Travels Through North America Part 15

In conversation he was very lively, and his spirits, as also his hearing and sight, seemed not to have decreased at all with his advancing age.

I found in him a man who retained his faculties remarkably well in his old age, and one would have taken him for a man of sixty. He asked me what I had seen in Virginia. I eulogized all the places, that I was certain would meet with his approbation, and he seemed very much pleased. The company at the table, consisted of the family of his daughter, Mrs. Randolph, and of that of the professor of mathematics at the university, an Englishman, and of his wife. I turned the conversation to the subject of the university, and observed, that this was the favourite topic with Mr. Jefferson; he entertained very sanguine hopes as to the flourishing state of the university in future, and believed that it, and the Harvard University near Boston, would in a very short time be the only inst.i.tutions, where the youth of the United States would receive a truly cla.s.sical and solid education. After dinner we intended to take our leave, in order to return to Charlotteville; but Mr. Jefferson would not consent to it. He pressed us to remain for the night at his house. The evening was spent by the fire; a great deal was said about travels, and objects of natural history; the fine arts were also introduced, of which Mr. Jefferson was a great admirer. He spoke also of his travels in France, and the country on the Rhine, where he was very much pleased. His description of Virginia is the best proof what an admirer he is of beauties of nature. He told us that it was only eight months since he could not ride on horseback; otherwise, he rode every day to visit the surrounding country; he entertained, however, hopes of being able to re-commence the next spring his favourite exercise. Between nine and ten o'clock in the evening, the company broke up, and a handsome room was a.s.signed to me.

The next morning I took a walk round the house, and admired the beautiful panorama, which this spot presents. On the left, I saw the Blue Ridge, and between them and Monticello are smaller hills.

Charlotteville and the University lay at my feet; before me, the valley of the Rivanna river, which farther on, makes its junction with the James river, and on my right was the flat part of Virginia, the extent of which is lost in distance; behind me was a towering hill, which limited the sight. The interior of the house was plain, and the furniture somewhat of an old fashion. In the entrance was a marble stove with Mr. Jefferson's bust, by Ceracchi. In the rooms hung several copies of the celebrated pictures of the Italian school, views of Monticello, Mount Vernon, the princ.i.p.al buildings in Washington and Harper's Ferry; there were also an oil painting, and an engraving of the Natural Bridge, views of Niagara by Vanderlin, a sketch of the large picture by Trumbull, representing the surrender at Yorktown, and a pen drawing of Hector's departure, by Benjamin West, presented by him to General KOSCIUSZKO, finally, several portraits of Mr. Jefferson, among which the best was that in profile by Stuart. In the saloon there were two busts, one of Napoleon as first consul, and another of the Emperor Alexander.

Mr. Jefferson admired Napoleon's military talents, but did not love him.

After breakfast, which we took with the family, we bid the respectable old man farewell, and set out upon our return on foot to Charlotteville.

Mr. Jefferson tendered us the use of his carriage, but I declined, as I preferred walking in a fine and cool morning. In the afternoon we left Charlotteville, in a tolerably good stage, in order to go to Richmond, the chief town of Virginia, distant eighty miles. A student was our travelling companion, and so we had plenty of room. But the stage went only ten miles to a small tavern situated in a wood, and kept by Mrs.

Boyd. We pa.s.sed by not far from Monticello, crossed the Rivanna at a rather deep ford, and remained for some miles on its left bank. The banks were high and rocky in some places. The road was, for the greatest part, through a wood, hilly and rough; in some places it was what they call causeway.

On the 28th of November we set out at half past two o'clock in the morning, by moonlight and very cold weather, and went seventy miles to Richmond. The stage was better, and the road was also better than formerly. Notwithstanding that the country continued hilly, a considerable portion of the road was causeway, for the greatest part of logs, and the country uninteresting. When we approached James river, along the banks of which we went for some miles, the country grew finer, and had it been more settled I would have compared it with that on the Elbe, above Dresden. The ground was in the beginning loamy, then sandy.

