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ground, uttered a deep cry, and almost immediately expired. He was a very large animal; his tusks being five inches long, and his paw fifteen inches by five.

I continued on my way, till I came to a wood of younger growth, interspersed with spots entirely clear of timber and marked by traces of former cultivation. I examined the place with care: it was an Indian camp; such as is often seen from the borders of the Atlantic to the great western waters, and even to the Pacific ocean. Not that the Indians originally took this situation, or any other inland one, from choice: on the contrary, their pursuits and their happiness lay on the coasts of the sea, and the banks of navigable rivers; where they could lead a life congenial to the climate, adequate to their few wants, and suitable to their propensities. Thus they lived, regardless of the wealth and beauty of the interior, till the overflowing population of your country, and the religious and political tyranny of others, inspired a love of emigration and brought on the shores a flood from which the native inhabitants were obliged to recede; renouncing at once their habits, their accustomed aliments and pleasures, the burial-places of their fathers, and the residence of their gods. So great was their respect to "white men," that they retreated without making any opposition; and with bleeding hearts began to settle in the back grounds, to live on meat instead of fish, to build tumul for their dead, and sanctuaries for the "Great Spirit" who they hoped had followed them into the wilderness. Innocent intentions! unassuming views! yet these too were frustrated. Wave after wave followed the first inundation: each gaining new ground, and forcing this devoted people into the plains; where they were only permitted to live long enough to form habits, and improve the land, and then were driven to the mountains, to feel the vicissitudes of other climates, range amid barren rocks, and combat for food with beasts of prey. Even this state of miserable existence was still to be denied them. They were hunted from these dreary haunts, and compelled to descend the mountains: not on their own native eastern side; but on the western, which was the soil of their enemies, other savage nations who lived on the margins of the great waters, and who were at eternal war with the rest of mankind. The remainder of their history is obvious: mutual and repeated hostilities, the alteration of climate

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and mode of life, and disease and intemperance introduced among them by the whites, have nearly annihilated the whole race. From the Atlantic to the Mississippi, a distance of two thousand miles, ten thousand Indians (out of twenty millions) do not at this day exist.

The camp which I was contemplating therefore, was occupied as a last refuge in the hour of melancholy and despair. It is hid in the depth of the valley, amidst the profoundest gloom of the woods; and at the period of its first establishment, must have been nearly inaccessible. Ispent three hours in exploring it; and found it to consist of, 1. A regular circle, a hundred paces in diameter, the perpendicular rise of the circumference of which is at least four feet; 2. the site of about two hundred huts, placed at regular distances between the circle and the foot of a steep hill and 3. the mounds of the dead. The space contained.. in the circle was used according to the exigencies of the times. In peace it was the forum where their wise men and elders met to deliberate on the affairs of the nation; distribute impartial justice; exercise their youth in various · combats; and instruct them in religious worship, of which dancing constituted a considerable part :-in war it was the assembly of their fighting-men; where they debated on measures of prudence, and stratagems of ingenuity. If the enemy attacked them in the camp, the old men, the wives, and children, with their effects, were placed in the centre of the circle; while the warriors surrounded them as an impenetrable barrier, guarding the wall entirely round, and shouting defiance to the assailants. Nearly two hundred years have now elapsed since England sent her fiery zealots and furious bigots to one part of America; while France, regurgitating robbers and prostitutes, colonized another. Was this a means to improve a people, and reclaim a country, and can its original inhabitants be condemned for not accepting even a gospel and laws offered them at the point of the sword? Are they to be reproached for indolence, vice, and drunkenness, when most experienced instructors came among them to teach these baneful practices? Had the first settlers been animated by the principles of an enlightened humanity, how different would now be the face of society and nature here! population would abound; agriculture flourish; the wide desert be a smiling plain, loaded with waving corn; commerce would

have opened extensive roads, the arts and the sciences following in her train; and the cross, that holy emblem which is now disfigured by violence, blood and corruption, would be seen elevated on myriads of temples, and glittering through all the parts of the New World.

At four o'clock the sun had left the valley, and I had to hasten away so as to reach my tavern before night. This I effected, to the surprise of my hosts; for, from the length of my stay, they began to imagine me to have lost myself, or been devoured by wild beasts. An American has no conception of a person's being able to derive pleasure from a walk, or information from solitude: his sluggish faculties require palpable and active objects to give them exercise. I mention this to account for the astonishment of my landlord at my delay, and his insensibility to the enjoy ments which a contemplative walk would every day present. Finding that I could derive no information from such a man (who knew nothing of the camp; and, as his wife said, "did not heed such things, not he"), I hastily took some refreshment; retired to rest; and departed next morning, with a fine sun, and the promise of a delightful day.

