First Impressions of the New World Part 6

We again linked ourselves on to a train which came up at about one o'clock, and at Benton's Ferry, about twenty miles from Grafton, we crossed the Monongahela, over a viaduct 650 feet long; the iron bridge, which consists of three arches of 200 feet span each, being the longest iron bridge in America. Though the water was not very deep, owing to a recent drought, it was curious to see the little stream of yesterday changed into an already considerable river, almost beating any we can boast of in England.

We now began to wind our way down the ravine called Buffalo Creek, which we pa.s.sed at Fairmont, over a suspension bridge 1000 feet long. The road still continued very beautiful, and was so all the way to this place, Wheeling, which we reached at about six o'clock. The last eleven miles was up the banks of the _real_ Ohio, for the Monongahela, after we last left it, takes a long course northward, and after being joined at Pittsburg by the Alleghany, a river as large as itself, the two together there, form the Ohio. From Pittsburg to where we first saw it, it had come south more than 100 miles, and at Wheeling it is so broad and deep as to be covered with magnificent steamers; there were five in front of our hotel window, and most singular-looking they were, with their one huge wheel behind, scarcely touching the water, and their two tall funnels in front. They tower up to a great height, and are certainly the most splendid-looking steamers we ever saw.

We here left our valued friend Mr. Tyson, who after calling on us at the hotel in the evening, was to return at ten o'clock to Baltimore. We certainly never enjoyed a journey more. He is the most entertaining man you can imagine, full of anecdotes and good stories; and, as we have said before, with such a marvellous memory, that he could repeat whole pa.s.sages of poetry by heart. His knowledge too of botany was delightful, for there was not a plant or weed we pa.s.sed of which he could not only tell the botanical and common name, but its history and use. He has travelled much, having been employed in mining business in the Brazils.

He has also been in the West Indies, in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and on the Continent of Europe.

We had a pleasing variety in occasional visitors to the car; for not only the work-people on the road, as I have said, got up behind to speak to Mr. Tyson, and were always received by him in the most friendly manner, being men of high calibre in point of intelligence, but we had at different times a Dr. Orr, a physician and director of the railway, who was on the engine with us to set our bones, if papa had capsized us and the doctor had escaped; also a Dr. Gerbard, a German surgeon, with a scar on his cheek from a duel at college in his youth. Dr. Orr was accompanied by a lady, with whom I conversed a good deal, and found she was the owner of many slaves; but I must write you a chapter on slavery another time. All the last day of our journey from Grafton to Wheeling, was through Virginia, and the rural population were chiefly slaves. The two doctors I have mentioned were our visitors yesterday. To-day, we had throughout with us Mr. Rennie (Mr. Tyson's a.s.sistant), and also Major Barry, an agent of the Company, and an officer in the United States service, who in the last Indian war captured with his own hand, Black Hawk, the great Indian Chief, in Illinois. He is an Irishman by birth, and had been in our service at the battle of Waterloo, but he left the British army, and entered the United States service in 1818. He was very intelligent and agreeable. Our last visitor was Colonel Moore, also an agent of the company; a most gentleman-like man. This will show you what a superior set of men are employed on American railways.

Among the men who spoke to us as we stood on our balcony, was a delightful character, a n.i.g.g.e.r. I heard Mr. Tyson look over and say, "Jerry, why did you not tell me you were going to get married?" Up came Jerry, looking the very picture of a happy bridegroom, having been married the evening before to a dark widow considerably older than himself. He was quite a "get up" in his dress, with boots of a glistening blackness. He answered, "I sent you an invitation, Mr. Tyson, and left it at your office." He was nothing daunted by his interesting position in life, and had a week's holiday in honour of the event. He was, to use his own expression, a "'sponsible n.i.g.g.e.r," though he was actually only cleaner up, and carpet sweeper in the office, negroes never being allowed to have any charge in the working of the line, or a more "'sponsible" station than that connected with the office work, though in that they are often confidentially employed in carrying money to the bank, &c.