We changed horses at isolated taverns. Gordonsville and Goochland were the only villages through which we pa.s.sed, and in these villages too the houses were very scattered, and almost all of them of wood. We rode on the left bank of James river, and pa.s.sed by a navigable ca.n.a.l, which is said to extend in land about eighty miles above Richmond, and appeared to have been constructed with great care; the wooden bridges were neatly constructed and solid; an aqueduct of two arches, which conducted the ca.n.a.l over a brook having high banks, was well built. About eight o'clock in the evening we reached Richmond, a town of about seventeen thousand inhabitants of both colours. To judge by the houses, Richmond must be a wealthy place. We took our lodgings in the Union Hotel, a large and well-furnished inn. I felt really happy at finding myself once again in a considerable place, as I was almost unaccustomed to such a sight.

We could not depart on the 29th of November, as no steam-boat went in the direction we wished to take. My design was to go to Yorktown, to see the remains of an English fortification of the revolutionary war, and Fort Monroe near Old Point Comfort, and then to travel on farther to Norfolk, to see the navy-yard, thence to hasten to the south, in order to make up for the time I spent in Virginia. I took a walk through the town, to look around, for there was nothing else remarkable to be seen.

The town lies on the left bank of James river, and consists of two streets, running parallel with the river, and of several insignificant alleys. The main street, which lies next to the river, is finished, the other does not contain many houses; the former is probably a mile long, paved, and has side-walks made of bricks. As they burn coal here, the city looks nearly black. In the western part of Virginia, they only use wood. The blacks seem to compose the most numerous part of the population of that place. It is here where James river becomes navigable; above the city, navigation is carried on by the above-mentioned ca.n.a.l, which here joins the river, after having gone through a large basin, at whose wharves they were yet working. This ca.n.a.l descends in the city from a considerable height, by means of eight locks; the sides of the ca.n.a.l between the locks are only made of plank.

On the hill where those locks begin, there is a pretty large basin, which serves as an harbour for the boats coming from the countries above, and bound for Richmond. In the vicinity of this basin, I saw a hollow formed by rocks and full of wooden huts, which were inhabited by negroes, and exhibited a true picture of human misery. This hollow has the form of a funnel. In rainy weather, these poor people must probably suffer a great deal from dampness. Below the locks, you cross James river on a wooden bridge resting on wooden trestles. From this bridge you go over a side bridge to a small island, containing a public garden, and lying in the middle of the river; above the island a ledge of rocks crosses the river and forms a small cataract; farther up there are said to be several other falls in the river.

On a hill which commands the city, stands the state-house, called the capitol, surrounded by a newly laid out garden; it reminds one of the Maison Quarree, at Nismes in France. On one of the smaller sides of the parallelogram there is a portico of eight Ionic columns. But these columns are of wood only, and have, when closely inspected, a rather decayed appearance. On the two long sides, the building has entrances with steps. In the hall in the middle of the house, there is a full length marble statue of President Washington, somewhat tasteless. It represents the great man in uniform; the right hand reposing on a cane, the left arm on fasces, to which a sword is hanging, and against which the plough leans. In one of the lateral chambers the court of the United States was a.s.sembled, to try a captain of a merchant vessel, and a Frenchman by birth. This man had twice sunk his ship, in order to get the insurance money for it. At one of these sinkings, a lady lost her life, and on that account the captain was accused of murder. I was sorry I could not fully understand the debates and speeches of the advocates, as I heard that the person under trial had the best lawyers for his defenders. The decision did not follow.

Behind the capitol stands the court-house, a ma.s.sive building with a portico of four Doric stone columns; in the interior of the building I saw nothing farther remarkable. At several booksellers I asked in vain for the plan of the city and the surrounding country, also for a description of the ca.n.a.l.

We intended to leave Richmond at three o'clock in the morning of the 30th of November, and set out on our projected tour. But, as the ordinary stage was repairing, they put us in a small carriage with only two horses, in which it was impossible to carry our baggage. As I would not part with it, I gave up the tour which I had concluded on, and left Richmond, in the morning at eight o'clock, on board the steam-boat Richmond, to descend the James river to Norfolk. In the mean time, I had an opportunity of noticing the particular manner in which the negroes are treated. I wished to employ my leisure in writing; when I entered the room, I found several slaves wrapt up in woollen blankets, sleeping on the floor by the chimney-fire; upon inquiring, I was told that slaves never receive a better bed.

