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Jean Francois Marquis de Chastellux

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Herausgeber: Jazzybee Verlag
Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
Sprache: Englisch

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Jean François Marquis de Chastellux was a military officer in the rank of a major general who served during the War of American Independence in the French expeditionary forces led by general Comte de Rochambeau. After the war he traveled three years, including journeys through Virginia, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, of which he tells the reader in this book.

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Travels in North America in the Years 1780 - 1782

JEAN FRANCOIS MARQUIS DE CHASTELLUX

Travels in North America in the Years 1780 – 1782, Jean Francois Marquis de Chastellux

Jazzybee Verlag Jürgen Beck

86450 Altenmünster, Loschberg 9

Deutschland

ISBN: 9783849663803

www.jazzybee-verlag.de

[email protected]

PREFACE

As a memorial of the conflict which made the United States one of the nations of the earth, and a sketch of the features of the country, with some of the principal arbiters of its destiny in that momentous period, the Travels Of The Marquis De Chastellux will ever hold an honourable place in the interest and feelings, either of the American patriot or mere speculative reader. In following his narrative, however, it will readily be perceived, that the Author, a man of science, reflection, and literary habits, wrote more for private and individual gratification, than for critical scrutiny or the public eye. Hence the numerous little incidents and circumstances, the trivial anecdote and immaterial remark, designed only for a confidential and friendly ear; blended with the serious observations and profound reflections on the state of society, the origin and progress of events, and the probable future condition of our embryo republic. In preparing this work for an extensive impression, to an English mind it would appear, that much of his tea-table chit-chat and travelling memoranda might as well have been omitted; while on the graver and more weighty subjects of his inquiries, he will be perused with fixed regard and the deepest attention. A proficient in all the accomplishments of the most polished court in Europe, already distinguished by his literary attainments and productions, accustomed to modes of conduct and habits of thinking so dissimilar to what might be expected from the retired manners, the contracted sentiments, and the entire new scenes, furnished by our home-bred rustics, it is not extraordinary that some of his remarks seem rather deficient in that frankness and courtesy, which generally prevail throughout his work. ln solitary hamlets and unpeopled forests, he could not look for the balls, the theatres, and the levees of Paris. But he found a sturdy, honest, and intelligent yeomanry, rough as the soil they cultivate, resolved to defend their independence against a host of mercenaries, and successful in their object.

The uncommon merit of the French officers and soldiery, in their strict and exemplary demeanour throughout the conflict, well deserves the encomium it has received. In no instance was it known, that so much injury had been sustained by the inhabitants, from a regiment or brigade of the disciplined allies, as from a single company of the native militia.

The picture of our country, drawn by the hand of a master, in traits undoubtedly correct as far as they go, after a progress of nearly half a century, cannot but be reviewed with pleasure and gratulation by the American citizen, delighted with the present condition of the land of his nativity, and animated with its future prospects. In our improved method of travelling, the Marquis would have reached West Point from Providence, the long and tedious distance he so minutely describes, from town to town and house to house, on the same roads, very comfortably in fifty hours.

We have not admired the taste of the Translator, in some of his notes; and occasionally an observation of the Author is omitted, in a case where he would not, on the same occasion, have offered it to a Protestant neighbour. Yet when we keep in view his character as a stranger, a Frenchman, and a Roman Catholic, we must admit that he displays no common degree of discernment, of frankness, of good sense and liberality, in his discussion of the various topics before him; many of which have proved the soundness of his abstract reasoning, while others, from local or incidental causes, have exhibited effects widely different from the Author's anticipations.

The letters from Gen. Washington to the Author, are extracted from the New-York Literary Journal, of 1820-1, into which they were copied from the original manuscripts of Madame Chastellux, after the death of her husband. They detract nothing from the amiable, the patriotic, and the philosophical character of their illustrious writer.

This edition of the Marquis' work, is copied from an English translation, in two volumes, published in 1787. In its consolidated and economical form, it will doubtless be an acceptable addition to the literary and historical reading of our country. Unwilling that the mistakes of the intelligent Author and his Translator should be extended and perpetuated by this first American impression, the editor has added a variety of NOTES and CORRECTIONS, which it has been deemed preferable to place at the end of the volume, instead of inserting them at the foot of the pages to which they respectively refer, as the notes of the Translator already occupy so large a portion of the work. For the sake of method and perspicuity, he has divided the whole into Parts and Chapters to which he has prepared and adapted the Table of Contents.

The public have been long informed that the Marquis de Chastellux had written Journals of his Travels in North America, and they seem to have wished to see those Journals more generally diffused. The Author, who had arranged them solely for himself and for his friends, has constantly refused to make them public until this moment. The first and most considerable, in fact, were printed in America; but only twenty-four impressions were struck off, and this with no other view than to avoid the multiplying of copies, which were become indispensably necessary, in a country and at a time when there was very little hope of any packets reaching Europe, but by the means of duplicates. Besides that, he thought proper to avail himself of the small printing press on board the squadron at Rhode-Island. Of these twenty-four impressions, not above ten or twelve reached Europe, and the Author had addressed them all to persons on whom he could rely, and whom he had requested not to suffer any copies to be taken. The curiosity, however, which everything respecting America at that time inspired, excited much anxiety to read them. They passed successively through a great many hands, and there is reason to believe that the readers have not all been equally scrupulous; nor can it even be doubted that there exist some manuscript copies, which being hastily executed, may be presumed to be incorrect.

