Picture of MichiganPicture of Michigan
Our travelling party consisted of Mr. and Mrs. L,., thebefore-mentioned Charley, his father and mother, and myself. Wewere prepared to see everything to advantage; for there wasstrong friendship among us all; and a very unusual agreement ofopinion on subjects which education, temperament, or thecircumstances of the time, made most interesting to us. The greatornament of the party--our prince of Denmark--was Charley; a boyof uncommon beauty and promise, and fully worthy of the charactergiven him by one of our drivers, with whom the boy hadingratiated himself by his chatter on the box;--"An eternalsmart boy, and the greatest hand at talk I ever cameacross."
We landed at Detroit, from Lake Erie, at seven o'clock in themorning of the 13th of June, 1836. We reached the American justin time for breakfast. At that long table, I had the pleasure ofseeing the healthiest set of faces that I had beheld since I leftEngland. The breakfast was excellent, and we were served withmuch consideration; but the place was so full, and theaccommodations of Detroit are so insufficient for the influx ofpeople who are betaking themselves thither, that strangers mustpatiently put up with much delay and inconvenience till newhouses of entertainment are opened. We had to wait till near oneo'clock before any of us could have a room in which to dress; butI had many letters to write, and could wait; and before I haddone, Charley came with his shining face and clean collar, toshow me that accommodation had been provided. In the afternoon,we saw what we could of the place, and walked by the side of thefull and tranquil river St. Clair. The streets of the town arewide and airy; but the houses, churches, and stores, are poor forthe capital city of a Territory or State. This is a defect whichis presently cured, in the stirring northern regions of theUnited States. Wooden planks, laid on the grass, form thepavement, in all the outskirts of the place. The deficiency is ofstone, not of labour. Thousands of settlers are pouring in everyyear; and of these, many are Irish, Germans, or Dutch, workingtheir way into the back country, and glad to be employed for awhile at Detroit, to earn money to carry them further.Paving-stones will be imported here, I suppose, as I saw them atNew Orleans, to tbe great improvement of the health and comfortof the place. The block-uood pavement, of which trial has beenmade in a part of Broadway, New Vork, is thought likely to answerbetter at Detroit than any other kind, and is going to be tried.
The country round Detroit is as flat as can be imagined; and,indeed, it is said that the highest mountain in the State boastsonly sixty feet of elevation. A lady of Detroit once declared,that if she were to build a house in Michigan, she would build ahill first. The Canada side of the river looks dull enough fromthc city; but I cannot speak from a near view of it, having beendisappointed in my attempts to get over to it. On one occasion,we were too late for the ferry-boat; and we never had time againfor the excursion.
A cool wind from the northern lakes blows over the whole faceof the country, in the midst of the hottest days of summer; andin the depth of winter, the snow never lies deep, nor long. Thesecircumstances may partly account for the healthiness of the rowof faces at the table of the American.
The society of Detroit is very choice; and, as it hascontinued so since the old colonial days, through the territorialdays, there is every reason to think that it will become, underits new dignities, a more and more desirable place of residence.Some of its inferior society is still very youthful; a gentleman,for instance, saying in the reading-room, in the hearing of oneof our party, that, though it did not sound well at a distance,Lynching* was the only way to treat Abolitionists: but the mostenlightened society is, I believe, equal to any which isto be found in the United States. Here we began to see some ofthe half-breeds, of whom we afterwards met so many at the north.They are the children of white men who have married squaws; andmay be known at a glauce, not only by the dark complexion, but bythe high cheekbones, straight black hair, and an indescribablemischievous expression about the eyes. I never saw such imps andFlibbertigibbets as the half-breed boys that we used to seerowing or diving in the waters, or playing pranks on the shoresof Michigan.
We had two great pleasures this day; a drive along the quietLake St. Clair, and a charming evening party at General Mason's.After a pilgrimage through the State of New York, a few excitingdays at Niagara, and a disagreeable voyage along Lake Erie, wewere prepared to enjoy to the utmost the novelty of a goodevening party; and we were as merry as children at a ball. It waswholly unexpected to find ourselves in accomplished society onthe far side of Lake Erie; and there was something stimulating inthe contrast between the high civilisation of the evening, andthe primitive scenes that we were to plunge into the next day.Though we had to pack up and write, and be off very early in themorning, we were unable to persuade ourselves to go home tilllate; and then we talked over Detroit as if we were wholly atleisure.
The scenery of Lake St. Clair was new to me. I had seennothing in the United States like its level green banks, withtrees slanting over the water, festooned with the wild vine; thegroups of cattle beneath them; the distant steam-boat, scarcelyseeming to disturb the grey surface of the still waters. This wasthe first of many scenes in Michigan which made me think ofHolland; though the day of canals has not yet arrived.
15th. An obliging girl at the American provided us with coffeeand biscuits at half-past five, by which time our "exclusiveextra" was at the door. Charley had lost his cap. It wasimpossible that he should go bare-headed through the State; audit was lucky for us that a store was already open where he wasfurnished in a trice with a willow-hat. The brimming river wasbright in the morning sun; and our road was, for a mile or two,thronged with Indians. Some of the inhabitants of Detroit, whoknew the most about their dark neighbours, told me that theyfound it impossible to be romantic about these poor creatures.We, however; could not help feeling the excitement of thespectacle, when we saw them standing in their singularly majesticattitudes by the road-side, or on a rising ground: one, with abunch of feathers tied at the back of the head; another, with hisarms folded in his blanket; and a third, with her infant lashedto a board, and thus carried on her shoulders. Their appearancewas dreadfully squalid.
As soon as we had entered the woods, the roads became as badas, I suppose, roads ever are. Something snapped, and the drivercried out tbat we were "broke to bits." The team-bolthad given way. Our gentlemen, and those of the mail-stage, whichhappened to be at hand, helped to mend the coach; and we ladieswalked on, gathering abundance of flowers, and picking our wayalong the swampy corduroy road. In less than an hour, the stagetook us up, and no more accidents happened before breakfast. Wewere abundantly amused while our meal was preparing atDanversville. One of the passengers of the mail-stage took up aviolin, and offered to play to us. Books with pictures were lyingabout. The lady of the house sat by the window, fixing hercandle-wicks into the moulds. In the piazza, sat a party ofemigrants, who interested us much. The wife had her eightchildren with her; the youngest, puny twins. She said she hadbrought them in a wagon four hundred miles; and if they couldonly live through the one hundred that remained before theyreached her husband's lot of land, she hoped they might thrive;but she had been robbed, the day before, of her bundle of babythings. Some one had stolen it from the wagon. After a good meal,we saw the stage-passengers stowed into a lumber wagon; and wepresently followed in our more comfortable vehicle.
Before long, something else snapped. The splinter-bar wasbroken. The driver was mortified; but it was no fault of his.Juggernaut's car would have been "broke to bits" onsuch a road. We went into a settler's house, where we werewelcomed to rest and refresh ourselves. Three years before, theowner bought his eighty acres of land for a dollar an acre. Hecould now sell it for twenty dollars an acre. He shot, last year,a hundred deer, and sold them for three dollars a-piece. He andhis family need have no fears of poverty. We dined well, ninemiles before reaching Ypsilanti. The log-houses, --alwayscomfortable when well made, being easily kept clean, cool insummer, and warm in winter,--have here an air of beauty aboutthem. The hue always harmonizes well with the soil andvegetation. Those in Michigan have the bark left on, and thecorners sawn off close; and are thus both picturesque and neat.
