Travels Through North America Part 13

Of steam-engines and steam-boats there are a great many models of very singular form, also steam-boats with rotatory motions; they however do not answer the purpose. I saw patterns of railways, and models of machines to draw boats from a lower ca.n.a.l into a higher one, by help of an inclined plane. Then two models of floating covered batteries. One of them was an oblong case, in which is fixed a steam-engine, giving to two long iron bars a rotatory motion. These bars, like two clock-hands, projecting off the deck, are intended to keep off a boarding enemy.

A model to compress leaden bullets, in order to give them more weight.

A great number of household and kitchen apparatus, fire-places of different descriptions, an earth-augur for seeking water, fire-engines of various kinds, a fire-proof roof, contrived by a German, several machines to make bricks, instruments by means of which, in navigating the Mississippi, trees lying under water can be taken hold of and sawed to pieces without stopping the vessel in its course, machinery to bore holes in rocks, and others to hoist rocks out of water; the machine contrived in London by Perkins to print with steel; models of book printing-presses; models for combing wool, and dressing woollen stuffs; fan-mills; leather manufacturing instruments, and among others, an instrument for splitting hides; a great number of agricultural instruments, namely, a great many ploughs for every kind of soil, invented by Germans; machines for mowing gra.s.s, for thrashing and cutting straw. Among the most important machines, I will mention one for making blocks, which is considered not to be inferior in any respect to that of Brunel, in Portsmouth, and another which renders steeping of flax unnecessary, and yet fits it after fourteen days drying to be broken and heckled. For permission to take a copy of the machine, one must pay ten dollars to the inventor. I ordered two copies; one for the Agricultural Society of Ghent, and another to present to my father.

Several fine models of bridges, especially of hanging ones, among others, one of the bridges in Trenton, near Philadelphia, and another of that near Fayetteville, in North Carolina; also one of a hanging bridge, under which is suspended a ca.n.a.l pa.s.sing over the river. Respecting arms I did not find much improvement. There was also a triangle of steel, weighing six pounds, upon which three different hammers struck, to supply the place of church bells. This ringing is said to be heard at a great distance. It has been introduced in several places to a.s.semble the people.

The patent-office is in the same building with the post-office. They pointed out to me two large gilt frames with the arms of France and Navarre. They hung before the catastrophe of 1814, in the house of the president, and contained full length portraits of Louis XVI. and Marie Antoinette, which were presented in 1783, by those unfortunate monarchs to the United States, at their especial desire. Both portraits suddenly disappeared, and it is believed that it happened in 1814, when the English made their unexpected visit to Washington, and burnt down the house of the president.

The patent-office is under the direction of Dr. Thornton,[I-30] who is an able draughtsman. Under Dr. Thornton, a Swiss is employed, whose name is Keller, a very able mechanic, and inspector of the model room, who explained every thing to me. Dr. Thornton was so kind as to accompany me to a sculptor, who, by means of casting a mould upon the face, obtains a striking resemblance, and has made busts of the first American statesmen, &c.

[Footnote I-30: [Since deceased. His place is supplied by Dr.

Thomas P. Jones, of Philadelphia.]--TRANS.]

I arranged a party to the Falls of Potomac, with Mr. De Bresson, sixteen miles distant, where we were accompanied by Mr. Huygens, Jr. On the 6th of November, at nine o'clock, we left Washington and went five miles upon a very rough road, along the left bank of the river, which is at first very broad. Both sh.o.r.es are hilly and covered with wood, for the most part hickory and different species of oak. Of the primitive woods nothing is to be seen, for generally the wood is second growth. The banks soon became rocky, and we observed even in the river some projecting rocks. On the left sh.o.r.e they have dug a ca.n.a.l, this, however is too narrow, and only navigable by long boats, resembling the Durham-boats on the St. Lawrence river. In these boats, wood, lumber, stones, especially mill-stones, and the harvest from the upper countries, are carried to Washington.

Five miles above the city, we went over, on a hanging bridge, to the right sh.o.r.e. The chains consist of bars of wrought iron. The bridge itself is of wood, as well as the two cross-beams standing on its extremities, through which the chains are pa.s.sed; these cross-beams form a kind of entrance, having an Egyptian appearance. The length of the bridge is about one hundred and sixteen feet, its breadth sixteen feet.