We had one hundred and twenty-two miles to Norfolk, and reached that city between nine and ten o'clock in the evening. During the whole day the weather was not clear; on the banks of the meandering James river, which grows gradually larger, there was not any thing remarkable. The travelling company was not large, and was composed of incommunicative persons: I could not exchange a word with any of them. There was no opportunity of writing, as the engine communicated such a quivering motion to the whole vessel, that I could hardly hold my pen, and spent my time in reading. Towards evening we perceived a large stone building on the left bank, the only remains of James Town, the first English settlement in Virginia. The following romantic story is related. An Indian princess, Pocahontas, daughter of a powerful Indian chief on the banks of this river, whose name was Powhattan, fell in love with the English Captain Smith, who was the commander of the first settlement at James Town. This Indian princess swam across the river in a stormy night, in order to give notice to her lover of the conspiracy of her father and the princ.i.p.al chiefs, against his life. In this manner she saved the new settlement, and also twice afterwards under the same circ.u.mstances. However, her lover fell at last into an Indian ambush, and was to become a victim of the Indians. Then she laid her head down with his on the block, and once more saved his life. This scene is represented by a bas relief, which is in the large rotunda in Washington. Captain Smith was a married man, and on that account could not, when returning to England, take his benefactress with him; he made her believe that he was dead, and secretly went on board a ship. Some time afterwards, Pocahontas married Rolf, who succeeded her lover in the command of the settlement, and followed him to England. She met once, by chance, with her first lover in the street, whom she believed to have been dead, and soon sunk into such a melancholy state, that she left England, embarked for America, and died on the pa.s.sage.[I-35]

[Footnote I-35: She left an only son by her marriage with Rolf, who settled himself in America, and had two daughters. From these are descended the families of Randolph and Robinson, and from these the family of Claiborne, consequently the two eldest children of Mrs. Grymes, Charles and Sophrone are descendants of the unfortunate Indian princess. In the two families, Randolph and Robinson, the eldest son is named Powhattan, and the eldest daughter Pocahontas. At New Orleans I became acquainted with a member of the Robinson family who had formerly been governor of Louisiana.]

In very disagreeable weather we landed at Norfolk, a city of ten thousand inhabitants, and took our lodgings in Carr's Hotel, a tolerably good tavern. I made acquaintance with Mr. Meyau, the French Consul, a very pleasant man. In his company I went the next day to Fort Monroe, distant fourteen miles from Norfolk. We went in the Baltimore steam-boat. It fortunately happened that our steam-boat, with the steam-boat Richmond, were engaged to tow the frigate Constellation into Hampton Roads, which could not sail on account of a feeble breeze. This road is intended to be the princ.i.p.al rendezvous of the United States navy, and is advantageously situated; it commands the Chesapeake bay, which is to be connected by a large union ca.n.a.l with the Delaware, and consequently with Philadelphia, so that the ships built in the navy yard can go into Hampton Roads, where they will be armed.

On a point of land called Old Point Comfort, in the above mentioned road, on which also is a light-house, lies the princ.i.p.al Fort Monroe, and before it upon the sand-bank Riprap, a small casemated fort called Calhoun, to command the road or rather the pa.s.sage from a nearer point.

To prevent this position from being turned on its right wing by a land army, all the dry points between Norfolk and the surrounding impracticable marshes are to be fortified, and a large central a.r.s.enal with dry-docks is to be erected farther backwards in the bay, in order to receive a whole fleet after a battle, and fit it out there. The frigate Constellation, under the command of Captain Woolsey, was designed for the West India station, called the pirate station; the princ.i.p.al object being to suppress these wretches. The frigate is one of the oldest ships, and served in the last war, but being blockaded in Hampton roads, could not come to any engagement. She is what they call a thirty-six gun ship, but carries forty-eight pieces, thirty-two pounders, and caronades of the same calibre. The guns were almost all from the captured English frigate Macedonian.

We pa.s.sed by a small fortified Island, called Crany Island, and by a fort on our right, both rendered useless, since Fort Monroe was built, and their works will be demolished; we approached the Constellation, our steam-boat on her left side, where she was made fast with cables. The steam-boat Richmond did the same on the right of the frigate. Captain Woolsey finding that I was on board of the boat, had the kindness to invite me on board the frigate. His cabin was in the forepart of the gundeck; and was very neat, having four guns in it. The after-cabin was arranged as a parlour and contained two cabinets, all tastefully contrived. The officers had their lodgings below, as in a ship of the line. I was very much pleased with the great neatness and general order that prevailed. Even by the sentry at the captain's door was placed a spit-box, and every thing of iron or copper, shone like mirrors. Instead of the ordinary and very often incorrect hour-gla.s.ses of our ships, there was by the sentry a chronometer, for the purpose of calling the hour. We came on board, as the last anchor was lifted, and then proceeded, being towed by the two boats till we came opposite Fort Monroe; where, on account of the feeble breeze, the anchor was dropped, and the steam-boats continued on their way.