In the spring of 1782, the Marquis de Chastellux made a journey into Upper Virginia; and, in the autumn of the same year, another into the States of Massachusetts, and New-Hampshire, and the back part of Pennsylvania. According to custom, he wrote journals of these expeditions; but, being on his return to Europe, he reserved them to himself. These therefore are known only to a few friends, to whom he lent them; for he invariably denied the request of many persons, and particularly our own, to empower us to lay them before the public. One of his friends however, who has a very extensive correspondence in foreign countries, having pressed him much to furnish him with at least a few detached extracts from these journals, for the purpose of inserting them in a periodical work printed at Gotha, the object of which is to collect such works as have not been made public, he consented; and, during a whole year, there appeared in each number of this Journal a few pages taken here and there from those of the Marquis de Chastellux. These extracts were not in a regular series and were indifferently taken from the first and second parts of the Travels. The Author had used this precaution, to prevent the foreign booksellers from collecting them, and imposing them on the public as a complete work. Experience has proved the insufficiency of this precaution. A printer of Cassel, without any scruple, has collected these detached extracts, and without announcing that they had no coherency, has printed them under the title of Voyages de Monsieur le Chevalier de Chastellux, the name the Author bore two years ago.

The publication of a work so mutilated and unmethodical, and which the Marquis de Chastellux by no means expected, so far from flattering, could not but be displeasing to him. We deemed this a proper opportunity for renewing our instances to him, and have, in consequence, obtained his original manuscript. We have lost no time in giving it to the public, and have exerted the utmost pains to render it, from the execution, worthy of the importance of the subject, and of the name and reputation of the Author.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

The Marquis de Chastellux was of an ancient family in Bourgogne, and was born in Paris, in 1734. In his early childhood he lost his father, who was Lieutenant-General in the army of the king, and commandant in Roussillon. He entered the service at fifteen years of age, and at twenty-one, had the command of a regiment: a short time after he obtained the command of a regiment of his own name. He served during the seven years' war in Germany, with credit to himself and country. But, even among the busy and boisterous scenes of hostile movements, he pursued at every interval, his favourite literary studies. The activity of his mind was equal, in a high degree, to his thirst for knowledge. A sincere desire to be useful to mankind, and firmness to encounter every danger to gratify that desire, were characteristics of his mind.

When the subject of inoculation for the smallpox was introduced, it was difficult to procure a subject who was willing to submit, to the then untried experiment in France. Chastellux, though a youth of about twenty years of age, offered to submit to the experiment. After his recovery, he called upon a friend, and made use of the following noble expression: "Here I am, safe; and what is still more gratifying to me is, that, by my example, I shall be the means of saving many others."

In 1780 he accompanied the army commanded by Lieutenant-General Count Rochambeau to the United States; in which army, he held the rank of Major-General. In this station he never ceased to give proofs of activity, knowledge, and firmness; by which he received, not only the applause of his King, and the American Commander-in-Chief, but even of their enemies. In this service, he was particularly distinguished by that penetrating judge of merit, General Washington. An intimate and sincere friendship took place between them, which ended only with their lives.

He held a distinguished rank among the literary characters of France; and some of his works are esteemed among the most valuable productions of the age. He died in 1788; leaving an accomplished and amiable widow, and an infant son, Alfred, who appears to possess the active disposition of his father; and promises, like him, to pursue the road to usefulness and fame.

The Marquis of Chastellux was taken from the world, at a time when the services of such men were most needed; but perhaps, he might, as well as the numerous friends he left behind, have been overwhelmed by the torrent of anarchy, which, soon after his death, spread terror and devastation over his beloved country. He was a sincere friend of rational liberty; but possessed too much firmness and integrity to have been a silent spectator of that licentiousness, which, under the perverted name of liberty, was the most horrid of all tyrannies.

Part I. Journal of a Tour from Newport to Philadelphia, Albany &c.

CHAPTER 1

From my landing at Newport, on the 11th of July, it was hardly possible for me to be absent even for two days. On the 19th of that month the English fleet began to show itself before the port; the next day we reckoned two and twenty sail, and a few days after, we learnt that the enemy were embarking troops, nor were we informed before the middle of August of their being again disembarked at New-York, and on Long-Island. But still it appeared by no means clear that they had abandoned their undertaking: we received every day fresh advices, which bespoke new embarkations; on our part we were adding to our fortifications, and our still recent establishment furnished me with daily employment of such a nature as not to admit of my absence. M. de Rochambeau, who had long proposed visiting his posts at Providence, was unable to carry his project into execution before the 30th of August. I accompanied him, and we returned the next day. [1] On the 18th of September, he set out for Hartford in Connecticut, with the Admiral Chevalier de Ternay, where General, Washington had given him a rendezvous. I did not attend him in this journey, and as fortune would have it, we found ourselves in the most critical situation in which we had been since our arrival. The general belief at Rhode-Island was, that M. de Guichen, who we knew had quitted St. Domingo, was coming to join us, and we expected to go into immediate action. On the 19th, we found that instead of M. de Guichen, Admiral Rodney was arrived at New-York with ten ships of the line. Not the smallest doubt was entertained among us of an attack upon the French fleet, and even the army. The vessels in consequence were laid across the harbour, with springs on their cables, and their anchorage was protected by new batteries, which were constructed with great judgment and celerity. In the beginning of October, the season being then advanced, without any thing being undertaking by Admiral Rodney, we had reason to expect that we should remain quiet for the remainder of the year, and our sole occupation was in preparing winter quarters for the troops. They took possession of them the 1st of November: and I might now without risk have absented myself from the army; but not wishing to show too much anxiety, and desirous of seeing discipline, and the arrangements relative to the cantonments well established, I deferred until the 11th setting out on a long tour upon the continent.

