ISAAC WELD.

1796.

1.

THE following are the observations of young Isaac Weld, of Dublin. He was on his way from Philadelphia, and stopped at the Falls of the Potomac:

“From hence I followed the course of the river downwards as far as George Town, where I again crossed it, and after passing through the Federal city, proceeded along the Maryland shore of the river to Piscatoway, and afterwards to Port Tobacco. In the neighborhood of Piscatoway there are several very fine views of the Virginian shore; Mount Vernon in particular appears to great advantage. From Port Tobacco to Hoe’s Ferry on the Potowmac River, the country is flat and sandy and wears a most dreary aspect. Nothing is to be seen here for miles together but extensive plains that have been worn out by the culture of tobacco, overgrown with yellow sedge and interspersed with groves of pine and cedar trees, the dark green colour of which forms a curious contrast with the yellow of the sedge. In the midst of these plains are the remains of several good houses.

“Such a number of roads in different directions cross over these flats, upon none of which is there anything like a direction post, and the face of a human being is so rarely met with that it is scarcely possible for a traveler to find out the direct way at once. Instead of twelve miles, the distance by the straight road from Port Tobacco to the ferry, my horse had certainly traveled twice the number before we got there. After having waited for two hours and a half for my breakfast, the most I could procure was two eggs, a pint of milk and a bit of cake bread, scarcely as big as my hand.

“After having got into the ferry-boat the man of the house, as if conscious that he had given me very bad fare, told me that there was a bank of oysters in the river, close to which it was necessary to pass, and that if I chose to stop the men would procure abundance of them for me. The curiosity of getting oysters in fresh water tempted me to stop, and the men got near a bushel of them in a very few minutes. These oysters are extremely good when cooked, but very disagreeable eaten raw; indeed all the oysters found in America are, in the opinion of most Europeans, very indifferent and tasteless when raw. The Americans, on their part, find still greater fault with our oysters, which, they say, are not fit to be eaten in any shape, because they taste of copper.“The river at the ferry is about three miles wide, and with particular winds the waves rise very high; in these cases they always tie the horses, for fear of accidents, before they set out; indeed with the small open boats which they make use of it is what ought always to be done, for in this country gusts of wind rise suddenly. Having omitted this precaution, the boat was on the point of being overset two or three different times as I crossed over. On the Virginian shore, opposite to the ferry house from whence I sailed, there are several large creeks, which fall into the Potowmac. As I wished to go beyond these creeks I therefore hired the boatman to carry me ten miles down the Potowmac River in the ferry-boat, past the mouths of them all; this he accordingly did, and in the afternoon I landed on the beach, not a little pleased at finding that I had reached the shore without having been under the necessity of swimming any part of the way.

“The part of the country where I landed appeared to be a perfect wilderness. Taking a road, however, as nearly as I could guess, in a direct line from the river up the country, at the end of an hour I came upon a narrow road, which led to a large old brick house, somewhat similar to those I had met with on the Maryland shore. On inquiring here from two blacks for a tavern, I was told there was no such thing in this part of the country. In the course of five or six miles I saw several more of the same sort of old brick houses, and the evening now drawing toward a close, I began to feel the necessity of going to some one of them. I was considering within myself which house I should visit, when a lively old negro, mounted on a little horse, came galloping after me. On applying to him for information on the subject, he took great pains to assure me that I should be well received at any of the houses I might stop at, and strongly recommended me to proceed under his guidance to his master’s house, which was but a mile farther on.

“‘Masser will be so glad to see you,’ added he; ‘nothing can be like.’

“I accordingly took the negro’s advice and rode to the dwelling of his master, made him acquainted with my situation, and begged I might be allowed to put my horse in his stable for the night. The reception, however, which this gentleman gave me differed so materially from what I had been led to expect, that I was happy at hearing from him that there was a good tavern at the distance of two miles. I apologized for the liberty I had taken, and made the best of my way to it. Instead of two miles, however, this tavern proved to be about three times as far off. The next day I arrived at Stratford, the residence of a gentleman, who, when at Philadelphia, had invited me to pass some time with him whenever I visited Virginia. Some of the neighbouring gentlemen dined here together, and having related to them my adventures on arriving in Virginia, the whole company expressed the greatest astonishment. Every one seemed eager to know the name of the person who had given me such a reception, and begged me to tell it. I did so, and the Virginians were satisfied, for the person was a Scotsman, and had, it seems, removed but a short time before from some town or other to the plantation on which I found him.“This part of Virginia is called the Northern Neck, and is remarkable for having been the birthplace of many of the principal characters which distinguished themselves in America, during the war, by their great talents.

