A Ramble of Six Thousand Miles through the United States of America Part 6

The Ohio is formed by the junction of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers at Pittsburg, that town being seated in the fork--its breadth there, is between eight and nine hundred yards. From the mouths of those two rivers it narrows and deepens for some distance; but afterwards, from the accession of the many tributary streams by which it is supplied, gradually becomes wider and deeper, until it empties itself into the Mississippi.

The length of the Ohio, following its meanders, is about 950 miles, and it may be said to be navigable almost the entire year, as the water must be unusually low when the smaller steam-boats cannot ply to Pittsburg. The character of this river is somewhat peculiar. But for the improvements on the banks, when you have seen six or eight miles of this stream, you are acquainted with the remainder as far as the Falls--that is to say, any variety that may be in the scenery will occur in any given six miles from Pittsburg to that point. Below Louisville there are one or two rocky bluffs, and the face of the country is somewhat different. The channel of the Upper Ohio lies between hills, which frequently approach the _mamelle_ form, and are covered with a heavy growth of timber. Where the hills or bluffs do not rise immediately from the river, but recede some distance, the s.p.a.ce between the river and the hill is called bottom land, from the circ.u.mstance of its being overflown annually; or having at some former period formed part of the river's bed, which is indicated by the nature of the soil. The bluffs and bottoms invariably alternate; and when you have bluffs on one side, you are sure to have bottom on the other. The windings are extremely uniform, with few exceptions, curving in a serpentine form in so regular a manner, that the Indians always calculated the distance by the number of bends.

"The Falls" are improperly so termed, as this obstruction is nothing more than a gradual descent for a distance of about a mile and a half, where the water, forcing its way over a rugged rocky bottom, presents the appearance of a rapid. Below this the country is of various aspects--hills, bottom-land, and high rocky bluffs; and towards the mouth, cotton-wood trees, (_populus angulata_), and cane brakes, are interspersed along the banks. The junction of these two n.o.ble rivers, the Ohio and Mississippi, is really a splendid sight--the scenery is picturesque, and the water at the point of union is fully two miles broad.

The Mississippi[10] is in length, from its head waters to the _balize_ in the gulf of Mexico, about two thousand three hundred miles, and flows through an immense variety of country. The section through which it pa.s.ses, before its junction with the Missouri, is represented as being elegantly diversified with woodlands, prairies, and rich bottoms, and the banks are lined with a luxuriant growth of plants and flowers. Before reaching the Missouri, the water of the Mississippi is perfectly limpid; but, from the mouth of that river it becomes turgid and muddy--flows through a flat, inundated country, and seems more like an immense flood, than an old and deep-channelled river. As far as great things can be compared to small, it much resembles, within its banks, the Rhone when flooded, as it sweeps through the department of Vaucluse, after its junction with the Saone.

From St. Louis to New Orleans, a distance of twelve hundred miles, there are but six elevated points--the four Chickesaw bluffs, the Iron banks, and the Walnut hills. Numerous islands are interspersed through this river; and from the mouth of the Ohio, tall cotton-wood trees and cane-brakes grow in immense quant.i.ties along the banks; the latter, being evergreens, have a pleasing effect in the winter season. The windings of the Mississippi are, like those of the Ohio, constant, but not so serpentine, and some of them are of immense magnitude. You traverse every point of the compa.s.s in your pa.s.sage up or down: for example, there is a bend near _Bayou Placquamine_, the length of which by the water is upwards of sixty miles, and from one point to the other across the distance is but three.

The town of "Baton Rouge" is situated about 190 miles above New Orleans, and contains a small garrison;--the esplanade runs down to the water's-edge, and the whole has a pretty effect. Here the sugar plantations commence, and the face of the country is again changed--you find yourself in the regions of the south. For a distance of from half-a-mile to two miles back, at each side, the land is planted with sugar-canes, and highly cultivated. The planters' houses are tastefully built, surrounded by gardens full of orange-trees, flowers, and evergreens, presenting the idea of perpetual spring, which here is indeed the case. The winters are seldom more severe than a mild spring in England. I first came in on this region at night, at the season of planting, when the cast or used canes are burned in heaps on each plantation. The dark turgid waters--the distant fires, surrounded by clouds of white smoke ascending in winding columns to the skies--the stillness of the night, interrupted only by the occasional cry of the pelican or the crane, and the monotonous thumping of the steam-boat paddles, formed a strange combination; and had the days of witches and warlocks not long since pa.s.sed away, one would have sworn that these gentry were performing incantations over the mystic cauldrons, casting "seven bullets," or "raising spirits from the vasty deep."

