annual floods vary from twelve feet to sixty, commencing -in March and ending in May. Thus much for Statistics. - -Below its confluence with its turbid tributary, the Mississippi, as -has been observed, is no longer the clear, pure, limpid stream, -gushing forth from the wreathy snows of the Northwest; but it whirls -along against its ragged banks a resistless volume of heavy, sweeping -floods, and its aspect of placid magnificence is beheld no more. The -turbid torrent heaves onward, wavering from side to side like a living -creature, as if to overleap its bounds; rolling along in a deep-cut -race-path, through a vast expanse of lowland meadow, from whose -exhaustless mould are reared aloft those enormous shafts shrouded in -the fresh emerald of their tasselled parasites, for which its alluvial -bottoms are so famous. And yet the valley of the "endless river" -cannot be deemed heavily timbered when contrasted with the forested -hills of the Ohio. The sycamore, the elm, the linden, the cotton-wood, -the cypress, and other trees of deciduous foliage, may attain a -greater diameter, but the huge trunks are more sparse and more -isolated in recurrence. - -But one of the most striking phenomena of the Mississippi, in common -with all the Western rivers, and one which distinguishes them from -those which disembogue their waters into the Atlantic, is the -uniformity of its meanderings. The river, in its onward course, makes -a semicircular sweep almost {82} with the precision of a compass, and -then is precipitated diagonally athwart its channel to a curve of -equal regularity upon the opposite shore. The deepest channel and most -rapid current is said to exist in the bend; and thus the stream -generally infringes upon the _bend-side_, and throws up a sandbar on -the shore opposite. So constantly do these sinuosities recur, that -there are said to be but three _reaches_ of any extent between the -confluence of the Ohio and the Gulf, and so uniform that the boatmen -and Indians have been accustomed to estimate their progress by the -number of bends rather than by the number of miles. One of the sweeps -of the Missouri is said to include a distance of forty miles in its -curve, and a circuit of half that distance is not uncommon. Sometimes -a "_cut-off_," in the parlance of the watermen, is produced at these -bends, where the stream, in its headlong course, has burst through the -narrow neck of the peninsula, around which it once circled. At a point -called the "Grand Cut-off," steamers now pass through an isthmus of -less than one mile, where formerly was required a circuit of twenty. -The current, in its more furious stages, often tears up islands from -the bed of the river, removes sandbars and points, and sweeps off -whole acres of alluvion with their superincumbent forests. In the -season of flood the settlers, in their log-cabins along the banks, are -often startled from their sleep by the deep, sullen crash of a -"land-slip," as such removals are called. - -The scenery of the Mississippi, below its confluence {83} with the -Missouri, is, as has been remarked, too sublime for beauty; and yet -there is not a little of the picturesque in the views which meet the -eye along the banks. Towns and settlements of greater or less extent -appear at frequent intervals; and then the lowly log-hut of the -pioneer is not to be passed without notice, standing beneath the tall, -branchless columns of the girdled forest-trees, with its luxuriant -maize-fields sweeping away in the rear. One of these humble -habitations of the wilderness we reached, I remember, one evening near -twilight; and while our boat was delayed at the woodyard, I strolled -up from the shore to the gateway, and entered easily into -confabulation with a pretty, slatternly-looking female, with a brood -of mushroom, flaxen-haired urchins at her apron-string, and an infant -at the breast very quietly receiving his supper. On inquiry I learned -that eighteen years had seen the good woman a denizen of the -wilderness; that all the responsibilities appertained unto herself, -and that her "man" was proprietor of some thousand acres of _bottom_ -in the vicinity. Subsequently I was informed that the worthy -woodcutter could be valued at not less than one hundred thousand! yet, -_en verite_, reader mine, I do asseverate that my latent sympathies -were not slightly roused at the first introduction, because of the -seeming poverty of the dirty cabin and its dirtier mistress! - -_St. Louis._ - - - - -VIII - - "Once more upon the waters, yet once more!" - _Childe Harold._ - - "I believe this is the finest confluence in the world." - CHARLEVOIX. - - "'Tis twilight now; - The sovereign sun behind his western hills - In glory hath declined." - BLACKWOOD'S _Magazine_. - - -A bright, sunny summer morning as ever smiled from the blue heavens, -and again I found myself upon the waters. Fast fading in the distance -lay the venerable little city of the French, with its ancient edifices -and its narrow streets, while in anticipation was a journeying of some -hundred miles up the Illinois. Sweeping along past the city and the -extended line of steamers at the landing, my attention was arrested by -that series of substantial stone mills situated upon the shore -immediately above, and a group of swarthy little Tritons disporting -themselves in the turbid waters almost beneath our paddle-wheels. -Among other singular objects were divers of those nondescript -inventions of Captain Shreve, yclept by the boatmen "Uncle Sam's -Tooth-pullers;" and, judging from their ferocious physiognomy, and the -miracles they have effected in the navigation of the great waters of -the West, well do they correspond to the _soubriquet_. {85} The craft -consists of two perfect hulls, constructed with a view to great -strength; united by heavy beams, and, in those parts most exposed, -protected by an armature of iron. The apparatus for eradicating the -snags is comprised in a simple wheel and axle, auxiliary to a pair of -powerful steam-engines, with the requisite machinery for locomotion, -and a massive beam uniting the bows of the hulls, sheathed with iron. -The _modus operandi_ in tearing up a snag, or sawyer, or any like -obstruction from the bed of the stream, appears to be this: -Commencing at some distance below, in order to gain an impetus as -powerful as possible, the boat is forced, under a full pressure of -steam, against the snag, the head of which, rearing itself above the -water, meets the strong transverse beam of which I have spoken, and is -immediately elevated a number of feet above the surface. A portion of -the log is then severed, and the roots are torn out by the windlass, -or application of the main strength of the engines; or, if -practicable, the first operation is repeated until the obstacle is -completely eradicated. The efficiency of this instrument has been -tested by the removal of some thousand obstructions, at an average -expense of about twelve or fifteen dollars each. - -Along the river-banks in the northern suburbs of the city lie the -scattered ruins of an ancient fortification of the Spanish government, -when it held domination over the territory; and one circular structure -of stone, called "Roy's Tower," now occupied as a dwelling, yet -remains entire. There is also an {86} old castle of stone in tolerable -preservation, surrounded by a wall of the same material.[76] Some of -these venerable relics of former time--alas! for the irreverence of -the age--have been converted into limekilns, and into lime itself, for -aught that is known to the contrary! The waterworks, General Ashley's -beautiful residence, and that series of ancient mounds for which St. -Louis is famous, were next passed in succession, while upon the right -stretched out the long low outline of "Blood Island" in the middle of -the stream.[77] For several miles above the city, as we proceeded up -the river, pleasant villas, with their white walls and cultivated -grounds, were caught from time to time by the eye, glancing through -the green foliage far in the interior. It was a glorious day. Silvery -cloudlets were floating along the upper sky like spiritual creations, -and a fresh breeze was rippling the waters: along the banks stood out -the huge spectral Titans of the forest, heaving aloft their naked -limbs like monuments of "time departed," while beneath reposed the -humble hut and clearing of the settler. - -It was nearly midday, after leaving St. Louis, that we reached the -embouchure of the Missouri. Twenty miles before attaining that point, -the confluent streams flow along in two distinct currents upon either -shore, the one white, clayey, and troubled, the other a deep blue. The -river sweeps along, indeed, in two distinct streams past the city of -St. Louis, upon either side of Blood Island, nor does it unite its -heterogeneous floods for many miles below. At intervals, as the huge -mass rolls itself {87} along, vast whirls and swells of turbid water -burst out upon the surface, producing an aspect not unlike the sea in -a gusty day, mottled by the shadows of scudding clouds. -Charlevoix,[78] the chronicler of the early French explorations in -North America, with reference to this giant confluence, more than a -century since thus writes: "I believe this is the finest confluence in -the world. The two rivers are much of the same breadth, each about -half a league, but the Missouri is by far the most rapid, and seems to -enter the Mississippi like a conqueror, through which it carries its -white waves to the opposite shore without mixing them. Afterward it -gives its colour to the Mississippi, which it never loses again, but -carries quite down to the sea." This account, with all due -consideration for the venerable historian, accords not precisely with -the scene of the confluence at the present day, at least not as it has -appeared to myself. The Missouri, indeed, rolls in its heavy volume -with the impetuosity and bearing of a "conqueror" upon the tranquil -surface of its rival; but entering, as it does, at right angles, its -waters are met in their headlong course, and almost rolled back upon -themselves for an instant by the mighty momentum of the flood they -strike. This is manifested by, and accounts for, that well-defined -line of light mud-colour extending from bank to bank across its mouth, -bounded by the dark blue of the Upper Mississippi, and flowing -sluggishly along in a lengthened and dingy stain, like a fringe upon -the western shore. The breadth of the embouchure is about one mile, -and its {88} channel lies nearly in the centre, bounded by vast -sand-bars--sediment of the waters--upon either side. The alluvial -deposites, with which it is heavily charged, accumulate also in -several islands near the confluence, while the rivers united spread -themselves out into an immense lake. As the steamer glides along among -these islands opposite the Missouri, the scene with its associations -is grand beyond description. Far up the extended vista of the stream, -upon a lofty bluff, stands out a structure which marks the site of the -ancient military post of "Belle Fontaine;"[79] while on the opposite -bank, stretching inland from the point heavily wooded, lies the broad -and beautiful prairie of the "Mamelles."[80] Directly fronting the -confluence stand a range of heights upon the Illinois shore, from the -summit of which is spread out, like a painting, one of the most -extraordinary views in the world. - -The Mississippi, above its junction with its turbid tributary, is, as -has been remarked, a clear, sparkling, beautiful stream; now flashing -in silvery brilliance over its white sand-bars, then retreating far -into the deep indentations of its shady banks, and again spreading out -its waters into a tranquil, lakelike basin miles in extent, studded -with islets. - -The far-famed village of Alton, situated upon the Illinois shore a few -miles above the confluence, soon rose before us in the distance. When -its multiform declivities shall have been smoothed away by the hand of -enterprise and covered with handsome edifices, it will doubtless -present a fine appearance {89} from the water; as it now remains, its -aspect is rugged enough. The Penitentiary, a huge structure of stone, -is rather too prominent a feature in the scene. Indeed, it is the -first object which strikes the attention, and reminds one of a gray -old baronial castle of feudal days more than of anything else. The -churches, of which there are several, and the extensive warehouses -along the shore, have an imposing aspect, and offer more agreeable -associations. As we drew nigh to Alton, the fireman of our steamer -deemed proper, in testimonial of the dignity of our arrival, to let -off a certain rusty old swivel which chanced to be on board; and to -have witnessed the marvellous fashion in which this important -manoeuvre was executed by our worthies, would have pardoned a smile -on the visage of Heraclitus himself. One lanky-limbed genius held a -huge dipper of gunpowder; another, seizing upon the extremity of a -hawser, and severing a generous fragment, made use thereof for -wadding; a third rammed home the charge with that fearful weapon -wherewith he poked the furnaces; while a fourth, honest wight--all -preparation being complete--advanced with a shovel of glowing coals, -which, poured upon the touchhole, the old piece was briefly delivered -of its charge, and the woods, and shores, and welkin rang again to the -roar. If we made not our entrance into Alton with "pomp and -circumstance," it was surely the fault of any one but our worthy -fireman. - -The site of Alton, at the confluence of three large and navigable -streams; its extensive back country {90} of great fertility; the vast -bodies of heavy timber on every side; its noble quarries of stone; its -inexhaustible beds of bituminous coal only one mile distant, and its -commodious landing, all seem to indicate the design of Nature that -here should arise a populous and wealthy town. The place has been laid -off by its proprietors in liberal style; five squares have been -reserved for public purposes, with a promenade and landing, and the -corporate bounds extend two miles along the river, and half a mile -into the interior. Yet Alton, with all its local and artificial -advantages, is obnoxious to objections. Its situation, in one section -abrupt and precipitous, while in another depressed and confined, and -the extensive alluvion lying between the two great rivers opposite, it -is believed, will always render it more or less unhealthy; and its -unenviable proximity to St. Louis will never cease to retard its -commercial advancement. - -The _city_ of Alton, as it is now styled by its charter, was founded -in the year 1818 by a gentleman who gave the place his name;[81] but, -until within the six years past, it could boast but few houses and -little business. Its population now amounts to several thousands, and -its edifices for business, private residence, or public convenience -are large and elegant structures. Its stone churches present an -imposing aspect to the visiter. The streets are from forty to eighty -feet in width, and extensive operations are in progress to render the -place as uniform as its site will admit. A contract has been recently -entered upon to construct a culvert over the Little Piasa Creek, {91} -which passes through the centre of the town, upon which are to be -extended streets. The expense is estimated at sixty thousand dollars. -The creek issues from a celebrated fountain among the bluffs called -"Cave Spring." Alton is not a little celebrated for its liberal -contribution to the moral improvements of the day. To mention but a -solitary instance, a gentleman of the place recently made a donation -of ten thousand dollars for the endowment of a female seminary at -Monticello,[82] a village five miles to the north; and measures are in -progress to carry the design into immediate execution. Two railroads -are shortly to be constructed from Alton; one to Springfield, seventy -miles distant, and the other to Mount Carmel on the Wabash. The stock -of each has been mostly subscribed, and they cannot fail, when -completed, to add much to the importance of the places. Alton is also -a _proposed_ terminus of two of the state railroads, and of the -Cumberland Road.[83] - -At Alton terminates the "American Bottom," and here commences that -singular series of green, grassy mounds, rounding off the steep -summits of the cliffs as they rise from the water, which every -traveller cannot but have noticed and admired. It was a calm, -beautiful evening when we left the village; and, gliding beneath the -magnificent bluffs, held our way up the stream, breaking in upon its -tranquil surface, and rolling its waters upon either side in -tumultuous waves to the shore. The rich purple of departing day was -dying the western heavens; the light gauzy haze of twilight was -unfolding itself like a veil over the forest-tops; "Maro's shepherd -{92} star" was stealing timidly forth upon the brow of night; the -flashing fireflies along the underbrush were beginning their splendid -illuminations, and the mild melody of a flute and a few fine voices -floating over the shadowy waters, lent the last touching to a scene of -beauty. A little French village, with its broad galleries, and steep -roofs, and venerable church, in a few miles appeared among the -underbrush on the left.[84] Upon the opposite shore the bluffs began -to assume a singular aspect, as if the solid mass of limestone high up -had been subjected to the excavation of rushing waters. The cliffs -elevated themselves from the river's edge like a regular succession of -enormous pillars, rendered more striking by their ashy hue. This giant -colonnade--in some places exceeding an altitude of an hundred feet, -and exhibiting in its façade the openings of several caves--extended -along the stream until we reached Grafton,[85] at the mouth of the -Illinois; the calm, beautiful, ever-placid Illinois; beautiful now as -on the day the enthusiast voyageur first deemed it the pathway to a -"paradise upon earth." The moon was up, and her beams were resting -mellowly upon the landscape. Far away, even to the blue horizon, the -mirror-surface of the stream unfolded its vistas to the eye; upon its -bosom slumbered the bright islets, like spirits of the waters, from -whose clear depths stood out the reflection of their forests, while to -the left opened upon the view a glimpse of the "Mamelle Prairie," -rolling its bright waves of verdure beneath the moonlight like a field -of fairy land. For an hour we gazed upon this magnificent scene, and -the bright {93} waves dashed in sparkles from our bow, retreating in -lengthened wake behind us, until our steamer turned from the -Mississippi, and we were gliding along beneath the deep shadows of the -forested Illinois. - -_Illinois River._ - - - - -IX - - "A tale of the times of old! The deeds of days of other years!" - OSSIAN. - - "Thou beautiful river! Thy bosom is calm - And o'er thee soft breezes are shedding their balm; - And Nature beholds her fair features portray'd, - In the glass of thy bosom serenely display'd." - BENGAL ANNUAL. - - "Tam saw an unco sight." - BURNS. - - -It is an idea which has more than once occurred to me, while throwing -together these hasty delineations of the beautiful scenes through -which, for the past few weeks, I have been moving, that, by some, a -disposition might be suspected to tinge every outline indiscriminately -with the "_coleur de rose_." But as well might one talk of an -exaggerated emotion of the sublime on the table-rock of Niagara, or -amid the "snowy scalps" of Alpine scenery, or of a mawkish sensibility -to loveliness amid the purple glories of the "_Campagna di Roma_," as -of either, or of both combined, in the noble "valley beyond the -mountains." Nor is the interest experienced {94} by the traveller for -many of the spots he passes confined to their scenic beauty. The -associations of by-gone times are rife in the mind, and the -traditionary legend of the events these scenes have witnessed yet -lingers among the simple forest-sons. I have mentioned that remarkable -range of cliffs commencing at Alton, and extending, with but little -interruption, along the left shore of the Mississippi to the mouth of -the Illinois. Through a deep, narrow ravine in these bluffs flows a -small stream called the Piasa. The name is of aboriginal derivation, -and, in the idiom of the Illini, denotes "_The bird that devours -men_." Near the mouth of this little stream rises a bold, precipitous -bluff, and upon its smooth face, at an elevation seemingly -unattainable by human art, is graven the figure of an enormous bird -with extended pinions. This bird was by the Indians called the -"_Piasa_;" hence the name of the stream. The tradition of the Piasa is -said to be still extant, among the tribes of the Upper Mississippi, -and is thus related:[86] - -"Many thousand moons before the arrival of the pale faces, when the -great megalonyx and mastodon, whose bones are now thrown up, were -still living in the land of the green prairies, there existed a bird -of such dimensions that he could easily carry off in his talons a -full-grown deer. Having obtained a taste of human flesh, from that -time he would prey upon nothing else. He was as artful as he was -powerful; would dart suddenly and unexpectedly upon an Indian, bear -him off to one of the caves in the bluff, and devour him. Hundreds of -warriors attempted for years to destroy him, but without success. {95} -Whole villages were depopulated, and consternation spread throughout -all the tribes of the Illini. At length _Owatoga_, a chief whose fame -as a warrior extended even beyond the great lakes, separating himself -from the rest of his tribe, fasted in solitude for the space of a -whole moon, and prayed to the Great Spirit, the Master of Life, that -he would protect his children from the _Piasa_. On the last night of -his fast the Great Spirit appeared to him in a dream, and directed him -to select twenty of his warriors, each armed with a bow and pointed -arrows, and conceal them in a designated spot. Near the place of their -concealment another warrior was to stand in open view as a victim for -the _Piasa_, which they must shoot the instant he pounced upon his -prey. When the chief awoke in the morning he thanked the Great Spirit, -returned to his tribe, and told them his dream. The warriors were -quickly selected and placed in ambush. _Owatoga_ offered himself as -the victim, willing to die for his tribe; and, placing himself in open -view of the bluff, he soon saw the _Piasa_ perched on the cliff, eying -his prey. _Owatoga_ drew up his manly form to its utmost height; and, -placing his feet firmly upon the earth, began to chant the death-song -of a warrior: a moment after, the _Piasa_ rose in the air, and, swift -as a thunderbolt, darted down upon the chief. Scarcely had he reached -his victim when every bow was sprung and every arrow was sped to the -feather into his body. The _Piasa_ uttered a wild, fearful scream, -that resounded far over the opposite side of the river, and expired. -_Owatoga_ was safe. {96} Not an arrow, not even the talons of the bird -had touched him; for the Master of Life, in admiration of his noble -deed, had held over him an invisible shield. In memory of this event, -this image of the Piasa was engraved in the face of the bluff." - -Such is the Indian tradition. True or false, the figure of the bird, -with expanded wings, graven upon the surface of solid rock, is still -to be seen at a height perfectly inaccessible; and to this day no -Indian glides beneath the spot in his canoe without discharging at -this figure his gun. Connected with this tradition, as the spot to -which the Piasa conveyed his human victims, is one of those caves to -which I have alluded. Another, near the mouth of the Illinois, -situated about fifty feet from the water, and exceedingly difficult of -access, is said to be crowded with human remains to the depth of many -feet in the earth of the floor. The roof of the cavern is vaulted. It -is about twenty-five feet in height, thirty in length, and in form is -very irregular. There are several other cavernous fissures among these -cliffs not unworthy description. - -The morning's dawn found our steamer gliding quietly along upon the -bright waters of the Illinois. The surface of the stream was tranquil; -not a ripple disturbed its slumbers; it was currentless; the mighty -mass of the Mississippi was swollen, and, acting as a dam across the -mouth of its tributary, caused a _back-water_ of an hundred miles. The -waters of the Illinois were consequently stagnant, tepid, and by no -means agreeable to the taste. There was present, also, a peculiarly -bitter twang, {97} thought to be imparted by the roots of the trees -and plants along its banks, which, when motionless, its waters steep; -under these circumstances, water is always provided from the -Mississippi before entering the mouth of the Illinois. But, whatever -its qualities, this stream, to the eye, is one of the most beautiful -that meanders the earth. As we glided onward upon its calm bosom, a -graceful little fawn, standing upon the margin in the morning -sunlight, was bending her large, lustrous eyes upon the delicate -reflection of her form, mirrored in the stream; and, like the fabled -Narcissus, so enamoured did she appear with the charm of her own -loveliness, that our noisy approach seemed scarce to startle her; or -perchance she was the pet of some neighbouring log-cabin. The Illinois -is by many considered the "_belle rivière_" of the Western waters, -and, in a commercial and agricultural view, is destined, doubtless, to -occupy an important rank. Tonti, the old French chronicler, speaks -thus of it:[87] "The banks of that river are as charming to the eye as -useful to life; the meadows, fruit-trees, and forests affording -everything that is necessary for men and beasts." It traverses the -entire length of one of the most fertile regions in the Union, and -irrigates, by its tributary streams, half the breadth. Its channel is -sufficiently deep for steamers of the larger class; its current is -uniform, and the obstacles to its navigation are few, and may be -easily removed. The chief of these is a narrow bar just below the town -of Beardstown,[88] stretching like a wing-dam quite across to the -western bank; and any boat which may pass this bar {98} can at all -times reach the port of the Rapids. Its length is about three hundred -miles, and its narrowest part, opposite Peru, is about eighty yards in -width. By means of a canal, uniting its waters with those of Lake -Michigan, the internal navigation of the whole country from New-York -to New-Orleans is designed to be completed.[89] - -The banks of the Illinois are depressed and monotonous, liable at all -seasons to inundation, and stretch away for miles to the bluffs in -broad prairies, glimpses of whose lively emerald and silvery lakes, -caught at intervals through the dark fringe of cypress skirting the -stream, are very refreshing. The bottom lands upon either side, from -one mile to five, are seldom elevated much above the ordinary surface -of the stream, and are at every higher stage of water submerged to the -depth of many feet, presenting the appearance of a stream rolling its -tide through an ancient and gloomy forest, luxuriant in foliage and -vast in extent. It is not surprising that all these regions should be -subject to the visitations of disease, when we look upon the miserable -cabin of the woodcutter, reared upon the very verge of the water, -surrounded on every side by swamps, and enveloped in their damp dews -and the poisonous exhalations rising from the seething decomposition -of the monstrous vegetation around. The traveller wonders not at the -sallow complexion, the withered features, and the fleshless, -ague-racked limbs, which, as he passes, peep forth upon him from the -luxuriant foliage of this region of sepulchres; his only astonishment -is, that in such an atmosphere the human constitution {99} can -maintain vitality at all. And yet, never did the poet's dream image -scenery more enchanting than is sometimes unfolded upon this beautiful -stream. I loved, on a bright sunny morning, to linger hours away upon -the lofty deck, as our steamer thridded the green islets of the -winding waters, and gaze upon the reflection of the blue sky flecked -with cloudlets in the bluer wave beneath, and watch the startling -splash of the glittering fish, as, in exhilarated joyousness, he flung -himself from its tranquil bosom, and then fell back again into its -cool depths. Along the shore strode the bluebacked wader; the wild -buck bounded to his thicket; the graceful buzzard--vulture of the -West--soared majestically over the tree-tops, while the fitful chant -of the fireman at his toil echoed and re-echoed through the recesses -of the forests. - -Upon the left, in ascending the Illinois, lie the lands called the -"_Military Bounty Tract_," reserved by Congress for distribution among -the soldiers of the late war with Great Britain.[90] It is -comprehended within the peninsula of the Illinois and Mississippi -Rivers, about an hundred and seventy miles in length and sixty broad, -embracing twelve of the northwest counties of the state. This tract of -country is said to be exceedingly fertile, abounding in beautiful -prairies and lakes; but the delta or alluvial regions cannot but prove -unhealthy. Its disposition for the purpose of military bounties has -retarded its settlement behind that of any other quarter of the state; -a very inconsiderable portion has been appropriated by the soldiers; -most of the titles have {100} long since departed, and the land has -been disposed of past redemption for taxes. Much is also held by -non-residents, who estimate it at an exorbitant value; but large -tracts can be obtained for a trifling consideration, the purchaser -risking the title, and many flourishing settlements are now springing -up, especially along the Mississippi. - -Near the southern extremity of the Military Tract, at a point where -the river sweeps out a deep bend from its western bank, about fifty -years since was situated the little French village of _Cape au Gris_, -or Grindstone Point, so named from the neighbouring rocks. The French -seem to have vied with the natives in rendering the "signification" -conformable to the "thing signified," in bestowing names upon their -explorations in the West. The village of _Cape au Gris_ was situated -upon the bank of the river, and, so late as 1811, consisted of twenty -or thirty families, who cultivated a "common field" of five hundred -acres on the adjacent prairie, stretching across the peninsula towards -the Mississippi. At the commencement of the late war they were driven -away by the savages, and a small garrison from the cantonment of Belle -Fontaine, at the confluence, was subsequently stationed near the spot -by General Wilkinson. A few years after the close of the war American -emigration commenced. This is supposed to have been the site, also, of -one of the forts erected by La Salle on his second visit to the -West.[91] - -As we ascended the Illinois, flourishing villages were constantly -meeting the eye upon either bank of the stream. Among these were the -euphonious {101} names of Monroe, Montezuma, Naples, and Havana! At -Beardstown the rolling prairie is looked upon for the first time; it -afterward frequently recurs. As our steamer drew nigh to the renowned -little city of Pekin, we beheld the bluffs lined with people of all -sexes and sizes, watching our approach as we rounded up to the -landing.[92] Some of our passengers, surprised at such a gathering -together in such a decent, well-behaved little settlement as Pekin, -sagely surmised the loss of a day from the calendar, and began to -believe it the first instead of the last of the week, until reflection -and observation induced the belief that other rites than those of -religion had called the multitude together. Landing, streets, tavern, -and groceries--which latter, be it spoken of the renowned Pekin, were -like anything but "angel's visits" in recurrence--all were swarmed by -a motley assemblage, seemingly intent upon _doing nothing_, and that, -too, in the noisiest way. Here a congregation of keen-visaged -worthies were gathered around a loquacious land-speculator, beneath -the shadow of a sign-post, listening to an eloquent holding-forth upon -the merits, relative and distinctive, of prairie land and bluff; there -a cute-looking personage, with a twinkle of the eye and -sanctimoniousness of phiz, was vending his wares by the token of a -flaunting strip of red baize; while lusty viragoes, with infants at -the breast, were battering their passage through the throng, crowing -over a "bargain" on which the "cute" pedler had cleared not _more_ -than cent. per cent. And then there were sober men and men not sober; -individuals half seas over and whole seas {102} over, all in as merry -trim as well might be; while, as a sort of presiding genius over the -bacchanal, a worthy wag, tipsy as a satyr, in a long calico gown, was -prancing through the multitude, with infinite importance, on the -skeleton of an unhappy horse, which, between _nicking_ and _docking_, -a spavined limb and a spectral eye, looked the veritable genius of -misery. The cause of all this commotion appeared to be neither more -nor less than a redoubted "monkey show," which had wound its way over -the mountains into the regions of the distant West, and reared its -dingy canvass upon the smooth sward of the prairie. It was a spectacle -by no means to be slighted, and "divers came from afar" to behold its -wonders. - -For nothing, perhaps, have foreign tourists in our country ridiculed -us more justly than for that pomposity of nomenclature which we have -delighted to apply to the thousand and one towns and villages -sprinkled over our maps and our land; instance whereof this same -renowned representative of the Celestial Empire concerning which I -have been writing. Its brevity is its sole commendation; for as to the -taste or appropriateness of such a name for such a place, to say -naught of the euphony, there's none. And then, besides Pekin, there -are Romes, and Troys, and Palmyras, and Belgrades, Londons and -Liverpools, Babels and Babylons _without account_, all rampant in the -glories of log huts, with sturdy porkers forth issuing from their -sties, by way, doubtless, of the sturdy knight-errants of yore -caracoling from the sally-ports of their illustrious {103} namesakes. -But why, in the name of all propriety, this everlasting plagiarizing -of the Greek, Gothic, Gallic patronymics of the Old World, so utterly -incongruous as applied to the backwoods settlements of the New! If in -very poverty of invention, or in the meagerness of our "land's -language," we, as a people, feel ourselves unequal to the task--one, -indeed, of no ordinary magnitude--of christening all the newborn -villages of our land with melodious and appropriate appellations, -may it not be advisable either to nominate certain worthy -dictionary-makers for the undertaking, or else to retain the ancient -Indian names? Why discard the smooth-flowing, expressive appellations -bestowed by the injured aborigines upon the gliding streams and -flowery plains of this land of their fathers, only to supersede them -by affixes most foreign and absurd? "Is this proceeding just and -honourable" towards that unfortunate race? Have we visited them with -so _many_ returns of kindness that this would overflow the cup of -recompense? Why tear away the last and only relic of the past yet -lingering in our midst? Have we too many memorials of the olden time? -Why disrobe the venerable antique of that classic drapery which alone -can befit the severe nobility of its mien, only to deck it out in the -starched and tawdry preciseness of a degenerate taste? - -_Illinois River._ - - - - -X - - "It is a goodly sight to see - What Heaven hath done for this delicious land! - What fruits of fragrance blush on every tree! - What goodly prospects o'er the hills expand!" - _Childe Harold._ - - -"Good-evening, sir; a good-evening to ye, sir; pleased with our -village, sir!" This was the frank and free salutation a genteel, -farmer-looking personage, with a broad face, a broad-brimmed hat, and -a broad-skirted coat, addressed to me as I stood before the inn door -at Peoria, looking out upon her beautiful lake. On learning, in reply -to his inquiry, "Whence do ye come, stranger?" that my birth spot was -north of the Potomac, he hailed me with hearty greeting and warm grasp -as a brother. "I am a Yankee, sir; yes, sir, I am a genuine export of -the old 'Bay State.' Many years have gone since I left her soil; but I -remember well the 'Mistress of the North,' with her green islands and -blue waters. In my young days, sir, I wandered all over the six -states, and I have not forgotten the valley of the Connecticut. I have -seen the 'Emporium' with her Neapolitan bay, and I have looked on the -'city of the monuments and fountains;' but in all my journeyings, -stranger, I have not found a spot so pleasant as this little quiet -Peoria of the Western wilderness!" Whether to smile in admiration -{105} or to smile at the oddity of this singular compound of truth and -exaggeration, propounded, withal, in such grandiloquent style and -language, I was at a loss; and so, just as every prudent man would -have acted under the circumstances, _neither_ was done; and the quiet -remark, "You are an enthusiast, sir," was all that betrayed to the -worthy man the emotions of the sublime and ridiculous of which he had -been the unwitting cause. - -But, truly, the little town with this soft Indian name is a beautiful -place, as no one who has ever visited it has failed to remark. The -incidents of its early history are fraught with the wild and romantic. -The old village of Peoria was one of the earliest settlements of the -French in the Mississippi Valley; and, many years before the memory of -the present generation, it had been abandoned by its founders, a new -village having been erected upon the present site, deemed less -unhealthy than the former. The first house is said to have been built -in new Peoria, or _La ville de Maillet_, as was its _nom de nique_, -about the year 1778; and the situation was directly at the outlet of -the lake, one mile and a half below the old settlement.[93] Its -inhabitants consisted chiefly of that wild, semi-savage race of Indian -traders, hunters, trappers, voyageurs, _couriers du bois_, and -half-breeds, which long formed the sole link of union between the -northern lakes and the southwest. After residing nearly half a -century on this pleasant spot, in that happy harmony with their -ferocious neighbours for which the early French were so remarkable, -they were at length, in the {106} autumn of 1812, exiled from their -ancient home by the militia of Illinois, on charge of conniving at -Indian atrocities upon our people, a party having been fired on at -night while anchored before the village in their boats. The villagers -fled for refuge to their friends upon the Mississippi. In the autumn -of the succeeding year, General Howard,[94] with 1400 men, ascended -the Illinois; a fortress was constructed at Peoria in twelve days from -timber cut on the opposite side of the lake. It was named Fort Clarke, -and was occupied by a detachment of United States' troops. In course -of a few weeks the whole frontier was swept of hostile Indians. On the -termination of hostilities with Great Britain the fort was abandoned, -and soon after was burned by the Indians, though the ruins are yet to -be seen. The present settlement was commenced by emigrants but a few -years since, and has advanced with a rapidity scarcely paralleled even -in the West. Geographically, it is the centre of the state, and may at -some future day become its seat of government. It is the shire town of -a county of the same name; has a handsome courthouse of freestone; the -neighbouring regions are fertile, and beds of bituminous coal are -found in the vicinity. These circumstances render this spot, than -which few can boast a more eventful history, one of the most eligible -_locales_ in the state for the emigrant. - -Its situation is indescribably beautiful, extending along the lake of -the same name, the Indian name of which was _Pinatahwee_, for several -miles from its outlet. This water-sheet, which is little more than an -expansion of the stream of from one to three miles, stretches away for -about twenty, and is divided near its middle by a contraction called -the _Narrows_. Its waters are exceedingly limpid, gliding gently over -a pebbly bottom, and abounding in fish of fifty different species, -from which an attempt for obtaining oil on a large scale was commenced -a few years since, but was abandoned without success. Some of the -varieties of these fish are said to be rare and curious. Several -specimens of a species called the "Alligator Garr" have been taken. -The largest was about seven feet in length, a yard in circumference, -and encased in armour of hornlike scales of quadrilateral form, -impenetrable to a rifle-ball. The weight was several hundred pounds; -the form and the teeth--of which there were several rows--similar to -those of the shark, and, upon the whole, the creature seemed not a -whit less formidable. Another singular variety found is the -"spoonfish," about four feet in length, with a black skin, and an -extension of the superior mandible for two feet, of a thin, flat, -shovel-like form, used probably for digging its food. The more -ordinary species, pike, perch, salmon, trout, buffalo, mullet, and -catfish, abound in the lake, while the surface is covered with geese, -ducks, gulls, a species of water turkey, and, not unfrequently, swans -and pelicans. Its bottom contains curious petrifactions and carnelions -of a rare quality. - -From the pebbly shore of the lake, gushing out with fountains of -sparkling water along its whole extent, rises a rolling bank, upon -which now stands most of the village. A short distance and you ascend -a second eminence, and beyond this you reach {108} the bluffs, some of -them an hundred feet in height, gracefully rounded, and corresponding -with the meandering of the stream below. From the summit of these -bluffs the prospect is uncommonly fine. At their base is spread out a -beautiful prairie, its tall grass-tops and bright-died flowerets -nodding to the soft summer wind. Along its eastern border is extended -a range of neat edifices, while lower down sleep the calm, clear -waters of the lake, unruffled by a ripple, and reflecting from its -placid bosom the stupendous vegetation of the wooded alluvion beyond. - -It was near the close of a day of withering sultriness that we reached -Peoria. Passing the Kickapoo, or Red Bud Creek,[95] a sweep in the -stream opened before the eye a panorama of that magnificent -water-sheet of which I have spoken, so calm and motionless that its -mirror surface seemed suspended in the golden mistiness of the summer -atmosphere which floated over it. As we were approaching the village a -few sweet notes of a bugle struck the ear; and in a few moments a -lengthened troop of cavalry, with baggage-cars and military -paraphernalia, was beheld winding over a distant roll of the prairie, -their arms glittering gayly in the horizontal beams of the sinking sun -as the ranks appeared, were lost, reappeared, and then, by an -inequality in the route, were concealed from the view. The steamer -"Helen Mar" was lying at the landing as we rounded up, most terribly -shattered by the collapsing of the flue of one of her boilers a few -days before in the vicinity. She had been swept by the death-blast -from one extremity {109} to the other, and everything was remaining -just as when the accident occurred, even to the pallets upon which had -been stretched the mangled bodies, and the remedies applied for their -relief. The disasters of steam have become, till of late, of such -ordinary occurrence upon the waters of the West, that they have been -thought of comparatively but little; yet in no aspect does the angel -of death perform his bidding more fearfully. Misery's own pencil can -delineate no scene of horror more revolting; humanity knows no -visitation more terrible! The atmosphere of hell envelops the victim -and sweeps him from the earth! - -Happening casually to fall in with several gentlemen at the inn who -chanced to have some acquaintance with the detachment of dragoons I -have mentioned, I accepted with pleasure an invitation to accompany -them on a visit to the encampment a few miles from the town. The moon -was up, and was flinging her silvery veil over the landscape when we -reached the bivouac. It was a picturesque spot, a low prairie-bottom -on the margin of the lake, beneath a range of wooded bluffs in the -rear; and the little white tents sprinkled about upon the green -shrubbery beneath the trees; the stacks of arms and military -accoutrements piled up beneath or suspended from their branches; the -dragoons around their tents, engaged in the culinary operations of the -camp, or listlessly lolling upon the grass as the laugh and jest went -free; the horses grazing among the thickets, while over the whole was -resting the misty splendour of the moonlight, {110} made up a _tout -ensemble_ not unworthy the crayon of a Weir.[96] The detachment was a -small one, consisting of only one hundred men, under command of -Captain S----, on an excursion from Camp des Moines, at the lower -rapids of the Mississippi, to Fort Howard, on Green Bay, partially -occasioned by a rumour of Indian hostilities threatened in that -vicinity.[97] They were a portion of several companies of the first -regiment of dragoons, levied by Congress a few years since for the -protection of the Western frontier, in place of the "Rangers," so -styled, in whom that trust had previously reposed. They were all -Americans, resolute-looking fellows enough, and originally -rendezvoused at Jefferson Barracks. The design of such a corps is -doubtless an excellent one; but military men tell us that some -unpardonable omissions were made in the provisions of the bill -reported by Congress in which the corps had its origin; for, according -to the present regulations, all approximation to discipline is -precluded. Captain S---- received us leisurely reclining upon a -buffalo-robe in his tent; and, in a brief interview, we found him -possessed of all that gentlemanly _naïveté_ which foreign travellers -would have us believe is, in our country, confined to the profession -of arms. The night-dews of the lowlands had for some hours been -falling when we reached the village drenched with their damps. - -Much to our regret, the stage of water in the Illinois would not -permit our boat to ascend the stream, as had been the intention, to -Hennepin, some twenty miles above, and Ottawa, at the foot of the -rapids.[98] Nearly equidistant between these {111} flourishing towns, -upon the eastern bank of the Illinois, is situated that remarkable -crag, termed by the early French "_Le Rocher_," by the Indian -traditions "_Starved Rock_," and by the present dwellers in its -vicinity, as well as by Schoolcraft and the maps, "_Rockfort_." It is -a tall cliff, composed of alternate strata of lime and sandstone, -about two hundred and fifty feet in height by report, and one hundred -and thirty-four by actual measurement. Its base is swept by the -current, and it is perfectly precipitous upon three sides. The fourth -side, by which alone it is accessible, is connected with the -neighbouring range of bluffs by a natural causeway, which can be -ascended only by a difficult and tortuous path. The summit of the crag -is clothed with soil to the depth of several feet, sufficient to -sustain a growth of stunted cedars. It is about one hundred feet in -diameter, and comprises nearly an acre of level land. The name of -"Starved Rock" was obtained by this inaccessible battlement from a -legend of Indian tradition, an outline of which may be found in -Flint's work upon the Western Valley, and an interesting story wrought -from its incidents in Hall's "Border Tales." A band of the Illini -having assassinated Pontiac, the Ottoway chieftain, in 1767, the -tribe of the Pottawattamies made war upon them. The Illini, being -defeated, fled for refuge to this rock, which a little labour soon -rendered inaccessible to all the assaults of their enemy. At this -crisis, after repeated repulse, the besiegers determined to reduce the -hold by _starvation_, as the only method remaining. The tradition of -this siege affords, perhaps, {112} as striking an illustration of -Indian character as is furnished by our annals of the unfortunate -race. Food in some considerable quantity had been provided by the -besieged; but when, parched by thirst, they attempted during the night -to procure water from the cool stream rushing below them by means of -ropes of bark, the enemy detected the design, and their vessels were -cut off by a guard in canoes. The last resource was defeated; every -stratagem discovered; hope was extinguished; the unutterable tortures -of thirst were upon them; a terrific death in anticipation; yet they -yielded not; the speedier torments of the stake and a triumph to their -foes was the alternative. And so they perished--all, with a solitary -exception--a woman, who was adopted by the hostile tribe, and was -living not half a century since. For years the summit of this old -cliff was whitened by the bones of the victims; and quantities of -remains, as well as arrow-heads and domestic utensils, are at the -present day exhumed. Shells are also found, but their _whence_ and -_wherefore_ are not easily determined. At the only accessible point -there is said to be an appearance of an intrenchment and rampart. A -glorious view of the Illinois, which, forming a curve, laves more than -half of the column's base, is obtained from the summit. An ancient -post of the French is believed to have once stood here.[99] - -Brightly were the moonbeams streaming over the blue lake Pinatahwee as -our steamer glided from its waters. Near midnight, as we swept past -Pekin, we were roused from our slumbers by the plaintive {113} notes -of the "German Hymn," which mellowly came stealing from distance over -the waters; and we almost pardoned the "Menagerie" its multifold -transgressions because of that touching air. There is a chord in -almost every bosom, however rough and unharmonious its ordinary -emotions, which fails not to vibrate beneath the gentle influences of -"sweet sounds." From this, as from the strings of the wind-harp, a -zephyr may elicit a melody of feeling which the storm could never have -awakened. There are seasons, too, when the nerves and fibres of the -system, reposing in quietness, are most exquisitely attempered to the -mysterious influences and the delicate breathings of harmony; and such -a season is that calm, holy hour, when deep sleep hath descended upon -man, and his unquiet pulsings have for an interval ceased their -fevered beat. To be awakened then by music's cadence has upon us an -effect unearthly! It calls forth from their depths the richest -emotions of the heart. The moonlight serenade! Ah, its wild witchery -has told upon the romance of many a young bosom! If you have a -mistress, and you would woo her _not vainly_, woo her thus! I remember -me, when once a resident of the courtly city of L----, to have been -awakened one morning long before the dawn by a strain of distant -music, which, swelling and rising upon the still night-air, came -floating like a spirit through the open windows and long galleries of -the building. I arose; all was calm, and silent, and deserted through -the dim, lengthened streets of the city. Not a light gleamed from a -casement; not a {114} footfall echoed from the pavement; not a breath -broke the stillness save the crowing of the far-off cock proclaiming -the morn, and the low rumble of the marketman's wagon; and then, -swelling upon the night-wind, fitfully came up that beautiful gush of -melody, wave upon wave, surge after surge, billow upon billow, winding -itself into the innermost cells of the soul! - - "Oh, it came o'er my ear like the sweet South, - That breathes upon a bank of violets, - Stealing and giving odour." - -_Illinois River._ - - - - -XI - - "You will excuse me if I do not strictly confine myself to - narration, but now and then interpose such _reflections_ as - may offer while I am writing."--NEWTON. - - "Each was a giant heap of mouldering clay; - There slept the warriors, women, friends, and foes; - There, side by side, the rival chieftains lay, - And mighty tribes swept from the face of day." - FLINT. - - -More than three weeks ago I found myself, one bright morning at -sunrise, before the city of St. Louis on descending the Illinois; and -in that venerable little city have I ever since been a dweller. A -series of those vexatious delays, ever occurring to balk the designs -of the tourist, have detained me longer than could have been -anticipated. Not the {115} most inconsiderable of these preventives to -locomotion in this bustling, swapping, chaffering little city, -strange as it may seem, has been the difficulty of procuring, at a -conscionable outlay of dollars and cents, a suitable steed for a -protracted jaunt. But, thanks to the civility or _selfism_ of a -friend, this difficulty is at an end, and I have at length succeeded -in securing the reversion of a tough, spirited little bay, which, by -considerate usage and bountiful foddering, may serve to bear me, with -the requisite quantum of speed and safety, over the prairies. A few -days, therefore, when the last touch of _acclimation_ shall have taken -its leave, and "I'm over the border and awa'." - -The city of San' Louis, now hoary with a century's years, was one of -those early settlements planted by the Canadian French up and down the -great valley, from the Northern Lakes to the Gulf, while the English -colonists of Plymouth and Jamestown were wringing out a wretched -subsistence along the sterile shores of the Atlantic, wearied out by -constant warfare with the thirty Indian tribes within their borders. -Attracted by the beauty of the country, the fertility of its soil, the -boundless variety of its products, the exhaustless mineral treasures -beneath its surface, and the facility of the trade in the furs of the -Northwest, a flood of Canadian emigration opened southward after the -discoveries of La Salle, and the little villages of Cahokia, -Kaskaskia, Prairie du Po, Prairie du Rocher, St. Phillipe, St. -Ferdinand, Peoria, Fort Chartres, Vuide Poche, Petites Cotes, now St. -Charles, Pain Court, now St. Louis, and others, successively sprang up -in {116} the howling waste. Over nearly all this territory have the -Gaul, the Spaniard, the Briton, and the Anglo-American held rule, and -a dash of the national idiosyncrasy of each may be detected. -Especially true is this of St. Louis. There is an antiquated, -venerable air about its narrow streets and the ungainly edifices of -one portion of it; the steep-roofed stone cottage of the Frenchman, -and the tall stuccoed-dwelling of the Don, not often beheld. A -mellowing touch of time, which few American cities can boast, has -passed over it, rendering it a spot of peculiar interest to one with -the slightest spirit of the antiquary, in a country where all else is -new. The modern section of the city, with its regular streets and -lofty edifices, which, within the past fifteen years, has arisen under -the active hand of the northern emigrant, presents a striking contrast -to the old. - -The site of St. Louis is elevated and salubrious, lying for some miles -along the Mississippi upon two broad plateaux or steppes swelling up -gently from the water's edge. Along the first of these, based upon an -exhaustless bed of limestone, which furnishes material for building, -are situated the lower and central portions of the city, while that -above sweeps away in an extensive prairie of stunted black-jack oaks -to the west. The latter section is already laid out into streets and -building-lots; elegant structures are rapidly going up, and, at no -distant day, this is destined to become the most courtly and beautiful -portion of the city. It is at a pleasant remove from the dust and -bustle of the landing, {117} while its elevation affords a fine view -of the harbour and opposite shore. Yet, with all its improvements of -the past few years, St. Louis remains emphatically "a little _French_ -city." There is about it a cheerful village air, a certain _rus in -rube_, to which the grenadier preciseness of most of our cities is the -antipodes. There are but few of those endless, rectilinear avenues, -cutting each other into broad squares of lofty granite blocks, so -characteristic of the older cities of the North and East, or of those -cities of tramontane origin so rapidly rising within the boundaries of -the valley. There yet remains much in St. Louis to remind one of its -village days; and a stern _eschewal_ of mathematical, angular -exactitude is everywhere beheld. Until within a few years there was no -such thing as a row of houses; all were disjoined and at a -considerable distance from each other; and every edifice, however -central, could boast its humble _stoop_, its front-door plat, bedecked -with shrubbery and flowers, and protected from the inroads of -intruding man or beast by its own tall stoccade. All this is now -confined to the southern or French section of the city; a right Rip -Van Winkle-looking region, where each little steep-roofed cottage yet -presents its broad piazza, and the cosey settee before the door -beneath the tree shade, with the fleshy old burghers soberly -luxuriating on an evening pipe, their dark-eyed, brunette daughters at -their side. There is a delightful air of "old-fashioned -comfortableness" in all this, that reminds us of nothing we have seen -in our own country, but much of the antiquated villages of which we -have {118} been told in the land beyond the waters. Among those -remnants of a former generation which are yet to be seen in St. Louis -are the venerable mansions of Auguste and Pierre Chouteau, who were -among the founders of the city.[100] These extensive mansions stand -upon the principal street, and originally occupied, with their -grounds, each of them an entire square, enclosed by lofty walls of -heavy masonry, with loopholes and watch-towers for defence. The march -of improvement has encroached upon the premises of these ancient -edifices somewhat; yet they are still inhabited by the posterity of -their builders, and remain, with their massive walls of stone, -monuments of an earlier era. - -The site upon which stands St. Louis was selected in 1763 by M. -Laclede, a partner of a mercantile association at New-Orleans, to whom -D'Abbadie, Director-general of the province of Louisiana, had granted -the exclusive privilege of the commerce in furs and peltries with the -Indian tribes of the Upper Mississippi and Missouri Rivers. By the -treaty of that year France had ceded all her possessions east of the -Mississippi to Great Britain, and there was on the western shore only -the small village of Ste. Genevieve. This was subsequently deemed too -distant from the mouth of the Mississippi to be a suitable depôt and -post for the fur-trade; and Laclede, having surveyed all the -neighbouring region, fixed upon the spot where St. Louis now stands as -a more eligible site. Whether this site was selected by the flight of -birds, by consultation of the entrails of beasts, or the voice of an -oracle; whether by accident {119} or design, tradition averreth not. -Yet sure is it, that under the concurrence of all these omens, a more -favourable selection could not have been made than this has proved. It -_is related_, however, that when the founder of the city first planted -foot upon the shore, the imprint of a human foot, naked and of -gigantic dimensions, was found enstamped upon the solid limestone -rock, and continued in regular succession as if of a man advancing -from the water's edge to the plateau above.[101] By a more -superstitious age this circumstance would have been deemed an omen, -and, as such, commemorated in the chronicles of the city. On the 15th -of February, 1764, Colonel Auguste Chouteau, with a number of persons -from Ste. Genevieve, Cahokia, and Fort Chartres, arrived at the spot, -and commenced a settlement by felling a splendid grove of forest-trees -which then reared itself upon the bank, and erecting a building where -the market-house now stands. The town was then laid off, and named in -honour of Louis XV., the reigning monarch of France, though the -settlers were desirous of giving it the name of its founder: to this -Laclede would not consent. He died at the post of Arkansas in 1778; -Colonel Chouteau followed him in the month of February of 1829, just -sixty-four years from the founding of the city. He had been a constant -resident, had seen the spot merge from the wilderness, and had become -one of its most opulent citizens. - -For many years St. Louis was called "_Pain_ {120} _Court_," from the -scarcity of provisions, which circumstance at one period almost -induced the settlers to abandon their design. In 1765 Fort Chartres -was delivered to Great Britain, and the commandant, St. Ange, with his -troops, only twenty-two in number, proceeded to St. Louis; and -assuming the government, the place was ever after considered the -capital of the province.[102] Under the administration of St. Ange, -which is said to have been mild and patriarchal, the _common field_ -was laid open, and each settler became a cultivator of the soil. This -field comprised several thousand acres, lying upon the second steppe -mentioned, and has recently been divided into lots and sold to the -highest bidder. Three years after the arrival of St. Ange, Spanish -troops under command of Don Rious took possession of the province -agreeable to treaty;[103] but, owing to the dissatisfaction of the -inhabitants, no official authority was exercised until 1770. Thirty -years afterward the province was retroceded to France, and from that -nation to the United States. In the spring of 1778 an attack was made -upon the village by a large body of the northern Indians, at the -instigation of the English. They were repulsed with a loss of about -twenty of the settlers, and the year was commemorated as "_L'annee du -grand coup_."[104] In the spring of 1785, the Mississippi rose thirty -feet above the highest water-mark previously known, and the American -Bottom was inundated. This year was remembered as "_L'annee des -grandes eaux_." - -At that period commerce with New-Orleans, for {121} the purpose of -obtaining merchandise for the fur trade, was carried on exclusively by -keel-boats and barges, which in the spring started upon their voyage -of more than a thousand miles, and in the fall of the year slowly -returned against the current. This mode of transportation was -expensive, tedious, and unsafe; and it was rendered yet more hazardous -from the murders and robberies of a large band of free-booters, under -two chiefs, Culburt and Magilbray, who stationed themselves at a place -called Cotton Wood Creek, on the Mississippi, and captured the -ascending boats. This band was dispersed by a little fleet of ten -barges, which, armed with swivels, ascended the river in company. This -year was remembered as "_L'annee des bateaux_."[105] All the -inconvenience of this method of transportation continued to be -experienced until the introduction of steam upon the Western waters; -and the first boat of this kind which made its appearance at the port -of St. Louis was the "General Pike," in 1814. This boat was commanded -by Captain Jacob Reed, and, at the time of its arrival, a large body -of a neighbouring Indian tribe chanced to have an encampment in the -suburbs of the city. Their astonishment, and even _terror_, at first -sight of the evolutions of the steamer, are said to have been -indescribable. They viewed it as nothing less than a living thing; a -monster of tremendous power, commissioned by the "Great Spirit" for -their extermination, and their humiliation was proportional to their -terror. Great opposition was raised against steamers by the boatmen, -some thousands of whom, by their introduction, would {122} be thrown -out of employment; but this feeling gradually passed away, and now -vessels propelled by steam perform in a few days a voyage which -formerly required as many months. A trip to the city, as New-Orleans, -_par excellence_, was styled, then demanded weeks of prior -preparation, and a man put his house and household in order before -setting out: now it is an ordinary jaunt of pleasure. The same dislike -manifested by the old French _habitans_ to the introduction of the -steamer or _smoke-boat_, "bateau à vapeur," as they termed it, has -betrayed itself at every advance of modern improvement. Erected, as -St. Louis was, with no design of a city, its houses were originally -huddled together with a view to nothing but convenience; and its -streets were laid out too narrow and too irregular for the bustle and -throng of mercantile operations. In endeavouring to correct this early -error, by removing a few of the old houses and projecting balconies, -great opposition has been encountered. Some degree of uniformity in -the three principal streets parallel to the river has, however, by -this method been attained. Water-street is well built up with a series -of lofty limestone warehouses; but an irretrievable error has been -committed in arranging them at so short a distance from the water. On -some accounts this proximity to the river may be convenient; but for -the sake of a broad arena for commerce; for the sake of a fresh and -salubrious circulation of air from the water; for the sake of scenic -beauty, or a noble promenade for pleasure, there should have been no -encroachment upon the precincts {123} of the "eternal river." In view -of the miserable _plan_ of St. Louis, if it may claim anything of the -kind, and the irregular manner and singular taste with which it has -been built, the regret has more than once been expressed, that, like -Detroit,[106] a conflagration had not swept it in its earlier days, -and given place to an arrangement at once more consistent with -elegance and convenience. - -From the river bank to the elevated ground sweeping off in the rear of -the city to the west is a distance of several hundred yards, and the -height above the level of the water cannot be far from an hundred -feet. The ascent is easy, however, and a noble view is obtained, from -the cupola of the courthouse on its summit, of the Mississippi and -the city below, of the broad American Bottom, with its bluffs in the -distance, and a beautiful extent of natural scenery in the rear. Along -the brow of this eminence once stood a line of military works, erected -for the defence of the old town in 1780 by Don Francois de Cruzat, -lieutenant governor "_de la partie occidentale des Illinois_," as the -ancient chronicles style the region west of the Mississippi.[107] -These fortifications consisted of several circular towers of stone, -forty feet in diameter and half as many in altitude, planted at -intervals in a line of stoccade, besides a small fort, embracing four -demilunes and a parapet of mason-work. For many years these old works -were in a dismantled and deserted state, excepting the fort, in one -building of which was held {124} the court, and another superseded the -necessity of a prison. Almost every vestige is now swept away. The -great earthquakes of 1811 essentially assisted in toppling the old -ruins to the ground. The whole city was powerfully shaken, and has -since been subject to occasional shocks.