Part 3 (1/2)
His chief publications were: _Observations on the Genus Salamandra_ (Philadelphia, 1824), _Fauna Ay_ (1827), _Medical and Physical Researches_ (1835), and a translation of Gaunal, _History Of E_, with additions (1840)--ED
[30] Joseph Bonaparte (1768-1844) held otiated the treaty of peace between this country and France in 1800, and the treaty of A of Spain two years later In an intervieith his brother after the battle of Waterloo, arrange in New York In the summer of 1815 Joseph Bonaparte, under the assumed title of Comte de Survilliers, came to the United States and purchased a mansion in Philadelphia, a country seat of about a thousand acres, near Bordentown, New Jersey, six e of the Adirondack Mountains His favorite residence was ”Point Breeze,” near Bordentohere in 1820 he built as accounted the finest mansion in the state In 1850, Henry Beckett, the British consul at Philadelphia, purchased ”Point Breeze,” and demolished its mansion Joseph Bonaparte was in Europe from 1832 to 1837; the next two years in this country; and in 1841 went to Florence, Italy, where he died His benevolence and hospitality won for him much admiration in the United States See our volumes xi, p 159, and xii, p 79--ED
[31] On February 4, 1830, the state legislature of New Jersey granted a charter for the Camden and Ainian deer were formerly very numerous here, but that it had been found necessary to shoot thereat da's _Expedition_, see our volumes xiv-xvii Short notes on the Peale family, Seymour, and Say may be found in our volume xiv, pp 39-41, note 2--ED
CHAPTER III
RESIDENCE AT FREIBURG AND BETHLEHEM IN PENNSYLVANIA, FROM JULY 30TH TO AUGUST 23RD
View of the Country--Population of Ger--Residence there--The Rocky Valley--Excursions--The Colony of the Moravian Brethren at Bethlehem--Residence there--Excursions
All the e was not yet arrived from Boston, I resolved, in order to make myself acquainted with the interior of Pennsylvania, to take up my abode in the settlement of the Moravian Brethren at Bethlehem I had previously paid a visit to the place, and found it very favourably situated for our object On the 30th of June [July], before daybreak, in the finest weather and brightstreets of Philadelphia, and passed the churchyards, with their white, ghost-like ot out of the city
On both sides of the road were country houses, alternating with fields, enclosures, gardens, and parks; and high trees of various kinds were everywhere planted by the road-side We passed through Gerht o'clock, arrived at Chestnut Hill, where the passengers usually breakfast The inn was rather uncleanly, and the coffee so bad, that a portly Quaker in our coe, of which he was otherwise very fond At table ere irl took great pains to drive theh over our heads
The whole country, as far as Bethlehem, and much farther, is chiefly inhabited by the descendants of Gerrants, who all speak an indifferent low Gerlish The appearance of the country in this part is not particularly pleasing Fields of potatoes, clover, oats, and h as a man, alternate with meadows and little thickets, and all the fields are surrounded with hedges or wooden fences At Montgoed a second ti 22] The habitations of the country people are generally small, often rather poor, frequently coles; soreat block-houses, like the cowkeeper's cottage in Switzerland These cottages are surrounded with little gardens, in which there are various kinds of European plants, such as the hollyhock, hibiscus, larkspur, balsam, &c The _Hibiscus Syriacus_ was everywhere in blossoreatest beauty I have never seen this fine plant so high and vigorous, or its flowers so large and splendid, in Europe, as here They are of three varieties of colour--white, purple, and bright pink, the latter by far the eneral, the trees and shrubs in this country are very vigorous The vegetative power increases the ious fertility of the soil re unimpaired, even after it has been stripped of its priraduallywoods of slender oaks, walnuts and chestnuts, ash, sassafras, beech, tupelo (_Nyssa sylvatica_), and other tall trees, all, with the exception of a single spot, without any underwood or young trees, which is a proof that there is no intention of perpetuating these woods for future use In many parts they are on the way to total destruction, for they contain neither tiht fit in future to raise timber in these ruined forests, the country people must be checked in their love of destruction, and forest laws and regulations introduced
It is fortunate for Pennsylvania that the rich coal reeable succession of woods and reat numbers of the beautiful red-headed woodpecker, which, when it spreads its wings, displays a large surface as white as snow It is often seen sitting on the fences where the ground squirrel and the reddish squirrel, with dark lateral stripes (_Sciurus Hudsonius_), frequently resort The first, in particular, is seen in great nu backwards and forwards on them The birds which we particularly remarked were the robin, the blue bird, the fox-coloured thrush, the goldfinch, the turtle-dove, &c The _Capriht haas flying about in a ht sunshi+ne
I have seen these birds everywhere, flying about in numbers, in the daytime, like _Azaras Nacunda_ in Brazil This species, too, shohen on the wing, the white transverse stripes which are observed in many species in that country Crows and blackbirds are common, but there are very few birds of prey, which are far more numerous in Brazil The forests in this part of the country become more lofty; the crowns of the trees spread wider, and afford a thicker shade
Travelling by a road which runs alternately through corn-fields, , a straggling village, alrants