The Mississippi is in few places more than from half-a-mile to a mile wide; and were one to judge of its magnitude by its breadth alone, a very erroneous estimate would be formed. It is only by contemplating the many vast rivers which empty themselves into the Mississippi that you can form a correct idea of the immense volume of water that flows through this channel into the Gulf of Mexico. Many of its larger tributary streams have the appearance of being as great as itself--the depth alone indicating the superiority of this mighty river over every other in America; and, considering its length, perhaps over any other in the world.

The great valley of the Mississippi extends, in length, from the Gulf of Mexico to a distance of nearly 3000 miles; and is in breadth, from the base of the Alleghanies to the foot of the Rocky mountains, about 2,500 miles. The soil is composed of alluvial deposits, to a depth of from twenty to fifty feet; and I have myself seen, near New Orleans, trees lying in the horizontal position six or seven feet below the surface. This valley has been frequently visited by earthquakes, which have sometimes changed part of the channel of the river, and at others formed lakes.

Those which occurred between the years 1811 and 1813, did serious injury, particularly in the neighbourhood of New Madrid, near the west bank, below the mouth of the Ohio. At several points the bank is sunk eight or ten feet below the surface of the adjacent ground, with the trees remaining upright as before.

New Orleans is seated on the south-east bank of the Mississippi; and, following the sinuosities of the current, about 109 miles from the Gulf of Mexico. The river takes here a right-angular sweep, and the city proper is built on the exterior point of the bend, the _fauxbourgs_ extending at each side along the banks. At high water the river rises three feet above any part of the city; consequently, were it not for levees that have been constructed here, and also along the banks of the river for more than a hundred miles, at both sides, above and below, the whole country would be periodically inundated. The fall from the levee to Bayou St. John, which communicates with _Lac Pontchartrain_, is about thirty feet, and the distance one mile. This fall is certainly inconsiderable; but I apprehend that it would be sufficient to drain the streets effectually, if proper attention were directed to that object.

The city extends only half-a-mile back, and, including the _fauxbourgs_, about two miles along the river. The streets, being only partially paved, can never be perfectly cleaned, and stagnant water remains in the kennels at all seasons; this and the exhalations from the swamps in warm weather, produce that pestilential scourge with which the place is annually afflicted. The mortality here last season (the autumn of 1829) has been variously stated in the public prints at from five to seven thousand, who died of the yellow fever in the s.p.a.ce of about ten weeks. This statement, however, is erroneous; as, from information which I received from the s.e.xton of the American grave-yard, and from the number of fresh graves which I saw there, I am inclined to think that the total amount falls short of 2500, out of a resident population of less than 40,000 souls.

About 700 were buried in the American grave-yard, and perhaps double that number in that of the French.

The port of New Orleans presents the most extraordinary medley of any port in the world. Craft of every possible variety may be seen moored along the levees, and the markets and adjacent streets crowded with people of almost every nation in Europe, Africa, and America, who create a frightful confusion of tongues. A particular part of the quay is appropriated to each description of craft, and a penalty is enforced for any deviation from port regulations. The upper part is occupied with flat-boats, arks, peeroges, rafts, keel-boats, canoes, and steam-boats; and below these are stationed schooners, cutters, brigs, s.h.i.+ps, &c., in regular succession.

The levee is almost constantly filled with merchandize; and the scene of bustle and confusion which is exhibited here during the early part of the day, fully proves the large amount of commercial intercourse which this city enjoys.