I left Rhode-Island that day with Mr. Lynch and M. de Montesquieu,[2] who had each of them a servant. I had three, one of whom had a led horse, and another drove a small cart, which I was advised to take, to convey my portmanteaus, and to avoid hurting my horses in the journey. It was then a hard frost, the earth was covered with snow, and the north-easterly wind blew very sharp. In going from Bristol to the Ferry, I went out of my way to view the fortifications of Butshill, and I reached the ferry at half past eleven? [3] The passages was long and difficult, because the wind was contrary. We were obliged to make three tacks, and it was necessary to make two trips, to pass over our horses, and the cart. At two o'clock I arrived at Warren, a small town in the state of Massachusetts, eighteen miles distant from Newport. I alighted at a good inn, the master of which, called Buhr, is remarkable for his enormous size as well as that of his wife, his son, and all his family. My intention was only to have baited my horses, but the cold continuing to increase, and the cart not arriving before three o'clock, I gave up all thoughts of going to sleep at Providence, and I determined to stay at Warren, where I was in very good quarters. After dinner I went to the bank of the little river Barrington, which runs near this town, to see a sloop come in which had arrived from Port au Prince. This sloop belonged to Mr. Porter, Brigadier-General of the Militia, nephew to Mr. Buhr, and still more bulky than himself. Colonel Green whom I met upon the quay, made me acquainted with Mr. Porter, and we drank tea with him, in a simple, but comfortable house, the inside and inhabitants of which presented a specimen of American manners.

The 12th I set out at half past eight for Providence, where I arrived at noon. I alighted at the college, that is to say, at our hospital, which I examined, and dined with Mr. Blanchard, Commissary of war. At half past four I went to Colonel Bowen's where I had lodged in my first journey, I drank tea there with several ladies, one of whom, rather handsome, was called Miss Angel. I was then conducted to Mrs. Varnum's where I again found company, and from thence to Governor Bowen's, who gave me a bed.

The 13th, I breakfasted with Colonel Peck: he is an amiable and polite young man, who passed the last summer with General Heath at Newport. He received me in a charming small house, where he lived with his wife, who is young also, and has a pleasing countenance, but without any thing striking. This little establishment, where comfort and simplicity reign, gave an idea of that sweet and serene state of happiness, which appears to have taken refuge in the New World, after compounding it with pleasure, to which it has left the Old.

The town of Providence is built on the bank of a river only six miles long, and which disembogues itself in the gulf wherein are Rhode-Island, Connecticut, Providence, &c. It has only one street, which is very long: the suburb, which is considerable, is on the other side of the river. This town is handsome, the houses are not spacious, but well built, and properly arranged within. It is pent in between two chains of mountains, one to the north, and the other to south-west, which causes an insupportable heat in summer; but it is exposed to the north-west wind, which rakes it from one end to the other, and renders it extremely cold in winter. It may contain two thousand five hundred inhabitants. Its situation is very advantageous for commerce; which accordingly is very considerable in times of peace. Merchant ships may load and unload their cargoes in the town itself, and ships of war cannot approach the harbour. Their commerce is the same with that of Rhode-Island and Boston; they export staves, and salt provisions, and bring back salt, and a great quantity of molasses, sugar, and other articles from the West-Indies: they fit out vessels also for the cod and whale fishery. The latter is carried on successfully between Cape Cod and Long-Island; but they go often as far as Baffin's Straits, and Falkland's Island. The inhabitants of Providence, like those of Newport, also carry on the Guinea trade; they buy slaves there and carry them to the West-Indies, where they take bills of exchange on Old England, for which they receive, woolens, stuffs, and other merchandize [4] .

On quitting Colonel Peck, I mounted my horse for Voluntown, where I proposed sleeping. I stopped at Scituate, in a very indifferent inn, called the Angel's Tavern; it is about halfway to Voluntown: I baited my horses there, and set out in an hour, without seeing my cart arrive. From this place to Voluntown the road is execrable; one is perpetually mounting and descending, and always on the most rugged roads. It was six o'clock, and the night closed in, when I reached D –––'s Tavern, which is only five and twenty miles from Providence. I dismounted with the more pleasure as the weather was extremely bad. I was well accommodated, and kindly received at Mr. D –––'s. He is an old gentleman of seventy-three years of age, tall, and still vigorous; he is a native of Ireland, first settled in Massachusetts, and afterwards in Connecticut. His wife, who is younger than him, is active, handy, and obliging; but her family is charming. It consists of two young men, one twenty-eight, and the other twenty-one years old; a child of twelve, and two girls from eighteen to twenty, as handsome as angels. The eldest of these young women was sick, kept her chamber, and did not show herself. I learnt afterwards that she was in the family way, and almost ready to lie-in: she was deceived by a young man, who, after promising to marry her, absented himself and did not return. [5]

Chagrin and the consequences of her situation had thrown her into a state of languor; she never came down to the ground floor on which her parents lived; but great care was taken of her, and she had always somebody to keep her company. Whilst a good supper was preparing for me, I went into the room where the family was assembled, where I observed a shelf with forty or fifty volumes on it; on opening them I found that they were all classical authors, Greek, Latin, or English. They belonged to Mr. D –––'s eldest son. This young man had received a regular education, and was tutor at Providence college, until the war interrupted his studies. I conversed with him on various points of literature, and particularly on the manner in which the dead languages should be pronounced. I found him well informed, and possessed of much simplicity and modesty. [6]

We were waited on at supper by a most beautiful girl, called Miss Pearce. She was a neighbour of Mrs. D –––-, and had come on a visit, and to assist her in the absence of her youngest daughter. This young person had, like all the American women, a very decent, nay even serious carriage; she had no objection to be looked at, nor to have her beauty commended, nor even to receive a few caresses, provided it was done without an air of familiarity or libertinism. Licentious manners, in fact, are so foreign in America, that the communication with young women leads to nothing bad, and that freedom itself there bears a character of modesty far beyond our affected bashfulness and false reserve. But neither my excellent supper, nor the books of Mr. D –––-, nor even the fine eyes of Miss Pearce, made my cart arrive, and I was obliged to go to rest without hearing any news from it. As I desired a chamber with a fire in it, Miss Pearce prepared me one, informing me at the same time, that it communicated with that of the sick lady with whom she slept, and inquired of me very politely, whether it would incommode me if she should pass through my chamber after I was in bed. I assured her, that if she disturbed my sleep, it would not be as a frightful dream. And, in fact, she came a quarter of an hour after I was in bed. I pretended to sleep, in order to examine her countenance; she passed very gently, turning her head the other way, and hiding the light for fear of awakening me. I do not know whether I shall pronounce my praise or condemnation, by saying, that I soon after all into a profound sleep.