A rather high toll is paid for pa.s.sing it; we paid a dollar and a half for a carriage with two horses, for going and coming. The road, pa.s.sing almost incessantly through a wood, became a little better after we arrived at the other side of the bridge. It was called a turnpike road, but still it continued hilly. We pa.s.sed but a single inn, and saw but a single country house, which belonged to Commodore Jones, whose daughter became a Catholic and a nun, in a convent at Georgetown; this occurrence produced a great sensation in the United States. Most of the people we met with, were tattered negroes, who humbly saluted us. We were now in the state of Virginia, in the vicinity of the falls; when the road became very bad, we left our vehicle and went on foot through the forest, to see this natural curiosity, whose noise made us sensible of its proximity.

The river runs here over a rocky bed, and is about three hundred paces wide; in the dry season it is a great deal narrower. It forms several distinct falls, none of them above fifty feet high. They recall to memory Glenn's Falls on the Hudson, between Lake George and Saratoga.

We crept about in the labyrinth of broken rocks, not without danger or difficulty, in order to obtain different views of these falls. The sun was shining upon them at the time, and afforded us the sight of several rainbows; we soon felt ourselves richly rewarded for our pains.

In order to avoid these falls, a ca.n.a.l with locks has been made on the right sh.o.r.e. The ca.n.a.l pa.s.sing through the rocks, is in some places dug down more than fifty feet. We, unfortunately, had chosen Sunday for our excursion; the inhabitants were gone to church, and there was n.o.body to give us the necessary explanations. There was no vegetation on the rocks about the falls, except some broom and single clover. We saw also upon the rock a creeping cactus plant, resembling the cochineal cactus, with small pear-shaped fruit, which contained a purple-red slimy juice. This plant gave me the first sign of my approach to the south. We returned to Washington by the road we came. Notwithstanding the late season, it was as warm as in midsummer.

The capitol is a really imposing building. When it is once surrounded by handsome buildings, it will produce a fine effect. It is built of white marble, and has three domes; the largest is over the rotunda, and the two smaller over the wings. The capitol stands on an acclivity, and in front is three stories high, and on the back, which is opposite the president's mansion, four stories high. In front is the entrance, with a portal of Corinthian columns; on the back part there is a large balcony, decorated with columns. The entrance under the portal is a little too low.

In the centre of the building, under the princ.i.p.al dome is a large circular hall, receiving light from the roof. Pictures are to be placed in this hall, under the bas-reliefs. One of these represents the deliverance of Captain Smith, commander of the first English settlement in Virginia, by the Indian Princess Pocahontas; another is an allegory, representing the landing of European emigrants. Behind this hall is a large saloon, contiguous to the balcony, which contains the library of Congress. During the English incursion in 1814, the library was destroyed by fire; the present library has been gradually collected since, and consists in great part of the late President Jefferson's books. Under the large hall is a small one, supported by three rows of columns, not unlike a family tomb. It receives its light from above, by a round opening in the floor of the large hall, and serves as a pa.s.sage.

It has been proposed to place there the coffin of the great WASHINGTON.

No princ.i.p.al staircase is yet built, but a great number of smaller ones.

The interior is altogether very angular. Columns and corridors are numerous in all the lateral galleries and saloons; the capitals of the columns are mostly of Egyptian taste, and the models seem to have been taken from the "description de l'Egypte." In the corridor leading to the senate chamber, are columns, the shafts of which represent a bunch of stalks of Indian corn, and the capitals the fruit of the same plant.

In the wings on the right hand side from the entrance, is the senate chamber, the offices belonging to it, the office of the president, and session room of the supreme court of the United States. This, and the senate chamber, are built in a semicircular form. In the centre is a place for the presiding officer. The members of the senate have their seats amphitheatrically arranged; every one has a chair, and before him a small mahogany desk. In this wing are hung the four pictures by Trumbull, which are hereafter to be placed in the rotunda. One of them represents the Declaration of Independence: there is a very fine engraving of this picture; another, the surrender of General Burgoyne to General Gates, near Saratoga; the third, the capitulation at Yorktown, and the filing off of the English between the American and French army; the fourth, the resignation of General Washington, and laying down of his commission to congress on the 23d of December, 1783. The portraits are said to be striking likenesses. As to the composition and execution of these pictures, the first makes one think of the pedantic school of Benjamin West, and the other loses by faint colouring. The painter was, moreover, placed under restraint by want of taste in his countrymen for the fine arts, who resemble, in that respect, their English ancestors: the posture of almost every single person having been prescribed him.