[108] - -It is in the northern suburbs of the city that are to be seen those -singular ancient mounds for which St. Louis is so celebrated; and -which, with others in the vicinity, form, as it were, a connecting -link between those of the north, commencing in the lake counties of -Western New-York, and those of the south, extending deep within the -boundaries of Mexico, forming an unbroken line from one extremity of -the great valley to the other. Their position at St. Louis is, as -usual, a commanding one, upon the second bank, of which I have spoken, -and looking proudly down upon the Mississippi, along which the line is -parallel. They stand isolated, or distinct from each other, in groups; -and the outline is generally that of a rectangular pyramid, truncated -nearly one half. The first collection originally consisted of ten -tumuli, arranged as three sides of a square area of about four acres, -and the open flank to the west was guarded by five other small -circular earth-heaps, isolated, and forming the segment of a circle -around {125} the opening. This group is now almost completely -destroyed by the grading of streets and the erection of edifices, and -the eastern border may alone be traced. North of the first collection -of tumuli is a second, four or five in number, and forming two sides -of a square. Among these is one of a very beautiful form, consisting -of three stages, and called the "Falling Garden." Its elevation above -the level of the second plateau is about four feet, and the area is -ample for a dwelling and yard; from the second it descends to the -first plateau along the river by three regular gradations, the first -with a descent of two feet, the second of ten, and the lower one of -five, each stage presenting a beautiful site for a house. For this -purpose, however, they can never be appropriated, as one of the -principal streets of the city is destined to pass directly through the -spot, the grading for which is already commenced. The third group of -mounds is situated a few hundred yards above the second, and consists -of about a dozen eminences. A series extends along the west side of -the street, through grounds attached to a classic edifice of brick, -which occupies the principal one; while opposite rise several of a -larger size, upon one of which is situated the residence of General -Ashley, and upon another the reservoir which supplies the city with -water, raised from the Mississippi by a steam force-pump upon its -banks. Both are beautiful spots, imbowered in forest-trees; and the -former, from its size and structure, is supposed to have been a -citadel or place of defence. {126} In excavating the earth of this -mound, large quantities of human remains, pottery, half-burned wood, -&c., &c., were thrown up; furnishing conclusive evidence, were any -requisite farther than regularity of outline and relative position, of -the artificial origin of these earth-heaps. About six hundred yards -above this group, and linked with it by several inconsiderable mounds, -is situated one completely isolated, and larger than any yet -described. It is upward of thirty feet in height, about one hundred -and fifty feet long, and upon the summit five feet wide. The form is -oblong, resembling an immense grave; and a broad terrace or apron, -after a descent of a few feet, spreads out itself on the side looking -down upon the river. From the extensive view of the surrounding region -and of the Mississippi commanded by the site of this mound, as well as -its altitude, it is supposed to have been intended as a vidette or -watch-tower by its builders. Upon its summit, not many years ago, was -buried an Indian chief. He was a member of a deputation from a distant -tribe to the agency in St. Louis; but, dying while there, his remains, -agreeable to the custom of his tribe, were deposited on the most -commanding spot that could be found. This custom accounts for the -circumstance urged against the antiquity and artificial origin of -these works, that the relics exhumed are found near the surface, and -were deposited by the present race. But the distinction between the -remains found near the surface and those in the depths of the soil is -too palpable and too {127} notorious to require argument. From the -_Big Mound_, as it is called, a _cordon_ of tumuli stretch away to the -northwest for several miles along the bluffs parallel with the river, -a noble view of which they command. They are most of them ten or -twelve feet high; many clothed with forest-trees, and all of them -supposed to be tombs. In removing two of them upon the grounds of Col. -O'Fallon,[109] immense quantities of bones were exhumed. Similar -mounds are to be found in almost every county in the state, and those -in the vicinity of St. Louis are remarkable only for their magnitude -and the regularity of their relative positions. It is evident, from -these monuments of a former generation, that the natural advantages of -the site upon which St. Louis now stands were not unappreciated long -before it was pressed by the first European footstep. - -It is a circumstance which has often elicited remark from those who, -as tourists, have visited St. Louis, that so little interest should be -manifested by its citizens for those mysterious and venerable -monuments of another race by which on every side it is environed. When -we consider the complete absence of everything in the character of a -public square or promenade in the city, one would suppose that -individual taste and municipal authority would not have failed to -avail themselves of the moral interest attached to these mounds and -the beauty of their site, to have formed in their vicinity one of the -most attractive spots in the West. These ancient tumuli could, at no -considerable expense, have been {128} enclosed and ornamented with -shrubbery, and walks, and flowers, and thus preserved for coming -generations. As it is, they are passing rapidly away; man and beast, -as well as the elements, are busy with them, and in a few years they -will quite have disappeared. The practical utility of which they are -available appears the only circumstance which has attracted attention -to them. One has already become a public reservoir, and measures are -in progress for applying the larger mound to a similar use, the first -being insufficient for the growth of the city. It need not be said -that such indifference of feeling to the only relics of a by-gone race -which our land can boast, is not well in the citizens of St. Louis, -and should exist no longer; nor need allusion be made to that -eagerness of interest which the distant traveller, the man of literary -taste and poetic fancy, or the devotee of abstruse science, never -fails to betray for these mysterious monuments of the past, when, in -his tour of the Far West, he visits St. Louis; many a one, too, who -has looked upon the century-mossed ruins of Europe, and to whose eye -the castled crags of the Rhine are not unfamiliar. And surely, to the -imaginative mind, there is an interest which attaches to these -venerable beacons of departed time, enveloped as they are in mystery -inscrutable; and from their origin, pointing, as they do, down the dim -shadowy vista of ages of which the ken of man telleth not, there is an -interest which hallows them even as the hoary piles of old Egypt are -hallowed, and which feudal Europe, with all her {129} time-sustained -battlements, can never boast. It is the mystery, the impenetrable -mystery veiling these aged sepulchres, which gives them an interest -for the traveller's eye. They are landmarks in the lapse of ages, -beneath whose shadows generations have mouldered, and around whose -summits a gone _eternity_ plays! The ruined tower, the moss-grown -abbey, the damp-stained dungeon, the sunken arch, the fairy and -delicate fragments of the shattered peristyle of a classic land, or -the beautiful frescoes of Herculaneum and Pompeii--around _them_ time -has indeed flung the silvery mantle of eld while he has swept them -with decay; but _their_ years may be _enumerated_, and the -circumstances, the authors, and the purposes of their origin, together -with the incidents of their ruin, are chronicled on History's page for -coming generations. But who shall tell the era of the origin of these -venerable earth-heaps, the race of their builders, the purpose of -their erection, the thousand circumstances attending their rise, -history, desertion? Why now so lone and desolate? Where are the -multitudes that once swarmed the prairie at their base, and vainly -busied themselves in rearing piles which should exist the wonder of -the men of other lands, and the sole monument of their own memory long -after they themselves were dust? Has war, or famine, or pestilence -brooded over these beautiful plains? or has the fiat of Omnipotence -gone forth that as a race their inhabitants should exist no longer, -and the death-angel been commissioned to sweep them from off the face -of {130} the earth as if with destruction's besom? We ask: the inquiry -is vain; we are answered not! Their mighty creations and the tombs of -myriads heave up themselves in solemn grandeur before us; but from the -depths of the dusky earth-heap comes forth no voice to tell us its -origin, or object, or story! - - "Ye mouldering relics of a race departed, - Your names have perished; not a trace remains, - Save where the grassgrown mound its summit rears - From the green bosom of your native plains." - -Ages since--long ere the first son of the Old World had pressed the -fresh soil of the New; long before the bright region beyond the blue -wave had been the object of the philosopher's revery by day and the -enthusiast's vision by night--in the deep stillness and solitude of an -unpeopled land, these vast mausoleums rose as now they rise, in lonely -grandeur from the plain, and looked down, even as now they look, upon -the giant flood rolling its dark waters at their base, hurrying past -them to the deep. So has it been with the massive tombs of Egypt, amid -the sands and barrenness of the desert. For ages untold have the -gloomy pyramids been reflected by the inundations of the Nile; an -hundred generations, they tell us, have arisen from the cradle and -reposed beneath their shadows, and, like autumn leaves, have dropped -into the grave; but from the deep midnight of by-gone centuries comes -forth no daring spirit to claim these kingly sepulchres as his own! -And shall the dusky piles on the plains of distant Egypt affect so -deeply our reverence for the {131} departed, and these mighty -monuments, reposing in dark sublimity upon our own magnificent -prairies veiled in mystery more inscrutable than they, call forth no -solitary throb? Is there no hallowing interest associated with these -aged relics, these tombs, and temples, and towers of another race, to -elicit emotion? Are they _indeed_ to us no more than the dull clods we -tread upon? Why, then, does the wanderer from the far land gaze upon -them with wonder and veneration? Why linger fondly around them, and -meditate upon the power which reared them and is departed? Why does -the poet, the man of genius and fancy, or the philosopher of mind and -nature, seat himself at their base, and, with strange and undefined -emotions, pause and ponder amid the loneliness which slumbers around? -And surely, if the far traveller, as he wanders through this Western -Valley, may linger around these aged piles and meditate upon a power -departed, a race obliterated, an influence swept from the earth for -ever, and dwell with melancholy emotions upon the destiny of man, is -it not meet that those into whose keeping they seem by Providence -consigned should regard them with interest and emotion? that they -should gather up and preserve every incident relevant to their -origin, design, or history which may be attained, and avail themselves -of every measure which may give to them perpetuity, and hand them -down, undisturbed in form or character, to other generations? - -The most plausible, and, indeed, the only plausible argument urged by -those who deny the artificial {132} origin of the ancient mounds, is -_their immense size_. There are, say they, "many mounds in the West -that exactly correspond in _shape_ with these supposed antiquities, -and yet, from their _size_, most evidently were not made by man;" and -they add that "it would be well to calculate upon the ordinary labour -of excavating canals, how many hands, with spades, wheelbarrows, and -other necessary implements, it would take to throw up mounds like the -largest of these within any given time."[110] We are told that in the -territory of Wisconsin and in northern Illinois exist mounds to which -these are molehills. Of those, Mount Joliet, Mount Charles, Sinsinewa, -and the Blue Mounds vary from one to four hundred feet in height; -while west of the Arkansas exists a range of earth-heaps ten or twelve -miles in extent, and two hundred feet high: there also, it might be -added, are the Mamelle Mountains, estimated at one thousand -feet.[111] The adjacent country is prairie; farms exist on the -summits of the mounds, which from their declivity are almost -inaccessible, and _springs gush out from their sides_. With but one -exception I profess to know nothing of these mounds from personal -observation; and, consequently, can hazard no opinion of their -character. The fact of the "gushing springs," it is true, {133} -savours not much of artificialness; and in this respect, at least, do -these mounds differ from those claimed as of artificial origin. The -earth-heaps of which I have been speaking can boast no "springs of -water gushing from their sides;" if they could, the fact would be far -from corroborating the theory maintained. The analogy between these -mounds is admitted to be strong, though there exist diversities; and -were there _none_, even Bishop Butler says that we are not to infer a -thing true upon slight presumption, since "there may be probabilities -on both sides of a question." From what has been advanced relative to -the character of the mounds spoken of, it is believed that the -probabilities strongly preponderate in favour of their artificial -origin, even admitting their _perfect_ analogy to those "from whose -sides gush the springs." But more anon. - -_St. Louis._ - - - - -XII - - "Where, through the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault, - The pealing anthem swells the note of praise." - GRAY. - - "Some men have been - Who loved the church so well, and gave so largely to't, - They thought it should have canopied their bones - Till doomsday." - - -There are few more delightful views in the vicinity of St. Louis of a -fine evening than that commanded by the summit of the "Big Mound," of -which I have spoken, in the northern suburbs of the city. Far away -from the north comes the Mississippi, sweeping on in a broad, smooth -sheet, skirted by woodlands; and the rushing of its waters along the -ragged rocks of the shores below is fancied faintly to reach the ear. -Nearly in the middle of the stream are stretched out the long, low, -sandy shores of "Blood Island," a spot notorious in the annals of -duelling. Upon the Illinois shore beyond it is contemplated erecting a -pier, for the purpose of throwing the full volume of the current upon -the western shore, and thus preserving a channel of deep water along -the landing of the city. Within a few years past an extensive sand-bar -has accumulated opposite the southern section of the city, which -threatens, unless removed, greatly to obstruct, if not to destroy, the -harbour. To remedy this, an appropriation {135} has been made by -Congress, surveys have been taken, measures devised and their -execution commenced.[112] Upon the river-bank opposite the island -stands the "Floating Dry Dock," an ingenious contrivance, the -invention of a gentleman of St. Louis, and owned by a company of -patentees.[113] It consists of an indefinite number of floats, which -may be increased or diminished at pleasure, each of them fourteen feet -in breadth, and about four times that length, connected laterally -together. After being sunk and suspended at the necessary depth in the -water, the boat to be repaired is placed upon them, and they rise till -her hull is completely exposed. - -As the spectator, standing upon the Mound, turns his eye to the south, -a green grove lies before him and the smaller earth-heaps, over which -are beheld the towers and roofs of the city rising in the distance; -far beyond is spread out a smooth, rolling carpet of tree-tops, in the -midst of which the gray limestone of the arsenal is dimly perceived. -The extent between the northern suburbs of St. Louis and its southern -extremity along the river curve is about six miles, and the city can -be profitably extended about the same distance into the interior. The -prospect in this direction is boundless for miles around, till the -tree-tops blend with the western horizon. The face of the country is -neither uniform nor broken, but undulates almost imperceptibly away, -clothed in a dense forest of black-jack oak, interspersed with -thickets of the wild-plum, the crab-apple, and the hazel. Thirty years -ago, and this broad plain was a treeless, shrubless waste, {136} -without a solitary farmhouse to break the monotony. But the annual -fires were stopped; a young forest sprang into existence; and -delightful villas and country seats are now gleaming from the dark -foliage in all directions. To some of them are attached extensive -grounds, adorned with groves, orchards, fish-ponds, and all the -elegances of opulence and cultivated taste; while in the distance are -beheld the glittering spires of the city rising above the trees. At -one of these, a retired, beautiful spot, residence of Dr. F----, I -have passed many a pleasant hour. The sportsman may here be indulged -to his heart's desire. The woods abound with game of every species: -the rabbit, quail, prairie-hen, wild-turkey, and the deer; while the -lakes, which flash from every dell and dingle, are swarmed with fish. -Most of these sheets of water are formed by immense springs issuing -from _sink-holes_; and are supposed, like those in Florida, which -suggested the wild idea of the _fountain of rejuvenescence_, to owe -their origin to the subsidence of the bed of porous limestone upon -which the Western Valley is based. Many of these springs intersect the -region with rills and rivulets, and assist in forming a beautiful -sheet of water in the southern suburbs of the city, which eventually -pours out its waters into the Mississippi. Many years ago a dam and -massive mill of stone was erected here by one of the founders of the -city; it is yet standing, surrounded by aged sycamores, and is more -valuable and venerable than ever. The neighbouring region is abrupt -and broken, varied by a delightful vicissitude of hill and dale. The -borders {137} of the lake are fringed with groves, while the steep -bluffs, which rise along the water and are reflected in its placid -bosom, recall the picture of Ben Venue and Loch Katrine:[114] - - "The mountain shadows on her breast - Were neither broken nor at rest; - In bright uncertainty they lie, - Like future joys to Fancy's eye." - -This beautiful lake and its vicinity is, indeed, unsurpassed for -scenic loveliness by any spot in the suburbs of St. Louis. At the -calm, holy hour of Sabbath sunset, its quiet borders invite to -meditation and retirement. The spot should be consecrated as the -trysting-place of love and friendship. Some fine structures are rising -upon the margin of the waters, and in a few years it will be rivalled -in beauty by no other section of the city. - -St. Louis, like most Western cities, can boast but few public edifices -of any note. Among those which are to be seen, however, are the large -and commodious places of worship of the different religious -denominations; an elegant courthouse, occupying with its enclosed -grounds one of the finest squares in the city; two market-houses, one -of which, standing upon the river-bank, contains on its second floor -the City Hall; a large and splendid theatre, in most particulars -inferior to no other edifice of the kind in the United States; and an -extensive hotel, which is now going up, to be called the "St. Louis -House," contracted for one hundred and twenty thousand dollars. The -Cathedral of St. Luke, the University, Hospital, Orphan Asylum, and -the {138} "Convent of the Sacred Heart," are Catholic Institutions, -and well worthy of remark.[115] For many years after its settlement, -the Roman Catholic faith prevailed exclusively in St. Louis. The -founders of the city and its earliest inhabitants were of this -religious persuasion; and their descendants, many of whom are now -among its most opulent and influential citizens, together with foreign -immigrants of a recent date, form a numerous and respectable body. The -names of Chouteau, Pratte, Sarpy, Cabanné, Menard, Soulard, &c., &c., -are those of early settlers of the city which yet are often -heard.[116] - -The "Cathedral of St. Luke" is a noble structure of stone.[117] It -was consecrated with great pomp in the autumn of '34, having occupied -three years in its erection. The site is unfavourable, but it -possessed an interest for many of the old citizens which no other spot -could claim. Here had stood their ancient sanctuary, with which was -associated the holy feelings of their earliest days; here had been the -baptismal font and the marriage altar; while beneath reposed the -sacred remains of many a being, loved and honoured, but passed away. -The former church was a rude structure of logs. The dimensions of the -present building are a length of about one hundred and forty feet, to -a breadth of eighty and an altitude of forty, with a tower of upward -of an hundred feet, surmounted by a lofty cross. The steeple contains -a peal of six bells, the three larger of which were cast in Normandy, -and chime very pleasantly; upon the four sides of the tower are the -dial-plates of a clock, which strikes the hours upon {139} the bells. -The porch of the edifice consists of four large columns of polished -freestone, of the Doric order, with corresponding entablature, -cornice, pediment, and frieze, the whole surface of the latter being -occupied with the inscription "_In honorem S. Ludovici. Deo Uni et -Trino, Dicatum, A. D. MDCCCXXXIV_," the letters elevated in -_basso-relievo_. Over the entrances, which are three in number, are -inscribed, in French and in English, passages from Scripture, upon -tablets of Italian marble. The porch is protected from the street by -battlements, surmounted by an iron railing, and adorned by lofty -candelabra of stone. The body of the building is divided by two -colonnades, of five pillars each, into three aisles. The columns, -composed of brick, stuccoed to imitate marble, are of the Doric order, -supporting a cornice and entablature, decorated with arabesques and -medallions; and upon them reposes the arch of the elliptic-formed and -panelled ceiling. Between the columns are suspended eight splendid -chandeliers, which, when lighted at night, produce a magnificent -effect. The walls are enriched by frescoes and arabesques, and the -windows are embellished with transparencies, presenting the principal -transactions of the Saviour's mission. This is said to be one of the -first attempts at a substitute for the painted glass of the Middle -Ages, and was executed, together with the other pictorial decorations -of the edifice, by an artist named _Leon_, sent over for the purpose -from France. The effect is grand. Even the garish sunbeams are -mellowed down as they struggle dimly through the richly-coloured {140} -hangings, and the light throughout the sacred pile seems tinged with -rainbow hues. In the chancel of the church, at the bottom of the -centre aisle, elevated by a flight of steps, and enclosed by a -balustrade of the Corinthian order, is situated the sanctuary. Upon -either side stand pilasters to represent marble, decorated with -festoons of wheat-ears and vines, symbolical of the eucharist, and -surmounted with caps of the Doric order. On the right, between the -pilasters, is a gallery for the choir, with the organ in the rear, and -on the left side is a veiled gallery for the "Sisters of Charity" -connected with the convent and the other institutions of the church. -The altar-piece at the bottom of the sanctuary represents the Saviour -upon the cross, with his mother and two of his disciples at his feet; -on either side rise two fluted Corinthian columns, with a broken -pediment and gilded caps, supporting a gorgeous entablature. Above the -whole is an elliptical window, hung with the transparency of a dove, -emblematic of the Holy Ghost, shedding abroad rays of light. The high -altar and the tabernacle stand below, and the decorations on festal -occasions, as well as the vestments of the officiating priests, are -splendid and imposing. Over the bishop's seat, in a side arch of the -sanctuary, hangs a beautiful painting of St. Louis, titular of the -cathedral, presented by the amiable Louis XVI. of France previous to -his exile.[118] At the bottom of each of the side aisles of the church -stand two chapels, at the same elevation with the sanctuary. Between -two fluted columns of the Ionic order is suspended, in each chapel, an -{141} altar-piece, with a valuable painting above. The piece on the -left represents St. Vincent of Gaul engaged in charity on a winter's -day, and the picture above is the marriage of the blessed Virgin. The -altar-piece of the right represents St. Patrick of Ireland in his -pontifical robes, and above is a painting of our Saviour and the -centurion, said to be by Paul Veronese. At the opposite extremity of -the building, near the side entrances, are two valuable pieces; one -said to be by Rubens, of the Virgin and Child, the other the martyrdom -of St. Bartholemew.[119] Above rise extensive galleries in three rows; -to the right is the baptismal font, and a landscape of the Saviour's -immersion in Jordan. Beneath the sanctuary of the church is the lower -chapel, divided into three aisles by as many arches, supported by -pilasters, which, as well as the walls, are painted to imitate marble. -There is here an altar and a marble tabernacle, where mass is -performed during the week, and the chapel is decorated by fourteen -paintings, representing different stages of the Saviour's -passion.[120] - -In the western suburbs of the city, upon an eminence, stand the -buildings of the St. Louis University, handsome structures of -brick.[121] The institution is conducted by Jesuits, and most of the -higher branches of learning are taught. The present site has been -offered for sale, and the seminary is to be removed some miles into -the interior. Connected {142} with the college is a medical school of -recent date. The chapel of the institution is a large, airy room, hung -with antique and valuable paintings. Two of these, suspended on each -side of the altar, said to be by Rubens, are master-pieces of the art. -One of them represents Ignatius Loyola, founder of the order of -Jesuits; the other is the full-length picture of the celebrated -Francis Xavier, apostle to the Indies, who died at Goa while engaged -in his benevolent labours. In an oratory above hangs a large painting -by the same master; a powerful, though unfinished production. All the -galleries of the buildings are decorated with paintings, some of which -have but little to commend them to notice but their antiquity. The -library embraces about twelve hundred volumes, mostly in the French -language. The _Universal Geography_ of Braviara, a valuable work of -eleven folios, brilliantly illuminated, and the _Actæ Sanctorum_, an -enormous work of _forty-two_ folio volumes, chiefly attract the -visiter's attention.[122] The philosophical apparatus attached to the -institution is very insufficient. Most of the pupils of the -institution are French, and they are gathered from all quarters of the -South and West; a great number of them are from Louisiana, sons of the -planters. - -_St. Louis._ - - - - -XIII - - "Away! away! and on we dash! - Torrents less rapid and less rash." - _Mazeppa._ - - "Mark yon old mansion frowning through the trees, - Whose hollow turret woos the whistling breeze." - ROGERS. - - -It was a pleasant afternoon when, in company with a number of friends, -I left the city for an excursion into its southern suburbs, and a -visit to the military works, a few miles distant. The atmosphere had -that mild, mellowy mistiness which subdues the fierce glare of the -sunbeams, and flings over every object a softened shade. A gentle -breeze from the south was astir balmily and blandly among the leaves; -in fine, it was one of those grateful, genial seasons, when the senses -sympathize with the quietude of external creation, and there is no -reason, earthly or unearthly, why the inward man should not sympathize -with the man without; a season when you are at peace with yourself, -and at peace with every object, animate, inanimate, or vegetable, -about you. Our party consisted of eight precious souls, and "all agog -to dash through thick and thin," if essential to a jovial jaunt. And -now fain would I enumerate those worthy individuals, together with -their several peculiarities and dispositions, good and bad, did not a -certain delicacy forbid. {144} Suffice it to say, the excursion was -devised in honour, and for the especial benefit, of a young and -recently-married couple from "the city of monuments and fountains," -who were enjoying their honey-moon in a trip to the Far West. Passing -through the narrow streets and among the ancient edifices of the _old_ -city, we came to that section called South St. Louis. This is destined -to become the district of manufactures; large quantities of bituminous -coal, little inferior to that of the Alleghanies, is here found; and -railroads to the celebrated Iron Mountain, sixty miles distant, and to -the coal-banks of the Illinois bluffs, as well as to the northern -section of the city, are projected. The landing is good, the shore -being composed of limestone and marble, of two different species, both -of which admit a high degree of polish. There is also quarried in this -vicinity a kind of freestone, which, when fresh from the bed, is soft, -but, on exposure to the atmosphere, becomes dense and hard. We passed -a number of commodious farmhouses as we ambled along; and now and -then, at intervals through the trees, was caught a glimpse of the -flashing sheen of the river gliding along upon our left. At a short -distance from the road were to be seen the ruins of the "Eagle -Powder-works," destroyed by fire in the spring of '36. They had been -in operation only three years previous to their explosion, and their -daily manufacture was three hundred pounds of superior powder. The -report and concussion of the explosion was perceived miles around the -country, and the loss sustained by the proprietors was estimated -{145} at forty thousand dollars. The site of these works was a broad -plain, over which, as our horses were briskly galloping, a -circumstance occurred which could boast quite as much of reality as -romance. - -To my own especial gallantry--gallant man--had been intrusted the -precious person of the fair bride, and lightly and gracefully pressed -her fairy form upon the back of a bright-eyed, lithe little animal, -with a spirit buoyant as her own. The steed upon which I was myself -mounted was a powerful creature, with a mouth as unyielding as the -steel bit he was constantly champing. The lady prided herself, not -without reason, upon her boldness and grace in horsemanship and her -skill in the _manège_; and, as we rode somewhat in advance of our -cavalcade, the proposal thoughtlessly dropped from her that we should -elope and leave our companions in the lurch. Hardly had the syllables -left her lip, than the reins were flung loose upon the horses' manes; -they bounded on, and away, away, away the next moment were we skirring -over the plain, like the steed of the Muses on a steeple-chase. A -single shout of warning to my fair companion was returned by an -ejaculation of terror, for her horse had become his own master. The -race of John Gilpin or of Alderman Purdy were, either or both of them, -mere circumstances to ours. For more than a mile our excited steeds -swept onward in their furious course to the admiration of beholders; -and how long the race might have been protracted is impossible to say, -had not certain sons of Erin--worthy souls {146}--in the innocence of -their hearts and the ignorance of their heads, and by way of -perpetrating a notable exploit, thought proper to throw themselves -from the roadside directly before us. The suddenness of the movement -brought both our animals nearly upon their haunches, and the next -minute saw the fair bride quietly seated in the dust beneath their -feet. The shock had flung her from her seat, but she arose uninjured. -To leap from my saddle and place the lady again in hers was the work -of a moment; and when the cortége made its appearance, our runaway -steeds were ambling along in a fashion the most discreet and exemplary -imaginable. - -The situation of the Arsenal, upon a swelling bank of the river, is -delightful. It is surrounded by a strong wall of stone, embracing -extensive grounds, through which a green, shady avenue leads from the -highway. The structures are composed chiefly of unhewn limestone, -enclosing a rectangular area, and comprise about a dozen large -buildings, while a number of lesser ones are perceived here and there -among the groves. The principal structure is one of four stories, -looking down upon the Mississippi, with a beautiful esplanade, forming -a kind of natural glacis to the whole armory, sweeping away to the -water. Upon the right and left, in the same line with the rectangle, -are situated the dwellings of the officers; noble edifices of hewn -stone, with cultivated garden-plats and fruit-trees. The view of the -stream is here delightful, and the breeze came up from its surface -fresh and free. A pair of pet deer were frolicking along the shore. -Most of the remaining structures are offices and {147} workshops -devoted to the manufacture of arms. Of these there were but few in the -Arsenal, large quantities having been despatched to the South for the -Florida war. It is designed, I am informed, to mount ordnance at these -works--to no great extent, probably; there were several pieces of -artillery already prepared. The slits and loop-holes in the deep -walls, the pyramids of balls and bombshells, and the heavy carronades -piled in tiers, give the place rather a warlike aspect for a peaceable -inland fortress. - -A ride of a few miles brought us to the brow of a considerable -elevation, from which we looked down upon the venerable little hamlet -of Carondelet, or _Vuide Poche_, as it is familiarly termed; a _nom de -nique_ truly indicative of the poverty of pocket and the richness of -fancy of its primitive habitans. The village lies in a sleepy-looking -hollow, scooped out between the bluffs and the water; and from the -summit of the hill the eye glances beyond it over the lengthened vista -of the river-reach, at this place miles in extent. Along the shore a -deeply-laden steamer was toiling against the current on her passage to -the city. Descending the elevation, we were soon thridding the narrow, -tortuous, lane-like avenues of the old village. Every object, the very -soil even, seemed mossgrown and hoary with time departed. More than -seventy years have passed away since its settlement commenced; and -now, as then, its inhabitants consist of hunters, and trappers, and -river-boatmen, absent most of the year on their various excursions. -The rude, crumbling tenements {148} of stone or timber, of peculiar -structure, with their whitewashed walls stained by age; the stoccade -enclosures of the gardens; the venerable aspect of the ancient -fruit-trees, mossed with years, and the unique and singular garb, -manner, and appearance of the swarthy villagers, all betoken an -earlier era and a peculiar people. The little dark-eyed, dark-haired -boys were busy with their games in the streets; and, as we paced -leisurely along, we could perceive in the little _cabarets_ the older -portion of the _habitans_, cosily congregated around the table near -the open door or upon the balcony, apparently discussing the gossip of -the day and the qualities of sundry potations before them. Ascending -the hill in the rear of the village, we entered the rude chapel of -stone reared upon its brow: the inhabitants are all Catholics, and to -this faith is the edifice consecrated. The altar-piece, with its -decorations, was characterized by simplicity and taste. Three ancient -paintings, representing scenes in the mission of the Saviour, were -suspended from the walls; the brass-plated missal reposed upon the -tabernacle; the crucifix rose in the centre of the sanctuary, and -candles were planted on either side. Evergreens were neatly festooned -around the sanctuary, and every object betrayed a degree of taste. -Attached to the church is a small burial-ground, crowded with tenants. -The Sisters of Charity have an asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, in a -prosperous condition. Our tarry was but a brief one, as the distrust -with which our movements were regarded by the villagers was evident; -nor is this {149} suspicion at all to be wondered at when we consider -the numberless impostures of which, by immigrants, they have been made -the victims. - -A few miles through groves of oaks brought us in view of that -beautiful spot, Jefferson Barracks. The buildings, constructed of -stone, are romantically situated on a bold bluff, the base of which is -swept by the Mississippi, and were intended to garrison an entire -regiment of cavalry for frontier service. Three sides of the -quadrangle of the parade are bounded by the lines of galleried -barracks, with fine buildings at the extremities for the residence of -the officers; while the fourth opens upon a noble terrace overlooking -the river. The commissary's house, the magazines, and extensive -stables, lie without the parallelogram, beneath the lofty trees. From -the terrace is commanded a fine view of the river, with its alluvial -islands, the extensive woodlands upon the opposite side, and the pale -cliffs of the bluffs stretching away beyond the bottom. In the rear of -the garrison rises a grove of forest-trees, consisting of heavy oaks, -with broad-spreading branches, and a green, smooth sward beneath. The -surface is beautifully undulating, and the spot presents a specimen of -park scenery as perfect as the country can boast. A neat burial-ground -is located in this wood, and the number of its white wooden slabs -gave melancholy evidence of the ravages of the cholera among that -corps of fine fellows which, four years before, garrisoned the -Barracks. Many a one has here laid away his bones to rest far from the -home of his nativity. There is another cemetery {150} on the southern -outskirts of the Barracks, where are the tombs of several officers of -the army. - -The site of Jefferson Barracks was selected by General Atkinson as the -station of a _corps de reserve_, for defence of the Southern, Western, -and Northern frontiers. For the purpose of its design, experience has -tested its efficiency. The line of frontier, including the advanced -post of Council Bluffs on the Missouri,[123] describes the arch of a -circle, the chord of which passes nearly through this point; and a -reserve post here is consequently available for the entire line of -frontier. From its central position and its proximity to the mouths of -the great rivers leading into the interior, detachments, by means of -steam transports, may be thrown with great rapidity and nearly equal -facility into the garrison upon the Upper Mississippi, the Missouri, -the Arkansas, Red, or Sabine Rivers. This was tested in the Black Hawk -war, and, indeed, in every inroad of the Indian tribes, these troops -have first been summoned to the field. When disengaged, the spot -furnishes a salubrious position for the reserve of the Western army. -By the latest scheme of frontier defence, a garrison of fifteen -hundred troops is deemed necessary for this cantonment. - -A few miles below the Barracks, along the river-bank, is situated -quite a remarkable cave.[124] I visited and explored it one fine -afternoon, with a number of friends. With some difficulty, after -repeated inquiry, we succeeded in discovering the object of our -search, and from a neighbouring farmhouse {151} furnished ourselves -with lights and a guide. The latter was a German, who, according to -his own account, had been something of a hero in his way and day; he -was with Napoleon at Moscow, and was subsequently taken prisoner by -Blucher's Prussian Lancers at Waterloo, having been wounded in the -knee by a musket-ball. To our edification he detailed a number of his -"moving accidents by flood and field." A few steps from the farmhouse -brought us to the mouth of the cavern, situated in the face of a -ragged limestone precipice nearly a hundred feet high, and the summit -crowned with trees and shrubbery; it forms the abrupt termination to a -ravine, which, united to another coming in on the right, continues on -to the river, a distance of several hundred yards, through a wood. The -entrance to the cave is exceedingly rough and rugged, piled with huge -fragments of the cliff which have fallen from above, and it can be -approached only with difficulty. It is formed indeed, by the rocky bed -of a stream flowing out from the cave's mouth, inducing the belief -that to this circumstance the ravine owes its origin. The entrance is -formed by a broad arch about twenty feet in altitude, with twice that -breadth between the abutments. As we entered, the damp air of the -cavern swept out around us chill and penetrating. An abrupt angle of -the wall shut out the daylight, and we advanced by the light of our -candles. The floor, and roof, and sides of the cavern became -exceedingly irregular as we proceeded, and, after penetrating to the -depth of several hundred yards, {152} the floor and ceiling approached -each other so nearly that we were forced to pursue our way upon our -hands and knees. In some chambers the roof and walls assumed grotesque -and singular shapes, caused by the water trickling through the porous -limestone. In one apartment was to be seen the exact outline of a -human foot of enormous size; in another, that of an inverted boat; -while the vault in a third assumed the shape of an immense coffin. The -sole proprietors of the cavern seemed the bats, and of these the -number was incredible. In some places the reptiles suspended -themselves like swarms of bees from the roof and walls; and so -compactly one upon the other did they adhere, that scores could have -been crushed at a blow. After a ramble of more than an hour within -these shadowy realms, during which several false passages upon either -side, soon abruptly terminating, were explored, we at length once more -emerged to the light and warmth of the sunbeams, thoroughly drenched -by the dampness of the atmosphere and the water dripping from the -roof. - -Ancient Indian tumuli and graves are often found in this -neighbourhood. On the _Rivière des Pères_,[125] which is crossed by -the road leading to the city, and about seven miles distant, there are -a number of graves which, from all appearance, seem not to have been -disturbed for centuries. The cemetery is situated on a high bluff -looking down upon the stream, and is said to have contained skeletons -of a gigantic size. Each grave consisted of a shallow basin, formed by -flat stones {153} planted upon their edges; most of them, however, are -mossed by age, or have sunk beneath the surface, and their tenants -have crumbled to their original dust. Some years since, a Roman coin -of a rare species was found upon the banks of the _Rivière des Pères_ -by an Indian. This may, perhaps, be classed among the other -antiquities of European origin which are frequently found. A number of -Roman coins, bearing an early date of the Christian era, are said to -have been discovered in a cave near Nashville, in the State of -Tennessee, which at the time excited no little interest among -antiquaries: they were doubtless deposited by some of the settlers of -the country from Europe. Settlements on the _Rivière des Pères_ are -said to have been commenced at an early period by the Jesuits, and one -of them was drowned near its mouth: from this circumstance it derived -its name. In the bed of this stream, about six miles from the city, is -a sulphur spring, which is powerfully sudorific; and, when taken in -any quantity, throws out an eruption over the whole body. A remarkable -cavern is said to be situated on this river, by some considered -superior to that below the Barracks. A short distance from _Vuide -Poche_ are to be seen the remains of a pile of ruins, said to be those -of a fort erected by La Salle when, on his second visit, he took -possession of the country in the name of the King of France, and in -honour of him called it Louisiana.[126] - -_St. Louis_. - - - - -XIV - - "Here I have 'scaped the city's stifling heat, - Its horrid sounds and its polluted air; - And, where the season's milder fervours beat, - And gales, that sweep the forest borders, bear - The song of bird and sound of running stream, - Have come a while to wander and to dream." - BRYANT. - - "I lingered, by some soft enchantment bound, - And gazed, enraptured, on the lovely scene; - From the dark summit of an Indian mound - I saw the plain outspread in living green; - Its fringe of cliffs was in the distance seen, - And the dark line of forests sweeping round." - FLINT. - - -There are few things more delightfully refreshing, amid the fierce -fervour of midsummer, than to forsake the stifled, polluted atmosphere -of the city for the cool breezes of its forest suburbs. A freshened -elasticity seems gliding through the languid system, bracing up the -prostrated fibres of the frame; the nerves thrill with renewed -tensity, and the vital flood courses in fuller gush, and leaps onward -with more bounding buoyancy in its fevered channels. Every one has -experienced this; and it was under circumstances like these that I -found myself one bright day, after a delay at St. Louis which began at -length to be intolerably tedious, forsaking the sultry, sun-scorched -streets of {155} the city, and crossing the turbid flood for a tour -upon the prairies of Illinois. How delightful to a frame just freed -from the feverish confinement of a sick-chamber, brief though it had -been, was the fresh breeze which came careering over the water, -rippling along the polished surface, and gayly riding the miniature -waves of its own creation! The finest point from which to view the -little "City of the French" is from beneath the enormous sycamores -upon the opposite bank of the Mississippi. It is from this spot alone -that anything approaching to a cosmorama can be commanded. The city, -retreating as it does from the river's brink--its buildings of every -diversity of form, material, and structure, promiscuously heaped the -one upon the other, and the whole intermingled with the fresh green of -forest-trees, may boast of much scenic beauty. The range of white -limestone warehouses, circling like a crescent the shore, form the -most prominent feature of the foreground, while the forest of -shrub-oaks sweeps away in the rear. For some time I gazed upon this -imposing view, and then, slowly turning my horse's head, was upon the -dusty thoroughfare to Edwardsville. For the first time I found myself -upon the celebrated "American Bottom," a tract of country which, for -fertility and depth of soil, is perhaps unsurpassed in the world. A -fine road of baked loam extended along my route. Crossing Cahokia -Creek, which cuts its deep bed diagonally through the bottom from the -bluffs some six miles distant, and threading a grove of the beautiful -_pecan_, with its long trailing boughs and {156} delicate leaves, my -path was soon winding gracefully away among those venerable monuments -of a race now passed from the earth. The eye is struck at first by the -number of these eminences, as well as by their symmetry of form and -regularity of outline; and the most familiar resemblance suggested is -that of gigantic hay-ricks sprinkled over the uniform surface of the -prairie on every side. As you advance, however, into the plain, -leaving the range of mounds upon the left, something of arrangement is -detected in their relative position; and a design too palpable is -betrayed to mistake them for the handiwork of Nature. Upward of one -hundred of these mounds, it is stated, may be enumerated within seven -miles of St. Louis, their altitude varying from ten to sixty feet, -with a circumference at the base of about as many yards. One of these, -nearly in the centre of the first collection, is remarked as -considerably larger than those around, and from its summit is -commanded an extensive view of the scene. The group embraces, perhaps, -fifty tumuli, sweeping off from opposite the city to the northeast, in -form of a crescent, parallel to the river, and at a distance from it -of about one mile: they extend about the same distance, and a belt of -forest alone obstructs their view from the city. When this is removed, -and the prairie is under cultivation, the scene laid open must be -beautiful. The outline of the mounds is ordinarily that of a -gracefully-rounded cone of varying declivity, though often the form is -oblong, approaching the rectangle or ellipse. In some instances {157} -they are perfectly square, with a level area upon the summit -sufficient for a dwelling and the necessary purlieus. Most of them are -clothed with dense thickets and the coarse grass of the bottom; while -here and there stands out an aged oak, rooted in the mould, tossing -its green head proudly to the breeze, its rough bark shaggy with moss, -and the pensile parasite flaunting from its branches. Some few of the -tumuli, however, are quite naked, and present a rounded, beautiful -surface from the surrounding plain. At this point, about half a mile -from the river-bank, commencing with the first group of mounds, -extends the railroad across the bottom to the bluffs. The expense of -this work was considerable. It crosses a lake, into the bed of which -piles were forced a depth of ninety feet before a foundation for the -tracks sufficiently firm could be obtained. Coal is transported to St. -Louis upon this railway direct from the mines; and the beneficial -effects to be anticipated from it in other respects are very great. A -town called _Pittsburg_ has been laid out at the foot of the coal -bluffs.[127] - -Leaving the first collection of tumuli, the road wound away smooth and -uniform through the level prairie, with here and there upon the left a -slight elevation from its low surface, seeming a continuation of the -group behind, or a link of union to those yet before. It was a sweet -afternoon; the atmosphere was still and calm, and summer's golden haze -was sleeping magnificently on the far-off bluffs. At intervals the -soft breath of the "sweet South" {158} came dancing over the tall, -glossy herbage, and the many-hued prairie-flowers flashed gayly in the -sunlight. There was the _heliotrope_, in all its gaudy but magnificent -forms; there the deep cerulean of the fringed _gentiana_, delicate as -an iris; there the mellow gorgeousness of the _solidago_, in some -spots along the pathway, spreading out itself, as it were, into a -perfect "field of the cloth of gold;" and the balmy fragrance of the -aromatic wild thyme or the burgamot, scattered in rich profusion over -the plain, floated over all. Small coveys of the prairie-fowl, _tetrao -pratensis_, a fine species of grouse, the ungainly form of the -partridge, or that of the timid little hare, would appear for a moment -in the dusty road, and, on my nearer approach, away they hurriedly -scudded beneath the friendly covert of the bright-leaved sumach or the -thickets of the rosebush. Extensive groves of the wild plum and the -crab-apple, bending beneath the profusion of clustering fruitage, -succeeded each other for miles along the path as I rode onward; now -extending in continuous thickets, and then swelling up like green -islets from the surface of the plain, their cool recesses affording a -refreshing shade for the numerous herds. The rude farmhouse, too, with -its ruder outbuildings, half buried in the dark luxuriance of its -maize-fields, from time to time was seen along the route. - -After a delightful drive of half an hour the second group of -eminences, known as the "Cantine Mounds," appeared upon the prairie -at a distance of three or four miles, the celebrated "Monk Hill," -largest monument of the kind yet discovered in North America, heaving -up its giant, forest-clothed {159} form in the midst.[128] What are -the reflections to which this stupendous earth-heap gives birth? What -the associations which throng the excited fancy? What a field for -conjecture! What a boundless range for the workings of imagination! -What eye can view this venerable monument of the past, this mighty -landmark in the lapse of ages, this gray chronicler of hoary -centuries, and turn away uninterested? - -As it is first beheld, surrounded by the lesser heaps, it is mistaken -by the traveller for an elevation of natural origin: as he draws nigh, -and at length stands at the base, its stupendous magnitude, its lofty -summit, towering above his head and throwing its broad shadow far -across the meadow; its slopes ploughed with yawning ravines by the -torrents of centuries descending to the plain; its surface and -declivities perforated by the habitations of burrowing animals, and -carpeted with tangled thickets; the vast size of the aged oaks rearing -themselves from its soil; and, finally, the farmhouse, with its -various structures, its garden, and orchard, and _well_ rising upon -the broad area of the summit, and the carriage pathway winding up from -the base, all confirm his impression that no hand but that of the -Mightiest could have reared the enormous mass. At that moment, should -he be assured that this vast earth-heap was of origin demonstrably -artificial, he would smile; but credulity the most sanguine would fail -to credit the assertion. But when, with jealous eye, slowly and -cautiously, and with measured footsteps, he has circled its base; when -he has surveyed its slopes and declivities from every position, and -has {160} remarked the peculiar uniformity of its structure and the -mathematical exactitude of its outline; when he has ascended to its -summit, and looked round upon the piles of a similar character by -which it is surrounded; when he has taken into consideration its -situation upon a river-bottom of nature decidedly diluvial, and, of -consequence, utterly incompatible with the _natural_ origin of such -elevations; when he has examined the soil of which it is composed, and -has discovered it to be uniformly, throughout the entire mass, of the -same mellow and friable species as that of the prairie at its base; -and when he has listened with scrutiny to the facts which an -examination of its depths has thrown to light of its nature and its -contents, he is compelled, however reluctantly, yet without a doubt, -to declare that the gigantic pile is incontestibly the WORKMANSHIP OF -MAN'S HAND. But, with such an admission, what is the crowd of -reflections which throng and startle the mind? What a series of -unanswerable inquiries succeed! When was this stupendous earth-heap -reared up from the plain? By what race of beings was the vast -undertaking accomplished? What was its purpose? What changes in its -form and magnitude have taken place? What vicissitudes and revolutions -have, in the lapse of centuries, rolled like successive waves over the -plains at its base? As we reflect, we anxiously look around us for -some tradition, some time-stained chronicle, some age-worn record, -even the faintest and most unsatisfactory legend, upon which to repose -our credulity, and relieve the inquiring solicitude of the mind. But -{161} our research is hopeless. The present race of aborigines can -tell nothing of these tumuli. To them, as to us, they are veiled in -mystery. Ages since, long ere the white-face came, while this fair -land was yet the home of his fathers, the simple Indian stood before -this venerable earth-heap, and gazed, and wondered, and turned away. - -But there is another reflection which, as we gaze upon these venerable -tombs, addresses itself directly to our feelings, and bows them in -humbleness. It is, that soon _our_ memory and that of our _own_ -generation will, like that of other times and other men, have passed -away; that when these frail tenements shall have been laid aside to -moulder, the remembrance will soon follow them to the land of -forgetfulness. Ah, if there be an object in all the wide universe of -human desires for which the heart of man yearns with an intensity of -craving more agonizing and deathless than for any other, it is that -the memory should live after the poor body is dust. It was this -eternal principle of our nature which reared the lonely tombs of Egypt -amid the sands and barrenness of the desert. For ages untold have the -massive and gloomy pyramids looked down upon the floods of the Nile, -and generation after generation has passed away; yet their very -existence still remains a mystery, and their origin points down our -inquiry far beyond the grasp of human ken, into the boiling mists, the -"wide involving shades" of centuries past. And yet how fondly did they -who, with the toil, and blood, and sweat, and misery of ages, upreared -these stupendous piles, anticipate {162} an immortality for their name -which, like the effulgence of a golden eternity, should for ever -linger around their summits! So was it with the ancient tomb-builders -of this New World; so has it been with man in every stage of his -existence, from the hour that the giant Babel first reared its dusky -walls from the plains of Shinar down to the era of the present -generation. And yet how hopeless, desperately, eternally hopeless are -such aspirations of the children of men! As nations or as individuals, -our memory we can never embalm! A few, indeed, may retain the forlorn -relic within the sanctuary of hearts which loved us while with them, -and that with a tenderness stronger than death; but, with the great -mass of mankind, our absence can be noticed only for a day; and then -the ranks close up, and a gravestone tells the passing stranger that -we lived and died: a few years--the finger of time has been busy with -the inscription, and we are _as if we had never been_. If, then, it -must be even so, - - "Oh, let keep the soul embalm'd, and pure - In living virtue; that, when both must sever, - Although corruption may our frame consume, - Th' immortal spirit in the skies may bloom." - -_St. Clair Co., Illinois._ - - - - -XV - - "Are they here, - The dead of other days? And did the dust - Of these fair solitudes once stir with life - And burn with passion? All is gone; - All, save the piles of earth that hold their bones, - The platforms where they worship'd unknown gods, - The barriers which they builded from the soil - To keep the foe at bay." - _The Prairies._ - - -The antiquity of "Monk Mound" is a circumstance which fails not to -arrest the attention of every visiter. That centuries have elapsed -since this vast pile of earth was heaped up from the plain, no one can -doubt: every circumstance, even the most minute and inconsiderable, -confirms an idea which the venerable oaks upon its soil conclusively -demonstrate. With this premise admitted, consider for a moment the -destructive effects of the elements even for a limited period upon the -works of our race. Little more than half a century has elapsed since -the war of our revolution; but where are the fortifications, and -parapets, and military defences then thrown up? The earthy ramparts of -Bunker Hill were nearly obliterated long ago by the levelling finger -of time, and scarce a vestige now remains to assist in tracing out the -line of defence. The same is true with these works all over the -country; and even those of the last war--those at Baltimore, for -example {164}--are vanishing as fast as the elements can melt them -away. Reflect, then, that this vast earth-heap of which I am writing -is composed of a soil far more yielding in its nature than they; that -its superfices are by no means compact; and then conceive, if you -_can_, its stupendous character before it had bided the rains, and -snows, and storm-winds of centuries, and before the sweeping floods of -the "Father of Waters" had ever circled its base. Our thoughts are -carried back by the reflection to the era of classic fiction, and we -almost fancy another war of the Titans against the heavens-- - - "Conati imponere Pelio Ossam-- - --atque Ossæ frondosum involvere Olympum," - -if a quotation from the sweet bard of Mantua, upon a topic like the -present, may be pardoned. How large an army of labourers, without the -use of iron utensils, as we have every reason to suppose was the case, -would be required for scraping up from the prairie's surface this huge -pile; and how many years would suffice for its completion? No one can -doubt that the broad surface of the American Bottom, in its whole -length and breadth, together with all the neighbouring region on -either bank of the Mississippi, once swarmed with living men and -animals, even as does now the depths of its soil with their remains. -The collection of mounds which I have been attempting to describe -would seem to indicate two extensive cities within the extent of five -miles; and other groups of the same character may be seen upon a lower -section of the bottom, to say nothing of those within the more -immediate vicinity of St. {165} Louis. The design of these mounds, as -has been before stated, was various, undoubtedly; many were -sepulchres, some fortifications, some watch-towers or videttes, and -some of the larger class, among which we would place Monk Hill, were -probably devoted to the ceremonies of religion. - -The number of the earth-heaps known as the Cantine Mounds is about -fifty, small and great. They lie very irregularly along the southern -and eastern bank of Cahokia Creek, occupying an area of some miles in -circuit. They are of every form and every size, from the mere -molehill, perceptible only by a deeper shade in the herbage, to the -gigantic Monk Mound, of which I have already said so much. This vast -heap stands about one hundred yards from the creek, and the slope -which faces it is very precipitous, and clothed with aged timber. The -area of the base is about six hundred yards in circumference, and the -perpendicular altitude has been estimated at from ninety to upward of -a hundred feet. The form is that of a rectangle, lying north and -south; and upon the latter extremity, which commands a view down the -bottom, is spread out a broad terrace, or rather a steppe to the main -body, about twenty feet lower than the summit, extending the whole -length of the side, and is one hundred and fifty feet in breadth. At -the left extremity of this terrace winds up the sloping pathway from -the prairie to the summit of the mound. Formerly this road sloped up -an inclined plane, projecting from the middle of the terrace, ten feet -in breadth and twenty in extent, and seemed graded for that purpose at -{166} the erection of the mound. This declivity yet remains, but now -forms part of a corn-field. - -The view from the southern extremity of the mound, which is free from -trees and underbrush, is extremely beautiful. Away to the south sweeps -off the broad river-bottom, at this place about seven miles in width, -its waving surface variegated by all the magnificent hues of the -summer Flora of the prairies. At intervals, from the deep herbage is -flung back the flashing sheen of a silvery lake to the oblique -sunlight; while dense groves of the crab-apple and other indigenous -wild fruits are sprinkled about like islets in the verdant sea. To the -left, at a distance of three or four miles, stretches away the long -line of bluffs, now presenting a surface naked and rounded by groups -of mounds, and now wooded to their summits, while a glimpse at times -may be caught of the humble farmhouses at their base. On the right -meanders the Cantine Creek, which gives the name to the group of -mounds, betraying at intervals its bright surface through the belt of -forest by which it is margined. In this direction, far away in the -blue distance, rising through the mist and forest, may be caught a -glimpse of the spires and cupolas of the city, glancing gayly in the -rich summer sun. The base of the mound is circled upon every side by -lesser elevations of every form and at various distances. Of these, -some lie in the heart of the extensive maize-fields, which constitute -the farm of the proprietor of the principal mound, presenting a -beautiful exhibition of light and shade, shrouded as they are in the -dark, twinkling leaves. The most {167} remarkable are two standing -directly opposite the southern extremity of the principal one, at a -distance of some hundred yards, in close proximity to each other, and -which never fail to arrest the eye. There are also several large -square mounds covered with forest along the margin of the creek to the -right, and groups are caught rising from the declivities of the -distant bluffs. - -Upon the western side of Monk Mound, at a distance of several yards -from the summit, is a well some eighty or ninety feet in depth; the -water of which would be agreeable enough were not the presence of -sulphur, in some of its modifications, so palpable. This well -penetrates the heart of the mound, yet, from its depth, cannot reach -lower than the level of the surrounding plain. I learned, upon -inquiry, that when this well was excavated, several fragments of -pottery, of decayed ears of corn, and other articles, were thrown up -from a depth of sixty-five feet; proof incontestible of the artificial -structure of the mound. The associations, when drinking the water of -this well, united with its peculiar flavour, are not of the most -exquisite character, when we reflect that the precious fluid has -probably filtrated, part of it, at least, through the contents of a -sepulchre. The present proprietor is about making a transfer, I was -informed, of the whole tract to a gentleman of St. Louis, who intends -establishing here a house of entertainment. If this design is carried -into effect, the drive to this place will be the most delightful in -the vicinity of the city. - -Monk Mound has derived its name and much of {168} its notoriety from -the circumstance that, in the early part of the present century, for a -number of years, it was the residence of a society of ecclesiastics, -of the order _La Trappe_, the most ascetic of all the monastic -denominations. The monastery of La Trappe was originally situated in -the old province of Perche, in the territory of Orleannois, in France, -which now, with a section of Normandy, constitutes the department of -Orne. Its site is said to have been the loneliest and most desolate -spot that could be selected in the kingdom. The order was founded in -1140 by Rotrou, count of Perche; but having fallen into decay, and its -discipline having become much relaxed, it was reformed in 1664, five -centuries subsequent, by the Abbé Armand Rance. This celebrated -ecclesiastic, history informs us, was in early life a man of fashion -and accomplishments; of splendid abilities, distinguished as a -classical scholar and translator of Anacreon's Odes. At length, the -sudden death of his mistress Montbazon, to whom he was extremely -attached, so affected him that he forsook at once his libertine life, -banished himself from society, and introduced into the monastery of La -Trappe an austerity of discipline hitherto unknown.[129] The vows were -chastity, poverty, obedience, and perpetual silence. The couch was a -slab of stone, the diet water and bread once in twenty-four hours, and -each member removed a spadeful of earth every day from the spot of his -intended grave. The following passage relative to this monastery I -find quoted from an old French author; and as the {169} language and -sentiments are forcible, I need hardly apologize for introducing it -entire. - -"_C'est la que se retirent, ceux qui out commis quelque crime secret, -dont les remords les poursuivent; ceux qui sont tourmentes de vapeurs -mélancoliques et religieuse; ceux qui ont oublie que Dieu est le plus -miséricordieux des pères, et qui ne voient en lui, que le plus cruel -des tyrans; ceux qui reduisent à vieu, les souffrances, la mort et la -passion de Jesu Crist, et qui ne voient la religion que du cote -effrayent et terrible: c'est la que sont pratique des austerite qui -abregent la vie, et sont injure à la divinité._" - -During the era of the Reign of Terror in France, the monks of La -Trappe, as well as all the other orders of priesthood, were dispersed -over Europe. They increased greatly, however, notwithstanding -persecution, and societies established themselves in England and -Germany. From the latter country emigrated the society which planted -themselves upon the American Bottom. They first settled in the State -of Kentucky; subsequently they established themselves at the little -French hamlet of Florisant, and in 1809 they crossed the Mississippi, -and, strangely enough, selected for their residence the spot I have -been describing.[130] Here they made a purchase of about four hundred -acres, and petitioned Congress for a pre-emption right to some -thousands adjoining. The buildings which they occupied were never of a -very durable character, but consisted of about half a dozen large -structures of logs, on the summit of the mound about fifty yards to -the right {170} of the largest. This is twenty feet in height, and -upward of a hundred and fifty feet square; a well dug by the Trappists -is yet to be seen, though the whole mound is now buried in thickets. -Their outbuildings, stables, granaries, &c., which were numerous, lay -scattered about on the plain below. Subsequently they erected an -extensive structure upon the terrace of the principal mound, and -cultivated its soil for a kitchen-garden, while the area of the summit -was sown with wheat. Their territory under cultivation consisted of -about one hundred acres, divided into three fields, and embracing -several of the mounds. - -The society of the Trappists consisted of about eighty monks, chiefly -Germans and French, with a few of our own countrymen, under -governance of one of their number called Father Urbain.[131] Had they -remained, they anticipated an accession to their number of about two -hundred monks from Europe. Their discipline was equally severe with -that of the order in ancient times. Their diet was confined to -vegetables, and of these they partook sparingly but once in -twenty-four hours: the stern vow of perpetual silence was upon them; -no female was permitted to violate their retreat, and they dug their -own graves. Their location, however, they found by no means favourable -to health, notwithstanding the severe simplicity of their habits. -During the summer months fevers prevailed among them to an alarming -extent; few escaped, and many died. Among the latter was Louis Antoine -Langlois, a native of Quebec, more familiarly known as François {171} -Marie Bernard, the name he assumed upon entering the monastery. He -often officiated in the former Catholic church of St. Louis, and is -still remembered by the older French inhabitants with warm emotions, -as he was greatly beloved. - -The Trappists are said to have been extremely industrious, and some of -them skilful workmen at various arts, particularly that of -watchmaking; insomuch that they far excelled the same craft in the -city, and were patronised by all the unruly timepieces in the region. -They had also a laboratory of some extent, and a library; but the -latter, we are informed, was of no marvellous repute, embracing -chiefly the day-dreams of the Middle Ages, and the wondrous doings of -the legion of saints, together with a few obsolete works on medicine. -Connected with the monastery was a seminary for the instruction of -boys; or, rather, it was a sort of asylum for the orphan, the -desolate, the friendless, the halt, the blind, the deaf, and the dumb, -and also for the aged and destitute of the male sex. They subjected -their pupils to the same severe discipline which they imposed upon -themselves. They were permitted to use their tongues but two hours a -day, and then very _judiciously_: instead of exercising that "unruly -member," they were taught by the good fathers to gesticulate with -their fingers at each other in marvellous fashion, and thus to -communicate their ideas. As to juvenile sports and the frolics of -boyhood, it was a sin to dream of such things. They all received an -apprenticeship to some useful trade, however, and were no doubt -trained {172} up most innocently and ignorantly in the way they should -go. The pupils were chiefly sons of the settlers in the vicinity; but -whether they were fashioned by the worthy fathers into good American -citizens or the contrary, tradition telleth not. Tradition doth -present, however, sundry allegations prejudicial to the honest monks, -which we are bold to say is all slander, and unworthy of credence. -Some old gossips of the day hesitated not to affirm that the monks -were marvellously filthy in their habits; others, that they were -prodigiously keen in their bargains; a third class, that the younger -members were not so obdurate towards the gentler part of creation as -they _might have been_; while the whole community round about, _una -voce_, chimed in, and solemnly declared that men who neither might, -could, would, or should speak, were a little worse than dumb brutes, -and ought to be treated accordingly. However this may have been, it is -pretty certain, as is usually the case with our dear fellow-creatures -where they are permitted to know nothing at all about a particular -matter, the good people, in the overflowings of worldly charity, -imagined all manner of evil against the poor Trappist, and seemed to -think they had a perfect right to violate his property and insult his -person whenever they, in their wisdom and kind feeling, thought proper -to do so. But this was soon at an end. In 1813 the monks disposed of -their personal property, and leaving fever and ague to their -persecutors, and the old mounds to their primitive solitude, forsook -the country and sailed for France. - -{173} Though it is not easy to palliate the unceremonious welcome with -which the unfortunate Trappist was favoured at the hand of our people, -yet we can readily appreciate the feelings which prompted their -ungenerous conduct. How strange, how exceedingly strange must it have -seemed to behold these men, in the garb and guise of a distant land, -uttering, when their lips broke the silence in which they were locked, -the unknown syllables of a foreign tongue; professing an austere, an -ancient, and remarkable faith; denying themselves, with the sternest -severity, the simplest of Nature's bounties; how strange must it have -seemed to behold these men establishing themselves in the depths of -this Western wilderness, and, by a fortuitous concurrence of events, -planting their altars and hearths upon the very tombs of a race whose -fate is veiled in mystery, and practising their austerities at the -forsaken temple of a forgotten worship! How strange to behold the -devotees of a faith, the most artificial in its ceremonies among men, -bowing themselves upon the high places reared up by the hands of those -who worshipped the Great Spirit after the simplest form of Nature's -adoration! For centuries this singular order of men had figured upon -the iron page of history; their legends had shadowed with mystery the -bright leaf of poetry and romance, and with them were associated many -a wild vision of fancy. And here they were, mysterious as ever, with -cowl, and crucifix, and shaven head, and the hairy "crown of thorns" -encircling; ecclesiastics the most severe of all the orders of -monarchism. How strange must it all {174} have seemed! and it is -hardly to be wondered at, unpopular as such institutions undoubtedly -were and ever have been in this blessed land of ours, that a feeling -of intolerance, and suspicion, and prejudice should have existed. It -is not a maxim of _recent_ date in the minds of men, that "whatever is -peculiar is false." - -_Madison County, Ill._ - - - - -XVI - - "Let none our author rudely blame, - Who from the story has thus long digress'd." - DAVENANT. - - "Nay, tell me not of lordly halls! - My minstrels are the trees; - The moss and the rock are my tapestried walls, - Earth sounds my symphonies." - BLACKWOOD'S _Mag._ - - "Sorrow is knowledge; they who know the most - Must mourn the deepest o'er the fatal truth; - The Tree of Knowledge is not that of Life." - MANFRED. - - -There are few lovelier villages in the Valley of the West than the -little town of Edwardsville, in whose quiet inn many of the preceding -observations have been sketched.