Captain Woolsey gave us a boat with twelve oars, under the command of a midshipman, to carry us to Fort Monroe. A guard composed of thirty marines was under arms, and made a military salute, whilst the frigate saluted me with seventeen guns. When we landed we stopped at a very good tavern, where we found two majors of artillery. After dinner we went to survey the fortress, which General Bernard planned; but the work was yet far from being completed. The fortress consists of a bastioned heptagon, which can be attacked from land, but by a single front. The sides facing the sea, are entirely casemated, and every gun has its particular arch.

On the most dangerous side where the ships of the enemy can approach the land, there is on the counterscarp, a casemated coast-battery protected by the fire of heavy guns on the rampart. This battery on the counterscarp was built temporarily of wood, like a block-house, and served the garrison for quarters. The coping is of granite, found in the vicinity of Washington. The arches are of brick. The government does not build by contract, but by measure, what the French call _au metre cube_; whereby it obtains good work. The masons work only is performed by hired workmen, mostly by blacks; other work is done by military prisoners, who have been condemned by court martial to public labours. The garrison consists of eleven companies of artillery, which form a provisional regiment, and are under the command of Colonel Fenwick, and Lieutenant-Colonel Eustis. The first officer I became acquainted with, at General Brown's in Washington, where he is still residing. To the latter I was recommended by Lieutenant-Colonel Bankheard from New York.

Mr. Eustis invited me to stay till to-morrow, in order to show me his regiment; but I was obliged to decline his invitation on account of time.

We availed ourselves of the opportunity, which the steam-boat Potomac presented coming from Washington to go to Norfolk, and went on board of her in a boat rowed by artillerists. About nine o'clock, P. M. we landed in Norfolk, all day we had disagreeable rainy weather. I designed to stay longer in order to see the navy-yard in Gosport, a mile distant from Norfolk; Mr. Meyau would accompany me. The landlord, who was willing to derive as much advantage as possible from my presence, had advertised in the papers, he would on that day give a dinner of turtle-soup, game, wild ducks, &c, but it was written in the book of fate, that I should not partake of these dainties. On inquiring, I was told that the mail stage was the only ordinary means of communication with the south, and went only on Tuesdays and Fridays to Fayetteville, and consequently if we did not leave Norfolk in half an hour, we should be obliged to wait until the next Tuesday. This not at all agreeing with my travelling plan, and as a hired coach could not be procured, I packed up my baggage in great haste, bid the friendly Mr. Meyau farewell, and left Norfolk at half past ten o'clock in the mail stage, connected with the Baltimore steam-boat.

We went sixty-eight miles to Murfreesborough, where we arrived about eleven o'clock in the evening. We crossed at first two small inlets of the bay, on very long wooden bridges, pa.s.sed through Portsmouth, a small place near the navy-yard, where I saw the ship of the line Delaware, and the frigate Macedonian, taken from the British, in ordinary, but had no time to examine this very interesting establishment. We had scarcely left this place when we entered a forest, through which we travelled during the day. The country is a large marsh, called the Dismal Swamp, crossed by a sandy road. The forest is very thick, and consists of oak trees, among which I noticed the live oak, cypress, cedar and pine trees; on the marshy spots there are evergreen trees, and bushes of the Portuguese laurel and holly; here and there were also magnolias, and large wild vines around the trees. This variety of vegetation must look very fine in the summer season, however I was told that at that time flies and mosquetos were very troublesome, and that there are also a great many snakes. This marsh is said to be full of bears, which, however, never attack men. In Suffolk, twenty-eight miles from Norfolk, a small place, having wooden houses, and situated in the middle of the forest, we took our dinner. The wheat bread became scarce by degrees, and in its place we had a sort of cakes made of Indian corn. On the other side of Suffolk, we pa.s.sed by a cotton plantation, the first I saw. It was already night when we pa.s.sed the boundary and entered on the territory of North Carolina. We crossed the rivers Nottoway and Meherrin in bad and narrow ferry-boats, which were very dangerous, as the night was very dark. Candles and lamps seem to be here very scarce; for the few houses that we pa.s.sed by were lighted with torches of pine: we took some of them to light our way. Our journeying was very unpleasant, on account of a rainy and very dark night. We alighted in Murfreesborough at a tolerably good inn.