When Louisiana was ceded to the United States, in 1803, Orleans was then entirely occupied by Creole-French and Spanish, consequently the majority of the habitations and public buildings, are in the French and Spanish style. The cathedral, which presents a handsome facade of about seventy feet, the town-hall, and courts, occupy one side of the _place d'armes,_--these, with the American theatre, the _theatre d'Orleans,_ or French opera house, the hospital, and three or four churches, are the only public buildings in the city. The houses are all flat-roofed, and those in the back streets and fauxbourgs are seldom more than one story high; the practice of building houses in this manner was pursued in order to avoid injury from tornadoes, which occasionally visit the valley of the Mississippi; latterly they have not been of frequent occurrence, although when they do arise, they are extremely violent. The town of Urbana, in Ohio, this year (1830) has been nearly destroyed by a visitation of this nature.

Pharo-banks, roulette-tables, and gambling of all kinds, are publicly permitted; but the proprietor of each establishment pays a tax of 5000 dollars per annum. The _theatre d'Orleans_ on Sunday evenings, is generally crowded with beautiful French women. Every night during the winter season there is a _bal pare et masque_, and occasionally "quadroon b.a.l.l.s," which are attended by the young men of the city and their _cheres amies_ quadroons, who are decidedly the finest women in the country, being well formed, and graceful in their carriage. The Louisianians are prohibited by law from marrying with quadroons, although this _caste_ is free, and many of them have been educated in France, and are highly accomplished.

In the south, slavery exists in its most unqualified condition, wanting those milder modifications which serve to dress and decorate the person of this ugly fiend. Here may be seen hundreds of animals of our own genus exposed in the public bazaars for sale, and examined with as much care, and precisely in the same manner, as we examine horses. In some of the slave states the law prohibits the separation of families, but this prohibition is little attended to, as the slave has no possibility of coming in contact with any dispensers of justice but the magistrates of the state, who, being slave-holders themselves, instead of redressing his grievances, would be more likely to order him a las.h.i.+ng, for presuming to complain. Many melancholy instances occur here, which clearly ill.u.s.trate the evils of slavery and its demoralizing influence on the human character. The arguments against slavery are deduced from self-evident propositions, and must carry conviction to every well organized mind; yet from their application being of too general a character, they seldom interest the feelings, and in the end leave less impression than the simple statement of a particular occurrence. During my stay, a Doctor ---- came down the river with thirty slaves, among which were an old negro and negress, each between sixty and seventy years of age; this unfortunate old woman had borne twenty-one children, all of whom had been at different times sold in the Orleans market, and carried into other states, and into distant parts of Louisiana. The Doctor said, in order to induce her to leave home quietly, that he was bringing her into Louisiana for the purpose of placing her with some of her children--"and now," says the old negress, "aldo I suckle my ma.s.sa at dis breast, yet now he sell me to sugar planter, after he sell all my children away from me." This gentleman was a strict Methodist, or "saint," and is, I was informed, much esteemed by the preachers of that persuasion, because of his liberal contributions to their support.

Negresses, when young and likely, are often employed as wet nurses by white people, as also by either the planter or his friends, to administer to their sensual desires--this frequently as a matter of speculation, for if the offspring, a mulatto, be a handsome female, from 800 to 1000 dollars may be obtained for her in the Orleans market.[11] It is an occurrence of no uncommon nature to see the Christian father sell his own daughter, and the brother his own sister, by the same father. Slaves do not marry, but pair at discretion; and the more children they produce, the better for their masters.

On the Levee at New Orleans, are constantly exhibited specimens of the white man's humanity, in the persons of runaway slaves. When such an unfortunate negro is retaken, a log is chained to one of his legs, and round his neck is placed an iron collar, from which project three sharp p.r.o.ngs more than a foot in length each.

The evils of this infernal system are beginning to re-act upon the Christians, who are latterly kept in a constant state of alarm, fearing the number and disposition of the blacks, which threaten at no far distant period to overwhelm the south with some dreadful calamity.[12] Three incendiary fires took place at Orleans, during the month I remained in that city, by which several thousand bales of cotton were consumed. The condition of the slaves on the sugar or rice plantations, is truly wretched. They are ill-fed, ill-clad, and worked in gangs under the superintendence of a driver, who is armed with a long whip, which he uses at discretion; and it is a fact, well known to persons who have visited slave countries, that punishments are more frequently inflicted to gratify the private pique or caprice of the driver, than for crime or neglect of duty.

