Part 12

The Turkey Cocks and Hens run about in the woods of this country, and differ in nothing from our tame ones, except in their superior size, and redder, though more palatable flesh. When their eggs are found in the wood, and put under tame Turkey hens, the young ones become tame; however when they grow up, it sometimes happens that they fly away; their wings are therefore commonly clipped, especially when young. But the tamed turkeys are commonly much more irascible, than those which are naturally tame. The Indians likewise employ themselves in taming them and keeping them near their huts.

Wild Geese have likewise been tamed in the following manner. When the wild geese first come hither in spring, and stop a little while (for they do not breed in Pensylvania) the people try to shoot them in the wing, which however is generally mere chance. They then row to the place where the wild goose fell, catch it, and keep it for some time at home, by this means many of them have been made so tame, that when they were let out in the morning, they returned in the evening, but to be more sure of them, their wings are commonly clipped. I have seen wild geese of this kind, which the owner assured me, that he had kept for more than twelve years; but though he kept eight of them, yet he never had the pleasure to see them copulate with the tame ones, or lay eggs.

Partridges, which are here in abundance, may likewise be so far tamed, as to run about all day with the poultry, and to come along with them to be fed when they are called. In the same manner I have seen wild Pigeons, which were made so tame as to fly out and return again. In some winters there are immense quantities of wild pigeons in Pensylvania.

October the 24th. Of all the rare birds of North America, the Humming bird is the most admirable, or at least most worthy of peculiar attention. Several reasons induce me to believe that few parts of the world can produce its equal. Dr. Linnæus calls it Trochilus Colubris. The Swedes and some Englishmen call it the King’s bird, but the name of Humming bird is more common. Catesby in his Natural History of Carolina, Vol. i. page 65, tab. 65. has drawn it, in its natural size, with its proper colours, and added a description of it. [34] In size it is not much bigger than a large humble bee, and is therefore the least of all birds, [35] or it is much if there is a lesser species in the world. Its plumage is most beautifully coloured, most of its feathers being green, some grey, and others forming a shining red ring round its neck; the tail glows with fine feathers, changing from green into a brass colour. These birds come here in spring about the time when it begins to grow very warm, and make their nests in summer, but towards autumn they retreat again into the more southern countries of America. They subsist barely upon the nectar, or sweet juice of flowers contained in that part, which botanists call the nectarium, and which they suck up with their long bills. Of all the flowers, they like those most, which have a long tube, and I have observed that they have fluttered chiefly about the Impatiens Noli tangere, and the Monarda with crimson flowers. An inhabitant of the country is sure to have a number of these beautiful and agreeable little birds before his window all the summer long, if he takes care to plant a bed with all sorts of fine flowers under them. It is indeed a diverting spectacle to see these little active creatures flying about the flowers like bees, and sucking their juices with their long and narrow bills. The flowers of the above-mentioned Monarda grow verticillated, that is, at different distances they surround the stalk, as the flowers of our mint (Mentha) bastard hemp (Galeopsis) mother-wort (Leonurus) and dead nettle (Lamium). It is therefore diverting to see them putting their bills into every flower in the circle. As soon as they have sucked the juice of one flower, they flutter to the next. One that has not seen them would hardly believe in how short a space of time they have had their tongues in all the flowers of a plant, which when large and with a long tube, the little bird by putting its head into them, looks as if it crept with half its body into them.

During their sucking the juice out of the flowers they never settle on it, but flutter continually like bees, bend their feet backwards, and move their wings so quick, that they are hardly visible. During this fluttering they make a humming like bees, or like that which is occasioned by the turning of a little wheel. After they have thus, without resting, fluttered for a while, they fly to a neighbouring tree or post, and resume their vigour again. They then return to their humming and sucking. They are not very shy, and I in company with several other people, have not been full two yards from the place where they fluttered about and sucked the flowers; and though we spoke and moved, yet they were no ways disturbed; but on going towards them, they would fly off with the swiftness of an arrow. When several of them were on the same bed, there was always a violent combat between them, in meeting each other at the same flower (for envy was likewise predominant amongst these little creatures) and they attacked with such impetuosity, that it would seem as if the strongest would pierce its antagonist through and through, with its long bill. During the fight, they seem to stand in the air, keeping themselves up, by the incredibly swift motion of their wings. When the windows towards the garden are open, they pursue each other into the rooms, fight a little, and flutter away again. Sometimes they come to a flower which is withering, and has no more juice in it; they then in a fit of anger pluck it off, and throw it on the ground, that it may not mislead them for the future. If a garden contains a great number of these little birds, they are seen to pluck off the flowers in such quantities, that the ground is quite covered with them, and it seems as if this proceeded from a motion of envy.