In the other wing of the building is the hall of representatives, likewise in form of an amphitheatre, and the offices belonging to it. In this hall is a full length portrait of General La Fayette. The ceiling of this saloon, like that of the senate chamber, and supreme court room, is supported by doric columns, whose shafts are of pudding-stone. The gallery above the princ.i.p.al dome, affords a very extensive view. The princ.i.p.al avenues of the city, which is to be built, all depart from this point, and this view recalls the situation of the castle at Carlsruhe, with this difference, that here no wood, and but few houses are seen.

With the families de Mareuil, St. Andre, Huygens, and all the French legation, we made an excursion by water to Mount Vernon, the country-seat of the great Washington. Mount Vernon is situated sixteen miles from the capitol, and on the right bank of the Potomac, in the state of Virginia. We hired a steam-boat for the purpose, on board of which we went at half past ten o'clock, at Georgetown. We went across the long bridge through an opening of a double drawbridge, and steered down the Potomac. Washington remaining on our left, had a very handsome appearance from the water, and especially the cape, named Greenleaf's point, situated at the junction of the east branch with the Potomac, which is fortified, and contains very s.p.a.cious storehouses. Eight miles below Washington, we stopped at the city of Alexandria, lying on the right bank of this river, in order to obtain a boat for landing at Mount Vernon. Alexandria is one of the three cities of the district of Columbia, which are Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria. This town is said to have a considerable commerce; it has a harbour with wooden wharves, near which I saw several schooners lying, and also two brigs.

It is said to contain about eight thousand inhabitants. The streets are long and very straight, crossing each other at right angles. After a stay of twenty minutes, we continued our course. Both banks are hilly, in some places rocky; there is a great deal of gravel, and they are covered with wood. At a winding of the stream we pa.s.sed by Fort Washington, recently built upon a rock on the left bank, commanding the stream with its batteries. In an oblique direction on the opposite sh.o.r.e, we at last perceived Mount Vernon, beautifully situated. The water near the banks being very low, the steam-boat stopped in the middle of the stream, about a mile from the sh.o.r.e, and we landed in boats. We ascended by a very bad road to a place where cattle were grazing, which I heard was formerly Washington's garden. Between three oaks and some cypress trees, we saw a coa.r.s.e wooden door about four feet high, in a very bad piece of masonry. I thought at first it was a spring-house. How great was my astonishment, when I learned that this was the entrance to the sepulchral vault of the greatest man of his time; the ornament of his age; of WASHINGTON!

I picked up some acorns fallen from the trees which shaded the tomb; my object was to plant them when I returned home. I took also from this sacred spot a twig of a cypress tree. The tomb is no longer opened, since strangers have nearly cut to pieces the whole of the pall covering the coffin, in order to preserve it as a relic. It was last opened at the time of General La Fayette's visit.

Thence we went to the dwelling-house, about three hundred paces distant, and situated on a hill, from which there is an extremely fine view of the Potomac. This estate belongs to Judge Washington, who, being absent upon business connected with his office the greatest part of the year, permits his inherited property to decay very much. He has no children.

The house is two stories high, built of wood, and without taste. On the side next the river, it has a piazza, and on the other, is the entrance with stone steps, which are almost decayed. By means of a wooden colonade, the house communicates right and left with the wings and household buildings. Farther on, are houses for negro slaves, of whose dirty, ugly, and ragged children, we saw a great many running about. It being Sunday, we had much difficulty in finding access to the house; at last we succeeded in getting into the lower story, which has been left nearly in the same condition it was at the decease of its great possessor. But the number of books belonging to the library, has been increased by many new works by the present proprietor. A great many fine engravings decorate the walls, especially a very handsome Louis XVI.

which Washington was presented with by that unfortunate monarch. On the gilt frame above, are the arms of France, and below, those of Washington's family. In the four corners are the cyphers of the king and G. W. There are also two very good engravings, representing the battle of Bunker's Hill, and the death of General Montgomery; four views of the attack of Gibraltar and its defence, and a miniature portrait of the great man painted on enamel. One of the keys of the Bastille, sent after its destruction by General La Fayette to Washington, is exposed in a case of gla.s.s, under it is a sepia drawing of the demolition of that prison. The furniture and other regulations of the rooms, are very plain; in the eating-room I observed a valuable chimneypiece of Italian marble, with handsome bas-reliefs, and two columns of _gallo-antico_.