In the agricultural states, slave labour is found to be altogether unproductive, which causes this market to be inundated:--within the last two months, 5000 negros have been sold here. The state legislature has just pa.s.sed a law, regulating the introduction of slaves, and commanding all free people of colour, who were not residents previous to 1825, to quit Louisiana in the s.p.a.ce of six months. Georgia has enacted a law to the same effect, with the addition of making penal, _the teaching of people of colour to read or write_. The liberty of the press is by no means tolerated in the slave states, as both judges and juries will always decide according to the local laws, although totally at variance with the const.i.tution. W.L. Garrison, of Baltimore, one of the editors of a publication ent.i.tled, "The Genius of Universal Emanc.i.p.ation," is now suffering fine and imprisonment for an alleged libel, at the suit of a slavite; and a law has been pa.s.sed by the legislature of Louisiana, suppressing the Orleans journal called "The Liberal." This latter act is not only contrary to the const.i.tution of the United States, but also in direct opposition to the const.i.tution of Louisiana.[13]

The free states in their own defence have been obliged to prohibit people of colour settling within their boundaries. Where then can the unfortunate African find a retreat? He must not stay in this country, and he cannot go to Africa; and although the British government are encouraging the settlement of negros in the Canadas, yet latterly, neither the Canadians nor the Americans like that project. The most probable finale to this drama will be, that the Christians must at their own expense s.h.i.+p them to Liberia (for Hayti is inundated), and there throw them on barren sh.o.r.es to die of starvation, or to be ma.s.sacred by the savages!

Miss Wright lately pa.s.sed through New Orleans with thirty negros which she had manumitted, and was then going to establish them at Hayti. These slaves had been purchased at reduced prices, from persons friendly to their emanc.i.p.ation, and were kept by Miss Wright until their labour, allowing them a fair remuneration, amounted to the prime outlay.

Were it not for the danger that might be apprehended from the congregation of large bodies of negros in particular states or districts, their liberation would be attended with little inconvenience _to the public_, for their labour might be as effectually secured, and made quite as profitable, under a system of well-regulated emanc.i.p.ation. We need only refer to England for a case in point:--after the conquest and total subjugation of the people of that country by the ancestors of the n.o.bility, the gallant Normans, the feudal system was introduced, and remained in full vigour for some centuries. But, as the country became more populous, and the attendance of the knights and barons in parliament became more frequent and necessary, we find villanage gradually fall into disrepute. The last laws regulating this species of slavery were pa.s.sed in the reign of Henry VII; and towards the end of Elizabeth's reign, although the statutes remained unrepealed, as they do still, yet there were no persons in the state to whom the laws applied. It cannot be denied that the labour of the poor English is as effectually secured under the present arrangements, as it could possibly be under the system of villanage.

I look upon slaves as public securities; and I am of opinion, that a legislature's enacting laws for their emanc.i.p.ation, is as flagrant a piece of injustice as would be the cancelling of the public debt. Slave-holders are only share-holders; and philanthropists should never talk of liberating slaves, more than cancelling public securities, without being prepared to indemnify those persons who unfortunately have their capital invested in this species of property.

As many varieties of countenance are to be found among blacks as among whites. There are Africans in this city who have really handsome features, and whose proportions are just, with strong and finely rounded limbs. On becoming more intimate with the general character of the Africans, I like it better: I find they steal, cheat, and hate their masters; and if they were to do otherwise I should think them unworthy of liberty--they justly consider whatever they take to be but a portion of their own. The policy is to keep them as much as possible in utter ignorance--that their indignation should therefore develope itself in the most degrading manner, is not surprising.