Autumn had already begun to shed a varied tint over the numerous subjects of her rich domain. I amused myself in endeavouring to count and classify the colours which she employs to diversify nature, and distinguish her reign from that of the other seasons: but I made little progress; for the scene was too grand, extensive and sublime, to come under the confined controul of human calculation. I was on a vast eminence, commanding a view of a valley in which stood millions of trees, and from which many millions more gradually rose in the form of an immense amphitheatre. It appeared as if every tree, though many were of the same class, had shades, hues, and characters, peculiar to itself; derived from individual attitude, growth, and soil; and presentation to heavenly bodies, and the emanations issuing from them. It was one of those scenes on which the mind could dwell with infinite rapture; but which can never be described with justice and truth, except by one inspired by Him "Whose breath perfumes them, and whose pencil paints."

But

"Who can paint

Like nature? Can imagination boast,
Amidst her gay creation, hues like these,"

THOMSON.

Between this spot and Pittsburg I passed two flourishing little towns; first crossing the celebrated Laurel-hill, so called from its ridge being for several miles crowned with trees of that kind. This hill is remarkably steep and stony Nothing worthy of mention struck my notice till I arrived within three miles of Pittsburg, when I descended into the beautiful vale which leads into that town. It was impossible to behold any thing more interesting than this: it extended three miles on a perfect level, cultivated in the highest degree; bounded by a rising ground on the left, and a transparent river on the right; and leading to a well inhabited town where I meant to repose after a journey of 320 miles, 150 of them over stupenduous mountains and barren rocks. Such a sight could not fail of gratifying and enchanting me; giving serenity to the mind, and gratitude to the heart: and awakening in the soul its most amiable and distinguished affections.

In sending you this sketch, I have not stopped to detail the inferior particulars of the journey. It is of little.consequence where a traveller sleeps, where and what he eats, and whether he was comfortable, &c. In travelling along this and every other road in America, a stranger is furnished with a route indicating the best inns and their distances from each other: as to the expense, it seldom varies; being a quarter of a dollar for lodging, the same sum for every meal, and half a dollar a night for a horse. With regard to comfort, that favourite British word is two vague for general explanation; as it relates to comparison, habit, and sensibilities. If the English miss cleanliness, the French coffee, the Dutch tobacco, the Germans beer, the Russians oil, the Italians chocolate, the Spaniards garlick, the Turks opium, the Tartars milk, the Indians rice, and so on through every nation, they never consider themselves comfortable; and hence we hear the same house praised by one guest, and vilified by another.

LETTER III.

Situation and description of Pittsburg. Its manufactories, ship-building, and population. State of education here. Character and persons of the ladies. Religious sects. Schools. Market-house, and prices of provisions. Price of land. Amusements.

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Pittsburg, October, 1806.

I AM afraid I tire your patience: three letters from this place, and yet it remains undescribed! Excuse me : I now commence.

No inland town in the United States, or perhaps in the world, can boast of a position superior to this, both as to its beauty, and also the many advantages with which it is attended; it being delightfully situated at the head of the Ohio, and on the point of land formed by the junction of the Alleghany and the Monongahela rivers. The site of the old French garrison Duquesne, which was taken by general Forbes in the year 1758, is immediately at the confluence of the two streams; and commands a charming view of each, as well as of the Ohio. The British garrison. Fort Pitt (so called after the late earl of Chatham, and erected near the former post), higher up on the Monongahela, was once a place of some consequence as a frontier settlement, but fell into decay on being given up by its founders. As it was included in one of the manors of the Penn family, it was sold by the proprietaries; and now makes a part of the town of Pittsburg, and is laid out in town-lots. Fort Fayette, built a very few years since, is also within the limits of the town, on the bank of the Alleghany: a garrison is at present kept there; and for the most part, it is made head-quarters for the army of the United States.

The spot on which this town stands, is so commanding (in the military phrase) that it has been emphatically called the key to the western country; and its natural situation is peculiarly grand and striking. Blest as it is with numerous advantages, there is nothing surprising in its having increased rapidly within the last few years. It contains about four hundred houses, many of them large

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