It is known that when General La Fayette was visiting Washington's burial place, an eagle made his appearance in the air and hovered over the spot until the general had proceeded farther. We also observed to day a very large one, which seemed to observe us from the height; we saw him above us when we were embarking. He seemed to hover over the same spot for a long while, and when the last boat came near the steam-boat, he suddenly left the place, flew towards the wood, and was lost to sight.

In our travelling company, I became acquainted with Count Miot, who had formerly been minister of the interior in Naples, and afterwards in Spain, under Joseph Buonaparte, and now was travelling for pleasure, and to visit his ancient master. Mr. De Mareuil detained all the gentlemen of our party to dinner at his house, and we remained there till ten o'clock, very much pleased. At a ball given by Baron Mareuil, more than two hundred persons, the members of the diplomatic body, the first authorities of the country, and the princ.i.p.al inhabitants, were present.

I met with General Bernard, and became acquainted with General Brown, an aged man, whose right side appeared to be palsied. The most interesting acquaintances I made, were those of Commodore Porter, whose name, as well as the important services he rendered to his country, and his late trial, have rendered him known to the world, and of Colonel Roberdeau, of the engineers. I became farther acquainted with Mr. Calvert, who told me his son had studied in Gottingen and had some time ago travelled to Weimar, where he was presented at court and was very well received. The ladies were very elegantly dressed, and danced very well. They danced mostly French quadrilles, but always with the same figures. The music was good, and by the marine band of the garrison. The ball, however, did not last long; I was one of the last to go, and came home at eleven o'clock. The president was not there; he does not accept any invitation in the city. The present president receives even the foreign ministers only when they have been announced by the secretary of state. The president is likewise exempt from returning visits, which he had already the kindness to give me notice of by Mrs. Sullivan, in Baltimore.

Another ball was given by General Brown, in honour of the marriage of Captain Gardner, of the fourth regiment of artillery. The gentlemen I found there were mostly officers of the army. There is scarcely an army in Europe in which the corps of officers is better composed than in the small American army; since in the United States no one can on any account be an officer, if he is not well educated. The officers are exclusively taken from the military academy in West Point; no subaltern officer is promoted. The greater part of the inferior officers who were advanced during the last war, had been dismissed. Such a measure is in this country unavoidably necessary, where none but people of the lowest cla.s.s enlist as soldiers in the army; without such an interval between the officers and the rank and file, discipline could not be maintained.

Therefore, if a young man is seen in the uniform of an American officer, it may with confidence be inferred that he is in every respect fit to maintain his place in the best society.

At the third ball, given by Mr. Huygens, we once more met with a very pleasant company. I conversed a long time with Lieutenant Wolf Tone, of the first regiment of artillery. He is an Irishman by birth, educated in a French military school. He had been formerly in the French service, and is patronised by General Bernard.

At a visit I made to General Macomb and Major Vandeventer, at the war-office, the general showed me many drawings and plans of fortresses and entrenchments, together with two remarkable lists sent in every month from West Point by Lieutenant-Colonel Thayer. One of them contains the names of the best and worst cadets in every cla.s.s, and the other the names of those who deserve to be rewarded, as well of others who have been punished, with indication of their faults; finally, of those who have been expelled, and the reason of their expulsion. Both lists are put in frames, under gla.s.s, and hung up in the general's office; one is changed every fortnight, and the other every month. I was told by the general, that they saved him frequently from wasting conversation with the parents of the cadets.

The general conducted me also to the topographical office, being under the direction of Colonel Roberdeau. I found there several repeating circles, theodolites and telescopes, made by Troughton and Ramsden; also two transit instruments, destined for the observatory which is still to be built; an instrument by Troughton, which serves for measuring the ten-thousandth part of an English inch, and a model measure of the English yard, French metre and litre. This gentleman regretted that the old English measures and weights are retained in the United States, instead of adopting, as it has been done in the Netherlands, the new French standard, which is much better.