On the 3d of December, at two o'clock, A. M., we set out in dreadful rainy weather, which lasted all day, and travelled as far as Emerson's tavern, seventy-five miles distant. The country still continued woody as yesterday, and in frequent marshy spots, presented to the eye a very pleasant variety by the evergreen trees and bushes. In some places the country was somewhat cultivated; that is, there were some plantations where cotton and Indian corn were raised. Such a plantation consists only of wooden buildings; in the middle is the house of the planter, with a piazza; on its right and left are log-houses for negro slaves, and barns for corn and cotton. Horses are kept in very s.p.a.cious wooden stables; cows and pigs in the open air within an enclosure of worm fences. Only fattening beasts are kept in stables. In many plantations we saw cotton-gins, in which the seed is separated from the cotton by means of a cylindrical hackle. These mills are worked either by water or horses. The cotton cleaned from its seed is put into a large chest, pressed in, and packed up. In the chest is a bag, which receives the cotton; the cover of the chest is moveable, and is pressed on the cotton by means of a screw turned by two horses; afterwards the cover is taken away, the bag closed, and the bale which it forms fastened with ropes; such a bale weighs on an average three hundred pounds. This is a very troublesome work, and only two bales can be made in a day. If instead of that awkward machine, they would make use of Brahmah's water press, a great deal of time, expense and power would be spared. The bagging made use of is wove in England. We crossed the Roanoke river in a rather bad ferry-boat. The banks of the river are really picturesque, and covered with a variety of southern plants, which reminded one of a park.

We dined at a very good tavern in a small town called Tarborough, situated on the river of the same name. We had already crossed this river, and were delighted with its fine banks. Our lodgings were at a solitary plantation, where we arrived at eight o'clock in the evening; the house was entirely of wood, except the chimney. It was rather transparent; they a.s.signed us a garret for a sleeping place, and through the cracks in the floor we could see into the room below. If fire once breaks out in such a house, it cannot be saved. In the morning we pa.s.sed by the smoking rubbish of a school-house, which burned down in an hour; the brick chimney alone was standing. The log-houses of the negro slaves in particular are very open, and present by night when lighted with pine splinters a very singular appearance. The road was thoroughly sandy; however, it was interrupted by log causeways, which are made over the marshy spots, in pa.s.sing which in the mail stage we were shaken to pieces. The small town of Tarborough where we dined, is said to contain eight hundred inhabitants, is regularly built, has broad streets, but its houses are of wood. I saw but two built of brick; had there been more brick houses, I should have compared this pleasant place to a village in Holland.

The next morning, at three o'clock, we left our airy lodgings and went eighty-six miles to Fayetteville. During the day we travelled through a thick forest, and did not meet with a single village; we saw some lonely plantations of corn and cotton. During several days we saw different species of birds, unknown to me, especially a great many large vultures, called buzzards, the shooting of which is prohibited, as they feed upon carrion, and contribute in this manner to the salubrity of the country.

We crossed the Neuse, a rather wide river, in a narrow and clumsy ferry-boat. On the banks of this river, are many evergreen trees and bushes. The oak trees are here not very high, but there is a great variety of them: thirty-seven species are enumerated; chesnut and nut trees are not so numerous; we were told they were common only in mountainous countries. At a short distance from Fayetteville, where we arrived about nine o'clock, P. M., we crossed Cape Fear river, by a long covered bridge, consisting of hanging lattice work, of which I saw a very good model in the patent-office at Washington. As I was very much fatigued with the uncomfortable travelling, I intended to stay one day in Fayetteville, a flourishing place of about four thousand inhabitants.

But I was told that no opportunity would occur sooner than three days for Charleston. Therefore I resolved to continue our journey next morning. A new difficulty now arose; the mail stage going directly to Charleston, had only two horses, and could not take my baggage, whilst the mail for the above city pa.s.sing through Columbia, South Carolina, drives four. Although the first was the direct road, and the second a circuitous one, I resolved to take the latter.