_Columbus, Friday 22nd._--It began to rain last night, and continued to pour to-day till ten o'clock, so that we had no opportunity of seeing much of the town of Wheeling, but our rooms looked on to the Ohio, and were within a stone's throw of it. Another great steamer had come up in the night, so there were _six_ now lying in front of the windows, looking like so many line-of-battle ships.

We found that Jerry and his lady slept at our hotel, and I sent for them next morning to speak to us. She was smartly dressed in a dark silk, with a richly embroidered collar and pocket handkerchief, which she carefully displayed, and a large brooch. He wore a turn-down collar to his shirt, of the most fashionable cut; the shirt itself had a pale blue pattern on it, and a diamond (?) shirt pin, the shirt having a frill _en jabot_. His face was shining and glistening with cleanliness and happiness, and she looked up to him as if she were very proud of her young husband. He said he was very happy, and I complimented her on her dress, and asked her if she had bought much for the occasion, and she admitted that she had. I asked her where they went to church (all n.i.g.g.e.rs are great worshippers somewhere, and generally are Methodists); and he said he went to the "Methodist Church," that his wife was a member, and I encouraged him to continue going regularly. He said he had married her for the purpose of doing so, and evidently looked up to her as a teacher in these matters. They said they could both read printed characters, but not writing, and that they read their Bibles. I asked him if there were any other cars on the line like Mr. Tyson's, and he said, "Yes, several, miss." "Are they handsomer than his?" "Some are, they are all different in their fancy principle." He told us, of his own accord, that they had both been slaves. He bought his freedom for five hundred dollars. They both had been kindly treated as slaves, but he said, not only the hickory stick, but the "raw hide," was frequently used by unkind masters and mistresses; and, on my asking him whether slaves had any redress in such cases, he said their free friends may try to get some redress for them, but it does no good. This was _his_ testimony on the subject, and I shall give you the testimony of every one as I gather it for you to put together, that you may be able to form your own deductions. Mr. Tyson had told us they _had_ redress, though he is an enemy to the "inst.i.tution" of slavery, as it is here called, but still maintains, what is no doubt the case, that they are oftener much happier in America than the free negro. Indeed he told us a well-treated slave will look down on a freeman, and say, "_Ah! yes, he's only some poor free trash. He's a poor white free trash._" It was curious to notice Jerry's sayings, only some of which I can remember. Mr. Tyson looked down the line from the balcony yesterday, and said, to Jerry, who had got out of a pa.s.senger car for a minute, "Jerry, do you see the train coming?" "Yes, sir; it blowed right up there;" meaning it had whistled. I will write to you more at large ere long about slavery, when I have not topics pressing on time and pen.

We left our hotel this morning at eight o'clock, and even in the omnibus noticed the improved and very intelligent appearance of the men. They answered us quickly, cheerfully, and to the purpose; many wore large picturesque felt hats of various forms. It is true that, on starting, we were still in Virginia, of which Wheeling is one of the largest towns; but the bulk of our fellow-pa.s.sengers were evidently from the West; they are chiefly descendants of the New Englanders, and partake of their character, with the exception of the nasal tw.a.n.g, which is worse in New England than anywhere else in America, and we are now losing the sound of it. The omnibus made a grand circuit of the town to pick up pa.s.sengers, and thus gave us the only opportunity we had of seeing something of it. It rained in torrents, and this probably made it look more dismal than usual, but it certainly is much less picturesque and more English-looking than any town we have yet seen. The coal and iron, which const.i.tute its chief trade, give it a very dirty appearance; but its natural situation, stretching along the banks of the Ohio, which are here very high on both sides, is very beautiful. The omnibus at last crossed the river by a very fine suspension bridge, and, having left the slave states behind us, we found ourselves in the free State of Ohio.

On the opposite side of the river we entered the cars of the Ohio Central Railroad, but alas! we had no Mr. Tyson, and no sofas or tables or balconies, and were again simple members of the public, destined to enjoy all the tortures of the common cars. These however were in first-rate style, with velvet seats, and prettily painted, with brilliant white panelled ceilings; and we here fell in again, to my no small comfort, with the venders of fruit and literature, or "pedlaring,"

as it is called, which forms a pleasant break in the tedium of a long journey. I have been often told the reverse, but the literature sold in this way is, as far as we have seen, rather creditable than otherwise to the country, being generally of an instructive and useful character.