On my rising I found Miss Pearce, but not my cart, which it seemed more than probable was broke into a thousand pieces. I was determined to give up that mode of conveying my little baggage, which still it was necessary to have. I resolved, therefore, to wait for them, and take my breakfast, a resolution much easier adopted. At length, about eleven o'clock, my sentinels announced its appearance. It was matter of great joy to the whole crew to see it arrive, although crippled, and towed by a hired horse, which they had been obliged to put before mine. It is proper to observe, that my attendants, proud of possessing ample means of transporting my effects, had loaded it with many useless articles; that being apprised myself that wine was not always to be met with in the inns, [7] I had thought proper to furnish myself with cantinas which held twelve bottles, and having taken the precaution to ask for two or three white loaves of bread from the commissary of provisions at Providence, he had packed up twenty, which alone weighed upwards of eighty pounds, so that my poor cart was laden till on the point of sinking. Its greatest misfortune, however, arose from striking on the rocks, which had broke one wheel and greatly damaged the other. I soon determined to leave it with Mr. D –––-, who undertook to get it repaired, and it was resolved that my wine should be divided into three parts, one of which should be drank the same day, the other left with the landlord, with a request to keep it till my return, and that the third should be offered him, with a request to drink it; which met with no difficulty. The remainder of the day, however, being dedicated to make new dispositions, I determined on remaining at Voluntown. I made a general inspection of my baggage; everything unnecessary was packed up and left with Mr. D –––-; the rest put into portmanteaus, and by a promotion à la Prussienne, on the field of battle, my cart-horse was elevated to the saddle. The reading of some English poets, and the conversation with Messrs. Lynch and Montesquieu, and the good people of the house, made me pass the day very agreeably. Towards the evening, two travellers came into the room I was in, seated themselves by the fire, and began to yawn and whistle, without paying the least attention to me. The conversation, however, gradually enlivened, and became very interesting and agreeable. One of them was a colonel of militia, who had served in Canada, and had been in several engagements, wherein he was wounded. I shall observe once for all, that among the men I have met with, above twenty years of age, of whatsoever condition, I have not found two who have not borne arms, heard the whistling of balls, and even received some wounds; so that it may be asserted, that North America is entirely military, and inured to war, and that new levies may continually be made without making new soldiers. [The translator confirms this assertion, except with regard to the pacific religious sects, in the whole extent of his observations from Virginia to New-Hampshire.]

On the 15th, I set out from Voluntown at eight in the morning. I travelled five miles in the mountains, after which I saw the horizon expand itself, and my eye very soon had its full scope. On descending the hills, and before we reached the valley, is the town or hamlet of Plainfield; for what is called in America, a town or township, is only a certain number of houses, dispersed over a great space, but which belong to the same incorporation, and send deputies to the general assembly of the state. The center or headquarters of these towns is the meeting-house or church. This church stands sometimes single, and is sometimes surrounded by or five houses only; whence it happens, that when a traveller asks the question: How far is it to such a town? He is answered, You are there already; but when he specifies the place he wishes to be at, whether it be the meeting, or such a tavern, he not unfrequently is told, You are seven or eight miles from it. Plainfield is a small town, but a large district, for there are full thirty houses within reach of the meeting? [8] Its situation is agreeable; but it presents, besides, a military aspect: this was the first I had remarked. An army might encamp there on little heights, behind which the hills rise in an amphitheater, thus presenting successive positions as far as the great woods, which would serve as the last retreat. The foot of the heights of Plainfield is fortified by morasses, only passable by one causeway, which would oblige the enemy to file off to attack you. [9] The right and left are supported by escarpments. On the right also is a marsh, which renders it more difficult of access. This camp is fit for six, eight, or even ten thousand men; it might serve to cover Providence and Massachusetts state, against troops who had passed the Connecticut river. At two miles from Plainfield the road turns towards the north, and after travelling two or three miles farther, is the river of Quinebaug, along the edge of which we travel about a mile to pass it at Canterbury, over a pretty long, and tolerably constructed, wooden bridge. This river is neither navigable, nor fordable, but flows amidst stones, which renders its bed very uneven. The inhabitants of the neighbourhood, form dams here in the shape of a projecting angle to catch the eels: the summit of the angle is in the middle of the river; there they place nets in the shape of a purse, where the fish which follow the current of water seldom escape being caught. The bridge at Canterbury is built in rather a deep and narrow valley. The meetinghouse of the town is on the right bank, as well as the greatest part of the houses, but there are some also on the eminences towards the cast, which appeared to me well built and agreeably situated. These heights being of the same elevation with those to the west, Canterbury [10] offer two positions, equally advantageous for two armies, which might dispute the passage of the Quenebaugh. After passing Canterbury, we enter the woods, and a chain of hills, which must be passed by very rugged and difficult roads. Six or seven miles farther, the country begins to open, and we descend agreeably to Windham. It is a very handsome little town, or rather it is the stock from which a handsome town will spring. There are forty or fifty houses pretty near each other, and so situated as to present the appearance of a large public square and three large streets. The Seunganick, or Windham River, runs near this town, but is of no great use to its trade, for it is no more navigable than the Quenebaugh, with which it joins its waters to form the river Thames. It may be observed in reading this journal, and still more by the inspection of the Charts, that the rivers in general, and many towns, have retained their Indian names; this nomenclature has something interesting in it, as it confirms the still recent origin of these multiplied settlements, and is perpetually presenting to the mind a very striking contrast between the former, and present state of this vast country.