[132] It was early one bright morning -that I entered Edwardsville, after passing a sleepless night at a -neighbouring farmhouse. The situation of the village is a narrow ridge -of {175} land swelling abruptly from the midst of deep and tangled -woods. Along this elevation extends the principal street of the place, -more than a mile in length, and upon either side runs a range of neat -edifices, most of them shaded by forest-trees in their front yards. -The public buildings are a courthouse and jail of brick, neither of -them worthy of farther mention, and two plain, towerless churches, -imbosomed in a grove somewhat in the suburbs of the village. There is -something singularly picturesque in the situation of these churches, -and the structures themselves are not devoid of beauty and symmetrical -proportion. At this place, also, is located the land-office for the -district. On the morning of my arrival at the village, early as was -the hour, the place was thronged with disappointed applicants for -land; a lean and hungry-looking race, by-the-by, as it has ever been -my lot to look upon. Unfortunately, the office had the evening before, -from some cause, been closed, and the unhappy speculators were forced -to trudge away many a weary mile, through dust and sun, with their -heavy specie dollars, to their homes again. I remember once to have -been in the city of Bangor, "away down East in the State of Maine," -when the public lands on the Penobscot River were first placed in the -market. The land mania had for some months been running high, but -could hardly be said yet to have reached a crisis. From all quarters -of the Union speculators had been hurrying to the place; and day and -night, for the week past, the steamers had been disgorging upon the -city their ravenous freights. The important {176} day arrived. At an -early hour every hotel, and street, and avenue was swarming with -strangers; and, mingling with the current of living bodies, which now -set steadily onward to the place of sale, I was carried resistlessly -on by its force till it ceased. A confused murmur of voices ran -through the assembled thousands; and amid the tumult, the ominous -words "_land--lumber--title-deed_," and the like, could alone be -distinguished. At length, near noon, the clear tones of the auctioneer -were heard rising above the hum of the multitude: all was instantly -hushed and still; and gaining an elevated site, before me was spread -out a scene worthy a Hogarth's genius and pencil. Such a mass of -working, agitated features, glaring with the fierce passion of -avarice and the basest propensities of humanity, one seldom is fated -to witness. During that public land-sale, indeed, I beheld so much of -the selfishness, the petty meanness, the detestable heartlessness of -man's nature, that I turned away disgusted, sick at heart for the race -of which I was a member. We are reproached as a nation by Europeans -for the contemptible vice of avarice; is the censure unjust? Parson -Taylor tells us that Satan was the first speculator in land, for on a -certain occasion he took Jesus up into an exceedingly high mountain, -and showed him all the kingdoms of the earth and the glory thereof, -and said to him, "All these things will I give to thee if thou wilt -fall down and worship me," when, in fact, the devil did not own one -inch of land to give! - - "Think of the devil's brazen phiz, - When not an inch of land was his!" - -{177} Yet it is to be apprehended that not a few in our midst would -not hesitate to barter soul and body, and fall down in worship, were a -sufficient number of _acres_ spread out before them as the recompense. - -Among other objects worthy the traveller's notice in passing through -Edwardsville is a press for the manufacture of that well-known, -agreeable liquid, _castor oil_: it is situated within the precincts of -what is termed, for distinction, the "Upper Village." The apparatus, -by means of which the oil is expressed from the bean and clarified, is -extremely simple, consisting merely of the ordinary jack-screw. One -bushel of the castor beans--_palma Christi_--yields nearly two gallons -of the liquid. The only previous preparation to pressing is to dry the -beans in an oven. This establishment[133] has been in operation upward -of ten years, and has rendered its proprietor, Mr. Adams, a wealthy -man.[134] He has a delightful villa, with grounds laid out with -taste; and though many years have passed away since he left his native -New-England, yet the generosity of his heart and the benevolence of -his character tell truly that he has not yet ceased the remembrance of -early principles and habits. The village of Edwardsville and its -vicinity are said to be remarkably healthy; and the location in the -heart of a fertile, well-watered, heavily-timbered section of country, -tilled by a race of enterprising yeomanry, gives promise of rapid -advancement. The town plat was first laid off in 1815; but the place -advanced but little in importance until five years afterward, when a -new {178} town was united to the old. About twelve miles southeast -from Edwardsville is situated the delightful little hamlet of -Collinsville, named from its founder, to which I paid a hasty visit -during my ramble on the prairies.[135] It was settled many years ago, -but till very recently had not assumed the dignity of a town. Its site -is the broad, uniform surface of an elevated ridge, ascending gently -from the American Bottom, beautifully shaded by forest-trees, and -extending into the interior for several miles. It is almost entirely -settled by northern emigrants, whose peculiarities are nowhere more -strikingly exhibited. Much attention is bestowed upon religion and -education; not a grocery exists in the place, nor, by the charter of -the town, can one be established for several years. This little -village presents a delightful summer-retreat to the citizens of St. -Louis, only ten miles distant. - -The sun had not yet risen when I left Edwardsville, after a pleasant -visit, and, descending into the Bottom, pursued my route over the -plain to Alton. The face of the country, for a portion of the way, is -broken, and covered with forests of noble trees, until the traveller -finds himself on the deep sand-plains, stretching away for some miles, -and giving support to a stunted, scragged growth of shrub-oaks. The -region bears palpable evidence of having been, at no distant period, -submerged; and the idea is confirmed by the existence, at the present -time, of a lake of considerable extent on the southern border, which, -from the character of the surface, a slight addition of water would -spread for miles. I shall not {179} soon forget, I think, the day I -entered Alton for the second time during my ramble in the West. It was -near the noon after an exceedingly sultry morning; and the earth -beneath my horse's hoofs was reduced by protracted drought to an -impalpable powder to the depth of several inches. The blazing -sunbeams, veiled by not a solitary cloud, reflected from the glassy -surface of the Mississippi as from the face of an immense steely -mirror and again thrown back by the range of beetling bluffs above, -seemed converged into an intense burning focus along the scorched-up -streets and glowing roofs of the village. I have endured heat, but -none more intolerable in the course of my life than that of which I -speak. - -In the evening, when the sultriness of the day was over, passing -through the principal street of the town, I ascended that singular -range of bluffs which, commencing at this point, extend along the -river, and to which, on a former occasion, I have briefly alluded. The -ascent is arduous, but the glorious view from the summit richly repays -the visiter for his toil. The withering atmosphere of the depressed, -sunburnt village at my feet was delightfully exchanged for the -invigorating breezes of the hills, as the fresh evening wind came -wandering up from the waters. It was the sunset hour. The golden, -slanting beams of departing day were reflected from the undulating -bosom of the river, as its bright waters stretched away among the -western forests, as if from a sea of molten, gliding silver. On the -left, directly at your feet, reposes the village of Alton, overhung by -hills, with the gloomy, castellated {180} walls of the Penitentiary -lifting up their dusky outline upon its skirts, presenting to the eye -a perfect panorama as you look down upon the tortuous streets, the -extensive warehouses of stone, and the range of steamers, alive with -bustle, along the landing. Beyond the village extends a deep forest; -while a little to the south sweep off the waters of the river, -bespangled with green islands, until, gracefully expanding itself, a -noble bend withdraws it from the view. It is at this point that the -Missouri disgorges its turbid, heavy mass of waters into the clear -floods of the Upper Mississippi, hitherto uncheckered by a stain. At -the base of the bluffs, upon which you stand, at an elevation of a -hundred and fifty feet, rushes with violence along the crags the -current of the stream; while beyond, upon the opposite plain, is -beheld the log hut of the emigrant couched beneath the enormous -sycamores, and sending up its undulating thread of blue, curling smoke -through the lofty branches. A lumber steam-mill is also here to be -seen. Beyond these objects the eye wanders over an interminable carpet -of forest-tops, stretching away till they form a wavy line of dense -foliage circling the western horizon. By the aid of a glass, a range -of hills, blue in the distance, is perceived outlined against the sky: -they are the bluffs skirting the beautiful valley of the Missouri. The -heights from which this view is commanded are composed principally of -earth heaped upon a massive ledge of limerock, which elevates itself -from the very bed of the waters. As the spectator gazes and reflects, -he cannot but be amazed that the {181} rains, and snows, and torrents -of centuries have not, with all their washings, yet swept these -earth-heaps away, though the deep ravines between the mounds, which -probably originated their present peculiar form, give proof conclusive -that such diluvial action to some extent has long been going on. As is -usually found to be the case, the present race of Indians have availed -themselves of these elevated summits for the burial-spots of their -chiefs. I myself scraped up a few decaying fragments of bones, which -lay just beneath the surface. - -At sunrise of the morning succeeding my visit to the bluffs I was in -the saddle, and clambering up those intolerably steep hills on the -road leading to the village of Upper Alton, a few miles distant. The -place is well situated upon an elevated prairie; and, to my own taste, -is preferable far for private residence to any spot within the -precincts of its rival namesake. The society is polished, and a -fine-toned morality is said to characterize the inhabitants. The town -was originally incorporated many years ago, and was then a place of -more note than it has ever since been; but, owing to intestine broils -and conflicting claims to its site, it gradually and steadily dwindled -away, until, a dozen years since, it numbered only _seven_ families. A -suit in chancery has happily settled these difficulties, and the -village is now thriving well. A seminary of some note, under -jurisdiction of the Baptist persuasion, has within a few years been -established here, and now comprises a very respectable body of -students.[136] It originated in a seminary {182} formerly established -at Rock Spring in this state. About five years since a company of -gentlemen, seven in number, purchased here a tract of several hundred -acres, and erected upon it an academical edifice of brick; -subsequently a stone building was erected, and a preparatory school -instituted. In the year 1835, funds to a considerable amount were -obtained at the East; and a donation of $10,000 from Dr. Benjamin -Shurtliff, of Boston, induced the trustees to give to the institution -his name. Half of this sum is appropriated to a college building, and -the other half is to endow a professorship of belles lettres. The -present buildings are situated upon a broad plain, beneath a walnut -grove, on the eastern skirt of the village; and the library, -apparatus, and professorships are worthy to form the foundation of a -_college_, as is the ultimate design, albeit a Western college and a -Northern college are terms quite different in signification. I visited -this seminary, however, and was much pleased with its faculty, -buildings, and design. All is as it should be. What reflecting mind -does not hail with joy these temples of science elevating themselves -upon every green hill and broad plain of the West, side by side with -the sanctuaries of our holy religion! It is intelligence, _baptized -intelligence_, which alone can save this beautiful valley, if indeed -it is to be saved from the inroads of arbitrary rule and false -religion; which is to hand down to another generation our civil and -religious immunities unimpaired. In most of the efforts for the -advancement of education in {183} the West, it is gratifying to -perceive that this principle has not been overlooked. Nearly all those -seminaries of learning which have been established profess for their -design the culture of the _moral_ powers as well as those of the -_intellect_. That _intelligence_ is an essential requisite, a prime -constituent of civil and religious freedom, all will admit; that it -is the _only_ requisite, the _sole_ constituent, may be questioned. -"Knowledge," in the celebrated language of Francis Bacon, "is power;" -ay! POWER; an engine of tremendous, incalculable energy, but blind in -its operations. Applied to the cause of wisdom and virtue, the richest -of blessings; to that of infidelity and vice, the greatest of curses. -A lever to move the world, its influence cannot be over-estimated; as -the bulwark of liberty and human happiness, its effect has been -fearfully miscalculated. Were man inclined as fully to good as to -evil, then might knowledge become the sovereign panacea of every civil -and moral ill; as man by nature unhappily _is_, "the fruit of the -tree" is oftener the stimulant to evil than to good. Unfold the sacred -record of the past. Why did not intelligence save Greece? Greece! the -land of intellect and of thought; the birthspot of eloquence, -philosophy, and song! whose very populace were critics and bards! -Greece, in her early day of pastoral ignorance, was free; but from the -loftiest pinnacle of intellectual glory she fell; and science, genius, -intelligence, all could not save her. The buoyant bark bounded -beautifully over the blue-breasted billows; but the helm, the helm of -{184} _moral_ culture was not there, and her broad-spread pinions -hurried her away only to a speedier and more terrible destruction. - -Ancient Rome: in the day of her rough simplicity, _she_ was free; but -from her proudest point of _intellectual_ development--the era of -Augustus--we date her decline. - -France: who will aver that it was popular _ignorance_ that rolled over -revolutionary France the ocean-wave of blood? When have the French, -_as a people_, exhibited a prouder era of mind than that of their -sixteenth Louis? The encyclopedists, the most powerful men of the age, -concentrated all their vast energies to the diffusion of science among -the people. Then, as now, the press groaned in constant parturition; -and essays, magazines, tracts, treatises, libraries, were thrown -abroad as if by the arm of Omnipotent power. Then, as now, the -supremacy of human reason and of human society flitted in "unreal -mockery" before the intoxicated fancy; and wildly was anticipated a -career of upward and onward advancement during the days of all coming -time. France was a nation of philosophers, and the great deep of mind -began to heave; the convulsed labouring went on, and, from time to -time, it burst out upon the surface. Then came the tornado, and -France, refined, intelligent, scientific, etherealized France, was -swept, as by Ruin's besom, of every green thing. Her own children -planted the dagger in her bosom, and France was a nation of -scientific, philosophic parricides! But "France was poisoned {185} by -infidelity." Yes! so she was: but why was not the subtle element -neutralized in the cup of _knowledge_ in which it was administered? Is -not "knowledge omnipotent to preserve; the salt to purify the -nations?" - -England: view the experiment there. It is a matter of parliamentary -record, that within the last twenty years, during the philanthropic -efforts of Lord Henry Brougham and his whig coadjutors, crime in -England has more than tripled. If knowledge, pure, defecated -knowledge, be a conservative principle, why do we witness these -appalling results? - -What, then, shall be done? Shall the book of knowledge be taken from -the hands of the people, and again be locked up in the libraries of -the few? Shall the dusky pall of ignorance and superstition again be -flung around the world, and a long starless midnight of a thousand -years once more come down to brood over mankind? By no means. _Let_ -the sweet streams of knowledge go forth, copious, free, to enrich and -irrigate the garden of mind; but mingle with them the pure waters of -that "fount which flows fast by the oracles of God," or the effect -now will be, as it ever has been, only to intoxicate and madden the -human race. There is nothing in cold, dephlegmated intellect to warm -up and foster the energies of the moral system of man. Intellect, mere -intellect, can never tame the passions or purify the heart. - -_Upper Alton, Ill._ - - - - -XVII - - "The fourth day roll'd along, and with the night - Came storm and darkness in their mingling might. - Loud sung the wind above; and doubly loud - Shook o'er his turret-cell the thunder-cloud." - _The Corsair._ - - "These - The unshorn fields, boundless and beautiful, - For which the speech of England has no name-- - The prairies." - BRYANT. - - -Whoever will take upon himself the trouble to run his eye over the -"Tourist's Pocket Map of Illinois," will perceive, stretching along -the western border of the state, parallel with the river, a broad -carriage highway, in a direction nearly north, to a little village -called Carlinville; if then he glances to the east, he may trace -a narrow pathway striking off at right angles to that section of -the state. Well, it is here, upon this pathway, just on the margin -of a beautiful prairie, sweeping away towards the town of -Hillsborough,[137] that I find myself at the close of the day, after a -long and fatiguing ride. The afternoon has been one of those dreary, -drizzly, disagreeable seasons which relax the nerves and ride like an -incubus upon the spirits; and my route has conducted me over a -broad-spread, desolate plain; for, lovely as may appear the prairie -when its bright flowerets and its tall grass-tops {187} are nodding in -the sunlight, it is a melancholy place when the sky is beclouded and -the rain is falling. There is a certain indescribable sensation of -loneliness, which steals over the mind of the solitary traveller when -he finds himself alone in the heart of these boundless plains, which -he cannot away with; and the approach to a forest is hailed with -pleasure, as serving to quiet, with the vague idea of _society_, this -sense of dreariness and desertion. Especially is this the case when -rack and mist are hovering along the border, veiling from the view -those picturesque woodland-points and promontories, and those green -island-groves which, when the sky is clear, swell out upon every side -into the bosom of the plain. Then all is fresh and joyous to the eye -as a vision: change the scene, and the grand, gloomy, misty -magnificence of old ocean presents itself on every side. The relief to -the picture afforded by the discovery of man's habitation can hardly -be described. - -It was near nightfall, when, wearied by the fatigue of riding and -drenched with mist, I reached the log-cabin of an old pioneer from -Virginia, beneath whose lowly roof-tree I am seated at this present -writing; and though hardly the most sumptuous edifice of which it has -been my lot to be an inmate, yet with no unenviable anticipations am I -looking forward to hearty refreshment and to sound slumber upon the -couch by my side. There are few objects to be met with in the -backwoods of the West more unique and picturesque than the dwelling of -the emigrant. After selecting an elevated spot as {188} a site for -building, a cabin or a log-house--which is somewhat of an improvement -upon the first--is erected in the following manner. A sufficient -number of straight trees, of a size convenient for removing, are -felled, slightly hewn upon the opposite sides, and the extremities -notched or mortised with the axe. They are then piled upon each other -so that the extremities lock together; and a single or double edifice -is constructed, agreeable to the taste or ability of the builder. -Ordinarily the cabin consists of two quadrangular apartments, -separated by a broad area between, connected by a common floor, and -covered by a common roof, presenting a parallelogram triple the length -of its width. The better of these apartments is usually appropriated -to the entertainment of the casual guest, and is furnished with -several beds and some articles of rude furniture to correspond. The -open area constitutes the ordinary sitting and eating apartment of the -family in fine weather; and, from its coolness, affords a delightful -retreat. The intervals between the logs are stuffed with fragments of -wood or stone, and plastered with mud or mortar, and the chimney is -constructed much in the same manner. The roof is covered with thin -clapboards of oak or ash, and, in lieu of nails, transverse pieces of -timber retain them in their places. Thousands of cabins are thus -constructed, without a particle of iron or even a common plank. The -rough clapboards give to the roof almost the shaggy aspect of thatch -at a little distance, but they render it impermeable to even the -heaviest and {189} most protracted rain-storms. A rude gallery often -extends along one or both sides of the building, adding much to its -coolness in summer and to its warmth in winter by the protection -afforded from sun and snow. The floor is constructed of short, thick -planks, technically termed "puncheons," which are confined by wooden -pins; and, though hardly smooth enough for a ballroom, yet well answer -every purpose for a dwelling, and effectually resist moisture and -cold. The apertures are usually cut with a view to free ventilation, -and the chimneys stand at the extremities, outside the walls of the -cabin. A few pounds of nails, a few boxes of glass, a few hundred feet -of lumber, and a few days' assistance of a house-carpenter, would, of -course, contribute not a little to the comfort of the _shieling_; but -neither of these are indispensable. In rear of the premises rise the -outbuildings; stables, corn-crib, meat-house, &c., all of them quite -as perfect in structure as the dwelling itself, and quite as -comfortable for residence. If to all this we add a well, walled up -with a section of a hollow cotton-wood, a cellar or cave in the earth -for a pantry, a zigzag rail fence enclosing the whole clearing, a -dozen acres of Indian corn bristling up beyond, a small garden and -orchard, and a host of swine, cattle, poultry, and naked children -about the door, and the _tout ensemble_ of a backwoods farmhouse is -complete. Minor circumstances vary, of course, with the peculiarities -of the country and the origin of the settlers; but the principal -features of the picture everywhere prevail. The present mode of -cultivation {190} sweeps off vast quantities of timber; but it must -soon be superseded. Houses of brick and stone will take the place of -log-cabins; hedge-rows will supply that of rail enclosures, while coal -for fuel will be a substitute for wood. - -At Upper Alton my visit was not a protracted one. In a few hours, -having gathered up my _fixens_ and mounted my _creetur_, I was -threading a narrow pathway through the forest. The trees, most of them -lofty elms, in many places for miles locked together their giant -branches over the road, forming a delightful screen from the sunbeams; -but it was found by no means the easiest imaginable task, after once -entering upon the direct route, to continue upon it. This is a -peculiarity of Western roads. The commencement may be uniform enough, -but the traveller soon finds his path diverging all at once in several -different directions, like the radii of a circle, with no assignable -cause therefor, and not the slightest reason presenting itself why he -should select one of them in preference to half a dozen others, -equally good or bad. And the sequel often shows him that there in -reality existed no more cause of preference than was apparent; for, -after a few tortuosities through the forest, for variety's sake, the -paths all terminate in the same route. The obstacle of a tree, a -stump, a decaying log, or a sand-bank often splits the path as if it -were a flowing stream; and then the traveller takes upon him to -exercise the reserved right of radiating to any point of the compass -he {191} may think proper, provided always that he succeeds in -clearing the obstruction. - -Passing many log-cabins, such as I have described, with their -extensive maize-fields, the rude dwelling of a sturdy old emigrant -from the far East sheltered me during the heat of noon; and having -luxuriated upon an excellent dinner, prepared and served up in right -New-England fashion, I again betook myself to my solitary route. But I -little anticipated to have met, in the distant prairies of Illinois, -the habitation of one who had passed his life in my own native state, -almost in my own native village. Yet I know not why the occurrence -should be a cause of surprise. Such emigrations are of constant -occurrence. The farmer had been a resident eight years in the West; -his farm was under that high cultivation characteristic of the -Northern emigrant, and peace and plenty seemed smiling around. Yet was -the emigrant satisfied? So far from it, he acknowledged himself a -disappointed man, and sighed for his native northern home, with its -bleak winds and barren hillsides. - -The region through which, for most of the day, I journeyed was that, -of very extensive application in the West, styled "Barrens," by no -means implying unproductiveness of soil, but a species of surface of -heterogeneous character, uniting prairie with _timber_ or forest, and -usually a description of land as fertile, healthy, and well-watered as -may be found. The misnomer is said to have derived its origin from -the early settlers of that section of Kentucky south of Green River, -which, presenting {192} only a scanty, dwarfish growth of timber, was -deemed of necessity _barren_, in the true acceptation of the -term.[138] This soil there and elsewhere is now considered better -adapted to every variety of produce and the vicissitudes of climate -than even the deep mould of the prairies and river-bottoms. The -rapidity with which a young forest springs forward, when the annual -fires have once been stopped in this species of land, is said to be -astonishing; and the first appearance of timber upon the prairies -gives it the character, to some extent, of barrens. Beneath the trees -is spread out a mossy turf, free from thickets, but variegated by the -gaudy petals of the heliotrope, and the bright crimson buds of the -dwarf-sumach in the hollows. Indeed, some of the most lovely scenery -of the West is beheld in the landscapes of these barrens or "oak -openings," as they are more appropriately styled. For miles the -traveller wanders on, through a magnificence of park scenery on every -side, with all the diversity of the slope, and swell, and meadow of -human taste and skill. Interminable avenues stretch away farther than -the eye can reach, while at intervals through the foliage flashes out -the unruffled surface of a pellucid lake. There are many of these -circular lakes or "sinkholes," as they are termed in Western dialect, -which, as they possess no inlet, seem supplied by subterraneous -springs or from the clouds. The outline is that of an inverted cone, -as if formed by the action of whirling waters; and, as sinkholes exist -in great numbers in the vicinity of the rivers, and possess an outlet -{193} at the bottom through a substratum of porous limestone, the idea -is abundantly confirmed. In the State of Missouri these peculiar -springs are also observed. Some of them in Greene county burst forth -from the earth and the fissures of the rocks with sufficient force to -whirl a _run_ of heavy buhrstones, and the power of the fountains -seems unaffected by the vicissitudes of rain or drought. These same -sinkholes, circular ponds, and gushing springs are said to constitute -one of the most remarkable and interesting features of the peninsula -of Florida. There, as here, the substratum is porous limestone; and it -is the subsidence of the layers which gives birth to the springs. The -volume of water thrown up by these boiling fountains is said to be -astonishingly great; many large ones, also, are known to exist in the -beds of lakes and rivers. From the circumstance of the existence of -these numerous springs originated, doubtless, the tradition which -Spanish chroniclers aver to have existed among the Indians of Porto -Rico and Cuba, that somewhere among the Lucayo Islands or in the -interior of Florida there existed a fountain whose waters had the -property of imparting _rejuvenescence_ and perpetuating perennial -youth. Only twenty years after the discoveries of Columbus, and more -than three centuries since, did the romantic Juan Ponce de Leon, an -associate of the Genoese and subsequent governor of Porto Rico, -explore the peninsula of Florida in search of this traditionary -fountain; of the success of the enterprise we have no account. Among -the other poetic founts of the "Land of {194} Flowers," we are _told_ -of one situated but a few miles from Fort Gaines, called "Sappho's -Fount,"[139] from the idea which prevails that its waters impart the -power of producing sweet sounds to the voices of those who partake of -them. - -It was near evening, when, emerging from the shades of the _barrens_, -which, like everything else, however beautiful, had, by continuous -succession, begun to become somewhat monotonous, my path issued rather -unexpectedly upon the margin of a wide, undulating prairie. I was -struck, as is every traveller at first view of these vast plains, with -the grandeur, and novelty, and loveliness of the scene before me. For -some moments I remained stationary, looking out upon the boundless -landscape before me. The tall grass-tops waving in the billowy beauty -in the breeze; the narrow pathway winding off like a serpent over the -rolling surface, disappearing and reappearing till lost in the -luxuriant herbage; the shadowy, cloud-like aspect of the far-off -trees, looming up, here and there, in isolated masses along the -horizon, like the pyramidal canvass of ships at sea; the deep-green -groves besprinkled among the vegetation, like islets in the waters; -the crimson-died prairie-flower flashing in the sun--these features of -inanimate nature seemed strangely beautiful to one born and bred amid -the bold mountain scenery of the North, and who now gazed upon them -"for the first." - - "The prairies! I behold them for the first, - And my heart swells, while the dilated sight - Takes in the encircling vastness." - -{195} As I rode leisurely along upon the prairie's edge, I passed many -noble farms, with their log-cabins couched in a corner beneath the -forest; and, verily, would a farmer of Yankee-land "stare and gasp" to -behold the prairie cornfield of the Western emigrant; and yet more -would he be amazed to witness the rank, rustling luxuriance of the -vegetable itself. Descending a swell of the prairie near one of these -farms, a buck with his doe leaped out from a thicket beside my path, -and away, away bounded the "happy pair" over the grass-tops, free as -the wind. They are often shot upon the prairies, I was informed by an -old hunter, at whose cabin, in the middle of the plain, I drew up at -twilight, and with whom I passed the night. He was a pioneer from _the -dark and bloody ground_, and many a time had followed the wild buck -through those aged forests, where Boone, and Whitley, and Kenton once -roved.[140] Only fifty years ago, and for the first time were the -beautiful fields of Kentucky turned up by the ploughshare of the -Virginia emigrant; yet their very descendants of the first generation -we behold plunging deeper into the wilderness West. How would the -worthy old Governor Spotswood stand astounded, could he now rear his -venerable bones from their long resting-place, and look forth upon -this lovely land, far away beyond the Blue Ridge of the Alleghany -hills, the very passage of which he had deemed not unworthy "the -horseshoe of gold" and "the order tramontane." "_Sic juvat -transcendere montes._" Twenty years before Daniel Boone, "backwoodsman -of Kentucky," was {196} born, Alexander Spotswood, governor of -Virginia, undertook, with great preparation, a passage of the -Alleghany ridge. For this expedition were provided a large number of -horseshoes, an article not common in some sections of the "Old -Dominion;" and from this circumstance, upon their return, though -without a glimpse of the Western Valley, was instituted the -"_Tramontane Order_, or _Knights of the Golden Horseshoe_," with the -motto above. The badge of distinction for having made a passage of the -Blue Ridge was a golden horseshoe worn upon the breast. Could the -young man of that day have protracted the limits of life but a few -years beyond his threescore and ten, what astonishment would not have -filled him to behold _now_, as "the broad, the bright, the glorious -West," the region _then_ regarded as the unknown and howling -_wilderness beyond the mountains_! Yet even thus it is.[141] - -A long ride over a dusty road, beneath a sultry sun, made me not -unwilling to retire to an early rest. But in a few hours my slumbers -were broken in upon by the glare of lightning and the crash of -thunder. For nearly five weeks had the prairies been refreshed by not -a solitary shower; and the withered crops and the parched soil, baked -to the consistency of stone or ground up to powder, betrayed alarming -evidence of the consequence. Day had succeeded day. The scorching sun -had gone up in the firmament, blazed from his meridian throne, and in -lurid sultriness descended to his rest. The subtle fluid had been -gathering and concentrating in the skies; and, early on the night of -{197} which I speak, an inky cloud had been perceived rolling slowly -up from the western horizon, until the whole heavens were enveloped in -blackness. Then the tempest burst forth. Peal upon peal the hoarse -thunder came booming over the prairies; and the red lightning would -glare, and stream, and almost hiss along the midnight sky, like -Ossian's storm-spirit riding on the blast. At length there was a hush -of elements, and all was still--"still as the spirit's silence;" then -came one prolonged, deafening, terrible crash and rattle, as if the -concave of the firmament had been rent asunder, and the splintered -fragments, hurled abroad, were flying through the boundlessness of -space; the next moment, and the torrents came weltering through the -darkness. I have witnessed thunder-storms on the deep, and many a one -among the cliffs of my native hills; but a midnight thunder-gust upon -the broad prairie-plains of the West is more terrible than they. A -more sublimely magnificent spectacle have I never beheld than that, -when one of these broad-sheeted masses of purple light would blaze -along the black bosom of the cloud, quiver for an instant over the -prairie miles in extent, flinging around the scene a garment of flame, -and then go out in darkness. - - "Oh night, - And storm, and darkness, ye are wondrous strong, - Yet lovely in your strength, as is the light - Of a dark eye in woman!" - - "Most glorious night! - Thou wert not sent for slumber! let me be - A sharer in thy fierce and far delight, - A portion of the tempest and of thee!" - -{198} And a sharer in the tempest surely was "a certain weary pilgrim, -in an upper chamber" of a certain log-cabin of the prairie. Unhappily -for his repose or quiet, had he desired either, the worthy host, in -laudable zeal for a window when erecting his hut, had thought proper -to neglect or to forget one of the indispensables for such a -convenience in shape of sundry panes of glass. Wherefore, as is easy -to perceive, said aperture commanding the right flank of the pilgrim's -dormitory, the warring elements without found abundant entrance for a -by-skirmish within. Sad to relate, the pilgrim was routed, "horse, -foot, and dragoons;" whereupon, agreeable to Falstaff's -_discretionary_ views of valour, seizing upon personal effects, he -beat a retreat to more hospitable realms. - -_Greene County, Ill._ - - - - -XVIII - - "What earthly feeling unabash'd can dwell - In Nature's mighty presence? mid the swell - Of everlasting hills, the roar of floods, - And frown of rocks and pomp of waving woods? - These their own grandeur on the soul impress, - And bid each passion feel its nothingness." - HEMANS. - - "La grace est toujours unie à la magnificence, dans les - scenes de la nature."--CHATEAUBRIAND'S "_Atala_." - - -It was morning. The storm had passed away, and the early sunlight was -streaming gloriously over the fresh landscape. The atmosphere, -discharged of its electric burden, was playing cool and free among the -grass-tops; the lark was carolling in the clouds above its grassy -nest; the deer was rising from his sprinkled lair, and the morning -mists were rolling heavily in masses along the skirts of the prairie -woodlands, as I mounted my horse at the door of the cabin beneath -whose roof I had passed the night. Before me at no great distance, -upon the edge of the plain, rose an open park of lofty oaks, with a -mossy turf beneath; and the whole scene, lighted up by the sunbeams -breaking through the ragged mists, presented a most gorgeous -spectacle. The entire wilderness of green; every bough, spray, leaf; -every blade of grass, wild weed, and floweret, was hung with trembling -{200} drops of liquid light, which, reflecting and refracting the -sun-rays, threw back all the hues of the iris. It was indeed a morning -of beauty after the tempest; and Nature seemed to have arrayed herself -in her bridal robes, glittering in all their own matchless jewellery -to greet its coming. - -Constituted as we all naturally are, there exist, bound up within the -secresies of the bosom, certain emotions and sentiments, designed by -our Creator to leap forth in joyousness in view of the magnificence -of his works; certain springs of exquisite delicacy deep hidden in the -chambers of the breast, but which, touched or breathed upon never so -lightly, strike the keys of feeling and fill the heart with harmony. -And I envy not the feelings of that man who, amid all "the glories of -this visible world," can stand a passionless beholder; who feels not -his pulses thrill with quickened vibration, and his heart to heave in -fuller gush as he views the beneficence of his Maker in the -magnificence of his works; who from all can turn calmly away, and in -the chill, withering accents of Atheism, pronounce it the offspring of -blind fatality, the resultant of meaningless chance! - -When we look abroad upon the panorama of creation, so palpable is the -impress of an omnipotent hand, and so deeply upon all its features is -planted the demonstration of design, that it would almost seem, in the -absence of reason and revelation, we need but contemplate the scenery -of nature to be satisfied of the existence of an all-wise, -all-powerful Being, whose workmanship it is. The {201} firmament, with -its marshalled and glittering hosts; the earth, spread out in -boundlessness at our feet, now draperied in the verdant freshness of -springtime, anon in the magnificent glories of summer sultriness, -again teeming with the mellow beauty of autumnal harvesting, and then -slumbering in the chill, cheerless desolation of winter, all proclaim -a Deity eternal in existence, boundless in might. The mountain that -rears its bald forehead to the clouds; the booming cataract; the -unfathomed, mysterious sounding ocean; the magnificent sweep of the -Western prairie; the eternal flow of the Western river, proclaim, in -tones extensive as the universe--tones not to be misunderstood, that -their CREATOR lives. - -It is a circumstance in the character of the human mind, which not -the most careless or casual observer of its operations can fail to -have remarked, that the contemplation of all grand and immeasurable -objects has a tendency to enlarge and elevate the understanding, lend -a loftier tone to the feelings, and, agreeable to the moral -constitution of man, carry up his thoughts and his emotions directly -to their Author, "from Nature up to Nature's God." The savage son of -the wilderness, as he roams through his grand and gloomy forests, -which for centuries have veiled the soil at their base from the -sunlight, perceives a solemn awe stealing over him as he listens to -the surges of the winds rolling among the heavy branches; and in -Nature's simplicity, untaught but by her untutored promptings, he -believes that "the Great Spirit is whispering in {202} the tree tops." -He stands by the side of Niagara. With subdued emotions he gazes upon -the majestic world of floods as they hurry on. They reach the barrier! -they leap its precipice! they are lost in thunder and in foam! And, as -the raging waters disappear in the black abyss; as the bow of the -covenant, "like hope upon a deathbed," flings its irised arch in -horrible beauty athwart the hell of elements, the bewildered child of -nature feels his soul swell within his bosom; the thought rises -solemnly upon him, "the Great Spirit is here;" and with timid -solicitude he peers through the forest shades around him for some -palpable demonstration of His presence. And such is the effect of all -the grand scenes of nature upon the mind of the savage: they lead it -up to the "Great Spirit." Upon this principle is the fact alone to be -accounted for, that no race of beings has yet been discovered -destitute of _all_ idea of a Supreme Intelligence to whom is due -homage and obedience. It is _His_ voice they hear in the deep hour of -midnight, when the red lightning quivers along the bosom of the cloud, -and the thunder-peal rattles through the firmament. It is _He_ they -recognise in the bright orb of day, as he blazes from the eastern -horizon; or, "like a monarch on a funeral pile," sinks to his rest. -_He_ is beheld in the pale queen of night, as in silvery radiance she -walks the firmament, and in the beautiful star of evening as it sinks -behind his native hills. In the soft breathing of the "summer wind" -and in the terrible sublimity of the autumn tempest; in the gentle dew -of heaven and {203} the summer torrent; in the sparkling rivulet and -the wide, wild river; in the delicate prairie-flower and the gnarled -monarch of the hills; in the glittering minnow and the massive -narwhal; in the fairy humbird and the sweeping eagle; in each and in -all of the creations of universal nature, the mind of the savage sees, -feels, _realizes_ the presence of a Deity. - - "Earth with her thousand voices praises God!" - -is the beautiful sentiment of Coleridge's hymn in the Vale of -Chamouni; and its truth will be doubted by no man of refined -sensibility or cultivated taste. In viewing the grand scenery of -nature, the mind of the savage and the poet alike perceive the -features of Deity; on the bright page of creation, in characters -enstamped by his own mighty hand, they read his perfections and his -attributes; the vast volume is spread out to every eye; he who will -may read and be wise. And yet, delightful and instructive as the study -of Nature's creations cannot fail to be, it is a strange thing that, -by many, so little regard is betrayed for them. How often do we gaze -upon the orb of day, as he goes down the western heavens in glory to -his rest; how often do we look away to the far-off star, as it pursues -in beauty its lonely pathway, distinct amid the myriads that surround -it; how often do we glance abroad upon the splendours of earth, and -then, from all this demonstration of Omnipotent goodness turn away -with not _one_ pulsation of gratitude to the Creator of suns and -stars; with not one aspiration of feeling, one acknowledgment of -regard to {204} the Lord of the universe? Yet surely, whatever -repinings may at times imbitter the unsanctified bosom in view of the -moral, the intellectual, or social arrangements of existence, there -should arise but one emotion, and that--_praise_ in view of -_inanimate_ nature. Here is naught but power and goodness; now, as at -the dawn of Creation's morning, "all is very good." But these are -scenes upon which the eye has turned from earliest infancy; and to -this cause alone may we attribute the fact, that though their grandeur -may never weary or their glories pall upon the sense, yet our gaze -upon them is often that of coldness and indifferent regard. Still -their influence upon us, though inappreciable, is sure. If we look -abroad upon the race of man, we cannot but admit the conviction that -natural scenery, hardly less than climate, government, or religion, -lays its impress upon human character. It is where Nature exhibits -herself in her loftiest moods that her influence on man is most -observable. 'Tis there we find the human mind most chainlessly free, -and the attachments of patriotic feeling most tenacious and exalted. -To what influence more than to that of the gigantic features of nature -around him, amid which he first opened his eyes to the light, and with -which from boyhood days he has been conversant, are we to attribute -that indomitable hate to oppression, that enthusiastic passion for -liberty, and that wild idolatry of country which characterizes the -Swiss mountaineer? _He_ would be free as the geyer-eagle of his native -cliffs, whose eyrie hangs in the clouds, whose eye brightens in {205} -the sunlight, whose wild shriek rises on the tempest, and whose fierce -brood is nurtured amid crags untrodden by the footstep of man. To -_his_ ear the sweep of the terrible _lauwine_, the dash of the -mountain cataract, the sullen roar of the mountain forest, is a music -for which, in a foreign land, he pines away and dies. And all these -scenes have but one language--and that is chainless _independence_! - -It is a fact well established, and one to be accounted for upon no -principle other than that which we advance, that the dwellers in -mountainous regions, and those whose homes are amid the grandeur of -nature, are found to be more attached to the spot of their nativity -than are other races of men, and that they are ever more forward to -defend their ice-clad precipices from the attack of the invader. For -centuries have the Swiss inhabited the mountains of the Alps. They -inhabit them still, and have never been entirely subdued. But - - "The free Switzer yet bestrides _alone_ - His chainless mountains." - -Of what _other_ nation of Europe, if we except the Highlands of -Scotland, may anything like the same assertion with truth be made? We -are told that the mountains of Caucasus and Himmalaya, in Asia, still -retain the race of people which from time immemorial have possessed -them. The same accents echo along their "tuneful cliffs" as centuries -since were listened to by the patriarchs; while at their base, chance, -and change, and conquest, like successive floods, have swept the -delta-plains of {206} the Ganges and Euphrates. These are but isolated -instances from a multitude of similar character, which might be -advanced in support of the position we have assumed. Nor is it strange -that peculiarities like these should be witnessed. There must ever be -_something_ to love, if the emotion is to be permanently called forth; -it matters little whether it be in the features of inanimate nature or -in those of man; and, alike in both cases, do the boldest and most -prominent create the deepest impression. Just so it is with our -admiration of character; there must exist bold and distinctive traits, -good or bad, to arouse for it unusual regard. A monotony of character -or of feeling is as wearisome as a monotony of sound or scenery. - -But to return from a digression which has become unconscionably long. -After a brisk gallop of a few hours through the delightful scenery of -the Barrens, I found myself approaching the little town of -Carlinville. As I drew nigh to the village, I found it absolutely -reeling under the excitement of the "Grand Menagerie." From all points -of the compass, men, women, and children, emerging from the forest, -came pouring into the place, some upon horses, some in farm-wagons, -and troops of others on foot, slipping and sliding along in a fashion -most distressing to behold. The soil in this vicinity is a black loam -of surpassing fertility; and, when saturated with moisture, it adheres -to the sole with most pertinacious tenacity, more like to an amalgam -of soot and soap-grease than to any other substance that has ever come -under my cognizance. The inn {207} was thronged by neighbouring -farmers, some canvassing the relative and individual merits of the -_Zebedee_ and the _Portimous_; others sagely dwelling upon the mooted -point of peril to be apprehended from the great _sarpent_--_Boy -Contractor_; while little unwashen wights did run about and -dangerously prophecy on the recent disappearance of the big elephant. - -Carlinville is a considerable village, situated on the margin of a -pleasant prairie, on the north side of Macoupin Creek, and is the seat -of justice for the county. The name _Macoupin_ is said to be of -aboriginal derivation, and by the early French chroniclers was spelled -and pronounced _Ma-qua-pin_, until its present uncomely combination of -letters became legalized on the statute-book. The term, we are told -by Charlevoix, the French _voyageur_, is the Indian name of an -esculent with a broad corolla, found in many of the ponds and creeks -of Illinois, especially along the course of the romantic stream -bearing its name. The larger roots, eaten raw, were poisonous, and the -natives were accustomed to dig ovens in the earth, into which, being -walled up with flat stones and heated, was deposited the vegetable. -After remaining for forty-eight hours in this situation, the -deleterious qualities were found extracted, and the root being dried, -was esteemed a luxury by the Indians. The region bordering upon -Carlinville is amazingly fertile, and proportionally divided into -prairie and timber--a circumstance by no means unworthy of notice. -There has been a design of establishing {208} here a Theological -Seminary, but the question of its site has been a point easier to -discuss than to decide.[142] My tarry at the village was a brief one, -though I became acquainted with a number of its worthy citizens; and -in the log-office of a young limb of _legality_, obtained, as a -special distinction, a glance at a forthcoming "Fourth-of-July" -oration, fruitful in those sonorous periods and stereotyped patriotics -indispensable on such occasions, and, at all hazard, made and provided -for them. As I was leaving the village I was met by multitudes, -pouring in from all sections of the surrounding region, literally -thronging the ways; mothers on horseback, with young children in their -arms; fathers with daughters and wives _en croupe_, and at intervals -an individual, in quiet possession of an entire animal, came sliding -along in the mud, in fashion marvellously entertaining to witness. A -huge cart there likewise was, which excited no small degree of -admiration as it rolled on, swarmed with women and children. An aged -patriarch, with hoary locks resting upon his shoulders, enacted the -part of charioteer to this primitive establishment; and now, in -zealous impatience to reach the scene of action, from which the -braying horns came resounding loud and clear through the forest, he -was wretchedly belabouring, by means of an endless whip, six unhappy -oxen to augment their speed. - -I had travelled not many miles when a black cloud spread itself -rapidly over the sky, and in a few moments the thunder began to -bellow, the lightnings to flash, and the rain to fall in torrents. -{209} Luckily enough for me, I found myself in the neighbourhood of -man's habitation. Leaping hastily from my steed, and lending him an -impetus with my riding whip which carried him safely beneath a -hospitable shed which stood thereby, I betook myself, without ceremony -or delay, to the mansion house itself, glad enough to find its roof -above me as the first big raindrops came splashing to the ground. The -little edifice was tenanted by three females and divers flaxen-pated, -sun-bleached urchins of all ages and sizes, and, at the moment of my -entrance, all in high dudgeon, because, forsooth, they were not to be -permitted to drench themselves in the anticipated shower. Like Noah's -dove, they were accordingly pulled within the ark, and thereupon -thought proper to set up their several and collective _Ebenezers_. - -"Well!" was my exclamation, in true Yankee fashion, as I bowed my head -low in entering the humble postern; "we're going to get pretty -considerable of a sprinkling, I guess." "I reckon," was the -sententious response of the most motherly-seeming of the three women, -at the same time vociferating to the three larger of the children, -"Oh, there, you Bill, Sall, Polly, honeys, get the gentleman a cheer! -Walk in, sir; set down and take a seat!" This evolution of "setting -down and taking a seat" was at length successfully effected, after -sundry manoeuvrings by way of planting the three pedestals of the -uncouth tripod upon the same plane, and avoiding the fearful yawnings -in the _puncheon_ floor. When all was at length quiet, I {210} -improved the opportunity of gazing about me to explore the curious -habitation into which I found myself inserted. - -The structure, about twenty feet square, had originally been -constructed of rough logs, the interstices stuffed with fragments of -wood and stone, and daubed with clay; the chimney was built up of -sticks laid crosswise, and plastered with the same material to resist -the fire. Such had been the backwoodsman's cabin in its primitive -prime; but time and the elements had been busy with the little -edifice, and sadly had it suffered. Window or casement was there none, -neither was there need thereof; for the hingeless door stood ever -open, the clay was disappearing from the intervals between the logs, -and the huge fireplace of stone exhibited yawning apertures, -abundantly sufficient for all the purposes of light and ventilation to -the single apartment of the building. The _puncheon_ floor I have -alluded to, and it corresponded well with the roof of the cabin, which -had never, in its best estate, been designed to resist the peltings of -such a pitiless torrent as was now assailing it. The water soon began -trickling in little rivulets upon my shoulders, and my only -alternative was my umbrella for shelter. The furniture of the -apartment consisted of two plank-erections designed for bedsteads, -which, with a tall clothes-press, divers rude boxes, and a -side-saddle, occupied a better moiety of the area; while a rough -table, a shelf against the wall, upon which stood a water-pail, a -gourd, and a few broken trenchers, completed the household -paraphernalia {211} of this most unique of habitations. A -half-consumed flitch of bacon suspended in the chimney, and a huge -iron pot upon the fire, from which issued a savoury indication of the -seething mess within, completes the "still-life" of the picture. Upon -one of the beds reclined one of the females to avoid the rain; a -second was alternating her attentions between her infant and her -needle; while the third, a buxom young baggage, who, by-the-by, was on -a visit to her sister, was busying herself in the culinary occupations -of the household, much the chief portion of which consisted in -watching the huge dinner-pot aforesaid, with its savoury contents. - -After remaining nearly two hours in the cabin, in hopes that the storm -would abate, I concluded that, since my umbrella was no sinecure -_within_ doors, it might as well be put in requisition _without_, and -mounted my steed, though the rain was yet falling. I had proceeded but -a few miles upon the muddy pathway when my compass informed me that I -had varied from my route, a circumstance by no means uncommon on the -Western prairies. During the whole afternoon, therefore, I continued -upon my way across a broad pathless prairie, some twelve or eighteen -miles in extent, and dreary enough withal, until nightfall, when I -rejoiced to find myself the inmate of the comfortable farmhouse upon -its edge from which my last was dated. - -_Hillsborough, Ill._ - - - - -XIX - - "Skies softly beautiful, and blue - As Italy's, with stars as bright; - Flowers rich as morning's sunrise hue, - And gorgeous as the gemm'd midnight. - Land of the West! green Forest Land, - Thus hath Creation's bounteous hand - Upon thine ample bosom flung - Charms such as were her gift when the green world was young!" - GALLAGHER. - - "Go thou to the house of prayer, - I to the woodlands will repair." - KIRK WHITE. - - "There is religion in a flower; - Its still small voice is as the voice of conscience." - BELL. - - -More than three centuries ago, when the romantic Ponce de Leon, with -his chivalrous followers, first planted foot upon the southern -extremity of the great Western Valley, the discovery of the far-famed -"Fountain of Youth" was the wild vision which lured him on. Though -disappointed in the object of his enterprise, the adventurous Spaniard -was enraptured with the loveliness of a land which even the golden -realms of "Old Castile" had never realized; and _Florida_,[143] "the -Land of Flowers," was the poetic name it inspired. Twenty years, and -the bold soldier Ferdinand de Soto, of Cuba, {213} the associate of -Pizarro, with a thousand steel-clad warriors at his back, penetrated -the valley to the far-distant post of Arkansas, and "_El padre de las -aguas_" was the expressive name of the mighty stream he discovered, -beneath the eternal flow of whose surges he laid his bones to their -rest.[144] "_La Belle Rivière!_" was the delighted exclamation which -burst from the lips of the Canadian voyageur, as, with wonder hourly -increasing, he glided in his light pirogue between the swelling -bluffs, and wound among the thousand isles of the beautiful Ohio. The -heroic Norman, Sieur La Salle, when for the first time he beheld the -pleasant hunting-grounds of the peaceful Illini, pronounced them a -"Terrestrial Paradise." Daniel Boone, the bold pioneer of the West, -fifty years ago, when standing on the last blue line of the -Alleghanies, and at the close of a day of weary journeying, he looked -down upon the beautiful fields of "Old Kentucke," now gilded by the -evening sun, turned his back for ever upon the green banks of the -Yadkin and the soil of his nativity, hailing the glories of a -new-found home.[145] - - "Fair wert thou, in the dreams - Of elder time, thou land of glorious flowers, - And summer winds, and low-toned silvery streams, - Dim with the shadows of thy laurel bowers." - -And thus has it ever been; and even yet the "pilgrim from the North" -rejoices with untold joy over the golden beauties of the Valley beyond -the Mountains. - -{214} It was a fine Sabbath morning when I mounted my steed at the -gate of the log farmhouse where I had passed the night, to pursue my -journey over the prairie, upon the verge of which it stood. The -village of Hillsborough was but a few miles distant, and there I had -resolved to observe the sacredness of the day. The showers of the -preceding evening had refreshed the atmosphere, which danced over the -plain in exhilarating gales, and rustled among the boughs of the green -woodlands I was leaving. Before me was spread out a waving, undulating -landscape, with herds of cattle sprinkled here and there in isolated -masses over the surface; the rabbit and wild-fowl were sporting along -the pathway, and the bright woodpecker, with his splendid plumage and -querulous note, was flitting to and fro among the thickets. Far away -along the eastern horizon stretched the dark line of forest. The -gorgeous prairie-flower flung out its crimson petals upon the breeze, -"blushing like a banner bathed in slaughter," and methought it snapped -more gayly in the morning sunbeams than it was wont; the long grass -rustled musically its wavy masses back and forth, and, amid the -Sabbath stillness around, methought there were there notes of -sweetness not before observed. The whole scene lay calm and quiet, as -if Nature, if not man, recognised the Divine injunction _to rest_; and -the idea suggested itself, that a solitary Sabbath on the wild -prairie, in silent converse with the Almighty, might not be all -unprofitable. {215} - - "Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright, - The bridal of the earth and sky, - Sweet dews shall weep thy fall to-night, - For thou must die."[146] - -From the centre of the prairie the landscape rolled gracefully away -towards the eastern timber, studded along its edge with farms. The -retrospect from beneath the tall oaks of the prairie over which I had -passed was exceedingly fine; the idea strikes the spectator at once, -and with much force, that the whole plain was once a sheet of water. -Indeed, were we to form our opinion from the _appearance_ of many of -the prairies of Illinois, the idea would be irresistible, that this -peculiar species of surface originated in a submersion of the whole -state. There are many circumstances which lead us to the conclusion -that these vast meadows once formed the bed of a body of water similar -to the Northern lakes; and when the lowest point at the _Grand Tower_ -on the Mississippi was torn away by some convulsion of nature, a -uniform surface of fine rich mud was left. The ravines were ploughed -in the soft soil by subsequent floods, and hence, while the elevated -lands are fertile, those more depressed are far less so. The soil of -the prairies is of a character decidedly alluvial, being composed of -compact strata of loam piled upon each other, like that at the bottom -of bodies of water long stagnant. The first stratum is a black, -pliable mould, from two feet to five in depth; the second a red clay, -amalgamated with sand, from {216} five to ten feet in thickness; the -third a blue clay, mixed with pebbles, of beautiful appearance, -unctuous to the feeling, and, when exposed to the atmosphere, of a -fetid smell. Lakes are often found in the prairies abounding in fish, -which, when the waters subside, are removed by cartloads. The origin -of these vast prairie-plains is, after all, no easy matter to decide; -but, whatever the cause, they have doubtless been perpetuated by the -autumnal fires which, year after year, from an era which the earliest -chronicles of history or tradition have failed to record, have swept -their surface; for, as soon as the grass is destroyed by the plough, -the winged seeds of the cotton-wood and sycamore take root, and a -young growth of timber sprouts forth. The same is true along the -margin of creeks and streams, or upon steril or wet prairies, where -the vegetation does not become sufficiently heavy or combustible for -conflagration to a great extent. These fires originated either in the -friction of the sear and tinder-like underbrush, agitated by the high -winds, or they were kindled by the Indians for the purpose of -dislodging game. The mode of hunting by circular fires is said to have -prevailed at the time when Captain Smith first visited the shores of -Chesapeake Bay, where extensive prairies then existed. These plains, -by cultivation, have long since disappeared. Mungo Park describes the -annual fires upon the plains of Western Africa for a similar purpose -and with the same result.