“Though many of the houses in the Northern Neck are built of brick and stone, in the style of the old English manor houses, yet the greater number there and throughout Virginia are of wood, amongst which are all those that have been built of late years. This is chiefly owing to a prevailing, though absurd, opinion, that wooden houses are the healthiest, because the inside walls never appear damp. Tobacco is not near so much cultivated now as it was formerly, the great demand for wheat having induced most of the planters to raise that grain in preference. Those who raise tobacco and Indian corn are called planters, and those who cultivate small grain, farmers.

“Towards the end of April I crossed the Rappahannock River, which bounds the Northern Neck on one side, to a small town called Tappahannock, or Hobb’s Hole, containing about 100 houses. Before the war this town was in a much more flourishing state than at present; that unfortunate contest ruined the trade of this little place, as it did that of most of the seaport towns in Virginia. The Rappahannock is about three-quarters of a mile wide opposite the town. Sharks are very often seen in this river. What is very remarkable, the fish are all found on the side of the river next to the town.

“As I passed through this part of the country, from Tappahannock to Urbanna, I observed many traces of fires in the woods, which are frequent, it seems in the spring of the year. I was a witness myself to one of these fires, that happened in the Northern Neck.

“The day had been remarkably serene; in the afternoon, however, it became sultry, and streams of hot air were perceptible now and then, the usual tokens of a gust. About 5 o’clock the horizon towards the north became dark, and a terrible whirlwind arose. I was standing with some gentlemen on an eminence at the time, and perceived it gradually advancing. As it came along it leveled the fence rails, and unroofed the sheds for the cattle. We made every endeavor, but in vain, to get to a place of shelter; in the course of two minutes the whirlwind overtook us; the shock was violent; it was hardly possible to stand, and difficult to breathe. The whirlwind passed over in about three minutes, but a storm, accompanied by heavy thunder and lightning, succeeded. On looking round immediately after the whirlwind had passed a prodigious column of fire now appeared in a part of the wood where some brushwood had been burning; in many places the flames rose considerably above the summit of the trees, which were of a large growth. It was a tremendous, and at the same time sublime sight. The negroes in the surrounding plantations were all assembled with their hoes, and watches were stationed at every corner to give the alarm if the fire appeared elsewhere.

“The country between Urbanna and Gloucester is neither so flat nor so sandy as that bordering upon the Rappahannock. The trees, chiefly pines, are of very large size, and afford abundance of turpentine, which is extracted from them in large quantities by the inhabitants, principally, however, for home consumption. Gloucester contains only ten or twelve houses. There are remains here of one or two redoubts thrown up during the war. The town of York consists of about seventy houses, an Episcopalian church, and a gaol. Great quantities of tobacco were formerly inspected here; very little, however, is now raised in the neighborhood. The little that is sent for inspection is reckoned to be of the very best quality, and is all engaged for the London market. In the town the houses bear evident marks of the siege; and the inhabitants will not, on any account, suffer the holes perforated by the cannon balls to be repaired on the outside. Till within a year or two the broken shells themselves remained; but the New England men that traded to York, finding they would sell well as old iron, dug them up and carried them away in their ships. Twelve miles from York, to the westward, stands Williamsburg. The town consists of about 1,200 inhabitants, and the society in it is thought to be more extensive and more genteel at the same time than what is to be met with in any other place of its size in America. No manufactures are carried on here, and scarcely any trade.

“From Williamsburgh to Hampton the country is flat and uninteresting. From this town there is a regular ferry to Norfolk, across Hampton Roads, eighteen miles over. Norfolk would be a place of much greater trade than it is at present were it not for the impolicy of some laws which have existed in the State of Virginia. One of these laws, so injurious to commerce, was passed during the war. It was enacted that all merchants and planters in Virginia, who owed money to British merchants, should be exonerated from their debts if they paid the money due into the public treasury instead of sending it to Great Britain. The treasury at first did not become much richer in consequence of this law. However, when the continental paper money became so much depreciated many of the people began to look upon the measure in a different point of view. In vain did the British merchant sue for his money when hostilities were terminated; he could obtain no redress.

“Another law, baneful in the highest degree to the trading interest, is one which renders all landed property inviolable. Owing to this law they have not yet been enabled to get a bank established at Norfolk. Repeated attempts have been made in the State Assembly to get this last mentioned law repealed, but they have all proved ineffectual. The debates have been very warm on the business.

“The houses in Norfolk are about 500 in number. These have all been erected since the year 1776, when the town was totally destroyed by fire. The losses suffered on that occasion were estimated at £300,000. Amongst the inhabitants are great numbers of Scotch and French. The latter are almost entirely from the West Indies, and principally from St. Domingo.