Windham is fifteen miles from Voluntown. I there found Lauzun's hussars, who were stationed in it for a week, until their quarters were prepared at Lebanon. I dined with the Duke de Lauzun, and being unable to get away before half after three, the night, which soon came on, obliged me to stop at six miles from Windham, at a little solitary tavern,[11] kept by Mrs. Hill. As the house had an indifferent appearance, I asked if we could have beds, the only want we had; for the Duke de Lauzun's dinner had left us in no uneasiness about supper. Mrs. Hill told me, after the manner of the country, that she could only spare one bed, as she had a sick traveller in the house whom she would not disturb. This traveller was a poor soldier of the continental army, who was going home on a furlough for the benefit of his health. He had his furlough in his pocket in regular form, as well as the exact account of what was due to him, but he had not a farthing either in paper or in hard money. Mrs. Hill, notwithstanding, had given him a good bed as he was too ill to continue his journey, she had kept him, and taken care of him for four days. We arranged matters in the best way we could: the soldier kept his bed. I gave him some money to help him on his journey, and Mrs. Hill appeared to me much more affected with this charity, than with the good hard money I gave her to pay her bill.

The 16th, at eight in the morning, I took leave of my kind land lady, and followed the road to Hartford, beginning my journey on foot, on account of the extreme coldness of the morning. After descending by a gentle declivity, for about two miles, I got into a pretty narrow, but agreeable and well cultivated valley: it is watered by a rivulet which falls into the Seunganick, and which is decorated with the name of Hope River. We follow this valley to Bolton town, or township, which has nothing remarkable. There we traverse a chain of pretty lofty mountains, which extend from north to south like all the hills in Connecticut. On quitting these mountains, we come to the first houses of East-Hartford. Though we were but five miles from Hartford Court House, we wished to rest our horses, which had travelled twenty-three miles on a stretch. The inn we stopped at was kept by Mr. Marsh: he is, according to the English phrase, a good farmer; that is, a good cultivator. He told me that he had begun a settlement in the state of Vermont, where he had purchased two hundred acres of land for forty dollars, about two hundred livres of our money, or something more than eight pounds English. The state of Vermont is a vast country, situated to the eastward of New-Hampshire and Massachusetts,[12] and to the north of Connecticut, between the river of that name, and Hudson's river. As it is lately peopled and has always been an object of contention between the states of New-York and New-Hampshire, there is properly speaking no established government. Ethan Allen, celebrated for the expedition he undertook in 1775 against Ticonderoga, of his own accord, and without any other aid than that of the volunteers who followed him, has made himself the chief of that country. He has formed there an assembly of representatives; this assembly grants lands, and the country is governed by its own laws, without having any connection with congress. The inhabitants however are not the less enemies of the English; but under the pretext that they form the frontier against Canada, and are obliged to guard it, they furnish no contingent to the expenses of the war. They had long no other name than that of Green Mountain Boys , but thinking this too ignoble an appellation for their new destiny, they translated Green Mountain into French; which made Verd Mont , and by corruption Vermont. It remains to be seen whether it is corruption also, that this country has assumed the title of the state of Vermont.[13]

About four in the evening, I arrived, at Hartford ferry, after travelling over a very inconvenient road, a great part of which forms a narrow causeway through a marshy wood. We pass this ferry, like all the others in America,[14] in a flat boat with oars. I found the inns at Hartford so full that it was impossible to procure a lodging. The four eastern states, Massachusetts New-Hampshire, Rhode-Island, and Connecticut were then holding their assemblies in that town. These four states have long maintained a particular connection with each other, and they meet together by deputies, sometimes in one state, sometimes in another. Each legislature sends deputies. In a circumstance, so uncommon in America, as room being wanted for men collected together, Colonel Wadsworth's house offered me a most agreeable asylum; I lodged with him, as well as the Duke de Lauzun, who had passed me on the road. Mr. Dumas,[15] who belonged to the staff of the army, and was then attached to the Duke de Lauzun, Mr. Lynch and Mr. de Montequieu were well accommodated in the neighbourhood.

Colonel Wadsworth is about two and thirty, very tall and well made, and has a noble as well as agreeable countenance. He lived formerly on Long-Island; and from his infancy was engaged in commerce and navigation: he had already made several voyages to the coast of Guinea and the West-Indies, when according to the American expression, the present contestation began. He then served in the army and was in several actions; but General Washington discovering that his talents might be more usefully employed, made him Commissary of Provisions. This is a military post in America, and those who fill it, are as much respected as the first officer of the line. The Commissary General is charged with all the purchases, and the Quarter Master with all the conveyances; it is the latter who marks out the ground, establishes the magazines, provides carriages, and distributes the ration: it is also in his receipts and orders that the Paymasters make their payments; he is, in short, properly speaking, a Military Intendant, while the Commissary General may be compared to a Munitionnaire with us, who should undertake to provide forage as well as provisions. I think this arrangement as good as ours, though these departments have not been exempt from abuses, and even blame in the of the present war; but it must be observed, that whenever the government wants political force, and the treasury is without money, the administration of affairs is always ruinous, and often culpable. This reflection alone will afford sufficient subject for the eulogium of Colonel Wadsworth, when it is known that throughout all America, there is not one voice against him, and that his name is never pronounced without the homage due to his talents and his probity. The particular confidence of General Washington puts the seal upon his merit.[16] The Marquis de la Fayette judged extremely well therefore in getting Mr. de Corny to employ him, in furnishing the provisions necessary for the French troops which were then expected. As soon as they were disembarked at Rhode-Island, he again proposed him as the most proper man in the world to assist them in all their wants, but those who had the direction of the army did not at that time think proper to employ him. They even conceived some suspicions of him, from false ideas, and eagerly substituted for a Commissary of understanding and reputation, undertakers, without out fortune, and without character; who promised everything, performed nothing, and soon threw our affairs into confusion: first by augmenting the price of articles by purchases hastily made, and frequently in opposition one to another, and finally by throwing into circulation, and offering at a great discount, the bills of exchange they had engaged to receive for two-thirds of all their payments. These bargains, and contracts, succeeded eventually so ill, that we were obliged, but too late, to have recourse to Mr. Wadsworth, who resumed the affairs with as much nobleness as he had quitted them; always as superior to injuries by his character, as he is by his talents to the innumerable obstacles that surrounded him.

