University of Virginia Library

A term usually applied in America to those persons who first commence the operations of agriculture in a new country, by cutting, clearing, and actual settlement. The varied appearance of the woods when these are rapidly going on, forms a busy, novel, and interesting picture.

A species of Gryllus, very numerous and very noisy in the woods at that season.

This expression is so well understood in the United States as hardly to require any explanation. Between the months of October and December there is usually a week or two of calm serene, mirky weather, such as here described, which is nonsensically denominated the Indian Summer. [I add—This corresponds with our English St. Martin's Summer in October and November.]

The country of Bucks, is a wide well-cultivated tract of country, containing nearly half-a-million of acres, and upwards of 30,000 inhabitants.

Northampton is an oblong, hilly country, adjoining that of Bucks. It is crossed nearly at right angles by that remarkable range of the Allegany, known by the name of the Blue Ridge or Blue Mountain, which presents the appearance of an immense rampart, extending further than the eye can reach, with an almost uniform height of summit.

The New Almanac.

This species of dwarf oak produces great quantities of acorns, which the bears, pigeons, grous, jays, &c., are extremely fond of. It grows to the height of about five feet, very close, and affords good shelter for the deer and bear.

This pass in the Blue Mountain is usually called the Wind Gap. The reader will find some curious conjectures on its formation, in Jefferson's Notes on Virginia.

The effect of this deception was really astonishing. Nothing could be more evident to the eye—the shores, the waters, studded with numerous islands, seemed to disappear as if by enchantment.

This animal, generally, though improperly, called by the above name, is felis couguar of European writers; and is considered as the most dangerous and formidable inhabitant of our forests on this side of the Ohio. They are still numerous among the mountains of Pennsylvania that border on the Susquehanna, and frequently destroy deer, calves, sheep, colts, and sometimes, it is said, horses and cows. They are bold and daring; and lie in wait in the low branches of trees for the deer, on whom they spring with prodigious force, and soon destroy them. The one mentioned above had seized a calf in the evening, within a few feet of the girl who was milking; who, supposing it to be a large dog, gave the alarm, and attempted to drive it off. The old hunter, our landlord, soon drove him up a tree with his dog, where he shot him.

A small spur of the Blue Ridge, and one of the few places in Pennsylvania frequented by the tetrao cupido, or pinnated grous.

These tornadoes are very frequent in the different regions of the United States. The one above alluded to had been extremely violent; and for many miles had levelled the woods in its way. We continued to see the effects of its rage for above 20 miles.

At this season of the year great numbers of bears resort to the mountains in search of whortleberries, which they devour with great voracity. They are at this time very fat, and some are frequently shot that weigh upwards of 400 lbs.

A place in the Great Swamp, usually so called, from its loud, hollow situation, overgrown with pine and hemlock trees of an enormous size, that almost shut out the light of day.

Our host made himself very merry by relating to us an anecdote of one of his neighbours, living ten or twelve miles off, who, having fixed his large steel traps, in the evening, returned to the spot next morning, when, to his terror, he saw two panthers (f. couguar) surrounding a trap in which a very large one was taken by the leg. Afraid to hazard a shot, lest the surviving one who was at liberty might attack him he hurried home, loaded another gun and gave it to his wife, an intrepid amazon, who immediately followed him to the scene. Arrived within forty or fifty yards, the hunter presented to take aim, but was so agitated with terror that he found himself altogether unable. His wife instantly knelt down before him, ordering him to rest the rifle on her shoulder, which he did, and by this expedient succeeded in killing the three.

Felis Montano, mountain lynx. Another species is also found among these mountains, and appears to be the f. rufa of Turton. I measured one that from the nose to the insertion of the tail, was upwards of three feet.

This is the tetrao Virginianus of Linnæus. In the States of New England it is called the quail.

The bird here called a pheasant is the ruffed grous (tetrao umbellus) of European naturalists. In New England it is called the partridge.

A celebrated manufacturer of gunpowder on the Brandywine, whose packages are usually impressed with the figure of an eagle.

The massacre here alluded to, took place after the battle of 3rd July, 1778, which was fought near this spot. The small body of American troops were commanded by the brave, humane, and intelligent officer, Colonel Butler; the tories and savages were headed by another Colonel Butler, of a very different description. Were I disposed to harrow up the feelings of the reader, I might here enlarge on the particulars of this horrible affair; but I choose to decline it. Those who wish to see a detail of the whole are referred to the Philadelphia Universal Magazine for March 20, 1797, p. 390.