“Not a bit of fodder was to be had on the whole road from Norfolk to Richmond, excepting at two places. Oats were not to be had on any terms. Great crowds were assembled at Petersburgh, as I passed through, attracted to it by the horse races, which take place four or five times in the year. The only particular circumstance in their mode of carrying on their races in Virginia is that they always run to the left.

“Richmond is situated immediately below the falls of James River, on the north side. The river opposite to the town is crossed by the means of two bridges, which are separated by an island. The bridge, leading from the south shore to the island, is built upon fifteen large flat-bottomed boats, kept stationary in the river by strong chains and anchors. The bows of them, which are very sharp, are put against the stream, and fore and aft there is a strong beam, upon which the piers of the bridge rest. The bridges thrown across this river, opposite the town, have repeatedly been carried away; it is thought idle, therefore, to go to the expense of a better one. The strongest stone bridge could hardly resist the bodies of ice that are hurried down the falls by the floods on the breaking up of a severe winter.

“Though the houses in Richmond are not more than 700 in number, yet they extend nearly one mile and a half along the banks of the river. The lower part of the town is built close to the water, and opposite to it lies the shipping. This is connected with the upper town by a long street, which runs parallel to the course of the river, about fifty yards removed from the banks. The situation of the upper town is very pleasing; it stands on an elevated spot, and commands a fine prospect of the falls of the river and of the adjacent country on the opposite side. The best houses stand here, and also the Capitol, or State house. From the opposite side of the river this building appears extremely well.“A canal is completed at the north side of the falls, which renders the navigation complete from Richmond to the Blue Mountains, and at particular times of the year boats with light burthens can proceed still higher up. In the river, opposite the town, are no more than seven feet of water, but ten miles lower down about twelve feet. Most of the vessels trading to Richmond unload the greatest part of their cargoes at this place into river craft, and then proceed up to the town. Trade is carried on here chiefly by foreigners.”

2.

Isaac Weld, who spent about two years in this country, from 1795 to 1797, returned to Ireland “without entertaining the slightest wish to revisit the American continent.” During his visit he saw a great deal, wrote a very good book after going home (an extraordinary book as the work of a very young man), and it is a matter of congratulation that he came. Weld was a little past twenty-one when he landed at Philadelphia. He was born in Dublin, of influential family connections, and had the advantage in his youth of an acquaintance with the Martineaus, those exceptionally intelligent people. Isaac Weld died in 1856. He had been for years vice-president of the Royal Dublin Society, and was famous as a topographer. Some account has already been given of his tour through the Northern Neck to Richmond. The observations continue:

“Having stayed at Richmond somewhat longer than a week, which I found absolutely necessary, if it had only been to recruit the strength of my horses, I proceeded in a north-westerly direction towards the Southwest or Green Mountains.

“The first week in May had arrived; the trees had obtained a considerable part of their foliage, and the air in the woods was perfumed with the fragrant smell of numberless flowers and flowering shrubs. The music of the birds was also delightful. It is thought that in Virginia the singing birds are finer than what are to be met with on any other part of the continent, as the climate is more congenial to them. The notes of the mocking-bird, or Virginian nightingale, are in particular most melodious. It is a remark, however, made by Catesby, and which appears to be a very just one, that the birds in America are much inferior to those in Europe in the melody of their notes, but that they are superior in point of plumage. I know of no American bird that has the rich, mellow note of our blackbird, the sprightly note of the skylark, or the sweet and plaintive one of the nightingale. After having listened to the mocking-bird, there is no novelty in hearing the song of any other bird in the country; and indeed, their songs are, for the most part, but very simple in themselves, though combined they are pleasing.

“The frogs in America, it must here be observed, make a most singular noise, some of them absolutely whistling, whilst others croak so loudly that it is difficult at times to tell whether the sound proceeds from a calf or a frog; I have more than once been deceived by the noise when walking in a meadow. These last frogs are called bullfrogs; they mostly keep in pairs, and are never found but where there is good water; their bodies are from four to seven inches long, and their legs are in proportion; they are extremely active, and take prodigious leaps.

“The first town I reached on going towards the mountains was Columbia, or Point of Fork, as it is called in the neighborhood. It is situated about sixty miles above Richmond, at the confluence of Rivanna and Fluvanna Rivers, which united form James River. This is a flourishing little place, containing about forty houses, and a warehouse for the inspection of tobacco. On the neck of land between the two rivers, just opposite to the town, is the magazine of the State, in which are kept 12,000 stand of arms, and about thirty tons of powder. The low lands bordering upon the river in this neighborhood are extremely valuable.