On the 8th of December, at three o'clock in the morning, we set out from Fayetteville, and travelled for fifty-seven miles to Cheraw, in the state of South Carolina, where we arrived at seven o'clock in the evening. Our travelling company was increased in Fayetteville, by Mr.

Davis from Columbia, a young gentleman very well educated. The weather was pretty cold, but not rainy. The way continued still through forests, and was very sandy. We saw little interesting, except the vegetation.

We discovered new plants progressively as we advanced to the south, for instance, jessamines and a tree hitherto unknown to me, called pride of China, melia azedarach, which is generally seen near the houses; there were also gum-trees. We crossed several rivers, the most considerable of which were the great and the little Pedee, near Cheraw. In this place I met with Commodores Bainbridge and Warrington, and Captain Biddle; these gentlemen were appointed commissioners by the government, to determine a place for a naval establishment on the Gulf of Mexico, becoming every day of greater importance to the United States. They came from Pensacola to Savannah by sea, whence they went to Washington by land. Commodore Warrington, however, was to return to the Gulf of Mexico, where he commanded the station. I was very much pleased with their acquaintance and spent the evening with them. On the 6th of December, at three, A. M.

we left Cheraw and went to Camden, sixty-eight miles. We continually rode through a thick wood. It had frozen very hard the preceding night, and the cold continued still in the morning; but the sun appeared, it grew warmer, and the day became very fine, as in spring. The increasing blue of the sky, indicated that we were rapidly advancing towards the south. The plants were much the same, but the magnolias of different kinds, became gradually larger. Our meals showed us that we were in a country, were rice is cultivated.

Black creek and two branches of Lynch's creek were the most considerable streams. The country on these creeks, on account of their evergreen vegetation pleased me very much. The ground was sandy, and we went very slowly on. We breakfasted and dined in solitary frame houses, which stand upon pillars built of bricks, and permit the air to pa.s.s under them, the walls of these buildings are so thin and disjoined, that the daylight finds access every where. At the openings for windows, there is nothing but shutters. It would be a good speculation to establish a gla.s.s manufactory in this country, where there is such a want of gla.s.s, and a superabundance of pine trees and sand. About eight o'clock in the evening we reached Camden, a flourishing place, where we found a very good abode. The nights were very clear; some time since I saw quite new constellations, whilst the old ones disappeared by degrees.

On the 7th of December, at three o'clock in the morning, we set out in severe cold weather for Columbia. The road was as on the preceding days, but the country grew more hilly, the sand more yellow, and mingled with clay. We crossed the Wateree river in a small boat with much difficulty.

We reached the river by break of day. The driver often blew his horn, nevertheless we had to wait about half an hour for the ferry-boat. At last it came, manned by two negroes. But scarcely was the carriage in it when another misery began. We were sitting on a bench, and the negroes were obliged to work for half an hour before we were again afloat.

Finally, we reached the opposite sh.o.r.e, but the negroes were so awkward, that they took more than a quarter of an hour, to place the boat in such a situation as to permit the carriage to get out. We reached Columbia about one o'clock in the afternoon, and took lodgings at Clark's hotel, a large but merely tolerable house. We were obliged to content ourselves with the narrowness of our lodgings, for the legislature of the state was just a.s.sembled in that place, and all the houses were full. It is only forty years since the city was laid out; it contains four hundred inhabitants, is situated very pleasantly upon an eminence, below the confluence of Saluda and Broad rivers which form the Congaree by their junction. The town is built very regularly, contains a great number of brick houses, and its streets, crossing each other at right angles, are one hundred feet broad; though not paved, they are provided with large side-walks, and rows of pride of China trees. In the surrounding gardens of many elegant private houses, I saw a great number of evergreen trees, mostly laurels, and also some pretty high _yucca gloriosa_, which they call here palmetto. In Columbia there are many well-provisioned stores, and there seemed to be a great deal of life in the place. At the common table where many of the deputies were dining, I made acquaintance with a Mr. Washington, from Charleston, to whom I had letters from Baltimore.

He made me immediately acquainted with several of the members of the legislature. The governor of the state, Mr. Manning, sent me his compliments by Mr. Butler, his aid, and invited me to an evening party.