Commonly you hear no other sound than their humming, but when they fly against each other in the air, they make a chirping noise like a sparrow or chicken. I have sometimes walked with several other people in small gardens, and these birds have on all sides fluttered about us, without appearing very shy. They are so small that one would easily mistake them for great humming-bees or butterflies, and their flight resembles that of the former, and is incredibly swift. They have never been observed to feed on insects or fruit; the nectar of flowers, seems therefore to be their only food. Several people have caught some humming birds on account of their singular beauty, and have put them into cages, where they died for want of a proper food. However Mr. Bartram has kept a couple of them for several weeks together, by feeding them with water in which sugar had been dissolved, and I am of opinion that it would not be difficult to keep them all winter in a hot-house.

The humming bird always builds its nest in the middle of a branch of a tree, and it is so small, that it cannot be seen from the ground, but he who intends to see it must get up to the branch. For this reason it is looked upon as a great rarity if a nest is accidentally found, especially as the trees in summer have so thick a foliage. The nest is likewise the least of all; that which is in my possession is quite round, and consists in the inside of a brownish and quite soft down, which seems to have been collected from the leaves of the great mullein or Verbascum Thapsus, which are often found covered with a soft wool of this colour, and the plant is plentiful here. The outside of the nest has a coating of green moss, such as is common on old pales or enclosures and on trees; the inner diameter of the nest is hardly a geometrical inch at the top, and its depth half an inch. It is however known that the humming birds make their nests likewise of flax, hemp, moss, hair and other such soft materials; they are said to lay two eggs, each of the size of a pea.

October the 25th. I employed this day and the next in packing up all the seeds gathered this autumn, for I had an opportunity of sending them to England by the ships which sailed about this time. From England they were forwarded to Sweden.

October the 27th. In the morning I set out on a little journey to New York, in company with Mr. Peter Cock, with a view to see the country, and to enquire into the safest road, which I could take in going to Canada, through the desart or uninhabited country between it and the English provinces.

That part where we travelled at present was pretty well inhabited on both sides of the road, by Englishmen, Germans and other Europeans. Plains and hills of different dimensions were seen alternately, mountains and stones, I never saw, excepting a few pebbles. Near almost every farm was a great orchard with peach and apple trees, some of which were yet loaded with fruit.

The enclosures were in some parts low enough, for the cattle to leap over them with ease; to prevent this the hogs had a triangular wooden yoke: this custom was as I have already observed, common over all the English plantations. To the horses neck was fastened a piece of wood, which at the lower end had a tooth or hook, fastening in the enclosure, and stopping the horse, just when it lifted its fore feet to leap over; but I know not whether this be a good invention with regard to horses. They were likewise kept in bounds by a piece of wood, one end of which was fastened to one of the fore feet, and the other to one of the hind feet, and it forced them to walk pretty slowly, as at the same time it made it impossible for them to leap over the enclosures. To me it appeared that the horses were subject to all sorts of dangerous accidents from this piece of wood.

Near New Frankfurt we rode over a little stone bridge, and somewhat further, eight or nine English miles from Philadelphia we passed over another, which was likewise of stone. There are not yet any milestones put up in the country, and the inhabitants only compute the distances by guess. We were afterwards brought over a river in a ferry, where we paid threepence a person, for ourselves and our horses.

At one of the places where we stopt to have our horses fed, the people had a Mocking-bird in a cage; and it is here reckoned the best singing bird, though its plumage be very simple, and not showy at all. At this time of the year it does not sing. Linnæus calls it Turdus polyglottos, and Catesby in his Natural History of Carolina, Vol. 1. p. 27. tab. 27, has likewise described and drawn this bird. The people said that it built its nests in the bushes and trees, but is so shy, that if any body come and look at its eggs, it leaves the nest, never to come to it again. Its young ones require great care in being bred up. If they are taken from their mother and put into a cage, she feeds them for three or four days; but seeing no hopes of setting them at liberty, she flies away. It then often happens, that the young ones die soon after, doubtless because they cannot accustom themselves to eat what the people give them. But it is generally imagined, that the last time the mother feeds them, she finds means to poison them, in order, the sooner to deliver them from slavery and wretchedness. These birds stay all summer in the colonies, but retire in autumn to the south, and stay away all winter. They have got the name of Mocking-birds, on account of their skill in imitating the note of almost every bird they hear. The song peculiar to them is excellent, and varied by an infinite change of notes and melody; several people are therefore of opinion, that they are the best singing birds in the world. So much is certain, that few birds come up to them; this is what makes them precious: the Swedes call it by the same name as the English.