At Ypsilanti, I picked up an Ann Arbor newspaper. It was badlyprinted; but its contents were pretty good; and it could happennowhere out of America, that so raw a settlement as that at AnnArbor, where there is difficulty in procuring decentaccommodations, should have a newspaper.
It was past seven before we left the inn at Ypsilanti, to gothirteen miles further. We departed on foot. There was a bridgebuilding at Ypsilanti; but, till it was ready, all vehicles hadto go a mile down the water-side to the ferry, while thepassengers generally preferred crossing the foot-bridge, andwalking on through the wood. We found in our path, lupine, wildgeraniums, blue-eye grass, blue iris, wild sunflower, and manyothers. The mild summer night was delicious, after the fatiguesof the day. I saw the youngest of golden moons, and two brightstars set, before we reached Wallace's Tavern, where we were tosleep. Of course, we were told that there was no room for us;but, by a little coaxing and management, and one of the partyconsenting to sleep on the parlour-floor, everything was madeeasy.
16th. We were off by half-past six; and, not having restedquite enough, and having the prospect of fourteen miles beforebreakfast, we, with one accord, finished our sleep in the stage.We reached Tecumseh by half-past nine, and perceived that itscharacteristic was chair-making. Every other house seemed to be achair manufactory. One bore the inscription, "CousinGeorge's Store:" the meaning of which I do not pretend tofurnish. Perhaps the idea is, that purchasers may feel free andeasy, as if dealing with cousin George. Everybody has a cousinGeorge. Elsewhere, we saw a little hotel inscribed, "OurHouse;" a prettier sign than "Traveller's Rest,"or any other such tempting invitation that I am acquainted with.At Tecumseh, I saw the first strawberries of the season. All thatI tasted in Michigan, of prairie growth, were superior to thoseof the west, grown in gardens.
Charley was delighted to-day by the sight of several spottedfawns, tamed by children. If a fawn be carried a hundred yardsfrom its bush, it will follow the finder, and remain with him, ifkindly treated. They are prettiest when very young, as theyafterwards lose their spots.
We fairly entered the "rolling country" to-day: andnothing could be brighter and more flourishing than it looked.The young corn was coming up well in ttle settlers' fields. Thecopses, called "oak-openings," looked fresh after thepassing thunder-showers; and so did the rising grounds, strewedwith wild flowers and strawberries. "The little hillsrejoiced on every side." The ponds, gleaming between thehills and copses, gave a park-like air to the scenery. Thesettlers leave trees in their clearings; and from these came thesong of the wood-thrush; and from the dells the cry of the quail.There seemed to be a gay wood-pecker to every tree.
Our only accident to-day was driving over a poor hog: we canonly hope it died soon. Wherever we stopped, we found tbat thecrowds of emigrants had eaten up all the eggs; and we happened tothink eggs the best article of diet of all on a journey. Itoccurred to me that we might get some by the way, and carry themon to our resting place. All agreed that we might probablyprocure them: but how to carry them safely over such roads wasthe question. This day we resolved to try. We made a solemn stirfor eggs in a small settlement; and procured a dozen. We eachcarried one in each hand,--except Charley, who was too young tobe trusted. His two were wrapped up each in a bag. During eightmiles of jolting, not one was hurt; and we delivered them to ourhost at Jonesville with much satisfaction. We wished that some ofour entertainers had been as rich as a Frenchman at Baltimore,who, talking of his poultry-yard, informed a friend that he had"fifty head of hen."
At Jonesville, the ladies and Charley were favoured with alarge and comfortable chamber. The gentlemen had to sleep withthe multitude below: ranged like walking-sticks, or umbrellas, ona shop-counter.
17th. The road was more deplorahle than ever to-day. The worstof it was, that whenever it was dangerous for the carriage, sothat we were obliged to get out, it was, in proportion, difficultto be passed on foot. It was amusing to see us in such passes aswe had to go through to-day. I generally acted as pioneer, thegentlemen having their ladies to assist; and it was pleasant tostand on some dry perch, and watch my companions through theholes and pools that I had passed. Such hopping and jumping; suchslipping and sliding; such looks of despair from the middle of apond; such shifting of logs, and carryin g of planks, and handingalong the fallen trunks of trees! The driver, meantime, waslooking back provokingly from his box, having dragged thecarriage through; and far behind stood Charley, high and dry,singing or eating his bit of bread, till his father could comeback for him. Three times this day was such a scene enacted; and,the third time, there was a party of emigrant ladies to beassisted, too. When it was all over, and I saw one with herentire feet cased in mud, I concluded we must all be very wet,and looked at my own shoes: and lo! even the soles were as dry aswhen they were made! How little the worst troubles of travellingamount to, in proportion to the apprehension of them! What aworld of anxiety do travellers suffer lest they should get wet,or be without food! How many really faint with hunger, or fallinto an ague with damp and cold? I was never in danger of eitherthe one or the other, in any of the twenty-three States which Ivisited.
At one part of our journey to-day, where the road wasabsolutely impassable, we went above a mile through the wood,where there was no track, but where the trees are blazed, toserve as guideposts, summer and winter. It was very wild. Ourcarriage twisted and wound about to avoid blows against the noblebeech-stems. The waters of the swamp plashed under our wheels,and the boughs crunched overhead. An overturn would havebeen a disaster in such a place. We travelled only forty-twomiles this long day; but the weariness of the way was muchbeguiled by singing, by a mock oration, story-telling, and othersuch amusements. The wit and humour of Americans, abundant underordinary circumstances, are never, I believe, known to fail inemergencies, serious or trifling. Their humour helps themselvesand their visitors through any Sloughs of Despond, as charitablyas their infinite abundance of logs through the swamps of theirbad roads.
We did not reach Sturgis's Prairie till night. We had heard sopoor an account of the stagehouse, that we proceeded to another,whose owner has the reputation of treating his guestsmagnificently, or not at all. He treated us on juste milieuprinciples. He did what he could for us; and that could not becalled magnificent. The house was crowded with emigrants. When,after three hours waiting, we had supper, two full-grown personswere asleep on some blankets in the corner of the room, and asmany as fifteen or sixteen children on chairs and on the floor.Our hearts ached for one mother. Her little girl, two years old,had either sprained or broken her arm, and the mother did notknow what to do with it. The child shrieked when the arm wastouched, and wailed mournfully at other times. We found in themorning, however, that she had had some sleep. I have oftenwondered since how she bore the motion of the wagon on the worstparts of the road. It was oppressively hot. I had a littlecloset, whose door would not shut, and which was too small togive me room to take off the soft feather-bed. The window wouldnot keep open without being propped by the tin water-jug; andthough this was done, I could not sleep for the heat. Thisreminds me of the considerate kindness of an hotel-keeper in anearlier stage of our journey. When he found that I wished to havemy window open, there being no fastening, he told me he wouldbring his own tooth-brush for a prop,--which he accordingly did.