[147] Tracts of considerable extent in {217} -the older settlements of the country, which many years since were -meadow, are clothed with forest. - -"Coot morning, shur! A pleashant tay, shur! Coome in, shur!" was the -hospitable greeting of mine host, or rather of the major domo of the -little brick hostelrie of Hillsborough as I drove up to the bar-room -entrance. He was a comical-looking, bottle-shaped little personage, -with a jolly red nose, all the brighter, doubtless, for certain goodly -potations of his own goodly admixtures; with a brief brace of legs, -inserted into a pair of inexpressibles _à la Turque_, a world too big, -and a white capote a world too little, to complete the Sunday toilet. -He could boast, moreover, that amazing lubricity of speech, and that -oiliness of tongue wherewith sinful publicans have ever been prone to -beguile unwary wayfarers, _taking in travellers_, forsooth! Before I -was fully aware of the change in my circumstances, I found myself -quietly dispossessed of horse and equipments, and placing my foot -across the threshold. The fleshy little Dutchman, though now secure in -his capture, proceeded to redouble his assiduities. - -"Anything to trink, shur? Plack your poots, shur? shave your face, -shur?" and a host of farther interrogatories, which I at length -contrived to cut short with, "Show me a chamber, sir!" - -The Presbyterian Church, at which I attended worship, is a neat little -edifice of brick, in modern style, but not completed. The walls -remained unconscious of plaster; the orchestra, a naked scaffolding; -the pulpit, a box of rough boards; and, {218} more _picturesque_ than -all, in lieu of pews, slips, or any such thing, a few coarse slabs of -all forms and fashions, supported on remnants of timber and plank, -occupied the open area for seats. And marvellously comfortless are -such seats, to my certain experience. In the evening I attended the -"Luteran Church," as my major domo styled it, at the special instance -of one of its worthy members. This house of worship is designed for a -large one--the largest in the state, I was informed--but, like its -neighbour, was as yet but commenced. The external walls were quite -complete; but the rafters, beams, studs, and braces within presented a -mere skeleton, while a few loose boards, which sprang and creaked -beneath the foot, were spread over the sleepers as an apology for a -floor. There's practical utility for an economist! Because a church is -unfinished is no good and sufficient reason why it should remain -unoccupied! - -As we entered the building, my _cicerone_ very unexpectedly favoured -me with an introduction to the minister. He was a dark, solemn-looking -man, with a huge Bible and psalm-book choicely tucked under his left -arm. After sundry glances at my dress and demeanour, and other sundry -whisperings in the ear of my companion, the good man drew nigh, and -delivered himself of the interrogatory, "Are you a clergyman, sir?" At -this sage inquiry, so sagely administered, my rebellious lips -struggled with a smile, which, I misdoubt me much, was not unobserved -by the dark-looking minister; {219} for, upon my reply in the -negative, he turned very unceremoniously away, and betook him to his -pulpit. By-the-by, this had by no means been the first time I had been -called to answer the same inquiry during my ramble in the West. - -On returning to our lodgings after service, we found quite a -respectable congregation gathered around the signpost, to whom my pink -of major domos was holding forth in no measured terms upon the -propriety of "letting off the pig guns" at the dawning of the -ever-memorable morrow,[148] "in honour of the tay when our old farders -fought like coot fellows; they tid so, py jingoes; and I'll pe out at -tree o'glock, py jingoes, I will so," raphsodied the little Dutchman, -warming up under the fervour of his own eloquence. This subject was -still the theme of his rejoicing when he marshalled me to my dormitory -and wished me "pleashant treams." - -The first faint streak of crimson along the eastern heavens beheld me -mounting at the door of the inn; and by my side was the patriotic -domo, bowing, and ducking, and telling over all manner of kind wishes -till I had evanished from view. A more precious relic of the true -oldfashioned, swaggering, pot-bellied publican is rarely to be met, -than that which I encountered in the person of the odd little genius -whose peculiarities I have recounted: even the worthy old "Caleb of -Ravenswood," that miracle of major domos, would not {220} have -disowned my _Dutchy_ for a brother craftsman. The village of -Hillsborough is a pleasant, healthy, thriving place; and being -intersected by some of the most important state routes, will always -remain a thoroughfare. An attempt has been made by one of its citizens -to obtain for this place the location of the Theological Seminary now -in contemplation in the vicinity rather than at Carlinville, and the -offer he has made is a truly munificent one. The site proposed is a -beautiful mound, rising on the prairie's edge south of the village, -commanding a view for miles in every direction, and is far more -eligible than any spot I ever observed in Carlinville. - -After crossing a prairie about a dozen miles in width, and taking -breakfast with a farmer upon its edge, I continued my journey over the -undulating plains until near the middle of the afternoon, when I -reached my present stage. The whole region, as I journeyed through it, -lay still and quiet: every farmhouse and log-cabin was deserted by its -tenants, who had congregated to the nearest villages to celebrate the -day; and, verily, not a little did my heart smite me at my own -heedless desecration of the political Sabbath of our land. - -_Vandalia, Ill._ - - - - -XX - - "There is a pleasure in the pathless woods, - There is a rapture on the lonely shore, - There is society where none intrudes--" - _Childe Harold._ - - "The sun in all his broad career - Ne'er looked upon a fairer land, - Or brighter skies or sweeter scenes." - - -Ever since the days of that king of vagabonds, the mighty Nimrod of -sacred story, and, for aught to the contrary, as long before, there -has existed a certain roving, tameless race of wights, whose chief -delight has consisted in wandering up and down upon the face of the -earth, with no definite object of pursuit, and with no motive of -peregrination save a kind of restless, unsatisfied craving after -change; in its results much like the migratory instinct of -passage-birds, but, unlike that periodical instinct, incessant in -exercise. Now, whether it so be that a tincture of this same vagrant, -Bohemian spirit is coursing my veins under the name of "Yankee -enterprise," or whether, in my wanderings through these wild, -unsettled regions, I have imbibed a portion thereof, is not for me to -decide. Nevertheless, sure it is, not unfrequently are its promptings -detected as I journey through this beautiful land. - -It is evening now, and, after the fatigues of a pleasant day's ride, I -am seated beneath the piazza {222} of a neat farmhouse in the edge of -a forest, through which, for the last hour, my path has conducted, and -looking out upon a broad landscape of prairie. My landlord, a -high-minded, haughty Virginia emigrant, bitterly complains because, -forsooth, in the absence of slave-labour, he is forced to cultivate -his own farm; and though, by the aid of a Dutchman, he has made a -pretty place of it, yet he vows by all he loves to lay his bones -within the boundaries of the "Ancient Dominion." My ride since noon -has been delightful; over broad plains, intersected by deep creeks, -with their densely-wooded bottoms. These streams constitute one of the -most romantic features of the country. I have crossed very many during -my tour, and all exhibit the same characteristics: a broad, deep-cut -channel, with precipitous banks loaded with enormous trees, their -trunks interwoven and matted with tangled underbrush and gigantic -vegetation. As the traveller stands upon the arch of the bridge of -logs thrown over these creeks, sometimes with an altitude at the -centre of forty feet, he looks down upon a stream flowing in a deep, -serpentine bed, and winding away into the dusky shades of the -overhanging woods, until a graceful bend withdraws the dark surface of -the waters from his view. In the dry months of summer, these creeks -and ravines are either completely free of water, or contain but a mere -rivulet; and the traveller is amazed at the depth and breadth of a -channel so scantily supplied. But at the season of the spring or -autumnal rains the scene is changed: a deep, turbid torrent rolls -{223} wildly onward through the dark woods, bearing on its surface the -trunks of trees and the ruins of bridges swept from its banks; and the -stream which, a few weeks before, would scarcely have wet the -traveller's sole, is now an obstacle in his route difficult and -dangerous to overcome. - -Within a few miles of my present quarters an adventure transpired of -some slight interest to _myself_, at least, as it afforded me a weary -trudge beneath a broiling sun. As I was leisurely pursuing my way -through the forest, I had chanced to spy upon the banks of the -roadside a cluster of wild flowers of hues unusually brilliant; and, -with a spirit worthy of Dr. Bat,[149] I at once resolved they should -enrich my "_hortus siccus_." Alighting, therefore, and leaving my -steed by the roadside, I at length succeeded, after most laudable -scramblings for the advancement of science, in gathering up a bouquet -of surpassing magnificence. Alas! alas! would it had been less so; for -my youthful steed, all unused to such sights and actions, and -possessing, moreover, a most sovereign and shameful indifference to -the glories of botany, had long, with suspicious and sidelong glances, -been eying the vagaries of his truant master; and now, no sooner did -he draw nigh to resume his seat and journey, than the ungracious and -ungrateful quadruped flung aloft his head, and away he careered -through the green branches, mane streaming and saddle-bags flapping. -In vain was the brute addressed in language the most mild and -conciliatory that ever insinuated itself into horse's lug; in vain was -he ordered, {224} in tones of stern mandate, to cease his shameless -and unnatural rebellion, and to surrender himself incontinently and -without delay to his liege: entreaty and command, remonstrance and -menace, were alike unsuccessful; and away he flew, "with flowing tail -and flying mane," in utter contempt of all former or future vassalage. -At one moment he stood the attitude of humbleness and submission, -coolly cropping the herbage of the high banks; and then, the instant -the proximity of his much-abused master became perilous to his -freedom, aloft flew mane and tail, and away, away, the animal was off, -until an interval consistent with his new-gained license lay behind -him. After an hour of vexatious toiling through dust and sun, a -happily-executed manoeuvre once more placed the most undutiful of -creatures in my power. And then, be ye sure, that in true Gilpin -fashion, "whip and spur did make amends" for all arrears of unavenged -misbehaviour. - - "Twas for your pleasure that I _walked_, - Now you shall RUN for mine," - -was the very Christian spirit of retaliation which animated the few -succeeding miles. - -"But something too much of this." Some pages back I was entering the -capital of Illinois. The town is approached from the north, through a -scattered forest, separating it from the prairies; and its unusually -large and isolated buildings, few in number as they are, stationed -here and there upon the eminences of the broken surface, give the -place a singularly novel aspect viewed from the adjacent {225} -heights. There is but little of scenic attraction about the place, -and, to the traveller's eye, still less of the picturesque. Such huge -structures as are here beheld, in a town so inconsiderable in extent, -present an unnatural and forced aspect to one who has just emerged -from the wild waste of the neighbouring prairies, sprinkled with their -humble tenements of logs. The scene is not in keeping; it is not -picturesque. Such, at all events, were my "first impressions" on -entering the village, and _first_ impressions are not necessarily -false. As I drew nigh to the huge white tavern, a host of people were -swarming the doors; and, from certain uncouth noises which from time -to time went up from the midst thereof, not an inconsiderable portion -of the worthy multitude seemed to have succeeded in rendering -themselves gloriously tipsy in honour of the glorious day. There was -one keen, bilious-looking genius in linsey-woolsey, with a face, in -its intoxicated state, like a red-hot tomahawk, whom I regarded with -special admiration as high-priest of the bacchanal; and so fierce and -high were his objurgations, that the idea with some force suggested -itself, whether, in the course of years, he had not screamed his lean -and hungry visage to its present hatchet-like proportions. May he -forgive if I err. But not yet were my adventures over. Having effected -a retreat from the abominations of the bar-room, I had retired to a -chamber in the most quiet corner of the mansion, and had seated myself -to endite an epistle, when a rap at the door announced the presence of -mine host, leading along an old {226} yeoman whom I had noticed among -the revellers; and, having given him a ceremonious introduction, -withdrew. To what circumstance I was indebted for this unexpected -honour, I was puzzling myself to divine, when the old gentleman, after -a preface of clearings of the throat and scratchings of the head, gave -me briefly to understand, much to my admiration, that I was believed -to be neither more nor less than an "Agent for a Western Land -Speculating Company of the North," etc., etc.: and then, in a -confidential tone, before a syllable of negation or affirmation could -be offered, that he "owned a certain tract of land, so many acres -prairie, so many timber, so many cultivated, so many wild," etc., -etc.: the sequel was anticipated by undeceiving the old farmer -forthwith, though with no little difficulty. The cause of this mistake -I subsequently discovered to be a very slight circumstance. On the -tavern register in the bar-room I had entered as my residence my -native home at the North, more for the novelty of the idea than for -anything else; or because, being a sort of cosmopolitan, I might -presume myself at liberty to appropriate any spot I thought proper as -that of my departure or destination. As a matter of course, and with -laudable desire to augment their sum of useful knowledge, no sooner -had the traveller turned from the register than the sagacious host and -his compeer brandy-bibbers turned towards it; and being unable to -conceive any reasonable excuse for a man to be wandering so far from -his home except for lucre's sake, the conclusion at once and -irresistibly followed that {227} the stranger was a land-speculator, -or something thereunto akin; and it required not many moments for -such a wildfire idea to run through such an inflammable mass of -curiosity. - -With the situation and appearance of Vandalia I was not, as I have -expressed myself, much prepossessed; indeed, I was somewhat -disappointed.[150] Though not prepared for anything very striking, yet -in the capital of a state we always anticipate something, if not -superior or equal, at least not inferior to neighbouring towns of less -note. Its site is an elevated, undulating tract upon the west bank of -the Kaskaskia, and was once heavily timbered, as are now its suburbs. -The streets are of liberal breadth--some of them not less than eighty -feet from kerb to kerb--enclosing an elevated public square nearly in -the centre of the village, which a little expenditure of time and -money might render a delightful promenade. The public edifices are -very inconsiderable, consisting of an ordinary structure of brick for -legislative purposes; a similar building originally erected as a -banking establishment, but now occupied by the offices of the state -authorities; a Presbyterian Church, with cupola and bell, besides a -number of lesser buildings for purposes of worship and education. A -handsome structure of stone for a bank is, however, in progress, -which, when completed, with other public buildings in contemplation, -will add much to the aspect of the place. Here also is a land-office -for the district, and the Cumberland Road is permanently located and -partially constructed to the {228} place. An historical and -antiquarian society has here existed for about ten years, and its -published proceedings evince much research and information. "The -Illinois Magazine" was the name of an ably-conducted periodical -commenced at this town some years since, and prosperously carried on -by Judge Hall, but subsequently removed to Cincinnati.[151] Some of -the articles published in this magazine, descriptive of the state, -were of high merit. It is passing strange that a town like Vandalia, -with all the natural and artificial advantages it possesses; located -nearly twenty years ago, by state authority, expressly as the seat of -government; situated upon the banks of a fine stream, which small -expense would render navigable for steamers, and in the heart of a -healthy and fertile region, should have increased and flourished no -more than seems to have been the case. Vandalia will continue the seat -of government until the year 1840; when, agreeable to the late act of -Legislature, it is to be removed to Springfield, where an -appropriation of $50,000 has been made for a state-house now in -progress. - -The growth of Vandalia, though tardy, can perhaps be deemed so only in -comparison with the more rapid advancement of neighbouring towns; for -a few years after it was laid off it was unsurpassed in improvement by -any other. We are told that the first legislators who assembled in -session at this place sought their way through the neighbouring -prairies as the mariner steers over the trackless ocean, by his -knowledge of the cardinal points. {229} Judges and lawyers came -pouring in from opposite directions, as wandering tribes assemble to -council; and many were the tales of adventure and mishap related at -their meeting. Some had been lost in the prairies; some had slept in -the woods; some had been almost chilled to death, plunging through -creeks and rivers. A rich growth of majestic oaks then covered the -site of the future metropolis; tangled thickets almost impervious to -human foot surrounded it, and all was wilderness on every side. -Wonderful accounts of the country to the north; of rich lands, and -pure streams, and prairies more beautiful than any yet discovered, -soon began to come in by the hunters.[152] But over that country the -Indian yet roved, and the adventurous pioneer neither owned the soil -he cultivated, nor had the power to retain its possession from the -savage. Only eight years after this, and a change, as if by magic, had -come over the little village of Vandalia; and not only so, but over -the whole state, which was now discovered to be a region more -extensive and far more fertile than the "sacred island of Britain." -The region previously the frontier formed the heart of the fairest -portion of the state, and a dozen new counties were formed within its -extent. Mail-routes and post-roads, diverging in all directions from -the capital, had been established, and canals and railways had been -projected. Eight years more, and the "Northern frontier" is the seat -of power and population; and {230} here is removed the seat of -government, because the older settlements have not kept pace in -advancement. - -It was a fine mellow morning when I left Vandalia to pursue my journey -over the prairies to Carlisle. For some miles my route lay through a -dense clump of old woods, relieved at intervals by extended glades of -sparser growth. This road is but little travelled, and so obscure that -for most of the way I could avail myself of no other guide than the -"_blaze_" upon the trees; and this mark in many places, from its -ancient, weather-beaten aspect, seemed placed there by the axe of the -earliest pioneer. Rank grass has obliterated the pathway, and -overhanging boughs brush the cheek. It was in one of those extended -glades I have mentioned that a nobly-antlered buck and his beautiful -doe sprang out upon the path, and stood gazing upon me from the -wayside until I had approached so near that a rifle, even in hands all -unskilled in "gentle woodcraft," had not been harmless. I was even -beginning to meditate upon the probable effect of a pistol-shot at -twenty paces, when the graceful animals, throwing proudly up their -arching necks, bounded off into the thicket. Not many miles from the -spot I shared the rough fare of an old hunter, who related many -interesting facts in the character and habits of this animal, and -detailed some curious anecdotes in the history of his own wild life. -He was just about leaving his lodge on a short hunting excursion, and -the absence of a rifle alone prevented me from accepting a civil -request to bear him company. - -{231} Most of the route from Vandalia to Carlisle is very tolerable, -with the exception of one detestable spot, fitly named "Hurricane -Bottom;" a more dreary, desolate, purgatorial region than which, I am -very free to say, exists not in Illinois.[153] It is a densely-wooded -swamp, composed of soft blue clay, exceedingly tenacious to the touch -and fetid in odour, extending nearly two miles. A regular highway over -this mud-hole can scarcely be said to exist, though repeated attempts -to construct one have been made at great expense: and now the -traveller, upon entering this "slough of despond," gives his horse the -reins to slump, and slide, and plunge, and struggle through among the -mud-daubed trees to the best of his skill and ability. - -Night overtook me in the very heart of a broad prairie; and, like the -sea, a desolate place is the prairie of a dark night. It demanded no -little exercise of the eye and judgment to continue upon a route -where the path was constantly diverging and varying in all directions. -A bright glare of light at a distance at length arrested my attention. -On approaching, I found it to proceed from an encampment of tired -emigrants, whose ponderous teams were wheeled up around the blazing -fire; while the hungry oxen, released from the yoke, were browsing -upon the tops of the tall prairie-grass on every side. This grass, -though coarse in appearance, in the early stages of its growth -resembles young wheat, and furnishes a rich and succulent food for -cattle. It is even asserted that, when running at large in fields -where the young wheat covers the {232} ground, cattle choose the -prairie-grass in the margin of the field in preference to the wheat -itself. A few scattered, twinkling lights, and the fresh-smelling air -from the Kaskaskia, soon after informed me that I was not far from the -village of Carlisle.[154] This is a pleasant, romantic little town, -upon the west bank of the river, and upon the great stage-route -through the state from St. Louis to Vincennes. This circumstance, and -the intersection of several other state thoroughfares, give it the -animated, business-like aspect of a market town, not often witnessed -in a village so remote from the advantages of general commerce. Its -site is elevated and salubrious, on the border of a fertile prairie: -yet, notwithstanding all these advantages, Carlisle cannot be said to -have increased very rapidly when we consider that twenty years have -elapsed since it was first laid off for a town. It is the seat of -justice for Clinton county, and can boast a wooden courthouse in -"ruinous perfection." In its vicinity are some beautiful -country-seats. One of these, named "Mound Farm," the delightful -residence of Judge B----, imbowered in trees and shrubbery, and about -a mile from the village, I visited during my stay. It commands from -its elevated site a noble view of the neighbouring prairie, the -village and river at its foot, and the adjacent farms. Under the -superintendence of cultivated taste, this spot may become one of the -loveliest retreats in Illinois. - -_Clinton County, Ill._ - - - - -XXI - - "To him who, in the love of Nature, holds - Communion with her visible forms, she speaks - A various language." - THANATOPSIS. - - "The sunny Italy may boast - The beauteous tints that flush her skies, - And lovely round the Grecian coast - May thy blue pillars rise: - I only know how fair they stand - About my own beloved land." - _The Skies._--BRYANT. - - -To the man of cultivated imagination and delicate taste, the study of -nature never fails to afford a gratification, refined as it is -exquisite. In the pencilled petals of the flower as it bows to the -evening breeze; in the glittering scales of the fish leaping from the -wave; in the splendid plumage of the forest-bird, and in the -music-tinklings of the wreathed and enamelled sea-shell rocked by the -billow, he recognises an eloquence of beauty which he alone can -appreciate. For him, too, the myriad forms of animate creation unite -with inanimate nature in one mighty hymn of glory to their Maker, from -the hum of the sparkling ephemeroid as he blithely dances away his -little life in the beams of a summer sun, and the rustling music of -the prairie-weed swept by the winds, to the roar of the shaggy woods -upon the mountain-side, and the fierce, wild shriek of the -ocean-eagle. To investigate {234} the more minute and delicate of -Nature's workings is indeed a delightful task; and along this fairy -and flowery pathway the cultivated fancy revels with unmingled -gratification; but, as the mind approaches the vaster exhibitions of -might and majesty, the booming of the troubled ocean, the terrible -sublimity of the midnight storm, the cloudy magnificence of the -mountain height, the venerable grandeur of the aged forest, it expands -itself in unison till lost in the immensity of created things. -Reflections like these are constantly suggesting themselves to the -traveller's thoughts amid the grand scenery of the West; but at no -season do they rise more vividly upon the mind than when the -lengthened shadows of evening are stealing over the landscape, and the -summer sun is sinking to his rest. This is the "magic hour" when - - "Bright clouds are gathering one by one, - Sweeping in pomp round the dying sun; - With crimson banner and golden pall, - Like a host to their chieftain's funeral." - -There is not a more magnificent spectacle in nature than summer sunset -on the Western prairie. I have beheld the orb of day, after careering -his course like a giant through the firmament, go down into the fresh -tumbling billows of ocean; and sunset on the prairies, which recalls -that scene, is alone equalled by it. - -Near nightfall one evening I found myself in the middle of one of -these vast extended plains, where the eye roves unconfined over the -scene, for miles unrelieved by a stump, or a tree, or a thicket, and -meets only the deep blue of the horizon on {235} every side, blending -with the billowy foliage of the distant woodland. Descending a -graceful slope, even this object is lost, and a boundless landscape -of blue above and green below is unfolded to the traveller's vision; -again, approaching the summit of the succeeding slope, the forest -rises in clear outline in the margin of the vast panorama. For some -hours the heavens had been so enveloped in huge masses of brassy -clouds, that now, when the shadows deepened over sky and earth, one -was at a loss to determine whether the sun had yet gone down, except -for a broad zone of sapphire girding the whole western firmament. Upon -the superior edge of this deep belt now glistened the luminary, -gradually revealing itself to the eye, and blazing forth at length -"like angels' locks unshorn," flinging a halo of golden effulgence far -athwart the dim evening prairie. A metamorphosis so abrupt, so rapid, -so unlooked for, seemed almost to realize the fables of enchantment. -One moment, and the whole vast landscape lay veiled in shadowy -dimness; the next, and every grass blade, and spray, and floweret, and -nodding wild-weed seemed suffused in a flood of liquid effulgence; -while far along, the uniform ridges of the heaving plain gleamed in -the rich light like waves of a moonlit sea, sweeping away, roll upon -roll, till lost in distance to the eye. Slowly the splendid disk went -down behind the sea of waving verdure, until at length a single point -of intense, bewildering brightness flamed out above the mass of green. -An instant, this too was gone--as - - "An angel's wing through an opening cloud, - Is seen and then withdrawn:"-- - -{236} and then those deep, lurid funeral fires of departing day -streamed, flaring upward even to the zenith, flinging over the vast -concave a robe of unearthly, terrible magnificence! Then, as the fount -of all this splendour sank deeper and deeper beneath the horizon, the -blood-red flames died gently away into the mellow glories of summer -evening skylight, bathing the brow of heaven in a tender roseate, -which hours after cheered the lonely traveller across the waste. - -The pilgrim wanderer in other climes comes back to tell us of sunnier -skies and softer winds! The blue heavens of Italy have tasked the -inspiration of an hundred bards, and the warm brush of her own -Lorraine has swept the canvass with their gorgeous transcript! But -what pencil has wandered over the grander scenes of the North American -prairie? What bard has struck his lyre to the wild melody of -loveliness of the prairie sunset? Yet who shall tell us that there -exists not a glory in the scene, amid the untrod wastes of the -wilderness West, which even the skies of "sunny Italy" might not blush -anew to acknowledge? No wandering Harold has roamed on a pilgrimage of -poetry over the sublime and romantic scenery of our land, to hymn its -praise in breathing thoughts and glowing words; yet here as there, - - "Parting day - Dies like the dolphin, whom each pang imbues - With a new colour as it gasps away: - The last still loveliest, till--'tis gone--and all is gray!" - -I cannot tell of the beauties of climes I have never seen; but I have -gazed upon all the varied loveliness of my own fair, native land, from -the rising {237} sun to its setting, and in vain have tasked my fancy -to image a fairer. - -A pleasant day's ride directly west from Carlisle, over extensive and -beautiful prairies, intersected by shady woods, with their romantic -creeks, and the traveller finds himself in the quiet village of -Lebanon. Its site is a commanding, mound-like elevation in the skirts -of a forest, swelling gently up from the prairie on the west bank of -Little Silver Creek.[155] This stream, with the larger branch, -received its name from the circumstance that the early French settlers -of the country, in the zeal of their faith and research for the -precious metals, a long while mistook the brilliant specula of -_horneblende_ which flow in its clear waters for silver, and were -unwilling to be undeceived in their extravagant anticipations until -the absence of the material in their purses aroused them from their -error. In the neighbourhood of Rock Spring a shaft for a mine was -sunk.[156] It was early one beautiful morning that I found myself -approaching the village of Lebanon, though many miles distant in the -adjacent plain; appropriately named for its loveliness the -"Looking-glass Prairie." The rosy sunbeams were playing lightly over -the pleasant country-seats and neat farmhouses, with their white -palings, sprinkled along the declivity before me, imbowered in their -young orchards and waving maize-fields; while flocks and herds, {238} -gathered in isolated masses over the intervening meadow, were cropping -the rich herbage. To the right and left, and in the rear, the prairie -stretches away beyond the view. The body of the village is situated -about one mile from these suburbs, and its character and history may -be summed up in the single sentence, _a pleasant little Methodist -country village_. The peculiarities of the sect are here strikingly -manifested to the traveller in all the ordinary concerns and -occupations of life, even in the every-day garb and conversation of -its sober-browed citizens. It presents the spectacle, rare as it is -cheering, of an entire community characterized by its reverence for -religion. Located in its immediate vicinity is a flourishing seminary, -called McKendreean College.[157] It is under the supervision of the -Methodist Episcopal Church, and has at present two instructers, with -about fifty pupils in the preparatory department. It has a commodious -frame building, presenting from its elevated site an imposing view to -the traveller. As is usually the case with these little -out-of-the-world villages, when any object comes up in the midst -around which the feelings and interests of all may cluster, upon this -institution is centred the heart and soul of every man, to say not a -word of all the women and children, in Lebanon; and everything not -connected, either remotely or immediately, with its welfare, is deemed -of very little, if of any importance. "_The Seminary! The Seminary!_" -I defy a traveller to tarry two hours in the village without hearing -rung all the changes upon that topic for his edification. The -surrounding region is fertile, populous, {239} and highly cultivated; -and for an inland, farming village, it is quite as bustling, I -suppose, as should be expected; though, during my visit, its -streets--which, by-the-by, are of very liberal breadth--maintained a -most Sabbath-like aspect. - -The route from Lebanon to Belleville is, in fine weather, very -excellent. Deep woods on either side of the hard, smooth, winding -pathway, throw their boughs over the head, sometimes lengthening away -into an arched vista miles in extent. It was a sultry afternoon when -I was leisurely travelling along this road; and the shadowy coolness -of the atmosphere, the perfume of wild flowers and aromatic herbs -beneath the underbrush, and the profusion of summer fruit along the -roadside, was indescribably delightful. Near sunset, a graceful bend -of the road around a clump of trees placed before me the pretty little -village of Belleville; its neat enclosures and white cottages peeping -through the shrubbery, now gilded by the mellow rays of sunset in -every leaf and spray.[158] Whether it was owing to this agreeable -coincidence, or to the agreeable visit I here enjoyed, that I -conceived such an attachment for the place, I cannot say; but sure it -is, I fell in love with the little town at _first_ sight; and, what is -more marvellous, was not, according to all precedent, cured at second, -when on the following morning I sallied forth to reconnoitre its -beauties "at mine own good leisure." Now it is to be presumed that, -agreeable to the taste of six travellers in a dozen, I have passed -through many a village in Illinois quite as attractive as this same -Belleville: but to convince me of the fact would be no {240} easy -task. "Man is the sport of circumstance," says the fatalist; and -however this may be in the moral world, if any one feels disposed to -doubt upon the matter in the item before us, let him disembark from a -canal-boat at Pittsburgh on a rainy, misty, miserable morning; and -then, unable to secure for his houseless head a shelter from the -pitiless peltings, let him hurry away through the filthy streets, -deluged with inky water, to a crowded Ohio steamer; and if -"_circumstances_" do not force him to dislike Pittsburgh ever after, -then his human nature is vastly more forbearing than my own. Change -the picture. Let him enter the quiet little Illinois village at the -gentle hour of sunset; let him meet warm hospitality, and look upon -fair forms and bright faces, and if he fail to be pleased with that -place, why, "he's not the man I took him for." - -The public buildings of Belleville are a handsome courthouse of brick, -a wretched old jail of the same material, a public hall belonging to a -library company, and a small framed Methodist house of worship. It is -situated in the centre of "Turkey-hill Settlement," one of the oldest -and most flourishing in the state, and has a fine timber tract and -several beautiful country-seats in its vicinity. - -Leaving Belleville with some reluctance, and not a few "longing, -lingering looks behind," my route continued westward over a broken -region of alternating forest and prairie, sparsely sprinkled with -trees, and yet more sparsely with inhabitants. At length, having -descended a precipitous hill, the rounded summit of which, as well as -the adjoining heights, commanded an immense expanse of level {241} -landscape, stretching off from the base, I stood once more upon the -fertile soil of the "_American Bottom_." The sharp, heavy-roofed -French cottages, with low verandahs running around; the ungainly -outhouses and enclosures; the curiously-fashioned vehicles and -instruments of husbandry in the barnyards and before the doors; the -foreign garb and dialect of the people; and, above all, the amazing -fertility of the soil, over whose exhaustless depths the maize has -rustled half a century, constitute the most striking characteristics -of this interesting tract, in the section over which I was passing. -This settlement, extending from the foot of the bluffs for several -miles over the Bottom, was formed about forty years ago by a colony -from Cahokia, and known by the name of "_Little French Village_;" it -now comprises about twenty houses and a grogshop. In these bluffs -lies an exhaustless bed of bituminous coal: vast quantities have been -transported to St. Louis, and for this purpose principally is the -railway to the river designed. This vein of coal is said to have been -discovered by the rivulet of a spring issuing from the base of the -bluffs. The stratum is about six feet in thickness, increasing in size -as it penetrates the hill horizontally. Though somewhat rotten and -slaty, it is in some particulars not inferior to the coal of the -Alleghanies; and the vein is thought to extend from the mouth of the -Kaskaskia to that of the Illinois. About three miles below the present -shaft, a continuation of the bed was discovered by fire communicated -from the root of a tree; the bank of coal burnt for upward of a {242} -twelvemonth, and the conflagration was then smothered only by the -falling in of the superincumbent soil. St. Clair county, which -embraces a large portion of the American Bottom, is the oldest -settlement in the state. In 1795 the county was formed by the -Legislature of the Northwestern Territory, and then included all -settlements in Illinois east of the Mississippi. - -I had just cleverly cleared the outskirts of the little antediluvian -village beneath the bluffs, when a dark, watery-looking cloud came -tumbling up out of the west; the thunder roared across the Bottom and -was reverberated from the cliffs, and in a few moments down came the -big rain-drops dancing in torrents from the clouds, and pattering up -like mist along the plain. Verily, groaned forth the wo-begone -traveller, this is the home of clouds and the realm of thunder! Never -did hapless mortals sustain completer drenchings than did the -traveller and his steed, notwithstanding upon the first onset they had -plunged themselves into the sheltering depths of the wood. A half -hour's gallop over the slippery bottom, and the stern roar of a -steamer's 'scape-pipe informed me that I was not far from the "great -waters." A few yards through the belt of forest, and the city of San -Louis, with towers and roofs, stood before me. - -_St. Louis._ - - - - -XXII - - "I have no wife nor children, good or bad, to provide for; - a mere spectator of other men's fortunes and adventures, - and how they play their parts."--_Anat. of Melancholy._ - - "Oh ye dread scenes, where Nature dwells alone, - Serenely glorious on her craggy throne; - Ye citadels of rock, gigantic forms, - Veiled by the mists, and girdled by the storms; - Ravines, and glens, and deep-resounding caves, - That hold communion with the torrent waves." - HEMANS. - - -Ah, the single blessedness of the unmarried state! Such is the -sentiment of an ancient worthy, quietly expressed in the lines which I -have selected for a motto. After dozing away half his days and all his -energies within the dusky walls of a university, tumbling over musty -tomes and shrivelled parchments until his very brain had become -cobwebbed as the alcoves he haunted, and the blood in his veins was -all "adust and thin;" then, forsooth, the shameless old fellow issues -forth with his vainglorious sentiment upon his lips! And yet, now that -we consider, there is marvellous "method" in the old man's "madness!" -In very truth and soberness, there is a blessedness which the bachelor -can boast, _single_ though it be, in which the "man of family," though -_doubly_ blessed, cannot share! To the former, life may be made one -long holyday, and its path a varied and flowery one! while to the poor -{244} victim of matrimonial toils, _wife and children_ are the Alpha -and Omega of a weary existence! Of all travelling companionship, -forfend us from that of a married man! Independence! He knows not of -it! Such is the text and such the commentary: now for the practical -application. - -It was a balmy July morning, and the flutelike melody of the -turtle-dove was ringing through the woodlands. Leaving the pleasant -villa of Dr. F. in the environs of North St. Louis, I found myself -once more fairly _en route_, winding along that delightful road which -sweeps the western bottom of the Mississippi. Circumstances not within -my control, Benedict though I am, had recalled me, after a ramble of -but a few weeks over the prairies, again to the city, and compelled me -to relinquish my original design of a tour of the extreme Northwest. -Ah, the despotism of circumstance! My delay, however, proved a brief, -though pleasant one; and with a something of mingled _regret_ and -anticipation it was that I turned from the bright eyes and dark locks -of St. Louis--"forgive my folly"--and once again beheld its imposing -structures fade in distance. - -By far the most delightful drive in the vicinity of St. Louis is that -of four or five miles in its northern suburbs, along the river bottom. -The road, emerging from the streets of the city through one of its -finest sections, and leaving the "Big Mound" upon the right, sweeps -off for several miles upon a succession of broad plateaux, rolling up -from the water's edge. To the left lies an extensive range of heights, -surmounted by ancient mounds and crowned with {245} groves of the -shrub-oak, which afford a delightful shade to the road running below. -Along this elevated ridge beautiful country-seats, with graceful -piazzas and green Venitian blinds, are caught from time to time -glancing through the shrubbery; while to the right, smooth meadows -spread themselves away to the heavy belt of forest which margins the -Mississippi. Among these pleasant villas the little white -farm-cottage, formerly the residence of Mr. C., beneath the hills, -surrounded by its handsome grounds, and gardens, and glittering -fishponds, partially shrouded by the broad leaved catalpa, the willow, -the acacia, and other ornamental trees, presents, perhaps, the rarest -instance of natural beauty adorned by refined taste. A visit to this -delightful spot during my stay at St. Louis informed me of the fact -that, within as well as abroad, the hand of education and refinement -had not been idle. Paintings, busts, medallions, Indian curiosities, -&c., &c., tastefully arranged around the walls and shelves of an -elegant library, presented a feast to the visiter as rare in the Far -West as it is agreeable to a cultivated mind. Near this cottage is the -intended site of the building of the St. Louis Catholic University, a -lofty and commanding spot.[159] A considerable tract was here -purchased, at a cost of thirty thousand dollars; but the design of -removal from the city has for the present been relinquished. -Immediately adjoining is situated the stately villa of Colonel -O'Fallon, with its highly-cultivated gardens and its beautiful park -sweeping off in the rear. In a very few years this must become one of -the most delightful spots {246} in the West. For its elegant grounds, -its green and hot houses, and its exotic and indigenous plants, it is, -perhaps, already unequalled west of Cincinnati. No expense, attention, -or taste will be wanting to render it all of which the spot is -capable. - -Leaving the Bottom, the road winds gracefully off from the -Mississippi, over the hard soil of the bluffs, through a region broken -up by sink-holes, and covered with a meager growth of oaks, with small -farms at intervals along the route, until at length the traveller -finds himself at that beautiful spot on the Missouri, Belle Fontaine, -fifteen miles from St. Louis. On account of the salubrity and beauty -of the site, an army cantonment was located here by General Wilkinson -in the early part of the present century, and fortifications -consisting of palisade-work existed, and a line of log-barracks -sufficient to quarter half a regiment. Nothing now remains but a pile -of ruins. "The barracks have crumpled into dust, and the ploughshare -has passed over the promenade of the sentinel." Jefferson Barracks, in -the southern environs of the city, have superseded the old fortress, -and the spot has been sold to a company, which has here laid off a -town; and as most of the lots have been disposed of, and a -turnpike-road from St. Louis has been chartered, a succeeding tourist -may, at no distant period, pencil it in his notebook "a flourishing -village." _Cold Water Creek_ is the name of a clear stream which -empties itself into the Missouri just above, upon which are several -mill-privileges; and from the base of the bluff itself gushes a -fountain, on account {247} of which the place received its name from -the French. The site for the new town is a commanding and beautiful -one, being a bold, green promontory, rising from the margin of the -stream about four miles above its confluence with the Mississippi. The -view developed to the eye of the spectator from this spot on a fine -day is one of mingled sublimity and beauty. For some miles these old -giants of the West are beheld roaming along through their deep, -fertile valleys, so different in character and aspect that one can -hardly reconcile with that diversity the fact that their destiny is -soon to become _one_ and unchangeably the same. And then comes the -mighty "meeting of the waters," to which no pen can hope to render -justice. - -There is a singular circumstance related of the discovery of a large -_human tooth_ many years since at Belle Fontaine, in excavating a -well, when at the depth of forty feet. This was the more extraordinary -as the spot was not alluvion, and could have undergone no change from -natural causes for centuries. Various strata of clay were passed -through before the _tooth_ was thrown up; and this circumstance, -together with the situation of the place, would almost preclude the -possibility of a vein of subterraneous water having conveyed it to the -spot. This is mysterious enough, certainly; but the fact is authentic. - -Returning at an angle of forty-five degrees with the road by which he -approaches, a ride of a dozen miles up the Missouri places the -traveller upon a bold roll of the prairie, from which, in the -beautiful {248} valley below, rising above the forest, appear the -steep roofs and tall chimneys of the little hamlet of Florissant.[160] -Its original name was St. Ferdinand, titular saint of its church; and -though one of the most advanced in years, it is by no means the most -antique-looking of those ancient villages planted by the early French. -Its site is highly romantic, upon the banks of a creek of the same -name, and in the heart of one of the most fertile and luxuriant -valleys ever subjected to cultivation.[161] The village now embraces -about thirty or forty irregular edifices, somewhat modernized in style -and structure, surrounded by extensive corn-fields, wandering flocks -of Indian ponies, and herds of cattle browsing in the plain. Here also -is a Catholic Church, a neat building of brick, with belfry and bell; -connected with which is a convent of nuns, and by these is conducted -a Seminary for young ladies of some note. This institution--if the -Hibernian hostess of the little inn at which I dined is to be credited -in her statements--is the most flourishing establishment in all the -region far and near! and "_heducates_ the young _leddies_ in -everything but religion!" For the redoubtable _Tonish_, who whilom -figured so bravely on the prairies and in print, I made diligent -inquiry. His cottage--the best in the village--and a dirty little -brood of his posterity, were pointed out to me, but the old worthy -himself was, as usual, in the regions of the Rocky Mountains: when -last seen, he could still tell the stoutest lie with the steadiest -muscles of any man in the village, while he and his {249} hopeful son -could cover each other's trail so nicely that a lynx-eye would fail to -detect them. In the vicinity of Florissant is a settlement called -Owen's Station, formerly the site of a stoccade fort for defence -against the Indians, and of a Spanish _station_ on account of a fine -fountain in the vicinity.[162] - -The direct route from St. Louis to Florissant is an excellent one, -over a high rolling prairie, and commands a noble sweep of scenery. -From several elevated points, the white cliffs beyond the American -Bottom, more than twenty miles distant, may be seen, while farmhouses -and villas are beheld in all directions gleaming through the groves. -Scenery of the same general character presents itself upon the direct -route to St. Charles, with the exception of steeper hills and broader -plains. Upon this route my path entered nearly at right angles soon -after leaving the French village. Upon the right shore of the -Missouri, not far above Florissant, is situated _La Charbonnière_, a -name given to a celebrated coal-bank in a bluff about two hundred feet -in altitude, and about twice as long.[163] The stratum of coal is -about a dozen feet in thickness, and lies directly upon the margin of -the river: the quantity in the bank is said to be immense, and it -contains an unusual proportion of bitumen. Iron ore has also been -discovered at this spot. - -The road over the Missouri Bottom was detestable, as never fails to be -the case after a continued rain-storm, and my horse's leg sank to the -middle in the black, unctuous loam almost at every step. Upon either -side, like colonnades, rose up those {250} enormous shafts of living -verdure which strike the solitary traveller upon these unfrequented -bottoms with such awe and veneration; while the huge whirls of the -writhing wild-vine hung dangling, like gigantic serpents, from the -lofty columns around whose capitals they clung. On descending the -bluffs to the bottom, the traveller crosses a bed of limestone, in -which is said to exist a fissure perfectly fathomless. In a few -moments, the boiling, turbid floods of the Missouri are beheld rolling -majestically along at the feet, and to the stranger's eye, at first -sight, always suggesting the idea of _unusual_ agitation; but so have -they rolled onward century after century, age after age. The wild and -impetuous character of this river, together with the vast quantities -of soil with which its waters are charged, impart to it a natural -sublimity far more striking, at first view, than that of the -Mississippi. This circumstance was not unobserved by the Indian -tribes, who appropriately named it the "_Smoky Water_:" by others it -was styled the "_Mad River_," on account of the impetuosity of its -current; and in all dialects it is called the "_Mother of Floods_," -indicative of the immense volume of its waters. Various causes have -been assigned for the turbid character of the Missouri: and though, -doubtless, heavily charged by the volumes of sand thrown into its -channel by the Yellow Stone--its longest tributary, equal to the -Ohio--and by the chalky clay of the White River, yet we are told that -it is characterized by the same phenomenon from its very source. At -the gates of the Rocky Mountains, where, having torn {251} for itself -a channel through the everlasting hills, it comes rushing out through -the vast prairie-plains at their base, it is the same dark, wild -torrent as at its turbid embouchure. And, strange to tell, after -roaming thousands of miles, and receiving into its bosom streams equal -to itself, and hundreds of lesser, though powerful tributaries, it -still retains, unaltered, in depth or breadth, that volume which at -last it rolls into its mighty rival! Torrent after torrent, river -after river, pour in their floods, yet the giant stream rolls -majestically onward unchanged! At the village of St. Charles its depth -and breadth is the same as at the Mandan villages, nearly two thousand -miles nearer its source.[164] The same inexplicable phenomenon -characterizes the Mississippi, and, indeed, all the great rivers of -the West; for _inexplicable_ the circumstance yet remains, however -plausible the theories alleged in explanation. With regard to the -Missouri, it is urged that the porous, sandy soil of its broad -alluvions absorbs, on the principle of capillary attraction, much of -its volume, conveying it by subterraneous channels to the Mississippi; -and of this latter stream it is asserted that large quantities of its -waters are taken up by the innumerable bayous, lakes, and lagoons -intersecting the lower region of its course; and thus, unperceived, -they find their way to the gulf. - -The navigation of the Missouri is thought to be the most hazardous and -difficult of any of the Western rivers, owing to its mad, impetuous -current, to the innumerable obstructions in its bed, and the incessant -variation of its channel.[165] Insurance and pilotage {252} upon this -river are higher than on others; the season of navigation is briefer, -and steamers never pursue their course after dusk. Its vast length and -numerous tributaries render it liable, also, to frequent floods, of -which three are expected every year. The chief of these takes place in -the month of June, when the heaped-up snows of the Rocky Mountains are -melted, and, having flowed thousands of miles through the prairies, -reach the Mississippi. The ice and snows of the Alleghanies, and the -wild-rice lakes of the far Upper Mississippi, months before have -reached their destination, and thus a general inundation, unavoidable -had the floods been simultaneous, is prevented by Providence. The -alluvions of the Missouri are said to be higher than, and not so broad -as, those of the Mississippi; yet their extent is constantly varying -by the violence of the current, even more than those of the latter -stream. Many years ago the flourishing town of Franklin was completely -torn away from its foundations, and its inhabitants were forced to -flee to the adjacent heights; and the bottom opposite St. Charles and -at numerous other places has, within the few years past, suffered -astonishing changes.[166] Opposite the town now flow the waters of the -river where once stood farms and orchards. - -The source of the Missouri and that of the Columbia, we are told, are -in such immediate proximity, that a walk of but a few miles will -enable the traveller to drink from the fountains of each. Yet how -unlike their destiny! One passes off through a region of boundless -prairie equal in extent to a {253} sixth of our globe; and, after a -thousand wanderings, disembogues its troubled waters into the Mexican -Gulf; the other, winding away towards the setting sun, rolls on -through forests untrodden by human footstep till it sleeps in the -Pacific Seas. Their destinies reach their fulfilment at opposite -extremes of a continent! How like, how very like are the destinies of -these far, lonely rivers to the destinies of human life! Those who, in -the beautiful starlight of our boyhood, were our schoolmates and -play-fellows, where are they when our sun of ripened maturity has -reached its meridian? and what, and where are they and we, when -evening's lengthening shadows are gathering over the landscape of -life? Our paths diverged but little at first, but mountains, -continents, half a world of waters may divide our destinies, and -opposite extremes of "the great globe itself" witness their -consummation. Yet, like the floods of the far-winding rivers, the -streams of our existences will meet again, and mingle in the -ocean--that ocean without a shore--_ETERNITY_! - -The gates of the Rocky Mountains, through which the waters of the -Missouri rush forth into the prairies of the great Valley, are -described as one of the sublimest spectacles in nature. Conceive the -floods of a powerful mountain-torrent compressed in mid career into a -width of less than one hundred and fifty yards, rushing with the speed -of "the wild horse's wilder sire" through a chasm whose vast walls of -Nature's own masonry rear themselves on either side from the raging -waters to the precipitous {254} height of twelve hundred perpendicular -feet; and then consider if imagination can compass a scene of darker, -more terrible sublimity! And then sweep onward with the current, and -within one hundred miles you behold a cataract, next to Niagara, from -all description grandest in the world. Such are some of the mighty -features of the stream upon which I was now standing. - -As to the much disputed question which of the great streams of the -West is entitled to the name of the _Main River_, I shall content -myself with a brief statement of the arguments alleged in support of -the pretensions of either claimant. The volume of the Missouri at the -confluence far exceeds that of its rival; the length of its course and -the number and magnitude of its tributaries are also greater, and it -imparts a character to the united streams. On the other hand, the -Mississippi, geographically and geologically considered, is the grand -Central River of the continent, maintaining an undeviating course from -north to south; the valley which it drains is far more extensive and -fertile than that of the Missouri; and from the circumstance of -having first been explored, it has given a name to the great river of -the Western Valley which it will probably ever retain, whatever the -right. "_Sed non nostrum tantas componere lites._" - -_St. Charles, Mo._ - - - - -XXIII - - "Say, ancient edifice, thyself with years - Grown gray, how long upon the hill has stood - Thy weather-braving tower?" - HURDIS. - - "An _honourable_ murder, if you will; - For naught he did in hate, but all in honour." - - "The whole broad earth is beautiful - To minds attuned aright." - ROBT. DALE OWEN. - - -The view of St. Charles from the opposite bank of the Missouri is a -fine one. The turbid stream rolls along the village nearly parallel -with the interval upon which it is situated. A long line of neat -edifices, chiefly of brick, with a few ruinous old structures of logs -and plastering, relics of French or Spanish taste and domination, -extend along the shore; beyond these, a range of bluffs rear -themselves proudly above the village, crowned with their academic hall -and a neat stone church, its spire surmounted by the cross. Between -these structures, upon a spot somewhat more elevated, appears the -basement section of "a stern round tower of former days," now a ruin; -and, though a very peaceable {10} pile of limestone and mortar, -well-fitted in distant view to conjure up a host of imaginings: like -Shenstone's Ruined Abbey, forsooth, - - "Pride of ancient days; - Now but of use to grace a rural scene, - Or bound our vistas." - -The history of the tower, if tower it may be styled, is briefly -this.[167] During the era of Spanish rule in this region, before its -cession to France half a century since, this structure was erected as -a watch-tower or magazine. Subsequently it was dismantled, and -partially fell to ruins, when the novel project was started to plant a -_windmill_ upon the foundation. This was done; but either the wind was -too high or too low, too frequent or too rare, or neither; or there -was no corn to grind, or the projector despaired of success, or some -other of the fifty untoward circumstances which suggest themselves -came to pass; the windmill ere long fell to pieces, and left the old -ruin to the tender mercies of time and tempest, a monument of chance -and change. - -The evening of my arrival at St. Charles I strolled off at about -sunset, and, ascending the bluffs, approached the old ruin. The walls -of rough limestone are massively deep, and the altitude cannot now be -less than twenty feet. The view from the spot is noble, and peculiarly -impressive at the sunset hour. Directly at your feet lies the village, -from the midst of which come up the rural sounds of evening; the -gladsome laugh of children at their sports; the whistle of the -home-plodding labourer; the quiet hum of gossips around the open -doors; {11} while upon the river's brink a huge steam-mill sends forth -its ceaseless "boom, boom" upon the still air. Beneath the village -ripples the Missouri, with a fine sweep both above and below the town -not unlike the letter S; while beyond the stream extends its -heavily-timbered bottom: one cluster of trees directly opposite are -Titanic in dimensions. Upon the summit of the bluff, in the shadow of -the ruin by your side, lies a sunken grave. It is the grave of a -_duellist_. Over it trail the long, melancholy branches of a weeping -willow. A neat paling once protected the spot from the wanderer's -footstep, but it is gone now; only a rotten relic remains. All is -still. The sun has long since gone down. One after another the evening -sounds have died away in the village at the feet, and one after -another the lights have twinkled forth from the casements. A fresh -breeze is coming up from the water; the rushing wing of the night-hawk -strikes fitfully upon the ear; and yonder sails the beautiful "boat of -light," the pale sweet crescent. On that crescent is gazing many a -distant friend! What a spot--what an hour to meditate upon the varying -destinies of life! I seated myself upon the foot of the grave, which -still retained some little elevation from the surrounding soil, and -the night-wind sighed through the trailing boughs as if a requiem to -him who slumbered beneath. _Requiescat in pace_, in no meaningless -ceremony, might be pronounced over him, for his end was a troubled -one. Unfortunate man! you have gone to your account; and that -tabernacle in which once burned a beautiful flame has long since been -mingling with the dust: {12} but I had rather be even as thou art, -cold in an unhonoured grave, than to live on and wear away a miserable -remnant of existence, that "guilty thing" with crimsoned hand and brow -besprinkled with blood. To drag out a weary length of days and nights; -to feel life a bitterness, and all its verdure scathed; to walk about -among the ranks of men a being - - "Mark'd, - And sign'd, and quoted for a deed of shame;" - -to feel a stain upon the palm which not all the waters of ocean could -wash away; a smell of blood which not all the perfumes of Arabia -could sweeten; ah! give me death rather than this! That the custom of -duelling, under the present arrangements of society and code of -honour, in some sections of our country, is necessary, is more than -problematical; that its practice will continue to exist is certain; -but, when death ensues, "'tis the surviver dies." - -The stranger has never, perhaps, stood upon the bluffs of St. Charles -without casting a glance of anxious interest upon that lone, deserted -grave; and there are associated with its existence circumstances of -melancholy import. Twenty years ago, he who lies there was a young, -accomplished barrister of superior abilities, distinguished rank, and -rapidly rising to eminence in the city of St. Louis. Unhappily, for -words uttered in the warmth of political controversy, offence was -taken; satisfaction demanded; a meeting upon that dark and bloody -ground opposite the city ensued; and poor B---- fell, in the sunshine -of his spring, lamented by all {13} who had known him. Agreeable to -his request in issue of his death, his remains were conveyed to this -spot and interred. Years have since rolled away, and the melancholy -event is now among forgotten things; but the old ruin, beneath whose -shadow he slumbers, will long remain his monument; and the distant -traveller, when he visits St. Charles, will pause and ponder over his -lonely grave.[168] - - "But let no one reproach his memory. - His life has paid the forfeit of his folly, - Let that suffice." - -Ah! the valuable blood which has steeped the sands of that steril -island in the Mississippi opposite St. Louis! Nearly thirty years ago -a fatal encounter took place between Dr. F. and Dr. G., in which the -latter fell: that between young B. and a Mr. C. I have alluded to, -and several other similar combats transpired on the spot at about the -same time. The bloody affair between Lieutenants Biddle and Pettis, -and that between Lucas and Benton, are of more recent date, and, with -several others, are familiar in the memory of all. The spot has been -fitly named "Murder" or "Blood Island."[169] Lying in the middle of -the stream, it is without the jurisdiction of either of the adjoining -states; and deep is the curse which has descended upon its shores! - -{14} The morning star was beaming beautifully forth from the blue -eastern heavens when I mounted my horse for a visit to that celebrated -spot, "_Les Mamelles_." A pleasant ride of three miles through the -forest-path beneath the bluffs brought me at sunrise to the spot. -Every tree was wreathed with the wild rose like a rainbow; and the -breeze was laden with perfume. It is a little singular, the difficulty -with which visiters usually meet in finding this place. The Duke of -Saxe Weimar, among other dignitaries, when on his tour of the West -several years since, tells us that he lost his way in the -neighbouring prairie by pursuing the river road instead of that -beneath the bluffs. The natural eminences which have obtained the -appropriate appellation of Mamelles, from their striking resemblance -to the female breast, are a pair of lofty, conical mounds, from eighty -to one hundred feet altitude, swelling up perfectly naked and smooth -upon the margin of that celebrated prairie which owes to them a name. -So beautifully are they paired and so richly rounded, that it would -hardly require a Frenchman's eye or that of an Indian to detect the -resemblance designated, remarkable though both races have shown -themselves for bestowing upon objects in natural scenery significant -names. Though somewhat resembling those artificial earth-heaps which -form such an interesting feature of the West, these mounds are, -doubtless, but a broken continuation of the Missouri bluffs, which at -this point terminate from the south, while those of the Mississippi, -commencing at the same point, stretch away at right angles to the -west. {15} The mounds are of an oblong, elliptical outline, parallel -to each other, in immediate proximity, and united at the extremities -adjoining the range of highlands by a curved elevation somewhat less -in height. They are composed entirely of earth, and in their formation -are exceedingly uniform and graceful. Numerous springs of water gush -out from their base. But an adequate conception of these interesting -objects can hardly be conveyed by the pen; at all events, without -somewhat more of the quality of patience than chances to be the gift -of my own wayward instrument. In brief, then, imagine a huge _spur_, -in fashion somewhat like to that of a militia major, with the enormous -rowel stretching off to the south, and the heel-bow rounding away to -the northeast and northwest, terminated at each extremity by a vast -excrescence; imagine all this spread out in the margin of an extended -prairie, and a tolerably correct, though inadequate idea of the -outline of the Mamelles is obtained. The semicircular area in the bow -of the spur between the mounds is a deep dingle, choked up with -stunted trees and tangled underbrush of hazels, sumach, and -wild-berry, while the range of highlands crowned with forest goes back -in the rear. This line of heights extends up the Missouri for some -distance, at times rising directly from the water's edge to the height -of two hundred feet, rough and ragged, but generally leaving a -heavily-timbered bottom several miles in breadth in the interval, and -in the rear rolling off into high, undulating prairie. The bluffs of -the Mississippi extend to the westward in a similar {16} manner, but -the prairie interval is broader and more liable to inundation. The -distance from the Mamelles to the confluence of the rivers is, by -their meanderings, about twenty or thirty miles, and is very nearly -divided into prairie and timber. The extremity of the point is liable -to inundation, and its growth of forest is enormous. - -The view from the summit of the Mamelles, as the morning sun was -flinging over the landscape his ruddy dyes, was one of eminent, -surpassing loveliness. It is celebrated, indeed, as the most beautiful -prairie-scene in the Western Valley, and one of the most romantic -views in the country. To the right extends the Missouri Bottom, -studded with farms of the French villagers, and the river-bank -margined with trees which conceal the stream from the eye. Its course -is delineated, however, by the blue line of bluffs upon the opposite -side, gracefully curving towards the distant Mississippi until the -trace fades away at the confluence. In front is spread out the lovely -Mamelle Prairie, with its waving ocean of rich flowers of every form, -and scent, and hue, while green groves are beheld swelling out into -its bosom, and hundreds of cattle are cropping the herbage. In one -direction the view is that of a boundless plain of verdure; and at -intervals in the deep emerald is caught the gleam from the glassy -surface of a lake, of which there are many scattered over the -peninsula. All along the northern horizon, curving away in a -magnificent sweep of forty miles to the west, rise the hoary cliffs of -the Mississippi, in the opposite state, like towers and castles; while -{17} the windings of the stream itself are betrayed by the heavy -forest-belt skirting the prairie's edge. It is not many years since -this bank of the river was perfectly naked, with not a fringe of wood. -Tracing along the bold façade of cliffs on the opposite shore, -enveloped in their misty mantle of azure, the eye detects the -embouchure of the Illinois and of several smaller streams by the -deep-cut openings. To the left extends the prairie for seventy miles, -with an average breadth of five from the river, along which, for most -of the distance, it stretches. Here and there in the smooth surface -stands out a solitary sycamore of enormous size, heaving aloft its -gigantic limbs like a monarch of the scene. Upward of fifty thousand -acres are here laid open to the eye at a single glance, with a soil of -exhaustless fertility and of the easiest culture. - -The whole plain spread out at the foot of the Mamelles bears abundant -evidence of having once been submerged. The depth of the alluvion is -upward of forty feet; and from that depth we are told that logs, -leaves, coal, and a stratum of sand and pebbles bearing marks of the -attrition of running waters, have been thrown up. Through the middle -of the prairie pass several deep canals, apparently ancient channels -of the rivers, and which now form the bed of a long irregular lake -called _Marais Croche_; there is another lake of considerable extent -called _Marais Temps Clair_.[170] This beautiful prairie once, then, -formed a portion of that immense lake which at a remote period held -possession of the American Bottom; and at the base of the graceful -{18} Mamelles these giant rivers merrily mingled their waters, and -then rolled onward to the gulf. That ages have since elapsed, the -amazing depth of the alluvial and vegetable mould, and the ancient -monuments reposing upon some portions of the surface, leave no room -for doubt.[171] By heavy and continued deposites of alluvion, the vast -peninsula gradually rose up from the waters; the Missouri was forced -back to the bluff La Charbonnière, and the rival stream to the Piasa -cliffs of Illinois. - -_St. Charles, Mo._ - - - - -XXIV - - "Westward the star of empire holds its way." - BERKELEY. - - "Travellers entering here behold around - A large and spacious plain, on every side - Strew'd with beauty, whose fair grassy ground, - Mantled with green, and goodly beautified - With all the ornaments of Flora's pride." - - "The flowers, the fair young flowers." - - "Ye are the stars of earth." - - -Ten years ago, and the pleasant little village of St. Charles was -regarded as quite the frontier-post of civilized life; now it is a -flourishing town, and an early stage in the traveller's route to the -Far West. Its origin, with that of most of the early settlements in -this section of the valley, is French, and {19} some few of the -peculiar characteristics of its founders are yet retained, though -hardly to the extent as in some other villages which date back to the -same era. The ancient style of some of the buildings, the singular -costume, the quick step, the dark complexion, dark eyes and dark hair, -and the merry, fluent flow of a nondescript idiom, are, however, at -once perceived by the stranger, and indicate a peculiar people. St. -Charles was settled in 1769, and for upward of forty years retained -its original name, _Les Petites Cotes_. For some time it was under the -Spanish government with the rest of the territory, and from this -circumstance and a variety of others its population is made up of a -heterogeneous mass of people, from almost every nation under the sun. -Quite a flood of German emigration has, within six or seven years -past, poured into the county. That wizard spell, however, under which -all these early French settlements seem to have been lying for more -than a century, St. Charles has not, until within a few years past, -possessed the energy to throw off, though now the inroads of American -enterprise upon the ancient order of things is too palpable to be -unobserved or mistaken. The site of the town is high and healthy, upon -a bed of limestone extending along the stream, and upon a narrow -_plateau_ one or two miles in extent beneath the overhanging bluffs. -Upon this interval are laid off five streets parallel with the river, -only the first of which is lined with buildings. Below the village the -alluvion stretches along the margin of the stream for three miles, -until, reaching the termination of the {20} highlands at the Mamelles, -it spreads itself out to the north and west into the celebrated -prairie I have described. St. Charles has long been a great -thoroughfare to the vast region west of the Missouri, and must always -continue so to be: a railroad from St. Louis in this direction must -pass through the place, as well as the national road now in progress. -These circumstances, together with its eligible site for commerce; the -exhaustless fertility of the neighbouring region, and the quantities -of coal and iron it is believed to contain, must render St. Charles, -before many years have passed away, a place of considerable mercantile -and manufacturing importance. It has an extensive steam flouring-mill -in constant operation; and to such an extent is the cultivation of -wheat carried on in the surrounding country, for which the soil is -pre-eminently suited, that in this respect alone the place must become -important. About six miles south of St. Charles, upon the Booneslick -road, is situated a considerable settlement, composed chiefly of -gentlemen from the city of Baltimore.