There are two public schools established at New Orleans, which are supported out of the fund arising from five gaming-houses, they paying a tax of 25,000 dollars per annum. These schools are conducted on the Lancastrian system, each having a Princ.i.p.al and a Professor, and the studies are divided into daily sessions. The morning session is devoted to reading, spelling, arithmetic, and English grammar; commences at nine A.M., and closes at one P.M. The evening session commences at three, and ends at five o'clock; and is devoted to penmans.h.i.+p, geography, and the French language. This is the arrangement of the English primary school, which is kept in the Old Poydras House, Poydras-street, in the upper part of the city; and is called the Upper Primary School, to distinguish it from the French establishment, which is kept in the lower part of the city. The English school has an English princ.i.p.al, and a French professor; and the French school, a French princ.i.p.al and an English professor. Dr.

Kinnicutt, the princ.i.p.al of the Upper Primary School, is a gentleman of considerable ability, and to his friendly politeness I am indebted for the above information.

The ravages of the yellow fever in New Orleans are immense; but I am credibly informed that many deaths occur here from neglect after the fever has subsided, when the patient is in a totally debilitated condition, incapable of affording himself the slightest a.s.sistance. Orleans is generally crowded with strangers, who are most susceptible to the epidemic; and it is decidedly the interest of persons keeping hotels and boarding-houses that such guests should give up the ghost, for in that case their loose cash falls into the hands of the proprietor. I do not mean to insinuate that a knife is pa.s.sed across the throat of the patient; but merely that it is the opinion of physicians, and some of the most respectable people of the city, that every _facility_ is afforded strangers to die, and that in many cases they actually die of gross neglect.

The wealthy merchants live well, keep handsome establishments, and good wines. The Sardanapalian motto, "Laugh, sing, dance, and be merry," seems to be universally adopted in this "City of the Plague." The planters' and merchants' villas immediately in the vicinity are extremely tasteful, and are surrounded by large parterres filled with plantain, banana, palm, orange, and rose trees. On the whole, were it not for its unhealthiness, Orleans would be a most desirable residence, and the largest city in the United States, as it is most decidedly the best circ.u.mstanced in a commercial point of view.

The question of the purchase of Texas from the Mexican government has been widely mooted throughout the country, and in the slave districts it has many violent partizans. The acquisition of this immense tract of fertile country would give an undue preponderance to the slave states, and this circ.u.mstance alone has prevented its purchase from being universally approved of; for the grasping policy of the American system seems to animate both congress and legislatures in all their acts. The Americans commenced their operations in true Yankee style. The first settlement made was by a person named Austin, under a large grant from the Mexican government. Then "pioneers," under the denomination of "explorers," began gradually to take possession of the country, and carry on commercial negotiations without the a.s.sent of the government. This was followed by the public prints taking up the question, and setting forth the immense value of the country, and the consequent advantages that would arise to the United States from its acquisition. The settlers excited movements, and caused discontent and dissatisfaction among the legitimate owners; and at their instigation, insurrections of the Indians took place, which greatly embarra.s.sed the government. At this stage of the affair, Mr.

Poinsett, the American minister, commenced his diplomatic manoeuvres in the city of Mexico--fomenting disaffection, encouraging parties, and otherwise interfering in the internal concerns of the country. He appears, however, to have carried his intrigues beyond the bounds of discretion, as they were discovered; and he consequently became so obnoxious to the government and people of Mexico, that Jackson found it necessary to recall him, and send a Colonel Butler in his stead, commissioned to offer 5,000,000 dollars for the province of Texas.

Mr. Poinsett's object in acting as he did, was that he might embarra.s.s the government, and take advantage of some favourable crisis to drive a profitable bargain; or that, during some convulsion that would be likely to lead to a change, the expiring executive would be glad to grasp at his offer, and thereby a claim would be established on the country, which the United States would not readily relinquish. The policy of the British government suffering the Mexican republic to be bullied out of this province would be very questionable indeed, as the North Americans command at present quite enough of the Gulf of Mexico, and their overweening inclination to acquire extent of territory would render their proximity to the West Indian Islands rather dangerous; however, it would be much more advantageous to have the Mexicans as neighbours than the people of the United States.