Turdus migratorius.

Picus pileatus, the great scarlet-crested black woodpecker; called also in some of the Southern States, the log-cock.

Falco leucocephalus, the white-headed or bald eagle.

This echo may be considered as one of the greatest curiosities of this part of the country.—After more than a quarter of a minute had elapsed, the sound was reverberated with astonishing increase, at least ten successive times, each time more and more remote, till at last it seemed to proceed from an immense distance. The word, or words were distinctly articulated; as if giants were calling to one another from mountain to mountain. When our guns were discharged at once, the effect was still more astonishing, and I scarcely believe, that a succession of broadsides from a train of seventy-fours, at like distances, in any other place, would have equalled it. The state of the atmosphere was very favourable; and the report roared along the clouds in one continued peal. This detached mountain stands near the line which separates New York from Pennsylvania, not far from the public road; is of a conical form, and may be between two and three hundred feet high.

In this expedition against the hostile Indians, which was committed to the management of General Sullivan, and crowned with the most complete success, the only stand made by the savages was at this place, 29th August, 1799. After a short skirmish they were driven from this their last hold, and pursued beyond the Gennessee river. Forty of their towns, and upwards of 160,000 bushels of Indian corn were destroyed. The remnant of the tribes took refuge in Canada; and thus an immense extent of the most fertile country of the United States was laid open to the enterprise of our active and industrious settlers. The white population of these parts of the State of New-York, settled since, may be fairly estimated at three times the number of all the Indians within five hundred miles of the place.

These vessels are constructed of oak and pine plank, and built in the form of a parallelogram; they are flat-bottomed, and capable of containing many thousand bushels of wheat each; sometimes droves of oxen compose part of their cargoes. On arriving at their place of destination, and the cargo disposed of, the arks are sold to the lumber dealers, and taken to pieces with little trouble.

The town of Columbia, on the north-east bank of the Susquehanna, at Wright's Ferry, ten miles from Laurister, is the great depot for those immense stores of wheat, flour, lumber, &c., brought down the river for an extent of more than three hundred miles. The bridge, which it is in contemplation to erect over the Susquehanna, near this town, will be an additional source of prosperity to this thriving and populous place.

In a matter-of-fact poem, such as this, I need hardly observe, that the above is literally true. The proprietor of part of this meadow assured me, that with his spade he could, at pleasure, send the waters either into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, or the Chesapeake Bay. A species of salmon, common to the river Susquehanna and to the lake Ontario, has been frequently known to pass from one to the other by this communication.

Hunger.

In passing among these stately and noble trees, which grow here in great luxuriance, it is an object of regret to observe how unmercifully their trunks are cut and gashed with the axe; many of these notches are so deep, that the trees have either been killed or overthrown by the first storm of wind. It is well-known that all the chopping is unnecessary; and that a small auger-hole is equally efficient, nowise injurious to the tree, and may be done in one tenth part of the time.

This Indian town, Catherine, situated near the head of the Seneca Lake, in one of the most delightful and romantic spots imaginable, containing a great number of houses, with large orchards and extensive corn fields. It was totally destroyed in 1779, by the troops under the command of General Sullivan, who, entering the place at night, found it nearly deserted of its inhabitants. One miserable old squaw alone remained, who, from extreme old age, was incapable of walking, and looked like “the last survivor of the former age.” The General ordered a hut to be erected for her, with provisions for her subsistence; but she did not long survive the catastrophe of her nation.

Catherine's Creek, which forms the head waters of the Seneca Lake, and falls into its southern extremity. From this lake to the landing, a distance of about five miles, the creek is navigable for large loaded boats. The country between this place and Newtown, on the Susquehanna, is nearly level; and the distance, in a direct line, is probably not more than twenty miles. The practicability of uniting these two waters by a canal, at a comparative small expense, and the immense advantages that would result from the completion of such an undertaking, have long been evident to all those acquainted with that part of the country.

Some of these trees, owing to the richness of the soil, grow to an enormous size. I measured one that was thirty feet in circumference.

The fishing hawk, or osprey, differing considerably from the bird of text known in Europe.

These celebrated and justly esteemed ducks appear to be the anas ferina of Linnæus. From the great abundance of their favourite food (the roots of the Valiseneria Americana,) in the tide waters of many of our large rivers, it is probable that their flesh is much more delicious here than in Europe.

The Seneca Lake. This beautful sheet of water is about 40 miles long by from one and-a-half to three miles in breadth. The shores are generally precipitous, consisting of a brittle blue slate in which many curious impressions of marine shells are perceivable. In a short search I found upwards of twenty.

