Part 1 (1/2)
Travels in North America.
by William Bingley.
First Day's Instruction.
NORTH AMERICA.
This division of the great western continent is more than five thousand miles in length; and, in some lat.i.tudes, is four thousand miles wide. It was originally discovered by Europeans, about the conclusion of the fifteenth century; and, a few years afterwards, a party of Spanish adventurers obtained possession of some of the southern districts. The inhabitants of these they treated like wild animals, who had no property in the woods through which they roamed. They expelled them from their habitations, established settlements; and, taking possession of the country in the name of their sovereign, they appropriated to themselves the choicest and most valuable provinces. Numerous other settlements have since been established in different parts of the country; and the native tribes have nearly been exterminated, while the European population and the descendants of Europeans, have so much increased that, in the United States only, there are now more than ten millions of white inhabitants.
The _surface_ of the country is extremely varied. A double range of mountains extends through the United States, in a direction, from south-west to north-east; and another range traverses nearly the whole western regions, from north to south. No part of the world is so well watered with rivulets, rivers, and lakes, as this. Some of the _lakes_ resemble inland seas. Lake Superior is nearly 300 miles long, and is more than 150 miles wide; and lakes Huron, Michigan, Erie, Ontario, and Champlain, are all of great size. The princ.i.p.al navigable _rivers_ of America are the Mississippi, the Ohio, the Missouri, and the Illinois.
Of these the _Mississippi_ flows from the north, and falls into the Gulf of Mexico. The _Ohio_ flows into the Mississippi: it extends in a north-easterly direction, and receives fifteen large streams, all of which are navigable. The _Missouri_ and the _Illinois_ also flow into the Mississippi: and, by means of these several rivers, a commercial intercourse is effected, from the ocean to vast distances into the interior of the country. Other important rivers are the _Delaware_ and the _Hudson_, in the United States, and the _St. Lawrence_, in Canada.
The _bays_ and harbours of North America are numerous, and many of them are well adapted for the reception and protection of s.h.i.+ps. _Hudson's Bay_ is of greater extent than the whole Baltic sea. _Delaware Bay_ is 60 miles long; and, in some parts, is so wide, that a vessel in the middle of it cannot be seen from either bank. _Chesapeak Bay_ extends 270 miles inland. The _Bay of Honduras_ is on the south-eastern side of New Spain, and is noted for the trade in logwood and mahogany, which is carried on upon its banks.
The _natural productions_ of North America are, in many respects, important. The forests abound in valuable timber-trees; among which are enumerated no fewer than forty-two different species of oaks.
Fruit-trees of various kinds are abundant; and, in many places, grapes grow wild: the other vegetable productions are numerous and important.
Among the quadrupeds are enumerated some small species of tigers, deer, elks of immense size, bisons, bears, wolves, foxes, beavers, porcupines, and opossums. The American forests abound in birds; and in those of districts that are distant from the settlements of men, wild turkeys, and several species of grouse are very numerous. In some of the forests of Canada, pa.s.senger-pigeons breed in myriads; and, during their periodical flight, from one part of the country to another, their numbers darken the air. The coasts, bays, and rivers, abound in fish; and various species of reptiles and serpents are known to inhabit the interior of the southern districts. Among the mountains most of the important metals are found: iron, lead, and copper, are all abundant; and coals are not uncommon.
THE UNITED STATES.
That part of North America which is under the government of the United States, now const.i.tutes one of the most powerful and most enlightened nations in the world. The inhabitants enjoy the advantage of a vast extent of territory, over which the daily increasing population is able, with facility, to expand itself; and much of this territory, though covered with forests, is capable of being cleared, and many parts of it are every day cleared, for the purposes of cultivation.
The origin of the United States may be dated from the time of the formation of an English colony in Virginia, about the year 1606. Other English colonies were subsequently formed; and, during one hundred and fifty years, these gradually increased in strength and prosperity, till, at length, the inhabitants threw off their dependance upon England, and established an independent republican government. This, after a long and expensive war, was acknowledged by Great Britain, in a treaty signed at Paris on the 30th of November, 1782.
The _boundaries_ of the States were determined by this treaty; but, some important acquisitions of territory have since been made. In April, 1803, _Louisiana_ was ceded to them by France; and this district, in its most limited extent, includes a surface of country, which, with the exception of Russia, is equal to the whole of Europe. _Florida_, by its local position, is connected with the United States: it belonged to Spain, but, in the year 1820, it was annexed to the territories of the republic.
Geographical writers have divided the United States into three regions: the _lowlands_ or flat country; the highlands, and the mountains. Of these, the first extend from the Atlantic ocean to the falls of the great rivers. The _highlands_ reach from the falls to the foot of the mountains; and the _mountains_ stretch nearly through the whole country, in a direction from south-west to north-east. Their length is about 900 miles, and their breadth from 60 to 200. They may be considered as separated into two distinct chains; of which the eastern chain has the name of _Blue Mountains_, and the western is known, at its southern extremity, by the name of _c.u.mberland_ and _Gauley Mountains_, and afterwards by that of the _Alleghany Mountains_. The Alleghanies are about 250 miles distant from the sh.o.r.e of the Atlantic. Towards the north there are other eminences, called the _Green Mountains_ and the _White Mountains_. The loftiest summits of the whole are said to be about 7000 feet in perpendicular height above the level of the sea.