[172] The country is exceedingly -beautiful, healthy, and fertile; the farms are under high cultivation, -and the tone of society is distinguished for its refinement and -intelligence. - -The citizens of St. Charles are many of them Catholics; and a male and -female seminary under their patronage are in successful operation, to -say nothing of a nunnery, beneath the shade of which such institutions -invariably repose. "St. Charles College," a Protestant institute of -two or three years' standing, is well supported, having four -professors {21} and about a hundred students.[173] Its principal -building is a large and elegant structure of brick, and the seminary -will doubtless, ere long, become an ornament to the place. At no -distant day it may assume the character and standing of its elder -brothers east of the Alleghanies; and the muse that ever delights to -revel in college-hall may strike her lyre even upon the banks of the -far-winding, wilderness Missouri. - -Among the heterogeneous population of St. Charles are still numbered a -few of those wild, daring spirits, whose lives and exploits are so -intimately identified with the early history of the country, and most -of whose days are now passed beyond the border, upon the broad -buffalo-plains at the base of the Rocky Mountains. Most of them are -trappers, hunters, _couriers du bois_, traders to the distant post of -Santa Fé, or _engagés_ of the American Fur Company. Into the company -of one of these remarkable men it was my fortune to fall during my -visit at St. Charles; and not a little to my interest and edification -did he recount many of his "hairbreadth 'scapes," his "most disastrous -chances," - - "His moving accidents by flood and field." - -All of this, not to mention sundry sage items on the most approved -method of capturing _deer_, _bar_, _buffalo_, and _painters_, I must -be permitted to waive. I am no tale-teller, "but your mere traveller, -believe me," as Ben Jonson has it. The proper home of the buffalo -seems now to be the vast {22} plains south and west of the Missouri -border, called the Platte country, compared with which the prairies -east of the Mississippi are mere meadows in miniature. The latter -region was, doubtless, once a favourite resort of the animal, and the -banks of the "beautiful river" were long his grazing-grounds; but the -onward march of civilization has driven him, with the Indian, nearer -the setting sun. Upon the plains they now inhabit they rove in herds -of thousands; they regularly migrate with change of season, and, in -crossing rivers, many are squeezed to death. Dead bodies are sometimes -found floating upon the Missouri far down its course. - -With the village and county of St. Charles are connected most of the -events attending the early settlement of the region west of the -Mississippi; and during the late war with Great Britain, the -atrocities of the savage tribes were chiefly perpetrated here. Early -in that conflict the Sacs and Foxes, Miamis, Pottawattamies, Iowas, -and Kickapoo Indians commenced a most savage warfare upon the advanced -settlements, and the deeds of daring which distinguished the gallant -"rangers" during the two years in which, unaided by government, they -sustained, single-handed, the conflict against a crafty foe, are -almost unequalled in the history of warfare.[174] St. Charles county -and the adjoining county of Booneslick were the principal scene of a -conflict in which boldness and barbarity, courage and cruelty, -contended long for the mastery. The latter county to which I have -alluded {23} received its name from the celebrated Daniel Boone.[175] -After being deprived, by the chicanery of law, of that spot for which -he had endured so much and contended so boldly in the beautiful land -of his adoption, we find him, at the close of the last century, -journeying onward towards the West, there to pass the evening of his -days and lay away his bones. Being asked "_why_ he had left that dear -Kentucke, which he had discovered and won from the wild Indian, for -the wilderness of Missouri," his memorable reply betrays the leading -feature of his character, the _primum mobile_ of the man: "Too -crowded! too crowded! I want elbow-room!" At the period of Boone's -arrival in 1798, the only form of government which existed in this -distant region was that of the "Regulators," a sort of military or -hunters' republic, the chief of which was styled _commandant_. To this -office the old veteran was at once elected, and continued to exercise -its rather arbitrary prerogatives until, like his former home, the -country had become subject to other laws and other councils. He -continued here to reside, however, until the death of his much-loved -wife, partner of all his toils and adventures, in 1813, when he -removed to the residence of his son, some miles in the interior. Here -he discovered a large and productive salt-lick, long and profitably -worked, and which still continues to bear his name and give celebrity -to the surrounding country. To this lick was the old hunter accustomed -to repair in his aged days, when his sinews were unequal to the chase, -and lie in wait for the deer {24} which frequented the spring. In this -occupation and in that of trapping beavers he lived comfortably on -until 1818, when he calmly yielded up his adventurous spirit to its -God.[176] What an eventful life was that! How varied and wonderful -its incidents! How numerous and pregnant its vicissitudes! How strange -the varieties of natural character it developed! The name of Boone -will never cease to be remembered so long as this Western Valley -remains the pride of a continent, and the beautiful streams of his -discovery roll on their teeming tribute to the ocean! - -Of the Indian tribe which formerly inhabited this pleasant region, and -gave a name to the river and state, scarcely a vestige is now to be -seen. The only associations connected with the savages are of -barbarity and perfidy. Upon the settlers of St. Charles county it was -that Black Hawk directed his first efforts;[177] and, until within a -few years, a stoccade fort for refuge in emergency has existed in -every considerable settlement. Among a variety of traditionary matter -related to me relative to the customs of the tribe which formerly -resided near St. Charles, the following anecdote from one of the -oldest settlers may not prove uninteresting. - -"Many years ago, while the Indian yet retained a crumbling foothold -upon this pleasant land of his fathers, a certain Cis-atlantic -naturalist--so the story goes--overflowing with laudable zeal for the -advancement of science, had succeeded in penetrating the wilds of -Missouri in pursuit of his favourite study. Early one sunny morning a -man in strange {25} attire was perceived by the simple natives running -about their prairie with uplifted face and outspread palms, eagerly in -pursuit of certain bright flies and insects, which, when secured, were -deposited with manifest satisfaction into a capacious tin box at his -girdle. Surprised at a spectacle so novel and extraordinary, a fleet -runner was despatched over the prairie to catch the curious animal and -conduct him into the village. A council of sober old chiefs was called -to _sit upon_ the matter, who, after listening attentively to all the -phenomena of the case, with a sufficiency of grunting, sagaciously and -decidedly pronounced the pale-face a _fool_. It was in vain the -unhappy man urged upon the assembled wisdom of the nation the -distinction between a _natural_ and a naturalist. The council grunted -to all he had to offer, but to them the distinction was without a -difference; they could comprehend not a syllable he uttered. 'Actions -speak louder than words'--so reasoned the old chiefs; and as the -custom was to _kill_ all their own fools, preparation was forthwith -commenced to administer this summary cure for folly upon the unhappy -naturalist. At this critical juncture a prudent old Indian suggested -the propriety, as the fool belonged to the 'pale faces,' of consulting -their 'Great Father' at St. Louis on the subject, and requesting his -presence at the execution. The sentence was suspended, therefore, for -a few hours, while a deputation was despatched to General Clarke,[178] -detailing all the circumstances of the case, and announcing the -intention of killing the fool as soon as possible. {26} The old -general listened attentively to the matter, and then quietly advised -them, as the _fool_ was a _pale face_, not to kill him, but to conduct -him safely to St. Louis, that he might dispose of him himself. This -proposition was readily acceded to, as the only wish of the Indians -was to rid the world of a _fool_. And thus was the worthy naturalist -relieved from an unpleasant predicament, not, however, without the -loss of his box of bugs; a loss he is said to have bewailed as -bitterly as, in anticipation, he had bewailed the loss of his head." -For the particulars of this anecdote I am no voucher; I give the tale -as told me; but as it doubtless has its origin in fact, it may have -suggested to the author of "The Prairie" that amusing character, "Obed -Battius, M.D.," especially as the scene of that interesting tale lies -in a neighbouring region.[179] - -It was a sultry afternoon when I left St. Charles. The road for some -miles along the bottom runs parallel with the river, until, ascending -a slight elevation, the traveller is on the prairie. Upon this road I -had not proceeded many miles before I came fully to the conclusion, -that the route I was then pursuing would never conduct me and my horse -to the town of Grafton, Illinois, the point of my destination. In this -idea I was soon confirmed by a half-breed whom I chanced to meet. -Receiving a few general instructions, therefore, touching my route, -all of which I had quite forgotten ten minutes after, I pushed forth -into the pathless prairie, and was soon in its centre, almost buried, -with my horse beneath me, in the monstrous vegetation. {27} Between -the parallel rolls of the prairie, the size of the weeds and -undergrowth was stupendous; and the vegetation heaved in masses -heavily back and forth in the wind, as if for years it had flourished -on in rank, undisturbed luxuriance. Directly before me, along the -northern horizon, rose the white cliffs of the Mississippi, which, as -they went up to the sheer height, in some places, of several hundred -feet, presented a most mountain-like aspect as viewed over the level -surface of the plain. Towards a dim column of smoke which curled -lazily upward among these cliffs did I now direct my course. The broad -disk of the sun was rapidly wheeling down the western heavens; my -tired horse could advance through the heavy grass no faster than a -walk; the pale bluffs, apparently but a few miles distant, seemed -receding like an _ignis fatuus_ as I approached them; and there lay -the swampy forest to ford, and the "terrible Mississippi" beyond to -ferry, before I could hope for food or a resting-place. In simple -verity, I began to meditate upon the yielding character of -prairie-grass for a couch. And yet, of such surpassing loveliness was -the scene spread out around me, that I seemed hardly to realize a -situation disagreeable enough, but from which my thoughts were -constantly wandering. The grasses and flowering wild-plants of the -Mamelle Prairie are far-famed for their exquisite brilliancy of hue -and gracefulness of form. Among the flowers my eye detected a species -unlike to any I had yet met with, and which seemed indigenous only -here. Its fairy-formed corolla {28} was of a bright enamelled crimson, -which, in the depths of the dark herbage, glowed like a living coal. -How eloquently did this little flower bespeak the being and attributes -of its Maker. Ah! - - "There is religion in a flower; - Mountains and oceans, planets, suns, and systems, - Bear not the impress of Almighty power - In characters more legible than those - Which he has written on the tiniest flower - Whose light bell bends beneath the dewdrop's weight." - -One who has never looked upon the Western prairie in the pride of its -blushing bloom can hardly conceive the surpassing loveliness of its -summer flora; and, if the idea is not easy to conceive, still less is -it so to convey. The autumn flowers in their richness I have not yet -beheld; and in the early days of June, when I first stood upon the -prairies, the beauteous sisterhood of spring were all in their graves; -and the sweet springtime of the year it is when the gentle race of -flowers dance over the teeming earth in gayest guise and profusion. In -the first soft days of April, when the tender green of vegetation -begins to overspread the soil scathed by the fires of autumn, the -_viola_, primrose of the prairie, in all its rare and delicate forms; -the _anemone_ or wind-flower; the blue dewy harebell; the pale oxlip; -the flowering _arbute_, and all the pretty family of the pinks and -lilies lie sprinkled, as by the enchantment of a summer shower, or by -the tripping footsteps of Titania with her fairies, over the -landscape. The blue and the white then tint the perspective, from the -most {29} limpid cerulean of an _iris_ to the deep purple of the pink; -from the pearly lustre of the cowslip to the golden richness of the -buttercup. In early springtime, too, the island groves of the prairies -are also in flower; and the brilliant crimson of the _cercis -canadensis_, or Judas-tree; the delightful fragrance of the _lonicera_ -or honeysuckle, and the light yellow of the _jasimum_, render the -forests as pleasant to the smell as to the eye. But spring-time passes -away, and with her pass away the fair young flowers her soft breath -had warmed into being. Summer comes over the prairies like a giant; -the fiery dog-star rages, and forth leap a host of bright ones to -greet his coming. The _heliotrope_ and _helianthus_, in all their rich -variety; the wild rose, flinging itself around the shrub-oak like a -wreath of rainbows; the _orchis_, the balmy thyme, the burgamot, and -the asters of every tint and proportion, then prevail, throwing forth -their gaudy, sunburnt petals upon the wind, until the whole meadow -seems arrayed in the royal livery of a sunset sky. Scarcely does the -summer begin to decline, and autumn's golden sunlight to stream in -misty magnificence athwart the landscape, than a thousand gorgeous -plants of its own mellow hue are nodding in stately beauty over the -plain. Yellow is the garniture of the autumnal Flora of the prairies; -and the haughty golden-rod, and all the splendid forms of the -_gentiana_, commingling with the white and crimson _eupatorium_, and -the red spire of the _liatris_, everywhere bespangle the scene; while -the trumpet-formed corolla of the _bignonia radicans_ glitters {30} in -the sunbeams, amid the luxuriant wreathing of ivy, from the tall -capitals of the isolated trees. All the _solidago_ species are in -their glory, and every variety of the _lobelia_; and the blood-red -sumach in the hollows and brakes, and the _sagittaria_, or arrow-head, -with its three-leaved calyx and its three white petals darting forth -from the recesses of the dark herbage, and all the splendid forms of -the aquatic plants, with their broad blossoms and their cool -scroll-like leaves, lend a finished richness of hue to the landscape, -which fails not well to harmonize with the rainbow glow of the distant -forest. - - "----Such beauty, varying in the light - Of gorgeous nature, cannot be portrayed - By words, nor by the pencil's silent skill; - But is the property of those alone - Who have beheld it, noted it with care, - And, in their minds, recorded it with love." - -What wonder, then, that, amid a scene like this, where the summer -reigned, and young autumn was beginning to anticipate its mellow -glories, the traveller should in a measure have forgotten his -vocation, and loitered lazily along his way! - -_Portage des Sioux, Mo._ - - - - -XXV - - "There's music in the forest leaves - When summer winds are there, - And in the laugh of forest girls - That braid their sunny hair." - HALLECK. - - "The forests are around him in their pride, - The green savannas, and the mighty waves; - And isles of flowers, bright floating o'er the tide - That images the fairy world it laves." - HEMANS. - - -There is one feature of the Mamelle Prairie, besides its eminent -beauty and its profusion of flowering plants, which distinguishes it -from every other with which I have met. I allude to the almost perfect -uniformity of its surface. There is little of that undulating, -wavelike slope and swell which characterizes the peculiar species of -surface called prairie. With the exception of a few lakes, abounding -with aquatic plants and birds, and those broad furrows traversing the -plain, apparently ancient beds of the rivers, the surface appears -smooth as a lawn. This circumstance goes far to corroborate the idea -of alluvial origin. And thus it was that, lost in a mazy labyrinth of -grass and flowers, I wandered on over the smooth soil of the prairie, -quite regardless of the whereabout my steps were conducting me. The -sun was just going down when my horse entered a slight footpath -leading into a point of woodland upon {32} the right. This I pursued -for some time, heedlessly presuming that it would conduct me to the -banks of the river; when, lo! to my surprise, on emerging from the -forest, I found myself in the midst of a French village, with its -heavy roofs and broad piazzas. Never was the lazy hero of Diedrich -Knickerbocker--luckless Rip--more sadly bewildered, after a twenty -years' doze among the Hudson Highlands, than was your loiterer at -this unlooked-for apparition. To find one's self suddenly translated -from the wild, flowery prairie into the heart of an aged, moss-grown -village, of such foreign aspect, withal, was by no means easy to -reconcile with one's notions of reality. Of the name, or even the -existence of the village, I had been quite as ignorant as if it had -never possessed either; and in vain was it that I essayed, in my -perplexity, to make myself familiar with these interesting items of -intelligence by inquiry of the primitive-looking beings whom I chanced -to encounter, as I rode slowly on into the village through the tall -stoccades of the narrow streets. Every one stared as I addressed him; -but, shaking his head and quickening his pace, pointed me on in the -direction I was proceeding, and left me to pursue it in ignorance and -single blessedness. This mystery--for thus to my excited fancy did it -seem--became at length intolerable. Drawing up my horse before the -open door of a cottage, around which, beneath the galleries, were -gathered a number of young people of both sexes, I very peremptorily -made the demand _where I was_. All stared, and some few took it upon -them, graceless youths, to {33} laugh; until, at length, a dark young -fellow, with black eyes and black whiskers, stepped forward, and, in -reply to my inquiry repeated, informed me that the village was called -"_Portage des Sioux_;" that the place of my destination was upon the -opposite bank of the Mississippi, several miles above--too distant to -think of regaining my route at that late hour; and very politely the -dark young man offered to procure for me accommodation for the night, -though the village could boast no inn. Keeping close on the heels of -my _conducteur_, I again began to thrid the narrow lanes of the -hamlet, from the doors and windows of every cottage of which peeped -forth an eager group of dark-eyed women and children, in uncontrolled -curiosity at the apparition of a stranger in their streets at such an -advanced hour of the day. The little village seemed completely cut off -from all the world beside, and as totally unconscious of the -proceedings of the community around as if it were a portion of another -hemisphere. The place lies buried in forest except upon the south, -where it looks out upon the Mamelle Prairie, and to the north is an -opening in the belt of woods along the river-bank, through which, -beyond the stream, rise the white cliffs in points and pinnacles like -the towers and turrets of a castellated town, to the perpendicular -altitude of several hundred feet. The scene was one of romantic -beauty, as the moonbeams silvered the forest-tops and cliffs, flinging -their broad shadows athwart the bosom of the waters, gliding in oily -rippling at their base. The site of Portage des Sioux is about seven -miles above {34} the town of Alton, and five below the embouchure of -the Illinois. Its landing is good; it contains three or four hundred -inhabitants, chiefly French; can boast a few trading establishments, -and, as is invariably the case in the villages of this singular -people, however inconsiderable, has an ancient Catholic church rearing -its gray spire above the low-roofed cottages. Attached to it, also, is -a "common field" of twelve hundred _arpens_--something less than as -many acres--stretching out into the prairie. The soil is, of course, -incomparably fertile. The garden-plats around each door were dark with -vegetation, overtopping the pickets of the enclosures; and away to the -south into the prairie swept the broad maize-fields nodding and -rustling in all the gorgeous garniture of summer. - -My _conducteur_ stopped, at length, at the gate of a small brick -tenement, the only one in the village, whose modern air contrasted -strangely enough with the venerable aspect of everything else; and -having made known my necessities through the medium of sundry Babel -gibberings and gesticulations, he left me with the promise to call -early in the morning and see me on my way. - -"What's your _name_, any how?" was the courteous salutation of mine -host, as I placed my foot across his threshold, after attending to the -necessities of the faithful animal which had been my companion through -the fatigues of the day. He was a dark-browed, swarthy-looking man, -with exceedingly black hair, and an eye which one might have suspected -of Indian origin but for the genuine cunning {35}--the "lurking -devil"--of its expression. Replying to the unceremonious interrogatory -with a smile, which by no means modified the haughty moroseness of my -landlord's visage, another equally civil query was proposed, to which -I received the hurried reply, "Jean Paul de --." From this _amiable_ -personage I learned, by dint of questioning, that the village of -Portage des Sioux had been standing about half a century: that it -was originally settled by a colony from Cahokia: that its importance -now was as considerable as it ever had been: that it was terribly -shaken in the great earthquakes of 1811, many of the old cottages -having been thrown down and his own house rent from "turret to -foundation-stone"--the chasm in the brick wall yet remaining--and, -finally, that the village owed its name to the stratagem of a band of -Sioux Indians, in an expedition against the Missouris. The legend is -as follows: "The Sioux being at war with a tribe of the Missouris, a -party descended the Upper Mississippi on an expedition for pillage. -The Missouris, apprized of their approach, laid in ambush in the woods -at the mouth of the river, intending to take their enemies by surprise -as their canoes doubled the point to ascend. The Sioux, in the depths -of Indian subtlety, apprehending such a manoeuvre, instead of -descending to the confluence, landed at the portage, took their -canoes upon their backs, and crossed the prairie to the Indian village -on the Missouri, several miles above. By this stratagem the design of -their expedition was accomplished, and they had returned to their -canoes in safety with their plunder long {36} before the Missouris, -who were anxiously awaiting them at their ambuscade, were aware of -their first approach." - -Supper was soon served up, prepared in the neatest French fashion. -While at table a circumstance transpired which afforded me some little -diversion. Several of the villagers dropped in during the progress of -the meal, who, having seated themselves at the board, a spirited -colloquy ensued in the _patois_ of these old hamlets--a species of -_gumbo-French_, which a genuine native of _La Belle France_ would -probably manage to unravel quite as well as a Northern Yankee. From a -few expressions, however, the meaning of which were obvious, together -with sundry furtive glances to the eye, and divers confused -withdrawals of the gaze, it was not very difficult to detect some -pretty free remarks upon the stranger-guest. All this was suffered to -pass with undisturbed _nonchalance_, until the meal was concluded; -when the hitherto mute traveller, turning to the negro attendant, -demanded in familiar French a glass of water. _Presto!_ the effect was -electric. Such visages of ludicrous distress! such stealthy glancing -of dark eyes! such glowing of sallow cheeks! The swarthy landlord at -length hurriedly ejaculated, "_Parlez vous Français?_" while the -dark-haired hostess could only falter "_Pardonnez moi!_" A hearty -laugh on my own part served rather to increase than diminish the -_empressement_, as it confirmed the suspicion that their guest had -realized to the full extent their hospitable remarks. Rising from the -table to put an end to rather an awkward {37} scene, I took my -_portfeuille_ and seated myself in the gallery to sketch the events of -the day. But the dark landlord looked with no favouring eye upon the -proceeding; and, as he was by no means the man to stand for ceremony, -he presently let drop a civil hint of the propriety of _retiring_; the -propriety of complying with which civil hint was at once perceived, -early as was the hour; and soon the whole house and village was buried -in slumber. And then "the stranger within their gates" rose quietly -from his couch, and in a few moments was luxuriating in the fresh -night-wind, laden with perfumes from the flowerets of the prairie it -swept. And beautifully was the wan moonlight playing over forest, and -prairie, and rustling maize-field, and over the gray church spire, and -the old village in its slumbering. And the giant cliffs rose white and -ghastly beyond the dark waters of the endless river, as it rolled on -in calm magnificence, "for ever flowing and the same for ever." And -associations of the scene with other times and other men thronged -"thick and fast" upon the fancy. - -The first vermeil flush of morning was firing the eastern forest-tops, -when a single horseman was to be seen issuing from the narrow lanes of -the ancient village of Portage des Sioux, whose inhabitants had not -yet shaken off the drowsiness of slumber, and winding slowly along -beneath the huge trees skirting the prairie's margin. After an hour of -irregular wandering through the heavy meadow-grass, drenched and -dripping in the dews, and glistening in the morning sunlight, he -plunges into the {38} old woods on his right, and in a few moments -stands beneath the vine-clad sycamores, with the brilliant, -trumpet-formed flower of the _bignonia_ suspended from the branches -upon the margin of a stream. It is the "Father of Waters," and beyond -its bounding bosom lies the little hamlet of Grafton, slumbering in -quiet beauty beneath the cliffs. The scene is a lovely one: the mighty -river rolling calmly and majestically on--the moss-tasselled forest -upon its bank--the isles of brightness around which it ripples--the -craggy precipice, rearing its bald, broad forehead beyond--the smoking -cottages at the base, and the balmy breath of morning, with fragrance -curling the blue waters, are outlines of a portraiture which -imagination alone can fill up. - -Blast after blast from the throat of a huge horn suspended from the -limb of an aged cotton-wood, went pealing over the waters; but all the -echoes in the surrounding forest had been awakened, and an hour was -gone by, before a float, propelled by the sturdy sinews of a single -brace of arms, had obeyed the summons. And so the traveller sat -himself quietly down upon the bank beneath the tree-shade, and -luxuriated on the feast of natural scenery spread out before him. - -The site of the town of Grafton is an elevated strip of bottom-land, -stretching along beneath the bluffs, and in this respect somewhat -resembling Alton, fifteen or twenty miles below. The _locale_ of the -village is, however, far more delightful than that of its neighbour, -whatever the relative advantages for commerce they may boast, though -those of the {39} former are neither few nor small. Situated at the -_mouth_ of the Illinois as to navigation; possessing an excellent -landing for steamers, an extensive and fertile interior, rapidly -populating, and inexhaustible quarries for the builder, the town, -though recently laid off, is going on in the march of improvement; -and, with an hundred other villages of the West, bids fair to become a -nucleus of wealth and commerce. - -_Grafton, Ill._ - - - - -XXVI - - "When breath and sense have left this clay, - In yon damp vault, oh lay me not; - But kindly bear my bones away - To some lone, green, and sunny spot." - - "Away to the prairie! away! - Where the sun-gilt flowers are waving, - When awaked from their couch at the breaking of day, - O'er the emerald lawn the gay zephyrs play, - And their pinions in dewdrops are laving." - - -On the morning of my arrival at Grafton, while my brisk little hostess -was making ready for my necessities, I stepped out to survey the -place, and availed myself of an hour of leisure to visit a somewhat -remarkable cavern among the cliffs, a little below the village, the -entrance of which had caught my attention while awaiting the movements -of the ferryman on the opposite bank of the Mississippi. It is -approached by a rough footpath along the {40} river-margin, piled up -with huge masses of limestone, which have been toppled from the -beetling crags above: these, at this point, as before stated, are some -hundred feet in perpendicular height. The orifice of the cave is -elliptical in outline, and somewhat regular, being an excavation by -the whirling of waters apparently in the surface of the smooth -escarpment; it is about twenty feet in altitude, and as many in width. -Passing the threshold of the entrance, an immediate expansion takes -place into a spacious apartment some forty or fifty feet in depth, and -about the same in extreme height: nearly in the centre a huge -perpendicular column of solid rock rears itself from the floor to the -roof. From this point the cavern lengthens itself away into a series -of apartments to the distance of several hundred feet, with two lesser -entrances in the same line with that in the middle, and at regular -intervals. The walls of the cave, like everything of a geological -character in this region, are composed of a secondary limestone, -abounding in testaceous fossils. The spot exhibits conclusive evidence -of having once been subject to diluvial action; and the cavern itself, -as I have observed, seems little else than an excavation from the -heart of an enormous mass of marine petrifaction. Large quantities of -human bones of all sizes have been found in this cavern, leaving -little doubt that, by the former dwellers in this fair land, the spot -was employed as a catacomb. I myself picked up the _sincipital_ -section of a scull, which would have ecstasied a virtuoso beyond -measure; and {41} several of the _lumbar vertebræ_, which, if they -prove nothing else, abundantly demonstrate the aboriginal natives of -North America to have been no pigmy race. The spot is now desecrated -by the presence of a party of sturdy coopers, who could not, however, -have chosen a more delightful apartment for their handicraft; rather -more taste than piety, however, has been betrayed in the selection. -The view of the water and the opposite forest from the elevated mouth -of the cavern is very fine, and three or four broad-leafed sycamores -fling over the whole a delightful shade. The waters of the river flow -onward in a deep current at the base, and the fish throw themselves -into the warm sunlight from the surface. What a charming retreat from -the fiery fervour of a midsummer noon! - -The heavy bluffs which overhang the village, and over which winds the -great road to the north, though not a little wearisome to surmount, -command from the summit a vast and beautiful landscape. A series of -inclined planes are talked of by the worthy people of Grafton to -overcome these bluffs, and render their village less difficult of -inland ingress and regress; and though the idea is not a little -amusing, of rail-cars running off at an angle of forty-five degrees, -yet when we consider that this place, if it ever becomes of _any_ -importance, must become a grand thoroughfare and dépôt on the route -from St. Louis and the agricultural regions of the Missouri to the -northern counties of Illinois, the design seems less chimerical _than -it might be_. A charter, indeed, for a railroad {42} from Grafton, -through Carrolton to Springfield, has been obtained, a company -organized, and a portion of the stock subscribed;[180] while another -corporation is to erect a splendid hotel. The traveller over the -bluffs, long before he stands upon their summit, heartily covets any -species of locomotion other than the back of a quadruped. But the -scenery, as he ascends, caught at glimpses through the forest, is -increasingly beautiful. Upon one of the loftiest eminences to the -right stand the ruins of a huge stone-heap; the tumulus, perchance, of -some red-browed chieftain of other days. It was a beautiful custom of -these simple-hearted sons of the wilderness to lay away the relics of -their loved and honoured ones even upon the loftiest, greenest spots -of the whole earth; where the freed spirit might often rise to look -abroad over the glories of that pleasant forest-home where once it -roved in the chase or bounded forth upon the path of war. And it is a -circumstance not a little worthy of notice, that veneration for the -dead is a feeling universally betrayed by uncivilized nations. The -Indian widow of Florida annually despoils herself of her luxuriant -tresses to wreathe the headstone beneath which reposes the bones of -her husband. The Canadian mother, when her infant is torn from her -bosom by the chill hand of death, and, with a heart almost breaking, -she has been forced to lay him away beneath the sod, is said, in the -touching intensity of her affection, to bathe the tombstone of her -little one with that genial flood which Nature poured through her -veins for his nourishment {43} while living. The Oriental nations, it -is well known, whether civilized or savage, have ever, from deepest -antiquity, manifested an eloquent solicitude for the sepulchres of -their dead. The expiring Israelite, we are always told, "was gathered -to his fathers;" and the tombs of the Jewish monarchs, some of which -exist even to the present day, were gorgeously magnificent. The -nations of modern Turkey and India wreathe the tombs of their departed -friends with the gayest and most beautiful flowers of the season; -while the very atmosphere around is refreshed by fountains. - -From the site of the stone-heap of which I have spoken, and which may -or may _not_ have been erected to the memory of some Indian chieftain, -a glorious cosmorama of the whole adjacent region, miles in -circumference, is unfolded to the eye. At your feet, far below, flow -on the checkered waters of the Mississippi, gliding in ripples among -their emerald islands; while at intervals, as the broad stream comes -winding on from the west, is caught the flashing sheen of its surface -through the dense old woods that fringe its margin. Beyond these, to -the south, lies spread the broad and beautiful Mamelle Prairie, even -to its faint blue blending with the distant horizon laid open to the -eye, rolling and heaving its heavy herbage in the breeze to the -sunlight like the long wave of ocean. And the bright green -island-groves, the cape-like forest-strips swelling out upon its -bosom, the flashing surface of lakes and water-sheets, almost buried -in the luxuriance of vegetation, with thousands of {44} aquatic birds -wheeling their broad flight over them, all contribute to fill up the -lineaments of a scene of beauty which fails not to enrapture the -spectator. Now and then along the smooth meadow, a darker luxuriance -of verdure, with the curling cabin-smoke upon its border, and vast -herds of domestic cattle in its neighbourhood, betray the presence of -man, blending _his_ works with the wild and beautiful creations of -Nature. On the right, at a distance of two miles, come in the placid -waters of the Illinois, from the magnificent bluffs in the back-ground -stealing softly and quietly into the great river through the wooded -islands at its mouth. The day was a sultry one; the atmosphere was -like the breath of a furnace; but over the heights of the bluffs swept -the morning air, fresh and cool from the distant prairie. For some -miles, as is invariably the case upon the banks of the Western rivers, -the road winds along among bluffs and sink-holes; and so constantly -does its course vary and diverge, that a pocket compass is anything -but a needless appendage. Indeed, all his calculations to the contrary -notwithstanding, the traveller throughout the whole of this region -describes with his route a complete Virginia fence. The road is not a -little celebrated for its tortuosity. At length the traveller emerges -upon a prairie. On its edge beneath the forest stands a considerable -settlement, bordering on Macoupin Creek, from which it takes a name. -In the latter part of 1816 this settlement was commenced, and was then -the most northern location of whites in the Territory of -Illinois.[181] - -{45} It was evening, at the close of a sultry day, that the village -of Carrolton appeared before me among the trees.[182] I was struck -with the quiet air of simple elegance which seemed to pervade the -place, though its general outlines are those of every other Western -village I have visited. One broad, regular street extends through the -town, upon either side of which stand the stores and better class of -private residences; while in the back-ground, scattered promiscuously -along the transverse avenues, are log-cabins surrounded by cornfields, -much like those in the villages of the French. Three sides of the town -are bounded by forest, while the fourth opens upon the prairie called -"String Prairie." In the centre of the village, upon the principal -street, is reserved a square, in the middle of which stands the -courthouse, with other public structures adjacent, and the stores and -hotels along its sides. One thing in Carrolton which struck me as a -little singular, was the unusual diversity of religious denominations. -Of these there are not less than five or six; three of which have -churches, and a fourth is setting itself in order to build; and all -this in a village of hardly one thousand inhabitants. The courthouse -is a handsome edifice of brick, two stories, with a neat spire. The -neighbouring region is fertile and healthy; well proportioned with -prairie and timber, well watered by the Macoupin and Apple -Creeks,[183] and well populated by a sturdy, thriving race of -yeomanry. This is, indeed, strictly an agricultural village; and, so -far as my own observation {46} extended, little attention is paid or -taste manifested for anything else. - -About a dozen miles north of Carrolton is situated the village of -Whitehall, a flourishing settlement in the prairie's edge, from the -centre of which, some miles distant, it may be seen.[184] Three years -ago the spot was an uncultivated waste; the town has now two houses of -worship, a school, an incorporation for a seminary, two taverns, six -hundred inhabitants, and a steam mill to feed them withal. A few miles -from this place, on the outskirts of another small settlement, I was -met by a company of emigrants from Western New-York. The women and -children were piled upon the top of the household stuff with about as -much ceremony as if they constituted a portion thereof, in a huge -lumbering baggage-wagon, around which dangled suspended pots and -kettles, dutch-ovens and tin-kitchens, cheese-roasters and -bread-toasters, all in admired confusion, jangling harsh discord. The -cart-wheels themselves, as they gyrated upon the parched axles, like -the gates of Milton's hell on their hinges, "grated harsh thunder." In -the van of the cavalcade strode soberly on the patriarch of the -family, with his elder sons, axe upon shoulder, rifle in hand, a -veritable Israel Bush. For six weeks had the wanderers been -travelling, and a weary, bedusted-looking race were they, that -emigrant family. - -The rapidity with which a Western village goes forward, and begins to -assume importance among the nations, after having once been born and -{47} christened, is amazing. The mushrooms of a summer's night, the -wondrous gourd of Jonah, the astonishing bean of the giant-killer, or -the enchantments of the Arabian Nights, are but fit parallels to the -growth of the prairie-village of the Far West. Of all this I was -forcibly reminded in passing through quite a town upon my route named -Manchester, where I dined, and which, if my worthy landlord was not -incorrect, two years before could hardly boast a log-cabin.[185] It is -now a thriving place, on the northern border of Mark's Prairie, from -which it may be seen four or five miles before entering its streets; -it is surrounded by a body of excellent timber, always the _magnum -desideratum_ in Illinois. This scarcity of timber will not, however, -be deemed such an insurmountable obstacle to a dense and early -population of this state as may have been apprehended, when we -consider the unexampled rapidity with which a young growth pushes -itself forward into the prairies when once protected from the -devastating effects of the autumnal fires; the exhaustless masses of -bituminous coal which may be thrown up from the ravines, and creeks, -and bluffs of nearly every county in the state; the facility of -ditching, by the assistance of blue grass to bind the friable soil, -and the luxuriance of hedge-rows for enclosures, as practised almost -solely in England, France, and the Netherlands; and, finally, the -convenience of manufacturing brick for all the purposes of building. -There is not, probably, any quarter of the state destined to become -more populous and powerful {48} than that section of Morgan county -through which I was now passing. On every side, wherever the traveller -turns his eye, beautiful farms unfold their broad, wavy prairie-fields -of maize and wheat, indicative of affluence and prosperity. The -_worst_ soil of the prairies is best adapted to wheat; it is -_generally_ too fertile; the growth too rapid and luxuriant; the stalk -so tall and the ear so heavy, that it is lodged before matured for the -sickle. Illinois, consequently, can never become a celebrated wheat -region, though for corn and coarser grains it is now unequalled. - -The rapidity with which this state has been peopled is wonderful, -especially its northern counties. In the year 1821, that section of -country embraced within the present limits of Morgan county numbered -but twenty families; in 1830 its population was nearly fourteen -thousand, and cannot now be estimated at less than seventeen thousand! -Many of the settlers are natives of the New-England States; and with -them have brought those habits of industrious sobriety for which the -North has ever been distinguished. In all the enterprise of the age, -professing for its object the amelioration of human condition and the -advancement of civilization, religion, and the arts, Morgan county -stands in advance of all others in the state. What a wonderful -revolution have a few fleeting years of active enterprise induced -throughout a region once luxuriating in all the savageness of nature; -while the wild prairie-rose "blushed unseen," and the wilder -forest-son pursued the deer! Fair villages, {49} like spring violets -along the meadow, have leaped forth into being, to bless and to -gladden the land, and to render even this beautiful portion of God's -beautiful world--though for ages a profitless waste--at length the -abode of intelligence, virtue, and peace. - -It was near the close of the day that the extent and frequency of the -farms on either side, the more finished structure of the houses, the -regularity of enclosures, the multitude of vehicles of every -description by which I was encountered, and the dusty, hoof-beaten -thoroughfare over which I was travelling, all reminded me that I was -drawing nigh to Jacksonville, the principal town in Illinois. Passing -"Diamond Grove," a beautiful forest-island of nearly a thousand acres, -elevated above the surrounding prairie to which it gives a name,[186] -and environed by flourishing farms, the traveller catches a view of -the distant village stretching away along the northern horizon. He -soon enters an extended avenue, perfectly uniform for several miles, -leading on to the town. Beautiful meadows and harvest-fields on either -side sweep off beyond the reach of the eye, their neat white cottages -and palings peeping through the enamelled foliage. To the left, upon a -swelling upland at the distance of some miles, are beheld the brick -edifices of "Illinois College," relieved by a dark grove of oaks -resting against the western sky.[187] These large buildings, together -with the numerous other public structures, imposingly situated and -strongly relieved, give to the place a dignified, city-like aspect in -distant {50} view. After a ride of more than a mile within the -immediate suburbs of the town, the traveller ascends a slight -elevation, and the next moment finds himself in the public square, -surrounded on every side by stores and dwellings, carts and carriages, -market-people, horses, and hotels. - -_Jacksonville, Ill._ - - - - -XXVII - - "What a large volume of adventures may be grasped in this little - span of life by him who interests his heart in everything, and - who, having his eyes to see what time and chance are perpetually - holding out to him as he journeyeth on his way, misses nothing he - can _fairly_ lay his hands on."--STERNE'S _Sentimental Journal_. - - "Take this in good part, whosoever thou be, - And wish me no worse than I wish unto thee." - TURNER. - - -It was a remark of that celebrated British statesman, Horace Walpole, -that the vicissitudes of no man's life were too slight to prove -interesting, if detailed in the simple order of their occurrence. The -idea originated with the poet Gray, if an idea which has suggested -itself to the mind of every man may be appropriated by an individual. -Assuming the sentiment as true, the author of these SKETCHES has alone -presumed to lay his observations and adventures as a traveller before -the _majesty of the public_; and upon this principle _solely_ must -they rely for any interest they may {51} claim. A mere glance at those -which have preceded must convince the reader that their object has -been by no means exact geographical and statistical information. -Errors and omissions have, doubtless, often occurred in the hasty view -which has been taken: partially through negligence, sometimes through -lack of knowledge, misinformation, or attempt at brevity, but never -through aforethought or malice prepense. Upon the whole, the writer -admits himself completely laid open to criticism; and, should any -public-spirited worthy deem it his duty to rise up in judgment and -avenge the wrongs of literature and the community, he has undoubted -right so to do: nathless, he is most veritably forewarned that he will -hardly gather up his "labour for his pains!" But _allons_. - -It is only ten or twelve years since the town site of Jacksonville, -now, perhaps, the most flourishing inland village in Illinois, was -first _laid off_; and it is but within the past five years that its -present unprecedented advancement can be dated.[188] Its site is a -broad elevated roll in the midst of a beautiful prairie; and, from -whatever point it is approached, few places present a more delightful -prospect. The spot seems marked and noted by Nature for the abode of -man. The neighbouring prairie is undulating, and the soil uncommonly -rich, even in this land of fertility. It is mostly under high -cultivation, and upon its northern and western edge is environed by -pleasant groves, watered by many a "sweet and curious brook." The -public square in the centre of the town is of noble dimensions, {52} -occupied by a handsome courthouse and a market, both of brick, and its -sides filled up with dwelling-houses, stores, law-offices, a church, -bank, and hotel. From this point radiate streets and avenues in all -directions: one through each side of every angle near its vertex, and -one through the middle of every side; so that the town-plat is -completely cut up into rectangles. If I mistake not in my description, -it will be perceived that the public square of Jacksonville may be -entered at no less than twelve distinct avenues. In addition to the -spacious courthouse, the public buildings consist of three or four -churches. One of these, belonging to the Congregational order, betrays -much correct taste; and its pulpit is the most simply elegant I -remember ever to have seen. It consists merely of a broad platform in -the chancel of the building, richly carpeted; a dark mahogany bar -without drapery, highly polished; and a neat sofa of the same material -in a plain back-ground. The outline and proportion are perfect; and, -like the doctrines of the sect which worships here, there is an air -of severe, dignified elegance about the whole structure, pleasing as -it is rare. The number of Congregational churches in the West is -exceedingly small; and as it is always pleasant for the stranger in a -strange land to meet the peculiarities of that worship to which from -childhood-days he has been attached, so it is peculiarly grateful to -the New-England emigrant to recognise in this distant spot the simple -faith and ceremony of the Pilgrims. Jacksonville is largely made up of -emigrants from {53} the North; and they have brought with them many of -their customs and peculiarities. The State of Illinois may, indeed, be -truly considered the New-England of the West. In many respects it is -more congenial than any other to the character and prejudices of the -Northern emigrant. It is not a slave state; internal improvement is -the grand feature of its civil polity; and measures for the universal -diffusion of intellectual, moral, and religious culture are in active -progression. In Henry county, in the northern section of the state, -two town-plats have within the past year been laid off for colonies of -emigrants from Connecticut, which intend removing in the ensuing fall, -accompanied each by their minister, physician, lawyer, and with all -the various artisans of mechanical labour necessary for such -communities. The settlements are to be called Wethersfield and -Andover.[189] Active measures for securing the blessings of -education, religion, temperance, etc., have already been taken.[190] - -The edifices of "Illinois College," to which I have before alluded, -are situated upon a beautiful eminence one mile west of the village, -formerly known as "Wilson's Grove." The site is truly delightful. In -the rear lies a dense green clump of oaks, and in front is spread out -the village, with a boundless extent of prairie beyond, covered for -miles with cultivation. Away to the south, the wildflower flashes as -gayly in the sunlight, and {54} waves as gracefully when swept by the -breeze, as centuries ago, when no eye of man looked upon its -loveliness. During my stay at Jacksonville I visited several times -this pleasant spot, and always with renewed delight at the glorious -scenery it presented. Connected with the college buildings are -extensive grounds; and students, at their option, may devote a portion -of each day to manual labour in the workshop or on the farm. Some -individuals have, it is said, in this manner defrayed all the expenses -of their education. This system of instruction cannot be too highly -recommended. Apart from the benefits derived in acquiring a knowledge -of the use of mechanical instruments, and the development of -mechanical genius, there are others of a higher nature which every one -who has been educated at a public institution will appreciate. Who has -not gazed with anguish on the sunken cheek and the emaciated frame of -the young aspirant for literary distinction? Who has not beheld the -funeral fires of intellect while the lamp of life was fading, flaming -yet more beautifully forth, only to be dimmed for ever! The lyre is -soon to be crushed; but, ere its hour is come, it flings forth notes -of melody sweet beyond expression! Who does not know that protracted, -unremitting intellectual labour is _always_ fatal, unaccompanied by -corresponding physical exertion; and who cannot perceive that _any_ -inducement, be it what it may, which can draw forth the student from -his retirement, is invaluable. Such an inducement is the lively -interest which the cultivated mind {55} always manifests in the -operations of mechanical art. - -Illinois College has been founded but five or six years, yet it is now -one of the most flourishing institutions west of the mountains. The -library consists of nearly two thousand volumes, and its chymical -apparatus is sufficient. The faculty are five in number, and its first -class was graduated two years since. No one can doubt the vast -influence this seminary is destined to exert, not only upon this -beautiful region of country and this state, but over the whole great -Western Valley. It owes its origin to the noble enterprise of seven -young men, graduates of Yale College, whose names another age will -enrol among our Harvards and our Bowdoins, our Holworthys, Elliots, -and Gores, great and venerable as those names are. And, surely, we -cannot but believe that "some divinity has shaped their ends," when we -consider the character of the spot upon which a wise Providence has -been pleased to succeed their design. From the Northern lakes to the -gulf, where may a more eligible site be designated for an institution -whose influence shall be wide, and powerful, and salutary, than that -same beautiful grove, in that pleasant village of Jacksonville. - -To the left of the college buildings is situated the lordly residence -of Governor Duncan, surrounded by its extensive grounds.[191] There -are other fine edifices scattered here and there upon the eminence, -among which the beautiful little cottage of Mr. C., brother to the -great orator of the {56} West, holds a conspicuous station.[192] -Society in Jacksonville is said to be superior to any in the state. It -is of a cast decidedly moral, and possesses much literary taste. This -is betrayed in the number of its schools and churches; its lyceum, -circulating library, and periodicals. In fine, there are few spots in -the West, and none in Illinois, which to the _Northern_ emigrant -present stronger attractions than the town of Jacksonville and its -vicinity. Located in the heart of a tract of country the most fertile -and beautiful in the state; swept by the sweet breath of health -throughout the year; tilled by a race of enterprising, intelligent, -hardy yeomen; possessing a moral, refined, and enlightened society, -the tired wanderer may here find his necessities relieved and his -peculiarities respected: he may here find congeniality of feeling and -sympathy of heart. And when his memory wanders, as it sometimes must, -with melancholy musings, mayhap, over the loved scenes of his own -distant New-England, it will be sweet to realize that, though he sees -not, indeed, around him the beautiful romance of his native hills, yet -many a kindly heart is throbbing near, whose emotions, like his own, -were nurtured in their rugged bosom. "_Cælum non animum mutatur._" And -is it indeed true, as they often tell us, that New-England character, -like her own ungenial clime, is cold, penurious, and heartless; while -to her brethren, from whom she is separated only by an imaginary -boundary, may be ascribed all that is lofty, and honourable, and -chivalrous in man! This is an old {57} calumny, the offspring of -prejudice and ignorance, and it were time it were at rest. But it is -not for me to contrast the leading features of Northern character with -those of the South, or to repel the aspersions which have been heaped -upon either. Yet, reader, believe them not; many are false as ever -stained the poisoned lip of slander. - -It was Saturday evening when I reached the village of Jacksonville, -and on the following Sabbath I listened to the sage instruction of -that eccentric preacher, but venerable old man, Dr. P. of -Philadelphia, since deceased, but then casually present. "_The Young -Men of the West_" was a subject which had been presented him for -discourse, and worthily was it elaborated. The good people of this -little town, in more features than one, present a faithful transcript -of New-England; but in none do they betray their Pilgrim origin more -decidedly than in their devotedness to the public worship of the -sanctuary. Here the young and the old, the great and small, the rich -and poor, are all as steadily church-goers as were ever the pious -husbandmen of Connecticut--men of the broad breast and giant -stride--in the most "high and palmy day" of blue-laws and tything men. -You smile, reader, yet - - "Noble deeds those iron men have done!" - -It was these same church-going, psalm-singing husbandmen who planted -Liberty's fair tree within our borders, the leaves of which are now -for the "healing of the nations," and whose broad branches are -overshadowing the earth; and they watered it--ay, watered it with -their blood! The Pilgrim Fathers!--{58} the elder yeomanry of -New-England!--the Patriots of the American Revolution!--great names! -they shall live enshrined in the heart of Liberty long after those of -many a railer are as if they had never been. And happy, happy would it -be for the fair heritage bequeathed by them, were not the present -generation degenerate sons of noble sires. - -At Jacksonville I tarried only a few days; but during that short -period I met with a few things of tramontane origin, strange enough to -my Yankee notions. It was the season approaching the annual election -of representatives for the state and national councils, and on one of -the days to which I have alluded the political candidates of various -creeds _addressed the people_; that is--for the benefit of the -uninitiated be it stated--each one made manifest what great things he -had done for the people in times past, and promised to do greater -things, should the dear people, in the overflowing of their kindness, -be pleased to let their choice fall upon him. This is a custom of -universal prevalence in the Southern and Western states, and much is -urged in its support; yet, sure it is, in no way could a Northern -candidate more utterly defeat his election than by attempting to -pursue the same. The charge of _self-electioneering_ is, indeed, a -powerful engine often employed by political partisans. - -The candidates, upon the occasion of which I am speaking, were six or -seven in number: and though I was not permitted to listen to the -_eloquence_ of all, some of these harangues are said to have been -powerful productions, especially that of Mr. S. The day {59} was -exceedingly sultry, and Mr. W., candidate for the state Senate, was on -the _stump_, in shape of a huge meat-block at one corner of the -market-house, when I entered.[193] He was a broadfaced, farmer-like -personage, with features imbrowned by exposure, and hands hardened by -honourable toil; with a huge rent, moreover, athwart his left -shoulder-blade--a badge of democracy, I presume, and either neglected -or produced there for the occasion; much upon the same principle, -doubtless, that Quintilian counselled his disciples to disorder the -hair and tumble the toga before they began to speak. Now mind ye, -reader, I do not accuse the worthy man of having followed the Roman's -instructions, or even of acquaintance therewith, or any such thing; -but, verily, he did, in all charity, seem to have hung on his worst -rigging, and that, too, for no other reason than to demonstrate the -democracy aforesaid, and his affection for the _sans-culottes_. His -speech, though garnished with some little rhodomontade, was, upon the -whole, a sensible production. I could hardly restrain a smile, -however, at one of the worthy man's figures, in which he likened -himself to "the _morning sun_, mounting a stump to scatter the mists -which had been gathering around his fair fame." Close upon the heels -of this _ruse_ followed a beautiful simile--"a people free as the wild -breezes of their own broad prairies!" The candidates alternated -according to their political creeds, and denounced each other in no -very measured terms. The approaching election was found, indeed, to be -the prevailing topic of thought and conversation all over the land; -insomuch {60} that the writer, himself an unassuming wayfarer, was -more than once, strangely enough, mistaken for a _candidate_ as he -rode through the country, and was everywhere _catechumened_ as to the -articles of his political faith. It would be an amusing thing to a -solitary traveller in a country like this, could he always detect the -curious surmisings to which his presence gives rise in the minds of -those among whom he chances to be thrown; especially so when, from any -circumstance, his appearance does not betray his definite rank or -calling in life, and anything of mystery hangs around his movements. -Internal Improvement seems now to be the order of the day in Northern -Illinois. This was the hobby of most of the stump-speakers; and the -projected railway from Jacksonville to the river was under sober -consideration. I became acquainted, while here, with Mr. C., a young -gentleman engaged in laying off the route. - -It was late in the afternoon when I at length broke away from the -hustings, and mounted my horse to pursue my journey to Springfield. -The road strikes off from the public square, in a direct line through -the prairie, at right angles with that by which I entered, and, _like_ -that, ornamented by fine farms. I had rode but a few miles from the -village, and was leisurely pursuing my way across the dusty plain, -when a quick tramping behind attracted my attention, and in a few -moments a little, portly, red-faced man at my side, in linsey-woolsey -and a broad-brimmed hat, saluted me frankly with the title of -"friend," and forthwith announced himself a "Baptist {61} -circuit-rider!" I became much interested in the worthy man before his -path diverged from my own; and I flatter myself he reciprocated my -regard, for he asked all manner of questions, and related all manner -of anecdotes, questioned or not. Among other edifying matter, he gave -a full-length biography of a "_billards fever_" from which he was just -recovering; even from the premonitory symptoms thereof to the relapse -and final convalescence. - -At nightfall I found myself alone in the heart of an extensive -prairie; but the beautiful crescent had now begun to beam forth from -the blue heavens; and the wild, fresh breeze of evening, playing among -the silvered grass-tops, rendered the hour a delightful one to the -traveller. "Spring Island Grove," a thick wood upon an eminence to the -right, looked like a region of fairy-land as its dark foliage -trembled in the moonlight. The silence and solitude of the prairie was -almost startling; and a Herculean figure upon a white horse, as it -drew nigh, passed me "on the other side" with a glance of suspicion at -my closely-buttoned surtout and muffled mouth, as if to say, "this is -too lone a spot to form acquaintance." A few hours--I had crossed the -prairie, and was snugly deposited in a pretty little farmhouse in the -edge of the grove, with a crusty, surly fellow enough for its master. - -_Springfield, Ill._ - - - - -XXVIII - - "Hee is a rite gude creetur, and travels _all_ the ground - over most faithfully." - - "The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill - together."--SHAKESPEARE. - - -It is a trite remark, that few studies are more pleasing to the -inquisitive mind than that of the _nature of man_. But, however this -may be, sure it is, few situations in life present greater facilities -for watching its developments than that of the ordinary _wayfaring_ -traveller. Though I fully agree with Edmund Burke, that "the age of -chivalry has passed away," with all its rough virtues and its follies, -yet am I convinced that, even in this degenerate era of sophisters, -economists, and speculators, when a solitary individual, unconnected -with any great movements of the day, throws himself upon his horse, -and sallies fearlessly forth upon the arena of the world, whether in -_quest_ of adventure or not, he will be quite sure to meet, at least, -with some slight "inklings" thereof. A thousand exhibitions of human -character will fling themselves athwart his pathway, inconsiderable -indeed in themselves, yet which, as days of the year and seconds of -the day, go to make up the lineaments of man; and which, from the -observation of the pride, and pomp, and circumstance of wealth and -equipage, would of necessity be veiled. Under the eye of the solitary -{63} wanderer, going forth upon a pilgrimage of observation among the -ranks of men--who is met but for once, and whose opinion, favourable -or otherwise, can be supposed to exert but trifling influence--there -is not that necessity for enveloping those petty weaknesses of our -nature in the mantle of selfishness which would, under more imposing -circumstances, exist. To the mind of delicate sensibility, unschooled -in the ways of man, such exhibitions of human heartlessness might, -perchance, be anything but _interesting_; but to one who, elevated by -independence of character above the ordinary contingencies of -situation and circumstance, can smile at the frailties of his race, -even when exhibited at his own expense, they can but afford a fund of -interest and instruction. The youthful student, when with fresh, -unblunted feeling he for the first time enters the dissecting-room of -medical science, turns with sickened, revolting sensibilities from the -mutilated form stretched out upon the board before him, while the -learned professor, with untrembling nerve, lays bare its secrecies -with the crimsoned knife of science. Just so is it with the -exhibitions of human nature; yet who will say that dissection of the -moral character of man is not as indispensable to an intimate -acquaintance with its phenomena, as that of his physical organization -for a similar purpose. - -But, then, there are the brighter features of humanity, which -sometimes hang across the wanderer's pathway like the beautiful tints -of a summer evening bow; and which, as they are oftenest met reposing -beneath the cool, sequestered shades of {64} retirement, where the -roar and tumult of a busy world are as the heavy swing of the distant -wave, so there, oftener than elsewhere, they serve to cheer the -pilgrim traveller's heart. Ah! it is very sweet, from the dull -Rembrandt shades of which human character presents but too much, to -turn away and dwell upon these green, beautiful spots in the wastes of -humanity; these _oases_ in a desert of barrenness; to hope that man, -though indeed a depraved, unholy being, is not that _thing_ of utter -detestation which a troubled bosom had sometimes forced us to believe. -At such moments, worth years of coldness and distrust, how -inexpressibly grateful is it to feel the young tendrils of the heart -springing forth to meet the proffered affection; curling around our -race, and binding it closer and closer to ourselves. But your pardon, -reader: my wayward pen has betrayed me into an episode upon poor human -nature most unwittingly, I do assure thee. I was only endeavouring to -present a few ideas circumstances had casually suggested, which I was -sure would commend themselves to every thinking mind, and which some -incidents of my wayfaring may serve to illustrate, when lo! forth -comes an essay on human nature. It reminds one of Sir Hudibras, who -_told the clock by algebra_, or of Dr. Young's satirised gentlewoman, -who _drank tea by stratagem_. - -"How little do men realize the loveliness of this visible world!" is -an exclamation which has oftentimes involuntarily left my lips while -gazing upon the surpassing splendour of a prairie-sunrise. This is at -all times a glorious hour, but to a lonely traveller {65} on these -beautiful plains of the departed Illini, it comes on with a charm -which words are powerless to express. We call our world a RUIN. Ah! it -_is_ one in all its moral and physical relations; but, like the elder -cities of the Nile, how vast, how magnificent in its desolation! The -astronomer, as he wanders with scientific eye along the sparkling -galaxy of a summer's night, tells us that among those clustering orbs, -far, far away in the clear realms of upper sky, he catches at times a -glimpse of _another_ world! a region of untold, unutterable -brightness! the high empyrean, veiled in mystery! And so is it with -our own humbler sphere; the glittering fragment of a world _we_ have -never known ofttimes glances before us, and then is gone for ever. - -Before the dawn I had left the farmhouse where I had passed the night, -and was thridding the dark old forest on my route to Springfield. The -dusky twilight of morning had been slowly stealing over the landscape; -and, just as I emerged once more upon my winding prairie-path, the -flaming sunlight was streaming wide and far over the opposite heavens. -Along the whole line of eastern horizon reposed the purple dies of -morning, shooting rapidly upward into broad pyramidal shafts to the -zenith, till at last the dazzling orb came rushing above the plain, -bathing the scene in an effulgence of light. The day which succeeded -was a fine one, and I journeyed leisurely onward, admiring the mellow -glories of woodland and prairie, until near noon, when a flashing -cupola above the trees reminded me I was approaching {66} -Springfield.