Part 6 (1/2)

We again linked ourselves on to a train which came up at about one o'clock, and at Benton's Ferry, about twenty miles from Grafton, we crossed the Monongahela, over a viaduct 650 feet long; the iron bridge, which consists of three arches of 200 feet span each, being the longest iron bridge in America. Though the water was not very deep, owing to a recent drought, it was curious to see the little stream of yesterday changed into an already considerable river, almost beating any we can boast of in England.

We now began to wind our way down the ravine called Buffalo Creek, which we pa.s.sed at Fairmont, over a suspension bridge 1000 feet long. The road still continued very beautiful, and was so all the way to this place, Wheeling, which we reached at about six o'clock. The last eleven miles was up the banks of the _real_ Ohio, for the Monongahela, after we last left it, takes a long course northward, and after being joined at Pittsburg by the Alleghany, a river as large as itself, the two together there, form the Ohio. From Pittsburg to where we first saw it, it had come south more than 100 miles, and at Wheeling it is so broad and deep as to be covered with magnificent steamers; there were five in front of our hotel window, and most singular-looking they were, with their one huge wheel behind, scarcely touching the water, and their two tall funnels in front. They tower up to a great height, and are certainly the most splendid-looking steamers we ever saw.

We here left our valued friend Mr. Tyson, who after calling on us at the hotel in the evening, was to return at ten o'clock to Baltimore. We certainly never enjoyed a journey more. He is the most entertaining man you can imagine, full of anecdotes and good stories; and, as we have said before, with such a marvellous memory, that he could repeat whole pa.s.sages of poetry by heart. His knowledge too of botany was delightful, for there was not a plant or weed we pa.s.sed of which he could not only tell the botanical and common name, but its history and use. He has travelled much, having been employed in mining business in the Brazils.

He has also been in the West Indies, in England, Scotland, and Ireland, and on the Continent of Europe.

We had a pleasing variety in occasional visitors to the car; for not only the work-people on the road, as I have said, got up behind to speak to Mr. Tyson, and were always received by him in the most friendly manner, being men of high calibre in point of intelligence, but we had at different times a Dr. Orr, a physician and director of the railway, who was on the engine with us to set our bones, if papa had capsized us and the doctor had escaped; also a Dr. Gerbard, a German surgeon, with a scar on his cheek from a duel at college in his youth. Dr. Orr was accompanied by a lady, with whom I conversed a good deal, and found she was the owner of many slaves; but I must write you a chapter on slavery another time. All the last day of our journey from Grafton to Wheeling, was through Virginia, and the rural population were chiefly slaves. The two doctors I have mentioned were our visitors yesterday. To-day, we had throughout with us Mr. Rennie (Mr. Tyson's a.s.sistant), and also Major Barry, an agent of the Company, and an officer in the United States service, who in the last Indian war captured with his own hand, Black Hawk, the great Indian Chief, in Illinois. He is an Irishman by birth, and had been in our service at the battle of Waterloo, but he left the British army, and entered the United States service in 1818. He was very intelligent and agreeable. Our last visitor was Colonel Moore, also an agent of the company; a most gentleman-like man. This will show you what a superior set of men are employed on American railways.

Among the men who spoke to us as we stood on our balcony, was a delightful character, a n.i.g.g.e.r. I heard Mr. Tyson look over and say, ”Jerry, why did you not tell me you were going to get married?” Up came Jerry, looking the very picture of a happy bridegroom, having been married the evening before to a dark widow considerably older than himself. He was quite a ”get up” in his dress, with boots of a glistening blackness. He answered, ”I sent you an invitation, Mr. Tyson, and left it at your office.” He was nothing daunted by his interesting position in life, and had a week's holiday in honour of the event. He was, to use his own expression, a ”'sponsible n.i.g.g.e.r,” though he was actually only cleaner up, and carpet sweeper in the office, negroes never being allowed to have any charge in the working of the line, or a more ”'sponsible” station than that connected with the office work, though in that they are often confidentially employed in carrying money to the bank, &c.

_Columbus, Friday 22nd._--It began to rain last night, and continued to pour to-day till ten o'clock, so that we had no opportunity of seeing much of the town of Wheeling, but our rooms looked on to the Ohio, and were within a stone's throw of it. Another great steamer had come up in the night, so there were _six_ now lying in front of the windows, looking like so many line-of-battle s.h.i.+ps.

We found that Jerry and his lady slept at our hotel, and I sent for them next morning to speak to us. She was smartly dressed in a dark silk, with a richly embroidered collar and pocket handkerchief, which she carefully displayed, and a large brooch. He wore a turn-down collar to his s.h.i.+rt, of the most fas.h.i.+onable cut; the s.h.i.+rt itself had a pale blue pattern on it, and a diamond (?) s.h.i.+rt pin, the s.h.i.+rt having a frill _en jabot_. His face was s.h.i.+ning and glistening with cleanliness and happiness, and she looked up to him as if she were very proud of her young husband. He said he was very happy, and I complimented her on her dress, and asked her if she had bought much for the occasion, and she admitted that she had. I asked her where they went to church (all n.i.g.g.e.rs are great wors.h.i.+ppers somewhere, and generally are Methodists); and he said he went to the ”Methodist Church,” that his wife was a member, and I encouraged him to continue going regularly. He said he had married her for the purpose of doing so, and evidently looked up to her as a teacher in these matters. They said they could both read printed characters, but not writing, and that they read their Bibles. I asked him if there were any other cars on the line like Mr. Tyson's, and he said, ”Yes, several, miss.” ”Are they handsomer than his?” ”Some are, they are all different in their fancy principle.” He told us, of his own accord, that they had both been slaves. He bought his freedom for five hundred dollars. They both had been kindly treated as slaves, but he said, not only the hickory stick, but the ”raw hide,” was frequently used by unkind masters and mistresses; and, on my asking him whether slaves had any redress in such cases, he said their free friends may try to get some redress for them, but it does no good. This was _his_ testimony on the subject, and I shall give you the testimony of every one as I gather it for you to put together, that you may be able to form your own deductions. Mr. Tyson had told us they _had_ redress, though he is an enemy to the ”inst.i.tution” of slavery, as it is here called, but still maintains, what is no doubt the case, that they are oftener much happier in America than the free negro. Indeed he told us a well-treated slave will look down on a freeman, and say, ”_Ah! yes, he's only some poor free trash. He's a poor white free trash._” It was curious to notice Jerry's sayings, only some of which I can remember. Mr. Tyson looked down the line from the balcony yesterday, and said, to Jerry, who had got out of a pa.s.senger car for a minute, ”Jerry, do you see the train coming?” ”Yes, sir; it blowed right up there;” meaning it had whistled. I will write to you more at large ere long about slavery, when I have not topics pressing on time and pen.