Many works published quite recently in England, could be bought either in the cars or at the stores; and some of the better cla.s.s of English novels are reprinted in America, and sold at the rate of two or three shillings a volume. The daily newspapers, sold on the railways, are numerous; but these, with very few exceptions, are quite unworthy of the country. In general there are no articles worth reading, for they are filled with foolish and trashy anecdotes, written, apparently, by penny-a-liners of the lowest order of ability. The magazines, and some of the weekly ill.u.s.trated papers, are a degree better, but a great deal of the wit in these is reproduced from "Punch."

The first eighty-two miles to Zanesville were through a pretty and hilly country. The hills were as usual covered with woods of every hue, so that though the scenery was inferior to what we had been pa.s.sing through for the last few days, it was still very beautiful. Zanesville, which is a considerable town, is situated on the Muskingham river. This fine broad stream must add considerably to the waters of the Ohio, into which it falls soon after leaving Zanesville.

At Zanesville, after partaking of an excellent dinner, we were joined by an intelligent woman, returning home, with her little baby of ten weeks old, from a visit she had just been making to her mother. Her own home is in Missouri, and her husband being the owner of a farm of 500 acres, she was able to give us a good deal of information about the state of agriculture in the Far West. I learnt much from her on various subjects, and was much surprised at the quick sharp answers she gave to all my questions. She was well dressed, something in the style of the English lady's maid, was evidently well to do, and was travelling night and day with her merry little baby. She possesses one slave of fourteen, for whom she gave four hundred dollars, whom she has had from infancy; she brings her up as her own, and this black girl is now taking care of her other children in her absence. I asked, "What do the slaves eat?"

"Everything: corn-bread, that's the most." Papa said, "It is a great shame making Missouri a slave state."

_Woman._ "Ah yes; keeps it back."

_Self._ "Have you good health?"--many parts being said to be unhealthy.

_Woman._ A quick nod. "First-rate."

_Self._ "Did your mother give you the hickory stick?"

_Woman._ "No: the switch:--raised me on the rod of correction."

_Self._ "Had your husband the farm before you married?"

_Woman._ "His father had 'entered it,' and he gave my husband money, and my mother gave me money, and then we married and 'entered it'

ourselves."

All these answers came out with the utmost quickness and intelligence.

She is an Irish Roman Catholic, her mother having brought her as a baby from Ireland, her husband is also Irish; but they are now Americans of the Far West in their manner and singular intelligence, beating even the clever Irish in this respect.

I said: "Do you pray much to the Virgin Mary in your part of America?"

_Woman._ "No: don't notice her much."

_Self._ "I am glad of that."

_Woman._ "We respect her as the mother of G.o.d."

She said the corn on the road-side we were then pa.s.sing was far inferior to western produce, that it ought to be much taller, and that if it were so, the ear would be much larger and fuller. Our English wheat is never called corn, but simply wheat; and the other varieties oats, rye, &c., are called by their different names, but the generic term _corn_, in America, always means Indian corn. It is necessary to know this in order to prevent confusion in conversation. This woman's name was Margaret M.; she was twenty-seven years of age, but looked younger; her husband, James M., was thirty-six.

I asked her whether he was tall or short. "Oh tall, of course. I wouldn't have had a poor short man." So we looked at papa, and laughed, and said our tastes were the same. She was a most agreeable companion.

She noticed that I was reading a novel by the author of "John Halifax,"

which I had bought, the whole three volumes, for 1_s._ 6_d._, and said, "Ah! that's the sort of reading I like. That's a novel; but my priest tells me not to read that kind, that it fills me with silly thoughts; but to read something to make me more intelligent." I thought there seemed no deficiency in this respect, but agreed that the advice was good, and said that I had bought this for cheapness, and for being portable, it being in the pamphlet form; and that I was so interrupted with looking at the lovely scenery when travelling, that I could not take in anything deeper.

We wished each other good bye, and she wished me a happy meeting again with our children. And now papa says this must be closed, and it certainly has attained to no mean length, so I will not begin another sheet, and hope you will not be wearied with this long chapter.