[194] Owing to its unfavourable situation and the fewness -of its public structures, this town, though one of the most important -in the state, presents not that imposing aspect to the stranger's eye -which some more inconsiderable villages can boast. Its location is the -border of an extensive prairie, adorned with excellent farms, and -stretching away on every side to the blue line of distant forest. This -town, like Jacksonville, was laid out ten or twelve years since, but -for a long while contained only a few scattered log cabins: all its -present wealth or importance dates from the last six years. Though -inferior in many respects to its neighbour and rival, yet such is its -location by nature that it can hardly fail of becoming a place of -extensive business and crowded population; while its geographically -central situation seems to designate it as the capital of the state. -An elegant state-house is now erecting, and the seat of government is -to be located here in 1840. The public square, a green, pleasant lawn, -enclosed by a railing, contains the courthouse and a market, both fine -structures of brick: the sides are lined with handsome edifices. Most -of the buildings are small, however, and the humble log cabin not -unfrequently meets the eye. Among the public structures are a jail, -and several houses of worship. Society is said to be excellent, and -the place can boast much literary taste. The plan of Internal -Improvement projected for the state, when carried out, cannot fail to -render Springfield an important place. - -It was a cool, beautiful evening when I left Springfield and held my -way over the prairie, rolling its {67} waving verdure on either side -of my path. Long after the village had sunk in the horizon, the bright -cupola continued to flame in the oblique rays of the setting sun. I -passed many extensive farms on my route, and in a few hours had -entered the forest and forded Sangamon _River_--so styled out of pure -courtesy, I presume, for at the spot I crossed it seemed little more -than a respectable creek, with waters clear as crystal, flowing over -clean white sand.[195] At periods of higher stages, however, this -stream has been navigated nearly to the confluence of its forks, a -distance of some hundred miles; and in the spring of 1832 a boat of -some size arrived within five miles of Springfield. An inconsiderable -expense in removing logs and overhanging trees, it is said, would -render this river navigable for keelboats half the year. The -advantages of such a communication, through one of the richest -agricultural regions on the globe, can hardly be estimated. The -Sangamon bottom has a soil of amazing fertility, and rears from its -deep, black mould a forest of enormous sycamores; huge, overgrown, -unshapely masses, their venerable limbs streaming with moss. When the -traveller enters the depths of these dark old woods, a cold chill runs -over his frame, and he feels as if he were entering the sepulchre. A -cheerless twilight reigns for ever through them: the atmosphere he -inhales has an earthly smell, and is filled with floating greenish -exhalations; the moist, black mould beneath his horse's hoofs, piled -with vegetable decay for many feet, and upon whose festering bosom the -cheering light of day has not smiled for {68} centuries, is rank and -yielding: the enormous shafts leaning in all attitudes, their naked -old roots enveloped in a green moss of velvet luxuriance, tower a -hundred feet above his head, and shut out the heavens from his view: -the huge wild-vine leaps forth at their foot and clasps them in its -deadly embrace; or the tender ivy and pensile woodbine cluster around -the aged giants, and strive to veil with their mantling tapestry the -ravages of time. There is much cathedral pomp, much of Gothic -magnificence about all this; and one can hardly fling off from his -mind the awe and solemnity which gathers over it amid the chill, -silent, and mysterious solitude of the scene. - -Emerging from the river-bottom, my pathway lay along a tract of -elevated land, among beautiful forest-glades of stately oaks, through -whose long dim aisles the yellow beams of summer sunset were now -richly streaming. Once more upon the broad prairie, and the fragment -of an iris was glittering in the eastern heavens: turning back, my eye -caught a view of that singular but splendid phenomenon, seldom -witnessed--a heavy, distant rain-shower between the spectator and the -departing sun. - -Nightfall found me at the residence of Mr. D., an intelligent, -gentlemanly farmer, with whom I passed an agreeable evening. I was not -long in discovering that my host was a candidate for civic honours; -and that he, with his friend Mr. L., whose speech I had subsequently -the pleasure of perusing, had just returned from Mechanicsburg,[196] a -small village in the vicinity, where they had been exerting themselves -upon the stump to win the _aura popularis_ for the coming election. -"_Sic itur ad astra!_" - -{69} Before sunrise I had crossed the threshold of my hospitable -entertainer; and having wound my solitary way, partially by twilight, -over a prairie fifteen miles in extent, - - "Began to feel, as well I might, - The keen demands of appetite." - -Reining up my tired steed at the door of a log cabin in the middle of -the plain, the nature and extent of my necessities were soon made -known to an aged matron, who had come forth on my approach. - -"Some victuals you shall get, _stran-ger_; but you'll just take your -_creetur_ to the crib and _gin_ him his feed; _bekase_, d'ye see, the -old man is kind o' _drinkin_ to-day; yester' was 'lection, ye know." -From the depths of my sympathetic emotions was I moved for the poor -old body, who with most dolorous aspect had delivered herself of this -message; and I had proceeded forthwith, agreeable to instructions, to -satisfy the cravings of my patient animal, when who should appear but -my tipsified host, _in propria persona_, at the door. The little old -gentleman came tottering towards the spot where I stood, and, warmly -squeezing my hand, whispered to me, with a most irresistible -serio-comic air, "_that he was drunk_;" and "that he was four hours -last night getting home from _'lection_," as he called it. "Now, -stran-ger, you won't think hard on me," he continued, in his maudlin -manner: "I'm a poor, drunken old fellow! but old Jim wan't al'ays so; -old Jim wan't al'ays so!" he exclaimed, with bitterness, burying his -face in his toilworn hands, as, having now regained the house, he -seated himself with difficulty upon the {70} doorstep. "Once, my son, -old Jim could knock down, drag out, whip, lift, or throw any man in -all Sangamon, if he _was_ a _leetle_ fellow: but _now_--there's the -receipt of his disgrace--there," he exclaimed, with vehemence, -thrusting forth before my eyes two brawny, gladiator arms, in which -the volumed muscles were heaving and contracting with excitement; -ironed by labour, but shockingly mutilated. Expressing astonishment at -the spectacle, he assured me that these wounds had been torn in the -flesh by the teeth of infuriated antagonists in drunken quarrels, -though the relation seemed almost too horrible to be true. -Endeavouring to divert his mind from this disgusting topic, on which -it seemed disposed to linger with ferocious delight, I made some -inquiries relative to his farm--which was, indeed, a beautiful one, -under high culture--and respecting the habits of the prairie-wolf, a -large animal of the species having crossed my path in the prairie in -the gray light of dawn. Upon the latter inquiry the old man sat silent -a moment with his chin leaning on his hands. Looking up at length with -an arch expression, he said, "Stran-ger, I _haint_ no _larnin_; I -_can't_ read; but don't the Book say somewhere about old Jacob and the -ring-streaked cattle?" "Yes." "Well, and how old Jake's ring-streaked -and round-spotted _creeturs_, after a _leetle_, got the better of all -the stock, and overrun the _univarsal_ herd; don't the Book say so?" -"Something so." "Well, now for the wolves: they're all colours but -ring-streaked and round-spotted; and if the sucker-farmers don't look -to it, the prairie-wolves will get {71} the better of all the geese, -turkeys, and _hins_ in the barnyard, speckled or no!" - -My breakfast was now on the table; a substantial fare of corn-bread, -butter, honey, fresh eggs, _fowl_, and _coffee_, which latter are as -invariably visitants at an Illinois table as is bacon at a Kentucky -one, and that is saying no little. The exhilarating herb tea is rarely -seen. An anecdote will illustrate this matter. A young man, journeying -in Illinois, stopped one evening at a log cabin with a violent -headache, and requested that never-failing antidote, _a cup of tea_. -There was none in the house; and, having despatched a boy to a distant -grocery to procure a pound, he threw himself upon the bed. In a few -hours a beverage was handed him, the first swallow of which nearly -excoriated his mouth and throat. In the agony of the moment he dashed -down the bowl, and rushed half blinded to the fireplace. Over the -blaze was suspended a huge iron kettle, half filled with an inky -fluid, seething, and boiling, and bubbling, like the witches' caldron -of unutterable things in Macbeth. The good old lady, in her anxiety to -give her sick guest a _strong_ dish of tea, having never seen the like -herself or drank thereof, and supposing it something of the nature of -soup, very innocently and ignorantly poured the whole pound into her -largest kettle, and set it a boiling. Poultry is the other standing -dish of Illinois; and the poor birds seem to realize that their -destiny is at hand whenever a traveller draws nigh, for they -invariably hide their heads beneath the nearest covert. Indeed, so -invariably are poultry and bacon visitants at an Illinois table, that -{72} the story _may_ be true, that the first inquiry made of the guest -by the village landlord is the following: "Well, stran-ger, what'll ye -take: wheat-bread and _chicken fixens_, or corn-bread and _common -doins_?" by the latter expressive and elegant soubriquet being -signified bacon. - -Breakfast being over, my foot was once more in the stirrup. The old -man accompanied me to the gateway, and shaking my hand in a boisterous -agony of good-nature, pressed me to visit him again when he was _not -drunk_. I had proceeded but a few steps on my way when I heard his -voice calling after me, and turned my head: "Stran-ger! I say, -stran-ger! what do you reckon of sending this young Jack Stewart to -Congress?" "Oh, he'll answer." "Well, and that's what I'm a going to -vote; and there's a heap o' people always thinks like old Jim does; -and that's what made 'em get me groggy last night." - -I could not but commiserate this old man as I pursued my journey, -reflecting on what had passed. He was evidently no common toper; for -some of his remarks evinced a keenness of observation, and a depth and -shrewdness of thought, which even the withering blight of drunkenness -had not completely deadened; and which, with other habits and other -circumstances, might have placed him far above the beck and nod of -every demagogue. - -_Decatur, Ill._ - - - - -XXIX - - "Ay, but to die, and go we know not where!" - _Measure for Measure._ - - "Plains immense, interminable meads, - And vast savannas, where the wand'ring eye, - Unfix'd, is in a verdant ocean lost." - THOMSON. - - "Ye shall have miracles; ay, sound ones too, - Seen, heard, attested, everything but true." - MOORE. - - "Call in the barber! If the tale be long, - He'll cut it short, I trust." - MIDDLETON. - - -There are few sentiments of that great man Benjamin Franklin for which -he is more to be revered than for those respecting the burial-place of -the departed.[197] The grave-yard is, and should ever be deemed, a -_holy_ spot; consecrated, not by the cold formalities of unmeaning -ceremony, but by the solemn sacredness of the heart. Who that has -committed to earth's cold bosom the relics of one dearer, perchance, -than existence, can ever after pass the burial-ground with a careless -heart. There is nothing which more painfully jars upon my own -feelings--if I may except that wanton desecration of God's sanctuary -in some sections of our land {74} for a public commitia--than to see -the grave-yard slighted and abused. It is like wounding the memory of -a buried friend. And yet it is an assertion which cannot be refuted, -that, notwithstanding the reverence which, as a people, we have failed -not to manifest for the memory of our dead, the same delicate regard -and obsequy is not with us observed in the sacred rites as among the -inhabitants of the Eastern hemisphere. If, indeed, we may be permitted -to gather up an opinion from circumstances of daily notoriety, it -would seem that the plat of ground appropriated as a cemetery in many -of the villages of our land was devoted to this most holy of purposes -solely because useless for every other; as if, after seizing upon -every spot for the benefit of the living, this last poor _remnant_ was -reluctantly yielded as a resting-place for the departed. And thus has -it happened that most of the burial-grounds of our land have either -been located in a region so lone and solitary, - - "You scarce would start to meet a spirit there," - -or they have been thrust out into the very midst of business, strife, -and contention; amid the glare of sunshine, noise, and dust; "the -gaudy, babbling, and remorseless day," with hardly a wall of stones to -protect them from the inroads of unruly brutes or brutish men. It is -as if the rites of sepulture were refused, and the poor boon of a -resting-place in the bosom of our common mother denied to her -offspring; as if, in our avarice of soul, we grudged even the last -narrow house destined for all; and {75} fain would resume the last, -the only gift our departed ones may retain. Who would not dread "_to -die_" and have his lifeless clay deposited thus! Who would not, ere -the last fleeting particle of existence had "ebbed to its finish," and -the feeble breathing had forsaken its tenement for ever, pour forth -the anguish of his spirit in the melancholy prayer, - - "When breath and sense have left this clay, - In yon damp vault, oh lay me not! - But kindly bear my bones away - To some lone, green, and sunny spot." - -Reverence for the departed is ever a beautiful feature of humanity, -and has struck us with admiration for nations of our race who could -boast but few redeeming traits beside. It is, moreover, a circumstance -not a little remarkable in the history of funeral obsequy, that -veneration for the departed has prevailed in a ratio almost inverse to -the degree of civilization. Without attempting to account for this -circumstance, or to instance the multitude of examples which recur to -every mind in its illustration, I would only refer to that deep -religion of the soul which Nature has implanted in the heart of her -simple child of the Western forests, teaching him to preserve and to -honour the bones of his fathers! And those mysterious mausoleums of a -former race! do they convey no meaning as they rise in lonely grandeur -from our beautiful prairies, and look down upon the noble streams -which for ages have dashed their dark floods along their base! - -{76} But a few years have passed away since this empire valley of the -West was first pressed by the footstep of civilized man; and, if we -except those aged sepulchres of the past, the cities of the dead -hardly yet range side by side with the cities of the living. But this -cannot _always_ be; even in this distant, beautiful land, death _must_ -come; and here it doubtless has come, as many an anguished bosom can -witness. Is it not, then, meet, while the busy tide of worldly -enterprise is rolling heavily forth over this fair land, and the -costly structures of art and opulence are rising on every side, as by -the enchantment of Arabian fiction--is it _not_ meet that, amid the -pauses of excitement, a solitary thought would linger around that -spot, which must surely, reader, become the last resting-place of us -all! - -I have often, in my wanderings through this pleasant land, experienced -a thrill of delight which I can hardly describe, to behold, on -entering a little Western hamlet, a neat white paling rising up -beneath the groves in some green, sequestered spot, whose object none -could mistake. Upon some of these, simple as they were, seemed to have -been bestowed more than ordinary care; for they betrayed an -elaborateness of workmanship and a delicacy of design sought for in -vain among the ruder habitations of the living. This is, _surely_, as -it should be; and I pity the man whose feelings cannot appreciate such -a touching, beautiful expression of the heart. I have alluded to -Franklin, and how pleasant it is to detect the kindly, household -emotions of our nature throbbing beneath the {77} starred, dignified -breast of philosophy and science. FRANKLIN, the statesman, the sage; -he who turned the red lightnings from their wild pathway through the -skies, and rocked the iron cradle of the mightiest democracy on the -globe! we gaze upon him with awe and astonishment; involuntarily we -yield the lofty motto presented by the illustrious Frenchman,[198] -"_Eripuit fulmen coelo, mox sceptra tyrannis_." But when we behold -that towering intellect descending from its throne, and intermingling -its emotions even with those of the lowliest mind, admiration and -reverence are lost in _love_. - -The preceding remarks, which have lengthened out themselves far beyond -my design, were suggested by the loveliness of the site of the -graveyard of the little village of Decatur. I was struck with its -beauty on entering the place. It was near sunset; in the distance -slept the quiet hamlet; upon my right, beneath the grove, peeped out -the white paling through the glossy foliage; and as the broad, deep -shadows of summer evening streamed lengthening through the trees wide -over the landscape, that little spot seemed to my mind the sweetest -one in the scene. And should not the burial-ground be ever thus! for -who shall tell the emotions which may swell the bosom of many a dying -emigrant who here shall find his long, last rest? In that chill hour, -how will the thought of home, kindred, friendships, childhood-scenes, -come rushing over the memory! and to lay his bones in the {78} quiet -graveyard of his own native village, perchance may draw forth many a -sorrowing sigh. But this now may never be; yet it will be consoling to -the pilgrim-heart to realize that, though the resurrection morn shall -find his relics far from the graves of his fathers, he shall yet sleep -the long slumber, and at last come forth with those who were kind and -near to him in a stranger-land; who laid away his cold clay in no -"Potter's Field," but gathered it to their own household sepulchre. -The human mind, whatever its philosophy, can never utterly divest -itself of the idea that the spirit retains a consciousness of the -lifeless body, sympathizing with its honour or neglect, and affected -by all that variety of circumstance which may attend its existence: -and who shall say how far this belief--superstition though it be--may -smooth or trouble the dying pillow! How soothing, too, the reflection -to the sorrow of distant friends, that their departed one peacefully -and decently was gathered to his rest; that his dust is sleeping -quietly in some sweet, lonely spot beneath the dark groves of the -far-land; that his turf is often dewed by the teardrop of sympathy, -and around his lowly headstone waves the wild-grass ever green and -free! The son, the brother, the loved wanderer from his father's home, - - "Is in his grave! - After life's fitful fever, he sleeps well." - -The route leading to Decatur from the west lies chiefly through a -broad branch of the "Grand Prairie," an immense plain, sweeping -diagonally, with {79} little interruption, through the whole State of -Illinois, from the Mississippi to the Wabash. For the first time, in -any considerable number, I here met with those singular granite -masses, termed familiarly by the settlers "_lost rocks_"; in geology, -_boulders_. They are usually of a mammillated, globular figure, the -surface perfectly smooth, sometimes six hundred tons in weight, and -always lying completely isolated, frequently some hundred miles from a -quarry. They rest upon the surface or are slightly imbedded in the -soil; and, so far as my own observation extends, are of distinct -granitic formation, of various density and composition. Several -specimens I obtained are as heavy as metal, and doubtless contain -iron. Many of them, however, like those round masses dug from the -ancient works in Ohio, are pyritous in character. There is a mystery -about these "lost rocks" not easily solved, for no granite quarry has -ever yet been discovered in Illinois. Their appearance, in the midst -of a vast prairie, is dreary and lonely enough. - -The site of the town of Decatur is somewhat depressed, and in the -heart of a grove of noble oaks.[199] Long before the traveller reaches -it, the whole village is placed before his eye from the rounded summit -of the hill, over which winds the road. The neighbouring region is -well settled; the prairie high and rolling, and timber abundant. It is -not a large place, however; and perhaps there are few circumstances -which will render it otherwise for some years. It contains, -nevertheless, a few handsome buildings; several trading -establishments; a good tavern; is said to be healthy; and, upon the -whole, is a far {80} prettier, neater little village than many others -of loftier pretensions through which I have passed in Illinois. The -village will be intersected by two of the principal railroads of the -state, now projected, which circumstance cannot fail to place it in -the first rank as an inland trading town. - -My visit at Decatur was a short one; and, after tea, just as the moon -was beginning to silver the tops of the eastern oaks, I left the -village and rode leisurely through the forest, in order to enter upon -the prairie at dawn the following day. A short distance from Decatur I -again forded the Sangamon; the same insignificant stream as ever; and, -by dint of scrambling, succeeded in attaining the lofty summit of its -opposite bank, from which the surrounding scenery of rolling -forest-tops was magnificent and sublime. From this elevation the -pathway plunged into a thick grove, dark as Erebus, save where lighted -up by a few pale moonbeams struggling through a break in the -tree-tops, or the deep-red gleamings of the evening sky streaming at -intervals along the undergrowth. The hour was a calm and impressive -one: its very loneliness made it sweeter; and that beautiful hymn of -the Tyrolean peasantry at sunset, as versified by Mrs. Hemans, was -forcibly recalled by the scene: - - "Come to the sunset tree! - The day is past and gone; - The woodman's axe lies free, - And the reaper's work is done. - Sweet is the hour of rest! - Pleasant the wood's low sigh, - And the gleaming of the west, - And the turf whereon we lie." - -{81} After a ride of a few miles my path suddenly emerged from the -forest upon the edge of a boundless prairie, from whose dark-rolling -herbage, here and there along the distant swells, was thrown back the -glorious moonlight, as if from the restless, heaving bosom of the -deep. An extensive prairie, beneath a full burst of summer moonlight, -is, indeed, a magnificent spectacle. One can hardly persuade himself -that he is not upon the ocean-shore. And now a wild, fresh breeze, -which all the day had been out playing among the perfumed flowers and -riding the green-crested waves, came rolling in from the prairie, -producing an undulation of its surface and a murmuring in the heavy -forest-boughs perfect in the illusion. All along the low, distant -horizon hung a thin mist of silvery gauze, which, as it rose and fell -upon the dark herbage, gave an idea of mysterious boundlessness to the -scene. Here and there stood out a lonely, weather-beaten tree upon the -plain, its trunk shrouded in obscurity, but its leafy top sighing in -the night-breeze, and gleaming like a beacon-light in the beams of the -cloudless moon. There was a dash of fascinating romance about the -scene, which held me involuntarily upon the spot until reminded by the -chill dews of night that I had, as yet, no shelter. On casting around -my eye, I perceived a low log cabin, half buried in vegetation, -standing alone in the skirt of the wood. Although a miserable -tenement, necessity compelled me to accept its hospitality, and I -entered. It consisted of a single apartment, in which two beds, two -stools, a cross-legged deal table, {82} and a rough clothes-press, -were the only household furniture. A few indispensable iron utensils -sat near the fire; the water-pail and gourd stood upon the shelf, and -a half-consumed flitch of bacon hung suspended in the chimney; but the -superlatives of andirons, shovel and tongs, etc., etc., were all -unknown in this primitive abode. A pair of "lost rocks"--_lost_, -indeed--supplied the first, and the gnarled branch of an oak was -substituted for the latter. The huge old chimney and fireplace were, -as usual, fashioned of sticks and bedaubed with clay; yet everything -looked neat, yea, _comfortable_, in very despite of poverty itself. A -young female with her child, an infant boy, in her arms, was -superintending the preparation of the evening meal. Her language and -demeanour were superior to the miserable circumstances by which she -was surrounded; and though she moved about her narrow demesne with a -quiet, satisfied air, I was not long in learning that _affection_ -alone had transplanted this exotic of the prairie from a more -congenial soil. What woman does not love to tell over those passages -of her history in which the _heart_ has ruled lord of the ascendant? -and how very different in this respect is our sex from hers! Man, -proud man, "the creature of interest and ambition," often blushes to -be reminded that he has a heart, while woman's cheek mantles with the -very intensity of its pulsation! The husband in a few minutes came in -from attending to my horse; the rough table was spread; a humble fare -was produced; all were seated; and then, beneath that miserable roof, -{83} around that meager board, before a morsel of the food, poor as it -was, passed the lip of an individual, the iron hand of toil was -reverently raised, and a grateful heart called down a blessing from -the Mightiest! Ah! thought I, as I beheld the peaceful, satisfied air -of that poor man, as he partook of his humble evening meal with -gratefulness, little does the son of luxury know the calm contentment -which fills his breast! And the great God, as he looks down upon his -children and reads their hearts, does he not listen to many a warmer, -purer thank-offering from beneath the lowly roof-tree of the -wilderness, than from all the palaces of opulence and pride? So it has -ever been--so it has _ever_ been--and so can it never cease to be -while the heart of man remains attempered as it is. - -The humble repast was soon over; and, without difficulty, I entered -into conversation with the father of the family. He informed me that -he had been but a few years a resident of Illinois; that he had been -unfortunate; and that, recently, his circumstances had become more -than usually circumscribed, from his endeavours to save from -speculators a pre-emption right of the small farm he was cultivating. -This farm was his _all_; and, in his solicitude to retain its -possession, he had disposed of every article of the household which -would in any way produce money, even of a part of his own and his -wife's wardrobe. I found him a man of considerable intelligence, and -he imparted to me some facts respecting that singular sect styling -themselves Mormonites of which I was previously hardly aware. Immense -{84} crowds of these people had passed his door on the great road from -Terre Haute, all with families and household effects stowed away in -little one-horse wagons of peculiar construction, and on their journey -to Mount Zion, the New Jerusalem, situated near Independence, Jackson -county, Missouri! Their observance of the Sabbath was almost -pharisaically severe, never permitting themselves to travel upon that -day; the men devoting it to hunting, and the females to washing -clothes, and other operations of the camp! It was their custom, -likewise, to hold a preachment in every village or settlement, whether -men would hear or forbear: the latter must have been the case with -something of a majority, I think, since no one with whom I have ever -met could, for the life of him, give a subsequent expose of -_Mormonism_, "though often requested." - - "I never heard or could engage - A person yet by prayers, or bribes, or tears, - To name, define by speech, or write on page, - The _doctrines_ meant precisely by that word, - Which surely is exceedingly absurd." - -They assert that an angelic messenger has appeared to Joe Smith, -announcing the millennial dawn at hand; that a glorious city of the -faithful--the New Jerusalem, with streets of gold and gates of -pearl--is about to be reared upon Mount Zion, Mo., where the Saviour -will descend and establish a kingdom to which there shall be no end; -ergo, argue these everlasting livers, it befits all good citizens to -get to Independence, Jackson county, aforesaid, as fast as one-horse -wagons will convey them![200] Large quantities of arms and ammunition -have, moreover, been {85} forwarded, so that the item of "the sword -being beaten into a ploughshare, and spear into pruning-hook," seems -not of probable fulfilment according to these worthies. The truth of -the case is, they anticipated a brush with the long-haired -"pukes"[201] before securing a "demise, release, and for ever -quitclaim" to Zion Hill, said _pukes_ having already at sundry times -manifested a refractory spirit, and, from the following anecdote of my -good man of the hut, in "rather a ridic'lous manner." I am no voucher -for the story: I give it as related; "and," as Ben Jonson says, "what -he has possessed me withal, I'll discharge it amply." - -"One Sabbath evening, when the services of the congregation of the -Mormonites were over, the Rev. Joe Smith, priest and prophet, -announced to his expectant tribe that, on the succeeding Sabbath, the -baptismal sacrament would take place, when an angel would appear on -the opposite bank of the stream. Next Sabbath came, and 'great was the -company of the people' to witness the miraculous visitation. The -baptism commenced, and was now wellnigh concluded: 'Do our eyes -deceive us! can such things _be_! The prophecy! the angel!' were -exclamations which ran through the multitude, as a fair form, veiled -in a loose white garment, with flowing locks and long bright pinions, -stood suddenly before the assembled multitude upon the opposite shore, -and then disappeared! All was amazement, consternation, awe! But where -is Joe Smith? In a few moments Joe Smith was with them, and their -faith was confirmed. - -{86} "Again was a baptism appointed--again was the angel announced--a -larger congregation assembled--and yet again did the angel appear. At -that moment two powerful men sprang from a thicket, rushed upon the -angelic visitant, and, amid mingling exclamations of horror and -_execrations_ of piety from the spectators, tore away his long white -wings, his hair and robe, and plunged him into the stream! By some -unaccountable metamorphosis, the angel emerged from the river honest -Joe Smith, priest of Mormon, finder of the golden plates, etc., etc., -and the magi of the enchantment were revealed in the persons of two -brawny _pukes_." Since then, the story concludes, not an angel has -been seen all about Mount Zion! The miracle of walking upon water was -afterward essayed, but failed by the removal, by some impious wags, of -the _benches_ prepared for the occasion. It is truly astonishing to -what lengths superstition has run in some sections of this same -Illinois. Not long since, a knowing farmer in the county of Macon -conceived himself ordained of heaven a promulgator to the world of a -system of "New Light," so styled, upon "a plan entirely new." No -sooner did the idea strike his fancy, than, leaving the plough in the -middle of the furrow, away sallies he to the nearest village, and -admonishes every one, everywhere, forthwith to be baptized by his -heaven-appointed hands, and become a regenerate man on the spot. Many -believed--was there ever faith too preposterous to obtain proselytes? -the doctrine, in popular phrase, "took mightily;" and, it must be -confessed, the whole world, men, women, and children, were {87} in a -fair way for regeneration. Unfortunately for that desirable -consummation, at this crisis certain simple-hearted people -thereabouts, by some freak of fancy or other, took it into their -heads that the priest himself manifested hardly that _quantum_ of the -regenerated spirit that beseemed so considerable a functionary. Among -other peccadilloes, he had unhappily fallen into a habit every Sabbath -morning, when he rode in from his farmhouse--a neat little edifice -which the good people had erected for his benefit in the outskirts of -the village--of trotting solemnly up before the grocery-door upon his -horse, receiving a glass of some dark-coloured liquid, character -unknown, drinking it off with considerable gusto, dropping a -_picayune_ into the tumbler, then proceeding to the pulpit, and, on -the inspiration of the mysterious potation, holding vehemently forth. -Sundry other misdeeds of the reverend man near about the same time -came to light, so that at length the old women pronounced that -terrible fiat, "the preacher was no _better_ than he should be;" which -means, as everybody knows, that he was a good deal _worse_. And so the -men, old and young, chimed in, and the priest was politely advised to -decamp before the doctrine should get unsavoury. Thus ended the -glorious discovery of New-lightism! - -It is a humiliating thing to review the aberrations of the human mind: -and, believe me, reader, my intention in reviewing these instances of -religious fanaticism has been not to excite a smile of transient -merriment, nor for a moment to call in question the {88} reality of -true devotion. My intention has been to show to what extremes of -preposterous folly man may be hurried when he once resigns himself to -the vagaries of fancy upon a subject which demands the severest -deductions of reason. It is, indeed, a _melancholy_ consideration, -that, in a country like our own, which we fondly look upon as the hope -of the world, and amid the full-orbed effulgence of the nineteenth -century, there should exist a body of men, more than twelve thousand -in number, as is estimated, professing belief in a faith so -unutterably absurd as that styled Mormonism; a faith which would have -disgraced the darkest hour of the darkest era of our race.[202] But it -is not for me to read the human _heart_. - -_Shelbyville, Ill._ - - - - -XXX - - "The day is lowering; stilly black - Sleeps the grim waste, while heaven's rack, - Dispersed and wild, 'tween earth and sky - Hangs like a shatter'd canopy!" - _Fire-worshippers._ - - "Rent is the fleecy mantle of the sky; - The clouds fly different; and the sudden sun - By fits effulgent gilds the illumined fields, - And black by fits the shadows sweep along." - THOMSON. - - "The bleak winds - Do sorely ruffle; for many miles about - There's scarce a bush." - _Lear, Act 2._ - - "These are the Gardens of the Desert." - BRYANT. - - -Merrily, merrily did the wild night-wind howl, and whistle, and rave -around the little low cabin beneath whose humble roof-tree the -traveller had lain himself to rest. Now it would roar and rumble down -the huge wooden chimney, and anon sigh along the tall grass-tops and -through the crannies like the wail of some lost one of the waste. The -moonbeams, at intervals darkened by the drifting clouds and again -pouring gloriously forth, streamed in long threads of silver through -the shattered walls; while the shaggy forest in the back-ground, -tossing its heavy branches against the troubled sky, {90} roared forth -a deep chorus to the storm. It was a wild night, and so complete was -the illusion that, in the fitful lullings of the tempest, one almost -imagined himself on the ocean-beach, listening to the confused -weltering of the surge. There was much of high sublimity in all this; -and hours passed away before the traveller, weary as he was, could -quiet his mind to slumber. There are seasons when every chord, and -nerve, and sinew of the system seems wound up to its severest tension; -and a morbid, unnatural excitement broods over the mind, forbidding -all approach to quietude. Every one has _experienced_ this under -peculiar circumstances; few can _describe_ it. - -The night wore tediously away, and at the dawn the traveller was again -in the saddle, pushing forth like a "pilgrim-bark" upon the swelling -ocean-waste, sweeping even to the broad curve of undulating horizon -beyond. There is always something singularly unpleasant in the idea of -going out upon one of these vast prairies _alone_; and such the sense -of utter loneliness, that the solitary traveller never fails to cast -back a lingering gaze upon the last low tenement he is leaving. The -winds were still up, and the rack and clouds were scudding in wild -confusion along the darkened sky; - - "Here, flying loosely as the mane - Of a young war-horse in the blast; - There, roll'd in masses dark and swelling, - As proud to be the thunder's dwelling!" - -From time to time a heavy blast would come careering {91} with -resistless fury along the heaving plain, almost tearing the rider from -his horse. The celebrated "Grand Prairie," upon which I was now -entering, stretched itself away to the south thirty miles, a vast, -unbroken meadow; and one may conceive, not describe, the terrible -fury of a storm-wind sweeping over a surface like this.[203] As the -morning advanced, the violence of the tempest lulled into fitful -gusts; and, as the centre of the vast amphitheatre was attained, a -scene of grandeur and magnificence opened to my eye such as it never -before had looked upon. Elevated upon a full roll of the prairie, the -glance ranged over a scene of seemingly limitless extent; for upon -every side, for the first time in my ramble, the deep blue line of the -horizon and the darker hue of the waving verdure blended into one. - -The touching, delicate loveliness of the lesser prairies, so -resplendent in brilliancy of hue and beauty of outline, I have often -dwelt upon with delight. The graceful undulation of slope and swell; -the exquisite richness and freshness of the verdure flashing in native -magnificence; the gorgeous dies of the matchless and many-coloured -flowers dallying with the winds; the beautiful woodland points and -promontories shooting forth into the mimic sea; the far-retreating, -shadowy _coves_, going back in long vistas into the green wood; the -curved outline of the dim, distant horizon, caught at intervals -through the openings of the forest; and the whole gloriously lighted -up by the early radiance of morning, as with rosy footsteps she came -dancing {92} over the dew-gemmed landscape; all these constituted a -scene in which beauty unrivalled was the sole ingredient. And then -those bright enamelled clumps of living emerald, sleeping upon the -wavy surface like the golden Hesperides of classic fiction, or, like -another cluster of Fortunate Isles in the dark-blue waters, breathing -a fragrance as from oriental bowers; the wild-deer bounding in -startled beauty from his bed, and the merry note of the skylark, -whistling, with speckled vest and dew-wet wing, upon the resin-weed, -lent the last touchings to Nature's _chef d'oeuvre_. - - "Oh, beautiful, still beautiful, - Though long and lone the way." - -But the scene amid which I was now standing could boast an aspect -little like this. Here, indeed, were the rare and delicate flowers; -and life, in all its fresh and beautiful forms, was leaping forth in -wild and sportive luxuriance at my feet. But all was vast, -measureless, Titanic; and the loveliness of the picture was lost in -its grandeur. Here was no magnificence of _beauty_, no _gorgeousness_ -of vegetation, no _splendour_ of the wilderness; - - "Green isles and circling shores _ne'er_ blended here - In wild reality!" - -All was bold and impressive, reposing in the stern, majestic solitude -of Nature. On every side the earth heaved and rolled like the swell of -troubled waters; now sweeping away in the long heavy wave of ocean, -and now rocking and curling like the abrupt, broken bay-billow -tumbling around the {93} crag. Between the lengthened parallel ridges -stretch the ravines by which the prairie is drained; and, owing to the -depth and tenacity of the soil, they are sometimes almost impassable. -Ascending from these, the elevation swells so gradually as to be -almost imperceptible to the traveller, until he finds himself upon the -summit, and the immense landscape is spread out around him. - - "The clouds - Sweep over with their shadows, and beneath, - The surface rolls and fluctuates to the eye; - Dark hollows seem to glide along and chase - The sunny ridges." - -The diversity of light and shade upon the swells and depressions at -the hour of sunrise, or when at midday clouds are drifting along the -sky, is endless. A few points here and there are thrown into prominent -relief; while others, deeply retreating, constitute an imaginary -back-ground perfect in its kind. And then the sunlight, constantly -changing its position, is received upon such a variety of angles, and -these, too, so rapidly vary as the breeze rolls over the surface, that -it gives the scene a wild and shifting aspect to the eye at times, -barely reconcilable with the idea of reality. - -As the sun reached the meridian the winds went down, and then the -stillness of death hung over the prairie. The utter desolateness of -such a scene is indescribable. Not a solitary tree to intercept the -vision or to break the monotony; not a sound to cheer the ear or -relieve the desolation; not a living {94} thing in all that vast wild -plain to tell the traveller that he was not - - "Alone, alone, all, all alone, - Alone on a wide, wide sea!" - -It is at such a season that the question presents itself with more -than ordinary vehemence to the mind, _To what circumstance do these -vast prairies owe their origin_? Amid what terrible convulsion of the -elements did these great ocean-plains heave themselves into being? -What mighty voice has rolled this heaped-up surface into tumult, and -then, amid the storm and the tempest, bid the curling billows stand, -and fixed them there? - - "The hand that built the firmament hath heaved - And smooth'd these verdant swells." - -The origin of the prairie has given rise to much speculation. Some -contend that we are to regard these vast plains in the same light as -mountains, valleys, forests, and other grand features of Nature's -workmanship. And, it is very true, plains of a character not -dissimilar are to be met with all over our earth; at every degree of -elevation of every extent, and of every stage of fertility, from the -exhaustless fecundity of the delta of the Nile to the barren sterility -of the sands of the desert. Northern Asia has her boundless _pastures_ -and _steppes_, where the wild Tartar feeds his flock; Africa may boast -her Bedouin _sands_, her _tablelands_, and her _karroos_; South -America her grassy _llanos_ and _pampas_; Europe her purple _heather_; -India her _jungles_; the southern sections of our own land their -beautiful _savannas_; and wherefore not the {95} vast regions of the -"Far West" their broad-rolling _prairies_? The word is of French -derivation, signifying _meadow_; and is applied to every description -of surface destitute of timber and clothed with grass. It was, then, -upon their own fair prairies of Judea and Mesopotamia that the ancient -patriarchs pitched their tents. The tough sward of the prairie, when -firmly formed, it is well known, refuses to receive the forest; but, -once broken into by the ploughshare or by any other cause, and -protected from the autumnal flames, and all is soon rolling with -green; and the sumach, the hazel, and the wild-cherry are succeeded by -the oak. Such is the argument for the _natural_ origin of the prairie, -and its cogency none will deny. But, assuming for a moment a -_diluvial_ origin to these vast plains, as a thousand circumstances -concur to indicate, and the phenomena are far more satisfactorily and -philosophically resolved. In a soil so exhaustlessly fertile, the -grasses and herbs would first secure possession of the surface. Even -now, whenever the earth is thrown up, from whatever depth, it is -immediately mossed with verdure by the countless embryos buried in -its teeming bosom; a proof incontestable of secondary origin. After -the grasses succeeded flowering shrubs; then the larger weeds; -eventually, thickets were formed; the surface was baked and hardened -by the direct rays of the sun, and the bosom of the soil, bound up as -if by bands of brass and iron, utterly refused to receive or nourish -the seeds of the forest now strewn over it. This is the unavoidable -conclusion wherever natural {96} causes have held their sway. Upon the -borders of rivers, creeks, and overflowing streams, or wherever the -soil has become broken, this series of causes was interrupted, and the -result we see in the numerous island-groves, and in the forests which -invariably fringe the water-courses, great and small. The autumnal -fires, too, aboriginal tradition informs us, have annually swept these -vast plains from an era which the memory of man faileth to record, -scathing and consuming every bush, shrub, or thicket which in the -lapse of ages might have aspired to the dignity of a tree; a nucleus -around which other trees might have clustered. Here and there, indeed, -amid the heaving waste, a desolate, wind-shaken, flame-blackened oak -rears its naked branches in the distance; but it is a stricken thing, -and only confirms the position assumed. From a concurrence of -fortuitous circumstances easily conceived, the solitary seed was -received into a genial soil; the tender shrub and the sapling were -protected from destruction, and at length it had struggled into the -upper air, and defied alike the flames and blasts of the prairie. - -The argument of _analogy_ for the _natural origin_ of the prairie may -also be fairly questioned, since careful examination of the subject -must convince any unprejudiced mind that the similarity of feature -between these plains and others with which we are acquainted is not -sufficiently striking to warrant comparison. The _pampas_, the -_steppes_, and the _sand-plains_, though not unlike in the more -prominent characteristics, are yet widely different {97} in -configuration, extent, and soil. The prairie combines characteristics -of each, exhibiting features of all in _common_, of no one in -_particular_. Who would institute comparison between the dark-rolling -luxuriance of the North American prairie, and the gloomy moor of -Northern Europe, with its heavy, funereal mantle of heather and -_ling_. Could the rifest fancy conjure up the _weird sisters_, all "so -withered and so wild in their attire," upon these beautiful plains of -the departed Illini! Nor do we meet in the thyme-breathing downs of -"merry England," the broad rich levels of France, the grape-clad -highlands of Spain, or in the golden mellowness of the Italian -_Campagna_, with a similitude of feature sufficiently striking to -identify our own glorious prairies with them. Europe can boast, -indeed, no peculiarity of surface assuming like configuration or -exhibiting like phenomena. - -When, then, we reflect, that of all those plains which spread out -themselves upon our globe, the North American prairie possesses -characteristics peculiar to itself, and to be met with nowhere beside; -when we consider the demonstrations of a soil of origin incontestably -diluvial; when we wander over the heaving, billowy surface, and behold -it strewed with the rocky offspring of another region, and, at -intervals, encased in the saline crust of the ocean-sediment; when we -dive into its fathomless bosom, and bring forth the crumbling relics -of man and animal from sepulchres into which, for untold cycles, they -have been entombed; and when we linger along those rolling streams by -which they {98} are intersected, and behold upon their banks the -mighty indications of whirling, subsiding floods, and behold buried in -the heart of the everlasting rock productions only of the sea, the -conviction is forced upon us, almost resistlessly, that here the broad -ocean once heaved and roared. To what circumstance, indeed, but a -revolution of nature like this, are we to refer that uniform -deposition of earthy strata upon the alluvial bottom-land of every -stream? to what those deep-cut race-paths which the great streams -have, in the lapse of centuries, worn for themselves through the -everlasting rock, hundreds of feet? to what those vast salt-plains of -Arkansas? those rocky heaps of the same mineral on the Missouri, or -those huge isolated masses of limestone, rearing themselves amid the -lonely grandeur, a wonder to the savage? Or to what else shall we -refer those collections of enormous seashells, heaped upon the soil, -or thrown up to its surface from a depth of fifty feet? - -Many phenomena in the Valley of the Mississippi concur to confirm the -idea that its vast delta-plains, when first forsaken by the waters of -the ocean, were possessed by extensive canebrakes, covering, indeed, -its entire surface. If, then, we suppose the Indians, who passed from -Asia to America in the early centuries of the Christian era, to have -commenced the fires in autumn when the reed was like tinder, and the -conflagration would sweep over boundless regions, we at once have an -hypothesis which accounts for the origin of the prairies. It is at -least as plausible as some others. The occasions of the autumnal fires -may have been {99} various. The cane-forests must have presented an -insurmountable obstacle in travelling, hunting, agriculture, or even -residence; while the friction caused by the tempestuous winds of -autumn may have kindled numerous fires among the dry reeds. - -The surface peculiar to the prairie is first perceived in the State of -Ohio. As we proceed north and west it increases in extent, until, a -few hundred miles beyond the Mississippi, it rolls on towards the -setting sun, in all the majesty and magnificence of boundlessness, to -the base of the Rocky Mountains. Such are the beautiful prairies of -the fair Far West; and if, gentle reader, my pen, all rapid though it -be, has lingered tediously to thee along their fairy borders, it may -yet prove no small consolation to thy weariness to reflect that its -errings upon the subject are wellnigh ended. - -It was yet early in the day, as I have intimated, when I reached the -centre of that broad branch of the Grand Prairie over which I was -passing; and, mile after mile, the narrow pathway, almost obliterated -here and there by the waving vegetation, continued to wind itself -along. With that unreflecting carelessness which characterizes the -inexperienced wayfarer, I had left behind me the last human habitation -I was for hours to look upon, without the slightest refreshment; and -now the demands of unappeased nature, sharpened by exercise, by the -keen atmosphere of the prairies, and, probably, by the force of fancy, -which never fails to aggravate privations which we know to be -remediless, had become absolutely painful. The faithful animal beneath -{100} me, also, from the total absence of water along our path, was -nearly exhausted; and there, before and around, and on every side, not -an object met the view but the broad-rolling, limitless prairie, and -the dim, misty horizon in the distance. Above, the heavens were calm -and blue, and the bright sun was careering on in his giant course as -gloriously as if the storm-cloud had never swept his path. League -after league the prairie lay behind me, and still swell upon swell, -wave after wave, heaved up itself in endless succession before the -wearied eye. There _is_ a point, reader, in physical, not less than in -moral affairs, where forbearance ceases to be a virtue; and, -veritably, suggestions bordering on the horrible were beginning to -flit athwart the fancy, when, happily, a long, low, wavering -cloud-like line was caught stretching itself upon the extremest verge -of the misty horizon. My jaded animal was urged onward; and slowly, -_very_ slowly, the dim outline undulated upward, and the green forest -rose gradually before the gladdened vision! A few miles, the path -plunged into the green, fresh woods; crossed a deep creek, which -betrayed its meandering by the grove along its banks, and the hungry -traveller threw himself from his horse before a log cabin imbowered in -the trees. The spot was one of those luxuriant copses in the heart of -the prairie, comprising several hundred acres, so common in the -northern sections of Illinois. "_Victuals and drink!_" were, of -course, the first demand from a female who showed herself at the door; -and, "_I judge_" was the laconic but cheering {101} reply. She stared -with uncontrolled curiosity at her stranger-guest. At the moment he -must have looked a perfect incarnation of ferocity; a very genius of -famine and starvation; but, all in good time, he was luxuriating over -a huge fragment of swine's flesh, a bowl of honey, and a loaf of -bread; and soon were his _miseries_ over. What! honey and hog's flesh -not a luxury! Say ye so, reader! Verily, then, were ye never half -starved in the heart of a Western prairie! - -_Salem, Ill._ - - - - -XXXI - - "No leave take I, for I will ride - As far as land will let me." - - "The long sunny lapse of a summer's daylight." - - "What fool is this!" - _As You Like It._ - - -Among that novel variety of feature which the perspicacity of European -tourists in America has enabled them to detect of Cis-atlantic -character, two traits seem ever to stand forth in striking relief, and -are dwelt upon with very evident satisfaction: I allude to Avarice and -Curiosity. Upon the former of these characteristics it is not my -purpose to comment; though one can hardly have been a traveller, in -any acceptation of the term, or in almost any section of our land, -without having arrived at a pretty decided opinion upon the subject. -Curiosity, {102} however, it will not, I am persuaded, be denied, -_does_ constitute a feature, and no inconsiderable one, in our -national character; nor would it, perhaps, prove a difficult task to -lay the finger upon those precise circumstances in our origin and -history as a people which have tended to superinduce a trait of this -kind--a trait so disgusting in its ultra development; and yet, in its -ultimate nature, so indispensably the mainspring of everything -efficient in mind. "_Low vice_," as the author of Childe Harold has -been pleased to stigmatize it; yet upon this single propellant may, in -retrospect, be predicated the cause of more that contributes to man's -happiness than perhaps upon any other. _Frailty of a little mind_, as -it _may_ be, and is often deemed; yet not the less true is it that the -omnipotent workings of this passion have ever been, and must, until -the nature of the human mind is radically changed, continue to remain, -at once the necessary concomitant and the essential element of a -vigorous understanding. If it be, then, indeed true, as writers and -critics beyond the waters would fain have us believe, that American -national character is thus compounded, so far from blushing at the -discovery, we would hail it as a leading cause of our unparalleled -advancement as a people in the time past, and as an unerring omen of -progression in future. - -My pen has been insensibly betrayed into these remarks in view of a -series of incidents which, during my few months rambling, have from -time to time transpired; and which, while they illustrate forcibly to -my mind the position I have assumed, {103} have also demonstrated -conclusively the minor consideration, that the passion, in all its -_phenomena_, is by no means, as some would have us believe, restricted -to any one portion of our land; that it _is_, in verity, a -characteristic of the entire Anglo-American race! Thus much for _sage -forensic_ upon "that low vice, curiosity." - -My last number left me luxuriating, with all the gusto of an amateur -prairie-wolf fresh from his starving lair, upon the _fat_ and _honey_ -of Illinois. During these blessed moments of trencher devotion, -several inmates of the little cabin whose hospitality I was enjoying, -who had been labouring in the field, successively made their -appearance; and to each individual in turn was the traveller handed -over, like a bale of suspected contraband merchandise, for -supervision. The interrogatories of each were quite the same, -embracing name and nativity, occupation, location, and destination, -administered with all the formal exactitude of a county-court lawyer. -With the inquiries of none, however, was I more amused than with those -of a little corpulent old fellow ycleped "Uncle Bill," with a -proboscis of exceeding rubicundity, and eyes red as a weasel's, to say -nothing of a voice melodious in note as an asthmatic clarionet. The -curiosity of the Northern Yankee is, in all conscience, unconscionable -enough when aroused; but, for the genuine quintessence of -inquisitiveness, commend your enemy, if you have one, to an army of -starving gallinippers, or to a backwoods' family of the Far West, who -see a traveller twice a year, and don't take the newspaper! Now {104} -mark me, reader! I mention this not as a _fault_ of the worthy -"Suckers:"[204] it is rather a misfortune; or, if otherwise, it -surely "leans to virtue's side." A _peculiarity_, nevertheless, it -certainly is; and a striking one to the stranger. Inquiries are -constantly made with most unblushing effrontery, which, under ordinary -circumstances, would be deemed but a single remove from insult, but at -which, under those to which I refer, a man of sense would not for a -moment take exception. It is _true_, as some one somewhere has said, -that a degree of inquisitiveness which in the more crowded walks of -life would be called impertinent, is perfectly allowable in the -wilderness; and nothing is more conceivable than desire for its -gratification. As to the people of Illinois, gathered as they are from -every "kindred, and nation, and tribe, and language under heaven," -there are traits of character among them which one could wish -universally possessed. Kind, hospitable, open-hearted, and confiding -have I ever found them, whether in the lonely log cabin of the prairie -or in the overflowing settlement; and some noble spirits _I_ have met -whose presence would honour any community or people. - -After my humble but delicious meal was concluded, mine host, a tall, -well-proportioned, sinewy young fellow, taking down his rifle from the -_beckets_ in which it was reposing over the rude mantel, very civilly -requested me to accompany him on a hunting ramble of a few hours in -the vicinity for deer. Having but a short evening ride before me, I -readily consented; and, leaving the cabin, we strolled {105} leisurely -through the shady woods, along the banks of the creek I have -mentioned, for several miles; but, though indications of deer were -abundant, without success. We were again returning to the hut, which -was now in sight on the prairie's edge, when, in the middle of a -remark upon the propriety of "_disposing of a part of his extensive -farm_," the rifle of my companion was suddenly brought to his eye; a -sharp crack, and a beautiful doe, which the moment before was -bounding over the nodding wild-weeds like the summer wind, lay gasping -at our feet. - -So agreeable did I find my youthful hunter, that I was wellnigh -complying with his request to "tarry with him yet a few days," and try -my own hand and eye, all unskilled though they be, in _gentle -venerie_; or, at the least, to taste a steak from the fine fat doe. -_Sed fugit, interea fugit, irreparabile tempus_; and when the shades -of evening were beginning to gather over the landscape, I had passed -over a prairie some eight miles in breadth; and, chilled and -uncomfortable from the drenching of a heavy shower, was entering the -village of Shelbyville through the trees.[205] - -This is a pleasant little town enough, situated on the west bank of -the Kaskaskia River, in a high and heavily-timbered tract. It is the -seat of justice for the county from which it takes its name, which -circumstance is fearfully portended by a ragged, bleak-looking -structure called a courthouse. Its shattered windows, and flapping -doors, and weather-stained bricks, when associated with the object to -which it is appropriated, perched up as it is in the {106} centre of -the village, reminds one of a cornfield scarecrow, performing its duty -by looking as hideous as possible. _In terrorem_, in sooth. Dame -Justice seems indeed to have met with most shameful treatment all over -the West, through her legitimate representative the courthouse. The -most interesting object in the vicinity of Shelbyville is a huge -sulphur-spring, which I did not tarry long enough to visit. - -"Will you be pleased, sir, to register your name?" was the modest -request of mine host, as, having _settled the bill_, with foot in -stirrup, I was about mounting my steed at the door of the little -hostlerie of Shelbyville the morning after my arrival. Tortured by -the pangs of a curiosity which it was quite evident must now or never -be gratified, he had pursued his guest _beyond the threshold_ with -this _dernier resort_ to elicit _a_ name and residence. "Register my -name, sir!" was the reply. "And pray, let me ask, where do you intend -that desirable operation to be performed?" The discomfited publican, -with an expression of ludicrous dismay, hastily retreating to the -bar-room, soon reappeared gallanting a mysterious-looking little -blue-book, with "Register" in ominous characters portrayed upon the -back thereof. _A_ name was accordingly soon despatched with a pencil, -beneath about a dozen others, which the honest man had probably -managed to _save_ in as many years; and, applying the spur, the last -glance of the traveller caught the eager features of his host poring -over this new accession to his treasure. - -{107} The early air of morning was intensely chilling as I left the -village and pursued my solitary way through the old woods; but, as the -sun went up the heavens, and the path emerged upon the open prairie, -the transition was astonishing. The effect of emerging from the dusky -shades of a thick wood upon a prairie on a summer day is delightful -and peculiar. I have often remarked it. It impresses one like passing -from the damp, gloomy closeness of a cavern into the genial sunshine -of a flower-garden. For the first time during my tour in Illinois was -my horse now severely troubled by that terrible insect, so notorious -all over the West, the large green-bottle prairie-fly, called the -"green-head." My attention was first attracted to it by observing -several gouts of fresh blood upon the rein; and, glancing at my -horse's neck, my surprise was great at beholding an orifice quite as -large as that produced by the _fleam_ from which the dark fluid was -freely streaming. The instant one of these fearful insects plants -itself upon a horse's body, the rider is made aware of the -circumstance by a peculiar restlessness of the animal in every limb, -which soon becomes a perfect agony, while the sweat flows forth at -every pore. The last year[206] was a remarkable one for countless -swarms of these flies; many animals were _killed_ by them; and at one -season it was even dangerous to venture across the broader prairies -except before sunrise or after nightfall. In the early settlement of -the county, these insects were so troublesome as in {108} a great -measure to retard the cultivation of the prairies; but, within a few -years, a yellow insect larger than the "green-head" has made its -appearance wherever the latter was found, and, from its sweeping -destruction of the annoying fly, has been called the "horse-guard." -These form burrows by penetrating the earth to some depth, and there -depositing the slaughtered "green-heads." It is stated that animals -become so well aware of the relief afforded by these insects and of -their presence, that the traveller recognises their arrival at once by -the quiet tranquillity which succeeds the former agitation. Ploughing -upon the prairies was formerly much delayed by these insects, and -heavy netting was requisite for the protection of the oxen. - -At an inconsiderable settlement called _Cold Spring_, after a ride of -a dozen miles, I drew up my horse for refreshment.[207] My host, a -venerable old gentleman, with brows silvered over by the frosts of -sixty winters, from some circumstance unaccountable, presumed his -guest a political circuit-rider, and arranged his remarks accordingly. -The old man's politics were, however, not a little musty. Henry Clay -was spoken of rather as a young aspirant for distinction, just -stepping upon the arena of public life, than as the aged statesman -about resigning "the seals of office," and, hoary with honour, -withdrawing from the world. Nathless, much pleased was I with my host. -He was a native of Connecticut, and twenty years had seen him a -resident in "the Valley." - -Resuming my route, the path conducted through {109} a high wood, and -for the first time since my departure from New-England was my ear -charmed by the sweet, melancholy note of the robin, beautiful songster -of my own native North. A wanderer can hardly describe his emotions on -an occurrence like this. The ornithology of the West, so far as a -limited acquaintance will warrant assertion, embraces many of the most -magnificent of the feathered creation. Here is found the jay, in gold -and azure, most splendid bird of the forest; here the woodpecker, with -flaming crest and snowy capote; the redbird; the cardinal grosbeak, -with his mellow whistle, gorgeous in crimson dies; the bluebird, -delicate as an iris; the mockbird, unrivalled chorister of our land; -the thrush; the wishton-wish; the plaintive whippoorwill; and last, -yet not the least, the turtle-dove, with her flutelike moaning. How -often, on my solitary path, when all was still through the grove, and -heaven's own breathings for a season seemed hushed, have I reined up -my horse, and, with feelings not to be described, listened to the -redundant pathos of that beautiful woodnote swelling on the air! Paley -has somewhere[208] told us, that by nothing has he been so touchingly -reminded of the benevolence of Deity as by the quiet happiness of the -infant on its mother's breast. To myself there is naught in all -Nature's beautiful circle which speaks a richer eloquence of praise -to the goodness of our God than the gushing joyousness of the -forest-bird! - -All day I continued my journey over hill and {110} dale, creek and -ravine, woodland and prairie, until, near sunset, I reined up my weary -animal to rest a while beneath the shade of a broad-boughed oak by the -wayside, of whose refreshing hospitality an emigrant, with wagon and -family, had already availed himself. The leader of the caravan, rather -a young man, was reclining upon the bank, and, according to his own -account, none the better for an extra dram. From a few remarks which -were elicited from him, I soon discovered--what I had suspected, but -which he at first had seemed doggedly intent upon concealing--that he -belonged to that singular sect to which I have before alluded, styling -themselves Mormonites, and that he was even then on his way to Mount -Zion, Jackson county, Mo.! By contriving to throw into my observations -a few of those tenets of the sect which, during my wanderings, I had -gathered up, the worthy Mormonite was soon persuaded--pardon my -insincerity, reader--that he had stumbled upon a veritable brother; -and, without reserve or mental reservation, laid open to my -cognizance, as we journeyed along, "the reasons of the faith that was -in him," and the ultimate, proximate, and intermediate designs of the -_party_. And such a chaotic fanfaronade of nonsense, absurdity, nay, -madness, was an idle curiosity never before punished with. The most -which could be gathered of any possible "_account_" from this -confused, disconnected mass of rubbish, was the following: That Joe -Smith, or Joe Smith's father, or the devil, or some other great -personage, had somewhere dug up the golden {111} plates upon which -were graven the "Book of Mormon:" that this all-mysterious and -much-to-be-admired book embraced the chronicles of the lost kings of -Israel: that it derived its cognomen from one Mormon, its principal -hero, son of Lot's daughter, king of the Moabites: that Christ was -crucified on the spot where Adam was interred: that the descendants of -Cain were all now under the curse, and no one could possibly designate -who they were: that the Saviour was about to descend in Jackson -county, Missouri; the millennium was dawning, and that all who were -not baptized by Joe Smith or his compeers, and forthwith repaired to -Mount Zion, Missouri, aforesaid, would assuredly be cut off, and that -without remedy. These may, perhaps, serve as a specimen of a host of -wild absurdities which fell from the lips of my Mormonite; but, the -instant argument upon any point was pressed, away was he a thousand -miles into the fields of mysticism; or he laid an immediate embargo on -farther proceedings by a barefaced _petitio principii_ on the faith of -the golden plates; or by asserting that the stranger knew more upon -the matter than he! At length the stranger, coming to the conclusion -that he could at least boast as _much_ of Mormonism, he spurred up, -and left the man still jogging onward, to Mount Zion. And yet, reader, -with all his nonsense, my Mormonite was by no means an ignorant -fanatic. He was a native of Virginia, and for fifteen years had been a -pedagogue west of the Blue Ridge, from which edifying profession he -had at length been {112} enticed by the eloquence of sundry preachers -who had held forth in his schoolhouse. Thereupon taking to himself a -brace of wives and two or three braces of children by way of stock in -trade for the community at Mount Zion, and having likewise taken to -himself a one-horse wagon, into which were bestowed the moveables, not -forgetting a certain big-bellied stone bottle which hung ominously -dangling in the rear; I say, having done this, and having, moreover, -pressed into service a certain raw-boned, unhappy-looking horse, and a -certain fat, happy-looking cow, which was driven along beside the -wagon, away started he all agog for the promised land. - -The grand tabernacle of these fanatics is said to be at a place they -call _Kirtland_, upon the shores of Lake Erie, some twenty miles from -Cleveland, and numbers no less than four thousand persons. Their -leader is Joe Smith, and associated with him is a certain shrewd -genius named Sydney Rigdom, a quondam preacher of the doctrine of -Campbell.