18th. Our drive of twelve miles to breakfast was veryrefreshing. The roads were the best we had travelled since weleft New York State. We passed through a wilderness of flowers;trailing roses, enormous white convolvulus, scarlet lilies, andground-ivy, with many others, being added to those we had beforeseen. Milton must have travelled in Michigan before he wrote thegarden parts of "Paradise Lost." Sturgis's and WhitePigeon Prairies are highly cultivated, and look just like anyother rich and perfectly level land. We breakfasted at WhitePigeon Prairie, and saw the rising ground where the Indian chieflies buried, whose name has been given to the place.
The charms of the settlement, to us, were a kind landlady, anadmirable breakfast, at which eggs abounded, and a bloominggarden. Thirty-seven miles further brought us to Niles, where wearrived by five in the afternoon. The roads were so much improvedthat we had not to walk at all; which was well, as there was muchpelting rain during the day.
Niles is a thriving town on the river St. Joseph, on theborders of the Potowatomie territory. Three years ago, itconsisted of three houses. We could not learn the present numberof inhabitants; probably because the number is never the same twodays together. A Potowatomie village stands within a mile; and wesaw two Indians on horseback, fording the rapid river verymajestically, and ascending the wooded hills on the other side.Many Indian women were about the streets; one with a nose-ring;some with plates of silver on the bosom, and otherbarbaric ornaments. Such a tremendous storm of thunder andlightning came on, with a deluge of rain, that we were preventedseeing anything of the place, except from our windows. I had sentmy boots to a cobbler, over the way. He had to put on Indiarubbers, which reached above the knee, to bring his work home;the street was so flooded. We little imagined for the hour thereal extent and violence of this storm, and the effect it wouldhave on our journeying.
The prairie strawberries, at breakfast this morning, were solarge, sweet, and ripe, that we were inclined for more in thecourse of the day. Many of the children of the settlers weredispersed near the road-side, with their baskets, gatheringstrawberries; they would not sell any: they did not know whatmother would say if they went home without any berries forfather. But they could get enough for father, too, they weretold, if they would sell us what they had already gathered. No;they did not want to sell. Our driver observed, that money was"no object to them." I began to think that we had, atlast, got to the end of the world; or rather, perhaps, to thebeginning of another and a better.
19th. No plan could be more cleverly and confidently laid thanours was for this day's journey. We were to travel through thelands of the Potowatomies, and reach the shores of the gloriousLake Michigan, at Michigan City, in time for an early supper. Wewere to proceed on the morrow round the southern extremity of thelake, so as, if possible, to reach Chicago in one day. It waswisely and prettily planned: and the plan was so far followed, asthat we actually did leave Niles some time before six in themorning. Within three minutes, it began to rain again, andcontinued, with but few and short intervals, all day.
We crossed the St. Joseph by a rope ferry, the ingeniousmanagement of which, when stage-coaches had to be carried over,was a perpetual study to me. The effect of crossing a rapid riverby a rope-ferry, by torch-light, in a dark night, is verystriking; and not the less so for one's becoming familiarizedwith it, as the traveller does in the United States. As we droveup the steep bank, we found ourselves in the Indian territory.All was very wild; and the more so for the rain. There were manylodges in the glades, with the red light of fires hanging aroundthem. The few log huts looked drenched; the tree-stems black inthe wet; and the very wild flowers were dripping. The soil wassandy; so that the ugliest features of a rainy day, the mud andpuddles, were obviated. The sand sucked up the rain, so that wejumped out of the carriage as often as a wild-flower of peculiarbeauty tempted us. The bride-like, white convolvulus, nearly aslarge as my hand, grew in trails all over the ground.
The poor, helpless, squalid Potowatomies are sadly troubled bysquatters. It seems hard enough that they should be restrictedwithin a narrow territory, so surrounded by whites that the gameis sure soon to disappear, and leave them stripped of their onlyresource. It is too hard that they should also be encroached uponby men who sit down, without leave or title, upon lands which arenot intended for sale. I enjoyed hearing of an occasional alarmamong the squatters, caused by some threatening demonstrations bythe Indians. I should like to see every squatter frightened awayfrom Indian lands, however advantageous their squatting may beupon lands which are unclaimed, or whose owners can defend theirown property. I was glad to hear to-day that a deputation ofPotowatomies had been sent to visit a distant warlike tribe, inconsequence of the importunities of squatters, who wanted to buythe land they had been living upon. The deputation returued,painted, and under other hostile signals, and declared that thePotowatomies did not intend to part with their lands. We stoppedfor some milk, this morning, at the "location" of asquatter, whose wife was milking as we passed. The giganticpersonage, her husband, told us how anxious he was to pay for theland which repaid his tillage so well; but that his Indianneighbours would not sell. I hope that, by this time, he has hadto remove, and leave them the benefit of his house and fences.Such an establishment in the wild woods is the destruction of thegame,--and of those who live upon it.
At breakfast, we saw a fine specimen of a settler's family. Wehad observed the prosperity and cheerfulness of the settlers, allalong the road; but this family exceeded the best. I never sawsuch an affectionate set of people. They, like many others, werefrom one of the southern States: and I was not surprised to findall emigrants from North and South Carolina well satisfied withthe change they had made. The old lady seemed to enjoy her pipe,and there was much mirth going on between the beautiful daughterand all the other men and maidens. They gave us an excellcutbreakfast in one of the two lower rooms; the table being placedacross the foot of the two beds. No pains were spared by them tosave us from the wet in the stage; but the rain was too peltingand penetrating for any defeuce to avail long. It streamed in atall corners, and we gave the matter up for the day. We were nowentering Indiana; and one of our intentions had been to see thecelebrated Door Prairie. So called from exquisite views into itbeing opened through intervals in the growth of wood with whichit is belted. I did obtain something like an idea of it throughthe reeking rain, and thought that it was the first priarie thatI had seen that answered to my idea of one. But 1 dare say weformed no conception of what it must be in sunshine, and with thecloud shadows, which adorn a prairie as they do still water.
We reached Laporte, on the edge of the Door Prairie, at threeo'clock, and were told that the weather did not promise an easyaccess to Michigan City. We changed horses, however, and setforward again on a very bad road, along the shore of alittle lake, which must be pretty in fine weather. Then veentered a wood, and jolted and rocked from side to side, till, atlast, the carriage leaned three parts over, and stuck. We alljumped out into the rain, and the gentlemen literally put theirshoulders to the wheel, and lifted it out of its hole. The samelittle incident was repeatcd in half an hour. At five or sixmiles from Laporte, and seven from Michigan City, our driverstopped, and held a long parley with somebody by the road side.The news was that a bridge in the middle of a marsh had beencarried away by a tremendous freshet; and with how much log-roadon either side, could not be ascertained till the waters shouldsubside. The mails, however, would have to be carried over, bysome means, the next day; and we must wait where we were till wecould profit by the post-office experiment. The next questionwas, where were we to be harboured? There was no house ofentertainment near. We shrank from going back to Laporte over theperilous road which was growing worse every minute. A familylived at hand, who hospitably offered to receive us; and we wereonly too ready to accept their kindness. The good man stopped ouracknowledgments by saying, in the most cheerful manner, "Youknow you would not have staid with me, if you could havehelped it; and I would not have had you, if I could have helpedit: so no more words about it; but let us make ourselvescomfortable."