“From Columbia to the Green Springs, about twenty miles farther on, the road runs almost wholly through a pine forest, and is very lonely. Night came on before I got to the end of it, and, as very commonly happens with travelers in this part of the world, I soon lost my way. A light, seen through the trees, seemed to indicate that a house was not far off. My servant eagerly rode up to it, but the poor fellow’s consternation was great indeed when he observed it moving from him, presently coming back, and then with swiftness departing again into the woods. I was at a loss for a time myself to account for the appearance. I found it proceeded from the firefly. As the summer came on these flies appeared every night. After a light shower in the afternoon I have seen the woods sparkling with them in every quarter.“After wandering about till it was near 11 o’clock, a plantation at last appeared, and having got fresh information respecting the road from the negroes in the quarter, who generally sit up half the night, and over a fire in all seasons, I again set out for the Green Springs. With some difficulty I at last found the way, and arrived there about midnight. The hour was so unseasonable that the people at the tavern were very unwilling to open their doors. Besides the tavern and the quarters of the slaves, there is but one more building at this place. This is a large farmhouse, where people that resort to the springs are accommodated with lodgings about as good as those at the tavern. The springs are just on the margin of the wood at the bottom of a slope which begins at the houses, and are covered with a few boards merely to keep the leaves from falling in. The waters are chalybeate, and are drank chiefly by persons from the low country, whose constitutions have been relaxed by the heats of summer.

“Having breakfasted in the morning at this place, I proceeded on my journey up the Southwest Mountain. In the course of the day’s ride I observed a great number of snakes, which were now beginning to come forth from their holes. I killed a black one that I found sleeping, stretched across the road; it was five feet in length. The black snake is more commonly met with than any other in this part of America. It is wonderfully fond of milk, and is frequently found in the dairies, which in Virginia are for the most part in low situations like cellars.

“The Southwest Mountains run nearly parallel to the Blue Ridge, and are the first which you come to on going up the country from the sea coast in Virginia. The soil here changes to a deep argilaceous earth, particularly well suited to the culture of small grain and clover, and produces abundant crops. As this earth, however, does not absorb the water very quickly the farmer is exposed to great losses from heavy falls of rain. On the sides of the mountain, where the ground has been worn out with the culture of tobacco, and the water has been suffered to run in the same channel for a length of time, it is surprising to see the depth of the ravines, or gullies, as they are called. However, the country in the neighborhood of these mountains is far more populous than that which lies towards Richmond; and there are many persons that even consider it to be the garden of the United States. The salubrity of the climate is equal also to that of any part of the United States; and the inhabitants have in consequence a healthy, ruddy appearance. The people appeared to me to be of a more frank and open disposition, more inclined to hospitality, and to live more contentedly on what they possessed than the people of the same class in any other part of the United States I passed through.

“Along these mountains live several gentlemen of large landed property, who farm their own estates, as in the lower parts of Virginia; among the number is Mr. Jefferson. His house is at present in an unfinished state, but if carried on according to the plan laid down, it will be one of the most elegant private habitations on the United States. Several attempts have been made in this neighborhood to bring the manufacture of wine to perfection; none of them, however, have succeeded to the wish of the parties. A set of gentlemen once went to the expense even of getting six Italians over for the purpose. We must not, however, conclude that good wine can never be manufactured upon these mountains. It will require some time, and different experiments, to ascertain the particular kind of wine, and the mode of cultivating it best adapted to the soil of these mountains.

“Having crossed the Southwest Mountains I passed along to Lynchburgh, a town situated on the south side of Fluvanna River. This town contains about 100 houses, and a warehouse for the inspection of tobacco, where about 2,000 hogsheads are annually inspected. It has been built entirely within the last fifteen years, and is rapidly increasing, from its advantageous situation for carrying on trade with the adjacent country. The boats, in which the produce is conveyed down the river, are from forty-eight to fifty-four feet long, but very narrow in proportion to their length. Three men are sufficient to navigate one of these boats, and they can go to Richmond and back again in ten days. They fall down with the stream, but work their way back again with poles. The cargo carried in these boats is always proportioned to the depth of water in the river, which varies very much. Along the banks I observed great quantities of weeds hanging upon the trees considerably above my head, though on horseback. A few miles from Lynchburgh, towards the Blue Mountains, is a small town called New London, in which there is a magazine and also an armory, erected during the war. About fifteen men were here employed, as I passed through, repairing old arms and furbishing up others. At one end of the room lay the musquets, to the amount of about 5,000, all together in a large heap, and at the opposite end lay a pile of leathern accoutrements, absolutely rotting for want of common attention. All the armories throughout the United States are kept much in the same style.