[209] Under the control of these worthies as president and -cashier, a banking-house was established, which issued about $150,000, -and then deceased. The private residences are small, but the temple -is said to be an elegant structure of stone, three stories in height, -and nearly square in form. Each of its principal apartments is -calculated to contain twelve hundred persons, and has six pulpits -arranged gradatim, three at each extremity of the "Aaronic -priesthood," and in the same manner with the "priesthood of -Melchisedek." The {113} slips are so constructed as to permit the -audience to face either pulpit at pleasure. In the highest seat of the -"Aaronic priesthood" sits the venerable sire of the prophet, and below -sit his hopeful Joe and Joe's prime minister, Sydney Rigdom. The attic -of the temple is occupied for schoolrooms, five in number, where a -large number of students are taught the various branches of the -English, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages. The estimated cost of -this building is $60,000.[210] Smith is represented as a quiet, -placid-seeming knave, with passionless features, perfectly composed in -the midst of his heterogeneous multitude of dupes. Rigdom, on the -contrary, has a face full of fire, a fine tenour voice, and a mild and -persuasive eloquence of speech. Many of their followers are said to be -excellent men. The circumstances of the origin, rise, and progress of -this singular sect have been given to the public by the pen of an -eccentric but polished writer, and there is nothing material to add. - -The close of the day found me once more upon the banks of the -Kaskaskia; and early on the succeeding morning, fording the stream, I -pursued my route along the great national road towards Terre Haute. -This road is projected eighty feet in breadth, with a central -carriage-path of thirty feet, elevated above all standing water, and -in no instance to exceed three degrees from a perfect level. The work -has been commenced along the whole {114} line, and is under various -stages of advancement; for most of the way it is perfectly _direct_. -The bridges are to be of limestone, and of massive structure, the base -of the abutments being equal in depth to one third their altitude. The -work was for a while suspended, for the purpose of investigating -former operations, and subsequently through failure of an -appropriation from Congress; but a grant has since been voted -sufficient to complete the undertaking so far as it is now -projected.[211] West of Vandalia the route is not yet located, though -repeated surveys with reference to this object have been made. St. -Louis, Alton, Beardstown, and divers other places upon the Mississippi -and its branches present claims to become the favoured point of its -destination. Upon this road I journeyed some miles; and, even in its -present unfinished condition, it gives evidence of its enormous -character. Compare this grand national work with the crumbling relics -of the mound-builders scattered over the land, and remark the -contrast: yet how, think you, reader, would an hundred thousand men -regard an undertaking like this? - -My route at length, to my regret, struck off at right angles from the -road, and for many a mile wound away among woods and creeks. As I rode -along through the country I was somewhat surprised at meeting people -from various quarters, who seemed to be gathering to some rendezvous, -all armed with rifles, and with the paraphernalia of hunting suspended -from their shoulders. At length, near noon, I passed a log-cabin, -around which {115} were assembled about a hundred men: and, upon -inquiry, learned that they had come together for the purpose of -"shooting a beeve,"[212] as the marksmen have it. The regulations I -found to be chiefly these: A bull's-eye, with a centre nail, stands -at a distance variously of from forty to seventy yards; and those five -who, at the close of the contest, have most frequently _driven the -nail_, are entitled to a fat ox divided into five portions. Many of -the marksmen in the vicinity, I was informed, could drive the nail -twice out of every three trials. Reluctantly I was forced to decline a -civil invitation to join the party, and to leave before the sport -commenced; but, jogging leisurely along through a beautiful region of -prairie and woodland interspersed, I reached near nightfall the -village of Salem.[213] This place, with its dark, weather-beaten -edifices, forcibly recalled to my mind one of those gloomy little -seaports sprinkled along the iron-bound coast of New-England, over -some of which the ocean-storm has roared and the ocean-eagle shrieked -for more than two centuries. The town is situated on the eastern -border of the Grand Prairie, upon the stage-route from St. Louis to -Vincennes; and, as approached from one quarter, is completely -concealed by a bold promontory of timber springing into the plain. It -is a quiet, innocent, gossiping little place as ever was, no doubt; -never did any harm in all its life, and probably never will do any. -This sage conclusion is predicated upon certain items gathered at the -village singing-school; at which, ever-notable place, the traveller, -agreeable to invitation {116} attended, and carolled away most -vehemently with about a dozen others of either sex, under the -cognizance of a certain worthy personage styled _the Major_, whose -vocation seemed to be to wander over these parts for the purpose of -"_building up_" the good people in psalmody. To say that I was not -more surprised than delighted with the fruits of the honest songster's -efforts in Salem, and that I was, moreover, marvellously edified by -the brisk airs of the "Missouri Harmony," from whose cheerful pages -operations were performed, surely need not be done; therefore, prithee -reader, question me not. - -_Mt. Vernon, Ill._ - - - - -XXXII - - "After we are exhausted by a long course of application to - business, how delightful are the first moments of indolence - and repose! _O che bella coza di far niente!_"--STEWART. - - "Shall I not take mine ease in mine inn!" - _Falstaff._ - - -That distinguished metaphysician Dugald Stewart, in his treatise upon -the "Active and Moral Powers," has, in the language of my motto, -somewhere[214] observed, that leisure after continued exertion is a -source of happiness perfect in its kind; and {117} surely, at the -moment I am now writing, my own feelings abundantly testify to the -force of the remark. For more than one month past have I been urging -myself onward from village to village and from hamlet to hamlet, -through woodland, and over prairie, river, and rivulet, with almost -the celerity of an _avant courier_, and hardly with closer regard to -passing scenes and events. My purpose, reader, for I may as well tell -you, has been to accomplish, within a portion of time to some degree -limited, a "tour over the prairies" previously laid out. This, within -the prescribed period, I am now quite certain of fulfilling; and here -am I, at length "taking mine ease in mine inn" at the ancient and -venerable French village Kaskaskia. - -It is evening now. The long summer sunset is dying away in beauty from -the heavens; and alone in my chamber am I gathering up the fragments -of events scattered along the pathway of the week that is gone. Last -evening at this hour I was entering the town of Pinkneyville, and my -last number left me soberly regaling myself upon the harmonious -_vocalities_ of the sombre little village of Salem. Here, then, may I -well enough resume "the thread of my discourse." - -During my wanderings in Illinois I have more than once referred to the -frequency and violence of the thunder-gusts by which it is visited. I -had travelled not many miles the morning after leaving Salem when I -was assailed by one of the most terrific storms I remember to have yet -encountered. All the morning the atmosphere had been most oppressive, -{118} the sultriness completely prostrating, and the livid exhalations -quivered along the parched-up soil of the prairies, as if over the -mouth of an enormous furnace. A gauzy mist of silvery whiteness at -length diffused itself over the landscape; an inky cloud came heaving -up in the northern horizon, and soon the thunder-peal began to bellow -and reverberate along the darkened prairie, and the great raindrops -came tumbling to the ground. Fortunately, a shelter was at hand; but -hardly had the traveller availed himself of its liberal hospitality, -when the heavens were again lighted up by the sunbeams; the sable -cloud rolled off to the east, and all was beautiful and calm, as if -the angel of desolation in his hurried flight had but for a moment -stooped the shade of his dusky wing, and had then swept onward to -accomplish elsewhere his terrible bidding. With a reflection like this -I was about remounting to pursue my way, when a prolonged, deafening, -terrible crash--as if the wild idea of heathen mythology was indeed -about to be realized, and the thunder-car of Olympian Jove was dashing -through the concave above--caused me to falter with foot in stirrup, -and almost involuntarily to turn my eye in the direction from which -the bolt seemed to have burst. A few hundred yards from the spot on -which I stood a huge elm had been blasted by the lightning; and its -enormous shaft towering aloft, torn, mangled, shattered from the very -summit to its base, was streaming its long ghastly fragments on the -blast. The scene was one startlingly impressive; one of those few -scenes in a man's life the remembrance {119} of which years cannot -wholly efface; which he never _forgets_. As I gazed upon this giant -forest-son, which the lapse of centuries had perhaps hardly sufficed -to rear to perfection, now, even though a ruin, noble, that celebrated -passage of the poet Gray, when describing his _bard_, recurred with -some force to my mind: in this description Gray is supposed to have -had the painting of Raphael at Florence, representing Deity in the -vision of Ezekiel, before him: - - "Loose his beard and hoary hair - Stream'd, like a meteor, to the troubled air," &c. - -A ride of a few hours, after the storm had died away, brought me to -the pleasant little town of Mt. Vernon.[215] This place is the seat of -justice for Jefferson county, and has a courthouse of brick, decent -enough to the eye, to be sure, but said to have been so miserably -constructed that it is a perilous feat for his honour here to poise -the scales. The town itself is an inconsiderable place, but pleasantly -situated, in the edge of a prairie, if I forget not, and in every -other respect is exactly what every traveller has seen a dozen times -elsewhere in Illinois. Like Shelbyville, it is chiefly noted for a -remarkable spring in its vicinity, said to be highly medicinal. How -this latter item may stand I know not, but I am quite sure that all of -the _pure element_ it was my own disagreeable necessity to partake of -during my brief tarry savoured mightily of medicine or of something -akin. Epsom salts and alum seemed the chief substances in solution; -and with these minerals all the water in the region appeared heavily -charged. - -{120} It was a misty, miserable morning when I left Mt. Vernon; and as -my route lay chiefly through a dense timbered tract, the dank, heavy -atmosphere exhaling from the soil, from the luxuriant vegetation, and -from the dense foliage of the over-hanging boughs, was anything but -agreeable. To endure the pitiless drenching of a summer-shower with -equanimity demands but a brief exercise of stoicism: but it is not in -the nature of man amiably to withstand the equally pitiless -_drenching_ of a drizzling, penetrating, everlasting fog, be it of sea -origin or of land. At length a thunder-gust--the usual remedy for -these desperate cases in Illinois--dissipated the vapour, and the -glorious sunlight streamed far and wide athwart a broad prairie, in -the edge of which I stood. The route was, in the language of my -director, indeed a _blind_ one; but, having received special -instructions thereupon, I hesitated not to press onward over the -swelling, pathless plain towards the _east_. After a few miles, having -crossed an arm of the prairie, directions were again sought and -received, by which the route became due _south_, pathless as before, -and through a tract of woodland rearing itself from a bog perfectly -Serbonian. "Muddy Prairie" indeed. On every side rose the enormous -shafts of the cypress, the water-oak, and the maple, flinging from -their giant branches that gray, pensile, parasitical moss, which, -weaving its long funereal fibres into a dusky mantle, almost entangles -in the meshes the thin threads of sunlight struggling down from above. -It was here for the first time that I met in any considerable numbers -{121} with that long-necked, long-legged, long-toed, long-tailed -gentry called wild-turkeys: and, verily, here was a host ample to -atone for all former deficiency, parading in ungainly magnificence -through the forest upon every side, or peeping curiously down, with -outstretched necks and querulous piping, from their lofty perches on -the traveller below. It is by a skilful imitation of this same piping, -to say nothing of the melodious gobble that always succeeds it, that -the sportsman decoys these sentimental bipeds within his reach. The -same method is sometimes employed in hunting the deer--an imitated -bleating of the fawn when in distress--thus taking away the gentle -mother's life through the medium of her most generous impulses; a most -diabolical _modus operandi_, reader, permit me to say. - -Emerging at length, by a circuitous path, once more upon the prairie, -instructions were again sought for the _direct_ route to Pinkneyville, -and a course nearly _north_ was now pointed out. Think of that; -_east_, _south_, _north_, in regular succession too, over a tract of -country perfectly uniform, in order to run a _right_ line between two -given points! This was past all endurance. To a moral certainty with -me, the place of my destination lay away just southwest from the spot -on which I was then standing. Producing, therefore, my pocket-map and -pocket-compass, by means of a little calculation I had soon laid down -the prescribed course, determined to pursue none other, the -remonstrances, and protestations, and objurgations of men, women, and -children to the contrary notwithstanding. Pushing {122} boldly forth -into the prairie, I had not travelled many miles when I struck a path -leading off in the direction I had chosen, and which _proved_ the -direct route to Pinkneyville! Thus had I been forced to cross, -recross, and cross again, a prairie miles in breadth, and to flounder -through a swamp other miles in extent, to say nothing of the _depth_, -and all because of the utter ignorance of the worthy souls who took -upon them _to direct_. I have given this instance in detail for the -special edification and benefit of all future wayfarers in Illinois. -The only unerring guide on the prairies is the map and the compass. -Half famished, and somewhat more than half vexed at the adventures of -the morning, I found myself, near noon, at the cabin-door of an honest -old Virginian, and was ere long placed in a fair way to relieve my -craving appetite. With the little compass which hung at the -safety-riband of my watch, and which had done me such rare service -during my wanderings, the worthy old gentleman seemed heart-stricken -at first sight, and warmly protested that he and the "_stranger_" must -have "_a small bit of a tug_" for that _fixen_, a proposition which -said stranger by no means as warmly relished. Laying, therefore, -before the old farmer a slight outline of my morning's ramble, he -readily perceived that with me the "_pretty leetle fixen_" was -anything but a superlative. My evening ride was a delightful one along -the edge of an extended prairie; but, though repeatedly assured by the -worthy settlers upon the route that I could "_catch no diffick_ulty on -my way no how," my compass was {123} my only safe guide. At length, -crossing "Mud River" upon a lofty bridge of logs, the town of -Pinkneyville was before me just at sunset.[216] - -Pinkneyville has but little to commend it to the passing traveller, -whether we regard beauty of location, regularity of structure, -elegance, size, or proportion of edifices, or the cultivation of the -farms in its vicinage. It would, perhaps, be a pleasant town enough -were its site more elevated, its buildings larger, and disposed with a -little more of mathematical exactness, or its streets less lanelike -and less filthy. As it is, it will require some years to give it a -standing among its fellows. It is laid out on the roll of a small -prairie of moderate fertility, but has quite an extensive settlement -of enterprising farmers, a circumstance which will conduce far more to -the ultimate prosperity of the place. The most prominent structure is -a blood-red jail of brick, standing near the centre of the village; -rather a savage-looking concern, and, doubtless, so designed by its -sagacious architect for the purpose of frightening evil doers. - -Having taken these _observations_ from the tavern door during -twilight, the traveller retired to his chamber, nothing loath, after a -ride of nearly fifty miles, to bestow his tired frame to rest. But, -alas! that verity compels him to declare it-- - - "'Tis true, and pity 'tis 'tis true," - -the "_Traveller's Inn_" was anything, nay, _every_thing but the -comfort-giving spot the hospitable cognomen swinging from its signpost -seemed to imply. Ah! the fond visions of quietude and repose, {124} of -plentiful feeding and hearty sleeping, which those magic words, -"_Traveller's Inn_," had conjured up in the weary traveller's fancy -when they first delightfully swung before his eye. - - "But human pleasure, what art thou, in sooth! - The torrent's smoothness ere it dash below!!" - -Well--exhausted, worn down, tired out, the traveller yet found it as -utterly impossible quietly to rest, as does, doubtless, "a -half-assoilzed soul in purgatory;" and, hours before the day had begun -to break, he arose and ordered out his horse. Kind reader, hast ever, -in the varyings of thy pilgrimage through this troublous world of -ours, when faint, and languid, and weary with exertion, by any -untoward circumstance, been forced to resist the gentle promptings of -"quiet nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep," and to count away the -tedious hours of the livelong night till thy very existence became a -burden to thee; till thy brain whirled and thy nerves twanged like the -tense harp-string? And didst thou not, then--didst thou not, from the -very depths of thy soul, assever this ill, of all ills mortality is -heir to, that one most utterly and unutterably intolerable patiently -to endure? 'Tis no very pitiful thing, sure, to consume the midnight -taper, "sickly" though it be: we commiserate the sacrifice, but we -fail not to appreciate the reward. Around the couch of suffering -humanity, who could not outwatch the stars? the recompense is not of -_this_ world. - - "When youth and pleasure meet, - To chase the glowing hours with flying feet," - -_who_ asks for "sleep till morn!" But when in weariness {125} of the -flesh and in languidness of spirit, the overspent wayfarer has laid -down his wearied frame to rest for the toils of the morrow, it is -indeed a _bitter_ thing rudely to have that rest broken up! "The sleep -of the _wayfaring_ man is sweet," and to have that slumber obtruded -upon by causes too contemptible for a thought, is not in nature with -equanimity to bear! Besides, the luckless sufferer meets with no -_commiseration_: it is a matter all too ludicrous for pity; and as for -fortitude, and firmness, and the like, what warrior ever achieved a -laurel in such a war? what glory is to be gained over a host of -starving--but I forbear. You are pretty well aware, kind reader, or -ought to be, that the situation of your traveller just then was -anything but an enviable one. Not so, however, deemed the worthy -landlord on this interesting occasion. His blank bewilderment of -visage may be better imagined than described, as, aroused from sleep, -his eye met the vision of his stranger guest; while the comic -amalgamation of distress and pique in the marvellously elongated -features of the fair hostess was so truly laughable, that a smile -flitted along the traveller's rebellious muscles, serving completely -to disturb the serenity of her breast! The good lady was evidently not -a little nettled at the _apparent_ mirthfulness of her guest under his -manifold miseries--I do assure thee, reader, the mirthfulness was only -_apparent_--and did not neglect occasion thereupon to let slip a sly -remark impugning his "gentle breeding," because, forsooth, dame -Nature, in throwing together her "cunning workmanship," had gifted it -with a {126} nervous system not quite of steel. Meanwhile, the honest -publican, agreeable to orders, having brought forth the horse, with -folded hands all meekly listened to the eloquence of his spouse; but -the good man was meditating the while a retaliation in shape of a most -unconscionable bill of cost, which was soon presented and was as soon -discharged. Then, leaving the interesting pair to their own -cogitations, with the very _top_ of the morning the traveller flung -himself upon his horse and was soon out of sight. - -_Kaskaskia, Ill._ - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - - -[1] George D. Prentice (1802-70), founder of the Louisville _Journal_, -was graduated from Brown University in 1823. Two years later he became -editor of the Connecticut _Mirror_ and in 1828-30 had charge of the -_New England Weekly Review_. In the spring of 1830, at the earnest -solicitation of several influential Connecticut Whigs, he went West to -gather data for a life of Henry Clay. Once in Kentucky he threw all -the force of his political genius in support of Clay's policy. On -November 24, 1830, he issued the first number of the Louisville -_Journal_, which through his able management was soon recognized as -the chief Whig organ in the West. Wholly devoted to Clay's cause, -its own reputation rose and declined with that of its champion. -The _Journal_ maintained an existence till 1868, when Henry -Watterson consolidated it with the Courier, under the title of -_Courier-Journal_. Prentice is reputed to have been the originator of -the short, pointed paragraph in journalism. His _Life of Henry Clay_ -(Hartford, 1831) is well known. In 1859 he published a collection -of poems under the name _Prenticeana_ (New York). It was reprinted -in 1870 with a biography of the author by G. W. Griffin -(Philadelphia).--ED. - -[2] John M. Peck, a Baptist minister, went as a missionary to St. -Louis in 1817. After nine years of preaching in Missouri and Illinois, -he founded (1826) the Rocky Spring Seminary for training teachers and -ministers. It is said that he travelled more than six thousand miles -collecting money for endowing this school. In 1828 Peck began -publishing the _Western Pioneer_, the first official organ of the -Baptist church in the West, and served as the corresponding secretary -and financial agent of the American Baptist Publication Society from -1843 to 1845. He died at Rocky Springs, Illinois, in 1858. Peck made -important contributions to the publications of the early historical -societies in the Northwest. His chief independent works are: _A Guide -for Emigrants_ (Boston, 1831), republished as _A New Guide for -Emigrants_ (Boston, 1836); _Gazetteer of Illinois_ (Jacksonville, 1834 -and 1837); _Father Clark or the Pioneer Preacher_ (New York, 1855); -and "Life of Daniel Boone," in Jared Sparks, _American Biography_. - -Judge James Hall was born in Philadelphia (1793), and died near -Cincinnati in 1868. He was a member of the Washington Guards during -the War of 1812-15, was promoted to the 2nd United States artillery, -and accompanied Decatur on his expedition to Algiers (1815). Resigning -in 1818, he practiced law at Shawneetown, Illinois (1820-27), and -filled the office of public prosecutor and judge of the circuit court. -He moved to Vandalia (1827) and began editing the _Illinois -Intelligencer_ and the _Illinois Monthly Magazine_. From 1836 to 1853 -he was president of the commercial bank at Cincinnati, and acted as -state treasurer. He published: _Letters from the West_ (London, 1828); -_Legends of the West_ (1832); _Memoirs of the Public Services of -General William Henry Harrison_ (Philadelphia, 1836); _Sketches of -History, Life and Manners of the West_ (Philadelphia, 1835); -_Statistics of the West at the Close of 1836_ (Cincinnati, 1836); -_Notes on the Western States_ (Philadelphia, 1838); _History and -Biography of the Indians of North America_ (3 volumes, 1838-44); _The -West, its Soil, Surface, etc._ (Cincinnati, 1848); _The West, its -Commerce and Navigation_ (Cincinnati, 1848); besides a few historical -novels. For a contemporary estimate of the value of Hall's writings -see _American Monthly Magazine_ (New York, 1835), v, pp. 9-15. - -For Timothy Flint, see Pattie's _Narrative_, in our volume xviii, p. -25, note 1. - -Major Alphonso Wetmore (1793-1849) was of much less importance as a -writer on Western history than those above mentioned. He entered the -23rd infantry in 1812, and subsequently was transferred to the 6th. He -served as paymaster for his regiment from 1815 to 1821, and was -promoted to a captaincy (1819). In 1816 he moved with his family to -Franklinton, Missouri, and later practiced law in St. Louis. His chief -contribution to Western travel is a _Gazetteer of Missouri_ (St. -Louis, 1837).--ED. - -[3] The reference is to Shakespeare's _King John_, III, iv.--ED. - -[4] For a brief sketch of the history of Louisville, see Croghan's -_Journals_, in our volume i, p.136, note 106.--ED. - -[5] The seven stations formed on Beargrass Creek in the fall of 1779 -and spring of 1780 were: Falls of the Ohio, Linnis, Sullivan's Old, -Hoagland's, Floyd's, Spring, and Middle stations. Beargrass Creek, a -small stream less than ten miles in length, flows in a northwestern -trend and uniting with two smaller creeks, South and Muddy forks, -enters the Ohio (not the Mississippi) immediately above the Falls of -the Ohio (Louisville).--ED. - -[6] It is only at high stages of the river that boats even of a -smaller class can pass over the Falls. At other times they go through -the "Louisville and Portland Canal." In 1804 the Legislature of -Kentucky incorporated a company to cut a canal around the falls. -Nothing effectual, however, beyond surveys, was done until 1825, when -on the 12th of January of that year the Louisville and Portland Canal -Company was incorporated by an act of the legislature, with a capital -of $600,000, in shares of $100 each, with perpetual succession. 3665 -of the shares of the company are in the hands of individuals, about -seventy in number, residing in the following states: New-Hampshire, -Massachusetts, New-York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky, and -Missouri, and 2335 shares belong to the government of the United -States. - -In December, 1825, contracts were entered into to complete the work of -this canal within two years, for about $375,000, and under these -contracts the work was commenced in March, 1826. Many unforeseen -difficulties retarded the work until the close of the year 1828. At -this time the contractors failed; new contracts were made at advanced -prices, and the canal was finally opened for navigation December 5th, -1830. When completed it cost about $750,000. Owing to the advanced -season at which it was opened, the deposites of alluvial earth at the -lower extremity of the canal, or debouchure, could not be removed; and -also from the action of the floods during the succeeding severe winter -on the stones that had been temporarily deposited on the sides of the -canal, causing them to be precipitated into the canal, it was not used -to the extent that it otherwise would have been. During the year 1831, -406 steamboats, 46 keelboats, and 357 flatboats, measuring 76,323 -tons, passed through the locks, which are about one fourth the number -that would have passed if all the obstructions had been removed. - -The Louisville and Portland Canal is about two miles in length; is -intended for steamboats of the largest class, and to overcome a fall -of 24 feet, occasioned by an irregular ledge of limerock, through -which the entire bed of the canal is excavated, a part of it, to the -depth of 12 feet, is overlaid with earth. There is one guard and three -lift locks combined, all of which have their foundation on the rock. -One bridge of stone 240 feet long, with an elevation of 68 feet to top -of the parapet wall, and three arches, the centre one of which is -semi-elliptical, with a transverse diameter of 66, and a -semi-conjugate diameter of 22 feet. The two side arches are segments -of 40 feet span. The guard lock is 190 feet long in the clear, with -semicircular heads of 26 feet in diameter, 50 feet wide, and 42 feet -high, and contains 21,775 perches of mason-work. The solid contents of -this lock are equal to 15 common locks, such as are built on the Ohio -and New-York canals. The lift locks are of the same width with the -guard lock, 20 feet high, and 183 feet long in the clear, and contain -12,300 perches of mason-work. The entire length of the walls, from the -head of the guard lock to the end of the outlet lock, is 921 feet. In -addition to the amount of mason-work above, there are three culverts -to drain off the water from the adjacent lands, the mason-work of -which, when added to the locks and bridge, give the whole amount of -mason-work 41,989 perches, equal to about 30 common canal locks. The -cross section of the canal is 200 feet at top of banks, 50 feet at -bottom, and 42 feet high, having a capacity equal to that of 25 common -canals; and if we keep in view the unequal quantity of mason-work -compared to the length of the canal, the great difficulties of -excavating earth and rock from so great a depth and width, together -with the contingencies attending its construction from the -fluctuations of the Ohio River, it may not be considered as -extravagant in drawing the comparison between the work in this and in -that of 70 or 75 miles of common canalling. - -In the upper sections of the canal, the alluvial earth to the average -depth of twenty feet being removed, trunks of trees were found more or -less decayed, and so imbedded as to indicate a powerful current -towards the present shore, some of which were cedar, which is not now -found in this region. Several _fireplaces_ of a rude construction, -with partially burnt wood, were discovered near the rock, as well as -the bones of a variety of small animals and several human skeletons; -rude implements formed of bone and stone were frequently seen, as also -several well-wrought specimens of hematite of iron, in the shape of -plummets or sinkers, displaying a knowledge in the arts far in advance -of the present race of Indians. - -The first stratum of rock was a light, friable slate, in close contact -with the limestone, and difficult to disengage from it; this slate did -not, however, extend over the whole surface of the rock, and was of -various thicknesses, from three inches to four feet. - -The stratum next to the slate was a close, compact limestone, in which -petrified seashells and an infinite variety of coralline formations -were imbedded, and frequent cavities of crystalline incrustations were -seen, many of which still contained petroleum of a highly fetid smell, -which gives the name to this description of limestone. This -description of rock is on an average of five feet, covering a -substratum of a species of cias limestone of a bluish colour, -imbedding nodules of hornstone and organic remains. The fracture of -this stone has in all instances been found to be irregularly -conchoidal, and on exposure to the atmosphere and subjection to fire, -it crumbles to pieces. When burnt and ground, and mixed with a due -proportion of silicious sand, it has been found to make a most -superior kind of hydraulic cement or water-lime. - -The discovery of this valuable limestone has enabled the canal company -to construct their masonry more solidly than any other known in the -United States. - -A manufactory of this hydraulic cement or water-lime is now -established on the bank of the canal, on a scale capable of supplying -the United States with this much-valued material for all works in -contact with water or exposed to moisture; the nature of this cement -being to harden in the water; the grout used on the locks of the canal -is already _harder_ than the _stone_ used in their construction. - -After passing through the stratum which was commonly called the -water-lime, about ten feet in thickness, the workmen came to a more -compact mass of primitive gray limestone, which, however, was not -penetrated to any great depth. In many parts of the excavation masses -of a bluish white flint and hornstone were found enclosed in or -incrusting the fetid limestone. And from the large quantities of -arrow-heads and other rude formations of this flint stone, it is -evident that it was made much use of by the Indians in forming their -weapons for war and hunting; in one place a magazine of arrow-heads -was discovered, containing many hundreds of these rude implements, -carefully packed together and buried below the surface of the ground. - -The existence of iron ore in considerable quantities was exhibited in -the progress of the excavation of the canal, by numerous -highly-charged chalybeate springs that gushed out, and continued to -flow during the time that the rock was exposed, chiefly in the upper -strata of limestone.--_Louisville Directory for 1835._--FLAGG. - -[7] A circumstance, too, which adds not a little of interest to the -spot, is the old Indian tradition that here was fought the last battle -between their race and the former dwellers in Kentucky--the _white -mound-builders_--in which the latter were exterminated to a man. True -or false, vast quantities of human remains have, at low stages of -the Ohio, been found upon the shores of Sandy Island, one mile -below, and an extensive graveyard once existed in the vicinity of -Shipping-port.--FLAGG. - -[8] _Kentucke_ is said to have a similar meaning.--FLAGG. - -[9] Ohio is thought by some philologists to be a corruption of the -Iroquois word, "Ohionhiio," meaning "beautiful river," which the -French rendered as La Belle Rivière; see also Cuming's _Tour_, in our -volume iv, p. 92, note 49.--ED. - -[10] At the age of twenty-five, Henry M. Shreve (1785-1854) was -captain of a freight boat operating on the Ohio. In 1814 he ran the -gauntlet of the British batteries at New Orleans, and carried supplies -to Fort St. Phillip. The following year, in charge of the "Enterprise" -he made the first successful steamboat trip from New Orleans to -Louisville. Later he constructed the "Washington," making many -improvements on the Fulton model. Fulton and Livingstone brought suit -against him but lost in the action. May 24, 1824, at the instigation -of J. C. Calhoun, then secretary of war, Congress appropriated -seventy-five thousand dollars (not $105,000, as Flagg says) for the -purpose of removing obstructions from the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. -As early as 1821, Shreve had invented a device for removing snags and -sawyers from river beds. But it was not until after two years' -fruitless trials with a scheme devised by John Bruce of Kentucky, that -Barbour, at Calhoun's suggestion, appointed Shreve superintendent of -improvements on Western rivers (December 10, 1826). This position he -held until September 11, 1841, when he was dismissed for political -reasons. In the face of discouraging opposition Shreve constructed -(1829) with government aid the snagboat "Heleopolis" with which he -later wrought a marvellous improvement in navigation on the Ohio and -Mississippi. From 1833 to 1838 he was engaged in removing the Red -River "raft" for a distance of a hundred and sixty miles, thus opening -that important river for navigation. For a good biography of Shreve, -see the _Democratic Review_, xxii (New York, 1848), pp. 159-171, -241-251. A fair estimate of the importance of his work can be gained -from the following statistics; from 1822-27 the loss from snags alone, -of property on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, including steam and -flat-boats and their cargoes, amounted to $1,362,500; the like loss -from 1827-32 was reduced to $381,000, although the volume of business -had greatly increased.--ED. - -[11] The "Baltimore" (73 tons) was built at Pittsburg in 1828; the -"Roanoke" (100 tons), at Wheeling in 1835. It is reported that from -1831 to 1833, of the sixty-six steamboats which went out of service, -twenty-four were snagged, fifteen burned, and five destroyed by -collision with other boats. See James Hall, _Notes on the Western -States_ (Philadelphia, 1838), p. 239.--ED. - -[12] The keel-boat Hindoo, with merchandise to the amount of $50,000, -is a late instance.--FLAGG. - -[13] Brown's Island, two miles and a half long by half a mile at its -greatest width, is located six or seven miles above Steubenville, -Ohio, following the course of the river.--ED. - -[14] The keel-boat was usually from sixty to seventy feet long, and -fifteen to eighteen broad at beam, with a keel extending from bow to -stern, and had a draft of twenty to thirty inches. When descending the -stream, the force of the current, with occasional aid from the pole, -was the usual mode of locomotion. In ascending the stream, however, -sails, poles, and almost every known device were used; not -infrequently the vessel was towed by from twenty to forty men, with a -rope several hundred feet in length attached to the mast. These boats -were built in Pittsburg at a cost of two to three thousand dollars -each. - -The barge was constructed for narrow, shallow water. As a rule it was -larger than the keel-boat; but of less draft, and afforded greater -accommodations for passengers. - -Broad-horn was a term generally applied to the Mississippi and Ohio -flat-boat, which made its advent on the Western waters later than the -barge or the keel-boat. It was a large, unwieldy structure, with a -perfectly flat bottom, perpendicular sides, and usually covered its -entire length. It was used only for descending the stream. - -"The earliest improvement upon the canoe was the pirogue, an invention -of the whites. Like the canoe, this is hewed out of the solid log; the -difference is, that the pirogue has greater width and capacity, and is -composed of several pieces of timbers--as if the canoe was sawed -lengthwise into two equal sections, and a broad flat piece of timber -inserted in the middle, so as to give greater breadth of beam to the -vessel." Hall, _Notes on the Western States_, p. 218.--ED. - -[15] Flint.--FLAGG. - -[16] For an account of the first steamboat on the Ohio, see Flint's -_Letters_, in our volume ix, p. 154, note 76.--ED. - -[17] Latrobe.--FLAGG. - -_Comment by Ed._ Charles J. Latrobe (1801-75) visited the United -States in 1832-33. His _Rambles in North America in 1832-3_ (New York, -1835) and _Rambles in Mexico_ (New York and London, 1836) have much -value in the history of Western travel. - -[18] The first steamer upon the waters of the Red River was of a -peculiar construction: her steam scape-pipe, instead of ascending -perpendicularly from the hurricane deck, projected from the bow, and -terminated in the form of a serpent's head. As this monster ascended -the wilds of the stream, with her furnaces blazing, pouring forth -steam with a roar, the wondering Choctaws upon the banks gave her the -poetic and appropriate name of _Pinelore_, "the Fire-Canoe."--FLAGG. - -[19] This quotation is from _Botanic Gardens_, book i, chapter i, by -Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802).--ED. - -[20] For Rome, see Maximilian's _Travels_, in our volume xxii, p. 160, -note 77.--ED. - -[21] Green River, rising in central Kentucky, flows west through the -coal fields to its junction with the Big Barren; thence it turns -north, and empties into the Ohio nine miles above Evansville, Indiana. -Beginning with 1808 the state legislature expended large sums of money -for improving navigation on Green River. As a consequence small -steamboats may ascend it to a distance of more than a hundred and -fifty miles. The length of the stream is estimated at three hundred -and fifty miles.--ED. - -[22] Diamond Island, densely wooded, is located thirty-six miles below -the mouth of Green River, and seven miles above Mount Vernon. Its name -is perhaps derived from its shape, being five miles long and one and a -half wide.--ED. - -[23] For note on Hendersonville, see Cuming's _Tour_, in our volume -iv, p. 267, note 175.--ED. - -[24] John J. Audubon, born in Louisiana (1780), was a son of a wealthy -French naval officer; his mother was a Spanish Creole. Educated in -France, he returned to America (1798) and settled near Philadelphia, -devoting his time to the study of birds. In 1808 he went west and -until 1824 made fruitless attempts to establish himself in business in -Kentucky and Louisiana. He issued in London (1827-38) his noted -publication on the _Birds of America_, which was completed in -eighty-seven parts. During 1832-39 he published five volumes entitled -_Ornithological Biographies_. Audubon died in 1851. See M. R. Audubon, -_Audubon and his Journals_ (New York, 1897).--ED. - -[25] For the historical importance of the Wabash River, see Croghan's -_Journals_, in our volume i, p. 137, note 107.--ED. - -[26] The Wabash and Erie Canal, which connects the waters of Lake Erie -with the Ohio River by way of the Maumee and Wabash rivers, has played -an active rôle in the development of Indiana, her most important -cities being located upon its route. The Ohio section was constructed -during the years 1837-43, and the Indiana section as far as Lafayette -in 1832-40; the canal being later continued to Terre Haute and the -Ohio River near Evansville. Although the federal government granted -Indiana 1,505,114 acres for constructing the canal, the state was by -this work plunged heavily in debt. After the War of Secession the -canal lost much of its relative importance for commerce. June 14, -1880, Congress authorized the secretary of war to order a survey and -estimate of cost and practicability of making a ship canal out of the -old Wabash and Erie Canal. The survey and estimate were made, but the -matter was allowed to drop. See _Senate Docs._, 46 Cong., 3 sess., -iii, 55.--ED. - -[27] For an account of New Harmony and its founder, George Rapp, see -Hulme's _Journal_, in our volume x, p. 50, note 22, and p. 54, note -25.--ED. - -[28] Flagg is evidently referring to Robert Owen, the active promoter -of the scheme. A brief history of his activities is given in Hulme's -_Journal_, in our volume x, p. 50, note 22. - -For Robert Dale Owen see Maximilian's _Travels_, in our volume xxiv, -p. 133, note 128.--ED. - -[29] "Declaration of Mental Independence" delivered by Robert Owen -(not Robert Dale Owen) on July 4, 1826, was printed in the New Harmony -_Gazette_ for July 12, 1826. An extended quotation is given in George -B. Lockwood, _The New Harmony Communities_ (Marion, Indiana, 1902), p. -163.--ED. - -[30] For an account of William Maclure, see Maximilian's _Travels_, in -our volume xxii, p. 163, note 81. - -In reference to the Duke of Saxe Weimar, see Wyeth's _Oregon_, in our -volume xxi, p. 71, note 47.--ED. - -[31] On Shawneetown and the Shawnee Indians see our volume i, p. 23, -note 13, and p. 138, note 108.--ED. - -[32] For a brief statement on the salines, see James's _Long's -Expedition_, in our volume xiv, p. 58, note 11.--ED. - -[33] An excellent account of the Mound Builders is given by Lucien -Carr in Smithsonian Institution _Report_, 1891 (Washington, 1893), pp. -503-599; see also Cyrus Thomas, "Report on Mound Explorations" in -United States Bureau of Ethnology _Report_ (1890-91).--ED. - -[34] Hanging Rock is the name given to a high sandstone escarpment on -the right bank of the river, three miles below Ironton, Ohio.--ED. - -[35] Blennerhasset's Island is two miles below Parkersburg, West -Virginia. For its history, see Cuming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. -129, note 89.--ED. - -[36] A brief description of Rock Inn Cave (or Cave-in-Rock) may be -found in Cuming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. 273, note 180.--ED. - -[37] For Schoolcraft, see Gregg's _Commerce of the Prairies_, in our -volume xx, p. 286, note 178.--ED. - -[38] It is a remarkable circumstance, that this term is employed to -signify the _same_ thing by all the tribes from the Arkansas to the -sources of the Mississippi; and, according to Mackenzie, throughout -the Arctic Regions.--FLAGG. - -[39] See Cuming's _Tour_, in our volume iv, p. 268.--ED. - -[40] Ford's Ferry is today a small hamlet in Crittenden County, -Kentucky, twenty-five miles below Shawneetown. Flagg is referring -probably to the Wilson family. Consult Lewis Collins, _History of -Kentucky_ (Covington, 1874), i. p. 147.--ED. - -[41] Since the remarks relative to "the remarkable cavern in the -vicinity of _Tower Rock_, and not far from Hurricane Island," were in -type, the subjoined notice of a similar cave, probably the same -referred to, has casually fallen under my observation. The reader will -recognise in this description the outlines of _Rock-Inn-Cave_, -previously noticed. It is not a little singular that none of our -party, which was a numerous one, observed the "hieroglyphics" here -alluded to. The passage is from Priest's "American Antiquities." - -"_A Cavern of the West, in which are found many interesting -Hieroglyphics, supposed to have been made by the Ancient Inhabitants._ - -"On the Ohio, twenty miles below the mouth of the Wabash, is a cavern -in which are found many hieroglyphics and representations of such -delineations as would induce the belief that their authors were indeed -comparatively refined and civilized. It is a cave in a rock, or ledge -of the mountain, which presents itself to view a little above the -water of the river when in flood, and is situated close to the bank. -In the early settlement of Ohio this cave became possessed by a party -of Kentuckians called 'Wilson's Gang.' Wilson, in the first place, -brought his family to this cave, and fitted it up as a spacious -dwelling; erected a _signpost_ on the water side, on which were these -words: 'Wilson's Liquor Vault and House of Entertainment.' The novelty -of such a tavern induced almost all the boats descending the river to -call for refreshments and amusement. Attracted by these circumstances, -several idle characters took up their abode at the cave, after which -it continually resounded with the shouts of the licentious, the -clamour of the riotous, and the blasphemy of gamblers. Out of such -customers Wilson found no difficulty in forming a band of robbers, -with whom he formed the plan of murdering the crews of every boat that -stopped at his tavern, and of sending the boats, manned by some of his -party, to New-Orleans, and there sell their loading for cash, which -was to be conveyed to the cave by land through the States of Tennessee -and Kentucky; the party returning with it being instructed to murder -and rob on all good occasions on the road. - -"After a lapse of time the merchants of the upper country began to be -alarmed on finding their property make no returns, and their people -never coming back. Several families and respectable men who had gone -down the river were never heard of, and the losses became so frequent -that it raised, at length, a cry of individual distress and general -dismay. This naturally led to an inquiry, and large rewards were -offered for the discovery of the perpetrators of such unparalleled -crimes. It soon came out that Wilson, with an organized party of -forty-five men, was the cause of such waste of blood and treasure; -that he had a station at Hurricane Island to arrest every boat that -passed by the mouth of the cavern, and that he had agents at Natchez -and New-Orleans, of presumed respectability, who converted his -assignments into cash, though they knew the goods to be stolen or -obtained by the commission of murder. - -"The publicity of Wilson's transactions soon broke up his party; some -dispersed, others were taken prisoners, and he himself was killed by -one of his associates, who was tempted by the reward offered for the -head of the captain of the gang. - -"This cavern measures about twelve rods in length and five in width; -its entrance presents a width of eighty feet at its base and -twenty-five feet high. The interior walls are smooth rock. The floor -is very remarkable, being level through the whole length of its -centre, the sides rising in stony grades, in the manner of seats in -the pit of a theatre. On a diligent scrutiny of the walls, it is -plainly discerned that the ancient inhabitants at a very remote period -had made use of the cave as a house of deliberation and council. The -walls bear many hieroglyphics well executed, and some of them -represent animals which have no resemblance to any now known to -natural history. - -"This cavern is a great natural curiosity, as it is connected with -another still more gloomy, which is situated exactly above, united by -an aperture of about fourteen feet, which, to ascend, is like passing -up a chimney, while the mountain is yet far above. Not long after the -dispersion and arrest of the robbers who had infested it, in the upper -vault were found the skeletons of about sixty persons, who had been -murdered by the gang of Wilson, as was supposed. - -"But the tokens of antiquity are still more curious and important than -a description of the mere cave, which are found engraved on the sides -within, an account of which we proceed to give: - -"The sun in different stages of rise and declension; the moon under -various phases; a snake biting its tail, and representing an orb or -circle; a viper; a vulture; buzzards tearing out the heart of a -prostrate man; a panther held by the ears by a child; a crocodile; -several trees and shrubs; a fox; a curious kind of hydra serpent; two -doves; several bears; two scorpions; an eagle; an owl; some quails; -_eight_ representations of animals which are now unknown. Three out of -the eight are like the elephant in all respects except the tusk and -the tail. Two more resemble the tiger; one a wild boar; another a -sloth; and the last appears a creature of fancy, being a quadruman -instead of a quadruped; the claws being alike before and behind, and -in the act of conveying something to the mouth, which lay in the -centre of the monster. Besides these were several fine representations -of men and women, _not naked_, but clothed; not as the Indians, but -much in the costume of Greece and Rome."--FLAGG. - -_Comment by Ed._ This same account is given by Collins (_op. cit._, in -note 40), and is probably true. - -[42] Hurricane Island, four miles below Cave-in-Rock, is more than -five miles in length. The "Wilson gang" for some time used this island -for a seat of operation.--ED. - -[43] Golconda is the seat of Pope County, Illinois. See Woods's -_English Prairie_, in our volume x, p. 327, note 77. - -On or just before Christmas, 1806, Aaron Burr came down the Cumberland -River from Nashville and joined Blennerhasset, Davis Floyd, and others -who were waiting for him at the mouth of the river, and together they -started on Burr's ill-fated expedition (December 28, 1806). Their -united forces numbered only nine batteaux and sixty men. See W. F. -McCaleb, _Aaron Burr's Conspiracy_ (New York, 1903), p. 254 ff. - -For a short account of Paducah, see Maximilian's _Travels_, in our -volume xxii, p. 203, note 110.--ED. - -[44] It has since been nearly destroyed by fire.--FLAGG. - -[45] On Fort Massac, see A. Michaux's _Travels_, in our volume iii, p. -73, note 139.--ED. - -[46] Wilkinsonville, named for General James Wilkinson, was a small -hamlet located on the site of the Fort Wilkinson of 1812, twenty-two -miles above Cairo. Two or three farm houses are today the sole relics -of this place; see Thwaites, _On the Storied Ohio_, p. 291. - -Caledonia is still a small village in Pulaski County, Illinois. Its -post-office is Olmstead.--ED. - -[47] For account of the attempt at settlements at the confluence of -the Ohio and Mississippi, see Maximilian's _Travels_, in our volume -xxii, p. 204, note 111.--ED. - -[48] For America see Ogden's _Letters_, our volume xix, p. 44, note -30, and Woods's _English Prairie_, our volume x, p. 327, note 77. - -The scheme known as the "Internal Improvement Policy" was authorized -over the governor's veto by the Illinois general assembly on February -27, 1837, in response to the popular clamor for its adoption. The -object was to open the country for immigration and hasten its natural -development by constructing railroads and canals as yet not needed -commercially. Ten million two hundred thousand dollars were -appropriated by the act, including two hundred thousand dollars to be -given directly to the counties not favored. Surveys were made, and -speculation was rife. Then followed a collapse, and six million five -hundred thousand dollars were added to the state debt. The scheme was -later referred to as the General Insanity Bill.--ED. - -[49] The English Island of 1836 is probably the Power's Island of -today. It is three miles long, and forms a part of Scott County, -Missouri, more than twenty miles above Cairo.--ED. - -[50] Herbert.--FLAGG. - -[51] For a sketch of Cape Girardeau, see A. Michaux's _Travels_, in -our volume iii, p. 80, note 154.--ED. - -[52] A superior quality of kaolin, or china clay, is mined in large -quantities in Cape Girardeau County. Marble ninety-nine per cent pure, -is procured in abundance.--ED. - -[53] "Muddy River," usually called "Big Muddy," is the English -translation of the French _Rivière au Vase_, or _Vaseux_. Formed by -the union of two branches rising in Jefferson County, Illinois, it -flows in a southwesterly direction and empties into the Mississippi -about twenty-five miles above Cape Girardeau. It is one hundred and -forty miles long.--ED. - -[54] Fountain Bluff is six miles above the mouth of the Big Muddy. -Flagg's descriptions are in the main accurate.--ED. - -[55] Grand Tower, seventy-five feet high, and frequently mentioned by -early writers, is a mile above the island of the same name, at the -mouth of the Big Muddy, and stands out some distance from the Missouri -side. Grand Tower Island was an object of much dread to boatmen during -the days of early navigation on the Mississippi. A powerful current -sweeping around Devil's Oven, frequently seized frail or unwieldy -craft to dash it against this rock. Usually the boatmen landed, and by -means of long ropes towed their vessels along the Illinois side, past -this perilous rock.--ED. - -[56] The Mississippi between the mouth of the Kaskaskia River and Cape -Girardeau offered many obstructions to early navigation. As at Grand -Tower, the boatmen frequently found it necessary to land and tow their -boats past the dangerous points, and here the Indians would lie in -ambush to fall upon the unfortunate whites. The peril of these places -doubtless lent color to their nomenclature. Flagg's descriptions are -fairly accurate except in the matter of dimensions, wherein he tends -to exaggeration.--ED. - -[57] $105,000.--FLAGG. - -[58] For Red River raft, see James's Long's _Expedition_, in our -volume xvii, p. 70, note 64.--ED. - -[59] In reference to the American Bottom, see Ogden's _Letters_, in -our volume xix, p. 62, note 48.--ED. - -[60] For an account of Ste. Genevieve, see Cuming's _Tour_, in our -volume iv, p. 266, note 174. - -According to Austin, cited below, La Motte (or La Mothe) Cadillac, -governor of Louisiana, went on an expedition (1715) to the Illinois in -search of silver, and found lead ore in a mine which had been shown -him fifteen miles west of the Mississippi. It is believed by some -authorities that this was the famous "Mine la Mothe," at the head of -the St. Francis River. Schoolcraft, however, says that Philip Francis -Renault, having received mining grants from the French government, -left France in 1719, ascended the Mississippi, established himself the -following year near Kaskaskia, and sent out small companies in search -of precious metals; and that La Mothe, who had charge of one of these -companies, soon discovered the mine that still bears his name. It was -operated only at intervals, until after the American occupation, when -its resources were developed. Under the Spanish domination -(1762-1800), little was done to develop the mine. In 1763, however, -Francis Burton discovered the "Mine à Burton," on a branch of Mineral -Fork. Like the "Mine la Mothe," it was known to the Indians before the -discovery by the whites, and both are still operated. Burton was said -to have been alive in 1818, at the age of a hundred and six; see -Colonel Thomas Benton's account of him in St. Louis _Enquirer_, -October 16, 1818. - -For an account of primitive mining operations, see Thwaites, -_Wisconsin Historical Collections_, xiii, pp. 271-292; Moses Austin, -"Lead Mines of Ste. Geneviève and St. Louis Counties," _American State -Papers_ (_Public Lands_), iii, pp. 609-613; and H. R. Schoolcraft, -_Lead Mines of Missouri_ (New York, 1819).--ED. - -[61] From 1738 to 1744, the mines were considered as public property: -but in the year last mentioned François Vallé received from the French -government a grant of two thousand arpents of land (1,666 acres) -including "Mine la Mothe," and eighteen years later twenty-eight -thousand arpents (23,333 acres) additional. At Vallé's death the land -passed to his sons, François and John, and Joseph Pratt, a transfer -confirmed by Congress in 1827. The next year it was sold to C. C. -Vallé, L. E. Linn, and Everett Pratt. In 1830 it was sold in part and -the remainder leased. In 1868 the estate passed from the hands of the -Vallés.--ED. - -[62] Pilot Knob is a conical-shaped hill, a mile in diameter, in Iron -County, Missouri, seventy-five miles southwest of St. Louis, and is -rich in iron ore. In the War of Secession it was the scene of a battle -between General Sterling Price and General Hugh B. Ewing (September -26, 27, 1864). - -Iron Mountain is an isolated knob of the St. François Mountains in St. -François County, eighty miles south of St. Louis. One of the richest -and purest iron mines in the United States is found there.--ED. - -[63] The Peoria were one of the five principal tribes of the Illinois -Confederation. They resided around the lake in the central portion of -Illinois, which bears their name. In 1832 they were removed to Kansas, -and in 1854 to Indian Territory, where, united with other tribes, they -still reside.--ED. - -[64] For a short account of Fort Chartres, see A. Michaux's _Travels_, -in our volume iii, p. 71, note 136.--ED. - -[65] For Prairie du Rocher see A. Michaux's _Travels_, in our volume -iii, p. 70, note 133. The legend referred to is, "Michel de Couce" by -James Hall, in his _Legends of the West_. - -Contrary to Flagg's statement that there exists no description of Fort -Chartres worthy of its history, Philip Pittman, who visited the place -in 1766, gives a good detailed description of the fort in his _Present -State of the European Settlements on the Missisippi_ (London, 1770), -pp. 45, 46.--ED. - -[66] For location and date of settlement of Herculaneum, see -Maximilian's _Travels_, in our volume xxii, p. 212, note 122. - -On a perpendicular bluff, more than a hundred feet in height, in the -vicinity of Herculaneum, J. Macklot erected (1809) what was probably -the first shot-tower this side of the Atlantic. The next year one -Austin built another tower at the same point. According to H. R. -Schoolcraft in his _View of the Lead Mines of Missouri_ (New York, -1819), pp. 138, 139, there were in 1817 three shot-towers near -Herculaneum, producing in the eighteen months ending June 1 of that -year, 668,350 pounds of shot. From the top of small wooden towers -erected on the edge of the bluff, the melted lead was poured through -holes in copper pans or sieves.--ED. - -[67] For the location of the Platine (usually spelled Plattin), see -Maximilian's _Travels_, in our volume xxii, p. 212, note 123. Lead -mining has been carried on in this district, intermittently, since -1824.--ED. - -[68] See Maximilian's _Travels_, in our volume xxii, p. 212, note -123.--ED. - -[69] The following extract from the Journal of Charlevoix, one of the -earliest historians of the West, with reference to the Mines upon the -Merrimac, may prove not uninteresting. The work is a rare one. - -"On the 17th (Oct., 1721), after sailing five leagues farther, I left, -on my right, the river Marameg, where they are at present employed in -searching for a silver mine. Perhaps your grace may not be displeased -if I inform you what success may be expected from this undertaking. -Here follows what I have been able to collect about this affair, from -a person who is well acquainted with it, and who has resided for -several years on the spot. - -"In the year 1719, the Sieur de Lochon, being sent by the West India -Company, in quality of founder, and having dug in a place which had -been marked out to him, drew up a pretty large quantity of ore, a -pound whereof, which took up four days in smelting, produced, as they -say, two drachms of silver; but some have suspected him of putting in -this quantity himself. A few months afterward he returned thither, -and, without thinking any more of the silver, he extracted from two or -three thousand weight of ore fourteen pounds of very bad lead, which -stood him in fourteen hundred francs. Disgusted with a labour which -was so unprofitable, he returned to France. - -"The company, persuaded of the truth of the indications which had been -given them, and that the incapacity of the founder had been the sole -cause of their bad success, sent, in his room, a Spaniard called -Antonio, who had been taken at the siege of Pensacola; had afterward -been a galley-slave, and boasted much of his having wrought in a mine -at Mexico. They gave him very considerable appointments, but he -succeeded no better than had done the Sieur de Lochon. He was not -discouraged himself, and others inclined to believe that he had failed -from his not being versed in the construction of furnaces. He gave -over the search after lead, and undertook to make silver; he dug down -to the rock, which was found to be eight or ten feet in thickness; -several pieces of it were blown up and put into a crucible, from -whence it was given out that he extracted three or four drachms of -silver; but many are still doubtful of the truth of this fact. - -"About this time arrived a company of the King's miners, under the -direction of one _La Renaudiere_, who, resolving to begin with the -lead mines, was able to do nothing; because neither he himself nor any -of his company were in the least acquainted with the construction of -furnaces. Nothing can be more surprising than the facility with which -the company at that time exposed themselves to great expenses, and the -little precaution they took to be satisfied of the capacity of those -they employed. La Renaudiere and his miners not being able to procure -any lead, a private company undertook the mines of the Marameg, and -Sieur Renault, one of the directors, superintended them with care. In -the month of June last he found a bed of lead ore two feet in -thickness, running to a great length over a chain of mountains, where -he has now set his people to work. He flatters himself that there is -silver below the lead. Everybody is not of his opinion, but will -discover the truth."--FLAGG. - -[70] Flagg's account agrees with a much longer treatment by Lewis C. -Beck, in his _Gazetteer of the States of Illinois and Missouri_ -(Albany, 1823), with the exception that the latter says there were no -inscriptions to be found on the gravestones. Beck himself makes -extended quotations from the _Missouri Gazette_, November 6, 1818, and -subsequent numbers. Though no doubt exaggerated, these accounts were -probably based on facts, for a large number of prehistoric remains -have been found in St. Louis County and preserved in the Peabody -Museum at New Haven, Connecticut, and elsewhere.--ED. - -[71] For an account of Jefferson Barracks, see Townsend's _Narrative_, -in our volume xxi, p. 122, note 2.--ED. - -[72] For the history of Carondelet, see Maximilian's _Travels_, in our -volume xxii, p. 215, note 124. - -For reference to Cahokia, see A. Michaux's _Travels_, in our volume -iii, p. 70, note 135. - -On May 20, 1826, Congress made an appropriation of fifteen thousand -dollars to the secretary of war, for the purpose of purchasing the -site for the erection of an arsenal in the vicinity of St. Louis. -Lands now far within the southeastern limits of the city were -purchased, and the buildings erected which were used for arsenals -until January 16, 1871, when they were occupied as a depot for the -general mounted recruiting service.--ED. - -[73] A name of Algonquin origin--_Missi_ signifying great, and _sepe_ -a river.--FLAGG. - -[74] Indian name for the "Falls of St. Anthony."--FLAGG. - -[75] That the Mississippi, the Missouri, and, indeed, most of the -great rivers of the West, are annually enlarging, as progress is made -in clearing and cultivating the regions drained by them, scarcely -admits a doubt. Within the past thirty years, the width of the -Mississippi has sensibly increased; its overflows are more frequent, -while, by the diminution of obstructions, it would seem not to have -become proportionally shallow. In 1750, the French settlements began -upon the river above New-Orleans, and for twenty years the banks were -cultivated without a _levee_. Inundation was then a rare occurrence: -ever since, from year to year, the river has continued to rise, and -require higher and stronger embankments. A century hence, if this -phenomenon continues, what a magnificent spectacle will not this river -present! How terrific its freshets! The immense forest of timber which -lies concealed beneath its depths, as evinced by the great earthquakes -of 1811, demonstrates that, for centuries, the Mississippi has -occupied its present bed.--FLAGG. - -[76] In 1764 Auguste Chouteau made tentative plans for the -fortification of St. Louis. In obedience to an order by Don Francisco -Cruzat, the lieutenant-governor, he made a survey in 1781 for the -purpose of perfecting these earlier plans. In the same year the -stockade was begun immediately south of the present site of the -courthouse. In 1797 the round stone tower which Flagg mentions was -constructed and preparations made for building four additional towers; -the latter were never completed. From 1804 to 1806 these -fortifications were used by the United States troops, and then -abandoned for military purposes. The commandant's house served as a -courthouse from 1806 to 1816; and the tower as a jail until 1819. For -a detailed description of the plans, see J. F. Scharf, _St. Louis City -and County_ (Philadelphia, 1883), p. 136 ff.--ED. - -[77] For a brief sketch of William H. Ashley see Maximilian's -_Travels_, in our volume xxii, p. 250, note 198. He purchased (1826 or -1827) eight acres on the present site of Broadway, between Biddle and -Bates streets, St. Louis, where he built a handsome residence. - -Bloody Island, now the Third Ward of East St. Louis, was formed about -1800 by the current cutting its way through the neck in a bend of the -river. For a long time it was not determined to what state it -belonged, and being considered neutral ground many duels were fought -there, notably those between Thomas H. Benton and Charles Lucas -(1817), United States District Attorney Thomas Rector and Joshua -Barton (1823), and Thomas Biddle and Spencer Pettis (1830). The name -was derived from these bloody associations.--ED. - -[78] For a sketch of Charlevoix, see Nuttall's _Journal_, in our -volume xiii, p. 116, note 81.--ED. - -[79] D'Ulloa, the first Spanish governor of Louisiana, sent a -detachment of soldiers to St. Louis in 1767. Later, these troops were -transferred to the south bank of the Missouri, a few miles above its -mouth, where "Old Fort St. Charles the Prince" was erected. General -Wilkinson built Fort Bellefontaine on this site in 1805. From 1809 to -1815 this was the headquarters of the military department of Louisiana -(including Forts Madison, Massac, Osage, and Vincennes). It was the -starting point of the Pike, Long, and Atkinson expeditions. On July -10, 1826, it was abandoned for Jefferson Barracks, but a small arsenal -of deposits was maintained here until 1834. The land was eventually -sold by the government (1836). See Walter B. Douglas's note in -Thwaites, _Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition_ (New -York, 1905), v, pp. 392, 393.--ED. - -[80] North of Missouri River, twenty miles above its confluence with -the Mississippi, where the bluffs of the two streams unite, two -smooth, treeless, grass-covered mounds stand out from the main bluffs. -These mounds, a hundred and fifty feet in height, were called by the -early French "mamelles" from their fancied resemblance to the human -breast.--ED. - -[81] Alton, twenty-five miles above St. Louis, is the principal city -of Madison County, Illinois. In 1807 the French erected here a small -trading post. Rufus Easton laid out the town (1818), and named it for -his son. The state penitentiary was first built at Alton (1827), but -the last prisoner was transferred (1860) to the new penitentiary at -Joliet, begun in 1857. Alton was the scene of the famous -anti-Abolitionist riot of November 7, 1837, when Elijah P. Lovejoy was -killed.