There were also several good plans of battles and sieges of the revolutionary war, namely, those of the old fortresses Ticonderoga and Crownpoint, on Lake Champlain. I missed the most recent drawings. On the other hand, General Macomb showed me what they call the Indian department, where all business with the Indian tribes is attended to.

There we found portraits of a great many Indian chiefs, and several of their wives, who have been at different periods in Washington, in order to compliment the president. They then receive medals according to their rank, which they wear by a riband round the neck. There were also several weapons and different ornaments of tribes I had already seen.

Finally, I visited the ordnance department, which is under the direction of a colonel. I saw here a gun invented by Mr. Hall, at Harper's Ferry, which is loaded from the breech, and with which five sure shots can be made in a minute. With this gun, three thousand discharges had been made, and it has proved very exact; several have been ordered, and one or two companies are to be armed with them in case of war.

At a dinner given by the president, and at which I had the honour along with about forty persons, to be present, were the diplomatic body, the state secretaries, several generals, and other persons of distinction.

Among them, I made the acquaintance of Mr. Gaillard,[I-31] of North Carolina, president pro tem. of the senate. No ladies were present, because Mrs. Adams was not well. The table furniture was very rich.

I was particularly pleased with a service of silver gilt. The eating-room is very s.p.a.cious, besides which there were two richly furnished rooms open. I remarked several handsome Sevres, porcelain vessels, and a marble bust of the great Washington, by the Italian sculptor Ceracchi, who was afterwards shot in Paris, on account of a conspiracy against Napoleon's life. A great chandelier was remarkably fine; it was made for the Emperor Napoleon, and purchased in the year 1815, by the American minister in Paris. The imperial eagles now pa.s.s for American.

[Footnote I-31: Since dead.]

General Brown,[I-32] during a visit, showed me a large gold medal which was presented to him by congress, on account of his services in the late war. On one side of it is a bust of the general, and on the other a trophy of English arms surrounding a fasces. Four shields bear the names, Sackett's Harbour, Niagara, Chippewa, and Erie, with the dates on which these places witnessed the general's deeds. At the foot of the trophy an American eagle is represented, holding in his talons an English banner. This medal is not intended to be worn: the general preserves it in a box. The American citizens are not allowed to wear any foreign decorations; even General Bernard was obliged to lay aside those he had so truly merited. General Brown showed me also a gold box, presented to him by the city of New York, together with the freedom of the city.

[Footnote I-32: [Since dead.]--TRANS.]

On the 14th of November I began to make farewell visits, for the dwellings in Washington are so far distant, that such visits require a great deal of time. On this occasion, I had a long conversation with the secretary of war, Mr. Barbour, and general Macomb, on military subjects.

I differed in opinion from the secretary about the efficiency of militia men, of whom he, as their former general,[I-33] seemed to entertain too high an opinion. At Mr. de Wallenstein's I saw some good instruments; a barometer for measuring heights, and a telescope which he had adopted as a transit-instrument. I found there also Krusenstern's large Atlas of the South Sea, a fine work on bad paper. Mr. de Wallenstein had translated an astronomical work from the Spanish into English; he had also an English copy of the ill.u.s.trations of Gothe's Faust laid open.

With General Bernard I conversed for a long while on the science of military engineering. He told me he had served at the defence of two fortresses, and obtained the experience, that there can be no strong defence, without having covered works on the front of attack. Respecting coast batteries, he was of opinion that the best were those which had at least an elevation of thirty feet above the surface of the water, in order that the rebounding shots coming from ships should not attain the breastwork. He considered the establishments for military instruction in this country susceptible of great improvements. He had proposed to establish a military exercise school, to which should be alternately sent battalions of infantry, and companies of artillery; this proposition has not been adopted. The general said also a great deal about the importance of Anvers, and gave me many interesting explanations of Napoleon's designs in fortifying that place. Finally, the conversation turned on the battle of Waterloo, at which the General had been present as aid to the Emperor. Tears came into the eyes of this gallant man, while speaking of his former master.

[Footnote I-33: He had commanded the militia when Governor of Virginia.]

On the last day of my stay in Washington, I took a ride with Messrs.

Huygens, and Mr. de Bresson; we went to the marine barracks, where, by order of the secretary of war, experiments with Hall's muskets were to be made. Mr. Hall, who is inspector of the gun manufactory at Harper's Ferry, was present himself.