Another interesting personage was then at Hartford, and I went to pay him a visit: this was Governor Trumbull; Governor, by excellence , for he has been so these fifteen years, having been always rechosen at the end of every two years, and equally possessing the public esteem under the English government, and under that of the Congress. He is seventy years old; his whole life is consecrated to business, which he passionately loves, whether important or not; or rather, with respect to him, there is none of the latter description. He has all the simplicity in his dress, all the importance, and even pedantry becoming the great magistrate of a small republic He brought to my mind the burgomasters of Holland in the time of the Heinsiuses and the Barnevelts. I had been informed that he was employed in a history of the present revolution, and I was curious to read this work; I told him that I hoped to see him on my return at Lebanon, (his place of abode) and I should then request permission to look over his manuscript; but he assured me that he had only written the introduction, which he had addressed to the Chevalier de la Luzerne, our ambassador. I procured it during my stay in Philadelphia, but it is only an historical recapitulation, rather superficial, and by no means free from partiality in the manner of representing the events of the war. The only interesting fact I found in it, was in the journal of a Governor Winthrop, in the year 1670, where he says, that, the members of the council of Massachusetts, being advised by their friends in London to address themselves to the parliament, to whom the King then left a great deal of authority, as the best means of obtaining the redress of some grievances, the council, after mature deliberation, thought proper to decline the proposal, reflecting, that if they put themselves once under the protection of parliament, they should be obliged to submit to all the laws that assembly might impose, whether on the nation in general, or on the colonies in particular. Now, nothing can more strongly prove, that these colonies, even in the very origin, never acknowledged the authority of parliament, nor imagined they could be bound by laws of their making.

The 17th, in the morning, I parted with regret from my host and the Duke de Lauzun; but it was not till after breakfast, for it is a thing unheard of in America to set off without breakfast. By this indispensable delay I had an opportunity of making acquaintance with General Parsons. He appeared to me a sensible man, and he is so esteemed in his country; but he has had little opportunity of displaying great military talents; he was, in fact, what one must never be, in war, or in any thing, unfortunate. His outset was on Long-Island, where he was taken, and he has since been in all the bad affairs, so that he is better known for his capacity in business, than for the share he has had in the events of the war.

The road I had to, travel becoming henceforth difficult and rather desert, it was determined that I should not exceed ten miles that day, that I might meet with good quarters; and get my horses in order for the next day's journey. The place I was to stop at was Farmington. Mr. Wadsworth, fearing I should not find a good inn there, gave me a letter of recommendation to one of his relations of the name of Lewis, where he assured me I should be well received, without incommoding any person, and without straightening myself, for that I should pay my reckoning as at an inn. In fact, when the taverns are bad, or that they are so situated as not to suit the convenience of the traveler, it is the custom in America, to ask for quarters of some individual at his ease, who can spare room in his house for you, and can give stabling for your horses: the traveler and his host then converse together on equal terms; but he is paid merely as an inn-keeper.

The town of Hartford does not merit any attention either in travelling through, or in speaking of it. It consists of a very long street, parallel with the river; it is pretty regular and connected, that is, the houses are not distant from each other. But it has many appendages; everything is Hartford six leagues round; but East-Hartford, West-Hartford, and New-Hartford are distinct towns, though composed of houses scattered through the country. I have already mentioned what constitutes a town; it is to have one or two meetings, particular assemblies, and the right of sending deputies to the general assembly. These townships may be compared to the curiæ of the Romans. From a very lofty plain on the road to Farmington, one discovers not only all the Hartfords, but all that part of the continent watered by the river of that name,[17] situated between the eastern and western chains of mountains. This place is called Rocky Hill. The houses of West-Hartford, frequently dispersed, and sometimes grouped together, and everywhere adorned with trees and meadows, form of the road to Farmington such a garden, in the English style, as it would be difficult for art to imitate. Their inhabitants add some industry likewise to their rich culture; some common cloths and other woolen stuffs are fabricated here, but of a good wear, and sufficient to clothe the people who live in the country, or in any other town than Boston, New-York, and Philadelphia. I went into a house where they were preparing and dying the cloth. This cloth is made by the people of the country, and is then sent to these little manufactories, where it is dressed, pressed, and dyed, for two shillings, lawful money, per yard, which makes about thirty-five sols French, or seventeen-pence English, the Connecticut pound being equal to something more than three dollars. I reached Farmington at three in the afternoon. It is a pretty little town, with a handsome meetinghouse, and fifty houses collected, all neat and well built. It is situated on the declivity of the mountains: the river which bears the same name runs at the foot of them, and turns towards the north, without showing itself; but the view of the valley is, notwithstanding, very agreeable. After dismounting, I took advantage of the good weather, to take a walk in the streets, or rather in the highways. I saw through the windows of a house that they were working at some trade; I entered, and found them making a sort of camblet, as well as another woolen stuff with blue and white stripes for women's dress: these stuffs are sold at three shillings and six-pence the yard, lawful money, or about two and twenty-pence English. The sons and grandsons of the family were at work; one workman can easily make five yards a day. The prime cost of the materials being only one shilling currency, the day's work may amount to ten or twelve. On my return from this walk I found an excellent dinner prepared for me, without my having said a word to the family. After dinner, about the close of the day, Mr. Lewis, who had been abroad on his affairs during a part of the day, came into the parlour where I was, seated himself by the fire, lighted his pipe, and entered into conversation with me. I found him an active and intelligent man, well acquainted with public affairs, and with his own: he carried on a trade of cattle, like all the farmers of Connecticut; he was then employed in furnishing provisions for the army, and was principally taken up in slaughtering, and salting cattle for the state of Connecticut, to be sent to Fishkill. For each state is obliged to furnish not only money, but other articles for the army: those to the eastward supply it with cattle, rum, and salt; and those to the westward with flour and forage. Mr. Lewis has borne arms also for his country: he was at the affairs of Long-Island and Saratoga, of which he gave me an exact account; in the last he served as a volunteer. At teatime Mrs. Lewis and her sister-in-law gave us their company. Mrs. Lewis had just recovered from lying-in, and had her child in her arms: she is near thirty, with a very agreeable face, and so amiable, and so polite a carriage, as to present a picture of decency itself, to every country in the world. The conversation was interestingly supported the whole evening. The family retired at nine o'clock; I did not see them in the morning and paid my bill to the servants: it was neither dear nor cheap, but the just price of everything, regulated without interest, and without compliments.