FOOTNOTE:

[7] These photographs cannot be reproduced here, which I regret, as they were very well done.

LETTER IX.

JOURNEY FROM WHEELING TO COLUMBUS.--FIRE IN THE MOUNTAINS.--MR.

TYSON'S STORIES.--COLUMBUS.--PENITENTIARY.--CAPITOL.--GOVERNOR CHASE.--CHARITABLE INSt.i.tUTIONS.--ARRIVAL AT CINCINNATI.

Columbus, Oct. 23rd, 1858.

The letter which I sent you from this place this morning will have told you of our arrival here, but it was closed in such haste that I omitted many things which I ought to have mentioned. It, moreover, carried us only to Zanesville, and I ought to have told you that the view continued very pretty all the way to this place, and the day having cleared up at noon, we had a brilliant evening to explore this town.

Before describing Columbus, however, I shall go back to some omissions of a still older date; for I ought to have told you of a grand sight we saw the day we pa.s.sed the Alleghany Ridge. On the preceding evening Mr.

Tyson received a telegraphic message to say that an extensive fire was raging in the forest; it is supposed to have been caused by some people shooting in the woods. It must have been a grand sight to the pa.s.sengers by the train from which we had separated, and which went on during the night through the scene of the conflagration, for the fire was much more extensive than those which are constantly taking place, and which are pa.s.sed by unheeded,--unhonoured with a telegraphic notice.

When we pa.s.sed by the place next morning it was still burning vigorously, but the daylight rendered the flames almost imperceptible.

It was curious, however, to see the volumes of smoke, which we first perceived in a hollow. The fire was then travelling down the side of the mountain; and long after we pa.s.sed the immediate spot we saw the fire winding about the mountains, spreading greatly, in the direction of the wind and making its way even against it, though it was blowing with considerable violence. The people in the neighbourhood were busily employed in trying to save their hayricks from destruction. Mr. Tyson said they would probably succeed in this, though the whole of the forest was likely to be burnt, as the fire would wind about among the mountains and pa.s.s from one to another for perhaps two months, unless a heavy rain put it out. This we hope has been the case, as it poured in torrents all the following night when we were at Wheeling.

Another circ.u.mstance we ought to have mentioned was our pa.s.sing through a very long tunnel, called the Board Tree Tunnel, about 340 miles from Baltimore. This tunnel, after having fallen in, has only been repaired within the last two months. The history of this catastrophe, and of the mode of remedying it, forms quite an incident in the history of the railway, and shows with what resolution difficulties in this country are overcome. To reopen the tunnel it was clear would be a work of time, so Mr. Tyson resolved to run a new temporary railway for three miles over the mountain which had been tunnelled, and this was accomplished by 3000 men in ten days. We saw the place where this road had pa.s.sed, and the zig-zag line by which the mountain was crossed. The road seems positively to overhang the precipice, and reminded me of a mountain pa.s.s in Switzerland--as, indeed, the whole of the road here does. Mr. Tyson himself drove the first train over, and he said his heart was in his mouth when, having got to the top, he saw the descent before him, and the engine and train on a precipice where the least _contretemps_ would have plunged the whole into the abyss below; but happily all went right, and till within the last two months this temporary road has been used.

It was really quite frightful to look up and think a train could pa.s.s over such a place, the grade being 420 feet in a mile, or 1 in 121/2; but you will one day be able to form some idea of it, as a photograph was taken, and Mr. Tyson will give us a copy of it. This is certainly a wonderful country for great enterprises, and the Pennsylvania Central Railway, by which we contemplate recrossing the Alleghanies, is in some respects a still more remarkable undertaking, though the height at which the mountains are crossed on that line is not so great as that on the Baltimore and Ohio line, which, as I told you in my last, is at an elevation of 2700 feet. It was long supposed that such a feat could not be surpa.s.sed, but Mr. Tyson says that, encouraged by this, a railway now crosses the Tyrolean Alps at a somewhat higher level.