Towards the evening Mr. Washington, a distant relation of the president, and son of Colonel Washington, distinguished in the revolutionary war, accompanied me to see Judge Desaussure, one of the princ.i.p.al men of this city and state, to whom also, I had letters, and found in him a respectable old gentleman. His father was a native of Lausanne, in Switzerland, and uncle of the celebrated naturalist Desaussure. I met at his house a large company of gentlemen, who had dined there, and became acquainted with the governor, a very fine man. After the company had retired, Judge Desaussure accompanied me to one of his step son's, Colonel Blanding, civil engineer, who has the reputation of being a man of great knowledge. The habit of chewing tobacco, practised by several of the gentlemen, and in which they indulge even when in the society of ladies, appeared remarkable to me. The society was numerous, and composed of many ladies; I became acquainted with two Professors of Columbia College, Messrs. Henry and Nott; the first is acquainted with the French and German languages, he has translated Niebuhr's Roman History into English. Mr. Nott studied in England and France, resided for some time in Ghent, and married a lady of Brussels. From Mr.

Blanding's house we went to the governor's, where again a large company was a.s.sembled to a ball. No other dances but cotillions were danced, in the manner of the tedious German quadrilles; the band consisted of negroes. The governor, who in this state is elected for two years, and his lady, did the honours exceedingly well; he introduced me to all present, gentlemen and ladies. The acquaintance I made with a Frenchman, Mons. Herbemont, was very interesting to me; he has been an inhabitant of the United States for more than forty years, was formerly Professor of Botany in Columbia College, and now lives upon his income. The company remained together until the evening.

On the next morning I received visits from Messrs. Desaussure and Herbemont, who came with the design of showing me the few curiosities of the city. We went at first to see the water-works, which provide the whole city with water. In a hollow place there is a basin, or rather a reservoir, to which several fountains have been conducted. From this reservoir the water is pumped by means of a steam-engine having two horse-power, and driven into the city, which is situated one hundred and thirty feet above it. The water is distributed in the different parts of the town by pipes, which are in the middle of the streets. At different places the tubes are provided with fire-plugs, constructed according to the plan of Mr. Blanding.

Afterwards we went to see the state-house, a large wooden building, which will probably in a few years be replaced by one of stone. In one of the halls of the state-house, the senators, forty in number, were a.s.sembled under the presidency of Mr. Johns; in another were the hundred and twenty representatives: the speaker was Mr. O'Neil. The halls are very plain. The senators as well as the representatives, sit in a semicircle, and the speaker in a more elevated place in the middle.

During my presence, the debates in both chambers were on no interesting subjects, therefore I did not stay long. In the senate chamber hung two pictures of no great excellence, by an artist of Charleston: the battle of Eutaw in the revolutionary war, under General Greene, and the defence of the lines at New Orleans, by General Jackson. In a few days an interesting object was to be taken into consideration, namely, the question if the government of the United States have the right to lay out ca.n.a.ls and public roads in the different states of the union, or not! Reasonable men conceive that the government must have the power to execute such works; on the other hand, the short-sighted, from certain envy between the states, dispute this right with the government. The jealousy between the states seems to take the upper hand. The state of South Carolina intended to make a public road, leading from Charleston westwards to the state of Tennessee; this road would have pa.s.sed for some miles through the state of North Carolina, the state of North Carolina opposed its execution, under the pretext that the road would not bring sufficient profit to the last state, although the two first states would have executed it at their own expense. The true reason of this opposition is said to be that the advantage of that road to the state of South Carolina, was grudged by the other states.

From the state-house we went to Columbia College; it is an university, but has neither medical nor theological faculties. There are six professors. Dr. Cooper is the president, with whom I became acquainted last summer in Boston: on his return home, he was taken sick in Richmond.

The number of students was one hundred and twenty, who live in two large buildings, opposite each other; between them is the house of the President, and on both sides the houses of the professors. We paid a visit to Mr. Vanuxem, Professor of Natural History. He showed us the collection of minerals belonging to the college, but not so interesting as the collection of minerals of South Carolina, made by him last summer. There were several fine tourmalines, emeralds, pyrites containing gold; a new kind of metal called Columbian, asbestus and different specimens of primitive rocks. There was also pure gold from North Carolina, which was only discovered about six years ago. When at Cheraw, I was willing to make an excursion to the gold mine, but it would have taken me a couple of days. I was told, gold is found in a slime, which is dried up and then sifted, the gold dust remaining in the sieve. But miners are expected from Germany, and at their arrival, they will begin a regular exploration. It is said, that at present the company has a profit of twenty dollars a week. I visited also the library, which was not considerable, and did not contain any thing remarkable. On this occasion I made acquaintance with a Mr. Elliott, who had published a Flora of the state of South Carolina; he extolled the botanical treasures of that state. A small observatory was shut up; perhaps they would not show it to me, because there were but few instruments.