--ED. - -[82] Captain Benjamin Godfrey donated fifteen acres of land and -thirty-five thousand dollars for the erection of a female seminary at -Godfrey, Madison County, Illinois. The school was opened April 11, -1838, under the title of the Monticello Female Seminary, with Rev. -Theron Baldwin for its first principal.--ED. - -[83] The plans mentioned here were probably being agitated when Flagg -visited Alton in 1836. The act incorporating the first railroad in -Illinois was approved January 17, 1835; it provided for the -construction of a road from Chicago to a point opposite Vincennes. By -the internal improvement act of February 27, 1837, a road was -authorized to be constructed from Alton to Terre Haute, by way of -Shelbyville, and another from Alton to Mount Carmel, by way of Salem, -Marion County; but the act was repealed before the roads were -completed. The Cumberland road was constructed only to Vandalia, -Fayette County, though the internal improvement act contemplated its -extension to St. Louis.--ED. - -[84] The French village is no doubt Portage des Sioux. In 1799 Francis -Leseuer, a resident of St. Charles, visited the place, which was then -an Indian settlement. Pleased with the location he returned to St. -Charles, and secured a grant of the land from Don Carlos Dehault -Delassus, lieutenant-governor of Upper Louisiana, organized a colony -from among the French inhabitants of St. Charles and St. Louis, and -occupied the place the same autumn.--ED. - -[85] Grafton, Jersey County, Illinois, was settled in 1832 by James -Mason, and named by him in honor of his native place. It was laid out -(1836) by Paris and Sarah Mason.--ED. - -[86] The Illinois Indians (from "Illini," meaning "men") were of -Algonquian stock, and formerly occupied the state to which they gave -the name. They were loyal to the French during their early wars, later -aided the English, and were with great difficulty subdued by the -United States government. Separate tribes of the Illinois Indians were -the Cahokia, Kaskaskia, Michigami, Moingewena, Peoria, and Tamaroa. - -On a high bluff just above Alton there was formerly to be seen a huge -painted image known among the Indians as the Piasa Bird. To the -natives it was an object of much veneration, and in time many -superstitions became connected therewith. First described in the -_Journal_ of Father Jacques Marquette (1673) its origin was long a -subject of speculation among early writers. Traces of this strange -painting could be seen until 1840 or 1845, when they were entirely -obliterated through quarrying. See P. A. Armstrong, _The Piasa or the -Devil among the Indians_ (Morris, Illinois, 1887). - -The version of the tradition given by Flagg was probably from the pen -of John Russell, who in 1837 began editing at Grafton, Illinois, the -_Backwoodsman_, a local newspaper. Russell had in 1819 or 1820 -published in the _Missourian_ an article entitled "Venomous Worm," -which won for him considerable reputation. Russell admitted that the -version was largely imaginative; nevertheless it had a wide -circulation.--ED. - -[87] For a sketch of Tonty, see Nuttall's _Journal_, in our volume -xiii, p. 117, note 85.--ED. - -[88] Beardstone, Cass County, Illinois, was laid out by Thomas Beard -and Enoch Marsh (1827). During the Black Hawk War (1832), it was the -principal supply base for the Illinois volunteers.--ED. - -[89] For an account of the Illinois Canal, see Flint's _Letters_, in -our volume ix, p. 186, note 93.--ED. - -[90] By act of Congress approved May 6, 1812, three tracts of land, -not exceeding on the whole six million acres, were authorized to be -surveyed and used as a bounty for the soldiers engaged in the war -begun with Great Britain in that year. The tract surveyed in Illinois -Territory comprehended the land lying between the Mississippi and -Illinois rivers, extending seven miles north of Quincy, on the former -stream, and to the present village of De Pue, in southeastern Bureau -County, on the latter; it embraced the present counties of Calhoun, -Pike, Adams, Brown, Schuyler, Hancock, McDonough, Fulton, Peoria, -Stark, Knox, Warren, Henderson, and Mercer, and parts of Henry, -Bureau, Putnam, and Marshall.--ED. - -[91] Cap au Gris was a point of land on the Mississippi, in Calhoun -County, Illinois, just above the mouth of the Illinois. J. M. Peck, in -his _Gazetteer of Illinois_ (1837), from which Flagg derives his -account of this place, says that a settlement had been formed there -about forty years earlier. The town of this name is now in Lincoln -County, Missouri. There is no foundation for the belief that La Salle -had erected a fort here.--ED. - -[92] Montgomery, on the right bank of Illinois River, in Pike County, -was laid out by an Alton Company, for a new landing. Naples is a small -village in Scott County. Havana, founded in 1827, is the seat of -justice for Mason County. Pekin is in Tazewell County.--ED. - -[93] Peoria, now the second largest city in Illinois, is situated a -hundred and sixty miles southwest of Chicago, on the west bank and -near the outlet of Lake Peoria, an expansion of the Illinois River. -Its site was visited in 1680 by La Salle. Early in the eighteenth -century a French settlement was made a mile and a half farther up, and -named Peoria for the local Indian tribe. French missionaries were in -this neighborhood as early as 1673-74. In 1788 or 1789 the first house -was built on the present site of Peoria and by the close of the -century the inhabitants of the old town, because of its more healthful -location, moved to the new village of Peoria, which at first was -called La Ville de Maillet, in honor of a French Canadian who -commanded a company of volunteers in the War of the Revolution. Later -the name was changed to its present form. At the opening of the War of -1812-15, the French inhabitants were charged with having aroused the -Indians against the Americans in Illinois. Governor Ninian Edwards -ordered Thomas E. Craig, captain of a company of Illinois militia, to -proceed up the Illinois River and build a fort at Peoria. Under the -pretense that his men had been fired upon by the inhabitants, when the -former were peaceably passing in their boats, Craig burned half the -town of Peoria in November, 1812, and transferred the majority of the -population to below Alton. In the following year, Fort Clark--named in -honor of General George Rogers Clark--was erected by General Benjamin -Howard on this site; but after the close of the war the fort was -burned by the Indians. After the affair of 1812, Peoria was not -occupied, save occasionally, until 1819, when it was rebuilt by the -Americans. The American Fur Company established a post there in 1824. -See C. Ballance, _History of Peoria_ (Peoria, 1870).--ED. - -[94] Benjamin Howard (1760-1814) was elected to the state legislature -of Kentucky (1800), to Congress (1807-10); appointed governor of Upper -Louisiana Territory (1810), and in March, 1813, brigadier-general of -the United States army in command of the 8th military department. He -died at St. Louis, September, 1814.--ED. - -[95] Kickapoo Creek rises in Peoria County, flows southeasterly and -enters Illinois River two miles below Peoria.--ED. - -[96] Robert Walter Weir (1803-89), after studying and painting in New -York, Florence (1824-25), and Rome (1825-27), opened a studio in New -York, and became an associate and later academician of the National -Academy of Design. He was professor of drawing in the United States -Military Academy at West Point from 1832 to 1874. Weir is best known -for his historical paintings, prominent among which are "The Bourbons' -Last March," "Landing of Hendric Hudson," "Indian Captives," and -"Embarkation of the Pilgrims." He built and beautified the Church of -Holy Innocents at Highland Falls, West Point. His two sons, John -Ferguson and Julian Alden, became noted artists.--ED. - -[97] By order of the war department (May 19, 1834), Lieutenant-Colonel -S. W. Kearny was sent with companies B, H, and I of the 1st United -States dragoons to establish a fort near the mouth of Des Moines -River. The present site of Montrose, Lee County, Iowa, at the head of -the lower rapids of the Mississippi, was chosen. The barracks being -completed by November, 1834, they were occupied until the spring of -1837, when the troops were transferred to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. - -As early as 1721 a French fort (La Baye) had been erected at Green -Bay, on the left bank of Fox River, a half league from its mouth. -After suffering many vicissitudes during the Fox wars it was later -strengthened, and when occupied by English troops in 1761, was -re-named Fort Edward Augustus. After the close of the War of 1812-15, -the United States government determined to exercise a real authority -over the forts on the upper Great Lakes, where, in spite of the -provision of Jay's Treaty (1794), its power had been merely nominal. -In 1815 John Bowyer, the first United States Indian agent for the -Green Bay district, established a government trading post at Green -Bay, and made an ineffectual attempt to control the fur trade of the -region. The following year, Fort Howard, named in honor of General -Benjamin Howard, was built on the site of the old French fort. With -the exception of 1820-22, when the troops were transferred to Camp -Smith, on the east shore, Fort Howard was continuously occupied until -1841, when its garrison was ordered to Florida and Mexico. Later, from -1849 to 1851, it was occupied by Colonel Francis Lee and -Lieutenant-Colonel B. L. E. Bonneville, and then permanently abandoned -as a garrison, although a volunteer company was stationed there for a -short time during the War of Secession. Almost every trace of the old -fort has been obliterated. Consult _Wisconsin Historical Collections_, -xvi, xvii; also William L. Evans, "Military History of Green Bay," in -Wisconsin Historical Society _Proceedings_, 1899, pp. 128-146.--ED. - -[98] Hennepin, on the east bank of the Illinois River, was laid out in -1831 and made the seat of justice for Putnam County. - -Ottawa, the county seat of La Salle, was laid off by the canal -commissioners (1830) at the junction of the Fox and Illinois -rivers.--ED. - -[99] Flagg's description of this noted bluff is accurate. After -careful investigations, Francis Parkman, the historian, was convinced -that _Le Rocher_ or Starved Rock is the site of Fort St. Louis, -erected by La Salle in December, 1682. On his departure in the autumn -of 1683, La Salle left the post in command of his lieutenant, Henri de -Tonty, who was soon succeeded by De Baugis. In 1690 Tonty and La -Forest were granted the proprietorship of the stronghold, but in 1702 -it was abandoned by royal order. By 1718 it was again occupied by the -French, although when Father Charlevoix passed three years later, it -was once more deserted. The tradition which gave rise to the name -Starved Rock was well known; see _Tales of the Border_ (Philadelphia, -1834); Osman Eaton, _Starved Rock, a Historical Sketch_ (Ottawa, -Illinois, 1895); and Francis Parkman, _La Salle and the Discovery of -the Great West_ (Boston, 1869). - -Pontiac was assassinated in 1769 instead of 1767. For accounts of the -Ottawa and Potawotami, see Croghan's _Journals_, in our volume i, p. -76, note 37, and p. 115, note 84, respectively.--ED. - -[100] For a biographical sketch of Pierre and Auguste Chouteau, the -elders, see James's _Long's Expedition_, in our volume xvi, p. 275, -note 127.--ED. - -[101] The imprint of a human foot is yet to be seen in the limestone -of the shore not far from the landing at St. Louis. - -With reference to the _human footprints in the rock at St. Louis_, I -have given the local tradition. Schoolcraft's detailed description, -which I subjoin, varies from this somewhat. The print of a human foot -is said to have been discovered also in the limestone at Herculaneum. -Morse, in his _Universal Geography_, tells us of the tracks of an army -of men and horses on a certain mountain in the State of Tennessee, -fitly named the Enchanted Mountain. - -"Before leaving Harmony, our attention was particularly directed to a -tabular mass of limestone, containing two apparent prints or -impressions of the naked human foot. This stone was carefully -preserved in an open area, upon the premises of Mr. Rappe, by whom it -had previously been conveyed from the banks of the Mississippi, at St. -Louis. The impressions are, to all appearance, those of a man standing -in an erect posture, with the left foot a little advanced and the -heels drawn in. The distance between the heels, by accurate -measurement, is six and a quarter inches, and between the extremities -of the toes thirteen and a half. But, by a close inspection, it will -be perceived that these are not the impressions of feet accustomed to -the European shoe; the toes being much spread, and the foot flattened -in the manner that is observed in persons unaccustomed to the close -shoe. The probability, therefore, of their having been imparted by -some individual of a race of men who were strangers to the art of -tanning skins, and at a period much anterior to that to which any -traditions of the present race of Indians reaches, derives additional -weight from this peculiar shape of the feet. - -"In other respects, the impressions are strikingly natural, exhibiting -the muscular marks of the foot with great precision and faithfulness -to nature. This circumstance weakens very much the supposition that -they may, _possibly_, be specimens of antique sculpture, executed by -any former race of men inhabiting this continent. Neither history nor -tradition has preserved the slightest traces of such a people. For it -must be recollected that, as yet, we have no evidence that the people -who erected our stupendous Western tumuli possessed any knowledge of -masonry, far less of sculpture, or that they had even invented a -chisel, a knife, or an axe, other than those of porphyry, hornstone, -or obsidian. - -"The average length of the human foot in the male subject may, -perhaps, be assumed at ten inches. The length of each foot, in our -subject, is ten and a quarter inches: the breadth, taken across the -toes, at right angles to the former line, four inches; but the -greatest spread of the toes is four and a half inches, which -diminishes to two and a half at the heel. Directly before the prints, -and approaching within a few inches of the left foot, is a -well-impressed and deep mark, having some resemblance to a scroll, -whose greatest length is two feet seven inches, and greatest breadth -twelve and a half inches. - -"The rock containing these interesting impressions is a compact -limestone of a grayish-blue colour. It was originally quarried on the -left bank of the Mississippi at St. Louis, and is a part of the -extensive range of calcareous rocks upon which that town is built. It -contains very perfect remains of the encrinite, echinite, and some -other fossil species. The rock is firm and well consolidated, as much -so as any part of the stratum. A specimen of this rock, now before us, -has a decidedly sparry texture, and embraces a mass of black blende. -This rock is extensively used as a building material at St. Louis. On -parting with its carbonic acid and water, it becomes beautifully -white, yielding an excellent quick-lime. Foundations of private -dwellings at St. Louis, and the military works erected by the French -and Spaniards from this material sixty years ago, are still as solid -and unbroken as when first laid. We cite these facts as evincing the -compactness and durability of the stone--points which must essentially -affect any conclusions, to be drawn from the prints we have mentioned, -and upon which, therefore, we are solicitous to express our decided -opinion."--FLAGG. - -[102] For the history of Fort Chartres, see A. Michaux's _Travels_, in -our volume iii, p. 71, note 136. - -For a biographical sketch of St. Ange, see Croghan's _Journals_, in -our volume i, p. 138, note 109.--ED. - -[103] At the close of 1767 Captain Francisco Rios arrived at St. Louis -in pursuance of an order of D'Ulloa, governor of Louisiana. The -following year he built Fort Prince Charles, and although at first -coldly received, won the respect of the inhabitants by his tact and -good judgment. After the expulsion of D'Ulloa in the revolution of -1768, Rios returned with his soldiers to New Orleans.--ED. - -[104] Spain retroceded Louisiana to France by the treaty of San -Ildefonso (October 1, 1800). The latter transferred the territory to -the United States by the treaty signed at Paris, April 30, 1803. - -The attack on St. Louis mentioned by Flagg, occurred May 26, 1780. The -expedition, composed of Chippewa, Winnebago, Sioux, and other Indian -tribes, with a Canadian contingent numbering about seven hundred and -fifty, started from Mackinac. See R. G. Thwaites, _France in America_ -(New York and London, 1905), p. 290; and "Papers from Canadian -Archives," _Wisconsin Historical Collections_, xi, pp. 152-157.--ED. - -[105] Dangerous passes on the Mississippi were rendered doubly -perilous to early navigators by the presence of bands of robbers. An -incident occurred early in 1787, which led to a virtual extermination -of these marauders. While ascending the river, Beausoliel, a wealthy -merchant of New Orleans, was attacked near Cotton Wood Creek by the -Culbert and Magilhay freebooters. After being captured, the merchants -made good their escape through the strategy of a negro, killed many of -their captors, and returned to New Orleans to report the state of -affairs. The following year (1788) the governor issued a proclamation -forbidding boats to proceed singly to St. Louis. Accordingly a fleet -of ten boats ascended and destroyed the lair at Cotton Wood Creek, the -remaining robbers having fled at their approach. This bloodless -victory marks the close of the freebooting period. The year was -afterwards known in local annals as _L'Annee des dix Bateaux_. See L. -U. Reaves, _Saint Louis_ (St. Louis, 1875), pp. 21, 22; and Scharf, -_St. Louis_, ii, p. 1092.--ED. - -[106] In 1805.--FLAGG. - -_Comment by Ed._ Every house save one was destroyed by fire on June -11, 1805. The memory of the disaster is preserved in the motto of the -present seal of the city: _Resurget Cineribus_ (she arises from the -ashes). - -[107] Lieutenant-Colonel Francisco Cruzat, who succeeded (May, 1775) -Captain Don Pedro Piernas, the first lieutenant-governor of Upper -Louisiana, followed the liberal policy of his predecessor and was -highly esteemed by his people. He was followed in 1778 by Captain -Fernando de Leyba, who was sadly lacking in tact and political -ability; he was displaced for incompetency after the Indian attack of -May 26, 1780. Cruzat was reappointed in September and served until -November, 1787. One of the first acts of his second administration was -to direct Auguste Chouteau to make plans for the fortification of St. -Louis; see note 76, _ante_.--ED. - -[108] One, which occurred during the summer of the present year, was -extensively felt. In the vicinity of this fortification, to the south, -was an extensive burial-ground; and many of its slumbering tenants, in -the grading of streets and excavating of cellars, have been thrown up -to the light after a century's sleep.--FLAGG. - -[109] Colonel John O'Fallon (1791-1865), a nephew of George Rogers -Clark, born near Louisville, served his military apprenticeship under -General William Henry Harrison during the War of 1812-15. Resigning -his position in the army (1818), he removed to St. Louis where he -turned his attention to trade and accumulated a large fortune. He -endowed the O'Fallon Polytechnic Institution, which was later made the -scientific department of St. Louis University, contributed liberally -to Washington University, and built a dispensary and medical college. -It is estimated that he gave a million dollars for benevolent -purposes.--ED. - -[110] This quotation is from the pen of an exceedingly accurate writer -upon the West, and a worthy man; so far its sentiment is deserving of -regard. I have canvassed the topic personally with this gentleman, and -upon other subjects have frequently availed myself of a superior -information, which more than twenty years of residence in the Far West -has enabled him to obtain. I refer to the Rev. J. M. Peck, author of -"Guide for Emigrants," &c.--FLAGG. - -[111] For recent scientific conclusions respecting the mounds and -their builders, see citations in note 33, _ante_, p. 69. - -Mount Joliet, on the west bank of the Des Plaines River, in the -southwestern portion of Cook County, Illinois; Mount St. Charles, in -Jo Daviess County, Illinois; Sinsinawa, in Grant County, Wisconsin, -and Blue Mounds, in Dane County, Wisconsin, are unquestionably of -natural formation. For descriptions of the artificial mounds of -Wisconsin, see I. A. Lapham, "Antiquities of Wisconsin," Smithsonian -Institution _Contributions_, volume vii; Alfred Brunson, "Antiquities -of Crawford County," and Stephen D. Peet, "Emblematic Mounds in -Wisconsin," in _Wisconsin Historical Collections_, iii and ix, -respectively.--ED. - -[112] About 1817, when the first steamboat arrived at St. Louis a -sand-bar began forming at the lower end of the city; by 1837, this had -extended as far north as Market street, forming an island more than -two hundred acres in extent. Another sand-bar was formed at the upper -end of the city, west of Blood Island. In 1833 the city authorities -undertook the work of removal, and John Goodfellow was employed to -plow up the bars with ox teams, in order that high waters might carry -away the sand. After three thousand dollars had been expended without -avail, the board of aldermen petitioned Congress (1835) for relief. -Through the efforts of Congressman William H. Ashley, the federal -government appropriated (July 4, 1836) fifteen thousand dollars--later -(March 3, 1837) increased to fifty thousand dollars--for the purpose -of erecting a pier to deflect the current of the river. The work was -supervised by Lieutenant Robert E. Lee and his assistant, Henry -Kayser. Begun in 1837, it was continued for two years, the result -being that the current was turned back to the Missouri side and the -sand washed out; but dikes were necessary to preserve the work that -had been accomplished.--ED. - -[113] The dry floating dock was patented by J. Thomas, of St. Louis, -March 26, 1834.--ED. - -[114] Three miles from the Mississippi, near the end of Laclede -Avenue, St. Louis, is a powerful spring marking the source of Mill -Creek (French, _La Petite Rivière_). Joseph Miguel Taillon went to St. -Louis (1765), constructed a dam across this creek, and erected a mill -near the intersection of Ninth and Poplar streets. Pierre Laclede -Liguest bought the property in 1767, but at his death (1778), Auguste -Chouteau purchased it at public auction and retained the estate until -his own death in 1829. The latter built a large stone mill to take the -place of Taillon's wooden structure, and later replaced it by a still -larger stone mill. The mill to which Flagg probably refers was not -demolished until 1863. Chouteau enlarged the pond formed by Taillon's -dam and beautified it. This artificial lake, a half mile in length and -three hundred yards in width, was long known as Chouteau's Pond, and a -noted pleasure-resort. In 1853 it was sold to the Missouri Pacific -Railroad, drained, and made the site of the union railway station and -several manufacturing establishments.--ED. - -[115] N. M. Ludlow, assisted by Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark and -Colonel Charles Keemle, in 1835 secured subscriptions to the amount of -thirty thousand dollars, later increased to sixty-five thousand, for -the purpose of erecting a theatre on the southeast corner of Third and -Olin streets. The first play was presented on July 3, 1837. Designed -by George I. Barnett, the building was of Ionic architecture -externally and internally Corinthian. It was used until July 10, 1851, -when it was closed, the property having been purchased by the federal -government as the site for a custom house; see Scharf, _St. Louis_, i, -p. 970. - -The Planter's Hotel was probably the one Flagg referred to, instead of -the St. Louis House. It was located between Chestnut and Vine streets, -fronting Fourth street. The company was organized in 1836, the ground -broken for construction in March, 1837, and the hotel opened for -guests in 1841. - -Joseph Rosati (1789-1843) went to St. Louis in 1817 and was appointed -bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of St. Louis, created two years -earlier. Active in benevolent work, he founded two colleges for men -and three academies for young women, aided in establishing the order -of Ladies of the Sacred Heart, and was the chief promoter in the -organization of the Sisters' Hospital and the first orphan asylum. He -was called to Rome in 1840, and at the Feast of St. Andrew, 1841, -appointed Peter R. Kenrick as his coadjutor. Bishop Rosati died at -Rome, in 1843.--ED. - -[116] John B. Sarpy and his two younger brothers, Gregoire B. and -Silvestre D. came to America from France about the middle of the -eighteenth century. After engaging in the mercantile business in New -Orleans, John B. went to St. Louis (1766) and was one of its earliest -merchants. After twenty years' residence there, he returned to New -Orleans. His nephew of the same name, at the age of nineteen (1817) -was a partner with Auguste Chouteau and was later a member of the firm -of P. Chouteau Jr. and Company, one of the largest fur companies then -in America. - -Pierre Menard (1766-1844) was in Vincennes as early as 1788. He later -made his home at Kaskaskia, and held many positions of public trust in -Illinois Territory. He was made major of the first regiment of the -Randolph County militia (1795), was appointed judge of common pleas in -the same county (1801), and United States sub-agent of Indian affairs -(1813). He was also a member of several important commissions, notably -of that appointed to make treaties with the Indians of the Northwest. -His brothers, Hippolyte and Jean François, settled at Kaskaskia. The -former was his brother's partner; the latter a well-known navigator on -the Mississippi River. Michel Menard, nephew of Pierre, had much -influence among the Indians and was chosen chief of the Shawnee. He -founded the city of Galveston, Texas. Pierre Menard left ten children. - -Henry Gustavus Soulard, the second son of Antoine Pierre Soulard, was -born in St. Louis (1801). Frederic Louis Billon, in his _Annals of St. -Louis_ (1889), mentions him as the last survivor of all those who were -born in St. Louis prior to the transfer of Louisiana to the United -States (1803). - -For short sketches of the Chouteaus, see James's _Long's Expedition_, -in our volume xvi, p. 275, note 127, and Maximilian's _Travels_, -in our volume xxii, p. 235, note 168; for Pratte and Cabanné, see -our volume xxii, p. 282, note 239, and p. 271, note 226, -respectively.--ED. - -[117] Within six years after the founding of St. Louis, the first -Catholic church was built. This log structure falling into ruins, was -replaced in 1818 by a brick building. The corner-stone of the St. -Louis cathedral (incorrectly written in Flagg as cathedral of St. -Luke) was laid August 1, 1831, and consecrated October 26, 1834.--ED. - -[118] The painting of St. Louis was presented by Louis XVIII to Bishop -Louis Guillaume Valentin Du Bourg, while the latter was in Europe -(1815-17).--ED. - -[119] For the early appreciation of fine arts in St. Louis, see the -chapter entitled "Art and Artists," written by H. H. Morgan and W. M. -Bryant in Scharf, _St. Louis_, ii, pp. 1617-1627. Scharf, in speaking -of the paintings in the St. Louis cathedral says, "of course the -paintings of the old masters are copies, not originals."--ED. - -[120] In this outline of the Cathedral the author is indebted largely -to a minute description by the Rev. Mr. Lutz, the officiating priest, -published in the Missouri Gazetteer.--FLAGG. - -[121] In 1823, at the solicitation of the federal government, a band -of Jesuit missionaries left Maryland and built a log school-house at -Florissant, Missouri (1824) for educating the Indians. See sketch of -Father de Smet in preface to this volume. The building was abandoned -in 1828 and the white students transferred to the Jesuit college -recently constructed at St. Louis. On December 28, 1832, the state -legislature passed "an act to incorporate the St. Louis University." -The faculty was organized on April 4, 1833.--ED. - -[122] We are informed by Rev. J. C. Burke, S.J., librarian of the St. -Louis University, that the work referred to by Flagg is, _Atlas Major, -sive, Cosmographia Blaviana, qua Solum, Salum, Coelum accuratissime -describuntur_ (Amsterdami, Labore et Sumpibus Joannis Blaeu MDCLXXII), -in 11 folio volumes. - -The _Acta Sanctorum_ (Lives of the Saints) were begun at the opening -of the seventeenth century by P. Heribert Rosweyde, professor in the -Jesuit college of Douai. The work was continued by P. Jean Bolland by -instruction from his order, and later by a Jesuit commission known as -Bollandists. Work was suspended at the time of the French invasion of -Holland (1796) but resumed in 1836 under the auspices of Leopold I of -Belgium. Volume lxvi was issued in 1902.--ED. - -[123] For accounts of General Henry Atkinson and of Council Bluffs, -see Maximilian's _Travels_, in our volume xxii, p. 229, note 152, and -p. 275, note 231, respectively.--ED. - -[124] The cave described here is Cliff or Indian Cave, more than two -miles below Jefferson Barracks on the Missouri side.--ED. - -[125] River des Pères is a small stream rising in the central -portion of St. Louis County, flowing southeast, and entering the -Mississippi at the southern extremity of South St. Louis, formerly -Carondelet.--ED. - -[126] This is an historical error. La Salle did not build a fort at -this place, nor did he here take possession of Louisiana.--ED. - -[127] Pittsburg, laid out in 1836, is a hamlet in Cahokia Precinct, -St. Clair County. A railroad six miles in length was constructed -(1837) between Pittsburg and a point opposite St. Louis.--ED. - -[128] This group of Indian mounds, probably the most remarkable in -America, is on the American Bottom, along the course of Canteen Creek, -which rises in the southern portion of Madison County, Illinois, flows -west, and enters Cahokia Creek. Monk, or Cahokia, Mound, about eight -miles from St. Louis, is the most important of the group. William -McAdams, who made a careful survey of this mound, wrote a good -description of it in his _Records of Ancient Races in the Mississippi -Valley_ (St. Louis, 1887); also E. G. Squier and E. H. Davis, "Ancient -Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, comprising the Result of -extensive original Surveys and Explorations," in Smithsonian -_Contributions_, i.--ED. - -[129] The monastery of La Trappe was founded in 1122 (sometimes -incorrectly given as 1140). Originally affiliated with the order of -Fontrevault, it was made a branch of the Cistercian order (1148). -Contrary to Flagg's account, La Trappe did not have a separate -existence until the time of Rançe, who was made abbot in 1664. The -account of Rançe's conversion given here by Flagg, is recognized by -historians as merely popular tradition. See Gaillardin, _Les -Trappistes_ (Paris, 1844), and Pfaunenschmidt, _Geschichte der -Trappisten_ (Paderborn, 1873).--ED. - -[130] The Trappists went to Gethsemane, Nelson County, Kentucky, in -1805. Three or four years later they moved to Missouri, but almost -immediately recrossed the Mississippi and built the temporary -monastery of Notre Dame de Bon Secours on Cahokia Mound, given to them -by Major Nicholas Jarrot. For a description of this establishment by -an eye witness, see H. M. Brackenridge, _Views of Louisiana_ -(Pittsburg, 1814), appendix 5. New Melleray, a Trappist monastery -twelve miles southwest of Dubuque, Iowa, was commenced in 1849 and -completed in 1875. For its history, together with a short account of -the Trappists' activity, see William Rufus Perkins, _History of the -Trappist Abbey of New Melleray_ (Iowa City, 1892).--ED. - -[131] Father Urbain Guillet is recorded as having officiated several -times in the Catholic church at St. Louis.--ED. - -[132] Thomas Kirkpatrick, of South Carolina, made the first settlement -on the site of Edwardsville (1805). During the Indian troubles -preceding the War of 1812-15, he built a block-house, known as Thomas -Kirkpatrick's Fort. When Madison County was organized (1812), -Kirkpatrick's farm was chosen as its seat. He made the survey for the -town plat in 1816, and named the place in honor of Ninian Edwards. See -W. R. Brink and Company, _History of Madison County, Illinois_ -(Edwardsville, 1882).--ED. - -[133] In May, 1838, it was entirely consumed by fire.--FLAGG. - -[134] John Adams later retired from business, and was elected sheriff -on the Whig ticket. Flagg's account seems to be considerably -overdrawn.--ED. - -[135] Collinsville was platted May 12, 1837. Augustus, Anson, and -Michael Collins, three brothers from Litchfield, Connecticut, had -settled here a few years earlier and built an ox-mill for grinding and -sawing, a distillery, tanning yards, and cooper and blacksmith shops. -The town was first named Unionville, and John A. Cook made the first -settlement about 1816.--ED. - -[136] Upper Alton, two and a half miles from Alton, was laid out in -1817 by Joseph Meacham, of Vermont, who came to Illinois in 1811; see -_History of Madison County_, p. 396. - -The origin of Shurtleff College was the "Theological and High School" -commonly known as the Rock Spring Seminary, established (1827) by John -M. Peck, D. D. The latter was closed in 1831, and opened again the -following year at Alton, under the name of Alton Seminary. In March, -1832, the state legislature incorporated the institution as "Alton -College of Illinois." For religious reasons the charter was not -accepted until 1835, when the terms of incorporation had been made -more favorable. In January, 1836, the charter was amended, changing -its title to Shurtleff College, in honor of Benjamin Shurtleff, M. D., -who had donated ten thousand dollars to the institution. Although from -the first emphasizing religious instruction, a theological department -was not organized until 1863. The school is still under Baptist -influence.--ED. - -[137] Hillsboro, the seat of Montgomery County, twenty-eight miles -from Vandalia, was platted in 1823.--ED. - -[138] In his description of the barrens, Flagg follows quite closely -J. M. Peck, _Gazetteer of Illinois_ (Jacksonville, 1837), pp. 11, 12. -The term barrens, according to the _Century Dictionary_, is "a tract -or region of more or less unproductive land partly or entirely -treeless. The term is best known in the United States as the name of a -district in Kentucky, 'The Barrens,' underlaid by the subcarboniferous -limestone, but possessing a fertile soil, which was nearly or quite -treeless when that state began to be settled by the whites, but which -at present where not cultivated, is partly covered with trees." See a -good description in our volume iii, pp. 217-224.--ED. - -[139] According to the War Department's _List of Military Forts, etc., -established in the United States from its Earliest settlement to the -present time_ (Washington, 1902), a Fort Gaines was at one time -located at Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida. The town is now the -seat of East Florida Seminary, a military school. Among the numerous -lakes in the vicinity, Alachua, the largest, occupies what was -formerly Payne's Prairie. Through this prairie a stream issuing from -Newman's Lake flowed to a point near the middle of the district, where -it suddenly fell into an unfathomed abyss named by the Indians Alachua -(the bottomless pit). The whites gave this name to the county, and -called the abyss "Big Sink." This place became a favorite pleasure -resort until 1875, when the sink refused longer to receive the water, -and Payne's Prairie, formerly a rich grazing land, was turned into a -lake. Numerous tales connected with Big Sink were circulated, and it -seems probable that Flagg is referring to this locality.--ED. - -[140] For a sketch of Daniel Boone, see Bradbury's _Travels_, in our -volume v, p. 43, note 16; and for a more complete account consult -Thwaites, _Daniel Boone_ (New York, 1902). - -Simon Kenton (1755-1836) having, as he supposed, killed a neighbor in -a fight, fled from his home in Virginia to the headwaters of the Ohio -River. He served as a scout in Dunmore's War (1774) and in 1775 with -Boone, explored the interior of Kentucky. Captured by the Indians -(1778), he was condemned to death and taken to the native village at -Lower Sandusky, whence he made his escape. Later he served with -distinction in campaigns under George Rogers Clark, and was second -only to Daniel Boone as a frontier hero. In 1784, Kenton founded a -settlement near Limestone (Maysville), Kentucky. He took part in -Wayne's Campaign (1793-94), and was present at the Battle of the -Thames (1813). In 1820 he moved to Logan County, Ohio, and sixteen -years later died there in poverty, although before going to Ohio in -1802 he was reputed as one of the wealthiest men in Kentucky. See R. -W. McFarland, "Simon Kenton," in Ohio State Archæological and -Historical Society _Publications_ (1904), xiii, pp. 1-39; also Edward -S. Ellis, _Life and Times of Col. Daniel Boone ... with sketches of -Simon Kenton, Lewis Wetzel, and other Leaders in the Settlement of the -West_ (Philadelphia, 1884). - -Colonel William Whitley (1749-1813), born in Virginia, set out for -Kentucky about 1775, and built in 1786 or 1787 one of the first brick -houses in the state, near Crab Orchard, in Lincoln County. A noted -Indian fighter, he participated in the siege of Logan's fort (1777), -and Clark's campaigns of 1782, and 1786. He also led several parties -to recover white captives--his best known feat of this character being -the rescue of Mrs. Samuel McClure (1784). In 1794 he was the active -leader of the successful Nickajack expedition, directed against the -Indians south of Tennessee River. He fell at the Battle of the Thames -(1813), whereat it was maintained by some of his admirers, he killed -the Indian chief Tecumseh. See Collins, _Kentucky_, ii, pp. 403-410; -but this doubtful honor was also claimed by others.--ED. - -[141] Alexander Spotswood (1676-1740) was appointed governor of -Virginia (1710). Taking a lively interest in the welfare of the -colonists, he attained among them high popularity. Quite early, he -conceived the idea of extending the Virginia settlement beyond the -mountains, to intercept the French communications between Canada and -the Gulf of Mexico; but he failed to secure the aid either of his -province or of the mother country. In the summer of 1716 he organized -and led an expedition for exploring the Appalachian Mountains, named -two peaks George and Spotswood, and took possession of the Valley of -Virginia in the name of George I. On his return, he established the -order of "Tramontane," for carrying on further explorations, whose -members were called "Knights of the Golden Horseshoe," for the reason -which Flagg gives. For a contemporary account of this expedition, see -"Journal of John Fontaine" in Anna Maury, _Memoirs of a Huguenot -Family_ (New York, 1853). Spotswood was displaced as governor in 1722, -but was later (1730) appointed deputy postmaster of the colonies.--ED. - -[142] Macoupin Creek flows southwesterly through the county of the -same name, westerly through Greene County, and empties into Illinois -River at the southwestern extremity of the latter county. It is now -believed that Macoupin is derived from the Indian word for white -potatoes, which were said to have been found growing in abundance -along the course of this stream. - -Carlinville, named for Thomas Carlin, governor of the state in -1834-42, was settled about 1833. - -Gideon Blackburn, a Presbyterian minister, laid a plan in 1835 for -founding a college to educate young men for the ministry. He entered -land from the government at the price of one dollar and twenty-five -cents an acre, and disposed of it to the friends of his cause at two -dollars, reserving twenty-five cents for his expenses and turning over -the remaining fifty cents to the proposed college. By May, 1837, he -had entered over 16,656 acres. The people of Carlinville purchased -eighty acres from him for the site of the school. The enterprise lay -dormant until 1857, when the state chartered the school under the -title of Blackburn University, which was opened in 1859.--ED. - -[143] Others say the peninsula was discovered on Easter-day; _Pasqua -florida_, feast of flowers; whence the name.--FLAGG. - -[144] "In the year 1538, _Ferdinand de Soto_, with a commission from -the Emperor _Charles V._, sailed with a considerable fleet for -America. He was a Portuguese gentleman, and had been with _Pizarro_ in -the conquest (as it is called) of Peru. His commission constituted him -governor of Cuba and general of Florida. Although he sailed from St. -Lucar in 1538, he did not land in Florida[A] until May 1539. With -about 1000 men, 213 of whom were provided with horses, he undertook -the conquest of Florida and countries adjacent. After cutting their -way in various directions through numerous tribes of Indians, -traversing nearly 1000 miles of country, losing a great part of their -army, their general died upon the banks of the Mississippi, and the -survivors were obliged to build vessels in which to descend the river; -which, when they had done, they sailed for Mexico. This expedition was -five years in coming to nothing, and bringing ruin upon its -performers. A populous Indian town at this time stood at or near the -mouth of the Mobile, of which _Soto's_ army had possessed themselves. -Their intercourse with the Indians was at first friendly, but at -length a chief was insulted, which brought on hostilities. A battle -was fought, in which, it is said, 2000 Indians were killed and 83 -Spaniards."--_Drake's Book of the Indians_, b. iv., c. 3.--FLAGG. - -_Comment by Ed._ Consult Edward G. Bourne (Ed.), _Career of Hernando -de Soto_ (New York, 1904). - - [A] "So called because it was first discovered by the Spaniards on - Palm Sunday, or, as the most interpret, Easter-day, which they - called _Pasqua-Florida_, and not, as Thenet writeth, for the - flourishing verdure thereof."--_Purchas_, p. 769. - -[145] "After a long and fatiguing journey through a mountainous -wilderness, in a westward direction, I at last, from the top of an -eminence, saw with pleasure the beautiful land of Kentucky. * * * It -was in June; and at the close of day the gentle gales retired, and -left the place to the disposal of a profound calm. Not a breeze shook -the most tremulous leaf. I had gained the summit of a commanding -ridge, and, looking round with astonishing delight, beheld the ample -plains, the beauteous tracts below. * * * Nature was here a series of -wonders and a fund of delight. Here she displayed her ingenuity and -industry in a variety of flowers and fruits, beautifully coloured, -elegantly shaped, and charmingly flavoured; and I was diverted with -innumerable animals presenting themselves continually before my view. -* * * The buffaloes were more frequent than I have seen cattle in the -settlements, browsing on the leaves of the cane, or cropping the -herbage on these extensive plains, fearless because ignorant of -man."--[Narrative of Colonel Daniel Boone, from his first arrival in -Kentucky in 1769, to the year 1782.]--FLAGG. - -_Comment by Ed._ Boone's Narrative was actually written by John -Filson, from interviews with the pioneer. The stilted style is of -course far from being Boone's product. - -[146] George Herbert.--FLAGG. - -[147] Mungo Park, born in Scotland (1771), was engaged by the African -Society (1795) to explore the course of the Niger, which he reached -July 20, the following year. While on a subsequent tour he was drowned -in that river (1805). See his _Travels in the interior district of -Africa_ (London, 1816).--ED. - -[148] July 4.--FLAGG. - -[149] The Prairie.--FLAGG. - -[150] For an account of Vandalia, see Woods's _English Prairie_, in -our volume x, p. 326, note 75.--ED. - -[151] The first number of the _Illinois Monthly Magazine_ was issued -in October, 1830. Late in 1832 Hall removed to Cincinnati, when he -soon began issuing the _Western Monthly Magazine_, or continuation of -the former publication, whose subject matter was largely historical, -dealing with the early settlement of the West. For an account of Judge -James Hall see _ante_, p. 31, note 2.--ED. - -[152] Hall.--FLAGG. - -[153] Hurricane Creek rises near the line of Montgomery and Shelby -counties, flows southerly through the western portion of Fayette -County, and enters Kaskaskia River twelve miles below Vandalia. The -banks of this creek were formerly heavily timbered, and the low -bottoms were occasionally inundated. Flagg considerably exaggerated -the actual condition of this region.--ED. - -[154] Carlyle, the seat of Clinton County, forty-eight miles east of -St. Louis, was laid out in 1818. - -The Vincennes and St. Louis stage route passed through Lebanon, -Carlyle, and Salem. At the last place, the road divided, one branch -running south to Fairfield, the other passing through Maysville and -both again uniting at Lawrenceville. Augustus Mitchell, in his -_Illinois in 1837_ (Philadelphia, 1837), p. 66, says: "From -Louisville, by the way of Vincennes to St. Louis, by stage, every -alternate day, 273 miles through in three days and a half. Fare, -seventeen dollars."--ED. - -[155] Lebanon was laid out by Governor William Kinney and Thomas Ray -in July, 1825. - -Little Silver Creek rises in the northeastern portion of St. Clair -County and flowing southwesterly joins Silver Creek two miles below -Lebanon. The latter stream is about fifty miles in length, rises in -the northern part of Madison County, runs south into St. Clair County, -and enters Kaskaskia River.--ED. - -[156] _Tradition_ telleth of vast treasures here exhumed; and, on -strength of this, ten years ago a company of fortune-seekers dug away -for several months with an enthusiasm worthy of better success than -awaited them.--FLAGG. - -_Comment by Ed._ Rock Spring was a mere settlement in St. Clair -County, eighteen miles from St. Louis, on the Vincennes stage road, -and about three miles southwest of Lebanon. Its name was derived from -a series of springs issuing from a rocky ledge in the vicinity. John -M. Peck selected this site (1820) for his permanent residence, and -established the Rock Spring Theological Seminary and High School -(1827), which four years later was transferred to Alton and made the -foundation of Shurtleff College. In 1834 Rock Spring consisted of -fourteen families. - -[157] Peter Cartwright is said to have suggested the idea of founding -a Methodist college at Lebanon. After the citizens of the town had -contributed $1,385, buildings were erected and instruction commenced -in 1828. The college was named in honor of Bishop William McKendree, -who made a liberal donation to the school (1830).--ED. - -[158] In March, 1814, a commission appointed by the state legislature -the preceding year, selected the site of Belleville for the seat of -St. Clair County. George Blair, whose farm was chosen as the site, -platted and named the county seat. The town was incorporated in 1819. -See _History of St. Clair County, Illinois_ (1881), pp. 183, 185.--ED. - -[159] For a brief history of the inception of St. Louis University, -see _ante_, p. 169, note 121. At a meeting of the trustees on May 3, -1836, a commission was appointed to select a new site for the -university. A farm of three hundred acres recently purchased, on the -Bellefontaine road, three and a half miles from St. Louis, was chosen; -plans were formulated, contracts made, and the foundations dug. On the -death of the contractors, the enterprise was abandoned; but the land, -sold a few years later, proved a valuable investment. See Scharf, _St. -Louis_, i, pp. 860, 861.--ED. - -[160] For a note on Florissant, see Townsend's _Narrative_, in our -volume xxi, p. 125, note 4.--ED. - -[161] This valley appears to have been the bed of an ancient -lake.--FLAGG. - -[162] Bridgeton, still a village, about fifteen miles northwest of the -St. Louis courthouse, was incorporated February 27, 1843. It was -settled by French and Spanish families, about the time that St. Louis -was established. A fort was built as a protection against the Indians, -and William Owens was placed in command. In consequence the place was -until the time of its incorporation generally known to the Americans -as Owen's Station.--ED. - -[163] Until after the middle of the nineteenth century, St. Louis -County ranked among the coal-producing districts of Missouri. Today no -coal is mined there save for the fire-clay industry or other immediate -local use. Dr. B. F. Shumard in his "Description of a Geological -Section on the Mississippi River from St. Louis to Commerce," in -Geological Survey of Missouri, _First and Second Annual Reports_ -(Jefferson City, 1855), p. 176, describes _La Charbonnière_ mine; -which appears to have been operated at that time. He reports the coal -vein as being only about eighteen inches in thickness. On page 184 of -the above report, an interesting map is given, showing the location of -coal mines in St. Louis County.--ED. - -[164] For an account of St. Charles, see Bradbury's _Travels_, in our -volume v, p. 39, note 9. - -For the Mandan villages, see Maximilian's _Travels_, in our volume -xxii, p. 344, and note 316, and volume xxiii, p. 234, note 192.--ED. - -[165] The following extract from a letter dated September, 1819, -addressed by Mr. Austin to Mr. Schoolcraft, respecting the navigation -of the Missouri, well portrays the impetuous character of that river. -It shows, too, the great improvements in the steam-engine during the -past twenty years. - -"I regret to state that the expedition up the Missouri to the Yellow -Stone has in part failed. The steamboats destined for the Upper -Missouri, after labouring against the current for a number of weeks, -were obliged to give up the enterprise. Every exertion has been made -to overcome the difficulty of navigating the Missouri with the power -of steam; but all will not do. The current of that river, from the -immense quantity of sand moving down with the water, is too powerful -for any boat yet constructed. The loss either to the government or to -the contractor will be very great. Small steamboats of fifty tons -burden, with proper engines, would, I think, have done much better. -Boats like those employed, of twenty to thirty feet beam, and six to -eight feet draught of water, must have _uncommon_ power to be -propelled up a river, every pint of whose water is equal in weight to -a quart of Ohio water, and moves with a velocity hardly credible. The -barges fixed to move with wheels, worked by men, have answered every -expectation; but they will only do when troops are on board, and the -men can be changed every hour."--FLAGG. - -[166] For a sketch of Franklin, Missouri, see Gregg's _Commerce of the -Prairies_ in our volume xix, p. 188, note 33.--ED. - -[167] The first settlement was made at St. Charles in 1769. La -Chasseur Blanchette located the site, and established here a military -post. The first mill in St. Charles County is said to have been built -by Jonathan Bryan on a small branch emptying into Femme Osage Creek -(1801). Francis Duquette (1774-1816), a French Canadian who came to -St. Charles just before the close of the century, erected a mill on -the site of the old round fort.--ED. - -[168] One year after the above was written, the author, on a visit to -St. Charles, walked out to this spot. The willow was blasted; the -relics of the paling were gone; the grave was levelled with the soil, -but the old ruin was there still.--FLAGG. - -[169] For a description of Bloody Island, see _ante_, p. 115, note 77. - -The duel mentioned by Flagg is probably the one that occurred between -Joshua Barton, United States district attorney, and Thomas Rector, on -June 30, 1823. Barton had published in the _Missouri Republican_ a -letter charging William Rector, surveyor general of Missouri, -Illinois, and Arkansas, with corruption in office. The latter being -absent, his brother Thomas issued the challenge. Barton's body was -buried at St. Charles near the old round tower ruins. - -In the summer of 1817, Charles Lucas challenged Thomas H. Benton's -vote at the polls. On the latter calling him an insolent puppy, Lucas -challenged him to a duel. The affair took place August 12, 1817, and -both parties were wounded. On September 27 of the same year, a second -duel was fought, in which Lucas was mortally wounded. Joshua Barton -was the latter's second. In the _Missouri Republican_ (St. Louis, -March 15, 1882) there was printed an address by Thomas T. Gantt, -delivered in Memorial Hall at St. Louis, on the celebration of the -centennial birthday of Thomas H. Benton, in which the details of this -deed were carefully reviewed. - -During the political canvass of 1830, a heated discussion was carried -on in the newspaper press between Thomas Biddle and Spencer Pettis. -Pettis challenged Biddle to a duel. Both fell mortally wounded, August -29, 1830.--ED. - -[170] Marais Croche (Crooked swamp) is located a few miles northeast -of St. Charles, and Marais Temps-Clair (Clear-weather swamp), just -southwest of Portage des Sioux. The former is often mentioned for its -beauty.--ED. - -[171] "I cultivated a small farm on that beautiful prairie below St. -Charles called 'The Mamelle,' or 'Point prairie.' In my enclosure, and -directly back of my house, were two conical mounds of considerable -elevation. A hundred paces in front of them was a high bench, making -the shore of the 'Marais Croche,' an extensive marsh, and evidently -the former bed of the Missouri. In digging a ditch on the margin of -this bench, at the depth of four feet, we discovered great quantities -of broken pottery, belonging to vessels of all sizes and characters. -Some must have been of a size to contain four gallons. This must have -been a very populous place. The soil is admirable, the prospect -boundless; but, from the scanty number of inhabitants in view, -rather lonely. It will one day contain an immense population -again."--_Flint's Recollections_, p. 166.--FLAGG. - -[172] At the time Flagg wrote, St. Charles, like many other Western -towns, entertained the hope that the Cumberland Road would eventually -be extended thereto, thus placing them upon the great artery of -Western travel. See Woods's _English Prairie_, in our volume x, p. -327, note 76. Also consult T. B. Searight, _The Old Pike_ (Uniontown, -1894), and A. B. Hulbert "Cumberland Road," in _Historic Highways of -America_ (Cleveland, 1904). - -Boone's Lick Road, commencing at St. Charles, runs westward across -Dardenne Creek to Cottleville, thence to Dalhoff post-office and -Pauldingville, on the western boundary of the county. Its total length -is twenty-six miles.--ED. - -[173] St. Charles College, founded by Mrs. Catherine Collier and her -son George, was opened in 1836 under the presidency of Reverend John -H. Fielding. The Methodist Episcopal church has directed the -institution. - -Madame Duchesne, a companion of Mother Madeline Barral, founder of the -Society of the Sacred Heart, started a mission at St. Charles in 1819; -but the colony was soon removed to St. Louis. In 1828, however, she -succeeded in establishing permanently at St. Charles the Academy of -the Sacred Heart, with Madame Lucile as superior.--ED. - -[174] For sketches of the Potawotami, Miami, and Kickapoo, see -Croghan's _Journals_, in our volume i, pp. 115, 122, 139, notes 84, -87, 111; for the Sauk and Fox, see J. Long's _Voyages_, in our volume -ii, p. 185, note 85; for the Iowa, Brackenridge's _Journal_, in our -volume vi, p. 51, note 13.--ED. - -[175] Flagg makes an error in speaking of Boone's Lick County, since -there was none known by that name. He evidently had in mind Warren -County, organized in 1833 from the western part of St. Charles County. -Boone County created in November, 1820, with its present limits, named -in honor of Daniel Boone, is in the fifth tier of counties west from -Missouri River.--ED. - -[176] For an account of Daniel Boone and Boone's Lick, see Bradbury's -_Travels_, in our volume v, pp. 43, 52, notes 16, 24, respectively. -Daniel Boone arrived at the Femme Osage district in western St. -Charles County, in 1798. He died September 26, 1820 (not 1818).--ED. - -[177] There seems to be little or no foundation for this statement. -Consult J. B. Patterson, _Life of Ma-Ka-Tai-Me-She-Kia-Kiak or Black -Hawk_ (Boston, 1834), and R. G. Thwaites, "The Story of the Black Hawk -War," in _Wisconsin Historical Collections_, xii, pp. 217-265.--ED. - -[178] For biographical sketch of General William Clark, see Bradbury's -_Travels_, in our volume v, p. 254, note 143.--ED. - -[179] Obed Battius, M.D., is a character in James Fenimore Cooper's -novel, _The Prairie_ (1826).--ED. - -[180] An Illinois legislative act approved January 16, 1836, granted -to Paris Mason, Alfred Caverly, John Wyatt, and William Craig a -charter to construct a railroad from Grafton, in Greene County, to -Springfield, by way of Carrollton, Point Pleasant, and Millville, -under the title of Mississippi and Springfield Railroad Company. The -road was, however, not built.--ED. - -[181] For a description of Macoupin Creek, see _ante_, p. 226, note -142. Flagg draws his information concerning Macoupin Settlement from -Peck, _Gazetteer of Illinois_. According to the latter the settlement -was started by Daniel Allen, and John and Paul Harriford, in December, -1816. As regards Peck's statement that Macoupin Settlement was at the -time of its inception the most northern white community in the -Territory of Illinois, there is much doubt. Fort Dearborn (Chicago), -built in 1804, and evacuated on August 15,1812, was rebuilt by Captain -Hezekiah Bradley, who arrived with two companies on July 4, 1816, and -a settlement sprang up here at once.--ED. - -[182] The first settler in Carrollton was Thomas Carlin, who arrived -in the spring of 1819. In 1821 the place was chosen as the seat of -Greene County, and surveyed the same year, although the records were -not filed until July 30, 1825. See _History of Greene and Jersey -Counties, Illinois_ (Springfield, 1885).--ED. - -[183] Apple Creek, a tributary of Illinois River, flows in a western -trend through Greene County.--ED. - -[184] Whitehall, in Greene County, forty-five miles north of Alton, -was laid out by David Barrow in 1832. Pottery was first made there in -1835, and has since become an important industry, contributing largely -to the rapid progress of which Flagg speaks.--ED. - -[185] Manchester is in Scott County, midway between Carrollton and -Jacksonville, being about fifteen miles from each. It was settled as -early as 1828.--ED. - -[186] Diamond Grove Prairie, five miles in extent, is a fertile -district in Morgan County, just south of Jacksonville. Diamond Grove -was formerly a beautifully timbered tract situated in the middle of -this prairie, two miles south of Jacksonville. It was some 700 or 800 -acres in extent.--ED. - -[187] Illinois College was founded in 1829 through the effort of a -group of Jacksonville citizens directed by the Reverend John M. Ellis -and the Yale Band--the latter composed of seven men from that college -who had pledged themselves to the cause of Christian education in the -home missions of the West. The latter secured from the friends of the -enterprise in the East a fund of $10,000. Late in 1829 the -organization was completed and in December, 1830, Reverend Edward -Beecher, elder brother of Henry Ward Beecher, was persuaded to leave -his large church in Boston and accept the presidency of this -institution. In 1903 the Jacksonville Female Academy, started in 1830, -was merged with the Illinois College, which had from the first been -dominated by the Presbyterian Church.--ED. - -[188] Jacksonville, the seat of Morgan County, was laid out in 1825 on -land given to the county for that purpose by Thomas Armitt and James -Dial. The town was largely settled by people from New England, who -gave a characteristic tone to its society. Jacksonville is today the -seat of several important state institutions.--ED. - -[189] In June, 1835, Ithamar Pillsbury, with two associates, sent out -under the auspices of the New York Association, entered a large tract -of land and selected a site for a town to be styled Andover, which was -eventually platted in 1841, in the western portion of Henry County, -fifty miles north and northwest of Peoria. The first settlers were -principally from Connecticut, but soon several Swedish families -migrated thither, and in time the settlement was composed primarily of -that nationality. On returning East in the autumn of 1835, after -planting the Andover colony, Pillsbury had an interview with Dr. Caleb -J. Tenny, of Wethersfield, Connecticut. At the latter's instigation a -meeting of Congregationalists was held, and a group of influential New -Englanders organized themselves into the Connecticut Association. -Shares were sold at $250 each, which entitled the holder to one -hundred and sixty acres of prairie land, twenty acres of timber land, -and a town lot in a proposed colony to be founded in Illinois. On May -7, 1836, the first entry was made by the committee of purchase. After -the latter's return a new committee was sent out and the town of -Wethersfield, in the southeastern corner of Henry County, was laid out -in the spring of 1837. For an account of the founding of Andover and -Wethersfield, and the names of persons serving on the various -prospecting committees, see _History of Henry County, Illinois_ -(Chicago, 1877), pp. 137-141, 524-526.--ED. - -[190] Since the above was written, the emigrants have removed.--FLAGG. - -[191] Joseph Duncan, born in Kentucky, was presented with a sword by -Congress for his gallant defense of Fort Stephenson in the War of -1812-15. In 1818 he moved to Kaskaskia, was appointed major-general of -the Illinois militia (1823), and elected state senator (1824). In 1827 -he was sent to Congress by the Jacksonian Democrats. He resigned in -1834 to accept the governorship of Illinois, which he occupied until -1838. He is said to have erected the first frame building in -Jacksonville. He moved to this place in 1829, dying there January 15, -1844.--ED. - -[192] Porter Clay (1779-1850), a brother of Henry Clay, was for many -years a Baptist minister at Jacksonville.--ED. - -[193] Flagg is probably referring to William Weatherford, who served -in the state senate (1834-38) from Morgan County.--ED. - -[194] The first settlement on the present site of Springfield was made -by John Kelly (1819). In 1822 the lots were laid off, but not recorded -until the following year, when the town was named. Soon after its -incorporation in 1832, Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, and Edward -Baker began agitating the question of moving the state capital to -Springfield from Vandalia. After a severe struggle, complicated with -the internal improvement policy, their efforts succeeded in 1837. The -legislative act of that year went into effect July 4, 1839, and the -general assembly commenced its first session at Springfield in the -following December.--ED. - -[195] Sangamon River is formed by the union, six miles east of -Springfield, of its north and south forks. The former, rising in -Champaign County, flows through Macon and a part of Sangamon counties; -the latter intersects Christian County. The main stream runs in an -easterly direction, forms the boundary of Cass County, and joins the -Illinois River nine miles above Beardstown. The river is nearly two -hundred and forty miles in length, including the north fork, and was -named in honor of a local Indian chief.--ED. - -[196] Mechanicsburg, fifteen miles east of Springfield, was laid out -and platted in November, 1832, by William S. Pickrell.--ED. - -[197] "I will never, if possible, pass a night in any place where the -graveyard is neglected." Franklin has no monument!--FLAGG. - -[198] Turgot.--FLAGG. - -[199] Decatur, surveyed in 1829, is the seat of Macon County, -thirty-nine miles from Springfield. It was named for Commodore Stephen -Decatur.--ED. - -[200] For a later description of the Mormon settlement in Missouri, -and an account of their stay at Nauvoo, Illinois, see Gregg's -_Commerce of the Prairies_, in our volume xx, pp. 94-99 and -accompanying notes. For a psychological treatment of Joseph Smith and -bibliography of Mormonism, see Isaac W. Riley, _Founder of Mormonism_ -(New York, 1902).--ED. - -[201] Missourians.--FLAGG. - -[202] For a year after the above was written, the cause of Mormonism -seemed to have received a salutary check. It has since revived, and -thousands during the past summer have been flocking to their Mount -Zion on the outskirts of Missouri. The late Mormon difficulties in -Missouri have been made too notorious by the public prints of the day -to require notice.--FLAGG. - -[203] Grand Prairie, as described by Peck in his _Gazetteer of -Illinois_, was a general term applied to the prairie country between -the rivers which flow into the Mississippi and those which empty into -the Wabash. "It is made up of continuous tracts, with long arms of -prairie extending between the creeks and smaller streams. The southern -points of the Grand prairie are formed in the northeastern parts of -Jackson county and extend in a northeastern course between the streams -of various widths, from one to ten or twelve miles, through Perry, -Washington, Jefferson, Marion, the eastern part of Fayette, Effingham, -through the western portion of Coles, into Champaign and Iroquois -counties, where it becomes connected with the prairies that project -eastward from the Illinois River and its tributaries. Much of the -longest part of the Grand prairie is gently undulatory, but of the -southern portion considerable tracts are flat and of rather inferior -soil."--ED. - -[204] Illinoisians.--FLAGG. - -[205] Shelbyville, selected as the seat of Shelby County (1827), was -named in honor of Isaac Shelby, early governor of Kentucky. It is -located about thirty-two miles southeast of Decatur, and was -incorporated in May, 1839.--ED. - -[206] 1835.--FLAGG. - -[207] Eight families from St. Clair County settled (1818) in the -vicinity of certain noted perennial springs in the southwestern corner -of what was later organized into Shelby County. For some time the -colony was known as Wakefield's Settlement, for Charles Wakefield, who -had made the first land entry in the county in 1821. John O. Prentis -erected the first store there in 1828, and shortly afterwards secured -a post-office under the name of Cold Springs.--ED. - -[208] Philosophy, vol. i.--FLAGG. - -[209] Sidney Rigdon (1793-1876), after having been a Baptist pastor at -Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and later associated with the Disciples in -Ohio, established a branch of the Mormon church with one hundred -members at Kirtland, Ohio. Joseph Smith, who had founded the -last-named church at Fayette, New York (April 6, 1830), went to -Kirtland in February of the following year. Aided by Rigdon, Smith -attempted to establish a mixed communistic and hierarchical organized -community. Mormon tanneries, stores, and other enterprises were built, -and the corner-stone of a $40,000 temple laid July 23, 1833. Through -improvident financial management, the leaders soon plunged the -community deeply in debt. The Kirtland Society Bank, reorganized as -the Kirtland Anti-Bankers Company, after issuing notes to the amount -of $200,000, failed, and Smith and Rigdon further embarrassed by an -accumulation of troubles fled to Jackson County, Missouri, where -Oliver Cowdery by the former's order had established the Far West -settlement. Joseph Smith was assassinated by a mob (June 27, 1844) at -Carthage, Illinois, and Brigham Young succeeded him. Sidney Rigdon, -long one of Smith's chief advisers, and one of the three presidents of -the Mormon church at Nauvoo, combated the doctrine of plurality of -wives. He refused to recognize the authority of Young as Smith's -successor, and returned to Pennsylvania, but held to the Mormon faith -until his death in 1876. In 1848 the charter granted to the city of -Nauvoo by the Illinois state legislature, was repealed. The Mormons -thereupon selected Utah as the field of their future activity, save -that a few members were left in Missouri for proselyting purposes. - -Alexander Campbell (1788-1866), educated at the University of Glasgow, -came to the United States (1809) and joined the Presbyterian church. -Refusing to recognize any teachings save those of the Bible, as he -understood them, he and his father, Thomas Campbell, were dismissed -(1812) and with a few followers formed a temporary union with the -Baptist church. Disfellowshiped in 1827, they organized the Disciples -of Christ, popularly known as the Campbellites. The son published the -_Christian Baptist_, a monthly magazine, its name being changed (1830) -to the _Millennial Harbinger_. He held several public offices in the -state of Virginia, and in 1840 founded Bethany (Virginia) -College.--ED. - -[210] Kirtland is now deserted, and the church is occupied for a -school.--FLAGG. - -[211] See Woods's _English Prairie_, in our volume x, p. 327, note -76.--ED. - -[212] Or "_beef_."--FLAGG. - -[213] Salem, the seat of Marion County, was settled about 1823, when -the county was organized.--ED. - -[214] Philosophy, b. i., chap. 1.--FLAGG. - -[215] Mount Vernon, a village seventy-seven miles southeast of St. -Louis, was chosen as the seat of justice for Jefferson County, when -the latter was organized in 1818.--ED. - -[216] Mud Creek rises in the northwestern part of Perry County, flows -through the southwestern part of Washington and the southeastern part -of St. Clair counties, and enters the Kaskaskia two miles below -Fayetteville. - -In January, 1827, the state legislature in organizing Perry County -appointed a commission to select a seat of justice to be known as -Pinckneyville (Pinkneyville), its town site being located and platted -in January, 1828.--ED. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Early Western Travels, 1748-1846 -(Volume XXVI), by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EARLY WESTERN TRAVELS, VOL XXVI *** - -***** This file should be named 42322-8.txt or 42322-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/3/2/42322/ - -Produced by Greg Bergquist and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -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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