volume ix of our series, note 70.--Ed.
23d. At dawn the fishers offered us some cat-fish, of between thirty and forty pounds weight each, for 25 cents a piece, but as we had a store of provisions we did not purchase any. They then started for Cincinnatti with their fish. At sun-rise we also proceeded, the wind much against us. After going four miles we passed a large steam-boat a-ground, and had been for some time, and must so remain till the water should rise three or four feet; this did not occur till after Christmas. Soon after we passed a new town, of a few houses, its name I did not learn. We then went over some sand-bars where the water was very shallow; the wind rising, we put in close to the Kentucky side, where the water was deeper, and most of us going on shore, we hauled our boat along, with a towing line, for about two miles. We passed the town {98} of Columbus, at the mouth of the Little Miami.[118] This river crosses the state of Ohio, from the north, and is sometimes upwards of 100 yards wide. Columbus is a small old place, with but few good buildings. Late in the afternoon we reached the city of Cincinnatti; and, with great difficulty, anchored close to four steam-boats that were laid up, the water being too shallow for them to go up and down the river. We had about 14,000 lbs. weight of store goods, on board the ark, to be left at this place. Cincinnatti is the capital of the state of Ohio,[119] and is situated in the richest part of the state, seven miles below the Little Miami, and twenty miles above the Great Miami. Much of the country, between these rivers, brought into culture for a considerable distance from the Ohio; and land sells very high, from five to a 100 dollars per acre. The city is extensive and the buildings are increasing. It is a noble looking town, by far the best I have seen in the western country. It is built on {99} ground rising to a great height from the river. The streets cross each other at right angles. It has several large woollen and cotton manufactories; some glass and iron-works, also a steam-mill, built on a limestone rock, close to the water; the walls of this noble mill are of stone; it contains nine stories, and is upwards of a 100 feet high. The machinery is said to be good, and will manufacture 700 barrels of flour weekly, that is, upwards of 500 sacks. It is represented to have cost 120,000 dollars, or 27,000_l._ sterling in erecting.
[118] This was Columbia, not Columbus. It was the first settlement in the Symmes Purchase, Major Stiles of Brownsville, Pennsylvania, and twenty-five others having established a blockhouse there in 1789. For several years it rivalled Cincinnati in importance.--ED.
[119] Cincinnati was no longer the capital. Columbus, then a complete wilderness, was in 1812 made the capital by legislative enactment. For the early history of Cincinnati, see Cuming's _Tour_, volume iv of our series, note 166.--ED.
The streets of Cincinnatti are very wide; and the stores well stocked with European, East and West Indian, and American merchandize, but in general dear. Articles of dress are much dearer than at Baltimore; yet the principal inhabitants are very gay in their appearance, particularly the ladies, who are equally so with those of London. But the females of the middle and lower orders, though gaily dressed, often go without shoes and stockings; indeed, most of the {100} females in the western country go without them, at least in the summer, and some of the English women, of the lower class, follow their example.
Trade very dull and paper credit extremely low, the banks issue notes as low as 6¼ cents, less than 3½_d._; but these notes are far from being current with strangers, nor were the large ones in good credit, being much below the value of state notes or specie. No copper money to be seen here. There are two large market houses, one in the upper, and one in the lower part of the town; there is a daily market held alternately at one of them. It was the upper market day when we were there; it was well supplied, and most articles were good and cheap, but the tradesmen perfect Jews in their dealings. Meat from 6 to 10 cents per pound; bacon from 8 to 12½ cents a pound; flour from 4 to 5 dollars per barrel, of 196 lbs., average less than 6_s._ a bushel; very fine peaches for 6¾_d._ per peck; melons in vast quantities, both sweet and {101} water, the latter of immense size, weighing from ten to twenty pounds each, for 6¾_d._ Poultry and eggs very reasonable.
The number of inhabitants supposed to be upwards of 12,000, from every part of the Union, and from most of the countries of Europe. Many English, Irish, and Scotch amongst them. I heard of some being there, that I knew, but I did not see any of them. There is a ferry-boat, worked by horses, between Cincinnatti and the towns of Newport and Coverly;[120] these towns, in Kentucky, lie opposite to Cincinnatti, and are separated from each other by the mouth of the Licking; a considerable stream, of Kentucky, during the winter, but very low in dry weather. The streets of these towns are laid out to correspond with those of Cincinnatti, so that at the upper part of the city you see the streets of Newport and Coverly, without perceiving the river between them, and thus the whole appears but one town.