Ardea alba of Linnæus. These are only summer birds, and very transient visitants in these Northern regions.

The white-tailed eagle (falco fulvus) so much sought after by Indians of North America, for its quill and tail feathers, with which they plume their arrows, ornament their calumet, and adorn their dresses. It inhabits from Hudson's Bay to Mexico.

Called by some the wood-duck (anas sponsa), the most beautiful of its tribe in North America. They are easily tamed, and become very familiar. About thirty-five years ago, a Mr. Nathan Nicholls, who resided in Maryland, on the west side of Gunpowder river, succeeded completely in domesticating these ducks, so that they bred and multiplied with him in great numbers. In their wild state they build in hollow trees, and fly directly in, without alighting at the entrance.

This lake is about thirty-eight miles long, and from two to three and four miles in breadth. It is nearly parallel with, and about eight or ten miles east from the Seneca lake. The bed of the former is said to be thirty or forty feet lower than that of the latter, which flows into the Cayuga nearly at its outlet, and forms what is usually called Seneca River. The waters of both these lakes are extremely pure and transparent; are much frequented by wild ducks, and contain abundance of various kinds of fish, particularly salmon, and also suckers of a very large size. One of these last, which we purchased from a party of Indians encamped on the shore, measured upwards of two feet in length.

These are passes on the high steep sides of the mountain overhanging the Susquehanna, and, in some places, will not admit more than one person abreast.

This bridge extends across the lake, which at this place is about a mile in width. It is built of wood, is laid on two hundred and fifteen trestles, each consisting of three posts, connected by girths and braces. The posts are sunk to hard gravel, which is generally about thirty feet from the surface.—The expense was twenty thousand dollars.

The reader is not to imagine that this animal formed part of our trapper's game. It is never seen in this particular part of the country; and the trappers take advantage of this circumstance to circumvent their prey. In the lower parts of the State where this animal is abundant, there are people who collect the liquor with which nature has supplied it for its defence. This is put into small vials, sealed, placed mouth downwards in a pot of earth, and sold to the trappers. A drop or two of this precious aroma is put on or near the steel traps after they are set, and the strange and extraordinary odour is said to decoy other animals to the spot. Our landlord himself being furnished with a bottle of this essence of skunk, and his traps profusely saturated with the same, produced the effect alluded to.

This place lies on the Canada side of the Niagara river, seven miles below the Falls.

These storms are very frequent on this lake; and the want of sea-room is also dangerous. A few days previous to our arrival at Oswego, a British packet called the ‘Speedy,’ with the judge advocate on board, the judges, witnesses, and an Indian prisoner, and others to the amount of twenty or thirty persons, foundered in a violent gale, and every soul perished. No part of the vessel was afterwards found except the pump, which we picked up, and carried to Queenstown.

This singular ridge commences about the head of Lake Ontario, and, running in an easterly direction, loses itself in the country towards the Seneca Lake. The plain, extending from its base northwardly to the shores of the lake, is between two and three hundred feet lower than that extending from its top, south, to Lake Erie.

This will appear almost incredible to those who have heard it asserted that the noise of the cataract is frequently heard at the distance of forty miles. Both these facts, however, are actually true, and depend entirely on the state of the atmosphere, and current of the air.

This train of black clouds extends along the heavens in the direction in which the wind blows, as far as the eye can reach, forming a very striking and majestic appearance.

This ladder was fixed in an almost perpendicular position; not leaning on the brink, but fastened to a projecting root, in such a manner that, on descending, the steep was on our right hand and a tremendous abyss of 150 feet deep presented itself before us.

These rocks being worn smooth by the perpetual action of the water, and lying upon a deep declivity, composed of loose masses of smaller ones, were displaced at every pressure of the foot, so that masses larger than milestones were easily launched down with a single kick, rendering it highly dangerous for more than one person to pass abreast.

The height of this fall is said to be 154 feet. The current above is much slower than in any other part of the river near the Falls, and the water drops here almost perpendicularly, presenting the appearance of an immense white curtain of foam.

These Falls are 12 or 14 feet lower than those of Fort Slusher on the American side; and the main body of the river rushes over at this place with indescribable violence and uproar.

The Great Pitch. Of the general appearance of this tremendous scene I find it altogether impossible for me to give any adequate conception.

This is literary true. In the house where we lodged, which is more than half-a-mile from the Falls, the vibration of a fork, stuck in a broad position, were plainly shewable across the room.