We left our hotel this morning at eight o'clock, and even in the omnibus noticed the improved and very intelligent appearance of the men. They answered us quickly, cheerfully, and to the purpose; many wore large picturesque felt hats of various forms. It is true that, on starting, we were still in Virginia, of which Wheeling is one of the largest towns; but the bulk of our fellow-pa.s.sengers were evidently from the West; they are chiefly descendants of the New Englanders, and partake of their character, with the exception of the nasal tw.a.n.g, which is worse in New England than anywhere else in America, and we are now losing the sound of it. The omnibus made a grand circuit of the town to pick up pa.s.sengers, and thus gave us the only opportunity we had of seeing something of it. It rained in torrents, and this probably made it look more dismal than usual, but it certainly is much less picturesque and more English-looking than any town we have yet seen. The coal and iron, which const.i.tute its chief trade, give it a very dirty appearance; but its natural situation, stretching along the banks of the Ohio, which are here very high on both sides, is very beautiful. The omnibus at last crossed the river by a very fine suspension bridge, and, having left the slave states behind us, we found ourselves in the free State of Ohio.

On the opposite side of the river we entered the cars of the Ohio Central Railroad, but alas! we had no Mr. Tyson, and no sofas or tables or balconies, and were again simple members of the public, destined to enjoy all the tortures of the common cars. These however were in first-rate style, with velvet seats, and prettily painted, with brilliant white panelled ceilings; and we here fell in again, to my no small comfort, with the venders of fruit and literature, or ”pedlaring,”

as it is called, which forms a pleasant break in the tedium of a long journey. I have been often told the reverse, but the literature sold in this way is, as far as we have seen, rather creditable than otherwise to the country, being generally of an instructive and useful character.

Many works published quite recently in England, could be bought either in the cars or at the stores; and some of the better cla.s.s of English novels are reprinted in America, and sold at the rate of two or three s.h.i.+llings a volume. The daily newspapers, sold on the railways, are numerous; but these, with very few exceptions, are quite unworthy of the country. In general there are no articles worth reading, for they are filled with foolish and trashy anecdotes, written, apparently, by penny-a-liners of the lowest order of ability. The magazines, and some of the weekly ill.u.s.trated papers, are a degree better, but a great deal of the wit in these is reproduced from ”Punch.”

The first eighty-two miles to Zanesville were through a pretty and hilly country. The hills were as usual covered with woods of every hue, so that though the scenery was inferior to what we had been pa.s.sing through for the last few days, it was still very beautiful. Zanesville, which is a considerable town, is situated on the Muskingham river. This fine broad stream must add considerably to the waters of the Ohio, into which it falls soon after leaving Zanesville.

At Zanesville, after partaking of an excellent dinner, we were joined by an intelligent woman, returning home, with her little baby of ten weeks old, from a visit she had just been making to her mother. Her own home is in Missouri, and her husband being the owner of a farm of 500 acres, she was able to give us a good deal of information about the state of agriculture in the Far West. I learnt much from her on various subjects, and was much surprised at the quick sharp answers she gave to all my questions. She was well dressed, something in the style of the English lady's maid, was evidently well to do, and was travelling night and day with her merry little baby. She possesses one slave of fourteen, for whom she gave four hundred dollars, whom she has had from infancy; she brings her up as her own, and this black girl is now taking care of her other children in her absence. I asked, ”What do the slaves eat?”

”Everything: corn-bread, that's the most.” Papa said, ”It is a great shame making Missouri a slave state.”

_Woman._ ”Ah yes; keeps it back.”

_Self._ ”Have you good health?”--many parts being said to be unhealthy.

_Woman._ A quick nod. ”First-rate.”

_Self._ ”Did your mother give you the hickory stick?”

_Woman._ ”No: the switch:--raised me on the rod of correction.”

_Self._ ”Had your husband the farm before you married?”

_Woman._ ”His father had 'entered it,' and he gave my husband money, and my mother gave me money, and then we married and 'entered it'

ourselves.”

All these answers came out with the utmost quickness and intelligence.

She is an Irish Roman Catholic, her mother having brought her as a baby from Ireland, her husband is also Irish; but they are now Americans of the Far West in their manner and singular intelligence, beating even the clever Irish in this respect.

I said: ”Do you pray much to the Virgin Mary in your part of America?”

_Woman._ ”No: don't notice her much.”

_Self._ ”I am glad of that.”