In Mr. Herbemont's garden, we saw some very interesting plants and trees; magnolias, gardenias, pomegranate and other fruit trees, which he had grafted in a very singular manner one upon another; date palm trees and fig trees, raised from kernels, and a great number of evergreen laurel trees.

A mile from the city, on the left bank of the Congaree river is a ca.n.a.l three miles in length, to avoid some rapids, which are in the river.

This ca.n.a.l has four locks, and the difference of the level of the water above and below them, is thirty-six feet. Two are built of granite, which is obtained close to the ca.n.a.l. Several blocks have been blown up, to make way for the ca.n.a.l. The other two are of brick, and the mason work appeared to me to have been well executed. They were just building a wooden bridge over the Congaree, in order to lead to Augusta; the bridge was to be supported by eight piers of stone. They are made of granite without any lime or cement.[I-36] The exterior stones were chiseled and connected with cramp-irons. The undertaking was contracted for at seventy thousand dollars.

[Footnote I-36: Because they would be obliged to bring it from the northern states at a great expense.]

Not far from the bridge are several cotton plantations belonging to the wealthy family of Taylor. On one of these fields the harvest was just making by fifty-eight negroes of both s.e.xes. They take the cotton by hand from the capsules, look at it, that no withered leaves may be attached to it, and throw it into bags, which are hanging before them; afterwards they shake the cotton from the bags into baskets which are prepared for that purpose. These negroes made a very disagreeable impression upon me, especially when some of the women asked Mr.

Herbemont for some chewing tobacco. I saw here some fine oak and pine trees, the latter are very abundant in all the woods we lately pa.s.sed through. They have extremely long leaves; the young shoots particularly have a fine appearance. The leaves are more than a foot in length, and the shoot looks like the bunch of horse-hairs on the caps of the Prussian grenadiers. On the trees hangs a long moss-like plant called Spanish beard. They pick up this plant, put it into water, to rot the grayish bark, and employ the black fibres which then make their appearance, like horse-hair, for making mattresses, which are even exported to Europe. Finally, we saw several aromatic and medicinal herbs, for instance, the _monarda punctata_, the juice of which, mixed with that of an onion, is said to be very efficacious in gravel complaints.

The Lunatic Asylum of Columbia is situated in an open place out of the city. It consists of a princ.i.p.al building adorned with a portico of six columns. In this building are lodgings for the inspectors, offices, and rooms for persons of moderate fortune. Two wings are connected with the princ.i.p.al building, and form obtuse angles with it, each of them is three stories high, in which the lunatics are placed. By degrees, as the income of the establishment increases, other wings will be built, and the whole will form an octagon. There is on the princ.i.p.al building a spire, from which is a very extensive view, though you see nothing else but woods. The distempered in mind will find here many conveniences when the buildings are completed: namely, good rooms, gardens, and walking places on balconies, inclosed with high walls.

A Catholic chapel in Gothic style has been built in Columbia by subscription, but the amount collected, being not sufficient, a lottery has been opened to obtain the deficiency! Next to the chapel is a theatre, which likewise is unfinished by the undertaker, on account of insufficiency of funds.

At Professor Henry's, a very agreeable society a.s.sembled at dinner. At that party I observed a singular manner which is practised; the ladies sit down by themselves at one of the corners of the table. But I broke the old custom, and glided between them: and no one's appet.i.te was injured thereby.

I spent one evening at a ball given by Mr. Taylor, a rich proprietor, at one of his plantations. I found there a numerous and splendid society.

But the music was of a singular kind; for the blacks, who two days ago played very well at the governor's, were now drunk, and could not make their appearance. This was the reason that the whole music consisted of two violins and a tamborine. This tamborine was struck with a terrible energy. The two others sc.r.a.ped the violin, in the truest signification of the word; one of them cried out the figures, imitating with his body all the motions of the dance. The whole of it amused me much; for the rest, I was astonished at the great plainness of the house. Besides the first room, there were three rooms open, which had white walls, and were without window-curtains.

END OF VOL. I.