We stopped here a couple of days, to make excursions in the forests, and took up our quarters in a tolerably good country miller's house, close to which a Jew had set up his store
On the 1st of August, conducted by23] others of the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, we made an excursion to the Rocky Valley, which was represented to us as very orth seeing We proceeded through ue, and often saw the large prairie lark (_Alauda na_, Linn; _Sturnella_, Vieill), which usually sits on the ground, on the grass, or on the branch of a shrub, and, when scared, often lights on the pines Its song is short, and not disagreeable This handsome bird is shy of the sportsnized by its short, outspread tail, the side feathers of which are white Our path lay past isolated farm-houses, most of the inhabitants of which spoke German, and we then reached the forest, where we shotor block-houses, before the doors of which the children, many of them very poorly and dirtily dressed, were at play, and seemed to be the only possession of the inhabitants
The sky was overcast, and it rained, while the weather was very wared us to visit the cool draells of the peasants From this place the forest was more and more filled with blocks of primitive rocks, mixed with hornblende and quartz, and these blocks lay about irregularly, soe, and covered with various kinds of lichens In this ooded spot, our guides could not tell where they were, till a German peasant showed us the rather hidden path, which could hardly be distinguished a thespikes of white flowers, was growing everywhere, four or five feet high, like the _Digitalis purpurea_, in the mountain forests on the Rhine
The wood now became thicker, and fuller of brushwood We reached the bed of a stream, now dry, likewise quite filled with blocks of stone, which we followed, leaping froht of the place called the Rocky Valley Here, on a gentle hill, is a free prospect through the forest up the streareat blocks of stone were so piled up, one over another, that a tract, from 150 to 200 paces in breadth, appears quite covered with them, exactly like similar heaps of stone, especially basalt, in Germany, some of which are found in the countries on the Rhine, where they are called _beilsteine_ No shrub or blade of grass can grow a these boulders, and the rain, which continued to fall, erous to cli creature was to be seen in this wilderness, nor, as I said before, was there any vegetation These blocks seem to have been accumulated and piled up by some impetuous torrent, and it is said that, at the season of the year which is less hot and dry, the sound of water running under the stones is heard
From this place we returned to the habitation of the German peasant who had showed us the here we refreshed ourselves with brandy-and-water The in under the shade of the trees, in cutting shi+ngles, which they sold They were uns, with percussion locks and safety caps There are now scarcely any wild ani 24]
Pennsylvania rey and the red squirrel, have escaped the love of destruction of the invaders
On our return to Freiburg, I found our countryman, Dr Saynisch, of Bethlehem, who well acquainted with this part of the country, was able to giveit He stopped a couple of days with us, and we set out on a shooting excursion the sa, we left Freiburg, in the most beautiful weather, and our host drove us in his dearborn (such is the naiven to a small covered vehicle), and two spirited horses, to Bethlehem, the road to which afforded us reeable: meadows, corn-fields, habitations, and copses succeeded each other on the side of low hills; and the fine valley, called, by the inhabitants, Upper Sakena, is ree trees, and a s to us; for, besides many curious birds,tortoises everywhere on the banks, and on old stued below the surface as soon as we approached them In the sultry heat of noon, we reached the Moravian settlement, Bethlehem, where we put up at a German inn[34]
This settlement is built on the top and the side of a hill, at the foot of which the Monocasa brook joins the Lecha (Lehigh) The Lecha is celebrated for its picturesque valley, which is at first wild and wooded, and lower down, fruitful and well cultivated At present, Bethlehe, and has already some pretty considerable streets, which, however, are still unpaved The church is a large, neat, light building, quite in the plain style of the Gerives the place a pretty appearance, being situated nearly at the top of the hill Another large building is the girls' school, which has a shady garden, planted with timber trees, the lower part of which is on the Monocasa, where flowers of -birds The lower part of the village, consisting of but a few houses, one of which is the inn where we lodged, and where there is a long wooden bridge over the Lecha, is situated in Lehigh county; and the large upper part, in the county of Northah the place Like all the settlements of the industrious brethren, Bethlehem has a number of different trades, mechanics and field-labourers New settlers are continually arriving, and it will, in time, become a place of importance The inhabitants are, for the lish, and divine service is perforlish alternately, and es The country about Bethlehee woods alternate in the vicinity with the fields of the inhabitants, and a canal, froives animation and support to the country by the nu 25] European field and garden plants are cultivated here, and likewise un to plant vines; but what is called the Alexander grape, yields a rather acid beverage, which they usually sweeten with sugar We were told that much better wine is produced in the country about Lancaster, in Pennsylvania, near York
Fruit does not seem to thrive so well in the United States as in Europe: the peach, however, may, perhaps, be excepted
I became acquainted with the directors of this colony: Mr V