About noon we came to New Bristol, a small town in Pensylvania, on the banks of the Delaware, about fifteen English miles from Philadelphia. Most of the houses are built of stone, and stand asunder. The inhabitants carry on a small trade, though most of them get their goods from Philadelphia. On the other side of the river, almost directly opposite to New Bristol, lies the town of Burlington, in which the governor of New Jersey resides.

We had now country seats on both sides of the roads. Now we came into a lane enclosed with pales on both sides, including pretty great corn-fields. Next followed a wood, and we perceived for the space of four English miles nothing but woods, and a very poor soil, on which the Lupinus perennis grew plentifully and succeeded well. I was overjoyed to see a plant come on so well in these poor dry places, and even began to meditate, how to improve this discovery in a soil like that which it inhabited. But I afterwards had the mortification to find that the horses and cows eat almost all the other plants, but left the lupine, which was however very green, looked very fresh, and was extremely soft to the touch. Perhaps means may be found out of making this plant palatable to the cattle. In the evening we arrived at Trenton, after having previously passed the Delaware in a ferry.

October the 28th. Trenton is a long narrow town, situate at some distance from the river Delaware, on a sandy plain; it belongs to New Jersey, and they reckon it thirty miles from Philadelphia. It has two small churches, one for the people belonging to the church of England, the other for the presbyterians. The houses are partly built of stone, though most of them are made of wood or planks, commonly two stories high, together with a cellar below the building, and a kitchen under ground, close to the cellar. The houses stand at a moderate distance from one another. They are commonly built so, that the street passes along one side of the houses, while gardens of different dimensions bound the other side; in each garden is a draw-well; the place is reckoned very healthy. Our landlord told us, that twenty-two years ago, when he first settled here, there was hardly more than one house; but from that time Trenton has encreased so much, that there are at present near a hundred houses. The houses were within divided into several rooms by their partitions of boards. The inhabitants of the place carried on a small trade with the goods which they got from Philadelphia, but their chief gain consisted in the arrival of the numerous travellers between that city and New York; for they are commonly brought by the Trenton Yachts from Philadelphia to Trenton, or from thence to Philadelphia. But from Trenton further to New Brunswick, the travellers go in the waggons which set out every day for that place. Several of the inhabitants however likewise subsist on the carriage for all sorts of goods, which are every day sent in great quantities, either from Philadelphia to New York, or from thence to the former place; for between Philadelphia and Trenton all goods go by water, but between Trenton and New Brunswick they are all carried by land, and both these conveniences belong to people of this town.

For the yachts which go between this place and the capital of Pensylvania, they usually pay a shilling and six-pence of Pensylvania currency per person, and every one pays besides for his baggage. Every passenger must provide meat and drink for himself, or pay some settled fare: between Trenton and New Brunswick a person pays two shillings and sixpence, and the baggage is likewise paid for separately.

We continued our journey in the morning; the country through which we passed was for the greatest part level, though sometimes there were some long hills, some parts were covered with trees, but far the greater part of the country was without woods; on the other hand I never saw any place in America, the towns excepted, so well peopled. An old man, who lived in this neighbourhood and accompanied us for some part of the road, however assured me, that he could well remember the time, when between Trenton and New Brunswick there were not above three farms, and he reckoned it was about fifty and some odd years ago. During the greater part of the day we had very extensive corn-fields on both sides of the road, and commonly towards the south the country had a great declivity. Near almost every farm was a spacious orchard full of peaches and apple trees, and in some of them the fruit was fallen from the trees in such quantities, as to cover nearly the whole surface. Part of it they left to rot, since they could not take it all in and consume it. Wherever we passed by we were always welcome to go into the fine orchards, and gather our hats and pockets full of the choicest fruit, without the possessor’s so much as looking after it. Cherry trees were planted near the farms, on the roads, &c.