The Mexican secretary of state, Don Lucas Alaman, in a very able and elaborate report made to Congress, sets forth the ambitious designs of the American government, and the proceedings of its agents with regard to this province. He also recommends salutary measures for the purpose of retaining possession and preventing further encroachments; which the Congress seems to have taken into serious consideration, as very important resolutions have been adopted. The Congress has decreed, that hereafter the Texas is to be governed as a colony; and, except by special commission of the Governor, the immigration of persons _from the United States_, is strictly forbidden. So much at present for the efforts of the Americans to get possession of the Texas; and if the British government be alive to the interests of the nation, they never shall;--for, entertaining the hostile feelings that they do towards the British empire, their closer connexion with the West Indies would certainly not be desirable.

FOOTNOTES:

[9] A "big bug," is a great man, in the phraseology of the western country.

[10] In the Indian tongue, _Meschacebe_--"old father of waters."

[11] I have been informed by a gentleman who has resided in the English West Indian Islands, that he has known instances there of highly educated white women, young and unmarried, making black mothers suckle puppy lap-dogs for them.

[12] Previous to my leaving America, a most extensive and well-organised conspiracy was discovered at Charleston, and several of the conspirators were executed. The whole black population of that town were to have risen on a certain day, and put their oppressors to death.

[13]

Extract from "The Liberal" of 19th March, 1830:--

"Const.i.tution des Etats unis.

"Art. 1 er. des Amendments.

"Le Congres n'aura pas le droit de faire aucune loi pour abreger la liberte de la parole ou de la presse, &c.

"Const.i.tution de L'Etat de la Louisiane.

"Art. 6, v. 21.

"La presse sera libre a tous ceux qui entreprendront d'examiner les procedures de la legislature ou aucune branche du gouvernement; et aucune loi sera jamais faite pour abreger ses droits, &c.

"Loi faite par la legislature de l'Etat de la Louisiane.

"Acte pour punir les crime y mentiones et pour d'autre objets.

"Sect. 1ere. Il et decrete, &c. Que quiconque ecrira, imprimera, publiera, ou repandra toute piece ayant une tendance a produire du mecontentement parmi la population de couleur libre, ou de l'insubordination parmi les esclaves de cet Etat, sera sur conviction du fait, pardevant toute cour de juridiction competante cond.a.m.ne a l'emprisonnement aux travaux forces pour la vie ou a la peine de mort, a la discretion de la cour!!!!

"Sec. 2. Il est de plus decrete, que quiconque se servira d'expressions dans un discours public p.r.o.nonce au barreau, au barre des Judges, au Theatre, en chaire, ou dans tout lieu quelconque; quiconque se servira d'expressions dans des conversations ou des discours particulars, ou fera usage des signes ou fera des actions ayant une tendance a produire du mecontentement parmi la population de couleur libre ou a exciter a l'insubordination parmi les esclaves de cet Etat; quiconque donnera sciemment la main a apporter dans cet Etat aucun papier, brochure ou livre ayant la meme tendance que dessus, sera, sur conviction, pardevant toute cour de juridiction competante, cond.a.m.ne a l'emprisonnement aux travaux forces pour un terme qui ne sera pas moindre de trois ans et qui n'excedera pas vingt un ans, ou a la peine de mort a la discretion de la cour!!!!

"Sec. 3. Il est de plus decrete, que seront considerees comme illegales toute reunions de negres; mulatres ou autres personnes de couleur libre dans le temples, les ecoles ou autres lieux pour y apprendre a lire ou a ecrire: et les personnes qui se reuniront ainsi; sur conviction du fait, pardevant toute cour de juridiction competente, seront emprisonnees pour un terme qui ne sera pas moindre d'un mois et qui n'excedera pas douze mois, a la discretion!!!!

"Sec. 4. Il est de plus decrete, que toute personne dans cet etat qui enseignera, permettra qu'on enseigne ou fera enseigner a lire ou a ecrire a un esclave quelconque, sera, sur conviction du fait, pardevant toute cour de juridiction competante, cond.a.m.ne a un imprisonnement qui ne sera pas moindre d'un mois et n'excedera pas douze mois!!!!"