We perceived by a glance at the beard and costume of our host,that there was something remarkable about him. He was of theTunker sect of Baptists, (from Tunken, to dip,) a verypeculiar sect of religionists. He explained, without any reserve,his faith, and the reasons on which it was founded.
It was all interesting, as showing how the true and thefanciful, the principle and the emblem, the eternal truth and thesupposed type, may become all mixed together, so as to bereceived alike as articles of faith. This man might almostcompare with Origen in his mystical divinations of scripture. Themost profitable and delightful part of his communication relatedto the operation upon his life and fortunes of his peaceprinciples. He had gone through life on the non-resistanceprinciple; and it was animating to learn how well it had servedhim; as every high exercise of faith does serve every one who hasstrength and simplicity of heart to commit himself to it. It wasanimating to learn, not only his own consistency, but the forceof his moral power over others; how the careless had been won tothoughtfulness of his interests, and the criminal to respect ofhis rights. He seemed to have unconsciously secured the promiseand the fruit of the life that now is, more effectually than manywho think less of that which is to come. It was done, he said, byalways supposing that the good was in men. His wife won ourhearts by the beauty of her countenance, set off by the neatplain dress of her sect. She was ill; but they made us thoroughlycomfortable, without apparently discomposing themselves. Sixteenout of seventeen children were living; of whom two sons and fivedaughters were absent, and six sons and three daughters at home:the youngest was three years old.
Their estate consists of eight hundred acres, a large portionof which is not yet broken up. The owner says he walks over theground once a year, to see the huckleberries grow. He gave theupset price for the land; a dollar and a-quarter an acre. He isnow offered forty dollars an acre, and says the land is worthfifty, its situation being very advantageous; but he does notwish to sell. He has thus become worth 40,000 dollars in thethree years which have elapsed since he came out of Ohio. Hissons, as they grow up, settle at a distance; and he does not wantmoney, and has no inducement to sell. I have no idea, however,that the huckleberries wil1 be long permitted to grow in peaceand quiet, in so busy a district as this is destined to become.The good man will be constrained by the march and pressure ofcircumstances, either to sell or cultivate.
The house, log-built, consisted of three rooms; two under oneroof; and another apparently added afterwards. There were alsoout-houses. In one of these three rooms, the cooking andeating went on; another was given up to us ladies, with a few ofthe little children; and in the other, the rest of the family,the gentlemen of our party, and another weather-bound traveller,slept. Huge fires of logs blazed in the chimneys; two or three ofthe little ones were offered us as hand-maidens; and the entireabode was as clean as could be conceived. Here was comfort!
As we warmed and dried ourselves in tbe chimney corners, andlooked upon the clear windows, the bright tin water-pails, andthe sheets and towels as white as snow, we had only one anxiety.It was necessary for Mr. and Mrs. L. to be at home, a thousandmiles off, by a particular day. We had already met with somedelays; and there was no seeing the end of the present adventure.There was some doubt whether we should not have done better tocross the southern end of Lake Michigan, from Niles to Chicago,by a little steam-boat, the Delaware, which was to leave Niles afew hours after our stage. It had been thought of atNiles; but there was some uncertainty about the departure of theboat; and we all anxiously desired to skirt the extremity of thisgreat in]and sea, and to see the new settlements on its shores.Had we done right in incurring this risk of detention? Right orwrong, here we were; and here we must wait upon events.
Our sleep, amidst the luxury of cleanliness and hospitality,was most refreshing. The next morning it was still raining, butless vehemently. After breakfast, we ladies employed ourselves insweeping and dusting our room, and making the beds; as we hadgiven our kind hostess too much trouble already. Then there was aMichigan City newspaper to be read; and I sat down to writeletters. Before long, a wagon and four drove up to the door, thedriver of which cried out that if there was any getting toMichigan City, he was our man. We equipped ourselves in ourwarmest and thickest clothing, put on our india rubber shoes,packed ourselves and our luggage in the wagon, put up ourumbrellas, and wondered what was to be our fate. When it had cometo saying farewell, our hostess put her hands on my shoulders,kissed me on each cheek, and said she had hoped for the pleasureof our company for another day. For my own part, I wouldwillingly take her at her word, if my destiny should ever carryme near the great lakes again.
We jolted on for two miles and a half through the woods,admiring the scarlet lilies, and the pink and white moccasinflower, which was brilliant. Then we arrived at the place of thevanished bridge. Our first prospect was of being paddled over,one by one, in the smallest of boats. But, when the capabilitiesof the place were examined, it was decided that we should wait ina house on the hill, while the neighbours, the passengers of themail-stage, and the drivers, built a bridge. We waited patientlyfor nearly three hours, watching the busy men going in and out,gathering tidings of the freshet, and its effects, and beingpleased to see how affectionate the woman of the house was to herhusband, while she was cross to everybody else. It must have beenvexatious to her to have her floor made wet and dirty, and allher household operations disturbed by a dozen strangers whom shehad never invited. She let us have some dough nuts, and gave us agracious glance or two at parting.
We learned that a gentleman who followed us from Niles, thepreceding day, found the water nine feet deep, and was neardrowning his horses, in a place which we had crossed withoutdifficulty. This very morning, a bridge which we had proved andpassed, gave way with the stage, and the horses had to be dug androlled out of the mud, when they were on the point ofsuffocation. Such a freshet had never been known to the presentinhabitants.
Our driver was an original; and so were some of the othermuddy gentlemen who came in to dry themselves, after their bridgemaking. One asked if such an one was not a "smartfellow." "He! he can't see through a ladder." Ourdriver informed us, "when they send a man to jail here, theyput him abroad into the woods. Only, they set a man after him,that they may know where he is." A pretty expensive methodof imprisonment, though there be no bills for jail building. Thisman conversed with his horses in much the same style as with us,averring that they understood him as well. On one occasion, heboxed the ears of one of the leaders, for not standing still whenbidden, declaring, "If you go on doing so, I'll give yousomething you can't buy at the grocer's shop." I was notbefore aware that there was anything that was not to be bought ata back-country grocer's shop.
At half-past two, the bridge was announced complete, and were-entered our wagon, to lead the cavalcade across it. Slowly,anxiously, with a man at the head of each leader, we entered tbewater, and saw it rise to the nave of the wheels. Instead ofjolting, as usual, we mounted and descended each logindividually. The mail-wagon followed, with two or threehorsemen. There was also a singularly benevolent personage, whojumped from the other wagon, and waded through all the doubtfulplaces, to prove them. He leaped and splashed through the water,which was sometimes up to his waist, as if it was the mostagreeable sport in the world. In one of these gullies, the forepart of our wagon sank and stuck, so as to throw us forward, andmake it doubtful in what mode we should emerge from the water.Then the rim of one of the wheels was found to be loose; and thewhole cavalcade stopped till it was mended. I never couldunderstand how wagons were made in the back-country; they seemedto be elastic, from the shocks and twisting they would bearwithout giving way. To form an accurate idea of what they have tobear, a traveller should sit on a seat without springs, placedbetween the hind wheels, and thus proceed on a corduroy road. Theeffect is less fatiguing and more amusing, of riding in a wagonwhose seats are on springs, while the vehicle itself is not. Inthat case, the feet are dancing an involuntary jig, all the way;while the rest of the body is in a state of entire repose.