CHAPTER II.

I got on horseback at eight o'clock on the 18th, and at the distance of a mile fell in with the river of Farmington, along which I rode for some time. There was nothing interesting in this part of my journey, except that having, fired my pistol at a jay, to my great astonishment the bird fell. This had been for many days an object of curiosity with me, and it is really a most beautiful creature. It is quite blue, but it unites all the various shades of that colour so as to surpass the invention of art and be very difficult of imitation. I must remark by the bye, that the Americans call it only by the name of the blue bird , though it is a real jay; but the Americans are far from being successful in enriching their native language. On everything which wanted an English name, they have bestowed only a simple descriptive one: the jay is the blue bird, the cardinal, the red bird; every water bird is a duck, from the teal to the canard de dois, and to the large black duck which we have not in Europe. They call them, red ducks, black ducks, wood ducks. It is the same with respect to their trees; the pine, the cypresses, the firs, are all comprehended under the general name of pine-trees; and if the people characterize any particular tree, it is from the use to which it is applied, as the wall-nut ,[18] from its serving to the construction of wooden houses. I could cite many other examples, but it is sufficient to observe, that this poverty of language proves how much men's attention has been employed in objects of utility, and how much at the same time it has been circumscribed by the only prevailing interest, the desire of augmenting wealth, rather by dint of labour, than by industry. But to return to my jay; I resolved to make a trophy of it, in the manner of the savages, by scalping it of its skin and feathers; and content with my victory, I pursued my journey, which soon brought me amidst the steepest and most difficult mountains I had yet seen. They are covered with woods as old as the creation, but which do not differ from ours. These hills heaped confusedly one upon another, oblige you to be continually mounting and descending, without your being able to distinguish in this wild region, the summit, which rising above the rest, announces to you a conclusion to your labours. This disorder of nature reminded me of the lessons of him whom she has chosen for her confident and interpreter. The vision of Mr. de Buffon appeared to me in these ancient deserts. He seemed to be in his proper element, and to point out to me, under a slight crust formed by the destruction of vegetables, the inequality of a globe of glass, which has cooled after a long fusion. The waters said he, have done nothing here; look around you, you will not find a single calcareous stone; everything is quartz, granite, or flint. I made experiments on the stones with aqua fortis, and I could not help concluding, what has not obtained sufficient credit in Europe, not only that he speaks well, but he is always in the right.

While I was meditating on the great process of nature, which employs fifty thousand years in rendering the earth habitable, a new spectacle, well calculated as a contrast to those which I had been contemplating, fixed my attention, and excited my curiosity: this was the work of a single man, who in the space of a year had cut down several arpents of wood, and had built himself a house in the middle of a pretty extensive territory he had already cleared. I saw, for the first time, what I have since observed a hundred times; for in fact, whatever mountains I have climbed, whatever forests I have traversed, whatever bye-paths I have followed, I have never travelled three miles without meeting with a new settlement, either beginning to take form or already in cultivation. The following is the manner of proceeding in these improvements or new settlements. Any man who is able to procure a capital of five or six hundred livres of our money, or about twenty-five pounds sterling, and who has strength and inclination to work, may go into the woods and purchase a portion of one hundred and fifty or two hundred acres of land, which seldom costs him more than a dollar or four shillings and six-pence an acre, a small part of which only he pays in ready money. There he conducts a cow, some pigs, or a full sow, and two indifferent horses which do not cost him more than four guineas each. To these precautions he adds that of having a provision of flour and cider. Provided with this first capital, he begins by felling all the smaller trees, and some strong branches of the large ones: these he makes use of as fences to the first field he wishes to clear; he next boldly attacks those immense oaks, or pines, which one would take for the ancient lords of the territory he is usurping; he strips them of their bark, or lays them open all round with his axe. These trees mortally wounded, are, the next spring robbed of their honours; their leaves no longer spring, their branches fall, and their trunk becomes a hideous skeleton. This trunk still, seems to brave the efforts of the new colonist; but where there are the smallest chinks or crevices, it is surrounded by fire, and the flames consume what the iron was unable to destroy. But it is enough for the small trees to be felled, and the great ones to lose their sap. This object completed, the ground is cleared; the air and the sun begin to operate upon that earth, which is wholly formed of rotten vegetables, and teems with the latent principles of production. The grass grows rapidly; there is pasturage for the cattle the very first year; after which they are left to increase, or fresh ones are brought, and they are employed in tilling a piece of ground which yields the enormous increase of twenty or thirty-fold. The next year the same course is repeated; when, at the end of two years, the planter has wherewithal to subsist, and even to send some articles to market: at the end of four or five years, he completes the payment of his land, and finds himself a comfortable planter. Then his dwelling, which at first was no better than a large hut formed by a square of the trunks of trees, placed one upon another, with the intervals filled by mud, changes into a handsome wooden house, where he contrives more convenient, and certainly much cleaner apartments than those in the greatest part of our small towns. This is the work of three weeks or a month. His first habitation, that of eight and forty hours. I shall be asked, perhaps, how one man or one family can be so quickly lodged; I answer, that in America a man is never alone, never an isolated being. The neighbours, for they are everywhere to be found, make it a point of hospitality to aid the new farmer. A cask of cider drank in common, and with gaiety, or a gallon of rum, are the only recompense for these services. Such are the means by which North America, which one hundred years ago was nothing but a vast forest, is peopled with three millions of inhabitants; and such is the immense, and certain benefit of agriculture, that notwithstanding the war, it not only maintains itself where ever it has been established, but it extends to places which seem the least favourable to its introduction. Four years ago, one might have travelled ten miles in the woods I traversed, without seeing a single habitation.