To return, however, to the Board Tree Tunnel: Mr. Tyson told us that the difficulty of restoring it to a safe condition was so great as almost to dishearten him till he had arched it completely over from one end to the other with solid stone masonry, which has rendered the recurrence of the accident impossible; but the disheartening circ.u.mstance, while the work was in progress, was the danger to which the men employed in the work were exposed, from the constant falling in of the roof. During its progress no less than forty-five men were killed, and about 400 severely wounded. They were chiefly Roman Catholics, and were it not for the encouragement given by an energetic Roman Catholic priest, he hardly thinks the men would have continued the work. The doctor, too, who attended the wounded, and whom we saw at breakfast at Grafton, was also most devoted to them. It was quite touching to hear the tender-hearted way in which Mr. Tyson spoke of the poor sufferers, for he was constantly there, and often saw them go in to almost certain death. He mentioned one poor widow to whom he had just sent three hundred dollars as a gift from the railway.

Before leaving the subject of Mr. Tyson, I must tell you one or two of his good stories. I had been telling him of the negro meeting, which I described to you in my last. In it I told you how the negroes had cried out "glory! glory!" from which it appears it is almost impossible that they can refrain. In corroboration of this he told us of a n.i.g.g.e.r woman who was sold from a Baptist to a Presbyterian family. In general slaves adopt, at once, the habits and doctrines of their new owners; but this poor woman could not restrain herself, and greatly disturbed the Presbyterian congregation, by shouting out "glory! glory!" in the middle of the service. Next morning the minister sent for her and rebuked her for this unseemly interruption of his sermon; but she said doggedly, "Can't help it, sir; I'm all full of glory; must shout it out." Many of his amusing stories were about Irish labourers employed on the road. One of these, whose duty it was to show a light at the station as the train pa.s.sed, failed one night to do so, and was seen asleep. The man who drove the engine threw a cinder at him as he pa.s.sed, to awake him; but, instead of hitting him, the cinder broke his lamp gla.s.s. All this was told to Mr. Tyson, and also that the man was very angry at his lamp being broken. When Mr. T. went down the line next day, he stopped to lecture him, and the following colloquy ensued:--

_Mr. Tyson._ "Well, your lamp was broke, I hear, yesterday."

_Irishman._ "O, yes sir;" (terrified out of his life at the scolding he feared was coming, for he saw that Mr. Tyson knew all about it;) "but I forgive the blackguards intirely, sir, I _quite_ forgive them."

Mr. T. kept his counsel, said nothing more, and the lamp has never failed since; but half the merit of this story depended on Mr. Tyson's way of telling it. He was deliciously graphic also, and full of witty sayings of his own. When, for example, I showed him my photograph of your little brother, he exclaimed, "Well, he _is_ a fine fellow; HE don't mind if corn is five dollars a bushel." I think you will all appreciate this as a perfect description of the unconcern of a healthy intelligent-looking child, unconscious of the anxieties of those about him; but I must reserve his other good sayings and stories till we meet.

To-day we have been most busily employed, for Mr. Garrett, our railway friend at Baltimore, not only did us the good service of sending us by the car under Mr. Tyson's auspices, but gave us letters of introduction both to this place and to Cincinnati; and his letters here to Mr. Neil and Mr. Dennison have been of great use to us, as one or the other of them has been in attendance upon us since 11 o'clock this morning, together with a very pleasing person, a widow, niece of Mr. Neil, and they have shown us the town in first-rate style.

Columbus is built on the banks of the Sciota, about 90 miles from the point where it falls into the Ohio. It is the capital of the State, and its streets, like those of Washington, have been laid out with a view to its becoming one day a town of importance; but as the preparations for this, though on a considerable scale, are not so great as at Washington, the non-completion of the plan in its full extent produces no disagreeable effect. In fact, the streets where finished are completely so, and the unfinished parts consist of an extension of these, in the shape of long avenues of trees. In the princ.i.p.al streets the houses are not continuous, but in detached villas, and, judging by the one in which Mr. Neil lives, appear to be very comfortable residences. He and his niece called upon us yesterday evening, and, although he is an elderly gentleman, he was here by appointment this morning at half-past 8, and took papa to call on Mr. Dennison, when they arranged together the programme for the day.