The barns [36] had a peculiar kind of construction hereabouts, which I will give a concise description of. The whole building was very great, so as almost to equal a small church; the roof was pretty high, covered with wooden shingles, declining on both sides, but not steep: the walls which support it, were not much higher than a full grown man; but on the other hand the breadth of the building was the more considerable: in the middle was the threshing floor, and above it, or in the loft or garret they put the corn which was not yet threshed, the straw, or any thing else, according to the season: on one side were stables for the horses, and on the other for the cows. And the small cattle had likewise their particular stables or styes; on both ends of the buildings were great gates, so that one could come in with a cart and horses through one of them, and go out at the other: here was therefore under one roof the threshing floor, the barn, the stables, the hay loft, the coach house, &c. This kind of buildings is chiefly made use of by the Dutch and Germans; for it is to be observed that the country between Trenton and New York, is inhabited by few Englishmen, but instead of them by Germans or Dutch, [37] the latter of which especially are numerous.

Before I proceed, I find it necessary to remark one thing with regard to the Indians, or old Americans. For this account may perhaps meet with readers, who, like many people of my acquaintance, may be of opinion that all North America, was almost wholly inhabited by savage or heathen nations, and they may be astonished, that I do not mention them more frequently in my account. Others may perhaps imagine, that when I mention in my journal, that the country is much cultivated, that in several places, houses of stone or wood are built, round which are corn-fields, gardens, and orchards, that I am speaking of the property of the Indians; to undeceive them, I here give the following explication. The country especially all along the coasts, in the English colonies, is inhabited by Europeans, who in some places are already so numerous, that few parts of Europe are more populous. The Indians have sold the country to the Europeans, and have retired further up: in most parts you may travel twenty Swedish miles, or about a hundred and twenty English miles, from the sea shore, before you reach the first habitations of the Indians. And it is very possible for a person to have been at Philadelphia and other towns on the sea shore for half a year together, without so much as seeing an Indian. I intend in the sequel to give a more circumstantial account of them, their religion, manners, oeconomy, and other particulars relating to them: at present I return to the sequel of my journal.

About nine English miles from Trenton, the ground began to change its colour; hitherto it consisted of a considerable quantity of hazel coloured clay, but at present the earth was a reddish brown, so that it sometimes had a purple colour, and sometimes looked like logwood. This colour came from a red limestone which approached very near to that which is on the mountain Kinnekulle in West Gothland, and makes a particular stratum in the rock. The American red limestone therefore seems to be merely a variety of that I saw in Sweden, it lay in strata of two or three fingers thickness; but was divisible into many thinner plates or shivers, whose surface was seldom flat and smooth, but commonly rough: the strata themselves were frequently cut off by horizontal cracks. When these stones were exposed to the air, they by degrees shivered and withered into pieces, and at last turned into dust. The people of this neighbourhood did not know how to make any use of it; the soil above is sometimes rich and sometimes poor: in such places where the people had lately dug new wells, I perceived, that most of the rubbish which was thrown up consisted of such a species of stone. This reddish brown earth we always saw till near New Brunswick, where it is particularly plentiful. The banks of the river, shewed in many places nothing but strata of Limestone, which did not run horizontally, but dipped very much.

About ten o’clock in the morning we came to Prince-town, which is situated in a plain. Most of the houses are built of wood, and are not contiguous, so that there are gardens and pastures between them. As these parts were sooner inhabited by Europeans than Pensylvania, the woods were likewise more cut away, and the country more cultivated, so that one might have imagined himself to be in Europe.

We now thought of continuing our journey, but as it began to rain very heavily, and continued so during the whole day and part of the night, we were forced to stay till next morning,

October the 29th. This morning we proceeded on our journey. The country was pretty well peopled; however there were yet great woods in many places: they all consisted of deciduous trees: and I did not perceive a single tree of the fir kind, till I came to New Brunswick. The ground was level, and did not seem to be every where of the richest kind. In some places it had hillocks, losing themselves almost imperceptibly in the plains, which were commonly crossed by a rivulet. Almost near every farm-house were great orchards. The houses were commonly built of timber, and at some distance by themselves stood the ovens for baking, consisting commonly of clay.

On a hill covered with trees, and called Rockhill, I saw several pieces of stone or rock, so big, that they would have required three men to roll them down. But besides these there were few great stories in the country; for most of those which we saw, could easily be lifted up by a single man. In another place we perceived a number of little round pebbles, but we did not meet with either mountains or rocks.