Few countries can boast a greater general fertility of _soil_ than North America. The soil of the higher lands consists, for the most part, of a brown loamy earth, and a yellowish sandy clay. Marine sh.e.l.ls, and other substances, in a fossil state, are found at the depth of eighteen or twenty feet below the surface of the ground. Some of these are of very extraordinary description. In the year 1712, several bones and teeth of a vast nondescript quadruped, were dug up at Albany in the state of New York. By the ignorant inhabitants these were considered to be the remains of gigantic human bodies. In 1799 the bones of other individuals of this animal, which has since been denominated the _Mastodon_ or _American Mammoth_, were discovered beneath the surface of the ground, in the vicinity of Newburgh, on the river Hudson. Induced by the hope of being able to obtain a perfect skeleton, a Mr. Peale, of Philadelphia, purchased these bones, with the right of digging for others. He was indefatigable in his exertions, but was unable, for some time, to procure any more. He made an attempt in a mora.s.s about twelve miles distant from Newburgh, where an entire set of ribs was found, but unaccompanied by any other remains. In another mora.s.s, in Ulster county, he found several bones; among the rest a complete under jaw, and upper part of the head. From the whole of the fragments that he obtained, he was enabled to form two skeletons. One of these, under the name of mammoth, was exhibited in London, about a year afterwards. Its height at the shoulder was eleven feet; its whole length was fifteen feet; and its weight about one thousand pounds. This skeleton was furnished with large and curved ivory tusks, different in shape from those of an elephant, but similar in quality. In 1817 another skeleton was dug up, from the depth of only four feet, in the town of _Goshen_, near Chester. The tusks of this were more than nine feet in length.
In a region so extensive as the United States, there must necessarily be a great variety of _climate_. In general, the heat of summer and the cold of winter are more intense, and the transitions, from the one to the other, are more sudden than in the old continent. The predominant winds are from the west; and the severest cold is felt from the north-west. Between the forty-second and forty-fifth degrees of lat.i.tude, the same parallel as the south of France, the winters are very severe. During winter, the ice of the rivers is sufficiently strong to bear the pa.s.sage of horses and waggons; and snow is so abundant, as to admit the use of sledges. In Georgia the winters are mild. South Carolina is subject to immoderate heat, to tremendous hurricanes, and to terrific storms of thunder and lightning.
The United States are usually cla.s.sed in three divisions: the northern, the middle, and the southern. The _northern states_ have the general appellation of _New England_: they are Ma.s.sachusetts, New Hamps.h.i.+re, Vermont, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The _middle states_ are New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. The _southern states_ are Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tenessee, and Louisiana.
Besides these, the United States claim the government of the _territories_ of the Illinois, Alabama, and Mississippi. By a public ordinance, pa.s.sed in the year 1787, a territory cannot be admitted into the American Union, until its population amounts to 60,000 free inhabitants. In the mean time, however, it is subject to a regular provisional form of government. The administration of this is entrusted to a governor, who is appointed by the president and congress of the United States; and who is invested with extensive powers, for protection of the interests of the States, and the observance of a strict faith towards the Indians, in the exchange of commodities, and the purchase of lands.
The _government_ of the United States is denominated a ”Federal Republic.” Each state has a const.i.tution for the management of its own internal affairs; and, by the federal const.i.tution, they are all formed into one united body. The legislative power is vested in a _congress_ of delegates from the several states; this congress is divided into two distinct bodies, the _senate_ and the _house of representatives_. The members of the latter are elected every two years, by the people; and the senators are elected every six years, by the state legislatures. A senator must be thirty years of age, an inhabitant of the state in which he is elected, and must have been nine years a citizen of the United States: the present number of senators is thirty-eight. The executive power is vested in a _president_, who is chosen every four years. In the election both of members of congress, and of the president of the United States, it is a.s.serted, that there is much manoeuvering, and much corrupt influence exerted. In the electioneering addresses of the defeated parties, these are, perhaps, as often made a subject of complaint and reproach, as they are in those of defeated candidates for the representation of counties or boroughs in the British House of Commons.
Was.h.i.+ngton is the seat of government; and the president, when there, lives in a house destined for his use, and furnished at the expense of the nation. His annual salary is 25,000 dollars, about .5600 sterling.
The president, in virtue of his office, is commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the United States, and also of the militia, whenever it is called into actual service. He is empowered to make treaties, to appoint amba.s.sadors, ministers, consuls, judges of the supreme court, and all military and other officers whose appointments are not otherwise provided for by the law.
The _national council_ is composed of the President and Vice President; and the heads of the treasury, war, navy, and post-office establishment.
The _inhabitants_ of the United States (says Mr. Warden[1]) have not that uniform character which belongs to ancient nations, upon whom, time and the stability of inst.i.tutions, have imprinted a particular and individual character. The general physiognomy is as varied as its origin is different. English, Irish, Germans, Scotch, French, and Swiss, all retain some characteristic of their ancient country.
The account given by Mr. Birkbeck is somewhat different from this. He a.s.serts that, as far as he had an opportunity of judging, the native inhabitants of the towns are much alike; nine out of ten (he says) are tall and long limbed, approaching or even exceeding six feet. They are seen in pantaloons and Wellington boots; either marching up and down, with their hands in their pockets, or seated in chairs poised on the hind feet, and the backs rested against the walls. If a hundred Americans, of any cla.s.s, were to seat themselves, ninety-nine (observes this gentleman) would shuffle their chairs to the true distance, and then throw themselves back against the nearest prop. The women exhibit a great similarity of tall, relaxed forms, with consistent dress and demeanour; and are not remarkable for sprightliness of manners.