Harrington is the first township I met with on my road. This place is sixteen miles from Farmington, and eight from Litchfield. Four miles before we come to this last town, we pass a wooden bridge over the river of Waterbury; this river is pretty large, but not navigable. Litchfield, or the Meetinghouse of Litchfield, is situated on a large plain more elevated than the surrounding heights; about fifty houses pretty near each other, with a large square, or rather area, in the middle, announces the progress of this town, which is already the county town; for America is divided into districts, called Counties, in some Provinces, as in England. It is in the capital of these counties that the court of sessions is held, where the Sheriff presides, and where the Chief Judges come every four months to decide civil and criminal affairs. Half a mile on this side of Litchfield, I remarked, on the right, a barrack surrounded by palisades, which appeared to me like a guardhouse; I approached it, and saw in this small enclosure ten pieces of brass cannon, a mortar, and a swivel. This I learnt was a part of Burgoyne's artillery, which fell to the share, of the state of Connecticut, and was kept in this place as the most conveniently situated for the army, and at the same time the least exposed to the incursions of the English.

It was four o'clock, and the weather very bad, when I came near the house of a Mr. Seymour, to whom Mr. Lewis had given me a letter, assuring me that I should find better accommodation than at the taverns; but Mr. Lynch, who had gone on a little before to make inquiries, informed me, that Mr. Seymour was from home, and that from all appearance his wife would be much embarrassed to receive us. The American women, in fact, are very little accustomed to give themselves trouble, either of mind or body; the care of their children, that of making tea, and seeing the house kept clean, constitutes the whole of their domestic province. I determined therefore to go straight to the tavern, where I was still unlucky enough not to find Mr. Philips the landlord: so that I was received, at least, with indifference, which often happens in the inns in America, when they are not in much frequented situations: travelers are there considered as giving them, more trouble than money. The reason of this is, that the inn-keepers are all of them cultivators, at their ease, who do not stand in need of this slight profit: the greatest number of those who follow this profession are even compelled to it by the laws of the country, which have wisely provided, that on all the great roads there shall be a public house at the end of every six miles, for the accommodation of travelers.

A still greater difficulty I had at Mrs. Philips', was, to find room for nine horses I had with me. The Quartermaster at length made them place some of them in the stable of a private person, and everything was arranged to my satisfaction, and that of my hostess. I cannot help remarking, that nothing can be more useful than such an officer, as well for the service of the state, as for that of any traveler of distinction. I have already spoken of the functions of the Quarter-Master-General, but I did not mention that he names a deputy Quarter-Master-General in each state, and that the latter, in his turn, names an assistant in each district to act in his room. My horses and baggage were scarcely under cover, when a dreadful storm came on, which however was in my favour, as it brought home Mr. Philips: everything now assumed a new face in the house, the pantry flew open, the negroes redoubled their activity, and we soon saw a supper preparing with the most favourable auspices. Mr. Philips is an Irishman, translated to America, where he has already made a fortune; he appears to be cunning and adroit; and is cautious in talking to strangers: in other respects, he is more gay than the Americans, and even given to irony; a turn of mind but little known in America, and for which they have no specific name, any more than for the different species of trees and birds. Mrs. Philips, now seconded by her husband, and more mistress of her work, soon resumed her natural serenity. She is of American birth, and a true Yankee,[19] as her husband told us; her face is gentle and agreeable, and her manners correspond entirely with her features.

On the 19th I left Litchfield between nine and ten in the morning, and pursued my journey through the mountains, partly on foot and partly on horseback; for having got into the habit of travelling from morning till night without stopping, I from time to time took pity on my horses and spared them in those deserts which seemed formed for the roebuck rather than for carriages and laden horses. The name of the first town I came to, proclaims it to be of recent origin; it is called Washington. A new county being formed in the woods of Connecticut, the state has bestowed on it this respectable name, the memory of which will indisputably exist much longer than the town intended to perpetuate it. There is another county of Washington in Virginia, belonging to the Protector of America; but its great distance from this new city prevents all possible inconvenience arising from the identity of name.[20] This capital of a rising county has a Meeting-house, and seven or eight houses collected; it is in a beautiful situation, and the cultivation appears rich and well managed: a rivulet, which runs at the bottom of the valley, renders the meadows more fruitful than they generally are in mountainous countries.[21]