The drive was so exciting and pleasant, the rain havingceased, that I was taken by surprise by our arrival at MichiganCity. The driver announced our approach by a series of flourisheson one note of his common horn, which made the most ludicrousmusic I ever listened to. How many minutes he went on, I dare notsay; but we were so convulsed with laughter that we could notalight with becoming gravity, amidst the groups in the piazza ofthe hotel. The man must be first cousin to Paganini.
Such a city as this was surely never before seen. It is threeyears since it was begun; and it is said to have one thousandfive hundred inhabitants. It is cut out of the forest, andcuriously interspersed with little swamps, which we no doubt sawin their worst condition after the heavy rains. New, good houses,some only half finished, stood in the midst of the thick wood. Alarge area was half cleared. The finished stores were scatteredabout; and the streets were littered with stumps. The situationis beautiful. The undulations of the ground, within and about it,and its being closed in by lake or forest on every side, renderit unique. An appropriation has been made by Government for aharbour; and two piers are to be built out beyond the sand, asfar as the clay soil of the lake. Mr. L--- and I were anxious tosee the mighty fresh water sea. We made inquiry in the piazza;and a sandy hill, close by, covered with the pea vine, waspointed out to us. We ran up it, and there beheld what we hadcome so far to see. There it was, deep, green, and swelling onthe horizon, and whitening into a broad and heavy surf as itrolled in towards the shore. Hence, too, we could make out thegeography of the city. The whole scene stands insulated in mymemory, as absolutely singular; and, at this distance of time,scarcely credible. I was so well aware on the spot that it wouldbe so, that I made careful and copious notes of what I saw: butmemoranda have nothing to do with such emotions as were caused bythe sight of that enormous body of tumultuous waters, rolling inapparently upon the helpless forest,--everywhere else somajestic.
The day was damp and chilly, as we were told every day ishere. There is scarcely ever a day of summer in which fire is notacceptable. The windows were dim; the metals rusted, and the newwood about the house red with damp. We could not have a fire. Thestorm had thrown down a chimney; and the house was too full ofworkmen, providing accommodation for future guests, to allow ofthe comfort of those present being much attended to. We werepermitted to sit round a flue in a chamber, where a remarkablypretty and graceful girl was sewing. She has a widowed mother tosupport, and she "gets considerable" by sewing here,where the women lead a bustling life, which leaves no time forthe needle. We had to wait long for something to eat; that is,till supper time; for the people are too busy to serve upanything between meals. Two little girls brought a music book,and sang to us; and then we sang to them; and then Dr. F. broughtme two harebells,--one of the rarest flowers in the country. Ifound some at Trenton Falls; and in one or two other rocky andsandy places; but so seldom as to make a solitary one a greattreasure.
Our supper of young pork, good bread, potatoes, preserves, andtea, was served at two tables, where the gentlemen were inproportion to the ladies as ten to one. In such places, there isa large proportion of young men who are to go back for wives whenthey have gathered a few other comforts about them. Theappearance of health was as striking as at Detroit, andeverywhere on this side of Lake Erie.
Immediately after supper we went for a walk, which, inpeculiarity, comes next to that in the Mammoth Cave; if, indeed,it be second to it. The scene was like what I had always fanciedthe Norway coast, but for the wild flowers, which grew among thepines on the slope, almost into the tide. I longed to spend anentire day on this flowery and shadowy margin of the inland sea.I plucked handfuls of pea-vine and other trailing flowers, whichseemed to run over all the ground. We found on the sands an army,like Pharaoh's drowned host, of disabled butterflies, beetles,and flies of the richest colours and lustre, driven over the lakeby the storm. Charley found a small turtle alive. An elegantlittle schooner, "the Sea Serpent of Chicago," wasstranded, and formed a beautiful object as she lay dark betweenthe sand and the surf. The sun was going down. We watched thesunset, not remembering that the refraction above the freshwaters would probably cause some remarkable appearance. We lookedat one another in amazement at what we saw. First, there werethree gay, inverted rainbows between the water and the sun, thenhidden behind a little streak of cloud. Then the sun emerged frombehind this only cloud, urn-shaped; a glistering golden urn. Thenit changed, rather suddenly, to an enormous golden acorn. Then toa precise resemblance, except being prodigiously magnified, ofSaturn with his ring. This was the most beautiful apparition ofall. Then it was quickly narrowed and elongated till it was likethe shaft of a golden pillar; and thus it went down square. Longafter its disappearance, a lustrous, deep crimson dome, seeminglysolid, rested steadily on the heaving waters. An inexperiencednavigator might be pardoned for making all sail towards it; itlooked so real. What do the Indians think of such phenomena?Probably as the child does of the compass, the upas tree, and allthe marvels of Madame Genlis' story of Alphonso and Dalinda; thatsuch things are no more wonderful than al1 other things. The ageof wonder from natural appearances has not arrived in childrenand savages. It is one of the privileges of advancing years. Agrave Indian, who could look with apathy upon the cataract andall the tremendous shows of the wilderness, found himself in aglass-house at Pittsburg. He saw a glassblower put a handle upona pitcher. The savage was transported out of his previous silenceand reserve. He seized and grasped the hand of the workman,crying out that it was now plain that he had had intercourse withthe Great Spirit. I remember in my childhood, being more struckwith seeing a square box made in three minutes out of a piece ofwriting-paper, than with all that I read about the loadstone andthe lunar influence upon the tides. In those days I should havelooked upon this Indiana sunset with the same kind of feeling asupon a cloud which might look "very like a whale."
We walked briskly home, beside the skiey sea, with thehalf-grown moon above us, riding high. Then came the strugglingfor room to lie down, for sheets and fresh water. The principalrange of chambers could have been of no manner of use to us, intheir present state. There were, I think, thirty, in one rangealong a passage. A small bed stood in the middle of each, made upfor use; but the walls were as yet only scantily lathed, withoutany plaster; so that everything was visible along the whole row.They must have been designed for persons who cannot see through aladder.
When I arose at daybreak, I found myself stiff with cold. Nowonder: the window, close to my head, had lost a pane. I thinkthe business of a perambulating glazier might be a veryprofitable one, in most parts of the United States. When weseated ourselves in our wagon, we found that the leatherncushions were soaked with wet; like so many sponges. They weretaken in to a hot fire, and soon brought out, each sending up acloud of steam. Blankets were furnished to lay over them; and weset off. We were cruelly jolted through the bright dewy woods,for four miles, and then arrived on the borders of a swampwhere the bridge had been carried away. A man waded in; declaredthe depth to be more than six feet; how much more he could nottell. There was nothing to be done but to go back. Back again wejolted, and arrived at the piazza of the hotel just as thebreakfast-bell was ringing. All the "force" that couldbe collected on a hasty summons,--that is, almost everyable-bodied man in the city and neighbourhood, was sent out withaxes to build us a bridge. We breakfasted, gathered and driedflowers, and wandered about till ten o'clock, when we weresummoned to try our fortune again in the wagon. We found a verypretty scene at the swamp. Part of the "force" wasengaged on our side of the swamp, and part on the other. As wesat under the trees, making garlands and wreaths of flowers andoakleaves for Charley, we could see one lofty tree-top afteranother, in the opposite forest, tremble and fall; and theworkmen cluster about it, like bees, lop off its branches, and,in a trice, roll it, an ugly log, into the water, and pin it downupon the sleepers. Charley was as busy as anybody, making islandsin the water at the edge of the marsh. The moccasin flower grewhere in great profusion and splendour. We sat thus upwards of twohours; and the work done in that time appeared almost incredible.But the Americans in the back country seem to like the repairingof accidents--a social employment-- better than their regularlabour; and even the drivers appeared to prefer adventuroustravelling to easy journeys. A gentleman in a light gig made thefirst trial of the new bridge: our wagon followed, plunging androcking, and we scrambled in safety up the opposite bank.