Experiments were made on the celerity of firing; Mr. Hall fired with his gun, and the sergeant major of the marines with an ordinary infantry musket. The last could make but four shots in a minute; whilst Mr. Hall made six. He has also applied his invention to ordinary infantry muskets and rifles, and caused them to be constructed at Harper's Ferry. They cost the government eighteen dollars a piece. An essential improvement would be to introduce percussion fire-locks. Moreover these arms can only be given into the hands of very well exercised men. The government intends to arm the left wing companies with them. For the riflemen or light infantry, this gun seems to be very well suited. I expressed a desire that Mr. Hall would make such a gun for me; but he replied, that being in the service of the government, he was not allowed to make any without particular permission of the secretary of war. The few marines in quarters were paraded under the command of a Lieutenant, and I was received with music and presented arms. The whole of the marine corps is composed of but seven hundred men, who were employed on board the squadrons in the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and in the South Sea, to serve on board the receiving ships, and in the navy yards of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington and Norfolk. Hopes were entertained, that the next congress would consent to augment this corps to the number of fifteen hundred men, and this augmentation would, no doubt, have a great influence on the improvement of the service.

CHAPTER XIV.

_Departure from Washington.-- Fredericktown.-- Harper's Ferry.-- Blue Ridge.-- Staunton.-- Natural Bridge.-- Wier's Cave.-- Charlotteville.-- University of Virginia.-- Monticello.-- Richmond.-- Jamestown.-- Norfolk.-- Fort Monroe.-- Fayetteville.-- Columbia._

On the 15th of November, I set out from Washington with Mr. Huygens, jr., who was desirous of accompanying me by permission of his father.

I had hired a carriage with four horses to Harper's Ferry, about fifty miles from Washington, where we were to arrive in two days. The road was for some miles very good, but afterwards it became bad and rugged and continued so the rest of the day. We left the District of Columbia, and again entered the state of Maryland. The country through which we were pa.s.sing was hilly, covered with wood, and in some places cultivated; single large houses belonging to tobacco planters, and in their vicinity small ones for the negro slaves, were scattered here and there. We went through only one decent place called Rocksville. About seven o'clock in the evening we reached an inn called Scholl's tavern, situated in the township of Clarksburg, distant from Washington twenty-five miles.

Next morning we left Clarksburg; it was pretty cool, and the road as rough as before. It was fifteen miles to Fredericktown, over a hilly and rocky country. Sometimes we saw handsome prospects on the mountains of the Blue Ridge, which we were approaching. The houses that we pa.s.sed by, were like those of yesterday; the negro houses mostly of wood, with clumsy chimnies, built close to the house. The Monocacy river we pa.s.sed at a ford within four miles of Fredericktown. This is one of the princ.i.p.al places in the state of Maryland, and is situated in a well cultivated country surrounded by hills. It has about five thousand inhabitants, and is built very regularly. At the entrance of one of the streets stood a wooden triumphal arch raised in honour of General La Fayette. The inscriptions were already nearly effaced by the weather.

I had hardly alighted at the tavern, when I received a visit from a clergyman of this place named Dr. Schaeffer, a son of a preacher of the same name in Philadelphia. This gentleman accompanied me to see Mr.

Schley, whom I had known in Saratoga, and afterwards we went to a Lutheran church, a very plain building. We ascended the spire in order to have a view of the town and surrounding country. The country appeared to be very well cultivated; their princ.i.p.al agricultural object is tobacco. There are four churches, Lutheran, Reformed, Catholic and Methodist. The public buildings are the Court-house and prison.

Harper's Ferry was yet twenty-one miles distant from Fredericktown. The country grew at every moment more hilly, and the road rugged and worse; as we were approaching the Blue Ridge, we often alighted and walked.

We met with several herds and flocks, which are driven from the western states to different seaports for sale. The wagons we met were generally carrying products of the west; they were large wagons with five stout horses. Every horse had on its collar a set of bells, consisting of five different tones, which made a very singular music.

Meanwhile, our road pa.s.sed mostly through forest; we went through but a single insignificant village called Newton. The mountains grew higher and more rocky. At last we came again to the Potomac, which we had left the day before, and enjoyed many fine views.