“Between this place and the Blue Mountains the country is rough and hilly, and but very thinly inhabited. The few inhabitants, however, met with here are uncommonly robust and tall; it is rare to see a man amongst them who is not six feet high. These people entertain a high opinion of their own superiority in point of bodily strength over the inhabitants of the low country. A similar race of men is found all along the Blue Mountains.

“Beyond the Blue Ridge, after crossing by this route near the Peaks of Otter, I met with but very few settlements till I drew near to Fincastle, in Bottetourt County. This town was only begun about the year 1790, yet it already contains sixty houses, and is most rapidly increasing. The improvement of the adjacent country has likewise been very rapid, and land now bears nearly the same price that it does in the neighborhood of York and Lancaster, in Pennsylvania. The inhabitants consist principally of Germans, who have extended their settlements from Pennsylvania along the whole of that rich tract of land which runs through the upper part of Maryland, and from thence behind the Blue Mountains to the most southern part of Virginia. They have many times, I am told, crossed the Blue Ridge to examine the land, but the red soil which they found there was different from what they had been accustomed to.“The difference indeed between the country on the eastern and on the western side of the Blue Ridge, in Bottetourt County, is astonishing, when it is considered that both are under the same latitude, and that this difference is perceptible within the short distance of thirty miles. On the eastern side of the Ridge, cotton grows extremely well; and in winter snow scarcely ever remains upon the ground more than a day or two at a time. On the other side cotton never comes to perfection, and in every farmyard you see sleighs or sledges. On the eastern side of the Blue Ridge, in Virginia, not one of these carriages is to be met with.

“Another circumstance may also be mentioned (besides the contrast in the soils) as making a material difference between the country on one side of the Blue Ridge and that on the other, namely, that behind the mountains the weevil is unknown. In the lower parts of Virginia, and the other states where the weevil is common, they always thresh out the grain as soon as the crops are brought in, and leave it in the chaff, which creates a degree of heat sufficient to destroy the insect. According to the general opinion, the weevil originated on the eastern shore of Maryland, where a person, in expectation of a great rise in the price of wheat, kept over all his crops for the space of six years, when they were found full of these insects. For a considerable time the Potowmac River formed a barrier to their progress. The Blue Mountains at present serve as a barrier, and secure the country to the westward from their depredations.

“Bottetourt County is entirely surrounded by mountains. The climate is particularly agreeable. It appears to me that there is no part of America where the climate would be more congenial to the constitution of a native of Great Britain or Ireland. In the western part of the county are several medicinal springs, whereto numbers of people resort towards the latter end of summer. Those most frequented are called the Sweet Springs. A set of gentlemen from South Carolina have, I understand, since I was there, purchased the place and are going to erect several commodious dwellings in the neighborhood.

“The country immediately behind the Blue Mountains, between Bottetourt County and the Potowmack River, is agreeably diversified with hill and dale, and abounds with extensive tracts of rich land. The natural herbage is not so fine here as in Bottetourt County, but when clover is once sown it grows most luxuriously; wheat also is produced in as plentiful crops as in any part of the United States. Tobacco is not raised excepting for private use, and but little Indian corn is sown, as it is liable to be injured by the nightly frosts, which are common in the spring. The whole of this country to the west of the mountains is increasing most rapidly in population. In the neighborhood of Winchester it is so thickly settled that wood is now beginning to be thought valuable.

“As I passed along the road from Fincastle to the Potowmack, which is the high road from the Northern States to Kentucky, I met with great numbers of people from Kentucky and the new State of Tennessee going towards Philadelphia and Baltimore, and with many others going in a contrary direction ‘to explore,’ as they call it, that is to search for lands conveniently situated for new settlements in the western country. These people all travel on horseback, with pistols or swords, and a large blanket folded up under their saddle. There are now houses scattered along nearly the whole way from Fincastle to Lexington, in Kentucky. It would be still dangerous for any person to venture singly; but if five or six travel together they are perfectly secure. Formerly travelers were always obliged to go forty or fifty in a party.

“The first town you come to, going northward from Bottetourt County, is Lexington, a neat little place that did contain about 100 houses, a courthouse and gaol, but the greater part of it was destroyed by fire just before I got there. Thirty miles farther on stands Staunton. This town carries on a considerable trade with the back country, and contains nearly 200 dwellings, mostly built of stone, together with a church. Winchester stands 100 miles to the northward of Staunton, and is the largest town in the United States on the western side of the Blue Mountains. The houses are estimated at 350.”

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