There were other bad places in the road, but none whichoccasioned further delay. The next singular scene was an expanseof sand, before reaching the lake-shore,--sand, so extensive,hot, and dazzling, as to realise very fairly one's conceptions ofthe middle of the Great Desert; except for the trailing roseswhich skirted it. I walked on, a-head of the whole party, till Ihad lost sight of them behind some low sand-hills. Other suchhills hid the lake from me; and, indeed, I did not know how nearit was. I had ploughed my way through the ankle-deep sand till Iwas much heated, and turned in hope of meeting a breath of wind.At the moment, the cavalcade came slowly into view from behindthe hills; the labouring horses, the listless walkers, andsmoothly rolling vehicles, all painted absolutely black againstthe dazzling sand. It was as good as being in Arabia. Forcavalcade, one might read caravan. Then the horses were wateredat a single house on the beach; and we proceeded on the best partof our day's journey; a ride of seven miles on the hard sand ofthe beach, actually in the lapsing waves. We saw another vesselashore, with her cargo piled upon the beach. The sight of theclear waters suggested thoughts of bathing. Charley dearly lovesbathing. He follows the very natural practice of expressinghimself in abstract propositions when his emotions are thestrongest. He heard the speculations on the facilities forbathing which might offer at our resting-place; and besought hismother to let him bathe. He was told that it was doubtful whetherwe should reach our destination before sunset, and whether anybody would be able to try the water. Might he ask hisfather?--Yes: but he would find his father no more certain thanthe rest of us. "Mother," cried the boy, in an agony ofearnestness, "does not a father know when his child ought tobathe?"--There was no bathing. The sun had set, and it wastoo cold.
The single house at which we were to stop for the night, whilethe mail-wagon, with its passengers, proceeded, promised well, atfirst sight. It was a log-house on a sand-bank, perfectly cleanbelow stairs, and prettily dressed with green boughs. We had agood supper, (except tbat there was an absence of milk,) and weconcluded ourselves fortunate in our resting-place. Never wasthere a greater mistake. We walked out, after supper, and when wereturned, found that we could not have any portion of the lowerrooms. There was a loft, which I will not describe, into which,having ascended a ladder, we were to be all stowed. I would fainhave slept on the soft sand, out of doors, beneath the wagon; butrain came on. There was no place for us to put our heads into butthe loft. Enough. I will only say that this house was, as far asI remember, the only place in the United States where I met withbad treatment. Everywhere else, people gave me the best theyhad,--whether it was bad or good.
On our road to Chicago, the next day,--a road winding in andout among the sand-hills, we were called to alight, and run up abank to see a wreck. It was the wreck of the Delaware;--thesteamer in which it had been a question whether we should notproceed from Niles to Chicago. She had a singular twist in hermiddle, where she was nearly broken in two. Her passengers stoodup to the neck in water, for twenty-four hours before they weretaken off; a worse inconvenience than any that we had suffered bycoming the other way. The first thing the passengers from theDelaware did, when they had dried and warmed themselves on shore,was to sign a letter to the captain, which appeared in all theneighbouring newspapers, thanking him for the great comfort theyhad enjoyed on board his vessel. It is to be presumed that theymeant previously to their having to stand up to their necks inwater.
In the wood which borders the prairie on which Chicago stands,we saw an encampment of United States' troops. Since the risingof the Creeks in Georgia, some months before, there had beenapprehensions of an Indian war along the whole frontier. It wasbelieved that a correspondence had taken place among all thetribes, from the Cumanches, who were engaged to fight for theMexicans in Texas, up to the northern tribes among whom we weregoing. It was believed that the war-belt was circulating amongthe Winnebagoes, the warlike tribe who inhabit the western shoresof Lake Michigan; and the government had sent troops to Chicago,to keep them in awe. It was of some consequence to us toascertain the real state of the case; and we were glad to findthat alarm was subsiding so fast, that the troops were soonallowed to go where they were more wanted. As soon as they hadrecovered from the storm which seemed to have incommodedeverybody, they broke up their encampment, and departed.
Chicago looks raw and bare, standing on the high prairie abovethe lake-shore. The houses appeared all insignificant, and run upin various directions, without any principle at all. A friend ofmine who resides there had told me that we should find the innsintolerable, at the period of the great land sales, which bring aconcourse of speculators to the place. It was even so. The verysight of them was intolerable; and there was not room for ourparty among them all. I do not know what we should have done,(unless to betake ourselves to the vessels in the harbour,) ifour coming had not been foreknown, and most kindly provided for.We were divided between three families, who had the art ofremoving all our scruples about intruding on perfect strangers.None of us will lose the lively and pleasant associations withthe place, which were caused by the hospitalities of itsinhabitants.
I never saw a busier place than Chicago was at the time of ourarrival. The streets were crowded with land speculators, hurryingfrom one sale to another. A negro, dressed up in scarlet, bearinga scarlet flag, and riding a white horse with housings ofscarlet, announced the times of sale. At every street-cornerwhere he stopped, the crowd flocked round him; and it seemed asif some prevalent mania infected the whole people. The rage forspeculation might fairly be so regarded. As the gentlemen of ourparty walked the streets, store-keepers hailed them from theirdoors, with offers of farms, and all manner of land-lots,advising them to speculate before the price of land rose higher.A young lawyer, of my acquaintance there, had realised fivehundred dollars per day, the five preceding days, by merelymaking out titles to land. Another friend had realised, in twoyears, ten times as much money as he had before fixed upon as acompetence for life. Of course, this rapid money-making is amerely temporary evil. A bursting of the bubble must come soon.The absurdity of the speculation is so striking, that the wonderis that the fever should have attained such a height as Iwitnessed. The immediate occasion of the bustle which prevailed,the week we were at Chicago, was the sale of lots, to the valueof two millions of dollars, along the course of a projectedcanal; and of another set, immediately behind these. Persons notintending to game, and not infected with mania, would endeavourto form some reasonable conjecture as to the ultimate value ofthe lots, by calculating the cost of the canal, the risks fromaccident, from the possible competition from other places,&c., and, finally, the possible profits, under the mostfavourable circumstances, within so many years' purchase. Such acalculation would serve as some sort of guide as to the amount ofpurchase-money to be risked. Whereas, wild land on the banks of acanal, not yet even marked out, was selling at Chicago for morethan rich land, well improved, in the finest part of the valleyof the Mohawk, on the banks of a canal which is already themedium of an almost inestimable amount of traffic. If sharpersand gamblers were to be the sufferers by the impending crash atChicago, no one would feel much concerned: but they,unfortunately, are the people who encourage the delusion, inorder to profit by it. Many a high-spirited, but inexperienced,young man; many a simple settler, will be ruined for theadvantage of knaves.