[120] Newport was platted by the proprietor, General James Taylor, about 1791, and upon the organization of Campbell County was incorporated (1795) and made the county seat. In 1803 the United States government established an arsenal at the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers; it consisted of a two-story brick armory, a magazine, and wooden barracks sufficient for the reception of two or three regiments, the whole being enclosed with a stockade. General Taylor emigrated to Kentucky (1791) from Caroline County, Virginia. In the War of 1812-15, he was quartermaster-general of the Northwestern army, and was present with Hull at the surrender of Detroit, but refused to assist in drawing up the articles of capitulation.
Until 1815, the mouth of the Licking below Newport was known as Kennedy's Ferry. In that year Covington was established by legislative enactment, and named in honor of General Covington.--ED.
There is a fort at Newport, with an {102} arsenal of arms, and a magazine for gun-powder; and a garrison of the states' troops are kept here in case of a war with the Indians, as the Indian territories are within 100 miles to the north. We saw some of these troops, they were good looking; their uniform blue.
Newport contains some good houses, and near it there is a large building, in the castle style, belonging to General Taylor, the proprietor of the town.
Coverly is newly laid out, the building but just begun: these two towns may contain about 100 houses.
24th. In the afternoon, having laid in a few provisions for our voyage, we prepared to go off, but found some _honest_ person had made free with the oars belonging to our skiff, and also with a skiff belonging to some person of Cincinnatti. We saw two men go off, about 10 o'clock the night before, with a skiff, but supposed it belonged to them, nor did we know they had borrowed our oars; but this did not detain us {103} long, as we made some more with some boards we had on board. We went about eight miles, and then anchored on the Ohio side of the river. I found myself troubled with very bad boils, that continued for several days; in other respects I was in perfect health, as was the whole of our party. The gentleman, who joined us at Maysville, left us at Cincinnatti.
25th. We passed the mouth of the Big Miami, a considerable stream of Ohio, the boundary between that state and Indiana, at least at its mouth; as a meridian line runs from the middle of the mouth of this river north, to a parallel line, from the south end of Lake Michigan. This river is 200 yards wide at its mouth, and is navigable for a considerable distance up the country. We saw a waggon with four horses, also six or seven men and women fording it, the water up to their middles, and the current so strong they could hardly stand against it. We passed Petersburg,[121] a small place in Kentucky, and also a little {104} town of Indiana, its name unknown to us. We only made 20 miles. Mr. C. shot two turkey-buzzards at one shoot. These birds are of great utility in a warm climate, as they live on carrion; and should you see several of these birds hovering about, you may be certain something is dead near. I understand, that on the Mississippi river, people are liable to a fine of several dollars for killing one of them. Nor is there any temptation to destroy them, having so strong a scent as scarcely to be bearable, and any thing only just touching them retains a very strong smell for some time. The quills of their wings are larger than those of a goose, and too hard to write with.
[121] The present site of Petersburg, twenty-two miles below Covington, was for many years known as Tanner's Station, being settled by and named after Reverend John Tanner, the first Baptist preacher resident in that part of Kentucky. It has not become a place of any size or importance.--ED.
The hills on the river lower with round tops. Some tobacco on the Kentucky side, but none on the other; it is never cultivated on an extensive scale except in the slave states. In the free states cotton and tobacco are only raised for home consumption.
{105} 26th. We passed Lories Island, and afterwards a small town of Kentucky; its name we did not learn. The river banks much lower, and the bottoms much wider, as the hills were further back. Not many houses on the banks. We saw some wild ducks, woodpeckers, and snipes. We advanced twenty-two miles; weather warm.
27th. The country less cultivated. About noon we landed at Fredericksburg, in Kentucky, a place of about forty log-houses; we purchased some butter at eighteen cents per pound. At dusk we passed the Kentucky, a river of the state of the same name, and navigable some distance up the country. After dark we passed Vevay and New Switzerland,[122] and soon after got stuck on a sand bank; some of us got into the water and turned the ark round, and then we floated off again, and about midnight anchored. This day, twenty-five miles. I regretted passing Vevay after it was dark, as I much wished to land to inspect the vineyards belonging to a Swiss colony settled {106} there, who cultivate the vine on a considerable scale, in the manner of their native country. In the twilight we had a glimpse of their vineyards, but too far off to see much of them. I have since learnt that a few Swiss emigrants settled at New Switzerland in 1805, and in 1810 they had eight acres planted with vines, and in full bearing, and from which they made two thousand four hundred gallons of wine, then said to be very good. Since that time their vineyards are considerably extended, but their wine of an inferior quality. They also cultivate wheat, Indian corn, hemp, and flax. They are represented to be a sober, industrious people, and much respected in the country. They speak the French language, most of them having come from the frontiers adjoining France.
[122] For the Swiss settlement at Vevay, see Bradbury's _Travels_,