Others, besides lawyers and speculators by trade, make afortune in such extraordinary times. A poor man at Chicago had apre-emption right to some land, for which he paid in the morningone hundred and fifty dollars. In the afternoon, he sold it to afriend of mine for five thousand dollars. A poor Frenchman,married to a squaw, had a suit pending, when I was there, whichhe was likely to gain, for the right of purchasing some land bythe lake for one hundred dollars, which would immediately becomeworth one million dollars.
There was much gaiety going on at Chicago, as well asbusiness. On the evening of our arrival a fancy fair took place.As I was too much fatigued to go, the ladies sent me a bouquet ofprairie flowers. There is some allowable pride in the place aboutits society. It is a remarkable thing to meet such an assemblageof educated, refined, and wealthy persons as may be found there,living in small, inconvenient houses on the edge of a wildprairie. There is a mixture, of course. I heard of a family ofhalf-breeds setting up a carriage, and wearing fine jewellery.When the present intoxication of prosperity passes away, some ofthe inhabitants will go back to the eastward; there will be anaccession of settlers from the mechanic classes; good houses willhave been built for the richer families, and the singularity ofthe place will subside. It will be like all the other new andthriving lake and river ports of America. Meantime, I am glad tohave seen it in its strange early days.
We dined one day with a gentleman who had been Indian agentamong the Winnebagoes for some years. He and his lady seem tohave had the art of making themselves as absolutely Indian intheir sympathies and manners as the welfare of the savages amongwhom they lived required. They were the only persons I met withwho, really knowing the Indians, had any regard for them. Thetestimony was universal to the good faith, and other virtues ofsavage life of the unsophisticated Indians; but they were spokenof in a tone of dislike, as well as pity, by all but this family;and they certainly had studied their Indian neighbours verythoroughly. The ladies of Indian agents ought to be women ofnerve. Our hostess had slept for weeks with a loaded pistol oneach side her pillow, and a dagger under it, when expecting anattack from a hostile tribe. The foe did not, however, comenearer than within a few miles. Her husband's sister was in themassacre when the fort was abandoned, in 1812. Her father and herhusband were in the battle, and mother and young brothers andsisters sat in a boat on the lake near. Out of seventy whites,only seventeen escaped, among whom were her family. She waswounded in the ankle, as she sat on her horse. A painted Indian,in warlike costume, came leaping up to her, and seized her horse,as she supposed, to murder her. She fought him vigorously, and hebore it without doing her any injury. He spoke, but she could notunderstand him. Another frightful savage came up, and the two ledher horse to the lake, and into it, in spite of her resistance,till the water reached their chins. She concluded that they meantto drown her; but they contented themselves with holding her onher horse till the massacre was over, when they led her out insafety. They were friendly Indians, sent by her husband to guardher. She could not but admire their patience when she found howshe had been treating her protectors.
We had the fearful pleasure of seeing various savage dancesperformed by the Indian agent and his brother, with theaccompaniments of complete costume, barbaric music, and whooping.The most intelligible to us was the Discovery Dance, a highlydescriptive pantomime. We saw the Indian go out armed for war. Wesaw him reconnoitre, make signs to his comrades, sleep, warmhimself, load his rifle, sharpen his scalping-knife, stealthrough the grass within rifle-shot of his foes, fire, scalp oneof them, and dance, whooping and triumphing. There was a dreadfultruth about the whole, and it made our blood run cold. Itrealised hatred and horror as effectually as Taglioni does loveand grace.
We were unexpectedly detained over the Sunday at Chicago; andDr. F. was requested to preach. Though only two hours' notice wasgiven, a respectable congregation was assembled in the large roomof the Lake House; a new hotel then building. Our seats were afew chairs and benches, and planks laid on trestles. The preacherstood behind a rough pine-table, on which a large Bible wasplaced. I was never present at a more interesting service; and Iknow that there were others who felt with me.
From Chicago, we made an excursion into the prairies. Ouryoung lawyer-friend threw behind him the five hundred dollars perday which he was making, and went with us. I thought him wise;for there is that to be had in the wilderness which money cannotbuy. We drove out of the town at ten o'clock in the morning, toolate by two hours; but it was impossible to overcome theintroductions to strangers, and the bustle of our preparations,any sooner. Our party consisted of seven, besides the driver. Ourvehicle was a wagon with four horses.
We had first to cross the prairie, nine miles wide, on thelake edge of which Chicago stands. This prairie is not usuallywet so early in the year; but at this time the water stood almostup to the nave of the wheels: and we crossed it at a walkingpace. I saw here, for the first time in the United States, theAmerican primrose. It grew in profusion over the whole prairie,as far as I could see; not so large and fine as in Englishgreen-houses, but graceful and pretty. I now found the truth ofwhat I had read about the difficulty of distinguishing distanceson a prairie. The feeling is quite bewildering. A man walkingnear looks like a Goliath a mile off. I mistook a covered wagonwithout horses, at a distance of fifty yards, for a white housenear the horizon: and so on. We were not sorry to reach the beltof trees, which bounded the swamp we had passed. At a house here,where we stopped to water the horses, and eat dough nuts, we sawa crowd of emigrants; which showed that we had not yet reachedthe bounds of civilisation. A little further on we came to theriver Aux Plaines, spelled on a sign board "Oplain."The ferry here is a monopoly, and the public suffers accordingly.There is only one small flat boat for the service of theconcourse of people now pouring into the prairies. Though wehappened to arrive nearly first of the crowd of today, we weredetained on the bank above an hour; and then our horses went overat two crossings, and the wagon and ourselves at the third. Itwas a pretty scene, if we had not been in a hurry; the countrywagons and teams in the wood by the side of the quiet clearriver; and the oxen swimming over, yoked, with only their patientfaces visible above the surface. After crossing, we proceededbriskly till we reached a single house, where, or nowhere, wewere to dine. The kind hostess bestirred herself to provide us agood dinner of tea, bread, ham, potatoes, and strawberries, ofwhich a whole pailful, ripe and sweet, had been gathered by thechildren in the grass round the house, within one hour. Whiledinner was preparing, we amused ourselves with looking over anexcellent small collection of books, belonging to Miss Cynthia,the daughter of the hostess.
I never saw insulation, (not desolation,) to compare with thesituation of a settler on a wide prairie. A single house in themiddle of Salisbury Plain would be desolate. A single house on aprairie has clumps of trees near it, rich fields about it; andflowers, strawberries, and running water at hand. But when I sawa settler's child tripping out of home-bounds, I had a feelingthat it would never get back again. It looked like putting outinto Lake Michigan in a canoe. The soil round the dwellings isvery rich. It makes no dust, it is so entirely vegetable. Itrequires merely to be once turned over to produce largely; and,at present, it appears to be inexhaustible. As we proceeded, thescenery became more and more like what all travellers compare itto,--a boundless English park. The grass was wilder, theoccasional footpath not so trim, and the single trees lessmajestic; but no park ever displayed anything equal to thegrouping of the trees within the windings of the blue, brimmingriver Aux Plaines.
We had met with so many delays that we felt doubts aboutreaching the place where we had intended to spend the night. Atsunset, we found ourselves still nine miles from Joliet;** but wewere told that the road was good, except a small "slew"or two; and there was half a moon shining behind a thin veil ofclouds; so we pushed on. We seemed latterly to be travelling on aterrace overlooking a wide champaign, where a dark, waving linemight indicate the winding of the river, between its clumpybanks. Our driver descended, and went forward, two or threetimes, to make sure of our road; and at length, we rattled down asteep descent, and found ourselves among houses. This was not ourresting place, however. The Joliet hotel lay on the other side ofthe river. We were directed to a foot-bridge by which we were topass; and a ford below for the wagon. We strained our eyes invain for the foot-bridge; and our gentlemen peeped and pryedabout for some time. All was still but the rippling river, andeverybody asleep in the houses that were scattered about. Weladies were presently summoned to put on our water-proof shoes,and alight. A man showed himself who had risen from his bed tohelp us in our need. The foot-bridge consisted, for some way, oftwo planks, with a hand-rail on one side: but, when we were abouta third of the way over, one half of the planks, and thehand-rail, had disappeared. We actually had to cross the rushing,deep river on a line of single planks, by dim moonlight, at pasteleven o'clock at night. The great anxiety was about Charley; butbetween his father and the guide, he managed very well. Thisguide would accept nothing but thanks. He "did not calculateto take any pay." Then we waited some time for the wagon tocome up from the ford. I suspected it had passed the spot wherewe stood, and had proceeded to the village, where we saw atwinkling light, now disappearing, and now re-appearing. It wasso, and the driver came back to look for us, and tell us that thelight we saw was a signal from the hotel-keeper, whom we found,standing on his door-step, and sheltering his candle with hishand. We sat down and drank milk in the bar, while he went toconsult with his wife what was to be done with us, as every bedin the house was occupied. We, meanwhile, agreed that the timewas now come for us to enjoy an adventure which we had oftenanticipated; sleeping in a barn. We had all declared ourselvesanxious to sleep in a barn, if we could meet with one that wasair-tight, and well-supplied with hay. Such a barn was actuallyon these premises. We were prevented, however, from allpracticing the freak by the prompt hospitality of our hostess.Before we knew what she was about, she had risen and dressedherself, put clean sheets on her own bed, and made up two otherson the floor of the sarme room; so that the ladies and Charleywere luxuriously accommodated. Two sleepy personages crawled downstairs to offer their beds to our gentlemen. Mr. L. and ourChicago friend, however, persisted in sleeping in the barn. Nextmorning, we all gave a very gratifying report of our lodgings.
When we made our acknowledgments to our hostess, she said shethought that people who could go to bed quietly every night oughtto be ready to give up to tired travellers. Whenever she travels,I hope she will be treated as she treated us. She let us havebreakfast as early as half-past five, the next morning, and gaveCharley a bun at parting, lest he should be too hungry before wecould dine.
The great object of our expedition, Mount Joliet, was twomiles distant from this place. We had to visit it, and performthe journey back to Chicago, forty miles, before night. The mountis only sixty feet high; yet it commands a view which I shall notattempt to describe, either in its vastness, or its soft beauty.The very spirit of tranquillity resides in this paradisy scene.The next painter who would worthily illustrate Milton's MorningHymn, should come and paint what he sees from Mount Joliet, on adewy summer's morning, when a few light clouds are gently sailingin the sky, and their shadows traversing the prairie. I thought Ihad never seen green levels till now; and only among mountainshad I before known the beauty of wandering showers. Mount Joliethas the appearance of being an artificial mound, its sides are souniformly steep, and its form so regular. Its declivity wasbristling with flowers; among which were conspicuous the scarletlily, the white convolvulus, and a tall, red flower of the scabiaform. We disturbed a night-hawk, sitting on her eggs, on theground. She wheeled round and round over our heads, and, I hope,returned to her eggs before they were cold.
Not far from the mount was a log-house, where the rest of theparty went in to dry their feet, after having stood long in thewet grass. I remained outside, watching the light showers,shifting in the partial sunlight from clump to level, and fromreach to reach of the brimming and winding river. The nine milesof prairie, which we had traversed in dim moonlight last night,were now exquisitely beautiful, as the sun shone fitfully uponthem.
We saw a prairie wolf, very like a yellow dog, trotting acrossour path, this afternoon. Our hostess of the preceding day,expecting us, had an excellent dinner ready for us. We weredetained a shorter time at the ferry, and reached the belt oftrees at the edge of Nine-mile Prairie, before sunset. Here, incommon prudeuce, we ought to have stopped till the next day, evenif no other accommodation could be afforded us than a roof overour heads. We deserved an ague for crossing the swamp after dark,in an open wagon, at a foot pace. Nobody was aware of this intime, and we set forward; the feet of our wearied horses plashingin water at every step of the nine miles. There was no road; andwe had to trust to the instinct of driver and horses to keep usin the right direction. I rather think the driver attempted toamuse himself by exciting our fears. He hinted more than once atthe difficulty of finding the way; at the improbability that weshould reach Chicago before midnight; and at the danger of ourwandering about the marsh all night, and finding ourselves at theopposite edge of the prairie in the morning. Charley was bruisedand tired. All the rest were hungry and cold. It was very dreary.The driver bade us look to our right hand. A black bear wastrotting alongside of us, at a little distance. After keeping uphis trot for some time, he turned off from our track. The sightof him made up for all,--even if ague should follow, which Iverily believed it would. But we escaped all illness. It isremarkable that I never saw ague but once. The single case that Imet with was in autumn, at the Falls of Niagara.
I had promised Dr. F. a long story about English politics,when a convenient opportunity should occur. I thought the presentan admirable one; for nobody seemed to have anything to say, andit was highly desirable that something should be said. I made mystory long enough to beguile four miles; by which time, some weretoo tired, and others too much disheartened, for moreconversation. Something white was soon after visible. Our drivergave out that it was a house, half a mile from Chicago. But no:it was an emigrant encampment, on a morsel of raised, dry ground;and again we were uncertain whether we were in the right road.Presently, however, the Chicago beacon was visible, shining awelcome to us through the dim, misty air. The horses seemed tosee it, for they quickened their pace; and before half-past ten,we were on the bridge.
The family, at my temporary home, were gone up to theirchambers; but the wood-fire was soon replenished, tea made, andthe conversation growing lively. My companions were received asreadily at their several resting-places. When we next met, wefound ourselves all disposed to place warm hospitality very highon the list of virtues.
* It is possible that this term may not yet be familiar tosome of my Eng1ish readers. It means summary punishment. Themodes now in use among those who take the 1aw into their ownhands in the United States, are tarring and feathering, scourgingwith a cow-hide, banishing, and hanging. The term owes its derivationto a farmer of the name of Lynch, living on the Mississippi, who,in the absence of court and lawyers constituted himself ajudge,and ordered summary punishment to be inflicted on an offender. Helittle foresaw the national disgrace which would arise from tbeextension of the practice to which he gave his name.
** I preserve the original name, which is that of the firstFrench missionary who visited these parts. The place is nowcommonly called Juliet; and a settlement near has actually beennamed Romeo: so that I fear there is little bope of a restorationof the honorable primitive name.
END OF VOl. 1.
From Harriet Martineau, Society in America, VolumeI, Part II, - Economy, (Section VII) - "Picture ofMichigan." London: Saunders and Otley, 1837, pp. 312-364.
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